Jack and Jill by Louisa May Alcott

shutters six days out of the seven, and a general air of go-to-

meeting solemnity pervaded the room. Merry longed to make it

pretty and pleasant, but her mother would allow of no change

there, so the girl gave up her dreams of rugs and hangings, fine

pictures and tasteful ornaments, and dutifully aired, dusted, and

shut up this awful apartment once a week, privately resolving that,

if she ever had a parlor of her own, it should not be as dismal as a

tomb.

The dining-room was a very different place, for here Merry had

been allowed to do as she liked, yet so gradual had been the

change, that she would have found it difficult to tell how it came

about. It seemed to begin with the flowers, for her father kept his

word about the “posy pots,” and got enough to make quite a little

conservatory in the bay-window, which was sufficiently large for

three rows all round, and hanging-baskets overhead. Being

discouraged by her first failure, Merry gave up trying to have

things nice everywhere, and contented herself with making that

one nook so pretty that the boys called it her “bower.” Even busy

Mrs. Grant owned that plants were not so messy as she expected,

and the fanner was never tired of watching “little daughter” as she

sat at work there, with her low chair and table full of books.

The lamp helped, also, for Merry set up her own, and kept it so

well trimmed that it burned clear and bright, shining on the green

arch of ivy overhead, and on the nasturtium vines framing the old

glass, and peeping at their gay little faces, and at the pretty young

girl, so pleasantly that first her father came to read his paper by it,

then her mother slipped in to rest on the lounge in the corner, and

finally the boys hovered about the door as if the “settin’-room” had

grown more attractive than the kitchen.

But the open fire did more than anything else to win and hold them

all, as it seldom fails to do when the black demon of an airtight

stove is banished from the hearth. After the room was cleaned till

it shone, Merry begged to have the brass andirons put in, and

offered to keep them as bright as gold if her mother would

consent. So the great logs were kindled, and the flames went

dancing up the chimney as if glad to be set free from their prison.

It changed the whole room like magic, and no one could

resist the desire to enjoy its cheery comfort. The farmer’s

three-cornered leathern chair soon stood on one side, and mother’s

rocker on the other, as they toasted their feet and dozed or chatted

in the pleasant warmth.

The boys’ slippers were always ready on the hearth; and when the

big boots were once off, they naturally settled down about the

table, where the tall lamp, with its pretty shade of pressed autumn

leaves, burned brightly, and the books and papers lay ready to their

hands instead of being tucked out of sight in the closet. They were

beginning to see that “Merry’s notions” had some sense in them,

since they were made comfortable, and good-naturedly took some

pains to please her in various ways. Tom brushed his hair and

washed his hands nicely before he came to table. Dick tried to

lower his boisterous laughter, and Harry never smoked in the

sitting-room. Even Roxy expressed her pleasure in seeing “things

kind of spruced up,” and Merry’s gentle treatment of the

hard-working drudge won her heart entirely.

The girl was thinking of these changes as she watered her flowers,

dusted the furniture, and laid the fire ready for kindling; and, when

all was done, she stood a minute to enjoy the pleasant room, full of

spring sunshine, fresh air, and exquisite order. It seemed to give

her heart for more distasteful labors, and she fell to work at the

pies as cheerfully as if she liked it.

Mrs. Grant was flying about the kitchen, getting the loaves of

brown and white bread ready for the big oven. Roxy’s voice came

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133

Leave a Reply 0

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *