Janet; or, The Christmas Stockings — A Closer Reading

asked her, “How is it your father hasn’t got hold of ’em? He’d sell ’em for drink inside of a minute.”

“Oh, I only wears ’em on the street,” said Janet, “and I takes ’em off an’ hides ’em before I go home.”

The women begged her to tell them all about it, and settled themselves comfortably to hear the story.

The girl’s tale ran thus: one day a lot of children were dancing on the sidewalk to the tune of an old organ-grinder, and she began dancing with them. Roy then came by with his newspapers, and, putting them down on a step, seized her round the waist and whirled her off among the little children. He stopped suddenly, for a gentleman who was passing wanted a paper. The girl was overheated with her dancing, and began to fan herself with one of Roy’s papers; Roy said afterwards her eyes were as bright as stars.

The gentleman asked her name, and where she lived; and when she told him, he said, “Janet, if you will come to yonder church,” pointing to the steeple, “at seven o’clock on Christmas night, I will give you something to take home with you.” Then he paid Roy for the paper, and gave the change to Janet, saying with a smile, “This will buy some refreshments for the ball.”

“Thank you, sir,” she said. “I am very hungry. I have had nothing to eat since yesterday noon.”

At this the gentleman didn’t smile any more, but looked sad. “Why did you dance, then?” he said.

Roy spoke before she had a chance to answer: “Sir, Janet was hungry and cold, and that was the best way to get warm.” The gentleman walked away, and she could see him rub the back of his hand across his eyes. She asked Roy what his name was, and he said he didn’t know, but it was the Bishop.

She bought something to eat with the money, and divided it with Roy, and he ran off to sell his papers. The organ-grinder went on his way, and the children stopped dancing.

So on Christmas night, Janet went early to the big church, as the Bishop had told her to do. When she got inside the door, she stood still with wonder, for there was a great tree, as big as an out-door tree, all lighted with little candles from the floor to the top, and all over it were hanging sparkling toys. And when she came near to it, she saw the Bishop standing by it.

She did not think he would know her again, but he smiled and said, “Janet, I was expecting you.” And then he took a stick with a hook on the end of it, and, reaching over the heads of some fine ladies who were arranging things at the foot of the tree, he took the stockings down and put them in her hands. Then he put his white hands on her head, and said, “God bless you, my child! Remember, keep yourself pure and clean to your life’s end.” Each stocking had a silver dollar in the toe, and was filled with candy, and tied around the top with a blue ribbon to keep the candy in.

“See!” said Janet, as she told the story, “I tie the ribbon on each leg to keep me from getting out.” She lifted the ragged gown to show the ribbon garters. She said she skipped out of the great big church, hugging the stockings close to her and covering them with a bit of her shawl to hide her treasure from the people she passed.

“Don’t you know such a fine bishop’s name?” asked one of the women.

“No,” said the child, “but Roy said he was the good Bishop who stays down here with us, and don’t go away frolicking. And now I must go to see Roy. There he is calling his extras at the corner.”

“Well, I never!” said one of the women, as the child skipped away. “She seems to make friends, don’t she? She and that boy are awful fond of each other; and now there ’s this Bishop!”

“Well,” said the other, “Janet is a pretty girl, with her dark eyes, and her hair always braided in one long plait down her back—and even if she is in rags, her hair is always tidy.”