tiny and johnny congratulated themselves, and each other, at least once a week, upon being the children of an editor.
you will think, perhaps, that they had literary tendencies, and hoped to grow up into co-editors? not in the least! they each wondered, as they groaned over “composition day,” how anybody could be found willing to spend the greater part of his time either in writing, or in reading what other people had written; they knew that at least a column of the “large print” in their father’s paper, was always written by himself, and they had often seen him plodding through pages of bad writing, which must be read and decided upon, so that, proud as they were of him for being able to do these things, and much as they admired him, i am afraid they pitied him even more.
“poor papa!” they would say to each other, when they saw him at his desk, with a mountain of manuscript before him; and sometimes, i must confess, mr. leslie echoed this sigh, for an editor’s life is not invariably “a happy one,” any more than a policeman’s is.
no, their pleasure in having an editor for their father was a very practical one; among the many books which were sent to him for review were numbers of nice story and picture books for children; among the “exchanges” which came to the office were delightful picture papers, selected, apparently, with a view to playroom walls and scrap-books. and last, but by no means least, there was the waste-paper basket! they had learned the signs and tokens, and whenever a very fat manuscript was being read, they would ask eagerly,—
“did she send any stamps, papa?”
they were so nearly sure that the fat manuscript would prove “not available for the purposes of, etc.,” that the whole thing hinged on the stamps—if she had sent them, why then, of course, she must have her “old manuscript” back, if she wished it; but if she had not, then, oh, then! there were all those sheets of paper, perfectly blank on one side, anyhow. and what with colored envelopes, and pamphlets printed on pink and blue paper, and envelope bands, and monograms, and occasional coats-of-arms, that waste paper basket, with skilful handling of its contents, had yielded many a handsome kite.
its contents had been given over to johnny, and those of the rag-bag to tiny, at the same time, but they preferred to make partnership affairs of both. as the rag-bag yielded sails for boats, and covers for balls, and “bobs” for kites, so did the waste-paper basket yield colored paper wherewith to dress paper dolls, and stiff cards which made excellent cardboard furniture, not to mention those pieces of blank-on-both-sides writing paper, which could be cut into small sheets and envelopes. and if a monogram is really handsome, why should not one person use it as well as another?
johnny was beginning to be famous for his kites, and as he was a warm-hearted and generous little boy, with a large number of friends, he frequently made a kite to give away. tiny was always ready to help him, and was particularly “handy” at making the devices of bright paper with which the kites were generally ornamented, and pasting them neatly on. when the kite was very large, she did even more than this, and johnny never gave one away, without explaining that tiny had shared in the making.
they had been saving all the best paper of every sort lately for the largest kite they had ever undertaken; it was so large that it was already named the monster, and it was stretched, half finished, upon the floor of the spare garret, where it would not be disturbed. it was designed for a birthday present to one of johnny’s very best friends, and everybody in the house was interested in it. it was to be pure white, with a pair of wings, and a bird’s head and tail, in brilliant red paper, pasted upon one side, and on the other, in large blue letters, the initials of the boy for whom it was intended.
but, with the perversity of things in general, or rather because it had been a very warm summer, and most of the poor authors had been taking holidays as much as they could, the waste-paper basket of late had not been worth the trouble of emptying.
so it was with no very great expectations that johnny went to it one saturday morning to see if by chance there should be a rejected manuscript of sufficient length to satisfy the monster. no, there was nothing there but a letter written on both sides of the paper, a few pamphlets, likewise without blank sides, and some envelopes and postal cards. johnny was turning away with a natural sigh, and the conviction that, if the monster was ever to be finished, he must make a small appropriation out of his christmas money, when behold! on the floor, just under the edge of the desk, and hidden by the basket, he spied a lovely manuscript; large sheets, firm, white, unruled paper, written upon only on one side.
he jumped for it with a joyful exclamation, but stopped as suddenly—had it been thrown down, and missed the basket, or had it fallen, and been neglected for the moment, because it was hidden by the desk and basket?
if mr. leslie had only been there, how quickly these questions could have been answered! but alas! he had left home that very morning, to be gone two days; and must a whole precious saturday be lost on account of what was, perhaps, after all, only a needless and foolish scruple?
