diff options
| author | nfenwick <nfenwick@pglaf.org> | 2025-02-05 05:16:29 -0800 |
|---|---|---|
| committer | nfenwick <nfenwick@pglaf.org> | 2025-02-05 05:16:29 -0800 |
| commit | 145565eec8241cc95c4639a0114b2634ca8ce3eb (patch) | |
| tree | b1a247d0346b9ad30355ace0805193d5297a0d1c | |
| parent | 1d707ab9c0e7a6a27c5c1f721adec7cbbd90187c (diff) | |
| -rw-r--r-- | .gitattributes | 4 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | LICENSE.txt | 11 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | README.md | 2 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/50793-0.txt | 4852 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/50793-0.zip | bin | 68069 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/50793-h.zip | bin | 969781 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/50793-h/50793-h.htm | 5218 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/50793-h/images/cover.jpg | bin | 104054 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/50793-h/images/frontispiece.jpg | bin | 90371 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/50793-h/images/i-032.jpg | bin | 101016 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/50793-h/images/i-070.jpg | bin | 97848 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/50793-h/images/i-087.jpg | bin | 39360 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/50793-h/images/i-102.jpg | bin | 48039 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/50793-h/images/i-115.jpg | bin | 101494 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/50793-h/images/i-117.jpg | bin | 30711 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/50793-h/images/i-131.jpg | bin | 43008 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/50793-h/images/i-141.jpg | bin | 101518 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/50793-h/images/i-158.jpg | bin | 40886 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/50793-h/images/title1.jpg | bin | 98598 -> 0 bytes |
19 files changed, 17 insertions, 10070 deletions
diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..db48855 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #50793 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/50793) diff --git a/old/50793-0.txt b/old/50793-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index a23ae81..0000000 --- a/old/50793-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,4852 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Cousin Lucy's Conversations, by Jacob Abbott - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Cousin Lucy's Conversations - By the Author of the Rollo Books - -Author: Jacob Abbott - -Release Date: December 30, 2015 [EBook #50793] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK COUSIN LUCY'S CONVERSATIONS *** - - - - -Produced by The Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images -generously made available by The Internet Archive/American -Libraries.) - - - - - - - - - -[Illustration] - - - - -[Illustration] - -THE LUCY BOOKS. - - BY THE - Author of the Rollo Books. - - _New York_, - CLARK AUSTIN & CO. - 205 BROADWAY. - - - - -COUSIN LUCY’S CONVERSATIONS. - - BY THE - AUTHOR OF THE ROLLO BOOKS. - - A NEW EDITION, - REVISED BY THE AUTHOR. - - NEW YORK: - CLARK, AUSTIN & SMITH, - 3 PARK ROW AND 3 ANN-STREET, - 1854. - - - - - Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1841, - BY T. H. CARTER, - In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of Massachusetts. - - - - -NOTICE. - - -The simple delineations of the ordinary incidents and feelings which -characterize childhood, that are contained in the Rollo Books, having -been found to interest, and, as the author hopes, in some degree to -benefit the young readers for whom they were designed,--the plan is -herein extended to children of the other sex. The two first volumes -of the series are LUCY’S CONVERSATIONS and LUCY’S -STORIES. Lucy was Rollo’s cousin; and the author hopes that the -history of her life and adventures may be entertaining and useful to -the sisters of the boys who have honored the Rollo Books with their -approval. - - - - -CONTENTS. - - - Page. - - CONVERSATION I. - THE TREASURY, 9 - - CONVERSATION II. - DEFINITIONS, 21 - - CONVERSATION III. - THE GLEN, 34 - - CONVERSATION IV. - A PRISONER, 43 - - CONVERSATION V. - TARGET PAINTING, 51 - - CONVERSATION VI. - MIDNIGHT, 60 - - CONVERSATION VII. - JOANNA, 75 - - CONVERSATION VIII. - BUILDING, 88 - - CONVERSATION IX. - EQUIVOCATION, 103 - - CONVERSATION X. - JOHNNY, 118 - - CONVERSATION XI. - GETTING LOST, 132 - - CONVERSATION XII. - LUCY’S SCHOLAR, 146 - - CONVERSATION XIII. - SKETCHING, 159 - - CONVERSATION XIV. - DANGER, 170 - - - - -LUCY’S CONVERSATIONS. - -CONVERSATION I. - -THE TREASURY. - - -One day in summer, when Lucy was a very little girl, she was sitting in -her rocking-chair, playing keep school. She had placed several crickets -and small chairs in a row for the children’s seats, and had been -talking, in dialogue, for some time, pretending to hold conversations -with her pupils. She heard one read and spell, and gave another -directions about her writing; and she had quite a long talk with a -third about the reason why she did not come to school earlier. At last -Lucy, seeing the kitten come into the room, and thinking that she -should like to go and play with her, told the children that she thought -it was time for school to be done. - -Royal, Lucy’s brother, had been sitting upon the steps at the front -door, while Lucy was playing school; and just as she was thinking that -it was time to dismiss the children, he happened to get up and come -into the room. Royal was about eleven years old. When he found that -Lucy was playing school, he stopped at the door a moment to listen. - -“Now, children,” said Lucy, “it is time for the school to be dismissed; -for I want to play with the kitten.” - -Here Royal laughed aloud. - -Lucy looked around, a little disturbed at Royal’s interruption. -Besides, she did not like to be laughed at. She, however, said nothing -in reply, but still continued to give her attention to her school. -Royal walked in, and stood somewhat nearer. - -“We will sing a hymn,” said Lucy, gravely. - -Here Royal laughed again. - -“Royal, you must not laugh,” said Lucy. “They always sing a hymn at the -end of a school.” Then, making believe that she was speaking to her -scholars, she said, “You may all take out your hymn-books, children.” - -Lucy had a little hymn-book in her hand, and she began turning over the -leaves, pretending to find a place. - -“You may sing,” she said, at last, “the thirty-third hymn, long part, -second metre.” - -At this sad mismating of the words in Lucy’s announcement of the hymn, -Royal found that he could contain himself no longer. He burst into loud -and incontrollable fits of laughter, staggering about the room, and -saying to himself, as he could catch a little breath, “_Long part!--O -dear me!--second metre!--O dear!_” - -“Royal,” said Lucy, with all the sternness she could command, “you -_shall not_ laugh.” - -Royal made no reply, but tumbled over upon the sofa, holding his sides, -and every minute repeating, at the intervals of the paroxysm, “_Long -part--second metre!_--O dear me!” - -“Royal,” said Lucy again, stamping with her little foot upon the -carpet, “I tell you, you shall not laugh.” - -Then suddenly she seized a little twig which she had by her side, and -which she had provided as a rod to punish her imaginary scholars with; -and, starting up, she ran towards Royal, saying, “I’ll soon make you -sober with my rod.” - -Royal immediately jumped up from the sofa, and ran off,--Lucy in hot -pursuit. Royal turned into the back entry, and passed out through an -open door behind, which led into a little green yard back of the -house. There was a young lady, about seventeen years old, coming out of -the garden into the little yard, with a watering-pot in her hand, just -as Royal and Lucy came out of the house. - -She stopped Lucy, and asked her what was the matter. - -“Why, Miss Anne,” said Lucy, “Royal keeps laughing at me.” - -Miss Anne looked around to see Royal. He had gone and seated himself -upon a bench under an apple-tree, and seemed entirely out of breath and -exhausted; though his face was still full of half-suppressed glee. - -“What is the matter, Royal?” said Miss Anne. - -“Why, he is laughing at my school,” said Lucy. - -“No, I am not laughing at her school,” said Royal; “but she was going -to give out a hymn, and she said----” - -Royal could not get any further. The fit of laughter came over him -again, and he lay down upon the bench, unable to give any further -account of it, except to get out the words, “_Long part!_ O dear me! -What shall I do?” - -“Royal!” exclaimed Lucy. - -“Never mind him,” said Miss Anne; “let him laugh if he will, and you, -come with me.” - -“Why, where are you going?” - -“Into my room. Come, go in with me, and I will talk with you.” - -So Miss Anne took Lucy along with her into a little back bedroom. There -was a window at one side, and a table, with books, and an inkstand, and -a work-basket upon it. Miss Anne sat down at this window, and took her -work; and Lucy came and leaned against her, and said, - -“Come, Miss Anne, you said you would talk with me.” - -“Well,” said Miss Anne, “there is one thing which I do not like.” - -“What is it?” said Lucy. - -“Why, you do not keep your treasury in order.” - -“Well, that,” said Lucy, “is because I have got so many things.” - -“Then I would not have so many things;--at least I would not keep them -all in my treasury.” - -“Well, Miss Anne, if you would only keep some of them for me,--then I -could keep the rest in order.” - -“What sort of things should you wish me to keep?” - -“Why, my best things,--my tea-set, I am sure, so that I shall not -lose any more of them; I have lost some of them now--one cup and two -saucers; and the handle of the pitcher is broken. Royal broke it. He -said he would pay me, but he never has.” - -“How was he going to pay you?” - -“Why, he said he would make a new nose for old Margaret. Her nose is -all worn off.” - -“A new nose! How could he make a new nose?” asked Miss Anne. - -“O, of putty. He said he could make it of putty, and stick it on.” - -“Putty!” exclaimed Miss Anne. “What a boy!” - -Old Margaret was an old doll that Lucy had. She was not big enough to -take very good care of a doll, and old Margaret had been tumbled about -the floors and carpets until she was pretty well worn out. Still, -however, Lucy always kept her, with her other playthings, in her -_treasury_. - -The place which Lucy called her treasury was a part of a closet or -wardrobe, in a back entry, very near Miss Anne’s room. This closet -extended down to the floor, and upwards nearly to the wall. There were -two doors above, and two below. The lower part had been assigned to -Lucy, to keep her playthings and her various treasures in; and it was -called her _treasury_. - -Her treasury was not kept in very good order. The upper shelf contained -books, and the two lower, playthings. But all three of the shelves were -in a state of sad disorder. And this was the reason why Miss Anne asked -her about it. - -“Yes, Miss Anne,” said Lucy, “that is the very difficulty, I know. I -have got too many things in my treasury; and if you will keep my best -things for me, then I shall have room for the rest. I’ll run and get my -tea things.” - -“But stop,” said Miss Anne. “It seems to me that you had better keep -your best things yourself, and put the others away somewhere.” - -“But where shall I put them?” asked Lucy. - -“Why, you might carry them up garret, and put them in a box. Take out -all the broken playthings, and the old papers, and the things of no -value, and put them in a box, and then we will get Royal to nail a -cover on it.” - -“Well,--if I only had a box,” said Lucy. - -“And then,” continued Miss Anne, “after a good while, when you have -forgotten all about the box, and have got tired of your playthings in -the treasury, I can say, ‘O Lucy, don’t you remember you have got a box -full of playthings up in the garret?’ And then you can go up there, -and Royal will draw out the nails, and take off the cover, and you can -look them all over, and they will be new again.” - -“O aunt Anne, will they be really _new_ again?” said Lucy; “would old -Margaret be new again if I should nail her up in a box?” - -Lucy thought that _new_ meant nice, and whole, and clean, like things -when they are first bought at the toy-shop or bookstore. - -Miss Anne laughed at this mistake; for she meant that they would be -_new_ to her; that is, that she would have forgotten pretty much how -they looked, and that she would take a new and fresh interest in -looking at them. - -Lucy looked a little disappointed when Anne explained that this was her -meaning; but she said that she would carry up some of the things to the -garret, if she only had a box to put them in. - -Miss Anne said that she presumed that she could find some box or old -trunk up there; and she gave Lucy a basket to put the things into, that -were to be carried up. - -So Lucy took the basket, and carried it into the entry; and she opened -the doors of her treasury, and placed the basket down upon the floor -before it. - -Then she kneeled down herself upon the carpet, and began to take a -survey of the scene of confusion before her. - -She took out several blocks, which were lying upon the lower shelf, -and also some large sheets of paper with great letters printed upon -them. Her father had given them to her to cut the letters out, and -paste them into little books. Next came a saucer, with patches of red, -blue, green, and yellow, all over it, made with water colors, from Miss -Anne’s paint-box. She put these things into the basket, and then sat -still for some minutes, not knowing what to take next. Not being able -to decide herself, she went back to ask Miss Anne. - -“What things do you think I had better carry away, Miss Anne?” said -she. “I can’t tell very well.” - -“I don’t know what things you have got there, exactly,” said Miss Anne; -“but I can tell you what _kind_ of things I should take away.” - -“Well, what kind?” said Lucy. - -“Why, I should take the bulky things.” - -“Bulky things!” said Lucy; “what are bulky things?” - -“Why, _big_ things--those that take up a great deal of room.” - -“Well, what other kinds of things, Miss Anne?” - -“The useless things.” - -“Useless?” repeated Lucy. - -“Yes, those that you do not use much.” - -“Well, what others?” - -“All the old, broken things.” - -“Well, and what else?” - -“Why, I think,” replied Miss Anne, “that if you take away all those, -you will then probably have room enough for the rest. At any rate, go -and get a basket full of such as I have told you, and we will see how -much room it makes.” - -So Lucy went back, and began to take out some of the broken, and -useless, and large things, and at length filled her basket full. Then -she carried them in to show to Miss Anne. Miss Anne looked them over, -and took out some old papers which were of no value whatever, and then -told Lucy, that, if she would carry them up stairs, and put them down -upon the garret floor, she would herself come up by and by, and find a -box to put them in. Lucy did so, and then came down, intending to get -another basket full. - -As she was descending the stairs, coming down carefully from step to -step, with one hand upon the banisters, and the other holding her -basket, singing a little song,--her mother, who was at work in the -parlor, heard her, and came out into the entry. - -“Ah, my little Miss Lucy,” said she, “I’ve found you, have I? Just come -into the parlor a minute; I want to show you something.” - -Lucy’s mother smiled when she said this; and Lucy could not imagine -what it was that she wanted to show her. - -As soon, however, as she got into the room, her mother stopped by the -door, and pointed to the little chairs and crickets which Lucy had left -out upon the floor of the room, when she had dismissed her school. The -rule was, that she must always put away all the chairs and furniture -of every kind which she used in her play; and, when she forgot or -neglected this, her punishment was, to be imprisoned for ten minutes -upon a little cricket in the corner, with nothing to amuse herself with -but a book. And a book was not much amusement for her; for she could -not read; she only knew a few of her letters. - -As soon, therefore, as she saw her mother pointing at the crickets and -chairs, she began at once to excuse herself by saying, - -“Well, mother, that is because I was doing something for Miss -Anne.--No, it is because Royal made me go away from my school, before -it was done.” - -“Royal made you go away! how?” asked her mother. - -“Why, he laughed at me, and so I ran after him; and then Miss Anne took -me into her room and I forgot all about my chairs and crickets.” - -“Well, I am sorry for you; but you must put them away, and then go to -prison.” - -So Lucy put away her crickets and chairs, and then went and took her -seat in the corner where she could see the clock, and began to look -over her book to find such letters as she knew, until the minute-hand -had passed over two of the five-minute spaces upon the face of the -clock. Then she got up and went out; and, hearing Royal’s voice in the -yard, she went out to see what he was doing, and forgot all about the -work she had undertaken at her treasury. Miss Anne sat in her room two -hours, wondering what had become of Lucy; and finally, when she came -out of her room to see about getting tea, she shut the treasury doors, -and, seeing the basket upon the stairs, where Lucy had left it, she -took it and put it away in its place. - - - - -CONVERSATION II. - -DEFINITIONS. - - -A few days after this, Lucy came into Miss Anne’s room, bringing a -little gray kitten in her arms. She asked Miss Anne if she would not -make her a rolling mouse, for her kitten to play with. - -Miss Anne had a way of unwinding a ball of yarn a little, and then -fastening it with a pin, so that it would not unwind any farther. Then -Lucy could take hold of the end of the yarn, and roll the ball about -upon the floor, and let the kitten run after it. She called it her -rolling mouse. - -Miss Anne made her a mouse, and Lucy played with it for some time. At -last the kitten scampered away, and Lucy could not find her. Then Anne -proposed to Lucy that she should finish the work of re-arranging her -treasury. - -“Let me see,” said Miss Anne, “if you remember what I told you the -other day. What were the kinds of things that I advised you to carry -away?” - -“Why, there were the _sulky_ things.” - -“The what!” said Miss Anne. - -“No, the big things,--the big things,” said Lucy. - -“The bulky things,” said Miss Anne, “not the _sulky_ things!” - -“Well, it sounded like _sulky_,” said Lucy; “but I thought it was not -exactly that.” - -“No, not exactly,--but it was not a very great mistake. I said -_useless_ things, and _bulky_ things, and you got the sounds -confounded.” - -“Con-- what?” said Lucy. - -“Confounded,--that is, mixed together. You got the _s_ sound of -_useless_, instead of the _b_ sound of _bulky_; but _bulky_ and _sulky_ -mean very different things.” - -“What does _sulky_ mean? I know that _bulky_ means _big_.” - -“Sulkiness is a kind of ill-humor.” - -“What kind?” - -“Why, it is the _silent_ kind. If a little girl, who is out of humor, -complains and cries, we say she is fretful or cross; but if she goes -away pouting and still, but yet plainly out of humor, they sometimes -say she is _sulky_. A good many of your playthings are bulky; but I -don’t think any of them are sulky, unless it be old Margaret. Does she -ever get out of humor?” - -“Sometimes,” said Lucy, “and then I shut her up in a corner. Would you -carry old Margaret up garret?” - -“Why, she takes up a good deal of room, does not she?” said Miss Anne. - -“Yes,” said Lucy, “ever so much room. I cannot make her sit up, and she -lies down all over my cups and saucers.” - -“Then I certainly would carry her up garret.” - -“And would you carry up her bonnet and shawl too?” - -“Yes, all that belongs to her.” - -“Then,” said Lucy, “whenever I want to play with her, I shall have to -go away up garret, to get all her things.” - -“Very well; you can do just as you think best.” - -“Well, would you?” asked Lucy. - -“I should, myself, if I were in your case; and only keep such things in -my treasury as are neat, and whole, and in good order.” - -“But I play with old Margaret a great deal,--almost every day,” said -Lucy. - -“Perhaps, then, you had better not carry her away. Do just which you -think you shall like best.” - -Lucy began to walk towards the door. She moved quite slowly, because -she was uncertain whether to carry her old doll up stairs or not. -Presently she turned around again, and said, - -“Well, Miss Anne, which would you do?” - -“I have told you that _I_ should carry her up stairs; but I’ll tell you -what you can do. You can play that she has gone away on a visit; and so -let her stay up garret a few days, and then, if you find you cannot do -without her, you can make believe that you must send for her to come -home.” - -“So I can,” said Lucy; “that will be a good plan.” - -Lucy went immediately to the treasury, and took old Margaret out, and -everything that belonged to her. This almost made a basket full, and -she carried it off up stairs. Then she came back, and got another -basket full, and another, until at last she had removed nearly half of -the things; and then she thought that there would be plenty of room to -keep the rest in order. And every basket full which she had carried -up, she had always brought first to Miss Anne, to let her look over -the things, and see whether they had better all go. Sometimes Lucy had -got something in her basket which Miss Anne thought had better remain, -and be kept in the treasury; and some of the things Miss Anne said -were good for nothing at all, and had better be burnt, or thrown away, -such as old papers, and some shapeless blocks, and broken bits of china -ware. At last the work was all done, the basket put away, and Lucy came -and sat down by Miss Anne. - -“Well, Lucy,” said Miss Anne, “you have been quite industrious and -persevering.” - -Lucy did not know exactly what Miss Anne meant by these words; but she -knew by her countenance and her tone of voice, that it was something in -her praise. - -“But perhaps you do not know what I mean, exactly,” she added. - -“No, not exactly,” said Lucy. - -“Why, a girl is industrious when she keeps steadily at work all the -time, until her work is done. If you had stopped when you had got your -basket half full, and had gone to playing with the things, you would -not have been industrious.” - -“I did, a little,--with my guinea peas,” said Lucy. - -“It is best,” said Miss Anne, “when you have anything like that to do, -to keep industriously at work until it is finished.” - -“But I only wanted to look at my guinea peas a little.” - -“O, I don’t think that was very wrong,” said Miss Anne. “Only it would -have been a little better if you had put them back upon the shelf, and -said, ‘Now, as soon as I have finished my work, then I’ll take out my -guinea peas and look at them.’ You would have enjoyed looking at them -more when your work was done.” - -“You said that I was something else besides industrious.” - -“Yes, persevering,” said Miss Anne. - -“What is that?” - -“Why, that is keeping on steadily at your work, and not giving it up -until it is entirely finished.” - -“Why, Miss Anne,” said Lucy, “I thought that was _industrious_.” - -Here Miss Anne began to laugh, and Lucy said, - -“Now, what are you laughing at, Miss Anne?” She thought that she was -laughing at her. - -“O, I am not laughing at you, but at my own definitions.” - -“Definitions! What are definitions, Miss Anne?” said Lucy. - -“Why, explanations of the meanings of words. You asked me what was the -meaning of _industrious_ and _persevering_; and I tried to explain them -to you; that is, to tell you the definition of them; but I gave pretty -much the same definition for both; when, in fact, they mean quite -different things.” - -“Then why did not you give me different definitions, Miss Anne?” said -Lucy. - -“It is very hard to give good definitions,” said she. - -“I should not think it would be hard. I should think, if you knew what -the words meant, you could just tell me.” - -“I can tell you in another way,” said Miss. Anne. “Suppose a boy should -be sent into the pasture to find the cow, and should look about a -little while, and then come home and say that he could not find her, -when he had only looked over a very small part of the pasture. He would -not be _persevering_. Perhaps there was a brook, and some woods that he -ought to go through and look beyond; but he gave up, we will suppose, -and thought he would not go over the brook, but would rather come home -and say that he could not find the cow. Now, a boy, in such a case, -would not be _persevering_.” - -“_I_ should have liked to go over the brook,” said Lucy. - -“Yes,” said Miss Anne, “no doubt; but we may suppose that he had been -over it so often, that he did not care about going again,--and so he -turned back and came home, without having finished his work.” - -“His work?” said Lucy. - -“Yes,--his duty, of looking for the cow until he found her. He was -sent to find the cow, but he did not do it. He became discouraged, and -gave up too easily. He did not _persevere_. Perhaps he kept looking -about all the time, while he was in the pasture; and went into all -the little groves and valleys where the cow might be hid: and so he -was _industrious_ while he was looking for the cow, but he did not -_persevere_. - -“And so you see, Lucy,” continued Miss Anne, “a person might persevere -without being industrious. For once there was a girl named Julia. She -had a flower-garden. She went out one morning to weed it. She pulled -up some of the weeds, and then she went off to see a butterfly; and -after a time she came back, and worked a little longer. Then some -children came to see her; and she sat down upon a seat, and talked with -them some time, and left her work. In this way, she kept continually -stopping to play. She was not industrious.” - -“And did she _persevere_?” asked Lucy. - -“Yes,” said Miss Anne. “She persevered. For when the other children -wanted her to go away with them and play, she would not. She said she -did not mean to go out of the garden until she had finished weeding -her flowers. So after the children had gone away, she went back to -her work, and after a time she got it done. She was _persevering_; -that is, she would not give up what she had undertaken until it was -finished;--but she was not _industrious_; that is, she did not work all -the time steadily, while she was engaged in doing it. It would have -been better for her to have been industrious and persevering too, for -then she would have finished her work sooner.” - -As Miss Anne said these words, she heard a voice out in the yard -calling to her, - -“Miss Anne!” - -Miss Anne looked out at the window to see who it was. It was Royal. - -“Is Lucy in there with you?” asked Royal. - -Miss Anne said that she was; and at the same time, Lucy, who heard -Royal’s voice, ran to another window, and climbed up into a chair, so -that she could look out. - -“Lucy,” said Royal, “come out here.” - -“O no,” said Lucy, “I can’t come now. Miss Anne is telling me stories.” - -Royal was seated on a large, flat stone, which had been placed in a -corner of the yard, under some trees, for a seat; he was cutting a -stick with his knife. His cap was lying upon the stone, by his side. -When Lucy said that she could not come out, he put his hand down upon -his cap, and said, - -“Come out and see what I’ve got under my cap.” - -“What is it?” said Lucy. - -“I can’t tell you; it is a secret. If you will come out, I will let you -see it.” - -“Do tell me what it is.” - -“No,” said Royal. - -“Tell me something about it,” said Lucy, “at any rate.” - -“Well,” said Royal, “I will tell you one thing. It is not a bird.” - -Lucy concluded that it must be some curious animal or other, if it was -not a bird; and so she told Miss Anne that she believed she would go -out and see, and then she would come in again directly, and hear the -rest that she had to say. So she went out to see what Royal had got -under his cap. - -[Illustration: “So she went out to see what Royal had got under his -cap.”--_Page_ 30.] - -Miss Anne suspected that Royal had not got anything under his cap; but -that it was only his contrivance to excite Lucy’s curiosity, and induce -her to come out. - -And this turned out to be the fact; for when Lucy went up to where -Royal was sitting, and asked him what it was, he just lifted up his -cap, and said, it was that monstrous, great, flat stone! - -At first, Lucy was displeased, and was going directly back into the -house again; but Royal told her that he was making a windmill, and -that, if she would stay there and keep him company, he would let her -run with it, when it was done. So Lucy concluded to remain. - - - - -CONVERSATION III. - -THE GLEN. - - -Behind the house that Lucy lived in, there was a path, winding among -trees, which was a very pleasant path to take a walk in. Lucy and Royal -often went to take a walk there. They almost always went that way when -Miss Anne could go with them, for she liked the place very much. It led -to a strange sort of a place, where there were trees, and high, rocky -banks, and a brook running along in the middle, with a broad plank to -go across. Miss Anne called it the glen. - -One morning Miss Anne told Lucy that she was going to be busy for two -hours, and that after that she was going to take a walk down to the -glen; and that Lucy might go with her, if she would like to go. Of -course Lucy liked the plan very much. When the time arrived, they set -off, going out through the garden gate. Miss Anne had a parasol in one -hand and a book in the other. Lucy ran along before her, and opened the -gate. - -They heard a voice behind them calling out, - -“Miss Anne, where are you going?” - -They looked round. It was Royal, sitting at the window of a little -room, where he used to study. - -“We are going to take a walk,--down to the glen,” said Miss Anne. - -“I wish you would wait for me,” said Royal, “only a few minutes; the -sand is almost out.” - -He meant the sand of his hour-glass; for he had an hour-glass upon the -table, in his little room, to measure the time for study. He had to -study one hour in the afternoon, and was not allowed to leave his room -until the sand had all run out. - -“No,” said Lucy, in a loud voice, calling out to Royal; “we can’t wait.” - -“Perhaps we had better wait for him,” said Miss Anne, in a low voice, -to Lucy. “He would like to go with us. And, besides, he can help you -across the brook.” - -Lucy seemed a little unwilling to wait, but on the whole she consented; -and Miss Anne sat down upon a seat in the garden, while Lucy played -about in the walks, until Royal came down, with his hatchet in his -hand. They then walked all along together. - -When they got to the glen, Miss Anne went up a winding path to a seat, -where she used to love to sit and read. There was a beautiful prospect -from it, all around. Royal and Lucy remained down in the little valley -to play; but Miss Anne told them that they must not go out of her sight. - -“But how can we tell,” said Royal, “what places you can see?” - -“O,” said Miss Anne, “look up now and then, and if you can see me, in -my seat, you will be safe. If you can see me, I can see you.” - -“Come,” said Royal, “let us go down to the bridge, and go across the -brook.” - -The plank which Royal called a bridge, was down below the place where -Miss Anne went up to her seat, and Royal and Lucy began to walk along -slowly towards it. - -“But I am afraid to go over that plank,” said Lucy. - -“Afraid!” said Royal; “you need not be afraid; it is not dangerous.” - -“I think it _is_ dangerous,” said Lucy; “it bends a great deal.” - -“Bends!” exclaimed Royal; “the bending does no harm. I will lead you -over as safe as dry ground. Besides, there is something over there that -I want to show you.” - -“What is it?” said Lucy. - -“O, something,” said Royal. - -“I don’t believe there is anything at all,” said Lucy, “any more than -there was under your cap.” - -“O Lucy! there was something under my cap.” - -“No, there wasn’t,” said Lucy. - -“Yes, that great, flat stone.” - -“_In_ your cap, I mean,” said Lucy; “that wasn’t _in_ your cap.” - -“_In!_” said Royal; “that is a very different sort of a preposition.” - -“I don’t know what you mean by a preposition,” said Lucy; “but I know -you told me there was something in your cap, and that is what I came -out to see.” - -“_Under_, Lucy; I said _under_.” - -“Well, you meant _in_; I verily believe you meant _in_.” - -Lucy was right. Royal did indeed say _under_, but he meant to have her -understand that there was something _in_ his cap, and lying upon the -great, flat stone. - -“And so you told me a falsehood,” said Lucy. - -“O Lucy!” said Royal, “I would not tell a falsehood for all the world.” - -“Yes, you told me a falsehood; and now I don’t believe you about -anything over the brook. For Miss Anne told me, one day, that when -anybody told a falsehood, we must not believe them, even if they tell -the truth.” - -“O Lucy! Lucy!” said Royal, “I don’t believe she ever said any such a -word.” - -“Yes she did,” said Lucy. But Lucy said this rather hesitatingly, for -she felt some doubt whether she was quoting what Miss Anne had told -her, quite correctly. - -Here, however, the children arrived at the bridge, and Royal was -somewhat at a loss what to do. He wanted very much to go over, and to -have Lucy go over too; but by his not being perfectly honest before, -about what was under his cap, Lucy had lost her confidence in him, and -would not believe what he said. At first he thought that if she would -not go with him, he would threaten to go off and leave her. But in a -moment he reflected that this would make her cry, and that would cause -Miss Anne to come down from her seat, to see what was the matter, which -might lead to ever so much difficulty. Besides, he thought that he had -not done exactly right about the cap story, and so he determined to -treat Lucy kindly. - -“If I manage gently with her,” said he to himself, “she will want to -come across herself pretty soon.” - -Accordingly, when Royal got to the plank, he said, - -“Well, Lucy, if you had rather stay on this side, you can. I want to go -over, but I won’t go very far; and you can play about here.” - -So Royal went across upon the plank; when he had got to the middle of -it, he sprang up and down upon it with his whole weight, in order to -show Lucy how strong it was. He then walked along by the bank, upon the -other side of the brook, and began to look into the water, watching for -fishes. - -Lucy’s curiosity became considerably excited by what Royal was -constantly saying about his fishes. First he said he saw a dozen little -fishes; then, going a little farther, he saw two pretty big ones; and -Lucy came down to the bank upon her side of the brook, but she could -not get very near, on account of the bushes. She had a great mind to -ask Royal to come and help her across, when all at once he called out -very eagerly, - -“O Lucy! Lucy! here is a great turtle,--a monster of a turtle, as big -as the top of my head. Here he goes, paddling along over the stones.” - -“Where? where?” said Lucy. “Let me see. Come and help me across, Royal.” - -Royal ran back to the plank, keeping a watch over the turtle, as well -as he could, all the time. He helped Lucy across, and then they ran up -to the place, and Royal pointed into the water. - -“There, Lucy! See there! A real turtle! See his tail! It is as sharp as -a dagger.” - -It was true. There was a real turtle resting upon the sand in a shallow -place in the water. His head and his four paws were projecting out of -his shell, and his long, pointed tail, like a rudder, floated in the -water behind. - -“Yes,” said Lucy. “I see him. I see his head.” - -“Now, Lucy,” said Royal, “we must not let him get away. We must make a -pen for him. I can make a pen. You stay here and watch him, while I go -and get ready to make a pen.” - -“How can you make it?” said Lucy. - -“O, you’ll see,” said Royal; and he took up his hatchet, which he had -before laid down upon the grass, and went into the bushes, and began -cutting, as if he was cutting some of them down. - -Lucy remained some time watching the turtle. He lay quite still, with -his head partly out of the water. The sun shone upon the place, and -perhaps that was the reason why he remained so still; for turtles are -said to like to bask in the beams of the sun. - -After a time, Royal came to the place with an armful of stakes, about -three feet long. He threw them down upon the bank, and then began to -look around for a suitable place to build his pen. He chose, at last, a -place in the water, near the shore. The water there was not deep, and -the bottom was sandy. - -“This will be a good place,” he said to Lucy. “I will make his pen -here.” - -“How are you going to make it?” said Lucy. - -“Why, I am going to drive these stakes down in a kind of a circle, so -near together that he can’t get out between them; and they are so tall -that I know he can’t get over.” - -“And how are you going to get him in?” said Lucy. - -“O, I shall leave one stake out, till I get him in,” answered Royal. -“We can drive him in with long sticks. But you must not mind me; you -must watch the turtle, or he will get away.” - -So Royal began to drive the stakes. Presently Lucy said that the turtle -was stirring. Royal looked, but he found he was not going away, and so -he went on with his work; and before long he had a place fenced in with -his stakes, about as large round as a boy’s hoop. It was all fenced, -excepting in one place, which he left open to get the turtle through. - -The two children then contrived, by means of two long sticks, which -Royal cut from among the bushes, to get the turtle into his prison. -The poor reptile hardly knew what to make of such treatment. He went -tumbling along through the water, half pushed, half driven. - -When he was fairly in, Royal drove down the last stake in the vacant -space which had been left. The turtle swam about, pushing his head -against the bars in several places; and when he found that he could not -get out, he remained quietly in the middle. - -“There,” said Royal, “that will do. Now I wish Miss Anne would come -down here, and see him. I should like to see what she would say.” - -Miss Anne did come down after a while; and when the children saw her -descending the path, they called out to her aloud to come there and -see. She came, and when she reached the bank opposite to the turtle -pen, she stood still for a few minutes, looking at it, with a smile of -curiosity and interest upon her face; but she did not speak a word. - - - - -CONVERSATION IV. - -A PRISONER. - - -After a little while, they all left the turtle, and went rambling -around, among the rocks and trees. At last Royal called out to them to -come to a large tree, where he was standing. He was looking up into it. -Lucy ran fast; she thought it was a bird’s nest. Miss Anne came along -afterwards, singing. Royal showed them a long, straight branch, which -extended out horizontally from the tree, and said that it would be an -excellent place to make a swing. - -“So it would,” said Miss Anne, “if we only had a rope.” - -“I’ve got a rope at home,” said Royal, “if Lucy would only go and get -it,--while I cut off some of the small branches, which are in the way. - -“Come, Lucy,” he continued, “go and get my rope. It is hanging up in -the shed.” - -“O no,” said Lucy; “I can’t reach it.” - -“O, you can get a chair,” said Royal; “or Joanna will hand it to you; -she will be close by, in the kitchen. Come, Lucy, go, that is a good -girl; and I’ll pay you.” - -“What will you give me?” said Lucy. - -“O, I don’t know; but I’ll give you something.” - -But Lucy did not seem quite inclined to go. She said she did not want -to go so far alone; though, in fact, it was only a very short distance. -Besides, she had not much confidence in Royal’s promise. - -“Will you go, Lucy, if _I_ will promise to give you something?” said -Miss Anne. - -“Yes,” said Lucy. - -“Well, I will,” said Miss Anne; “I can’t tell you _what_, now, for I -don’t know; but it shall be something you will like. - -“But, Royal,” she added, “what shall we do for a seat in our swing?” - -“Why, we must have a board--a short board, with two notches. I know how -to cut them.” - -“Yes, if you only had a board; but there are no boards down here. I -think you had better go with Lucy, and then you can bring down a board.” - -Royal said that it would take some time to saw off the board, and cut -the notches; and, finally, they concluded to postpone making the swing -until the next time they came down to the glen; and then they would -bring down whatever should be necessary, with them. - -As they were walking slowly along, after this, towards home, Royal said -something about Lucy’s not being willing to go for _his_ promise, as -well as for Miss Anne’s,--which led to the following conversation:-- - -_Lucy._ I don’t believe you were going to give me anything at all. - -_Royal._ O Lucy!--I was,--I certainly was. - -_Lucy._ Then I don’t believe that it would be anything that I should -like. - -_Royal._ But I don’t see how you could tell anything about it, unless -you knew what it was going to be. - -_Lucy._ I don’t believe it would be anything; do you, Miss Anne? - -_Miss Anne._ I don’t know anything about it. I should not think that -Royal would break his promise. - -_Lucy._ He does break his promises. He won’t mend old Margaret’s nose. - -_Royal._ Well, Lucy, that is because my putty has all dried up. I am -going to do it, just as soon as I can get any more putty. - -_Lucy._ And that makes me think about the thing in your cap. I mean -to ask Miss Anne if you did not tell a falsehood. He said there was -something in his cap, and there was nothing in it at all. It was only -on the great, flat stone. - -_Royal._ O, _under_, Lucy, _under_. I certainly said _under_. - -_Lucy._ Well, you meant _in_; I know you did. Wasn’t it a falsehood? - -_Miss Anne._ Did he say _in_, or _under_? - -_Royal._ _Under_, _under_; it was certainly _under_. - -_Miss Anne._ Then I don’t think it was exactly a falsehood. - -_Lucy._ Well, it was as bad as a falsehood, at any rate. - -_Royal._ Was it as bad as a falsehood, Miss Anne? - -_Miss Anne._ Let us consider a little. Lucy, what do you think? Suppose -he had said that there was really something _in_ his cap,--do you think -it would have been no worse? - -_Lucy._ I don’t know. - -_Miss Anne._ I think it _would_ have been worse. - -_Royal._ Yes, a great deal worse. - -_Miss Anne._ He _deceived you_, perhaps, but he did not tell a -falsehood. - -_Lucy._ Well, Miss Anne, and isn’t it wrong for him to deceive me? - -_Miss Anne._ I think it was unwise, at any rate. - -_Royal._ Why was it unwise, Miss Anne? I wanted her to come out, and -I knew she would like to be out there, if she would only once come. -Besides, I thought it would make her laugh when I came to lift up my -cap and show her that great, flat stone. - -_Miss Anne._ And did she laugh? - -_Royal._ Why, not much. She said she meant to go right into the house -again. - -_Miss Anne._ Instead of being pleased with the wit, she was displeased -at being imposed upon. - -Royal laughed. - -_Miss Anne._ The truth is, Royal, that, though it is rather easier, -sometimes, to get along by wit than by honesty, yet you generally have -to pay for it afterwards. - -_Royal._ How do we have to pay for it? - -_Miss Anne._ Why, Lucy has lost her confidence in you. You cannot get -her to go and get a rope for you by merely promising her something, -while I can. She confides in me, and not in you. She is afraid you -will find some ingenious escape or other from fulfilling it. Wit -gives anybody a present advantage, but honesty gives a lasting power; -so that the influence I have over Lucy, by always being honest with -her, is worth a great deal more than all you can accomplish with -your contrivances. So I think you had better keep your wits and your -contrivances for turtles, and always be honest with men. - -_Royal._ Men! Lucy isn’t a man. - -_Miss Anne._ I mean mankind--men, women, and children. - -_Royal._ Well, about my turtle, Miss Anne. Do you think that I can keep -him in his pen? - -_Miss Anne._ Yes, unless he digs out. - -_Royal._ Dig?--Can turtles dig much? - -_Miss Anne._ I presume they can work into mud, and sand, and soft -ground. - -_Royal._ Then I must get a great, flat stone, and put into the bottom -of his pen. He can’t dig through that. - -_Miss Anne._ I should rather make his pen larger, and then perhaps he -won’t want to get out. You might find some cove in the brook, where the -water is deep, for him, and then drive your stakes in the shallow water -all around it. And then, if you choose, you could extend it up upon the -shore, and so let him have a walk upon the land, within his bounds. -Then, perhaps, sometimes, when you come down to see him, you may find -him up upon the grass, sunning himself. - -_Royal._ Yes, that I shall like very much. It will take a great many -stakes; but I can cut them with my hatchet. I’ll call it my _turtle -pasture_. Perhaps I shall find some more to put in. - -_Lucy._ I don’t think it is yours, altogether, Royal. - -_Royal._ Why, I found him. - -_Lucy._ Yes, but I watched him for you, or else he would have got away. -I think you ought to let me own a share. - -_Royal._ But I made the pen altogether myself. - -_Lucy._ And I helped you drive the turtle in. - -_Royal._ O Lucy! I don’t think you did much good. - -_Miss Anne._ I’ll tell you what, Lucy; if Royal found the turtle and -made the pen, and if you watched him and helped drive him in, then I -think you ought to own about one third, and Royal two thirds. - -_Royal._ Well. - -_Miss Anne._ But, then, Royal, why would it not be a good plan for you -to let her have as much of your share as will make hers half, and -yours half, to pay her for the trouble you gave her by the cap story? - -_Royal._ To pay her? - -_Miss Anne._ Yes,--a sort of damages. Then, if you are careful not to -deceive her any more, Lucy will pass over the old cases, and place -confidence in you for the future. - -_Royal._ Well, Lucy, you shall have half. - -Lucy clapped her hands with delight at this concession, and soon after -the children reached home. The next day, Royal and Lucy went down to -see the turtle; and Royal made him a large pasture, partly in the brook -and partly on the shore, and while he was doing it, Lucy remained, and -kept him company. - - - - -CONVERSATION V. - -TARGET PAINTING. - - -On rainy days, Lucy sometimes found it pretty difficult to know what to -do for amusement,--especially when Royal was in his little room at his -studies. When Royal had finished his studies, he used to let her go out -with him into the shed, or into the barn, and see what he was doing. -She could generally tell whether he had gone out or not, by looking -into the back entry upon his nail, to see if his cap was there. If his -cap was there, she supposed that he had not gone out. - -One afternoon, when it was raining pretty fast, she went twice to look -at Royal’s nail, and both times found the cap still upon it. Lucy -thought it must be after the time, and she wondered why he did not come -down. She concluded to take his cap, and put it on, and make believe -that she was a traveller. - -She put the cap upon her head, and then got a pair of her father’s -gloves, and put on. She also found an umbrella in the corner, and took -that in her hand. When she found herself rigged, she thought she would -go and call at Miss Anne’s door. She accordingly walked along, using -her umbrella for a cane, holding it with both hands. - -When she got to Miss Anne’s door, she knocked, as well as she could, -with the crook upon the handle of the umbrella. Miss Anne had heard the -thumping noise of the umbrella, as Lucy came along, and knew who it -was; so she said, “Come in.” - -Lucy opened the door and went in; the cap settled down over her eyes, -so that she had to hold her head back very far to see, and the long -fingers of her father’s gloves were sticking out in all directions. - -“How do you, sir?” said she to Miss Anne, nodding a little, as well as -she could,--“how do you, sir?” - -“Pretty well, I thank you, sir; walk in, sir; I am happy to see you,” -said Miss Anne. - -“It is a pretty late evening, sir, I thank you, sir,” said Lucy. - -“Yes, sir, I think it is,” said Miss Anne. “Is there any news to-night, -sir?” - -“No, sir,--not but a few, sir,” said Lucy. - -Lucy looked pretty sober while this dialogue lasted; but Miss Anne -could not refrain from laughing aloud at Lucy’s appearance and -expressions, and Lucy turned round, and appeared to be going away. - -“Can’t you stop longer, sir?” said Miss Anne. - -“No, sir,” said Lucy. “I only wanted to ask you which is the way to -London.” - -Just at this moment, Lucy heard Royal’s voice in the back entry, asking -Joanna if she knew what had become of his cap; and immediately she -started to run back and give it to him. Finding, however, that she -could not get along fast enough with the umbrella, she dropped it upon -the floor, and ran along without it, calling out, - -“Royal! Royal! here; come here, and look at me.” - -“Now I should like to know, Miss Lucy,” said Royal, as soon as she came -in sight, “who authorized you to take off my cap?” - -“I’m a traveller,” said Lucy. - -“A traveller!” repeated Royal; “you look like a traveller.” - -He pulled his cap off from Lucy’s head, and put it upon his own; and -then held up a paper which he had in his hands, to her view. - -There was a frightful-looking figure of a man upon it, pretty large, -with eyes, nose, and mouth, painted brown, and a bundle of sticks upon -his back. - -“What is that?” said Lucy. - -“It is an Indian,” said Royal. “I painted him myself.” - -“O, what an Indian!” said Lucy. “I wish you would give him to me.” - -“O no,” said Royal; “it is for my _target_.” - -“Target?” said Lucy. “What is a target?” - -“A target? Why, a target is a mark to shoot at, with my bow and arrow. -They almost always have Indians for targets.” - -Lucy told him that she did not believe his target would stand up long -enough to be shot at; but Royal said, in reply, that he was going to -paste him upon a shingle, and then he could prop the shingle up so that -he could shoot at it. And he asked Lucy if she would go and borrow Miss -Anne’s gum arabic bottle, while he went and got the shingle. - -The shingle which Royal meant was a thin, flat piece of wood, such as -is used to put upon the roofs of houses. - -The gum arabic bottle was a small, square bottle, containing some -dissolved gum arabic, and a brush,--which was always ready for pasting. - -Before Lucy got the paste, Royal came back with his shingle, and he -came into Miss Anne’s room, to see what had become of Lucy; and Miss -Anne then said he might paste it there if he pleased. So she spread -a great newspaper upon the table, and put the little bottle and the -Indian upon it; and Royal and Lucy brought two chairs, and sat down -to the work. They found that the table was rather too high for them; -and so they took the things off again, and spread the paper upon the -carpet, and sat down around it. Lucy could see now a great deal better -than before. - -“Miss Anne,” said Lucy, “I very much wish that you would give me your -gum arabic bottle, and then I could make little books, and paste -pictures in them, whenever I pleased.” - -“Yes,” said Miss Anne, “and that would make me ever so much trouble.” - -“No, Miss Anne, I don’t think it would make you much trouble.” - -“Why, when I wanted a little gum arabic, to paste something, how would -I get any?” - -“O, then I would lend you mine,” said Lucy. - -“Yes, if you could find it.” - -“O, Miss Anne, I could find it very easily; I am going to keep it in my -treasury.” - -“Perhaps you might put it in once or twice, but after that you would -leave it about anywhere. One day I should find it upon a chair, and the -next day upon a table, and the next on the floor;--that is the way you -leave your things about the house.” - -“I used to, when I was a little girl,” said Lucy, “but I don’t now.” - -“How long is it since you were a little girl?” asked Miss Anne. - -“O, it was before you came here. I am older now than I was when you -came here; I have had a birthday since then.” - -“Don’t you grow old any, except when you have a birthday?” asked Miss -Anne. - -Lucy did not answer this question at first, as she did not know exactly -how it was; and while she was thinking of it, Miss Anne said, - -“It can’t be very long, Lucy, since you learned to put things in their -places, for it is not more than ten minutes since I heard you throw -down an umbrella upon the entry floor, and leave it there.” - -“The umbrella?--O, that was because I heard Royal calling for his cap; -and so I could not wait, you know; I had to leave it there.” - -“But you have passed by it once since, and I presume you did not think -of such a thing as taking it up.” - -Lucy had no reply to make to this statement, and she remained silent. - -“I have got a great many little things,” continued Miss Anne, “which I -don’t want myself, and which I should be very glad to give away to some -little girl, for playthings, if I only knew of some one who would take -care of them. I don’t want to have them scattered about the house, and -lost, and destroyed.” - -“O, I will take care of them, Miss Anne,” said Lucy, very eagerly, “if -you will only give them to me. I certainly will. I will put them in my -treasury, and keep them very safe.” - -“If I were a little girl, no bigger than you,” said Miss Anne, “I -should have a great cabinet of playthings and curiosities, twice as big -as your treasury.” - -“How should you get them?” asked Lucy. - -“O, I know of a way;--but it is a secret.” - -“Tell me, do, Miss Anne,” said Lucy.--“You would buy them, I suppose, -with your money.” - -“No,” said Miss Anne, “that is not the way I meant.” - -“What way did you mean, then?” said Lucy. “I wish you would tell me.” - -“Why, I should take such excellent care of everything I had, that my -mother would give me a great many of her little curiosities, and other -things, to keep.” - -“Would she, do you think?” - -“Yes,” said Miss Anne, “I do not doubt it. Every lady has a great many -beautiful things, put away, which she does not want to use herself, but -she only wants to have them kept safely. Now, I should take such good -care of all such things, that my mother would be very glad to have me -keep them.” - -“Did you do so, when you were a little girl?” said Lucy. - -“No,” said Miss Anne; “I was just as careless and foolish as you are. -When I was playing with anything, and was suddenly called away, I would -throw it right down, wherever I happened to be, and leave it there. -Once I had a little glass dog, and I left it on the floor, where I had -been playing with it, and somebody came along, and stepped upon it, and -broke it to pieces.” - -“And would not your mother give you things then?” asked Lucy. - -“No, nothing which was of much value.--And once my uncle sent me a -beautiful little doll; but my mother would not let me keep it. She kept -it herself, locked up in a drawer, only sometimes she would let me have -it to play with.” - -“Why would not she let you keep it?” said Lucy. - -“O, if she had, I should soon have made it look like old Margaret.” - -Here Royal said he had got his Indian pasted; and he put away the gum -arabic bottle, and the sheet of paper, and then he and Lucy went away. - - - - -CONVERSATION VI. - -MIDNIGHT. - - -One night, while Miss Anne was undressing Lucy, to put her to bed, she -thought that her voice had a peculiar sound, somewhat different from -usual. It was not hoarseness, exactly, and yet it was such a sort of -sound as made Miss Anne think that Lucy had taken cold. She asked her -if she had not taken cold, but Lucy said no. - -Lucy slept in Miss Anne’s room, in a little trundle-bed. Late in the -evening, just before Miss Anne herself went to bed, she looked at Lucy, -to see if she was sleeping quietly; and she found that she was. - -But in the night Miss Anne was awaked by hearing Lucy coughing with a -peculiar hoarse and hollow sound, and breathing very hard. She got up, -and went to her trundle-bed. - -“Lucy,” said she, “what’s the matter?” - -“Nothing,” said Lucy, “only I can’t breathe very well.” - -Here Lucy began to cough again; and the cough sounded so hoarse and -hollow, that Miss Anne began to be quite afraid that Lucy was really -sick. She put on a loose robe, and carried her lamp out into the -kitchen, and lighted it,--and then came back into her room again. She -found that Lucy was no better, and so she went to call her mother. - -She went with the lamp, and knocked at her door; and when she answered, -Miss Anne told her that Lucy did not seem to be very well,--that she -had a hoarse cough, and that she breathed hard. - -“O, I’m afraid it is the croup,” she exclaimed; “let us get up -immediately.” - -“We will get right up, and come and see her,” said Lucy’s father. - -So Miss Anne put the lamp down at their door, and went out into the -kitchen to light another lamp for herself. She also opened the coals, -and put a little wood upon the fire, and hung the tea-kettle upon the -crane, and filled it up with water; for Miss Anne had observed that, in -cases of sudden sickness, hot water was one of the things most sure to -be wanted. - -After a short time, Lucy’s father and mother came in. After they had -been with her a few minutes, her mother said, - -“Don’t you think it is the croup?” - -“No, I hope not,” said her father; “I presume it is only quinsy; but I -am not sure, and perhaps I had better go for a doctor.” - -After some further consultation, they concluded that it was best to -call a physician. Lucy’s mother recommended that they should call up -the hired man, and send him; but her father thought that it would take -some time for him to get up and get ready, and that he had better go -himself. - -When he had gone, they brought in some hot water, and bathed Lucy’s -feet. She liked this very much; but her breathing seemed to grow rather -worse than better. - -“What is the _croup_?” said Lucy to her mother, while her feet were in -the water. - -“It is a kind of sickness that children have sometimes suddenly in the -night; but I _hope_ you are not going to have it.” - -“No, mother,” said Lucy; “I think it is only the quinsy.” - -Lucy did not know at all what the quinsy was; but her sickness did not -seem to her to be any thing very bad; and so she agreed with her father -that it was probably only the quinsy. - -When the doctor came, he felt of Lucy’s pulse, and looked at her -tongue, and listened to her breathing. - -“Will she take _ipecacuanha_?” said the doctor to Lucy’s mother. - -“She will take anything you prescribe, doctor,” said her father, in -reply. - -“Well, that’s clever,” said the doctor. “The old rule is, that the -child that will take medicine is half cured already.” - -So the doctor sat down at the table, and opened his saddle-bags, and -took out a bottle filled with a yellowish powder, and began to take -some out. - -“Is it good medicine?” said Lucy, in a low voice, to her mother. -She was now sitting in her mother’s lap, who was rocking her in a -rocking-chair. - -“Yes,” said the doctor; for he overheard Lucy’s question, and thought -that he would answer it himself. “Yes, ipecacuanha is a very good -medicine,--an excellent medicine.” - -As he said this, he looked around, rather slyly, at Miss Anne and -Lucy’s father. - -“Then I shall like to take it,” said Lucy. - -“He means,” said her mother, “that it is a good medicine to cure the -sickness with; the _taste_ of it is not good. It is a very disagreeable -medicine to take.” - -Lucy said nothing in reply to this, but she thought to herself, that -she wished the doctors could find out some medicines that did not -taste so bad. - -Miss Anne received the medicine from the doctor, and prepared it in a -spoon, with some water, for Lucy to take. Just before it was ready, the -door opened, and Royal came in. - -“Why, Royal,” said his mother, “how came you to get up?” - -“I heard a noise, and I thought it was morning,” said Royal. - -“Morning? no,” replied his mother; “it is midnight.” - -“Midnight?” said Lucy. She was quite astonished. She did not recollect -that she had ever been up at midnight before, in her life. - -“Is Lucy sick?” said Royal. - -“No, not very sick,” said Lucy. - -Royal came and stood by the rocking-chair, and looked into Lucy’s face. - -“I am sorry that you are sick,” said he. “Is there anything that I can -do for you?” - -Lucy hesitated a moment, and then her eye suddenly brightened up, and -she said, - -“Yes, Royal,--if you would only just be so good as to take my medicine -for me.” - -Royal laughed, and said, “O Lucy! I guess you are not very sick.” - -In fact, Lucy was breathing pretty freely then, and there was nothing -to indicate, particularly, that she was sick; unless when a paroxysm -of coughing came on. Miss Anne brought her medicine to her in a great -spoon, and Royal said that he presumed that the doctor would not let -him take the medicine, but that, if she would take it, he would make -all the faces for her. - -Accordingly, while she was swallowing the medicine, she turned her eyes -up towards Royal, who had stood back a little way, and she began to -laugh a little at the strange grimaces which he was making. The laugh -was, however, interrupted and spoiled by a universal shudder which came -over her, produced by the taste of the ipecacuanha. - -Immediately afterwards, Lucy’s mother said, - -“Come, Royal; now I want you to go right back to bed again.” - -“Well, mother,--only won’t you just let me stop a minute, to look out -the door, and see how midnight looks?” - -“Yes,” said she, “only run along.” - -So Royal went away; and pretty soon the doctor went away too. He said -that Lucy would be pretty sick for about an hour, and that after that -he hoped that she would be better; and he left a small white powder in -a little paper, which he said she might take after that time, and it -would make her sleep well the rest of the night. - -It was as the doctor had predicted. Lucy was quite sick for an hour, -and her father and mother, and Miss Anne, all remained, and took care -of her. After that, she began to be better. She breathed much more -easily, and when she coughed she did not seem to be so very hoarse. Her -mother was then going to carry her into her room; but Miss Anne begged -them to let her stay where she was; for she said she wanted to take -care of her herself. - -“The doctor said he thought she would sleep quietly,” said Miss Anne; -“and if she should not be so well, I will come and call you.” - -“Very well,” said her mother, “we will do so. But first you may give -her the powder.” - -So Miss Anne took the white powder, and put it into some jelly, in a -spoon; and when she had covered the powder up carefully with the jelly, -she brought it to Lucy. - -“_Now_ I’ve got some good medicine for you,” said Miss Anne. - -“I am glad it is good,” said Lucy. - -“That is,” continued Miss Anne, “the jelly is good, and you will not -taste the powder.” - -Lucy took the jelly, and, after it, a little water; and then her mother -put her into her trundle-bed. Her father and mother then bade her good -night, and went away to their own room. - -Miss Anne then set the chairs back in their places, and carried out all -the things which had been used; and after she had got the room arranged -and in order, she came to Lucy’s bedside to see if she was asleep. She -was not asleep. - -“Lucy,” said Miss Anne, “how do you feel now?” - -“O, pretty well,” said Lucy; “at least, I am better.” - -“Do you feel sleepy?” - -“No,” said Lucy. - -“Is there any thing you want?” asked Miss Anne. - -“Why, no,--only,--I should like it,--only I don’t suppose you could -very well,--but I should like it if you could hold me a little -while,--and rock me.” - -“O yes, I can,” said Miss Anne, “just as well as not.” - -So Miss Anne took Lucy up from her bed, and wrapped a blanket about -her, and sat down in her rocking-chair, to rock her. She rocked her -a few minutes, and sang to her, until she thought she was asleep. -Then she stopped singing, and she rocked slower and slower, until she -gradually ceased. - -A moment afterwards, Lucy said, in a mild and gentle voice, - -“Miss Anne, is it midnight now?” - -“It is about midnight,” said Miss Anne. - -“Do you think you could just carry me to the window, and let me look -out, and see how the midnight looks?--or am I too heavy?” - -“No, you are not very heavy; but, then, there is nothing to see. -Midnight looks just like any other part of the night.” - -“Royal wanted to see it,” said Lucy, “and I should like to, too, if you -would be willing to carry me.” - -When a child is so patient and gentle, it is very difficult indeed to -refuse them any request that they make; and Miss Anne immediately began -to draw up the blanket over Lucy’s feet, preparing to go. She did not -wish to have her put her feet to the floor, for fear that she might -take more cold. So she carried her along to the window, although she -was pretty heavy for Miss Anne to carry. Miss Anne was not very strong. - -[Illustration: “Why, Miss Anne,” said Lucy, “isn’t it any -darker than this?”--_Page_ 71] - -Lucy separated the two curtains with her hands, and Miss Anne carried -her in between them. There was a narrow window-seat, and she rested -Lucy partly upon it, so that she was less heavy to hold. - -“Why, Miss Anne,” said Lucy, “isn’t it any darker than this?” - -“No,” said Miss Anne; “there is a moon to-night.” - -“Where?” said Lucy. “I don’t see the moon.” - -“We can’t see it here; we can only see the light of it, shining on the -buildings.” - -“It is pretty dark in the yard,” said Lucy. - -“Yes,” said Miss Anne, “the yard is in shadow.” - -“What do you mean by that, Miss Anne?” asked Lucy. - -“Why, the moon does not shine into the yard; the house casts a shadow -all over it.” - -“Then I should think,” said Lucy, “that you ought to say that the -shadow is in the yard,--not the yard is in the shadow.” - -Miss Anne laughed, and said, - -“I did not say that the yard was in _the_ shadow, but in _shadow_.” - -“And is not that just the same thing?” said Lucy. - -“Not exactly; but look at the stars over there, beyond the field.” - -“Yes,” said Lucy, “there’s one pretty bright one; but there are not a -great many out. I thought there would be more at midnight.” - -“No,” said Miss Anne, “there are no more stars at midnight than at any -other time; and to-night there are fewer than usual, because the moon -shines.” - -“I don’t see why there should not be just as many stars, if the moon -does shine.” - -“There _are_ just as many; only we can’t see them so well.” - -“Why can’t we see them?” said Lucy. - -But Miss Anne told Lucy that she was rather tired of holding her at the -window, and so she would carry her back, and tell her about it while -she was rocking her to sleep. - -“You see,” said Miss Anne, after she had sat down again, “that there -are just as many stars in the sky in the daytime, as there are in the -night.” - -“O Miss Anne!” exclaimed Lucy, raising up her head suddenly, as if -surprised; “I have looked up in the sky a great many times, and I never -saw any.” - -“No, we cannot see them, because the sun shines so bright.” - -“Did you ever see any, Miss Anne?” - -“No,” said she. - -“Did any body ever see any?” - -“No,” said Miss Anne, “I don’t know that any body ever did.” - -“Then,” said Lucy, “how do they know that there are any?” - -“Well--that is rather a hard question,” said Miss Anne. “But they do -know; they have found out in some way or other, though I don’t know -exactly how.” - -“I don’t see how they can _know_ that there are any stars there,” said -Lucy, “unless somebody has seen them. I guess they only _think_ there -are some, Miss Anne,--they only _think_.” - -“I believe I don’t know enough about it myself,” said Miss Anne, “to -explain it to you,--and besides, you ought to go to sleep now. So shut -up your eyes, and I will sing to you, and then, perhaps, you will go to -sleep.” - -Lucy obeyed, and shut up her eyes; and Miss Anne began to sing her a -song. After a little while, Lucy opened her eyes, and said, - -“I rather think, Miss Anne, I should like to get into my trundle-bed -now. I am rather tired of sitting in your lap.” - -“Very well,” said Miss Anne; “I think it will be better. But would not -you rather have me bring the cradle in? and then you can lie down, and -I can rock you all the time.” - -“No,” said Lucy; “the cradle has got so short, that I can’t put my feet -out straight. I had rather get into my trundle-bed.” - -So Miss Anne put Lucy into the trundle-bed, and she herself took a -book, and sat at her table, reading. In a short time, Lucy went to -sleep; and she slept soundly until morning. - - - - -CONVERSATION VII. - -JOANNA. - - -The next morning, when Lucy waked up, she found that it was very -light. The curtains of the room were up, and she could see the sun -shining brightly upon the trees and buildings out of doors, so that she -supposed that it was pretty late. Besides, she saw that Miss Anne was -not in the room; and she supposed that she had got up and gone out to -breakfast. - -Lucy thought that she would get up too. But then she recollected that -she had been sick the night before, and that, perhaps, her mother would -not be willing to have her get up. - -Her next idea was, that she would call out for Miss Anne, or for -her mother; but this, on reflection, she thought would make a great -disturbance; for it was some distance from the room which she was in to -the parlor, where she supposed they were taking breakfast. - -She concluded, on the whole, to wait patiently until somebody should -come; and having nothing else to do, she began to sing a little song, -which Miss Anne had taught her. She knew only one verse, but she sang -this verse two or three times over, louder and louder each time, and -her voice resounded merrily through all that part of the house. - -Some children _cry_ when they wake up and find themselves alone; some -call out aloud for somebody to come; and others sing. Thus there are -three ways; and the singing is the best of all the three;--except, -indeed, for very little children, who are not old enough to sing or to -call, and who, therefore, cannot do anything but cry. - -They heard Lucy’s singing in the parlor, and Miss Anne came immediately -to see her. She gave her a picture-book to amuse herself with for a -time, and went away again; but in about a quarter of an hour she came -back, and helped her to get up and dress herself. - -Her mother told her that she must not go out of doors that day, but -that she might play about in any of the rooms, just as she pleased. - -“But what shall I do for my breakfast?” said Lucy. - -“O, I will give you some breakfast,” said Miss Anne. “How should you -like to have it by yourself, upon your little table, in the kitchen?” - -“Well,” said Lucy, “if you will let me have my own cups and saucers.” - -“Your cups won’t hold enough for you to drink,--will they?” - -“O, I can fill them up two or three times.” - -Miss Anne said she had no objection to this plan; and she told Lucy to -go and get her table ready. So Lucy went and got her little table. It -was just high enough for her to sit at. Her father had made it for her, -by taking a small table in the house, which had been intended for a -sort of a light-stand, and sawing off the legs, so as to make it just -high enough for her. - -Lucy brought this little table, and also her chair; and then Miss Anne -handed her a napkin for a table-cloth, and told her that she might -set her table,--and that, when it was all set, she would bring her -something for breakfast; and so she left Lucy, for a time, to herself. - -Lucy spread the napkin upon her table, and then went and got some of -her cups and saucers, and put upon it. Joanna was ironing at the great -kitchen table, and Lucy went to ask her how many cups and saucers she -had better set. - -“I should think it would take the whole set,” said Joanna, “to hold one -good cup of tea.” - -“But I am going to fill up my cup three times, Joanna; and if that -isn’t enough, I shall fill it up four times.” - -“O, then,” said Joanna, “I would not have but one cup,--or at most two. -I think I would have two, because you may possibly have some company.” - -“I wish you would come and be my company, Joanna.” - -“No, I must attend to my ironing.” - -“Well,” said Lucy, as she went back to her table, “I will have two -cups, at any rate, for I may have some company.” - -She accordingly put on two cups and a tea-pot; also a sugar-bowl and -creamer. She placed them in various ways upon the table; first trying -one plan of arrangement, and then another; and when at last they were -placed in the best way, she went and called Miss Anne, to tell her that -she was ready for her breakfast. - -Miss Anne came out, according to her promise, to give her what she was -to have to eat. First, she put a little sugar in her sugar-bowl; then -some milk in her cream-pitcher; then some water, pretty hot, in her -tea-pot. - -“Could not you let me have a little real tea?” said Lucy. - -“O, this will taste just as well,” said Miss Anne. - -“I know it will taste just as well; but it will not _look_ just right. -Real tea is not white, like water.” - -“Water is not white,” said Miss Anne; “milk is white; water is very -different in appearance from milk.” - -“What color is water, then?” said Lucy. - -“It is not of any color,” said Miss Anne. “It is what we call -colorless. Now, you want to have something in your tea-pot which is -colored a little, like tea,--not perfectly colorless, like water.” - -Lucy said yes, that that was exactly what she wanted. So Miss Anne -took her tea-pot up, and went into the closet with it, and presently -came out with it again, and put it upon the table. The reason why she -took all this pains to please Lucy was, because she was so gentle and -pleasant; and, although she often asked for things, she was not vexed -or ill-humored when they could not be given to her. - -Miss Anne then cut some thin slices of bread, and divided them into -square pieces, so small that they could go on a small plate, which she -brought from the closet. She also gave her a toasting-fork with a -long handle, and told her that she might toast her own bread, and then -spread it with butter. She gave her a little butter upon another plate. - -When all these things were arranged, Miss Anne went away, telling Lucy -that she had better make her breakfast last as long as she could, for -she must remember that she could not go out at all that day; and that -she must therefore economize her amusements. - -“Economize? What do you mean by that, Miss Anne?” said Lucy. - -“Why, use them carefully, and make them last as long as you can.” - -Lucy followed Miss Anne’s advice in making the amusement of sitting -at her own breakfast table last as long as possible. She toasted her -little slices of bread with the toasting-fork, and poured out the tea -from her tea-pot. She found that it had a slight tinge of the color of -tea, which Miss Anne had given it by sweetening it a little, with brown -sugar. Lucy enjoyed her breakfast very much. - -While she was eating it, Joanna, who was much pleased with her for -being so still, and so careful not to make her any trouble, asked her -if she should not like a roasted apple. - -“Yes,” said Lucy, “very much indeed.” - -“I will give you one,” said Joanna, “and show you how to roast it, if -you will go and ask your mother, if she thinks it will not hurt you.” - -Lucy accordingly went and asked her mother. She said it would not hurt -her at all, and that she should be very glad to have Joanna get her an -apple. - -Joanna accordingly brought a large, rosy apple, with a stout stem. She -tied a long string to the stem, and then held the apple up before the -fire a minute, by means of the stem. Then she got a flat-iron, and tied -the other end of the string to the flat-iron. The flat-iron she then -placed upon the mantle shelf, and the string was just long enough to -let the apple hang down exactly before the fire. - -When it was all arranged in this way, she took up the apple, and -twisted the string for some time; and then, when she let the apple -down again gently to its place, the weight of it began to untwist the -string, and this made the apple itself turn round quite swiftly before -the fire. - -Joanna also put a plate under the apple, to catch any of the juice or -pulp which might fall down, and then left Lucy to watch it while it was -roasting. - -Lucy watched its revolutions for some time in silence. She observed -that the apple would whirl very swiftly for a time, and then it would -go slower, and slower, and slower, until, at length, she said, - -“Joanna, Joanna, it is going to stop.” - -But, instead of this, it happened that, just at the very instant when -Lucy thought it was going to stop, all at once it began to turn the -other way; and, instead of going slower and slower, it went faster and -faster, until, at length, it was revolving as fast as it did before. - -“O no,” said she to Joanna; “it has got a going again.” - -It was indeed revolving very swiftly; but pretty soon it began to -slacken its speed again;--and again Lucy thought that it was certainly -going to stop. But at this time she witnessed the same phenomenon as -before. It had nearly lost all its motion, and was turning around very -slowly indeed, and just upon the point of stopping; and in fact it did -seem to stop for an instant; but immediately it began to move in an -opposite direction, very slowly at first, but afterwards faster and -faster, until it was, at length, spinning around before the hot coals, -as fast as ever before. Pretty soon, also, the apple began to sing; -and Lucy concluded that it would never stop,--at least not before it -would have time to be well roasted. - -“It goes like Royal’s top,” said Lucy. - -“Has Royal got a top?” said Joanna. - -“Yes,” said Lucy, “a large humming-top. There is a hole in it. It spins -very fast, only it does not go first one way and then the other, like -this apple.” - -“_I_ never saw a top,” said Joanna. - -“Never saw one!” exclaimed Lucy. “Did not the boys have tops when you -were little?” - -“No boys that I ever knew,” answered Joanna. - -“Did you have a tea-set when you were a little girl?” asked Lucy. - -“No,” said Joanna, “I never saw any such a tea-set, until I saw yours.” - -“What kind of playthings did you have, then, when you were a little -girl?” - -“No playthings at all,” said Joanna; “I was a farmer’s daughter.” - -“And don’t the farmers’ daughters ever have any playthings?” - -“_I_ never did, at any rate.” - -“What did you do, then, for play?” - -“O, I had plenty of play. When I was about as big as you, I used to -build fires in the stumps.” - -“What stumps?” said Lucy. - -“Why, the stumps in the field, pretty near my father’s house. I used to -pick up chips and sticks, and build fires in the hollow places in the -stumps, and call them my ovens. Then, when they were all heated, I used -to put a potato in, and cover it up with sand, and let it roast.” - -“I wish I had some stumps to build fires in,” said Lucy. “I should like -to go to your house and see them.” - -“O, they are all gone now,” said Joanna. “They have gradually got burnt -up, and rotted out; and now it is all a smooth, green field.” - -“O, what a pity!” said Lucy. “And an’t there any more stumps anywhere?” - -“Yes, in the woods, and upon the new fields. You see, when they cut -down trees, they leave the stumps in the ground; and pretty soon they -begin to rot; and they rot more and more, until, at last, they tumble -all to pieces; and then they pile up the pieces in heaps, and burn -them. Then the ground is all smooth and clear. So I used to build fires -in the stumps as long as they lasted. One day my hen laid her eggs in a -stump.” - -“Your hen?” said Lucy; “did you have a hen?” - -“Yes,” replied Joanna; “when I was a little older than you are, my -father gave me a little yellow chicken, that was _peeping_, with the -rest, about the yard. I used to feed her, every day, with crumbs. After -a time, she grew up to be a large hen, and laid eggs. My father said -that I might have all the eggs too. I used to sell them, and save the -money.” - -“How much money did you get?” asked Lucy. - -“O, considerable. After a time, you see, I let my hen sit, and hatch -some chickens.” - -“Sit?” said Lucy. - -“Yes; you see, after hens have laid a good many eggs, they sit upon -them, to keep them warm, for two or three weeks; and, while they keep -them warm, a little chicken begins to grow in every egg, and at length, -after they grow strong enough, they break through the eggs and come -out. So I got eleven chickens from my hen, after a time.” - -“Eleven?” repeated Lucy; “were there just eleven?” - -“There were twelve, but one died,” replied Joanna. “And all these -chickens were hatched in a stump.” - -“How did that happen?” asked Lucy. - -“Why, the hens generally used to lay their eggs in the barn, and I -used to go in, every day, to get the eggs. I carried a little basket, -and I used to climb about upon the hay, and feel in the cribs; and I -generally knew where all the nests were. But once I could not find my -hen’s nest for several days; and at last I thought I would watch her, -and see where she went. I did watch her, and I saw her go into a hollow -place in a great black stump, in the corner of the yard. After she came -out, I went and looked there, and I found four eggs.” - -“What did you do then?” said Lucy. - -“Why, I concluded, on the whole, to let them stay, and let my hen hatch -her eggs there, if she would. And I told my brother, that, if he would -make a coop for me, around that stump, I would give him one of the -chickens.” - -“A _coop_? What is a coop?” - -“O, a small house for hens to live in. My brother made me a coop. He -made it immediately after the hen had hatched her chickens. I will tell -you how he made it. He drove stakes down all around the stump, and then -put some short boards over the top, so as to cover it over. My hen -staid there until her chickens got pretty well grown, and then we let -her run about the yard.” - -“That is pretty much the way that Royal made his turtle-pen,” said -Lucy; “but I should rather have a hen-coop, because of the chickens.” - -“Yes, I had eleven. I gave my brother one, and then I had ten. These -all grew up, and laid more eggs; and at last I got money enough from my -eggs and poultry to buy me a new gown.” - -“I wish I was a farmer’s daughter,” said Lucy. - -“Farmers’ daughters have a very good time,” said Joanna, “I think -myself.” - -[Illustration] - - - - -CONVERSATION VIII. - -BUILDING. - - -In one of the yards belonging to the house that Lucy lived in, was a -border for flowers; and in this border Royal had an apple-tree, which -had grown up from a seed which he had planted himself. It was now -nearly as high as his head, and Royal said that he meant to graft it -the very next spring. - -At the end of this border, near one corner of the yard, there was a -vacant place, where some flowers had been dug up, and Lucy had it to -plant beans in. She used often to dig in it, and plant, when she had -nothing else to do. Miss Anne gave her several different kinds of -flower seeds in the spring, and she planted them. Generally, however, -she had not patience enough to wait for them to come up; but dug the -ground all over again, with her little hoe, before the flowers, which -she had planted, had had time to show themselves above the ground. - -She was digging, one day, in this garden, and Royal was hoeing up the -weeds around his apple-tree. Royal said that his apple-tree was growing -crooked, and that he was going to get a stake, and drive it down by the -side of his tree, and tie a string to it, and so straighten the tree up. - -Lucy came to see Royal stake up his tree. He made the stake very sharp, -and when he got it all ready to drive, he said that he must go and get -the iron bar to make a hole. - -“O, you can drive it right in,” said Lucy, “without making any hole.” - -“Not far enough,” said Royal. “It must be driven in very deep and -strong, or else the string which ties the apple-tree to it, will pull -it over to one side.” - -So Royal went and got the small crowbar, and came back dragging it -along. He made a deep hole by the side of the apple-tree, but not very -near it, for he did not want to hurt the roots. Then he took out the -bar, and laid it down upon the grass, and inserted the point of the -stake into the hole which he had made. - -While he was doing this, Lucy took hold of one end of the iron bar, and -tried to lift it. - -“O, what a heavy bar!” said she. - -“I don’t think it is very heavy,” said Royal. So saying, he drove down -his stake with repeated blows of his hatchet. - -“You are a great deal stronger than I am,” said Lucy. “You can drive -the stake down very hard indeed. I don’t believe but that you could -make a hen-coop.” - -“Who told you anything about a hen-coop?” said Royal. - -“Joanna,” said Lucy. “She said that she was a farmer’s daughter when -she was a little girl, and that she had a hen and some chickens; and -that her brother made her a hen-coop pretty much like the turtle-pen -you made down by the brook.” - -“I could make a hen-coop,” said Royal, “I know,--and I mean to. Perhaps -I can get some hens to put into it. At all events, I shall have a -hen-_coop_.” - -“If I was a farmer’s daughter,” said Lucy, “I should have hens.” - -“But you can have hens without being a farmer’s daughter,” said Royal. - -“How?” said Lucy. - -“Why, you and I could buy some hens with our own money, if mother would -let us; and then I could make a coop.” - -“Well,” said Lucy, “I mean to go and ask her this very minute.” - -“No; stop,” said Royal. “That won’t do any good. She will tell you to -ask father, and then he won’t believe that we can make a coop, and he -won’t want to take the trouble to have one made for us, and so he will -say no. I’ll tell you what we must do. We must make the coop first, and -then, when it is all ready, we can ask father if we may buy some hens.” - -“Well,” said Lucy, in a tone of great satisfaction, “let us go and make -it now.” - -“But _you_ can’t help make it, Lucy. I shall have to make it myself, -all alone; and so the hens must be mine.” - -Lucy did not like the plan of giving up all the hens to Royal; but -Royal insisted upon it that he should have to do all the work, and, of -course, that he must have the hens himself. At last, Lucy said that, -if he did not let her have a share, she should not stay with him, but -should go into the house. - -But Royal did not like at all to stay and work alone. He tried to get -Lucy to remain, and at last he said that, if she would, he would make -her a garden in the corner,--a beautiful garden, full of flowers. - -“Real flowers?” said Lucy. - -“Yes, real flowers,--all in blossom.” - -“How shall you get the flowers to grow?” said Lucy. - -“O, I shall get them already grown, in the gardens, and in the fields, -and stick them down in the beds. I shall make beds and little alleys -just like a real garden.” - -“And how long will the flowers keep bright?” said Lucy. - -“O, as long as you take the trouble to water them. You will have to -water them, you know,--and Miss Anne will lend you her watering-pot.” - -Lucy was pleased with this proposal. She liked the plan of having such -a garden very much; and as to watering it, she said that it would be no -trouble at all; she should like to water it. So it was agreed that Lucy -should stay and keep Royal company, while he was making the coop, and -help him all she could; and that he should make her a flower-garden, -and stock it well with real flowers,--and so have all the hens himself. - -They then walked along together, to look out a place for a coop. Lucy -said that she wished there was an old hollow stump in their yard, but -there was nothing like one. Royal said that he had heard of a barrel -for a hen-coop; and he just then recollected that there was a corner -round behind the barn, where there were several old boxes and barrels; -and he and Lucy went there to see if they could find one which would -do. He found one that would answer the purpose very well. - -Lucy wanted to help Royal roll it along, and Royal allowed her to do -it, though he could roll it very easily himself alone; for it was empty -and light. It seemed to please Lucy to help him, and so Royal allowed -her to push it with him. - -They were, for some time, in doubt where it would be best to put their -coop; but at last they concluded to put it under the trees, by the side -of the great, flat stone. Lucy said that this was an excellent place, -because she could sit at Miss Anne’s window, when it was rainy, so that -she could not go out, and see the hens and chickens. - -Royal placed the barrel down upon its side, near the great stone, and -drove down stakes on each side of it, to keep it from rolling. Then he -made a great many other stakes out of narrow pieces of board, which he -found around a pile of lumber behind the barn. - -As fast as these stakes were finished, Lucy wheeled them along, upon -a little wheelbarrow, to the place where the coop was to be made. So -Royal found that, besides keeping him company, Lucy could really assist -him, much more than he had at first supposed she could. - -Royal drove the stakes down into the ground, in such a way as to -enclose a square place. The fence formed the back side of this -enclosure, and it was big enough to hold several hens, and to give them -room to walk about a little. When it was nearly done, Lucy said that -she meant to go and ask Joanna to come out and see it, to tell them if -it would do. - -Royal said that he should like to have her go, very much; though he was -pretty sure that the coop would do very well. Lucy ran off into the -house, and after a little while she appeared again leading Joanna. - -“Yes,” said Joanna,--after she had looked at the coop a minute or two, -with a smile upon her countenance,--“yes, that is quite a coop, really.” - -“Isn’t it a _good_ coop?” said Royal. “See how strong these stakes are -driven into the ground.” - -“It is a great deal better than I thought you could make,” said Joanna. - -Joanna’s commendations were not quite so unqualified as Royal wished -them to be. - -“Well, don’t you think,” said he, “that it will do very well to keep -hens in?” - -“Why, it is an excellent coop for you and Lucy to play with,” said -Joanna; “but as to keeping hens in it, there are two objections.” - -“What are they?” said Royal. - -“Why, the foxes and cats can get in, and the hens and chickens can get -out.” - -“How?” said Royal. “How can the hens get out?” - -“They can jump over,” said Joanna. - -“Well, the chickens can’t jump over, at any rate,” said Lucy; “how can -they get out?” - -“They can creep through,” said Joanna, gravely. - -Royal and Lucy both looked rather blank at these very serious -objections to their work. After a moment’s pause, Royal said, - -“Do foxes and cats kill hens and chickens?” - -“They kill chickens,” said Joanna, “and that is one great reason for -making a coop.” - -“Is there any other reason?” - -“Yes; sometimes they want to keep the hens from straying away to the -neighbors’, or getting into the garden, and scratching up the seeds -and flowers.” - -“There are no seeds in our garden now,” said Royal. - -“No,” added Lucy, “but I don’t want to have them