Chapter XIX: A Virginia Christmas

"Randolph Place,
"December 26th.

"DARLING AUNT JESSIE:

"Christmas is over, and it really wasn't half as
bad as I thought it was going to be. But before I
begin writing about anything else, I must tell you
how happy I was to get all your dear home letters.
Uncle Henry was so kind about forwarding them as
soon as they reached New York, and I had them all
on Christmas Eve. Aunt Julia wrote me the box has
come, too, but she will have to keep that until I
get back the end of next week. How I shall adore
every single thing in it!

"I sent mother a few lines the morning I got here,
but that was before I had found out how beautiful
it all is. It is just like the Southern
plantations one reads about in stories, and
everything is very interesting. There is even a
dear old black mammy, who lives in a cabin, and
has asked Beverly and me to come and have waffles
some afternoon. All the servants are black, and
the butler has lived in the family nearly forty
years. Then the neighbors are just the kind one
reads of, so kind and hospitable, and always
having good times. I think I like Southerners
better than New Yorkers; they make me feel much
more at home. I have met a good many of them, for
we went to a Christmas dance at the Pattersons',
on Christmas Eve, and I had a perfectly gorgeous
time. The Pattersons are cousins of the
Randolphs', and Grace, the girl, is just my age,
and awfully nice; but then everybody here is nice,
and I am having the very best time that it is
possible for a girl to have.

"The riding is the greatest pleasure of all.
Beverly and I have been out for a ride every day,
and he enjoys it almost as much as I do. They have
given me the dearest little chestnut to ride, and
it is a great honor, because she belonged to
Beverly's sister, who was killed in the San
Francisco earthquake, and scarcely any one has
ridden her since. She is very gentle, and so
friendly that she will take sugar out of my
pocket. Beverly says his sister taught her to do
that.

"But if I go on chattering like this, I shall
never get to Christmas, which was the most
interesting of all. The Virginians seem to think a
great deal of Christmas, and nearly all the day
before we were busy dressing a tree for the little
negroes on the plantation. Mrs. Randolph had
brought presents from New York for all of them,
and for the fathers and mothers as well. Beverly
says she has done the same thing every Christmas
since her little girl died; it is a sort of
memorial, I suppose. We all hung up our stockings,
even Mrs. Randolph and the doctor, who is just as
nice and jolly as he can be, though Grace
Patterson says some people are afraid of him. It
was late when we got back from the Pattersons'
party on Christmas Eve, but after I was in bed I
heard Mrs. Randolph going about softly, filling
the stockings, which were all hung outside our
doors.

"I was so tired after the party, that I didn't
wake till after seven, and then the very first
thing I did was to run and look at my stocking. It
was stuffed full of good things; oranges, candy,
figs and dates, and just as I thought I had
reached the bottom, I felt something hard away
down in the toe. What do you think it was? You
will never guess, so I may as well tell you right
away; it was a little velvet box, and inside was
a ring, a beautiful gold ring, with two adorable
little pearls in it! That was Mrs. Randolph's
Christmas present, and the loveliest thing I have
ever had in my life. I was so happy when I saw it
that I cried; I know it was dreadfully silly, but
I couldn't help it. Oh, how I wish I could show it
to you this minute, but you will see it when I
come home next June, and all my other presents,
too, for the ring wasn't the only one. When I came
down to breakfast there were more parcels beside
my plate; two nice books from Beverly, and a gold
bracelet from the doctor. Just think of it, two
pieces of jewelry in one day! I am sure I didn't
deserve such beautiful things, but when I told
them so, and tried to thank them, they only
laughed.

"In the morning we went to church, and the
Christmas music was lovely. We met the Pattersons
at church, and they all came home with us to
dinner. Oh, such a dinner! I don't see how any one
could possibly ever eat so many things. There were
more dishes than I have ever imagined possible for
one meal, and every single one was delicious.

"After dinner came the tree for the children, and
that was the best fun of all. I quite lost my
heart to some of the piccaninnies, and one little
chap, as black as coal, was so adorable that I
wanted to hug him. The children all had a
beautiful time, and screamed with delight over
their presents. How I wished you and Mother could
have seen Mrs. Randolph going about among them,
speaking so pleasantly to every one, and making
them all feel at home. After the tree had been
stripped they all had ice cream, and I got hold of
my little black boy, and made him sit on my lap
while I fed him until I don't believe he could
have swallowed another mouthful. Then the old
butler, who is just like a negro servant in a
book, proposed three cheers for Mrs. Randolph, and
you should have heard those darkies yell!

