MASTER HENRY'S 
 
 VISIT 
 
 AT MRS. GREEN'S. 
 
 AND 
 
 HIS RETURN. 
 
 TROY, N . Y. 
 MERRIAM & MOORE, 
 
MASTER HENRY'S VISIT. 
 
 E N R Y MILNER'S uncle 
 Mr. Dalben, had once told 
 tie boy about the different class- 
 
4 
 
 WASTER HENRY'S VISIT. 
 
 es of animals, reptiles and insects* 
 and Master Henry had been inter- 
 ested in trying to find a specimen of 
 each class ; and one morning imme- 
 diately after family prayers, just as 
 his uncle had sat down to breakfast, 
 and Mrs. Kitty sat in her room mak- 
 ing a doll for her niece who was on 
 a visit to her, Henry disappeared and 
 shortly afterwards returned, holding 
 a large earth-worm in the palm of 
 his hand, which elegant creature he 
 contrived to drop upon the table-cloth 
 as he was holding it forth triumph- 
 antly for Mr. Dalben's inspection, 
 exclaiming with eagerness, u There, 
 uncle ! there it is, the largest I could 
 find under the stone, and there are 
 many more, but I thought one would 
 be sufficient." 
 
 " Yes, my dear boy," said Mr. Dal- 
 ben, quietly, " quite sufficient ; and 
 now my little man, carry the gentle 
 
MASTER HENRY'S MSIT. 
 
 5 
 
 man back to his abode under this 
 wonderful stone, and do not disturb 
 any more of the family at present." 
 
 Henry obeyed, and presently re- 
 turning, Mr. Dalben, whose appetite 
 for his breakfast was not greatly im- 
 proved by the sight of little Henry 
 Milner's specimen of the sixth class 
 of animals, took this opportunity to 
 give his pupil some general ideas 
 upon the subject of the sixth class. 
 
 " The sixth class of animals," said 
 Mr. Dalben, " consists of worms, 
 leeches, slugs or snails, sea-anemones, 
 cuttle-fish, star-fish, shell-fish of all 
 sorts, and animal plants, such as cor- 
 als, sponges, and polypes ; besides 
 which we must add those little ani- 
 malcula which are found in vinegar 
 and corrupt water, in sour paste, and 
 other decaying bodies. 
 
 " All those creatures, with the ex- 
 ception of shell-fish, are for the most 
 
6 
 
 MASTER HENRY'S VISIT. 
 
 part," continued Mr. Dalben, " very 
 disgusting in their appearance ; and 
 some of them, such as corals, sponges, 
 and polypusses, have apparently little 
 more life or understanding than the 
 herbs of the field, though they are 
 known to be living animals ; some 
 of these talk root upon rocks near 
 the sea, and grow up into hard and 
 solid branches ; others are, however, 
 soft, and show that they are endowed 
 with life, because they shrink from 
 the touch. But though these crea- 
 tures may seem to us of little use, 
 we should never despise the meanest 
 thing that God has made." 
 
 Henry looked grave, and said, 
 " Uncle, 1 think I never shall despise 
 these creatures again, so much as I 
 have done." 
 
 By this time breakfast was finish- 
 ed, and Henry was called to his les- 
 sons. When the little boy was con- 
 
MASTER HENRY'S VISIT. 
 
 7 
 
 eluding his last task, Mrs. Kitty who 
 had finished the doll for her niece, 
 and gathered a basket of flowers for 
 her to carry home, came into the 
 
 study and asked her masters leave 
 to go in the afternoon to see her sis- 
 ter, who lived about a mile distant, 
 and to take Master Henry with her. 
 
 " You have my leave to go your- 
 self, Kitty," said Mr. Dalben ; " but 
 
MASTER HENRY'S VISIT 
 
 as to taking Henry, I am afraid that 
 he will do you no credit ; his spirits 
 will rise, he will begin to chatter, and 
 I fear that you will not check him as 
 you ought to do." 
 
 "Indeed I will, Sir," said Mrs. 
 Kitty ; " I always do speak to him 
 when he is rude." 
 
 " And I will be very good," said 
 Henry. 
 
 " And I will keep him out of all 
 mischief, Sir," said Kitty. 
 
 " And I will do every thing which 
 Mrs. Kitty bids me," rejoined Henry. 
 
 " And I am sure little master will 
 be good," added Mrs. Kitty. 
 
