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diff --git a/old/twfst10.txt b/old/twfst10.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..82efd72 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/twfst10.txt @@ -0,0 +1,1697 @@ +The Project Gutenberg Etext of Two Festivals +by Eliza Lee Follen +(#10 in our series by Eliza Lee Follen) + +Copyright laws are changing all over the world, be sure to check +the laws for your country before redistributing these files!!! + +Please take a look at the important information in this header. +We encourage you to keep this file on your own disk, keeping an +electronic path open for the next readers. + +Please do not remove this. + +This should be the first thing seen when anyone opens the book. +Do not change or edit it without written permission. 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FOLLEN + + +With Illustrations by Billings and others + + + + + +MAY MORNING AND NEW YEAR'S EVE. + + + + +It is the evening before the first of May, and the boys are looking +forward to a May-day festival with the children in the neighborhood. +Mrs. Chilton read aloud these beautiful lines of Milton:-- + + Now the bright morning star, Day's harbinger, + Comes dancing from the east, and loads with her + The flowery May, who from her green lap throws + The yellow cowslip, and the pale primrose. + Hail beauteous May that dost inspire + Mirth, and youth, and warm desire; + Woods and groves arc of thy dressing, + Hill and dale doth boast thy blessing. + Thus we salute thee with our early song, + And welcome thee, and with thee long. + +"How beautiful!" said Frank and Harry. "Suppose, Mother," said +Harry, "it should rain, and hail, and snow to-morrow, for it looks +like it now, and then you know we cannot go into the woods and +gather flowers; and all our plans will be spoiled." "Why, then, my +dear, we must enjoy May morning as the great poet did, after he lost +his sight, with our mind's eye; and you must bear your +disappointment patiently." "Easier said than done, Mother," said +Harry. "Why, only think of all our preparations, and the beautiful +wreath you made for Lizzy Evans, who is to be queen of the May, and +how pretty she would look in it, and then think of the dinner in the +woods, we all sitting round in a circle, and she and the king of the +May in the midst of us, and Ned Brown playing on his flageolet; and +then you know we are all to walk home in procession, and have a +dance at his mother's after tea." "You will not lose your dance, +Harry," said his mother, "if it should hail, and rain, and snow; +but, on the contrary, enjoy it all the more, for then you will riot +be fatigued by a long walk; and Lizzy can wear the wreath at any +rate." "I don't care for the fatigue, Mother; I want to be in the +woods and gather the flowers with my own hands, and smell them as I +gather them in the fresh air, and hear the birds sing; and to scream +as loud as I please, and kick up my heels, and not hear any one say, +'Don't make such a noise, Harry.' I guess Milton did not take as +much pleasure in writing poetry about the spring after he became +blind. But please read his May Song again, Mother." She read it +again. + +"I think he must have felt as glad when he wrote it," said Harry, +"as I hope to feel tomorrow.--'Comes dancing from the east'--how +beautiful it is! What a pity he ever lost his sight!" "Milton," said +the mother, "made such a good use of his eyes while he could see, +that he laid up stores of beautiful images, which he remembered when +he could no longer use his bodily eyes. The poetry he wrote when he +was blind shows the most accurate observation of the outward +appearances of things, of shades of color, and of all those beauties +which only sight could have taught him. It is worth while, boys, for +you to imitate him in this, while you admire his poetry." + +May morning came. It did not hail, or rain, or snow. The sun shone +brightly. The birds seemed to know as well as the children that it +was the first of May. The country village in which Mrs. Chilton +lived was as noisy as a martin box, at break of day, when doubtless, +though we poor wingless bipeds don't understand what the birds are +chattering about, they are planning their work and their amusements +for the day--and why not? + +Soon after sunrise, all the children from far and near, dressed in +their holiday clothes, with little baskets of provisions, all +assembled on a little green before Mrs. Grey's house, and were ready +to set out for the woods, about two miles distant. Ned Brown had his +flageolet, and another boy had a drum. Lizzy Evans received the +wreath which made her queen of the May, and Frank, being the tallest +boy, was chosen king. And now off they all set, in high glee, happy +as only children can be. + +Mrs. Chilton, and the teacher of the village school had promised the +children to join them at the dinner hour, which was twelve. Just +about eleven, the clouds began to gather. Nevertheless, the ladies +kept their promise, and set out for the wood. The threatened shower +came up, and they took refuge in an old empty barn, where they had +not been many minutes before all the children, one after the other, +came dripping in, some laughing, some small ones crying. Soon, +however, the laughers prevailed; and, after showing their flowers, +of which they had collected many, they set themselves to work to +spread out the dinner, in the most attractive way possible, and make +what amends they could for the unlucky chance of the rain. An old +milk stool was appropriated to the queen. It had not even the +accustomed number of three legs to support it, so that the poor +queen had to endure the anxiety of a tottering throne, and learned +experimentally some of the pains of royalty. The king took +possession of an old barrel that had lost both ends, and sitting +astride upon it, Bacchus fashion he took his place by the side of +the poor queen on her two-legged stool, upon which she was +exercising all the art of balancing that she had acquired in one +quarter at dancing school, hoping against hope that she might keep +her dignity from rolling on the barn floor. Just as his May-majesty +was fairly seated on the barrel, it, all at once, fell in, smash, +and he was half covered with old hoops and slaves. Whereupon the +queen laughed so immoderately as to lose her balance, and thus both +rolled in the dust. In the mean time, the other children, who had no +dignity to support, had spread their little repast on an old sledge. +Mrs. Chilton, who had brought a table-cloth, assisted them. Dinner +was now announced. The queen declared she could support her throne +no longer, and she and the king, both forgetting their royalty, sat +down with the others on the hay-strewn floor, and discussed apples, +cake, &c., &c. + +Unfortunately the rain lasted longer than the dinner; every scrap +that was eatable of their provisions was consumed; and now the +children all looked around with that peculiar, beseeching, half- +discontented look, which is their wont to have on such occasions, as +much as to say, "What shall we do next?" Grown people who have been +much with children, know full well that there is no peace when such +symptoms appear, under such circumstances, unless, before the king +of misrule begins his reign, something is proposed of a composing +tendency for turbulent spirits. Accordingly, Mrs. Chilton asked the +children if they had ever heard of the Mayday ball which is given +every year to the children in Washington. "No," was the answer. She +said she had been at one, and she would tell all about it. + +"It is held in a large public hall, decorated for the purpose. All +the children in Washington and Georgetown are invited to attend; all +have an equal right to go, ignorant and educated, poor and rich; no +matter how poor, if the girls can get a neat white frock, and the +boys a decent dress, they are all admitted; every one wears a wreath +of flowers, or has a bouquet in his hand or bosom. The children +assemble very early, and dance as much as they please, to the music +of a fine band, and all partake of some simple refreshment, provided +for them, before they return home. They number often over a +thousand, and as they are all moving together to the music, they +look like a dancing flower garden. I said all the children, rich and +poor, in Washington. I wish it were so; but there are many poor +children who are never invited to this festival. No one dresses one +of them in a nice white frock on May morning, and puts a wreath of +flowers on her head, and a nosegay in her hands, and says to