FullReads

“How old a child?”

“Bout ten, or somewhere along there, an’ small for her age; but land! she might be a hundred to hear her talk! She kept me jumpin’ tryin’ to answer her! Of all the queer children I ever come across she’s the queerest. She ain’t no beauty–her face is all eyes; but if she ever grows up to them eyes an’ fills out a little she’ll make folks stare. Land, mother! I wish ‘t you could ‘a’ heard her talk.”

“I don’t see what she had to talk about, a child like that, to a stranger,” replied Mrs. Cobb.

“Stranger or no stranger, ‘t would n’t make no difference to her. She’d talk to a pump or a grindstone; she’d talk to herself ruther ‘n keep still.”

“What did she talk about?

“Blamed if I can repeat any of it. She kept me so surprised I didn’t have my wits about me. She had a little pink sunshade–it kind o’ looked like a doll’s umberella, ‘n’ she clung to it like a burr to a woolen stockin’. I advised her to open it up–the sun was so hot; but she said no, ‘t would fade, an’ she tucked it under her dress. ‘It’s the dearest thing in life to me,’ says she, ‘but it’s a dreadful care.’ Them’s the very words, an’ it’s all the words I remember. ‘It’s the dearest thing in life to me, but it’s an awful care!'”–here Mr. Cobb laughed aloud as he tipped his chair back against the side of the house. “There was another thing, but I can’t get it right exactly. She was talkin’ ’bout the circus parade an’ the snake charmer in a gold chariot, an’ says she, ‘She was so beautiful beyond compare, Mr. Cobb, that it made you have lumps in your throat to look at her.’ She’ll be comin’ over to see you, mother, an’ you can size her up for yourself, I don’ know how she’ll git on with Mirandy Sawyer–poor little soul!”

This doubt was more or less openly expressed in Riverboro, which, however, had two opinions on the subject; one that it was a most generous thing in the Sawyer girls to take one of Aurelia’s children to educate, the other that the education would be bought at a price wholly out of proportion to its real value.

Rebecca’s first letters to her mother would seem to indicate that she cordially coincided with the latter view of the situation.

II. REBECCA’S POINT OF VIEW

DEAR MOTHER,–I am safely here. My dress was not much tumbled and Aunt Jane helped me press it out. I like Mr. Cobb very much. He chews tobacco but throws newspapers straight up to the doors of the houses. I rode outside with him a little while, but got inside before I got to Aunt Miranda’s house. I did not want to, but thought you would like it better. Miranda is such a long word that I think I will say Aunt M. and Aunt J. in my Sunday letters. Aunt J. has given me a dictionary to look up all the hard words in. It takes a good deal of time and I am glad people can talk without stoping to spell. It is much eesier to talk than write and much more fun. The brick house looks just the same as you have told us. The parler is splendid and gives YOU creeps and chills when you look in the door. The furnature is ellergant too, and all the rooms but there are no good sitting-down places exsept in the kitchen. The same cat is here but they never save the kittens and the cat is too old to play with. Hannah told me once you ran away to be married to father and I can see it would be nice. If Aunt M. would run away I think I should like to live with Aunt J. She does not hate me as bad as Aunt M. does. Tell Mark he can have my paint box, but I should like him to keep the red cake in case I come home again. I hope Hannah and John do mot get tired doing my work.