Story of Ambition; or, The Wish to be Great
They went along the great gallery]
Twice every year Sir Charles and Lady Noble used to invite Mr. and Mrs.Fairchild and their children to spend a day with them at their house.Mr. and Mrs. Fairchild did not much like to go, because Sir Charles andhis lady were very proud, and their children were not brought up in thefear of God; yet, as the visit only happened twice a year, Mr.Fairchild thought it better to go than to have a quarrel with hisneighbour. Mrs. Fairchild always had two plain muslin frocks, withwhite mittens and neat black shoes, for Lucy and Emily to wear whenthey went to see Lady Noble. As Mr. Fairchild's house was as much astwo miles distance from Sir Charles Noble's, Sir Charles always used tosend his carriage for them, and to bring them back again at night.
One morning, just at breakfast-time, Mr. Fairchild came into theparlour, saying to Mrs. Fairchild:
"Here, my dear, is a note from Sir Charles Noble, inviting us to spendthe day to-morrow, and the children."
"Well, my dear," said Mrs. Fairchild, "as Sir Charles Noble has been sokind as to ask us, we must not offend him by refusing to go."
The next morning Mr. Fairchild desired his wife and children to beready at twelve o'clock, which was the time fixed for the coach to beat Mr. Fairchild's door. Accordingly, soon after eleven, Mrs. Fairchilddressed Lucy and Emily, and made them sit quietly down till thecarriage came. As Lucy and Emily sat in the corner of the room, Lucylooked at Emily, and said:
"Sister, how pretty you look!"
"And how nice you look, Lucy!" said Emily. "These frocks are verypretty, and make us look very well."
"My dear little girls," said Mrs. Fairchild, who overheard what theysaid to each other, "do not be conceited because you have got your bestfrocks on. You now think well of yourselves, because you fancy you arewell dressed; by-and-by, when you get to Lady Noble's, you will findMiss Augusta much finer dressed than yourselves; then you will be outof humour with yourselves for as little reason as you now are pleased."
At this moment Henry came in his Sunday coat to tell his mother thatSir Charles Noble's carriage was come. Mrs. Fairchild was quite ready;and Lucy and Emily were in such a hurry that Emily had nearly tumbleddownstairs over her sister, and Lucy was upon the point of slippingdown on the step of the hall-door; however, they all got into the coachwithout any accident, and the coachman drove away, and that so rapidlythat they soon came in sight of Sir Charles Noble's house.
As it is not likely that you ever saw Sir Charles Noble's house, I willgive you some account of it. It is a very large house, built of smoothwhite stone; it stands in a fine park, or green lawn, scattered overwith tall trees and shrubs; but there were no leaves on the trees atthe time I am speaking of, because it was winter.
When the carriage drove up to the hall-door, a smart footman came out,opened the carriage-door, and showed Mr. and Mrs. Fairchild through agreat many rooms into a grand parlour, where Lady Noble was sittingupon a sofa, by a large fire, with several other ladies, all of whomwere handsomely dressed. Now, as I told you before, Lady Noble was aproud woman; so she did not take much notice of Mrs. Fairchild when shecame in, although she ordered the servants to set a chair for her. MissAugusta Noble was seated on the sofa by her mamma, playing with a verybeautiful wax doll; and her two brothers, William and Edward, werestanding by her; but they never came forward to Mrs. Fairchild'schildren to say that they were glad to see them, or to show them anykind of civility. If children knew how disagreeable they makethemselves when they are rude and ill-behaved, surely they would neverbe so, but would strive to be civil and courteous to everyone.
Soon after Mrs. Fairchild was seated, a servant came to say that MissNoble's and Master William's and Master Edward's dinners were ready.
"Go, Augusta," said Lady Noble, "to your dinner, and take Master andMisses Fairchild with you; and, after you have dined, show them yourplaythings and your baby-house."
Miss Augusta got up, and, as she passed by Emily and Lucy, she said ina very haughty way, "Mamma says you must come with me."