scratch up my flowers.” - -“But, Joanna,” said Royal, “is not this just such a coop as your -brother made for you? Lucy said it was.” - -“It is like it in the stakes; but mine had a cover over the top of it.” - -“I can put a cover over this,” said Royal. - -“O, very well; if you can do that, I think it will answer.” - -After Joanna went into the house, Royal tried to contrive some way to -put a cover over his coop; but he found that it would be very difficult -to fasten it on. The tops of the stakes were not steady enough to nail -any thing to; and besides, they were not all of the same height; and, -of course, if he should put boards over across, they would not be -steady. At last he said, - -“O Lucy, I have thought of another plan.” - -“What is it?” said Lucy. - -“Why,” said he, “you remember those great boxes around behind the barn, -where we got our barrel.” - -Lucy said that she remembered them very well. - -“Now,” continued Royal, “I will get one of those great boxes for the -roof of my coop. There is one large, flat box, which will be just the -thing I will pull up all these stakes, and drive them down again, so as -to make a square, just as big as the box.” - -“I don’t understand, exactly,” said Lucy. - -“Never mind,” said Royal, “it is not necessary to explain it. You shall -see how I will do it; let us go and get the box.” - -Royal and Lucy went together to get the box. They found one there which -Royal said would do very well; the bottom of it was about as large as -a common tea table; but the sides were narrow, so that, when it was -placed upon the ground, with the open part up, it was not very deep. - -Royal attempted to roll this box out; but he found it much harder to -move than the barrel was. This was partly because it was larger and -heavier, and partly because it would not roll, on account of its square -form. - -However, they contrived to get it out, and to work it along through a -gate which led into a large outer yard. By this time, however, they -both got tired, and Royal said that he meant to get some rollers, and -roll it along. - -So he brought some round sticks of wood from the wood pile, for -rollers; and with a bar of wood, which he found also upon the wood -pile, he pried the box up, and Lucy put two rollers under it, one at -each end. They also placed another roller a little way before the box. -Royal then went behind the box, and with his bar of wood for a lever, -he pried the box along; and he found it moved very easily upon the -rollers. - -Lucy wanted a lever too,--and she went and got one; and then they could -both pry the box along, one at each corner, behind. They had to stop -occasionally to adjust the rollers, when they worked out of place; but, -by patience and perseverance, they gradually moved the box along until -they came to the gate leading into the inner yard, where the place for -the coop had been chosen. - -They found some difficulty in getting it through the gate, because it -was too large to go through in any way but by being lifted up upon its -side. Royal, however, succeeded in lifting it up, and then in getting -it through; and after that it was but a short work to move it along -upon its rollers to its place of destination. - -Royal sat down upon the great, flat stone, and said that he was tired, -and that he had a great mind not to make a coop after all,--it was -such hard work. - -“Then,” said Lucy, “I don’t think you will be very persevering.” - -“I don’t believe you know what _persevering_ means,” said Royal. - -“Yes, I do,” said Lucy; “Miss Anne told me. It is when you begin to -make a coop, and then give up before you get it done.” - -Royal burst into a fit of laughter. - -“No,” said Lucy; “not that, exactly. I mean it is when you don’t give -up--and I think you ought not to give up now--making this coop.” - -“Well,” said Royal, “I believe you are right. It would be very foolish -to give up our coop now, when we have got all the hardest part of our -work done. I’ll go and get the corner stakes.” - -Royal then went and made four strong stakes for the four corners, and -brought them to the place, and drove them down into the ground. He took -care to have them at just such a distance from each other, as that they -should come as near as possible to the four corners of the box, when it -should be placed over them. - -Then he drove a row of stakes along where the sides of the box would -come, between the corner stakes on each side; and he drove these all -down a little lower than the corner stakes, so that, when the box -should be placed over them, it would rest upon the corners, and not -upon the sides. Before he closed the last side, he rolled the barrel -in, and placed it along by the fence. Then he put a roller under it, on -the outer side,--so that thus the barrel was confined, and could not -move either way. - -“Now, Lucy, we are ready for a raising,” said Royal; “but we shall -never be able to get the box up, by ourselves, if we work all day.” - -They concluded to ask Joanna to come out again, and help them get the -box up. She came very willingly, and all three of them together easily -succeeded in putting the heavy box into its place; and Royal had the -satisfaction of perceiving that it fitted very well. Joanna then said -that, for aught she could see, their structure would make a very safe -and convenient coop. - -When their father and mother came to see their work that evening, their -father said that it would do very well for a coop, but that it was too -late in the year to get hens. - -“If I get some hens for you,” said he, “it will be several weeks before -they lay eggs enough to hatch; and then the chickens would not have -grown enough to get out of the way of the cold of the winter. It is -full as late now as any brood of chickens ought to come out.” - -Royal and Lucy looked greatly disappointed at this unexpected -announcement. It was a difficulty that had not occurred to them at all. -Their father was always very much pressed with his business, and could -seldom give much time or attention to their plays; but they thought -that, if they could make all the arrangements, so that they could take -care of the hens without troubling him, there would be no difficulty at -all. They did not know but that hens would lay and hatch as well and as -safely at one time as at another. - -Lucy had some corn in her hand. Her father asked her what that was for. -She said it was to put into the coop for the hens. She had asked Joanna -for some, and she had given it to her, because she said she wanted some -corn all ready. - -Here her mother whispered something to her father, which Lucy and Royal -did not hear. - -“Yes,” said he, in a low tone, in reply, speaking to her mother, -“perhaps I can; very likely.” - -Royal wondered what they were talking about, but he did not ask. - -“Well, Lucy,” said her father, “throw your corn into the coop, and -about the door; perhaps you can catch some hens in it. Who knows but -that it will do for a trap?” - -“O father,” said Royal, “you are only making fun of us.” - -“Why, you have caught squirrels, haven’t you, time and again? and why -not hens?” - -“Nonsense, father,” said Royal; “there are no hens to come and get -caught in traps.” - -“_Perhaps_, Royal,” said Lucy, as she scattered her corn into the coop, -“Perhaps.----We will put in the corn, at least,--and leave the door -open.” - -So Lucy put the corn in and about the door; and then the party all went -away laughing. Lucy forgot her disappointment in the hope of catching -some hens, and Royal in the amusement excited by such an idea as -setting a trap for poultry. - -[Illustration] - - - - -CONVERSATION IX. - -EQUIVOCATION. - - -Immediately after breakfast, the next morning, Lucy went out to look at -the coop, to see if any hens had been caught; and when she came back, -and said that there were none there, her father said that she must -not despair too soon,--sometimes a trap was out several nights before -anything was taken. - -That day, after Royal had finished his lessons, Lucy called upon him to -fulfil his promise of making her a garden. - -“Why, Lucy,” said Royal, “I don’t think I am under any obligation to -make you any garden.” - -“Yes, Royal,” said Lucy, “you promised me that you would, if I would -help you make the coop.” - -“Well, that was because I expected that we could have some hens; but, -now that we cannot have any hens, the coop will not do us any good at -all; and I don’t see that I ought to make you a garden for nothing.” - -Lucy did not know how to answer this reasoning, but she was very far -from being satisfied with it. She, however, had nothing to say, but -that he had agreed to make her a garden, and that she thought he ought -to do it. - -Royal said that he meant if they got any hens to put into the coop; and -Lucy said she did not believe that he meant any such thing. - -Royal was wrong in refusing thus to fulfil his agreement. And the -reason which he gave was not a good reason. He did, indeed, expect, -when he made the promise, that he should have some hens to put into -his hen-coop; but he did not make his promise _on that condition_. The -promise was absolute--if she would help him make his coop, he would -make her a garden. When she had finished helping him make the coop, her -part of the agreement was fulfilled, and he was bound to fulfil his. - -At last Lucy said, - -“If you don’t make me a garden, I shall go and tell Joanna of you.” - -“Very well,” said Royal; “we will go and leave it to Joanna, and let -her decide.” - -They went in and stated the case to Joanna. When she heard all the -facts, she decided at once against Royal. - -“Certainly you ought to make her a garden,” said Joanna. “There being -no hens has nothing to do with it. You took the risk. You took the -risk.” - -Lucy did not understand what Joanna meant by taking the risk, but she -understood that the decision was in her favor, and she ran off out of -the kitchen in great glee. Royal followed her more slowly. - -“Well, Lucy,” said he, “I’ll make you a garden. I’d as lief make it as -not.” - -He accordingly worked very industriously upon the garden for more than -an hour. He dug up all the ground with his hoe, and then raked it over -carefully. Then he marked out an alley through the middle of it, for -Lucy to walk in, when she was watering her flowers. He also divided -the sides into little beds, though the paths between the beds were too -narrow to walk in. - -“Now,” said he, “Lucy, for the flowers.” - -So they set off upon an expedition after flowers. They got some in the -garden, and some in the fields. Some Royal took up by the roots; but -most of them were broken off at the stem, so as to be stuck down into -the ground. Lucy asked him if they would grow; and he said that he did -not know that they would grow much, but they would keep bright and -beautiful as long as she would water them. - -Miss Anne lent Lucy her watering-pot, to water her flowers, and -she said that, after dinner, she would go out and see her garden. -Accordingly, after dinner, they made preparations to go. While Miss -Anne was putting on her sun-bonnet, Royal waited for her; but Lucy ran -out before them. In a moment, however, after she had gone out, she came -running back in the highest state of excitement, calling out, - -“O Royal, we have caught them! we have caught them! O, come and see! -come, Miss Anne, come quick and see!” - -And before they had time to speak to her, or even to ask what she -meant, she was away again, calling, as she passed away from hearing, -“Come, come, come!” - -Royal left Miss Anne, and ran off after Lucy. - -Miss Anne herself walked along after them, and found them looking -through the bars of the hen-coop, and in a state of the highest delight -at the sight of a hen and a large brood of chickens, which were walking -about within. - -“O, look, Miss Anne!” said Lucy, clapping her hands as Miss Anne came -up. “A real hen, and ever so many chickens!” - -“Where _could_ they have come from?” said Miss Anne. - -“O, we caught them,” said Lucy; “we caught them. I told you, Royal, -that perhaps we should catch some.” - -“How did they get here?” said Royal. “It is some of father’s sly work, -I know. Do you know, Miss Anne, how they came here?” - -“Let us see how many chickens there are,” said Miss Anne. “One, two, -three,”--and so she went on counting up to thirteen. - -“Thirteen,” said Lucy; “only think! More than Joanna’s, isn’t it, -Royal? Thirteen is more than eleven, isn’t it?” - -“Yes, two more,” said Royal; “but, Miss Anne, don’t you know how they -came here?” - -Miss Anne looked rather sly, but did not answer. She said to Lucy, - -“Well, Lucy, let us go and see your garden.” - -Lucy did not now care so much about her garden; she was more interested -in the chickens; however, they all went to look at it, and Miss Anne -praised it very highly. She said the flowers looked beautifully. - -“And now, Miss Anne,” said Lucy, “whenever I want any flowers, I can -come out here and gather them out of my garden.” - -“Yes,” said Miss Anne, “as long as they last.” - -“O, they will last all the time,” said Lucy. - -“Will they?” said Miss Anne, rather doubtfully. - -“Yes,” said Lucy; “I am going to water them.” - -“That will help,” replied Miss Anne, “I have no doubt.” - -“I can keep them fresh as long as I want to, in that way,” said Lucy. -“Royal said so.” - -“Did you, Royal?” asked Miss Anne. - -“No,” said Royal. “I said that they would keep fresh as long as she -watered them.” - -“That wasn’t quite honest, was it, Royal? for they won’t keep fresh -more than two days.” - -“Well,” said Royal, “and she won’t have patience to water them more -than _one_ day.” - -“That’s equivocation,” said Miss Anne. - -“Equivocation?” repeated Royal; “what do you mean by that?” - -“It is when anything you say has two senses, and it is true in one -sense, and not true in another; and you mean to have any person -understand it in the sense in which it is _not_ true.” - -“What do you mean by that?” said Lucy. - -“Why, I will give you an example. Once there was a boy who told his -brother William, that there was a black dog up in the garret, and -William ran up to see. His brother came up behind him, and, when they -opened the garret door, he pointed to an old andiron, such as are -called dogs, and said, ‘See! there he is, standing on three legs.’” - -Royal laughed very heartily at this story. He was much more amused at -the waggery of such a case of equivocation, than impressed with the -dishonesty of it. - -“Miss Anne,” said he, “I don’t see that there was any great harm in -that.” - -“Equivocation is not wrong always,” said Miss Anne. “Riddles are often -equivocations.” - -“Tell us one,” said Royal. - -“Why, there is your old riddle of the carpenter cutting the door. He -cut it, and cut it, and cut it, and cut it too little; then he cut it -again, and it fitted.” - -“Is that an equivocation?” said Royal. - -“Yes,” said Miss Anne; “the equivocation is in the word _little_. It -may mean that he cut too little, or that he cut until the door was too -little. Now, when you give out that riddle, you mean that the person -whom you are talking with, should understand it in the last sense; that -is, that he cut until the _door_ was too little, and then that he cut -it more, and it was just right. But it cannot be true in that sense. -It is true only in the other sense; that is, that he did not cut it -enough, and then, when he cut it more, he made it fit. So that he cut -it too little, has two senses. The words are true in one sense; but you -mean to have them understood in the other sense, in which they cannot -be true. And that is an _equivocation_. - -“But, then,” continued Miss Anne, “equivocations in riddles are -certainly not wrong; but equivocations in our _dealings_ with one -another certainly are.” - -“I don’t think that the boy that said there was a dog up garret did any -thing wrong,” said Royal. - -“I do,” said Lucy, putting down her little foot with great emphasis. “I -think he did very wrong indeed.” - -“O no, Lucy,” said Miss Anne, “not very wrong indeed. Perhaps it was -not quite right. But it is certainly wrong to gain any advantage from -any person in your dealings with them, by equivocation.” - -“Did I?” said Royal. - -“Yes, I think you did, a little. You told Lucy that the flowers -would keep fresh as long as she would water them. You meant her to -understand it absolutely; but it is true only in another sense.” - -“In what sense?” said Royal. - -“Why, as long as she _would be likely_ to water them; which is a very -different thing. Perhaps she would not have been willing to make the -bargain with you, if she had understood that she could not keep them -fresh by watering them, more than a day or two.” - -While they had been talking thus, they had gradually been walking -towards the house, and they had now reached the door. Miss Anne went -in, and Lucy and Royal went to the hen-coop to see the hen and chickens. - -Lucy went to get some corn, but Joanna told her that crumbs of bread -would be better, and then the old hen could break them up into small -pieces, and feed her chickens with them. She accordingly gave her some -small pieces of bread, which Lucy carried back; and she and Royal -amused themselves for a long time, by throwing crumbs in through the -spaces between the sticks. - -While they were talking about them, Royal happened to speak of them as -_his_ hen and chickens, and Lucy said that she thought he ought not to -have them all. She wanted some herself,--at least some of the chickens. - -“O no,” said Royal; “they are altogether mine; it is my coop.” - -“No,” replied Lucy; “I helped you make the coop, and I mean to have -some of the chickens.” - -“Yes, but, Lucy, you promised me that I should have the coop and the -hens, if I would make you a garden.” - -“Yes, but not the chickens,” said Lucy; “I did not say a word about the -chickens.” - -“O Lucy, that was because we did not expect to have any chickens; but -it is all the same thing.” - -“What is all the same thing?” said Lucy. - -“Why, hens and chickens,” said Royal. - -“O Royal,” said Lucy, “they are very different indeed.” Lucy looked -through the bars of the hen-coop, at the hen and chickens, and was -quite surprised that Royal could say that they were all the same thing. - -“In a bargain, Lucy, I mean; in a bargain, I mean. If you make a -bargain about hens, you mean all the chickens too.” - -“_I_ didn’t, I am sure,” said Lucy; “I never thought of such a thing as -the chickens; and besides, you did not make me such a garden as you -promised me.” - -“Why, yes I did,” said Royal. - -“No,” said Lucy, “you told me an equivocation.” - -Royal laughed. - -“You did, Royal; you know you did; and Miss Anne said so. - -“_I_ think it was a falsehood, myself,” continued Lucy, “or almost a -falsehood.” - -“O no, Lucy; I don’t think you would water them more than one day, and -I knew that they would keep fresh as long as that.” - -Lucy was silent. She did not know exactly how to reply to Royal’s -reasoning; but she thought it was very hard, that out of the whole -thirteen chickens, Royal would not let her have any to call hers. - -She told Royal that she only wanted two; if he would let her have two, -she should be satisfied;--but Royal said that he wanted them all; that -she had the garden, and he must have the hen and chickens. - -Lucy might very probably have said something further on the subject; -but at that moment she spied a little chicken, with black and yellow -feathers, just creeping through between the bars of the coop. A moment -more, and he was fairly out upon the grass outside. - -“O Royal!” exclaimed Lucy, “one is out! one is out! I can catch him.” - -“No,” said Royal, “let me catch him. You will hurt him.” - -They both started up, and ran after the chicken; while he, frightened -at their pursuit, and at his strange situation in the grass, ran off -farther and farther, _peeping_ with great earnestness and noise. Royal -caught at him, but did not catch him. He darted off towards where Lucy -was, and at that instant Lucy clapped her hand over him, and held him a -prisoner. - -The poor hen was much alarmed at the cries of the lost chicken; and she -pushed her head through the bars of the cage, trying to get out, and -apparently in great distress. - -“Give him to me,” said Royal, “and I’ll put him back again.” - -“No,” said Lucy, “I am going to carry him in, and show him to Joanna.” - -“O, well,” said Royal, “only give him to me, and let me carry him. You -will hurt him.” - -“No, I won’t hurt him,” said Lucy; “I will be very careful indeed.” - -So she put the tender little animal very gently in one of her hands, -and covered him with the other. - -[Illustration: “Give him to me,” said Royal, “and I’ll put him back -again.”--_Page_ 114.] - -“O, what soft feathers!” said Lucy. - -“Yes,” said Royal; “and see his little bill sticking out between your -fingers!” - -Thus they went into the house,--first to Joanna, and afterwards to -Miss Anne; and the hen, when the lost chicken was out of hearing, soon -regained her composure. She had a dozen chickens left, and as she could -not count, she did not know but that there were thirteen. - -[Illustration] - - - - -CONVERSATION X. - -JOHNNY. - - -Miss Anne was very much pleased to see the little chicken. She sent -Royal out after a small, square piece of board. While he was gone, she -got a small flake of cotton batting, and also an old work-basket, from -the upper shelf of her closet. Then, when Royal came in with the board, -she put the cotton upon it, shaping it in the form of a nest. She put -the chicken upon this nest, and then turned the basket down over it, -which formed a sort of cage, to keep the little prisoner from getting -away. Royal and Lucy could look through the open-work of the basket, -and see him. - -But Miss Anne, though pleased with the chicken, was very sorry to -find that Royal had so monopolizing a spirit. A monopolizing spirit -is an eager desire to get for ourselves, alone, that which others -ought to have a share of. Royal wanted to own the hen and chickens -himself, and to exclude, or shut out, Lucy from all share of them. -He wished to monopolize them. Too eager a desire to get what others -have, is sometimes called _covetousness_. Miss Anne resolved to have a -conversation with Royal about his monopolizing and covetous disposition. - -She did not, however, have a very good opportunity until several days -after this; but then a circumstance occurred which naturally introduced -the subject. - -The circumstance was this. - -The children were taking a walk with Miss Anne. They went to a -considerable distance from the house, by a path through the woods, and -came at length to the banks of a mill stream. The water tumbled over -the rocks which filled the bed of the stream. There was a narrow road -along the bank, and Miss Anne turned into this road, and walked along -up towards the mill, which was only a short distance above. - -They saw, before them, at a little distance, a boy about as large as -Royal, cutting off the end of a long, slender pole. - -“O, see what a beautiful fishing-pole that boy has got!” said Royal. - -“Is that a fishing-pole?” said Lucy. - -Just then the boy called out, as if he was speaking to somebody in the -bushes. - -“Come, George; ain’t you most ready?” - -“Yes,” answered George, “I have got mine just ready; but I want to get -a little one for Johnny.” - -“O, never mind Johnny,” said the other boy; “he can’t fish.” - -By this time, the children had advanced so far that they could see -George and Johnny, in a little open place among the bushes. George was -about as large as the other boy; and he was just finishing the trimming -up of another pole, very much like the one which the children had seen -first. There was a very small boy standing by him, who, as the children -supposed, was Johnny. He was looking on, while George finished his pole. - -“_I_ would not get Johnny one,” said the boy in the road. “He can’t do -any thing with it.” - -“No,” said George, “but he will like to have one, so that he can make -believe fish; shouldn’t you, Johnny?” - -“Yes,” said Johnny; or rather he said something that meant _yes_; for -he could not speak very plain. - -“Well,” said the boy in the road, “I am not going to wait any longer.” -He accordingly shut up his knife, put it into his pocket, and walked -along. - -George scrambled back into the bushes, and began to look about for a -pole for Johnny. Miss Anne and the children were now opposite to them. - -“Johnny,” said Miss Anne, “do you expect that you can catch fishes?” - -Johnny did not answer, but stood motionless, gazing upon the strangers -in silent wonder. - -Miss Anne smiled, and walked on, and the children followed her. -Presently George and Johnny came up behind them,--George walking -fast, and Johnny trotting along by his side. When they had got before -them a little way, they turned out of the road into a path which led -down towards the stream, which here was at a little distance from the -road. The path led in among trees and bushes; and so Miss Anne and the -children soon lost sight of them entirely. - -“George seems to be a strange sort of a boy,” said Miss Anne. - -“Why?” asked Royal. - -“Why, he cannot be contented to have a fishing-pole himself, unless -little Johnny has one too.” - -“Is that very strange?” asked Royal. - -“I thought it was rather unusual,” said Miss Anne. “Boys generally -want to get things for themselves; but I did not know that they were -usually so desirous to have their brothers gratified too.” - -“I do,” said Royal; “that is, I should, if I had a brother big enough.” - -“You have a sister,” said Miss Anne. - -“Well,” said Royal, “if I was going a fishing, and Lucy was going too, -I should want to have her have a fishing-pole as well as I.” - -“It is not always so with boys, at any rate,” said Miss Anne. “And that -makes me think of a curious thing that happened once. A little boy, -whom I knew, had a beautiful picture-book spoiled by a little gray dog, -in a very singular way.” - -“How was it?” said Royal. - -“Tell us, Miss Anne,” said Lucy; “tell us all about it.” - -“Well, this boy’s father bought him a very beautiful picture-book, with -colored pictures in it, and brought it home, and gave it to him. And -the next day the little gray dog spoiled it entirely.” - -“How?” said Lucy. - -“Guess.” - -“Why, he bit it, and tore it to pieces with his teeth, I suppose,” said -Lucy. - -“No,” said Miss Anne. - -“Then he must have trampled on it with his muddy feet,” said Royal. - -“No,” said Miss Anne, “it could not be in any such way, for it was not -a _live_ dog.” - -“Not a _live_ dog!” said Lucy. - -“No, it was a little glass dog,--gray glass; only he had black ears and -tail.” - -“I don’t see how he could spoil a book,” said Royal. - -“He did,” answered Miss Anne. - -“The book gave Joseph a great deal of pleasure before the dog came, and -after that, it was good for nothing to him.” - -“Joseph?” said Royal; “who was he?” - -“Why, he was the little boy that had the book. Didn’t I tell you his -name before?” - -“No,” said Royal; “but tell us how the dog spoiled the book.” - -“Why, you must understand,” said Miss Anne, “that Joseph had a little -sister at home, named Mary; and when their father brought home the -book to Joseph, he had nothing for Mary. But the next day, he was in -a toy-shop, and he saw this little glass dog, and he thought that it -would be a very pretty little present for Mary. So he bought it, and -carried it home to her.” - -“Well, Miss Anne, tell on,” said Lucy, when she found that Miss Anne -paused, as if she was not going to say anything more. - -“Why, that is about all,” said Miss Anne, “only that he gave the dog to -Mary.” - -“But you said that the dog spoiled Joseph’s book.” - -“So it did. You see, when Joseph came to see the dog, he wanted it -himself, so much that he threw his book down upon the floor, and came -begging for the dog; and he could not take any pleasure at all in the -book after that.” - -“Is that all?” said Royal; “I supposed it was going to be something -different from that.” - -“Then you don’t think it is much of a story!” - -“No,” said Royal. - -“Nor I,” said Lucy. - -“Well, now, _I_ thought,” said Miss Anne, “that that was rather a -singular way for a dog to spoil a picture-book.” - -There was a moment’s pause after Miss Anne had said these words; and -then, an instant afterwards, the whole party came suddenly out of the -woods; and the mill, with a bridge near it, crossing the stream, came -into view. - -“O, there is a bridge,” said Lucy; “let us go over that bridge.” - -“Well,” said Royal, “so we will.” - -They walked on towards the bridge; but, just before they got to it, -Royal observed that there were ledges of rocks below the bridge, -running out into the water; and he said that he should rather go down -upon those rocks. - -Miss Anne said that she should like to go down there too, very much, -if she thought it was safe; and she concluded to go down, slowly and -carefully, and see. They found that, by exercising great caution, -they could advance farther than they had supposed. Sometimes Royal, -who was pretty strong, helped Miss Anne and Lucy down a steep place; -and sometimes they had to step over a narrow portion of the torrent. -They found themselves at last all seated safely upon the margin of a -rocky island, in the middle of the stream, with the water foaming, and -roaring, and shooting swiftly by, all around them. - -“There,” said Royal, “isn’t this a good place?” - -“Yes,” said Lucy; “I never saw the water run so much before.” - -“Children,” said Miss Anne, “look down there!” - -“Where?” said Royal. - -“There, upon the bank, under the trees, down on that side of the -stream,--a little below that large, white rock.” - -“Some boys,” said Royal. “They’re fishing.” - -“I see ’em,” said Lucy. - -“Yes,” said Royal, “they are the same boys we saw in the road.” - -“Yes,” said Miss Anne; “and don’t you see Johnny running about with his -pole?” - -“Where?” said Lucy; “which is Johnny?” - -“That’s he,” said Royal, “running about. Now he’s gone down to a sandy -place upon the shore. See, he’s reaching out with his pole, as far as -he can, upon the water; he is trying to reach a little piece of board -that is floating by. There, he has got it, and is pulling it in.” - -“I am glad George got him a pole,” said Miss Anne. - -“So am I,” said Royal. - -“And so am I,” said Lucy. - -“It seems George is happier himself, if Johnny has something to make -him happy too; but the other boy isn’t.” - -“How do you know that he isn’t?” asked Lucy. - -“Why, he did not want George to stop. He had got a pole himself, and he -did not care any thing about Johnny’s having one.” - -“Yes,” said Royal, “so I think.” - -“Some children,” said Miss Anne, “when they have anything that they -like, always want their brothers and sisters to have something too; and -George seems to be one of them. - -“And that makes me think,” continued Miss Anne, “of the story of the -_horse_ and the picture-book.” - -“What _is_ the story?” said Royal. - -“Why, it is a story of a little wooden horse, which, instead of -spoiling a picture-book, as the dog did, made it much more valuable.” - -“Tell us all about it,” said Lucy. - -“Very well, I will,” said Miss Anne. “There was once a boy named David. -His uncle sent him, one new year’s day, a picture-book. There was a -picture on every page, and two on the cover. He liked his picture-book -very much indeed; but one thing diminished the pleasure he took in -looking at it.” - -“What do you mean by _diminished_?” asked Lucy. - -“Why, made it smaller,” said Royal. - -“Yes,” said Miss Anne; “and the circumstance which made his pleasure -in the picture-book less than it otherwise would have been, was, that -his little brother Georgie had no new book or plaything. David showed -Georgie his book, and sometimes let him have it by himself; but he -would have liked it better, if Georgie had had a present of his own.” - -“And now about the horse?” said Royal. - -“Well,--that evening, when these boys’ father came home to supper, he -brought something tied up in a paper, which, he said, was for Georgie. -David took it, and ran to find Georgie,--hoping that it was some -present for him. Georgie opened it, and found that it was a handsome -wooden horse, on wheels,--with a long red cord for a bridle, to draw -him about by. David was very much pleased at this; and now he could go -and sit down upon his cricket, and look at his book, with a great deal -more pleasure; for Georgie had a present too. So, you see, the horse -made the picture-book more valuable.” - -The children sat still a short time, thinking of what Miss Anne had -said; and at length Royal said, - -“Are these stories which you have been telling us _true_, Miss Anne?” - -“No,” said Miss Anne, quietly. - -“Then you made them up.” - -“Yes,” said Miss Anne. - -“What for?” said Lucy. - -“Why, to show you and Royal,” said Miss Anne, “the difference between -a monopolizing and covetous spirit, and one of generosity and -benevolence, which leads us to wish to have others possess and enjoy, -as well as ourselves.” - -Royal, pretty soon after this, proposed that he and Lucy should find -some sticks upon the little island, where they were sitting, and throw -them upon the water, and see them sail down; and they did accordingly -amuse themselves in this way for some time. Lucy was very much amused -to see the sticks shoot along the rapids, and dive down the little -cascades among the rocks. Miss Anne helped them throw in one piece of -plank, which had drifted down from the mill, and which was too large -and heavy for them to lift alone. They watched this for some time, as -it floated away far down the stream. - -At last, it was time to go home; and they all went back, very -carefully, over the stones, until they got back to the shore; and then -they walked home by a new way, over a hill, where they had a beautiful -prospect. - -That night, just before sundown, when Royal and Lucy went out to see -their chickens, Royal told Lucy that she might have the little black -chicken and two others for her own. - -“Well,” said Lucy, clapping her hands, “and will you let me keep them -in your coop?” - -“Yes,” replied Royal; “or I will let you own the coop with me;--you -shall have a share in the coop, in proportion to your share of the -chickens.” - -“In proportion?” said Lucy; “what does that mean?” - -“Why, just as much of the coop as you have of the chickens,” said Royal. - -“Well,” said Lucy, “how much of the coop will it be, for three -chickens?” - -“O, I don’t know,” said Royal. - -“So much?” said Lucy, putting her hand upon the side of the coop, so as -to mark off a small portion of it. - -“O, I don’t mean,” said Royal, “to divide it. We will own it all -together, in partnership; only you shall have a small share, just in -proportion to your chickens.” - -Lucy did not understand this very well, but she thought more about the -chickens than about the coop; and she began to look at them, one by -one, carefully, to consider which she should have for hers. She chose -two, besides the black one; and she said that she meant to get Miss -Anne to name them for her. - -Royal took a great deal of pleasure, after this, every time that he -came out to see his chickens, in observing how much interest Lucy took, -every day, in coming to see _her_ chickens, and how much enjoyment it -afforded her to be admitted thus to a share in the property. - -[Illustration] - - - - -CONVERSATION XI. - -GETTING LOST. - - -One afternoon, a short time after dinner, Lucy was sitting upon a seat -under a trellis, near the door which led towards the garden, when her -mother came out. - -“Lucy,” said she, “I have got some rather bad news for you.” - -“What is it?” said Lucy. - -“I am rather afraid to tell you, for fear it will make you cry.” - -“O no, mother; I shall not cry,” said Lucy. - -“Well,” said her mother, “we shall see. The news is, that we are all -going away this afternoon, and are going to leave you at home.” - -“What, all alone?” said Lucy. - -“Not quite alone; for Joanna will be here,” said her mother. - -“Where are you going?” said Lucy. - -“We are going away, to ride.” - -“Why can’t I go too?” said Lucy. - -“I can explain the reason better when we come back,” answered her -mother. - -Lucy did not cry; though she found it very hard to refrain. Her father -and mother, and Miss Anne and Royal, were all going, and she had to -remain at home. They were going, too, in a kind of barouche; and when -it drove up to the door, Lucy thought there would be plenty of room -for her. She found it hard to submit; but submission was made somewhat -easier by her mother’s not giving her any reasons. When a mother gives -a girl reasons why she cannot have something which she is very strongly -interested in, they seldom satisfy her, for she is not in a state of -mind to consider them impartially. It only sets her to attempting to -answer the reasons, and thus to agitate and disturb her mind more than -is necessary. It is therefore generally best not to explain the reasons -until afterwards, when the mind of the child is in a better condition -to feel their force. - -After the barouche drove away, Lucy went out into the kitchen to see -Joanna; and she asked Joanna what she should do. Joanna advised her to -go out and play in the yard until she had got her work done, and then -to come in and sit with her. Lucy did so. She played about in the -grass until Joanna called from the window, and told her that she was -ready. - -Then Lucy came in. She found the kitchen all arranged in good order, -and Joanna was just sitting down before a little table, at the window, -to sew. Lucy got her basket of blocks, and began to build houses in the -middle of the floor. - -“Joanna,” said she, after a little while, “I wish you would tell me -something more about when you were a farmer’s daughter.” - -“Why, I am a farmer’s daughter now,” said Joanna. - -“But I mean when you were a little girl, and lived among the stumps,” -said Lucy. - -“Well,” said Joanna,--“what shall I tell you about? Let me see.--O, -I’ll tell you how I got lost in the woods, one day.” - -“Ah, yes,” said Lucy, “I should like to hear about that very much -indeed.” - -“One day,” said Joanna, “my father was going a fishing, and my brother -was going with him.” - -“The same one that made your hen-coop?” asked Lucy. - -“No, he was a bigger one than that. I asked my father to let me go too. -At first he said I was too little; but afterwards he said I might go.” - -“How big were you?” said Lucy. - -“I was just about your age,” said Joanna. “My mother said I could not -possibly walk so far; but father said I should not have to walk but a -little way, for he was going down the brook in a boat. - -“So father concluded to let me go, and we started off,--all three -together. We went across the road, and then struck right into the -woods.” - -“Struck?” said Lucy. - -“Yes; that is, we _went_ right in.” - -“O,” said Lucy. - -“We walked along by a sort of cart-road a little while, until we came -to a place where I just began to see some water through the trees. -Father said it was the brook. - -“When we got down to it, I found that it was a pretty wide brook; and -the water was deep and pretty still. There was a boat in the brook. The -boat was tied to a tree upon the shore; my brother got in, and then my -father put me in; and afterwards he untied the boat, and threw the rope -in, and then got in himself. Then there were three of us in.” - -“Wasn’t you afraid?” said Lucy. - -“Yes, I was afraid that the boat would tip over; but father said that -it wouldn’t. But he said that I must sit still, if I didn’t want the -boat to upset. So I sat as still as I could, and watched the trees and -bushes, moving upon the shore.” - -“I wish I could go and sail in a boat,” said Lucy. - -“It is very pleasant,” said Joanna, “when the water is smooth and -still. The branches of the trees hung over the water where we were -sailing along, and one time we sailed under them, and my brother broke -me off a long willow stick. - -“After a time, we came to the end of the brook, where it emptied into -the pond.” - -“Emptied?” said Lucy. - -“Yes; that is, where it came out into the pond.” - -“Do brooks run into ponds?” asked Lucy. - -“Not always,” said Joanna; “sometimes they run into other larger -brooks, and sometimes into rivers, and sometimes into ponds. This brook -ran into a pond; and when we came to the end of the brook, our boat -sailed right out into a pond. This pond was the place where they were -going to catch the fishes.” - -“Why didn’t they catch the fishes in the brook?” asked Lucy. - -“I believe they could not catch such large fishes there,” said Joanna. -“At any rate, they went out into the pond. There was a point of land -at the mouth of the brook, and when my father had got out around this -point, he began to fish.” - -“Did he catch any?” asked Lucy. - -“He caught one, and my brother caught one; and after that, they could -not catch any more for some time. At last, my father said it was not -worth while for them both to stay there all the afternoon, and that my -brother might go back home by a road across through the woods, and he -would stay and see what luck he should have himself. He said, too, that -I might stay with him, if I chose.” - -“And did you?” asked Lucy. - -“No,” replied Joanna. “At first, I thought I should like to stay with -father; but then I had already become pretty tired of sitting in the -boat with nothing to do, and so I concluded to go with my brother. -Besides, I wanted to see what sort of a road it was across through the -woods. - -“My father then took his line in, and paddled the boat to the shore, to -let me and my brother get out. Then he went back to his fishing-ground -again, and let down his line. As for my brother and myself, we went -along a little way, until we came to a large pine-tree, which stood -not very far from the shore of the pond; and there we turned into the -woods, and walked along together.” - -“And was it in these woods that you got lost?” said Lucy. - -“Not exactly,” said Joanna; “but I will tell you all about it. We went -along a little way without any difficulty, but presently we came to a -bog.” - -“What is a bog?” asked Lucy. - -“Why, it is a low, wet place, where wild grass and rushes grow. The -path led through this bog, and brother said he did not think that I -could get along very well.” - -“I should not think that he could get along himself,” said Lucy. - -“Yes,” answered Joanna, “_he_ could get along by stepping upon the -stones and hummocks of grass; and he tried to carry me, at first; but -he soon found that it would be a great deal of work, and he said that I -had better go back to my father, and get into the boat, and stay with -him. - -“I said, ‘Well;’ and he carried me back as far as to hard ground; and -then he told me to go back by the path, until I came to the pine-tree; -and then he said I should only have to follow the shore of the pond, a -short distance, when I should come in sight of father’s boat.” - -“Yes, but how could you get into the boat,” said Lucy, “without getting -wet, when it was so far from the shore?” - -“O, I could call to my father, and he would come to the shore and take -me in,” said Joanna. - -“Well,” said Lucy, “tell on.” - -“I walked along the path, without any trouble, until I came to the -great pine-tree, where I saw a woodpecker.” - -“A woodpecker?” said Lucy. - -“Yes; that is, a kind of a bird which pecks the bark and wood of old -trees, to get bugs and worms out of it, to eat.” - -“I should not think that bugs and worms would be good to eat,” said -Lucy. - -“They are good for woodpeckers,” said Joanna. “This woodpecker was -standing upon the side of the great pine-tree, clinging to the bark. He -has sharp claws, and can cling to the bark upon the side of a tree. I -looked at him a minute, and then went on. - -“I followed the shore of the pond, until I came to the place where we -had left my father fishing; but when I looked out upon the water there, -the boat was nowhere to be seen. I was very much frightened.” - -“Where was he gone?” said Lucy. - -“I did not know then,” said Joanna; “but I learned afterwards that he -had found that he could not catch any fishes there, and so he concluded -to go up the brook again, and see if he could not catch any there. I -did not know this then, and I could not think what had become of him. I -was frightened. I did not see how I could ever find my way home again. -What do you think I did first?” - -“I don’t know,” said Lucy. “What was it?” - -“I called out, _Father! Father! Father!_ as loud as I could call; and -then I listened for a reply,--but I could not hear any.” - -“Then what did you do?” asked Lucy. - -“Why, I began to consider whether I could not go home the way that my -brother had gone, by walking along through the mud, even if it was -deep. I thought I had better get my feet wet and muddy than stay there -in the woods and starve.” - -“Well, did you go that way?” asked Lucy. - -“No,” said Joanna; “on thinking more of it, I was afraid to go. I did -not know but that the mud would be deep enough somewhere to drown -me; and then, besides, I did not know that I could find the way, any -farther than I had gone with my brother. - -[Illustration] - -“The next plan I thought of, was to follow the shore of the brook up. -You remember that we came down the brook, in the boat; and of course I -knew that, if I went _up_ the brook, either on the water or close to -it, upon the shore, I should be going back towards home. I tried this -way, but I found that I could not get along.” - -“Why couldn’t you get along?” asked Lucy. - -“Because,” said Joanna, “the trees and bushes were so thick, and the -ground was so wet and swampy, in some places, that I couldn’t get -through. Then I came back, and sat down upon a log, near the shore of -the pond, and began to cry.” - -“And didn’t you ever get home?” said Lucy. - -“Certainly,” said Joanna, laughing, “or else how could I be here now to -tell the story?” - -“O!