Mary Cary: "Frequently Martha"Bosher, Kate Langley
General
Mary Cary: "Frequently Martha"
Bosher, Kate Langley
Children -- Juvenile fiction; Orphans -- Juvenile fiction
But I'm glad the bad is overlooked in time. Maybe that is what God will
do with everybody. He'll wipe out all the wrongness and meanness, and
see through it to the good. I hope that's the way it's going to be, for
that's my only chance.
Since Miss Sallie stopped asking me anything, and I her, I have a lovely
time in my mind taking things off the other children and putting them on
the Orphans. There's Margaret Evans. In the winter she's always blue and
frozen, and I'd give her that Mallory child's velvet coat and gray muff
and tippet, and put Margaret's blue cape and calico dress on her.
Poor little Margaret! She's so humble and thankful she gets even less
than the rest, it looks like, though I suppose in clothes she has the
same allowance, and the difference, maybe, is in herself.
Some people are born to be stepped on, and of steppers there are always
a-plenty.
After Sunday-school we walk to the church we're going to, two by two,
just alike and all in blue. The minister always mentions us in his
prayers, except at St. John's, the prayer-book not providing for Orphans
in particular.
When church is over we march home and have dinner, and after dinner we
study the lesson for next Sunday and practise hymns until time for the
afternoon service. That begins at four, and some of the town ministers
preach or talk, generally preach, long and wearisome.
The Episcopal minister gets through in a hurry. We love to have him. He
talks so fast we don't half understand, and before we know it he's got
his hand up and we hear him saying: "And now to the Father and to the
Son--." And the rest is mumbled, but we know he's through and is glad of
it, and so are we.
The Presbyterian Sunday is the longest and solemnest, and I always write
a new story in my mind when Dr. Moffett preaches. He is very learned,
and knows Hebrew and Latin and Greek, but not much about little girls.
Poor Mrs Blamire; she tries to keep awake, but she can't do it; and
after the first five minutes she puffs away just as regular as if she
were wound up. Once I shut my eyes and tried to puff like her, but I
forgot to be careful, and did it so loud the girls came near getting in
trouble. Dr. Moffett is deaf, and didn't hear. Miss Bray heard.
But the Baptist minister don't let you sleep on his Sunday. He used to
try to make the girls come up and profess, but now he don't ask even
that. Just sit where you are and hold up your hand, and when you join
the church--any church will answer--you are saved. I don't understand
it.
We all like the Methodist minister. I don't think he knows many dead
languages. He don't have much time to study, being so busy helping
people; but he knows how to talk to us children, and he always makes me
wish I wasn't so bad. He always does, and the Mary part of me just rises
right up on his Sunday, and Martha is ashamed of herself. He believes in
getting better by the love way. So do I.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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