When Mary visited the closet, her anger rose to a prodigious pitch; forSophy, in groping about for her box of dominos, had not only dirtied herfingers and hands, but had left the marks of them on Mary's new-washedcaps and handkerchiefs, which she had put aside on a plate, till shecould find time to iron them.
The whole story was repeated in the parlour, and the evening spent inmirth at the expense of the cowards.
FIDO.
Paulina going to spend the afternoon with her little cousins, arrived attheir door at the very instant that they were dragging out a poor littledog, once so great a favourite that it was fed with every kind ofnicety, and reposed, when it was inclined to sleep, on a beautiful silkcushion.
"What are you going to do with poor Fido?" inquired Paulina.
"Oh, the nasty thing!" replied her cousin Emily. "Pray look how ugly itis grown--I would not keep it in the house on any account--I am going togive it to those boys you see at the gate: I do not care what they dowith it: my brother Charles has given me a most beautiful littlecreature--come in, and I will shew it to you."
"Stop, stop, for pity's sake!" exclaimed Paulina, "Pray do not give poorFido to those boys, to be worried and tormented to death; let me havehim; I will carry him home to my hospital, and will take care of him aslong as he lives."
Fido had unfortunately strolled into the kitchen (where certainlyneither young ladies nor their dogs can have any business), when thecook was very busy in getting ready for dinner, and (I hope withoutintending such a piece of cruelty) she had thrown a quantity of boilingwater over the poor little creature's head and back, and scalded him inso terrible a manner, that no one thought he could have lived throughthe day.
Emily was so angry with the cook, and shed so many tears when she beheldthe agony of her favourite, that one would have thought she had the bestheart in the world, and that she had a very great regard for it; but assoon as it was recovered, and she saw it had lost one eye, and that allthe side of its head, and its whole back, was without hair, she couldnot bear the sight of it: it was turned out of the parlour, and kickedabout by every body, glad to pick up any bone it could meet with, andto sleep in a corner on straw, instead of the silk cushion it had beenaccustomed to; and, at length, had not Paulina arrived in time to saveit, would have been given to half a dozen unfeeling boys, who would soonhave destroyed it.
Paulina was very little pleased with her cousin Emily on this occasion,for her own disposition was very different: she was so humane, so kindto every body and every creature in distress, that she was beloved byall who knew her; she had quite a little hospital of sick and lameanimals and birds: a dog, which had had its leg broken by being caughtin a gin; a cat with one ear, the other having been bitten off by alarge mastiff; and a blind squirrel; she had a little goldfinch in acage, which had had its wings torn off by a cat, and as it could nolonger fly down from its perch to drink, and return when it liked, shehad contrived a little ladder, on which it could hop up and down withoutany difficulty; a blackbird, almost frozen to death, which she hadpicked up in the snow, but which never recovered the use of one of itslegs, sung very merrily, however, in its cage, for it was well fed andtaken care of; and one or two blind cocks, which she had bought fromboys who had been fighting them, and were going to throw at them, by wayof _finishing the fun_ (as they called it); and several lame hens,become so by some accident or other, lived comfortably in her littlepoultry-yard, for she took care to feed all her pensioners herself, andnever trusted the care of them to any other person.
Paulina had great pleasure in procuring every comfort she could for herpoor animals; and her papa and mamma, to encourage her kind and humanedisposition, increased her pocket-money, that she might be able topurchase barley for her poultry, and seed for her birds: her brothersalso, who were at school, often sent her presents for that purpose. Asshe grew up, her humanity was shewn to her fellow-creatures in distress,as much as it had been in her childhood to the dumb creation; and as Godhad given her the means of doing good, she freely indulged herself inacts of kindness, for which she received a thousand thanks and blessingswherever she appeared: she was beloved by all her neighbours, bothpoor and rich, every thing prospered with her, and she was happy andcontented, as she deserved to be.
THE REWARD OF BENEVOLENCE.