--yes,” said Lucy. “But how did you get home?” - -“Why, pretty soon I thought that the best plan would be for me to stay -just where I was, for I thought that as soon as my father and brother -should both get home, and find that I was not there, they would come -after me; and if they came after me, I knew they would come, first of -all, to the place where my brother had told me to go, near the mouth of -the brook. So I concluded that I would wait patiently there until they -came. - -“I waited all the afternoon, and they did not come; and at last the sun -went down, and still I was there alone.” - -“Why did not they come for you sooner?” asked Lucy. - -“Why, the reason was, that my father did not get home until night. When -he went up the brook, he found a place where he could catch fishes -quite fast; and so he staid there all the afternoon. He thought I was -safe at home with my brother. And my brother, who was at home all this -time, thought that I was safe in the boat with my father. - -“When it began to grow dark, I thought I should have to stay in the -woods all night; but then I thought that, at any rate, they would come -for me the next morning; and I began to look around for a good place to -lie down and go to sleep. But, just then, I heard a noise, like a noise -in the water, through the woods; and I looked that way, and saw a light -glancing along through the trees. It was my father and brother coming -down the brook in the boat. I called out to them as loud as I could, -and they heard me and answered. They came round the point of land, and -then up to the shore where I was, and took me in. And so I got home.” - -Here Lucy drew a long breath, very much relieved to find that Joanna -was safe home again. - -“What did you do when you got home?” said she. - -“I don’t recollect very well,” said Joanna, “only I remember that my -mother let me sit up pretty late, and eat some of father’s fishes, -which she fried for supper.” - - * * * * * - -When Miss Anne came home that night, Lucy told her the story which -Joanna had related to her. She told her while Miss Anne was putting her -to bed. Lucy said that she should like to be lost in the woods. - -“O no,” said Miss Anne, “you would not like the reality. It makes -an interesting story to relate, but the thing itself must be very -distressing.” - -“Well, at any rate,” said Lucy, “I should like to sail under the trees -in a boat.” - -“Yes,” said Miss Anne, “that would be pleasant, no doubt.” - -“And to see a woodpecker,” said Lucy. - -“Yes, very likely,” said Miss Anne. - - - - -CONVERSATION XII. - -LUCY’S SCHOLAR. - - -After this, Lucy often “played boat” for amusement. She built her boat -of chairs and crickets, and had the hearth brush for a paddle. - -One evening, just after tea, when she was playing in this way, in the -parlor, Royal looking on, she said to Miss Anne, - -“I wish we had a real boat.” - -“A real boat,” said Miss Anne, “would do no good, unless you had a -place to sail it in.” - -“Couldn’t we sail it in our brook?” asked Lucy. - -“No, indeed,” said Royal; “there is scarcely water enough in our brook -to float my turtle.” - -“O Royal,” said Lucy, “it is a great deal too deep for your turtle.” - -“In some places,” said Miss Anne; “but to sail a boat, you must have a -long extent of deep water. I should think, however, that you might have -a better boat than you can make of chairs and crickets.” - -“How could we make it?” said Lucy. - -“Why, Royal might find a long box, out behind the barn; or two common -boxes, and put them together, end to end, out in the yard. You might -put two boards across for seats, and have poles for paddles.” - -“But it would not sail any,” said Royal. - -“If you want it to sail, you must put some rollers under it, and then -you can push it along a little.” - -Royal said that that was an excellent plan, and that he meant to go and -make such a boat the very next day. He said he did not believe but that -he could put a mast in, and hoist up a sail; or at least a flag or a -streamer. - -“Well,” said Lucy, “we will.” - -“I mean to go now and see if there is a box,” said Royal; “it is just -light enough.” - -So Royal went off out of the room. - -“Miss Anne,” said Lucy, “how much does a real boat cost?” - -“I don’t know, exactly, how much,” said Miss Anne. - -“I don’t suppose I should have money enough to buy a boat, even if we -had a deep brook to sail it in,” added Lucy. - -“I don’t know,” said Miss Anne; “how much money have you got?” - -“I have not got but a little; it is a dollar, or else a half a dollar; -or a sixpence; I don’t know exactly. Royal has got more than I.” - -Miss Anne merely said, “Has he?” and then the conversation dropped. She -had just taken her seat at her work table, and began to be busy. - -“I wish I knew of some way that I could earn money,” said Lucy. “Do you -know of any way, Miss Anne?” - -“What did you say?” asked Miss Anne. - -“Don’t you know of some way that I could earn money?” - -“Why, I don’t know; earning money is rather hard work, as I’ve heard -people say. I believe young ladies generally earn money by teaching.” - -“Well,” said Lucy, “if I could only get any scholars.” - -“Why, you must be your own scholar; teach yourself to read. Come, I -think that will be an excellent plan.” - -“Can I earn any money so?” said Lucy. - -“Yes, I should think so. It would take you three months, at a school, -to learn your letters, and three months is twelve weeks. Now, I -suppose that your father would have to pay about sixpence a week -for you to go to school, and that would make twelve sixpences; and -I presume he would be willing to give you as much as eight of the -sixpences, if you would learn to read yourself.” - -“Why not all the twelve?” asked Lucy. - -“Because you would not do quite all yourself. Somebody would have to -answer your questions, and show you what the letters were, at first; -so that you could not do it all yourself. I should think that perhaps -you might earn eight out of the twelve sixpences. That would be one -sixpence for every three letters.” - -“Well,” said Lucy, “I mean to try.” - -“If you think you would like to try,” said Miss Anne, “I’ll form a plan -for you, so that you can begin to-morrow.” - -Lucy said she should like to try, and accordingly Miss Anne reflected -upon the subject that evening, endeavoring to contrive some plan by -which Lucy might sit down by herself and study her letters, half an -hour every day, until she had learned them all. She thought of a plan -which she hoped might answer pretty well; and the next morning she -made preparations for carrying it into execution. - -First she got Lucy’s little table, and set it near one of the windows -in her room; she also put her little chair before it. Then she got a -large flat pin-cushion, and put upon the table. - -“Why, Miss Anne!” said Lucy, who stood by looking at all these -preparations, “what is the pin-cushion for? I never heard of studying -with a pin-cushion.” - -“You’ll see,” said Miss Anne. “I am going to have you learn to read on -the _pin-cushion method_.” - -Then Miss Anne opened an ebony box, which she had upon her table, and -took out a very large pin, and also a stick of red sealing-wax. She -carried these into the kitchen, Lucy following her; then she lighted -a lamp, and melted some of the sealing-wax, and stuck it upon the -head of the pin, turning it round and round, and then warming it, and -pressing it with her fingers, until at last she had made a little ball -of sealing-wax, about as big as a pea, which covered and concealed the -original head of the pin. - -“There,” said Miss Anne, “that is your _pointer_.” - -“Let me take it, Miss Anne,” said Lucy. “I want to take it.” - -Miss Anne handed the pointer to Lucy, and she looked at it carefully, -as she walked slowly along back into Miss Anne’s room. When she got -there, Miss Anne took it, and stuck it into the pin-cushion, and -requested Lucy not to touch it. - -Then she went and found some of the scattered leaves of an old -picture-book, which had once been Royal’s, but was now nearly worn -out and almost destroyed. She took one of these leaves, and spread it -out upon the pin-cushion. Then she seated Lucy before it, and put the -pointer in her hands. - -“Now, Lucy,” said she, “what letter do you know?” - -“I know _o_ the best,” said Lucy. - -Then Miss Anne pointed to the upper line, and in the third word there -was an _o_. - -“There,” said she--“prick it with your pointer.” - -Lucy pricked through the _o_ with great force, so as to sink the pin -for half its length into the pin-cushion. - -“That will do,” said Miss Anne. “Now look along until you find another -_o_.” - -Lucy found one about the middle of the line. - -“Now,” said Miss Anne, “prick _him_ too,--only do it gently, so as just -to put the point in a little way; and when you are doing it, say, _o_.” - -Lucy did so. She pressed the point of the pin through the letter, and -at the instant that it went through, she said, _o_. - -“Now,” said Miss Anne, “the plan is for you to go on in that way. Look -all through that line, and prick every _o_ you can find. Then take -the next line, and the next, and so on regularly through the whole, -and prick every _o_. After you have done, put the pointer into the -pin-cushion, and the pin-cushion into your drawer. Then set your chair -back, and bring the paper to me.” - -Lucy was very ready to go on with this work. In fact, while Miss Anne -was speaking, she had found another _o_, and was just going to prick; -but Miss Anne stopped her, and told her that it was not rulable to -begin to obey her orders until she had finished giving them. - -At last, Miss Anne went out of the room, and left Lucy at her work. -Lucy pricked away, very industriously, for nearly half an hour. She had -then got almost to the bottom of the page. There she found a capital -_o_, thus, _O_, at the beginning of a sentence; and she did not know -whether she ought to prick such a one as that or not. While she was -considering, she heard Royal’s voice in the entry way, calling her. - -Lucy answered, in a loud voice, - -“Here I am, Royal,--here, in Miss Anne’s room.” - -Royal advanced to the door of Miss Anne’s room, and looked in. He had -his cap on, and seemed to be in haste. - -“Come, Lucy,” said he, “let’s go and make our boat.” - -“Well,” said Lucy, “just wait till I have pricked two more lines.” - -“Pricked,” said Royal,--“what do you mean by pricking?” - -Royal came up to the little table where Lucy was at work, and looked -over her shoulder, while she explained to him what she was doing. - -“I am going to find every _o_ there is on this page, and prick them -all. I have pricked down to here already, and now I have got only two -lines more to prick, and then I shall come out.” - -“O, come out now,” said Royal, “and let the pricking go.” - -“No,” said Lucy, “I must wait and finish my work.” - -“That isn’t work,” said Royal; “it is nothing but play. It does not do -any good.” - -“Yes it does,” said Lucy; “I am doing it to earn money.” - -“To earn money!” repeated Royal; and he began to laugh aloud at the -idea of earning money in any such way as that. - -Lucy explained to Royal that this was a way which Miss Anne had -contrived for her to learn her letters herself, without troubling other -people, and that she had told her that she should have sixpence for -every three letters. - -Royal then perceived that the plan was at least worthy of being treated -with more respect than he had at first supposed;--but then he told Lucy -that, in his opinion, she was beginning wrong. - -“You ought to begin with some letter that you don’t know, Lucy,” said -he; “you know _o_ now, as well as I know my own thumb; and of course -it’s of no use to prick it.” - -Lucy did not know what to reply to this reasoning,--only that Miss Anne -had told her to prick _o_, and Miss Anne knew best. - -“At any rate,” said Royal, “you can finish it another time; so come out -with me now, and help me get out the boxes for our boat.” - -Lucy concluded that she would go out a few minutes with Royal, and -then come back again, and finish her work. They accordingly went out -together. - -They found one long box, which Royal said would do very well indeed for -a boat. The box was made to pack bedsteads in, and of course it was -more than six feet long; but it was narrow, like a boat, and Royal said -it was just the thing. - -The children got this down upon a place where the ground was smooth -and hard; and Lucy got so much interested in playing boat, that she -entirely forgot her pricking for two hours; and then the first bell -rang, to call them in to dinner. - -The first bell always rang ten minutes before the second bell. This -was to give Royal and Lucy time to come in and get ready. Lucy thought -that she should just have time to finish the two lines, and she ran in -to Miss Anne’s room to sit right down to her work. To her surprise, -however, as soon as she got in, she saw that her chair was not before -the little table, but had been set back; and the pin-cushion, pointer, -and paper, had all entirely disappeared. - -Lucy went into the parlor, and found Miss Anne placing the chairs -around the dinner table. - -“Miss Anne,” said she, in a tone of complaint, “somebody has taken away -all my things.” - -“That is some of _my_ mischief, I suppose,” said Miss Anne. - -“Did you take them away?” said Lucy. - -“I _put_ them away,” replied Miss Anne. “I went into my room, about an -hour after I left you there, and found that you had gone away to play, -and had left your work all out upon the table; and so I had to put it -away.” - -“Why, I was coming right back again,” said Lucy. - -“And did you come right back?” - -“Why, no,” said Lucy. “Royal wanted me to stay with him so much!” - -“I thought you’d find it rather hard to earn money. You ought to have -waited until you had finished your work, and then you could have gone -out to play.--But I don’t mean that you did wrong. You had a right, if -you chose, to give up the plan of earning money, and have your play -instead.” - -“Why, Miss Anne, I almost finished the work. I pricked all but two -lines.” - -“Yes, but then you left the work of putting the things away to me; and -that gave me about as much trouble as all your pricking did good. So -you did not _earn_ any thing.” - -“Well,” said Lucy, “I will try this afternoon, while Royal is at his -studies; and then he won’t want me to go out and play.” - -She took _s_ for her letter that afternoon, and she pricked all that -she could find on the page. Then she put her work carefully away, all -except the page itself, which she brought to Miss Anne, so that she -might examine it. Miss Anne found that she had done it very well. She -had pricked almost every one. Miss Anne looked it over very carefully, -and could only find two or three which Lucy had overlooked. - -After this, Lucy persevered for several weeks in pricking letters. -She took a new letter every day, and she generally spent about half -an hour at each lesson. She learned to be very still while she was -thus engaged, saying nothing except to pronounce aloud the name of the -letter when she pricked it, which Miss Anne said was a very important -part of the exercise. - -In this way, in process of time, she learned all the letters of the -alphabet; and her father paid her the eight sixpences. With one of -these sixpences she bought a fine black lead pencil, to draw with, and -a piece of India rubber, to rub out her marks when they were made wrong. - -Miss Anne also taught her how to make a purse to keep the rest of her -money in; and when the purse was done, Lucy put the money into it, and -got Miss Anne to let her keep it in one of her drawers. She was afraid -it would not be quite safe in her treasury. - -[Illustration] - - - - -CONVERSATION XIII. - -SKETCHING. - - -Lucy asked Miss Anne if she would let her go with her the next time -that she went out to make sketches, and let her try to see if she could -not make sketches too, with her new pencil. Miss Anne had two or three -pencils, which she kept in a little morocco case, and some small sheets -of drawing paper in a portfolio. Sometimes, when she went out to walk, -she used to take these drawing implements and materials with her, and -sit down upon a bank, or upon a rock, and draw, while Lucy was playing -around. - -But now, as Lucy herself had a pencil, she wanted to carry it out, so -that she could make sketches too. - -Miss Anne said that she should like this plan very much; and -accordingly, one pleasant summer afternoon, they set off. Miss Anne -tied Lucy’s pencil and India rubber together, by a strong silk thread, -so that the India rubber might not be so easily lost. The other -necessary materials--namely, some paper, some pencils for Miss Anne, -and two thin books with stiff covers, to lay their paper upon, while -drawing--were all properly provided, and put in a bag, which Miss Anne -had made, and which she always used for this purpose. - -Lucy observed, also, that Miss Anne put something else in her bag. Lucy -thought, from its appearance, that it was a square block; but it was -folded up in a paper, and so she could not see. She asked Miss Anne -what it was, and Miss Anne told her it was a secret. - -They walked along without any particular adventure until they came to a -bridge across a stream. It was the same stream where they had sat upon -the rocks and seen George and the other boys fishing; but this was a -different part of the stream, and the water was deep and still. Lucy -and Miss Anne stopped upon the middle of the bridge, and looked over -the railing down to the dark water far below. - -“O, what deep water!” said Lucy. - -“How could we get over this river if it were not for this bridge?” - -“Not very conveniently,” said Miss Anne. - -“We could not get over at all,” said Lucy. - -“Perhaps we might,” said Miss Anne; “there are several ways of getting -over a river besides going over upon a bridge.” - -“What ways?” said Lucy. - -“One is by a ferry.” - -“What is a ferry?” said Lucy. - -“It is a large boat which is always ready to carry persons across. The -ferry-man generally lives in a house very near the bank of the river; -and if any body wants to go across the river, they call at his house -for him, and he takes them across in his boat. Then they pay him some -money.” - -“But suppose they are on the other side,” said Lucy. - -“Then,” said Miss Anne, “they have to call or blow a trumpet. Sometimes -they have a trumpet for people to blow when they want the ferry-man to -come for them. But sometimes, where there are a great many travellers -on the road that leads to the ferry, the boats are coming and going all -the time; and then people don’t have to call or to blow any trumpet.” - -“How much money do they have to pay,” said Lucy, “for carrying them -across?” - -“That depends upon circumstances,” said Miss Anne. “If a man goes -alone, he does not have to pay so much as he does if he is in a -chaise; and if he has a carriage and two horses, he has to pay more -still.” - -“Why, Miss Anne,” said Lucy, “can they carry over a carriage and two -horses in a boat?” - -“Yes,” said Miss Anne, “a stage-coach and six horses, if necessary. -They have large, flat-bottomed boats for the carriages and carts, and -small, narrow boats for men, when they want to go alone.” - -While this conversation had been going on, Miss Anne and Lucy had -walked along to some distance beyond the bridge. They took a road -which led to an old, deserted farm-house, and some other buildings -around it, all in a state of ruin and decay. The man who owned it had -built himself a new house, when he found that this was getting too old -to be comfortable to live in. The new house was upon another part of -his farm, and it was another road which led to it; so that these old -buildings had been left in a very secluded and solitary position. Miss -Anne liked very much to come to this place, when she came out to make -sketches, for she said that in all the views of the buildings, on every -side, there were a great many beautiful drawing lessons. - -The roof of the house in one place had tumbled in, and the shed had -blown down altogether. There was one barn, however, that was pretty -good; and, in fact, the farmer used it to store his surplus hay in it. - -Lucy sat down, with Miss Anne, under the shade of some trees, at a -little distance from the buildings, and they began to take out their -drawing materials. - -“Now, Miss Anne,” said Lucy, “what shall I draw?” - -“I think that the _well_ will be the best lesson for you.” - -There was an old well at a little distance from the house, upon the -green, with a group of venerable old lilac bushes near it. The water -had been raised by a well-sweep, but the sweep itself had long since -gone to decay, though the tall post with a fork at the top, which had -supported the sweep, was still standing. - -So Miss Anne recommended that Lucy should attempt to draw the well. - -“But, Miss Anne,” said Lucy, “I want to draw the same thing that you -do.” - -“Very well,” said Miss Anne; “then we will both draw the well.” - -“So we will,” said Lucy; “but, Miss Anne, you must tell me how. I don’t -know how to draw, myself.” - -Miss Anne gave Lucy some instructions, according to her request. She -told her that she must mind the shape of the things more than anything -else. “All depends upon the proportions,” said Miss Anne. - -“What is proportion?” said Lucy. “Royal told me something about it, but -I could not understand him very well.” - -“Suppose you look over me a few minutes, and see how I do it,” said -Miss Anne. - -Lucy liked this proposal very much; and she stood very still, for some -time, while Miss Anne, with her paper upon her book, and her book upon -her knee, began to make her drawing, talking all the time as follows:-- - -“First, there is the post; I will draw that first. I must make it look -just as long upon the paper as it does in reality. And do you think it -stands quite upright?” - -“No,” said Lucy, “it leans.” - -“Which way does it lean?” asked Miss Anne. - -“It leans towards the well, I think,” said Lucy. - -“So it does; and I must draw a line for one side of the post, and make -this line lean over towards the place where my well is going to be, -just as much as the post really leans.” - -Miss Anne then drew the line, and asked Lucy to look at it carefully, -and see whether it leaned any more, or any less, than the real post did. - -Lucy looked at it very carefully, but she could not see that there was -any difference. - -“Now,” continued Miss Anne, “I must begin to draw the well; and I must -have it at just the right distance from the post.” - -Then Miss Anne put down her pencil very near to the post, and asked -Lucy if she thought that that was about right. - -“O no,” said Lucy, “that is a great deal too near.” - -Miss Anne then moved the point of her pencil off almost to the end of -the paper. - -“Would that be right?” said Miss Anne. - -“O no; that is too far.” - -“But it is not so far as it is in reality, on the ground, from the post -to the well.” - -“No,” said Lucy, “but you are not going to have the picture so large as -the real well.” - -“That is it, exactly,” said Miss Anne. “The picture itself is all going -to be smaller than the reality; and the drawing of the well must be -just as much smaller than the real well, as the drawing of the post is -than the real post. Then it is all in proportion.” - -“Now,” said Miss Anne, “I will move my pencil up nearer, and you may -tell me when it is too far off, and when it is too near, for the proper -place for me to draw the side of the well. Is _that_ right?” she added, -after placing the point of the pencil in a new position. - -“That is too near,” said Lucy. - -“And _that_?” said Miss Anne. - -“That is about right,” said Lucy. - -“Look again, carefully.” - -“Hark! what’s that?” said Lucy. - -“It sounds like thunder,” said Miss Anne; “but I rather think it is -only a wagon going over the bridge.” - -A few minutes afterwards, however, the sound was repeated, louder and -more distinct than before, and Miss Anne said it _was_ thunder, and -that they must go home, or that they should get caught in a shower. -They looked around, and saw that there were some large, dark-looking -clouds rising in the west; and Miss Anne said that they must put away -their things, and go home as fast as they could. - -“But, Miss Anne,” said Lucy, “it is a great way home. I am afraid it -will rain on us before we get there.” - -“Why, if we can get across the bridge,” said Miss Anne, “we can go -into some of the houses.” - -“Are there no houses before we come to the bridge?” asked Lucy. - -“No,” said Miss Anne; “but I think we shall have time to go farther -than that.” - -By this time they had put up their drawing materials, and began to walk -along towards the main road. Miss Anne said that she presumed that they -should have ample time to get home; for showers seldom came up so very -suddenly as to prevent their getting home from a walk. - -But when they had gone about half way to the bridge, Miss Anne began -to be afraid that they should not get home. There was a large, black -cloud spreading along the western sky, and the low and distant peals of -thunder came oftener, and grew gradually louder and louder. Miss Anne -walked very fast, leading Lucy, who ran along by her side. - -Just as they came to the bridge, the great drops of rain began to fall. - -“There!” said Lucy,--“it’s beginning.” - -“Yes,” said Miss Anne, “and I have a great mind to go under the bridge.” - -Miss Anne had just time to say “under the bridge,” when there came -another heavy clap of thunder, which sounded louder and nearer than -any which they had heard before. This decided Miss Anne at once. She -turned off from the entrance to the bridge, and began to walk down the -steep bank, leading Lucy. When they had descended to the margin of the -stream, they found a narrow strip of sand between the water and the -foundation of the bridge. - -“Yes,” said Miss Anne, “here is plenty of room for us to stand.” - -They found a good place to stand, with the water of the stream before -them, and the great wall, which the bridge rested upon, behind them. -There were also some large, smooth stones lying there, which they could -sit down upon. A very few minutes after they had fixed themselves -in this place of shelter, the rain began to come down in torrents. -The thunder rolled and reverberated from one part of the heavens to -another, and once or twice Lucy saw a faint flash of lightning. - -Lucy was very much amused at the curious effect produced by the drops -of rain falling upon the water. They covered the water all over with -little bubbles. She kept calling upon Miss Anne to see; but Miss Anne -looked anxious and afraid. By and by, the rain began to come down -through the bridge, and they had to move a little to keep from getting -wet. But they succeeded in getting a dry place, and keeping pretty -comfortable. - -“But what shall we do,” said Lucy, “if it rains all night? We can’t -stay here all night.” - -“Thunder showers don’t last long,” said Miss Anne. “I presume it will -be pleasant by and by, only we shall get our feet wet going home; for -the roads will be very wet, and full of pools of water.” - -Just then they heard the noise of wheels in the road, as if a chaise -or carriage of some sort were coming along towards them. The horse -travelled very fast, and soon came upon the bridge, and went along over -it, passing directly above their heads with great speed, and with a -noise which sounded louder to them than any clap of thunder which they -had heard. Lucy was sure that they would break through, and come down -upon their heads; and even Miss Anne was a little frightened. They -little knew who it was in the chaise. It was Royal going to find them, -to bring them home. He thought it probable that they had gone into -the old, ruined buildings, to be sheltered from the rain, and that he -should find them there. - -After looking there for them in vain, he came back, and he happened to -come to the bridge just as Miss Anne and Lucy were coming out from -under it. They were very glad to see him. The shower was over. The sun -had come out; the grass and trees were glittering with the reflection -of the bright light from the drops of rain; and there were two great -rainbows in the east, one bright, and the other rather faint. Royal -said that he would have the faint rainbow, and Lucy might have the -bright one for hers. Lucy’s rainbow lasted until some time after they -got home. - - - - -CONVERSATION XIV. - -DANGER. - - -Lucy often had singular adventures with Royal and her father; but one, -which interested her as much as any, was an adventure she once met with -in crossing a river. The circumstances were these:-- - -They were on a journey; Lucy and Royal were travelling with their -father and mother. - -One evening, after they had reached the end of the journey for the -day, the party stopped in a village, built upon an eminence, which -overlooked a broad and very fertile-looking valley. It consisted of -extensive intervals, level and green, and spotted with elms, and with -a river winding through them, until its course was lost among the -trees, a few miles below. After tea, Royal wanted to go down, across -the intervals, to the bank of the river, to see the water. - -“O yes,” said Lucy, “and let me go too, father.” - -“O no,” said Royal, “you must not go.” - -“Why not?” said Lucy. - -“Because,” said Royal, “we may find a boat there, and want to take a -sail in it; and you couldn’t go.” - -“Why not?” said Lucy. - -“Because,” said Royal, “you wouldn’t dare to go.” - -“Yes I should,” said Lucy. - -“No,” said Royal, “you don’t dare to sleep in a room alone at night, in -a hotel.” - -“But I think she will not be afraid to go in the boat,” said her -father. “At any rate, we will let her go with us.” - -Lucy then went to get her bonnet; and when they were all ready, she and -Royal went out together; their father followed immediately afterwards. -Their mother, being fatigued, preferred to remain at home. - -From the principal street of the village, they passed out, through a -pair of bars, into a cart road, which led through the mowing fields -down towards the intervals. - -They walked on together, until they came down to the intervals, which -were level fields of grass and flowers, very beautiful, and extending -on each side of them very far. The road gradually grew narrower, until -at length it became a mere path, which finally conducted them to the -bank of the river. Royal and Lucy stood upon the bank, and looked down -into the water. - -The bank was quite high and steep, formed of earth, which seemed to -be, from time to time, caving into the water. It was green to the very -brink, and some large masses of turf lay down below at the water’s -edge, and partly in the water, where they had apparently fallen from -above. The shore on the opposite side of the river was, however, very -different. It was a low, sandy beach, with the water rippling along the -pebbles, which lay upon the margin of it. - -“O father,” said Royal, “I wish we could get over to that beach.” - -“Yes,” said Lucy, “and then we could get down and throw stones into the -water.” - -“If we had a boat,” said Royal, “we could get across.” - -“O no,” said their father, “this river is too shallow for a boat.” - -“How do you know, father?” said Royal. - -“Why, I can see the bottom all the way; and then I know by the rapidity -of the current, that it must be quite shallow.” - -Just then they observed some men coming down towards them, on the bank -of the river. Royal’s father asked them, when they came up to where he -was standing, if there were any boats on the river. - -“Yes,” said the men, “there is a small boat just above here, which you -can have if you want. Only bring it safe back again.” - -“I am very much obliged to you,” said Lucy’s father; “are there any -oars?” - -“There are some paddles,” replied one of the men. “They’re hid in the -bushes, just opposite the boat. There is a padlock on the boat, and -it looks as if it was locked, but it is not. You can take the padlock -right off.” - -The men then went on their way down the river, and Lucy and Royal -ran along the bank to see if they could find the boat. Their father -followed them more slowly. Presently, however, they all came to the -place where the boat was lying. - -It was a very small boat indeed. It was drawn up partly upon the bank, -which was here not quite so steep as where the children had first -stood, but was yet considerably precipitous. The boat was fastened, by -a chain, to the root of a large elm-tree, which was growing upon the -bank, the roots having been laid bare by the action of the water. There -was a padlock passing through a link of the chain in such a way as to -give the boat the appearance of being fastened; but Lucy’s father found -that the padlock would open easily, without any unlocking, and so they -soon got the boat at liberty. - -Royal then went to look around among the grass and bushes near, to see -if he could find the paddles. Presently he called out, “Here they -are!” and in a few minutes he brought them to his father. - -“Now, Lucy,” said her father, “do you want to get in and sail across -the river?” - -“Isn’t there any danger?” said Lucy. - -“Yes,” said her father, “I think there is considerable danger.” - -“What! that we shall get drowned?” exclaimed Lucy. - -“No,” replied her father; “only that we shall get upset.” - -“Well, father,” said Lucy, “if we get upset, we shall certainly be -drowned.” - -“O no,” replied her father; “the water isn’t deep enough to drown us -anywhere, if we stand upright upon the bottom. And then, besides, there -is no danger that we shall be upset, unless where it is very shallow -indeed. The current may sweep us away down the stream, so that we shall -lose command of the boat, and then, if we strike a large stone, or a -sunken log, the boat might fill or go over; but, then, in the places -where the current is so rapid, the water is nowhere more than knee -deep. Now you may go with us or not, just as you please.” - -“Royal, what would you do?” said Lucy. - -“O, I’d go,” said Royal, “by all means.” - -“Would you, father?” asked Lucy. - -“Yes,” said her father, “unless you are very much afraid.” - -Lucy said she was a little afraid, but not much; and she cautiously -stepped into the boat. Royal got in after her, and when the two -children had taken their seats, their father followed them, and took -his place in the stern, with one of the paddles. Royal had the other. -The stern is the hinder part of a boat. The forward part is called the -_bows_. There was a chain attached to the bows of the boat, by which it -had been fastened to the shore. - -“Now, Royal,” said his father, when they were all seated, “you must -remember that, if you go with us, you must obey my orders exactly.” - -“Yes, father, I will,” said Royal. - -“And suppose,” said his father, “that I order you to jump into the -river.” - -“Then I’ll jump right in,” said Royal. - -“Well,” said his father, “we shall see.” - -Royal was seated forward, at the bows of the boat. The boat was -flat-bottomed, and square at both ends, so that there was very little -difference between the bows and the stern, and there was a place to sit -at each. Royal put his paddle into the water, and began to paddle a -little; but they made no progress, until his father was ready to work -his paddle at the stem of the boat; and then it began slowly to glide -up the river, keeping, however, all the time near the bank from which -they had set out. The water appeared to be much deeper on this side -than on the other, and the current was not so rapid. Lucy, however, by -looking over the side of the boat, could plainly see the gravel-stones -upon the bottom. - -They went along very smoothly and prosperously, but yet very slowly, -for some time; and at length Royal asked his father to put out more -into the stream. So his father turned the head of the boat out, and in -a very few minutes they found themselves in the middle of the river. -Now, however, instead of moving up, they found, by looking upon the -stones at the bottom, that they were drifting down. Royal observed, -too, that the water had become much more shallow, and the current was -stronger. He looked at his father, and found that he was exerting -himself, with all his strength, to force the boat against the current, -and keep it from being carried away. - -But the water was so shallow, that the end of his paddle rubbed upon -the bottom, and prevented his keeping the boat under command. Then he -thought that he would use his paddle for a setting-pole, instead of a -paddle; that is, that he would plant the lower end of it firmly into -the gravel at the bottom, and then push against it, and so force the -boat to go up the stream. - -In attempting to do this, however, he lost the command of his boat -still more. The current, setting strong against the bows, swept that -end of the boat round, so as to bring her broadside to the stream; and -then she was entirely at the mercy of the water, which here seemed to -pour over the stones in a torrent. The boat went flying along over the -rippling waves, within a very few inches of the pebble-stones below. -Royal began to be seriously afraid. - -“Can’t you stop her, father?” said he. - -His father did not answer, he was so intent upon the effort which he -was making. He had thought of one more plan. He planted the foot of -his paddle into the gravel on the bottom, opposite the middle of the -boat, and then, letting the middle of the boat press against it, he -endeavored to hold it by main force; but the force of the water was so -great, that the boat was crowded over until it just began to let in -water; so that he was obliged to release his hold, and the boat drifted -away again. He then took his seat once more in the stern of the boat. - -“Now, Royal,” said he, “stand up and take hold of the painter.” - -“What is that?” said Royal. - -“The chain,” replied his father--“the chain fastened to the bows.” - -Royal did so. - -“Now,” said his father, “stand up steadily upon the bows, and then step -down carefully into the water.” - -Royal obeyed his father’s command with much firmness. The water was -about up to his knees. He staggered a little at first, as he carried -with him the motion of the boat; but he soon regained a firm footing. - -“Now stand still,” said his father, “and hold on.” - -Royal braced himself, by his position in the water, against the action -of the boat, which pulled hard upon the painter, and this immediately -brought the boat round, into a position parallel with the direction of -the current. By holding on firmly a moment longer, he stopped the boat, -and the current swept swiftly by it, dashing the rippling waves almost -over the bows. Lucy sat all this time very quietly on the middle seat, -without saying a word. - -“Now, Royal,” said his father, “see if you can draw us in towards the -shore.” - -Royal found, that although it had been so difficult for his father to -push the boat by the head, yet that he himself could draw it pretty -easily with the chain. So he walked along through the water towards the -shore, drawing the boat after him. In a few minutes, he had the bows -safely drawn up upon the sand. - -His father then stepped out upon the beach, telling Lucy to sit still. -He took his stand back a little, where the gravel was dry, while Royal -remained just in the edge of the water. - -“Now, Royal,” said his father, “you may see if you can draw Lucy up the -river. Keep just far enough from the shore to make the water half knee -deep.” - -Royal was much pleased with this arrangement; and as for Lucy, she was -delighted. She sat upon the middle seat, balancing herself exactly, so -as not to upset the boat; while Royal waded along, drawing her through -the water, which curled and rippled on each side. - -“O Lucy,” said Royal, stopping to look round, “we can play this is a -canal-boat, and that I am the horse.” - -“So we can,” said Lucy; and she began immediately to chirup to him, to -make him go faster. - -Royal dragged the boat along, while his father walked upon the shore. -Presently they came to a place where the water began to be deeper, and -the bottom more sandy; and Royal perceived that the current was not -nearly as rapid. He looked up to see how the water appeared before him, -and he found that it was smooth and glassy, instead of being rippled -and rough, as it had been below. His father noticed this difference in -the appearance of the water too; and he told Royal that it was a sign -that there was no current there. So he directed Royal to come in to the -shore, and they would all get in again. - -Royal accordingly drew the boat up to the shore, and they all got -in. Now they found that they could paddle the boat very easily. It -glided over the smooth water with a very gentle and pleasant motion. -Lucy looked over the side, and watched the change in the sandy bottom -far below. Sometimes she saw a great log lying across the bed of the -stream, then a rock, half imbedded in the sand, and next a school of -little fishes. The land, too, looked beautiful on each side, as they -passed along. There were willows here lining the bank, and now and then -a great elm, with branches drooping over almost into the water. - -After sailing about in this smooth water a little while, their father -said that it was time for them to go home; and so he brought the boat -round, turning her head down the stream. After going down in that -direction for a little while, Royal said, - -“Why, father, you are going right upon the ripples again.” - -“Yes,” said his father, “we are going over them.” - -“O father,” said Lucy, “we shall upset.” - -“No,” said her father, “there is no danger, going down.” - -“Why not?” said Royal. - -“Because,” said his father, “I shall keep her head down, and then, if -we strike a snag, it will do no harm.” - -“What is a snag?” said Lucy. - -“It is a log sunk in the water,” replied her father. - -By this time they had begun to enter the rippling water, and the boat -shot swiftly along, bounding over the little billows very merrily. Lucy -was at first a little afraid, but she soon began to feel safe, and to -enjoy the rapid motion. They soon reached the place where they had -taken the boat, and, leaving it there, fastened securely as they had -found it, they all went back across the intervals towards home. - - -THE END. - - - - -Transcriber’s note: - -Punctuation has been standardised; spelling and hyphenation have been -retained as in the original publication except as follows: - - Pages 70 and 71 - is’nt it any darker _changed to_ - isn’t it any darker - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's Cousin Lucy's Conversations, by Jacob Abbott - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK COUSIN LUCY'S CONVERSATIONS *** - -***** This file should be named 50793-0.txt or 50793-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/0/7/9/50793/ - -Produced by The Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images -generously made available by The Internet Archive/American -Libraries.) - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, -and may not be used if you charge for the eBooks, unless you receive -specific permission. If you do not charge anything for copies of this -eBook, complying with the rules is very easy. You may use this eBook -for nearly any purpose such as creation of derivative works, reports, -performances and research. They may be modified and printed and given -away--you may do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks -not protected by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the -trademark license, especially commercial redistribution. - -START: FULL LICENSE - -THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE -PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK - -To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free -distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work -(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full -Project Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at -www.gutenberg.org/license. - -Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works - -1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to -and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property -(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all -the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or -destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your -possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a -Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound -by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the -person or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph -1.E.8. - -1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be -used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who -agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few -things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See -paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this -agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below. - -1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the -Foundation" or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection -of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual -works in the collection are in the public domain in the United -States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the -United States and you are located in the United States, we do not -claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, -displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as -all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope -that you will support the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting -free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm -works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the -Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with the work. You can easily -comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the -same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg-tm License when -you share it without charge with others. - -1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern -what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are -in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, -check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this -agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, -distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any -other Project Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no -representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any -country outside the United States. - -1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: - -1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other -immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear -prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work -on which the phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the -phrase "Project Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, -performed, viewed, copied or distributed: - - This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and - most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no - restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it - under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this - eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the - United States, you'll have to check the laws of the country where you - are located before using this ebook. - -1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is -derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not -contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the -copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in -the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are -redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply -either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or -obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg-tm -trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted -with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution -must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any -additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms -will be linked to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works -posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the -beginning of this work. - -1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm -License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this -work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. - -1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this -electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without -prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with -active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project -Gutenberg-tm License. - -1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, -compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including -any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access -to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format -other than "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official -version posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site -(www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense -to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means -of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original "Plain -Vanilla ASCII" or other form. Any alternate format must include the -full Project Gutenberg-tm License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. - -1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, -performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works -unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing -access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -provided that - -* You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from - the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method - you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed - to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he has - agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid - within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are - legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty - payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in - Section 4, "Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg - Literary Archive Foundation." - -* You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies - you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he - does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm - License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all - copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue - all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg-tm - works. - -* You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of - any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the - electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of - receipt of the work. - -* You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free - distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. - -1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work or group of works on different terms than -are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing -from both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and The -Project Gutenberg Trademark LLC, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm -trademark. Contact the Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. - -1.F. - -1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable -effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread -works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project -Gutenberg-tm collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may -contain "Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate -or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other -intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or -other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or -cannot be read by your equipment. - -1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right -of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project -Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all -liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal -fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT -LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE -PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE -TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE -LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR -INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH -DAMAGE. - -1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a -defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can -receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a -written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you -received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium -with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you -with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in -lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person -or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second -opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If -the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing -without further opportunities to fix the problem. - -1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth -in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO -OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT -LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. - -1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied -warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of -damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement -violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the -agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or -limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or -unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the -remaining provisions. - -1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the -trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone -providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in -accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the -production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, -including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of -the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this -or any Project Gutenberg-tm work, (b) alteration, modification, or -additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any -Defect you cause. - -Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm - -Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of -electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of -computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It -exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations -from people in all walks of life. - -Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the -assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's -goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will -remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure -and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future -generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see -Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at -www.gutenberg.org - - - -Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation - -The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit -501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the -state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal -Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification -number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by -U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. - -The Foundation's principal office is in Fairbanks, Alaska, with the -mailing address: PO Box 750175, Fairbanks, AK 99775, but its -volunteers and employees are scattered throughout numerous -locations. Its business office is located at 809 North 1500 West, Salt -Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up to -date contact information can be found at the Foundation's web site and -official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact - -For additional contact information: - - Dr. Gregory B. Newby - Chief Executive and Director - gbnewby@pglaf.org - -Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation - -Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide -spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of -increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be -freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest -array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations -($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt -status with the IRS. - -The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating -charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United -States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a -considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up -with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations -where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND -DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular -state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate - -While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we -have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition -against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who -approach us with offers to donate. - -International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make -any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from -outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. - -Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation -methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other -ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To -donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate - -Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. - -Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project -Gutenberg-tm concept of a library of electronic works that could be -freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and -distributed Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of -volunteer support. - -Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed -editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in -the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not -necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper -edition. - -Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search -facility: www.gutenberg.org - -This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. - diff --git a/old/50793-0.zip b/old/50793-0.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 41730b2..0000000 --- a/old/50793-0.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/50793-h.zip b/old/50793-h.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 5d7e571..0000000 --- a/old/50793-h.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/50793-h/50793-h.htm b/old/50793-h/50793-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index ed23fb4..0000000 --- a/old/50793-h/50793-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,5218 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" - "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> -<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> - <head> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=utf-8" /> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> - <title> - The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Lucy Books, by Jacob Abbott - </title> - <link rel="coverpage" href="images/cover.jpg" /> - <style type="text/css"> - body {margin: 0 10%;} - - h1,h2 {text-align: center; clear: both;} - h2 {line-height: 2em; font-size: 1.4em;} - p {margin-top: 1em; text-align: justify; margin-bottom: 1em; text-indent: 1em;} - p.title, p.author, p.pub {text-indent: 0em; text-align: center; font-weight: bold;} - p.title {font-size: 2em; line-height: 2em;} - p.author {font-size: 1em;} - p.pub, .p120 {font-size: 1.2em;} - .p70 {font-size: .7em;} - - /* General */ - .noi {text-indent: 0;} - .center {text-align: center; text-indent: 0;} - .smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} - .mt3 {margin-top: 3em;} - - /* Table */ - table {margin: auto; border-collapse: collapse;} - .tdl {text-align: left; padding-right: 6em;} - .tdr {text-align: right;} - .tdc {text-align: center; text-indent: 0em; padding-top: 1em;} - - /* Notes */ - em {font-style: italic;} - .tn {width: 60%; margin: 2em 20%; background: #dcdcdc; padding: 1em;} - ul.nobullet {list-style-type: none;} - ins {text-decoration: none;} - - /* Horizontal rules */ - hr {width: 60%; margin: 2em 20%; clear: both;} - hr.full {width: 65%; margin: 4em 17.5% 0 17.5%;} - hr.full2 {width: 65%; margin: 0em 17.5% 4em 17.5%;} - hr.short {width: 40%; margin: 2em 30%;} - hr.divider {width: 65%; margin: 4em 17.5%;} - hr.divider2 {width: 35%; margin: 4em 32.5%;} - - /* Page numbers */ - .pagenum {position: absolute; right: 2%; text-indent: 0em; - text-align: right; font-size: x-small; - font-weight: normal; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; - letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; - color: #999; border-top: 1px solid; border-bottom: 1px solid; - background-color: inherit; padding: 1px 4px;} - - /* Images */ - .figcenter {clear: both; margin: 2em auto; text-align: center; max-width: 100%;} - img {max-width: 100%; width: 100%; height: auto;} - .width600 {width: 600px;} - .width500 {width: 500px;} - .width400 {width: 400px;} - .width300 {width: 300px;} - - @media handheld { - body {margin: .5em; padding: 0; width: 95%;} - p {margin-top: .1em; text-align: justify; margin-bottom: .1em; text-indent: 1em;} - hr {border-width: 0; margin: 0;} - img {max-width: 100%; width: auto; height: auto;} - table {width: 96%; margin: 0 2%;} - .tn {width: 80%; margin: 0 10%; background: #dcdcdc; padding: 1em;} - a {color: inherit; text-decoration: inherit;} - .hidehand {display: none; visibility: hidden;} - } - </style> - </head> -<body> - - -<pre> - -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Cousin Lucy's Conversations, by Jacob Abbott - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Cousin Lucy's Conversations - By the Author of the Rollo Books - -Author: Jacob Abbott - -Release Date: December 30, 2015 [EBook #50793] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK COUSIN LUCY'S CONVERSATIONS *** - - - - -Produced by The Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images -generously made available by The Internet Archive/American -Libraries.) - - - - - - -</pre> - -<hr class="divider" /> -<h1><small>COUSIN LUCY’S</small><br /> -CONVERSATIONS.</h1> - -<div class=" hidehand"> -<hr class="divider2" /> -<div class="figcenter width500"> -<img src="images/cover.jpg" width="500" height="763" alt="Cover" /> -<div class="center">The cover was created by the transcriber using elements from the -original publication and placed in the public domain.</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="divider2" /> -<div class="figcenter width400"> -<img src="images/frontispiece.jpg" width="400" height="590" alt="Frontispiece" /> -</div> - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider2" /> -<div class="figcenter width400"> -<img src="images/title1.jpg" width="400" height="657" alt="Title page" /> -</div> - -<p class="center">THE LUCY BOOKS.</p> - -<p class="center">BY THE<br /> -Author of the Rollo Books.</p> - -<p class="center"><em>New York</em>,<br /> -CLARK AUSTIN & CO.<br /> -205 BROADWAY.</p> -</div> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider2" /> -</div> -<p class="title"><small>COUSIN LUCY’S</small><br /> -CONVERSATIONS.</p> - -<p class="author"><small>BY THE</small><br /> -AUTHOR OF THE ROLLO BOOKS.</p> - -<p class="author mt3">A NEW EDITION,<br /> -REVISED BY THE AUTHOR.</p> - -<p class="pub mt3"><small>NEW YORK:</small><br /> -CLARK, AUSTIN & SMITH,<br /> -<small>3 PARK ROW AND 3 ANN-STREET,</small><br /> -1854.</p> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="full" /> -<p class="center"> -Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1841,<br /> -<span class="smcap">By</span> T. H. CARTER,<br /> -In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of Massachusetts.</p> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="full2" /> -<h2>NOTICE.</h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">The</span> simple delineations of the ordinary incidents and feelings which -characterize childhood, that are contained in the Rollo Books, having -been found to interest, and, as the author hopes, in some degree to -benefit the young readers for whom they were designed,—the plan is -herein extended to children of the other sex. The two first volumes -of the series are <span class="smcap">Lucy’s Conversations</span> and <span class="smcap">Lucy’s -Stories</span>. Lucy was Rollo’s cousin; and the author hopes that the -history of her life and adventures may be entertaining and useful to -the sisters of the boys who have honored the Rollo Books with their -approval.</p> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<h2>CONTENTS.</h2> -</div> -<table summary="contents"> -<tr> -<td> </td> -<td class="tdr p70">Page.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdc" colspan="2">CONVERSATION I.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Treasury,</span></td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#i">9</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdc" colspan="2">CONVERSATION II.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Definitions,</span></td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#ii">21</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdc" colspan="2">CONVERSATION III.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Glen,</span></td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#iii">34</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdc" colspan="2">CONVERSATION IV.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">A Prisoner,</span></td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#iv">43</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdc" colspan="2">CONVERSATION V.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Target Painting,</span></td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#v">51</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdc" colspan="2">CONVERSATION VI.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Midnight,</span></td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#vi">60</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdc" colspan="2">CONVERSATION VII.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Joanna,</span></td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#vii">75</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdc" colspan="2">CONVERSATION VIII.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Building,</span></td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#viii">88</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdc" colspan="2">CONVERSATION IX.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Equivocation,</span></td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#ix">103</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdc" colspan="2">CONVERSATION X.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Johnny,</span></td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#x">118</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdc" colspan="2">CONVERSATION XI.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl"><span>Getting Lost,</span></td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#xi">132</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdc" colspan="2">CONVERSATION XII.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Lucy’s Scholar,</span></td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#xii">146</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdc" colspan="2">CONVERSATION XIII.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Sketching,</span></td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#xiii">159</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdc" colspan="2">CONVERSATION XIV.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Danger,</span></td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#xiv">170</a></td> -</tr> -</table> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">9</a></span> -<p class="title">LUCY’S CONVERSATIONS.</p> -</div> -<hr class="divider2" /> - -<h2 style="page-break-before: avoid;"><a name="i" id="i"></a>CONVERSATION I.<br /> -<small>THE TREASURY.</small></h2> - - -<p class="noi"><span class="smcap">One</span> day in summer, when Lucy was a very little girl, she was sitting in -her rocking-chair, playing keep school. She had placed several crickets -and small chairs in a row for the children’s seats, and had been -talking, in dialogue, for some time, pretending to hold conversations -with her pupils. She heard one read and spell, and gave another -directions about her writing; and she had quite a long talk with a -third about the reason why she did not come to school earlier. At last -Lucy, seeing the kitten come into the room, and thinking that she -should like to go and play with her, told the children that she thought -it was time for school to be done.</p> - -<p>Royal, Lucy’s brother, had been sitting upon<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">10</a></span> the steps at the front -door, while Lucy was playing school; and just as she was thinking that -it was time to dismiss the children, he happened to get up and come -into the room. Royal was about eleven years old. When he found that -Lucy was playing school, he stopped at the door a moment to listen.</p> - -<p>“Now, children,” said Lucy, “it is time for the school to be dismissed; -for I want to play with the kitten.”</p> - -<p>Here Royal laughed aloud.</p> - -<p>Lucy looked around, a little disturbed at Royal’s interruption. -Besides, she did not like to be laughed at. She, however, said nothing -in reply, but still continued to give her attention to her school. -Royal walked in, and stood somewhat nearer.</p> - -<p>“We will sing a hymn,” said Lucy, gravely.</p> - -<p>Here Royal laughed again.</p> - -<p>“Royal, you must not laugh,” said Lucy. “They always sing a hymn at the -end of a school.” Then, making believe that she was speaking to her -scholars, she said, “You may all take out your hymn-books, children.”</p> - -<p>Lucy had a little hymn-book in her hand, and she began turning over the -leaves, pretending to find a place.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">11</a></span> -“You may sing,” she said, at last, “the thirty-third hymn, long part, -second metre.”</p> - -<p>At this sad mismating of the words in Lucy’s announcement of the hymn, -Royal found that he could contain himself no longer. He burst into loud -and incontrollable fits of laughter, staggering about the room, and -saying to himself, as he could catch a little breath, “<i>Long part!—O -dear me!—second metre!—O dear!</i>”</p> - -<p>“Royal,” said Lucy, with all the sternness she could command, “you -<em>shall not</em> laugh.”</p> - -<p>Royal made no reply, but tumbled over upon the sofa, holding his sides, -and every minute repeating, at the intervals of the paroxysm, “<i>Long -part—second metre!</i>—O dear me!”</p> - -<p>“Royal,” said Lucy again, stamping with her little foot upon the -carpet, “I tell you, you shall not laugh.”</p> - -<p>Then suddenly she seized a little twig which she had by her side, and -which she had provided as a rod to punish her imaginary scholars with; -and, starting up, she ran towards Royal, saying, “I’ll soon make you -sober with my rod.”</p> - -<p>Royal immediately jumped up from the sofa, and ran off,—Lucy in hot -pursuit. Royal turned into the back entry, and passed out through an -open door behind, which led into a little green<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">12</a></span> yard back of the -house. There was a young lady, about seventeen years old, coming out of -the garden into the little yard, with a watering-pot in her hand, just -as Royal and Lucy came out of the house.</p> - -<p>She stopped Lucy, and asked her what was the matter.</p> - -<p>“Why, Miss Anne,” said Lucy, “Royal keeps laughing at me.”</p> - -<p>Miss Anne looked around to see Royal. He had gone and seated himself -upon a bench under an apple-tree, and seemed entirely out of breath and -exhausted; though his face was still full of half-suppressed glee.</p> - -<p>“What is the matter, Royal?” said Miss Anne.</p> - -<p>“Why, he is laughing at my school,” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“No, I am not laughing at her school,” said Royal; “but she was going -to give out a hymn, and she said——”</p> - -<p>Royal could not get any further. The fit of laughter came over him -again, and he lay down upon the bench, unable to give any further -account of it, except to get out the words, “<em>Long part!</em> O dear me! -What shall I do?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">13</a></span> -“Royal!” exclaimed Lucy.</p> - -<p>“Never mind him,” said Miss Anne; “let him laugh if he will, and you, -come with me.”</p> - -<p>“Why, where are you going?”</p> - -<p>“Into my room. Come, go in with me, and I will talk with you.”</p> - -<p>So Miss Anne took Lucy along with her into a little back bedroom. There -was a window at one side, and a table, with books, and an inkstand, and -a work-basket upon it. Miss Anne sat down at this window, and took her -work; and Lucy came and leaned against her, and said,</p> - -<p>“Come, Miss Anne, you said you would talk with me.”</p> - -<p>“Well,” said Miss Anne, “there is one thing which I do not like.”</p> - -<p>“What is it?” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“Why, you do not keep your treasury in order.”</p> - -<p>“Well, that,” said Lucy, “is because I have got so many things.”</p> - -<p>“Then I would not have so many things;—at least I would not keep them -all in my treasury.”</p> - -<p>“Well, Miss Anne, if you would only keep some of them for me,—then I -could keep the rest in order.”</p> - -<p>“What sort of things should you wish me to keep?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">14</a></span> -“Why, my best things,—my tea-set, I am sure, so that I shall not -lose any more of them; I have lost some of them now—one cup and two -saucers; and the handle of the pitcher is broken. Royal broke it. He -said he would pay me, but he never has.”</p> - -<p>“How was he going to pay you?”</p> - -<p>“Why, he said he would make a new nose for old Margaret. Her nose is -all worn off.”</p> - -<p>“A new nose! How could he make a new nose?” asked Miss Anne.</p> - -<p>“O, of putty. He said he could make it of putty, and stick it on.”</p> - -<p>“Putty!” exclaimed Miss Anne. “What a boy!”</p> - -<p>Old Margaret was an old doll that Lucy had. She was not big enough to -take very good care of a doll, and old Margaret had been tumbled about -the floors and carpets until she was pretty well worn out. Still, -however, Lucy always kept her, with her other playthings, in her -<em>treasury</em>.</p> - -<p>The place which Lucy called her treasury was a part of a closet or -wardrobe, in a back entry, very near Miss Anne’s room. This closet -extended down to the floor, and upwards nearly to the wall. There were -two doors above, and two below. The lower part had been assigned to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">15</a></span> -Lucy, to keep her playthings and her various treasures in; and it was -called her <em>treasury</em>.</p> - -<p>Her treasury was not kept in very good order. The upper shelf contained -books, and the two lower, playthings. But all three of the shelves were -in a state of sad disorder. And this was the reason why Miss Anne asked -her about it.</p> - -<p>“Yes, Miss Anne,” said Lucy, “that is the very difficulty, I know. I -have got too many things in my treasury; and if you will keep my best -things for me, then I shall have room for the rest. I’ll run and get my -tea things.”</p> - -<p>“But stop,” said Miss Anne. “It seems to me that you had better keep -your best things yourself, and put the others away somewhere.”</p> - -<p>“But where shall I put them?” asked Lucy.</p> - -<p>“Why, you might carry them up garret, and put them in a box. Take out -all the broken playthings, and the old papers, and the things of no -value, and put them in a box, and then we will get Royal to nail a -cover on it.”</p> - -<p>“Well,—if I only had a box,” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“And then,” continued Miss Anne, “after a good while, when you have -forgotten all about the box, and have got tired of your playthings in -the treasury, I can say, ‘O Lucy, don’t you remember you have got a box -full of playthings up in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">16</a></span> the garret?’ And then you can go up there, -and Royal will draw out the nails, and take off the cover, and you can -look them all over, and they will be new again.”</p> - -<p>“O aunt Anne, will they be really <em>new</em> again?” said Lucy; “would old -Margaret be new again if I should nail her up in a box?”</p> - -<p>Lucy thought that <em>new</em> meant nice, and whole, and clean, like things -when they are first bought at the toy-shop or bookstore.</p> - -<p>Miss Anne laughed at this mistake; for she meant that they would be -<em>new</em> to her; that is, that she would have forgotten pretty much how -they looked, and that she would take a new and fresh interest in -looking at them.</p> - -<p>Lucy looked a little disappointed when Anne explained that this was her -meaning; but she said that she would carry up some of the things to the -garret, if she only had a box to put them in.</p> - -<p>Miss Anne said that she presumed that she could find some box or old -trunk up there; and she gave Lucy a basket to put the things into, that -were to be carried up.</p> - -<p>So Lucy took the basket, and carried it into the entry; and she opened -the doors of her treasury, and placed the basket down upon the floor -before it.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">17</a></span> -Then she kneeled down herself upon the carpet, and began to take a -survey of the scene of confusion before her.</p> - -<p>She took out several blocks, which were lying upon the lower shelf, -and also some large sheets of paper with great letters printed upon -them. Her father had given them to her to cut the letters out, and -paste them into little books. Next came a saucer, with patches of red, -blue, green, and yellow, all over it, made with water colors, from Miss -Anne’s paint-box. She put these things into the basket, and then sat -still for some minutes, not knowing what to take next. Not being able -to decide herself, she went back to ask Miss Anne.</p> - -<p>“What things do you think I had better carry away, Miss Anne?” said -she. “I can’t tell very well.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know what things you have got there, exactly,” said Miss Anne; -“but I can tell you what <em>kind</em> of things I should take away.”</p> - -<p>“Well, what kind?” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“Why, I should take the bulky things.”</p> - -<p>“Bulky things!” said Lucy; “what are bulky things?”</p> - -<p>“Why, <em>big</em> things—those that take up a great deal of room.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">18</a></span> -“Well, what other kinds of things, Miss Anne?”</p> - -<p>“The useless things.”</p> - -<p>“Useless?” repeated Lucy.</p> - -<p>“Yes, those that you do not use much.”</p> - -<p>“Well, what others?”</p> - -<p>“All the old, broken things.”</p> - -<p>“Well, and what else?”</p> - -<p>“Why, I think,” replied Miss Anne, “that if you take away all those, -you will then probably have room enough for the rest. At any rate, go -and get a basket full of such as I have told you, and we will see how -much room it makes.”</p> - -<p>So Lucy went back, and began to take out some of the broken, and -useless, and large things, and at length filled her basket full. Then -she carried them in to show to Miss Anne. Miss Anne looked them over, -and took out some old papers which were of no value whatever, and then -told Lucy, that, if she would carry them up stairs, and put them down -upon the garret floor, she would herself come up by and by, and find a -box to put them in. Lucy did so, and then came down, intending to get -another basket full.</p> - -<p>As she was descending the stairs, coming down carefully from step to -step, with one hand upon the banisters, and the other holding her -basket, singing a little song,—her mother, who was at<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">19</a></span> work in the -parlor, heard her, and came out into the entry.</p> - -<p>“Ah, my little Miss Lucy,” said she, “I’ve found you, have I? Just come -into the parlor a minute; I want to show you something.”</p> - -<p>Lucy’s mother smiled when she said this; and Lucy could not imagine -what it was that she wanted to show her.</p> - -<p>As soon, however, as she got into the room, her mother stopped by the -door, and pointed to the little chairs and crickets which Lucy had left -out upon the floor of the room, when she had dismissed her school. The -rule was, that she must always put away all the chairs and furniture -of every kind which she used in her play; and, when she forgot or -neglected this, her punishment was, to be imprisoned for ten minutes -upon a little cricket in the corner, with nothing to amuse herself with -but a book. And a book was not much amusement for her; for she could -not read; she only knew a few of her letters.</p> - -<p>As soon, therefore, as she saw her mother pointing at the crickets and -chairs, she began at once to excuse herself by saying,</p> - -<p>“Well, mother, that is because I was doing something for Miss -Anne.—No, it is because<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">20</a></span> Royal made me go away from my school, before -it was done.”</p> - -<p>“Royal made you go away! how?” asked her mother.</p> - -<p>“Why, he laughed at me, and so I ran after him; and then Miss Anne took -me into her room and I forgot all about my chairs and crickets.”</p> - -<p>“Well, I am sorry for you; but you must put them away, and then go to -prison.”</p> - -<p>So Lucy put away her crickets and chairs, and then went and took her -seat in the corner where she could see the clock, and began to look -over her book to find such letters as she knew, until the minute-hand -had passed over two of the five-minute spaces upon the face of the -clock. Then she got up and went out; and, hearing Royal’s voice in the -yard, she went out to see what he was doing, and forgot all about the -work she had undertaken at her treasury. Miss Anne sat in her room two -hours, wondering what had become of Lucy; and finally, when she came -out of her room to see about getting tea, she shut the treasury doors, -and, seeing the basket upon the stairs, where Lucy had left it, she -took it and put it away in its place.</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">21</a></span></p> -</div> - -<h2><a name="ii" id="ii"></a>CONVERSATION II.<br /> -<small>DEFINITIONS.</small></h2> - - -<p class="noi"><span class="smcap">A few</span> days after this, Lucy came into Miss Anne’s room, bringing a -little gray kitten in her arms. She asked Miss Anne if she would not -make her a rolling mouse, for her kitten to play with.</p> - -<p>Miss Anne had a way of unwinding a ball of yarn a little, and then -fastening it with a pin, so that it would not unwind any farther. Then -Lucy could take hold of the end of the yarn, and roll the ball about -upon the floor, and let the kitten run after it. She called it her -rolling mouse.</p> - -<p>Miss Anne made her a mouse, and Lucy played with it for some time. At -last the kitten scampered away, and Lucy could not find her. Then Anne -proposed to Lucy that she should finish the work of re-arranging her -treasury.</p> - -<p>“Let me see,” said Miss Anne, “if you remember what I told you the -other day. What were the kinds of things that I advised you to carry -away?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">22</a></span> -“Why, there were the <em>sulky</em> things.”</p> - -<p>“The what!” said Miss Anne.</p> - -<p>“No, the big things,—the big things,” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“The bulky things,” said Miss Anne, “not the <em>sulky</em> things!”</p> - -<p>“Well, it sounded like <em>sulky</em>,” said Lucy; “but I thought it was not -exactly that.”</p> - -<p>“No, not exactly,—but it was not a very great mistake. I said -<em>useless</em> things, and <em>bulky</em> things, and you got the sounds -confounded.”</p> - -<p>“Con— what?” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“Confounded,—that is, mixed together. You got the <em>s</em> sound of -<em>useless</em>, instead of the <em>b</em> sound of <em>bulky</em>; but <em>bulky</em> and <em>sulky</em> -mean very different things.”</p> - -<p>“What does <em>sulky</em> mean? I know that <em>bulky</em> means <em>big</em>.”</p> - -<p>“Sulkiness is a kind of ill-humor.”</p> - -<p>“What kind?”</p> - -<p>“Why, it is the <em>silent</em> kind. If a little girl, who is out of humor, -complains and cries, we say she is fretful or cross; but if she goes -away pouting and still, but yet plainly out of humor, they sometimes -say she is <em>sulky</em>. A good many of your playthings are bulky; but I -don’t think<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">23</a></span> any of them are sulky, unless it be old Margaret. Does she -ever get out of humor?”</p> - -<p>“Sometimes,” said Lucy, “and then I shut her up in a corner. Would you -carry old Margaret up garret?”</p> - -<p>“Why, she takes up a good deal of room, does not she?” said Miss Anne.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said Lucy, “ever so much room. I cannot make her sit up, and she -lies down all over my cups and saucers.”</p> - -<p>“Then I certainly would carry her up garret.”</p> - -<p>“And would you carry up her bonnet and shawl too?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, all that belongs to her.”</p> - -<p>“Then,” said Lucy, “whenever I want to play with her, I shall have to -go away up garret, to get all her things.”</p> - -<p>“Very well; you can do just as you think best.”</p> - -<p>“Well, would you?” asked Lucy.</p> - -<p>“I should, myself, if I were in your case; and only keep such things in -my treasury as are neat, and whole, and in good order.”</p> - -<p>“But I play with old Margaret a great deal,—almost every day,” said -Lucy.</p> - -<p>“Perhaps, then, you had better not carry her away. Do just which you -think you shall like best.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">24</a></span> -Lucy began to walk towards the door. She moved quite slowly, because -she was uncertain whether to carry her old doll up stairs or not. -Presently she turned around again, and said,</p> - -<p>“Well, Miss Anne, which would you do?”</p> - -<p>“I have told you that <em>I</em> should carry her up stairs; but I’ll tell you -what you can do. You can play that she has gone away on a visit; and so -let her stay up garret a few days, and then, if you find you cannot do -without her, you can make believe that you must send for her to come -home.”</p> - -<p>“So I can,” said Lucy; “that will be a good plan.”</p> - -<p>Lucy went immediately to the treasury, and took old Margaret out, and -everything that belonged to her. This almost made a basket full, and -she carried it off up stairs. Then she came back, and got another -basket full, and another, until at last she had removed nearly half of -the things; and then she thought that there would be plenty of room to -keep the rest in order. And every basket full which she had carried -up, she had always brought first to Miss Anne, to let her look over -the things, and see whether they had better all go. Sometimes Lucy had -got something in her basket which Miss Anne thought had better remain, -and be kept in the treasury; and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">25</a></span> some of the things Miss Anne said -were good for nothing at all, and had better be burnt, or thrown away, -such as old papers, and some shapeless blocks, and broken bits of china -ware. At last the work was all done, the basket put away, and Lucy came -and sat down by Miss Anne.</p> - -<p>“Well, Lucy,” said Miss Anne, “you have been quite industrious and -persevering.”</p> - -<p>Lucy did not know exactly what Miss Anne meant by these words; but she -knew by her countenance and her tone of voice, that it was something in -her praise.</p> - -<p>“But perhaps you do not know what I mean, exactly,” she added.</p> - -<p>“No, not exactly,” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“Why, a girl is industrious when she keeps steadily at work all the -time, until her work is done. If you had stopped when you had got your -basket half full, and had gone to playing with the things, you would -not have been industrious.”</p> - -<p>“I did, a little,—with my guinea peas,” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“It is best,” said Miss Anne, “when you have anything like that to do, -to keep industriously at work until it is finished.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">26</a></span> -“But I only wanted to look at my guinea peas a little.”</p> - -<p>“O, I don’t think that was very wrong,” said Miss Anne. “Only it would -have been a little better if you had put them back upon the shelf, and -said, ‘Now, as soon as I have finished my work, then I’ll take out my -guinea peas and look at them.’ You would have enjoyed looking at them -more when your work was done.”</p> - -<p>“You said that I was something else besides industrious.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, persevering,” said Miss Anne.</p> - -<p>“What is that?”</p> - -<p>“Why, that is keeping on steadily at your work, and not giving it up -until it is entirely finished.”</p> - -<p>“Why, Miss Anne,” said Lucy, “I thought that was <em>industrious</em>.”</p> - -<p>Here Miss Anne began to laugh, and Lucy said,</p> - -<p>“Now, what are you laughing at, Miss Anne?” She thought that she was -laughing at her.</p> - -<p>“O, I am not laughing at you, but at my own definitions.”</p> - -<p>“Definitions! What are definitions, Miss Anne?” said Lucy.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">27</a></span> -“Why, explanations of the meanings of words. You asked me what was the -meaning of <em>industrious</em> and <em>persevering</em>; and I tried to explain them -to you; that is, to tell you the definition of them; but I gave pretty -much the same definition for both; when, in fact, they mean quite -different things.”</p> - -<p>“Then why did not you give me different definitions, Miss Anne?” said -Lucy.</p> - -<p>“It is very hard to give good definitions,” said she.</p> - -<p>“I should not think it would be hard. I should think, if you knew what -the words meant, you could just tell me.”</p> - -<p>“I can tell you in another way,” said Miss. Anne. “Suppose a boy should -be sent into the pasture to find the cow, and should look about a -little while, and then come home and say that he could not find her, -when he had only looked over a very small part of the pasture. He would -not be <em>persevering</em>. Perhaps there was a brook, and some woods that he -ought to go through and look beyond; but he gave up, we will suppose, -and thought he would not go over the brook, but would rather come home -and say that he could not find the cow. Now, a boy, in such a case, -would not be <em>persevering</em>.