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+Project Gutenberg's Mountain-Laurel and Maidenhair, by Louisa May Alcott
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Mountain-Laurel and Maidenhair
+
+Author: Louisa May Alcott
+
+Release Date: October 21, 2011 [EBook #37807]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MOUNTAIN-LAUREL AND MAIDENHAIR ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Rory OConor, Suzanne Shell and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
+file was produced from images generously made available
+by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+  [Illustration: "Her eyes brightened as they fell upon a glass
+  of rosy laurel and delicate maidenhair fern."--FRONTISPIECE.]
+
+
+
+
+                  MOUNTAIN-LAUREL
+                        AND
+                    MAIDENHAIR
+
+
+                        BY
+                 LOUISA M. ALCOTT
+
+   AUTHOR OF "LITTLE MEN," "LITTLE WOMEN," "MAY
+        FLOWERS," "POPPIES AND WHEAT," ETC.
+
+
+                    Illustrated
+
+
+                      BOSTON
+            LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY
+
+
+
+
+                _Copyright_, 1887,
+               BY LOUISA M. ALCOTT.
+
+                _Copyright_, 1903,
+               BY JOHN S. P. ALCOTT.
+
+
+                 University Press
+      JOHN WILSON AND SON, CAMBRIDGE, U.S.A.
+
+
+
+
+MOUNTAIN-LAUREL AND MAIDENHAIR
+
+
+"Here's your breakfast, miss. I hope it's right. Your mother showed me
+how to fix it, and said I'd find a cup up here."
+
+"Take that blue one. I have not much appetite, and can't eat if things
+are not nice and pretty. I like the flowers. I've been longing for some
+ever since I saw them last night."
+
+The first speaker was a red-haired, freckled-faced girl, in a brown
+calico dress and white apron, with a tray in her hands and an air of
+timid hospitality in her manner; the second a pale, pretty creature, in
+a white wrapper and blue net, sitting in a large chair, looking about
+her with the languid interest of an invalid in a new place. Her eyes
+brightened as they fell upon a glass of rosy laurel and delicate
+maidenhair fern that stood among the toast and eggs, strawberries and
+cream, on the tray.
+
+"Our laurel is jest in blow, and I'm real glad you come in time to see
+it. I'll bring you a lot, as soon's ever I get time to go for it."
+
+As she spoke, the plain girl replaced the ugly crockery cup and saucer
+with the pretty china ones pointed out to her, arranged the dishes, and
+waited to see if anything else was needed.
+
+"What is your name, please?" asked the pretty girl, refreshing herself
+with a draught of new milk.
+
+"Rebecca. Mother thought I'd better wait on you; the little girls are so
+noisy and apt to forget. Wouldn't you like a piller to your back? you
+look so kind of feeble seems as if you wanted to be propped up a mite."
+
+There was so much compassion and good-will in the face and voice, that
+Emily accepted the offer, and let Rebecca arrange a cushion behind her;
+then, while the one ate daintily, and the other stirred about an inner
+room, the talk went on,--for two girls are seldom long silent when
+together.
+
+"I think the air is going to suit me, for I slept all night and never
+woke till Mamma had been up ever so long and got things all nicely
+settled," said Emily, graciously, when the fresh strawberries had been
+enjoyed, and the bread and butter began to vanish.
+
+"I'm real glad you like it: most folks do, if they don't mind it being
+plain and quiet up here. It's gayer down at the hotel, but the air ain't
+half so good, and delicate folks generally like our old place best,"
+answered Becky, as she tossed over a mattress and shook out the sheets
+with a brisk, capable air pleasant to see.
+
+"I wanted to go to the hotel, but the doctor said it would be too noisy
+for me, so Mamma was glad to find rooms here. I didn't think a
+farm-house _could_ be so pleasant. That view is perfectly splendid!" and
+Emily sat up to gaze delightedly out of the window, below which spread
+the wide intervale, through which the river ran with hay-fields on
+either side, while along the green slopes of the hills lay farm-houses
+with garden plots, and big barns waiting for the harvest; and beyond,
+the rocky, wooded pastures dotted with cattle and musical with
+cow-bells, brooks, and birds.
+
+A balmy wind kissed a little color into the pale cheeks, the listless
+eyes brightened as they looked, and the fretful lines vanished from lips
+that smiled involuntarily at the sweet welcome Nature gave the city
+child come to rest and play and grow gay and rosy in her green lap.
+
+Becky watched her with interest, and was glad to see how soon the
+new-comer felt the charm of the place, for the girl loved her mountain
+home, and thought the old farm-house the loveliest spot in the world.
+
+"When you get stronger I can show you lots of nice views round here.
+There's a woodsy place behind the house that's just lovely. Down by the
+laurel bushes is _my_ favorite spot, and among the rocks is a cave where
+I keep things handy when I get a resting-spell now and then, and want to
+be quiet. Can't get much at home, when there's boarders and five
+children round in vacation time."
+
+Becky laughed as she spoke, and there was a sweet motherly look in her
+plain face, as she glanced at the three little red heads bobbing about
+the door-yard below, where hens cackled, a pet lamb fed, and the old
+white dog lay blinking in the sun.
+
+"I like children; we have none at home, and Mamma makes such a baby of
+me I'm almost ashamed sometimes. I want her to have a good rest now, for
+she has taken care of me all winter and needs it. You shall be my nurse,
+if I need one; but I hope to be so well soon that I can see to myself.
+It's so tiresome to be ill!" and Emily sighed as she leaned back among
+her pillows, with a glance at the little glass which showed her a thin
+face and shorn head.
+
+"It must be! I never was sick, but I have taken care of sick folks, and
+have a sight of sympathy for 'em. Mother says I make a pretty good
+nurse, being strong and quiet," answered Becky, plumping up pillows and
+folding towels with a gentle despatch which was very grateful to the
+invalid, who had dreaded a noisy, awkward serving-maid.
+
+"Never ill! how nice that must be! I'm always having colds and
+headaches, and fusses of some kind. What do you do to keep well,
+Rebecca?" asked Emily, watching her with interest, as she came in to
+remove the tray.
+
+"Nothing but work; I haven't time to be sick, and when I'm tuckered out,
+I go and rest over yonder. Then I'm all right, and buckle to again, as
+smart as ever;" and every freckle in Becky's rosy face seemed to shine
+with cheerful strength and courage.
+
+"I'm 'tuckered out' doing nothing," said Emily, amused with the new
+expression, and eager to try a remedy which showed such fine results in
+this case. "I shall visit your pet places and do a little work as soon
+as I am able, and see if it won't set me up. Now I can only dawdle,
+doze, and read a little. Will you please put those books here on the
+table? I shall want them by-and-by."