her, +'Go, dance, sing, and rejoice with the other children in God's +beautiful world.'" + +"Why not?" asked the listening children. + +"They are slaves--they are negroes!" replied Mrs. Chilton. + +"It is a shame; it is wicked," cried Frank and Harry, and all the +rest. + +"When you are men and women," said Mrs. Chilton, "you may do much +for the poor slaves. Remember them then, and do not forget them now. +All can do something for them, even little children. + +Now I will tell you a story that was related to me by a gentlemen +who knew it to be true. I knew, he said, a little boy, who was one +of the best little fellows that ever lived. He was gentle and kind +to his companions, obedient to his parents, good to all. His home +was in a small country village, but he was very fond of wandering +into the neighboring fields, when his tasks were all over. There, if +he saw a young bird that had fallen to the ground before it could +fly, he would pick it up gently, and put it back in its nest. I have +often seen him step aside, lest he should tread on an anthill, and +thus destroy the industrious little creatures' habitation. If a +child smaller than he was carrying a heavy bundle or basket, Harry +would always offer to help him. Was any one hurt, or unhappy, Harry +was quick to give aid and sympathy; ever ready to defend the weak, +feared not the strong. For every harsh word, Harry gave a kind one +in return. I have known him to carry more than half his breakfast to +a little lame boy whose mother was very poor. Harry was brave and +true; he would confess his own faults, he would hide those of +others. He had a thirst for knowledge. He got all his lessons well +at school, and he stood high in his class. But what he was +particularly remarkable for, was his love of all beautiful things, +and most especially of wild flowers. He would make wreaths of them +and give them to his mother, and he was very fond of putting one on +my study table, when he could contrive to place it there without my +seeing him. Harry knew all the green nooks where the houstonia was +to be found in the early spring, and it was he that ever brought me +the beautiful gentian that opens its fringed petals in the middle of +the chilly October day. On Sunday, and on all holidays, Harry always +had a flower or a bit of green in the button-hole of his jacket. +Every sunny window in his mother's house had an old teapot or broken +pitcher in it, containing one of Harry's plants whose bright +blossoms hid defects and infirmities. He also loved music +passionately; he whistled so sweetly that it was a delight to hear +him. Yet there was something in his notes that always went to your +heart and made you sad, they were so mournful. + +Often in the summer time, he would go, towards evening, into the +fields and lie down in the long grass; and there he would look +straight up into the clear deep blue sky, and whistle such plaintive +tunes, that, beautiful as they were, it made your heart ache to hear +them. You could not see him, and it seemed as if you were listening +to the song of a spirit. + +Alas! Harry was not happy; God's glorious world was all around him; +his soul was tuned to the harmony of heaven, and yet his young heart +ached; and tears--bitter, scalding tears--often ran down his smooth, +round cheek, and then he would run and hide his head in his mother's +lap, that blessed home for a troubled spirit. + +One day, I discovered the cause of Harry's melancholy. I was +returning from a walk, and saw him at a little brook that ran behind +my house, washing his face and hands vehemently, and rubbing them +very hard. I then remembered that I had often seen him there doing +the same thing. "It seems to me, Harry," I said, "that your face and +hands are clean now; why do you rub your face so violently?" "I am +trying," he said, "to wash away this color. I can never be happy +till I get rid of this color. If I wash me a great deal, will it not +come off at last! The boys will not play with me; they do not love +me because I am of this color; they are all white. Why, if God is +good, did he not make me white?" And he wept bitterly. "Poor dear +little boy!" I said, and took him in my arms and pressed him to my +heart! "God is good; it is man that is cruel." The little fellow was +soothed and strengthened by my sympathy, and the counsel I gave him. + +Not long after this, it was May-day, and all the children of the +village went out into the fields to gather flowers, to dress +themselves for a little dance they were to have in the evening. +Every boy and girl in the village, except Harry, was of the party. +They set off early in the morning, and they ran gayly over hills and +meadows, and hunted busily for flowers; but the spring had been +cold, and they could not find many. They were returning home, +wearied, and rather chilled and disheartened, when they saw Harry +coming out of the woods with a large bunch of flowers in his hand. +One of the boys called out to him, "Well, nigger, where did you get +all your flowers?" Harry went on and made no answer. "Come, stop, +darky," said the hard-hearted boy, "stop, and let's have your +flowers; here's three cents for them." "I don't wish to sell them," +said Harry; "they are all for my mother." "A nigger carry flowers to +his mother! that's a good one! Come, boys, let's take them from him; +they are as much our flowers as his; he has gathered more than his +share; "and he approached Harry to seize his flowers. + +"For shame, Tom, for shame!" cried out many of the children, and one +of the larger boys came forward and stood by Harry. "Touch him if +you dare, Tom. You have got to knock me down first." The cruel boy, +who was, of course, a coward, fell back, and some of the little +children gathered around Harry to look at the flowers. "Don't mind +that naughty boy, Harry," said one little girl, and slid her little +hand into his. Harry's anger was always conquered by one word of +kindness. "Where did you get all your flowers?" asked the children. +"I will show you," replied Harry, "if you will follow me." They all +shouted, "Let's go, let's go; show us the way, Harry;" and off they +set. Harry ran like a quail through bush and brier, and over rocks +and stone walls, till he came to a hill covered with a wood. "On the +other side of this hill," said he, "we shall find them." In a very +few minutes the children were all there. There they saw a warm, +sunny hollow; through it ran a little brook, and all around were +massive rocks and pretty nooks; and there were the birds singing +loudly, and there were cowslips, and anemones, and houstonias, and +violets, and all in great profusion. The boy who had insulted Harry +hung back ashamed. Harry quietly said to him, "Here, under this +little tree, is a beautiful bed of violets, and there are anemones." +Harry tasted of the pleasure of doing good for evil. The boy who had +defended him walked by him, and talked kindly to him. "How good it +was in you to show us the flowers!" said the little girl who had +taken Harry's hand, and whose apron he had filled with flowers. How +happy now was poor Harry! + +All the children gathered that morning as many flowers as they +desired. Some carried home only perishable earthly flowers in their +hands; others, immortal flowers in their hearts. The village +children went to their dance, and were very happy. Harry spent the +rest of the day and the evening in his mother's cottage, alone with +her, and amused himself with making wreaths of his flowers. But he +said he had never passed so happy a May-day. A loving heart, like +Una's beauty, 'can make a sunshine in a shady place.'" + +The clouds had now passed away. One of the boys proposed to pass a +vote of thanks to the old barn, for the hospitable shelter it had +afforded during the shower. This was received and passed with +acclamations. Frank and Lizzy, or rather the king and queen of the +May, declared that they had no thanks to offer to the old barrel or +the milk stool. It was too wet to go into the woods again; so they +formed a procession, and with their flowers in their hands, and +such music as they had, returned gayly home. + +The children all enjoyed the dance in the evening; but there were +some hearts there, young and merry as they were, that made a solemn +vow never to forget those of whom they had heard that day,--"them +that are in bonds." + +It is New Year's eve. Frank and Harry are sitting with their mother +by the pleasant fireside. The boys were full of chat, but their +mother was looking fixedly into the fire, and had been silent for a +long time. She was thinking of the past; they, of