were the
sermons the kind-hearted old minister had preached, which, although
delivered to the congregation at large, were expressly intended to move
Polly's heart, while she would sit calmly unconscious through them all,
wondering what old Aunt Cassy would say when she found her pet Tabby
gayly decorated with red, white, and blue paint in honor of the glorious
Fourth; or whether Granny Lukens would enjoy the flavor of Cayenne
pepper in her tea.

All the old ladies in the neighborhood stood in wholesome awe of her,
and Mrs. Jones's melancholy predictions for her future were called forth
by the remembrance of how, a week before, Polly had presented her with a
batch of doughnuts of her own making, which, when partaken of by some
friends invited to tea, were found to be filled with cotton; and that
was not the worst of it, for when Mrs. Jones attempted to pull the
cotton from her mouth, her teeth came with it, which unexpected letting
of the cat out of the bag, so to speak, was more than a nine days'
wonder in L----. It is hardly necessary to add that from that time forth
there was open warfare between Mrs. Jones and Polly.

It would be too great a task for me to tell you of all my heroine's
adventures. How, for instance, she frightened the servant-girl into
convulsions one night by suddenly appearing to her in a dark hall, after
having, with the aid of some sulphur matches, succeeded in making her
face bear a startling resemblance to a grinning, ghastly-looking skull;
and how she tied a bunch of fire-crackers to the tail of her father's
best mule, and set them off, in return for which doubtful favor that
agile animal bestowed upon her a kick that broke two ribs, and confined
her to her bed for many weeks, during which period the old ladies of
L---- were allowed to rest in peace.

These are but samples of the dozens of tricks with which Polly busied
her active brain, and by means of which she was enabled to keep those
around her in a continual state of uncertainty as to what unheard-of
thing she would attempt next.

But Polly, like Napoleon, was doomed to meet her Waterloo. Her last and
most disastrous exploit ended sadly both for herself and others. It
happened in this way. Polly went to the circus. From that time forth her
daring acrobatic feats supplied the gossips of L---- with plenty of
material for conversation. They would tell how Polly broke her horse's
leg by urging him to jump over a stone wall, and how she al