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222
A New England Girlhood, Outlined from Memory (Beverly, MA)
·
Lucy Larcom
90
One
day
we
two
were
allowed
to
take
a
walk
together;
I,
as
the
older,
being
supposed
to
take
care
of
her.
Although
we
were
going
towards
the
Cove,
over
a
secluded
road,
she
insisted
upon
wearing
a
brand-new
pair
of
red
morocco
boots.
All
went
well
until
we
came
to
a
bog
by
the
roadside,
where
sweet-flag
and
cat-tails
grew.
Out
in
the
middle
of
the
bog,
where
no
venturesome
boy
had
ever
attempted
their
seizure,
there
were
many
tall,
fine-looking
brown
cat-tails
growing.
She
caught
sight
of
them,
and
before
I
saw
what
she
was
doing,
she
had
shot
from
my
side
like
an
arrow
from
the
bow,
and
was
far
out
on
the
black,
quaking
surface,
that
at
first
upheld
her
light
weight.
I
stood
petrified
with
horror.
I
knew
all
about
that
dangerous
place.
I
had
been
told
that
nobody
had
ever
found
out
how
deep
that
mud
was.
I
was
uttered
just
one
imploring
"Come
back!"
when
she
turned
to
me
with
a
shriek,
throwing
up
her
arms
towards
me.
She
was
sinking!
There
was
nobody
in
sight,
and
there
was
no
time
to
think.
I
ran,
or
rather
flew,
across
the
bog,
with
just
one
thought
in
my
mind,
"I
have
got
to
get
her
out!"
Some
angel
must
have
prevented
me
from
making
a
misstep,
and
sinking
with
her.
I
felt
the
power
of
a
giant
suddenly
taking
possession
of
my
small
frame.
Quicker
than
I
could
tell
of
it,
I
had
given
one
tremendous
pull
(she
had
already
sunk
above
her
boot-tops),
and
had
dragged
her
back
to
the
road.
It
is
a
marvel
to
me
now
how
I--a
child
of
scarcely
six
years--succeeded
in
rescuing
her.
It
did
not
seem
to
me
as
if
I
were
doing
it
myself,
but
as
if
some
unseen
Power
had
taken
possession
of
me
for
a
moment,
and
made
me
do
it.
And
I
suppose
that
when
we
act
from
a
sudden
impulse
to
help
another
out
of
trouble,
it
never
is
ourself
that
does
the
good
deed.
The
Highest
Strength
just
takes
us
and
uses
us.
I
certainly
felt
equal
to
going
straight
through
the
earth
to
China
after
my
little
sister,
if
she
had
stink
out
of
sight.
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