9 EDUCAIIOH LIBRt THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Education GIFT OF Louise Farrow Barr oc/:,^>v>>>>i^yyy>X'M'yOiri^viS«^»V^^ *«*f/To. s'F^tf^: Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2008 with funding from IVIicrosoft Corporation http://www.archive.org/details/cousinlucyatplayOOabborich J a c<- /y .A Holt' COUSIN LUCY AT STUDY. BY THE AUTHOR OF THE ROLLO BOOKS. -<>0>©<0-o- THE LUCY SERIES IS COMPOSED OF SIX VOLUMES, VIZ.: Lucy Among the Mountains. Lucy's Conversations. Lucy on the .Sea-.Shore. Lucy at Study. Lucy at Play. Stories told to Cousin Lucy. A NEW EDITION, REVISED BY THE AUTHOR. NEW YORK: THOMAS Y. CROWELL & CO., No. 13 AsTOR Place. Education GIFT ?jr^ A 1-^3. cs /foo PEEFACE. E'di^c, L 1 hrar"/ Two volumes of a series of little books, "^oiTesix)iiding, in their gen- eral style and characteristics, with the KoHo Books for boys, but designed more particularly for the other sex, have ..Ixoady been published, under the names of Cousin Lucy's Conversa- tions, and Cousin Lucy's Stories. This, and its companion. Cousin Lucy AT Play ai o now offered to the public in the hope ^hat the little readers, into whose hands they may fall, may be in- terested, and, in some degree at least, profited, by the perusal of them. 3^± 1 CONTENTS. Page. CHAPTER I. The New Slate 9 CHAPTER n. A Wagon Ride 23 CHAPTER HI. The Magazine ."..,. 37 CHAPTER TV Where is Royal? 48 CHAPTER V. Accounts 62 CHAPTER VI. Majiy Jay 72 CHAPTER VII. The Recess 85 8 CONTENTS. Page CHAPTER YIII. Mary Jay's Instructions 95 CHAPTER IX. Just Saved 108 CHAPTER X. Diver 119 CHAPTER XI. A CONVERSATIOIN 136 CHAi'TER XII. Interruption 140 CiiAPrER XIII. The J'hfoky of Ij^terruption 160 LUCY'S STUDIES. CHAPTER I. THE NEW SLATE. One day, when Lucy was about five years old. her mother came home from the citv. Lucv'a brother Royal had been to the city with his mother ; but Lucy had remained at home. R03'- al went to drive the chaise in which his mother rode. When Lucy's mother had got out of the chaise, Royal handed her some parcels, which were in the back part of the seat. There was one thin, flat parcel, which was partly behind the cushion. Royal held this up to Lucy, saving, — " Lucy ! Lucy ! — something for 3'ou." Luc}' took it, and ran into the house. She asked her mother if she might open it. '' Yes," said her mother, " but be careful." (C 10 Lucy's studjes. So Lucy ran to the sofa, and sat down to open ner parcel. Royal came up to her, and said, — " Let me open it for you, Lucy. / know how to open it. ' No," said Lucy, " I want to open *t myself.' Yc" can't open it," said Royal ; and, as he spoke, he iook hold of the parcel, and attempted gently to take it away from Lucy. " You can't open it. You can't untie the string ; it is in a hard knot. I saw the man tie il myself." " Royal ! Royal ! " said Lucy, in a tone of displeasure, " let my book alone." " It isn't a book," said Royal ; " and you can'? open it, to see what it is." Royal did wrong. He ought to have reflected that it would have given Lucy great pleasure to open the parcel, and he ought to have been will- ing that she should open it, and to have been contented with giving her such assistance as she needed. However, he knew that it would be wrong for him to take the parcel away by force, and so he let go of it, and sat by, to see Lucy open it. Lucy found that she could not untie the knot. Then she looked about to find her scissors, to cut it ; for she had a pair of scissors, wnich her moth- er had bouglit for her, some time before ; but. THE NEW SLATE. 11 then, as sh<» was accustomed to leave them any where about the house, wherever she had been tising them, they were continually getting lost ; and she could not find them now. Royal, instead of helping her, seemed rather inclined to tease und trouble her. While Lucy was thus walking about the room, sometimes looking for her scissors, and sometimes stopping to make one more attempt to untie the knot without them. Miss Anne came into the room. Miss Anne was a young lady about seventeen years of age. Miss Anne was always very kind to Lucy. '•' Miss Anne," said Lucy, " do you know where my scissors are ? " " No," said Miss Anne ; " can't you get your parcel open ? " " No," said Lucy ; " I can't untie the knot ; and I can't find my scissors to cut it." Miss Anne sat down in a little rocking-chair , and asked Lucy to come to her, and let her look at it. " See what a hard knot," said she. '^ I should have been willing to have untied it for her," said Royal, " but she would not let me." Miss Anne did not replj to this remark, for 12 Lucy's studies. she supposed that probably Royal had ofFertt pleasant to her. " Should you like to have me loosen the knot a little ? " she said to Lucy ; " and then perhaps you can untie it." "O yes," answered [icy; and she put the parcel into Miss Anne's hands. Miss Anne, who understood the convolutions of a knot better than Lucy, and who conse- quently knew just where to attempt to open it, soon got it loosened. Lucy watched her, afraid that she would open it too much. " There," said she, " Miss Anne, there, that will do. I can open it now." So Miss Anne put the parcel into her hands, and Lucy now succeeded in untying the knot. After taking off the string, she opened the paper, and there came out a handsome slate, of a beau- tiful purple color, and a red morocco frame. " O, what a pretty slate ! " said Lucy. Near one comer of the slate was a sort of socket, made by a duplicature of the morocco^ and Lucy observed a slate pencil sticking into it. She pulled it out, and said, — " O, here is a pencil ; I mean to mark on my Sl5>»"-" THE NEW SLATE. 13 ** I expect you are going to study arithmetic," laid Miss Anne. " 5f es," said Royal, " she is, and I am going to teach her." " No," said Lucy, " I would rather have Miss A.nne to teach me." " No, Lucy," replied Royal ; " mother said, if I would teach you to add little sums in arithme- tic, without any carrying, she would give us a paint-box." " Give who a paint-box ? " said Lucy. " Why, you and me," replied Royal. " Well," said Lucy, " then you may teach me." Accordingly Lucy went and sat down by Roy- al upon the sofa, to take her first lesson then, as they were both in haste to get the paint-box. Royal set Lucy a sum ; but, on looking at it after he had set it, he rubbed it out, and set another. This also he rubbed out. At length Lucy said, — " Why, Royal, what makes you rub them all out ? " " Because," said Royal, " there's carrying in them." " I don't know what you mean bv carrying," said Lucy. Royal attempted to explain it to her, but sne 14 tx^cy's studies. could not understand. He told hei that, when she added up a column, and the amount was in two figures, she must cany one of them. Bu Lucy could not understand at all. She did not know what he meant by a "column," or an •' amount," or by any thing being '* in two fig- ures." In the mean time. Miss Anne, who had seated herself at the window, with her sewing, went on quietly attending to her work, until at length the conversation between Royal and Lucy cam ^ to be almost a dispute ; and she said, — " Royal, I thought you were not going to teach Lucy carrying ; but only sums that had no canying in them." " So I was," said Royal ; " but then she asked me herself what carrying was, and so I had to tell her." " No," replied Miss Anne, " you need not have attempted to explain it to her fully. It would have been enough to have told her, that It was a difficult process in addition, which she would understand by and by." " Why, Miss Anne," replied Royal, " I think it is very easy^ " It may be easy to you, now you understand it, but difficult to her," replied Miss Anne. " Well," said Royal, " then I won't explp.lii THE NEW SLATE. 15 that to you now, Lucy. I'll teach you what car- ying is when we come to it." So he went to work, to set Lucy a sura, trying ID make the figures of so small a value, that there should be no carrj'ing in any column. But he did not succeed very well. He made the sums JO large that, although he made all the figures ones, twos, threes, and fjurs, yet, in some Oi the columns, the amount, on adding them, would come more than ten ; and of course there would oe something to carry. At last, however, he succeeded ; and then he began to teach Lucy how to add up. But the work was altogether too difficult for Lucy's powers. In the first place, she did not know the figures, and she could not remember which was two, and which was three. Lucy tried to follow him in his explanation and calcu ation, but she soon became hopelessly perplexed and discouraged. " Two and two," said Royal, " are how many ? " " Three," said Lucy. " No," said Royal ; " four ; and one are how many ? " " One is one,' said Lucy. " jNo," said Royal ; " one makes five." 16 Lucy's studies. " One makes five ? " repeated Lucy, in a tone of surprise. "Yes," said Royal, "one and four make five." " O, you did not say one and four," replied Lucy ; " you said one." "No," replied Royal, "one and four; you see we got four by adding two and two. Here they are." So saying, Royal pointed to the figures which he had been adding. Lucy did not know a two fi"om a three very well ; so she put her head down close to the slate, and said, in a gentle, timid voice, — " is that a two ? " " Yes," said Royal. " Let us see ; where were we ? We added up to three, didn't we ? and it made six, didn't it ? " " I don't know," said Lucy, shaking her head. " Yes, it was six ; and two more make how many ? " " Five ? " asked Lucy, timidly. " No mdeed," said Royal ; " why, Lucy, you don't know how to count." "Yes I do," said Lucy. "No you don't," said Royal; "you don't know how to count, I verily believe." tHE ^^EW SLATfi. It *' Yes I do," said Lucy. " Well, let's hear 3'ou count : come, begin." " One, two, three, four," said Lucy, and so far she went on ver}' well ; hut then she began to hesitate, — " four — five — nine — seven." Royal burst into a fit of laus:hter. " You don't know how to count, Luc}'," said he ; " and how do 3'ou think I can teach arithmetic to a girl that don't know how to count? " " Well, then, give me my slate," said Luc}^, " and I'll go awa}'." So she took her slate, and went awa}' out of the room, disappointed, dis- couraged, and sad. As soon as she had gone, Royal's feelings be- gan to change from those of ridicule to a senti- ment of pit3\ He sat upon the sofa silently musing, when Miss Anne terminated the pause by saying, — " I was surprised at such ignorance." "So was I," said Roval. "I should have thought an}' bod}' would have known that." '• I should have thought so, certainl}'," said Miss Anne. " An}' body five years old," added Royal. "Yes," said Miss Anne, " and yet you are ten." " I? " said Royal ; " yes, I am ten, but Lucy is only five.'* IS Lucy's studiIjs. " Yes," replied Miss Anne, " but I was nol speaking of Lucy ; I was speaking of you." " 1 thought," rejoined Royal, " that you were speaking of the ignorance Lucy showed, in not knowing how to count." " O no," said Miss Anne, " [ was speaking ol the ignorance you showed." " My ignorance," said Royal, surprised. " 1 un sure I added it riirht." " I think it very likely you added it right," said Miss Anne ; " it was your ignorance of human nature, 1 was speaking of, not your ignorance of aruhmetic." " Of human nature ? " repeated Royal. " Yes ; to think that you could teach Lucy arithmetic in that way." " Why, I thought that that was the way," said Royal. "No," said Miss Anne, "you began at the end, instead of at the beginning." " How ? " said Royal. " Why, you undertook to teach her to add cer- tain sums, and you took such sums, as difficult as !t was possible to make, and got out of humor with her because she could not do them at once." " O Miss Anne, they were not as difficult as could be made." THE NEW SLATE. 19 *' Yes," replied Miss Anne, " they were, I pre- sume, as difficult sums as you could make, with- out having any carrying. In fact, the fii'st at- tempts which you made to set sums, you got the figures so many, and of so high value, that you couldn't add them without carrying ; so you re- duced them by little and little, until you just got the figures barely small enough to make the amount less than ten ; and thus you made the sums as difficult as they could be made, without carrying ; and this you gave her for her first lesson. The thing which you were to come to in the end, you took as the beginning. " Then, besides this, I think you were unrea- sonable in being dissatisfied with her. When your mother promised you a paint-box, if you would teach her to add such sums, was it reason- able to expect that she could know how to do it already ? " " Why — no," said Royal, hesitatingly. " And yet you did expect it. You were em ployed to go over a process with her, which would end in her knowing how to do a certain thing ; and then you were vexed and out of humor with her, for not knowing how to do the thing at the outset, before you had gone ovei triP process at all." IC Lucy's studies. " Why, I wasn't ou ; of humor, Miss Anne/ said Royal. " 1 thought you were," replied Miss Anne , " al any rate, you spoke unkindly to her, and wounded her feelings." Here there was a pause. Royal was really sorry for what he had done. He saw very clearly the unreasonableness and folly of it. But he did not know exactly what to do. " Well, Miss Anne," said he at length, "how should you have managed it ? " " I," replied Miss Anne, " should have begun at the beginning, instead of at the end." " And how would you have begun at the be- ginning ? " " Why, 1 saould have first ascertained exactly where Lucy was, in her knowledge of figures, and then I should have gone to her there, and led her along by plain and easy steps to where I wanted her to go. You must know that teaching is a kind of ladder-making." " Ladder-making ? " repeated Royal. "Yes," replied Miss Anne; "that is, it con- sists in preparing a succession of steps for the pupil to mount by, and the success of it depends upon beginning upon the ground, or wherever the pupil is, and then having the steps so near lo- THE iVEW SLATE. 21 gether, that she can ascend from one to the otVier, and so get up. Now, you did not even stop to hiquire where Lucy was in her knowledge, much less to make any ladder for her; but you remained upon the top of the house, and tried to drag her up by main force." Royal laughed at Miss Anne's singular met- aphor. " Now, 1 should have thought," continued Miss Ann^, " that the first thing would have been, lo teach Lucy the figures, at least as many of theia as vou are corner to use in the sums. This alone will take several lessons. Then I should set hei some very small sums, with only ones in them, and let her add those. Then 1 should set some more sums, and put in a two here and there, and let her practise a day or two upon those. Then 1 should put one or two threes into her sums, and have the rest ones. After that I should put threes and twos both in ; and thus, after a time, she would get so as to add such sums as you set hsr just now." " All that would take a great while," said Royal. " Yes,'' replied Miss Anne ; " teaching is slow work ; but then it would not take so lon2 as it would to make a paint-box." 22 LUCY'b STUDIES. n " No," replied Royal, " It would not.' " I suppose you expected that you could sit down and earn your paint-box in half an hour, and by one single lesson." " Why not exactly in one lesson," said Royal. " In one or two then," said Miss Anne ; '• where- as you ought to calculate that it will take twenty." Royal said no more upon the subject at this time ; but he detemiined to try the plan whici: Miss Anne had recommended. 23 CHAPTER 11 A WAGON RIDE The next diy, after Royal had finished hia own studies, he wanted Lucy to come and learn arithnietic. But Lucy did not like to come. She wanted to play just then, and, besides, al- though she did not recall to mind, very distinctly, the manner in which Royal had attempted to .each her the evening before, yet the occurrence left an unpleasant impression upon her mind, and she was not disposed to put herself under his in- structions again. " But, then," said Royal, " you can't have a paint-box." " Well," said Lucy, " I don't care much." After a little pause, while Royal was thinking what other inducement he could offer, he said, — - " Well, Lucy, if you will study a lesson in arith- metic, I will give you a good ride." He meant that he would give her a ride in a little wagon, which was bought for Lucy when she was too young to walk, and which bad been 24 Lucy s riTDiEs. kept with so much care that It was still a very good wagon. Royal used sometimes to Jraw Lucy in this wagon, and she liked to ride n very much. " Well," said Lucy, " how Icir will you give me a ride ? " " O, I will give you a good long ride," said Royal. '•' I will draw you away over to Rollo's." Lucy's cousin RoUo, who was at this time a very small boy, lived at not a great distance, and Royal and Lucy sometimes went over to play with him. So they made the agreement, that Royal was to di'aw Lucy over to Rollo's and Lucy was to learn a lesson in arithmetic. But then there unmediately arose a difficulty in de- termining which should take place first, the lide or the lesson. Royal wanted to have the lesson then, and the ride some other time; but Lucy wanted to make sure of the ride, and so postpone the lesson. " Why, the rule is, Lucy," said Royal, " al- ways to pay when the work is done. I'll pay you for the lesson when you have studied it." " No," said Lucy, " the ride is the work. I'll pay you for the ride when I have had it.'* Royal thought that the lesson ought to be con- sidered tl^ work, and the ride the pay ; but ne A WAGON RIDE 25 couldn't think of any good reason to offer for this opinion, and he therefore, after some hesitation, came to Lucy's terms. They brought out Lucy's wagon, and, after obtaining permission ol their mother, lie helped Lucy into it, and tlien, he acting the part of horse, and Lucy that of driver, they went over to their cousin Rollo's. They went into a yard where there was a gravel walk, which led them around behind the house. Here they found RoUo sitting upon a bench near the door, trying to read in a picture- book. He had not learned to read much yet. The door was open, and there were a couple of bars across the door-way, pretty low down ; and behind them was a little child, not old enough to walk, who was kept from falling out into the yard by the bars. This was Rollo's little brother Nathan. By the time that Royal had arrived at Rollo's house, he had become quite interested in drawing Ijucy in the wagon, and had forgotten his desire to teach her a lesson in arithmetic. So he said, — " Lucy, if Rollo will go with us, I'll draw you Girther. Come, Rollo," said he, " come and play travel with us. I'll pull, and you push behind." " No," said Rollo, " 1 can't go ; " I must stay and take care of Nathan." 3 26 ^ lttcy's studies. Royal and Lucy looked at Nathan. He was standing behind his bars, striking the upper one with a stick, evidently pleased with the rattling, but paying no attention to the discussion which was going on among the other children. '•' Let Nathan go with us," said Royal. " No " said Rollo, shaking his head ; " I don't think my mother will let him." " Yes she will," said Royal ; " Lucy will get out, and let him get into the wagon, and then you and Lucy shall be the horses, and I will be the driver." Rollo still thought that his mother would not be willing to let Nathan go. However, he said that he would go and ask her. Rollo's mother came out, and said, — " Well, Royal, I hardly know what to say to our plan. Do you think you can take good care of Nathan ? " " O yes, aunt," said Royal ; " we will be very careful indeed." After some hesitation, Nathan's mother con sented to let them go. She said that she shoul ] put Nathan under Royal's special charge. So she put a sort of a cloak upon his shoulders, and a cap upon his head, and put him into the wagon Lucy and Rollo then took hold of the ton true of the wagon, to draw, while Royal pushed A WAGON RIDE. 27 behind ^ and so they sallied forth from the yard, Rollo's mother standing at the door, to watch them as they went along. Just as they passed around the comer of the house, she gave them her last charges ; which were to keep in the smooth road, and to be very careful about turning. The children, promising to obey these instruc- tions, passed on around the corner, and turned into the road. They went on for some distance, without any difficulty or trouble. At last, they came to a place where a road branched off from the main road, and led into the woods. They turned into this road, for Royal said that it led to a place where they could get some flowers. Both Rollo and Lucy said they should like this very much, for they wanted to have some flowers. Rollo said that he was going to study botany ; his moth- er was going to teach him. '- 1 wish I could study botany," said Lucy ; " 1 should like botany a great deal better than arith metic." " Well," said Royal, " 1 can teach you." " O Royal," said Lucy, " you don't know how to study botany." " Yes, I do," said Royal. " The first thing is to itndy the leaves ; you must gather all the diflfer- 28 Lucy's studies. ent kinds of leaves you can find, and press them in a book." " What good does that do ? " said Lucy. " O, then you know how many different shapes of leaves there are," he replied. Rollo had put his picture-book into the wagon, just before they had set out fi-om the house, thinking that perhaps they might stop at some place, where he would want to look at it. So he asked Royal if his picture-book would do to put the leaves into, and Royal said it would do very well. And they all determined that, after they had gone a little farther, they would stop and get some leaves by the side of the road. They were now in a sort of by-road, leading through the woods ; but presently they came to a kind of cart path, which turned out to one side, and seemed to lead to places still more solitary than where they were. Royal wanted to turn off into this cart path. " It will be a beautiful place to study botany, in there," said he. " No,'' said Rollo, " we must not go in there , for mother said that we must keep in smooth roads." "Well," replied Royal, "that is a smooth road. It is iust as smooth as tliis " A WaGon ride. g^ Ro) al and Lucy looked in. The road was in- deed smooth, but then it was narrow, and Rollo did not know into what difficulties it might lead thciii, He was quite reluctant to go in. But Royal assured him that there was no danger; and he said, also, that, if they should find any rough places after they had got in some way, they f ould easily turn around and come out. So Rollo consented, and they turned off into the cart path. After they had gone m for some distance. Royal said that they had got to a good place to col- lect leaves. So Lucy and Rollo put the tongue of the wa^on down in the road, and went to the banks on each side, and began to gather the leaves from the various wild plants which were growing there. These leaves were of all shapes : some were long and pointed, others oval, others nearly round ; some were shaped like a heart, some notched alono- the edcjes like a saw, and one which Royal got down from an oak-tree, Lucy said, wasn't shaped like any thing at all. While they were collecting these leaves, Lucy suddenly called out to Rollo, who was upon the side of the road with her, — " O Rollo, Rollo, come here ! here is a little squirrel ! come and see him." — 30 LUCY^S STUDIES. " Where ? where ? " said Rollo, running to* wards the place ; " let me see ; let me see." Royal, hearing this call, immediately dropped a large collection of leaves and flowers, which he nad gathered, and ran across the road. When he first got sight of the squirrel, he was standing upon his hind legs on the end of a half-decayed log, holding a nut between his fore paws, which he nib- bled a little from time to time, keeping, however, a sharp lookout upon the children all the while. " I'll catch him in my cap," said he. In the mean time, little Nathan, who had been left in his wagon in the path-way, and who was ' yet too young to appreciate the pleasure and the utility of making botanical collections, began to make a sort of murmuring sound, which indi cated restlessness and discontent. " Yes, Nathan," said Rollo, calling out to him " we'll come in a minute." Royal crept up sofdy towards the squirrel, with his cap in the air, ready to make him prisoner Rollo and Lucy looked on with great interest, while Nathan, who had not yet learned to place much confidence in promises, seemed still more jneasy. The squirrel stuffed the remains of his nut into his cheek, leaped off the log, and vm along upor the ground. A WAGON RIDE. 31 ' You go and take care of Nathan," said Roy- al, " and I'll run and catch the squuTel. You can go and help him, Lucy." " But we want to see you catch the squirrel," said Lucy. " O, never mind that," said Royal, looking back towards them, and speaking m a hurried manner, as he crept along after the squirrel ; '' 1 shall have to chase him ever so far, and you can't keep up ; but you shall have a share in him just the same, when I catch him. So run back and take care of Nathan." Thus urged, the two children went back to the road, while Royal went on in pursuit of the squirrel. Lucy and Rollo showed Nathan their leaves and flowers, and gave him a large lily to pull to pieces. By these means they had just succeeded in getting him quiet and amused, when Rollo saw a cow walking slowly along the path, towards the place where they and the wagon were standing. This threw the children into a state of great alarm ; for, although the cnw was really innocent of any bad design, the children thought they saw in her countenance a very determined and threatening expression. Tliey thought she was coming to bite them, or ai least that she would certainly run over Nathan 'A2 , 1 JCy's STLTDIES. Rollo's first design was, lo look around for a stick, and drive her aw ay, which, on the whole., would have been the most judicious plan. But L"iXy, beino; a girl, was naturally more inclined to retreat than to give battle ; and she called upon Rollo to help her draw the wagon out of the road, so as to give tlie cow the 0})portunity to get by. They accordingly took hold of the tongue of the wagon, and, turning it short round, began to pull hard upon it, to get their little charge out of the danger. In their eagerness and trepidation, however, they turned the tongue too short about, so as tc lock one of the fore wheels under the wagon, and then, as very often happens under such circum- stances, by the violence of their effort the wagon was upset ; and Nathan, the fragments of the lily, the picture-book, and the cushion on which Nathan had been seated, all rolled out together upon the ground. The cow paid no attention whatever to their terror and distress, but walked by very deliberately on the other side. Nathan was not hurt. He looked a little wild when they took him up, and even began to cry a little ; but Lucy soon hushed him, silting down upon the bank, and holding him in her lap, while Rollo set the wagon up again, and replaced the A WAGON RIDE. 35 ihmgs which had been thrown out. Then, while Lucy continued to amuse Nathan, Rollo went to see if he could find Royal. After going on for some distance, he found him returning slowly, with his cap upon his head, anrt a stran ore-looking thin or in his hand. " Have you caught him ? " said Rollo. " Caught what ? " said Royal. " The squirrel," replied Rollo. "•' O — no," said Royal, " but I have got a most curious-looking thing here." "What is it?" said Rollo. " A kind of a fungus," replied Royal. " J found it D-fowino- on a tree." Royal showed Rollo the fungus, and he thought it was a very curious thing indeed. Then Rollo told him the story of the accident which had hap- pened in the cart path. Royal was somewhat alarmed at this, and he hastened to the place. He feJt somewhat condemned for having gone away and left his charge in the hands of such guardian? as Rollo and Lucy, ?.nd so he very assiduously helped them replace Nathan in his wagon, and tuni It round. The leaves which they had collected were all scattered upon the ground ; even those which had been put into tlie picture-book had fallen out when the wao n had been upset: '^ » 36 Lucy's studies. that, when the children had got nearly home, they recollected that they had left their whole botanical collection behind them. And this was the end of Lucy's attempts to pursue the study of botany, for several years. 87 CHAPTER III. THE MAGAZINE. Neither Royal nor Lucy thought any thing more of their arithmetic for several days. Lucy's slate got put up upon a shelf in the closet, and was entirel}' forgotten. One daj^, however, when RoUo and Lucy were walking in a little lane by the side of the garden, they found a beautiful flower, growing near a large, flat stone. " O, what a beautiful blue flower ! " said Lucy. " Yes," said Royal ; " give it to me." *' No," said Lucy, " I want to carry it home to my mother." " O, mother won't care about it," said Royal ; " give it to me, and I will press it in a book." *'No," said Lucy. " And then," continued Roj^al, " we can draw a cop3' of it, and paint it." " We haven't got our paint-box yet," said Lucy. " No, we haven't," said Royal, ** And that's 4 3{:r LucT'i studies. because I haven't finished teaching }ou arithmetic. Come, let us go and take a lesson now." Lucy, however, was not much "ncHned to take her lesson. After some conversation, however, Royal, finding that T^ucy had no inclination to study arithmetic at all, and reflecting that this aversion was his own fault, concluded ty»at ne must win her back again to the work by dexter- ous Hfianagement. So he said, — " Well, Lucy, I'll tell you what we will do. We'll carry this blue flower to the house, and I'll make a drawing of it upon your slate." " So we will," said Lucy. In fact, she was very much pleased with this plan ; and the two children set off accordingly for the house, to make the drawing. After some search, they found the slate, but the pencil was gone. Royal, however, had a pencil of his own, in a litde box, which he kept under a sky-light in the garret, and he and Lucy went up into the garret in pur- suit of it. This box, or chest. — for it was properly a smaV chest, — was the place where Royal kept a con siderable number of his old playthings, especially such as were somewhat out of use. He cal ed i THE MAGAZINE. 39 his magazine. His fatlier had told iiim that a magazine was a place where people kept things m store ; and so he thought that magazine would oe a good name for this depository of his. Royal lifted up the lid of his magazine, and there, among a great number of other things, there was a small pasteboard box, without a cover. In this box were several slate and lead pencils, wafers, and pieces of India rubber ; also the handle of a knife, and one half of a pair of scissors. Royal called it his scissor. He said he meant one day to grind the blade down to an edge, and then it would make a good knife, which he neant to call his scissor-knife. Lucy wanted to look at it, and at a great many other curious tilings, which she saw in the magazine ; but Roy- al said no, and, putting down the lid of the chest, after he had taken out the pencil, he sat down upon it, and asked Lucy to sit down by his side. He immediately began, according to his prom- ise, to draw Lu'^y the picture of the flower. First he made the stem, then a little root at the bottom of it, then a few long, slender leaves growing cu around the stalk, and finally the flower. The flower was the most difficult part; but 40 LUCY £ STUDIES. Royal succeeded in representing it to Ixicy's entire satisfaction ; and, when he had finished it* he said, — " Now, Lucy, that we are here, you'd bettei iet me teach you one of the figures. I'll jusl teach you the figure one ; that's very easy. It's nothing but a mark." So Royal made a mark upon the slate for the figure one, and then put the pencil into Lucy's hands, that she might attempt to imitate it. Lucy made a mark as nearly as she could like Royal's, only It was a great deal too long. " That's very well, Lucy," said Royal, " very well indeed for the first, only it isn't necessary to make it quite so long. You must make the next one shorter." Lucy accordingly made another ; and she stopped sooner than she had done before, so as to make the mark shorter than she had done at first. Royal said it was a very good one indeed. Lucy, finding that Royal, instead of upbraiding or ridiculing her, was pleased and satisfied with her attempts, began to feel grat- ified herself; and she said that she should like much to make some more 07ies ; and Royal ac- cordingly told her to make a row of theio THE MAGAZINE. 41 quite across tne slate near the top. She made them, on the whole, very well, though some of them were crooked. " It IS veiy hard to make straight letters," said she. " Straight figures, you mean," said Royal. '* Yes," said Lucy, " straight figures. Crooked figures are much easier to make. I can make a three. I'm going to make a three." " No," said Royal, " two comes next." " I don't care," said Lucy ; " I can't make a two, but I can make a three, and so I am going to make that next." " No," said Royal, " you mustn't make a three next ; that is out of order. Besides, I am your teacher, and you must mind me." " No," said Lucy, " I am going to make what ] choose." Royal and Lucy were both wrong in this dis- cussion. Lucy was wrong, for the last of the reasons which Royal assigned, namely, that he was her teacher, and therefore she ought to have obeyed him. The first of Royal's reasons, however, was not valid, — namely, that, because two comes before three in numeration, therefore it ought to be made first. The successive steps of a study 4^" 42 LUCr's STUDIES. ought to be taken in their natural order, when one depends upon another. For instance, a child ought to learn how to subtract before undertaking to learn how to divide, for division depends upon subtraction. You cannot well divide without subtracting. But in merely learning the forms of the figures, there is no dependence of one upon the other, and therefore they may be taught in any order which the teacher thinks best. Therefore, if Royal, who was the teacher, had thought It best to have taught Lucy to make the figure nine, or eight, or the cipher, next to one, because he supposed that those charactei^s would be more easy for Lucy to form, it would not have been at all improper; and therefore his argument, that two ought to be made next to one, simply because it comes next to it as a number, was not a valid argument. But his second reason was valid ; for it is always the duty of a pupil to follow the directions of the teacher, whether the pupil approves of the direc- tions or not. But, then, although Lucy did very wrong in resisting and disobeying the will of her teacher, Royal himself acted very unwisely, in being so strenuous in requiring a compliance with it. His whole hope of success in his efforts to teach his THE MAGAZINE, 4S SLster, and so to gain the paint-box, depended necessai'ily upon keeping on good terms with her, and makino; her willinp; to follow hi-s instructions. If Miss Anne had been in Royal's place, she would not have had any contention with her upon the subject. She would have allowed hei to make the three next, and then, after the lesson was over, she would have said, perhaps, — " Now, Lucy, you have been a prett) good scholar. You have obeyed my directions very well generally, and I am therefore goin.'r to let you see the things in my magazine. ' )nly there was one time that you didn't obey me. When 1 wanted you to make twos, you vould make threes, and so 1 can't let you see all the things in my magazine. There are some little pictures in a pocket-book, which I cannot let you see ; but the next time you study, if you obe) me perfectly, then I will let you see the picture? in my pocket-book." Or, if Miss Anne had thought that this would have made Lucy cry, and so have been the cause of making disturbance in the family, then she would have had some slighter punishment, just enough not to make her cry. She did so once, when Lucy was younger and more ready to cry. She was taking a walk with her, and Lucy did not 44 Lucy's studies. eome back quick when she called hei away ^'om the shore of a brook. Accordingly, when :hey were going home, and Lucy asked Miss Anne to tell her a story. Miss Anne said, — *' A short or a long one ? " " O, a long one," said Lucy. " Well," replied Miss Anne, " I will tell you a pretty long one, because you have obeyed me pretty well while we have been walking ; but I cannot tell you a very long one, because you did not obey me all the time." By always doing something like this. Miss Anne soon succeeded in making Lucy disposed to obey her at all times. Royal, however, by his opposition to Lucy's desire, only disturbed and ruffled her mind, and made her less inclined to comply with his wishes on the next occasion which might occur. And, in fact, another occasion came very soon. For it happened that Lucy, in making her figure three, reversed the form of it, so as to have the open part come to the right, instead of to the left, as it ought to do. Children very often make this mistake, when they first attempt to form the figure three. Royal, seeing the figure wiich she made, began immediately to laugh ai it This disturbed Lucy's mind more than what had THE MAGAZINE. 45 taken place before. She looked U[ .o Royal as if wondering what he was laughing at, and said, — • " You needn't laugh, Royal ; that is a three " " No, it isn't a three," said Royal. " I tell you it is a three," replied Lucy. ' Miss Anne showed me how to make it one day." " O Lucy," said Royal, " Miss Anne nevei made such a three as that in her life. That is an E." In fact, the letter E is often made, in writing, Oi very much such a form as Lucy's reversed figure assumed ; but Lucy msisted that it was right, ana that she meant to make a whole row of them. Royal, who now began to feel somewhat out of humor himself, lost sight entirely of the principle with which he had begun, of making amends foi his former roughness by kind and dexterous man- agement. He insisted that Lucy should let him iiave the pencil, and he would show her how the fio-ure ouo-ht to be made. But she would not ; she said that she knew that that way was right, and she was o-oincr to make a whole row of them. Then Royal said that she should not have his pencil any more, for he wouldn't have his pencil used to make such ridiculous threes as those were, whicii, as he said, looked like threes turned wrong side out. So Lucy gave him his pencil, and got 46 Lucy's studies. up from the chest, and walked away down stairs Koyal remained beliind, to put his pencil back into his box. Then he be^an to look over and rearrange the various articles which were stored m his magazine. He found the wheels and bodv of a small wagon, and he went to work to put then together; and he remained occupied in this work for nearly half an hour. Before this time had expired, however, he had opportunity to reflect upon his conversation with Lucy, and he saw diat he had not managed wisely. He began to feel quite sorry that he had not treated her with more tenderness and con- sideration. While he was in this state of mind, he suddenly began to hear footsteps upon the garret stairs. He knew at once, by the sound that it was Lucy coming up again. When she readied the head of the stairs, he found that she had her slate in her hand. Lucy walked along towards Royal, with a good- natured and pleasant expression of countenance, and held out the slate for him to see what was written upon it. Royal saw that there was a row of threes, all made very neatly and correctly, and with the open part turned the right way. " Ah," said he, " Lucy, who made them ? " ** 1," replied Lucy THE MAGAZINE. 47 '' Who showed you how ? " asked Royal. " Miss Anne," replied Lucy. "Those are right," said Royal He wa? just ready to say, I told you you made thera wrong before ; but, then, he reflected that it would not be pleasant to her, for him to triumph over her, and so he only said, " Those are right." " And now, Lucy," he continued, " you may see me put my wagon together, and then to-morrow you shall learn to make twos." That afternoon, Miss Anne questioned Royal about the lesson he had been giving Lucy, and Royal repeated to her, as nearly as he could rec- ollect, all that took place. " I got along a little better," he said, when he had finished his account, "than I did the first time." " Yes," replied Miss Anne, " you have learaed something. You have got along just about as fai m the art of teaching, as Lucy has m anthmetic If yoj both persevere, you'll learn after a time." 48 CHAPTER IV. WHERE IS ROYAL? Lucv came one evening and climb '.^ *, mtp her father's lap. " Father," said she, " I wish you won'^d it>t me study something besides what I study nuy " " Why, what do you study now ? " asked her father. " Only reading and spelling at bchool, and arithmetic at home with Royal." " Isn't that enough ? " said her father. " No, sir," replied Lucy ; " I want to study something else." " Well," said her fadier, " I'll give you some- thing to study, and I'll study it with you." " O, well," said Lucy, much pleaseii " Let me se<-," added her father, looking around the room. " What shall it be ? What shall we study ? I'll tell you ; we'll study the windows." " O father," said Lucy, " we can't study the windows." *' O, yes," replied her father, " there is a great WHERE IS ROVAL ? 49 deal to be learned about windows. Look al one of the windows, and tell me what you observe/' So Lucy looked at the window a moment, and then said, — " No, father, I don't observe any thing about the windows at all." " / observe several things that are peculiar." " What do you mean by peculiar ^ father ? " asked Lucy. " Why, whatever one thing has, which othei things do not have, is peculiar to it. Thus roots are peculiar to plants, for other things do not have roots. Now, look at the window, and see if you find any thing peculiar in it." '• No, sir," said Lucy ; " 1 think it is just like all other windows." " But I didn't wish you to find any thing pe- culiar to this window alone, which distinguishes it from other windows, but something peculiar to all windows, which distinguish them from the other parts of a building. I notice one thing which is very peculiar." •' What is it ? " said Lucy. " Why, they are transpaicnt." " What is transparent ? " asked Lucy. " Any thing that you can see through is trany- pai-ent," said her father. " Water is transparent ' 50 Lucy's studies. glass is transparent ; some ice is transparent. Now, windows are made of glass, which is transpa- rent, for two reasons : First, in order that the ligh' may shine in and illuminate the room, so that we can see to walk about in it, and to read, and to sew. The other reason is, that we can look out through the window, and see the scenery, and the persons pass along the street. Those are the reasons why windows are made of something transparent. " There is also something peculiar," said her father, " in the mode in which windows open . How do they open ? " " Right upwards," said Lucy, making a motion with her hands, as if she was opening a window. " And how do doors open ? " asked her father. " Right sideways," said she. " Now, can you think of any reason why win- dows should open by sliding upward, and doors by swinging out upon hinges ? " First, why shouldn't windows open like doers, by swinging out upon hinges ? " " Why, they might get broken by the wind,' said Lucy. " Yes," said her father ; " doors are very often shut violently by the wind ; and this would doubtless often happen to windows, if thei v^^re huns: in a similar mannei." WHERE IS ROYAL? 