Year: 1876

But stay |" and he put his finger to his
forehead, and then nodded his head in Q
knowing way. "I1l tell you one story
one I'm fond of myself"


"Oh do" said May, settling herself
in bed.


"Let me see," said the Bell Sprite,
"this is what they call Centennial year.
What fuss the people do make about
it, to be sure A century, Why, it's
nothing. I'll go further back than that
for you, and tell you Of Christmas day,
more than 200 years ago. 1t was down
near the sea, in what is now Maine. But
the only name the place that I'm going
to tell you about had then was THE
Garrison House.. There ruled at that
time in England the Puritan, Oliver
Cromwell, who thought he was doing
the very best thing for his country when
he cut off the head of the King, Charles
l.; and then he exiled a great many
friends of the dead King, who were
called cavaliers. One colony landed at
Boston. But there were so many Puri-
tans there that they were afraid to stay
there; and 80 they went further east
ward along the coast to the Spanish
colony. And there they were afraid to
keep them, because they did not dare to
displease Cromwell; SO the poor people
had to go still further into the wilder
ness.


Fortunately, it was spring, and
growing warmer every day, and at last
they made stop at the top of a high
hill, and decided to build house.
These men were not used to working
and cutting down trees, and their wives
did not know how to cook their food at
first, and, in the learning, they wasted a
great deal of precious food, because it
often wasn't fit to eat and had to be
thrown away. So the supplies began to
get low before the house was finished.
They cut down the largest trees they
could find, and squared them of, and
joints into each other at the corners.
That we call dove failing. And they
built the upper story OF the house to
project over the lower part. In the floor
they made holes to put the barrels of
muskets through, so they could shoot
Indians or wild animals, il they came
close to the house. For the country
was full of Indians then, and they hated
he white people, who came and took
their land, and never asked them wheth
er they were willing or not. And so
they burned the houses and killed the
white men and their wives and little
children whenever they found the chance
to do so. And when the house was
built, the men drove trees into the
ground closely together around it, to
10 An I>xv hat
winter had come, and the different fam
lilies, who had been living in little huts
made of birch-bark during the warm
weather, were all very glad to go into it
to live, and to have real roof over their
heads once more.


"There were only two children in the
house-Eleanor and Roland Plaisted.
They were and 10 years old. Roland
was the eldest, and took great care of
his little sister. In the summer they
hadn't minded much being in strange,
wild country for they had played in
the forest, all day long, when the men
had been cutting the trees, or they had
made ships of sheets of birch-bark, and
put on acorns for passengers, and sent
them sailing down the little river.
Sometimes they kept right side up till
they were out of sight, and sometimes
they tipped over right away. But it
was all great fun until winter came and
then, when they were shut up in the
little rooms, they didn't like it at all.
The rooms were so low that their father
could only just stand up in them, and
then his head nearly touched the ceiling;
and when he went through the door
ways he had to bend way, way down, for
fear of hitting his head. The children
longed for the great hall at Plaisted
Grange, that had been such fine place
to play in and for the fireplace, with a
settle on each side, where they had sat
on winter evenings with old Ralph, the
gamekeeper. They had fire, of course,
because there was such lot of wood to
burn but the fireplace was little one,
and the rooms were very small and very
full of people. And there was no hall
at all for the space at the head
and foot of the stairs was not nearly
so large as the landing by the
window on the staircase at home. They
were pinched and cold, too, for their
clothes had not been made to wear in
such cold climate, and, besides, they
were nearly worn out. Roland's fine
black velvet suit was torn and dirty, and
nearly all the nap was worn off the vel.
vet and Eleanor's pretty, quilted satin
petticoat was frayed and torn, too, and
her bodice was sadly soiled, which dis
tressed her very much, for she was @
neat little girl. Their shoes had been
gone long before, and their hair was not
kept in the beautiful, long curls that i,
had been in England. 1t was matted
and tangled-Roland's as well as his sis
ter's and his mamma would not cut il
off, because she said he would look like
a Roundhead then. So it came to be
the day before Christmas and it was
very, very cold and gloomy. and the
snow lay very deep about the house
The women were all busy with the loom
in one of the chambers, trying to weave
some cloth, to make some clothes fol
themselves and for their husbands and
children. The men sat huddled gloomi
ly over the fire, and talked in a dreary
way of their sad condition for theil
stock of food was almost gone, and the
snow was 80 deep that they were afrait
to try to get to the Spanish colony fol
help. And they were afraid OF the In
dams besides. AS they talked, one o
the men said


L ftv.s 4. Il