The Little Colonel's House PartyJohnston, Annie F. (Annie Fellows)
General
The Little Colonel's House Party
Johnston, Annie F. (Annie Fellows)
Girls -- Juvenile fiction; Kentucky -- Social life and customs -- 19th century -- Juvenile fiction
"What odd fancies you have!" exclaimed Lloyd, stepping out of the
carriage as she spoke. "But it is dear of you to give the place such a
sweet name. Come on up and see your room. After you have rested awhile
I'll take you all over the house."
As they went down the wide, airy hall, Betty had a glimpse of the
drawing-room through the open doors. In a confused way she noticed
mirrors and statuary and portraits, handsome old furniture and rare
pieces of bric-a-brac; but one thing caught her attention so that she
stood a moment in round-eyed admiration. It was a large harp, whose
gracefully curving frame gleamed through the shadowy room like burnished
gold. Fair and tall it stood, as if its strings had just been swept by
some of the Shining Ones beyond, who were a part of the Pilgrim's dream.
"What did you say?" asked Lloyd, hearing her cry of admiration, and
looking back to see Betty standing in the open door with clasped hands.
"Oh, that is grandmothah's harp. I am learning to play on it to please
grandfathah. I'll teach you some chords while you are heah, if you want
me to. Come on."
At the landing where the stairs turned, Betty stopped again, for there
was a great casement window looking out into a beech-grove, and under it
a cosy cushioned window-seat, where some one had evidently been reading.
There were books and magazines scattered all among the pillows.
"Heah is yo' room!" cried Lloyd, throwing open a door at the head of the
stairs, and leading the way in. Betty followed, her sunbonnet in her
hand, and looked around her like one in a dream. She had never imagined
a room could be so beautiful. If Lloyd could have known what a contrast
it was to the bare little west gable at the cuckoo's nest, she could
have better understood the wonder in Betty's face.
"My room is pink, and Eugenia's green, and Joyce's blue," explained
Lloyd. "Mothah thought you would like this white and gold one best,
'cause it's like a daisy field."
Before Betty could express her admiration, Mrs. Sherman came in with an
old coloured woman whom she called Mom Beck, and who, she told Betty,
had been her own nurse as well as Lloyd's. "And she is anxious to see
you," added Mrs. Sherman, "for she remembers your mamma so well. Many a
time she helped dress her when she was a little girl no larger than you,
and came home with me for a visit. She'll bring you some milk or iced
tea, and fix your bath when you are ready for it. We are going to leave
you now for a little while and see if you can't have a nice little nap.
It has been a long, tiresome journey, and you need the rest more than
you realise."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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