Chapter XVI: A Feast of Lanterns
The first week of July had come to an end, and with it came the end of the house party.
"Oh, deah," croaked the Little Colonel like a dismal raven, as she waited at the head of the stairs for the girls to finish dressing. "This is the la-st mawnin' well all go racin' down to breakfast togethah! I'm glad that Betty isn't goin' away for a while longah. If you all had to leave at the same time, it would be so lonesome that I couldn't stand it."
"I am glad, too," said Betty, groping her way slowly out of her room with a green shade over her eyes. Her long night was nearly over now, although it would be several months before she would be allowed to read. Her godmother had written to Mrs. Appleton, saying that she wanted to keep Betty with her until her eyes were stronger, and the child had clapped her hands with delight when she received permission to stay, never dreaming how long it would be before she ever saw the Cuckoo's Nest again.
"This is the la-st time we'll ever ride together," sighed Joyce, as she mounted Calico after breakfast. "Oh, it has been such fun, Lloyd, and I've enjoyed this little clown pony more than I can ever tell. He is the dearest, ugliest little beast that ever wore a halter, and I'll never forget him as long as I live."
"And this is the last time we can go galloping out of this gate together, and see the boys coming up the road to meet us," cried Eugenia. "There they are, all three of them. Oh, they haven't heard the news yet! I'm going to dash on ahead and tell them."
Eugenia's news was that she was going abroad with her father in the fall. It had all been arranged since he came to Locust. Finding that business required one of the members of his firm to spend a month in England, he telegraphed back to the office that he would go.
"I don't know which is the most excited over the prospect, myself, or my maid," said Eugenia to the boys. "Poor old Eliot is simply wild with delight at the thought of seeing her home and family again, and I am nearly as much upset as she is. We're to be gone five or six months. Papa says that while we are over there we might as well go the rounds, so maybe we'll spend Christmas in France, in the same place that Joyce did."
"What time do you leave Locust to-night?" asked Malcolm.
"On the ten o'clock train, I think. Joyce is going with us, part of the way, as papa has to make a trip to St. Louis before we go back to New York."
"And which way are you all going now?" asked Keith. The others had joined them, and the seven ponies were standing in a ring in the middle of the road, their noses almost touching.
"We're going down to your house," answered Joyce, "to bid your Grandmother MacIntyre and Miss Allison good-bye. They have been so good to us all the time we have been here. Your Aunt Allison has done so much to entertain us, and as for your grandmother, I couldn't begin to tell you how she cheered us up when we had the measles. There was something from her every day, fruit and flowers and wine jellies and messages. One of my sweetest memories of Kentucky will be of your beautiful grandmother."
Instantly both the boys lifted their hats in acknowledgment, but Keith exclaimed in boyish impatience, "Oh, pshaw! I thought we were all going over to the mill this morning. The last time, you know. There's no need of your going down to bid them good-bye when we'll see you at--"
But Lloyd stopped him with a finger on her lip and a threatening shake of her head. "Come on!" she cried, starting Tarbaby down the road at full gallop. "We can't stand heah in the road all day."
Keith dashed after her, laying a detaining hand on her bridle when he reached her side. "What's the matter, Miss Savage?" he asked. "What do you mean, by shaking your head at me in that way?"
"Can't you keep a secret?" she demanded, crossly. "You know well enough we want to surprise the girls to-night."
"Oh, I forgot!" he exclaimed, clapping a hand over his mouth.
"They are not to know a thing about it until time to light the lanterns," she said, severely. "And I think it would be very rude indeed for them not to make a good-bye call at yo' house this mawnin', even if you all are comin' up to-night."
"Oh, I say, Lloyd, leave a little piece of me, please ma'am," he begged, in a meek voice. "At least enough to help wind up the house party, to-night. Say you'll forgive me!" he insisted, clasping his hands together and looking at her cross-eyed, with such a comical expression that she could not help laughing.
The last time! It's the last time! They said it as they stopped once more for the mail at the little post-office; as they turned regretfully homeward; as they went down the long avenue in the shade of the friendly old locusts. They said it again when they wandered four abreast, and arm in arm about the place, for a farewell glance at every nook and corner, where they had romped and played in the five weeks just gone. Even when the words were not wailed out disconsolately by one of them and echoed by the others, the thought that each thing they were doing was for the last time, went with them like a mournful undercurrent.
