Christmas Pie (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1879 edition. Excerpt: ...enclosure right across the street, with its half dozen melancholy white slabs. Their grandmother, who took care of them, let them have this "store," as they called it proudly. She could not spare them to go as far as the school and be gone all day; she was too old and sick now. But she could spare them to rig up their store and to "keep it open" every day when the stage went by. "Wouldn't somebody else like to buy?" the boy asked, like a thrifty little tradesman. His business-like, grave airs amused the passengers looking out of the stage windows. Some of them good-hunioredly bought flowers or baskets; and, as the young lady, having to hurry into the stage again, promised the children to come again, she saw the gentleman, who had helped her out, slip something into the little girl's hand. HE SAYS. And what right had she to see anything of the sort? It was all along of that, probably, that she slipped, as she climbed in, and spilt half her berries. SHE SAYS. The stage started off briskly, the kindhearted driver having been slow about watering his horses, on purpose, and having taken a long draught of cold water on his own account. It seems that he knew all about the children. "Sorry for 'em, sorry for 'em," said lie, when one of the passengers asked some question, "it's a pretty poor sight ahead for 'em, with nobody belonging to 'em but their old grandma, and a blind brother, they've got, that's up to the 'sylum. P'r'aps you'd like to know what they've got this store of theirn up for. They think, maybe, they can get money enough by it, to go and see him, poor things, there at the 'sylum." The stage, and all the other passengers, went rattling out of sight, leaving the young lady at the gate...