Academy of the Visitation - Crescent Yearbook (St Louis, MO)

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very lonely The blg st1ll house and the spreadlng elms that crowded the lawn seemed to brood protectmgly over the proud old figure The boy d1d not notlce hxm but crept quletly towards the rear of the house Suddenly there were sounds of commotxon at the back of the house The old man jumped to h1s feet The patter of quxck bare feet followed by the heavy slap slap of an 1rate mammle s broad feet sounded on the lawn The old man reached the last step of the veranda just ln time to catch a small strugglmg boy Mammy arrlved a moment later pantmg and angry I-Iol 1m Marse kase ef yuh don t yuh nevah km ketch 1m agm kase e run l1ke a greased pxg Yas suh e km an e s dun trxed fer to steal the ple whut I se dun cooked fer yo suppuh suh Trymg to steal was he? sald the old Major gruffly Look at me boy The boy ralsed h1s proud lxttle head and answered the Major s gaze w1th h1s deeply frmged v1olet eyes The Major started vnolently No he sand to hlmself nmpossxble But he looked more kmdly at the boy Speak chzldl Why dxd you try to steal? Why d1dn t you ask Aunt Becky fo1 some thmg lf you were hungry? The boy threw back h1s thln shoulders saymg m a volce of qulvermg prxde It wasn t for myself slr lt was for Molhe Troy The old Major and the waxtmg Aunt Becky both gasped Whom d1d you say you wanted It for? sa1d the old man Ins voxce tremblmg wxth suppressed excitement D1d you say for Molhe Troy' Hurry boy tell me What IS your name? Tell me who Moll1e Troy 159 Tell me at once Moll1e she s my s1ster Oh you aren t going to send us back are you? us back' Send you back? What do you mean back where? I want to know your name and how your s1ster happened to be named Molhe Troy My name IS but you promxse not to send us back? Go ahead boy I dont know what you mean but I wont send you back Not unt1l I find out a few thlngs anyway Well my names john Calvm Brewster and Molhe Troys my lxttle s1ster We ran away from the Home cause they were go1ng to make me go away cause I am gettlng too old to stay Mother made me promlse never to leave Molhe Troy so we just had to run away They wouldn t let me take her The boy s volce broke The recollect1on of h1s troubles and h1s wean ness had broken h1s proud Splflt The old man looked at the boy The startlmg resemblance of those great dark eyes to those of one he had loved the fact that th1S 11ttle beggar s s1ster bore hls own wxfe s name could It be p0ss1ble9 Who was your father boy tell me hls name and where he ISD My father s name was john Calvm Brewster and he was kxlled at the begmnlng of the war Mother dled just after that and they put us ln the Home cause we dldn t have any money The old man s eyes filled wlth tears The prxde of years that had sep arated hlm from hxs dearly loved son melted away as he stood looklng mto the eyes of the chxld whom he knew was hxs own grandson Chlld he sald brokenly do you know what my name ISD It IS john Lalvxn Brewster and go get your llttle s1ster Ill not hurt her Aunt Becky hurrled off with the boy and soon returned with the llttle glrl ln her arms her shmy black face wreatned with smlles and followed by a small but exclted process1on of lxttle darkles She put the llttle gxrl down on the steps near the Major The llttle thmg crled out sobbmgly for Bruvver He ran to her and stood beslde her hxs arm caressmgly la1d on 8 ' I , . . . , Y . , . H , ,. , . ,. . 1 1 7 . . . , , . . ' 9 Q 8 I! , . gg ' fl ' ' KC 9' , . . , . . . . . , . . . . . . ,, ., . . . , ' ll' ' U9 ' ll Y ' ' 7 . . . , A - - - as . . , . , . . . . I . U , . . . . ,, y 7 7 ' H . . ,, . . . . ' ! . . . ,, . . , , I . i . . A l! U .. , - , . ! ' 1 9 ' I'1l work hard for you. I'll do anythlng, but please, please, SIT, don't send !! Il . . , . . . ,, C6 ' T ' S! S4 9 5 1 ' Y ' ' 3, . , . ll 5 ' ' 1 ' 7 ! . , . . , Q , , . . . , ,, , . . . . . . . i . , - , . 7 . . , . . . , - . . so , ' ' vu S 9 ' if Y ' ' U s F s - 1. as , . . lt ' l, ' LG . ' ' ! 7 7 ' , . - . . , ,, , . . 3 ! n 11 . ' ' ' h ' 9