"Did you ever have a day fly by as fast as this one?" asked Joyce that afternoon, looking up from the trunk that Mom Beck was helping her to pack. "Here it is nearly six o'clock, and I haven't been down to the mulberry-tree. I wanted one more swing on the grape-vine swing before I dressed for dinner. It's like flying to go sailing through the air, across the ravine, on that grape-vine that covers the mulberry-tree."
"There won't be time now," said the Little Colonel, casting an anxious look toward the front windows. If the girls had not been so busily occupied, they might have noticed how she had been manoeuvring for some time to keep them away from the front windows. She even took them down the back stairs when they were ready for dinner, with the excuse that she wanted them to see the hamper in which Joyce's puppy was to travel. Eugenia's Bob was to be left at Locust until after she had made her trip abroad.
Joyce had a fresh blue satin ribbon packed away in her satchel to tie around her Bob's neck just before reaching home. "Oh, girls!" she exclaimed, "don't you know that those children are going to be delighted when this fat little dumpling comes rolling out of the hamper? They will all grab for him at once, and Mary will be so tickled she will squeal. She always does when she is excited, and it is _so_ funny. I wish I could hear her do it this blessed minute. Somehow I can hardly wait to see them all now, although I don't want to leave Locust one bit. I have had _such_ a good time!"
Mom Beck came out just then to tell them that dinner was waiting, and Lloyd hurried them through the back hall again, although she herself ran to the front door and looked out, before she took her seat at the table. It was a merry meal, for Papa Jack told his best stories, and Cousin Carl, as they all called Mr. Forbes now, recalled his funniest jokes to make the children forget how near they had come to the parting hour. And when the dessert was brought on they sang a duet they had learned when school-boys together, at which every one laughed until the tears stood in their eyes.
While they lingered at the table, Alec and Walker and Mom Beck, and all the servants on the place who could lend a hand, were turning the lawn into fairy-land. They had been busy for several hours putting up strings of lanterns, and now they were lighting them, row after row. Big lanterns, and little lanterns, round ones and square, of every size, colour, and shape, lit up the darkness of the summer night. Huge red dragons swung between the white, vine-covered pillars of the porch. Luminous fish and beasts and birds, hanging from the shrubs and trees on the lawn, set every bough a-twinkle, while all through the grass and all through the flower beds the flashing of hundreds of tiny fairy lamps made it seem as if the glow-worms were holding carnival.
There were tents pitched on the lawn and tables set out here and there, and every tent was brilliant with festoons of light and every table had a canopy fringed with flaming balls of ruby and emerald and amber. But the most beautiful part of the whole dazzling scene was the old locust avenue, strung from top to bottom with lights. The trees seemed suddenly to have burst into bloom with stars, when all down that long arch, from entrance gate to mansion, shone the soft glow of a myriad welcoming lanterns.
"Let's all sit down on the steps and enjoy it before the people begin to come," said the Little Colonel, after the first burst of surprise and enthusiastic admiration was over.
"Everybody in the Valley will be heah in a little bit to say good-bye to you all, and we told 'em to come early, because your train leaves so soon."
Even as she spoke there was a sound of wheels turning in at the gate, and the band in the honey-suckle arbour began tuning their violins. It was not long before the place was gay with many voices, and people were streaming back and forth over the lawn and porches. Grown people as well as children were there. All who had been at the pillow-case party; all who had entertained the girls in any way, and all who had been friends of Betty's mother and Joyce's in their girlhood.
After awhile, when the guests were being served with refreshments, under the lantern-hung canopies on the lawn, Mr. Forbes looked around for Betty. She was nowhere to be found at first, but presently he stumbled over her in a dark corner of the porch, with her shade pulled over her eyes.
"It's too bad you can't enjoy it like the rest of us," he said, sympathetically.
"I am enjoying it with all my heart, Cousin Carl," protested Betty. "I have raised my shade half a dozen times and taken a quick glance around, and the music is so sweet, and everybody comes up and says nice things to me. I would be perfectly happy if I didn't keep thinking that this is the last of our good times together, and in a little while I shall have to say good-bye to Eugenia and Joyce. You know I never knew any girls before," she added, confidentially, "and you can't imagine how much I have enjoyed them."
