Complete Novels of Maria Edgeworth

by Maria Edgeworth

  ‘It is called a mould.’

  Lucy’s mother let the carpenter make a brickmaker’s mould for Harry; but the man could not begin until he knew what size it should be: how many inches long, how many inches thick it should be. Harry did not know what the carpenter meant: but Lucy, having always lived with her mother, who had been very kind to her, and who had taught her a great many things, knew what the carpenter meant: and, as she wished to have bricks of the size of those, with which her father’s house was built, she went and measured some of the bricks in the wall, and finding that a great number of them were of the same length, she said to her brother, that she supposed they were all alike. Harry told her, that, as the brickmakers used but one mould, whilst he saw them at work, he supposed that they made a great number of bricks of the same size, and that the wall would not look so regular as it did, if the bricks were of different sizes.

  Lucy therefore thought, if she could measure one brick, it would be sufficient. She easily found the length and the depth of a brick in the wall, but she did not at first know how to find the breadth, as the bricks lying upon each other, prevented her from seeing their breadth; but Harry showed her at the corner of the wall that the breadth of the bricks could be seen; she measured carefully, and found the length to be nine inches, the breadth four inches, and the depth two inches and a quarter. So the carpenter, when he knew the dimensions of the mould, made it, and Harry placed a flat stone upon two large stones, to serve for a table, and he and Lucy made several bricks: but they were a long time before they could make them tolerably smooth, as they stuck to the mould, unless the mould was wetted. They were very happy making their bricks, but they did not know how they should burn them, so as to make them hard, but they were determined to try.

  It was eight o’clock in the evening, before they had finished ten bricks, and they were called in, and their mother gave them some bread and milk for their supper, and sent them to bed.

  The next morning Harry and Lucy got up as they did before; and their father and mother gave them leave to go and look at the bricks they had made; and Harry felt that they were a little harder than they were the night before; and Lucy thought that burning them would make them softer; for she had seen butter, wax, pomatum, and sealing-wax, all made soft by heat, but she did not remember seeing anything made hard by heat. But Harry put her in mind of the crust of pies, which is soft and tough, like clay, before it is baked, and which grows hard and brittle by the heat of the oven: and he told her that the iron, of which the blacksmith made the horse’s shoe, when he blew the bellows, was hard and black, before it was put into the fire, but that it became red, when it was sufficiently heated, and so soft, that the smith could hammer it into what shape he pleased.

  Lucy believed what her brother said, but was resolved to beg, that her mother would take her to see red-hot iron, and a brick-kiln, which Harry told her was the name of the place in which bricks were burnt.

  Whilst they were eating the breakfast, which their mother gave them, Harry asked his sister, what she had been doing the day before, when he was out with his father; and Lucy told him all she had seen in the dairy, and when she was out walking. When they had done breakfast, his mother lent Harry one of Mrs. Barbauld’s little books for children, and let him read the story of the poor blind fiddler, with which Harry was very much pleased; and then she let Lucy read the following story.

  A man, riding near the town of Reading, saw a little chimney-sweeper lying in the dirt, who seemed to be in great pain, and he asked him, what was the matter; and the chimney-sweeper said, that he had fallen down, and broken his arm, and hurt his leg, so that he was not able to walk; and the man, who was very good-natured, got off his horse, and put the chimney-sweeper upon it, and walked beside the horse, and held the boy on till he came to Reading; and when he came to Reading, he put the boy under the care of an old woman, whom he knew there, and he paid a surgeon for setting his arm, and gave the woman money, for the trouble which she would have in taking care of the boy, and the expense which she would be at in feeding him, till he should be able to work again, to earn money for himself; and then the man continued his journey till he got to his own home, which was at a great distance. The boy soon got well, and earned his bread by sweeping chimneys at Reading.

  Several years after that time, this same good-natured man was riding through Reading, and his horse took fright upon a bridge, and jumped with the man upon his back into the water; the man could not swim, and the people who were on the bridge and saw him tumble in, were afraid to jump into the water, to pull him out: but, just as he was ready to sink, a chimney-sweeper, who was going by, saw him, and, without stopping a moment, threw himself into the river, and seizing hold of him, dragged him out of the water, and saved him from being drowned: and when the man was safe upon the bank, and was going to thank the man who pulled him out of the water, he recollected that it was the same chimney-sweeper, whom he had taken care of several years before, and who had hazarded his own life, to save that of his benefactor.

  When Lucy had done reading, her mother asked Harry which he liked best, the man who had taken care of the chimney-sweeper, whom he did not know, — or the chimneysweeper, who had saved the life of the man whom he knew, and who had taken care of him when his arm was broken.

  Harry said he liked the chimney-sweeper best, because he was grateful, and because he ventured his own life, to save that of the man who had been kind to him: but Lucy said, she liked the other man best, because he was humane, and took care of a poor little boy, who had nobody to take care of him, and from whom he could never expect to receive any benefit.

  This is the history of Harry and Lucy for two days. The next part will be the history of another day, when Harry and Lucy were a year older.

  [The words in the following Glossary are used in the several parts of Harry and Lucy, and little children will do well to learn their meaning carefully.]