+
+Emily pointed to a pile of blue and gold volumes lying on a trunk, and
+Becky dusted her hands as she took them up with an air of reverence, for
+she read on the backs of the volumes names which made her eyes sparkle.
+
+"Do you care for poetry?" asked Emily, surprised at the girl's look and
+manner.
+
+"Guess I do! don't get much except the pieces I cut out of papers, but I
+love 'em, and stick 'em in an old ledger, and keep it down in my cubby
+among the rocks. I do love _that_ man's pieces. They seem to go right to
+the spot somehow;" and Becky smiled at the name of Whittier as if the
+sweetest of our poets was a dear old friend of hers.
+
+"I like Tennyson better. Do you know him?" asked Emily, with a superior
+air, for the idea of this farmer's daughter knowing anything about
+poetry amused her.
+
+"Oh yes, I've got a number of his pieces in my book, and I'm fond of
+'em. But this man makes things so kind of true and natural I feel at
+home with _him_. And this one I've longed to read, though I guess I
+can't understand much of it. His 'Bumble Bee' was just lovely; with the
+grass and columbines and the yellow breeches of the bee. I'm never tired
+of that;" and Becky's face woke up into something like beauty as she
+glanced hungrily at the Emerson while she dusted the delicate cover that
+hid the treasures she coveted.
+
+"I don't care much for him, but Mamma does. I like romantic poems, and
+ballads, and songs; don't like descriptions of clouds, and fields, and
+bees, and farmers," said Emily, showing plainly that even Emerson's
+simplest poems were far above her comprehension as yet, because she
+loved sentiment more than Nature.
+
+"I do, because I know 'em better than love and the romantic stuff most
+poetry tells about. But I don't pretend to judge, I'm glad of anything
+I can get. Now if you don't want me I'll pick up my dishes and go to
+work."
+
+With that Becky went away, leaving Emily to rest and dream with her eyes
+on the landscape which was giving her better poetry than any her books
+held. She told her mother about the odd girl, and was sure she would be
+amusing if she did not forget her place and try to be friends.
+
+"She is a good creature, my dear, her mother's main stay, and works
+beyond her strength, I am sure. Be kind to the poor girl, and put a
+little pleasure into her life if you can," answered Mrs. Spenser, as she
+moved about, settling comforts and luxuries for her invalid.
+
+"I shall _have_ to talk to her, as there is no other person of my age in
+the house. How are the school marms? shall you get on with them, Mamma?
+It will be so lonely here for us both, if we don't make friends with
+some one."
+
+"Most intelligent and amiable women all three, and we shall have
+pleasant times together, I am sure. You may safely cultivate Becky; Mrs.
+Taylor told me she was a remarkably bright girl, though she may not look
+it."
+
+"Well, I'll see. But I do hate freckles and big red hands, and round
+shoulders. She can't help it, I suppose, but ugly things fret me."
+
+"Remember that she has no time to be pretty, and be glad she is so neat
+and willing. Shall we read, dear? I'm ready now."
+
+Emily consented, and listened for an hour or two while the pleasant
+voice beside her conjured away all her vapors with some of Mrs. Ewing's
+charming tales.
+
+"The grass is dry now, and I want to stroll on that green lawn before
+lunch. You rest, Mamma dear, and let me make discoveries all alone,"
+proposed Emily, when the sun shone warmly, and the instinct of all young
+creatures for air and motion called her out.
+
+So, with her hat and wrap, and book and parasol, she set forth to
+explore the new land in which she found herself.
+
+Down the wide, creaking stairs and out upon the door-stone she went,
+pausing there for a moment to decide where first to go. The sound of
+some one singing in the rear of the house led her in that direction, and
+turning the corner she made her first pleasant discovery. A hill rose
+steeply behind the farm-house, and leaning from the bank was an old
+apple-tree, shading a spring that trickled out from the rocks and
+dropped into a mossy trough below. Up the tree had grown a wild
+grape-vine, making a green canopy over the great log which served as a
+seat, and some one had planted maidenhair ferns about both seat and
+spring to flourish beautifully in the damp, shady spot.
+
+"Oh, how pretty! I'll go and sit there. It looks clean, and I can see
+what is going on in that big kitchen, and hear the singing. I suppose
+it's Becky's little sisters by the racket."
+
+Emily established herself on the lichen-covered log with her feet upon a
+stone, and sat enjoying the musical tinkle of the water, with her eyes
+on the delicate ferns stirring in the wind, and the lively jingle of the
+multiplication-table chanted by childish voices in her ear.
+
+Presently two little girls with a great pan of beans came to do their
+work on the back door-step, a third was seen washing dishes at a window,
+and Becky's brown-spotted gown flew about the kitchen as if a very
+energetic girl wore it. A woman's voice was heard giving directions, as
+the speaker was evidently picking chickens somewhere out of sight.
+
+A little of the talk reached Emily and both amused and annoyed her, for
+it proved that the country people were not as stupid as they looked.
+
+"Oh, well, we mustn't mind if she _is_ notional and kind of wearing;
+she's been sick, and it will take time to get rid of her fretty ways.
+Jest be pleasant, and take no notice, and that nice mother of hers will
+make it all right," said the woman's voice.
+
+"How anybody with every mortal thing to be happy with _can_ be
+out-of-sorts passes me. She fussed about every piller, chair, trunk, and
+mite of food last night, and kept that poor tired lady trotting till I
+was provoked. She's right pleasant this morning though, and as pretty as
+a picture in her ruffled gown and that blue thing on her head," answered
+Becky from the pantry, as she rattled out the pie-board, little dreaming
+who sat hidden behind the grape-vine festoons that veiled the corner by
+the spring.
+
+"Well, she's got redder hair 'n' we have, so she needn't be so grand and
+try to hide it with blue nets," added one little voice.
+
+"Yes, and it's ever so much shorter 'n' ours, and curls all over her
+head like Daisy's wool. I should think such a big girl would feel real
+ashamed without no braids," said the other child, proudly surveying the
+tawny mane that hung over her shoulders,--for like most red-haired
+people all the children were blessed with luxuriant crops of every shade
+from golden auburn to regular carrots.
+
+"I think it's lovely. Suppose it had to be cut off when she had the
+fever. Wish I could get rid of my mop, it's such a bother;" and Becky
+was seen tying a clean towel over the great knot that made her head look
+very like a copper kettle.
+
+"Now fly round, deary, and get them pies ready. I'll have these fowls on
+in a minute, and then go to my butter. You run off and see if you can't
+find some wild strawberries for the poor girl, soon's ever you are
+through with them beans, children. We must kind of pamper her up for a
+spell till her appetite comes back," said the mother.