what was to come. + +"Mother," said Harry, "will you tell me tonight what my new year's +gift will be?" + +"Don't speak to mother now," said Frank. + +"Why not? + +"O, because mother looks as if she did not want to talk." + +"But mother told me that, if I would be silent till she had done +reading, I might talk as much as I pleased to her." + +"So I did, Harry," said his mother; "and now I am ready to hear you. +What did you ask me?" + +"Only, Mother, whether you meant I should know what my new year's +gift is, before tomorrow morning." + +"No, dear; I think you had better have it all new and fresh to- +morrow; the surprise is a part of the pleasure of a new year's +gift." + +"What can it be? I know what I hope it is." + +"What do you hope it will be, Harry?" + +"I do hope it will be a magic lantern," said Harry, without a +moment's hesitation. His mother made no answer. + +"What do you wish for?" asked Harry. + +"I don't know," said Frank; "there are so many things I wish for, +that I hardly know what to say first." + +"I wish," said their mother, "that I could grant all your wishes; +that I could give you every good thing you desire; but my means, as +you know, are limited. I am sorry, dear, that you have so many +wishes ungratified." + +"O Mother, it is not for such things as you can give that I most +wish for. You are very kind to me, and give me more good things than +you ought to give me; you are too generous to me. I wish for what no +one can give me." + +"We all have many such wishes, my dear child; but we must not think +even these quite unattainable. There are few things that a +reasonable being earnestly desires, that some day or other may not +become his." + +"Do you think so, Mother?" + +"Yes, Frank; perhaps he may not attain them in this life, but I +think the very desire is a prophecy, and even promise, that we shall +at some stage of our being possess what we wish." + +"I know what I shall wish, then," said Harry, "and keep wishing it +as long as I live till I get it, though I am afraid I shall never +have it. I'll tell you what my wish is, Frank, if you will tell me +yours." + +"Agreed, Harry," said Frank; "and you shall tell your wish first, +and I last." + +"I wish," said Harry, "that I had a flying horse that was perfectly +gentle, and would go all over the world with me, and do just as I +told him to, and never be tired; but I guess I never shall get one. +Come, Frank, what do you wish?" + +"I wish that I had a great deal of strength and courage, more than +any one else, and was never afraid of any thing, and that I could do +whatever was to be done, and become, at last, a great man, and do +some good in the world. I don't want to sit still in a corner half +of my life, and never use my faculties. Now, Mother, Harry and I +have told our wishes; will you tell yours?" + +"First," said the mother, "let me show you how near you may, even in +this life, come to your wishes, and then I will tell mine. Harry +will not continue to wish for a flying horse, because he will know +he can never have it in this world; but his wish will change into a +desire of travelling and seeing all that is beautiful and wonderful +in God's glorious world, and then he will find his flying horse in a +rail carriage or steamboat. And you, my dear Frank, if you continue +to wish to be strong and brave, and truly great, will have, perhaps, +more than you ask for; for, if you do not have a strong body, you +will have a brave spirit, and you will be what is better than a +strong man--a good, great man. True greatness does not depend upon +physical strength; for instance, a brave and noble woman may be +greater than a man." + +"How is that, Mother?" + +"Because, from the weakness of her body she has more obstacles to +overcome. Her power arises from an inward strength that lasts long, +and shines most brightly in the darkest hour of trial. Mere bodily +strength, without this power of soul, is often cowardly and useless. + +I will tell you a true story that I heard the other day, which will +show you what I mean. Somewhere in the State of Maine there is a +beautiful little lake, on the banks of which are a number of farms +and pleasant dwelling houses. There are boats on the lake, and the +people are in the habit of allowing the children to learn early the +management of a boat; girls and boys together are allowed to go out +on the lake, without any man to take charge of them. One day, a +little party went out. They had been rowing about for some time, and +gathering pond lilies, and waking up all the echoes in the +surrounding woods with loud shouts, merry laughs, and happy songs. +The children were in the middle of the lake, and were thinking of +returning, when, by some accident, one of the boys fell overboard. A +boy of fourteen years of age had the management of the boat; he was +the principal oarsman. He was strong and active, and could swim, but +he feared for his own life, and he immediately began to row for the +shore to get help. In the mean time, the poor boy, who could not +swim to the shore, and whose strength would be unequal to keep above +water till they returned with help, would have been drowned. There +were other boys in the boat, but it was a little girl, of ten years +of age, who, immediately forgetting her weakness, became their +leader and guide. She insisted that the boat should be turned back +again, that the poor boy should not be left. I know not if she +seized the oar, but if she did not, she prevailed with others to +turn the boat round and come back again to the poor boy, who, seeing +himself left by his companions, was giving himself up for lost. As +soon as they came up to him again, the brave little girl asked the +boy of fourteen years to keep the boat as steady as he could. Then +she reached over the side of the boat, and told her companions to +hold her fast by the legs. Soon she was able to reach the drowning +boy. He was much bigger than she. She told him to put his arms round +her neck. She then put her arms under his, and pulled him safely +into the boat. + +This girl was a small, delicate child. Now, dear Frank, who was the +strong and brave one, the girl or the boy? Which would you rather +be?" + +"Of course, the girl, Mother. What a brave little soul she was!" + +"So you see, Frank, that what is most truly desirable in your wish +is within your reach, even now." + +"She was a first rate girl," said Harry, "and the boy was a real +coward for going away and leaving the poor fellow in the lake;" and +he breathed a long breath, as if he had himself just come out of the +water. + +"Now, boys, to match that story of the little girl, I will tell you +one of a sailor boy who was even braver and nobler than she. As a +schooner was sailing near Montauk Point, Long Island, she was +suddenly struck by a heavy gust of wind, upset, and instantly sunk. +A vessel near by, which had seen the calamity, sent its boat to save +from sinking any that had not gone to the bottom. On coming near +where the schooner went down, they saw a little boy, twelve years +old, floating on some wood, and went to take him off. As they +approached him, he cried out, 'Never mind me; save the captain; he +has a wife and six children. Both, however, were saved. Can we make +any better resolution, my dear boys," said Mrs. Chilton, "to begin +the New Year with, than that we will try to be as brave and self- +forgetting as the little girl and boy I have been telling you about? +And now, good night." + +"Good night, old year, for the last time," said Harry; and they were +soon asleep. + +On New Year's morning, Harry found a large bag hanging to his bed +post, containing a magic lantern; and Frank saw on his bureau a +complete set of Miss Edgeworth's Works. + +Again it is New Year's eve. Another year has passed happily over the +home of Mrs. Chilton and her boys. + +"To-morrow, dear Mother, is New Year's day," said Frank; "may we +not, as we are one year older, sit up till the clock strikes twelve, +and wish you a happy new year before we go to bed?" + +"Yes, boys, if you can keep awake, you may sit up. Tell me, Frank, +do you think you have gained as much this year as you ought to have +gained? Ere long you will be a man." + +"I think I have gained something," replied Frank. "I am at the head +of my class in school. I am three inches taller, I am stronger, and +I know a great deal more than I did last year." + +"Is that all you have gained? Have you cured any of your faults? Can +you command your temper any better? Are you any more disinterested? +Are you more careful about the truth--in short, are you a better +boy?" + +"I cannot