Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1903-07-10
MARY JAMES DOLLS.
by BERTHA EVANS WARD.

/ ihOiHinSs SISTER ana / understood only
too well how to interpret the signs Of the
times, and when old Aun, Mary arrived
with buckets and pals and a great white
towel over her red bandana we knew. as
well as the spiders, that it was time for
flight.
Yet we loved old Aunt Mary, especially
on the evenings when we might 1T with
her in the kitchen ard hear her thrilling
tales OF Brer Rabbit and Brer Bar, or gaze,
fascinated, into her eyes a. She called up
ghosts in every dark corner But Aunt
Mary on the warpath after cobwebs was
another matter. And so it happened that
At mother suggestion we gave up our dream
of splashing water on the paror windows,
and submitted to having our sunbonnets
tied on and being sentto the woods lot"
But what disappointment We might have
felt soon vanished when we had crossed
the street and stood beside the spring under
the old magnolia What child could ever
have been lonely in the woods lot, in spring.
time, too, when, in a cozy little nook beside
the pond, while violets were Just peeping
out, a thrush was building its nest in the
little red oak, tyetyes were in bloom and
new things were creeping out on every side?
There was so much to do that morningl
We must climb to the top of the old mag.
nolia and peep into the fragrant depths of
the first white bloom; we must fish for
minnows in this pond, aEd then-there in
the far corner was our bakeshop. and we
must make the cakes for Dorothy Dolorosas
wedding. The thought of how Dorothy
DIS china blue eyes would sparkle when
she saw our preparations inspired an hours
hard work, and soon two shingles bore de-
licious burdens OF sandy white cakes and
chocolate-colored pies.
But just as ! was making an original
design in finger-prints upon clay -colored
cookv, sister pulled my sleeve and wills.
pered: Look, look There she isl" And
sure enough. there in the corner next to
ours with her little checked apron full
OF flowers stood Mary Jane. Now, Mary
Jane mad been the object of much specu.
lation between us since her father. a re-
spectacle negro, had moved into the house
near ours; but she was not nice we knew,
for when we had asked her to 20 over and
play with her, mother had looked very
much shocked and explained that we
must not play with little negroes. Now,
there the ostracized Mary Jane stood. not
ten feet from US. Surely, it could be no
harm to stay, we argued: our pies could
not possibly be left until they were done,
and we would be careful not to speak
word or even look toward the offending
Mary Jane.
50 we kept our eyes discreetly turned
away from the dangerous corner, but,
perhaps, we saw more than we pretended;
at least, we knew very well when Mary
Jane sat down. and, taking from her apron
a tumbled mass Of flowers. began to work
marvellous miracles before our astonished
eyes A long-stemmed zinnia beneath her
Ia
lady with pansy hat, and arms. too straw.
like, perhaps, for real beauty; a tiny pink
rosebud was TRANSPORTED into the dearest
little baby in a bayleaf cradle; two yellow
jonquils as suddenly appeared as slender
maidens in larkspur sunbonnets. Trans
formation after transformation. and our
once lovely cakes became so many little
pats cf clay; Dorothy Dolorosa's wedding
was altogether forgotten. Here was new
and fascinating game, one which needed
only that feathery bunch of blue flowers
beside the fence, the sweet williams farther
down the hill, and some clusters of white
sourwood from the edge OF the lake. And
in a very few minutes sister and l had
opened up a rival establishment on our
side Of the fence. But still neither one
Of US broke the silence. and Mary James
kinkv little knots nodded as independen tly
as did the yellow pigtails on the other side.
Apparently, too, we heard nothing when at
last. without glance in our direction but
with slightly raised tones, Mary Jane com.
manded the zinnis lady: Now, you keep
the chillun quite. whilst gifts de cent'men."
But as our respective families increased
sister. who found 1t hard TO keep silent
and had NOT yet formed definite theory
OF re'ubuuon, dlsreEarded my warning
=.
"or mother would know" and ventured,
with interrogation in her voice: Bet you
can't say the Lords Prayer The black
head nodded vigorously as it emphasized
the command to hollyhock beauty, but
scorned to bestow even glance in an
swer. Perhaps she expected that tins
would provoke sister to continued speech,
and was not surprised to hear Bet you
never went TO circus. But neither
worldly nor religious topics appealed to
Mary Jane Nh4tever she ielt was KEEP,