51 " Once I saw a house," said Lucy, '' where the window was broken, and the people had put & piece of board in the place of the glass." " Yes," said her father, " perhaps they had no more glass. But there is another reason why windows shouldn't open like doors. Can you think what it is ? " " No," said Lucy, " I can't think." " If windows opened upon hinges, like doors, they must either open outward into the open air, or mward towards the room. If they were made to open outward, then, when they were wide open, they would swing back against the side of the house, and it would be very inconvenient to reach them to shut them." "We could go out of doors," said Lucy. " Yes," replied her father, " but that would be very inconvenient, especially if there came up a sudden shower of rain, and we wished to shut the windows quick. " But, on the other hand," continued her fa- ther, " if the windows were made to open inwards, then they would be apt to knock the things over on the table. ^Ve often have a table before a window, but we never have a table before a door ; for it would be in the way when we wanted to pass in and out So you see the reasons, why it 82 Lucy's studies. IS better that windows should be made to Jide up and down, and doors to open upon hingts." " But, father," said Lucy, " why couldn't doors De made to slide up and down like windows ? " " Think of it yourself," said her father, " and see if you can think of any difficulty." "Why — yes," said Lucy. "Suppose they wanted me to open the door. Well, and then they tell me to shut the door : well, then I go and try, but I can't reach up to the door : well, then I get a chair, and 1 try to climb up, and — and the door sticks, and I can't pull it down, and perhaps 1 tumble down and hurt me. An't those dif- ficulties ? " " Yes," said her father, " and perhaps, too^ the door would sometimes be left not shoved up quite high enough, and then people would bump their, heads." " Yeb," said Lucy ; " and, father, Georgie bumped his head the other day, and the teacher asked him to spell bumper. ^^ " And did that make him forget his pain ? " " Yes, sir, but he didn't spell his word right." " Didn't he ? " said her father. " Then his ex- perience of the thing did not teach him the or- thogi'aphy of the word." " What, sir ? " said Lucy. WHERE IS ROYAL t 53 •' His experience of the thing did not l^acL him the orthography of the word," repeated hei father. " I don't know what you mean by that," said Lucy. " Why, by bumping his ow^n head, he experi- enced the thing, but yet he could not spell the word. The orthography of a word means the spelling of it." " I did not know that before," said Lacy. " Then I should like to have you take pains lo remember it," said her father. " I don't think I can remember such a long word," said Lucy. " The way to fix it in your mind,'' said her father, "is to repeat it a great numbei of times. Say orthography.'''^ So Lucy nepeated the word after her father. •' Now repeat it ten times," said her father, '^ and count by means of your fingers." So Lucy repeated the word orthography ten times, touchincr the thumb and finders of her left hand in succession as she did so, and then the thumb and fingers of her right band. By doing this, she rendered the sound of the word some- what familiar, and also accustomed herself to pn • nounce it. 54 LUCY S STUDIES. " Now," said her father, " go out and find Royal, and tell him all I have told you about windows; and also tell him that orthography means spelling. That will help you remember the whole lesson." " Is that a lesson ? " said Lucy. " Yes," said her father, " it is a lesson ; and it will be quite a good lesson for you, I hope. It will teach you to observe particularly what you see ; and to-morrow morning I will give you the sequel to it." " What do you mean by sequell " said Lucy. " I will tell you when I am ready, to-morrow, to give you the sequel." So Lucy went away to find her brother Royal. She thought it probable that he was in the back yard or garden, but she could not find him in either place. She stood at the garden gate, and called, — " Royal 1 Royal 1 where are you ? " But there was no answer. " Joanna," said Lucy, " do you know where Royal is ? " For, just at that moment, she saw Joanna sit- ting at the window of her room. " No," said Joanna, " I don't know ; but he WHERE IS ROYAL t 56 can't be far off, for it is only a few minutes since [ heard him whistle." "Whistle?" said Lucy. " Yes," replied Joanna ; " it sounded as if he was blowing some whistle, which he had made out of a willow." " I wish I could find him," said Lucy. Just at this moment, Lucy heard a long-drawn and very clear whisde, which seemed to be very near. " Royal 1 " said Lucy ; " Royal ! is that you i Where are you ? " There was no answer, but only a repetition ol the same shrill and long-protracted sound. Lucy began to look eagerly around the yard. " Royal ! " said she, " Royal ! is that you whis- tling ? " Another Ions whistle. " Ah, Royal," said Lucy, ' 1 know where you are ; you've hid somewhere. I know you." So saying, Lucy began to look around the yard in every direction, but no Royal was to be seen. She went to the garden gate, and looked undei ihe shrubbery, but there was no Royal there. At length she paused, not knowing where to lo* k next ; and, after resting a moment, she said, — ••■ Whistle again. Royal." 56 Lucy's studies. So Royal whistled attain. Tlie sound seemed to come from upwards, and Lucy looked up towards the house. " Ah," said she, " Royal, I know where you are. You are in the house, by some of the windows. 1 know — you are at mother's window — or else at Joanna's. Joanna, isn't he in your room ? " " No," said Joanna. " And don't you know wheio he is ? " " Yes," said Joanna. " Well, tell me then ; do, Joanna. I'm tired of looking for him." Joanna only smiled ; and Lucy, finding that she could o-et no mformation from her, said that she knew Royal w^as in the house ; and she ran in, and went up stau's to search the chambers which looked out towards that side of the house, especially such as had any windows open. She looked in them all in vain. Then she went into Joanna's room, •md stood by her side, leaning her arms upon the window sill, and looking out the window. " Royal," said she, " I should think you might tell me where you are." Royal answered by calling out, C-o-o-p ; just as the children were accustomed to do, when playing hide and go seek. The direction of the bound of a voice is generally move perceptible WHERE IS ROYAL ? 59 than that of a whistle ; and it was particularly so i'n tnis case, for Lucy at once perceived that the sound came from somewhere in the air. She looked up in the direction from which the sound seemed to proceed, and, to her great astonishment, $aw Royal comfortably seated near the top of a great oak-tree, which stood in the comer of the yard. He was almost concealed by the branches. " Why, Royal ! " exclaimed Lucy ; " what are you doing there ? " " Making whistles," said Royal. " O Royal ! " exclaimed Lucy again. She found, on examining more particularly his ^oosition, that he had placed a short board across ii'om one branch to another for a seat, and that at a short distance below he had placed another board, which answered to put his feet on. The board on which he sat extended out a litde way beyond the branch where it rested, and this Royal used for a sort of shelf, to put his pieces of whistle wood upon, and his knife, when he was not using it. Two whistles, also, which he had finished, were lying here. Royal was making another ; and he went on very gravely with his work, while Lucy was wondering at his position. *' Lucy," said Royal, " do you want a whistle ? " *' Yes," said I jUC| . 60 Lucy's studies. " Come out, then, Into tlie yard, and 1 will throw you one down." Lucy accordingly ran out, and Royal, takino up one of the whistles, which he had made, tossed it out from among the branches of the tree. It sailed out horizontally through the air, and then, turninij downward, it bef^ar to descend in that beautiful curve, which bodies projected from a great height always describe, and at last it came down to the ground. But it was now some time after sunset, and it was not very light in the yard. Lucy went to the place where the whistle had fallen, and looked for it among the grass, but she could not find it. However, Royal himself came down pretty soon, and, after a little search, he found it close to Lucy's foot. The interest which Lucy felt in this incident drove all thoughts of the lesson on win- dows from her mind ; and so she did not get the sequel to the lesson, which her fiither had prom- ised her. What her father had intended by the sequel to the lesson was this : He was going to send Lucy into one room, and Royal into anodier, and 'et each of them examine a fireplace, so as to observe its peculiarities, and then to come in and tell him what they were ; and also to ask him for WHERE 13 ROYAL ? 61 the reason o[ any thing they noticed about the tireplace, wliich they did not understand. They did not do this, however, until the next (ky ; and then, when they canie in from the ex- amination of the fireplace, Lucy said that she observed one peculiarity about the fireplace, and that was, that the back of the chimney was black, and that she did not understand why the fire, which was red, should make the bricks black. Royal said that he observed, that there was always a mantel shelf over a fireplace, and he did not see why they always had a mantel shelf over a fire- pho3j rather than in any other part of the room. " But, father," said Lucy, " what is a sequel ? " " A sequel of any thing," replied her father, ' is that which comes in consequence of it. and LS the conclusion of it." '^ 1 don't understand that very well," said Lucy, ■ ' Never mind," replied her father ; " I can'r. px- plain it to you any more now " So Lucy went away. 62 THAPTER / ACCOUNTS. Lucy had an allowance from her father of a small sum of money every week, which she was allowed to expend for herself, in any way that her father approved. Her father had several reasons for this, and, among the otheis, he thought it would help Lucy to learn somethmg ahout ac- counts. For he said, when he told her that he was going to let her have an allowance, that he must make her an account-book like Royal's ; for Royal had had an allowance, and an account- book to keep an account of it in, for a long time. " But, father," said Lucy, " why need I have an account-book ? Why can't you give me die money every Saturday night, and let me keep il myself? " " For several reasons," said her father. " In the first place, I should not always remember to pay you tlie money every Saturday night ; and then, in the middle of the next week, we should not be quite wire whether it had been paid or not. And so ACCOUNTS. 63 in a short time, we should get into confusion. And then, besides, 1 an:i not wilUng to let you have the money to keep yourself." " Why not, sir ? " said Lucy. " You would be very likely to lose it. You would leave it here and there about the house, as you do your playthings. Then, besides, if you had the charge and custody of your money, you would sometimes, perhaps, expend it without my approbation." "But I should think that, if the money was ours," said Royal, who was standing by at this time, " we might expend it for any thing we chose." " True," replied his father, " but the money isn't yours. I don't make you an allowance of so much money every week, but give you a credit, to be used on certain conditions ; and if you take it, you take it subject to those conditiors." " What conditions ? " said Lucy. " Why, that you use the credit only for such purposes as I approve. I put down for you a certain sum for every week, and then, when you want to buy any thing, you can have it, if T think it is proper for you, and if it doesn't come to moie than your allowance amounts to. But in the mean time I must keep all the money." 64 LT CY^S STUDIES. Accordingly, Lucy's father made her a sntall account-book, like Royal's. Her mother sewed It. It had a cover of marble paper. The leaves were made of paper, ruled with blue lines, and her father ruled some lines up and down the page of red ink. The first line was near the left-hand edge of every page, and was intended to mark off a space to put down the day of the month, when any thing was written in the book. Then there was another, near the risht-hand ed^e of every page, which was for the figures expressing the amount of the money. It was about the middle of July, when Lucy's father made her the account-book. But he said he would begin back as far as to Lucy's birthday, in reckonino; the allowance. So he entered in the account-book, first, an allowance for a month and a half, at the top of the second page. On the first page, he only wrote the words Account- Book, in pretty large letters. " Now," said her father, " whenever you want to buy any thing, you can ask me or your mot ier ; and if we approve of it, you can buy it, and I hall write down what it is, and the price of it, on the page opposite to the one where your allowaij b is entet ed ; and then we can see, when we opei the book^ how much your allowance comes to '>y ACCOUNTS. G5 looking on one side, and how many things you ht^ve bought with it. by looking on the otiier." Lucy was very much pleased with her ac- count-book, and she put it away very carefully in her drawer. She determined to come every Saturday evening, and have her allowance for die week "egularly entered. When, however, her account-book was out of sight, it was out of mind ; and several weeks passed away before siie thought of it again. At last, one day, as she and Royal were looking over her drawer, she found her account-book. " There," said she, " now here is my account- book, and I haven't had any allow ance for a great many weeks. Father said he would give me an allowance every week." " You ought to have earned him your book, and he would," said Royal. " But I forgot it," said Lucy ; " and now 1 have forgotten how lono- it is, and how much the allowance will make." So saying, Lucy was just beginning to cry. " Why, Lucy, you silly child," said Royal ; " it's nothing to cry for. It will make no d'f- ference." " Why, I haven't had my allowance," said [jucy, " for a great many weeks " 66 LUCY S STUDIES. •^ No matter," replied Royal ; " father cm piU It all down together ; it will make no difference. ' So Royal opened Lucy's book, and explained to Lucy how it would be. " You see," said he, " that when father put down the allowance before, it was July 15th. Now, he can calculate, very easily, how many weeks it is since then, till now, and so he can tell how much more allowance he must put down. I can almost calculate it myself" Lucy did not answer, but looked upon the date in her account-book, which Royal pointed at with his finger, trying to understand how it was. " You see," continued Royal, " that is the ad vantage of having an account-book. It keeps the reckoning. As soon as you get an account-book, and have the things put down, you may forget as much as you please." Lucy earned the account-book to her father that evening ; and she found that it was as Royal had predicted. There was no difficulty at all in ascertaining the amount of the allowance due^ by calculating from the date of the first entry Lucy got her father to make the calculation, and enter the amount due up to that time ; and then she went to put her book awav, with a feeling of ACCOUNTS. 6? great relief and satisfaction. She tumeJ rouna, howev^er, after she had gone a few steps towards the door, and said, — " You are not going to Let me have the money, I suppose?" " No," said her father ; '•' I keep the money lor you, — until you want to buy something with it." Nothing more was said about Lucy's account- book for some days. At length, however, one evening, as Lucy was playing upon the cricket near the sofa, where her father was sitting, she came to him, and said, — " Father, I wish you would just let me look at my money a little while." Her father hesitated a moment, and then put his hand into his pocket, and drew out several pieces of silver money. " Is that my money," said Lucy, " or yours ? ' Her father laughed, but did not answer. " Father," said Lucy earnestly, " is that my money? " " Why, Lucy," he replied, " I don't keep any money for you separate from my own." " O father," said Lucy, " you said you would keep my money for me." " Yes," said her father, " so I did ; but I did not mean that I would keep it separate.'* 68 lucy's studies. " How do you keep it, then ? " said Lucy. Her father laughed ; but Lucy did not know what he was laughing at. " Why, Lucy," said he, " I keep your money, just as all bankers do the money they have on deposit." " Deposit ? " repeated Lucy. " Yes," replied her father. " Money that is placed in any body's hands for safe-keeping is said to be a deposit. Your money is depositee with me." "Yes, sir," said Lucy. So far she understood very well. " Now, wiien money is deposited with a banker, he does not keep that identical money <-'eparate from the rest." " I don't know what you mean by identical mcney," said Lucy. (Vhy, the same money, — the very same." " And doesn't he keep the money, then, at all ? " " jNo, not separately ; he mixes it with his own money, and pays it away, just as he does his own." " I shouldn't think he ought to do that," said Lucy, " if it was deposited with him for safe- keeping." " Why, whenever the owner of the money comes to call for it, instead of giving back the ACCOUNTS. 69 noney, which was deposited, he just gives hira the same amouiit of his own money, and that is just us good. One dollar is as good as another dollar." " O father ! " said Lucy. " Why, isn't it ? " said her father " O no, sir ; some are a great deal prettier." Here Lucy's father laughed again very heartily, and concluded that Lucy was rather too young o understand much about banking and finance However, he thought that he would not despair too soon. So he proceeded thus : — " Yes, Lucy, you are right ; one dollar may be brighter and prettier than- another as a coin, to be used for a plaything ; but when I agreed to give you so much money each month, I did not mean so many coins for playthings, but a certain amount of value for purchases. Now, in value, and for use in making purchases, one dollar is as good as anodier ; and so, in almost all cases in reckoning accounts among men, they never think at all of the particular money that they receive and pay, but only of the value. When one man borrows ten dollars of another man, he does not keep those same dollars to pay back to him again, but only pays him other dollars as good. And when money is deposited with a banker, he does not keep the same money, but puts it with hi? own. 70 Lucy's stuv)ies. ard spends from it just as if it were his own , and then, when the man who deposited the money with him, calls for it, he only gives him an equal amount of his own." " Yes, father, I understand it now," said Lucy. " Just so with the money of your allowance. I don't keep it separately from my other money : I am only bound to let you have the amount in value; — so that you see I can never give you your money to play with, but only when you want to expend any of it, then I must supply you with some of my own." Lucy seemed to be pretty well satisfied with this account ; but still she wished there was some way by which she could have some of her money for a plaything. " Well," said her father, " we can manage it in this way. I will give you a piece of money, ind 1 will set it down in the account, just as if It had been a plaything bought." So Lucy's father took out several pieces of money from his purse, and let Lucy look them Dver, tellinoj her that she mio^ht take whichever she 'hose. Then he entered the value of this piece \4' money in Lucy's account-book, on the page opposite to the one where the allowance was entered. The account in this book was continued ACCOUNTS. 71 a long time. On one page Lucy's father entered her allowance from time to time, whenever Luc}^ came to him and wanted her accounts made up, and on the other side he entered such things as she purchased, and this was the way in which Luc}^ got her first regular ideas of money and accounts. 78 CHAPTER VI. MARY JAY. Besides 1-j\ic>\ studies at home, she went to school, where k\^ isd other studies to attend to. The school was a ^\&%\\ Mie, including the children of onl}^ one or two ^anx^ies, and was kept in a room which opened int j a large and beautiful garden, as is more full} iescribed in the book called Lucy's Stories. To go to this school, the children went througL a gate on the street, and then, passing through & green alle}", thej^ went around a corner, with trees, fi >wers, and shrubbery on each side, to the garden, and there, up stairs, was the school-room. The^e were not many children there. But, besides the teacher, there was a girl about fifteen, whom the children gen- erally called Mavy Jay. She could not walk very well, for she was very lame ; but her countenance had a very mild and beautiful expression, and she was always very kind to the children. She used to read them stories out of a great book of stories, MARY JAY. ?5 which she had wntten, and which she calle/' tie Morocco Book. The reason why Mary Jay went to the school, was oecause she wanted to learn to be a teacher heiself; and all the children thought that she would make a very excellent teacher. For she often heard the scholars recite their lessons, and ex- plained their difficulties ; and the children liked to go to her very much. She was very gentle and kind, and yet she always made them obey. In fact, they liked to obey. One day, when they were going home from school, Lucy said to her, — " When are you going to have a school of your own, Mary Jay ? " " Why? " said Mary Jay ; " why do you wish to know ? " " Because," said Lucy, " I mean to come and be one of your scholars." " Well," said Mary Jay, " the school which we go to now, isn't going to be kept but two oi three weeks longer, and then you may come to the house where 1 live, and be my scholar." " I don't know where the house is that you live in," said Lucy. " You know the road that leads U the mill,' Raid Mary Jay. *^ Yes," said Lucy 7 74 Lucy's studies. " And do you remember a ^lide- lost, at the loot of a hill J fastened to a great tree " " YeSj" said Lucy, " with bridge and two mills written on it." " Two mzYes," said Mary Jay, " not mills It says that to the bridge it is two miles. Did you think it was mhls ? " " Yes," replied Lucy ; " I thought it meant that that road led to a place where there was a bridge and two mills." " O no," said Mary Jay, laughing. "It meaiis that it is two miles to the bridge. The house that I live in, is about a half a mile along that road." As Mary Jay said this, they reached the pia<.e where the road to the house, which Lucy lived in, turned away from the road which Mary Jay was to take. So Lucy bade her good byo , and Mary Jay, after resting a moment upon her crutch, looking at Lucy as she walked along, turned away into her own road, and Lucy saw her no more That evening, however, Lucy told her mother what Mary Jay had said. Her mother inquired about it, and found that it was true that the school where Lucy had been admitted was to be closed in a few weeks, because the family where it had been kept were going away, and it was:ii't to b* MARY JAY. 76 opened again until the next spring. But there were to be three more months of pleasant weather ; and so Lucy's mother went to see Mary Jay, and made an arrangement with het to take Lucy for a scholar. Accordingly, a few days after this, Lucy set off, one morning, with Royal to guide her, to go to Mary Jay's house, to begin at her new school. They walked along very pleasantly together. Royal carrying Lucy's slate and book for her, in a green satchel. When they came to the guide- board, Lucy stopped to examine it more particu- larly. She found it was miles, not mills. " You might have known," said Royal, " by there being no and. If it had meant two mills, it would have been, bridge and two mills." " Tlien it means," said Lucy, " that it is two miles to the brido:e down this road." "Yes," said Royal. " How far is two miles ? " asked Lucy. " O, it isn't very far," said Royal. " I can walk (wo miles easily enough." * I should like to see the bridge," said Lucy. "Yes," said Royal. "Some day we will taJ<:e a walk down and see it." So Royal and Lucy walked on. After a time^ the road turned a little, coming round a pretty 76 i.ucy's studies. green hill covered with trees; and on the ether side of it, there came into \iew a small farm-houscj painted white, with a garden on one side, and a few small sheds and barns upon the other. Between the house and the garden there was a little gate, and a path leading up to a door in the end of the house ; and there was quite a pleasant little grass yard in front of the door, with the garden gate on the opposite side of it. " There," said Royal, " that is Mary Jay's house." " Is that it ? " said Lucy ; " what a pleasant house ! Do you think she will let me go in that warden ? " " No," said Royal, « not she." " Why not ? " said Lucy. " O, because you'd pull up the flowers, and trample on the beds. They don't let children go in such pretty gardens as that." " O Royal," said Lucy, " I shouldn't trample on the beds, I am sure. I should be very careful.'* " Well," replied Royal, " you'll see whether she'll let you go m her garden. But now you can find your way to the door, and I am gomg back." " No, Royal," said Lucy ; " you m'lst come ann knock for me." MARY JAY. 77 " O no," replied Royal ; " you must knock for yO!irself." " I can't knock hard enough," said Lucy ; " besides, I am afraid." Royal only laughed at Lucy's fears, and said he only came to show her the way, and not to knock for her. But he did wrono-. He ou^ht to have been willing to have gone up to the door with her, since she wished it ; but he would not He, however, finally consented to remain whtie he was, to watch and see whether she got in safely. So Lucy took her satchel and walked along, while Royal sat down upon a stone by the road- side, to watch her progress. There was a little gate next to the street, which Lucy would have to pass through in going up to the door. There were two large lilac bushes hano;ino; over the gate, one on each side. When she came to it, she found it fastened by a kind of wooden latch ; and at first she did not know how to open it. She turned around, and beckoned to Royal to come and help her ; but Royal sat still. He thought that she might have climbed over, if she couldn't open the gate. There was another large gate beyond the house, which seemed to lead from the street into a 7* 78 Lucy's studies. yard, where the little barns and sheds were ; and Lucy had a great mind to go in there, for the large gate was open. But she was afraid tha there might be some cows in there ; and besides, she did not know thai there was any door leading into the house araund that way ; so she tried once more to open the gate. This time she succeeded ; the gate came open, and Lucy, much relieved; went through, and shut it after her. She walked along the path, toward the door Before the door there was a large stone step, of irregular form, but smooth upon the top. Tliere was a rose-bush on each side of the step. One of the rose-bushes was very large. There were apple-trees in the gaiden, and Lucy thought she saw a bird's nest on one of them. Lucy knocked gently and timidly at the door ; but nobody heard her. Then she knocked again, a little louder. She listened, and presently she thought she heard somebody coming. A moment after, the door opened, and a little girl, who yet seemed to be considerably older than she was her- self, appeared. She smiled when she saw Lucy, as if she knew her, but did not speak. She openea the door wide, and Lucy went in. Then Royal, who had been all this time sitting upon the stone by the roadside, watchinij Lucy's MARY JAr. 79 motions, as soon as he saw that Lucy iiad gone in, and that the door was shut, ami that there was nothing more for him to do, got up from his seat^ and walked away towards home. The girl who had opened the door for Lucy, conducted her alonor throuojh a kind of sittins* room, into a little bed-room, where Lucy found Mary Jay sitting at a window at work. " Ah ! Lucy," said Mary Jay, " 1 am glad to see you ; how did you find your way ? " " Royal showed me," said Lucy. " 1 expected that Royal would show you the way ; but where is he ? " " He did not come quite here," said Lucy, " but stopped out in the road ; and now I suppose that he has gone home." " O, I am sorry that he didn't come in. He would have liked to see our bird's nest." " Have you got a bird's nest ? " said Lucy. " Yes," said Mary Jay, " with three young birds in it. And there is a little ladder, so that we can climb up very easily and see it. But you may take off your bonnet and put it away. You'll find a nail to hang it upon in that closet." Mary Jay pointed to a closet door, which Lucy opened, and found there two nails, driven on pur- pose foi' her, low enough for her to reach. She 80 hicy's studies. put her bonnet upon one, and hung her satche upon the other, after having taken out her book and slate. Then Lucy went back to Alary Jay. " There," said Mary Jay, "look there, and see what a table I have prepared for you." Lucy looked where Mary Jay pointed. There were two chairs placed near the window, with a board passing across from one chair to the other. The board was pretty wide, but not very long. It was smooth, and it looked veiy new. One end of the board rested upon one chair, and the other end upon the other chair, so that it made a sort of table. There was a small chair with a seat made of a kind of basket work, before this table. Lucy knew at once that this litde chair was for her. " Is that my table ? " said Lucy. " Yes," said Mary Jay, " or desk ; you may call it your desk, if you please." Lucy sat down at her desk, and she said she liked it very much. She put her book and slate before her, and found that the board was just hiirh enough for her. " Now," continued Mary Jay, " that will be your place to study ; but the place to keep your books after you have done studying is on a shelf MART JAY. 81 in the closet. You may go and see if you can find it." So Lucy went to the closet again. She found a small shelf there, pretty low, so that she couM not only reach it, to put things on and take them off, but she could see all over it. There was an inkstand upon this shelf, and a ruler and a pencil. " Whose inkstand, and ruler, and pencil, are these, Mary Jay, on my shelf? " said Lucy. " They are yours," said Mary Jay. ^' I don't suppose I ought to call you Mary Jay," said Lucy, " now you are my teacher." " Yes," said Mary Jay, " call me by that name, just as you always have done." *' Am I going to write with pen and mk ? " ^aid Lucy. " Yes," sai3 Mary Jay. " But I don't know how to write with pen and ink," said Lucy. " That's the very reason why I got them foi you, so that you might learn. Children don't come to school to do what they know how to do already." "Well," said Lucy. So Lucy came away from her closet, and sat down be ore her desk. 82 LUCY'S STUDIES. " What am I o-oino; to learn first r " " Why, the first thing 1 want you to learn, lo to go alone a little." " To go alone ? " repeated Lucy. " Yes," replied Mary Jay, " intellectually." " I don't know what you mean by that," said Lucy. " Why, you know, when children are very little, they cannot walk at all without somebody to take hold of their hands and lead them. After a while, they learn to go alone. Now, when they first come to school, it is just so with their progress in study. They can't go alone at all. The teacher has to l^ad them all the way. After a time, they get along a little way, so that they can study by themselves a quarter of an hour, or half an hour, and, by and by, an hour, without any help ; and this is what I call going alone. Now, when a scholar gets so as to go alone a litde in her studies, it is a great deal easier to teach her. " Now," continued Mary Jay, " my plan is for you to study half an hour by yourself, if I can only contrive lessons which you can understand without help for so long a time ; and that is what ! call going alone." " Well/' said Lucy, " I will try.'* *' Ncr*," added Mary Jay, "your first lesson MARY JAY. 83 shall be to make figures on your slate. 1 will set you a copy." So Mary Jay took Lucy's slate, and, with the ruler and the slate pencil, she ruled a line along the !;op of it, and then made a number of figures, vdy neatly and carefully, for Lucy to copy. She told Lucy to take the ruler, and sit down at her desk, and rule another line, and then to make some figures exactly like the copy, and then to rule mother line, and so on down the slate. " 1 want to see," said Mary Jay, " if you can -^eep youi-self busy doing that, without saying a word to me, for half an hour. That will be gomg alone. When the half-hour is out, I will let you have a recess." Lucy tried, but she did not succeed very well. She could not rule her lines straight, and she wanted to come and show them to Mary Jay. Then, whenever she made a bad figure, she would sigh, and exclaim, " O dear me ! how hard it is ! ' If she made a good figure, she wanted to jump up, and come and show it to Mary Jay. When the time was about half out, she was very thirsty, and sne wanted Mary Jay to go out and get her a di'ink t)f water. In reply to all her questions and coui- plaints, Mary Jay always told her to wait until the half-nour was out and she would attend to 84 Lucy's studies. her. Even for the drink of water, she told hei tliat she must wait until the recess. When the time which Mary Jay had assigned to Lucy had expired, she said to her, — " Now, Lucy, it is time for recess. So you may leave your slate upon the desk, and go out and play a little while." " Well," said Lucy, " only may 1 first come and show you what I have done ? " " No," saii Mary Jay, " not till after the recess." " Then shall I go and put my slate away first, upon my shelf? " " No," said Mary Jay, " not till after recess. When you get any directions from your teacher, you must obey them exactly." " Where shall I go to play ? " said Lucy. " O, you may go out into the yard and garden, and see what you can find to amuse yourself mtb " n^ CHAPTER VII. THE RECESS Lu:y went out through the room by which ghe had entered, and came to the door, where she had knocked when she came to the house. The door was open, and she walked out. She stood a few mhiutes upon the great, flat stone, which served for a step, considering which way she sliould go. Just then, she recollected that she was thirsty ; and so she went back and asked Mary Jay how 3he should get a drink. Mary Jay told her to go and look under hei shelf in her closet. Lucy went, and she found a little tin mug hanging there upon a nail ; for IMary J.iy, like all good teachers, had taken pains to consider beforehand what would be necessarv for her little pupil, and had provided for every thing, so as to prevent delay and trouble after- wards. This is always the best way in teaching, as well as in every thing else. " Now," said Mary Jay, " take that mug, and 86 Lucy's studies. go out in the yard, and around behind the house, and you will see a small gate. Go through that gate, and you will see a little building with wood- bine growing all over it. There you can get a drhk." " How ? " said Lucy " O, you'll see when you get there," said Mary Jay. So Lucy took her mug and walked along. She found the gate very easily. It was small and easy to open. When Lucy had passed through, it shut of its own accord. She found herself in a pretty, green yard, next to the backside of the house ; and in the corner of this yard was the little building which Mary Jay had referred to. It was small ; it had a roof and sides, but the front was open. It was alm'ost covered and enveloped with woodbine. There was no floor, but there came up out of the ground, inside of the building, a small red post, with a litde stream of water spouting out from it. Lucy went immediately to it, to see what it was. There was a large, square board upon the ground before the post, which looked like the cover of a box, buried in the ground. The water from the post fell into a place just behind this box. She took hold of tlie edt^e of die board. THE RECESS. 87 to see if it would lift up like a cover. She want- ed to see where the water went to. She found that the board would lift up like the cover of a box ; and under it there was a small, square cistern, full of water. Lucy put the cover down again immediately, partly because she was afraid that she might fall in, and partly because she happened to recollect that it was not right for her to open the cistern without leave. Then Lucy held her mug under the stream of water which spouted out from the post, until the mug was full. Then she had a good drink. She afterwards held her mug under, and let it fill several times, pouring the water down upon the grass. When the water first struck upon the bottom of the muo;, it made a sort of a drumming sound, which was gradually deadened as the bot- tom became covered with water. Then Lucy would watch the surface of the water as it rose slowly, until at length it would run over in streams, and fall into the cistern below. While Lucy was sitting here, a door which led into the back part of the house, opened, and a girl came out, swinging a pail back and forth in her hand. The girl advanced towards the place where Lucy was, by a path which was well irodden. When she reached the cistern, she 88 Lucy's studies. lifted up the cover ; and then, dipping the pail in, she took up a pail full of water, and then shut the cover down. *' Well, Luc}'," said she, " how do 3'ou like the aqueduct ? " " Is this an aqueduct?" said Tiucy. *'Yes," said she; " here is where we get all our water." " Wh}^ don't you hold 3"our pail under, and catch the spouting ? " said Lucy. " Because," said the girl, " I can't wait long enough for it. So we have a cistern, which keeps alwaj^s full, and we can dip it out of that." So saying, the girl went away towards the house, carrying the pail upon one side, and lean- ing her head and arm awa}^ over to the other. Lucy then thought that she would go and look around the yard, and see what else she could find. She walked along towards the garden gate. '' I knew," she said to herself, " that Mary Jay would let nie go in her garden, though Ro3'al said she would not." She opened the gate, and walked in. She found man}' rows of corn, and beans, and other garden vegetables, but not man}' flowers. In the back corner were some large sunflowers, with great bumble-bees in them ; and there were two iHt re::ess. 89 or three apple-treos, wkh a great many apples growing on the branches. Some were red, and some were of a russet-brown. Lucy liked the garden very much ; but she began soon to think that it was time for her lu go in. So she turned around, and began to walk back towards the o-arden gate. She w as walkino: now in a path along on the opposite side of the garden from that in which she came in, and look ing at some large gourds, which were growing by the side of it, when suddenly she heard a great buzzing near her. She looked up, and saw that there was a hive of bees under a little shed, by the side of the walk close before her. Lucy was afraid to go by the bees, and so she turned back to go around some other way. She found that she had to go quite to die back- side of the garden, before she could get into another path, which would lead towards the gate. Here, just as she passed the end of a row of cur- rant-bushes, her attention was attracted by a btile, or set of steps, made of boards, which was made to get over the fence by. Lucy thought that she would climb up upon the stile, and look over, and see what there was upon the other side. Slie found that she could mount very ersiiy, 8* 9U Lucy's studies. and. when she got up to tlie highest step but one, she could see over into the field beyond It was a very pleasant place, and Lucy wished very much that she could go over. There was a path well beaten, which led do\\n a gentle de- scent, until it turned around the point of a rocky precipice, a»nd disappeared among the trees. Lucy wished very much that she knew where the path led to. She thought that she could see something down among the trees, glimmering like light, re- flected from water. But Lucy then thought that it was quite time for her to go in ; and so she got down from the stile, and walked along towards the gate. By the route which she was now taking, she was led away from the bees, so that she reached the gate without any difficulty. Then she went in and took her place at her desk again. That evening, when she went home. Royal asked her how she liked her school. " Very much," said Lucy ; " only there are no other children for me to play \\ ith." " True," said Royal ; " but you don't go to school to play, and so that is no hardship." -'• Yes, it is a hardship," said Lucy, " for I have a recess, an \ I want somebody to play with me in the recess " THE RECESS. 