+
+Here the chat ended, and soon the little girls were gone, leaving Becky
+alone rolling out pie-crust before the pantry window. As she worked her
+lips moved, and Emily, still peeping through the leaves, wondered what
+she was saying, for a low murmur rose and fell, emphasized now and then
+with a thump of the rolling-pin.
+
+"I mean to go and find out. If I stand on that wash-bench I can look in
+and see her work. I'll show them all that _I_'m _not_ 'fussy,' and can
+be 'right pleasant' if I like."
+
+With this wise resolution Emily went down the little path, and after
+pausing to examine the churn set out to dry, and the row of pans shining
+on a neighboring shelf, made her way to the window, mounted the bench
+while Becky's back was turned, and pushing away the morning-glory vines
+and scarlet beans that ran up on either side peeped in with such a
+smiling face that the crossest cook could not have frowned on her as an
+intruder.
+
+"May I see you work? I can't eat pies, but I like to watch people make
+them. Do you mind?"
+
+"Not a bit. I'd ask you to come in, but it's dreadful hot here, and not
+much room," answered Becky, crimping round the pastry before she poured
+in the custard. "I'm going to make a nice little pudding for you; your
+mother said you liked 'em; or would you rather have whipped cream with a
+mite of jelly in it?" asked Becky, anxious to suit her new boarder.
+
+"Whichever is easiest to make. I don't care what I eat. Do tell me what
+you were saying. It sounded like poetry," said Emily, leaning both
+elbows on the wide ledge with a pale pink morning-glory kissing her
+cheek, and a savory odor reaching her nose.
+
+"Oh, I was mumbling some verses. I often do when I work, it sort of
+helps me along; but it must sound dreadful silly," and Becky blushed as
+if caught in some serious fault.
+
+"I do it, and it's a great comfort when I lie awake. I should think you
+_would_ want something to help you along, you work so hard. Do you like
+it, Becky?"
+
+The familiar name, the kind tone, made the plain face brighten with
+pleasure as its owner said, while she carefully filled a pretty bowl
+with a golden mixture rich with fresh eggs and country milk,--
+
+"No, I don't, but I ought to. Mother isn't as strong as she used to be,
+and there's a sight to do, and the children to be brought up, and the
+mortgage to be paid off; so if _I_ don't fly round, who will? We are
+doing real well now, for Mr. Walker manages the farm and gives us our
+share, so our living is all right; then boarders in summer and my school
+in winter help a deal, and every year the boys can do more, so I'd be a
+real sinner to complain if I do have to step lively all day."
+
+Becky smiled as she spoke, and straightened her bent shoulders as if
+settling her burden for another trudge along the path of duty.
+
+"Do you keep school? Why, how old are you, Becky?" asked Emily, much
+impressed by this new discovery.
+
+"I'm eighteen. I took the place of a teacher who got sick last fall, and
+I kept school all winter. Folks seemed to like me, and I'm going to have
+the same place this year. I'm so glad, for I needn't go away, and the
+pay is pretty good, as the school is large and the children do well. You
+can see the school-house down the valley, that red brick one where the
+roads meet;" and Becky pointed a floury finger, with an air of pride
+that was pleasant to see.
+
+Emily glanced at the little red house where the sun shone hotly in
+summer, and all the winds of heaven must rage wildly in winter time, for
+it stood, as country schools usually do, in the barest, most uninviting
+spot for miles around.
+
+"Isn't it awful down there in winter?" she asked, with a shiver at the
+idea of spending days shut up in that forlorn place, with a crowd of
+rough country children.
+
+"Pretty cold, but we have plenty of wood, and we are used to snow and
+gales up here. We often coast down, the whole lot of us, and that is
+great fun. We take our dinners and have games noon-spells, and so we get
+on first rate; some of my boys are big fellows, older than I am, and
+they clear the roads and make the fire and look after us, and we are
+real happy together."
+
+Emily found it so impossible to imagine happiness under such
+circumstances that she changed the subject by asking in a tone which had
+unconsciously grown more respectful since this last revelation of
+Becky's abilities,--
+
+"If you do so well here, why don't you try for a larger school in a
+better place?"
+
+"Oh, I couldn't leave mother yet; I hope to some day, when the girls are
+older, and the boys able to get on alone. But I can't go now, for
+there's a sight of things to do, and mother is always laid up with
+rheumatism in cold weather. So much butter-making down cellar is bad for
+her; but she won't let me do that in summer, so I take care of her in
+winter. I can see to things night and morning, and through the day she's
+quiet, and sits piecing carpet-rags and resting up for next spring. We
+made and wove all the carpets in the house, except the parlor one. Mrs.
+Taylor gave us that, and the curtains, and the easy-chair. Mother takes
+a sight of comfort in that."
+
+"Mrs. Taylor is the lady who first came to board here, and told us and
+others about it," said Emily.
+
+"Yes, and she's the kindest lady in the world! I'll tell you all about
+her some day, it's real interesting; now I must see to my pies, and get
+the vegetables on," answered Becky, glancing at the gay clock in the
+kitchen with an anxious look.
+
+"Then I won't waste any more of your precious time. May I sit in that
+pretty place; or is it your private bower?" asked Emily, as she
+dismounted from the wash-bench.
+
+"Yes, indeed you may. That's mother's resting place when work is done.
+Father made the spring long ago, and I put the ferns there. She can't go
+rambling round, and she likes pretty things, so we fixed it up for her,
+and she takes comfort there nights."
+
+Becky bustled off to the oven with her pies, and Emily roamed away to
+the big barn to lie on the hay, enjoying the view down the valley, as
+she thought over what she had seen and heard, and very naturally
+contrasted her own luxurious and tenderly guarded life with this other
+girl's, so hard and dull and narrow. Working all summer and teaching all
+winter in that dismal little school-house, with no change but home cares
+and carpet-weaving! It looked horrible to pleasure-loving Emily, who
+led the happy, care-free life of girls of her class, with pleasures of
+all sorts, and a future of still greater luxury, variety, and happiness,
+opening brightly before her.
+
+It worried her to think of any one being contented with such a meagre
+share of the good things of life, when she was unsatisfied in spite of
+the rich store showered upon her. She could not understand it, and fell
+asleep wishing every one could be comfortable,--it was so annoying to
+see them grubbing in kitchens, teaching in bleak school-houses among
+snow-drifts, and wearing ugly calico gowns.