So Emily and Lucy followed Miss Augusta, and the little boys came afterthem. She went up a pair of grand stairs, and along a very long galleryfull of pictures, till they came to a large room, where Miss Augusta'sgoverness was sitting at work, and the children's dinner set out ingreat order. In one corner of the room was the baby-house. Besides thebaby-house, there was a number of other toys--a large rocking-horse, acradle with a big wooden doll lying in it, and tops, and carts, andcoaches, and whips, and trumpets in abundance.
"Here are Mrs. Fairchild's children come to dine with me, ma'am," saidMiss Augusta, as she opened the door; "this is Lucy, and this is Emily,and that is Henry."
The governess did not take much notice of Mrs. Fairchild's children,but said, "Miss Augusta, I wish you would shut the door after you, forit is very cold."
I do not know whether Miss Augusta heard her governess, but she neveroffered to go back to shut the door.
The governess, whose name was Beaumont, then called to Master Edward,who was just coming in, to shut the door after him.
"You may shut it yourself, if you want it shut," answered the rude boy.
When Lucy heard this she immediately ran and shut the door, upon whichMiss Beaumont looked more civilly at her than she had done before, andthanked her for her attention.
Whilst Lucy was shutting the door, Miss Augusta began to stir the fire.
"Miss Augusta," said the lady, "has not your mamma often forbidden youto touch the fire? Some day you will set your frock on fire."
Miss Augusta did not heed what her governess said this time any morethan the last, but went on raking the fire; till at length MissBeaumont, fearing some mischief, forced the poker out of her hand. MissAugusta looked very much displeased, and was going to make a pertanswer, when her mother and the other ladies came into the room to seethe children dine. The young ones immediately seated themselves quietlyat the table to eat their dinner.
"Are my children well behaved?" said Lady Noble, speaking to thegoverness. "I thought I heard you finding fault with Augusta when Icame in."
"Oh, no, ma'am," said the governess; "Miss Augusta is a good younglady; I seldom have reason to find fault with her."
Lucy and Emily looked at Miss Beaumont, and wondered to hear her saythat Miss Augusta was good, but they were silent.
"I am happy to say," said Lady Noble, speaking to Mrs. Fairchild, "thatmine are promising children. Augusta has a good heart."
Just at that moment a servant came in, and set a plate of apples on thetable.
"Miss Beaumont," said Lady Noble, "take care that Augusta does not eatabove one apple; you know that she was unwell yesterday from eating toomany."
Miss Beaumont assured Lady Noble that she would attend to her wishes,and the ladies left the room. When they were gone the governess gavetwo apples to each of the children, excepting Augusta, to whom she gaveonly one. The rest of the apples she took out of the plate, and put inher work-bag for her own eating.
When everyone had done dinner and the table-cloth was taken away, LadyNoble's children got up and left the table, and Henry and Emily werefollowing, but Lucy whispered to them to say grace. Accordingly theystood still by the table, and, putting their hands together, they saidthe grace which they had been used to say after dinner at home.
"What are you doing?" said Augusta.
"We are saying grace," answered Lucy.
"Oh, I forgot," said Augusta; "your mamma is religious, and makes youdo all these things. How tiresome it must be! And where's the use ofit? It will be time enough to be religious, you know, when we get old,and expect to die."
"Oh, but," said little Henry, "perhaps we may never live to be old;many children die younger than we are."
Whilst Henry was speaking, William and Edward stood listening to himwith their mouths wide open, and when he had finished his speech theybroke out into a fit of laughter.
"When our parson dies, you shall be parson, Henry,
" said Edward; "butI'll never go to church when you preach."
"No, he shan't be parson--he shall be clerk," said William; "then hewill have all the graves to dig."
"I'll tell you what," said Henry: "your mamma was never worse out inher life than when she said hers were good children."
"Take that for your sauciness, you little beggar!" said Master William,giving Henry a blow on the side of the head; and he would have givenhim several more had not Lucy and Emily run in between.
"If you fight in this room, boys, I shall tell my mamma," said MissAugusta. "Come, go downstairs; we don't want you here. Go and feed yourdogs."
William and Edward accordingly went off, and left the little girls andHenry to play quietly. Lucy and Emily were very much pleased with thebaby-house and the dolls, and Henry got upon the rocking-horse; and sothey amused themselves for a while. At length Miss Beaumont, who hadbeen sitting at work, went to fetch a book from an adjoining room. Assoon as she was out of sight, Miss Augusta, going softly up to thetable, took two apples out of her work-bag.