say, Mother; you know about that better than I." + +"You expect a New Year's gift to-morrow, I presume, Frank." + +"Yes, Mother, you always give us a New Year's gift, you know. Will +you let us sit up till the clock strikes twelve to-night?" + +Their mother promised that they should, and added, "I have been +thinking of a New Year's gift for you, Frank, that I am not quite +sure you will like. I will tell you what it is, and if you do not +like it, you will say so honestly, I trust." + +"What is it, Mother?" + +"You know the little room I call my closet. It has a window in it, +and contains some shelves with books on them. I propose to give you +that closet, with all the books I shall leave in it, for your own. +In it are a desk and a chair. From the window, you look directly, +you know, upon the pine grove. In this little room, you may study +and write and read and think also, as much as you please." + +Frank could scarcely hear his mother finish, for delight at the +thought. "All my own? the books, the desk, the nice old-fashioned +chair and the closet itself? Why, Mother, I never should have +believed you would have given it to me for my own. There is nothing +I should like so well in the world. Shall I have the Shakespeare, +and the Johnson, and the Classical Dictionary, and the Sir Charles +Grandison, and all the old poets, and those French books in it, and +the Homer and the Virgil too?" + +"Yes, my son, I think I need not ask you to promise to lend them to +me when I wish to borrow them. I have a great affection for this +closet, Frank, and therefore I give it to you. If the walls could +speak, they could tell you a great deal of your mother's history." + +"I wish they could; I shall sit there a great deal, and I should +like to hear all they have to say." + +"As I have promised you to let you sit up till the new year comes +in, I will tell you something now of what they would say. You know +that this is the house in which I was born, so that this closet knew +me from a child. Many a time, when I was a little girl, has my +mother shut me up in it for refusing to obey her. It was gentle +treatment shutting me up in this closet; had it not been called a +punishment, I never should have thought it one. In summer time, the +whispering of the wind through the pine trees rebuked my bad temper, +and seemed to say, 'Hush, Alice! Peace! Be still.' I always came out +better than I went into it. When I was nine years old, my father +gave me this closet for my own use altogether. Many of the books +that are in it now were in it then, and the same desk and chair +stand there to this day. My father had just built on to his house +the addition which gave him the library which I now use; his law +books and papers, &c., required better accommodation; and, from that +time, the closet became mine. He gave it to me, as I do to you, for +a New Year's gift; and this is one reason why I love to give it to +you for the same purpose. It is a very dear and sacred spot to me, +Frank, this closet, and I think you will like to hear something of +its history." + +"Yes, indeed I shall, Mother," said Frank. + +"When I first took possession of it," continued his mother, "I felt +more grand, I fancy, than Queen Victoria did when she took +possession of the throne of England, for she had anticipated her +elevation, whereas I had never dreamed of mine. When I was a girl, +children did not fare as they do now, and my father's liberality to +me was an unusual thing. My father and mother both went up stairs +with me on New Year's day, and led me into my little sanctum, which +they had dressed with evergreens, and seated me in the three- +cornered leather-bottomed chair, and told me that every thing in the +closet was mine. Although it was winter, still the pine trees that +you know come so near the window, and that now are old trees, looked +beautiful, and to me it seemed a little paradise. 'Here,' said my +mother, 'you were many a time shut up by me in order to make you a +good girl. Now you are old enough to know yourself when it is the +right time for you to be shut up here, in order that you may grow +good. I advise you, at such times, to come here and stay till you +have conquered the bad spirit, and can come out with a firm +resolution to do better. I shall never put you in the closet again, +but I shall trust, Alice, that you will put yourself in, at all +proper times.' I well remember putting my arms around my mother's +neck and kissing her for joy, but I said not a word. My heart was +too full of love, and gratitude, and pleasure to speak. After my +parents left me in the closet, in my own chair, now all my own, I +sat still some minutes thinking what I should do with my great +possession, how I should improve my great blessing. The thought of +my mother's loving trust in me affected me very much. I resolved I +would not disappoint her. I resolved that, whenever I found myself +doing wrong, I would come to my closet, shut myself in, and pray +there for strength to cure my faults. I then counted them all over +as far as I knew them, and resolved to get rid of them all. I was +too happy to think of the difficulty in the way of doing this, but +my self-confidence was soon rebuked. After looking over all the +books, and putting my fingers upon every thing in my little kingdom, +and dancing up and down with delight, I followed my father and +mother down stairs to see the presents for the other children. Such +was my state of exaltation that when my little sister came, full of +joy, to me, with her new doll, I turned contemptuously away from +her, and sneered at it, and said, 'Who wants to look at a doll? My +New Year's gift is the best; it is worth yours and the boys' all put +together.' Never shall I forget the grieved, disappointed look of my +little sister as she said, 'Why, Alice, I thought you would be so +glad to see my doll,'--and never shall I forget the silent rebuke of +my mother's gentle eye, as she looked at me sadly. I felt it all. I +could not stand it. I ran up to my closet; I turned the key as I +closed the door. I fell on my knees and poured forth to my Father in +heaven the first TRUE prayer I ever remember to have uttered. I +prayed for forgiveness of my unkindness, I prayed for strength to +conquer my many faults. + +That day I did not sin again. I played with Fanny's doll. I did all +that I could to make every one happy. I took the children up to my +closet, and tried to make them share in all my pleasures while I +tried to enjoy theirs. I made amends for my fault. From that time, I +began a religious self-scrutiny and censorship. I watched myself +very carefully, and for every fault I did penance in my closet. When +I shut myself up on account of wrong doing, I would not allow myself +to read or do any thing but think of my fault. The words of my +mother which had been uttered without much serious thought, were as +a law to me. I became, if possible, too sensitive to my own defects; +it made me rather egotistical. It seemed as if my heart had become +suddenly changed. I was, as it were, born again; a new life began in +me. + +One penance that I subjected myself to was to go and confess to my +mother all my faults, even the most trifling. She feared that this +continual self-reference would make me, as it did, an egotist, and +she, one day, advised me to be satisfied with seeing my wrong doings +and acknowledging them to myself, and to try to correct them without +speaking of them to her. I begged her, with tears, to let me have my +own way, for that telling her all helped me greatly; and I think, +for a time, it did. The necessity of confiding all that is in our +hearts, and all we do that is wrong, to a being whom we entirely +respect and love, and in whose purity we confide, is a great check +upon evil thoughts and evil deeds. One instance I well remember of +the good effect of my confession. My mother insisted upon careful +and neat habits in all things. She would not allow us to throw down +our caps or bonnets. They must all be hung up on pegs in the hall, +and each child had a peg of his or her own. As we often forgot the +command, our mother, in order to remind us, made a law, one winter, +that whoever broke the rule should, when the apples were distributed +in the evening, have none. One day, all of us came in to supper in +haste from play, and two out of four of us forgot to hang up their +hats--my sister was one, and I the other. The footman picked up my +hat, and hung it up in the right place. At the time of distributing +the apples, my mother gave me a fine one, and said, "Alice never +forgets her hat. No one forgets