+
+A week or two of quiet, country fare and the bracing mountain air worked
+wonders for the invalid, and every one rejoiced to see the pale cheeks
+begin to grow round and rosy, the languid eyes to brighten, and the
+feeble girl who used to lie on her sofa half the day now go walking
+about with her alpenstock, eager to explore all the pretty nooks among
+the hills. Her mother blessed Mrs. Taylor for suggesting this wholesome
+place. The tired "school marms," as Emily called the three young women
+who were their fellow-boarders, congratulated her as well as themselves
+on the daily improvement in strength and spirits all felt; and Becky
+exulted in the marvellous effects of her native air, aided by mother's
+good cookery and the cheerful society of the children, whom the good
+girl considered the most remarkable and lovable youngsters in the world.
+
+Emily felt like the queen of this little kingdom, and was regarded as
+such by every one, for with returning health she lost her fretful ways,
+and, living with simple people, soon forgot her girlish airs and
+vanities, becoming very sweet and friendly with all about her. The
+children considered her a sort of good fairy who could grant wishes with
+magical skill, as various gifts plainly proved. The boys were her
+devoted servants, ready to run errands, "hitch up" and take her to drive
+at any hour, or listen in mute delight when she sang to her guitar in
+the summer twilight.
+
+But to Becky she was a special godsend and comfort, for before the first
+month had gone they were good friends, and Emily had made a discovery
+which filled her head with brilliant plans for Becky's future, in spite
+of her mother's warnings, and the sensible girl's own reluctance to be
+dazzled by enthusiastic prophecies and dreams.
+
+It came about in this way. Some three weeks after the two girls met,
+Emily went one evening to their favorite trysting-place,--Becky's bower
+among the laurels. It was a pretty nook in the shadow of a great gray
+bowlder near the head of the green valley which ran down to spread into
+the wide intervale below. A brook went babbling among the stones and
+grass and sweet-ferns, while all the slope was rosy with laurel-flowers
+in their time, as the sturdy bushes grew thickly on the hill-side, down
+the valley, and among the woods that made a rich background for these
+pink and white bouquets arranged with Nature's own careless grace.
+
+Emily liked this spot, and ever since she had been strong enough to
+reach it, loved to climb up and sit there with book and work, enjoying
+the lovely panorama before her. Floating mists often gave her a constant
+succession of pretty pictures; now a sunny glimpse of the distant lake,
+then the church spire peeping above the hill, or a flock of sheep
+feeding in the meadow, a gay procession of young pilgrims winding up the
+mountain, or a black cloud heavy with a coming storm, welcome because of
+the glorious rainbow and its shadow which would close the pageant.
+
+Unconsciously the girl grew to feel not only the beauty but the value of
+these quiet hours, to find a new peace, refreshment, and happiness,
+bubbling up in her heart as naturally as the brook gushed out among the
+mossy rocks, and went singing away through hay-fields and gardens, and
+by dusty roads, till it met the river and rolled on to the sea.
+Something dimly stirred in her, and the healing spirit that haunts such
+spots did its sweet ministering till the innocent soul began to see that
+life was not perfect without labor as well as love, duty as well as
+happiness, and that true contentment came from within, not from without.
+
+On the evening we speak of, she went to wait for Becky, who would join
+her as soon as the after-supper chores were done. In the little cave
+which held a few books, a dipper, and a birch-bark basket for berries,
+Emily kept a sketching block and a box of pencils, and often amused
+herself by trying to catch some of the lovely scenes before her. These
+efforts usually ended in a humbler attempt, and a good study of an
+oak-tree, a bit of rock, or a clump of ferns was the result. This
+evening the sunset was so beautiful she could not draw, and remembering
+that somewhere in Becky's scrap-book there was a fine description of
+such an hour by some poet, she pulled out the shabby old volume, and
+began to turn over the leaves.
+
+She had never cared to look at it but once, having read all the best of
+its contents in more attractive volumes, so Becky kept it tucked away in
+the farther corner of her rustic closet, and evidently thought it a safe
+place to conceal a certain little secret which Emily now discovered. As
+she turned the stiff pages filled with all sorts of verses, good, bad,
+and indifferent, a sheet of paper appeared on which was scribbled these
+lines in school-girl handwriting:--
+
+MOUNTAIN-LAUREL
+
+    My bonnie flower, with truest joy
+      Thy welcome face I see,
+    The world grows brighter to my eyes,
+      And summer comes with thee.
+    My solitude now finds a friend,
+      And after each hard day,
+    I in my mountain garden walk,
+      To rest, or sing, or pray.
+
+    All down the rocky slope is spread
+      Thy veil of rosy snow,
+    And in the valley by the brook,
+      Thy deeper blossoms grow.
+    The barren wilderness grows fair,
+      Such beauty dost thou give;
+    And human eyes and Nature's heart
+      Rejoice that thou dost live.
+
+    Each year I wait thy coming, dear,
+      Each year I love thee more,
+    For life grows hard, and much I need
+      Thy honey for my store.
+    So, like a hungry bee, I sip
+      Sweet lessons from thy cup,
+    And sitting at a flower's feet,
+      My soul learns to look up.
+
+    No laurels shall I ever win,
+      No splendid blossoms bear,
+    But gratefully receive and use
+      God's blessed sun and air;
+    And, blooming where my lot is cast
+      Grow happy and content,
+    Making some barren spot more fair,
+      For a humble life well spent.
+
+[Illustration: "She wrote it herself!"--PAGE 23.]
+
+"She wrote it herself! I can't believe it!" said Emily, as she put down
+the paper, looking rather startled, for she _did_ believe it, and felt
+as if she had suddenly looked into a fellow-creature's heart. "I thought
+her just an ordinary girl, and here she is a poet, writing verses that
+make me want to cry! I don't suppose they _are_ very good, but they seem
+to come right out of her heart, and touch me with the longing and the
+patience or the piety in them. Well, I _am_ surprised!" and Emily read
+the lines again, seeing the faults more plainly than before, but still
+feeling that the girl put herself into them, vainly trying to express
+what the wild flower was to her in the loneliness which comes to those
+who have a little spark of the divine fire burning in their souls.
+
+"Shall I tell her I've found it out? I must! and see if I can't get her
+verses printed. Of course she has more tucked away somewhere. That is
+what she hums to herself when she's at work, and won't tell me about
+when I ask. Sly thing! to be so bashful and hide her gift. I'll tease
+her a bit and see what she says. Oh dear, I wish _I_ could do it!
+Perhaps she'll be famous some day, and then I'll have the glory of
+discovering her."
+
+With that consolation Emily turned over the pages of the ledger and
+found several more bits of verse, some very good for an untaught girl,
+others very faulty, but all having a certain strength of feeling and
+simplicity of language unusual in the effusions of young maidens at the
+sentimental age.