Mrs. Clifford being particularly satisfied with the attention her threechildren, Alfred, Robert, and Helen, had for some time past paid totheir lessons, and to the instruction of their masters, told them shewould treat them with a charming walk in the woods on the opposite sideof the river: and that, if they would carry some bread or biscuits withthem, she thought they should have no difficulty in finding a housewhere they might procure some milk, and instead of returning home todrink tea, she would spend the whole afternoon and evening in ramblingabout with them.
This was charming news for the young folks, who took care not to giveher the trouble of waiting for them, for they were all three ready atleast half an hour before the time she had appointed for theirdeparture, which they looked forward to with the utmost impatience; andthe moment Mrs. Clifford joined them in the hall, away they all went,with joyful hearts and cheerful faces, through the field, and down thelong lane, which led to the ferry.
"This is very pleasant, mamma," said Alfred; "I think I should never betired of walking in the fields and woods; yet I must own I do long forwinter, that we may purchase the magic lantern we are to have. I think,with the guinea grandpapa has given each of us, and what we had beforein our little purses, we shall be able to have a very large one."
"O dear!" exclaimed Helen, "how delightful it will be to be able to seeit as often as we please, and to show it to our friends; and, mamma, doyou know that Robert is to be the person who shews it, for he says hecan talk just like the man who came to our house last year."
"So I can," answered Robert; "and I wish it was bought, that you mighthear what a long story I shall tell you about the sun and the moon, andthe King of Prussia and his hussars, and the cat and the cook! I wouldrather have a magic lantern, than any thing in the whole world!"
Chatting in this manner, and amusing themselves by looking at differentobjects as they passed along, they found themselves at the ferry beforethey expected it; and the boat being just ready to put off, they steppedinto it, and seated themselves with several others, who were going overto the other side of the river.
Their attention was very soon drawn to a poor woman, who with an infanton her knee, and a little girl and boy by her side, whom she frequentlykissed and pressed to her bosom, wept as if her heart was breaking. Assoon as they were landed, Mrs. Clifford stopped the woman, kindlyinquired into the cause of her distress, and was immediately informedby her, that she had lately lost her husband, who, having been long inan ill state of health, and unable to work, had left her incumbered withseveral debts, which she had not the means of paying; and that thoughshe laboured very hard, and had discharged some of the small ones, ahard-hearted man, to whom she owed six guineas, declaring he would notwait a day longer, had that morning seized upon her furniture, and allher little property, determined, as he said, to have his money beforesix o'clock, or to turn her and her children out to sleep in the highroad, or where they thought fit.
She had been, she told Mrs. Clifford, to an uncle of her husband's, wholived at the market-town, begging him to take pity upon her and herinnocent children: "but, Madam," added she, "he was deaf to myentreaties, and turned me from his door, and I am now going home to seeall my things taken from me; and what will become of us this night, Godalone can tell!"
Mrs. Clifford was extremely affected by this melancholy tale, and walkedwith the poor unhappy woman to her cottage, where they really found twoill-looking men taking down the bed, and packing up the furniture. Thepoor creature began to wring her hands and cry bitterly, and thechildren, though they did not understand what the men were going to do,clung to their mother, and would not move from her side.
Alfred, Robert and Helen were, however, old enough to underst
andperfectly well the distress of the poor woman, and the misery andwretchedness to which she and her helpless children were exposed; and,fortunately for her, their tender and compassionate hearts immediatelyprompted them to endeavour to relieve her. The pleasure they hadpromised themselves in purchasing a magic lantern, and in being inpossession of such an amusement for the long evenings of the approachingwinter, appeared to them very trifling in comparison to the delight ofsnatching this poor family out of the hands of the unfeeling wretchesthey had to deal with; and leading their mamma into the little garden,earnestly entreated her to take the three guineas their grandpapa hadgiven them, as well as the contents of their little purses, and employthe whole to relieve the poor woman, and begged her in the most pressingmanner to make up the deficiency.