now but Jeannie. She is very +careless, and must have no apple to-night." I was mean enough to +take my apple and be silent; but I could not eat it. Still there +seemed to be a spell over me; and, wretched as I was, I could not +speak and confess before my brothers and sisters how false and +shabby I had been. I went to my closet; and there, after a while, I +resolved that, in the morning, I would tell the whole truth. I went +to bed, but I could not go to sleep. As soon as I heard my mother +coming to bed, I went to her bedside, confessed the truth to her, +gave her my apple, and begged her to tell the children how mean I +had been. My mother was as just as she was kind. "You must tell them +yourself," she said. "You must confess your fault to your youngest +sister with your own lips, and be willing to appear before her what +you are. You must not ask me to save you this disgrace. It is that +which will cure you. It is your just punishment." I did as she bade +me, and this was my last sin of that kind. + +I had another fault, and that was a great irritability of temper, +and many and many an hour of solitude have I passed in that closet, +looking out at the quiet pine trees, and listening to the soft +sighing of the winds through their branches, till my heart has been +softened, and the spirit of love and gentleness has returned. I +remember one instance in particular of my conquest there of my +foolish anger. I was in the habit, in warm weather, of learning all +my lessons in my closet, particularly favorite pieces of poetry, +which I wished to commit well to memory. There I recited them aloud. +I found that the other children would often come and listen to me; +this fretted me; I was very angry at it. I desired them not to do +it, and not in an amiable manner; but they often forgot or +disregarded my request. I could not, or thought I could not, command +my temper whenever I found this out. One day I had been reciting +Hamlet's soliloquy; and, just after I had repeated the last words, I +heard William say in a pompous manner, "Toby or not Toby." I was +very angry, foolish as it may seem to you, and burst open the door +so suddenly and violently that I threw down my little sister who +stood against it; and, instead of taking her up, I told her I was +glad I had knocked her down; and then I was coward enough to strike +my little brother. The cries of both children brought up my mother. +By this time, I had come to my senses. I told her the story just as +it was, and I felt very much ashamed. + +My mother simply said to me, "I thought you were beginning to be a +reasonable being, and had ceased to be a passionate coward. You know +that William is not so strong as you, or you would not dare to +strike him." Her words seemed to me very harsh then, but now I think +they were just. All abuse of power, all cruelty to the weak, is +truly cowardly and mean. + +That day I punished myself severely. Some friends were to dine with +us, friends whom I loved particularly to see; one of them was Jane +Grey, my earliest and dearest friend; but I would not go down to +dinner. When called, I sent a note to my mother, saying I should not +come down, and wanted no dinner, and begging her not to send again +for me, for it would be in vain. I heard the cheerful, merry voices +of the family at dinner. I heard the birds singing in the trees near +my window. I breathed in the sweet fragrance of the roses and the +new hay. I saw the animals at a distance feeding quietly. The clear, +deep-blue sky, as I gazed up at it from my window, looked so pure, +so solemn, as if angels unseen might be hovering over the world. +All, all but me was beautiful, and happy, and good. I was sinful, I +was unhappy; I was, it seemed to me, a discord in the world. I hated +myself for my bad temper, for it was some time before I had quite +conquered it. At last, however, I did, and became gentle and happy +in my chosen solitude, while others were enjoying themselves +together. + +In the middle of the afternoon, they all went out to walk. When +Jeannie came up for her bonnet, she ran to my closet, and called out +to me, "Dear Alice! mother told me not to come to you at dinner +time; but we can't be happy without you. Jane says she can't play +without you. Can't you come down? Do, Alice." "No," I replied. "Say +nothing about me. I shall not see Jane to-day." After Jeannie left +me, I could not quite keep the tears from my eyes. Pretty soon, my +dear mother, who always thought people must suffer from hunger, came +to me and brought me a nice piece of pudding she had saved for me, +and said kindly to me, "Come, Alice, you have punished yourself +enough; eat this pudding and come down stairs. You will not be so +passionate again." I would not go down, but I ate the pudding. When +our friends were all gone, I went down, and then I told Willie I was +sorry for striking him. Whether it was that my partiality to Jane, +which caused what I suffered that day to make a peculiarly deep +impression on my mind, I know not; but, from that time, I acquired +more self-command; and never did I forget that day in my closet. + +I could tell you much more about my closet experiences, Frank, of +what I have enjoyed and what I have suffered in it. There I went +when my heart was too full of pain or pleasure to bear the eye of +another. There have I prayed. There have I sent up thanksgivings. +There have I wept bitter tears. A new page in its history will +commence to-morrow, Frank. I hope, also, a new and fair page in the +history of your mind, that inner, private apartment, on which only +your own eye and the eye of Infinite Purity can rest. Begin to- +morrow to write on that new page the history of conquered +selfishness, of truth and purity, of devotion to duty, of a higher +love for others, of obedience to the will of God; then this will be +a truly happy New Year. + +As I have told you, Frank, beforehand, what your New Year's gift is +to be, I will tell Harry, if he pleases, what I have got for him." + +"Tell it now, Mother. It is so pleasant here by the fire." + +"You are to have a nice new desk, with a key to it, all your own." + +"O, that's prime, Mother," said Harry; "and where shall I keep it"? +" + +"In my little writing room, if you like, Harry." + +"Yes, Mother; and then I can talk a little now and then to you, I +suppose." + +"Sometimes, Harry; and I doubt not that Frank will let you come, now +and then, to his closet. I don't want this closet to separate you; +but, on the contrary, to be the means of making you better friends, +because it will help Frank to be a better boy, and so always to set +you a good example." + +"It is rather hard, Mother, for a boy to set a good example. I don't +think I ever did such a thing in my life." + +"Mother," said Harry, "you told us that you had been translating a +little story from a French book, to read to us some evening. We +shall have time enough to-night, for you know you promised to let us +sit up till the clock strikes twelve; so we can talk, and read, and +tell stories too. There will be time enough for all, before Mr. Old +Year goes out and Mr. New Year comes in." + +Mrs. Chilton consented. Frank placed her little stand by her, with +the German lamp upon it, in the way she liked to have it, and she +read as follows:-- + + + + + +THE BIRTHDAY. + + + + +Near the coast of Northumberland, at a little distance from the +land, you can just see rising up a group of little islands, rocks +scattered without order, that grow in number at low water; you may +count as many as twenty of them, whose sharp, menacing crests seem +to defy the returning waves. + +Nothing can be more desolate than the appearance of the little Farne +Islands; formed of rocks barely covered with a thin vegetation, +surrounded by precipices, they seem accessible only to sea birds, +who take refuge there in the tempests. + +The Island of Longstone is at the head of the group, and serves as a +sort of vanguard, and is, perhaps, the most dangerous of all. A +gloomy collection of black rocks, full of crevices worn by the +action of the winds, the waters, and the tempests, it does not +nourish a single plant; not an atom of soil adheres to its surface; +it is naked and barren; its steep sides bristle with cockle shells +which encrust the rock. + +The interior is still more desolate than the exterior; it is a +succession of black hillocks cut by narrow ravines into which the +sea rushes, roaring and furious, at high tide, detaching from the +rocks fragments which it grinds, rounds into pebbles, and deposits +pell-mell with the mud and sea weed in some deep crevice, where it +again will come to seek them in the storm, roll them over once more +in its foam, and drag them off to its profound caverns. + +While our feet were wounded by the rocks, above our heads hundreds +of sea birds hovered screaming, and among them we discovered the +sea-gull by its shrill and harsh scream. + +Notwithstanding these horrors, this island is not a desert. At the +summit of the rock, there rises a round tower where every evening a +light is kindled, so contrived as, at intervals of some seconds, to +throw a brilliant light upon the points where the fretted waves rage +and boil round a hidden rock, and to light the dangerous channel +which separates the island from its sister isles, and to warn the +pilot to avoid by every means the perilous labyrinth. + +The keeper of the lighthouse did not live alone in this wild place; +his wife followed him there; his family increased, and the cradle +has rocked again and again. + +Grace Darling, the eldest of the seven children, has just reached +her twenty-second year, and all the family are rejoicing at the +festival, for every anniversary is religiously kept by the little +company that animates the solitude of Longstone. + +Every one is gone out to seek something by which he may take his +part in the festivity, and prepare a surprise for the well-beloved +sister. The mother remains at home kneading a nice cake to gratify +the appetite of the little marauders. + +"Mother, Mother!" cried John, who returned the first; "see what a +superb lobster the rising sea has brought up and left in the crevice +of a rock, which I call my fish-trap. Might not one say that the sea +knew that it was Grace's feast day?" + +"I have only some shrimps," said William; "but they are very fine +ones, I hope. I took them, with a net at the end of the little +creek." + +"Imprudent boy!" said their mother; "your father has told you a +hundred times not to venture to fish on that side of the island; the +rock is too steep, and the water is more than a hundred fathoms +deep." + +"Yes, but, in a turning, there is a little platform which I have +shown to my father, and he has consented to my going there at low +water. Then I know the rock, and the sea knows me; neither of them +wish to hurt me. You have more reason for scolding Jenny; she is not +afraid of any thing; she climbs like a cat all along the crevices to +collect sea weed, which she burns in order to enrich the hole which +she calls her garden, and to cultivate--what? nothing that one can +eat--some good-for-nothing flowers, which grow only in consequence +of shelter and great care." + +"And you count it for nothing to be able to present to Grace a rose +like that?" said Jenny, who just then came in bringing a rose of a +dull white, surrounded by vigorous leaves of a dark green. "What a +pleasure to have been able to keep it till now, even here, and to +see it blossom so exactly at the right time. I do not regret the +pains I have taken with it, I assure you." + +"And you are right," replied her mother; "for Grace will know well +how to appreciate the pains you must have taken to give her such a +pleasure; and I, too, approve of the forethought you have +discovered, which will make you one day a good housewife. Let your +brothers fish and hunt; let it be your care to plant and ornament +our solitude with your little smiling, blooming nook of earth." + +"But where is Grace?" asked John; "why is she not assisting you as +usual, Mother?" + +"Because I refused to let her do so. She knows well that this day +will be her festival, and I have sent her up stairs to her father, +whilst we are here together preparing for her." + +"James and the two little ones are missing," said William. + +"Only James," replied his mother. "The two little ones are with +Grace, who is giving them a lesson in reading. I do not see why +James stays away so long; it is nightfall, and his father has always +desired him to take care not to be overtaken by a fog far from the +house." + +"Suppose I go after him," said William. + +"There he comes, there he comes!" cried John and Jenny. + +The boy came in, in truth, all out of breath. + +"I have just succeeded," said he, "in making up the dozen." As he +said this, he put upon the table a dozen of wild eggs. "The last +came near costing me very dear," said he; "it was laid half way down +to the Black Man's; you know, William, the great rock which looks +like a giant sitting down; I had climbed, on my knees, and I had +only one more step to take, when a great big wave--a coward!--behind +struck me, and would have carried me away if I had not clung with +all my might to the great Black Man." + +"Foolish child," said the mother, "could you not foresee the return +of the tide?" + +"Not at all, not at all. It came before the hour. There are enormous +waves in the channel, and the sea growls as when it is going to be +angry." + +"That will not prevent us from passing a merry evening," replied +William; "come, let us go quickly to work." + +He hastened to set the table, and assist his sister in putting on +the plates, while his mother broke the eggs, beat up the omelet, and +drew out the cake from the oven. + +All was ready, and William rang the bell to call the father and +Grace to supper, who usually remained in the upper part of the tower +of the lighthouse. + +Grace loved to contemplate the indented coast of Northumberland, and +to see with her naked eyes, of a clear day, the little hamlet where +she was born; it was not that she regretted the fertile soil, the +verdure, the wood she had seen when she was little. No! the Isle of +Longstone, did it not contain in its rocky bosom what was dearest to +Grace? Her sympathy extended, however, far beyond. She trembled with +joy when she distinguished on board of a passing vessel boys and +girls, young people and women. She waved her handkerchief to them, +sent to them affectionate words which the wind blew away, but which +eased her full heart. She had another more intimate tie to her +fellow-beings, and to her native land, and this was the reading some +good books, that inexhaustible source of elevated thought and +profitable example. + +When she at last appeared in the low hall where they waited for her, +there was a general hurrah; the question was, who should first get +his arms round her neck, who should embrace her, and who should +congratulate her on her birthday. She showed herself as much +surprised, as much delighted, as the young providers of the festival +could desire. She praised the beauty of the lobster, the size of the +shrimps, the wild taste of the omelet; but the rose touched her the +most tenderly, and Jenny clapped her hands as she said,-- + +"I was very sure that you would love my poor little flower, which +William despised because it was not good to eat." + +"He is a little gourmand," said Grace, laughing, "whom I condemn for +his punishment to eat my part of the cake." + +"To the health of Grace," said the father. "We have just opened for +her one of the bottles of old Bourdeaux, which the brave French +captain gave us, who came near perishing down below at the end of +the great reef of rocks, sixteen years ago." + +"And whom you saved at the risk of your life," added his wife. + +"I remember it all," said Grace, with a very serious look; "I was +very small, yet I well remember that terrible night. I hear now the +howling of the waves as they broke against the rocks, and made the +lighthouse tremble." + +"It was just such a night as this," said the father; "a Friday, the +sixth of September. The sun set, just as it set to-night, in a cloud +red as blood, which is never a sign of any thing good." + +"It is a sign of a great wind," said James; "so much the better; the +wild birds will come to the island for shelter." + +"A great storm," said John, "always brings fish into my trap; +besides, I love the storm." + +"Let us play hit-hand," said Jenny. "Come, James, you begin; put +your head in my lap, and hold your hand out. There! tell me who +struck." + +"That is not difficult; it was you." + +"O! you looked!" + +"No. Now it is your turn." + +After this game came blind man's buff. The eldest sister gave +herself up to all their wishes. She let them bandage her eyes, and +sought fearfully the little fugitives; but notwithstanding her +efforts, and the efforts of all to be amused, a cloud hung over the +little assembly. Without, a thick fog enveloped the island, and +veiled the friendly light. + +"If I am not greatly deceived, this will be a very bad night," said +the father. "There is, fortunately, no vessel in sight, if it is +not, perhaps, the Hull packet, which will have