+
+Emily had a girlish admiration for talent of any kind, and being fond of
+poetry, was especially pleased to find that her humble friend possessed
+the power of writing it. Of course she exaggerated Becky's talent, and
+as she waited for her, felt sure that she had discovered a feminine
+Burns among the New Hampshire hills, for all the verses were about
+natural and homely objects, touched into beauty by sweet words or tender
+sentiment. She had time to build a splendid castle in the air and settle
+Becky in it with a crown of glory on her head, before the quiet figure
+in a faded sunbonnet came slowly up the slope with the glow of sunset on
+a tired but tranquil face.
+
+"Sit here and have a good rest, while I talk to you," said Emily, eager
+to act the somewhat dramatic scene she had planned. Becky sunk upon the
+red cushion prepared for her, and sat looking down at the animated
+speaker, as Emily, perched on a mossy stone before her, began the
+performance.
+
+"Becky, did you ever hear of the Goodale children? They lived in the
+country and wrote poetry and grew to be famous."
+
+"Oh yes, I've read their poems and like 'em very much. Do you know 'em?"
+and Becky looked interested at once.
+
+"No, but I once met a girl who was something like them, only she didn't
+have such an easy time as they did, with a father to help, and a nice
+Sky-farm, and good luck generally. I've tried to write verses myself,
+but I always get into a muddle, and give it up. This makes me
+interested in other girls who _can_ do it, and I want to help my friend.
+I'm _sure_ she has talent, and I'd so like to give her a lift in some
+way. Let me read you a piece of hers and see what you think of it."
+
+"Do!" and Becky threw off the sunbonnet, folded her hands round her
+knees, and composed herself to listen with such perfect unconsciousness
+of what was coming that Emily both laughed at the joke and blushed at
+the liberty she felt she was taking with the poor girl's carefully
+hidden secret.
+
+Becky was sure now that Emily was going to read something of her own
+after this artful introduction, and began to smile as the paper was
+produced and the first four lines read in a tone that was half timid,
+half triumphant. Then with a cry she seized and crumpled up the paper,
+exclaiming almost fiercely,--
+
+"It's mine! Where did you get it? How dar'st you touch it?"
+
+Emily fell upon her knees with a face and voice so full of penitence,
+pleasure, sympathy, and satisfaction, that Becky's wrath was appeased
+before her friend's explanation ended with these soothing and delightful
+words,--
+
+"That's all, dear, and I beg your pardon. But I'm sure you will be
+famous if you keep on, and I shall yet see a volume of poems by Rebecca
+Moore of Rocky Nook, New Hampshire."
+
+Becky hid her face as if shame, surprise, wonder, and joy filled her
+heart too full and made a few happy tears drop on the hands so worn with
+hard work, when they ached to be holding a pen and trying to record the
+fancies that sung in her brain as ceaselessly as the soft sough of the
+pines or the ripple of the brook murmured in her ear when she sat here
+alone. She could not express the vague longings that stirred in her
+soul; she could only feel and dimly strive to understand and utter them,
+with no thought of fame or fortune,--for she was a humble creature, and
+never knew that the hardships of her life were pressing out the virtues
+of her nature as the tread of careless feet crush the sweet perfume from
+wild herbs.
+
+Presently she looked up, deeply touched by Emily's words and caresses,
+and her blue eyes shone like stars as her face beamed with something
+finer than mere beauty, for the secrets of her innocent heart were known
+to this friend now, and it was very sweet to accept the first draught of
+confidence and praise.
+
+"I don't mind much, but I was scared for a minute. No one knows but
+Mother, and she laughs at me, though she don't care if it makes me
+happy. I'm glad you like my scribbling, but really I never think or hope
+of being anybody. I couldn't, you know! but it's real nice to have you
+say I _might_ and to make believe for a little while."
+
+"But why not, Becky? The Goodale girls did, and half the poets in the
+world were poor, ignorant people at first, you know. It only needs time
+and help, and the gift will grow, and people see it; and then the glory
+and the money will come," cried Emily, quite carried away by her own
+enthusiasm and good-will.
+
+"Could I get any money by these things?" asked Becky, looking at the
+crumpled paper lying under a laurel-bush.
+
+"Of course you could, dear! Let me have some of them, and I'll show you
+that I know good poetry when I see it. You will believe if some
+bank-bills come with the paper the verses appear in, I hope?"
+
+Blind to any harm she might do by exciting vain hopes in her eagerness
+to cheer and help, Emily made this rash proposal in all good faith,
+meaning to pay for the verses herself if no editor was found to accept
+them.
+
+Becky looked half bewildered by this brilliant prospect, and took a long
+breath, as if some hand had lifted a heavy burden a little way from her
+weary back, for stronger than ambition for herself was love for her
+family, and the thought of help for them was sweeter than any dream of
+fame.
+
+"Yes, I would! oh, if I only _could_, I'd be the happiest girl in the
+world! But I can't believe it, Emily. I heard Mrs. Taylor say that only
+the _very best_ poetry paid, and mine is poor stuff, I know well
+enough."
+
+"Of course it needs polishing and practice and all that; but I'm sure it
+is oceans better than half the sentimental twaddle we see in the papers,
+and I _know_ that some of those pieces _are_ paid for, because I have a
+friend who is in a newspaper office, and he told me so. Yours are quaint
+and simple and some very original. I'm sure that ballad of the old house
+is lovely, and I want to send it to Whittier. Mamma knows him; it's the
+sort he likes, and he is so kind to every one, he will criticise it, and
+be interested when she tells him about you. Do let me!"
+
+"I never could in the world! It would be so bold, Mother would think I
+was crazy. I love Mr. Whittier, but I wouldn't dar'st to show him my
+nonsense, though reading his beautiful poetry helps me ever so much."
+
+Becky looked and spoke as if her breath had been taken away by this
+audacious proposal; and yet a sudden delicious hope sprung up in her
+heart that there might, perhaps, be a spark of real virtue in the little
+fire which burned within her, warming and brightening her dull life.
+
+"Let us ask Mamma; she will tell us what is best to do first, for she
+knows all sorts of literary people, and won't say any more than you want
+her to. I'm bent on having my way, Becky, and the more modest you are,
+the surer I am that you are a genius. Real geniuses always _are_ shy; so
+you just make up your mind to give me the best of your pieces, and let
+me prove that I'm right."
+
+It was impossible to resist such persuasive words, and Becky soon
+yielded to the little siren who was luring her out of her safe, small
+pool into the deeper water that looks so blue and smooth till the
+venturesome paper boats get into the swift eddies, or run aground upon
+the rocks and sandbars.