then the two johnnys—you may have observed that there are two of you?—began an argument something like this:—
johnny no. 1. you’d better not take that thing till you’ve asked your father about it. it looks to me as if it had merely fallen from the table.
johnny no. 2. but papa won’t be back till monday morning, and i can’t wait. bob’s birthday is next wednesday, and the kite’s only half done now!
no. 1. that makes no difference. it is not the question. and you might at least ask your mother what she thinks, and let her decide.
no. 2. mamma never knows anything about papa’s papers; i’ve heard her say so a dozen times. and why should it have been on the floor if it was worth anything?
no. 1. you know quite well that your father never throws on the floor things which are meant for the basket, and that it looks much more as if it had fallen from the table. come, put it back, and either wait till monday, or go and buy the rest of the paper you need.
no. 2. papa’s a very careful man, and he wouldn’t have gone off for two days and left anything worth while on the floor. it was almost in the basket, and it’s all the same, and i mean to take it, so there!
the other johnny made no reply to this conclusive argument—in fact, he had no time, for the wrong johnny rushed out of the library, shouting:—
“tiny! oh, tiny! come at once! here’s enough to finish the monster, tail and all!”
tiny dropped some very important work for her best doll without a moment’s hesitation, and reached the garret almost as soon as johnny did.
“oh, that’s perfectly lovely!” she panted, “and it’s more than enough! but oh, johnny,” she added, in a changed tone, “if we should ever write poems and stories and things, after we’re grown up, do you believe that some dreadful editor will let his children make kites out of them?”
“i’m afraid he will, of mine,” said johnny, frankly, “for that’s about all they’d be good for, but you write much better compositions than i do, tiny, for all you’re so much younger than i am, so perhaps the editors will print yours. but it does seem a sort of shame, when you think of all the time it must take them to do it, and how flat they must feel when it turns out to have been for nothing. now this one”—looking at it critically—“is really beautifully written, and on such good paper. why, even the paper must cost them ever so much! i say, tiny, it’s just as if we had to put on five dollar gold pieces, or gold dollars, for bait when we go fishing, and then had them nibbled off without catching anything. i’ll tell that to papa—i think he might make a story, or a poem, or a fable, or something out of it—don’t you?”
“yes, it’s just the kind of thing they use for a fable,” said tiny, approvingly, and so, in steady work at the kite, enlivened by such intellectual conversations as this, the day flew by, and by evening the monster was finished, tail and all.
there had been more than enough of the strong white paper for everything, and tiny had carefully cut the “bobs” out of it, fringing each one at both ends. the colored paper for the enterprise had been on hand for some time, and mrs. leslie put the crowning glory on, by drawing a monogram to take the place of the separate initials of bob’s name, which were to have adorned one side of the kite. this monogram was cut by tiny’s deft fingers from pink and blue paper, and carefully pasted together in the middle of one side.
johnny had so entirely succeeded in silencing his scruples about the manuscript, that he would probably never have thought of it again, if it had not been rather forcibly recalled to his memory. it had not occurred to tiny to ask any questions about it; such streaks of luck had come to them before, and she had perfect faith in johnny. so when, at the dinner-table, on monday, mr. leslie said to his wife,—
“i’ve somehow mislaid a very bright article by mrs. —— which i meant to use in the next number. did you empty the waste basket, dear, or did the children?”
before his mother could answer, johnny, with a very red face, and a lump in his throat, had told the whole story.
mr. leslie looked exceedingly grave.
“i am very much annoyed by the loss of this manuscript,” he said, “for even should mrs. —— have a rough draft of it, she will be obliged to take the trouble of making a second copy, and should she not, it will be necessary for me to pay her for it, as if i had used it. but that is not the worst of it, johnny. if we deliberately stifle our consciences, after a while, we cease to hear from them. do you remember asking me what ‘quench not the spirit’ means?”
“yes, papa,” said johnny, in a choked voice.
“i think, then, that you remember what i told you, my boy, and i shall pray that you may not again forget it. and now, the next thing is, reparation, so far as you can make it. you must write to mrs. —— and tell her the whole story.”
