Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1914-01-28

iul ItUe tHluR 1 Knew lHdt my pan
would be opposed, 80 I said nothing
about II, but ] got my mother 10
play and sing the carol ] had heard
overnight until my quick ear had
mastered both tune and words, and
when darkness fol- on Christmas
night ! proceeded to carry out my
| intention
| In the heat Of my impotence ! for
got t. put on cloak or hat, and, steal
ing out OF the house, ! found myself
in the carriage drive with nothing on
| but 4 pair Of thin slippers and tae
! velvet frock that left my neck and
arms so bare. It was showing, and
the snowflakes were whirling around
me and making me dizzy. for in the
light from my mothers window they
seemed 20 come up from the ground
Is down from the sky
When ! got out Of the light Of the
WINDOW, # was very dark, and ]
| could only see that the chestnuts in
the drive seemed to have white blan-
had been hung out to dry 1t was
! a long time before | got to the gate
and then | had begun to be nervous
/ and TO have half a mind to turn
back. But the thought of the bunloaf
and the sherry wine buoyed me up,
and presently found myself on the
/ nigh road, crossing bridge and turn
/ ing down lane that led to the sea
whose moaning mile away was the
only sound | could hear
/ knew quite well where was
/ going to. | was going to the doc
/ tors house. II was called sunny
/ Lodge, and it was on the edge of yell
/ low Gorse Farm. ! had seen it more
4 ,han once when I had driven out in
/ the carriage with my mother. and had
thought how sweet it looked with its
/ whitewashed walls and brown thatch-
/ ed roof and the red and white roses
which grew over the porch
/ was fearfully cold before got
/ there. The snow was in my slippers
and down my neck and among the
thlekening masses of my hair At one
moment came upon some sheep and
4 lambs that We're shelterng under a
hedge, and they bleated in the silence
/ OF the night
/ But al last saw the warm red
/ windows of the doctors cottage. and
coming to the wicket gate, pushed il
/ open, though it was clogged with
snow. and stepped up to the porch.
My teeth were now chattering with
cold, but as well as l could ! began
to sing, and in my thin and creachy
voice ! had got IS far as
"Chist was born in Bef-lem.
Ch ist was born in Bef- lem.
Chlst was born in Bef-lem.
An in a manger laid
when ! heard a rumbling noise in
side the house
Immediately afterward the door wa S
opened upon me. and woman whom
| knew to be the doctors wife looked
down into my face with an expression
Of bewilderment, and then cried:
Goodness gracious me, doctor-lfIt
isn't little Mary O'Neill, God bless
her."
Bring her in at once, then" said
the voice of Doctor Conrad from
within, and at the next moment II
found myself in sort of kitchen
parlor which was warm with a glow
ing turf fire that had a kettle sing
ing over II, and coy and bright with
a ragwork hearth-rug. dresser fun OF
blue pottery and a soft settle covered
with red cloth.
| suppose the sudden change to a
warm room mus. have caused me to
faint, for ! have no recollection of
what happened next. except that / was
sitting on somebody's lap and that
she was calling me boght milish Git
tie sweet and Veg-veen Qittle dear)
while she rubbed my half frozen
limbs ana did other things that were,
! am sure, all womanly and good.
When l came to myself Doctor Con-
rad was saying | would have TO sleep
there that night, and he must go over
TO the Big House and tell my mother
what had happened. He went, and by
the time he came back | had been
hathed in a dolly-tub placed in front
of the IRE, and was being carried up
stairs Gin a night many sizes
too large for mel to a little dimity-
white bedroom where the sweet
smelling "scraas" under the slopine
thatch OF the roof came down almost
TO my face.
A Home of Love.
| know nothing OF what happened
during the night. except that was
feeling very hot. and that as often as
| opened my eyes the doctors wife
was leaning over me and speaking in
a soft voice that seemed far away.
But next day | felt cooler, and then
Aunt Bridget came in her satin man
tie and big black hat, and said some
| thing, while standing at the end of
my bed. about people paying the pen
| atty when they did things that were
| sly and underhand
Toward evening | was much ca sier,
and when the doctor came in to see
me at night he said.
How are we this evening" All
] better | see Distinctly better"
| And then. turning to his wife. he
said;
mo need TO stay up with her to-
! night. Christian Ann
But won't the boght millish be
! afraid to be left alone?" She asked.
said | shouldn't. and she kissed
/ me and told me to knock at the wall