had time, I think, to +reach the Bay of Berwick, and which will have the discretion, I +trust, to remain there; for the heavens speak in a loud voice this +evening; the wind comes from below, and the waves run before it like +a flock of frightened sheep." + +"I should like to see a flock of sheep," said the little girl of +five, whom Grace held in her lap, and whom she was getting to sleep. + +"Hush! did I not hear something?" said the mother. + +"It is the wind that sings us to sleep in the tower," said the +little child. + +Grace, who was just going up stairs, stopped and listened. "I only +hear the sea which strikes and rages against the rocks," said she. + +"Let it beat as it will, it will not wake me," said John. "I am too +weary." + +Good nights were exchanged, and they all betook themselves to bed; +and, in a quarter of an hour after, every one slept, rocked by the +storm which roared around the tower, beat against the lighthouse, +shook its thick glass, and sought in vain to reach the flame. The +tempest increased from hour to hour. It rose in mountainous waves, +and broke against the rocks with a tremendous noise. + +These sounds were heard in Grace's dreams; she thought she saw men +and women struggling with the waves; they called her to their +rescue; she held out her hand, and felt herself drawn into the gulf +with them. Presently she heard a cry. She sat up in her bed; the day +began to dawn; it might be four o'clock in the morning. The wind +brought to her ear a cry shriller than the first. This time she was +not mistaken; it was a human voice. + +Her whole heart was agitated. Quickly as possible she climbed to the +steps that led to the outer platform of the lighthouse. Her father +was there before her. Clinging to the balustrade, he looked all +around; but his eyes were unable to see through the fog and the +rain; he saw nothing. + +"Grace," said he, "you have good eyes; see if you can discover any +thing." + +The young girl took the spy glass, but the fog obscured the glasses. +She calmly wiped them, and looked again. + +"I perceive the top of a mast," said she. + +"Where is it?" + +"At the head of the long reef. O God, if the fog would only lift." +And the young girl raised an earnest prayer to Heaven. + +"Why, Father," she called suddenly, "I see something move. There are +many of them; they are waiting for us; let us go." + +"You do not think, my child," said her father; "stay here; I will go +alone." + +"Alone to meet those frightful waves, and no one to guide the helm? +That would be to go to a certain death. I am stronger than you. +Think of no such thing, Father. I shall go with you, and we will +save them." + +Her father looked in her face, and his eyes filled with tears. + +"So be it," he said; "we will die together." + +"We will live, and we will save them. Let us to the work." + +She hurried on her father. In the twinkling of an eye, the boat, +moored in a creek, was unfastened, and launched upon the boiling +waves, when a voice cried from the shore,-- + +"And will you leave me behind? I have a right to run the same risks +with you; I wish to take my part." The mother threw herself into the +bark, which rose for a moment on the menacing crest of an enormous +wave, then disappeared, swallowed up in the furrow left between two +mountains of water. + +In the mean while, the fog lifted, and a group of shipwrecked people +were seen clinging to the sharp points of a ledge of rocks upon +which beat the hull of a ship, split in two. + +"They come nearer," cried one of them. "O, that terrible wave has +carried them farther off." + +"Let us thank God for that," said the captain; "it might have dashed +them against the reef." + +"They will arrive too late," said a poor mother who pressed to her +heart an infant already stiff and motionless with cold. + +"They are making superhuman efforts," said the captain. "Courage, +brave hearts!" And he raised a white handkerchief. + +The mother uttered a loud cry. She had just discovered that the +child that she was trying to warm was dead. + +At this moment, the bark made a desperate effort to land; but a +furious wave carried it off for a third time. It whirled round and +round, as if taken into one of those bottomless gulfs which the +currents form around the rocks, and disappeared. + +The group of shipwrecked sufferers, six men and five women, fell +upon their knees at this awful moment. Suddenly they perceived the +boat nearer to them than ever. It had rounded the reef, and gained a +quieter sea. It was coming along the edge of the rock, which on that +side sunk precipitately into the sea. + +"Bless me," said the captain, "they are women." + +"Angels come down from heaven to save us," cried a sailor. + +Grace had already seized hold of the poor mother. She had gently +taken the dead baby out of her arms, under the pretence of carrying +it for her. She led her over the rough parts of the rock into the +boat. + +There was not a minute to lose; the tide was rising; a delay of a +few moments might render a return impossible. The heroic young girl +insisted only that she would remain on the reef till the skiff, +which could only take half of the company, returned for the +remainder. + +God rewarded her faith and courage. All those who had been wrecked +on the frightful reefs of Longstone were saved, and brought in +safety into the small dwelling of the lighthouse. + +The remains of the feast, the old wine opened in honor of Grace, +helped to reanimate the poor shipwrecked sufferers who owed their +lives to the young girl. + +"Never was a birthday," as the good mother often said, "so full of +terrible and joyful emotions; never was one more blessed." + +"That is a right good story, Mother," said Harry. "Was Grace Darling +a real person?" + +"Yes," said his mother, "and many more beautiful stories are told of +her, and all true. She was a noble creature." + +"One more story, dear Mother," said the boys. "We have a good deal +of time, yet." + +"Many years ago," said the mother, "I was making a visit in a family +where what I am going to relate to you took place. I wrote it all +down, and I will now read it to you from my manuscript book." + + + + + +A TRUE STORY. + + + + +One cold, stormy evening in the middle of winter, a family, +consisting of four children and their parents, were gathered round a +bright, blazing fire. One merry-looking little girl was sitting with +a large, beautiful cat in her lap, which she was stroking, while +Miss Puss was purring her satisfaction at her happy lot. An older +girl was assisting her mother, who was employed at some needlework. +The oldest boy was getting his lesson. The youngest was sitting on +his father's knee. "How the wind roars!" said little Robert, as a +tremendous blast came swelling and moaning over the fields and +rushed against their dwelling, which, saving one old elm tree that +bent its protecting branches over it, stood all alone, exposed to +the shock of the wind against it. "Shan't we blow over, Father?" +said the child. "No, dear; we have stood higher winds than this." +"Now it dies away," said Helen, as, for a moment, she stopped +caressing her favorite. "The storm is taking breath," said Ned; "now +you can hear it a great way off; it sounds like a troop of horse +galloping up--now it comes nearer and nearer. Hurrah! there it comes +again! hurrah! Hear the poor old elm creak and groan, and hear the +icicles rattling down. I hope none of the branches will break, but I +am afraid the ice is too heavy for them." "Think of poor old Fanny +to-night," said Julia, the elder girl, "in her little cottage, and +the walls so thin. Mother, what will she do?" "Her house is so small +that the wind seems to pass her by," said the mother, "and, when it +is so cold as it is to-night, the poor soul goes to bed, and lies +there till it is warmer. Many a time, I have found her in bed in the +morning, and given her some breakfast, and advised her to lie there +till she could get up with comfort." "It is so still now," said +Robert, "that I can hear the flakes of snow on the window panes." +"And so do I," said little Helen, "and the wind seems to say, Hush! +hush!" "I should not think you could hear any thing while Puss is +purring so loud in your ears," replied Ned. "Do put her out of the +room; I would rather hear the loudest wind that ever blew than hear +a cat purr, purr, purr so forever; it makes my head spin to hear it; +hush, Puss! stop purring." Puss purred on all the same, for Ned's +words were followed by no hostile act towards her. No one, much less +Helen's pet, was ever treated inhospitably at Mr. Nelson's fireside. + +Now