A Little Maid of Old Philadelphia

A Little Maid of Old
Philadelphia, by Alice

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Title: A Little Maid of Old Philadelphia
Author: Alice Turner Curtis

Release Date: August 21, 2007 [eBook #22370]
Language: English
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A LITTLE MAID OF OLD PHILADELPHIA
by
ALICE TURNER CURTIS
Author of
A LITTLE MAID OF PROVINCE TOWN A LITTLE MAID OF
MASSACHUSETTS COLONY A LITTLE MAID OF
NARRAGANSETT BAY A LITTLE MAID OF BUNKER HILL A
LITTLE MAID OF TICONDEROGA A LITTLE MAID OF OLD
CONNECTICUT A LITTLE MAID OF OLD MAINE
Illustrated by Edna Cooke

[Illustration: SHE LOOKED UP TO FIND LAFAYETTE SMILING
AT HER]

The Penn Publishing Company Philadelphia 1921 Copyright 1919 by
The Penn Publishing Company
A Little Maid of Old Philadelphia

Introduction
Ruth Pernell and Winifred Merrill lived in Philadelphia. The city had
been for some time in the hands of General Howe and the British army.

Ruth's father was with Washington at Valley Forge, and the little girls
were ardent supporters of the American cause, and admirers of the
gallant young Frenchman, the Marquis DE Lafayette.
Children in 1778 were much like those of to-day, and Ruth and her
friends, eager as they were for the war to end successfully, were fond of
dolls and pets, and games and little plays. Yet they kept their ears open,
and when Ruth overheard what two British soldiers said she knew how
to make good use of her knowledge.
In each of the other "Little Maid" books is the story of an American girl
during the Revolution. The other stories are: "A Little Maid of Province
Town," "A Little Maid of Massachusetts Colony." "A Little Maid of
Bunker Hill," "A Little Maid of Narragansett Bay," "A Little Maid of
Ticonderoga," "A Little Maid of Old Connecticut."

Contents
I. HERO IS LOST 9
II. GILBERT AND LAFAYETTE 19
III. RUTH VISITS GENERAL HOWE 28
IV. AUNT DEBORAH IS SURPRISED 37
V. RUTH DECIDES 43
VI. A DIFFICULT DAY 53
VII. GILBERT'S PLAY 62
VIII. BETTY RUNS AWAY 72
IX. BETTY'S ADVENTURE 84
X. THE LOST PROGRAMME 92

XI. A LONG ROAD 102
XII. A LONG RIDE 113
XIII. HOME AGAIN 123
XIV. THE CANDY DISAPPEARS 133
XV. A FAIRY STORY 142
XVI. BETTY AND ANNETTE 151
XVII. QUEEN BETTY 161
XVIII. A GREAT RESOLVE 171
XIX. THE VISIT 182
XX. LAFAYETTE'S VISIT 193
XXI. AT HOME 205

Illustrations PAGE
SHE LOOKED UP TO FIND LAFAYETTE SMILING AT HER
FRONTISPIECE
"'TIS A LADY COMING TO CALL" 33
IT WAS A FAVORITE PLAY-HOUSE 95
"THE FIRST OF MAY IS GARLAND DAY" 162
THE BIG HORSE TROTTED DOWN THE STREET 190

A Little Maid of Old Philadelphia

CHAPTER I
HERO IS LOST
"Where do you suppose Hero can be, Aunt Deborah? He isn't anywhere
about the house, or in the shed or the garden," and Ruth Pernell's voice
sounded as if she could hardly keep back the tears as she stood in the
doorway of the pleasant kitchen where Aunt Deborah was at work.
"Do you suppose the British have taken him?" she asked a little
fearfully; for it was the spring of 1778, when the British troops were in
Philadelphia, and Ruth was quite sure that every English soldier who
saw Hero must want him for his own. The dog was her dearest
possession. On her tenth birthday, nearly a year before, her father had
given her Hero for a birthday present; and now that her father was with
Washington's army his gift seemed even more precious to his little
daughter.
Aunt Deborah looked at Ruth for a moment before she answered, and
Ruth became conscious that her brown hair was rough and untidy from
running about the garden in the March wind, that her hands were not
clean, and that there was an ugly rent in her blue checked apron where
it had caught on a nail in the shed.
"Was it not yesterday that thee declared Hero was stolen, only to find
that he had followed Winifred Merrill home? And on Sunday, thee was
sure he had been killed, because he did not appear the first time