 " And so I suppose I must give 
 my permission," said Mr. Dalben; 
 M but I trust to you, Kitty, if he does 
 not behave well, that you will never 
 ask leave to take him out again/' 
 
 Thus the matter was settled ; and 
 as soon as dinner was over, Maste* r 
 
MASTER HENRY'S VISIT. 
 
 9 
 
 Henry took leave of his uncle, and 
 walked off with Mrs. Kitty over the 
 fields towards Malvern, it being on 
 that side of the country where Mrs. 
 Green, Kitty's sister, lived. 
 
 Their way lay, first through a long 
 field ; where they saw a cruel boy 
 climbing a tree to get a nest of young 
 birds, he having first killed their 
 
 mother ; after which they entered a 
 little grove, where Henry amused 
 
10 MASTER HENRY'S VISIT. 
 
 himself in looking for flowers ; at 
 length they came out into a hop-yard, 
 where the people were busy in dress- 
 ing the hops. 
 
 At the end of the hop-yard was 
 Mrs. Green's cottage, standing in a 
 garden surrounded by a thick hedge ; 
 the cottage was low and thatched, 
 and the garden was curiously arrang- 
 ed in beds of flowers, straight green 
 walks, and a variety of fruit trees 
 and vegetables. 
 
 MASTER HENRY AT MRS. 
 GREEN'S. 
 
 RS. GREEN, who expected 
 her sister, was dressed in her 
 best flowered gown and lawn apron ; 
 and her two daughters, were also 
 
MASTER HENRY AT MRS. GREEKS. 11 
 
 set forth in their best. At sight of 
 Henry and Mrs. Kitty, they came 
 out to the door, and received them 
 with a hearty welcome. 
 
 " And so, Master Milner," said 
 Mrs. Green, " this is very kind of you 
 to come so far to see us poor folks. 
 
 " Nay, sister," said Mrs. Kitty in 
 a whisper, " do not be making too 
 much of the child, he will grow 
 troublesome upon it, and master will 
 blame me." 
 
 It was in vain for Mrs. Kitty to 
 expostulate ; Mrs. Green and her 
 daughters continued to compliment 
 Master Henry, serving him with the 
 first and best at tea, till the young 
 gentleman by degrees, grew very 
 pert, and began to chatter at no small 
 rate, and with no great degree of 
 discretion. 
 
 After having talked at random for 
 some time, whilst the party were 
 
12 MASTER HENRY AT MRS. GREEN'S. 
 
 assembled round the tea-table, a large 
 frog appeared sprawling over the lit- 
 tle narrow walk, which ran from the 
 house door to the gate. 
 
 "Ah," said Kitty, "look at that 
 frightful creature : sister Green, I 
 wonder you don't clear your garden 
 of those frogs ; I would as soon meet 
 a thief in the dark as a frog." 
 
 Mrs. Green laughed, and said, " O, 
 they do no harm : why should you 
 be afraid of them ? " 
 
 Here Master Henry took upon him- 
 self to show off " Those creatures 
 do no harm, Mrs. Kitty," said the 
 young gentleman ; " they are of the 
 class amphibia; that is, of the third 
 class ; some of that class are indeed 
 very mischievous ; but frogs never 
 hurt any one." 
 
 " Amphibia," said Mrs. Kitty, 
 " what a word is that, Master Henry ! 
 how can. you use such words ? " 
 
MASTER HENRY AT MRS. GREEN'S. 13 
 
 "It is not English, Mrs. Kitty/ 1 
 said Henry, " you don't understand 
 it I know, hut I do ; it means the 
 creatures who live half on land and 
 half in water, as frogs and toads do." 
 
 Mrs. Green looked with admiration 
 at her sister, and said, " Dear me, but 
 to hear how he talks ! " 
 
 Mrs. Kitty was pleased, that Hen- 
 ry should be able to do himself so 
 much credit before Mrs. Green; how- 
 ever, she had prudence enough to 
 say, " You know sister, that he does 
 not find out these things of his own 
 head, but that it is master who teaches 
 him ; and then you know, it is no 
 wonder if he knows more than we 
 do." 
 
 " Oh ! but," said Mrs. Green, " it is 
 a wonder how such a young creature 
 should be able to keep all these things 
 in his head, and speak them so prop- 
 erly as he does." 
 