  GLOSSARY OR, DICTIONARY OF WORDS.

  ADVERTISEMENT.

  The author does not pretend, that this glossary, contains full and accurate definitions, he is well aware of the difficulty of such an undertaking; and indeed is fully satisfied, that nothing is properly a definition, which does not contain a perfect enumeration of all the particulars, which relate to the subject in question. What he aims at, is to give a popular meaning of the words which he has selected, and at the same time, to point out the necessity of accuracy, and of referring to the original root, from which words are derived; but above all, to excite in children an appetite for knowledge.

  All objects of the senses, about which they inquire, should be submitted to the examination of children; their obvious qualities, names and parts, should thus be rendered familiar to them. This glossary should first be read to children, a little at a time; and it should be made a subject of conversation with them; afterwards they will read it with more pleasure. Young children do not read to gratify their curiosity; their chief pleasure from books arises, at first, from success, in having conquered the difficulty of reading.

  Abstain. To abstain, not to do a thing that one is inclined to do.

  Accept. To receive with pleasure.

  Agility. Activity; the being able to move quickly and with ease; to run, and jump, and dance well.

  Air-pump. A machine for trying experiments upon air. An air-pump will be described to little people in another place.

  Associate. To join, to connect. Things that happen at a time when we feel pleasure or pain are remembered together at another time. We remember the faces, and dress, and voice of those from whom we have received pleasure; and we remember what we saw or heard, at any place, that we liked much, or that we disliked; and we remember things merely because they happened on the same day, or on the same week. Some people remember things best by thinking of the places, and some by thinking of the time when things happened; others, by the pleasure or pain they felt at the time when things happened.

  Attention. To be attentive is to think of what we are
about.

  Attracted. To be attracted by anything is to be drawn towards it, as a piece of iron is drawn or moved towards a magnet, which is placed near it; or as a light piece of paper is made to fly towards a piece of sealing-wax, or a bit of amber, or a tube of glass, when they are rubbed by the hand, or certain other substances.

  My little boy, or girl, when you read this, ask the person who teaches you, to show you a magnet, or to let you try these experiments.

  Barometer. Little girls and boys may see barometers in many places, but they cannot understand them, without taking a great deal of pains.

  Behavior. The manner in which people act.

  Belong. What is a person’s own belongs to him.

  Blacksmith. A man who makes things of iron.

  Blow. To blow is to make air move, and when air moves it is called wind.

  Bottom. The lowest part of a thing.

  Breaches. Gaps or holes made in anything.

  Brittle. Easily broken.

  Button-mould. Some buttons are made of metal; others are made of cloth, or thread wound round pieces of wood, or horn, or bone, or ivory. These pieces are called moulds.

  Moulds are sometimes solid, and sometimes hollow. Silver spoons are formed with a hammer upon a solid iron mould. Ornaments of plaster of Paris, or alabaster, and of wax, and of clay, and other materials are cast or worked in hollow moulds. Metal and plaster statues are cast between a hollow and a solid mould. Do you understand that, my little pupil?

  Bubbles are thin hollow globes, filled with air. Bubbles, blown from a tobacco-pipe dipped in soap-suds, show beautiful colors, when the sun shines on them. Such bubbles could not be made with water only, but the addition of soap makes a clammy, or sticky liquor, that can be spread out by blowing air into it. The air in soap-bubbles swells by heat, and bursts its covering.

  Buzzed. To buzz; to make a noise like that which a fly makes with its wings.

  By degrees. Not all at once. The word degree properly means a step; by degrees, step after step.

  Care. To take care of a person is to hinder him from being hurt.

  Clasped. To clasp is to hold fast round anything.

  Clean. What is not dusty, sticky, stained, greasy, &c.; and what has not or does not look as if it had a disagreeable smell.

  Cobwebs. Nets made by spiders, to catch flies.

  Collected. To collect is to gather together.

  Conduct. People, by thinking whether they are going to do right or wrong, can judge and determine how they ought to act; their judgment conducts or leads them. Judging wisely, and acting accordingly, is good conduct, the contrary is bad conduct.

  Consented. Agreed to what was asked.

  Considerable. A quantity worth considering or attending to.

  Conversation. Answering what people ask; listening to what others say; hearing from others what they know, and telling them what we know.

  Compared. To compare is to consider or think of things; to find out in what they are like one another, and in what they are unlike.

  Correct. To correct is to alter for the better.

  Counted. Looked or felt to know how many there were.

  Cylinder. What is round like a pencil, or a rolling-stone, or a candle. A cylinder may be hollow, as that part of the socket of the candlestick into which the candle is put.

  Deal. A quantity; also the name of pine boards in England.

  Determined. To determine is to think of, and resolve to do a thing.

  Dimensions. The sizes of the different parts of any thing.

  Directly. Soon.

  Disappointment. When any thing which we expect does not happen, we feel disappointed. Several words in English begin with dis; this syllable dis sometimes means, different from; as in dis-appointment dis-inclination, dis-joint, dis-prove; and it sometimes means different ways, as dis-sever, dis-play.