Mrs. Clifford pressed them tenderly to her heart, expressing thegreatest satisfaction at the resolution they had taken, and assuringthem she would make up the sum with the greatest pleasure, and that theproof they now gave of their feeling and humanity made them dearer toher than ever; adding, that she was certain four-and-twenty hours wouldnot pass before they would be rewarded for their goodness.
The men were immediately stopped, the debt discharged, and the furniturereplaced in proper order: the poor woman knew not how to express herjoy, and her gratitude; she scarcely knew what she was doing, but atlength recollecting herself, entreated Mrs. Clifford and her children tobe seated, and accept of such refreshment as she had to offer them. Herlittle table was soon covered with a cloth as white as snow; and freshmilk, eggs, butter, and a nice brown loaf were set before them, of whichthey partook with great satisfaction.
They did not quit this little family till a late hour, and could talk ofnothing on their way home but the pleasure they felt in the reflectionof having left them so happy; of how they had been delighted when theysaw the two hard-hearted men walk out of the cottage, and howdifferently the poor woman and her children would pass the night, towhat they might have expected. Alfred said, the good action they haddone that afternoon would be the pleasantest they could have to talk ofin the winter evenings; and Robert was of opinion that a visit now andthen to the cottage (which their mamma had promised them) would affordprettier stories for him to repeat, than any thing he could tell of theKing of Prussia or his hussars. As for Helen, she declared that herheart was so light, and she felt herself so happy and joyful, that shecould almost jump over the moon.
They retired to rest in this pleasant disposition, and told their mammathe next morning, that they had never been so happy in their lives; thatthey went to bed, thinking on the good they had done, and, afterthanking God, who had given them the means of doing it, they hadimmediately fallen into a sweet sleep; that the moment they awoke, theyhad found themselves in the same happy humour, pleased with themselves,and with every body they saw; and were very well convinced that themagic lantern could never have procured them one quarter of the pleasurewhich they now felt, and which would be renewed every time they visitedthe poor woman at the cottage, and whenever they recollected her story.
"I told you, my children," said Mrs. Clifford, "that four-and-twentyhours would not pass before you would be rewarded; and you must now, Iam certain, be well convinced, that the heart-felt pleasure arising fromthe reflection of such an act of kindness and benevolence to afellow-creature in distress, is the greatest and most solid reward thatcould possibly have been bestowed upon you, far superior to, and morelasting than any satisfaction you could have procured by laying out yourmoney in any other way."
JEMIMA.
Mrs. Franklin, a widow lady of very considerable fortune, inhabited anelegant house on Richmond Hill, kept a number of servants, and had themost splendid equipage in the whole neighbourhood. She had an onlydaughter, to whom she was fondly indulgent, and on whom she determinedto bestow the best education that could possibly be procured for her,let the expense be what it would.
Jemima was a very amiable child; and if she had been so fortunate as tohave been placed under the care of any one a little more disposed thanher mother was to combat her fancies and want of resolution, she wouldnot have had to regret the immense sums squandered upon her to no kindof purpose, nor to wish she could recal (as she often vainly did) thetime she had trifled away in doing nothing.
It must appear very extraordinary that this should have been the unhappyfate of a little girl, who wished so much to profit by the instructionprocured for her, and had the greatest desire to be an accomplishedwoman; but Jemima wished to be accomplished, without having the_trouble_ of making herself so, and possessed neither the _resolution_nor _perseverance_ so absolutely necessary to the attainment of theperfection she aimed at.
She began every thing with eagerness and alacrity; but the most triflingdifficulty which came in her way put a total stop to her progress, andshe immediately persuaded herself that it was not possible she evershould be able to surmount them.