"Come, walk down to the gate with me," said Mr. Forbes, presently; "I have something to tell you." She lifted her shade an instant as they started down the long arch of light, and gave one quick glance down the entire way. "Isn't it glorious!" she exclaimed. "It looks as if it might be the road to the City of the Shining Ones!"
Then with a sigh she dropped her shade, and, slipping her hand into his, let him lead her, as she walked along with closed eyes.
"You are an appreciative little puss," he said, smiling.
As they walked on under the glowing arch, hand in hand, he told her that he was coming back for her in the fall; that Eugenia wanted her to go abroad with them, and that he thought such an arrangement would be good for both the girls. Good for Eugenia, because otherwise she would often be left for days at a time with only Eliot for a companion, when he was away on business. Good for Betty, since she could be enjoying the advantages of travel at a time when she could not be using her eyes to study.
"You shall see Abbotsford," he said, "and Burns's country, and go to Shakespeare's home. And you shall coach among the English lakes where Wordsworth learned to write. Then there is Rome, on her seven hills, you know, and the canals of Venice and the Dutch windmills and the Black Forest. You shall hear the legends of all the historic rivers you cross and mountains you climb, and listen to the music of the Norwegian waterfalls. Don't you think it will help you to be a better tale-teller for the children, some day, my little 'Tusitala?'
"You see your godmother has been telling me some of your secrets and showing me some of your poems and stories. What do you say, Betty? Will you go?"
"Will I go?" cried Betty, joyfully, holding his hand tight in both her own and pressing it lovingly to her cheek. "Oh, Cousin Carl! You might as well ask me if I would go to heaven if a big strong angel had come down on purpose to carry me up! Oh, _why_ is everybody so good to me? I can't understand it."
They had reached the gate, and were turning to walk back to the house. Mr. Forbes laid his hand on the brown curly head with a fatherly touch.
"I'll tell you some day," he said, "when there is more time. It is all because of that road you discovered, little one, that Road of the Loving Heart. I don't wear a ring as Eugenia does, to remind me of it, but I've been carrying the inspiration of it in my memory, ever since she wrote me all that you had taught her about it."
They walked slowly back to the house together under the locusts that arched their star-blossomed boughs above them. The band was playing softly, and Betty, uplifted by the music, the lights, and the good fortune in store for her, could hardly believe that her feet were touching the earth. She seemed to be floating along in some sort of dreamland. The old feeling swept over her that always came with the music of the harp. It was as if she were away off from everything, her head among the stars, and strange, beautiful thoughts that she had no words for danced on ahead like shining will-o'-the-wisps.
Joyce was the first to share her good fortune, and while she was telling it Eugenia came up with another joyful announcement.
"We are going to Tours," she cried, "and across the Loire to St. Symphorien, where Joyce stayed all winter. And we'll see the Gate of the Giant Scissors, and little Jules who lives there."
"I am so glad," said Joyce. "You must get Madame Greville to show you everything; the kiosk in the old garden where we had our Thanksgiving barbecue; the coach-house where we shut up the goats that day when they chewed the cushions of the pony-cart to pieces; and the room where we had the Christmas tree, and the laurel hedges in bloom--oh, I'm so glad you're going to see them all."
"What's that?" asked the Little Colonel, coming up behind them; and then Betty told her, too.
"Only think! Lloyd Sherman," she added, giving her a rapturous hug, "if it hadn't been for you it never would have happened. It's all because you had this delightful house party and invited me to come."
"Here comes Mrs. MacIntyre," interrupted Joyce, in a low tone. "Did you ever see anything so fine and soft and fluffy as that beautiful white hair of hers? It looks like a crimped snow-drift. I wouldn't mind being a grandmother to-morrow if I could look like that."
She came up smiling, and beckoned the girls to follow her. "I want to show you something comical," she said. "I just discovered it." She led the way to the end of the porch, and there, standing in a row, were six little darkies, so black that their faces scarcely showed against the black background of the night. Only their rolling white eyeballs and gleaming teeth could be seen distinctly.
"They are Allison's protégés," she said. "Sylvia Gibbs's children, you know. They are always on the outskirts of all the festivities when they think they can pick up any crumbs in the way of refreshments. But they'll have some good excuse to give for coming, you may be sure."
