River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1897-02-11

more time to wear her thinking cap.
And Christmas thoughts were pretty
apt TO blossom into deeds some way.
Christine had made the Christmas
wreaths of evergreen and holly from
their own Pippin Hill woods. ard she
had sent two beauties to Miss gtnn.
who had promptly returned them with
the message that she didn't want such
rubbish littering up her house. Now
" hen they heard that sad news from Mr..
Pigeon she was making valentines. She
had a very dainty knach with both PEN
Gil and brush, for I4-ycar-Old girl, and
her valentines were more beautiful
than any that could he bought in the
shops. or so the Bloomsboro' young CO.
pie all thought.
The fashion of sending valentines
might wane elsewhere, but il always
cried over them. And NOW she Lad
fiOurished in Bloomsboro, perhaps be-
cause Christine Bell kept IL up. She
sent them TO the very last people who
expected to have a valentine-to neg
Iected old people and forlorn sick poo
pie, 10 Biddy Mcguire. just from the
cid country. and kilt" with homcsick-
ness, and to Antony Burke. the old
miser, for whom no one had civil
word and WHO, perhaps. didn't deserve
one. And for every valentine that was
,lisregarded or thrown impatiently
aside. a dozen made little warmth and
comfort in a sad heart; for nobody has
vet begun to understand how great is
the day of small things.
Christine was more mysterious Ii an
usual this year about her valentines;
she colored " hen Peggy said she would
better send one TO Miss Pigeon, but they
never thought she would. they thought
she was only sensitive about her Christ
mas wreath. When Mr.. Pigeon went
away he gave Christine an old desk that
he bad had ever since he was a boy. II
had initials and hearts and anchors cut
into il and was whitfield at every cor
ner; you would have known If you'd
seen IL anywhere that il had belonged
to boy. But Christine would have il
in her own room; she thought it was
I beautiful II had mis- boy-leiters and
diaries in il. and she had laughed and
/ found in that old desk material for the
very queerest valentine she had ever
made, and although she liked To share
the fun of making her valentines with
the others, she was a little secretive
about that.
What should the paper be but leaf
from one of the old diaries. one side all
written over in an uniformed, boyish
hand: aud this is what was written on
il the ink faded by time:
Il cant bare TO rite becos hity has the
Fever and cant bare knot 10 rite hecos
Z semes like telling somebody. she held
boldly last mite and I did knot let them
send me TO bed the fellers say II she does
~ / hav other sisters but hey are knot
hity the feIlers do knot understand wen
srvbody sails she viii ever hav DO Ike
our augusta hity salts the Tom Tinker verse
and that meens me as Is rote on tile 1st
leef OF this dry mi name Is Thomas Tink-
ham Pigeon hity has gott a Temper but so
hav a Good Meny People and she is Good
way inside and she Is hity and she and !
viii alwys !iv together but cant bare 10
rite eny more for want 10 now wha, the
dokter sails they say a feller must he A
Man but wen Il is hity I cant bare"
Here the words became iilegible on
the old yellow paper; there were blots
and smudges as of tears. Though valen-
tines are supposed to be dainty. Chris
tire didn't try to clean Il biti And on
the unwritten side. instead of painting
/ any of her pretty flowers or drawing