She had from her infancy been extremely fond of drawing, and desiring tobe instructed in that agreeable art, one of the first masters wasprocured for her: she had in a very short time succeeded in copying,with tolerable correctness, the first things he gave her to do; and thegreatest hopes were entertained of her making a great proficiency inwhat she appeared to prefer to every other amusement. The master nowgave her some other drawings to copy, which required a little moreattention and study, and she began to find difficulties in her way,which she had not foreseen: she tried them twice--they were pretty well,but not perfect; a few faults still remained, which her master pointedout to her. Jemima concluded she _never_ should do them better; and ashe insisted that she could not proceed till she had made herselfmistress of the trifles he objected to, she determined to give up allthoughts of drawing figure, and apply herself entirely to landscape.
She was delighted with this new employment; her master had the sweetestdrawings of trees, cottages, and rivers, that had ever been seen! Sheshould never be tired of copying such pretty things, and she was sureshe should not meet with half the difficulties which were to be found indrawing figure.
She made outlines of several trees, and had she but been possessed ofperseverance enough to have perfected herself in that part, before sheattempted to go farther, all would have been easy and pleasant; butJemima knew nothing of perseverance or patience, and insisted on havinga finished landscape to do directly; and the master, to shew her howincapable she was of executing such a thing, indulged her in her fancy:but when he endeavoured to explain to her the nature of perspective,light and shadow, and several other rules necessary for her tounderstand, Jemima dropped the pencil from her fingers. She had notperfectly comprehended his meaning, and wanted resolution to questionhim, and endeavour to make it clearer, and once more concluded she nevershould be able to make any thing of it, and that it would be much moreprudent to turn to some other pursuit.
Accordingly the drawing-master was dismissed; and all the money hermamma had paid him for his attendance, for quantities of paper, pencils,chalk, and (which was of much more consequence, and which no sum couldrecal) the loss of her own precious time, were thrown away to nopurpose. But Jemima did not mean to stop here; she should do very wellwithout drawing, she said, and she would give all the time she hadintended to employ that way entirely to music, and had no doubt, butthat by the time she was sixteen she should be quite a proficient; wasvery sorry she had so long neglected her piano forte, and requested ofher master that he would bring her some better music than the simpleeasy lessons she had been playing, assuring him that she intended toapply very seriously. But, alas! she had no better success in this thanin her drawing; difficulties obtruded themselves whatever she turned to,and when she quitted the piano for the harp, and from the harp returnedto the piano, she found herself just in the same predicament.
The music was given up for the French and Italian languages, geography,and botany, all of which ended in the same way: nothing was to be learntwithout a sufficient stock of perseverance and resolution to surmountthe obstacles which lay in the way;
and as the _smallest_ was quiteenough to stop Jemima's progress, it is not to be wondered at (as shewas allowed to have her own way in every thing) that at the age ofsixteen, though what would have been a comfortable independence to many,had been spent upon her education, that she knew no one thing in theworld.
At twenty she had but too much cause to repent of her folly: her mother,by lawsuits, and other unforeseen events, lost the greater part of herfortune, and was obliged to retire into a remote part of the country;and in that lonely place what a comfort and amusement would she havefound in music or drawing, had she but endeavoured, when she had so goodan opportunity, to perfect herself in either! But she had nothing todo, no means of employing herself agreeably, but spent her time inloitering about from one window to another, tired of herself, and tiringevery body who saw her.
THE TRIFLER.
William was come home to spend the holidays; but he had scarcely time tospeak to his papa and mamma, before he ran out to visit his poultry, hisrabbits, and his little garden; and from thence to the village, to seehis nurse, and then to the cottage of old John, who had taught him howto catch birds, make little fishing-nets, and how to take care of histame rabbits.
He found the poor old man in the utmost grief and consternation; arecruiting party had come into the village, and had enticed his sonaway from him. He had enlisted: he was gone from his aged father, whohad no other comfort in the world: he depended upon him for his support,for he was a strong, healthy, hard-working young man; and John was grownold and infirm, and could no longer work to maintain himself.
A cup of sweets, that can never cloy: or, delightful tales for good children Page 6