91 " A recess ! " said Royal — "a recess for only one scholar ! " " I had a recess," said Lucy, " and an excel- lent recess too, and you don't know what I saw." " What was it? " rejoined Royal. " A post," said Lucy, " with water spouting out of it." " It was a pump, I suppose," replied Royal, " and the water spouted out when you pumped." " No," said Lucy, " it was only a short pos» about so high." Here Lucy held her hand out, about two feet above the level of the ground, to show Royal how high the post was. " Why, Lucy," said Royal, " water couldn't spout out of a pump unless there was something to make it." " Yes it could," said Lucy ; " I saw it. It was nothing but a red post so high." Here Lucy held out her hand again, to indi- cate to Royal the height of the post. " And what do you suppose made the water come out ? " " I don't know," said Lucy ; " only I know that there was nothing there but a post, for I saw ;t myself. The water came up out of a box in ihe ground." " Hrw do you know ? " said Roval 92 Lucy's studies. "Why, I saw it," replied Lucy. " I lifted uj. the cover of the box, and looked in, and it was full of water. I mean to ask my father to buy such a post, and put it in our yard." " O Lucy," said Royal, with a laugh, " ii couldn't be — not unless there was a lead pipe, or something to come along under the ground, for the water to run in." ••' No," said Lucy, " there wasn't any lead pipe ; it was nothing but a post. I saw it myself." " There must be a lead pipe," said Royal, very positively, " under the ground, or else the water wouldn't spout up." Lucy paused a moment, considering whether what Royal said could be true ; but at length she added, — '•• Why, Royal, there couldn't be any lead pipe in the ground, because, if there was, they would have dug up the grass around there, when they put it down. But the ground was not dug up at all. It was smooth and grassed all over the yard." Lucy was wrong. She ought not to have been so positive. It is very unsafe for children to be positive, in saying what is and what is not possible. And Royal was wrong too. He n.ight safe.y have said, that he presumed that there was THE RECE&S 93 a lead pipe under die ground ; but he ought not to iiave been so positive of what he had no means of certainly knowing. The question was not settled until Lucy went to school the next day. She then asked Mary Jay about it. " There is a wooden pipe, under the orround," said Mary Jay. " A wooden pipe ? " repeated Lucy. " Yes," said Mary Jay, " a pipe made of wooden logs, with holes bored tlirough them, from end to end. Then these logs are put to- gether under the ground, and thus they make a long wooden pipe, and the water comes through that." " Where does it come from ? " said Lu«y. " It comes from a spring, on a hill benind ttie house. The spring is pretty high, ana so the water runs down until it gets to the post, and then, as it cannot get any farther, it spouts out into th^. air." " I thought it came from the box of watei underneath," said Lucy. " No," said Mary Jay ; " the war.er in the cis- tern comes out of die post ; it does not go into it The water spouts out from the post, and keeps Uie cistern full." 94 Lucy's studies. " And where does the rest of the water go to ? " said Lucy. " It flows along through another pipe, undei ground, into a trough in the barn-yard, where the cows go to drink." Lucy paused a moment, reflecting upon what she had heard ; and then she said, — " But, Mary Jay, how could they put the great logs in the ground, without digging up all the grass in the yard ? " " They did dig it up," said Mary Jay, " I suppose, when they put the logs down ; but that was several years ago, and the grass has grown up since." "' O," said Lucy, " 1 didn't think of that." Lucy paused again a few minutes, anu then she drew a long breath, and said, — " Well, — I knew the water didn't come in a >eaden pipe, Ht any rate, and 1 told Royal so." 95 CHAPTER VIII. MARY JAY'S INSTRUCTIONS After Lucy had been several days in Mary Jay's schoal, and had learned to work quietly by herself, for half an hour at a time, Mary Jay said, one day, that she would go and take a walk with her in the recess. " Well," said Lucy, " and I wish you would go down behind the garden, by the great rock, and show me where that path leads to." Mary Jay assented to this proposal, and they set out together. Lucy clambered over the stile without any trouble, and Mary Jay hei-self got over mucii more easily than Lucy nad supposed possible. In fact, although Mary Jay appeared to be very lame in walking, yet she could walk without any pain, and without much inconveni- ence to herself. The difficulty was rather ap- parent than real Lucy was surprised, therefore, to see how readily Mary Jay mounted the steps of the stile, and descended on the other side. 96 llcy's studies. " 1 believe 1 will leave one of m}-^ crutc lies here/' said she to Lucy, " and then 1 can take hold of your hand." So she led Lucy with one of her hands, whHa she managed the remaining crutch with the other , and thus they walked along the path which led towards the rocky precipice. " Now, Lucy," said Mary Jay, " I will tell you of some of the difficulties which children meet with in school. There are three things, which it belongs to a good scholar to do, which are rather hard." '' What are they ? " said Lucy. " To conunue to study after you have got tired of study, to try to do what you think you can't do, and to obey orders when you think they are wrong." "When they are wrong?" replied Lucy. " Yes," replied Mary Jay. " It is pretty tasy to obey when you think the orders are right ; the difficulty comes when you think the orders are wrong. For example, there was a boy once, and his name was Thomas. He used to hold his slate pencil just as we commonly hold a pen. The teacher told him that that wasn't right. She sliowed him how a slate pencil ouglit to be held, and then she went awav and left Thomas at hia MAR\ jay's instructions. 97 ivork. He tried the teacher's way, and said to himself, ' This isn't half as good a way as mine, [ .an t make the figures half as well.' Then he '.hanged his pencil, and held it just as he had jone it before, that is, as a pen is held." '' How ? " said Lucy. ' 1 will show you," said Mary Jay. Then she looked about upon the ground, and found a little sprig, which would answer to represent a pen, and she placed it between the fingers of her right hand, leaning upon her crutch while she did it, — and thus showed Lucy how a pen ought to be held. " And now," said Lucy, " show me how the teacher told him to hold it." So Mary Jay broke off a short piece of the sprig, which was of suitable length to represent a slate pencil, and she placed that between her fingers, in such a way as to show how a slate pencil ought tc be held. " Now, Thomas," she continued, " when he found that he could not work so conveniently b) holding the pencil in the way that the teacher had directed him to hold it, concluded that she must have been wrong;, and so he returned to his old method." " Method ? " said Lucy, '' what is that ? " 98 Lucy's studies. " The way, — his old way of holding it," re pHed Maiy Jay. " And what did the teacher say ? " said Lucy. " Why, when the teacher came ,iiere again," said Mary Jay, " she found him disobeying her. She said, ' Why, Thomas, I told you not to hold the pencil so.' " ' Yes,' said Thomas, ' I tried the other wa) but I found that I couldn't make my figures s( well.' " Here Mary Jay paused a moment ; but Lucy did not say any thing, and so she proceeded. " Thomas thought," said she, " that he was not bound to obey his teacher, unless he thought that her directions were right. But the truth is, that children ought to obey their parents and teachers always ; no matter whether they think the com- mands are right and reasonable, or not. It is very easy to obey, when you see that the com- mand is right and reasonable ; but when you do not understand why the command is given, or when it seems unreasonable or wrong, then comes the trial." " I shouldn't think," said Lucy, " that the teacher would want him to make the figurevS the hardest way." " No," said Mary Jay ; '' the truth was this Ill|i{illj|i|i|{lllll{yiljlllllli : Mffi |!||l!!||:|p!li!|ililiil!ili^ ^|j4 MARY jay's instructions. lOl Tnoraas's way was the hardest, and the teacher' the easiest ; only Thomas liad heconie so accus- tomed to his method, that ne couldn't at once do quite so well in the other. There are a great many things, which children have to do, that can be done most easily in one particular way, when they are once accustomed to that way. But before they are accustomed to it, it may perhaps be harder than some other way, which they are familiar with. Children are often told to hold their pens, or their knife and fork, or spoon, at table, in a way which seems to them inconveni- ent and troublesome ; and so diey think the com- mand is unreasonable and wrong. They think their parent or teacher is mistaken, and so they don't obey. But if they would obey, they would soon become accustomed to the proper way, and then they would find it altogether better than theii old habit. That's the philosophy of it, Lucy ; that's the philosophy of it." At this time, they had reached the rocky pre- cipice, and the path passed around near the fool of it. Lucy looked up at the rocks, and was a litde afraid that they would fall down upon her head. Mary Jay said, that she had seen boys climb up nearly to the top. From this place, the path passed along among some trees, and \Aicy 102 Lucy's studies. and Mary Jay went on ; and, as they walked, Mary Jay resumed the conversation. "Then tliere is another thing,'^ she added •' which I mentioned — being wilhng to try to dc what you think you can't do, or what you can't do verv well. Once, when I was at a school, there was a girl that sat next to me, and her name was Sarah. The teacher was choosing i. copy for her to wnte. He had several in his hands, and he o-ave her one that had some fio-ure?; at the end of it. Sarah looked at it, and their carried it back to the teacher's desk, and askec him if he would be kind enough to 2:ive he another copy, for that one had figures at the en: of it. " ' Well,' said the teacher, * and why is that &: objection ? ' " '• Why, I can't make figures very well/ re plied Sarah. " ' Can't you? ' said the teacher. " ' No,' said Sarah, ' and so I should like t: have a copy that hasn't got any figures in it.' " The teacher then began to look over his copie^j and Sarah supposed that he was endeavoring tc find one which had no figures in it. While he was doing this, she said, — " * I think TiUcy Dane would like that copy MARY JAY S INSTRUCTIONS. 103 very well, for she can make figures beauti- fully.' " "Lucy Dane?" said Lucy; "was her name Lucy ? " " Yes," said Mary Jay. " That's the same as my name," added Lucy " Presently," continued Mary Jay, " the teacher took out a copy, which was all figures from the beginning of the line to the end, and handed it to Sarah. " ' There,' said he, ' I am glad you told me that you can't make figures very well, for I want to have you learn ; so I'll give you copies of figures altogether, for a while. And as for Lucy Dane, I will be careful not to give her any more copies with figures in them, if she can make figures beautifully already.' " " Why, Maiy Jay 1 " said Lucy. She was quite surprised at this decision of the teacher. " Children very often," continued Mary Jay, " make objections to do what their teacher re- quires, because they say they can't do it. They forget that this is the very reason why they should set to work and learn. You don't go to school to do over again what you can already do very well, out to learn to do things which you can't do when you go. 104 Lucy's studies " There was another girl in the same schoi»l, ' ''ontinued Mary Jay ; " and one day, when the teacher told us that we must write every other page in our writing books without ruling, in order that we might learn to write straight without hues to guide us, she said that she couldn't write at all without ruling. " ' Can't you ? ' said the teacher ; ' then you'll have to write every page so, instead of every other, until you learn a little ; and when you get so as to write tolerably straight, then it will not be necessary for you to write so much without a guide.' " " What was her name ? " said Lucy. But Mary Jay did not have time to answer this question, for Lucy had hardly spoken the words, when her eye caught a view of quite a little sheet of water before her, under the trees So she left Mary Jay, and ran on towards it. It was a broad and shallow sheet of wa- ter, made by the expansion of a brook, which flowed here over smooth, yellow sands. A little below where they stood, the surface of the water was contracted, and the orook flowed over gravel and small stones, with a rapid motion, and finaiiy fill down some rocks, making quite a little water- MARY JAT S INSTRUCTIONS. 105 fall. Lar^e trees overhuns; the whole scene, and made it shady and cool. " Now," said JMary Jay, " I will show you my seat." So she led Lucy along up a bank, by a naiTOW path, until she came to a place where were some rocks, which were, like the water, overhung with trees. Here there was placed a long, flat stone, in front of a sort of wall or precipice of rock, in such a manner that the stone made a very good seat, and the rock behind it, which was smooth and inclined backwards a little, made a very good back to lean upon. " Is this your seat ? " said Lucy. " Yes," said Mary Jay. " Who made it for you ? " said Lucy " I made it myself," said Mary Jay. " Why, did you lift this great stone ? " said Lucy, putting her hand down upon the stone seat " Yes," said Mary Jay. " I shouldn't think that you could lift such a great, heavy stone," said Lucy. " No," replied Mary Jay, " I couldn't have lifted it exactly. I pried it along." '• How did you do it ? " asked Lucy. " Why, I saw the stone lying a litde way off, half in the gi'ound, and I '-vent, one day, and got 106 Lucy's studies. my little hoe, which my father bought for m« when I was about as large as you are, to hoe my garden with ; and with diat I dug the stone out. Then 1 brought down a little iron bar, and pried it up. My sister put stones under to keep it from falling back again into its old place. At last 1 got it up so high, that she could put a pole under ; and at length we got it entirely out of its hole. Then we pried it along, one end at a time ; and finally we got it in its place, and I pried it up, and my sister put the stones under ^'hich keep it up." Then Lucy looked under the seat, and found that at each end there were several flat stones, one over the other, forming a little pile ; and the stone seat rested upon them. "■ But, Mary Jay," said Lucy, " why didn't you get your father to come and do it for you ? " " Because," said Mary Jay, " my father is always busy at his work ; and, besides, I knev that I should enjoy my seat a great deal more, t do it all myself." '' But then your sister helped you," said Lucy ^' Yes," replied Mary Jay, " my sister helped me ; and she and I own the seat together. I come down here sometimes to read." " I wish," said Lucy, " :hat you would let me MARY jay's mSTEUCTIOH^S. 107 come down here sometimes, and study my les- son." " Well," said Mary Jay, *' when you get so that you can go alone, I will. If 3'ou are down here there will be nobody to watch you, or help you when you are in diflSculty, so that it will be of no use for you to come until you can go alone." After this, Luc}^ and Mary Jay walked slowly back to the hoose. 108 CHAPTER IX. JUST SAVED. One morning, when Lucy was seated at her desk, in Mary Jay's room, the little girl that opened the door for her, the first day of her com- ing to school, came in and told Mary Ja}^ that there was a young gentleman at the door who wanted to see Lucy. *' A 3'Oung gentleman ! " said Lucj^ astonished. She couldn't imagine how any young gentleman could have called to see her. She looked up to Mary Jay, without saying a word. *' Well, Lucy," said Mary Jay, "you had bet- ter go and see who it is." So Lucy rose ; but she was somewhat afraid to go. However, she followed the little girl out ; and then, passing through the intervening room, she went to the front door ; and there Lucy found that the young gentleman was nobody but Royal. Lucy laughed aloud. " What are you laughing at? " said Royal. JUST SAVED. 109 " Why, the girl said that there was a young 2:entleman at the door, who wanted 'o see me." " Well, I am a young gentleman, ' said Royal, " I'd have you to know. But come, I am going to ride away in a chaise, and my father said that I might call and get you to go too, if Mary Jay was willinsj." So Lucy went in to ask Mary Jay. She readily gave her consent, only she told Lucy that she had better take Royal about the garden and yards a little, and let him see what there was to be seen. Lucy was much pleased to adopt this plan. She first took Royal to the water post, as she called it, to let him see the water spout out, and she told him that the pipes, which conveyed the water to it, were wooden pipes, not leaden ones. Then she conducted him into the garden, and pointed out the hive of bees to him, standing at a safe distance. Then they both clambered over the stile, and went down to the brook, where Lucy was going to show him Mary Jay's seat ; but her attention was aiTested at the sight of a duck and six small ducklings, sailing about upon the pond. Both Royal and Lucy were greatly de- lighted at this sight. The little ducklings would swim sbout and dabble with their bills in the 110 Lucy's studies. sand, and in the grass upon the bank, as skilfully? as if they had been practising half a dozen }ears. " O, what beautiful little things ! " said Royal. *• I wish I had a duck." " I didn't know that Mary Jay had any ducks," said Lucy. Some of the ducks were nearly black, and some were yellow ; they were all covered with a silky down, instead of feathers, with a little tuft on each side, in the place of wings. Their litde web feet were, however, perfectly formed, and were smooth and glossy. Lucy saw one very plainly, when one of the ducks was running on the bank. After some time, the children left the pond and the ducks, and went up to the house again ; and then Lucy got into the chaise with Royal, and rode away. They rode about two miles, when Royal did his errand, and then they re- turned home. Royal left Lucy at her school again, as there was some more school time yet left ; and, besides, Lucy wanted to ask Mary Jay something about the ducks. When she came into the school-room, howeTer, Mary Jay said to her, — " Well, Lucy, have you had a pleasant ride? *' JUST SAVED. Ill ** Yes," said Lucy, '^ we went over the bridge, and » Lucy was going on to describe her ride, bu': Mary Jay said that it was her study hours, and that she had better sit right down to her studies, and when she had finished her lesson, then she should like very much to hear about her ride. " You see," continued Mary Jay, " that it will be better for us not to lose any more time than is necessary, when you go away to ride ; for then your father, when he finds it doesn't make much interruption, will let you go the often er." Lucy accordingly sat down at once to her work, and studied industriously upon her spelling lesson, until the time had expired. Then she told Mary Jay about her ride, and afterwards asked her about the ducks. "The ducks!" repeated Mary. Jay; "where did you see them ? Down in the brook ? " " Yes," said Lucy, " a duck, and six little ducklings." " Why, Lucy," said Mary Jay, apparently much surprised, and starting up to take her imitches. "Then my ducklings are hatched out." " Didn't you know it ? " said Lucy. " No," said Mary Jay ; " let us go and see " 112 Lucy's STUDIES. So Mary Jay and Lucy hastened out into the yard. From the yard they passed into the gar den, and from thence over the stile. They fol lowed the path down, until they came to the water; and here Mary Jay seemed to be even more pleased that Royal and Lucy had beeuj to see her little ducklings. " I didn't know that they were hatched," said Mary Jay ; '' the duck has been sitting for some time, but I didn't think that she could find her way down here alone, with all the little ducklings. Let's see — how many are there? " " Six," said Lucy ; " Royal and I counted them." " One, two, three, four, five, — and that little black one on the bank makes six," said Mary Jay. " But there ought to be seven." " Why ? '^ said Lucy. " Because," said Mary Jay, " there were seven eggs. Let us go to the nest and see." So Mary Jay and Lucy went back towards the house. They went through the garden and the yard beyond, where the aqueduct was situ- ated, and thence they passed into another yard, where there was a barn and a shed. " I don't see how tlie little ducklings could get over all these fences," said Lucy. JUST SAVED. 113 " INo," said Mary Jay, " they didn't ; there is another way for them to go. I will show it to you presently." They now came into a shed, where there was a cart and a watjon ; and in one corner there was a sleigh, which had been stored away there foi the summer. Mary Jay looked under tLj sleigh, and Lucy stooped down and looked under too. There was a nest made of hay under the back corner of the sleigh, with several egg-shells lying ahoiit it ; in the nest was one ess remainmjj, which seemed to be whole. " There is one ^gg^^ said Mary Jay ; " couldn't you creep under and get it, Lucy ? Stop a minute, and 1 will put something down for you to kneel upon." So Mary Jay took the seat out of the sleigh, which was a smooth board, like a box cover, and she put it down upon the ground between the two runners. Then Lucy crept in upor this, going in in front ; and when she came to the end of the seat, she found that she could just reach the egg. She took it up, and wa£ oringing it out, when suddenly she dropped it, appearing to be frightened. " What is the matter? " said Mary Jay. " Why, 1 heard it peep," said Lucv. 10* 114 Lucy's studies. " Did you ? " said Mary Jay ; " then there musJ be a little duckling in it alive. Take it up very carerullv\ and brino; it out to me." So Lucy took up the egg again, and crept out oajckward. and handed it to Mary Jay. Then she came out entirely, and stood up before Mary Jay to see the egg. It was cracked and broken by the fall. " Put the seat back in its place, Lucy," said Mary Jay, " and then we can gel into the sleigh, and sit down." So Lucy put the seat back in its place, and they both stepped in and sat down. Then Mary Jay began carefully to pull off the pieces of the shell. " Are you going to take the little duckling out ? " asked Lucy. " Yes," replied Mary Jay ; " but I don't be lieve it will hve." " Why not ? " said Lucy. " Because," said Mary Jay, " it is so tendei and young. You see it is not fledged yet, and it ought to be kef*, warm ; but the old duck has gone away with the others, and so she will not take care of it ; and it is not grown enough to 5Wiin about in the water." By this time, Mary Jay had got the little duck JUST SAVED. I \6 liiiir out, and neld it in her hand. He was partly covered with a coarse sort of bristles, the rudi- ments of fiiture feathers. He peeped a little, but he could not stand, or hold up his head. He lay extended upon Mary Jay's hand, almost lifeless and cold. " How shaggy he looks ! " said Mary Jay. " Shaggy ? " repeated Lucy. " Yes," replied Mary Jay ; " he looks more like a young porcupine, than like a duck." " L-et me hold him in my hand," said Li>cy. So Mary Jay gently placed him in Lucy's hand. " Now put your other hand over him," said Mary Jay. " What for ? " said Lucy. " To keep him warm," said Mary Jay. " One of your hands will be a bed, and the other a blanket." " We'll go in and give him something to eat," said Lucy. " No," replied Mary Jay, " it is warmth, not food, that he wants." So Mary Jay walked along towards the house, and ^ucy followed her, carrying the duckling very carefully, covering it with her right hand, though she took care not to press her hand down upon it 116 Lucy's studies. hard enough to hurt it. When they got into the house, Mary Jay got a little basket, not much largei than a lea-cup, and lined the bottom of it with cotton. Then she put in the duckling, and covered him over with cotton. " O Mary Jay," said Lucy, " you'll stifle him." " No," said Mary Jay, " he has more air to breathe than he had in the egg-shell ; the great thing is to keep him warm." When Mary Jay had got the little duckling comfortably established in his basket, she went out into the kitchen, and put the basket in a pretty warm corner, and left him. Then she told Lucy that it was time for her to go home. " Do you think that the duckling w^ill live ? " said Lucy. " No," said Mary Jay, " I am afraid not — but we can tell by the time you come to school to-morrow morning." When it was time for Lucy to come home from her school the next day, Royal went out to the door to watch for her ; for Lucy had told hiirj about the duckling, and he was very eager to heai whether it was alive or not. After waitin"- some o linie, he caught a glimpse of Lucy's bonnet, jnST SAVED. 11 n tnrouiih the trees, as she w^s coming alono- the road. Whe;\ she had advanced so far as to come into full view, he saw that she had a hltle basket m her hand, which she was bringing along very carefully. " Lucy," said Royal, calling out aloud to her, "' what have you got there ? " Lucy looked up, and, seeing Royal, began to mn along a little, very gendy, towards him ; but she checked herself immediately, finding that it shook die basket too much. So she contented herself with walking as fast as she could, calling out at the same time, in reply to Royal, — " I've got the Htde duckling. Mary Jay has given it to me." By this time Royal had run up to where she was, very eager to look in and see the litde duckling. " Is it alive, Lucy ? " said he. " Is it alive? " '' \ es," said Lucy ; and she moved away a litde of the cotton, and let Royal lock in. The duck- ling held up its head, and began to peeu. It was alive, and pretty strong, and covered with a soft, »ilky down, like the ducklings which Royal and Lucy had seen in the water. •' You said he was all covered with bristles." said Royal 1 18 Lucy's studies. " Yes." replied Lucy, " but they have all gi'own out into feathers." '* O Ijucy," said Royal, " what a beautiful hide duckling ! I wish I had it. Didn't she give *t partly to me ? To me and you together, 1 guess it was," he added. " No," replied Lucy, " to me alone. She gave it altogether to me." " Well," said Royal, " I wish you would let me own it with you ; " and then he added, after a moment's pause, " I'll make you a duck pondj Lucy ; you must have a duck pond." " You can't make a duck pond," said Lucy. " O Lucy 1 yes I can," replied Royal. " Big enough for him to swim in ? " said Lucy " Yes," replied Royal, " plenty big enough." " Well," said Lucy, " but where will yo^i make it ? " " O, any where — wherever you want it." Lucy still had some doubts whether Royal could really make a duck pond ; but, as she wanted very much to see the little duckling swim, she finally concluded to agree to Royal's proposal, and to let him own it with her, provided he would make a pond 119 CHAPTER X. DIYER. Royal commenced his pond that afternoon, though the commencement of the pond was the commencement of difficulties between him and Lnc}' respecting their agreement ; for Lncj^ after getting Joanna to give the duckling a little meal and water, according to Mar}^ Jay's direc- tions, and leaving him safe in Joanna's care in the kitchen, went out into the yard, and found Royal at work getting out a large box, which was behind the barn. The box was about as large every wa}' as a common bureau drawer, being prettj' long and broad, but ver}^ shallow. ' ' What are 3^011 going to do with that box ? said Lucy. " I am going to make your duck pond with it, said Royal. " I don't see how 3'ou are going to make a duck pond with a box," said Lucy. " Wh}', you see," said Royal, '' I am going to dig a square hole in the ground, in a corner of the » » 120 lucy's studies. yard, and set Lais box down in it, and then 1 am going to pour water in it, and so make the duck pond.'* " But that won't be big enough/' said Lucy. "O yes," said Royal, "it will be plenty big enough for such a little duckling as ours. He can swim about in it a great deal." " It is not yours and mine," said Lucy ; " ft is nine alone." " Yes," said Royal, " it is part mine ; you saiQ if I would make you a duck pond, you would let me own it with you." " Yes, I said I would give it to you, after you had made the duck pond ; but I haven't given it to you yet." " Yes, but, Lucy, I am going to make the Juck pond. I am doing it as fast as I can." " It won't be big enough," said Lucy. " 1 meant a duck pond as big as Mary Jay's." " O Lucy, I could not possibly make such a big duck pond as that. That is a great brook." " Yes," said Lucy, " and so I told you. I told you that you couldn't make such a duck pond as I wanted." Royal insisted that the bargain was fairly made, and that he only agreed to make a duck pond big BHOUirh for a duck to swim in. And now he sa'd DIVER. 121 that it was not fair for Lucy to take back jiei promise, and that he meant to go on and finish the pond, and then he should certainly have half the duck for his. But Lucy, on the other hand, contended that she meant a large duck pond ; whereas Royal was only going to make a box full of water. After considerable discussion, they very properly agreed to refer the case to Miss Anne. They both promised to abide by her decision. They found Miss Anne swinging herself at a swing, near the back part of the garden. After hearing a full account of the case from each of the parties. Miss Anne said, — " It is rather a difficult case to decide. Noth- ing was said about the size of the duck pond in the bargain, but yet Lucy says she meant a large one; and it is highly probable that she did. Now, it is hard for her to lose her duck, in a bargain which she did not mean to make.. " But, then, on the other hand,'' continued Miss Anne, " Royal honestly understood her to mean a duck pond of any size, and so he began in good faith to fulfil his agreement ; and now it is rather hard for him to be disappointed, and lose his ;^ork." "Why, Miss Anne," said Lucy, "be hasn*t 122 luct's studies. done any work ; he has only taken out the box.'' "That is something," said Miss Anne, "and then the disappointment is a good deal ; so that It is a hard case to decide." She paused for a few moments, considering the case, and then she added, — " You see. Royal — do you not ? — that your claim is a somewhat doubtful one ? " " Why, I think," said Royal, " that it was a fair bargain ; and, besides, to make a small duck pond will be as much as the duckling is worth." " Still, that was not her understanding, and so the case is somewhat doubtful. Now, sometimes, in such a case, where a man has a claim which he perceives is, after all, a doubtful one, and the other party is not willing to allow it, he will not insist upon it. We all have just claims, wh'ch, considering all the circumstances of the case we do not wish to insist upon." " Hovv ? " said Royal. " Why, suppose, for instance, that I should lend a book to Mary Jay, and, while it was at her house, it should accidentally get mjured." "But Mary Jay is very careful of books," said liucy. " 1 have 10 doubt of that," replied Miss Anne DIVER. 123 "but then an a/xident might happen. A little child mi-gbt get it." "But there are no little children there," per- sisted Lucy. " No matter," replied Miss Anne ; " we can certainly make the supposition, that the book got injured." Lucy thought that, even as a mere supposition, the' idea that a book could get injured, while under Mary Jay s care, was wholly inadmissible. However, she said no more, and Miss Anne pro- ceeded. " Now, if that were the case," continued Miss Anne, " I should have a claim upon Mary Jay to buy me another book. If any body borrows any thing, and it gets injured while in her care, she is bound to get another ; so I should have a fair and just claim upon her ; but I should not insist upon it. I should not wish her to buy me another book. It would be a just claim, but yet I should not insist upon it. " Now, cases of this kind very often happen," she continued, " where persons have just claims, which they prefer to yield, rather than to insist upon. Now, you think, in this case. Royal, that you have a just claim upon Lucy ; but, perhaps, considering all the circumstances of the case, you 124 Lucy's studies. will conclude that you will not insist upon it That v'ill settle the whole question ; and I shall be saved the necessity of deciding whether thf share of the duck is justly vours or not." " Well," said Royal, after a moment's pause^ " on the whole, I don't care much. I believe I'll make the duck pond, and you may have the duck yourself, Lucy, pond and all." Lucy was highly gratified at Royal's generosity, m giving up his claim so pleasantly, and they went together out into the yard. Royal then proceeded with his work. He dug a square hole in the comer of the yard, and put the earth, which came out of it, into his litde wheelbarrow, and wheeled it away, reserving one wheelbarrow load. Then he put the box into its place, and rammed in the earth which he had re- served, compactly, all around it. " And now," said Lucy, " are you going to put the water in that ? " " Yes," said Royal. " I don't think it will be a very good duck pond," said Lucy. " Why Dot? " asked Royal. " Because," said Lucy, " the sides are so steep, that my little duck can't get out.'* DIFER. 125 " Ah, you'll see that he can get out, when it is done." " But, Royal," said Lucy, " what good does it do to put in the box ? Why don't you pour the water right into the hole." " Because," said Royal, " it would all soak away into the ground. The sides of the box will keep the water from soaking away so much." " Ir will soak away through the cracks," said lucy. " No," said Royal, " I shall stop up the cracks." Accordingly, when Royal had finished placing his box in the ground, and had packed the earth in tight all around it, he went away with his wheelbarrow to a bank at some distance, down in the field, where there was some clay, and he brought a little of this in his wheelbarrow to the spot. He worked this clay over all the seams, and into the corners of the box, ramming it down hard. " There," said he, " now the water can't get through. Clay is water-tight. Water can go tlirough sand, but it can't get through clay." " Is that what you mean by water-tight ? " asked Lucy. " Yes," replied Royal. " After I have made 11* 126 Lucy's studies. my box water-tight, with clay, then 1 am goii.g to put sand in." " What is that for? " said Lucy. " You will see," replied Royal. So Royal, when his clay was all crowded into its place, around the bottom of the box, took his wheelbarrow again, and went after a load of sand and gravel. He had to go to some distance for this ; but he succeeded at length in getting as much as he could wheel, of pretty clean sand and pebble-stones. This load he put into the box, and he disposed of the sand and gravel iff such a way, as that it filled the box nearly full around the sides, leaving a deep place in the middle. Then he went to get some water. He brought pailful after pailful, until he had filled up his little pond level with the top. The water was somewhat turbid immediately after he had poured it in ; but he told Lucy that in a little while it would subside and be clear. *' It will settle," said he, " while I am making the duck house." "Are you going to make a duck house too? " asked Lucy. " Yes," replied Royal ; '• for. pretty soon, you ^ee, the duck will be big enough to live out of DIVER 12' dix>rs5 and then you will want a house foi him." So Royal went and go!, another box. It was chaped like a trunk, and about as large, only it had no cover. Royal brought this, and placed it at one end of his duck pond, laying it down upon its side, so that the open part was towards the pond. " There," said he, " that will do for a house, only the top ought to be slanting." " What for ? " said Lucy. " Why, for the roof, — so that the water will run off when it rains." " Well, Royal," said Lucy, " we can tip it back a little, and that will make the top slanting. Then you can put a stone under one side, to keep it so." " No," replied Royal, " for that will make the bottom slant back too. You see the floor ought to be level, and only the roof slant back. But J know what I can do." Saying this, Royal went away, and got a short board, a little larger every way than the upper board of the box. This he placed over the box in an inclined position. This was for a roof. The back part of the roof — that is, the part which was away from the pond — rested directly upon the 128 Lucy's studies. box. The front part — that is, the part which was towards the pond, which was, of course, to be raised, in order to make the roof slant backward — Royal supported by a narrow board, which he placed under this edge to keep it up. He nailed the roof securely in its place. When it was finished, there was, of course, a space between the upper part of the box and the roof. Royal said that this was the duck's garret. " And now," said he, " for the yard." " What ! are you going to make a yard ? " asked Lucy. "Yes," said Royal, "he must have a yard, or else he will run away. But while I am making a yard, Lucy, you must go into the barn, and get a little hay, and make him a nest." So Lucy went into the barn, and got some hay, while Royal took his wheelbarrow, and went away to find some boards for the yard. He brought three or four boards, and with these he made a yard. The boards were about six feet long. He placed them upon the ground, upon their edjres. Each board made one side of the yard. He nailed them together at the four cor- ners. One of the boards passed directly behind the duck house ; the others extended on each side, and forward, so as to enclose the duck pond DIVER. 129 and considerable space besides, so tbat the duck could come out of his house, and either swini in his pond, or else walk about upon the ground just as he pleased ; only he could not get over the boards, so as to run away. " That is a beautiful duck yard," said Lucy^ " only I wish there was a door for me to opeii, tc J) go m. " O, you can step right over it," said Royal. " Yes," said Lucy, " I know I can step ovei It ; but I should like a door." '* Well," said Royal, " I will see if I can con- trive some way to make a door." Royal then went and got a small block of wood, which he brought to the duck yard, and put it down before it, close to the board upon onp side. When he had it properly placed, he said, — " There, Lucy, that will do for a step, and you can step up by that, and so get over easily ; and you can call that a door. Won't that do ? " Lucy said that it would do very well ; and she stepped over by means of her step, and back again, several times She said it made a very (yQ^)d door indeed. By the time that all this had been doing, the «*'ater in the litde pond had become quite clear. 130 LUCY'S STUDIES. and Lucy could see that it had a smooth, sandy bottom. So they both wanted lO bring the duck out, and see it swim. Lucy was afraid that it was too little to swim ; but Royal insisted that a duck could swim just as quick as it could get out of the shell. Lucy said that she meant t-o ask Joanna ; and they accordingly both went into the house to ask Joanna if it would do to put their little duck into the water. Joanna said that she thought he could swim,, and, at any rate, that she would go out with them, and carry him, and see. Then they all went out together. Joanna said that she liked the pond, and the house, and the yard, all very much indeed. " But I think," she added, " that it would be better to keep the little duck in the hwise at night, for a while, where he can be kept warm, until he gets a little older. Then, in the day- time, while the sun is out, you can keep him here in his house ; and then, after some time, when ho gets older and stronger, you can let him stay in his house all the time, day and night." So saying, Joanna gendy put ^he duck down upon the edge of his pond, in order to see what he would do. He ran rio;ht into it at once, and DIVER. 133 iiiiniedlately began to swim about as dexterously as if he had been accustomed to the water as lona: as his mother had been. " He can swim ! " exclaimed Lucy ; " see. Royal ! he can swim ! " The duck then beo-an to dabble with his bill in the sand, upon the margin of the water. Then he took up a little water, and held his bill up to let the water run down his throat. Then he looked up with one eye towards Royal and Lucy, and then he swam across the pond again, and went to dabbling in the sand upon the ether side. "O ducky," said Royal, "what a cunning little rogue you are ! " " Let's give him something to eat," said Lucy. " Yes," replied Joanna, " I brought him a little piece of bread ; " and so saying, she proceeded to crumb her bread upon the ground, near the duckling. He came out upon the bank, and began to pick up some of the small crumbs im- mediately ; and then he turned around, and jumped into the water again, and swam away, striking the water from beneath him with his little web feet. Joanna laughed heartily at his comical move- ments; and, after looking at him for a few minutes, she left him with the children, and went back to the house. 134 LUCY^S STUDIES. The children let the duck swim about in his pond for more than an hour, while they remained near, sometimes watching his motions, and some- times playing at a little distance from his house and yard. They had some conversation about his name. Several names were talked of, but finally they concluded to call him Diver. They gave him as much bread as they thought he ought to have, and then Royal put the remainder of the pieces, which Joanna had brought out, in Diver's garret, which he said would be a fine place to keep his provisions in. " Yes," said Lucy, " 1 think it will be an ex- cellent place, and I am much obliged to you, Royal, for making me such a good duck pond, and house, and yard. 1 am very glad to have it. It is a great deal better than I expected that it would be. And I believe, on the whole, that I shall let you own Diver with me. We will own him, and his house, and his yard, and his pond^ all together." " Yes," said Royal, " so we will." The children went in and told Miss Anne how they had settled the business, and she said that she was glad of it. " It is much better," she said, • to arrange such affairs in a spirit of kindness and good-will, than for each pajty to insist upon his oi DIVEE. lUt) her claims, and have the case decided as a dispute between them ; and I am verj^ glad that you have settled it in an amicable manner." ' ' AYhat do you mean by amicable ? " asked Luc}". ''''Friendly" replied Miss Anne. 136 CHAPTER XL A CONVERSATIOiq'. After Luc}^ had been at school for some days, and had learned a little how to study by herself, and to follow Mary Jay's directions, Mary Jay asked her, one day, if she knew what her mother wanted her to study. She said that she didn't know. '^Then," said Mary Jay, '^ I wish that you would ask your mother, and tell me to- morrow." Lucy did ask her mother, and her mother con- sulted her father. The result of their conversation was, that they should lilie to see Mary Jay about Lucy's studies ; and they concluded to invite her to come that evening and take tea with them, and then, after tea, they would have time to talk about it. Royal wished to go and bring Mary Jay in the chaise, as she couldn't walk very well ; and his father said that that would be an excellent plan. Lucy invited her when she went to school that morning ; and in the afternoon, when it was time A CONVERSATION. 137 ior her to come, Royal and Lucy went for her in the chaise. The first thing, after Mary Jay arrived, was to take her out, and let her see the duck pond and house. Mary Jay was veiy much pleased indeed ; and she said that, when her ducklings grew up, she would give them another, and then they would have a pair. Royal wished that Mary Jay would give them the other duckling then, so that they might bring them up together; but he didn't think that it would be proper for him to ask it, and so he only said that he and Lucy would be very glad indeed to have a pair. After tea that evening, Lucy's father ana mother, and Mary Jay, sat down to talk about Lucy's studies. '' I believe," said Lucy's father, " that teachers have often very wrong ideas about the proper studies for children. The question is, not what studies are the easiest, but what can be pursued to best advanta":e. Now, there are some things which children can learn thoroughly, as far as they learn them at all, and others that they cannot learn thoroughly." *' Not if they are thoroughly taught ? " said Mary Jay. 138 Lucy's studies. " No," said he, " because they cannot be thoroughly taught; for the very things tnat the study relates to, are such that they cannot really appreciate them. Take history, for example. If a child, like Lucy, is to study history, she reads, perhaps, in her book, that a rebellion broke out, and the leaders of it beheaded the king. Now, she may commit the words to memory, it is true, and recite the lesson fluently ; but she cannot have any adequate idea of the truth, because the elements of it are beyond her capacity." " I don't understand one word that you say," said Lucy. " Why, if you read in a book of history," said her father, " that a rebellion broke out, and that the leaders of it beheaded the king, you cannot really understand it, because you cannot under stand what a rebellion is, or what the leaders are, or even what a king is." " Why, father," said Lucy, " I know what a king is already ; and Mary Jay could tell me the other things." " What is a king ? " asked her father. " Why he — he — is a kind of man, and he li/es in a great palace; — and he makes people obey him, I believe," said Lucy. Her father did not say any thing in reply to her A CONVERSATION. 