Aunt Jo's scrap-bag, Volume 4 : $b My girls, etc.Alcott, Louisa May
General
Aunt Jo's scrap-bag, Volume 4 : $b My girls, etc.
Alcott, Louisa May
Children's stories
Leaning on grandpa's arm, she marched first; then came Mrs. Coobiddy,
the mother of the boys, bearing Aunt Carmine's picture; for this auntie
was over the water and could not come, so, at grandma's desire, her
portrait was borne in the procession.
Aunt Trib followed, escorted by Thomas Pib, the great cat, with his
best red bow on. Mrs. Trot and Belinda, the little maid, brought up
the rear. A music-box in the hall played the "Grand March" from
"Norma;" and, with great dignity, all filed into the study to behold an
imposing spectacle.
A fire burned brightly on the hearth, making the old-fashioned andirons
shine like gold. All the lamps illuminated the room, which was trimmed
with scarlet and yellow leaves. An arch of red woodbine, evergreen and
ferns from the White Mountains was made over the recess which held the
journals, letters and books of the family; for their name was Penn, and
they all wrote so much that blots were found everywhere about the
house, and a flock of geese lived in the back yard, all ready to have
their quills tweaked out at a minute's notice.
Before this recess stood a great arm-chair, in which the father of
grandma had been laid, a new-born baby, and nearly smothered by being
sat upon by the fat nurse. This thrilling fact gave it a peculiar
interest to the boys; for, if great-grandpa had been smashed, where
would they have been?
In front of this ancient seat stood a round table loaded with gifts,
and on each side stood an Indian chief in full costume, bearing lighted
Chinese lanterns on the ends of their spears, and war-clubs on their
shoulders.
The arranging of these costumes had caused much labor and fun; for the
splendid crowns, a foot high, were made of hen's feathers, carefully
collected and sewed on to paper by Aunt Trib; the red shirts were
fringed and bedecked with odd devices; leather leggings went above the
warriors' knees, and all the family breast-pins were stuck about them.
Daggers, hatchets, clubs, and spears were made by the lads themselves,
and red army blankets hung gracefully from their shoulders. They had
planned to paint their faces blue and red, like the Feejee Islanders at
Barnum's show; but Mrs. Coobiddy would not consent to have her handsome
boys disfigure themselves; so the only paint they wore was nature's red
in their cheeks, and heaven's blue in their eyes, as they stood by
grandma's throne, smiling like a pair of very mild and happy little
chiefs.
It really was a fine sight, I assure you, and grandma was quite
overcome by the spectacle. So she was introduced to her gifts as
quickly as possible, to divert her mind from the tender thought that
all these fond and foolish adornments were to please her.
Every gift had a poem attached, and as the presents were of every
description, the verses possessed an agreeable variety. Here are a few
as a sample. A small tea-kettle was one gift, and this pleasing verse
seemed to be bubbling out of its spout:--
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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