Page:The Granite Monthly Volume 10.djvu/200

 190

��How Polly Came Home.

��Elizy she fell to cryiug, and Josiah he blustered and swore, But^he deacon had s;ot his back up, and he turned 'em all out of door. That uiglit savs Elisha to me, " I should like to see Polly at home. And I'd send" her an invitation if I only thought she would come."

I did n't say nothin' just then, but I writ to Polly next day. And one Saturday, just about sunset — 1 remember the month was May- She come in and laid her baby, as nat'ral as ever could be, And he a kickin' and crowin', right down on his grandfather's knee. The deacon sot still for a minnit, I expect he was kinder upsot, But the way he kissed Polly's baby was a sight I never forgot.

Then he cleared his throat with a he'em ! and says he, " It ain't any good A pretendin' that Betsy and I have done as purfessors should : We've been unrighteous and worldly, but Polly '11 forgive us, maybe." And Polly she hugged him and kissed him, as tender as ever you see ; And says he, — " There 's work on the farm for Jim and myself to do, So we '11 bury the hatchet deep, and begin our lives anew."

Ever since, we've made one family, and we have n't got a son That's begun to do as well by us as our Polly's Jim has done ! And the baby — little blessing ! — he 's as sweet as sweet can be. And who shall tend and spoil him most is on what we disagree. And the moral of my story is, — Old people^ do iit he led To give aivay anythivg you've got till after you are dead.

��TiCKNOu's Paper Series is a happy idea of the publishers, and will be very acceptable to all readers during the summer that is now so close upon us. It includes a number of the most famous and successful of the novels of the past five years, — books like Guenn., The Story of a Country Toivn, A Nameless Nnhlema)!, The Story of Margaret Kent, and otiiers of equal value and merit ; and with these come brilliant new works, like De Mont- auban's The Cruise of a Wornan- Hater. and the vivid and fascinating Venetian novel, The House of the M^lsician, by Virginia W. Townsend, whose Neptune's Vase won such great praise a few years ago. Such a group of novels as these titles indicate will be as refreshing as a sea-broeze in summer. They are handsome and shapely volumes, substantially bound

��in decorated heavy - paper covers. Tile series for 18S7 will include thir- teen volumes, appearing one each week during May, June, and July. The retail price is fifty cents each volume, a remarkably low price for sucii handsomely printed and made-up copvricjlit books.

The initial number of the series is the famous and widely a|)proved novel, " The Story of Margaret Kent." The wonderful success of this book is shown by the fact that within less than two years it has run through ten editions. It is not merely a love- story, but also a series of character stu(lies woi'thy of Thackeray or Balzac, thrilling with real life and deep feel- ing, and depicting with marvellous skill tlie trials of a young, beautiful, and bewitching woman.

�� �