+
+The greatest secrecy was to be preserved, and no one but Mrs. Spenser
+was to know what a momentous enterprise was afoot. The girls sat
+absorbed in their brilliant plans till it was nearly dark, then groped
+their way home hand in hand, leaving another secret for the laurels to
+keep and dream over through their long sleep, for blossom time was past,
+and the rosy faces turning pale in the July sun.
+
+Neither of the girls forgot the talk they had that night in Emily's
+room, for she led her captive straight to her mother, and told her all
+their plans and aspirations without a moment's delay.
+
+Mrs. Spenser much regretted her daughter's well-meant enthusiasm, but
+fearing harm might be done, very wisely tried to calm the innocent
+excitement of both by the quiet matter-of-fact way in which she listened
+to the explanation Emily gave her, read the verses timidly offered by
+Becky, and then said, kindly but firmly:--
+
+"This is not poetry, my dear girls, though the lines run smoothly
+enough, and the sentiment is sweet. It would bring neither fame nor
+money, and Rebecca puts more real truth, beauty, and poetry into her
+dutiful daily life than in any lines she has written."
+
+"We had such a lovely plan for Becky to come to town with me, and see
+the world, and write, and be famous. How can you spoil it all?"
+
+"My foolish little daughter, I must prevent you from spoiling this good
+girl's life by your rash projects. Becky will see that I am wise, though
+you do not, and _she_ will understand this verse from my favorite poet,
+and lay it to heart:--
+
+     "So near is grandeur to our dust,
+     So nigh is God to man,
+     When Duty whispers low, 'Thou must!'
+     The youth replies, 'I can!'"
+
+"I do! I will! please go on," and Becky's troubled eyes grew clear and
+steadfast as she took the words home to herself, resolving to live up to
+them.
+
+"Oh, mother!" cried Emily, thinking her very cruel to nip their budding
+hopes in this way.
+
+"I know you won't believe it now, nor be able to see all that I mean
+perhaps, but time will teach you both to own that I am right, and to
+value the substance more than the shadow," continued Mrs. Spenser. "Many
+girls write verses and think they are poets; but it is only a passing
+mood, and fortunately for the world, and for them also, it soon dies out
+in some more genuine work or passion. Very few have the real gift, and
+those to whom it _is_ given wait and work and slowly reach the height of
+their powers. Many delude themselves, and try to persuade the world that
+they can sing; but it is waste of time, and ends in disappointment, as
+the mass of sentimental rubbish we all see plainly proves. Write your
+little verses, my dear, when the spirit moves,--it is a harmless
+pleasure, a real comfort, and a good lesson for you; but do not neglect
+higher duties or deceive yourself with false hopes and vain dreams.
+'First live, then write,' is a good motto for ambitious young people. A
+still better for us all is, 'Do the duty that lies nearest;' and the
+faithful performance of that, no matter how humble it is, will be the
+best help for whatever talent may lie hidden in us, ready to bloom when
+the time comes. Remember this, and do not let my enthusiastic girl's
+well-meant but unwise prophecies and plans unsettle you, and unfit you
+for the noble work you are doing."
+
+"Thank you, ma'am! I _will_ remember; I know you are right, and I won't
+be upset by foolish notions. I never imagined before that I _could_ be
+a poet; but it sounded so sort of splendid, I thought maybe it _might_
+happen to me, by-and-by, as it does to other folks. I won't lot on it,
+but settle right down and do my work cheerful."
+
+As she listened, Becky's face had grown pale and serious, even a little
+sad; but as she answered, her eyes shone, her lips were firm, and her
+plain face almost beautiful with the courage and confidence that sprung
+up within her. She saw the wisdom of her friend's advice, felt the
+kindness of showing her the mistake frankly, and was grateful for
+it,--conscious in her own strong, loving heart that it _was_ better to
+live and work for others than to dream and strive for herself alone.
+
+Mrs. Spenser was both surprised and touched by the girl's look, words,
+and manner, and her respect much increased by the courage and good
+temper with which she saw her lovely castle in the air vanish like
+smoke, leaving the hard reality looking harder than ever, after this
+little flight into the fairy regions of romance.
+
+She talked long with the girls, and gave them the counsel all eager
+young people need, yet are very slow to accept till experience teaches
+them its worth. As the friend of many successful literary people, Mrs.
+Spenser was constantly receiving the confidences of unfledged
+scribblers, each of whom was sure that he or she had something valuable
+to add to the world's literature. Her advice was always the same, "Work
+and wait;" and only now and then was a young poet or author found enough
+in earnest to do both, and thereby prove to themselves and others either
+that they _did_ possess power, or did not, and so settle the question
+forever. "First live, then write," proved a _quietus_ for many, and "Do
+the duty that lies nearest" satisfied the more sincere that they could
+be happy without fame. So, thanks to this wise and kindly woman, a large
+number of worthy youths and maidens ceased dreaming and fell to work,
+and the world was spared reams of feeble verse and third-rate romances.
+
+After that night Becky spent fewer spare hours in her nest, and more in
+reading with Emily, who lent her books and helped her to understand
+them,--both much assisted by Mrs. Spenser, who marked passages,
+suggested authors, and explained whatever puzzled them. Very happy bits
+of time were these, and very precious to both, as Emily learned to see
+and appreciate the humbler, harder side of life, and Becky got
+delightful glimpses into the beautiful world of art, poetry, and truth,
+which gave her better food for heart and brain than sentimental musings
+or blind efforts to satisfy the hunger of her nature with verse-writing.
+
+Their favorite places were in the big barn, on the front porch, or by
+the spring. This last was Emily's schoolroom, and she both taught and
+learned many useful lessons there.
+
+One day as Becky came to rest a few minutes and shell peas, Emily put
+down her book to help; and as the pods flew, she said, nodding toward
+the delicate ferns that grew thickly all about the trough, the rock, and
+the grassy bank,--
+
+"We have these in our greenhouse, but I never saw them growing wild
+before, and I don't find them anywhere up here. How did you get such
+beauties, and make them do so well?"
+
+"Oh, they grow in nooks on the mountain hidden under the taller ferns,
+and in sly corners. But they don't grow like these, and die soon unless
+transplanted and taken good care of. They always make me think of
+you,--so graceful and delicate, and just fit to live with tea-roses in
+a hot-house, and go to balls in beautiful ladies' _bo_kays," answered
+Becky, smiling at her new friend, always so dainty, and still so
+delicate in spite of the summer's rustication.