139 description of a king; but Mary Jay saw very clearly, that she could not possibly have any thing more than a very inadequate and childish idea of d king, " It is so with all the ideas," ontinued her father, addressing Mary Jay, " which history Drings before the mind. They are greatly com- plicated, and of very extended and intricate rela- tions, so that young children cannot possibly ap- preciate them. If you tell them that Columbus discovered America in 1492, they can learn the words ; but they are utterly unable to appreciate the truth. They cannot form any conception of America, or of Columbus, and the date 1492 marks no era of the world in dieir minds." " Well, sir," said Mary Jay, " but isn't it so with all studies ? " " No, by no means,'^ replied Lucy's father. " The truths of arithmetic a child can appre- ciate as fully and completely as any person Three from ten leaves seven. Now, a child may be longer in learning that than a grown person ; but when she once undei-stands it, she undei-stands it as perfectly as any mind can. The reason is, that the idea of three is a simple idea, which, if it »j5 formed at all 'n the mind, is formed fully at 140 LUCY S STUDIES. once. But the idea o;' a rebellion, or of a kingj or an army, is a complicated idea, which can be acquired only slowly, and after some years of ex- perience of life, of reading and observation." " What are some of the other studies," asked Mary Jay, " besides arithmetic, which children can learn to advantage ? " " Reading is one. A child who learns what the sound is, that is represented by the character S, knows the truth as completely and thoroughly as Sir Isaac Newton could have known it. Then there is writing, including spelling." " Spelling belongs to reading, father," said Lucy. " You learn the art of spelling, generally, with reading ; but we use it only with writing," replied her father. " How ? " said Lucy. " Why, the chief reason why we learn to spell is, so as to be able to spell the words correctly when we are writing. We do not spell the words when we read. Therefore, to be able to spell is rather a part of the art of writing, than of reading In reading, the scholar must be able to pronounce all the words which she finds already spelt ; and m writing, she must be able to spell them again." i CONVERSATION. 141 ** Is geogra^ihy another study ? " said Mary Jav. " Geography, one would at first think, would oe one of the studies which a child could learn thoroughly ; but, on reflection, we shall see that the elementary ideas, which that study brings to the mind, are beyond the grasp of very young children. They have no ideas of distance, and of course can have no adequate conception of the earth, or of continents, oceans, mountains. It is impossible to carry the mind of a very young child away from the lines, and dots, and crooked configurations of the map, to the vast forms of real land and water, represented by them. We all carry with us to the end of life absurd and ridiculous ideas of some regions of the earth's sur- face, which we obtained from our maps, when we were children. But a child cannot very well form an absurd or ridiculous idea of the number ten, or of the letter 5, or of the mode of spelling " Well, father," said Lucy, " I know what a mountain is, at any rate." " What is it ? " said her father. " It is a great, high hill." " How high is it ? " said her father. ' O, it is very high." said Lucy, reaching up 142 LUCY S STUDIES. with her hand ; " very high, indeed. Highei than this house." " Is it as high as a tree ? " said her father. " Yes," said Lucy, " i great deal higher than a tree." " Is It as high as the steeple of a church ? " asked her father. " Why, I don't know," answered Lucy. " I don't know that it is quite so high as the steeple of a church." Mary Jay smiled ; but Lucy's father only said that it was true that church steeples were sometimes very high. Mary Jay saw how inade- quate all Lucy's ideas of the magnitude of moun- tains were ; for, in fact, the principal mountains of the world are as much higher than the steeple of a church, as the house that Lucy lived in was higher than her duck house. In fact, Lucy was " entirely unable to form any conception, when she heard the word mountain, of the vast and complica- ted idea expressed by it, — including the immense and towering elevations, the forests, the rocks, and the glaciers, — the broken ranges, the chasms and valleys, and the lofty summits, bare, and deso- late, and cold. Her idea of a mountain was only that of a great green hill. " Then," said Mary Jay, " you would rathei A CONVERSATION. 141^ have Lucy not study any thing, but what she can learn thoroughly — reading, spelling, writing, and aiithrneticw" " No," replied Lucy's father, "I did not sa) exactly that ; I wouldn't forbid her making a be- ginning upon geography or history, — if we can get some suitable book, — by way of variety, and to give her a litde introduction to these studies. But I want her main time and attention, for several years, to be directed to the other studies, which she can pursue to advantage. Remember that every step she takes in learning the three great arts, of reading, writing, and arithmetic, is a step taken well and thoroughly, — but tliat what- ever ground she gees over in history, geography, or philosophy, or any such study, is gone over in a very superficial manner ; and that all the ideas she forms are childish, inadequate, and oftentimes entirely incorrect or absurd." Mary Jay was very much interested in what Lucy's father had been saying ; but Lucy did not understand it very well, and, as she could not understand, she had gradually ceased to pay any attention, and was now thinking of a plan of get- ting Royal to carry Diver down to the brook, which was at some distance behind the house, th<= 144 Lucy's studies. uext day, and let him swim there ; and just as her father had finished the last remark, she said, — " Father, may Royal and I carry Diver down to the brook to-morrow ? " " Diver ? " repeated her father ; " who is Diver ? " " O, haven't you seen Diver yet, father? — Come out then, and see him. Mary Jay gave him to us." This was the first time that her father had heard of Diver. He allowed Lucy to take him by the hand, and to lead him out to Royal's duck pond. He was very much pleased with it, indeed, and with Diver's motions and frolics in the water. He said that he did not know before that a young duck was such a pretty thing. He took it up, and looked at its little web feet, which he admired exceedingly, and said that, if he was an engineer, he would attempt to construct paddles for a steam- boat on the same principle. " I should think that they would strike the bottom in shallow water," said Mary Jay. " And get broken," said Lucy. " So they would," replied her father. " I didn^l tliink of that ; did I?" A CONYEESATION. 145 Mar^^ Ja}^ got into the chaise again, and Ro^-al drove her home ; and on the wa}', she determined to devote nearl}' all Lnc3''s time in school to making as much and as thorough progress as possible in the great fundamental branches of reading, writing, spelling, and arithmetic. 13 146 CHAPTER XII. INTERRUPTION. One afternoon, Lucy went to see her cousin Rollo. Rollo was 3'ounger than Lucy, being then about four or five 3'ears old. Luc}" was six or seven. She was going to spend the evening at her uncle's, and Ro3'al, her brother, was to come for her in the chaise about half-past eight o'clock. Before tea, Luc}' and Rollo had been playing with picture-books. Lucy sat upon a cricket before a little book-case, looking at the books. Rollo had a stick for a gun, and was marching about, stopping occasionall}- to make believe fire his gun. He did not care much about the pic- ture-books, as he had seen them a great mau}^ times. After tea, Rollo's father went into a little back parlor, where he had been writing, and Rollo and Lucy returned to the little book-case. They had a lamp now, for bj'^ this time it was dark. Rollo wanted Lucy to make him a little cap, so that he INTERRUPTION 147 could play soldier better. He had a feather which he told her she could put into it. So Lucy took a piece of paper, which was in the book-case, and cut a narrow strip, which she put around Rollo's head like a band, and pinned the ends together. Then she contrived to faster the feather in at the side of it. Rollo said it would do very well for a cap, and he went marching about and firing his gun. liucy found that she could not see very well ; 50 she followed Rollo out into the entry. She wanted to see where he was gohio-. Rollo inarched along until he came to tlie door leading into his father's back parlor. He opened the door and went in. Lucy remained at the door, look- ing to see what he would do. Rollo's father was seated at a table near the window, with his back to the door, writing very busily ; and he paid no attention to Rollo, bui went on with his work. Rollo marched back- wards and forwards, imitadng the sound of a tmmpet with his lips, and stopi)ing occasionall)f to point his stick towards his father, or towards Lucy, and say, Bapg, as if he was shooting them. " Come in, Lucy," said Rollo. " No," said liucy, in a low tone, and shaking her head. 148 LUUf'fe STUDIES. " Yes," said Rollo, " come in ; my father will let us coine in." But Lucy was afraid of interrupting her uncle, and so she did not come in, immediately ; but finding, at length, that her uncle went on with biS work without appearing to pay any attention to Rollo, she presendy glided in, and took her seat upon a sofa which was upon the side of the room opposite to where her uncle was sitting. Presently Rollo's father paused in his work, and laid down a ruler, which he had been using in copying a plan into a letter that he had been writing, upon the table. He then rose from his seat, and turned around to look at Rollo. Rollo immediately began to march back and forth again, trumpeting with his lips, and shooting at his fa- ther with his gun. " Come," said his father, " I think I should like to have the enemy march out of my king- dom." " Why, father," said Rollo ; " Vm not the enemy." " O," said his father, " I thought it was the enemy." " Yes, come, Rollo." said Lucy ; " we had better go out." INTERRUPTION. 149 " No," said Rollo ; ^' mayn't we stay here father ? " While Lucy and Rollo were saying thl>, Mr. Holiday had gone to his secretary, and opened it, and was taking down a bundle of papers. " Why, 1 am afraid," said he, " that you will interrupt me. 1 am engaged in some very per- plexing work." " No, sir, we won't," said Rollo. " We will be ever so still. I'll put my gun away, and my cap. Lucy, you take out my feather, and then I'll take off my cap, and we'll put it away, and come and sit down upon the sofa, and be still, and look at father's great picture-book. May we have your great picture-book, father ? " " Why, I have no objection," said his father, "to your having the great picture-book ; but then [ am very certain that you'll intenTjpt me if you stay here." Rollo's father talked very indistinctly as he said this, for his pen was across his mouth, both hands being occupied in turning over the file of papers whish he had taken down from the secretai-v. At length, he took his seat at the table again. and began to write, oaying, however, before he 13* 150 Lucy's studies. began, that Rollo and Lucy might see 11' (hey could stay in his room without intenupting him. " Come, Lucy," said Rollo, " let us go and get my little table to put up by the sofa, and then we can put the great picture-book upon it, and then sit upon the sofa, and look at the pictures." They accordingly went off to get the table. It was a small, square table, with a drawer in it. It was just high enough for Rollo and Lucy, and so light that it was very easy to carry about. Rollo took hold of one side, and Lucy of the other, and they brought it into the room very easily. " Now," said Rollo, looking about, " now for a light." He observed that there were two lamps upon his father's table, and so he went up to the table abrupdy, saying, — " Father, will you be good enough to let us have one of your lights ? " " There," said his father. " I thought thai )0U would come pretty soon and interrupt me." " But, father," said Rollo, " we can't see with- out a light." " No," said his father ; " that is true, no doubt ; but it does not make it any the less an Interrup- tion to me for you to come and ask me for one." INTERRUPTION. 151 " Well, but, father," said Rollo, roving back slowly, and speaking in a disappointed tone, ^ then 1 don't see what we shall do." " I thought you had a light yourselves, by your book-case." " O yes," said Lucy, " so we did. I'll run and get it, Rollo." So Lucy jumped up, and ran off after the light, while Rollo went to get the great picture-book. What Rollo called the great picture-book was a very large and heavy volume, in his father's library, which contained a great many large and beautiful pictures. His father never allowed him to carry it out of the room, but sometimes let him put it in a chair, and turn over the leaves very carefully, to see the pictures. Rollo took this book down, which he accomplished without much diffi- culty ; for it was on the lower part of the book- case, not very far from the floor. He cairied it to the little table, and pretty soon after Lucy came in with a light. But here an unexpected difficulty occuried. The book was so large that, when it was opened, it covered the whole top of the table, and so there was no room for the lamp. *• Move the book," said Lucy. 152 LL JY S STUDIES, Rollo moved It as far as he could, but there v\^as scarcely room for the lamp to stand. "No," said Lucy, "that won't do. The lamp will get knocked off the table, and will fall upon the carpet." " No it won't," said Rollo ; « I'll watch it." " But I'm afraid to have it there," said Lucy. " By and by, we shall push the book against it, and knock it over; and then my aunt will be very sorry indeed." " No, but, Lucy," said Rollo, in a very posi- tive tone, " I tell you I'll watch it." Here Rollo's father turned around again, and said, " Now, children, you are interrupting me again." " Well, father," said Rollo, " it is because our fable is not big enough." Yes," said his father, " I see the reason, and I don't blame you particularly ; only I have not time now to attend to you, and it interrupts me to hear of your difficulties. I wish you'd go into the front parlor, and amuse yourselves there." " Well, come, Rollo," said Lucy, " let us go." "I'd rather stay here, sir," said Rollo, in a supplicating tone. " If you'll only tell us how we can put our light," he continued, " then we INTERRUPTION. 153 shall not interrupt you again. We shall dot have any thing to interrupt 3^ou for." "Well," said his father, "Til do that, and then I'll keep an account, and after you have interrupted me three times more, you must gc out. Will you agree to that ? " RoUo and Lucy both said that they would agree to that, and so Mr. Holiday left his work, and went over to the sofa. He saw at once that the table «vas not large enough to render it safe to put the lamp and the book upon it together. So he brought a chair, and placed it near to the little table, and then laid the book, open, upon the chair. The chair was placed so near to the table that the light shone down upon the book. " Now," said he, " children, you must go and get a couple of crickets, or one long one, and put before the chair for your seats. So the crickets will serve for your chairs, the chair for your table, and the table for your light-stand." They accordingly went and got the crickets, and they found that the arrangement answered very well. They could see the pictures distinctly, 'ind there was no danger now that tne lamp would fall down. Mr. Holiday laid out a small piece of paper upon the comer of his taole, and 154 liLTcy's studies. said that, every time that they interruptef) him in any way, he should make a mark upon thai paper, and that, as soon as there were three marks made, they must go out. The children turned ovei the leaves of the great book very carefully for some time, and were much amused by them. Rollo was greatly de- lighted at the picture of a dog standing on his head ; and he talked and laughed about him with a great deal of glee. Lucy said, " Hush ! " to him several times, for she was afraid that he wou.d make so much noise that her uncle would be inteiTupted, and make a mark against them But he seemed to take no notice of it. At last, they got through the book, and Rollo shut it up and put it away. They then did not immediately know what to do next ; but very joon Lucy said that, if she only had a pencil and a piece of paper, she would draw Rollo a house Royal, she said, had showed her how. " Only," said she, " this chair would not bo a good table to draw upon." The chair was what is commonly called a cane- bottomed chair. The seal was made of narrow strips of ratan, woven together in such a way as to leave a great many curious o*»-tacroiial intt rstires INTERRUPTION. 155 This did not prevent its answering a very good purpose as a support for a book ; but it was j)lain that it would not do at all to write upon. " I know how to manage," said Rollo. He said no more, but went immediately to a comer of the room, where there was a small space at the end of the secretary, and he pulled out a smooth pine board, about as wide, and twice as long, as the top of his little table. He brought this out with an air of great satisfaction, and they placed another chair at a little distance from the one which they had been using as a table, in such a manner that he could rest this board upon the two chairs, one end of the board upon each. " That's a good smooth table," said Lucy. " What is this board made for? " " It is one my father has. He uses it for a great many things," said Rollo. " When he makes me a litde book, he pares the edges upon it." " Why does not he do it on his table ? " asked Lucy. " Because," said Rollo, " then his knife would cut through down to the table, and so cut the cloth." Rollo then went and got some paper out of a drawer where he knew that there was some kept, 156 Lucy's studies. and where he often weni to get some for hia mother. But then he had no pencil ; so he wenl over to his father's table, and said, — " Father, do you know where there is a pencil ? — two pencils ? We shall w ant two." His father did not answer his question, but quietly took up the piece of paper which he had placed upon the corner of the table, and made a mark upon it, saying, at the same time, — " There's one interruption." " Why, father," said Rollo, " we only want two pencils, and I thought that you could just tell us if you knew where there are any." " That makes tivo interruptions," said his fa- ther. " One more, and you'll have to go out." Rollo looked confounded ; he turned round, and walked slowly away, with a very anxious expression of countenance. " Don't you know where you can find any pencils yourself? " asked Lucy. " No," said Rollo. Then he walked back slowly towards his father's table, but was very careful not to say a word, or make any noise, so as not to make an interruption. His father had often told him that, when he was busy, he ought not to speak, but r-ome and stand quietly by his side, until he was INTERRUPTION. 157 spoken to. So he thought he would adopt this plan at this time. He went up cautiously to the table, standing round in such a position tiiat his father could see him ; and there he remained still, waiting for his father to look up and ask him what 'le wanted. His father waited a few minutes, and then looked up. But, to Rollo's grief and consterna- tion, instead of asking him, as usual, what he wanted, he took up the paper, and made another mark upon it, saying, — " There's the third interruption." Rollo could barely articulate the words, " Now, father," and then, overcome with grief and disap- pointment, he turned around, and burst into tears. " Why, Rollo," said his father, " you must not be so much troubled." He took him by the hand, and drew him gjently towards him, and took him up in his lap. " You promised," continued his father, " that, if you interrupted me three times, you would go out willingly." " Yes, sir," said Rollo, though he was so much in trouble that he could not speak very dist'nctly ; " but I don't think you ought to call that an interruption." " Come to think of it," replied his father 14 158 Lucy's studies. " perhaps I ought not to. You came and stood by me, very still, so as not to interrupt me, but ta wait until I was at leisure." " Yes, sir," said Rollo, still sobbing. " 1 did not speak a word." " Well," said his father, " 1 will not counl that, then." And so saying, he took his pen, and crossed out the third mark, which he made on the paper that contained the record of interruptions. This re- stored Rollo's composure, though he still looked very unhappy. He could not imagine why his father should have even intended to have made a mark against him in such a case. " I see," said his father, '- you and I had a dif- ferent understanding about the interruptions. You did not speak to me, and interrupt me in the com- mon way ; but still, do you suppose that I could go on with my writing, while you were standing there, waiting to speak to me ? " " Why, no, sir," said Rollo. " No," added his father ; " so that your com- ing to me, and waiting to ask me for a pencil, really interrupted my work ; and that was the reason why I was going to mark it. But, then, it was not what you have commonly understood by an interruption, and so I ought not to have INTERRUPTION. 159 marked it. And, in fact," he continued, •' now I have given you so much trouble to no purpose, 1 believe that I will erase all the marks, and begin again. On/y now you must understand that you must take care of yourselves altogether, and that, if you do any thing, in any way, to take off my attention from my work, I shall have to mark it." « Well, sir," said Rollo. He spoke this in a tone of great satisfaction and pleasure, and jumped down, and went away to Lucy. During all this time, Lucy had been standing near the board table, looking at Rollo and his father with a countenance expressive of great concern. She now, however, appeared very much relieved, and she proposed, in a whisper, that they should go out and ask her aunt to lend them some pencils. Accordingly Rollo went and got them in that manner, without anv difficulty. 1§0 CHAPTER Xlll THE THEORY OF INTERRUPTION. RoLLO did not interrupt his father but once more that evening. That happened in the following manner : Rollo agreed to be Lucy's scholar, and she was to teach him to draw. So she began to set him a copy. She drew a row of figures, in a line ajong the top of the paper, and Rollo was to imitate them by making similar drawings below. The first drawing was the fiorure of a do^, the second of a hat ; the third was a pair of tongs, and the last a mouse. Lucy said tLat they were not very good, but that they were as good as she could make. Rollo set himself at work to copying them. But he said that he meant to begin with the hat, which was the second picture ; for he said the dog was too hard for him. " O no," said Lucy ; " you must begin at the beginning, and proceed regularly." " No," said Rollo ; " I'll do the hat first, and then the dog." THE THEORY OF INTERRUPTION. 161 " There's an interruption," said Rollo's father, and he took up the paper, and made a mark. " Why, father ! " said Hollo. " Yes," said his father, '' that intermpts me — to hear a dispute between you and Lucy." " O father," said Rollo, '■ we were not dis- puting." " It was only the commencement of a dispute, I acknowledge," said his father ; " but when you had agreed to be Lucy's scholar, to hear you refusinsj to obey her directions, and beginning to argue with her, disturbs my mind at once." " Well, sir," said Rollo, '' then I'll draw the dog." There was no more disputing, and no more interruption, for more than half an hour. Rollo was Lucy's scholar, and he followed her instruc- tions with great faithfulness and docility. At length, just as Rollo was finishing the chimney of a house, he saw that his father was getting up, and beginnhig to put his papers away. " Have you finished your work, father? " said Rollo. " Yes," replied his father ; " and when I have put away my papers, I am coming to see you. I think you had better put away your drawing too 14* 162 Lucy's stcdies. " Yes, so ^e will," said Lucy. " I am tired af drawing now." Rollo put away the paper, which he had no used, reserving that which had his and Lucy's drawing upon it, to show to his mother ; and \ui gave Lucy the pencils to carry into the oth(ir room. Then he put the board away in its place again, and set the lamp upon the table. By this time, his father was ready ; and he came and sat down upon the sofa, while Lucy took her place upon one side, and Rollo upon the othei . " I believe," said Mr. Holiday, " that children very often don't understand exactly how it is that they interrupt their parents, when they are busy. They think it is noise which constitutes intermption." " Well, sir," said Rol j, " and is not it ? " " No, not exactly," replied his father. " If it should thunder while I was writing, do you sup- pose that it would interrupt me? " " Yes, sir," said Lucy ; " I am sure 1 should." Mr. Holiday smiled. In fact, he perceived that he had fallen upon an unfortunate illustra- tion. " Well, then," said he, "suppose that 1 were in a city, and were writing by a window, which opened upon a street, where a great many horses, THE THELR-Y OF INTERRUPTION. 163 and heavy wagons, and coaches, were passing; do you suppose thai that noise would interrupt me?" " Why, no, sir," said Rollo. " Well, now, suppose that I was seated at my own window, and saw a single horse, walking slowly into my garden ; would not that interrupt me." " Yes, sir," " Yes, sir," answered Rollo and Lucy together. " Because," continued Mr. Holiday, " it would attract my attention. It would call upon me to do something ; that is, to get up, and go and get somebody to drive him out." " Yes, sir," said Rollo, " I think that would interrupt me." " While you and Lucy," continued his father, '' were talking and laughing together, pleasantly, it did not disturb me at all." " When was it, father? " said Rollo. " Why, when we were looking at the dog standing on his head," said Lucy ; " don't you remember? 1 was afraid that we should inter- rupt you." " No," said her uncle, " that did not disturb nie ; because you were good-natured and pleasant, and every thing was going on right. But the 164 Lucy's studies moment Rollc began to argue about obeymg your directions in regard to the drawing, that moment my mind was disturbed. You did nol make nearly as much noise as you had done when talking and lauo-hins; about the dos ; but it was the beginning of a difficulty, and so it troubled my mind. " And so," continued his father, " when you came, RoUo, and stood by my side, waiting to speak to me ; although I don't think that you did wrong at all, yet it interrupted me ; that is, it attracted my attention from my work. I said to myself, ' Here is RoUo wanting to speak to me, and I must stop my work, and hear what he has to say.' It was not so sudden and violent an inter- ruption as It was when you came the first time, and broke in upon my work at once, asking me for the pencils ; but still it interrupted me. It required me to stop my work to attend to you." " I thought that you could just tell us," said Rollo, "if you knew where there were any pencils." " Yes," replied his father, " and so I might, if I had only been busy about some ordinary work. But I was very specially busy. I was making calculations ; and I knew that, if you came ever so still to speak to me, and should thus make me stop m the middle of a calculation, I should have THE THEORY OF INTERRUPTION. 165 io give it up, and begin again, and so lose what 1 nad done. " That's the reason," he continued, " why 1 y:n not willing to have you in my room when I air. very busy. You don't know very well what an interruption is. Children do not have sucli perplexing work to do as men have, and they don't understand how easily the mind may be disturbed." " I did not think that I should intenrupt you," said Rollo, " by only going up to the table and standing still." " No ; and therefore," said his father, " you were not to blame. But you see now, I suppose, how it did inteiTupt me. Why, one day you intenupted me, and did a great deal of mischief, without saying a word to me, or even coming near to the table." " How was it ? " said Rollo. " Why, you had lost your hat. I knew where it was, for I saw it out under a tree, where you had left it. And I heard you walkmg about and asking every body if they knew where your hat was. You asked them quietly and very properly, but still I heard ; and the difficulty which you were in attracted my attention, and confused me in ni) addin£." 166 Lucy's studies. •' Adding ? " said Lucy, in an intturrogative tone ; that is, in the tone of asking a question. " Yes," said her uncle. " I was adding a long column of figures ; and this difficulty about Rollo's hat took place when I had nearly got through. So I lost my reckoning just as Rollo was coming into my room, to ask me where his hat was. I told him that it was out under the tree ; and then I had to begin once more, and do my work all over again." " But, father," said Rollo, " you said that I did not speak to you at all." " True," replied his father, " and you did not. You were coming to speak to me, and I knew what you were coming for. But the interruption was occasioned before, by the inquiries which you were making out in the entries, which 1 heard, although you did not speak very loud." " Well, sir," said Rollo, " I am sorry that I interrupted you. I did not know it." " O, it is not of much consequence," said his father ; "I only mentioned the case to help explain to you the theory of intermption." " The what, sir ? " said Rollo. " The theory of interruption ; that is, tha nature of it." THE THEORY OF INTERRUPTION. 167 '' Yes, sir," said Rollo, '' 1 understand the nature of it now." Mr. Holiday dien said diat Lucy and Kollo ini^ht m into the other room, and that he was coming in himself pretty soon. So Lucy took their lamp, and diey walked along into the fi^ont parlor. Lucy saw. as soon as she entered the room that her aunt was sitdng near the cradle. Na- than was lying in the cradle asleep. Her aunt was reading, with her foot near the rocker, ready to rock him immediately in case he should move. Rollo was going up immediately to his mother to ask her what she thought he and Lucy had better play. But then he concluded, on the whole, not to in term pt her ; and he accordingly turned round and walked back to Lucy. " Now, Lucy, what shall we do for the rest of the evening." "I don't know," said Lucy; " T expect it is v^ry nearly time for Royal to come for me." " O no," said Rollo, " not yet. It is only eight o'clock ; and you are not going home until half after eight. ^Ve shall have time to play half an hour yet." Lucy admitted diis, and Rollo proposed thai 168 LUCrS STUDIES. Lucy should be a man walking in the woods, and that ^e should be a lion roaring at her, and frightening her. The tables and chairs were to be the trees. Lucy agreed to this plan ; and so Rollo got down, upon his hands and knees, under the table, and Lucy began to walk slowly back and forth, as if she was walking in the woods. She talked to herself all the time, as follows, — " O dear ! what a dark night ! what a terrible dark nidit ! And I am afraid that there are lions o in these woods." Here Rollo beo;an to roar a little. " Hark ! " said Lucy. " I believe I bear a lion roaring. What shall 1 do? He's a great way off, I suppose ; but what if he should come nearer ! " Here Rollo began to roar louder. " Hush ! children," said Rollo's mother, with- out, however, looking round, or even taking her eyes off her book. Here Rollo's roar subsided into a lower tone. " O dear me 1 " said Lucy, speaking more sofdy ; " I am afraid I shall lose my way, and then I shall get caught by that terrible lion." Rollo bep-an to roar aofain a little Iruder than before. THE THEORY OF INTERRUPTION. 169 '^ O, how he roars ! " said Lucy ', '' what shall I do?" At this moment, Rollo scrambled out towards Lucy upon all fours, just as if he was a lion, springing out of the thicket to seize her. Lucy ran, Rollo pursuing her ; his roaring growing louder and louder. " Children," said his mother, " that's too noisy a play. I can't let you play that play ; you must think of something else." " Why, mother," said Rollo, still, however, Keepmg his quadruped form and position, " fa- ther said a Mttle noise was not any interruption." " Did he ? " said his mother. " Yes, mother," replied Rollo, with a v^ery confident tone. " He said that it did not do any harm to make a little noise, if we did not come and do any thing to attract your attention." " Yes," said his mother, " that is true in regard to grown persons, but there is a very different rule in regard to babies. Noise alone disturbs tliem. What I'm afraid is, not that you'll inter- rupt me, but that you'll wake Nathan." " O," said Rollo ; and just at that moment the door opened, and Royal came in. Royal smiled to see Rollo upon his hands and Knees, and yet looking towards his mother, with 170 Lucy's studies. such a sober expression of countenance. He asked them what they were playing. Rollo got up, and answered, — " Lion. But you have come too early, Royal. Lucy was not to go home until half past eight." " I know it," said Royal, " and I have come to play with you half an hour." " I'm glad of that," said Rollo ; " only we can't play now very well, because we shall wake the baby." " Let's go into the kitchen, then," said Royal. " Aunt, may we go into the kitchen ? " " Yes, if Dorothy is willing. You must not play unless Dorothy is willing." They all went out into the kitchen to ask Dorothy ; and she said they might make any reasonable noise ; but that, as soon as the noise became too great, she should stop the game. " Well," said Royal, " you may. And now," he continued, " we'll play elephant. I'll be the el- ephant. Rollo, where's your little chain ? Go and get your little chain, to chain round my fore leg." Rollo went and got his chain. It was a small iron chLm, such as is used to support stove-pipes, and it had a hook in one end. It was a favorite plaything of RoUo's, for he could use it in a great many ways. THE THEORY OF INTERRUPTION. 171 RoUo brought the chain, and then Royal got down upon all fours, and pretended that he was an elephant. Lucy was the hunter, and Hollo the dog. There was considerable barking, and other noise, while they were hunting the elephant ; but when, at last, they got him caught and chained, they were more still. Rollo then turned into a man, in order that he might be the elephant's keeper. He put the chain around Royal's shoulder, and led him about. Royal walked upon his hands and knees, with a very deliberate motion, as much as pos- sible like that of a real elephant. Sometimes Rollo would order his elephant to kneel, and then Royal would fold his arms before him, and lie down close to the floor, so that Rollo could easily get upon his back. Rollo would mount, and then call upon his elephant to get up again ; and so he would take a short ride about the room. Lucy had one ride herself. Royal at last began to pretend that he was in a frenzy. He said that he had read in books of elephants' getting into a frenzy, and frightening their keepers terribly. So he scrambled around the floor, shakinor his head about in a very ferocioui manner, while Rollo and Lucy ran off, trying to get out of his way, and making the kitchen ring with their peals of laughter. 1/2 Lucy's studies Dorothy, who was knitting all this time at th« Fide of the fire, at length interrupted their play by saying, — " Come, come, children ! I think that's getting to be unreasonable noise." •' O Dorothy," said Lucy, " 1 don't think that's much noise." " Yes," said Dorothy, " you must not play so any more. But if you'll come and sit down here by the fire, I'll tell you a story." " Well," said the children. In fact, they were as much pleased at the idea of having a story, as they would have been to have gone on with their play. So they all came and sat down by the fire. " Tell us a story about a snow-storm," said Lucy. " I have told you pretty much all my snow- storm stories, already," said Dorothy. " Let me think, — did I ever tell you about Oliver's snow- shoes." " No," said Lucy ; " tell us now." Accordingly, when all were ready, Dorothy commenced her story as follov^s : — " It was a great many years ago that what 1 am going to tell you took place. It was when Oliver was about eight years old." "And how old were you ? " asked Royal. THE THEORY OF INTERRUPTION. 173 " I was about twelve," replied Dorothy. '' Our house was in the woods, a great way from the school-house where we used to go to school. 1 should think that it was more than two miles ; and we had to go by a path through the woods. We walked to school in the mornings with our dinners in a basket. Then we staid in the school-room at noon, eating our dinners by the fire." " What did you use to have for dinner ? " asked Rollo. " O, bread and cheese," said Dorothy, " and someianes an apple turnover, which my mother made for us. " Well, one day," continued Dorothy, " when we had got half way to school, in the morning, it \)egan to snow. It snowed very fast all the fore- noon ; and at noon, when school was done, we found that the boys who went out came in again with their clothes whitened with snow, half way up to their knees. We were afraid that we should not be able to get home." " And what should you do if you could not get home ? " said Lucy. " Should you stay in the school-house all nisjht ? " " O, I don't know," said Dorothy, " what we should have done. Perhaps we should have gone to Mary Green's house." 15*^ 174 locy's studies. " Mary Green's house ? " said Lucy ; " who \vaa Maiy Green ? " " Why, she was a girl that went to our school. "^ "Never mind about her," interrupted Roya*, "but tell the story. I want to hear about the snow-shoes." " It stopped snowing about the middle of the afternoon," said Dorothy, " and Mary Green's fa- ther came for her in a sleigh ; and he said that he would carry us as far as he was going our way ; for, you see, we had to go along the main road for about half a mile, till we came to the place where the path through the woods turned off. When we came to this place, we got out of the sleigh, and began to walk along through the woods. At last, we came to a little opening by the side of a mill-stream, where there was a little hut. The hut was built there to make shingles in. It was what they call a shingle camp.'^ " How do they make shingles ? " said Royal. " O, they cut down a large pine-tree, and then cut it up into very short logs, and then split the logs into thin pieces, very wide. Then they take these pieces, and shave them smooth. We looked into the hut, but the man was not there. His shave was there, and there was a great pile of shavings ; and the horse was in one corner," THE THEORY OF INTERRUPTION. 175 " The horse ! " said Rollo. '•' Yes," replied Dorothy, " and we went in aiid Bat down on the shavings to rest ourselves." " How came the man to leave his horse there ? " said Royal. " Why, he was coming back again in the morn- ing, and so he left his horse and his tools. There was nobody about there to steal them. It would have been a great deal of trouble to have taken his horse home every night." " And what did he have to eat ? " said Royal — " shavings ? " Dorothy laughed, and said there was nothing eJse for Wm to eat, and that, in fact, he looked as if he lived upon shavings. " We staid here a few mintites to rest," con- tinued Dorothy, " and then we concluded that we would make ourselves some snow-shoes." ^' What are snow-shoes ? " asked Lucy. " They are large, flat things to put under your feet to keep your feet from sinking into the snow. They make them in different ways ; but we were going to make ours of the broad and thin pieces of pine which had been split out for shingles. So we began to look about before the hut for some pieces which were of the right size." " But, Dorothy," said Lucy, " T should think 176 Lucy's studies. that they would have heen all covered up in the snow." *' They were not," replied Dorothy ; — " buf. stop, — let me see. It appears to me that the sun was shining, and that it was a warm, pleasant day when we made our snow-shoes. Yes ; — it was ; and I have been making a mistake all this time. For we didn't make our snow-shoes the day that it snowed ; it was one day in the spring, when the snow was melting, so that we kept sinking into it, and could not get along." " Never mind," said Royal ; " no matter what day it was, — only tell on." " Well," said Dorothy, " I told Oliver that if he had any string in his pocket, so that we could fasten the snow-shoes on, we would make two pair, one for him and one for ine. He said that he had got some string, and he drew out a long piece from his pocket. So we found pieces of wood, of the right size, and then we went into the hut, and Oliver undertook to shave them smooth So he took one of the pieces, and sat down upon the seat before the hw'se, and put one end of it into the horse's mouth, and gripped it tight, wh'le he shaved the other end." " O Dorothy," exclaimed the children, " what t slory ! " THE THEOKY OF INTERRUPTION. 