“oh, papa! please! i’ll do anything else!” said johnny, piteously. “but won’t you please write for me, and let me sign it, or put that it’s all true, at the bottom?”
“no, my son,” said his father, firmly, “you must do this yourself, and i shall take it as a proof of real repentance, if you do it promptly, and without complaint.”
johnny said not another word, and that evening, when he bade his father good-night, he handed him a letter, saying meekly,—
“you’ll direct it for me, won’t you, papa?”
“certainly, i will, my dear boy,” said his father, throwing his arm around johnny’s shoulder, and drawing him near for another kiss.
“and you’ll read it, and see if it will answer? indeed, i did my very best!” said poor johnny.
“i don’t doubt it, dear boy,” said his father, warmly, “and i shall add a few lines to tell mrs. —— so.”
“oh, will you do that? thank you very much, dear papa!” said johnny, and he went to bed with a wonderfully lightened heart.
this was his letter:—
“dear mrs. —— perhaps you will think i have no right to call you that, when you hear what i have done. i took a story of yours, which i heard papa say was a very bright one, and used nearly all of it to finish a monster kite, which tiny and i were making. tiny is my sister, but she knew nothing about the way in which i took the story. it was this way. papa lets us have everything which he puts into the waste-paper basket, but people don’t seem to have written much lately, and we had not near enough. on saturday morning i went to look. there was nothing of any account in the basket, but your story had fallen on the floor, and i made myself believe that i thought it had been thrown at the basket, and missed it. papa was away and was not coming back till monday, and we were in a great hurry to finish the monster for bob lane’s birthday, so i just took it, and let tiny think i found it in the basket, which was as bad as a lie, though i didn’t say so. now, i am so sorry that i don’t know how to tell you, but that is not enough. if i could unpaste your story, i would, but we put on a great deal of paste—you have to, you know, or it don’t stick—and some of it is all cut into fringe, for the bobs. but what i mean to say is this: if you have any little boys, or little nephews, or know anybody you would like to give that kite to, i will send it right on. i have money enough, i am pretty sure, to pay for expressing it, and i know a way of fixing it so that it will not break. i sent one to my cousin. will you please let me know at once, if i may send it, and oblige,
“yours very sorrowfully and very respectfully,
“john leslie.”
it had taken johnny three good hours to write and copy that letter. his father made no alteration in it, merely adding a few courteous lines to express his own regret for what had happened, and to say that he believed his boy had repented his fault very sincerely, and had done his best with the enclosed letter.
mrs. —— was not a monster, if the kite was. she laughed till she cried, and then cried a little till she laughed again, over johnny’s letter. then she answered it, and this is what she said:—
“my dear john,—you have my hearty forgiveness. and i would like very much to have the kite for my son, who is nearly as old as i imagine you are, and has never yet made one. but you must allow me to pay the expressage; i can only accept it on that condition. i have a rough copy of the article which[49] helped to make the monster, and from this i will make a fair copy for your father to-day and to-morrow. please tell him so, with my kindest regards,—and that i hope it will circulate as widely as will the first one, and in as high circles! i should very much like to hear from you again; if you will write once in a while, so will i, and some day, i hope, you and my boy will meet and be friends. in the meantime, believe me sincerely and cordially your friend,
“mary ——.”
johnny proved the sincerity of his repentance still further by the perfect willingness with which he packed the monster for his journey. tiny helped him, having first, by working very carefully, soaked off the monograms, not much the worse for wear, and, as they were so fortunate as to have some gilt paper in stock, the rough spot was covered with a shining star.
an explanation was made to bob, who, not having expected a kite, or indeed any birthday present at all from tiny and johnny, was quite resigned to wait, with so brilliant a prospect ahead of him, until one or two more unfortunates had contributed a large enough supply of waste paper. if they had known how eagerly it was welcomed, it might have helped to console them a little, poor things!
the children built a third monster for themselves, after bob’s was finished, and on this they pasted, in large gilt letters, upon a blue ground, the motto they intended to use if they should ever have a coat-of-arms—“be sure you’re right, then go ahead.”
“only i suppose it will have to be in latin then,” said johnny, as he smoothed down the last letter of the last word, “and perhaps, by that time, i’ll know enough latin to do it myself!”