"Oh, they are the children who acted the charades at the old mill picnic," said Eugenia, drawing nearer. "Get them to talk if you can, Mrs. MacIntyre. Please do."
Except for a broader grin in token that they heard Mrs. MacIntyre's questions, they were as unresponsive as six little black kittens, and Keith, coming up just then, was sent to find Miss Allison. "They always talk for auntie," he said. "She is over in one of the tents, and I'll go get her."
Keith was right. Miss Allison proved the key that unlocked every little red tongue, and they answered her questions glibly.
"We don brought sumpin to Miss 'Genia," stammered Tildy, shyly. "M'haley, she got a chicken in dis yere box wot she gwine to give to Miss 'Genia to take away wid her on de kyars."
"A chicken!" repeated Miss Allison, laughing, "What did M'haley bring Miss Eugenia a chicken for?"
"'Cause Miss 'Genia, she give M'haley her hat wid roses on it ovah to the ole mill picnic, when it fell in de spring an' got wet, and we brought her a chicken to take away on de kyars fo' a pet."
An old bandbox tied with brown twine was promptly hoisted up from the outer darkness into the light of the red dragon lanterns on the porch. The sides had been pricked with a nail to admit air, and the lid was cut in slits. Through these slits they could discover a half-grown chicken, cowering sleepily on the bottom of the box. It was a mottled brown one, with its wing feathers growing awkwardly in the wrong direction.
"Imagine me carrying this into the Waldorf," laughed Eugenia, when she had expressed her thanks, and Mom Beck had been called to take the children away and give them cake and cream in the background.
"But you'll have to take it," said Miss Allison, "at least to the station, for you may be sure they'll be on hand to see you start, and their feelings would be sadly hurt if you didn't take it, at any rate out of their sight."
It was time for the leave-takings to begin. Joyce and Eugenia put on their hats, and Eliot hurried out with the satchels as the carriage drove up. At the last moment Mom Beck waylaid them in the hall with two huge bundles.
"I couldn't do nothin' else fo' you chillun," she said, as she offered them. "Ole Becky ain't got much to give but her blessing but I can _cook_ yit, and I done made you a big spice cake apiece, and icened it with icin' an inch thick."
The girls thanked her till her black face beamed, but they looked at each other ruefully when they were in the carriage.
"How I am ever to reach New York with a big frosted cake in my arms is more than I know," said Eugenia. "I'll have to cut it up and pass it around on the train."
"But think of me," groaned Joyce. "I have my cake and Bob, too, and nobody to carry my satchel and umbrella."
The kissing and hand-shaking began, and a cross-fire of good-byes. "Give my love to your mother, Joyce." "Write to me first thing, Eugenia." "Good-bye, Betty." "Good-bye, Lloyd." "Keith and I won't make our adieux now; we'll follow you to the station and see you off on the train." "Good-bye! Good-bye, everybody!"
At last the carriage started on, but was brought to a halt by a shrill call from Rob. They looked back to see him standing on the porch beside the Little Colonel, who was excitedly waving a bunch of flowers which she had been carrying all evening. The light from the red lantern above her threw a rosy glow over the graceful little figure, the soft light hair, and smiling, upturned face. That is the picture they carried away with them.
"Wait!" she cried, a smile dimpling her cheeks, and shining with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. "Wait! You've forgotten something! Eugenia's chicken!"
Little Jim Gibbs came running after them with it, and Mr. Forbes lifted it up beside the hamper that held Joyce's puppy.
"Oh, I've sat on my cake and mashed it," moaned Joyce, as she moved over to make a place for the dilapidated old bandbox. "How do you suppose we're ever going to get home with such a mixture of frosted cakes and puppies and chickens, and all the keepsakes that those boys piled on to us at the last moment."
It was amid much laughter that the carriage moved on again. Down the long avenue they went, under that glowing arch, spangled as if with stars, and every friendly old locust held up all its twinkling lanterns to light them on their way. Half-way down the path the band began to play "My Old Kentucky Home," and, leaning far out of the carriage, Eugenia and Joyce looked back once more to wave a loving good-bye to the Little Colonel.
BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
* * * * *
THE LITTLE COLONEL BOOKS
(Trade Mark)
_By ANNIE FELLOWS JOHNSTON_
Each, 1 vol. large, 12mo, cloth decorative, per vol., $1.50
The Little Colonel Stories.
(Trade Mark)
Illustrated.
Being three "Little Colonel" stories in the Cosy Corner Series,
"The Little Colonel," "Two Little Knights of Kentucky," and "The
Giant Scissors," put into a single volume.
_The Little Colonel's House Party_.
(Trade Mark)
Illustrated by Louis Meynell.
_The Little Colonel's Holidays_.
(Trade Mark)
Illustrated by L.J. Bridgman.
_The Little Colonel's Hero_.
(Trade Mark)
Illustrated by E.B. Barry.
_The Little Colonel at Boarding School_.
(Trade Mark)
Illustrated by E.B. Barry.
_The Little Colonel in Arizona_.
(Trade Mark)
Illustrated by E.B. Barry.
_The Little Colonel's Christmas Vacation_.
(Trade Mark)
Illustrated by E.B. Barry.
_The Little Colonel, Maid of Honour_.
(Trade Mark)
Illustrated by E.B. Barry.
Since the time of "Little Women," no juvenile heroine has been
better beloved of her child readers than Mrs. Johnston's "Little
Colonel."
_The Little Colonel_.
(Trade-Mark)
_Two Little Knights of Kentucky_.
_The Giant Scissors_.
A Special Holiday Edition of Mrs. Johnston's most famous books.
Each one volume, cloth decorative, small quarto, $1.25
New plates, handsomely illustrated, with eight full-page drawings in color.
"There are no brighter or better stories for boys and girls than these."--_Chicago Record-Herald._
"The books are as satisfactory to the small girls, who find them adorable, as for the mothers and librarians, who delight in their influence."--_Christian Register._
These three volumes, boxed as a three-volume set to complete the library editions of The Little Colonel books, $3.75.
_In the Desert of Waiting: THE LEGEND OF CAMELBACK MOUNTAIN_.
_The Three Weavers: A FAIRY TALE FOR FATHERS AND MOTHERS AS WELL AS FOR THEIR DAUGHTERS_.
_Keeping Tryst_.
Each one volume, tall 16mo, cloth decorative $0.50
Paper boards .35
There has been a constant demand for publication in separate form
of these three stories, which were originally included in three of
the "Little Colonel" books, and the present editions, which are
very charmingly gotten up, will be delightful and valued gift-books
for both old and young.
_Joel: A Boy Of Galilee_. By ANNIE FELLOWS JOHNSTON. Illustrated by L.J. Bridgman.
New illustrated edition, uniform with the Little Colonel Books, 1
vol., large 12mo, cloth decorative $1.50
A story of the time of Christ, which is one of the author's
best-known books, and which has been translated into many
languages, the last being Italian.
_Asa Holmes_; OR, AT THE CROSS-ROADS. A sketch of Country Life and Country Humor. By ANNIE FELLOWS JOHNSTON. With a frontispiece by Ernest Fosbery.
Large 16mo, cloth, gilt top $1.00
"'Asa Holmes; or, At the Cross-Roads' is the most delightful, most
sympathetic and wholesome book that has been published in a long
while. The lovable, cheerful, touching incidents, the descriptions
of persons and things, are wonderfully true to nature."--_Boston
Times._
_The Rival Campers_; OR, THE ADVENTURES OF HENRY BURNS. By RUEL P. SMITH.
Square 12mo, cloth decorative, illustrated by A.B. Shute $1.50
Here is a book which will grip and enthuse every boy reader. It is
the story of a party of typical American lads, courageous, alert,
and athletic, who spend a summer camping on an island off the Maine
coast.
"The best boys' book since 'Tom Sawyer.'"--_San Francisco Examiner._
"Henry Burns, the hero, is the 'Tom Brown' of America."--_N.Y. Sun._
_The Rival Campers Afloat_; OR, THE PRIZE YACHT VIKING. By RUEL P. SMITH, author of "The Rival Campers."
Square 12mo, cloth decorative, illustrated $1.50
This book is a continuation of the adventures of "The Rival
Campers" on their prize yacht _Viking._ Every reader will be
enthusiastic over the adventures of Henry Burns and his friends on
their sailing trip. They have a splendid time, fishing, racing, and
sailing, until an accidental collision results in a series of
exciting adventures, culminating in a mysterious chase, the loss of
their prize yacht, and its recapture by means of their old yacht,
_Surprise_, which they raise from its watery grave.