  Distinctly. In a distinct manner. When things are separate from one another, we see them, and can consider them one by one.

  Diverted. Turned aside. To divert also means to amuse, because amusement turns aside our thoughts from applying too closely to any thing. Di, in divert, and several other words, has the same meaning as dis.

  Dry. What is not wet.

  Earned. To earn is to get any thing for working for other people.

  Employ. To employ oneself is to do something.

  Endeavor. To try to do a thing.

  Entertaining. To entertain is the same as to amuse; it is to give pleasure to the mind, by engaging the attention to something that is agreeable.

  Entirely. Entire is what is not broken or divided; what is whole: any thing is said to be done entirely, when every part of it is finished.

  My little pupils will observe, that to explain one word, it is necessary to make use of others, that are supposed to be understood by those, whom we are teaching. Sometimes the words which we use are not understood. You must then ask the meaning of them from your father or mother.

  Exactly. With great care.

  Examining. To examine is to consider attentively; to look at every side and every part of any thing; to consider the truth of facts, and to judge of reasons for or against any opinion.

  Explain. To explain is to make a person understand what he reads, or what is said, or what is shown to him.

  Experiment. A trial (see Johnson’s Dictionary.) The word trial sometimes means only a trial in a court of justice.

  Evaporate. To evaporate is to turn some fluid into steam. Steam, when it is very hot, is not visible.

  Fear. What we feel when we expect something will hurt us.

  Feeling. Nobody can be told what feeling is: every one knows their own feelings, but they cannot tell exactly what others feel.

  Fill. To put as much into a thing, as it can hold.

  Floating. To float means not to sink in a fluid.

  Fluid. Our little pupils must ask the persons who teach them, to show them different fluids, and to let them touch them. Things can sink or float in fluids; they do not sink perceptibly into solids, unless they are very sharp or heavy. Fluids fill hollow vessels of all shapes; and they can be poured from one vessel into another. Solid, besides meaning what is not fluid, means what is firm, or steady, or strong: we say a solid foundation, solid sense, solid timber; that which is not hollow.

  Forge. A place where smiths heat iron, and form it into different shapes.

  Form. Shape, figure.

  Former. The first of two things which have been mentioned.

  For instance. Here the writer of the book wants to explain one thing, by mentioning something else that is like it. For example has the same meaning as for instance.

  Full as much. Here the word Full means Quite — quite as much.

  Globes. There are two sorts of globes, terrestrial and celestial: terrestrial globes represent the shape of the earth, and the situation of different countries: celestial globes show the situation of the stars in the sky.

  Habit. When we have done any thing a great many times, it becomes easy to do it; there are some things which, from habit, become so easy to be done, that we do not seem to think of them when we are doing them. Some habits are good, and some bad; for instance, the habit of attending to what we are about, is good; tricks, on the contrary, are bad habits.

  Hacks. Brickmakers build their bricks, before they are burned, in long rows, and cover them with turf or straw, to protect them from the rain, and place them in such a situation, as will expose them to the wind and sun, till they are sufficiently dry for the Kiln. These rows of bricks are called Hacks.

  Happy. People know when they feel happy or unhappy. Happiness depends upon feelings, and feelings cannot be exactly described by words.

  High. What is at a distance from the ground. Things are said to be high, when compared with things that are lower than themselves, tho’ they are low, when compared with other things. A boy of five years old is high, or tall, when compared with a child of a year old: and the same boy is low when compared with a boy of fif
teen. A table is high when compared with a stool, but low when compared with a chest of drawers.

  Honest. A person is honest, who tells truth, and who does not take or keep what belongs to other people.

  Impression. When any thing hard is pressed upon something that is not elastic, or springy, but which is much softer than itself, it sinks into it, and leaves marks upon it, as a seal does upon bees-wax, or upon sealing-wax softened by heat. The marks thus made are called impressions, because they are impressed upon what receives them. Whatever makes us attend, leaves a remembrance in the mind, which is called an impression, because this remembrance is something like the effect made by one body upon another.

  Issued. To issue is to go out of.

  Joined. Put close together; made to stick together.

  Kept. What is not thrown away.

  Kiln. A kind of oven, or furnace, in which lime, and bricks, and potter’s ware are burned. There are several different kinds of kilns.

  Lamed. Made not able to move without pain or difficulty.

  Latter. The last of two things, as the former is the first of two things.

  Leave. To have leave is to be let to do any thing.

  Lever. A bar of wood or metal, used to lift heavy things. When little boys and girls grow older, the different forms and uses of levers will be explained to them.

  Market. A place where people meet, on particular days, to buy and sell; both the place and the day are called the market. People say, ‘To-morrow is the market,’ meaning the market-day; or, ‘This is the market,’ meaning the market-place. A Fair is a very large market, that is held on particular days in the year. This is applicable only to England.

  Measured. To measure is to find out the size of any thing.

  Mellow. Soft from being ripe.

  Melted. When any thing solid is made fluid by heat, it is said to be melted.

  Microscope. My little friends must grow older before they can understand a microscope, but they may perhaps be let to look at one, and see how large the parts of plants appear, when seen through the glass of a microscope.