A Little Girl of Long Ago; Or, Hannah Ann: A Sequel to a Little Girl in Old New York — John Shaqi
A Little Girl of Long Ago; Or, Hannah Ann: A Sequel to a Little Girl in Old New YorkDouglas, Amanda M.
History
A Little Girl of Long Ago; Or, Hannah Ann: A Sequel to a Little Girl in Old New York
Douglas, Amanda M.
New York (N.Y.) -- History -- 1775-1865 -- Fiction
Little Stevie had come to grandmother's to stay a week or so. He cried a
little the first night for mamma. Hanny begged to have him put in her
bed; and she sat and told him Mother Goose Melodies until he dropped
asleep. He was such a sweet, cunning roly-poly, that she couldn't help
kissing him when she came to bed; and she longed to take him in her arms
and hug him up; but she was afraid he might wake and cry.
The next night he was quite ready to go to Nan's bed, and didn't cry a
bit.
Hanny had a delightful time taking him round among the girls. Her mother
said, "You and your father will have that child spoiled." But Hanny
might have turned the tables, if she had seen grandmother when she had
to be in school.
As for Grandfather Underhill, he thought with Hanny there never had been
such a smart and wonderful baby. Jim taught him some rather
reprehensible tricks. He was still full of fun and mischief, and already
had a crowd of admirers in college.
And, oh, how they missed the baby when he was gone! It didn't seem as
if one little mite could fill the house; but it was big and empty now.
John's courtship had not been so engrossing as Stephen's. They had met
Miss Bradley, to be sure; and Mr. Bradley was a well-to-do man with two
sons and one daughter who had been named Cleanthe, after the heroine of
a story Mrs. Bradley had read in her girlhood. Mr. Bradley had wanted
his daughter called Priscilla, after his mother; and Mrs. Bradley's
mother's name was Jemima.
"I did think Mimy and Silly two of the worst names in the world. And
there isn't any nickname for Cleanthe," was Mrs. Bradley's explanation
when any one wondered at the name.
Miss Cleanthe was a very nice, well-bred, rather conventional girl, with
none of Dolly's dash and spirit. She was a good housekeeper, and could
make all but her best dresses. They were to take the second floor of Mr.
Bradley's house, and set up their own home, until they felt rich enough
to indulge in a house owned by themselves.
George came down about this time to spend a month. He was decidedly
tired of farming.
"Of course, if I wanted to marry and build on the old place, it wouldn't
be so bad. Uncle Faid keeps in the same rut, and you can't shake him out
of it. Barton Finch is the kind of man who begins with a great flourish,
but flats out towards the end. I'm tired of them all!"
"It will be your turn to marry next," said his mother. "And then I'll
seem quite a young woman with only three children. I _do_ suppose we'll
go up to Yonkers some time and spend our old age there; though I begin
to think your father is weaned away."
George laughed. "Father seems about half Uncle Faid's age. And at
eighty, you won't be as old as Aunt Crete. If I had lots of money, to do
as I liked--but farming so near by doesn't amount to much."
The Germans and Swiss had to come in and show us about market-gardening
and floriculture.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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