_The Young Section-hand_; OR, THE ADVENTURES OF ALLAN WEST. By BURTON E. STEVENSON, author of "The Marathon Mystery," etc.
12mo, cloth, illustrated by L.J. Bridgman $1.50
Mr. Stevenson's hero is a manly lad of sixteen, who is given a
chance as a section-hand on a big Western railroad, and whose
experiences are as real as they are thrilling.
"It appeals to every boy of enterprising spirit, and at the same time teaches him some valuable lessons in honor, pluck, and perseverance." --_Cleveland Plain Dealer._
"This is a fine book for boys' reading, since it impresses a reader anew with the honor and beauty of simple, heroic, seldom-remembered deeds of men who do their duty as a matter of course."--_Christian Register._
"A thrilling story, well told, clean and bright. The whole range of section railroading is covered in the story, and it contains information as well as interest."--_New York Evening Post._
_Captain Jack Lorimer_. By WINN STANDISH. Square 12mo, cloth decorative. Illustrated by Arthur W. Brown and Louis D. Gowing $1.50
Jack Lorimer, whose adventures have for some time been one of the
leading features of the Boston Sunday _Herald_, is the popular
favorite of fiction with the boys and girls of New England, and,
now that Mr. Standish has made him the hero of his book, he will
soon be a favorite throughout the country.
Jack is a fine example of the all-around American high-school boy.
He has the sturdy qualities boys admire, and his fondness for
clean, honest sport of all kinds will strike a chord of sympathy
among athletic youths.
"No story will appeal more strongly to the wide-awake young chaps blossoming into manhood than 'Captain Jack Lorimer.' No reader of the story, from ten to sixteen years of age, will follow his course through these pages without absorbing some of the buoyancy and good nature which Jack displays. He is a clean, wholesome young fellow, an honest, energetic boy who loves sport of all kinds, and who is square in all his dealings."--_Boston Herald._
_The Roses of Saint Elizabeth_. BY JANE SCOTT WOODRUFF, author of "The Little Christmas Shoe."
Small quarto, cloth decorative, illustrated and decorated in color
by Adelaide Everhart $1.00
This is a charming little story of a child whose father was
caretaker of the great castle of the Wartburg, where Saint
Elizabeth once had her home, with a fairy-tale interwoven, in which
the roses and the ivy in the castle yard tell to the child and her
playmate quaint old legends of the saint and the castle.
_Gabriel and the Hour Book_. By EVALEEN STEIN.
Small quarto, cloth decorative, illustrated and decorated in colors
by Adelaide Everhart $1.00
Gabriel was a loving, patient, little French lad who assisted the
monks in the long ago days, when all the books were written and
illuminated by hand, in the monasteries. It is a dear little story,
and will appeal to every child who is fortunate enough to read it.
_The Enchanted Automobile_. Translated from the French by MARY J. SAFFORD.
Small quarto, cloth decorative, illustrated and decorated in colors
by Edna M. Sawyer $1.00
The enchanted automobile was sent by the fairy godmother of a lazy,
discontented little prince and princess to take them to fairyland,
where they might visit their old story-book favorites.
Here they find that Sleeping Beauty has become a famously busy
queen; Princess Charming keeps a jewelry shop; where she sells the
jewels that drop from her lips; Hop-o'-My-Thumb is a farmer, too
busy even to see the children, and Little Red Riding Hood has
trained the wolf into a trick animal, who performs in the city
squares.
They learn the lesson that happy people are the busy people, and
they return home cured of their discontent and laziness.
_Beautiful Joe's Paradise_; OR, THE ISLAND OF BROTHERLY LOVE. A sequel to "Beautiful Joe." By MARSHALL SAUNDERS, author of "Beautiful Joe," "For His Country," etc. With fifteen full-page plates and many decorations from drawings by Charles Livingston Bull.
One vol., library 12mo, cloth decorative $1.50
"Will be immensely enjoyed by the boys and girls who read it."--_Pittsburg Gazette_.
"Miss Saunders has put life, humor, action, and tenderness into her story. The book deserves to be a favorite."--_Chicago Record-Herald_.
"This book revives the spirit of 'Beautiful Joe' capitally. It is fairly riotous with fun, and as a whole is about as unusual as anything in the animal book line that has seen the light. It is a book for juveniles--old and young."--_Philadelphia Item_.
_'Tilda Jane_. By MARSHALL SAUNDERS, author of "Beautiful Joe," etc.
One vol., 12mo, fully illustrated, cloth, decorative cover, $1.50
"No more amusing and attractive child's story has appeared for a
long time than this quaint and curious recital of the adventures of
that pitiful and charming little runaway.
"It is one of those exquisitely simple and truthful books that win and charm the reader, and I did not put it down until I had finished it--honest! And I am sure that every one, young or old, who reads will be proud and happy to make the acquaintance of the delicious waif.
"I cannot think of any better book for children than this. I commend it unreservedly."--_Cyrus Townsend Brady_.
_The Story of the Graveleys_. By MARSHALL SAUNDERS, author of "Beautiful Joe's Paradise," "'Tilda Jane," etc.
Library 12mo, cloth decorative, illustrated by E.B. Barry $1.50
Here we have the haps and mishaps, the trials and triumphs, of a
delightful New England family, of whose devotion and sturdiness it
will do the reader good to hear. From the kindly, serene-souled
grandmother to the buoyant madcap, Berty, these Graveleys are folk
of fibre and blood--genuine human beings.
PHYLLIS' FIELD FRIENDS SERIES
_By LENORE E. MULETS_
Six vols., cloth decorative, illustrated by Sophie Schneider. Sold
separately, or as a set.
Per volume $1.00
Per set 6.00
_Insect Stories_.
_Stories of Little Animals_.
_Flower Stories_.
_Bird Stories_.
_Tree Stories_.
_Stories of Little Fishes_.
In this series of six little Nature books, it is the author's
intention so to present to the child reader the facts about each
particular flower, insect, bird, or animal, in story form, as to
make delightful reading. Classical legends, myths, poems, and songs
are so introduced as to correlate fully with these lessons, to
which the excellent illustrations are no little help.
_THE WOODRANGER TALES_
_By G. WALDO BROWNE_
_The Woodranger_.
_The Young Gunbearer_.
_The Hero of the Hills_.
_With Rogers' Rangers_.
Each 1 vol., large 12mo, cloth, decorative cover, illustrated,
per volume $1.25
Four vols., boxed, per set 5.00
"The Woodranger Tales," like the "Pathfinder Tales" of J. Fenimore
Cooper, combine historical information relating to early pioneer
days in America with interesting adventures in the backwoods.
Although the same characters are continued throughout the series,
each book is complete in itself, and, while based strictly on
historical facts, is an interesting and exciting tale of adventure.
_Born to the Blue_. BY FLORENCE KIMBALL RUSSEL.
12mo, cloth decorative, illustrated $1.25
The atmosphere of army life on the plains breathes on every page of
this delightful tale. The boy is the son of a captain of U.S.
cavalry stationed at a frontier post in the days when our regulars
earned the gratitude of a nation.
The author is herself "of the army," and knows every detail of the
life. Her descriptions are accurate, which adds to the value and
interest of the book.
_Pussy-Cat Town_. By MARION AMES TAGGART.
Small quarto, cloth decorative, illustrated and decorated in colors
$1.00
"Pussy-Cat Town" is a most unusual, delightful cat story. Ban-Ban,
a pure Maltese who belonged to Rob, Kiku-san, Lois's beautiful
snow-white pet, and their neighbors Bedelia the tortoise-shell,
Madame Laura the widow, Wutz Butz the warrior, and wise old Tommy
Traddles, were really and truly cats, and Miss Taggart has here
explained the reason for their mysterious disappearance all one
long summer.
_The Sandman: HIS FARM STORIES_. By WILLIAM J. HOPKINS. With fifty illustrations by Ada Clendenin Williamson.
Large 12mo, decorative cover $1.50
"An amusing, original book, written for the benefit of very small children. It should be one of the most popular of the year's books for reading to small children."--_Buffalo Express._
"Mothers and fathers and kind elder sisters who take the little ones to bed and rack their brains for stories will find this book a treasure."--_Cleveland Leader._
_The Sandman: MORE FARM STORIES_. By WILLIAM J. HOPKINS.