14 MASTER HENRY AT MRS. GREEKS. 
 
 By this time, the young gentleman 
 had become so conceited, that he 
 
 could not sit still; so, having eaten 
 and drank as much as he could con 
 
MASTER HENRY AT MRS. GREEN'S. 15 
 
 veniently swallow, he got up, stalked 
 about the room, and then went out a 
 short distance into the field, where 
 he found a man gathering apples ; he 
 was soon called back, and received 
 an injunction not to go beyond the 
 hedge. Then little master, being in 
 a manner let loose, knew not what 
 to be about next, in order to spend 
 his spirits. The first thing he did 
 was, to pursue Mrs. Green's ducks 
 round the house, calling out, "Quack, 
 quack, quack," as they waddled be- 
 fore him, until they made their escape 
 through the hedge into the next field : 
 he then espied a very old owl hid in 
 a very old tree ; this owl was a pet 
 of Miss Dolly, Mrs. Green's younger 
 daughter. 
 
 As soon as Master Henry observ- 
 ed this owl in the tree, he began to 
 call to him, making a low bow and 
 saying " Your servant, old gentle- 
 
16 MASTER HENRY AT MRS. GREEN'S. 
 
 man ; your wig is well powdered, and 
 your nose is exactly fit for a pair of 
 spectacles." The owl, however, being 
 well accustomed to the human voice 
 took no manner of notice of Henry ; 
 whereupon he began picking up sods 
 to throw at him, which was very cruel 
 sport, as he might have severely hurt 
 the poor creature by so doing : how- 
 ever, as he did not aim very exactly, 
 the sods did not reach the owl ; so, 
 being soon tired of this fruitless sport, 
 he looked round again for something 
 
MASTER HENRY AT MRS. GREEN'S. 17 
 
 to amuse him ; and seeing a ladder 
 ,set against the side of the house, he 
 climbed up it, and scrambling along 
 the sloping thatch, he reached the 
 very highest part of the roof astride 
 of which he set himself, and trying 
 to fancy that the house was an ele- 
 phant, he pretended to be urging it 
 forward, as if it were actually moving. 
 
 In this manner the evening passed 
 away, and Mrs. Kitty preparing to 
 go home, bethought herself of Henry, 
 and sent her nieces to call him. And 
 now, Master Henry, being mounted 
 at the top of the house, had the 
 pleasure of hearing himself called 
 for, and saw Miss Betty and Miss 
 Dolly running here and there in quest 
 of him ; neither of them thinking of 
 looking for him where he really was. 
 This pleased Master Henry mightily, 
 and he kicked his elephant, and rode 
 away famously in his own conceit. 
 
1 8 MASTER HENRY AT MRS. GREEN'S. 
 
 When Mrs. Green's daughters re- 
 turned to the house, they excited such 
 an alarm, that out came Mrs. Kitty 
 and Mrs. Green, calling Master Hen- 
 ry so loud, that they might be heard 
 a quarter of a mile distant. 
 
 In answer to which noise, Henry 
 joined crying, "O! O ! Henry Mil- 
 ner, where are you ? Where are you, 
 Sir ? Don't you hear the people call 
 you ? ' At the sound of his voice, the 
 women all looked up together, and 
 Mrs. Kitty exclaimed, " O Master 
 Milner ! you little rogue ! how you 
 have frightened us ; and how did you 
 get up there ? and how are you to 
 get down, you naughty boy ? I de- 
 clare you have frightened me almost 
 out of my life." 
 
 Master Henry, however, did not 
 find much trouble in getting down ; 
 and Mrs. Kitty, having brushed the 
 bits of dry thatch off from his coat, 
 
MASTER HENRY'S RETURN. 
 
 19 
 
 they set off towards home, Mrs. 
 Green and her daughters accompany- 
 ing tl^em part of the way. ■ 
 Mrs. Green proposed to Mrs. Kitty 1 
 that they should return by a differ-; 
 ent path from that by which they had! 
 come ; and accordingly, they turned 
 down a long narrow lane, where they 
 saw an old gentleman picking grapes, 
 with a boy and two little girls with 
 
 him ; at the end of the lane was a 
 little brook, which they were to cross 
 by a narrow wooden bridge. Master 
 Henry was as rude in the lane as 
 
20 MASTER HENRY'S RETURN, 
 
 you please, though Mrs. Kitty con- 
 tinued from time to time calling to 
 him to remember himself and to be- 
 have himself saying that she would 
 be sure to tell his uncle how rude he 
 had been. 
 