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">28</a></span> -“<em>I</em> should have liked to go over the brook,” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said Miss Anne, “no doubt; but we may suppose that he had been -over it so often, that he did not care about going again,—and so he -turned back and came home, without having finished his work.”</p> - -<p>“His work?” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“Yes,—his duty, of looking for the cow until he found her. He was -sent to find the cow, but he did not do it. He became discouraged, and -gave up too easily. He did not <em>persevere</em>. Perhaps he kept looking -about all the time, while he was in the pasture; and went into all -the little groves and valleys where the cow might be hid: and so he -was <em>industrious</em> while he was looking for the cow, but he did not -<em>persevere</em>.</p> - -<p>“And so you see, Lucy,” continued Miss Anne, “a person might persevere -without being industrious. For once there was a girl named Julia. She -had a flower-garden. She went out one morning to weed it. She pulled -up some of the weeds, and then she went off to see a butterfly; and -after a time she came back, and worked a little longer. Then some -children came to see her; and she sat down upon a seat, and talked with -them some time, and left her work. In this way,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">29</a></span> she kept continually -stopping to play. She was not industrious.”</p> - -<p>“And did she <em>persevere</em>?” asked Lucy.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said Miss Anne. “She persevered. For when the other children -wanted her to go away with them and play, she would not. She said she -did not mean to go out of the garden until she had finished weeding -her flowers. So after the children had gone away, she went back to -her work, and after a time she got it done. She was <em>persevering</em>; -that is, she would not give up what she had undertaken until it was -finished;—but she was not <em>industrious</em>; that is, she did not work all -the time steadily, while she was engaged in doing it. It would have -been better for her to have been industrious and persevering too, for -then she would have finished her work sooner.”</p> - -<p>As Miss Anne said these words, she heard a voice out in the yard -calling to her,</p> - -<p>“Miss Anne!”</p> - -<p>Miss Anne looked out at the window to see who it was. It was Royal.</p> - -<p>“Is Lucy in there with you?” asked Royal.</p> - -<p>Miss Anne said that she was; and at the same time, Lucy, who heard -Royal’s voice, ran to another window, and climbed up into a chair, so -that she could look out.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">30</a></span> -“Lucy,” said Royal, “come out here.”</p> - -<p>“O no,” said Lucy, “I can’t come now. Miss Anne is telling me stories.”</p> - -<p>Royal was seated on a large, flat stone, which had been placed in a -corner of the yard, under some trees, for a seat; he was cutting a -stick with his knife. His cap was lying upon the stone, by his side. -When Lucy said that she could not come out, he put his hand down upon -his cap, and said,</p> - -<p>“Come out and see what I’ve got under my cap.”</p> - -<p>“What is it?” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“I can’t tell you; it is a secret. If you will come out, I will let you -see it.”</p> - -<p>“Do tell me what it is.”</p> - -<p>“No,” said Royal.</p> - -<p>“Tell me something about it,” said Lucy, “at any rate.”</p> - -<p>“Well,” said Royal, “I will tell you one thing. It is not a bird.”</p> - -<p>Lucy concluded that it must be some curious animal or other, if it was -not a bird; and so she told Miss Anne that she believed she would go -out and see, and then she would come in again directly, and hear the -rest that she had to say. So she went out to see what Royal had got -under his cap.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">31</a></span> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">32</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter width600"> -<img src="images/i-032.jpg" width="600" height="388" alt="" /> -<div class="caption">“So she went out to see what Royal had got under his -cap.”—<em>Page</em> 30.</div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">33</a></span> -Miss Anne suspected that Royal had not got anything under his cap; but -that it was only his contrivance to excite Lucy’s curiosity, and induce -her to come out.</p> - -<p>And this turned out to be the fact; for when Lucy went up to where -Royal was sitting, and asked him what it was, he just lifted up his -cap, and said, it was that monstrous, great, flat stone!</p> - -<p>At first, Lucy was displeased, and was going directly back into the -house again; but Royal told her that he was making a windmill, and -that, if she would stay there and keep him company, he would let her -run with it, when it was done. So Lucy concluded to remain.</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">34</a></span></p> -</div> - -<h2><a name="iii" id="iii"></a>CONVERSATION III.<br /> -<small>THE GLEN.</small></h2> - - -<p class="noi"><span class="smcap">Behind</span> the house that Lucy lived in, there was a path, winding among -trees, which was a very pleasant path to take a walk in. Lucy and Royal -often went to take a walk there. They almost always went that way when -Miss Anne could go with them, for she liked the place very much. It led -to a strange sort of a place, where there were trees, and high, rocky -banks, and a brook running along in the middle, with a broad plank to -go across. Miss Anne called it the glen.</p> - -<p>One morning Miss Anne told Lucy that she was going to be busy for two -hours, and that after that she was going to take a walk down to the -glen; and that Lucy might go with her, if she would like to go. Of -course Lucy liked the plan very much. When the time arrived, they set -off, going out through the garden gate. Miss Anne had a parasol in one -hand and a book in the other. Lucy ran along before her, and opened the -gate.</p> - -<p>They heard a voice behind them calling out,</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">35</a></span> -“Miss Anne, where are you going?”</p> - -<p>They looked round. It was Royal, sitting at the window of a little -room, where he used to study.</p> - -<p>“We are going to take a walk,—down to the glen,” said Miss Anne.</p> - -<p>“I wish you would wait for me,” said Royal, “only a few minutes; the -sand is almost out.”</p> - -<p>He meant the sand of his hour-glass; for he had an hour-glass upon the -table, in his little room, to measure the time for study. He had to -study one hour in the afternoon, and was not allowed to leave his room -until the sand had all run out.</p> - -<p>“No,” said Lucy, in a loud voice, calling out to Royal; “we can’t wait.”</p> - -<p>“Perhaps we had better wait for him,” said Miss Anne, in a low voice, -to Lucy. “He would like to go with us. And, besides, he can help you -across the brook.”</p> - -<p>Lucy seemed a little unwilling to wait, but on the whole she consented; -and Miss Anne sat down upon a seat in the garden, while Lucy played -about in the walks, until Royal came down, with his hatchet in his -hand. They then walked all along together.</p> - -<p>When they got to the glen, Miss Anne went up a winding path to a seat, -where she used to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">36</a></span> love to sit and read. There was a beautiful prospect -from it, all around. Royal and Lucy remained down in the little valley -to play; but Miss Anne told them that they must not go out of her sight.</p> - -<p>“But how can we tell,” said Royal, “what places you can see?”</p> - -<p>“O,” said Miss Anne, “look up now and then, and if you can see me, in -my seat, you will be safe. If you can see me, I can see you.”</p> - -<p>“Come,” said Royal, “let us go down to the bridge, and go across the -brook.”</p> - -<p>The plank which Royal called a bridge, was down below the place where -Miss Anne went up to her seat, and Royal and Lucy began to walk along -slowly towards it.</p> - -<p>“But I am afraid to go over that plank,” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“Afraid!” said Royal; “you need not be afraid; it is not dangerous.”</p> - -<p>“I think it <em>is</em> dangerous,” said Lucy; “it bends a great deal.”</p> - -<p>“Bends!” exclaimed Royal; “the bending does no harm. I will lead you -over as safe as dry ground. Besides, there is something over there that -I want to show you.”</p> - -<p>“What is it?” said Lucy.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">37</a></span> -“O, something,” said Royal.</p> - -<p>“I don’t believe there is anything at all,” said Lucy, “any more than -there was under your cap.”</p> - -<p>“O Lucy! there was something under my cap.”</p> - -<p>“No, there wasn’t,” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“Yes, that great, flat stone.”</p> - -<p>“<em>In</em> your cap, I mean,” said Lucy; “that wasn’t <em>in</em> your cap.”</p> - -<p>“<em>In!</em>” said Royal; “that is a very different sort of a preposition.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know what you mean by a preposition,” said Lucy; “but I know -you told me there was something in your cap, and that is what I came -out to see.”</p> - -<p>“<em>Under</em>, Lucy; I said <em>under</em>.”</p> - -<p>“Well, you meant <em>in</em>; I verily believe you meant <em>in</em>.”</p> - -<p>Lucy was right. Royal did indeed say <em>under</em>, but he meant to have her -understand that there was something <em>in</em> his cap, and lying upon the -great, flat stone.</p> - -<p>“And so you told me a falsehood,” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“O Lucy!” said Royal, “I would not tell a falsehood for all the world.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, you told me a falsehood; and now I don’t believe you about -anything over the brook.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">38</a></span> For Miss Anne told me, one day, that when -anybody told a falsehood, we must not believe them, even if they tell -the truth.”</p> - -<p>“O Lucy! Lucy!” said Royal, “I don’t believe she ever said any such a -word.”</p> - -<p>“Yes she did,” said Lucy. But Lucy said this rather hesitatingly, for -she felt some doubt whether she was quoting what Miss Anne had told -her, quite correctly.</p> - -<p>Here, however, the children arrived at the bridge, and Royal was -somewhat at a loss what to do. He wanted very much to go over, and to -have Lucy go over too; but by his not being perfectly honest before, -about what was under his cap, Lucy had lost her confidence in him, and -would not believe what he said. At first he thought that if she would -not go with him, he would threaten to go off and leave her. But in a -moment he reflected that this would make her cry, and that would cause -Miss Anne to come down from her seat, to see what was the matter, which -might lead to ever so much difficulty. Besides, he thought that he had -not done exactly right about the cap story, and so he determined to -treat Lucy kindly.</p> - -<p>“If I manage gently with her,” said he to himself, “she will want to -come across herself pretty soon.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">39</a></span> -Accordingly, when Royal got to the plank, he said,</p> - -<p>“Well, Lucy, if you had rather stay on this side, you can. I want to go -over, but I won’t go very far; and you can play about here.”</p> - -<p>So Royal went across upon the plank; when he had got to the middle of -it, he sprang up and down upon it with his whole weight, in order to -show Lucy how strong it was. He then walked along by the bank, upon the -other side of the brook, and began to look into the water, watching for -fishes.</p> - -<p>Lucy’s curiosity became considerably excited by what Royal was -constantly saying about his fishes. First he said he saw a dozen little -fishes; then, going a little farther, he saw two pretty big ones; and -Lucy came down to the bank upon her side of the brook, but she could -not get very near, on account of the bushes. She had a great mind to -ask Royal to come and help her across, when all at once he called out -very eagerly,</p> - -<p>“O Lucy! Lucy! here is a great turtle,—a monster of a turtle, as big -as the top of my head. Here he goes, paddling along over the stones.”</p> - -<p>“Where? where?” said Lucy. “Let me see. Come and help me across, Royal.”</p> - -<p>Royal ran back to the plank, keeping a watch<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">40</a></span> over the turtle, as well -as he could, all the time. He helped Lucy across, and then they ran up -to the place, and Royal pointed into the water.</p> - -<p>“There, Lucy! See there! A real turtle! See his tail! It is as sharp as -a dagger.”</p> - -<p>It was true. There was a real turtle resting upon the sand in a shallow -place in the water. His head and his four paws were projecting out of -his shell, and his long, pointed tail, like a rudder, floated in the -water behind.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said Lucy. “I see him. I see his head.”</p> - -<p>“Now, Lucy,” said Royal, “we must not let him get away. We must make a -pen for him. I can make a pen. You stay here and watch him, while I go -and get ready to make a pen.”</p> - -<p>“How can you make it?” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“O, you’ll see,” said Royal; and he took up his hatchet, which he had -before laid down upon the grass, and went into the bushes, and began -cutting, as if he was cutting some of them down.</p> - -<p>Lucy remained some time watching the turtle. He lay quite still, with -his head partly out of the water. The sun shone upon the place, and -perhaps that was the reason why he remained so still; for turtles are -said to like to bask in the beams of the sun.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">41</a></span> -After a time, Royal came to the place with an armful of stakes, about -three feet long. He threw them down upon the bank, and then began to -look around for a suitable place to build his pen. He chose, at last, a -place in the water, near the shore. The water there was not deep, and -the bottom was sandy.</p> - -<p>“This will be a good place,” he said to Lucy. “I will make his pen -here.”</p> - -<p>“How are you going to make it?” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“Why, I am going to drive these stakes down in a kind of a circle, so -near together that he can’t get out between them; and they are so tall -that I know he can’t get over.”</p> - -<p>“And how are you going to get him in?” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“O, I shall leave one stake out, till I get him in,” answered Royal. -“We can drive him in with long sticks. But you must not mind me; you -must watch the turtle, or he will get away.”</p> - -<p>So Royal began to drive the stakes. Presently Lucy said that the turtle -was stirring. Royal looked, but he found he was not going away, and so -he went on with his work; and before long he had a place fenced in with -his stakes, about as large round as a boy’s hoop. It was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">42</a></span> all fenced, -excepting in one place, which he left open to get the turtle through.</p> - -<p>The two children then contrived, by means of two long sticks, which -Royal cut from among the bushes, to get the turtle into his prison. -The poor reptile hardly knew what to make of such treatment. He went -tumbling along through the water, half pushed, half driven.</p> - -<p>When he was fairly in, Royal drove down the last stake in the vacant -space which had been left. The turtle swam about, pushing his head -against the bars in several places; and when he found that he could not -get out, he remained quietly in the middle.</p> - -<p>“There,” said Royal, “that will do. Now I wish Miss Anne would come -down here, and see him. I should like to see what she would say.”</p> - -<p>Miss Anne did come down after a while; and when the children saw her -descending the path, they called out to her aloud to come there and -see. She came, and when she reached the bank opposite to the turtle -pen, she stood still for a few minutes, looking at it, with a smile of -curiosity and interest upon her face; but she did not speak a word.</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">43</a></span></p> -</div> - - -<h2><a name="iv" id="iv"></a>CONVERSATION IV.<br /> -<small>A PRISONER.</small></h2> - - -<p class="noi"><span class="smcap">After</span> a little while, they all left the turtle, and went rambling -around, among the rocks and trees. At last Royal called out to them to -come to a large tree, where he was standing. He was looking up into it. -Lucy ran fast; she thought it was a bird’s nest. Miss Anne came along -afterwards, singing. Royal showed them a long, straight branch, which -extended out horizontally from the tree, and said that it would be an -excellent place to make a swing.</p> - -<p>“So it would,” said Miss Anne, “if we only had a rope.”</p> - -<p>“I’ve got a rope at home,” said Royal, “if Lucy would only go and get -it,—while I cut off some of the small branches, which are in the way.</p> - -<p>“Come, Lucy,” he continued, “go and get my rope. It is hanging up in -the shed.”</p> - -<p>“O no,” said Lucy; “I can’t reach it.”</p> - -<p>“O, you can get a chair,” said Royal; “or<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">44</a></span> Joanna will hand it to you; -she will be close by, in the kitchen. Come, Lucy, go, that is a good -girl; and I’ll pay you.”</p> - -<p>“What will you give me?” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“O, I don’t know; but I’ll give you something.”</p> - -<p>But Lucy did not seem quite inclined to go. She said she did not want -to go so far alone; though, in fact, it was only a very short distance. -Besides, she had not much confidence in Royal’s promise.</p> - -<p>“Will you go, Lucy, if <em>I</em> will promise to give you something?” said -Miss Anne.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“Well, I will,” said Miss Anne; “I can’t tell you <em>what</em>, now, for I -don’t know; but it shall be something you will like.</p> - -<p>“But, Royal,” she added, “what shall we do for a seat in our swing?”</p> - -<p>“Why, we must have a board—a short board, with two notches. I know how -to cut them.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, if you only had a board; but there are no boards down here. I -think you had better go with Lucy, and then you can bring down a board.”</p> - -<p>Royal said that it would take some time to saw<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">45</a></span> off the board, and cut -the notches; and, finally, they concluded to postpone making the swing -until the next time they came down to the glen; and then they would -bring down whatever should be necessary, with them.</p> - -<p>As they were walking slowly along, after this, towards home, Royal said -something about Lucy’s not being willing to go for <em>his</em> promise, as -well as for Miss Anne’s,—which led to the following conversation:—</p> - -<p><em>Lucy.</em> I don’t believe you were going to give me anything at all.</p> - -<p><em>Royal.</em> O Lucy!—I was,—I certainly was.</p> - -<p><em>Lucy.</em> Then I don’t believe that it would be anything that I should -like.</p> - -<p><em>Royal.</em> But I don’t see how you could tell anything about it, unless -you knew what it was going to be.</p> - -<p><em>Lucy.</em> I don’t believe it would be anything; do you, Miss Anne?</p> - -<p><em>Miss Anne.</em> I don’t know anything about it. I should not think that -Royal would break his promise.</p> - -<p><em>Lucy.</em> He does break his promises. He won’t mend old Margaret’s nose.</p> - -<p><em>Royal.</em> Well, Lucy, that is because my<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">46</a></span> putty has all dried up. I am -going to do it, just as soon as I can get any more putty.</p> - -<p><em>Lucy.</em> And that makes me think about the thing in your cap. I mean -to ask Miss Anne if you did not tell a falsehood. He said there was -something in his cap, and there was nothing in it at all. It was only -on the great, flat stone.</p> - -<p><em>Royal.</em> O, <em>under</em>, Lucy, <em>under</em>. I certainly said <em>under</em>.</p> - -<p><em>Lucy.</em> Well, you meant <em>in</em>; I know you did. Wasn’t it a falsehood?</p> - -<p><em>Miss Anne.</em> Did he say <em>in</em>, or <em>under</em>?</p> - -<p><em>Royal.</em> <em>Under</em>, <em>under</em>; it was certainly <em>under</em>.</p> - -<p><em>Miss Anne.</em> Then I don’t think it was exactly a falsehood.</p> - -<p><em>Lucy.</em> Well, it was as bad as a falsehood, at any rate.</p> - -<p><em>Royal.</em> Was it as bad as a falsehood, Miss Anne?</p> - -<p><em>Miss Anne.</em> Let us consider a little. Lucy, what do you think? Suppose -he had said that there was really something <em>in</em> his cap,—do you think -it would have been no worse?</p> - -<p><em>Lucy.</em> I don’t know.</p> - -<p><em>Miss Anne.</em> I think it <em>would</em> have been worse.</p> - -<p><em>Royal.</em> Yes, a great deal worse.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">47</a></span> -<em>Miss Anne.</em> He <em>deceived you</em>, perhaps, but he did not tell a -falsehood.</p> - -<p><em>Lucy.</em> Well, Miss Anne, and isn’t it wrong for him to deceive me?</p> - -<p><em>Miss Anne.</em> I think it was unwise, at any rate.</p> - -<p><em>Royal.</em> Why was it unwise, Miss Anne? I wanted her to come out, and -I knew she would like to be out there, if she would only once come. -Besides, I thought it would make her laugh when I came to lift up my -cap and show her that great, flat stone.</p> - -<p><em>Miss Anne.</em> And did she laugh?</p> - -<p><em>Royal.</em> Why, not much. She said she meant to go right into the house -again.</p> - -<p><em>Miss Anne.</em> Instead of being pleased with the wit, she was displeased -at being imposed upon.</p> - -<p>Royal laughed.</p> - -<p><em>Miss Anne.</em> The truth is, Royal, that, though it is rather easier, -sometimes, to get along by wit than by honesty, yet you generally have -to pay for it afterwards.</p> - -<p><em>Royal.</em> How do we have to pay for it?</p> - -<p><em>Miss Anne.</em> Why, Lucy has lost her confidence in you. You cannot get -her to go and get a rope for you by merely promising her something, -while I can. She confides in me, and not in you. She is afraid you -will find some ingenious<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">48</a></span> escape or other from fulfilling it. Wit -gives anybody a present advantage, but honesty gives a lasting power; -so that the influence I have over Lucy, by always being honest with -her, is worth a great deal more than all you can accomplish with -your contrivances. So I think you had better keep your wits and your -contrivances for turtles, and always be honest with men.</p> - -<p><em>Royal.</em> Men! Lucy isn’t a man.</p> - -<p><em>Miss Anne.</em> I mean mankind—men, women, and children.</p> - -<p><em>Royal.</em> Well, about my turtle, Miss Anne. Do you think that I can keep -him in his pen?</p> - -<p><em>Miss Anne.</em> Yes, unless he digs out.</p> - -<p><em>Royal.</em> Dig?—Can turtles dig much?</p> - -<p><em>Miss Anne.</em> I presume they can work into mud, and sand, and soft -ground.</p> - -<p><em>Royal.</em> Then I must get a great, flat stone, and put into the bottom -of his pen. He can’t dig through that.</p> - -<p><em>Miss Anne.</em> I should rather make his pen larger, and then perhaps he -won’t want to get out. You might find some cove in the brook, where the -water is deep, for him, and then drive your stakes in the shallow water -all around it. And then, if you choose, you could extend it up upon the -shore, and so let him have a walk upon the land,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">49</a></span> within his bounds. -Then, perhaps, sometimes, when you come down to see him, you may find -him up upon the grass, sunning himself.</p> - -<p><em>Royal.</em> Yes, that I shall like very much. It will take a great many -stakes; but I can cut them with my hatchet. I’ll call it my <i>turtle -pasture</i>. Perhaps I shall find some more to put in.</p> - -<p><em>Lucy.</em> I don’t think it is yours, altogether, Royal.</p> - -<p><em>Royal.</em> Why, I found him.</p> - -<p><em>Lucy.</em> Yes, but I watched him for you, or else he would have got away. -I think you ought to let me own a share.</p> - -<p><em>Royal.</em> But I made the pen altogether myself.</p> - -<p><em>Lucy.</em> And I helped you drive the turtle in.</p> - -<p><em>Royal.</em> O Lucy! I don’t think you did much good.</p> - -<p><em>Miss Anne.</em> I’ll tell you what, Lucy; if Royal found the turtle and -made the pen, and if you watched him and helped drive him in, then I -think you ought to own about one third, and Royal two thirds.</p> - -<p><em>Royal.</em> Well.</p> - -<p><em>Miss Anne.</em> But, then, Royal, why would it not be a good plan for you -to let her have as much of your share as will make hers half, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">50</a></span> -yours half, to pay her for the trouble you gave her by the cap story?</p> - -<p><em>Royal.</em> To pay her?</p> - -<p><em>Miss Anne.</em> Yes,—a sort of damages. Then, if you are careful not to -deceive her any more, Lucy will pass over the old cases, and place -confidence in you for the future.</p> - -<p><em>Royal.</em> Well, Lucy, you shall have half.</p> - -<p>Lucy clapped her hands with delight at this concession, and soon after -the children reached home. The next day, Royal and Lucy went down to -see the turtle; and Royal made him a large pasture, partly in the brook -and partly on the shore, and while he was doing it, Lucy remained, and -kept him company.</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">51</a></span></p> -</div> - - -<h2><a name="v" id="v"></a>CONVERSATION V.<br /> -<small>TARGET PAINTING.</small></h2> - - -<p class="noi"><span class="smcap">On</span> rainy days, Lucy sometimes found it pretty difficult to know what to -do for amusement,—especially when Royal was in his little room at his -studies. When Royal had finished his studies, he used to let her go out -with him into the shed, or into the barn, and see what he was doing. -She could generally tell whether he had gone out or not, by looking -into the back entry upon his nail, to see if his cap was there. If his -cap was there, she supposed that he had not gone out.</p> - -<p>One afternoon, when it was raining pretty fast, she went twice to look -at Royal’s nail, and both times found the cap still upon it. Lucy -thought it must be after the time, and she wondered why he did not come -down. She concluded to take his cap, and put it on, and make believe -that she was a traveller.</p> - -<p>She put the cap upon her head, and then got a pair of her father’s -gloves, and put on. She also found an umbrella in the corner, and took -that in her hand. When she found herself rigged, she<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">52</a></span> thought she would -go and call at Miss Anne’s door. She accordingly walked along, using -her umbrella for a cane, holding it with both hands.</p> - -<p>When she got to Miss Anne’s door, she knocked, as well as she could, -with the crook upon the handle of the umbrella. Miss Anne had heard the -thumping noise of the umbrella, as Lucy came along, and knew who it -was; so she said, “Come in.”</p> - -<p>Lucy opened the door and went in; the cap settled down over her eyes, -so that she had to hold her head back very far to see, and the long -fingers of her father’s gloves were sticking out in all directions.</p> - -<p>“How do you, sir?” said she to Miss Anne, nodding a little, as well as -she could,—“how do you, sir?”</p> - -<p>“Pretty well, I thank you, sir; walk in, sir; I am happy to see you,” -said Miss Anne.</p> - -<p>“It is a pretty late evening, sir, I thank you, sir,” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir, I think it is,” said Miss Anne. “Is there any news to-night, -sir?”</p> - -<p>“No, sir,—not but a few, sir,” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>Lucy looked pretty sober while this dialogue lasted; but Miss Anne -could not refrain from laughing aloud at Lucy’s appearance and -expressions,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">53</a></span> and Lucy turned round, and appeared to be going away.</p> - -<p>“Can’t you stop longer, sir?” said Miss Anne.</p> - -<p>“No, sir,” said Lucy. “I only wanted to ask you which is the way to -London.”</p> - -<p>Just at this moment, Lucy heard Royal’s voice in the back entry, asking -Joanna if she knew what had become of his cap; and immediately she -started to run back and give it to him. Finding, however, that she -could not get along fast enough with the umbrella, she dropped it upon -the floor, and ran along without it, calling out,</p> - -<p>“Royal! Royal! here; come here, and look at me.”</p> - -<p>“Now I should like to know, Miss Lucy,” said Royal, as soon as she came -in sight, “who authorized you to take off my cap?”</p> - -<p>“I’m a traveller,” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“A traveller!” repeated Royal; “you look like a traveller.”</p> - -<p>He pulled his cap off from Lucy’s head, and put it upon his own; and -then held up a paper which he had in his hands, to her view.</p> - -<p>There was a frightful-looking figure of a man upon it, pretty large, -with eyes, nose, and mouth, painted brown, and a bundle of sticks upon -his back.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">54</a></span> -“What is that?” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“It is an Indian,” said Royal. “I painted him myself.”</p> - -<p>“O, what an Indian!” said Lucy. “I wish you would give him to me.”</p> - -<p>“O no,” said Royal; “it is for my <em>target</em>.”</p> - -<p>“Target?” said Lucy. “What is a target?”</p> - -<p>“A target? Why, a target is a mark to shoot at, with my bow and arrow. -They almost always have Indians for targets.”</p> - -<p>Lucy told him that she did not believe his target would stand up long -enough to be shot at; but Royal said, in reply, that he was going to -paste him upon a shingle, and then he could prop the shingle up so that -he could shoot at it. And he asked Lucy if she would go and borrow Miss -Anne’s gum arabic bottle, while he went and got the shingle.</p> - -<p>The shingle which Royal meant was a thin, flat piece of wood, such as -is used to put upon the roofs of houses.</p> - -<p>The gum arabic bottle was a small, square bottle, containing some -dissolved gum arabic, and a brush,—which was always ready for pasting.</p> - -<p>Before Lucy got the paste, Royal came back with his shingle, and he -came into Miss Anne’s room, to see what had become of Lucy; and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">55</a></span> Miss -Anne then said he might paste it there if he pleased. So she spread -a great newspaper upon the table, and put the little bottle and the -Indian upon it; and Royal and Lucy brought two chairs, and sat down -to the work. They found that the table was rather too high for them; -and so they took the things off again, and spread the paper upon the -carpet, and sat down around it. Lucy could see now a great deal better -than before.</p> - -<p>“Miss Anne,” said Lucy, “I very much wish that you would give me your -gum arabic bottle, and then I could make little books, and paste -pictures in them, whenever I pleased.”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said Miss Anne, “and that would make me ever so much trouble.”</p> - -<p>“No, Miss Anne, I don’t think it would make you much trouble.”</p> - -<p>“Why, when I wanted a little gum arabic, to paste something, how would -I get any?”</p> - -<p>“O, then I would lend you mine,” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“Yes, if you could find it.”</p> - -<p>“O, Miss Anne, I could find it very easily; I am going to keep it in my -treasury.”</p> - -<p>“Perhaps you might put it in once or twice, but after that you would -leave it about anywhere. One day I should find it upon a chair, and the -next day upon a table, and the next on the floor;—that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">56</a></span> is the way you -leave your things about the house.”</p> - -<p>“I used to, when I was a little girl,” said Lucy, “but I don’t now.”</p> - -<p>“How long is it since you were a little girl?” asked Miss Anne.</p> - -<p>“O, it was before you came here. I am older now than I was when you -came here; I have had a birthday since then.”</p> - -<p>“Don’t you grow old any, except when you have a birthday?” asked Miss -Anne.</p> - -<p>Lucy did not answer this question at first, as she did not know exactly -how it was; and while she was thinking of it, Miss Anne said,</p> - -<p>“It can’t be very long, Lucy, since you learned to put things in their -places, for it is not more than ten minutes since I heard you throw -down an umbrella upon the entry floor, and leave it there.”</p> - -<p>“The umbrella?—O, that was because I heard Royal calling for his cap; -and so I could not wait, you know; I had to leave it there.”</p> - -<p>“But you have passed by it once since, and I presume you did not think -of such a thing as taking it up.”</p> - -<p>Lucy had no reply to make to this statement, and she remained silent.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">57</a></span> -“I have got a great many little things,” continued Miss Anne, “which I -don’t want myself, and which I should be very glad to give away to some -little girl, for playthings, if I only knew of some one who would take -care of them. I don’t want to have them scattered about the house, and -lost, and destroyed.”</p> - -<p>“O, I will take care of them, Miss Anne,” said Lucy, very eagerly, “if -you will only give them to me. I certainly will. I will put them in my -treasury, and keep them very safe.”</p> - -<p>“If I were a little girl, no bigger than you,” said Miss Anne, “I -should have a great cabinet of playthings and curiosities, twice as big -as your treasury.”</p> - -<p>“How should you get them?” asked Lucy.</p> - -<p>“O, I know of a way;—but it is a secret.”</p> - -<p>“Tell me, do, Miss Anne,” said Lucy.—“You would buy them, I suppose, -with your money.”</p> - -<p>“No,” said Miss Anne, “that is not the way I meant.”</p> - -<p>“What way did you mean, then?” said Lucy. “I wish you would tell me.”</p> - -<p>“Why, I should take such excellent care of everything I had, that my -mother would give me<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">58</a></span> a great many of her little curiosities, and other -things, to keep.”</p> - -<p>“Would she, do you think?”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said Miss Anne, “I do not doubt it. Every lady has a great many -beautiful things, put away, which she does not want to use herself, but -she only wants to have them kept safely. Now, I should take such good -care of all such things, that my mother would be very glad to have me -keep them.”</p> - -<p>“Did you do so, when you were a little girl?” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“No,” said Miss Anne; “I was just as careless and foolish as you are. -When I was playing with anything, and was suddenly called away, I would -throw it right down, wherever I happened to be, and leave it there. -Once I had a little glass dog, and I left it on the floor, where I had -been playing with it, and somebody came along, and stepped upon it, and -broke it to pieces.”</p> - -<p>“And would not your mother give you things then?” asked Lucy.</p> - -<p>“No, nothing which was of much value.—And once my uncle sent me a -beautiful little doll; but my mother would not let me keep it. She kept -it herself, locked up in a drawer, only sometimes she would let me have -it to play with.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">59</a></span> -“Why would not she let you keep it?” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“O, if she had, I should soon have made it look like old Margaret.”</p> - -<p>Here Royal said he had got his Indian pasted; and he put away the gum -arabic bottle, and the sheet of paper, and then he and Lucy went away.</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">60</a></span></p> -</div> - - -<h2><a name="vi" id="vi"></a>CONVERSATION VI.<br /> -<small>MIDNIGHT.</small></h2> - - -<p class="noi"><span class="smcap">One</span> night, while Miss Anne was undressing Lucy, to put her to bed, she -thought that her voice had a peculiar sound, somewhat different from -usual. It was not hoarseness, exactly, and yet it was such a sort of -sound as made Miss Anne think that Lucy had taken cold. She asked her -if she had not taken cold, but Lucy said no.</p> - -<p>Lucy slept in Miss Anne’s room, in a little trundle-bed. Late in the -evening, just before Miss Anne herself went to bed, she looked at Lucy, -to see if she was sleeping quietly; and she found that she was.</p> - -<p>But in the night Miss Anne was awaked by hearing Lucy coughing with a -peculiar hoarse and hollow sound, and breathing very hard. She got up, -and went to her trundle-bed.</p> - -<p>“Lucy,” said she, “what’s the matter?”</p> - -<p>“Nothing,” said Lucy, “only I can’t breathe very well.”</p> - -<p>Here Lucy began to cough again; and the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">61</a></span> cough sounded so hoarse and -hollow, that Miss Anne began to be quite afraid that Lucy was really -sick. She put on a loose robe, and carried her lamp out into the -kitchen, and lighted it,—and then came back into her room again. She -found that Lucy was no better, and so she went to call her mother.</p> - -<p>She went with the lamp, and knocked at her door; and when she answered, -Miss Anne told her that Lucy did not seem to be very well,—that she -had a hoarse cough, and that she breathed hard.</p> - -<p>“O, I’m afraid it is the croup,” she exclaimed; “let us get up -immediately.”</p> - -<p>“We will get right up, and come and see her,” said Lucy’s father.</p> - -<p>So Miss Anne put the lamp down at their door, and went out into the -kitchen to light another lamp for herself. She also opened the coals, -and put a little wood upon the fire, and hung the tea-kettle upon the -crane, and filled it up with water; for Miss Anne had observed that, in -cases of sudden sickness, hot water was one of the things most sure to -be wanted.</p> - -<p>After a short time, Lucy’s father and mother came in. After they had -been with her a few minutes, her mother said,</p> - -<p>“Don’t you think it is the croup?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">62</a></span> -“No, I hope not,” said her father; “I presume it is only quinsy; but I -am not sure, and perhaps I had better go for a doctor.”</p> - -<p>After some further consultation, they concluded that it was best to -call a physician. Lucy’s mother recommended that they should call up -the hired man, and send him; but her father thought that it would take -some time for him to get up and get ready, and that he had better go -himself.</p> - -<p>When he had gone, they brought in some hot water, and bathed Lucy’s -feet. She liked this very much; but her breathing seemed to grow rather -worse than better.</p> - -<p>“What is the <em>croup</em>?” said Lucy to her mother, while her feet were in -the water.</p> - -<p>“It is a kind of sickness that children have sometimes suddenly in the -night; but I <em>hope</em> you are not going to have it.”</p> - -<p>“No, mother,” said Lucy; “I think it is only the quinsy.”</p> - -<p>Lucy did not know at all what the quinsy was; but her sickness did not -seem to her to be any thing very bad; and so she agreed with her father -that it was probably only the quinsy.</p> - -<p>When the doctor came, he felt of Lucy’s pulse, and looked at her -tongue, and listened to her breathing.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">63</a></span> -“Will she take <em>ipecacuanha</em>?” said the doctor to Lucy’s mother.</p> - -<p>“She will take anything you prescribe, doctor,” said her father, in -reply.</p> - -<p>“Well, that’s clever,” said the doctor. “The old rule is, that the -child that will take medicine is half cured already.”</p> - -<p>So the doctor sat down at the table, and opened his saddle-bags, and -took out a bottle filled with a yellowish powder, and began to take -some out.</p> - -<p>“Is it good medicine?” said Lucy, in a low voice, to her mother. -She was now sitting in her mother’s lap, who was rocking her in a -rocking-chair.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said the doctor; for he overheard Lucy’s question, and thought -that he would answer it himself. “Yes, ipecacuanha is a very good -medicine,—an excellent medicine.”</p> - -<p>As he said this, he looked around, rather slyly, at Miss Anne and -Lucy’s father.</p> - -<p>“Then I shall like to take it,” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“He means,” said her mother, “that it is a good medicine to cure the -sickness with; the <em>taste</em> of it is not good. It is a very disagreeable -medicine to take.”</p> - -<p>Lucy said nothing in reply to this, but she thought to herself, that -she wished the doctors<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">64</a></span> could find out some medicines that did not -taste so bad.</p> - -<p>Miss Anne received the medicine from the doctor, and prepared it in a -spoon, with some water, for Lucy to take. Just before it was ready, the -door opened, and Royal came in.</p> - -<p>“Why, Royal,” said his mother, “how came you to get up?”</p> - -<p>“I heard a noise, and I thought it was morning,” said Royal.</p> - -<p>“Morning? no,” replied his mother; “it is midnight.”</p> - -<p>“Midnight?” said Lucy. She was quite astonished. She did not recollect -that she had ever been up at midnight before, in her life.</p> - -<p>“Is Lucy sick?” said Royal.</p> - -<p>“No, not very sick,” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>Royal came and stood by the rocking-chair, and looked into Lucy’s face.</p> - -<p>“I am sorry that you are sick,” said he. “Is there anything that I can -do for you?”</p> - -<p>Lucy hesitated a moment, and then her eye suddenly brightened up, and -she said,</p> - -<p>“Yes, Royal,—if you would only just be so good as to take my medicine -for me.”</p> - -<p>Royal laughed, and said, “O Lucy! I guess you are not very sick.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">65</a></span> -In fact, Lucy was breathing pretty freely then, and there was nothing -to indicate, particularly, that she was sick; unless when a paroxysm -of coughing came on. Miss Anne brought her medicine to her in a great -spoon, and Royal said that he presumed that the doctor would not let -him take the medicine, but that, if she would take it, he would make -all the faces for her.</p> - -<p>Accordingly, while she was swallowing the medicine, she turned her eyes -up towards Royal, who had stood back a little way, and she began to -laugh a little at the strange grimaces which he was making. The laugh -was, however, interrupted and spoiled by a universal shudder which came -over her, produced by the taste of the ipecacuanha.</p> - -<p>Immediately afterwards, Lucy’s mother said,</p> - -<p>“Come, Royal; now I want you to go right back to bed again.”</p> - -<p>“Well, mother,—only won’t you just let me stop a minute, to look out -the door, and see how midnight looks?”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said she, “only run along.”</p> - -<p>So Royal went away; and pretty soon the doctor went away too. He said -that Lucy would be pretty sick for about an hour, and that after that -he hoped that she would be better; and he left a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">66</a></span> small white powder in -a little paper, which he said she might take after that time, and it -would make her sleep well the rest of the night.</p> - -<p>It was as the doctor had predicted. Lucy was quite sick for an hour, -and her father and mother, and Miss Anne, all remained, and took care -of her. After that, she began to be better. She breathed much more -easily, and when she coughed she did not seem to be so very hoarse. Her -mother was then going to carry her into her room; but Miss Anne begged -them to let her stay where she was; for she said she wanted to take -care of her herself.</p> - -<p>“The doctor said he thought she would sleep quietly,” said Miss Anne; -“and if she should not be so well, I will come and call you.”</p> - -<p>“Very well,” said her mother, “we will do so. But first you may give -her the powder.”</p> - -<p>So Miss Anne took the white powder, and put it into some jelly, in a -spoon; and when she had covered the powder up carefully with the jelly, -she brought it to Lucy.</p> - -<p>“<em>Now</em> I’ve got some good medicine for you,” said Miss Anne.</p> - -<p>“I am glad it is good,” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“That is,” continued Miss Anne, “the jelly is good, and you will not -taste the powder.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">67</a></span> -Lucy took the jelly, and, after it, a little water; and then her mother -put her into her trundle-bed. Her father and mother then bade her good -night, and went away to their own room.</p> - -<p>Miss Anne then set the chairs back in their places, and carried out all -the things which had been used; and after she had got the room arranged -and in order, she came to Lucy’s bedside to see if she was asleep. She -was not asleep.</p> - -<p>“Lucy,” said Miss Anne, “how do you feel now?”</p> - -<p>“O, pretty well,” said Lucy; “at least, I am better.”</p> - -<p>“Do you feel sleepy?”</p> - -<p>“No,” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“Is there any thing you want?” asked Miss Anne.