+
+"Thank you! I suppose I shall never be very strong or able to do much;
+so I _am_ rather like a fern, and do live in a conservatory all winter,
+as I can't go out a great deal. An idle thing, Becky!" and Emily sighed,
+for she was born frail, and even her tenderly guarded life could not
+give her the vigor of other girls. But the sigh changed to a smile as
+she added,--
+
+"If I am like the fern, you are like your own laurel,--strong, rosy, and
+able to grow anywhere. I want to carry a few roots home, and see if they
+won't grow in my garden. Then you will have me, and I you. I only hope
+_your_ plant will do as well as mine does here."
+
+"It won't! ever so many folks have taken roots away, but they never
+thrive in gardens as they do on the hills where they belong. So I tell
+'em to leave the dear bushes alone, and come up here and enjoy 'em in
+their own place. You might keep a plant of it in your hot-house, and it
+would blow I dare say; but it would never be half so lovely as my acres
+of them, and I guess it would only make you sad, seeing it so far from
+home, and pale and pining," answered Becky, with her eyes on the green
+slopes where the mountain-laurel braved the wintry snow, and came out
+fresh and early in the spring.
+
+"Then I'll let it alone till I come next summer. But don't you take any
+of the fern into the house in the cold weather? I should think it would
+grow in your sunny windows," said Emily, pleased by the fancy that it
+resembled herself.
+
+"I tried it, but it needs a damp place, and our cold nights kill it. No,
+it won't grow in our old house; but I cover it with leaves, and the
+little green sprouts come up as hearty as can be out here. The shade,
+the spring, the shelter of the rock, keep it alive, you see, so it's no
+use trying to move it."
+
+Both sat silent for a few minutes, as their hands moved briskly and they
+thought of their different lots. An inquisitive ray of sunshine peeped
+in at them, touching Becky's hair till it shone like red gold. The same
+ray dazzled Emily's eyes; she put up her hand to pull her hat-brim
+lower, and touched the little curls on her forehead. This recalled her
+pet grievance, and made her say impatiently, as she pushed the thick
+short locks under her net,--
+
+"My hair is _such_ a plague! I don't know what I am to do when I go into
+society by-and-by. This crop is so unbecoming, and I can't match my hair
+anywhere, it is such a peculiar shade of golden-auburn."
+
+"It's a pretty color, and I think the curls much nicer than a boughten
+switch," said Becky, quite unconscious that her own luxuriant locks were
+of the true Titian red, and would be much admired by artistic eyes.
+
+"I don't! I shall send to Paris to match it, and then wear a braid round
+my head as you do sometimes. I suppose it will cost a fortune, but I
+_won't_ have a strong-minded crop. A friend of mine got a lovely golden
+switch for fifty dollars."
+
+"My patience! do folks pay like that for false hair?" asked Becky,
+amazed.
+
+"Yes, indeed. White hair costs a hundred, I believe, if it is long. Why,
+you could get ever so much for yours if you ever wanted to sell it. I'll
+take part of it, for in a little while mine will be as dark, and I'd
+like to wear your hair, Becky."
+
+"Don't believe Mother would let me. She is very proud of our red heads.
+If I ever do cut it, you shall have some. I may be hard up and glad to
+sell it perhaps. My sakes! I smell the cake burning!" and off flew Becky
+to forget the chat in her work.
+
+Emily did not forget it, and hoped Becky would be tempted, for she
+really coveted one of the fine braids, but felt shy about asking the
+poor girl for even a part of her one beauty.
+
+So July and August passed pleasantly and profitably to both girls, and
+in September they were to part. No more was said about poetry; and Emily
+soon became so interested in the busy, practical life about her that her
+own high-flown dreams were quite forgotten, and she learned to enjoy the
+sweet prose of daily labor.
+
+One breezy afternoon as she and her mother sat resting from a stroll on
+the way-side bank among the golden-rod and asters, they saw Becky coming
+up the long hill with a basket on her arm. She walked slowly, as if lost
+in thought, yet never missed pushing aside with a decided gesture of her
+foot every stone that lay in her way. There were many in that rocky
+path, but Becky left it smoother as she climbed, and paused now and then
+to send some especially sharp or large one spinning into the grassy
+ditch beside the road.
+
+"Isn't she a curious girl, Mamma? so tired after her long walk to town,
+yet so anxious not to leave a stone in the way," said Emily, as they
+watched her slow approach.
+
+"A very interesting one to me, dear, because under that humble exterior
+lies a fine, strong character. It is like Becky to clear her way, even
+up a dusty hill where the first rain will wash out many more stones. Let
+us ask her why she does it. I've observed the habit before, and always
+meant to ask," replied Mrs. Spenser.
+
+"Here we are! Come and rest a minute, Becky, and tell us if you mend
+roads as well as ever so many other things," called Emily, beckoning
+with a smile, as the girl looked up and saw them.
+
+"Oh, it's a trick of mine; I caught it of Father when I was a little
+thing, and do it without knowing it half the time," said Becky, sinking
+down upon a mossy rock, as if rest were welcome.
+
+"Why did he do it?" asked Emily, who knew that her friend loved to talk
+of her father.
+
+"Well, it's a family failing I guess, for his father did the same, only
+_he_ began with his farm and let the roads alone. The land used to be
+pretty much all rocks up here, you know, and farmers had to clear the
+ground if they wanted crops. It was a hard fight, and took a sight of
+time and patience to grub out roots and blast rocks and pick up stones
+that seemed to grow faster than anything else. But they kept on, and now
+see!"
+
+As she spoke, Becky pointed proudly to the wide, smooth fields lying
+before them, newly shorn of grass or grain, waving with corn, or rich in
+garden crops ripening for winter stores. Here and there were rocky
+strips unreclaimed, as if to show what had been done; and massive stone
+walls surrounded pasture, field, and garden.
+
+"A good lesson in patience and perseverance, my dear, and does great
+honor to the men who made the wilderness blossom like the rose," said
+Mrs. Spenser.
+
+"Then you can't wonder that they loved it and we want to keep it. I
+guess it would break Mother's heart to sell this place, and we are all
+working as hard as ever we can to pay off the mortgage. Then we'll be
+just the happiest family in New Hampshire," said Becky, fondly surveying
+the old farm-house, the rocky hill, and the precious fields won from the
+forest.
+
+"You never need fear to lose it; we will see to that if you will let
+us," began Mrs. Spenser, who was both a rich and a generous woman.
+
+"Oh, thank you! but we won't need help I guess; and if we should, Mrs.
