Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-04-18

copyright, 1896, by Bachelor johnson & Bacheller)
PART /.
Lctitia lived in the same house where her
grandmother and her great-grandmother
mad lived and died. Her own parents died
when she was very young, and she had
come to live there with her Great-aunt
Peggy. Great-aunt Peggy was her grand
fathers sister, and was very old woman.
However, she was very active and bright,
and good company for Letitia. That was
fortunate, because there were no little girls
of Letitia's age nearer than mile. The
one maid servant whom Aunt Peggy kept
was older than she, and had chronic rheu-
matism in the right foot and the left
shoulder blade, which affected her temper.
Letitias Great-aunt Peggy used to play
grace hoops with her, and dominoes and
checkers, and even dolls. Sometimes 1t
was hard for Letitia to realize that she
was not another little girl Her Aunt
Peggy was very kind to her and fond
of her, and took care of her well
her mother could have done.
Letitia had all the care and comforts
and pleasant society that she really
needed, but she was not a very con-
tented little girl. She was naturally rather
Idle, and her Aunt Peggy, who was a wise
old woman, and believed thoroughly in the
keep her always busy at something.
If she was not playing, she had to sew or
study dust, read stent in a story
book. Letitia had very nice story books,
but she was not particularly fond of read
ing. She liked best of anything to sit quite
idle and plan what she would do some
other time, and think what she would like
to have ii she could have her wish-and
that her Aunt Peggy would not allow.
Letitia not satisfied with her dolls
and little treasures. She wanted new ones.
She wanted fine clothes like one little girl,
and plenty of candy like another. When
Letit1a went to school in pleasant weather
she always came home more disSatis
She wanted her room newly furnished. and
thought the furniture in the whole house
very shabby. She disliked to rise so early
in the morning. She did not like to take a
walk every day, and besides everything
else to make her discontinued, there was
the little green door, which she must never
open and pass through.
This house where Letitia lived was, of
course, a very old one. 1t had a top roof,
saggy and messy, gray shingles in the
walls, lilac bushes half hiding the great
windows, and a well-sweep in the yard. 1t
was quite large house, and there were
sheds and great barn attached TO it, but
they were all on the south side At the
back of the house the fields stretched away
for acres, and there were no Outbuildngs.
The little green door was at the very back
of the house, toward the fields, in a room
opening ont of the kitchen. 1t was called
the cheese room, because Lettia's grand
mother. who made cheeses, used to keep
them there She farCied she could smell
cheese. though none had been kept there
for years. and it was used now only for a
lumber room. She always shifted hard for
cheese. and then she eyed the little green
door with wonder and longing. 1t was a
small green door, scarcely higher than her
head A grown person could not have
passed through without stopping almost
double 1t was very narrow, too, and no
one who was not slender could have
squeezed through ii. In this door there
was a little black keyhole, with no key in
1t, but it was always locked. Letitia knew
that her Aunt Peggy kept the key in some
very safe place, but she would never show
1t to her nor unlock the door.
1t is not best for you, my dear" she al
ways replied. when Letitia leased her; and
when LeIitia begged only to know why
she could not go out of the door, she made
the same reply: 1T is not best for you, my
dear"
Sometimes. when Aunt Peggy was not
by, Letitia would tease the old maid serv-
ant about the tie green door, but she al
ways seemed both cross and stupid and
gave her nc satisfaction She even seemed
TO think there was no little green door
there; but that was nonsense, because Lee
titia knew there was. Her curiosity grew
greater and greater; she took every chance
she could get to steal into the cheese room
and shake the door softly. but it was al
ways locked. She even tried 10 look
through the keyhole, but she could see
nothing. One thing puzzled her more than
anything, and that was that the little
green door was on the inside of the house
only, and rot on the outside. When Letitia
went out into the field behind the house
there nothing but the blank wall to be
seen. There was no sign of door in it.
But the cheese room was certainly the last
room in the house, and the little green door
was in the rear wall. 1t was very strange.
When Letitia asked her Great Aunt Peggy
to explain that, she only got the same an
swer:
ut is not best for you to know, my dear"
Lctitia studied the little green door more
than she studied her lesson books, but she
never got any nearer the solution of the
mystery, until one Sunday morning in jan
uary. 1t was a very cold day, and she had
begged hard to stay home from church.
Her Aunt Peggy and her maid servant. old
as they were, were going, but Letitia shiv-