"Oh, Miss Augusta, what are you doing?" said Emily.
"She is stealing," said Henry.
"Stealing!" said Miss Augusta, coming back into the corner of the roomwhere the baby-house was; "what a vulgar boy you are! What words youuse!"
"You don't like to be called a thief," said Henry, "though you are notashamed to steal, I see."
"Do, Miss Augusta, put the apples back," said Emily; "your mamma saidyou must have but one, you know, to-day, and you have had one already."
"Hush, hush!" said Miss Augusta; "here's my governess coming back.Don't say a word."
So saying, she slipped the apples into the bosom of her frock, and ranout of the room.
"Where are you going, Miss Augusta?" exclaimed Miss Beaumont.
"Mamma has sent for me," answered Augusta; "I shall be backimmediately."
When Miss Augusta had eaten the apples, she came back quietly, and satdown to play with Lucy and Emily as if nothing had happened. Soon afterthe governess looked into her work-bag, and found that two of theapples were gone.
"Miss Augusta," she said, "you have taken two apples: there are twogone."
"I have not touched them," said Miss Augusta.
"Some of you have," said Miss Beaumont, looking at the other children.
"I can't tell who has," said Miss Augusta; "but I know it was not me."
Lucy and Emily felt very angry, but they did not speak; but Henrywould have spoken if his sister Lucy had not put her hand on his mouth.
"I see," said Miss Beaumont, "that some of you have taken the apples,and I desire that you Miss Emily, and you Miss Lucy, and you MasterHenry, will come and sit down quietly by me, for I don't know whatmischief you may do next."
Now the governess did not really suppose that Mrs. Fairchild's childrenhad taken the apples; but she chose to scold them because she was notafraid of offending their parents, but she was very much afraid ofoffending Miss Augusta and her mamma. So she made Lucy and Emily andHenry sit quietly down by her side before the fire. It was now gettingdark, and a maid-servant came in with a candle, and, setting it uponthe table, said,
"Miss Augusta, it is time for you to be dressed to go down to tea withthe ladies."
"Well," said Miss Augusta, "bring me my clothes, and I will be dressedby the fireside."
The servant then went into the closet I before spoke of, and soonreturned with a beautiful muslin frock, wrought with flowers, arose-coloured sash and shoes, and a pearl necklace. Emily and Lucy hadnever seen such fine clothes before; and when they saw Miss Augustadressed in them they could not help looking at their own plain frocksand black shoes and feeling quite ashamed of them, though there was nomore reason to be ashamed of their clothes at that time than there wasof their being proud of them when they were first put on.
"_Emily and Lucy had never seen such fine clothesbefore._"--Page 52.]
When Miss Augusta was dressed, she said to the maid-servant,
"Take the candle and light me down to the hall." Then, turning to Emilyand Lucy, she added, "Will you come with me? I suppose you have notbrought any clean frocks to put on? Well, never mind; when we get intothe drawing-room you must keep behind your mamma's chair, and nobodywill take any notice of you."
So Miss Augusta walked first, with the maid-servant, and Henry, andLucy, and Emily followed. They went along the great gallery, and downthe stairs, and through several fine rooms, all lighted up with manylamps and candles, till they came to the door where Sir Charles andLady Noble, and Mr. and Mrs. Fairchild, and a great many ladies andgentlemen were sitting in a circle round a fire. Lucy and Emily andHenry went and stood behind their mother's chair, and nobody took anynotice of them; but Miss Augusta went in among the company, curtseyingto one, giving her hand to another, and nodding and smiling at another."What a charming girl Miss Augusta has grown!" said one of the ladies."Your daughter, Lady Noble, will be quite a beauty," said another."What an elegant frock Miss Augusta has on!" said a third lady. "Thatrose-coloured sash makes her sweet complexion more lovely than ever,"said one of the gentlemen; and so they went on flattering her till shegrew more conceited and full of herself than ever; and during all therest of the evening she took no more notice of Mrs. Fairchild'schildren than if they had not been in the room.
