The Christmas Angel

The Christmas Angel

The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Christmas Angel, by Abbie
Farwell Brown This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost
and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it
away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License
included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net
Title: The Christmas Angel
Author: Abbie Farwell Brown
Release Date: April 25, 2005 [EBook #15709]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE
CHRISTMAS ANGEL ***

Produced by Suzanne Shell, Elaine Walker and the Online Distributed
Proofreading Team.

By Abbie Farwell Brown
* * * * *
THE CHRISTMAS ANGEL. Illustrated. Square 12mo, 60 cents, net.
Postage extra.

JOHN OF THE WOODS. Illustrated. Square 12mo, $1.25.
FRESH POSIES. Illustrated. Square 8vo, $1.50.
FRIENDS AND COUSINS. Illustrated. 12mo, $1.00.
BROTHERS AND SISTERS. Illustrated. 12mo, $1.00.
THE STAR JEWELS AND OTHER WONDERS. Illustrated. Square
12mo, $1.00.
THE FLOWER PRINCESS. Illustrated. Sq. 12mo, $1.00.
THE CURIOUS BOOK OF BIRDS. Illustrated. Square 12mo, $1.10,
net. Postpaid, $1.21.
A POCKETFUL OF POSIES. Illustrated. 12mo, $1.00, net. Postpaid,
$1.09.
IN THE DAYS OF GIANTS. Illustrated, 12mo, $1.10, net. Postpaid,
$1.21. School edition, 50 cents, net, postpaid.
THE BOOK OF SAINTS AND FRIENDLY BEASTS. Illustrated.
12mo, $1.25. School Edition, 50 cents, net, postpaid.
THE LONESOMEST DOLL. Illustrated. Sq. 12mo, 85 cents, net.
Postpaid, 95 cents.
HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY BOSTON AND NEW YORK

THE CHRISTMAS ANGEL
[Illustration: YOU HANG IT ON THE TREE, ANGELINA (page 26)]
THE CHRISTMAS ANGEL
BY

ABBIE FARWELL BROWN
WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY REGINALD BIRCH
BOSTON AND NEW YORK
HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY
The Riverside Press Cambridge
_Published October 1910_
SECOND IMPRESSION

CONTENTS
I. THE PLAY BOX 1
II. JACK-IN-THE-BOX 8
III. THE FLANTON DOG 12
IV. NOAH'S ARK 15
V. MIRANDA 20
VI. THE CHRISTMAS ANGEL 25
VII. BEFORE THE FIRE 32
VIII. JACK AGAIN 37
IX. THE DOG AGAIN 44
X. NOAH AGAIN 49
XI. MIRANDA AGAIN 53

XII. THE ANGEL AGAIN 62
XIII. THE CHRISTMAS CANDLE 68
XIV. TOM 73
XV. CHRISTMAS DAY 76

ILLUSTRATIONS
YOU HANG IT ON THE TREE, ANGELINA (page 26) Frontispiece
SHE LOOKED UP AND DOWN THE STREET 22
_PING!_ OUT SPRANG THE JACK-IN-THE-BOX 42
BOB COOPER SAVES THE BABY 46
HE GRASPED A RAILING TO STEADY HIMSELF 64
MARY RETURNS THE DOLL 78
From drawings by Reginald Birch

THE CHRISTMAS ANGEL
CHAPTER I
THE PLAY BOX
At the sound of footsteps along the hall Miss Terry looked up from the
letter which she was reading for the sixth time. "Of course I would not
see him," she said, pursing her lips into a hard line. "Certainly not!"
A bump on the library door, as from an opposing knee, did duty for a
knock.

"Bring the box in here, Norah," said Miss Terry, holding open the door
for her servant, who was gasping under the weight of a packing-case.
"Set it down on the rug by the fire-place. I am going to look it over and
burn up the rubbish this evening."
She glanced once more at the letter in her hand, then with a sniff tossed
it upon the fire.
"Yes'm," said Norah, as she set down the box with a thump. She
stooped once more to pick up something which had fallen out when the
cover was jarred open. It was a pink papier-mâché angel, such as are
often hung from the top of Christmas trees as a crowning symbol.
Norah stood holding it between thumb and finger, staring amazedly.
Who would think to find such a bit of frivolity in the house of Miss
Terry!
Her mistress looked up from the fire, where the bit of writing was
writhing painfully, and caught the expression of Norah's face.
"What have you there?" she asked, frowning, as she took the object into
her own hands. "The Christmas Angel!" she exclaimed under her breath.
"I had quite forgotten it." Then as if it burned her fingers she thrust the
little image back into the box and turned to Norah brusquely. "There,
that's all. You can go now, Norah," she said.
"Yes'm," answered the maid. She hesitated. "If you please'm, it's
Christmas Eve."
"Well, I believe so," snapped Miss Terry, who seemed to be in a
particularly bad humor this evening. "What do you want?"
Norah flushed; but she was hardened to her mistress's manner. "Only to
ask if I may go out for a little while to see the decorations and hear the
singing."
"Decorations? Singing? Fiddlestick!" retorted Miss Terry, poker in
hand. "What decorations? What singing?"

"Why, all the windows along the street are full of candles," answered
Norah; "rows of candles in every house, to light the Christ Child on his
way when he comes through the city to-night."
"Fiddlestick!"