17? " He did," said Dorothy, seriously. " Ht wag a little fellow, it is true, but then he was '. er) handy with tools." Dorothy thought thai the children were surprised that such a little boy as Oliver could use the shave ; but, in fact, what sur- prised them was, that the piece of wood was held in the horse's mouth. " When he had shaved one half of the piece, he turned it end for end, and shaved the other half. Then he turned it over, and shaved the other szVe." *' But how did he get it out of the horse's mouth ? " said Rollo. " O, there was a little foot-piece down under- neath ; and when he pressed that with his foot, it pressed down the jaw, and when he lifted off his foot, die jaw came up again, and let the wood out.' " Why, Dorothy ! " said Lucy ; " what sort of a horse do you mean ? " " Why, a shaving horse," said Dorothy. " A shaving hoi-se ! " repeated Rollo and Lucy. " Yes, certainly," said Dorothy. " What son of a horse did you think I meant r " " Why, a real horse, live horse," said Rollo. Dorothy laughed very heartily at this mistake . and the children, when they understood the case, laughed heartily too. In the midst of their merri ment, Royal looked up at the clock, and said thai 178 Lucy's studies. it was time for him and Lucy to go. •* Only," said he, " Dorothy, 1 wish you'd finish the story." " Why, that is about al','' said Dorothy ; " we made the snow-shoes, and tied them on, and then we walked along over the soft snow without sink- ing in, and so got safely home." " How did you tie the shoes on ? " asked Royal. " Why, Oliver contrived to bore some holes in the wood," replied Dorothy, " and then he had a piece of twine in his pocket, for strings. He cut the strings into proper lengths, and then put them into the holes ; and so we fastened the snow-shoes to our feet." " 1 should not think that you could walk very well with snow-shoes," said Lucy. " We can't walk very well," replied Dorothy ; " but it is better than sinking down deep into the snow. You must understand that we don't lift the whole snow-shoe off from the ground, when we step." " Don't you ? " said Royal. " No," said Dorothy. " It is fastened on with the strings, in such a way that the back part of It hangs down, and drags along. When we step, we only lift the front part of it up, and the back THE THEORY OF INTERRUPTION. 171) part drags along upon the snow to the new place, and then we step down upon it again." " I wish I had a pair of snow-shoes," said Royal. " You must make a pair," said Dorothy. " But I havn't got any such pieces of wood," said Royal. " Nor any shaving horse," said Lucy. " O, perhaps you can find some thin pieces of wood," replied Dorothy. " You'd better make a pair ; and then, when there comes a deep snow, this winter, you can walk on them. You can draw Lucy with your tiand-sled all over the fields." " But the sled would sink down into the snow," said Royal. '• Why, haven't you got a snow-sled ? " asked Dorothy. " A snow-sled ? " replied Royal ; " no ; what is a snow-sled ? " " Why, it is a sled," replied Dorothy, " with broad runners, so that it will not sink deep into the snow." " How broad ? " said Royal. " O, about as broad as my hand," said Dorothy " Then it must be a very heavy sled," said Royal. 180 LUCY S STUDIES. " No," replied Dorothy, " it is a very ligh sled. The runners are not solid ; they are foned^ and made light, with only a broad, thin piece at the bottom." " I wish you had a snow-sled, Royal, said Lucy, " and a pair of snow-shoes." " So do I," said Royal, " and I mean to try to make them; only the sled, — I don't believe I can make a sled." Royal then got his hat, and went out into the yard to get the chaise. He told Lucy to go and put on her bonnet, and then come to the front door, when she heard the sound of the wheels. Lucy accordingly went in, and put on her bonnet, and bade her aunt and uncle good night. She asked her aunt when Rollo might come and return her visit. She said that she would let him come the next week, if Royal could come and bring him home. And Lucy said that she had no doubt that her father would let Royal bring him home. By this time, she heard the sound of the wheels driving up to the door ; and so she went out, and |0t into the chaise, and Royal drove her away. THE END ;f#i COUSIN LUCY AT PLAY. BY THE AUTHOR OF THE ROLLO BOOKS. -oo'^^OO- THE LUCY SERIES IS COMPOSED OF SIX VOLUMES, VIZ. : Lucy Among the Mountains. Lucy's Conversations. Lucy on tlie Sea-Shore. Lucy at Study. Lucy at Flay. Stories told to Cousin Lucy. A NEW EDITION, REVISED BY THE AUTHOR. NEW YORK: THOMAS Y. CROAYELL & CO., No. 13 AsTOR Place. PEEFACE. Two volumes of a series of little booksj corresponding, in their gen- eral style and characteristics, with the Eollo Books for boys, but designed more particularly for the other sex, have already been published, under the names of Cousin Lucy's Conversa- tions, and Cousin Lucy's Stories. This, and its companion. Cousin Lucy AT Study, are now offered to the pub- lic in the hope that the little readers, into Avhose hands they may f\dl, may be interested, and, in some degree at least, profited, by the perusal of them. CONTENTS. Page, CHAPTER I. The Maeble Box 9 CHAPTER 11. Metaphysics . 26 CHAPTER III. Stories 42 CHAPTER ly. The Ride to Towi^ 56 CHAPTER V. The Gypsy Party 72 CHAPTER YI. The Morocco Book — The Loxely Sleigh-Ride 90 CHAPTER YII. Mary Jay's Sunday School 108 8 CONTENTS. Page, CHAPTER YIII. The Present 126 CHAPTER IX. A Fright 138 CHAPTER K Royal a PROTEcroii 156 CHAPTER XI. The Dictionary 172 LUCY AT PLAY. CHAPTER I. THE MARBLE BOX. There was a box, or chest, of a somewhat singular character, in the house where Luc}' lived ; it was called the marble box. It was not really made of marble ; it was made of wood ; but then it was painted marble color, and that was the reason wh}^ it was called the marble box. The marble box had books and pla3'things in it. It was prett}' large, and so it would hold a considerable number. There was a handle at each end, and when Luc}' took hold of one handle, and Ro3al, her brother, of the other, the box was just about as much as the}^ could convenientl}^ carry. The place where the marble box was usually- kept, was under a table in the back cham- ber entry, not far from the head of the stairs. 10 LJCY AT PLAY. There was a lock "o the marble box, and Lucy's mother kept the key. She tied a piece of blue ribbon to the key to mark it, and she kept it hung up under the mantel shelf in her room. The rule of the marble box was this — that it never was to be opened except when the children were sick, — or, rather, when they were convales- cent. When children are attacked with sickness, they do not generally, for a time, wish for a.ny playthings. But, then, when the disease is once subdued, and the pain, or the unpleasant feelings, whatever they may be, have disappeared, — then there is a period, while the patient is recovering his health and strength, which is called the period of wnvalescence. Now, during convalescence, chil- dren are more in need of playthings to interest and occupy their minds than at any other time. There are various reasons why this is so. In the first place, they cannot usually be allowed to go out of doors ; for, after such an attack of sickness, it generally takes some time for the sys- tem to become restored to its usual state, so as tc bear safely the ordinary exposures. Thus, by being confined to the house, the child is cut off from some of his sources of enjoyment, which makes it more necessary that he should havt agreeable books and playthings. THE MARBl £ BOX. 11 Then, besides, during convalescence, th^ mind is not generally in a proper state to engage in study, or *n any of the usual duties of life. This 13 peculiarly the case if the sickness has been severe. We feel weak, and are easily fatigued, and ex hausted with exertion, either of mind or body. Consequently the ordinary duties of life are usually suspended during convalescence, and this leaves a large portion of time unoccupied. It is always difficult for mothers to find the means to occiipy this time pleasantly, in the case of the convales- cence of their children. There is one more reason why it is desirable to have interesting books and playthings for children, when they are in a state of convalescence ; and that is, that the mind is in such a state that it is in some respects more difficult to be interested and amused then than at other times. When recover- ing from sickness, there is often a kind of lassitude and weariness, which makes the patient indisposed to be long occupied in any one way. Occupa- tions and amusements, which would please him very much at some times, fail altogether now. The common books and playthings, which he is accustomed to use at other times, do not afford him much pleasure now. He very soon gets tired of thenj. 12 LUCY AT PL.AX. For these reasons, Lucy's mother had ofter. ^ound it very difficult to provide the means of amusing her, and occupying her mind, when she was sick ; and still more difficult to do this in the case of Royal. So she told them, one day, thai she meant to have a trunk to keep books and playthings in, expressly for this purpose. She looked about the house for a trunk, but she could not find any one, which was not in use. At last, however, she met with this wooden box or chest, which was about as large as a trunk ; and she said that that would do very well indeed. Royal helped her to bring it down stairs. It was one day when Royal had been sick with the croup, that his mother first formed the plan of such a box ; and she wanted to amuse and occupy him then, as well as to prepare to do it at future times, when he should be sick. So she proposed to him to take the chest into the kitchen^ and line the inside of it with blue paper, so as to make it look neat and pretty within. She brought him some blue paper in large sheets ; Joanna made him some paste ; and then he pasted the blue paper in. It took all the afternoon to line the box ; and ih the evening, when Royal's fattier came home, Lucy brought him out into the kitchen to see it THE MARBLE BOX. 13 ll was then almost dry, and was lying down upon its side, noi a great way from the kitchen fire. Lucy wanted to place it nearer ; but Royal said that there was danger, if it was placed too near, that the heat would warp the wood, and so spoil, the box. " What do you think of our plan, father ? " said Royal. *•' I think it is a very excellent plan, indeed," said his father. " I should like to have had a share in the execution of such an excellent plan myself." " What do you mean by that, father ? " asked Lucy. " Why, that I should have liked to have done something myself about this box. Mother formed the plan and found the box, and Royal has lined it. Joanna made the paste, and you, — you have done something, I suppose." " Yes, father," said Lucy, " I held down the corners of the great sheets, while Royal was past- ing them." " Yes," rejoined her father, " all have helped • excepting me." " Well, father," said Royal, " I wish you would make us a till." 2 14 LUCY AT PLAT. *' A till," repeated his father ; " what kind of a till ? " " Why, a till here in the side," said Royal, '■ to keep the small things in." Royal explained more fully to his father what he meant by a till ; and his father said that he would see if he could mak^- one ; and that he would go to work upon it that very evening, af- ter tea. Accordingly, about an hour after this conversa- tion, they all can>e out into the kitchen to see the process of making the till. Royal and Lucy set out the table, and put the box upon the back side of it. Their mother brought her work, and took her seat upon the side opposite to the one where the children had placed a chair for their father. " What do you suppose father is going to make the till of. Royal ? " asked Lucy. " Of boards," said Royal. '• O Royal ! " exclaimed Lucy ; " boards are too heavy." " I mean very thin boards," said Royal, " very thin indeed." But just at this time their father came into the room with a large, smooth board under his arm. The board was about as large as the top of the THt MARBLE BOX. 15 oox ; and Ir was pretty thick and heavy. He brought this board, and placed it down upon the table. " O father," said Royal, " are you going to make our till of such a great, heavy board as this ? " " Not o/it, but on it," replied his father. " What do you mean by that, sir ? " said Lucy. " Why, I am going to make your till of paste- board ; and I am going to cut it out upon this smooth board." He then went out again, and presently returned bringing with him a large sheet of very thick pasteboard. He laid the pasteboard down upon the board, and then, after measuring upon the box, he marked out a square upon it, as long as the box was wide ; and as it was a square which he marked out, it was, of course, as wide as it was long. " What is that for, father? " said Luc v. " That is for the bottom of your till," replied her father. He then took a large pair of dividers, which he had brouo;ht with liim, and be^an to mark and measure In various ways, so that Lucy could noi understand at all what he was doing. Presently he said, — ^ 16 LUCY AT PLAY. " Shou.d you prefer to have a fixed, or a sliding .ill, children ? " " O, a sliding till," said Royal ; " let's have a sliding till, Lucy. But, father," he continued, after a moment's pause, " what is a sliding till ? " '• How do you know that you should like a sliding till, if you do not know what it is ? " asked his father. "Why, I am pretty sure," said Royal, "^that I should like a till that would slide. But I never saw one that would slide. They are almost al- ways fastened in at the end." Royal was con'ect in this statement. The till of a chest is commonly a shallow box passing across the end of it, near the top, and is usually fastened to its place. But there is an inconveni- ence in having it fastened, unless it is made quite small ; for, if it is large, it covers and conceals the things which are below it, in the bottom of the chest. Now, Lucy's father wanted to make his till pretty large. He cut it out square, as long, each way, as the width of the marble box. Now, as the marble box was about twice as lon^ as it was wide, it follows that the till was larse enough to cover one half of the upper part of the box. If, .herefore, it had been fixed into its place, it woulo tHE MARBLE BOX. H nave been inconvenient on account of its covering and concealino: the things beneath it, and making It difficult to get them out. So Royal's father concluded to make it movable. The arrangement which he adopted to secure this object was this : He brought in two strips of wood, which he cut off so as to make them just as long as the box itself, inside. He then bored two holes in each of these strips, and, by means of some little screws, he screwed them to the sides of the box, within, about three inches from the top. Royal and Lucy watched their father very intently while he was doing this ; but they did not ask any questions. They thought that it might interrupt him, and disturb his calculations, if they were to ask him questions ; so they prefen'ed to look on and observe for themselves. " Now I understand," said Royal, when his father was screwing on the second strip. " What ? " said Lucy. " What is it ? Tell mer " Why, these strips are for the till to slide on. Father is going to make a till, and put it in there, and let it rest upon those strips. Those must be the sliders for the till to slide upon. Isn't it so, father ? " His father did not answer, but went on with his work. 18 LUCY AT PLAY. "" It must be so, I know," said Royal ; " and U is an excellent plan. 1 like a sliding till a great deal better than one that's nailed in, so that you 3an't move it." When Royal's father had got the sliders secured in their proper places, he began to work again upon the till itself. " Father," said Lucy, "■ why did not you finish the till before you made the sliders ? You very often tell us that we must always finish one thing before we begin another." " Did 1 say always 1 " asked her father, " or generally 1 " " AlwaySy I believe, lather," said Lucy, paus- ing a moment, as if trying to think. " Yes, I believe you said always,''^ " Then I made a mistake," said her father ; " 1 ought to have said generally : it is a good gen- eral rule, but there are some exceptions. There are very few rules which have not some excep- tions." While this and similar conversation was win" o o forward, Lucy's father continued industriously at work upon the till. He cut out a piece of paste- board of such a shape that there was a large, square piece for a bottom in the middle, and side pieces all around. He then carefully folded up tHE MARBLE BOX. 19 the sides, and the pasteboard thus assumed the fonn of a box. " Now," said Royal, " how are you ojoin» to fasten the sides up in their places ? " '*' Why, mother can sew them," said Lucy. " No," replied her father, " that will not do very well ; for the stitches would show throut^h the paper that 1 am goin^ to cover the till with. Besides, it would be very hard indeed to sew such stiff, thick pasteboard as this is." " The paper will hold it," said Royal. " When it is all covered over with blue paper, pasted down strons:, that will hold the sides tofjether in their places." " No," said his father, " not strong enough. The paste would hold; but then the paper itself would break away at the corners, after a time, and so the till would be spoiled." " How shall you do it, then ? " asked Lucy. " You'll see," replied her father. By observing him continually, the children did see. Their father took some strips of cotton cloth, and pasted them over the corners, turning the edges over inside of the box, and pasting them down smooth. Then he covered the whole with T)lue paper, just a? Royal had lined riie inside of 20 LUCt A'r PL,AY. the box ; and when this work was completed, the lill was done. He then put the till carefully into the box, and let it rest upon the sliders. He showed the chil- dren, too, how it would slide along from one end to the other " Let me slide it," said Lucy. " Very carefully," said her father, " for ii is not dry yet." " And will it tear, now that it is not dry ? '* saio Lucy. " Perhaps it may not tear, but it will (easily get bent out of shape. To-mon"ow you can sHde it as much as you please." The top of the till was just level with the top of the chest, so that the lid would shut down tight, just as if there was no till in it. So Lucy's father shut the hd down when it was all ready, and told the children that they might put the box away. " We call it the marble box," said Lucy. " 1 should think you had better call it the con- valescent box," said her father, " since it is to be kept exclusively for cases of convalescence." " What does that mean, sir ? " said Lucy. " Convalescence means getting well," leplietl her father, " after you have been sick So I THE MARBLE BOX. 21 sliould tnink that that would he the most appro- priate name. It is not really a marble box." " No, sir/' said Lucy ; " only it looks like mar^ bio, and so we call it the marble box." •' Yes, sir," said Royal ; " and, besides, I don't think that convalescent box \\ould be a very good name, for that would mean that the box itself was getting well, — whereas, in fact, it is only the chil- dren." " True," rephed his father ; " that is an objec- tion. But let me see ; I believe we do use de- scriptive epithets in that way." •' Descriptive epithets," repeated Royal ; " what are descriptive epithets? " " Why, the word convalescent,^^ replied his father, " is an epithet. It is applied to box, in order to describe it ; and so it is called a descrip- tive epithet." " Then I think," said Royal, " that it ought to describe the box, and not the persons that are to use it ; or else it is not a good descriptive epithet." '• So should I," added Royal's mother. '•' But I believe we do use epithets in that way. For example, we say a sick room; but we don't mean that the room is sick, but only the persons that are in it. And so we say j long and iveary 22 LUCY AT PI, AY. load; but it is not the road that is weary :u\ only the people that travel it." " It is the road that is long,'^ said Royal. " Yes," replied his father, " but not weanj^ " But perhaps," said Lucy's mother, " all such expressions are incorrect." " No," said her father ; *' usage makes thein correct. There is no other rule for good English than good usage." " Very well, then," said Lucy's mother ; " I'll call it the convalescent box ; and I think it will be a very convenient box indeed." They did no more about the box that evening ; . for it was now time for the children to go to bed. The next day, however, they made some rules foi* the box, which Royal wrote out in r very plain hand, and past(id upon the under side of the lid. They were as follows : — " Rules. " 1 . This box must not be opened for Royal or LiUcy, unless they have been sick enough to have to take medicine. " 2. It must be shut and locked again, the fir?l time they are well enough to go out of doors. *^ 3. The playthings and books must always be THE MARBLE BOX. 23 put back n good order, and the key given ta mother.'' When Royal had pasted the paper containing a copy of the rules into its place, he and Lucy began to look around the house to find books and playthings to put into it. Lucy said that she meant to go and ask her mother what she had Detter put in. " What do you think, mother," said she, " that we had better put into the marble box? " " That is rather a hard question to settle," her mother replied. " You want very interesting books and playthings when you are sick ; but then all that you put in will be entirely lost to you while you continue well ; for you know the box is never to be opened when you are well." '' Would you put in my little paint-box, moth er? " asked Lucy. " Why, no," answered her mother, " I think 1 should not ; for you often want to use your paint- box when Marielle comes to see you." " Well, at any rate," said Royal, " we will put m all our little pictures ; for we don't care much about pasting pictures, except when we can't go out of doors." They accordingly collected all their loose pic- 24 ^UCY AT PLAf. tures, and old, worn-out picture-books, such as they were accustomed to cut the pictures out of, -o make new picture-books widi of their own. The)* also had a number of pieces of marble paper, and gilt paper, and other kinds of paper, of various colors, which they were accustomed to use foi making litde pocket-books, and wallets, and port- folios. These they tied up neady together, and laid in the bottom of the box. Then they selected a number of books, such as they thought they could best spare, and placed them in two rows in the bottom of the box, across the end. They also put in a number of play- things, the large ones below, and the smaller ones in the till. When all was ready, they locked it up, and gave their mother the key. That night, however, when their father came home, the marble box had to be opened again a moment, to put in two parcels which he brought. One looked as if it had books in it, and the odier something of an in-egular shape. Their father would not tell them what was in the parcels. He only said it was something to amuse convalescents, whenever there should be any. He then locked up the box again immediately, and gave the key to the children, to be carried to their mother. That evening Lucy said to Royal, — THE AlAliBLE BOX. 2b " Royal, how long do you think k will be be- fore you or I shall be sick ? " " 1 don't know," said Royal. " Why : " " Because,'' said Lucy, " onlv I should like tti ojien our marble oox." 3 u vH AFTER 11 METAPHYSICS. Notwithstanding their father's recommeiitia- tion of the name convalescent box, the children continued to call it the marble box. Lucy said that that name was a great deal easier, and she thought it was prettier, besides. For some time after this, therefore, the children were accustomed to call it by one name, and the parents by the other. Whatever might be its name, however, it was found to answer a very excellent purpose. It continued to be used, according to the rules pasted upon its lid ; and as, in consequence, it was not opened very often, and as new books and playthings were frequently put into it, it came to be a very valuable resource when the children were confined to the house by indisposition ; so much so that Lucy's mother said that she thouglit it would be an excellent plan foi every family to have a convalescent box. One time, when Lucy had oeen sick, — long after the convalescent box was made, and in fact, METAl'HYSICS. 2* altev It had been used a great many titnes, — she cariied a little cricket up to it, in the back entry, and sat do\^ n before it, and began to read. Roy^I had helped her first to move it out near a window It was placed with one end towards the window, and the lid was turned back against a chair which she had placed behind it. She had also placed another chair before it, in such a way that, when she was sitting upon her cricket, she could lay hei book in this chair, using it as a sort of table When Royal had helped her move out the great box, he had gone down into the yard to play, leavins her to arrano-e the other thino^s herself. Accordingly, when they were all arranged, Lucy asked Royal if he would not come up and see hei study. " Yes," said Royal, " I will come." So Royal went up stairs again, to see Lucy's study, as she called it. He found her seated upon rhe cricket, with a picture-book open before her upon the chair. " Well, Lucy," said Royal, " I think you have gaid just now that it was Lucy's duty to come." Miss Anne did not immediately answer this question, but stood still, looking into vacancy, as if thinking ; and presently a smile, of a peculiar expression, came over her face. " What are you laughing at, Miss Anne ? " said Lucy. Miss Anne did not answer, but only smiled the ■nore. " Miss Anne," said Lucy again, pulling her hand, " what are you laughing at ? " " Why, I am laughing," continued Miss Anne. " to think how I am cornered." " What do you mean by cornered 1 " asked Lucy, looking perplexed. " I don't see," continued Miss Anne, " but that I am checkmated entirely." " What does that mean, Miss Anne ? " asked I-iUcy. "1 don't understand one word you say.'^ " Why, I told Royal," replied Miss Anne, " that it was your duty to have helped him. ,md " METAPHYSICS. 39 " But I did help him, Miss Anne," said Lucy. " But I mean, to run along quick to help him,^' replied Miss Anne. " I did walk along as quick as I could," said Lucy, '^ and I am not well enough yet to run." " Because I said it was your duty to make an exertion to do him a kindness," continued Mis£ Anne, without appearing to notice much what Lu- cy said. " And that seems to be true, without any doubt. But, then, on the other hand," she con- tinued, " I told him that he did wrong to require it of you, for you were under no obligation to do it. That, too, seems to be true, without any doubt. Both seem to be true, considered separately ; and yet, when brought together, they seem to be in- consistent ; for, as Royal says, we are all under obligation to do whatever is our duty. 1 don't think that I can get out of the difficulty very well." " I don't see that there is any difficulty at all," said Lucy ; " for I am sure that Royal ought not to make me run when I am sick." The truth was, that Lucy was not old enough to understand metaphysical reasoning very well, — or any reasoning, in fact. So they dropped the subject. Miss Anne would not go on talking, and pretending to understand the subject, when 40 LUCY AT PLAY. really she did not ; and Royal, satisfied with his victory, was desirous of turning his attention to his vessel. "Who is going to make your sails for you, Royal ? " said Miss Anne. " I shall have to make them myself, I suppose, unless you will. See, there b my sail-cloth." Miss Anne looked upon a little sort of shelf in the rock where Royal kepi his stores, and saw there a piece of white cotton cloth, neatly folded up, and lying in one corner. By the side of it were a pair of scissors and a spool of thread. " Where are your needles ? " asked Miss Anne. " They are in the spool," said Royal. " In the spool ! " repeated Miss Anne. She had never heard of needles in a spool. " Yes," said Royal ; and he took up the spool, and showed it to Miss Anne. There was a hole through the centre of it, as is usual with spools. One end of this hole Royal had stopped with a plug, of such a shape that, when it was in, the end of it was smooth with the end of the spool ; so that the spool could stand up upon this end for a bottom. Then, at the other end of the hole Royal had fitted a stopper, with a part projecting^ by which he could take it out and put it In Thus the spool made quite a good needle-case. METAi"HrsICS. 4J Royal kept it thus always in readiness for making his sails, and for rigging his litde ships. " Very well," said Miss Anne ; " and now where's your thimble ? " " I have not got any thimble," said Royal " 1 don't know how to sew with a thimble." " Well," said Miss Anne, " if you will cut out j-our sails, I will hem the edges for you. Lucy and I will walk along up towards the house, where I can get a thimble ; and then 1 can be at work, while walking back slowly through the garden." Royal did this, and Miss Anne made his sails. They were better sails than he had ever had be- fore. And so much interested did they all be- come in this work, that Lucy did not think of the stories which Royal had promised to tell her. So she did not hear the extravagant story until anotlier time. 4« 42 CHAPTER III. STORIES. A FEW afternoons after this, when Royal canw down stairs from the room where he was accus- tomed to study, he saw Lucy walking away from the house, with a little parcel in her hand. Lucy turned round, but she continued moving, — walking now, however, backwards ; and she said with a tone of voice expressive of great pleas- ure, — " I am going of an errand. Royal, all by m^ self. I am going of an errand, and a good long errand too." Lucy was so young, that sLe had been very seldom, if ever, before employed to go of errands , and she was very much pleased that her mother had intrusted her with one now. " I'll go with you, Lucy," said Royal. " No," said Lucy, " I don't want you to go with me. I must go all alone by myself." I^ucy thought that having a companion like Royal STOKIES. 43 would detract somewhat from the credit that she would deserve by going alone. " But, Lucy," said Royal, " I won't trouble you at all ; and, besides, I'll show you the way." But Lucy did not wish to have the way shown 10 her. One great part of the pleasure which she took in the expedition was in the idea of find- in o; the way herself. Lucy kept walking along backwards all this time, and was just upon the point of turning round again, when her foot stmck the upper part of a Ions: and larse root, which ran from one of the trees which grew near the sidewalk, and the course of which was so near to the surface of the ground, that the upper part of it rose a little above the path. Royal had just time to say, " There you go," when Lucy fell over upon the grass. Although it was in the walk, still it was a gi-assy place, for the walk was not much travelled ; so that Lucy was hurt only a veiy little. She began to cry ; but, perceiving that it was not necessary in such a case, she stopped just as Royal came up to her. " There, Lucy, I told you that you were not biuj enouo^h to m alone." Royal did wrong to say this ; for Lucy had not boasted improperly of her age md powers, 44 L.UCY AT PLAl. but only expressed a pleasure which It was ver) proper that she should feel at being inti-usted by her mother with a mark of increased confidence in her strength and intelligence. Besides, even if Lucy had been vaingloriously boasting, her fall ought to have protected her from taunts ; for whenever people are led into difficulty by their errors, the pain they feel is punishment enough They do not need our reproaches. However, though Royal at first accosted Lucy in a harsh manner, he soon changed his tone, and went to help her up. He smoothed her dress, and picked up her parcel, and gave it to her ; for it had been thrown off up against the tree by the concussion. " Lucy," said he, " I'm sorry that you fell down ; but you had better let me go along with you, to take care of you, and help you up if you fall down again." " No," said Lucy, " I want I j go and do the eiTand myself alone. I shall not fall down, if you are not behind me to talk to me, and make me turn round and walk backwards." Royal perceived that he had been the cause of Lucy's fall ; so he said no more upon that subject, but only added, — " Well, Lucy, since vou won't let me go with SIURILS. 45 jrou, just sit down here a few minutes on the grass, and tell me where you are going, and all about it." " No," said Lucy, '' 1 must not stop to play or sit down by the way, when 1 am going of errandsj — only 1 am going to stop half an hour at Mary Jay's." " Then you are going to Mary Jay's," said Royal. " Yes," answered Lucy, '^ to carry this book." While they had been talking dius, they had both been slowly advancing along the path. " Well, Lucy,*' said Royal, " it does not do any harm for me to walk along with you like this. I will keep a little behind you, and so let you find the way yourself; and then you shall qo the eiTand to Mary Jay, all alone. I won't speak a word." By these and similar persuasions Lucy was in* duced, at last, to allow Royal to accompany her ; and they walked along together. " Now," said Royal, after they had been walkins alono; locrether a little while, — "Now, Lucy, I'll tell you about the different kinds of stories." " Well," said Lucy, " I should like to heai very much " 46 LUCY' AT PLAl. " First," said Royal, " there are true stones." " Yes," said Lucy, '' and I like true stories voiy much." " Next, there are probable stories. The things did not really happen, but there is nodiing in them but what might have happened well enough." " Now tell me a probable story," said Lucy. " Well," said Royal. " Once there was a boy who had a cat, — a beautiful Malta cat. He tied a pink ribbon around her neck for a collar." "O Royal," said Lucy, " I never heard of a cat with a collar." " No," replied Royal ; " they generally put collars upon dogs ; but this boy had no dog, and so he put a collar on his cat." " What was his name? " asked Lucy. "His name was — George ; — - no, Jeremiah," said Royal, correcting himself. " How came you to say it was George first ? " asked Lucy. ." Why, first," replied Royal, " I thought I would have him named George ; but then I thought that would not be so good a name ; and so I chan2:ed it to Jeremiah." " But, Royal," said Lucy, " 1 want to know what his real name was." STORIES. 4? ' Why, he had no real name," answered Royal, •^ only what I give him." " Why. isn't it a true story ? " *' No," said Royal, " certainly not ; this is only a probable story. 1 have to make it up as I go along." " O," said Lucy. " Very well, — only I was thinking that it was true." " The boy," continued Royal, " taught his cat to follow him like a dog. He would walk down into the fields and woods, and the cat would follow him all about. Sometimes she would climb up to the tops of the trees, trying to catch squirrels." " And could she catch them ? " asked Lucy. " No, indeed," said Royal, in reply ; " they were a great deal too nimble for her. Besides, they were light, and she was heavy ; and so they could run out upon the light and slender branches, where she could not go. Once, she went out after one, and the branch was so slender, that it bent away down, and she came tumbling down upon Jeremiah's shoulders." Here Lucy and Royal stopped to have a good laugh at this idea, which Lucy seemed to consider very amusing. " But Jeremiah caught a great many ?nice with his cat," said Royal, " although he could no. 48 LUCY AT PLAY. catch squirrels. He caught field mice, in tTie grass. He would walk about, and whenever he saw a mouse, he would call, ' Here, Merry Merry, Merry ! ' " " What did he mean by that ? " asked Lucy. •' Why, he meant his cat," replied Royal ; " her name was Merry." " And would Merry come? " a^sked Lucy. " Yes," said Royal, " she would come running along, with her red collar about her neck, and the large bow-knot under her chin." " You did not tell me any thing about the bow- knot before," said Luc v. •• No," said Royal ; " I just thought it would be a good plan to have a bow-knot." " Well, what else ? " said Lucy. *' When the boy found that he could teach his cat so much, he concluded that he would teach her to sail on a board, in the litde pond; — foi you must understand diat there was a litde pond behind his father's house. So, in order to teach her, he used to feed her at first very near the water; then on the board, which he would place every day more and more on the water. At last he taught her to go on eating a piece of meat while the board was sailing about the pond ; and finally she would lie quietly on the board, when STORIES. 49 she had not any laing to eat, and so let hinn saL her all about the water. He made a board of the shape of the deck of a vessel, and put two masts into it ; and he fastened a long string to the bows, and he would take hold of the end of this strins; himself, standing on the shore. When his cat was sailing, he used to call her Captain Merry of the ship Floater. She looked beautifully when she was sailing, sitting up straight, with her face towards the bows, her tail curled round to one side, and the beautiful bow-knot under her chin." Here Lucy clapped her hands, and seemed much delighted with the picture which Royal thus presented to her imagination. " Besides," said Royal, " MeiTy's red collar was useful as well as beautiful ; for, after a while, the mice in the field were all tembly afraid when they saw any thing red ; and so Jeremiah just scattered a parcel of red rags about, and that frightened them all away." Here Royal and Lucy made the road ring with long and loud peals of laughter. When their glee, however, had in some measure subsided, Lucy said, — " And is that what you call a probable story. Royal ? " "Why — yes," said Royal, with some hesi- 50 X.UCY AT PI.AY. tation, '* all except frightening the mice away. I don't think that is very probable. But all th« rest is ; for a boy might very easily put a red rib bon around his cat's neck for a collar, and then he might teach her to sail on a board, by mana ging kindly and carefully. But as for frightening away all the mice by red rags, I think myself tha that was rather extravagant." " And now, Royal," said Lucy, " tell me an extravagant story." " Well," said Royal. " Once there were some cnimney swallows who built their nests in a great hollow tree. The/ thought it was a chimney.' •■' O Royal," said Lucy, " they would know, because it was not square." "No," said Royal, "not at all. Chimney swallows don't understand geometry." " What is geometry ? " asked I^ucy. " Why, it is about squares and rounds, and all other shapes. Chimney swallows don't know any thing about it." " I should think," said Lucy, " that, if they could see at all, they could tell whether any thing was square or round." "Besides," said Royal, "some chimneys are lound, and perhaps these swallows thought that this was a round chimney. At any rate, they STORIES. 51 built their nests in it, and found that it was a very good place. " By and by," continued Royal, " there came two large gray squirrels, and they built a nest in a small hole pretty near the bottom of the tree, about as high as a man's head. The hole went in above a branch, and was just big enough for the squirrels to creep in. And it was large enough inside to hold ever so many nuts and acorns." " Wasn't the tree all hollow, from top to bot- tom ? " said Lucy. " No," replied Royal, " only a small place at the top, where it had been broken off by the lightning. That let the rain in, and rotted it down some way ; but the bottom of the tree was large and strong. "So the squiiTels and the chimney swallows lived here in peace for some time. At last there came a great monkey, and he climbed up into the middle of the tree, and held on there by his tail." " By his tail 1 " said Lucy. " Yfts ; he curled his tail around a branch, and so held on while he gathered nuts." " Were there any nuts on the tree ? " asked Lucy. " Yes," replied Royal, '* monstrous great nuts, 52 LUCY At PLAY. as big as my fist, — and very sweet. Well, onw of the squiiTels, when he saw the monkey, went up and said, ' Monkey, this is our tree.' "But the monkey begged the squirrel to let him stay. He said that, if they would, he would do them some favor, some day or other. So the squirrel let him stay. " By and by, a man came along through the woods with an axe; and he went up to look at this tree. He concluded that he would cut it down. So he began to take off his coat. " The squirrel came out of his hole, and crept around the back side of the tree, where the man could not see him, and said to the monkey, ' Monkey, there is a man going to cut down oui tree.' "'Ah!' said the monkey; 'well, I'm pretty cunning ; I can contrive some way to drive him off. Do you go up and tell the swallows while I think.' So the squirrel went up and told the swallows, and they all came down ; and then the other squirrel and all the little squirrels came up, and gathered around the monkey in the middle of the tree. He then told them what to do. He told the swallows to fly off softly, and one by one, into the neighborino; trees. Then he told the two nld squirrels and all the little squirrels to creep STORIES. 53 dow^n to the branches that were directly over the man's head. Then he said that he would break off a great many branches, and have them all ready ; and when he gave the signal, the birds must all fly together about his ears, making as loud a chirping as they could, and the squirrels must jump down upon his head, and he would throw his branches down, and then come tumbling down himself with a prodigious noise and chatter- ing ; and all that, he thought, would frighten the man away." " And did they do so ? " asked Lucy. " Yes," replied Royal. " The monkey gave the signal, and they all came upon the man to- gether, — branches, birds, squirrels, and monke} , — and with such a screaming, chiruping, chatter- ino;, and flutterino;, that the man was fris;htened away out of the woods ; and he did not dare to come back until the next day, even to get his coat." Lucy smiled a little at this ingenious plan tbrmed by the monkey, and then, after a moment's pause, she asked, — '* Is that an extravagant stoiy, Royal ? " " Yes," said Royal, " 1 think that is extrava' gant enou2;h." " Well," rejoined Luc)', " I like it pretty weK 54 LUCY AT PLAV. ** And now have vou told me all the kinds of stories r '* " Yes, I believe so," replied Royal. *■' No," added Lucy, " you have not told nie any true story. Just tell me one true story, and that will be all." " Well," replied Royal, " let me consider. — Well. Once there was a little girl, and she was goino; of an errand for her mother." " What was her name ? " asked Lucy. " O, never mind about her name," said Royai " She was going of an errand to carry a book.'' " That's just like my errand," said Lucy. " After she had set out," continued Royal, " her brother came and called to her, and she turned round to speak to him. While she w^as speaking to him, she kept walking on backwards." " Why, that's me. Royal. I verily believe you are telling about me." " And she tripped over a root, and tumbled down," continued Royal. " It is nobody but me," said Lucy, " I know , and I don't want to hear that." " But that is a true story, and you said, before I began, that you liked true stories the best." " Well, I don't," said Lucy ; " I like the ex- tra vHgant stories the besf " STORIES. 