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Molly Troy am t you neah about rested hon? Cause I spect we better be gettmg along All rxght cheerfully agreed the chubby one and the httle hand shpped confidmgly mto the thm brown one They trudged down the long road care fully dodgmg mto bushes before any eyes that rmght by chance spy them out from a passmg veh1cle O hon don t move a speck' Thats one of the trustees comm The boy s heart was thumpmg excltedly as crouched behmd a fr1endly bush he watched the approachmg buck board As lt drew nearer he saw that the dr1ver really was one of the trustees of the Peabody Home That the man could be on th1s particular road for any other reason than to search for the l1ttle runaways dld not enter the boy s head So as soon as the tasseled tlp of the whlp had dxsappeared over the brow of the h1ll he clutched h1s httle slster s hand and they raced madly over a plowed field deep 1nto the woods untll the l1ttle gnrl exhausted dropped on the soft green moss under the spreadmg branches of a mxghty oak The boy aware that a storm was commg up made a desperate effort to carry her further but she was too heavy for hxm He sought out the thnckest branched tree and there they awalted the storm The first low murmur of the w1nd ln the trees grew louder and louder the great trees began to bend and creak before the onslaught of the storm tossmg and twlstmg thexr branches furlously The cxty bred chlld clung terrxfied to her brother who remembermg the storms he had seen m the country when he was her age trxed to soothe her He held her close to h1m trymg to shleld her from the ra1n whlch was begmnmg to fall Flrst came a few pattermg drops then suddenly lt swept ln sheets through the thlck branches drenchlng the shwermg chlldren Then suddenly as It had come the storm swept on and the sun blazed out agam The golden llght Hltermg through the branches fell m great splashes on the drenched earth and sparkl1ng on the wet leaves turned the woods mto a verltable farryland The blrds came out and filled the a1r w1th thelr happy volces but the beauty of the sxght and the sweet calls of the blrds brought no comfort to the mlserable chlldren shakmg wxth the cold They started out agam runnmg a httle to try and warm themselves th httle glrl sobbing stumblmg and afrald the boy dolng h1s best to cheer her Soon they came to the edge of the woods and afrald to venture mto the open fields sat down to rest Across the w1de meadow there were a few scattered buxldmgs a large barn a row of cabms and farther off through a cluster of trees ghmpses of a b1g whxte house The volces of the negroes callmg the cattle to the barn the songs of a party of home commg hands mmgled melodlously wlth tl'e dxstant barkmg of some dogs and the merry shouts of chlldren As the boy hstened to the Ho boss ho boss ho bossy bossy' of the negroes callmg the cattle a darmg plan was revolvmg 1n hxs mmd As soon as It was dark he and h1s httle sxster would go and sleep m the warm dry hay m the barn and later he would try to get some food for Moll1e Troy whose sad httle Bruvver I se hungry had touched h1s heart painfully From the kntchen the savory odors of a good supper ln preparatlon were wafted up to the loft where the chlldren were lymg 1n the hay An ldea came to the boy and leavmg h1s sleepmg srster he climbed out of the loft and stole furtxvely across the yard towards the house On the wxde veranda sat an old man gazmg dreamlly across the soft lawn Beslde the tall fluted plllars of the portlco he looked very small and 7 u ' 1 9 1 1 - - 11 ss ' 11 ' ' Q l Q , ' gg 1 3 ' 1 11 , . . , . . . . 1 1 . . , . 1 1 - 1 1 , . 1 1 1 1 ' 1 1 , . 1 1 1 1 1 . . . , 5 ' n l 9 V 7 9 7 l 1 1 , . 1 1 1 1 ' 7 ' A ' n 11 - Y Y l ! ' , . 1 D 1 as 1 19 - - 1 1 - 1 i 3 ' 1

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her shoulder The old man stared down at them At the lrttle grrl wlth hrs wrfe s face and name and at the boy wrth hrs own son s eyes and name the same name that he hrmself had borne so proudly for more than half a century See here s a plcture of my father and mothe sa1d the boy openmg a locket whrch Mollre wore around her neck on a stout strmg The Major looked down at the faces of hrs own son and hrs young wrfe john Calvm the boy strarghtened He had never been called by hrs whole name before and he loved nt Everyone called h1m Jack I am your grandfather The boy drew back Then slr I thunk we had better go You don t want us He started down the steps wrth Molhe I do want you I am a lonely old man and I do want my sons chlldren You drdn t want our mother sard the boy harshly When your father marr1ed your mother then an actress 1n a musrcal show I was carrred away by wrath that the Brewster name should be con nected w1th such a calling as the stage But years of lonelmess have changed me and I would be glad to welcome her and you rn my home today Won t you come? No I thmk we had better go Thrnk boy you are my own grandson You have no home you are hungry you cannot care for your slster I have plenty for us all and th1s great house Go? Of course you re not gomg He turned to the lxttle grrl who was slttmg on Mammy s lap eatmg away on a pxece of the stolen pre th1s brg house and have all the dollles you want and play on this great brg lawn all day long He stooped over the lrttle grrl and held out hrs arms Come he sald tenderly Moll1e stood up and looked gravely from the stiff proud figure ot Bruvver to the old man Her l1ttle woman s heart decided for her Wlth a llttle smlle to Bruvver she ran straight mto the old man s waltmg arms We ll stay wlv oo Gran pa she sald I love oo After some happy moments the old man went to the door and called Ephrarm brmg down Master jack s hrgh cha1r for my granddaughter and set three places at the table my son s chrldren have come home to me Ollvxa Hrldebrand College I EU GENEROSITY Grvel the streamlet murmurs Boundmg to the sea There are freshlets ln the moun tams To replenrsh me Take the blossom whxspers From my petals folds What mrser rose IS rrcher For the fragrance lt w1thholds9 Welcome to our concert' Brrds smg from each tree Our song but grows the sweeter For outpoured melody Shlne laughs the sunbeam In the sun there s store Of llfe and warmth and beauty For countless aeons more Learn my soul the lesson Taught thee every hour By streamlet and by sunbeam By Warbler and by Flower Happmess 1ncreases By that wh1ch lt rmparts Boundless IS the treasure Hrd rn generous hearts CCS a 1 . ' ' . 1 ! 1 rl y - .. vv ' ' ' 7 'S l It q ,y n I Q , . . . 6, , . . 1, l CC ' ' I . , , . ,, . . ll . ' ' 19 CC I ' 7 99 ' U ! ' H . . . 7 , - . . , , . Y! - cc , ' as , . L6 ' ! ! ' Y 3 ' S S ' li ' ' . . . , . . , . . . You want to stay with your old granddaddy, don't you? You can live in 7 ! ,, . . , SC 99 ' . . 7 3 ' 7 . , . . . . . n c , u . I Ci 3 ' 7 !, I 66 37 . 1 v - ' H . . , . . ' 9 1 7 ' ly , . - , u ' '9 K6 ' H . , , ' cs 1 3 ' IV ' YV 9 ! ., . Y U if 7 , . ' ' 99 . ,, . . . I ' 9 Y 9? I - 9 ..