Large 12mo, decorative cover, fully illustrated $1.50
Mr. Hopkins's first essay at bedtime stories has met with such
approval that this second book of "Sandman" tales has been issued
for scores of eager children. Life on the farm, and out-of-doors,
is portrayed in his inimitable manner, and many a little one will
hail the bedtime season as one of delight.
THE LITTLE COUSIN SERIES
The most delightful and interesting accounts possible of child-life in other lands, filled with quaint sayings, doings, and adventures.
Each 1 vol., 12mo, decorative cover, cloth, with six or more full-page illustrations in color.
Price per volume $0.60
_By MARY HAZELTON WADE (unless otherwise indicated)_
_Our Little African Cousin_
_Our Little Armenian Cousin_
_Our Little Brown Cousin_
_Our Little Canadian Cousin_
By Elizabeth R. Macdonald
_Our Little Chinese Cousin_
By Isaac Taylor Headland
_Our Little Cuban Cousin_
_Our Little Dutch Cousin_
By Blanche McManus
_Our Little English Cousin_
By Blanche McManus
_Our Little Eskimo Cousin_
_Our Little French Cousin_
By Blanche McManus
_Our Little German Cousin_
_Our Little Hawaiian Cousin_
_Our Little Indian Cousin_
_Our Little Irish Cousin_
_Our Little Italian Cousin_
_Our Little Japanese Cousin_
_Our Little Jewish Cousin_
_Our Little Korean Cousin_
By K. Lee M. Pike
_Our Little Mexican Cousin_
By Edward C. Butler
_Our Little Norwegian Cousin_
_Our Little Panama Cousin_
By H. Lee M. Pike
_Our Little Philippine Cousin_
_Our Little Porto Rican Cousin_
_Our Little Russian Cousin_
_Our Little Scotch Cousin_
By Blanche McManus
_Our Little Siamese Cousin_
_Our Little Spanish Cousin_
By Mary F. Nixon-Roulet
_Our Little Swedish Cousin_
By Claire M. Coburn
_Our Little Swiss Cousin_
_Our Little Turkish Cousin_
THE GOLDENROD LIBRARY
* * * * *
The Goldenrod Library contains only the highest and purest
literature,--stories which appeal alike both to children and to
their parents and guardians.
Each volume is well illustrated from drawings by competent artists,
which, together with their handsomely decorated uniform binding,
showing the goldenrod, usually considered the emblem of America, is
a feature of their manufacture.
Each one volume, small 12mo, illustrated, decorated cover, paper
wrapper $0.35
LIST OF TITLES
_Aunt Nabby's Children_. By Frances Hodges White.
_Child's Dream of a Star, The_. By Charles Dickens.
_Flight of Rosy Dawn, The_. By Pauline Bradford Mackie.
_Findelkind_. By Ouida.
_Fairy of the Rhone, The_. By A. Comyns Carr.
_Gatty and I_. By Frances E. Crompton.
_Great Emergency, A_. By Juliana Horatia Ewing.
_Helena's Wonderworld_. By Frances Hodges White.
_Jackanapes_. By Juliana Horatia Ewing.
_Jerry's Reward_. By Evelyn Snead Barnett.
_La Belle Nivernaise_. By Alphonse Daudet.
_Little King Davie_. By Nellie Hellis.
_Little Peterkin Vandike_. By Charles Stuart Pratt.
_Little Professor, The_. By Ida Morton Cash.
_Peggy's Trial_. By Mary Knight Potter.
_Prince Yellowtop_. By Kate Whiting Patch.
_Provence Rose, A_. By Ouida.
_Rab and His Friends_. By Dr. John Brown.
_Seventh Daughter, A_. By Grace Wickham Curran.
_Sleeping Beauty, The_. By Martha Baker Dunn.
_Small, Small Child, A_. By E. Livingston Prescott.
_Story of a Short Life, The_. By Juliana Horatia Ewing.
_Susanne_. By Frances J. Delano.
_Water People, The_. By Charles Lee Sleight.
_Young Archer, The_. By Charles E. Brimblecom.
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The Little Colonel's House PartyChapter XVI: A Feast of Lanterns
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