"The Pattersons left as soon as the fun was over,
and we all went upstairs to our rooms to rest. But
I wasn't a bit tired, and was afraid that if I sat
down to think I might be homesick, so I thought I
would go for a walk. I was just starting when I
saw Mrs. Randolph come out from the greenhouse,
with her hat on, and her hands full of beautiful
roses, and I stopped to ask if she were going for
a walk, too, and if I might go with her. She
hesitated for a minute, and then said I might come
if I liked, but she was afraid I would find it
sad; she was going to the cemetery to put flowers
on her little girl's grave. She said it quite
calmly, but there was such a sad look in her eyes,
and I was horribly embarrassed, for I was afraid I
ought not to have suggested going with her. But
she assured me she would really like to have me,
if I didn't mind, so of course I went, and, oh,
Aunt Jessie, I am so glad I did. It was all
beautiful and sacred--almost too sacred to write
about, even to you and Mother. The cemetery was
such a lovely, peaceful place, and as it was quite
warm and pleasant, we sat down by Barbara
Randolph's grave, and her mother talked to me
about her. It was the first time she has ever told
me much about Barbara, and I was so interested in
all she said. I don't think I shall ever be afraid
of dying again; Mrs. Randolph spoke so beautifully
about it. She says she can never feel that her
little girl is far away, and she is quite sure
they will be together again some day. I think
Barbara must have been an awfully nice girl; every
one seems so fond of her. Grace Patterson was her
chum, and she can hardly speak of her without
crying. As for Beverly, he just can't bear to talk
about her at all, and I don't dare ask him a
single question. Grace says he was devoted to her,
and she adored him. I wish I could see a picture
of Barbara, but there are no photographs of her
about. Mrs. Randolph wears a little gold locket,
and I am sure there is a miniature of Barbara
inside, but I have never had the courage to ask
her to show it to me. I was just making up my mind
to do it yesterday, when we heard footsteps, and
there was Beverly himself, bringing more flowers.
He didn't know we were there, and looked horribly
embarrassed when he saw us. Boys always hate to
show their feelings, and I think he would have
gone away again without speaking to us, if his
mother hadn't called him. She was so pleased to
see him, and after the first minute I don't think
he really minded. I thought they might like to be
alone, so I slipped away as quietly as I could,
and on the way home I met the doctor, and he asked
me to go for a walk with him. I know you would
like Dr. Randolph; he is so clever, and has
traveled almost all over the world. He told me
such an interesting story about a Christmas he
once spent in Jerusalem. It is so pleasant that he
met Father at Harvard, and remembers all about
him. He says Father was a very handsome boy, and a
great favorite with the girls. Doesn't it seem
queer to think of Father's going to dances and
flirting with girls! He looks so much older than
Dr. Randolph, and yet I suppose they must be about
the same age.

"Mrs. Randolph and Beverly were quite cheerful
when they came home, and I noticed that Beverly
was very gentle with his mother all the evening.
He is always nice to her, and that is one of the
reasons why I like him so much. One of the things
that has surprised me most of all in New York, is
the way some of the girls and boys speak to their
fathers and mothers. I really don't know what
Mother would do to me if I were ever to answer her
back the way Elsie sometimes answers Aunt Julia,
but her mother doesn't seem to mind.

"We had a quiet evening at home, but it was
pleasant, for we were all a little tired. Mrs.
Randolph and the doctor played cribbage, and
Beverly sang; he has a lovely voice, but he won't
often sing. Altogether my Christmas was a very
happy one, and if I did 'weep a little weep' after
I was in bed, it was only natural, considering it
was my first Christmas away from you all. Oh, Aunt
Jessie, darling, I am having a beautiful visit,
but I never forget you, or Father or Mother, a
single minute! I love your letters better than
anything else, and I am just longing to get my
hands on that precious Christmas box. I hope you
will all like the presents I sent. Uncle Henry was
so kind; he gave me twenty-five dollars to spend
for Christmas presents. I never had so much money
in my life, but Aunt Julia helped me select the
presents, which was a great relief, for I should
never have known what to buy without her. Things
seem to cost so much more than one expects them
to.

"I felt sure you and Mother would want something I
had made myself, and I hope you will like the
color of the shawl; Mrs. Randolph thought it very
pretty. I chose the little daisy pin for Undine,
because I liked it so much myself. I am so glad
you have all grown so fond of her, and that she is
happy, and doesn't worry so much about not
remembering.

"Beverly is calling me to go for a ride, so I must
stop writing. Heaps of hugs and kisses for
everybody from

"Your own
"MARJORIE."