Janet; or, The Christmas StockingsGibbons, Louise Élise
General
Janet; or, The Christmas Stockings
Gibbons, Louise Élise
New York (N.Y.) -- Fiction; Poor children -- Fiction; Slums -- Fiction
But the summer, too, went on its way; and now October was here, with its
chilly, windy nights; and the poor child was forced to appeal to the old
apple-woman again. She consented to let her stay for five cents a night,
provided she would bring enough sticks for the fire, and shine the
apples, and scrub the floor. When this was done, the child, often very
weary, would start out to sell her wares. Her appearance was so pitiful
and appealing that although she only tried to sell to those who were
nearly as poor as herself, she generally made at least enough to pay
Aunt Betsy her five cents and get herself some food.
Roy was now employed by a regular newsdealer, so he made somewhat more.
But their clothes were now very ragged, and Janet’s feet were nearly
bare.
A few days after the Christmas when Janet got the stockings, the good
Bishop was called out of town. Not forgetting the poor little waif he
had befriended, he gave special instructions to some of his
fellow-workers to investigate the case, and if it was found worthy, to
minister to the wants of the family. They endeavored to carry out his
instructions, but found the miserable garret occupied by strangers who
knew nothing of little Janet or her family. When they inquired of the
neighbors, they were told that the whole family had died of diphtheria,
and everything that was in the room had been destroyed. Believing this
report, of course they made no further effort to find poor little Janet.
It seemed as if a network of misery had enveloped her, as if every
avenue of relief had been blocked up.
But she still had Roy, and he had Janet, and each kept hope alive in the
heart of the other. It was hope on which the two children lived day by
day. It gave them sweet dreams at night, and with its beacon-light
before them they were even happy in the midst of their miserable
surroundings.
One day in October, Janet was trying to sell her wares along the Bowery;
Roy was calling some extras on the other side, a little farther up the
street.
Suddenly Janet missed the shrill voice, and looking to see what had
become of him, she saw a crowd collecting about the spot where only a
few minutes before she had seen Roy.
In an agony of dread, she hurried over, and, pushing her way through the
crowd, followed the men who were carrying something into a drugstore.
There she found poor Roy, stretched out, bleeding, on the floor. In
crossing the street, he had been knocked down by a heavy wagon, and the
wheel had crushed him.
With a cry of pain, she pushed her way to him and knelt down by his
side. He opened his eyes when he heard her voice. They met hers in one
long gaze. Their hands clasped; his lips moved. Bending over him, she
heard him whisper, “Good-by, Janet!”
Roy was gone from her, and she was left alone.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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