+Taylor made us promise to come to her," cried Becky. "She found us just
+in our hardest time, and wanted to fix things then; but we are proud in
+our way, and Mother said she'd rather work it off if she could. Then
+what did that dear lady do but talk to the folks round here, and show
+'em how a branch railroad down to Peeksville would increase the value of
+the land, and how good this valley would be for strawberries and
+asparagus and garden truck if we could only get it to market. Some of
+the rich men took up the plan, and we hope it will be done this fall. It
+will be the making of us, for our land is first-rate for small crops,
+and the children can help at that, and with a _deepot_ close by it would
+be such easy work. That's what I call helping folks to help themselves.
+Won't it be grand?"
+
+Becky looked so enthusiastic that Emily could not remain uninterested,
+though market-gardening did not sound very romantic.
+
+"I hope it will come, and next year we shall see you all hard at it.
+What a good woman Mrs. Taylor is!"
+
+"Ain't she? and the sad part of it is, she can't do and enjoy all she
+wants to, because her health is so poor. She was a country girl, you
+know, and went to work in the city as waiter in a boarding-house. A rich
+man fell in love with her and married her, and she took care of him for
+years, and he left her all his money. She was quite broken down, but she
+wanted to make his name loved and honored after his death, as he hadn't
+done any good while he lived; so she gives away heaps, and is never
+tired of helping poor folks and doing all sorts of grand things to make
+the world better. I call that splendid!"
+
+"So do I, yet it is only what you are doing in a small way, Becky," said
+Mrs. Spenser, as the girl paused out of breath. "Mrs. Taylor clears the
+stones out of people's paths, making their road easier to climb than
+hers has been, and leaving behind her fruitful fields for others to
+reap. This is a better work than making verses, for it is the real
+poetry of life, and brings to those who give themselves to it, no matter
+in what humble ways, something sweeter than fame and more enduring than
+fortune."
+
+"So it does! I see that now, and know why we love Father as we do, and
+want to keep what he worked so hard to give us. He used to say every
+stone cleared away was just so much help to the boys; and he used to
+tell me his plans as I trotted after him round the farm, helping all I
+could, being the oldest, and like him, he said."
+
+Becky paused with full eyes, for not even to these good friends could
+she ever tell the shifts and struggles in which she had bravely borne
+her part during the long hard years that had wrested the little
+homestead from the stony-hearted hills.
+
+The musical chime of a distant clock reminded her that supper time was
+near, and she sprang up as if much refreshed by this pleasant rest by
+the way-side. As she pulled out her handkerchief, a little roll of pale
+blue ribbon fell from her pocket, and Emily caught it up, exclaiming
+mischievously, "Are you going to make yourself fine next Sunday, when
+Moses Pennel calls, Becky?"
+
+[Illustration: "Just as they were parting for bed, in rushed one of the
+boys with the exciting news."--PAGE 45.]
+
+The girl laughed and blushed as she said, carefully folding up the
+ribbon,--
+
+"I'm going to do something with it that I like a sight better than that.
+Poor Moses won't come any more, I guess. I'm not going to leave Mother
+till the girls can take my place, and only then to teach, if I can get a
+good school somewhere near."
+
+"We shall see!" and Emily nodded wisely.
+
+"We shall!" and Becky nodded decidedly, as she trudged on up the steep
+hill beside Mrs. Spenser, while Emily walked slowly behind, poking
+every stone she saw into the grass, unmindful of the detriment to her
+delicate shoes, being absorbed in a new and charming idea of trying to
+follow Mrs. Taylor's example in a small way.
+
+A week later the last night came, and just as they were parting for bed,
+in rushed one of the boys with the exciting news that the railroad
+surveyors were in town, the folks talking about the grand enterprise,
+and the fortune of the place made forever.
+
+Great was the rejoicing in the old farm-house; the boys cheered,
+the little girls danced, the two mothers dropped a happy tear as
+they shook each other's hands, and Emily embraced Becky, tenderly
+exclaiming,--"There, you dear thing, is a great stone shoved out of
+_your_ way, and a clear road to fortune at last; for I shall tell all my
+friends to buy your butter and eggs, and fruit and pigs, and everything
+you send to market on that blessed railroad."
+
+"A keg of our best winter butter is going by stage express to-morrow
+anyway; and when our apples come, we shan't need a railroad to get 'em
+to you, my darling dear," answered Becky, holding the delicate girl in
+her arms with a look and gesture half sisterly, half motherly, wholly
+fond and grateful.
+
+When Emily got to her room, she found that butter and apples were not
+all the humble souvenirs offered in return for many comfortable gifts to
+the whole family.
+
+On the table, in a pretty birch-bark cover, lay several of Becky's best
+poems neatly copied, as Emily had expressed a wish to keep them; and
+round the rustic volume, like a ring of red gold, lay a great braid of
+Becky's hair, tied with the pale blue ribbon she had walked four miles
+to buy, that her present might look its best.
+
+Of course there were more embraces and kisses, and thanks and loving
+words, before Emily at last lulled herself to sleep planning a Christmas
+box, which should supply every wish and want of the entire family if she
+could find them out.
+
+Next morning they parted; but these were not mere summer friends, and
+they did not lose sight of one another, though their ways lay far apart.
+Emily had found a new luxury to bring more pleasure into life, a new
+medicine to strengthen soul and body; and in helping others, she helped
+herself wonderfully.
+
+Becky went steadily on her dutiful way, till the homestead was free, the
+lads able to work the farm alone, the girls old enough to fill her
+place, and the good mother willing to rest at last among her children.
+Then Becky gave herself to teaching,--a noble task, for which she was
+well fitted, and in which she found both profit and pleasure, as she led
+her flock along the paths from which she removed the stumbling-blocks
+for their feet, as well as for her own. She put her poetry into her
+life, and made of it "a grand sweet song" in which beauty and duty
+rhymed so well that the country girl became a more useful, beloved, and
+honored woman than if she had tried to sing for fame which never
+satisfies.
+
+So each symbolical plant stood in its own place, and lived its appointed
+life. The delicate fern grew in the conservatory among tea-roses and
+camellias, adding grace to every bouquet of which it formed a part,
+whether it faded in a ball-room, or was carefully cherished by some poor
+invalid's bed-side,--a frail thing, yet with tenacious roots and strong
+stem, nourished by memories of the rocky nook where it had learned its
+lesson so well. The mountain-laurel clung to the bleak hillside,
+careless of wintry wind and snow, as its sturdy branches spread year by
+year, with its evergreen leaves for Christmas cheer, its rosy flowers
+for spring-time, its fresh beauty free to all as it clothed the wild
+valley with a charm that made a little poem of the lovely spot where the
+pines whispered, woodbirds sang, and the hidden brook told the sweet
+message it brought from the mountain-top where it was born.
+
+[Illustration: Logo]
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Mountain-Laurel and Maidenhair, by 
+Louisa May Alcott
+
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