Lewie | Page 9

for you, Agnes, because, you know, we
always keep our secrets till Christmas comes," they said.
"There comes papa from the mill," cried Effie, looking out of the
window; "let's run down and see him. How surprised he will be to find
mamma gone, and Agnes here!"
Mr. Wharton came in with his usual cheerful manner; and soon as he
was warming his feet by the fire, he had Agnes on one knee, and Harry
on the other, and the rest of the noisy little tribe round him, eagerly
telling the events of the day, and the pleasant anticipations for the
afternoon.
"Oh, papa," said Effie, "I've got something I want to say to you, if you
would only come in the other room a few minutes, or if the children
would only be kind enough to go out of this room a little while."
"Won't it keep, Effie, till I warm my feet?" asked her father; "because,
if it will not, I suppose I must go now."
"Oh no, papa, I will wait patiently," said Effie.
In a few minutes her father said, "Now, Effie, for that important
secret;" and they went together into another room.
"This is what I wanted to say, papa," said Effie: "you know poor Agnes
never has any money of her own; and I know, when she sees us all
giving presents to each other, she will feel badly, if she cannot give
something too; and I want to know if you won't give her a little money,
and let her go to the village with us the next time we go, and get some
materials to make something out of?"
Mr. Wharton answered by putting his hand in his pocket, and giving
Effie some silver for Agnes, with which she went off perfectly happy.
And now little Grace put in her curly head, and said, "Effie, when you
are through with papa, I've got something to say to him too."

The sum and substance of Grace's communication was this: "she had
seen something at a store in the village, with which she was sure her
mamma would be perfectly charmed, but she hadn't quite enough
money to purchase it; she only wanted ten cents more." And she too
went off with a smiling face.
Emily now came in jingling her keys and called them all to dinner.
As soon as possible after dinner, the boys laden with a basket of good
things, which Emily had provided for them, started off for the snow
palace, one of them carrying the dinner-horn, which was used in the
summer, to call the men to the farm-house to their meals. When the
entertainment was ready the horn was to sound. In the meantime, the
children were sitting around the fire, waiting impatiently for the signal,
to call them to the palace of snow.
"Cousin Emily," said Agnes, for she too said "Cousin Emily," though
there was no relationship, in fact, between them, "Cousin Emily, I wish
I knew what to read and study. I do want to know something, and I
don't know anything but my Bible, and my little book of hymns.
Mammy taught me to read, or I should'nt have known anything at all,"
she added sadly.
"Well, Agnes," that is the best knowledge you could possibly have, said
Emily, "though I am far from thinking other studies unimportant; but, if
I can help you in any way, I will gladly lend you books, and tell you
how to study."
"Oh! will you, cousin Emily?" said Agnes, her face brightening; "how
happy I shall be! aunty has taught Effie and Grace, and they have
studied Geography and History, and they can cipher, and I don't know
anything at all about those things; why, even little Harry knows more
than I do."
"But you can beat us all in Bible knowledge, I know, Agnes," said
Emily, "and, in a very little time, you will catch up to the other children,
for aunty has little leisure time to devote to them. But there! I hear the
horn! call Kitty, to bring the baby, and we'll all start."
And now all warmly wrapped in cloaks and hoods, the little party left
the side piazza, and walked down towards the pond. The path was well
broken, as the boys travelled it so often, on their way to the pond and
the snow palace, and the little party went briskly on. Emily and Agnes
headed the procession, then came Effie and Grace, dragging a box-sled

in which the baby was comfortably stowed, and Kitty, the nurse,
brought up the rear, leading little Harry. The two boys met them at
some distance from the snow palace, and told them they must go
through the labyrinth before they could reach the place of
entertainment.