YOURS WITH ALL MY HEART 



home to patriotic New England with them, 

 there was one day that was his Reign of 

 Terror, and that was Fourth-of-July day. 

 I used to sympathize so with him when 

 mamma told this story. 



Once they left Flossie with his New Eng- 

 land grandma, - - she was my own grandma 

 too, only this was long before my day, 

 and went away to spend the Fourth and 

 the night succeeding with friends, thinking 

 Flossie would be so much happier curled 

 safely in the quiet old homestead, away from 

 the young people and the snapping, shoot- 

 ing hubbub. 



But as the day wore on and the night ap- 

 proached, his sensitive nerves grew more 

 and more excited by the distant booms, 

 the nearer bang-bangs, pop-pops, and the 

 snakelike whiz and whir of the sky-rending 

 rockets in the town below. And grandma 

 had to let the little fellow go and sit in the 

 darkest, deepest corner of the parlor closet, 

 where he crouched, trembling and panting. 



Still, grandma felt quite safe about her 



little charge as she closed and locked all the 



outer doors, that he might not slip away into 



the night in his panic and terror, till bedtime 



60 



