Others, too, sent
in hampers filled with Christmas dainties; among the rest, one from Mrs.
Hill, to whom I had very fully described my undertaking. Mrs. Blake
watched the heap slowly accumulating with a very preoccupied face; at
last she spoke her mind freely:
"It seems a pity to have all these things eat up, and get no good from
'em. Now, I'd like to charge a trifle, and let every one come that wants
to."
"What would be done with the money?"
"There's plenty of ways to spend it; but if I could have a say in the
matter I'd like to give it to them poor little creatures I had for dinner
Christmas. The mother's jest heart-broke. I believe you could count their
bones; leastways all of them that's next the skin. I railly thought I
could not get them filled; but I did at last, and then they was stupid
like, they'd been short of victuals so long."
"Are their clothes as poor as their bodies?"
"Yes, indeed; and it does seem hard this cold weather for little children
to have neither flesh nor flannels over the bones."
"I am perfectly willing to make a small charge, if you can let it be
known in time for the people to be prepared."
"Oh, Dan'el and Mr. Bowen 'll see to that. Put up a notice in the mill
and post-office; everybody 'll find it out."
So it was agreed that we should make the grown up folk pay something; but
I insisted the price must not exceed twenty-five cents.
I went home to luncheon on Friday, very tired, but also very enthusiastic
over our tree.
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