55 B3' this time, Liic}' and Ro3'al reached Mary Ja\''s, and Liic}* went in to do her errand, while Royal walked around behind the house to see the water post, which is described in the book called Lucy At Study. bf CHAPTER IV. THL RIDE TO TOWN Lucy's father lived not a great inany miles from a town which was quite la ge ; and the family used often to ride to the town in a chaise or caiTyall. When only two wanted to go, they took the chaise ; but if more than two, the carry- all, as that had seats for four. One pleasant morning, Lucy, Miss Anne, and Royal, set out in the carryall to go to the town^ to do some shopping. Royal sat upon the front seat to drive. Lucy and Miss Anne sat behind. Royal moved out to the end of the front seat, and then sat with his back turned a little to the side of the carryall ; and by this arrangement he could see the horse, and could also join in the conversa- tion with Lucy and Miss Anne. " What are you going to buy in town. Miss Anne ? " asked Royal. " O, various things," replied Miss Anne ; *' among the rest, I am going to buy a book foi Lucy."" THE RIDE TO TOWN. 57 " What book ? " asked Royal. " We have not decided. We are going to cl)oose it when we get to the bookstore." Just at this moment, Royal's attention was at- tracted by the sight of the heads of a yoke of ?xen, just coming into view, in the road before them, as they were coming up a hill. The heads seemed to shake and to be agitated, as if the oxen were running. As they came up higher, and Royal could see a part of their bodies, he found that they were running, and drawing after them a large hay cart ; that is, a cart with a large rack upon the axletree, for holding hay, instead of the common cart-body. The hay cart was empty. There was nobody near the oxen to drive them. In an instant, however, Royal's eye glanced farther down the hill, — for he had now advanced so far towards the brow of it, that he could see better, — and there he perceived a man running up the hill, with a goad-stick in his hand, and shout- ing out all the time, for the oxen to stop. " O dear me ! " said Lucy, " O dear me ! now we shall all be run over." " Take the reins, Miss Anne," said Royal : "just take the reins." So saying, he passed the reins into Miss Anne's hands on the back seat, and sprang out of the canyalL He ran forward, and 58 LUCY AT PLAY. began to inarch up towards the oxen with a bold and determined look, brandishing his whip, and shouting to them, to make them stop. The oxen slackenea their pace a little, but did not seem much inclined to stop. They, however, turned a little to one side. Royal then concluded to let them go on, but to drive them away out to one side, so that they should not run against the carryall. So he flourished his whip at them, and turned them off more and more. The oxen sftook their heads at Royal, but ran on, until, at length, one wheel of the cart passed over a large stone by the side of the road, while the other sank into a hole, and the cart upset. The great rack tumbled off upon one side, and the oxen, having come up against the fence, stopped. Just at this moment, the man came running up to them. " 1 am very much obliged to you for stopping my steers," said the man. " They are as wild as a pair of colts." Royal looked at the oxen, and observed that they were quite small. " 1 have been to get this hay cart," continued the man, " and, while I stepped into the black- smith's shop a minute, they got away, and under- took to run home. I am much obliged to vou loi stopping them." THE RIDE TO TOWN. 59 '' But I am sorry your cart is broken," said Royal. " O. it is not broken," replied the man, "only the rack has come off. I can put it right on again, — if you would be so good as to stop and help me a moment, about backing the oxen." Just then the man happened to see a boy com- ing up the road, and he immediately said, — " Ah, no ; here comes Jeny. Jerry 1 " said he, m a louder voice, callino; to the bov, " come her** quick, and help me get this rack on." Then Royal, finding that he was no longe; needed, got into the carryall again, took the reins from Miss Anne's hands, and drove on. " The man seems very glad to get his oxen ao:ain ," said Miss Anne. " His steers," said Lucy. " He said they were steal's." " Yes," added Royal ; " but he need not have thanked me so much for stopping his steers ; I did not think of doing him any good, — but only ol keeping them from mnning against the carryall." Lucy here kneeled up upon the seat, and put her head out at the side of the carryall, where the (.villain had been rolled up, and looked back tJ see what they were doing. 60 LUCY AT PLAY. " How do they get along, Lucy ? " said Royal. '' Why, the man has got the hay cart out in the road, and the oxen and the wheels too." " The hay rack, you mean," said Royal. " Yes," said Lucy, " that great thing like a cage, which tumbled off. Now the man is hold- ing it up, and the boy is backing the oxen so as to get the wheels under it. Do you think you could have backed the oxen, Royal, if his boy had not come ? " " Yes," said Royal, " I could have backed them, I have no doubt." " There was one thing," said Miss Anne, " that I noticed, that was singular." " What was it ? " asked Royal. " Why, the great difference in" the man's way of speaking, when he was asking Royal to help him put his cart together, and when he called the boy to come." " Yes," said Royal ; " he asked me if I would be kind enough to do it ; but he said to Jeriy, ' Here, Jerry, come here quick." " Yes," rejoined Miss Anne ; '' now, what was the reason of the difference ? " " Why, Jerry was his boy, I suppose," said Lucy. THE KIDE TO TOWN. 61 " I dou't see that that makes any difference, Said Royal, " A man ought to speak as pleas- antly to his boy as to any other boy." " He did speak pleasantly," said Miss Anne, '' only he spoke to Jerry in the form of command ; but in speaking to you, he only made a re- quest. The reason was, as Lucy says, that Jerry was his boy, and so bound to do whatever he should say ; but you were not his boy, and there- fore under no obligation to help him." '^No," said Royal, "I might do just as I pleased about it." "And yet," said Miss Anne, "are you not under obligation to help any one whom you find in trouble or difficulty when you can do it so easily ? " " Why, yes," said Royal. "So it seems, in that point of view, that you were under obligation to help the man, as truly as his boy Jerry was, — though it was an obligation of a different kind. He was bound to do it, be- cause it is every boy's duty to obey his father ; you, because it is every boy's duty to help those who are in difficulty or trouble." " Yes," said Royal. " It is a case very much like the one we had the other day, when Lucy would not run to help 6 6? LUCY AT PLAY. you tie the knot. 1 asked your father about i\ afterwards, and he explained it to me." " And what did he say about it ? " asked Royal. "Why, he said," rejoined Miss Anne, " that it very often happens that there is a duty which we ought to perform to a person, and yet we are not responsible to him if we do not perform it. He told me a story to help explain it." " What was the story, Miss Anne ? " said Lucy. " Tell it to us." " It was about a widow and her garden. The widow was poor, and radier cross, and she had one son, who took care of her garden. At last her son became sick, and so the poor widow's garden was neglected. " Now, it happened that a gentleman Hved near, who had a gardener. He was walking by die widow's house, and he looked over the fence, and he saw that the weeds were getting up pretty hio-h. So he told the widow that the next morn- o 'ng he would bring his gardener, and let him put it in order for her. " The widow said that she had hired a man to come the next morning. " " Very well,' said the gentleman, ' I will let my gardener come and help ; and th^n you will not have so much to pay.' THE RIDE TO TOWN. 63 •' Accordingly he came the next morning, and set his gardener at work, telUns him what to do Then he went away, and the two men went on working, one upon one side of the garden, and the other on the other. " At length, after they had been working about an hour, the woman came out and began to scold them because they did not work faster. When she came to the gentleman's gardener, he stopped, and listened to her a few minutes, leaning on his hoe, and then he said, — " ' I will thank you, ma'am, to go and scold your own man. I am responsible to my master.' " " Is that all the story. Miss Anne ? " said Lucy, when she found that Miss Anne paused. *' Yes," said Miss Anne, " that is all." " I don't see how that explains the difficulty, exactly," said Royal. " Why, it is to show that, though the gardener was performing a duty which was for the advan- tage of the woman, yet he was not responsible to her for the performance of it. He was under obligation, but not under obligation to her. So it often happens that persons are under obligation to do things, and yet they are not under any obliga- tions to us. And in such cases, we have no right to insist upon their doing them, nor to commana 64 LUCY AT PLAY. them to do them. You were under obligation to help the man out of his difficulty with the cart, but you were not under obligation to him.^^ ' Who is it, then, that 1 am under obligation to, m such a case ? " asked Royal. " Why, to conscience, — or to God. But you are not responsible to the man at all. Of course, if he wishes you to do it, he ought only to request it. He must not command. But his boy is under obligation to him. The obligation is, per- haps, no greater in itself, but it runs to the man himself, and the man has a right to exact the fulfilment of it. But your obligation is not to him at all ; and he has no right to insist upon your fulfilling it, or to call you to account for it at all." . Royal listened very attentively to this explana- tion, though Lucy did not understand it very well. However, Lucy understood better what followed. " Your father told me," continued Miss Anne, " that this was a distinction in moral philosophy, very important for children to understand." " Is that moral philosophy ? " asked Royal. "Yes," rejoined Miss Anne. "He said it would very much promote peace and harmony among children, if they only knew the difference b-tween what they hs^e a right to insist upon The ride to town. 65 from each other, and what they have not. They often think that, because a playmate ought to do a thing, therefore they have a right to insist upon it. For Instance, one boy wanted another to go and be his horse, and was displeased with him because he would noto-o, and found a o-reat deal of fault with him. Another boy, named Thomas^ had two apples, and his brother James had none. James asked Thomas to give him one, but Thomas would not. So James sat down muttering sullen ly, and looking very Ill-humored, and every now and then would toase Thomas to give him an apple. Just thr/i his father came along, and asked him what was the matter. ' Why, Thomas won't give me an apple,' said he, ' when he has got two, and 1 haven't got any.' ' Well,' said his father, ^ you ought not to look out of humor about that, and to try to compel him to give you the apple, by teasing and fretting.' ' Why, father,' said James, ' I am sure he ouoht to do as he would be done by ; and I know he would want me to give him an apple if 1 had two.' ' Yes,' replied his father, ' I don't deny that he ought to give ycu the apple. 1 only deny that you have any right to insist upon it. He is not responsible to you, at all. If he had agreed to give you an apple, on account of something which you had t)6 LUCY AT PL.A.t. done for him, then the obligation would have been to you, and you might have insisted upon it. But in this case it is only his general obligation to be kind and friendly ; and you have no jurisdiction over that. He is not responsible to you for that, at all.' " So, you see," continued Miss Anne, " children often insist upon things which they have no right to insist upon, — though perhaps the other chil- dren ought to do them." " Yes," said Royal. " Once we were playing together, and there were four boys, and it takes four to play ball, — and we all wanted to play but one, and he wouldn't, and so the rest of us could not play." " Yes," said Miss Anne. " Now, I suppose that, in such a case, he ought to have been will- mg to play ; but, if he would not, you would have no right to insist upon it. Children very often are unreasonable in urging others to play with them, when they do not wish to." " Yes," said Lucy, " that is the way that Uoyal always does with me." '' O I o, I don't, Lucy, I'm sure." " Yes," added Lucy, " you want me to be your horse, very often, when I don't want to; — and, besides, I don't think it is proper for me to be yoiu horse." tHE RIDE TO TOMiN. 61 " Well, nevermind that now," said Miss Anne " We won't spoil the pleasure of cur ride ny a disDute." " Well," said Lucy, '• and I mean to take out mv money-purse, and count my money, and st^e if it is all safe." Lucy had several pieces of money which her father had given her to buy something with, in the town. She was going to buy a book, and any thing besides, which JMiss Anne might ap- prove. So she poured the money out upon her lap, and began to count it. " What would you buy with this money. Miss Anne ? " said Lucy, after she had counted it, and found it all safe. " Why, I can hardly say, till I see what they have got to sell. But I can tell you what I think 1 would not buy." " Well," said Lucy, " what ? " " Why, I think I would not buy any very per tshable property." "What do you mean by perishable prop- erty?" " Property that is soon consumed or destroyed,, Sugar-plums are very perishable property indeed • for YOU eat them, and they are gone." " But a doll isn't peiishable, is it ? " said Lucy 68 LUCY AT PLAY. *^ No^ not so perishable as sugar-plums or candy. But you have got a doll." " Yes, but I want a new one, for my doll is old and worn out." " So, you see, dolls are perishable ; that is, they will wear out." " Then every thing is perishable," said Royal, " for every thing will wear out in time." " Yes," replied Miss Anne, " but then some things will last so long that we do not consider them perishable. A silver bowl, for instance, will last for several generations ; but then it would wear out in time." " I should not think it would ever wear out, if it was really silver," said Lucy. " Yes, if it was used, it would wear out in time ; but it would take a very long time. At any rate, we should not consider it perishable properly. A silver thimble would not be perishable property." " Is a book perishable ? " asked Lucy. " Yes, more so than many other things ; for il gets worn out and defaced, so that its value is destroyed before a great while. A box is not so uerishable, — a handsome, well-made box." " 1 believe I'll buy a box," said Lucy. " I'd buy something not very perishable, if ] THE RIDE TO TOW^. 69 ^ere yoi, at any rale, and then you can keep it and enjoy it a great many yeai"s." " Well," replied Lucy. " But what other kind of things are there that you would not buy ? " " I would not buy any thing that you are grow- ing away from. I would rather buy something that you are growing up to." " I don't know what you mean by that," said Lucy. " Why, once there was a boy about three years old. He had never had any playthings bought for him, because his father had no money to spare. But one day his uncle came to visit him, and he gave him a shilling to go and buy himself a play- thing with. So he went to the toy-shop, and they showed him a whistle and a ball. Now, he was not quite old enough to play with a ball, though it was almost time for him to be too old to be amused much with a whistle. How^ever, he con- cluded to take the whistle. It was a very good whisde, and it lasted a long time ; but he very soon ceased to care any thing about it. On the other hand, he very soon became big enough to play ball, and then almost every time that he saw his whisde for two years, he wished that it was a nail. He did not consider, when he bought it. 70 LUCY Al hLXY. that the time for him to be pleased with a whistle was almost gone by, while the time for him to be pleased with a ball was all to come. He bought somethmg that he was growing away from." " What kind of a ball was it, Miss Anne ? " asked Royal. " An India rubber ball," replied Miss Anne, " large, and round, and smooth." " What a foolish boy ! " said Royal. *' Yes, he was not so wise as a girl I knew once, named Harriet." " Why, what did she do? " asked Lucy. " When she was twelve years old, her father gave her five dollars to buy whatever she pleased with, for a birthday present. There were two things which she thought of, which she could have for five dollars. One was a beautiful waxen doll, with eyes that would open and shut, and a handsome cradle to put it in. The other was a portable desk, to hold writing materials, — such as paper, pens, an inkstand, wafers, sealing-wax, &c. There was also room in it to keep her notes and papers, and any valuable treasures which sne micrht have. She asked her mother which she thought she had better take ; and her mother naid that she thought the doll would give her the most oleasure for a few days. THE RIL»% 10 TOWN. 71 " ' And after that, would the desk give me most pleasure ? ' asked Harriet. "' ' Yes,' said her mother, — ' because your time for playing with dolls has nearly gone by. You will feel less and less interest in them now every year, — and the interest will soon be gone entirely. But your interest in writing and in other intellec- tual pleasures, will increase every year. So that I would recommend to you to buy the desk. If you were three yeai's old instead of twelve, per- haps I should recommend to you to buy the doll ; but for you to buy it now, would be like a man's buying a trunk at the end of his journey.' " " Well," said Lucy, " and what did Harriet do?" " O, she bought the desk, and she liked it oct- ,er and better every year. She used to write notes, and a journal upon it ; and she kept the notes which the other girls wrote to her, and her journal books, and her drawings, and her pencils, and all her treasures, in it. Thus she bought something that she was growing 'ip to." Lucy determined to follow Miss Anne's advice , but she had not time to hear any more, for verj ?oon after this they reached the town. T« CHAPTER V. THE GIPSY PARTY. One Wednesday evening, in summer, Royal and Lucy were sitting on the front door steps, eating bread and milk, which their mother had given them for supper, when they saw a boy coming along the road, with a little letter in his hand. " There comes a boy with a letter," said Royal. " 1 wonder whether he is going to. bring it here for my father." The boy walked along, and, when he reached the front gate, he opened it, came up, and handed the note to Royal. "There's a letter for you." Then he turned round, and went away again. Royal looked at the outside of the note, and saw that his own name and Lucy's were written there. He accordingly opened it, and read as follows : — " Mary Jay sends her compliments to Royal and Lucy, and would be happy to have their company The gypsy partx. 73 at a gypsy party, at her house, to-morrow, at 3 o'clock. " fVednesday Morning.^ " A gypsy party 1 I wonder what a gypsy party is," said Lucy. " It is a party to have a supper out of doors," said Royal. " We'll go, Lucy ; we'll certainly go I should like to see a gypsy supper." " Yes," said Lucy, " if mother will let us. I'll go du'ectly and ask her." Lucy went and showed her note to her mother. Her mother seemed much pleased with it, and she said that Lucy might go. " And Royal too? " asked Lucy. " Why, — yes," said her mother, with some hesitation. " 1 suppose that I must let Royal go, since he is invited ; but it is rather dangerous to admit boys to such parties." "Why, mother ? " said Lucy. " Because," replied her mother, " boys are more rough in their plays than girls, and they are very apt to be mde and noisy." Lucy went back to the door, and told Royal that their mother said that they might go. *' But she thinks," added Lucy, " that [jerJtiapa you will be noisy." 7 74 LUCY AT PLAY. '^ O no," said Royal, " I will be as still as a mouse." Just then. Royal and Lucy saw a little giil^ dressed very neatly, walking along towards their house. As she came nearer, liucy saw it was Marielle, her old playmate at the school where Lucy first became acquainted with Mary Jay. Marielle advanced towards the house, looking at Lucy with a very pleasant smile. Royal went and opened the gate for her. " How do you do, Lucy ? " said Marielle. Lucy did not answer, but looked at Marielle with an expression of satisfaction and pleasure upon her countenance. " Are you going to Mary Jay's gypsy party to-morrow ? " she asked. '^ Yes, and Royal too," replied Lucy. " Are you going? " '"■' Yes, I am going, and Harriet, and Jane, and Laura Jones, and little Charlotte, and one or two others. My brother is going, too, and William Jones. And we are all going to carry something in baskets to eat." " Why, what is that for ? " asked Royal. " Why, you see," she replied, " Mary Jay is going away in two or three days, and is not com- ing back for a year ; and so she invited us to THE (JYPSY PARTY. 75 come and pay her a farewell visit, — all of us that she used to teach in the school. And my mother thought that, as she was going away so soon, she must be v^ery busy ; and so she sent me to go and ask her not to make any preparation herself, but to let us all brino: thin«is in our baskets ; and then she could put them on the table and arrange them after we got there." " And what did she say ? " asked Lucy. " Why, she laughed, and said it was a funny way to give a party, to have the guests bring their suppers with them. But, then, pretty soon she said that we might do so ; and she told me to say to my mother that she was very much obliged to her indeed." "Well," said Royal, "let's go in and tel mother about it." So the children went in and told their modier, and she said that she thought it was an excellent plan, and that she would give them a pie and some cake, and a good bottle of milk, for their share. " My mother," said Marielle, " wanted me to ask you not to send a great deal." • Well, that will not be sending a great deal \ oe:;ideSj wnut would be the harm if I should ? f6 LUCY AT PLAY. " Why, she says that generally, in such cases, tfiey carry too much." " Yes," said Royal's father, who was then sit- ting in the room reading. '• When people form a party to go up a mountain, they each generally take provisions enough for themselves and all the rest of the party besides; so that they have to lug it all up to the top of the mountain, and then to luo; it down ao;3in." They all laughed at this ; and Royal's father went on with his reading. His mother then said that she would not send a great deal, and Marielle bade Lucy and Royal good evening, and went home. The next day, at three o'clock, there were quite a number of children walking along the road towards Mary Jay's house, all with small baskets in their hands. Royal, Lucy, and Marielle, went together ; and, as they reached the house, they found a boy in the yard, who told them that Mary Jay was at lier seat down beyond the garden. So they went through the garden, and thence over into the walk which led down through the trees, as described in Lucy At Study. As they drew near the place where they were to come in sight of the httle pond of water, they THE GYPSY PARTY. 79 heard the sound of voices ; and, after a lew steps more, they caught a glimpse of something while through the trees. They walked on, and pres- ently they came in sight of a pretty long table, just beyond the pond, upon a flat piece of grass ground, up a little from the pond, and under the trees. The table was surrounded with girls mov- ing about in all directions. Some were opening tlieir baskets, some were hanging up their bonnets upon the branches of the trees, and several were standing around Mary Jay, who was seated at the head of the table, upon a chair, with her feet upon a small cricket, and a crutch lying down by her side. " O, there they are," said Lucy, as soon as she saw them; and she began to run. Royal fol- lowed, carrying the provisions. " Ah, Royal," said Mary Jay, " 1 am glad you have come ; for I want you to help William make us a fireplace to roast our apples and com. It would not be a gypsy supper without some cook- ing." " A fireplace ? " said Royal ; " I don't know how to make a fireplace." " O, it is only a gypsy fireplace," replied Mary Jav ; " and that is very easy to make. All yoii ir. &1, LUCY AT PLAY. have lo do is to cut two croiched sticks, and diive them down into the ground, about as far apart as you can reach ; and then cut a green pole, and lay across from one to the other. Then we can build our fire upon one side, and stand up our ears of corn against the pole, on the other ; ana so they will roast. Only we must turn them." " Well," said Royal ; " but where shall I get an axe?" " You will have to go up to the house and get the axe. You will find one in the shed, just be- yond the water post." So Royal and William went off after the axe, while the girls were all busy, some about the table, taking out the various stores and arranging ihem ; others rambling about in the paths around, looking at Mary Jay's stone seat, or playing with the pebble-stones on the margin of the water. In a short time. Royal returned; and he and William began to look around, among the small trees, for two with branches which would form a crotch. " Here is one, Royal," said a gentle voice, at a little distance through the trees. Royal turned, and saw that Marielle had found pne for him. He went to it, to look at it. THE GYPSY PARTY. Hi *' Will that do ? " said she. " Yes, indeed," said Royal ; " it is a beautifu) crotch." In fact, it did look very beautiful and regular The two branches diverged equally from the main stem below, so as to give the fork a very symmet- rical form. Royal cut it down. Then he cut off the main stem about a foot from the crotch, and then the two branches a few inches above. He carried it to Mary Jay, to show her what a beautiful crotch he had got, for one. " And now," said he, " where shall we make uMr fireplace ? " " O, any where about here, where there is a level place ; you and William can find a place Marielle may help you." So they began to look about for a place. They found a very good place near the brook, and not very far from the table. Royal began to drive down the crotch. But here he soon found diffi- culty. The two branches of the fork diverged equally from the main stem, and of course, wnen the point was set into the ground, neither of them was directly over it ; so that, when Royal struck upon one of them, the tendency of the blow was to beat the stake over upon one side, and if he 82 LUCY AT PLAY. Struck upon the other branch, it beat it over upon the other side. In a word, it would not drive. " Strike right in the middle of the crotch," said William. Royal did so. This seemed to do better at first ; but the axe did not strike fair, as the head of it, in this case, went down into the wedge-shaped cavity between the branches, instead of finding any solid resistance to fall upon. And after a few blows, the branches were split asunder by the force of the axe wedsing itself between them : and there was, of course, an end of the business. " O dear me ! " said Royal, with a long sigh, as he stopped from his work, and leaned upon his axe. As he looked up, he saw an old man, on the other side of the brook, with a sickle in his hand, who had been down in a field at his work, and who was now returning. He had seen Royal driving the stake as he was passing along. " The trouble is, boy," said the old man, " that you have not got the rig} t sort of crotch. The arms of it branch otf both sides." " I thought it was better for that," said Royal. " No," said the man ; " it looks better, perhaps, but it won't drive. Get one where the mam stem THlL GYPSY PARTY. 83 grows up straight, and the crotch Is made by a branch which grows out all on one side. Then yru can drive on the top of the main stem." " O yes," said Royal, " I see." " Besides," said the old man, " if that is the place that you have chosen for your fire, I don't think that it is a very good one." " Why not ? " said Royal. *' Why, the smoke," replied the old man, " will drift right down upon the tables. It is generally best to make smokes to leeward." So saying, the old man turned around, and walked slowly away. " What does he mean by making smokes to leeward ? " asked a little o-irl who was standino; near. It was Charlotte. "I know," said Royal ; "let us see, — which way is the wind ? " And he began to look around U|)on the trees, to see which way the wind was blowing. " Yes, I see," he added. "It blows from hers directly towards the table ; we should have smoked them all out. We must go around to the other side of the brook, and then the smoke will be blown away. But first we must go, WiUiam. an(' get some more crotched stakes. ' So Royal and WiUiam went looking about aftei 84 LUCY AT PLAY. more su.,vjs. , They tried to find them of such t charactei as the old man had described ; and this was easy ; for it was much more common /or a single brar>.h to grow off upon one side, leaving the main siem to go up straight, than for such a fork to be produced as Marielle had found. Ma- rielle seemed to be sorry that her fork had proved so unsuitable ; but Royal told her that it was no matter. Ho said that hers was a great deal handsomer than the others, at any rate, although it would not drive. They found suitable crotches very easily, and drove them into the ground. Then they cut a pole, and laid it across, and afterwards built a fire upon one side of it ; and by the time that the other preparations were ready for their supper the}'' had a good hot fire, and were ready to pui the ears of corn down to roast. The children had a very fine time eating their supper. Some stood at the table ; and some car- ried their cakes and their blueberries away, and sat, two or three together, under the trees, oi on the rocks. Lucy went to Mary Jay's seat, and took possession of that. They made litde conical cup:^ of large maple leaves, which they formed by bring ing the two wings of the leaf together and pinning the«»i : and then the stem served as a little handle THE GYPSY PARTY. S5 below. They were large enough to hold two or three spoonfuls of blueberries. They had milk to drink too, and water, which they got from a spring not far from Mary Jay s seat. Lucy went there to get some water ; and, as she was comino; back to her seat, brino-ino- it carefully, she saw Royal doing something on the shore of the little pond. She put down her mug, and went to see. He was making a vessel . of a small piece of board. He had a large leaf fastened up for a sail. He secured the leaf, by making a slender mast, and running this mast through the leaf, in and out, as you do with a needle in sewing ; and then, leaving the leaf upon the mast, he stuck the end of the mast into the board. Then he loaded his vessel with a cake, and some blueberries, and said that he was going to send it over to the other side, to Charlotte, who was waiting there to receive it The children all gathered around to see it sail. It went across very beautifully, and Charlotte ate the caro-o. Then they brought the ship round back again, to load it again ; and at this time, when it was nearly loaded with other things, Marielle brought the saucer of an acorn whicli she had oratnered from a neighboring tree, and filled it with milk, 86 LUCY AT PLAT. and then set it carefully upon the stem of the v^essel. She said that she wanted Charlotte to have something to drink. But just before they got ready to sail the vessel, they heard a little bell ring at the table, which they all understood at once to be a sumnnnns from Mary Jay to them to go there, and attend to what she had to say to them. So those who were at the water left it at once, and the others came in from the places where they were playing ; and all gathered around the table. " Now, children," said Mary Jay, " we'll clear away the table, and then you will have an hour and a half to play bef re it will be time to go home. First, put all the fragments carefully into the larite basket ur.d n' the table." The children looked under the table, and saw a good-sized basket there ; and they took all that was left upon the table, and put it carefully in. Then Mary Jay told them to fold up the cloth, and put that in ; and they did it. Then William and Royal took the board which formed the table, and carried it up towards the house, and stood it up by the stile at the foot of the garden ; the other children carried the basket which was under the table, and the cloth, and all the other baskets, and THE GYPSY PARTY. 87 put them down, in regular order, near the same place. When the children came back, they found that Mary Jay had moved to her stone seat, where she sat waiting for them. " Now," said Mary Jay, " the things are all ready to be carried home, and the ground is clea^ for our plays." " What shall we play ? " said several voices. " We'll see presently," said Mary Jay, " when you get ready." So the children all collected around Mary Jay, some standing and some sitting in various places, upon the flat stones. " Now," said Mary Jay, " how many are there here ? One, two, three," — and so she went on counting until she ascertained the number. There were ten. " There are ten ; that will be about eight minutes apiece. Each of you may choose a play for eight minutes. First you may mention any plays that you would like, — so that you may all have a good number in mind to choose from." One of the girls said, " Blind man's buff; " another, " A march ; " another, " Hunt the stag ; " ftrad several other plays were named. '* Now,'' said Mary Jay, " I will call upon ond 88 LUCY AT PLAY. dF tl]e oldest children to choose a play. Laura, what should you like for your eight minutes ? " " A march," said Laura. " Yes," said all the children, " let's have a march." " Would any of the rest of you," said Mary Jay, " like to have your eight minutes added to Laura's ? and that will make sixteen minutes for a march." " Yes, 1," and " I," said several voices. " But then you must remember," said Mary Jay, " that whoever gives up her eight minutes to a march, cannot choose any other play for it." "O, well, then I don't want to give mine," said one of the girls, " for I want to have Blind- man's-bufF for mine." However, there was one of the girls who de- cided to add her eight minutes to Laura's for the march ; and so, at Mary Jay's command, they all formed a line, and marched about under the tre^^s for quarter of in hour. Mary Jay appointed Royal to be the captain ; and so they all followed him around and under the trees, singing a merry song all the way. They had branches of the trees for banners. When the march was over, Mary Jay called for more plays, and they played three more times THE GYPSY PARTY. 89 bout eight minutes each, as near as MaiT Jay 3uld estimate the time. "But, Mary Jay," said Ro3'al, " 3'ou have assed by Marielle ; and she is older than the thers that 3'ou have called upon." "Sol have ," said Mary Jay. ' ' Marielle, I did ot mean to forget you." "0, it 's no matter," said Marielle. " Well, what play should 3'ou like? You shall ike your turn now." "Cannot we choose anj'thing besides pla3's?" sked Marielle. "Wh}', yes," replied Mar}^ Jay, "perhaps so. I '11 see. What should vou like ? " Marielle looked down, and appeared half fraid to sa}' what she wished ; but presently she aid, — " Why, if you would be kind enough to read us stor}' out of 3'our Morocco Book." " O yes," " Yes," exclaimed all the children, ' let us have a storv out of the Morocco Book." " Yery well," said Mar}^ Jay ; " I have no ob- 3Ction. I can find a short one, which wdll not ake more than eight minutes." But the children did not want a short one ; nd those who had not chosen plays agreed to ppropriate all their time to the Morocco Book. 8* 90 CHAPTER VI. THE MOKOCCO BOOK. Mart Jay according^ sent up two of the chil- dren after the Morocco Book. She told them that her sister would give it to them. They knocked at the door of the house, and, when Marv Jrv's sister came to the door, the}' told her what they wanted. Then her sister went in, and presently' came back, and brought the Morocco Book, which she had wrapped up carefully in a newspaper ; for she knew that Mary Jaj^ was very careful of the Morocco Book. When the messengers had returned to where the children were assembled, Mary Jay took off the newspaper, and brought the handsome Mo- rocco Book to view. She looked at the index a few minutes, and then turned to a place at about the middle of the book, and read the following story. THE LONELY SLEIGH-RIDE. 91 THE LONELY SLEIGH-RIDE. Once there was a farmer who lived in a sohtary place near the bank of a river, and he had a little daughter named Jane. They commonly called her Jenny. There was a small village about two m'J.es off, up the river, though upon the other side. At the village there was a mill, and very near the mill. on the other side of it was a house where the miller lived. One evening in winter, when the moon was shinins; bridit, the farmer concluded to go to mill in his sleigh. Jenny wanted to go with him for the ride ; and he said that she might go. It was a very pleasant ride along the banks of the river from the farm to the mill. When the river was frozen over, they generally went upon the ice. The road upon the ice was very pleas- ant to travel, though it was rather bad getting off and on, for there was generally a wet place along the shore. The farmer was going to carry a bag of wheat to the mill, to be ground. The meal was to be put into the same has aojain ; but then he wanted an- other bag to put the bran into. Jenny wanted the bran to feed her chickens with. So the farmer Q2 LUCY AT PL^i. brought out a sparo bag, and laid it upon the step of the door, while he went to bring the horse and sleigh out of the bam. Jenny followed her father to the bam, anf^ got into the sleigh there. Her father stepped in, too, after her, and took his seat. But he had to get out again to adjust some part of the harness, which was out of order. While adjusting the harness, he got engaged in talking with Jenny, and, when he was ready to set out, he had entirely forgotten about his spare bag ; and so he drove by, and left it upon the great, flat stone which foiTned the step of the door. It was a bright moonlight evening, and the farmer drove on over the beautiful white road very fast. Presently he came to the place where he was accustomed to turn off to go down upon the river. " Are you going on the river ? " said Jenny. " Why, yes," said her father ; " wouldn't you ? " " Yes, sir," said Jenny, " perhaps ; only I'm a little afraid to go through the water at the edge." " O, that will do no harm," replied her fatlier ; ** the water is not deep." So her father drove down through the water, over on to the ice, and then turned up t^ e river, and the horse trotted swiftlv on THE LONELY SLEIGH-RIDE. 93 As they rode on, Jenny and her father happened to fall into conversation on the way to act when in circumstances of sudden dano-er. " Always take time, Jenny, in such cases," said her father, " to consider well what you had better do, before you begin to do it." " But, father," said Jenny, '•' suppose there w not any time." " Why, then," replied her father, " of course vou cannot do any thing." " But I mean, father, suppose there is only a very little time — not enough to think in." " VVhy, if there is ever so little time," said her father in reply, '' it would be better to use a part of it in considerinof. If the house is on fire, the first thing is to consider well what to do." " Why, I should run and cry fire," said Jenny. " But that might not be best," said her father. " You might be in such a place that nobody would hear you, if you did cry fire. Or, if you should examine the fire, you might find that you could put it out yourself, very easily, with a pail of water ; and in that case it would not be wise to alarm the people out of doors." " Then," said Jenny, " the first thing I should ■io would be to run and get a pail of water." •' That might not be best," said her father ; " for 94 LUCY AT FLAY. perhaps the fire would have advanced so far that you could not hope to put it out : and so it might be wisest for you to go get some valuable papers and carry out, or a child asleep in a cradle. " So you see," continued her father, " the best thing that you could do would be to pause and consider what to do. I heard a doctor say once that, if he had but five minutes to save a man's life in, he should take two of them to consider what to do." Jenny wanted to drive a little. The horse was a very spirited, but yet a very kind and gentle horse, so that her father often used to let Jenny drive him. But it was rather cold this evenino; ; and her father told her that he thoup-ht it would be better for her to sit still and keep her fingers warm. When they arrived at the village, they drove up near to a post which stood between the house and the mill. The miller came to help the farmer take out the bag of wheat. And he said to the %rmer, " You had better let your little girl go into the house and stay there while we are grinding." " O no," replied the farmer ; " she can go into '.he mill with us, just as well. She will like to walk about in the mill a little." So the farmer folded up the reins^ and put them through a ring in tne harness, in such a way that THE LONELY SLEIGH-RIDE. 95 they hung safely down the horse's shoulder ; and he was then goin^; to fasten the horse. He hung up the reins in that nanner so as to prevent theii getting down under the horse's feet. Just hefore he fastened the horse, however, he observed that the miller was ready to help him carry in the bag of wheat. So he took hold of one end, while the miller took hold of another, in ordei to carry it along through a passage-way on that side which led into the mill. " I think," said the miller, " that your little girl had better go into the house. Yes, here comes John, and he will take your horse round into my shed, and show Jenny in." John was a boy who was just then coming along with a pail of water. He heard what his father said, and he answered. " Yes, father," said he ; " as soon as I have carried in this pail of water, I will come out and do it." " O, that is not necessary," said Jenny's father ; " there is a shed around on the other side of the mill. I will come and put the horse there, and let Jenny go in with us." So the boy went in with his pail of water, and the miller and the farmer carried the bag of wheat along the passage-way. When they had gone 96 LUCY AT fLAY. Jeuny thought she would step into the slt.gh again, so as to be all ready to go whichever way it was decided to carry her. N0W5 the horse perceived that somebody got into the sleigh, and he very naturally supposed that he was to set out again, and carry them where they wanted to go ; and so he began to turn around out towards the road. " Whoa ! whoa ! " said Jenny. But the reins were hung up upon the harness out of Jenny's reach ; and so, as the horse felt no pressure of restraint upon the bit, he paid no at- tention to the order, but moved on out into the street. The weather being cold, all the doors were shut in the mill and in the house, and nobody heard the sound of the bells, nor Jenny's calls to the horse ; and, in a word, before Jenny had time to consider her situation, the horse was out in the street trotting off at a good