ow what
she was giving.

"That's trade!" he said, when she remonstrated. "That's straight trade;
no samples, no buyers! You try this lemon taffy! I do regard it as
extry. These goods is all pure sugar, every mite; I know the man as made
'em, and helped some in the makin'. Some of the pineapple sticks? That's
a lovely candy to my mind. I helped make these only yesterday morning.
You try a morsel; here's a broken stick!"

"Why, I never had no such candy as this before!" cried Miss Fidely,
crunching the white and scarlet stick. "Why, 'tis as different from the
goods I've bought before as new-laid eggs is from store. I guess you'll
have a steady customer from now on, as many Christmases as I have to
live."

"That so?" said Calvin. "Well, I aim to give satisfaction, and so does
the man who makes for me. All pure sugar; no glucose, terry alby, nor
none of them things, destroyin' folks's stomachs. Nothin' else than
poison, some of the stuff you'll find in the market is; but good sugar
and good flavorin' is wholesome, I claim, taken moderate, you know, and
the system craves it, or so appears to do. Say we commence to fill the
bags now, what? And so you toll in the neighborin' children and give 'em
a Christmas Tree! Now that's a pleasant thing to do; I don't know as
ever I heard of a pleasanter."

Miss Fidely glowed again, and again she looked like Mary Sands. "I've
been doin' it for ten years now," she said, "and shall, I expect, as
long as the Lord thinks I'm best off here. You see, not havin' the use
of my limbs, I can't go much; and I do love children, and they've got
the habit of runnin' in here for a cooky or a story or like that. This
ain't a wealthy neighborhood; the soil's rather poor; folks has moved
away; I scarcely know how it is, but yet 'tis so. And, too, they haven't
had the habit of makin' of Christmas same as they do in most places.
Some ten year ago I spent a winter in the city. There was a man thought
he could cure me of my lameness, or made me think so; and though I was
old enough to know better, I give in, and went and let him try. Well, I
didn't get any help that way, but I got an amazin' deal other ways.
There was a Tree to the hospital where I was, and they carried me in to
see it; and I said that minute of time, 'There shan't any child round
our way go without a Tree after this, as long as I live!' I says. I
count it a great mercy that I've been able to keep that promise. I begin
Near Year's day to