After the company had all drank tea, several tables were set out, andthe ladies and gentlemen began to make parties for playing at cards. AsMr. and Mrs. Fairchild never played at cards, they asked for the coach,and, when it was ready, wished Sir Charles and Lady Noble good-night,and came away.
"Well," said little Henry, "Sir Charles Noble's may be a very finehouse, and everything may be very fine in it, but I like my own littlehome and garden, and John, and the meadow, and the apple-trees, and theround hill, and the lane, better than all the fine things at SirCharles's."
Now all this while Emily and Lucy did not speak a word; and what do youthink was the reason? It was this: that the sight of Miss Augusta'sfine clothes and playthings, and beautiful rooms in which she lived,with the number of people she had to attend her, had made them both outof humour with their own humble way of living, and small house andplain clothes. Their hearts were full of the desire of being great,like Miss Augusta, and having things like her; but they did not dare totell their thoughts to their mother.
When they got home, Mrs. Fairchild gave a baked apple to each of thechildren, and some warm milk and water to drink; and after they hadprayed, she sent them to bed. When Emily and Lucy had got into bed, andBetty had taken away the candle, Lucy said,
"Oh, Emily! I wish our papa and mamma were like Sir Charles and LadyNoble. What a beautiful frock that was that Miss Augusta had on! and Idare say that she has a great many more like it. And that sash!--Inever saw so fine a colour."
_Emily._ "And then the ladies and gentlemen said she was so pretty, andeven her governess did not dare to find fault with her!"
_Lucy._ "But Betty finds fault with us, and John, too; and papa andmamma make us work so hard! and we have such coarse clothes! Even ourbest frocks are not so good as those Miss Augusta wears every morning."
In this manner they went on talking till Mrs. Fairchild came upstairsand into their room. As they had thick curtains round their bed, itbeing very cold weather, they did not see their mamma come into theroom, and so she heard a great deal of what they were talking aboutwithout their knowing it. She came up to the side of their bed, and satdown in a chair which stood near it, and putting the curtains aside alittle, she said, "My dear little girls, as I came into the room Iheard some part of what you were saying without intending it; and I amglad I heard it, because I can put you in a way of getting rid of thesefoolish thoughts and desires which you are speaking of to each other.Do not be ashamed, my dears; I am your own mamma, and love you dearly.Do you remember, Lucy, when Emily got that beautiful doll from LadyNoble, that you said you felt something in your heart which made youvery miserable?"
_Lucy._ "Yes, mamma, I remember it very we
ll; you told me it was envy.But I do not feel envy now; I do not wish to take Miss Augusta's thingsfrom her, or to hurt her; Emily and I only wish to be like her, and tohave the same things she has."
"What you now feel, my dears," said Mrs. Fairchild, "is not exactlyenvy, though it is very like it; it is what is called ambition.Ambition is the desire to be greater than we are. Ambition makes peopleunhappy and discontented with what they are and what they have."
"I do not exactly understand, mamma," said Emily, "what ambition makespeople do."
"Why, my dear," said Mrs. Fairchild, "suppose that Betty was ambitious,she would be discontented at being a servant, and would want to be ashigh as her mistress; and if I were ambitious, I should strive to beequal to Lady Noble; and Lady Noble would want to be as great as theduchess, who lives at that beautiful house which we passed by when wewent to see your grandmamma; the duchess, if she were ambitious, wouldwish to be like the Queen."
_Emily._ "But the Queen could be no higher, so she could not beambitious."
_Mrs. Fairchild._ "My dear, you are much mistaken. When you are oldenough to read history, you will find that when Kings and Queens areambitious, it does more harm even than when little people are so. WhenKings are ambitious, they desire to be greater than other Kings, andthen they fight with them, and cause many cruel wars and dreadfulmiseries. So, my dear children, you see that there is no end to themischief which ambition does; and whenever this desire to be greatcomes, it makes us unhappy, and in the end ruins us."
Then Mrs. Fairchild showed to her children how much God loves peoplewho are lowly and humble; and she knelt by the bedside and prayed thatGod would take all desire to be great out of her dear little girls'hearts.
"_Dressed._"--Page 52.]
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