</p> - -<p>“Why, no,—only,—I should like it,—only I don’t suppose you could -very well,—but I should like it if you could hold me a little -while,—and rock me.”</p> - -<p>“O yes, I can,” said Miss Anne, “just as well as not.”</p> - -<p>So Miss Anne took Lucy up from her bed, and wrapped a blanket about -her, and sat down in her rocking-chair, to rock her. She rocked her -a few minutes, and sang to her, until she<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">68</a></span> thought she was asleep. -Then she stopped singing, and she rocked slower and slower, until she -gradually ceased.</p> - -<p>A moment afterwards, Lucy said, in a mild and gentle voice,</p> - -<p>“Miss Anne, is it midnight now?”</p> - -<p>“It is about midnight,” said Miss Anne.</p> - -<p>“Do you think you could just carry me to the window, and let me look -out, and see how the midnight looks?—or am I too heavy?”</p> - -<p>“No, you are not very heavy; but, then, there is nothing to see. -Midnight looks just like any other part of the night.”</p> - -<p>“Royal wanted to see it,” said Lucy, “and I should like to, too, if you -would be willing to carry me.”</p> - -<p>When a child is so patient and gentle, it is very difficult indeed to -refuse them any request that they make; and Miss Anne immediately began -to draw up the blanket over Lucy’s feet, preparing to go. She did not -wish to have her put her feet to the floor, for fear that she might -take more cold. So she carried her along to the window, although she -was pretty heavy for Miss Anne to carry. Miss Anne was not very strong. -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">69</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter width600"> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">70</a></span> -<img src="images/i-070.jpg" width="600" height="385" alt="" /> -<div class="caption">“Why, Miss Anne,” said Lucy, “<a name="isnt" id="isnt"></a><ins title="Original has is'nt">isn’t</ins> it any -darker than this?”—<em>Page</em> 71</div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">71</a></span> -Lucy separated the two curtains with her hands, and Miss Anne carried -her in between them. There was a narrow window-seat, and she rested -Lucy partly upon it, so that she was less heavy to hold.</p> - -<p>“Why, Miss Anne,” said Lucy, “<a name="isnt2" id="isnt2"></a><ins title="Original has is'nt">isn’t</ins> it any darker than this?”</p> - -<p>“No,” said Miss Anne; “there is a moon to-night.”</p> - -<p>“Where?” said Lucy. “I don’t see the moon.”</p> - -<p>“We can’t see it here; we can only see the light of it, shining on the -buildings.”</p> - -<p>“It is pretty dark in the yard,” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said Miss Anne, “the yard is in shadow.”</p> - -<p>“What do you mean by that, Miss Anne?” asked Lucy.</p> - -<p>“Why, the moon does not shine into the yard; the house casts a shadow -all over it.”</p> - -<p>“Then I should think,” said Lucy, “that you ought to say that the -shadow is in the yard,—not the yard is in the shadow.”</p> - -<p>Miss Anne laughed, and said,</p> - -<p>“I did not say that the yard was in <em>the</em> shadow, but in <em>shadow</em>.”</p> - -<p>“And is not that just the same thing?” said Lucy.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">72</a></span> -“Not exactly; but look at the stars over there, beyond the field.”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said Lucy, “there’s one pretty bright one; but there are not a -great many out. I thought there would be more at midnight.”</p> - -<p>“No,” said Miss Anne, “there are no more stars at midnight than at any -other time; and to-night there are fewer than usual, because the moon -shines.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t see why there should not be just as many stars, if the moon -does shine.”</p> - -<p>“There <em>are</em> just as many; only we can’t see them so well.”</p> - -<p>“Why can’t we see them?” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>But Miss Anne told Lucy that she was rather tired of holding her at the -window, and so she would carry her back, and tell her about it while -she was rocking her to sleep.</p> - -<p>“You see,” said Miss Anne, after she had sat down again, “that there -are just as many stars in the sky in the daytime, as there are in the -night.”</p> - -<p>“O Miss Anne!” exclaimed Lucy, raising up her head suddenly, as if -surprised; “I have looked up in the sky a great many times, and I never -saw any.”</p> - -<p>“No, we cannot see them, because the sun shines so bright.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">73</a></span> -“Did you ever see any, Miss Anne?”</p> - -<p>“No,” said she.</p> - -<p>“Did any body ever see any?”</p> - -<p>“No,” said Miss Anne, “I don’t know that any body ever did.”</p> - -<p>“Then,” said Lucy, “how do they know that there are any?”</p> - -<p>“Well—that is rather a hard question,” said Miss Anne. “But they do -know; they have found out in some way or other, though I don’t know -exactly how.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t see how they can <em>know</em> that there are any stars there,” said -Lucy, “unless somebody has seen them. I guess they only <em>think</em> there -are some, Miss Anne,—they only <em>think</em>.”</p> - -<p>“I believe I don’t know enough about it myself,” said Miss Anne, “to -explain it to you,—and besides, you ought to go to sleep now. So shut -up your eyes, and I will sing to you, and then, perhaps, you will go to -sleep.”</p> - -<p>Lucy obeyed, and shut up her eyes; and Miss Anne began to sing her a -song. After a little while, Lucy opened her eyes, and said,</p> - -<p>“I rather think, Miss Anne, I should like to get into my trundle-bed -now. I am rather tired of sitting in your lap.”</p> - -<p>“Very well,” said Miss Anne; “I think it will<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">74</a></span> be better. But would not -you rather have me bring the cradle in? and then you can lie down, and -I can rock you all the time.”</p> - -<p>“No,” said Lucy; “the cradle has got so short, that I can’t put my feet -out straight. I had rather get into my trundle-bed.”</p> - -<p>So Miss Anne put Lucy into the trundle-bed, and she herself took a -book, and sat at her table, reading. In a short time, Lucy went to -sleep; and she slept soundly until morning.</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">75</a></span></p> -</div> - - -<h2><a name="vii" id="vii"></a>CONVERSATION VII.<br /> -<small>JOANNA.</small></h2> - - -<p class="noi"><span class="smcap">The</span> next morning, when Lucy waked up, she found that it was very -light. The curtains of the room were up, and she could see the sun -shining brightly upon the trees and buildings out of doors, so that she -supposed that it was pretty late. Besides, she saw that Miss Anne was -not in the room; and she supposed that she had got up and gone out to -breakfast.</p> - -<p>Lucy thought that she would get up too. But then she recollected that -she had been sick the night before, and that, perhaps, her mother would -not be willing to have her get up.</p> - -<p>Her next idea was, that she would call out for Miss Anne, or for -her mother; but this, on reflection, she thought would make a great -disturbance; for it was some distance from the room which she was in to -the parlor, where she supposed they were taking breakfast.</p> - -<p>She concluded, on the whole, to wait patiently until somebody should -come; and having nothing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">76</a></span> else to do, she began to sing a little song, -which Miss Anne had taught her. She knew only one verse, but she sang -this verse two or three times over, louder and louder each time, and -her voice resounded merrily through all that part of the house.</p> - -<p>Some children <em>cry</em> when they wake up and find themselves alone; some -call out aloud for somebody to come; and others sing. Thus there are -three ways; and the singing is the best of all the three;—except, -indeed, for very little children, who are not old enough to sing or to -call, and who, therefore, cannot do anything but cry.</p> - -<p>They heard Lucy’s singing in the parlor, and Miss Anne came immediately -to see her. She gave her a picture-book to amuse herself with for a -time, and went away again; but in about a quarter of an hour she came -back, and helped her to get up and dress herself.</p> - -<p>Her mother told her that she must not go out of doors that day, but -that she might play about in any of the rooms, just as she pleased.</p> - -<p>“But what shall I do for my breakfast?” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“O, I will give you some breakfast,” said Miss Anne. “How should you -like to have it by yourself, upon your little table, in the kitchen?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">77</a></span> -“Well,” said Lucy, “if you will let me have my own cups and saucers.”</p> - -<p>“Your cups won’t hold enough for you to drink,—will they?”</p> - -<p>“O, I can fill them up two or three times.”</p> - -<p>Miss Anne said she had no objection to this plan; and she told Lucy to -go and get her table ready. So Lucy went and got her little table. It -was just high enough for her to sit at. Her father had made it for her, -by taking a small table in the house, which had been intended for a -sort of a light-stand, and sawing off the legs, so as to make it just -high enough for her.</p> - -<p>Lucy brought this little table, and also her chair; and then Miss Anne -handed her a napkin for a table-cloth, and told her that she might -set her table,—and that, when it was all set, she would bring her -something for breakfast; and so she left Lucy, for a time, to herself.</p> - -<p>Lucy spread the napkin upon her table, and then went and got some of -her cups and saucers, and put upon it. Joanna was ironing at the great -kitchen table, and Lucy went to ask her how many cups and saucers she -had better set.</p> - -<p>“I should think it would take the whole set,” said Joanna, “to hold one -good cup of tea.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">78</a></span> -“But I am going to fill up my cup three times, Joanna; and if that -isn’t enough, I shall fill it up four times.”</p> - -<p>“O, then,” said Joanna, “I would not have but one cup,—or at most two. -I think I would have two, because you may possibly have some company.”</p> - -<p>“I wish you would come and be my company, Joanna.”</p> - -<p>“No, I must attend to my ironing.”</p> - -<p>“Well,” said Lucy, as she went back to her table, “I will have two -cups, at any rate, for I may have some company.”</p> - -<p>She accordingly put on two cups and a tea-pot; also a sugar-bowl and -creamer. She placed them in various ways upon the table; first trying -one plan of arrangement, and then another; and when at last they were -placed in the best way, she went and called Miss Anne, to tell her that -she was ready for her breakfast.</p> - -<p>Miss Anne came out, according to her promise, to give her what she was -to have to eat. First, she put a little sugar in her sugar-bowl; then -some milk in her cream-pitcher; then some water, pretty hot, in her -tea-pot.</p> - -<p>“Could not you let me have a little real tea?” said Lucy.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">79</a></span> -“O, this will taste just as well,” said Miss Anne.</p> - -<p>“I know it will taste just as well; but it will not <em>look</em> just right. -Real tea is not white, like water.”</p> - -<p>“Water is not white,” said Miss Anne; “milk is white; water is very -different in appearance from milk.”</p> - -<p>“What color is water, then?” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“It is not of any color,” said Miss Anne. “It is what we call -colorless. Now, you want to have something in your tea-pot which is -colored a little, like tea,—not perfectly colorless, like water.”</p> - -<p>Lucy said yes, that that was exactly what she wanted. So Miss Anne -took her tea-pot up, and went into the closet with it, and presently -came out with it again, and put it upon the table. The reason why she -took all this pains to please Lucy was, because she was so gentle and -pleasant; and, although she often asked for things, she was not vexed -or ill-humored when they could not be given to her.</p> - -<p>Miss Anne then cut some thin slices of bread, and divided them into -square pieces, so small that they could go on a small plate, which she -brought from the closet. She also gave her a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">80</a></span> toasting-fork with a -long handle, and told her that she might toast her own bread, and then -spread it with butter. She gave her a little butter upon another plate.</p> - -<p>When all these things were arranged, Miss Anne went away, telling Lucy -that she had better make her breakfast last as long as she could, for -she must remember that she could not go out at all that day; and that -she must therefore economize her amusements.</p> - -<p>“Economize? What do you mean by that, Miss Anne?” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“Why, use them carefully, and make them last as long as you can.”</p> - -<p>Lucy followed Miss Anne’s advice in making the amusement of sitting -at her own breakfast table last as long as possible. She toasted her -little slices of bread with the toasting-fork, and poured out the tea -from her tea-pot. She found that it had a slight tinge of the color of -tea, which Miss Anne had given it by sweetening it a little, with brown -sugar. Lucy enjoyed her breakfast very much.</p> - -<p>While she was eating it, Joanna, who was much pleased with her for -being so still, and so careful not to make her any trouble, asked her -if she should not like a roasted apple.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">81</a></span> -“Yes,” said Lucy, “very much indeed.”</p> - -<p>“I will give you one,” said Joanna, “and show you how to roast it, if -you will go and ask your mother, if she thinks it will not hurt you.”</p> - -<p>Lucy accordingly went and asked her mother. She said it would not hurt -her at all, and that she should be very glad to have Joanna get her an -apple.</p> - -<p>Joanna accordingly brought a large, rosy apple, with a stout stem. She -tied a long string to the stem, and then held the apple up before the -fire a minute, by means of the stem. Then she got a flat-iron, and tied -the other end of the string to the flat-iron. The flat-iron she then -placed upon the mantle shelf, and the string was just long enough to -let the apple hang down exactly before the fire.</p> - -<p>When it was all arranged in this way, she took up the apple, and -twisted the string for some time; and then, when she let the apple -down again gently to its place, the weight of it began to untwist the -string, and this made the apple itself turn round quite swiftly before -the fire.</p> - -<p>Joanna also put a plate under the apple, to catch any of the juice or -pulp which might fall down, and then left Lucy to watch it while it was -roasting.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">82</a></span> -Lucy watched its revolutions for some time in silence. She observed -that the apple would whirl very swiftly for a time, and then it would -go slower, and slower, and slower, until, at length, she said,</p> - -<p>“Joanna, Joanna, it is going to stop.”</p> - -<p>But, instead of this, it happened that, just at the very instant when -Lucy thought it was going to stop, all at once it began to turn the -other way; and, instead of going slower and slower, it went faster and -faster, until, at length, it was revolving as fast as it did before.</p> - -<p>“O no,” said she to Joanna; “it has got a going again.”</p> - -<p>It was indeed revolving very swiftly; but pretty soon it began to -slacken its speed again;—and again Lucy thought that it was certainly -going to stop. But at this time she witnessed the same phenomenon as -before. It had nearly lost all its motion, and was turning around very -slowly indeed, and just upon the point of stopping; and in fact it did -seem to stop for an instant; but immediately it began to move in an -opposite direction, very slowly at first, but afterwards faster and -faster, until it was, at length, spinning around before the hot coals, -as fast as ever before. Pretty soon, also, the apple began to sing; -and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">83</a></span> Lucy concluded that it would never stop,—at least not before it -would have time to be well roasted.</p> - -<p>“It goes like Royal’s top,” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“Has Royal got a top?” said Joanna.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said Lucy, “a large humming-top. There is a hole in it. It spins -very fast, only it does not go first one way and then the other, like -this apple.”</p> - -<p>“<em>I</em> never saw a top,” said Joanna.</p> - -<p>“Never saw one!” exclaimed Lucy. “Did not the boys have tops when you -were little?”</p> - -<p>“No boys that I ever knew,” answered Joanna.</p> - -<p>“Did you have a tea-set when you were a little girl?” asked Lucy.</p> - -<p>“No,” said Joanna, “I never saw any such a tea-set, until I saw yours.”</p> - -<p>“What kind of playthings did you have, then, when you were a little -girl?”</p> - -<p>“No playthings at all,” said Joanna; “I was a farmer’s daughter.”</p> - -<p>“And don’t the farmers’ daughters ever have any playthings?”</p> - -<p>“<em>I</em> never did, at any rate.”</p> - -<p>“What did you do, then, for play?”</p> - -<p>“O, I had plenty of play. When I was about as big as you, I used to -build fires in the stumps.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">84</a></span> -“What stumps?” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“Why, the stumps in the field, pretty near my father’s house. I used to -pick up chips and sticks, and build fires in the hollow places in the -stumps, and call them my ovens. Then, when they were all heated, I used -to put a potato in, and cover it up with sand, and let it roast.”</p> - -<p>“I wish I had some stumps to build fires in,” said Lucy. “I should like -to go to your house and see them.”</p> - -<p>“O, they are all gone now,” said Joanna. “They have gradually got burnt -up, and rotted out; and now it is all a smooth, green field.”</p> - -<p>“O, what a pity!” said Lucy. “And an’t there any more stumps anywhere?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, in the woods, and upon the new fields. You see, when they cut -down trees, they leave the stumps in the ground; and pretty soon they -begin to rot; and they rot more and more, until, at last, they tumble -all to pieces; and then they pile up the pieces in heaps, and burn -them. Then the ground is all smooth and clear. So I used to build fires -in the stumps as long as they lasted. One day my hen laid her eggs in a -stump.”</p> - -<p>“Your hen?” said Lucy; “did you have a hen?”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” replied Joanna; “when I was a little<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">85</a></span> older than you are, my -father gave me a little yellow chicken, that was <em>peeping</em>, with the -rest, about the yard. I used to feed her, every day, with crumbs. After -a time, she grew up to be a large hen, and laid eggs. My father said -that I might have all the eggs too. I used to sell them, and save the -money.”</p> - -<p>“How much money did you get?” asked Lucy.</p> - -<p>“O, considerable. After a time, you see, I let my hen sit, and hatch -some chickens.”</p> - -<p>“Sit?” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“Yes; you see, after hens have laid a good many eggs, they sit upon -them, to keep them warm, for two or three weeks; and, while they keep -them warm, a little chicken begins to grow in every egg, and at length, -after they grow strong enough, they break through the eggs and come -out. So I got eleven chickens from my hen, after a time.”</p> - -<p>“Eleven?” repeated Lucy; “were there just eleven?”</p> - -<p>“There were twelve, but one died,” replied Joanna. “And all these -chickens were hatched in a stump.”</p> - -<p>“How did that happen?” asked Lucy.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">86</a></span> -“Why, the hens generally used to lay their eggs in the barn, and I -used to go in, every day, to get the eggs. I carried a little basket, -and I used to climb about upon the hay, and feel in the cribs; and I -generally knew where all the nests were. But once I could not find my -hen’s nest for several days; and at last I thought I would watch her, -and see where she went. I did watch her, and I saw her go into a hollow -place in a great black stump, in the corner of the yard. After she came -out, I went and looked there, and I found four eggs.”</p> - -<p>“What did you do then?” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“Why, I concluded, on the whole, to let them stay, and let my hen hatch -her eggs there, if she would. And I told my brother, that, if he would -make a coop for me, around that stump, I would give him one of the -chickens.”</p> - -<p>“A <em>coop</em>? What is a coop?”</p> - -<p>“O, a small house for hens to live in. My brother made me a coop. He -made it immediately after the hen had hatched her chickens. I will tell -you how he made it. He drove stakes down all around the stump, and then -put some short boards over the top, so as to cover it over. My hen -staid there until her chickens got pretty well grown, and then we let -her run about the yard.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">87</a></span> -“That is pretty much the way that Royal made his turtle-pen,” said -Lucy; “but I should rather have a hen-coop, because of the chickens.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, I had eleven. I gave my brother one, and then I had ten. These -all grew up, and laid more eggs; and at last I got money enough from my -eggs and poultry to buy me a new gown.”</p> - -<p>“I wish I was a farmer’s daughter,” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“Farmers’ daughters have a very good time,” said Joanna, “I think -myself.”</p> - -<div class="figcenter width300"> -<img src="images/i-087.jpg" width="300" height="213" alt="" /> -</div> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">88</a></span></p> -</div> - - -<h2><a name="viii" id="viii"></a>CONVERSATION VIII.<br /> -<small>BUILDING.</small></h2> - - -<p class="noi"><span class="smcap">In</span> one of the yards belonging to the house that Lucy lived in, was a -border for flowers; and in this border Royal had an apple-tree, which -had grown up from a seed which he had planted himself. It was now -nearly as high as his head, and Royal said that he meant to graft it -the very next spring.</p> - -<p>At the end of this border, near one corner of the yard, there was a -vacant place, where some flowers had been dug up, and Lucy had it to -plant beans in. She used often to dig in it, and plant, when she had -nothing else to do. Miss Anne gave her several different kinds of -flower seeds in the spring, and she planted them. Generally, however, -she had not patience enough to wait for them to come up; but dug the -ground all over again, with her little hoe, before the flowers, which -she had planted, had had time to show themselves above the ground.</p> - -<p>She was digging, one day, in this garden, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">89</a></span> Royal was hoeing up the -weeds around his apple-tree. Royal said that his apple-tree was growing -crooked, and that he was going to get a stake, and drive it down by the -side of his tree, and tie a string to it, and so straighten the tree up.</p> - -<p>Lucy came to see Royal stake up his tree. He made the stake very sharp, -and when he got it all ready to drive, he said that he must go and get -the iron bar to make a hole.</p> - -<p>“O, you can drive it right in,” said Lucy, “without making any hole.”</p> - -<p>“Not far enough,” said Royal. “It must be driven in very deep and -strong, or else the string which ties the apple-tree to it, will pull -it over to one side.”</p> - -<p>So Royal went and got the small crowbar, and came back dragging it -along. He made a deep hole by the side of the apple-tree, but not very -near it, for he did not want to hurt the roots. Then he took out the -bar, and laid it down upon the grass, and inserted the point of the -stake into the hole which he had made.</p> - -<p>While he was doing this, Lucy took hold of one end of the iron bar, and -tried to lift it.</p> - -<p>“O, what a heavy bar!” said she.</p> - -<p>“I don’t think it is very heavy,” said Royal.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">90</a></span> So saying, he drove down -his stake with repeated blows of his hatchet.</p> - -<p>“You are a great deal stronger than I am,” said Lucy. “You can drive -the stake down very hard indeed. I don’t believe but that you could -make a hen-coop.”</p> - -<p>“Who told you anything about a hen-coop?” said Royal.</p> - -<p>“Joanna,” said Lucy. “She said that she was a farmer’s daughter when -she was a little girl, and that she had a hen and some chickens; and -that her brother made her a hen-coop pretty much like the turtle-pen -you made down by the brook.”</p> - -<p>“I could make a hen-coop,” said Royal, “I know,—and I mean to. Perhaps -I can get some hens to put into it. At all events, I shall have a -hen-<em>coop</em>.”</p> - -<p>“If I was a farmer’s daughter,” said Lucy, “I should have hens.”</p> - -<p>“But you can have hens without being a farmer’s daughter,” said Royal.</p> - -<p>“How?” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“Why, you and I could buy some hens with our own money, if mother would -let us; and then I could make a coop.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">91</a></span> -“Well,” said Lucy, “I mean to go and ask her this very minute.”</p> - -<p>“No; stop,” said Royal. “That won’t do any good. She will tell you to -ask father, and then he won’t believe that we can make a coop, and he -won’t want to take the trouble to have one made for us, and so he will -say no. I’ll tell you what we must do. We must make the coop first, and -then, when it is all ready, we can ask father if we may buy some hens.”</p> - -<p>“Well,” said Lucy, in a tone of great satisfaction, “let us go and make -it now.”</p> - -<p>“But <em>you</em> can’t help make it, Lucy. I shall have to make it myself, -all alone; and so the hens must be mine.”</p> - -<p>Lucy did not like the plan of giving up all the hens to Royal; but -Royal insisted upon it that he should have to do all the work, and, of -course, that he must have the hens himself. At last, Lucy said that, -if he did not let her have a share, she should not stay with him, but -should go into the house.</p> - -<p>But Royal did not like at all to stay and work alone. He tried to get -Lucy to remain, and at last he said that, if she would, he would make -her a garden in the corner,—a beautiful garden, full of flowers.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">92</a></span> -“Real flowers?” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“Yes, real flowers,—all in blossom.”</p> - -<p>“How shall you get the flowers to grow?” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“O, I shall get them already grown, in the gardens, and in the fields, -and stick them down in the beds. I shall make beds and little alleys -just like a real garden.”</p> - -<p>“And how long will the flowers keep bright?” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“O, as long as you take the trouble to water them. You will have to -water them, you know,—and Miss Anne will lend you her watering-pot.”</p> - -<p>Lucy was pleased with this proposal. She liked the plan of having such -a garden very much; and as to watering it, she said that it would be no -trouble at all; she should like to water it. So it was agreed that Lucy -should stay and keep Royal company, while he was making the coop, and -help him all she could; and that he should make her a flower-garden, -and stock it well with real flowers,—and so have all the hens himself.</p> - -<p>They then walked along together, to look out a place for a coop. Lucy -said that she wished there was an old hollow stump in their yard, but<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">93</a></span> -there was nothing like one. Royal said that he had heard of a barrel -for a hen-coop; and he just then recollected that there was a corner -round behind the barn, where there were several old boxes and barrels; -and he and Lucy went there to see if they could find one which would -do. He found one that would answer the purpose very well.</p> - -<p>Lucy wanted to help Royal roll it along, and Royal allowed her to do -it, though he could roll it very easily himself alone; for it was empty -and light. It seemed to please Lucy to help him, and so Royal allowed -her to push it with him.</p> - -<p>They were, for some time, in doubt where it would be best to put their -coop; but at last they concluded to put it under the trees, by the side -of the great, flat stone. Lucy said that this was an excellent place, -because she could sit at Miss Anne’s window, when it was rainy, so that -she could not go out, and see the hens and chickens.</p> - -<p>Royal placed the barrel down upon its side, near the great stone, and -drove down stakes on each side of it, to keep it from rolling. Then he -made a great many other stakes out of narrow pieces of board, which he -found around a pile of lumber behind the barn.</p> - -<p>As fast as these stakes were finished, Lucy<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">94</a></span> wheeled them along, upon -a little wheelbarrow, to the place where the coop was to be made. So -Royal found that, besides keeping him company, Lucy could really assist -him, much more than he had at first supposed she could.</p> - -<p>Royal drove the stakes down into the ground, in such a way as to -enclose a square place. The fence formed the back side of this -enclosure, and it was big enough to hold several hens, and to give them -room to walk about a little. When it was nearly done, Lucy said that -she meant to go and ask Joanna to come out and see it, to tell them if -it would do.</p> - -<p>Royal said that he should like to have her go, very much; though he was -pretty sure that the coop would do very well. Lucy ran off into the -house, and after a little while she appeared again leading Joanna.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said Joanna,—after she had looked at the coop a minute or two, -with a smile upon her countenance,—“yes, that is quite a coop, really.”</p> - -<p>“Isn’t it a <em>good</em> coop?” said Royal. “See how strong these stakes are -driven into the ground.”</p> - -<p>“It is a great deal better than I thought you could make,” said Joanna.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">95</a></span> -Joanna’s commendations were not quite so unqualified as Royal wished -them to be.</p> - -<p>“Well, don’t you think,” said he, “that it will do very well to keep -hens in?”</p> - -<p>“Why, it is an excellent coop for you and Lucy to play with,” said -Joanna; “but as to keeping hens in it, there are two objections.”</p> - -<p>“What are they?” said Royal.</p> - -<p>“Why, the foxes and cats can get in, and the hens and chickens can get -out.”</p> - -<p>“How?” said Royal. “How can the hens get out?”</p> - -<p>“They can jump over,” said Joanna.</p> - -<p>“Well, the chickens can’t jump over, at any rate,” said Lucy; “how can -they get out?”</p> - -<p>“They can creep through,” said Joanna, gravely.</p> - -<p>Royal and Lucy both looked rather blank at these very serious -objections to their work. After a moment’s pause, Royal said,</p> - -<p>“Do foxes and cats kill hens and chickens?”</p> - -<p>“They kill chickens,” said Joanna, “and that is one great reason for -making a coop.”</p> - -<p>“Is there any other reason?”</p> - -<p>“Yes; sometimes they want to keep the hens from straying away to the -neighbors’, or getting<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">96</a></span> into the garden, and scratching up the seeds -and flowers.”</p> - -<p>“There are no seeds in our garden now,” said Royal.</p> - -<p>“No,” added Lucy, “but I don’t want to have them scratch up my flowers.”</p> - -<p>“But, Joanna,” said Royal, “is not this just such a coop as your -brother made for you? Lucy said it was.”</p> - -<p>“It is like it in the stakes; but mine had a cover over the top of it.”</p> - -<p>“I can put a cover over this,” said Royal.</p> - -<p>“O, very well; if you can do that, I think it will answer.”</p> - -<p>After Joanna went into the house, Royal tried to contrive some way to -put a cover over his coop; but he found that it would be very difficult -to fasten it on. The tops of the stakes were not steady enough to nail -any thing to; and besides, they were not all of the same height; and, -of course, if he should put boards over across, they would not be -steady. At last he said,</p> - -<p>“O Lucy, I have thought of another plan.”</p> - -<p>“What is it?” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“Why,” said he, “you remember those great boxes around behind the barn, -where we got our barrel.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">97</a></span> -Lucy said that she remembered them very well.</p> - -<p>“Now,” continued Royal, “I will get one of those great boxes for the -roof of my coop. There is one large, flat box, which will be just the -thing I will pull up all these stakes, and drive them down again, so as -to make a square, just as big as the box.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t understand, exactly,” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“Never mind,” said Royal, “it is not necessary to explain it. You shall -see how I will do it; let us go and get the box.”</p> - -<p>Royal and Lucy went together to get the box. They found one there which -Royal said would do very well; the bottom of it was about as large as -a common tea table; but the sides were narrow, so that, when it was -placed upon the ground, with the open part up, it was not very deep.</p> - -<p>Royal attempted to roll this box out; but he found it much harder to -move than the barrel was. This was partly because it was larger and -heavier, and partly because it would not roll, on account of its square -form.</p> - -<p>However, they contrived to get it out, and to work it along through a -gate which led into a large outer yard. By this time, however, they -both got tired, and Royal said that he meant to get some rollers, and -roll it along.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">98</a></span> -So he brought some round sticks of wood from the wood pile, for -rollers; and with a bar of wood, which he found also upon the wood -pile, he pried the box up, and Lucy put two rollers under it, one at -each end. They also placed another roller a little way before the box. -Royal then went behind the box, and with his bar of wood for a lever, -he pried the box along; and he found it moved very easily upon the -rollers.</p> - -<p>Lucy wanted a lever too,—and she went and got one; and then they could -both pry the box along, one at each corner, behind. They had to stop -occasionally to adjust the rollers, when they worked out of place; but, -by patience and perseverance, they gradually moved the box along until -they came to the gate leading into the inner yard, where the place for -the coop had been chosen.</p> - -<p>They found some difficulty in getting it through the gate, because it -was too large to go through in any way but by being lifted up upon its -side. Royal, however, succeeded in lifting it up, and then in getting -it through; and after that it was but a short work to move it along -upon its rollers to its place of destination.</p> - -<p>Royal sat down upon the great, flat stone, and said that he was tired, -and that he had a great<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">99</a></span> mind not to make a coop after all,—it was -such hard work.</p> - -<p>“Then,” said Lucy, “I don’t think you will be very persevering.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t believe you know what <em>persevering</em> means,” said Royal.</p> - -<p>“Yes, I do,” said Lucy; “Miss Anne told me. It is when you begin to -make a coop, and then give up before you get it done.”</p> - -<p>Royal burst into a fit of laughter.</p> - -<p>“No,” said Lucy; “not that, exactly. I mean it is when you don’t give -up—and I think you ought not to give up now—making this coop.”</p> - -<p>“Well,” said Royal, “I believe you are right. It would be very foolish -to give up our coop now, when we have got all the hardest part of our -work done. I’ll go and get the corner stakes.”</p> - -<p>Royal then went and made four strong stakes for the four corners, and -brought them to the place, and drove them down into the ground. He took -care to have them at just such a distance from each other, as that they -should come as near as possible to the four corners of the box, when it -should be placed over them.</p> - -<p>Then he drove a row of stakes along where the sides of the box would -come, between the corner<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">100</a></span> stakes on each side; and he drove these all -down a little lower than the corner stakes, so that, when the box -should be placed over them, it would rest upon the corners, and not -upon the sides. Before he closed the last side, he rolled the barrel -in, and placed it along by the fence. Then he put a roller under it, on -the outer side,—so that thus the barrel was confined, and could not -move either way.</p> - -<p>“Now, Lucy, we are ready for a raising,” said Royal; “but we shall -never be able to get the box up, by ourselves, if we work all day.”</p> - -<p>They concluded to ask Joanna to come out again, and help them get the -box up. She came very willingly, and all three of them together easily -succeeded in putting the heavy box into its place; and Royal had the -satisfaction of perceiving that it fitted very well. Joanna then said -that, for aught she could see, their structure would make a very safe -and convenient coop.</p> - -<p>When their father and mother came to see their work that evening, their -father said that it would do very well for a coop, but that it was too -late in the year to get hens.</p> - -<p>“If I get some hens for you,” said he, “it will be several weeks before -they lay eggs enough to hatch; and then the chickens would not have<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">101</a></span> -grown enough to get out of the way of the cold of the winter. It is -full as late now as any brood of chickens ought to come out.”</p> - -<p>Royal and Lucy looked greatly disappointed at this unexpected -announcement. It was a difficulty that had not occurred to them at all. -Their father was always very much pressed with his business, and could -seldom give much time or attention to their plays; but they thought -that, if they could make all the arrangements, so that they could take -care of the hens without troubling him, there would be no difficulty at -all. They did not know but that hens would lay and hatch as well and as -safely at one time as at another.</p> - -<p>Lucy had some corn in her hand. Her father asked her what that was for. -She said it was to put into the coop for the hens. She had asked Joanna -for some, and she had given it to her, because she said she wanted some -corn all ready.</p> - -<p>Here her mother whispered something to her father, which Lucy and Royal -did not hear.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said he, in a low tone, in reply, speaking to her mother, -“perhaps I can; very likely.”</p> - -<p>Royal wondered what they were talking about, but he did not ask.</p> - -<p>“Well, Lucy,” said her father, “throw your corn into the coop, and -about the door; perhaps<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">102</a></span> you can catch some hens in it. Who knows but -that it will do for a trap?”</p> - -<p>“O father,” said Royal, “you are only making fun of us.”</p> - -<p>“Why, you have caught squirrels, haven’t you, time and again? and why -not hens?”</p> - -<p>“Nonsense, father,” said Royal; “there are no hens to come and get -caught in traps.”</p> - -<p>“<em>Perhaps</em>, Royal,” said Lucy, as she scattered her corn into the coop, -“Perhaps.——We will put in the corn, at least,—and leave the door -open.”</p> - -<p>So Lucy put the corn in and about the door; and then the party all went -away laughing. Lucy forgot her disappointment in the hope of catching -some hens, and Royal in the amusement excited by such an idea as -setting a trap for poultry.</p> - -<div class="figcenter width300"> -<img src="images/i-102.jpg" width="300" height="274" alt="" /> -</div> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">103</a></span></p> -</div> - - -<h2><a name="ix" id="ix"></a>CONVERSATION IX.<br /> -<small>EQUIVOCATION.</small></h2> - - -<p class="noi"><span class="smcap">Immediately</span> after breakfast, the next morning, Lucy went out to look at -the coop, to see if any hens had been caught; and when she came back, -and said that there were none there, her father said that she must -not despair too soon,—sometimes a trap was out several nights before -anything was taken.</p> - -<p>That day, after Royal had finished his lessons, Lucy called upon him to -fulfil his promise of making her a garden.</p> - -<p>“Why, Lucy,” said Royal, “I don’t think I am under any obligation to -make you any garden.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, Royal,” said Lucy, “you promised me that you would, if I would -help you make the coop.”</p> - -<p>“Well, that was because I expected that we could have some hens; but, -now that we cannot have any hens, the coop will not do us any good at -all; and I don’t see that I ought to make you a garden for nothing.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">104</a></span> -Lucy did not know how to answer this reasoning, but she was very far -from being satisfied with it. She, however, had nothing to say, but -that he had agreed to make her a garden, and that she thought he ought -to do it.</p> - -<p>Royal said that he meant if they got any hens to put into the coop; and -Lucy said she did not believe that he meant any such thing.</p> - -<p>Royal was wrong in refusing thus to fulfil his agreement. And the -reason which he gave was not a good reason. He did, indeed, expect, -when he made the promise, that he should have some hens to put into -his hen-coop; but he did not make his promise <em>on that condition</em>. The -promise was absolute—if she would help him make his coop, he would -make her a garden. When she had finished helping him make the coop, her -part of the agreement was fulfilled, and he was bound to fulfil his.</p> - -<p>At last Lucy said,</p> - -<p>“If you don’t make me a garden, I shall go and tell Joanna of you.”</p> - -<p>“Very well,” said Royal; “we will go and leave it to Joanna, and let -her decide.”</p> - -<p>They went in and stated the case to Joanna. When she heard all the -facts, she decided at once against Royal.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">105</a></span> -“Certainly you ought to make her a garden,” said Joanna. “There being -no hens has nothing to do with it. You took the risk. You took the -risk.”</p> - -<p>Lucy did not understand what Joanna meant by taking the risk, but she -understood that the decision was in her favor, and she ran off out of -the kitchen in great glee. Royal followed her more slowly.</p> - -<p>“Well, Lucy,” said he, “I’ll make you a garden. I’d as lief make it as -not.”</p> - -<p>He accordingly worked very industriously upon the garden for more than -an hour. He dug up all the ground with his hoe, and then raked it over -carefully. Then he marked out an alley through the middle of it, for -Lucy to walk in, when she was watering her flowers. He also divided -the sides into little beds, though the paths between the beds were too -narrow to walk in.</p> - -<p>“Now,” said he, “Lucy, for the flowers.”</p> - -<p>So they set off upon an expedition after flowers. They got some in the -garden, and some in the fields. Some Royal took up by the roots; but -most of them were broken off at the stem, so as to be stuck down into -the ground. Lucy asked him if they would grow; and he said that he did -not know that they would grow much, but<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">106</a></span> they would keep bright and -beautiful as long as she would water them.</p> - -<p>Miss Anne lent Lucy her watering-pot, to water her flowers, and -she said that, after dinner, she would go out and see her garden. -Accordingly, after dinner, they made preparations to go. While Miss -Anne was putting on her sun-bonnet, Royal waited for her; but Lucy ran -out before them. In a moment, however, after she had gone out, she came -running back in the highest state of excitement, calling out,</p> - -<p>“O Royal, we have caught them! we have caught them! O, come and see! -come, Miss Anne, come quick and see!”</p> - -<p>And before they had time to speak to her, or even to ask what she -meant, she was away again, calling, as she passed away from hearing, -“Come, come, come!”</p> - -<p>Royal left Miss Anne, and ran off after Lucy.</p> - -<p>Miss Anne herself walked along after them, and found them looking -through the bars of the hen-coop, and in a state of the highest delight -at the sight of a hen and a large brood of chickens, which were walking -about within.</p> - -<p>“O, look, Miss Anne!” said Lucy, clapping her hands as Miss Anne came -up. “A real hen, and ever so many chickens!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">107</a></span> -“Where <em>could</em> they have come from?” said Miss Anne.</p> - -<p>“O, we caught them,” said Lucy; “we caught them. I told you, Royal, -that perhaps we should catch some.”