 There is, however, a kind of in- 
 efficient scolding, which is sure to do 
 more harm than good ; and this was 
 precisely the kind of scolding which 
 Mrs. Kitty practised on this occasion; 
 in consequence of which, the young 
 gentleman became so very rude, that 
 Mrs. Kitty at length grew angry, 
 and attempting to catch hold of the 
 naughty boy, he ran down the lane, 
 got upon the wooden bridge before 
 mentioned, and stood jumping upon 
 it with all his might : on seeing this, 
 Mrs. Green screamed, Mrs. Kitty 
 scolded, Miss Betty called, and Miss 
 Dolly ran forward with all speed; 
 nevertheless, all their efforts to pre- 
 
MASTER HENRY'S RETURN. 21 
 
 vent mischief proved vain ; the plank 
 broke in the very centre, and Master 
 Milner came tumbling into the brook, 
 bringing the bridge down with him 
 The water was not indeed very deep, 
 but there was enough of it to wet the 
 little boy to his knees as he stood up ; 
 but as he fell with the bridge, though 
 not otherwise hurt, he was covered 
 with mud and water up to his very 
 shoulders. 
 
 Mrs. Kitty was now thorougly vex- 
 ed and frightened ; however, she and 
 her nieces soon contrived to pull the 
 little boy out of the water, and pass- 
 ing over the brook as well as they 
 could, Mrs. Green and her party 
 made the best of their way back, 
 while Mrs. Kitty led Master Henry 
 home, earnestly trying to convince 
 him that he had made a sad return 
 for her kindness in taking him to 
 visit Mrs. Green. 
 
22 MASTER HENRY'S RETURN. 
 
 Mr. Dalben was walking in his 
 garden, when Mrs. Kitty appeared, 
 leading Master Henry. The whole 
 party were handsomely bedaubed 
 with mud, and Mrs. Kitty was look- 
 ing not a little disconcerted, neither 
 was Master Milner altogether in quite 
 such high spirits, as when explaining 
 his six classes to Mrs. Green and her 
 daughters. 
 
 "Why, Kitty," said Mr. Dalben, 
 
MASTER HENRY'S RETURN. 23 
 
 " what is the matter ? Where have 
 you all been ? Henry, my boy, what 
 can you possibly have been about ? 
 have you been improving your ac- 
 quaintance with the amphibia ? " 
 
 " O Sir ! " said Mrs. Kitty, " Mas- 
 ter Henry would not mind what I 
 said to him ; and he broke down the 
 bridge, Sir ; and he has been in the 
 brook." 
 
 "Well, well," said Mr. Dalben, "you 
 must not blame me ; I told you how 
 it would be : but make all possible 
 haste now ; get his clothes off, and 
 his bed warmed, and 1 will come in 
 a few minutes with a drink for him." 
 
 Mr. Dalben soon returned with a 
 bitter drink ; Henry did not refuse 
 to receive it, but swallowed it with- 
 out hesitation ; for he was concious 
 Jhat he had behaved ill and deserved 
 punishment. After he had taken it, 
 Mr ,T> , l b^n sat down by his bed- 
 
 331 (cftl b 
 
24 MASTER HENRY'S RETURN. 
 
 side, and entered into discourse with 
 him. 
 
 " Henry," said Mr. Dalben, " you 
 have behaved ill to-day ; I expected 
 it would be so. because, when you set 
 out, you were very conceited, very 
 full of yourself, and perfectly assured 
 that you should do well." 
 
 " Uncle," said Henry, " I will not 
 ask to go out without you, another 
 time. Indeed, uncle, I am always 
 most happy when I am with you, and 
 when I never leave your side. Dear 
 uncle, do not give me leave," con- 
 tinued the little boy, " to go out with- 
 out you again." So saying, he burst 
 into tears, and lifting himself up in 
 bed, he put his arms round Mr. Dal- 
 ben's neck, and sobbed aloud. 
 
 Mr. Dalben then left Henry, hav- 
 ing first offered a prayer by the side 
 of his bed, and the little boy soon 
 after fell asleep. 
 
 ^. Dalben, 
 
MERRIAM & MOORE, 
 
 sm®^ Ho 'So 
 
 MASTER HENRY'S ARRIVAL; THE 
 GREAT ALARM. 
 
 MASTER HENRY'S LESSON; THE 
 VISITORS; HAYMAKING. 
 
 mm 
 
 MASTER HENRY'S WALK; THE §' 
 STORY OF JENNY CRAWLEY. 
 
 MASTER HENRY'S VISIT AT MRS. 
 GREEN'S; HIS RETURN. 
 
 MASTER HENRY'S GREEN BAG; 
 ITS LOSS AND RECOVERY. 
 
 MASTER HENRY'S RABBIT; 
 -cwq THE BEES; THE FAITH- 
 FUL DOG.