round pace down to- wards a bridge which passed over a small stream just below the mill, and which was on the way towards home. In the mean time, Jenny's father, after helping tfie miller about getting the grain into the mill, and pouring it into the hopper, came back for Jenny When he saw that the sleigh wis gone, he said, — " Ah, John has taken hei into the house, 1 THE LONELY SLEIGH-RIDE. 97 see. VVeli, he was pretty quick about it." So he went back into the mill. In the same way, John, when he had carried in his pail of water, came back to look for Jenny and the sleigh. When he saw that they were gone, he said, — " Ah, they hav^e taken her into the mill, I see. Well, they were pretty quick about it." So he went back into the house. In the mean time, the horse trotted on. Jenny's first thought was to jump out at once. But the horse was comino; fast down the hill to the bridtre, and that made her afraid to jump out there ; for she thought that, if she should fall down upon the hard planks, it would hurt her more than to fall upon the snow. So she concluded to wait until she should have o-ot over the bridge. But now, as she was passing the bridge, she recollected what her father had told her about always stopping to consider what it was best to do when she was placed in any dangerous situa- ticffi ; and so she concluded not to jump out at oncSj but to reflect a little whether it would b' best lo jump out or not. " If I jump out," she said to herself, " I sliaJ grt thrown down, perhaps, and hurt my bean And then, besides, the horse and sleigh will gu 98 LUCY AT PLAT. home alone, and my mother will think that my father and I are thrown out and killed, and so she will he very much frightened. No, I had better not jump out." Then she though : of another plan. " I might climb along one of the shafts towards the horse's head, and try to get hold of the reins, and then 1 could stop him. — But no," she added, "that will not do. It miffht friduen him, and make him run away faster." Here she paused, and thought a litde more about it. " But, then," she said to herself again, presently, " if I keep in the sleigh, and the horse runs against any thing, or runs quick round a corner, and turns the sleigh over, then I shall be thrown out^ and shall be killed. " Ah," she continued, after thinking a little more, " I know what I will do. I will get out carefully upon the runner, and step along till I get on to the end of the runner, behind the sleigh; and then, as long as the hc-se goes on right, I will cling on, and he shall carry me home ; but when I see any difficulty coming, then I will jump off." So Jenny stepped out very carefully, holding r^n by the back of the sleigh, and took her placa THE LONELY SLEIGH-RIDE. 9U upon the end of the runner, on one side She went on so, very well, for a short distance, foi the horse did not go very fast. If she had been much frightened, and had screamed or called out very loud, it would have frightened the horse very TAich, and he would have soon got into a run. But, as all was quiet, the horse supposed that all was right, and so he trotted along towards home, just as usual. But then, in a very few minutes after this, he turned into the road which led down the bank to the river. " O dear me ! " said Jenny. " He will draw my feet all over in the water. I'll ju^ip off. — No, I'll jump in." She had but a moment to decide which to do , but she happened to decide right. She jumped in, just as the horse was stepping cart fully into the water at the margin of the river. She sat down upon the seat, and held on by one side of the sleigh. The runners plunged into the water, and then, with a jolt, struck the edge of the ice, and rose ip upon it. The horse then began to trot again . ^' There," said Jenny, " I am safe on the ice. Now I can get out again upon the nmner." However, by this time Jenny had become quit* J 00 LUCY AT PLASr. quiet and composed in htr new situation. She. found that the horse was goin«: alons: very reo-u- O O O JO !arly, and she reflected that, as she had got out of the village, she had passed all the places where there were bad corners to turn, and also that it was not now very probable that she should meet any body coming. So she concluded to remain in the sleigh, especially as she would have to go through the water again, when the horse went up off the ice. So she staid in the sleigh. She stood up ih the front of it, upon one corner, and took hold of the dasher, in order that she might stand firmly. In this way she rode along. The horse trotted very fast, but the road was level and smooth, and its direction changed only by great curves, which followed the bends in the stream. At length, the horse came to the place for going up upon the land. He stopped trotting when he came to the water, looked down into it, stepped carefully in, and then very soon took the sleigh and Jenny out safe to the solid ground. He walked up the bank, turned into the road, trotted on a short distauce, and then wheeled round up into the farmer's yard. ffe walked along to the barn door, and there itopped for Jenny to get out and unharness him. '■ Well," said Jenny to herself, as she stepped THE LONELY SLEJGH-Rll)E. 10 1 out of the sl-eigh. " This is pretty well." She looked around towards the house, and saw no iignt. So she knew that her mother had gone to oed in her bed-room, on the back side. The bag for the bran was lying in the moonlight on the step of the door, where her father had left it. S'ne turned around again to the horse, and took hold of the reins, which were hanging like a bundle of ribbons from the horse's shoulder. " This was all the difficulty," she said. " If I had only had these reins, I could have stopped him. I've a great mind now to get in again, and drive him back. I'll see if I can turn him round, at any rate." So Jenny got into the sleigh, with the reins in her hands, and she found that she could turn him around without any difficulty. She had never driven alone before, but she had often driven when her father was seated in the sleigh with her, so that she knew very well how to guide the horse to the right or left by pulling one rein, and how to make him stop by pulling both ; so that she had no difficulty in turning him round, and then stopping him before he went out into the road. Here she paused to consider. " If I don't go back," said she to herself, " my father will come out to find me, and be afraid I 102 LUCY AT PLAT. am killed. Perhaps he is walking along home after me now. If I go in the house here, there is nobody to diive the horse back, and it is too far for my father to walk. Yes, 1 will drive him back ; and then, besides, there is the bag upon the step. T can carry my father his bag, and so get the bran for my chickens." The sleigh was standing very near the step, at this time, but Jenny drove a little nearer, so thai she could step out and get the bag. She kepi hold of the reins all the time, with one hand. She put the bag into the bottom of the sleigh, and then got in again herself She then carefully drove the horse down out of the yard into the road, and turned him in the direction towards the village. When she came to the place for going down the bank to the river, her courage failed a little. She was afraid to drive into the water. However, she kept the reins still, and held on as firmly as she could, and the horse carried her safely through. " Now, pony, you must go faster," she said, when the horse was fairly upon the river. So she took the whip, which was lying in the bottom of the sleigh, and touched him very lightly with it. The horse ti'otted on at great speed. The mad passed sometimes opt In the middle of the THE LONELY SLEIGH-RIDE. 103 Stream, and sometimes it curved along by lh-» shore, under a high bank overhung with trees. Sometimes she was in the moonlight, and some- times in shadow ; but the road was smooth and tine, and she glided over it like a bird. Presently she saw something dark at a distance before her. In a few minutes, she perceived that it was moving. It was a horse and sleigh cominc; on towards her. " What shall I do now ? " said Jenny. The first thought was to stop the horse, and tell the man who was in the sleigh her story, and get him to go back with her. But then she re- flected that she was getting along very well with- out any help, and that probably the people in the sleigh had a home of their own that they wanted to net to, as well as she. " On the whole, if I can only get by them," she said to herself, " I will go directly on." So she turned out well from the path, when she found that she was near them, and got by without any trouble. There were a man and a woaian in the sleigh, and they looked up aston- ished at seeing so small a girl driving a sleigh at thai time of night, and on such a solitary road. But then the two sleighs passed each othei so 104 LUCY AT PLAY. quick, that the travellers had no time to say anji thing to Jenny, and so she drove on. And it was rather a sombre scene, as is here represented in the picture. " O, is there a picture, Mary Jay ? " " Let us sec the picture," said all the girls. They came around Mary Jay, and looked at the picture which wab painted in the Morocco Book, at the place where Mary Jay was reading. They stood, some on each side and some behind, looking over her shoulder. They looked at it a few minutes in silence. There was a lonely-looking place upon a river, the surface of the stream being white with snow. There were dark woods in the background, hang- ing gloomily over the shore ; and upon the fore- ground, too, upon one side, there were some large rocks and fir-trees, which were upon the bank nearest the spectator. Jenny's sleigh was going along, the moon shining upon it brighdy ; and behind it there was the other sleigh, which was seen more dimly, as it was partly shaded by trees. Still you could see the man's head turned hack looking towards Jenny's sleigh. " How cold it looks ! " said Marielle THE LONELY SLEIGH-RIDE. 105 The rest of the children said nothing ; but, after they had looked at it for some minutes, silently, they went back to their places, and Mary Jay went on. Jenny met with no other adventure on the ice. In a short time, she came to the place where she was to go off the ice, and the horse took her very safely through the water, and up upon the shore. She then guided him along towards the village, and across the bridge, and thence up to the mill. Just as she got there, she saw her father and the miller going along around the house to find her. His wheat was ground, and he was now ready to go home. He supposed that Jenny was in the house, and his sleigh in the yard. He heard a sleigh coming along behind him ; but, not ima- gining it could be his, he did not pay particular attention to it, but walked on. As soon, however, as he turned around the corner of the house, and saw that his sleigh was not there, under the shed where he had expected to find it, he stopped, and exclaimed, — " What ! — where's my sleigh ? " " Here it is, father/' said Jenny, " and here is your bag, too, for the bran." Her fatlier and the miller turned around, to- 106 LUCY AT PLAY. gether, but they could hardly believe their eyes , and when Jenny came to tell her story, it was still more difficult to believe their ears. When, at length, however, they understood the story, her father said, — "• Well, Jenny, that's pretty well — pretty well. If you had not got the bag with you for proof, 1 should think that you had got asleep in the sleigh, and been dreamino." Here Mary Jay paused, and shut the book. " Is that the end ? " asked the children. " Yes, that is the end," replied Mary Jay. " Well, I think," said Laura, " that Jenny was a pretty courageous girl." " And 1 think," said Royal, " that she was a pretty wise girl." " But I don't think she did quite right," said Marielle, " to drive back again without her moth- er's leave" " I am not sure of that myself," said Mary Jay. *' But now, girls, it is time for you to go home. Come, all of you, and shake hands with me, and bid me good-by, and leave me here. I am going away, to be gone a long time, and I don't know when I shall see you again. But there is one thing that I want you to do for me. Be THE MOROCCO BOOK. 107 v^ry gontle and obedient, at home, now, for three days; and they will think it is owing to youi having paid a visit to Mary Jay." " Yes, we will, Mary Jay," said the girls ; " we certainly will." So Mary Jay held out her hand to the girls. For a minute or two, she looked upon them with a smile, as one after another came forward to shake It ; but then she turned her head away, and, leaning- upon a round stone at one side of her seat, she hid her face in her handkerchief, which she helO in her left hand. Marielie hngered till the last, and then she kneeled down upon the step of the seat beside her, kissed her cheek, and said, in a very gentle tone, — " Good by, dear Mary Jay." She then paused, and looked at her with a sad expression of countenance. Her dark hair, lying in curls upon her neck, was very beautiful. But Marielie was not admiring her beauty ; she was pitying her sorrow. ^^ 108 \ CHAPTER VII. MARY JAY'S SUNDAY SCHOOL Mary Jay lived at some distance from any church, and so it was very seldom that she was able to go to church ; for she could not walk very far. But it happened that, at a short dis- tance from the house where she lived, there was a small red school-house, at the edge of a grove of pine-trees, on the bank of a river ; and Mary Jay used to go there every Sabbath day, to keep a Sabbath school for the little children that lived near. The next Sabbath after the gypsy supper, Ma- ry Jay was going to close her school. Marielle wanted to go very much ; and she proposed to Lucy that they should both ask their mothers to allow them to go, instead of going to church. Lucy said that she was willing. So they both asked their mothers, and they said yes. Royal wanted to go too, but his father thought that it was not best. So Marielle and l^c} set off alone. They were going to call it MARY JAY'S SUNDAY SCHOOL. 109 Mary Jay's house, a little before the time, and so walk along to the school-house with her. They found Mary Jay all ready for them, sit- ting in a chair, upon the door step. She had her bonnet on, and she was reading. One crutch was leaning against the post of tie door. When she saw the two little gii'ls coniaig, she shut her book, rose, and took her crutch ynder her arm. " But, Mary Jay," said Lucy, " whei'e is your other crutch ? " "■' I am not going to lake but one," said Maiy Jay. " Bu-t you always used to have two." " I know it, but I am better and stronger now, and can get along very well with only one ; un- less 1 have to go a great way." " I am very glad of that," said Marielle. " And perhaps, by-and-by, you will get so well that you can go without any." " No," said Mary Jay, •' I never expect to be well enough to walk without one crutch." " But perhaps you will, Mary Jay," said Lucy - — '' 'perhaps." Mary Jay stepped down from the step, and look hold of Lucy's hand with that one of her CYwn hands that was free. Marielle went upon the 10 110 LUCY AT PLAY. Other side, and carried her books ; and thus che^' walked along together towards the school. There was a short path through the fielJ which they took, which was more shady than *he open road. They had to get over some fences , but then there were stiles or gaps in the walls, at the crossin*g-places, so that they got along with- out much difficulty. At one place there was a gate. Marielle held it open while Mary Jay and Lucy went through. At length, they reached the school-house. It stood in a very pleasant place between the road and the river ; on one side was a ^vove of trees, aijd on the other, before the door, was a little play-ground, green and level. From the play-ground there was a path which led down to the shore of the river, where thei'e was a smooth beach. The children, in the recesses of the school on week-days, used to love to go down to this beach, and amuse themselves by throwing pebbles into the water. Several little children were standing at the door and around upon the green, when Mary Jay and the other girls came up. When they saw hei coming, they went in, and Mary Jay followed them. There was a fireplace, but it was filled MA.RY J AY^'S SUNDAY SCHOOL. 113 witli evergreens, because it was summer. Di- lectly before the fireplace was Mary Jay's'*table. Then before the table there was a level area ex* lending into the middle of the room, and benches and desks around the four sides. The children took their seats upon benches which were arranged around this area, next to the desks. So they formed a sort of a hollow square. Mary Jay asked two of them to move her table forward a little way ; and then she took her seat at it; so that now she could see all the children, and all the children could see her. She gave Marielle and Lucy seats near her, on one side. First Mary Jay read a hymn, and she and all the children sang it. Then she opened the book which she had brought with her, and read a prayer. The children listened to it with great reverence and attention. After the prayer was ended, there was d mo- ment's pause, and then Mary Jay rapped gently upon the table. Immediately the room seemed to be in confusion. The children all arose, and began to move about, passing and repassing among each other, and going behind the desks, in appa- rent confusion ; but very soon they seemed to be coming into order again, and Marielle and Luc^ 10* Il4 LUCY AT PLAS. saw that they had arranged themselves in little classes, at the desks. " What are they going to do now ? '^ said Lucy in a low tone, to Mary Jay. " They are going to say their lessons," replied Mary Jay. " Who are they going to say them to ^ " asked Lucy again. " To the teachers," replied Mary Jay. " But 1 don't see any teachers," rejoined Lucy. Mary Jay smiled, and said, " The teachers are not very big." By this time the room was all in a buzz. The children were all saying their les- sons. The lessons were very short — only two short verses ; but then all the teachers had to hear each member of her class repeat them, and so it took some time. " 1 suppose they learned their lessons at home," said Marielie. " No," replied Mary Jay ; " they learned thehi here last Sunday. I teach thein the verses one day, and then they recite them to my litde assist- ant teachers the next." " Yes, but, Mary Jay," said Marielie, " why don't you let them learn their lessons at home ? " " Because," said Mary Jay, " it would be a great deal of trouble to their mothers to attend to MARY JAY'S SUNDAY SCHOOL. 115 it ; for their mothers are all very busy wl^' iheir A^ork. And if nobody attended to them, they would not have them well learned, and my assist- ant teachers would have to hear bad lessons re- cited ; and that is very painful anu 'mpleasant 10 teachers, and very injurious to scholars. So 1 leach them their lessons myself, and so they are almost all well learned." Marielle and Lucy now looked around the room, and they observed that it was getting very still again. A large part of the classes had finished saying their lessons. Mary Jay waited a few minutes longer, until all had finished, and then she rapped again upon her table. Then the children all returned again to their places, upon the seats around the area. Marielle observed that they were arranged regularly, the younger children at the two sides, nearest to Mary Jay, and the older ones back upon the seat that passed across at the farther end of the area. When they were all seated, they looked atten- tively towards Mary Jay, in silence, as if tliey expected something ; and then suddenly, all to- gether at the same instant, they rose. At the next JT'.stant, they all fac(^d half round, diose on each de turning towards the ends of the seats where the little girls sat, which were towards il6 LUCY AT PLAY. Mary Jay. The larger girls, on the seat at the Dack side of the area, faced in opposite directions ; one half turning out towards one side of the roon^, and the other towards, the other. Of course the two crirls which were in the middle stood back to back. Marielle and Lucy wondered how they happened to move so precisely together. The fact was, they moved in obedience to signals which Mary Jay made, but which were so slight .hat Marielle and Lucy did not observe them. " Sing," said Mary Jay ; and she immediately 3egan herself to sing a hymn, in a clear and sweet tone of voice, to a tune which all the children knew, and which was a very good tune to march by. The children joined in with her, singing loud and full. As soon as the children had taken up the tune, Mary Jay stopped singing, and let them go on alone. Presently, just as they reached the end of the first line, she gave another order, which was, — " Time." The children all began beating the time with the left foot, while they went on singing. At tho end of the second line, Mary Jay said, — ' March." And the children all began to march. Tlie Iwo little girls who were at the ends of the line MARY JAYS SUNDAY SCHClCL. 117 towards Mary Jay's table, turned, and marched towards each other, adv^ancing in fi'ont of the table. When they met, they turned towards the area, and took hold of hands ; and then they marched along down the centre of the area, all the rest following, and joining hands, two by two, as fast as they came together. When the two leaders reached the back side of the area, they separated again, and turned off, one to each side, and so came back, along by the seats where the line had first been fonned. Thus they passed around and down through the area three or four times, until they had sung all the verses of the hymn. Then they took their places in the lines again ; and, at a given signal from Mary Jay, they all sat down together. " Now, children, we will learn the verse for the next Sabbath ; — no, you will not come here next Sabbath to recite it, for this is the last day ; but you can learn the verse, at any rate. 1 have chosen one for you which is a great comfort to me now that I am going away. It is this : — " ' Are not two sparrows sold for one fartJiingl and, behold, not one of them is forgotten before God: " Now, repeat. Art not two sparrows — '' il8 LUCY AT PLAT. And all the girls said aftei her, " Are not tw^ " Sold for one farthing,'^ continued Mary Jay. " Sold for one farthing," repeated the scholars. And thus they went on, Mary Jay enuncia- tins the several clauses of the verse in succession, and the children repeating them after her. Mari- elle and Lucy were surprised to see how pre- cisely together the children repeated the words. Mary Jay had trained them to do it very ac- curately. " Children," said Mary Jay, " do you know what this verse means ? " The children were silent. " It means," said Mary Jay, " that sparrows are such litde things that it takes two of them to be worth a farthing ; and yet God takes care of every one. Of course much more will he take care of us. So you see, children, it is an excellent verse for us all ; and particularly it is an excellent verse for me, now that I am going away alonu among strangers. "And now let us see," she continued, "if some of you can repeat the verse. Lucretia, you may try." So TiUcretia, who was one of the gu'ls upon the MARY JAYS SUNDAY SCHOOL. 119 yack seat, rose, and repeated the verse. She spcke in a low and gentle tone, but they were all very still, and so they could hear her ; and she said it very correctly. " Anna," said Mary Jay. Anna was a litde girl who sat very near Ma- rielle and Lucy. She rose, and repeated the verse in a very correct and proper manner. " Now all may repeat it together," said Mary Jay. " Begin." At the word begin, they all commenced with one voice, and went through the verse \n 'th great correctness and precision. " Very well, children," said Mary Jay. " Here ends your lesson. Now we will sing a verse. Rise." And all the children rose. Then Mary Jay commenced singing, and all the children joined with her. When it was con- cluded, she directed them to sit down again. And then she said. " Recess ; " — and all her scholars' arose, and began to walk about the room, min ffhno- with each other, and talking in low and subdued tones. " Why, Mary Jay,'"' said Marielle, " do yf)U have a recess in your Sunday school ? I nevei heard of a recess in a Sundav school." 120 LUCY AT PLAT. " Nor I," said Mary Jay ; " but my scholars are so little that they get tired of sitting still so long ; and so I let them have a little recess, to move about a few minutes and rest themselves. But I tell them that they must remember that it is the Sabbath day, and so be very still. And I think that they are pretty still." " Yes," said Marielle, '' I think they are very still, indeed." " What comes after the recess ? " asked Lucy. " Why, what 1 call my sermon comes next," said Mary Jay, with a smile. " Your sermon ? " said Lucy. " Do you have a sermon ? " " You'll see," said Mary Jay. During the recess, some of the girls went out and stood upon the door step, or walked about upon the green. But they all came back again very soon ; and when Mary Jay rapped upon the table, they were all ready to take their seats. When they were seated, Mary Jay began to instruct them as follows : — " What is necessary for us, children, in order that we should be happy in heaven, after we die ? " The children seemed to hesitate: at length, one or two said, " We must be good." " We must be good," repeated Mary Jay. " Js MARY jay's SUNDAY SCHOOL. 121 that the risht answer? All of you that think that is the right answer, may hold up your hands." Nearly all the children held up their hands. " I don't think it is the best answer," said Mary Jay. " We will examine it a little. Must we be always good, or will it do to be sometimes good and sometimes bad ? " " Always," replied the children, very promptly. " Then, in order to go to heaven after we die, we must be always good." " Yes," said the children, with one voice. " Then," said Mary Jay, " who do you think will ever go to heaven ? " There was a long pause ; — none of the chil- dren answered. " Who do you think will ever go to heaven," repeated Mary Jay, " if it is only those can go who are always good ? " There was of course no reply to be made to this question. " No, children," continued Mary Jay, " you have not dven me the rio;ht answer. You have fijiven the common answer, but 1 don't think it is the right answer. " You have all heard of the thief that was cnicified with Jesus Christ — the penitent zhief Where did he go when he died ? " i22 LUCY AT PLAt. " To heaven," said a great many of the children. " Ye.^/' said Mary Jay. " Jesus Christ prom- ised him that he should go with him into paradise; which meant heaven. Now, was he good while he hved in this world ? " " No, indeed, " said one of the children ; " he was a thief." " Yes," replied Mary Jay ; " so that you see the right answer is not that we must be good in or- der to go to heaven ; we must be what ? " Mary Jay paused, and looked all about the room, waiting for an answer. " We must be what ? forgiven. That's it — Forgiven. Not good, but for- given, for being bad. That's the distinction. " Do not think, however, children, that I am excusing you from being good. We ought to be good all the time. We ought to obey all God's commands, and do all our duty. But, then, we must not expect to depend on this as the means of going to heaven. It is forgive- ness for our sins that we need. Therefore, chll dren, remember, if you want to be happy when you die, you must confess your sins to God, and ask him to forgive you now. This is my last fidvice to you. Ask God to forgive you foi MARY jay's SUNDAY SCHOOL. 123 eveiy sin. Whenever you do wrong, ay soon as possible ask God to forgive you, and every night, when you go to bed, confess all your sins, and pray to God to forgive you. That is the way to prepare yourselves to go to heaven. Ana remember that there never was a person good enough to go to heaven without forgiveness, nor bad enough to be shut out with it." Mary Jay made some further explanations, and tlien she gave them another verse to sing. After they had sung the verse, she read another prayer out of her book ; and this was the closing exercise of the school. Then the children put on their bonnets and caps, and all went away. Mary Jay and the two girls then set out to- o^ether to walk alono; towards home. They went on slowly, and talking by the way, for some time. They did not go back the way they came, for there was some difficulty in getting over the fences ; and now the sun was down so far that the road was pretty cool and shady. They saw little groups of Mary Jay's scholars walkin^i alonoj the road, at different dis- tances before them. These children, however, gradually disappeared. Some turned off into other roads ; some went into farm-houses : and f24 LUCY AT PLAY. pretty soon all had gone but two, who were stand ing at a little gate which led to a small white house, a little way back from the road, and at a shod distance before Mary Jay and the two girls who were with her. When they came up to the place where the two scholars were standing, they spoke to Mary Jay, and told her that their mother want- ed to have her come in a minute as she was ^oing by. Mary Jay said that she would ; and she asked Lucy and Marielle to go in with her. But they declined. Marielle said that she and Lucy would walk along very slowly. So Mary Jay went in, and Marielle and Lucy walked on a few steps, and then sat down to wait for her. After about five minutes, they saw Mary Jay coming out with something in her hand. Lucy wondered what it could be. When Mary Jay came along to where Lucy was, she and Marielle rose, and went forward to meet her, and asked what it was. " Why, the mother of two of my scholars live? there," said Mary Jay, " and she says that she i? very much obliged to me for teaching her chil- dren, and that they have been a great deal better children since the} came to m} Sabbath school * MAKY jay's SUNDAY SCHOOL. l'2b and so she has made me a present of these good, warm moccasins. They are to keep my feet warm next winter." Lucy and Marielle looked at the moccasins. Thev were very pretty, and Marielle said that the}^ looked as if the}' would be verj' warm. ' ' I should think 3-ou would be verj- glad to get such good warm moccasins," said Luc}'. " I am," replied Mary Jay. " And I am glad, too, to hear that an}' of my scholars are good chil- dren.*' 11* ■k* I. 126 CHAPTER VIII. THE PKESENT. When Lucy and Marielle had left Mary Jay, on their way home from the Sabbath School, as was described in the last chapter, and had walked on some way, Marielle said that she thought it ■would be a good plan for them and some of the other girls to unite and buy something for a pres- ent for Mary Jay. " So it would," said Lucy. " It would be an excellent plan. I have got some money myself. And, besides, my father will give me some more. I know he will. I will ask him as soon as I get home." "Well," said Marielle, "you may ask j^our father, and I will ask mine ; and then, if they think it is a good plan, we will ask some of the other girls." Lucy went home very much interested in this idea ; and, when she came to propose it to her parents, she found that they approved of it very highly. Marielle came over to see Lucy early THE PRESENT. 127 on JMonday morning, and said that her lather thought it would be a very good plan ; and so Ljucy and Marielle went around to collect the money. They found that the plan was very favor-ably received wherever they went. Mary Jay had taken a great deal of interest in performing acts of kindness for the girls while she was in school with them, as is described in Lucy's Stories. And she had instructed them since, and read them stories out of her Morocco Book, and had often given them good advice ; and she had done all in so gentle and pleasant a manner, that she had ac- quired a great influence over all the children, which she had used in such a manner as to do them a o-reat deal of sood. So the children were all very much pleased with Marielle's plan, and thei.'' parents were very much pleased too. They generally asked Marielle w hat the present wa.i to be. But she said that it was not for lier to decide that ; but that, as soon as all the money was collected, all the girls that had joined in it {vere to have a meeting, and then consider what it would be best to buy. They collected several dollars ; and it was agreed that they should all meet tliat afternoon, SI the garden, at Marielle's, to determi le what to itea.« I 128 LUCY AT PLAY. buy. And in the mean time, Lucy was to go and see Mary Jay, and find out what day she was going to leave town, in order that they might know how soon they must have the present ready. But they charged Lucy not to let Mary Jay know what the reason was which led her to inquire. That afternoon, they all assembled for their con- sultation. The persons were just the same that had been at the gypsy supper ; for all that were at the gypsy supper had contributed. Miss Anne went also with liUcy, as it was necessary to have some one older than the rest, to preside. There were a great many things proposed for the present. One wanted it to be a new gown, another a desk, another some books. " A watch," said Laura — " how would a watch do ? " " O yes," they all exclaimed, " a watch, a watch ! let us get a watch." " No," said Miss Anne, " you cannot have a watch. There is not money enough for a watch." " Not money enough ? " said litde Charlotte. *^0 Miss Anne, there is a great deal of money." " Yes,'' replied Miss Anne. " I know there is ; but it is not enough to buy a good watch. And t would be best not to give her one, unless it was a good one " THE PRESENT. 129 " Lei it be a desk then." said LaurL. " I ^ould have* a desk. Mary Jay writes a great deal, and I know that she would Hke a handsome por- table desk. There is money enough for that : isn't there, Miss Anne ? " " Yes," said Miss Anne, " I think there is." "I know what I would give her," said Royal. " What? " asked several of the children. *' A crutch," answered Royal. " A crutch ! " they exclaimed, in astonishment. " O Royal, a crutch isn't a pretty thing at all. I would not give her a crutch." " Yes," said Royal, " a good, handsome crutch ; an elegant crutch. And then, when people see that she is lame, they won't think she is poor." " O no, no," said the children, " I wouldn't have a crutch ; would you, Miss Anne ? " " I don't know," replied Miss Anne. " I neve, should have thought of such a thing, my- self ; but since Royal has thought of it, it is worth considering. It would be a singular thing for a present, certainly." " We will have it made of rose-wood," said Royal, " with a silver plate on it, and all our names." " I don't think that there will be time to hav« a crutch made," said Miss Anne. 130 LUCY AT PLAY. " Yes, there will," said Lucy, " for she is not going till next week, now She was going thi? week ; but she says it is put off till next week, on Tuesday." '' Did you tell her what you wanted to know for ? " asked Royal. " No," replied Lucy ; " 1 told her it was a secret." The children all laughed aloud at this ; but Lucy could not see what it was that made them laugh. " Why, you told me," said she, " not to let Mary Jay know, and so I told her it was a secret." " Well, you should not have told her any thing about it," said Royal. " O, never mind that," said Miss Anne. " Lei us think about the present. I think a desk would be a very good thing indeed ; and as to a crutch, I don't know. When Royal first mentioned it, I did not like it very well." " Nor I," said Laura. " I wish she did not use any cmtch at all." " Yes," said Miss Anne, " we all wish that very much ; but since she has to wear one, and probably will do so for a long time to come, the question is, whether we had not better get her a THE PRESENT. 131 nandsome one. And I don't know. I should like to ask Lucy's mother, or Marielle's." '• Let us go and ask my mother, now," sak' Mariehe ; "she is sitting on the piazza." " Very well," repHed Miss Anne, " we wil go." So all the children walked along, following Miss Anne, out of the summer-house, where tl:ey had assembled, and along the garden-walks, till they came to a piazza which projected into the garden from the rear of the house where Marielle lived. There was an elderly lady, dressed in black silk, sitting upon the platform of the piazza, in a little rockins-chair, sewins;. Her work-table was by her side. Miss Anne advanced to a little railing upon the edge of the platform, and the children all gathered around, while she stated the case to the lady, who was Marielle's mother. The lady smiled when she heard of Royal's proposal ; but she did not answer hastily. She paused a short time to consider. At length she said, — " I am not certain but that Royal is right. It is true that a desk would be a very appropriate present. She would use it a great deal, and it would be a great source of enjoyment to her. And yet a handsome crutch might, on the whole 1 }2 LUCY AT PLAY. bo still better. A young female, suffering undei such a calamity, feels depressed and disheartened by it. especially when in public, and among stran- gers. The feeling of being an object of pity is painful. But if she wore a handsome crutch, one that was evidently somewhat expensive, peo- ple would see that she was not in very humble circumstances ; and I think it likely the wearing; it would save her feelings, and encourage her in the presence of strangers, and thus help her where she most needs help. Yes, I am rather in favor of a cmtch. They make them some- times very handsome for ladies. The shaft is of rose-wood, down as far as the hand extends, and the lower part is a metallic rod, with a sort of button at the bottom." " Do you think we shall have money enough ? " said M arielle. " O, never mind that," replied her mother. " Miss Anne may engage such a one as she -hinks most suitable ; and we shall be able to make out the money in some way or other, 1 dare say. Only, Miss Anne," she continued, " you must not get one too expensive, or that will be entirely out of keeping with her dii^ss and ap- pearance in general, or that will have the appear- itnce of an ostentatious display." THE PRESENT. 133 ' I shall not know," said Miss Anne, " exactly \\^hat kind of one to get ; bdt I can ask Lucy's father about it. But come, girls," she added, " we will £0 back to the suramer-house ao^ain/' They talked over tlie subject some time longer ; and the more they considered it, the better they were pleased with this plan. In fact, they all said that, if they were lame, they should want to have a handsome crutch, by all means. At last it was agreed that Miss Anne should talk wit^" Lucy's father about it, and, if he approved of tne plan, that she should go into the town, to such a place as he should recommend, and get one made. She was to get it done by Saturday, and then they were all to meet at the same place, to look at it, and to determine in what way to present it to Mary Jay. On Saturday, they assembled accordingly. As the different groups came up, they waited at the gate, to inquire of each other if the crutch had come. Presently they saw Miss Anne, and Royal and Lucy, walking along towards them at a rapid rate, and Royal had the crutch in his hand. As he drew nearer, they perceived that it was done up in papers, which were carefully tied around it, S(.) as to cover "t entirely. When Royal reached 12 >Lxi 134 LUCY AT PLAY. the gate, they opened it, and all the part} wenl in toward the summer-house, eager to see. When they reached the place, Royal untied the strings, and unrolled the papers, one after another, and brought the whole crutch to view. The children all said that it was very beautiful. The upper part was made of rose-wood, of a splen- did color, and it was polished highly. The lower part was a metallic rod, with a little knob at the bottom. The color of the metal was white On the top of the crutch, at the place where it comes under the arm, there was a small silver plate, with something engraved upon it. The children all wanted to see what it was ; and they found, on holding it down so that they could see it, that the plate contained the words, From Friends. " We thought that that would be better," said Miss Anne, " than to put all your names on." " Yes," said Marielle, " a great deal better. Mary Jay will remember all our names." " Yes," rejoined Miss Anne, " we thought it w^ould be well, when you send it, to send a note with all your names in it, because she will wan< lo know whom it is from." " And my name too ? " said litde Charlotte. THE PRESENT. l'£5 *' Yes," said Miss Anne, " your name too, by all means." " Well," said Charlotte, in a tone of great satis^ faction ; and she went capering about in high glee. Various plans were proposed for giving the crutch to Mary Jay. Among the others there was this — that Miss Anne and two or three of the children should be at the house when Mary Jay was going away ; that they should have the new cmtch hid behind the stage ; and that, when Mary Jay came out to get into the stage-coach, Miss Anne siiould offer to hold her crutch for her while she got in ; and then, after she was fairly in her seat, that they should put in the new crutch instead of the old one, and shut the stage door quick, and let her be driven off. Miss Anne said that that was certainly an in- genious plan ; but she thought that that mode would not be so pleasant to Mary Jay, as some other mode might be. '' It would give her a sudden surprise," con- tinued Miss Anne, " which would not be pleasant in so public a place as a stage-coach. She would probably be very much embarrassed and con- used." " Besides " said Laura, " I don't want to Inve 136 LUCY AT PLAT. it given to her just when she is going away. 1 want to see how she looks, and to hear what she says We had better all go together, and ask her to come out, and then give it to her ourselves." " No," said M arielle, " I don't think that will be the best way. She would rather be alone when she receives it. Let Royal carry it to the door all tied up, and the note fastened to it, and give it to her sister, and ask her to give it to Mary Jay, and then come right away." There was some objection made to this plan, but at length it was adopted. Miss Anne thought it would be pleasanter for Mary Jay to receive it in some such way as that. " I think," said she. " that she would rather receive it alone. And then, besides, it is better that she should have it a little time before she goes away, in order that she may become somewhat accustomed to it." Accordingly, that evening Royal carried the crutch. He waited until evening, in order that he might be more sure not to find Mary Jay her- self at the door, or in the yard or garden. He knocked at the door, and Mary Jay's sister came. He handed her the crutch, and the note, and asked her if she w^ould be so good as to give them t(. Mary Jay ; and ther he turnod around and Came directly away. THE PHESENT 137 On the Monday following, which was the day before Mary Jay went away, the girls received a little note from her, thanking them for their pres- ent. The note was as follows : — " My dear Friends, " I was veiy much astonished last evening when my sister brought in your beautiful present to me. I like it very much indeed. It is so light that 1 can walk very easily with it, and it feels very smooth to my hand. 1 shall not be nearly so much troubled because I am lame, when I am amono; strangers, now that I have sot such a beautiful crutch ; and you may depend upon it that I shall not very soon forget who the friends were that performed so great an act of kind- ness for Mary Jay." Maiy Jay found her crutch, in use, as valuable as she had expected. She felt far less awkward and embarrassed ; for, as Royal had predicted, she had now^ the feeling that, though it was evident that she was lame, the beauty of her crutch showed that, at any rate, she was not fiiendless and poor. 12* 138 CHAPTER IX. A FRIGHT. RoFAL and Lucy formed a plan to go fcs blueberries in a wild piece of pasture land, not very far from where they lived. They got several other children to go with them. There was RollOj who was then quite a small boy, and a boy named Thomas, and Marielle. They took some luncheon in a basket. Their plan was to eat their luncheon, out of the basket, as soon as they got to the blueberry ground. Then they were going to fill the basket with blueberries, to bring home. Each one took a litde tin mug to pick in, because they could not conveniently all pick into the same basket. They walked along very pleasandy together, till they came to the pasture. Then they had to clamber along up rough and precipitous paths, and among rocks and brambles. At last they came to the place where the bluebemes were found Before they began to gather them, how A FRIGHT. 