The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1906-02-11
With the Long Bo.U
A Sunday Story for Little Girls About the Lit
tie Odd Chair That Somebody Found in An
Old Curiosity Shop and That Little Girl
Who Was Once Grandma Herself Came
and Sat In.

On the way home one Wednesday evening the writer
stepped into old furniture to see what strange
productions of the cabinemakers had been caught
in the eddies cast up the beach and stranded
there by the tides of time. Back on a high shelf
rather out of sight from the 'front.' was little chair
evidently forgotten treasure from the playhouse of
some little child who had grown up to womanhood,
had had children Of her with modern chairs
for their treasures, had cared for these children g
children in turn, had finally passed the need of all
chairs, little big had become child again herself
and had gone and joined the ranks Of children
forever forgotten here.
How her strange little chair found its way into,
the old curiosity shop, the proprietor did
know. 1t was possibly the wreckage of dusty
attic when old house torn down to make place
for business blocks
The odd, little, old chair was dusty, paint worn,
world weary and rckety People who used it last had
committed the crime of driving nails into it to hold
1t together When tested to its joints it creaked
and wobbed But it had good lines and it's pos
session cheerfully separated the writer from that
section of dollar contemptuousy known the street
thirty CENTS
The cabinetmaker looked at it with pity in his eye
for anyone why would buy such plumber All its
faults stood out in garish persistence in his presence
But with careful hospital treatment the nails were
finally extracted, all the holes plugged with wood the
joints tightened and the chair scraped down to its
original hickory and stained in old dark brown
Little bright brass balls topped its sturdy posts until
one night it stood out the shelf little gen. shin
ing and smiling real work of art and full of sug
gesons of strange old forgotten children in pantaets
and New England Primers. Even the cabinetmaker
was pleased with it and remarked in his native tongues
''It's yewe.'' @=~. s-=e
Then another revolution in the history of the little
odd chair occurred. A wealthy lady saw it in the
shop and loved it for its sturdy honesty. She made
so strong plea for its possession that it was given
over to her keeping .-z. .-
After this event in its all the rest is hear
say, but I tell it it came to me-and it came very
straight. 1881 3.
s. The wealthy lady had no children Of her own as
God seemed to need them all elsewhere, but she loved
all children and wished to see their little things
scattered about. So the little odd chair stood her
bedroom by the south window where the early sun
caught its little brass tops and smiled welcome
morning. 49,
One night this kind lady awoke from quiet Sleep
feeling that there dear in the room. The
bright and shone in at the windows throw
ing patches Of light the floor and catching the
brass tops Of the posts of the little odd chair with
moonbursts of light. But the little odd chair was
occupied now. A little odd girl sat in it. She wore
simple dress cut low in the neck and she had the
same little pantaets and slippers with bands over
the insteps and buttons to hold them in place that
had all guessed she when we were talking
the little chair in the cabinet shop. She was
very misty little girl there nothing solid about
her outlines. In fact am half convinced that she
dream child only, because the half box of
chocolate candies the table there the next
morning entirely uneaten, not nibbled at. Per-
haps she was just memory. But at any rate she
patted the Of the little odd chair and smiled in
very satisfied, pleased sort of way tho it was
pleasure to 1t again. And then she WASH T there
any more. And the moon kept right shining in
at the windows and the lady not at all frightened
but slept peacefully until morning. And the little
chair there in the morning as bright and clipper
as ever and you simply couldn't buy it of the lady
with money for it has added value in her ewes
now, for she thinks it possible that strange little
girl living in Of the wonderful cities that we do
not know anything about sometimes thinks Of tls
odd chair she used to have in her playroom So many
years ago that she has forgotten how many. And
that s ALL "A. J. r