there was a short silence in the happy group, and nothing was +heard but the fitful wind without, the crackling of the fire, and +the contented sound of the purring cat within. Mrs. Nelson was the +first to speak. "Is it not time," said she, "for John to return from +the village? I cannot help expecting a letter from James. If,"--and +the color left her cheeks,--"if he was alive and well, I am sure he +must have written, and we must have a letter by Captain S." "I hear +John coming up the avenue now." In a moment Ned was gone to see what +packages were brought from the office, and in another he was back +again with a parcel in his hand. "Here, Father," said he, "here are +the newspapers, and here, Mother, is a big letter from uncle John +for you." + +His mother opened her brother's letter. "A letter from Jemmy," said +she, with a voice trembling with joy. "A letter from Jemmy," said +all the children together, and in a moment each one was silent, in +order to listen to its contents. + +"Dear Mother: Here we are all safe and sound; but when you get this, +you will, I know, thank God you have yet a son Jemmy. I have kept a +sea journal which you and father can see when I get home; so I shall +say nothing more about our voyage, except that I got along very +well, considering I was a green hand, and that I made friends with +the mates and all the sailors. O, they were so kind to me! and lucky +it was for me that they did love me so well, as you'll see +presently. Well, to my story. I hate to come to it, for it makes me +feel so badly; but don't be frightened, Mother; here I am on shore, +as lively as a cricket, and could make as much noise in your house +now as I ever did. Well, dear Mother, all, as I said, went well with +me, till one night, when we were on the Grand Bank; it was a rain +storm, and the captain sent me up to the topmast to reef a sail; +some one had been up, in the course of the day, and dropped some +grease, and I think my foot slipped; I was confused, the rain beat +in my face, I could not see any thing, and I fell. I must have been +stunned, for I am sure some time must have passed before I found +myself overboard, struggling to keep myself above water. In a +moment, I saw my whole danger. I knew that the ship must have gone +on some distance, and that it was useless to try to swim after her. +I did not think the sailors would know I had fallen overboard, for +some time, and I knew that, in such a dark, stormy night, it was +almost impossible for them to do any thing to save me. You know, +dear Mother, I am an excellent swimmer; but I immediately thought +that my only chance was to save my strength as much as possible; so +I turned over on my back and floated, and determined to keep myself +as quiet as I could, so as not to exhaust myself before the boat +could come for me, which was what I hoped for, though I knew there +was small chance of it, on such a night. In a few moments I saw +indistinctly one of those great birds that follow after vessels, +hovering over me, and I felt his horrid wings brushing over my face. +I used one of my arms to drive him away, while, with the other, I +kept myself on the top of the water; the waves rolled high, and, as +they broke over me, repeatedly filled my mouth with the bitter +water, so that I could not scream to let any one know where I was. +Presently more birds, smaller however, fluttered their frightful +wings over me; but the large one, whose wings I am sure extended as +far as I could stretch my arms, was the worst; he kept hovering over +me; O, I can see the frightful creature now! Well, Mother, don't be +scared, for here I am as well as ever. I found my strength began to +fail me. I could not see the ship. The cold was terrible. The horrid +birds were hovering, and the waves were rolling over me. I thought +of you and father, my brothers and sisters, my dear home; and I felt +as if I could not bear my sufferings any longer, and that I had +better give up. I was about turning myself over and letting myself +go, when I saw a black thing at a distance which I took for a +porpoise. While I was looking to see what it was, I heard the words, +'Jemmy! Jemmy!' and I called out, 'Here I am!' This was the first +sound I had been able to make from the time I had fallen over, for +if I opened my mouth it filled with water. They soon had me in the +boat, and, soon after, I was in the ship. Every thing was done for +me, that love and kindness could do. I could not have held out much +longer. It was three quarters of an hour that I had been in the +water. They told me afterwards that when they found I had fallen +overboard, they put the ship about; but as they heard no sound from +me, and knew not whereabouts I had fallen, the captain said it was +useless to do any thing to save me. The steward and cook and one of +the men were getting out the boat, but it had a bad leak in it, and +the captain advised them not to go. They would not listen to him; +they said they would not give me up; and they lowered the boat. One +of the men baled all the time, and as he had nothing else to stop +the leak with, he put his foot in the place, and he kept the boat +above water. By the merest chance they steered directly for the spot +where I was. So you see, Mother, it was their love and their courage +that saved my life." + +"Now, dear Mother, you will not feel anxious about me any more, for I +think you may be sure that nothing worse will happen to me than has +happened already on this voyage. I hope to be with you in a month +after you got this, and I don't think I shall want to go to sea +again for one while. My love to father and the boys, and to Julia, +and Helen, and the cat, and all inquiring friends. Glad enough I +shall be to be with you all again. I never knew before, dear Mother, +how much I loved you all. Your affectionate son, Jemmy." + +"P.S. After my fall I could not stand for a fortnight, but they all +took the kindest care of me, and I am now as well as possible." + +It were vain to attempt to describe what passed in the hearts of +these parents at hearing of the safety of their son after such a +peril. The letter was read over and over again, and each one +expressed his happiness in his own way; little Helen wondered he +should have thought of Puss, but said it was just like Jemmy. "I +would not believe such a story if I had it from any other but James +himself," said his father. "Nothing, so uncommon as to save a person +that falls overboard in such a way; and at night I never knew of it, +and I have been many years at sea. Nothing but James's presence of +mind and courage saved his life; he did the only thing that would +have been of any avail; had he attempted to swim after the ship, he +would have been lost. It seems now as if the story could not be +true. His presence of mind, and his courage, and his knowledge of +swimming would, however, have been of little use to him, if the love +of the sailors for him had not been stronger than the love of their +own lives, which they put in the greatest peril to save this poor +boy who, a few weeks before, was an utter stranger to them. How +noble! how beautiful! The glory of the wise and so-called great of +this world fades away as we look at this simple act of self-devoted +love. In the hearts of each of these men we see the angel that God +has placed within us all, ever declaring, if we would listen, that +love is greater than life, that there is no death to the soul." + +The children, not long after, retired to bed; the thought of dear +brother Jemmy made them insensible to the storm; all was sunshine +and peace in their young hearts. The parents sat up many hours of +that stormy night talking over and over again the story of their +boy's imminent danger and of his miraculous escape. + +The hoarse breathings of the wild storm, its alternate deep, far-off +moaning and shrill piping, through every loophole and crevice in the +house, sounded to these heaven-attuned souls like solemn music, and +they joined in sweet accord in silent, grateful prayer to the +Infinite Spirit. + +Frank and Harry, with their mother, were now silent for a few +moments. Soon, slowly and solemnly, the bell struck one, two, three, +four, five, six, and so on to twelve, and the first moment of the +new year began to be. They kissed each other, said "Happy New Year," +and were soon fast asleep in bed. + + +End of The Project Gutenberg Etext of Two Festivals +by Eliza Lee Follen + diff --git a/old/twfst10.zip b/old/twfst10.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..a1091f8 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/twfst10.zip |