139 ever, they went into a little copse of trees, near the borders of a brook, and sat down upon the stones to eat their luncheon. The brook was pretty large, and it flowed among rocks and bushes ; and just opposite to where the children had stopped, it divided into two parts, which formed an island between them. Royal and William said that they meant to g(> over to that island, and eat their luncheon there So they began to step along from one stone tc another across the brook. " I mean to go too," said Rollo. " And I," added Lucy. And they rose from their seats, and attempted to follow the two boys. " Royal, stop for me," said Lucy ; " stop and help me over this deep place." " O, you must jump over yourself," said Royal, " as I did." " But it is too far for me to jump," said Lucy. " I wish you would just come and help me across." " Yes, come. Royal," said Rollo. But Royal had got over upon the island, and was lost from view among the bushes. Rollo and Lucy called louder and louder ; but Royal only answered with a sort of shout, such that thev 140 LUCY AT PLAY. could not hear what he said, but only they knew that he was not coming back. It was wrong for Royal and Thomas to do so They were the oldest boys of the party, and they ought to have acted as guides and protectors of tne rest. Instead of soing oft' to seek their own amusement, and leaving the rest of the party, they ought to have been willing to have sacrificed their own wishes, in some respects, in order to please the younger children. " Come back, children," said Marielle. " I would not go over upon the island.'* " Why^ Marielle," replied Lucy, " it is a beau- tiful place there, and we want to go very much. I don't see why Royal couldn't have come back and helped us across." " Well," said Marielle, " I'll come and see if I can help you over." So Marielle went to the place. The children were standing upon a flat stone, near the middle of the brook. The water which was beyond them was not deep, and it was only a short dis- tance to the next stone. The boys had leaped across without any trouble, but Marielle hesitated. " I am afraid to have you try to go across there," said Marielle, A FRIGHT. 14J ** Wh)'. Marielle," said Lucy, "you can jump (Across very easily ; and then, if you will take hola <,f our hands, we can get across too." " Yes, only I don't know," said Marielle, " but that those rocks are slippery ; and if you should slip in, and get one foot into the water, then wf should all have to go directly home, and it would spoil our expedition." " O dear me 1 " said Rollo ; " I wish Royal would come back." They shouted to Royal, several times, as loud as they could, but they got no answer. He had gone across from the upper part of the island to the main land again, and had disappeared among the bushes. " I don't think that he ought lo have gone off and left us," said Lucy. " Now, how shall we find our way home ? " " O, he'll come back again before long," said Marielle. " We'll begin to get our blueberries, only we'll stay pretty near here, and then he will know where to find us." So Rollo and Lucy came back from the brook. They finished eating their luncheon, and then they went back a little from the brook, to a place where the benies were thick, and com 142 LUCY AT PLAY. menced gathering them. They put the b«iskel down in a central place, where it would be con- venient for them all to find it, to pour in what they should gather in their mugs, and then they went to work industriously gathering the blue- berries. Marielle had emptied her mug once into the basket, and Rollo and Lucy had filled theirs halt full, when Royal and Thomas came back. " Ah," said Royal, " you don't know what a beautiful place we found out tliere, Lucy." " What kind of a place ? " asked Lucy. " O, there were some rocks there piled up very high, and a great tree growing out of a crack in one of them." " I wish / could see it," said Lucy. " It was a beautiful place," said Royal. Marielle secretly thought that it was not acting much like a gentleman for Royal to go away and leave her and the two children alone, and then come back and boast of the fine things that he had seen. But she said nothing. '• And, Marielle," said Royal, " we saw some other children out there getting blueberries." " Did you ? " said Marielle. " Yes," replied Royal ; " they were near a verj thick piece of bushes." A FRIGHT. 143 * Were the blueberries pretty thick there?" asked Marielle. '' 1 don't know," replied Royal. " They seemed to be picking them pretty fast. " O Thomas," continued Royal, " I'll tell you how we might have had some fun. We might have hid in the bushes, and growled like two beai-s, and they would all have been frightened away." " Yes," said Thomas, " so we might." " I've a great mind to go now," said Royal. " No, I wouldn't frighten them," said Marielle ; " let them pick their berries." " O, it will not frighten them much," said Royal ; " and after it is all over, they will only laugh at it." " No, you mustn't frighten them," said Lucy. '' Yes," said Royal ; " let us go ; we can creep along slyly by the bank of the brook, and get into the bushes close to where they are." " No," said Rollo, gesticulating with his hand, and speaking in a veiy positive tone ; " you must not frighten them, Royal." " I shall go and tell them," said Lucy, " that you an't any bears at all ; that you are nothing but Royal." 144 LUCY AT PLAT. " JNo," said Royal, '• you must not tell tluim. If /ou do, 1 will run away from you, and leave you here all alone ; and 1 don't believe that you can find your way home." So Royal and Thomas went off, creeping slowly along by the bank of the brook, until they came to a little copse of trees, which was near where the children were gathering their blue- berries. There were three children — two gii'ls and a boy. The oldest girl was about as old as Marielle, the youngest about as old as Lucy, and the boy was between them, in respect to age. They were all barefoot, and they wore very Did clothes. In fact, they were poor, and had come to gather berries to sell, to get some money for their mother. If Marielle and Lucy had known these facts, they would have been still more unwilling to have had Royal go and frighten these children • and Royal himself would probably have altered his plan. And as it was, Marielle and Lucy wert very sorry to have him go. " I wish he would come back," said Lucy, * and not go and frighten those poor children.''^ " Yes," said Marielle, " it seems cruel, w iiile A FRIGHT. 145 they are there enjoying then-seli^es so well, to go and put them all into pain." " O, he is'nt going to hurt them," said Rollo ; " he is only going to frighten them a little." " Friiihtenintr them is hurtino; them." said Ma- rielle. '• I am sure 1 think beinoj frio;htened is the worst kind of pain." " So do I," said Lucy. " One day," added Marielle, '• a dog ran after me in the road, and frightened me terribly, and I fell down and hurt my head ; but the fright was a great deal worse than the pain in my head." Lucy said that she had a great mind to go and tell the children not to be frightened. Marielle made no reply to this proposal. She would not object to it; but, then, on the other hand, she did not dare to encourage Lucy to go, or to do any thing herself to oppose Royal openly ; as she was afraid that he would go away and leave them, as he had threatened to do. So she remained where she was, and they all went on quiedy, gathering hemes. After a short time, they suddenly heard an out- cry, in the direction towards which Royal and Thomas had gone. The bushes and trees were in the way so much that they could not see any thing ; but they listened and heard several voices, 1.46 LUCy AT PLAY. Uttering shouts or cries. A moment afterwards, they saw the three children running across the pasture, at some distance from them. They came mto view from behind some trees, and seemed to be running along as if going towards the bars by which they had come into the pasture. Marielle and Lucy could not see them very well ; they could only get a glimpse of their heads, now and then, as they ran along ; for the ground was much broken between where they were run- ning and the place where Marielle and her party stood, and it was covered with brakes and bushes. " There they go," said Lucy. '*' Poor children," said Marielle, " how they are frightened ! I mean to run and tell them that it is not a bear, if Royal does go off and leave us." So Marielle put down her mug by the basket, and ran off after the girls, calling out, " Girls ! Girls ! Children ! " The oldest girl looked around, and saw Marielle pui-suing her, and supposed that she, too, had been frghtened by the bear, and was running away. So this only made them run the faster. The youngest of the litde girls had dropped her blue- beiries at first ; but the boy and the oldest girl had contrived to keep theirs until they were ^ A FRIGHT. 147 alarmed anew by Marielle. And now they dropped their baskets too, and ran on as fast 35 they could run. Marielle found that she could not overtake them, and she was afraid to leave Lucy and RoUo alone. So she came back to the place. Lucy aiid Rollo had climbed up to the top of a little hillock, in order to see. " Could not you make them hear you ? " asked Rollo. " Yes," said Marielle, " they heard me, and looked round, but they would not stop. They only ran away so much the faster." " Where do you think they will go ? " said Lucy. " I don't know," said Marielle, despondingly. In a few minutes, they saw Royal and Thomas coming back. They did not come by the same way that they went, but farther out towards where the children had run away. They looked hurried, and Royal had an anxious expression of countenance. " What sir^" children," he said, " to be frightened so much ! I did not think they would be frightened so much ! Which way did they go : " They went off that way," said Lucy and M8 LUCY AT PLAr. Rollo. " You have frightened them entirely ivvay." " I did not think they would be fnghttUv^d sc much," said Royal. Marielle said nothing; but, after a moment'3 pause^ she stooped down, and began to gather berries again " I mean to go and find them, and tell them to come back," said Royal. " Come, Thomas, so with me." So Thomas and Royal went away, in the di- -ection in which the children had gone. They walked as fast as they could go. Royal was sorry for what he had done. He had supposed that they would have been frightened only a little, and would, perhaps, have run away a short distance, and then stopped ; and then he and Thomas were comincr out of the woods lauorh- mg. But it is always very dangerous to attempt to frighten any body. It is impossible to know be- forehand what effects will be produced ; for ter- ror is very seldom in proportion to its cause. Children in lonely places, like that where thesw partieF had gone to gather blueberiies, are very easily terrified ; and, when fears are once aroused^ it is very difficult to quell them again. Royai A FRIGHT. 149 dA wrong In attempting to put the children to any pain whatever, for his own amusennent ; but he did not intend that the mischief should have been so great as it really proved. He hurried alon^jj after the children, feelinor anxious and self-condemned. He was in advance of Thomas, as he was very eager to overtake the children. After going some distance, Thomas called out to him, — " O Royal, look here ! " Royal turned back, and Thomas pomted him to the place where the children had dropped their baskets when they had been frightened the second time, by Marielle. The baskets were tumbled down, and the berries spilled all about. Royal looked upon them with a countenance expressive of great concern. " They have spilled all their berries," said Thomas. " Yes," said Royal. " Let's pick 'em up." So Royai began gathering up the berries as fast as he could, only he did it carefully. Some were on the grass, and were clean and uninjured ; but others had rolled away into the dusty path, and were spoiled. Royal worked a few minutes, and then he said to Thomas, — " Thomas, I had better go on and find them ■» o * 150 LDCY AT PLAY. while you stay here and finish picking \.p the oerries." *' No," said Thomas, " I don't want to be lefi here all alone." " Yes," said Royal, " it will not be but a few minutes. We will all come right back here. Because, if I stay here, I am afraid that they will get away too far." Thomas reluctantly consented to remain, and Royal went on. Presently he came to a path which led along to the bars. He followed the path, sometimes walking fast, and sometimes run- ning, until he came, at length, in view of the bars ; and there he saw the three children perplexed and unhappy, and not knowing what to do. The youngest was sitting down upon the grass by the side of the rop.d, crying. " Why, girls," said Royal, when he came up near enough to speak, '• what made you mn off so far?" The older girl was silent ; the younger con- tinued to cry. The boy, after a litde pause, said,— " We heard a temble noise down there in the woods." " O, that wasn't any thing," said Royal ; " f.l was only another boy and I. But w(! didn't mean to frignten you so much." A tkiGin. 151 *' You did frighttn us veiy much indeed/' said Jic boy. " And yoi have made us spill all our blue- herries," said the oldest girl ; " and now 1 don\ know what we shall do." Here the little girl began crying and sob- bing anew. Royal stood silent and sad ; he was shocked to see how much mischief he had done. " Don't cry, Jenny," said the older girl. " We will go back and get our baskets." She spoke in a gentle, but a very melancholy tone. "Yes," said Royal, "we'll go back; and I'll help you pick some more blueberries." The children began to go back slowly, follow- ing Royal. Royal told them that Thomas was picking up the berries that they had spilled, and that he would help them get some more. "We can't stop to get any more," ssid the older sirl. " We must so home now. W ^ were just ready to go when you frightened us." " But why need you go home so soon r " said Royal. " It is not but little more than the • niddle of the afternoon yet. We shall have two hours more, before sundown." " But we have got a great way to go," .' ^plied (he girl, " to sell our berries. Mother told us to b» "jure and come home by the middle of tlu ^fttv* 152 Lucy AT PLAT. noon, so as to have tune to sell our berries ; foi if we do fiot get a chance to sell them before night, then we have all our work for nothinsj." " Why ? Can't you eat your berries ? " " Why, yes, we can eat them," said the giil, " but we want to sell them. But, then, we haven't got any to sell now ; — I forgot that ; — so we may as well stay as not. Only, then, mother won't know what is become of us. O dear ! I don't know what we shall do." When they came to the place where Thomas was picking up the blueberries, Royal went to work at once, very busily too. Little Jenny said, in a mournful tone, — " Now, my basket isn't here, Mary ; and I don't know where it is." And she began to cry again. The older girl, whose name, it seems, was Mary.. told her not to cry. " IN ever mind, Jenny," said she. " Don't cry ; mother won't blame us much, when we tell hei all about it." " But I can't find my basket at all," said Jennj " Why, you dropped it out there where yoh first began to run away," said Royal. " You go bacP there, and get it, while we are picking up these blueberries." " No," said Jenny, shaking her head A FRIGHT. 153 ' Yes," replied Royal ; " it is not veiy far."' ' No," said Jenny ; " I'm afraid to go there igain." " Ho ! " said Royal ; " you need not be afraid. There's nothing there. It was only Thomas and I that made that noise. But Jenny was afmid to go ; and so Royal said that he would go, and come back with Jenny's basket in a minute. " And you finish picking tnese up, Thomas,'' said he. " Pick 'em up very carefully." So Royal went away. When he was gone, Mary, who had thus far stood looking upon the scene in a sort of silent despair, now began to help Thomas gather up the blueberries from the grass. Many of them had rolled down into the dust, and got spoiled ; but there was a large portion which was not injured. These the children were rapidly )uttin2; back into the basket a^ain, when Marielle and Lucy, who had seen them returning there, came over with Rollo from where they had been, to see what was soino; on. As soon as she, and Rollo, and Lucy, saw what they were doing, they went to work too, to help gadier up the blueberries ; and they soon got hack into the baskets all that were fit to go. Bb- 154 LUCY AT PLAt. fore long, Royal came back, too, with Jenny's basket. He had waited to pick up her blueberries, which had been spilled as well as the rest. They found that so many of the berries haa been lost or spoiled that the baskets were not nearly as full as they were before. So Marielle proposed to Rollo and Lucy that they should give Mary theii-s. Rollo and Lucy said that they should like to do that very much. Mary at first refused to receive them ; but Marielle insisted upon it, for she said, " We have not got to go home yet, and we can gather plenty more." So they poured in the blueberries into the other children's baskets, and filled them full. And when they went away, Marielle went up to Mary, and said to her in a low tone, — " If you can't sell your blueberries easily, come to our house, and perhaps my mother will buy them." Then Royal, and Marielle, and their party, be- gan again to gather blueberries for themselves ; >jut the occurrences of the afternoon had shed such a gloom over the party, that they did not feel m clined to stay very long. They gathered a few, and then they went home. Royal did not say much ; but he seemed really soiTy for the mischief A FRIGHT. 155 he had done. Though he had spoiled the pleas- ure of the party, yet Marielle did not reproach him. In fact, he seemed so sorry for it, and so disfosed to do all lie could to make reparat'on, that in her heart she fi)rgave him. 1 156 DHAPTER X. ROYAL A PROTECTOR. When Royal went home that evening, he fell very mucli chagrined. He could not look back upon the scenes of the afternoon, without great mortification and regret. He was sorry for hav ing put the poor children to so much inconve- nience, trouble, and pain. And then he was sorry that he had been able to do so little towards making reparation. The spilled blueberries had been gathered up by Thomas, Marielle, Lucy, and Rollo, more than by himself; and then they had to take those which Marielle, Lucy, and Rol- lo, had gathered, to make amends for what were lost and spoiled. On the whole, it was a very unfortunate afternoon, and he wanted very much to go again, some day, to retrieve his character. Still he hardly dared to propose it. He thought that, if he should ask Marielle and Lucy, they would not want to go. And probably he would not have proposed it, had it not been thai Marielle came one afternoon, not many days aftei ROYAL A PROTECTOll. 157 this occurrexice, to play with Lucy ; and this gave him so good an opportunity to propose the plan, that he could not let it pass. " It was, however, as he expedited. Marielle and Lucy did not want to go. They did not give any reason, but Royal knew very well what it must be. So he did not urge their going ; but he said, — " Well, Marielle, I owe you and Lucy some blueberries, and I believe I'll go myself, and get some to pay you. I'll go and get aunt to let Rollo go with me." " What do you owe us any blueberries for r " asked Marielle. " For those which you gave Mary and Jenny, the other day, to pay for those I made them spill." " O, never mind that," said Marielle. "Be- sides, my mother bought them that evening, and so we had them all back again." " So you bought back your own berries ? " said Royal. " Yes," replied Marielle. " Mary said she did not want to sell us any, only what she and the other children picked themselves ; but mother made her take pay for the whole." Royal concluded to go himself, for blueberries, U ' «■ 158 LUCY AT PLAY. if IVlarielle would not. He went and obtainea his mother's leave, and then went to ask his :.unt Holiday to let Rollo go with him. She said yes. So the boys walked along together, Royal carry ing a basket, and Rollo a little tin mug. Now, it happened that there was a small green field, with a path through it, which the children had to pass, on their way to the pasture. There was a brook runnina: through the centre of this field, with smooth and beautiful grass ground on each side. There was a large grove at one end, up the brook, and there were scattered trees over the rest of the ground. Royal came through the grove. By going around after Rollo, he had been taken somewhat out of his way, so that he had to come through the grove, instead of along the path, through the fi-ild, which would have been the way if he had come directly from his father's house. As they advanced towards the edge of the grove, and looked forward, they saw several chil- dren advancing along the path. There was a small flock of sheep scattered over the field, cropping the grass. The field was a mowing field ; but the crop had been mowed, and so the farmer that owned it had turned the sheep in, to feed upon the short ^rass which was left, Rollo ROTAL A PROTECTOR. 159 was glad, for he liked to see sheep feeding in :ne fields. Now, two circumstances occurred at this crisis w hich were very fortunate for Royal, in respect to his desire to retrieve his character. One was, that Mary and Jenny happened to come after blueberries that afternoon again. The other was, that, after he had gone, Marielle changed her mind about going herself, and proposed to Lucy that they should go. She saw. that Royal felt troubled at the consequences of his misconduct, and felt convinced that he would not act so ao:ain. She saw, too, that he was v^ery desirous to make some amends for the past, and she thought that he would be pleased to have her and Lucy go again, and let him show them the change in his demeanor. So she proposed to Lucy to go ; and thus, by a singular train of circumstances, it happened that, when Royal and Rollo came along out of the grove, the children that they saw com- ing were, Jenny and her party first, and Marielle and Lucy at a little distance behind. He was just on the point of running down to meet them, when he heard a loud but distant voice calling to them. It came from the opposite side of the field, where the path, which the girls were walking in, led over into a lane which con- 160 LUCV AT PLAY. ducted to a fami-liouse. Royal and Rollo looked in the direction from which the sound came, and listened. They saw a little girl upon the bars^ and perceived that she was calling out to them. " Children," said the girl, " children, run. Jolly IS coming after you." The children looked around behind them, and Royal and Rollo looked in the same direction ; and they saw a large ram, with monstro'is horns curled all around his ears, advancing towards Marielle, nodding with his head, and just upon the point of springing at her. Marielle and Lucy cried out in terror, and ran. The other children were before them, and they ran too. But the brook was in their way, and they could not cross it without some difficulty ; and they were greatly terrified at finding themselves so hemmed in, and with such a ferocious-looking enemy close upon them. Royal sprang forward, and ran with all his speed down towards the children. " Don't be afraid," said he ; " I'll take care of the ram. I a'n't afraid of him. Go ov^er the brook as slowly as you please." So Royal advanced to meet the rai/ The children scrambled along over the brook, and then mn up the slope on the other side, until they ROYAL A PROTECTOR. IGl reached the bars, where they all climbed over. They had just time to get fairly over, and to look around, when they saw the ram come w^ith all his force against Royal, and knock him down. " O dear ! he'll kill him ! " exclaimed Marielle. But Royal was up again in an instant. The ram stepped back, nodding his head, and preparing evidently for another charge. Royal waved his basket back and forth a mo- ment to intimidate the ram ; but it seemed to have but little effect. He looked around him, and saw a tree near. He sprang tow^ards it, and got round behind it, and then began to look out from behind it at the ram. He saw that the ram was stand- ing in a threatening attitude, his head down, and apparently all ready for a spring. " Now come on, old fellow, if you please," said Royal, " and beat your own brains out.'* From his post of security Royal looked back to see if all the children were safe. They were all on the other side of the bars, excepting Ma- rielle and Rollo. For Marielle had come back into the field again, to go after Rollo, who had remained standing where Royal had left him. She had called to him to come to her ; and so, when Royal looked around, Rollo was runnintj along towards Marielle, who was holding out hei 14* 162 LUCY AT PLAY. nand and encouraging him along, but not daring to go herself a great way from the bars. " Royal," called Marielle, " can't you climb up into that tree ? and then 1 will go and get £ man to come and take the ram away." " No," said Royal ; '• I know how to manage him. You lead Rollo away." So when Marielle and Rollo were safe upon the other side of the bars, Royal, watching his opportunity, suddenly darted away from his tree, and ran to another one, at a litde distance from it. The ram followed, still threatening, but de- terred from actually coming on by seeing how Royal was protected by the tree. He did not seem disposed to accept Royal's invitation to beat his own brains out by knocking his head against a tree. Presently Royal retreated to another tree, and then to another. The ram followed him, watch- ing him narrowly, and endeavoring constandy to get an opportunity to attack him, but in vain. Royal soon reached the grove. Here he could retreat more easily and rapidly still, as the treea were quite near together. He gradually drew nearer to the fence, though he was coming to it at a considerable distance from die bars, where the other children had got over. They, howevei ROYAL A PROTECTOR. 163 saw where he was coming out, and they passed along to the place, on the back side of the fence, so as to be ready to receive hiin when he should get over. " Come quick, Royal," said Lucy. Royal reached the fence, and climbed up to the top of it, and took his seat upon a post, whenj he sat looking at the ram. The ram, too, stood at a few steps' distance, fixing his eyes on him. He looked confounded. He did not know what to make of such an escape from his power. The children on the other side could see throucrh the interstices between the rails. " Well, sir ! " said Royal, looking the ram full in the face. The ram looked at him, but said nothing. " What's his name, litde girl ? Jolly, did you say ? " asked Royal. " Yes, his name is Jolly," replied the little girl. " Well, Jolly," said Royal, " I am much obliged to you for waiting upon me across the field. " I've got safe to the fence now ; and T would recommend to you to go back and take care of your sheep." So Ro}al got down, and walked on with the children. They all seemed very glad indeed to 164 LUCY AT PLAT. find hitn safe with them again ; and they reached the blueberry ground without any furthei adven ture. There was a large pile of boards at the place where they entered tho pasture. The boards had been placed there for the purpose of making a fence. The children amused themselves, a few minutes, see-sawing, upon the ends of the boards, and then they passed on to the blueberry bushes. They went on very pleasantly for two hours, gathering berries. Royal put two mugs full into Jenny's basket, which pleased her very much. They were all very grateful to him for protecting them from the ram, and he himself found that it was far pleasanter to relieve distress than to create it. In fact, it happened that, in the course of the afternoon, he had another occasion for the exercise of energy anfl courage in defending Marielle and the children. It was thus : — Mary and her party gradually wandered ofl' by themselves ; and about the middle of the afternoon, they went away, leaving Royal and those who were with him in the pasture alone. That is, there was nobody near them, with whom they were acquainted ; but they could see, here and there, at a distance among the bushes, the heads ROYAL A PROTECTOR. 165 of Other persons, engaged, like themselves, in gath ering berries. They found the berries very thick Royal would scramble about among the rocks and bushes, and find the good places ; and then he would call Marielle and the children to come and gather berries there. About an hour before sundown, just as Marielle was going to say that it was time to go home, the children were alarmed at hearing a distant rum- bling sound. " What's that ? " said Lucy. " It is thunder," said Marielle. The children looked up, and saw a large blacK cloud spreading all over the western sky. They had been so much enced the ROYAL A PROTECTOR. 16l« boards side by side in this position , so that the) formed quite a roof, covering and enclosing a pretty large space underneath them. When he had thus run down six or eight boards, he told Marielle and the children that they had better gel under them, as it was just beginning to rain faster. So Marielle and the two children crept under. The space was pretty large, and it was high enough, next to the pile of boards, for them to stand upright. Lucy said that it was a very good garret. Marielle called Royal to come down, and come in too ; but he said that he must put some more boards on first. " Why, Royal," said Marielle, " this will do very well. It is large enough.^^ " Yes," said Royal, " but I want to put some more boards over it, to cover up the cracks." " O, the cracks don't do any hurt," said Ma- rielle. " The rain does not come down the cracks at all ; not a drop." And Marielle held out her hand, as she stood under the roof which Royal had made for her, to see if any rain came through. " No, not now, perhaps," said Royal ; " but presently, when the rain comes pouring down in a torrent, it will." Royal kept at work all the time that lie wa.i i70 LUCY AT PLAt, talking sliding down more boards, over those which he had put down first, to cover the cracks. In the mean time, it began to rain ; and the thunder grew louder and louder. The wind howled about his ears, and rattled the boards, and made it very difficult for him to place them. At length, just as Royal was ready to go down, and get in under his hut himself, a sudden gust took one of his boards, the upper end of which ex- tended upwards farther than the rest, and blew it and three others away from their places, aiid carried them out to some distance on the grass. Mariellp and the children were frightened at the noise ; but it was now raining so fast that they did not mn out. Royal soon repaired the breach with other boards, which he placed so that the wind should not have any advantage in get- ting hold of them. At length, when all seemed secure. Royal came down from the pile, and ran in under the shelter, with the water running down off his hat and clothes in streams. " Now, Royal," said Marielle, " you have got yourself all wet through, making us a shelter." " That's no matter," said Royal. " It is good fun for a boy tc get wet." Just then, a terrible clap of thunder burst, and rattled over their heads, preceded by a vivid flash ROYAL A f-UOTECTOR. 171 of lighlning. They were pJl alai'uied at tlie sound Royal, however, said that he thought that was the worst clap they should have, and that now the storm would soon be. over. And so it proved. The wind soon abated, and the thunder appeared gradually to pass away to the eastward. It continued to rain in torrents for sonie time; but then they were completely protected from it, and did not get wet at all. It was an hour before the rain was entirely over, so that they could go out and go home. But then the air was bright, the sun was shining, and all nature looked refreshed. Royal felt much better pleased with having been the protector of his party, than with having teased and troubled them as he had done on the former day. And though Marielle did not say any thing about it, he knew that she was pleased with him too. Royal liked Marielle for her gentleness and patience ; and she liked him tor his energy and courage. 173 CHAPTER XI THE DICTIONARY. One evening, Lucy was playing in the parloi where her mother was at work sewing. Lucy was sitting upon a cricket, looking over a book Presently she found, between the leaves of the book, a small piece of white paper. " O mother ! I've found a piece of paper," said she. Her mother did not answer. " I wish I had a pen and ink," said Lucy again, in a tone intermediate between talking to herself and to her mother ; " then I would write a letter on this piece of paper." "And what would you do with your letter?" said her mother. " Why, I would play that I was the postman, and so I would carry it about." Just then Lucy happened to recollect that her father was in his room writing ; and so she con- rluded that she would go in and ask him to write THE DICTIONARY. 173 aer a letter. She accordingly rose from her seat and went to the door of her father's room. The door was open a little way, and Lucy had a great mind to go m without knocking. But; then, she remembered that it was proper for hei to knock at her father's door, and she accordingly did so. Nobody answered. Then Lucy pushed the door a little, so as to open it wider, in order to see whether her father was there. He was not there. There was nobody there. Lucy pushed the door open farther, and walked in. There was a lamp burning upon a table which stood against the window. Several books and papers were upon the table. One great book was lying open. There was a round, black ink- stand not far from the book. It had a large, coni- cal hole in the middle of it, which led down to the ink ; and there were several smaller holes around, near the edge, to put the pen into. Theie was a pen with its point in one of these holes, the top of it leaning over to one side. " Now, here's a pen and ink all ready," said fiUcy ; " but where's my father ? " Lucy walked up to the table, and began to look at 'the book which was lying open. " What a great book ! " she said " I wonder if I can read tn such a ^reat book. Here are some bis: let- 15*= 174 LUCY AT PLAT. ters on thj top. I can read such big letters as these." There were three big letters, in two places, od the top of each page ; and Lucy began t( reac them. " H-o-n," said Lucy, reading — " H-o-n " spells hon; but I don't know what hon means. I wonder what this book is about." But Lucy could not find out what it was about, and so she thought that, as her father was away, she would take the pen and write herself a letter. She accordingly put her paper down upon the corner of the table, and then, reaching over the great book, she dipped the pen care- fully into the conical hole in the middle of the inkstand. She then drew the pen very slowly and cautiously to the paper, secretly feeling, however, all the time, that she was doing wrong. Lucy made several marks upon her paper, and then the ink in her pen failed. She accordingl) reached back to the inkstand to get some more. She thought that she did not dip her pen far enough down before, and that that was the rea- son why the ink failed so quick. She, therefore, this time, dipped the pen in so far that the point of it touched the bottom of the inkstand ; and so, when it came up, it was full of ink. THE DICTIONARY. IT 5 It was 00 full of ink, in fact, so that a little drop hung from the point just ready to fall ; and very unfortunately, just as Lucy had got the pen almost across the great book, the drop did fall, and it made quite a large, round spot upon the middle of one of the pages. Lucy was very much frightened at this occur- rence. She put the pen back in its place, and beiian to walk as fast as she could so out of the room. In a moment, however, she reflected that, as soon as her father came in, he would see the ink spot, and would at once inquire who made it. So she thouo-ht that she would come and shut the book up, and that would keep the ugly-looking blot out of sight. She accordingly came back hastily to the table, shut the book up, and then went immediately away. But, notwithstanding this ingenious precaution; her mind continued in a state of tjreat atritntion and alarm. She went back to her cricket, and besran to look over her book ao-ain : but she felt very wretched. Finally, she came to the very wise conclusion of [roinsr back at once, and find- no^ her father, and lellins him all about the affair. She put her book down upon the cricket, and went a^ain towards her father's room. She found 9 176 LUCY AT PLAY. her father just going into the room, with a largt book of n^aps under his arm. " Well, Lucy," said her father, " are you com- ing to see me ? " Lucy walked slowly towards him, with a down- cast look, but she said nothing. " What is the matter, Lucy ? " said her father. " Why, — why," said Lucy, in a very low and timid voice, — " the ink has got on your great book." " My great book ? What book ? " said her father. " Your great book on the table ; — that great book." So saying, Lucy pointed to the book upon the table ; for by this time they had got into the room where they could see the table and the book upon it. " Where ? " said her father. " Where is the ink?" " Somewhere in the middle of it " said Lucy. " But I don't suppose I can find it now." Her father took up the great book, and began turning over the leaves ; but he did not find the ink spot. " But, Lucy," said he, " how did you get the ink upon my book •* " THE DlCTIONARr. 1 I I " Why, father/* said Lucy, " ycu see, I was going to write me a letter, and the ink wouldn't stay in the pen." " Now, Lucy, that was very wrong. You ought not to come to my table, and to take my pen and ink without leave. How big was tl>e blot ? " " 'Twas pretty big," said Lucy, timidly. " I can't find the place," said her father. "O, now I remember. It must have been at horizon. I was looking horizon, to see how it was ac- cented." " No, sir, it was at Hon. I remember now myself; it was at Ao/?." Her father made no reply, but, after turning over a few leaves, he came at once to the place, and there, to Lucy's utter astonishment, there were two blots, instead of one ; there was one on each page. They were very large, too, much larger than the one which Lucy had seen. " Now, there are two blots," said Lucy ; " how came that other one there? " " Why, that was made by shuttmg up the book," eaid her father. " How came the book shut up ? ** " Why, T shut it, sir," said Lucy. *^ What did you shut it for?" said her father " Because," said Lucy, speaking m a ven 178 LUCY AT PLAY. timid voice again, " I did not want you to sefl the blot." " Then what did vou come and tell me for f " said her father. " Why, I thought it would be better to come and tell you," said Lucy. " You first shut the book in order to conceal it, and then you altered your mind, and so came and told me ; was that it? " '•' Yes, sir," said Lucy. " Well," said her father, " that was honest, at any rate. And the blot, I see, is on the very word honesty. What a curious coincidence ! " " I don't know what you mean by coinci- dence,^^ said Lucy. *' Why, you were honest in coming to tell me ol the blot, and the blot happens to be upon the word honesty. That's a coincidence. I am glad you were honest ; but, then, you did very wrong to come and attempt to write with my pen You have done me a great deal of mis- chief." " Can't you get the blots out, any possible way ? " asked Lucy. " No, I presume not," he replied. " I might try an acid, howev^er," he added, in a low voi^e, as if talking to himself ^ THE DICTIONARY. 179 "I wish Tou would, father. ' said Lucv. "Do \xv an acid, father." Lucy did not know what an acid wap, noi how her father was going to attempt to remove the ink stains by means of it ; but she was very eager to have him try any thing which promised any chance of success. " I don't think I can take the spots out en- tirely," said her father; "but perhaps I can change their color, so that they will not be quite so conspicuous." As he said this, he took the lamp and went away, Lucy following him. He went to a closet which was in another room, and took down a small phial, and poured out a few drops of the liquid which was in it, into a tea-cup. Then he got some water, and poured about a spoonful into the lea-cup too. Then he came back with Lucv into his own room. " First," said he, " we will try it upon anothei piece of paper." So saying, he took a small piece of newspaper, and made a blot upon it about as large as those which Lucy had made in the book. Then he held the newspaper to the fire until the bloi was dry. " Now I mu?t make a little bnish," said he (80 LUCY AT PLAY. '* How can you make a brush ? '* said Luc jr Her father only said in reply, " You will see." He went to his closet, and took a quill out from a bunch which was there.- He cut off the top, and put the qu'U back, and then brought the top tc the table. Then he stripped off all the feathers except a small tuft at the end, and that, he said, was his brush. This brush he dipped into the tea-cup, and then very carefully washed over the ink spot upon the newspaper. Lucy saw that it made the spot look much more dim. Then her father washed over the spots in the book in the same way. The spots grew faint, and turned of a reddish color ; but he could not get them out entirely. " It looks a great deal better," said her fatheir, " but 1 cannot get them out entirely. There they must stay forever. I shall see them a great many times, for they are in my dictionary, and 1 am often turning over the leaves. And alway? when I see them 1 shall remembei how they came there. One of them will remind me of your heedlessness, and the other of your hon ssty." THE END. 1^ ■ YB 37064