</p> - -<p>“How did they get here?” said Royal. “It is some of father’s sly work, -I know. Do you know, Miss Anne, how they came here?”</p> - -<p>“Let us see how many chickens there are,” said Miss Anne. “One, two, -three,”—and so she went on counting up to thirteen.</p> - -<p>“Thirteen,” said Lucy; “only think! More than Joanna’s, isn’t it, -Royal? Thirteen is more than eleven, isn’t it?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, two more,” said Royal; “but, Miss Anne, don’t you know how they -came here?”</p> - -<p>Miss Anne looked rather sly, but did not answer. She said to Lucy,</p> - -<p>“Well, Lucy, let us go and see your garden.”</p> - -<p>Lucy did not now care so much about her garden; she was more interested -in the chickens; however, they all went to look at it, and Miss Anne -praised it very highly. She said the flowers looked beautifully.</p> - -<p>“And now, Miss Anne,” said Lucy, “whenever I want any flowers, I can -come out here and gather them out of my garden.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">108</a></span> -“Yes,” said Miss Anne, “as long as they last.”</p> - -<p>“O, they will last all the time,” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“Will they?” said Miss Anne, rather doubtfully.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said Lucy; “I am going to water them.”</p> - -<p>“That will help,” replied Miss Anne, “I have no doubt.”</p> - -<p>“I can keep them fresh as long as I want to, in that way,” said Lucy. -“Royal said so.”</p> - -<p>“Did you, Royal?” asked Miss Anne.</p> - -<p>“No,” said Royal. “I said that they would keep fresh as long as she -watered them.”</p> - -<p>“That wasn’t quite honest, was it, Royal? for they won’t keep fresh -more than two days.”</p> - -<p>“Well,” said Royal, “and she won’t have patience to water them more -than <em>one</em> day.”</p> - -<p>“That’s equivocation,” said Miss Anne.</p> - -<p>“Equivocation?” repeated Royal; “what do you mean by that?”</p> - -<p>“It is when anything you say has two senses, and it is true in one -sense, and not true in another; and you mean to have any person -understand it in the sense in which it is <em>not</em> true.”</p> - -<p>“What do you mean by that?” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“Why, I will give you an example. Once<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">109</a></span> there was a boy who told his -brother William, that there was a black dog up in the garret, and -William ran up to see. His brother came up behind him, and, when they -opened the garret door, he pointed to an old andiron, such as are -called dogs, and said, ‘See! there he is, standing on three legs.’”</p> - -<p>Royal laughed very heartily at this story. He was much more amused at -the waggery of such a case of equivocation, than impressed with the -dishonesty of it.</p> - -<p>“Miss Anne,” said he, “I don’t see that there was any great harm in -that.”</p> - -<p>“Equivocation is not wrong always,” said Miss Anne. “Riddles are often -equivocations.”</p> - -<p>“Tell us one,” said Royal.</p> - -<p>“Why, there is your old riddle of the carpenter cutting the door. He -cut it, and cut it, and cut it, and cut it too little; then he cut it -again, and it fitted.”</p> - -<p>“Is that an equivocation?” said Royal.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said Miss Anne; “the equivocation is in the word <em>little</em>. It -may mean that he cut too little, or that he cut until the door was too -little. Now, when you give out that riddle, you mean that the person -whom you are talking with, should understand it in the last sense; that -is,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">110</a></span> that he cut until the <em>door</em> was too little, and then that he cut -it more, and it was just right. But it cannot be true in that sense. -It is true only in the other sense; that is, that he did not cut it -enough, and then, when he cut it more, he made it fit. So that he cut -it too little, has two senses. The words are true in one sense; but you -mean to have them understood in the other sense, in which they cannot -be true. And that is an <em>equivocation</em>.</p> - -<p>“But, then,” continued Miss Anne, “equivocations in riddles are -certainly not wrong; but equivocations in our <em>dealings</em> with one -another certainly are.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t think that the boy that said there was a dog up garret did any -thing wrong,” said Royal.</p> - -<p>“I do,” said Lucy, putting down her little foot with great emphasis. “I -think he did very wrong indeed.”</p> - -<p>“O no, Lucy,” said Miss Anne, “not very wrong indeed. Perhaps it was -not quite right. But it is certainly wrong to gain any advantage from -any person in your dealings with them, by equivocation.”</p> - -<p>“Did I?” said Royal.</p> - -<p>“Yes, I think you did, a little. You told Lucy that the flowers -would keep fresh as long as she<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">111</a></span> would water them. You meant her to -understand it absolutely; but it is true only in another sense.”</p> - -<p>“In what sense?” said Royal.</p> - -<p>“Why, as long as she <em>would be likely</em> to water them; which is a very -different thing. Perhaps she would not have been willing to make the -bargain with you, if she had understood that she could not keep them -fresh by watering them, more than a day or two.”</p> - -<p>While they had been talking thus, they had gradually been walking -towards the house, and they had now reached the door. Miss Anne went -in, and Lucy and Royal went to the hen-coop to see the hen and chickens.</p> - -<p>Lucy went to get some corn, but Joanna told her that crumbs of bread -would be better, and then the old hen could break them up into small -pieces, and feed her chickens with them. She accordingly gave her some -small pieces of bread, which Lucy carried back; and she and Royal -amused themselves for a long time, by throwing crumbs in through the -spaces between the sticks.</p> - -<p>While they were talking about them, Royal happened to speak of them as -<em>his</em> hen and chickens, and Lucy said that she thought he ought not to -have them all. She wanted some herself,—at least some of the chickens.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">112</a></span> -“O no,” said Royal; “they are altogether mine; it is my coop.”</p> - -<p>“No,” replied Lucy; “I helped you make the coop, and I mean to have -some of the chickens.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, but, Lucy, you promised me that I should have the coop and the -hens, if I would make you a garden.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, but not the chickens,” said Lucy; “I did not say a word about the -chickens.”</p> - -<p>“O Lucy, that was because we did not expect to have any chickens; but -it is all the same thing.”</p> - -<p>“What is all the same thing?” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“Why, hens and chickens,” said Royal.</p> - -<p>“O Royal,” said Lucy, “they are very different indeed.” Lucy looked -through the bars of the hen-coop, at the hen and chickens, and was -quite surprised that Royal could say that they were all the same thing.</p> - -<p>“In a bargain, Lucy, I mean; in a bargain, I mean. If you make a -bargain about hens, you mean all the chickens too.”</p> - -<p>“<em>I</em> didn’t, I am sure,” said Lucy; “I never thought of such a thing as -the chickens; and besides, you did not make me such a garden as you -promised me.”</p> - -<p>“Why, yes I did,” said Royal.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">113</a></span> -“No,” said Lucy, “you told me an equivocation.”</p> - -<p>Royal laughed.</p> - -<p>“You did, Royal; you know you did; and Miss Anne said so.</p> - -<p>“<em>I</em> think it was a falsehood, myself,” continued Lucy, “or almost a -falsehood.”</p> - -<p>“O no, Lucy; I don’t think you would water them more than one day, and -I knew that they would keep fresh as long as that.”</p> - -<p>Lucy was silent. She did not know exactly how to reply to Royal’s -reasoning; but she thought it was very hard, that out of the whole -thirteen chickens, Royal would not let her have any to call hers.</p> - -<p>She told Royal that she only wanted two; if he would let her have two, -she should be satisfied;—but Royal said that he wanted them all; that -she had the garden, and he must have the hen and chickens.</p> - -<p>Lucy might very probably have said something further on the subject; -but at that moment she spied a little chicken, with black and yellow -feathers, just creeping through between the bars of the coop. A moment -more, and he was fairly out upon the grass outside.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">114</a></span> -“O Royal!” exclaimed Lucy, “one is out! one is out! I can catch him.”</p> - -<p>“No,” said Royal, “let me catch him. You will hurt him.”</p> - -<p>They both started up, and ran after the chicken; while he, frightened -at their pursuit, and at his strange situation in the grass, ran off -farther and farther, <em>peeping</em> with great earnestness and noise. Royal -caught at him, but did not catch him. He darted off towards where Lucy -was, and at that instant Lucy clapped her hand over him, and held him a -prisoner.</p> - -<p>The poor hen was much alarmed at the cries of the lost chicken; and she -pushed her head through the bars of the cage, trying to get out, and -apparently in great distress.</p> - -<p>“Give him to me,” said Royal, “and I’ll put him back again.”</p> - -<p>“No,” said Lucy, “I am going to carry him in, and show him to Joanna.”</p> - -<p>“O, well,” said Royal, “only give him to me, and let me carry him. You -will hurt him.”</p> - -<p>“No, I won’t hurt him,” said Lucy; “I will be very careful indeed.”</p> - -<p>So she put the tender little animal very gently in one of her hands, -and covered him with the other. -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">115</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter width600"> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">116</a></span> -<img src="images/i-115.jpg" width="600" height="389" alt="" /> -<div class="caption">“Give him to me,” said Royal, “and I’ll put him back -again.”—<em>Page</em> 114.</div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">117</a></span> -“O, what soft feathers!” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said Royal; “and see his little bill sticking out between your -fingers!”</p> - -<p>Thus they went into the house,—first to Joanna, and afterwards to -Miss Anne; and the hen, when the lost chicken was out of hearing, soon -regained her composure. She had a dozen chickens left, and as she could -not count, she did not know but that there were thirteen.</p> - -<div class="figcenter width300"> -<img src="images/i-117.jpg" width="300" height="235" alt="" /> -</div> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">118</a></span></p> -</div> - - -<h2><a name="x" id="x"></a>CONVERSATION X.<br /> -<small>JOHNNY.</small></h2> - - -<p class="noi"><span class="smcap">Miss Anne</span> was very much pleased to see the little chicken. She sent -Royal out after a small, square piece of board. While he was gone, she -got a small flake of cotton batting, and also an old work-basket, from -the upper shelf of her closet. Then, when Royal came in with the board, -she put the cotton upon it, shaping it in the form of a nest. She put -the chicken upon this nest, and then turned the basket down over it, -which formed a sort of cage, to keep the little prisoner from getting -away. Royal and Lucy could look through the open-work of the basket, -and see him.</p> - -<p>But Miss Anne, though pleased with the chicken, was very sorry to -find that Royal had so monopolizing a spirit. A monopolizing spirit -is an eager desire to get for ourselves, alone, that which others -ought to have a share of. Royal wanted to own the hen and chickens -himself, and to exclude, or shut out, Lucy from all share of them.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">119</a></span> -He wished to monopolize them. Too eager a desire to get what others -have, is sometimes called <em>covetousness</em>. Miss Anne resolved to have a -conversation with Royal about his monopolizing and covetous disposition.</p> - -<p>She did not, however, have a very good opportunity until several days -after this; but then a circumstance occurred which naturally introduced -the subject.</p> - -<p>The circumstance was this.</p> - -<p>The children were taking a walk with Miss Anne. They went to a -considerable distance from the house, by a path through the woods, and -came at length to the banks of a mill stream. The water tumbled over -the rocks which filled the bed of the stream. There was a narrow road -along the bank, and Miss Anne turned into this road, and walked along -up towards the mill, which was only a short distance above.</p> - -<p>They saw, before them, at a little distance, a boy about as large as -Royal, cutting off the end of a long, slender pole.</p> - -<p>“O, see what a beautiful fishing-pole that boy has got!” said Royal.</p> - -<p>“Is that a fishing-pole?” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>Just then the boy called out, as if he was speaking to somebody in the -bushes.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">120</a></span> -“Come, George; ain’t you most ready?”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” answered George, “I have got mine just ready; but I want to get -a little one for Johnny.”</p> - -<p>“O, never mind Johnny,” said the other boy; “he can’t fish.”</p> - -<p>By this time, the children had advanced so far that they could see -George and Johnny, in a little open place among the bushes. George was -about as large as the other boy; and he was just finishing the trimming -up of another pole, very much like the one which the children had seen -first. There was a very small boy standing by him, who, as the children -supposed, was Johnny. He was looking on, while George finished his pole.</p> - -<p>“<em>I</em> would not get Johnny one,” said the boy in the road. “He can’t do -any thing with it.”</p> - -<p>“No,” said George, “but he will like to have one, so that he can make -believe fish; shouldn’t you, Johnny?”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said Johnny; or rather he said something that meant <em>yes</em>; for -he could not speak very plain.</p> - -<p>“Well,” said the boy in the road, “I am not going to wait any longer.” -He accordingly shut up his knife, put it into his pocket, and walked -along.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">121</a></span> -George scrambled back into the bushes, and began to look about for a -pole for Johnny. Miss Anne and the children were now opposite to them.</p> - -<p>“Johnny,” said Miss Anne, “do you expect that you can catch fishes?”</p> - -<p>Johnny did not answer, but stood motionless, gazing upon the strangers -in silent wonder.</p> - -<p>Miss Anne smiled, and walked on, and the children followed her. -Presently George and Johnny came up behind them,—George walking -fast, and Johnny trotting along by his side. When they had got before -them a little way, they turned out of the road into a path which led -down towards the stream, which here was at a little distance from the -road. The path led in among trees and bushes; and so Miss Anne and the -children soon lost sight of them entirely.</p> - -<p>“George seems to be a strange sort of a boy,” said Miss Anne.</p> - -<p>“Why?” asked Royal.</p> - -<p>“Why, he cannot be contented to have a fishing-pole himself, unless -little Johnny has one too.”</p> - -<p>“Is that very strange?” asked Royal.</p> - -<p>“I thought it was rather unusual,” said Miss<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">122</a></span> Anne. “Boys generally -want to get things for themselves; but I did not know that they were -usually so desirous to have their brothers gratified too.”</p> - -<p>“I do,” said Royal; “that is, I should, if I had a brother big enough.”</p> - -<p>“You have a sister,” said Miss Anne.</p> - -<p>“Well,” said Royal, “if I was going a fishing, and Lucy was going too, -I should want to have her have a fishing-pole as well as I.”</p> - -<p>“It is not always so with boys, at any rate,” said Miss Anne. “And that -makes me think of a curious thing that happened once. A little boy, -whom I knew, had a beautiful picture-book spoiled by a little gray dog, -in a very singular way.”</p> - -<p>“How was it?” said Royal.</p> - -<p>“Tell us, Miss Anne,” said Lucy; “tell us all about it.”</p> - -<p>“Well, this boy’s father bought him a very beautiful picture-book, with -colored pictures in it, and brought it home, and gave it to him. And -the next day the little gray dog spoiled it entirely.”</p> - -<p>“How?” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“Guess.”</p> - -<p>“Why, he bit it, and tore it to pieces with his teeth, I suppose,” said -Lucy.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">123</a></span> -“No,” said Miss Anne.</p> - -<p>“Then he must have trampled on it with his muddy feet,” said Royal.</p> - -<p>“No,” said Miss Anne, “it could not be in any such way, for it was not -a <em>live</em> dog.”</p> - -<p>“Not a <em>live</em> dog!” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“No, it was a little glass dog,—gray glass; only he had black ears and -tail.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t see how he could spoil a book,” said Royal.</p> - -<p>“He did,” answered Miss Anne.</p> - -<p>“The book gave Joseph a great deal of pleasure before the dog came, and -after that, it was good for nothing to him.”</p> - -<p>“Joseph?” said Royal; “who was he?”</p> - -<p>“Why, he was the little boy that had the book. Didn’t I tell you his -name before?”</p> - -<p>“No,” said Royal; “but tell us how the dog spoiled the book.”</p> - -<p>“Why, you must understand,” said Miss Anne, “that Joseph had a little -sister at home, named Mary; and when their father brought home the -book to Joseph, he had nothing for Mary. But the next day, he was in -a toy-shop, and he saw this little glass dog, and he thought that it -would be a very pretty little present for Mary. So he bought it, and -carried it home to her.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">124</a></span> -“Well, Miss Anne, tell on,” said Lucy, when she found that Miss Anne -paused, as if she was not going to say anything more.</p> - -<p>“Why, that is about all,” said Miss Anne, “only that he gave the dog to -Mary.”</p> - -<p>“But you said that the dog spoiled Joseph’s book.”</p> - -<p>“So it did. You see, when Joseph came to see the dog, he wanted it -himself, so much that he threw his book down upon the floor, and came -begging for the dog; and he could not take any pleasure at all in the -book after that.”</p> - -<p>“Is that all?” said Royal; “I supposed it was going to be something -different from that.”</p> - -<p>“Then you don’t think it is much of a story!”</p> - -<p>“No,” said Royal.</p> - -<p>“Nor I,” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“Well, now, <em>I</em> thought,” said Miss Anne, “that that was rather a -singular way for a dog to spoil a picture-book.”</p> - -<p>There was a moment’s pause after Miss Anne had said these words; and -then, an instant afterwards, the whole party came suddenly out of the -woods; and the mill, with a bridge near it, crossing the stream, came -into view.</p> - -<p>“O, there is a bridge,” said Lucy; “let us go over that bridge.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">125</a></span> -“Well,” said Royal, “so we will.”</p> - -<p>They walked on towards the bridge; but, just before they got to it, -Royal observed that there were ledges of rocks below the bridge, -running out into the water; and he said that he should rather go down -upon those rocks.</p> - -<p>Miss Anne said that she should like to go down there too, very much, -if she thought it was safe; and she concluded to go down, slowly and -carefully, and see. They found that, by exercising great caution, -they could advance farther than they had supposed. Sometimes Royal, -who was pretty strong, helped Miss Anne and Lucy down a steep place; -and sometimes they had to step over a narrow portion of the torrent. -They found themselves at last all seated safely upon the margin of a -rocky island, in the middle of the stream, with the water foaming, and -roaring, and shooting swiftly by, all around them.</p> - -<p>“There,” said Royal, “isn’t this a good place?”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said Lucy; “I never saw the water run so much before.”</p> - -<p>“Children,” said Miss Anne, “look down there!”</p> - -<p>“Where?” said Royal.</p> - -<p>“There, upon the bank, under the trees, down<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">126</a></span> on that side of the -stream,—a little below that large, white rock.”</p> - -<p>“Some boys,” said Royal. “They’re fishing.”</p> - -<p>“I see ’em,” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said Royal, “they are the same boys we saw in the road.”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said Miss Anne; “and don’t you see Johnny running about with his -pole?”</p> - -<p>“Where?” said Lucy; “which is Johnny?”</p> - -<p>“That’s he,” said Royal, “running about. Now he’s gone down to a sandy -place upon the shore. See, he’s reaching out with his pole, as far as -he can, upon the water; he is trying to reach a little piece of board -that is floating by. There, he has got it, and is pulling it in.”</p> - -<p>“I am glad George got him a pole,” said Miss Anne.</p> - -<p>“So am I,” said Royal.</p> - -<p>“And so am I,” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“It seems George is happier himself, if Johnny has something to make -him happy too; but the other boy isn’t.”</p> - -<p>“How do you know that he isn’t?” asked Lucy.</p> - -<p>“Why, he did not want George to stop. He had got a pole himself, and he -did not care any thing about Johnny’s having one.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">127</a></span> -“Yes,” said Royal, “so I think.”</p> - -<p>“Some children,” said Miss Anne, “when they have anything that they -like, always want their brothers and sisters to have something too; and -George seems to be one of them.</p> - -<p>“And that makes me think,” continued Miss Anne, “of the story of the -<em>horse</em> and the picture-book.”</p> - -<p>“What <em>is</em> the story?” said Royal.</p> - -<p>“Why, it is a story of a little wooden horse, which, instead of -spoiling a picture-book, as the dog did, made it much more valuable.”</p> - -<p>“Tell us all about it,” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“Very well, I will,” said Miss Anne. “There was once a boy named David. -His uncle sent him, one new year’s day, a picture-book. There was a -picture on every page, and two on the cover. He liked his picture-book -very much indeed; but one thing diminished the pleasure he took in -looking at it.”</p> - -<p>“What do you mean by <em>diminished</em>?” asked Lucy.</p> - -<p>“Why, made it smaller,” said Royal.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said Miss Anne; “and the circumstance which made his pleasure -in the picture-book less than it otherwise would have been, was, that -his little brother Georgie had no new book or plaything.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">128</a></span> David showed -Georgie his book, and sometimes let him have it by himself; but he -would have liked it better, if Georgie had had a present of his own.”</p> - -<p>“And now about the horse?” said Royal.</p> - -<p>“Well,—that evening, when these boys’ father came home to supper, he -brought something tied up in a paper, which, he said, was for Georgie. -David took it, and ran to find Georgie,—hoping that it was some -present for him. Georgie opened it, and found that it was a handsome -wooden horse, on wheels,—with a long red cord for a bridle, to draw -him about by. David was very much pleased at this; and now he could go -and sit down upon his cricket, and look at his book, with a great deal -more pleasure; for Georgie had a present too. So, you see, the horse -made the picture-book more valuable.”</p> - -<p>The children sat still a short time, thinking of what Miss Anne had -said; and at length Royal said,</p> - -<p>“Are these stories which you have been telling us <em>true</em>, Miss Anne?”</p> - -<p>“No,” said Miss Anne, quietly.</p> - -<p>“Then you made them up.”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said Miss Anne.</p> - -<p>“What for?” said Lucy.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">129</a></span> -“Why, to show you and Royal,” said Miss Anne, “the difference between -a monopolizing and covetous spirit, and one of generosity and -benevolence, which leads us to wish to have others possess and enjoy, -as well as ourselves.”</p> - -<p>Royal, pretty soon after this, proposed that he and Lucy should find -some sticks upon the little island, where they were sitting, and throw -them upon the water, and see them sail down; and they did accordingly -amuse themselves in this way for some time. Lucy was very much amused -to see the sticks shoot along the rapids, and dive down the little -cascades among the rocks. Miss Anne helped them throw in one piece of -plank, which had drifted down from the mill, and which was too large -and heavy for them to lift alone. They watched this for some time, as -it floated away far down the stream.</p> - -<p>At last, it was time to go home; and they all went back, very -carefully, over the stones, until they got back to the shore; and then -they walked home by a new way, over a hill, where they had a beautiful -prospect.</p> - -<p>That night, just before sundown, when Royal and Lucy went out to see -their chickens, Royal told Lucy that she might have the little black -chicken and two others for her own.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">130</a></span> -“Well,” said Lucy, clapping her hands, “and will you let me keep them -in your coop?”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” replied Royal; “or I will let you own the coop with me;—you -shall have a share in the coop, in proportion to your share of the -chickens.”</p> - -<p>“In proportion?” said Lucy; “what does that mean?”</p> - -<p>“Why, just as much of the coop as you have of the chickens,” said Royal.</p> - -<p>“Well,” said Lucy, “how much of the coop will it be, for three -chickens?”</p> - -<p>“O, I don’t know,” said Royal.</p> - -<p>“So much?” said Lucy, putting her hand upon the side of the coop, so as -to mark off a small portion of it.</p> - -<p>“O, I don’t mean,” said Royal, “to divide it. We will own it all -together, in partnership; only you shall have a small share, just in -proportion to your chickens.”</p> - -<p>Lucy did not understand this very well, but she thought more about the -chickens than about the coop; and she began to look at them, one by -one, carefully, to consider which she should have for hers. She chose -two, besides the black one; and she said that she meant to get Miss -Anne to name them for her.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">131</a></span> -Royal took a great deal of pleasure, after this, every time that he -came out to see his chickens, in observing how much interest Lucy took, -every day, in coming to see <em>her</em> chickens, and how much enjoyment it -afforded her to be admitted thus to a share in the property.</p> - -<div class="figcenter width300"> -<img src="images/i-131.jpg" width="300" height="264" alt="" /> -</div> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">132</a></span></p> -</div> - - -<h2><a name="xi" id="xi"></a>CONVERSATION XI.<br /> -<small>GETTING LOST.</small></h2> - - -<p class="noi"><span class="smcap">One</span> afternoon, a short time after dinner, Lucy was sitting upon a seat -under a trellis, near the door which led towards the garden, when her -mother came out.</p> - -<p>“Lucy,” said she, “I have got some rather bad news for you.”</p> - -<p>“What is it?” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“I am rather afraid to tell you, for fear it will make you cry.”</p> - -<p>“O no, mother; I shall not cry,” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“Well,” said her mother, “we shall see. The news is, that we are all -going away this afternoon, and are going to leave you at home.”</p> - -<p>“What, all alone?” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“Not quite alone; for Joanna will be here,” said her mother.</p> - -<p>“Where are you going?” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“We are going away, to ride.”</p> - -<p>“Why can’t I go too?” said Lucy.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">133</a></span> -“I can explain the reason better when we come back,” answered her -mother.</p> - -<p>Lucy did not cry; though she found it very hard to refrain. Her father -and mother, and Miss Anne and Royal, were all going, and she had to -remain at home. They were going, too, in a kind of barouche; and when -it drove up to the door, Lucy thought there would be plenty of room -for her. She found it hard to submit; but submission was made somewhat -easier by her mother’s not giving her any reasons. When a mother gives -a girl reasons why she cannot have something which she is very strongly -interested in, they seldom satisfy her, for she is not in a state of -mind to consider them impartially. It only sets her to attempting to -answer the reasons, and thus to agitate and disturb her mind more than -is necessary. It is therefore generally best not to explain the reasons -until afterwards, when the mind of the child is in a better condition -to feel their force.</p> - -<p>After the barouche drove away, Lucy went out into the kitchen to see -Joanna; and she asked Joanna what she should do. Joanna advised her to -go out and play in the yard until she had got her work done, and then -to come in and sit with her. Lucy did so. She played about in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">134</a></span> -grass until Joanna called from the window, and told her that she was -ready.</p> - -<p>Then Lucy came in. She found the kitchen all arranged in good order, -and Joanna was just sitting down before a little table, at the window, -to sew. Lucy got her basket of blocks, and began to build houses in the -middle of the floor.</p> - -<p>“Joanna,” said she, after a little while, “I wish you would tell me -something more about when you were a farmer’s daughter.”</p> - -<p>“Why, I am a farmer’s daughter now,” said Joanna.</p> - -<p>“But I mean when you were a little girl, and lived among the stumps,” -said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“Well,” said Joanna,—“what shall I tell you about? Let me see.—O, -I’ll tell you how I got lost in the woods, one day.”</p> - -<p>“Ah, yes,” said Lucy, “I should like to hear about that very much -indeed.”</p> - -<p>“One day,” said Joanna, “my father was going a fishing, and my brother -was going with him.”</p> - -<p>“The same one that made your hen-coop?” asked Lucy.</p> - -<p>“No, he was a bigger one than that. I asked my father to let me go too. -At first he said I was too little; but afterwards he said I might go.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">135</a></span> -“How big were you?” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“I was just about your age,” said Joanna. “My mother said I could not -possibly walk so far; but father said I should not have to walk but a -little way, for he was going down the brook in a boat.</p> - -<p>“So father concluded to let me go, and we started off,—all three -together. We went across the road, and then struck right into the -woods.”</p> - -<p>“Struck?” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“Yes; that is, we <em>went</em> right in.”</p> - -<p>“O,” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“We walked along by a sort of cart-road a little while, until we came -to a place where I just began to see some water through the trees. -Father said it was the brook.</p> - -<p>“When we got down to it, I found that it was a pretty wide brook; and -the water was deep and pretty still. There was a boat in the brook. The -boat was tied to a tree upon the shore; my brother got in, and then my -father put me in; and afterwards he untied the boat, and threw the rope -in, and then got in himself. Then there were three of us in.”</p> - -<p>“Wasn’t you afraid?” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“Yes, I was afraid that the boat would tip over; but father said that -it wouldn’t. But he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">136</a></span> said that I must sit still, if I didn’t want the -boat to upset. So I sat as still as I could, and watched the trees and -bushes, moving upon the shore.”</p> - -<p>“I wish I could go and sail in a boat,” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“It is very pleasant,” said Joanna, “when the water is smooth and -still. The branches of the trees hung over the water where we were -sailing along, and one time we sailed under them, and my brother broke -me off a long willow stick.</p> - -<p>“After a time, we came to the end of the brook, where it emptied into -the pond.”</p> - -<p>“Emptied?” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“Yes; that is, where it came out into the pond.”</p> - -<p>“Do brooks run into ponds?” asked Lucy.</p> - -<p>“Not always,” said Joanna; “sometimes they run into other larger -brooks, and sometimes into rivers, and sometimes into ponds. This brook -ran into a pond; and when we came to the end of the brook, our boat -sailed right out into a pond. This pond was the place where they were -going to catch the fishes.”</p> - -<p>“Why didn’t they catch the fishes in the brook?” asked Lucy.</p> - -<p>“I believe they could not catch such large fishes there,” said Joanna. -“At any rate, they went out into the pond. There was a point of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">137</a></span> land -at the mouth of the brook, and when my father had got out around this -point, he began to fish.”</p> - -<p>“Did he catch any?” asked Lucy.</p> - -<p>“He caught one, and my brother caught one; and after that, they could -not catch any more for some time. At last, my father said it was not -worth while for them both to stay there all the afternoon, and that my -brother might go back home by a road across through the woods, and he -would stay and see what luck he should have himself. He said, too, that -I might stay with him, if I chose.”</p> - -<p>“And did you?” asked Lucy.</p> - -<p>“No,” replied Joanna. “At first, I thought I should like to stay with -father; but then I had already become pretty tired of sitting in the -boat with nothing to do, and so I concluded to go with my brother. -Besides, I wanted to see what sort of a road it was across through the -woods.</p> - -<p>“My father then took his line in, and paddled the boat to the shore, to -let me and my brother get out. Then he went back to his fishing-ground -again, and let down his line. As for my brother and myself, we went -along a little way, until we came to a large pine-tree, which stood -not very far from the shore of the pond; and there we<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">138</a></span> turned into the -woods, and walked along together.”</p> - -<p>“And was it in these woods that you got lost?” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“Not exactly,” said Joanna; “but I will tell you all about it. We went -along a little way without any difficulty, but presently we came to a -bog.”</p> - -<p>“What is a bog?” asked Lucy.</p> - -<p>“Why, it is a low, wet place, where wild grass and rushes grow. The -path led through this bog, and brother said he did not think that I -could get along very well.”</p> - -<p>“I should not think that he could get along himself,” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” answered Joanna, “<em>he</em> could get along by stepping upon the -stones and hummocks of grass; and he tried to carry me, at first; but -he soon found that it would be a great deal of work, and he said that I -had better go back to my father, and get into the boat, and stay with -him.</p> - -<p>“I said, ‘Well;’ and he carried me back as far as to hard ground; and -then he told me to go back by the path, until I came to the pine-tree; -and then he said I should only have to follow the shore of the pond, a -short distance, when I should come in sight of father’s boat.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">139</a></span> -“Yes, but how could you get into the boat,” said Lucy, “without getting -wet, when it was so far from the shore?”</p> - -<p>“O, I could call to my father, and he would come to the shore and take -me in,” said Joanna.</p> - -<p>“Well,” said Lucy, “tell on.”</p> - -<p>“I walked along the path, without any trouble, until I came to the -great pine-tree, where I saw a woodpecker.”</p> - -<p>“A woodpecker?” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“Yes; that is, a kind of a bird which pecks the bark and wood of old -trees, to get bugs and worms out of it, to eat.”</p> - -<p>“I should not think that bugs and worms would be good to eat,” said -Lucy.</p> - -<p>“They are good for woodpeckers,” said Joanna. “This woodpecker was -standing upon the side of the great pine-tree, clinging to the bark. He -has sharp claws, and can cling to the bark upon the side of a tree. I -looked at him a minute, and then went on.</p> - -<p>“I followed the shore of the pond, until I came to the place where we -had left my father fishing; but when I looked out upon the water there, -the boat was nowhere to be seen. I was very much frightened.”</p> - -<p>“Where was he gone?” said Lucy.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">140</a></span> -“I did not know then,” said Joanna; “but I learned afterwards that he -had found that he could not catch any fishes there, and so he concluded -to go up the brook again, and see if he could not catch any there. I -did not know this then, and I could not think what had become of him. I -was frightened. I did not see how I could ever find my way home again. -What do you think I did first?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know,” said Lucy. “What was it?”</p> - -<p>“I called out, <em>Father! Father! Father!</em> as loud as I could call; and -then I listened for a reply,—but I could not hear any.”</p> - -<p>“Then what did you do?” asked Lucy.</p> - -<p>“Why, I began to consider whether I could not go home the way that my -brother had gone, by walking along through the mud, even if it was -deep. I thought I had better get my feet wet and muddy than stay there -in the woods and starve.”</p> - -<p>“Well, did you go that way?” asked Lucy.</p> - -<p>“No,” said Joanna; “on thinking more of it, I was afraid to go. I did -not know but that the mud would be deep enough somewhere to drown -me; and then, besides, I did not know that I could find the way, any -farther than I had gone with my brother. -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">141</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter width600"> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">142</a></span> -<img src="images/i-141.jpg" width="600" height="397" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">143</a></span> -“The next plan I thought of, was to follow the shore of the brook up. -You remember that we came down the brook, in the boat; and of course I -knew that, if I went <em>up</em> the brook, either on the water or close to -it, upon the shore, I should be going back towards home. I tried this -way, but I found that I could not get along.”</p> - -<p>“Why couldn’t you get along?” asked Lucy.</p> - -<p>“Because,” said Joanna, “the trees and bushes were so thick, and the -ground was so wet and swampy, in some places, that I couldn’t get -through. Then I came back, and sat down upon a log, near the shore of -the pond, and began to cry.”</p> - -<p>“And didn’t you ever get home?” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“Certainly,” said Joanna, laughing, “or else how could I be here now to -tell the story?”</p> - -<p>“O!—yes,” said Lucy. “But how did you get home?”</p> - -<p>“Why, pretty soon I thought that the best plan would be for me to stay -just where I was, for I thought that as soon as my father and brother -should both get home, and find that I was not there, they would come -after me; and if they came after me, I knew they would come, first of -all, to the place where my brother had told me to go, near the mouth of -the brook. So<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">144</a></span> I concluded that I would wait patiently there until they -came.</p> - -<p>“I waited all the afternoon, and they did not come; and at last the sun -went down, and still I was there alone.”</p> - -<p>“Why did not they come for you sooner?” asked Lucy.</p> - -<p>“Why, the reason was, that my father did not get home until night. When -he went up the brook, he found a place where he could catch fishes -quite fast; and so he staid there all the afternoon. He thought I was -safe at home with my brother. And my brother, who was at home all this -time, thought that I was safe in the boat with my father.</p> - -<p>“When it began to grow dark, I thought I should have to stay in the -woods all night; but then I thought that, at any rate, they would come -for me the next morning; and I began to look around for a good place to -lie down and go to sleep. But, just then, I heard a noise, like a noise -in the water, through the woods; and I looked that way, and saw a light -glancing along through the trees. It was my father and brother coming -down the brook in the boat. I called out to them as loud as I could, -and they heard me and answered. They came round the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">145</a></span> point of land, and -then up to the shore where I was, and took me in. And so I got home.”</p> - -<p>Here Lucy drew a long breath, very much relieved to find that Joanna -was safe home again.</p> - -<p>“What did you do when you got home?” said she.</p> - -<p>“I don’t recollect very well,” said Joanna, “only I remember that my -mother let me sit up pretty late, and eat some of father’s fishes, -which she fried for supper.”</p> - -<hr class="short" /> - -<p>When Miss Anne came home that night, Lucy told her the story which -Joanna had related to her. She told her while Miss Anne was putting her -to bed. Lucy said that she should like to be lost in the woods.</p> - -<p>“O no,” said Miss Anne, “you would not like the reality. It makes -an interesting story to relate, but the thing itself must be very -distressing.”</p> - -<p>“Well, at any rate,” said Lucy, “I should like to sail under the trees -in a boat.”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said Miss Anne, “that would be pleasant, no doubt.”</p> - -<p>“And to see a woodpecker,” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“Yes, very likely,” said Miss Anne.</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">146</a></span></p> -</div> - - -<h2><a name="xii" id="xii"></a>CONVERSATION XII.<br /> -<small>LUCY’S SCHOLAR.</small></h2> - - -<p class="noi"><span class="smcap">After</span> this, Lucy often “played boat” for amusement. She built her boat -of chairs and crickets, and had the hearth brush for a paddle.</p> - -<p>One evening, just after tea, when she was playing in this way, in the -parlor, Royal looking on, she said to Miss Anne,</p> - -<p>“I wish we had a real boat.”</p> - -<p>“A real boat,” said Miss Anne, “would do no good, unless you had a -place to sail it in.”</p> - -<p>“Couldn’t we sail it in our brook?” asked Lucy.</p> - -<p>“No, indeed,” said Royal; “there is scarcely water enough in our brook -to float my turtle.”</p> - -<p>“O Royal,” said Lucy, “it is a great deal too deep for your turtle.”</p> - -<p>“In some places,” said Miss Anne; “but to sail a boat, you must have a -long extent of deep water. I should think, however, that you might have -a better boat than you can make of chairs and crickets.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">147</a></span> -“How could we make it?” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“Why, Royal might find a long box, out behind the barn; or two common -boxes, and put them together, end to end, out in the yard. You might -put two boards across for seats, and have poles for paddles.”</p> - -<p>“But it would not sail any,” said Royal.</p> - -<p>“If you want it to sail, you must put some rollers under it, and then -you can push it along a little.”</p> - -<p>Royal said that that was an excellent plan, and that he meant to go and -make such a boat the very next day. He said he did not believe but that -he could put a mast in, and hoist up a sail; or at least a flag or a -streamer.</p> - -<p>“Well,” said Lucy, “we will.”</p> - -<p>“I mean to go now and see if there is a box,” said Royal; “it is just -light enough.”</p> - -<p>So Royal went off out of the room.</p> - -<p>“Miss Anne,” said Lucy, “how much does a real boat cost?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know, exactly, how much,” said Miss Anne.</p> - -<p>“I don’t suppose I should have money enough to buy a boat, even if we -had a deep brook to sail it in,” added Lucy.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">148</a></span> -“I don’t know,” said Miss Anne; “how much money have you got?”</p> - -<p>“I have not got but a little; it is a dollar, or else a half a dollar; -or a sixpence; I don’t know exactly. Royal has got more than I.”</p> - -<p>Miss Anne merely said, “Has he?” and then the conversation dropped. She -had just taken her seat at her work table, and began to be busy.</p> - -<p>“I wish I knew of some way that I could earn money,” said Lucy. “Do you -know of any way, Miss Anne?”</p> - -<p>“What did you say?” asked Miss Anne.</p> - -<p>“Don’t you know of some way that I could earn money?”</p> - -<p>“Why, I don’t know; earning money is rather hard work, as I’ve heard -people say. I believe young ladies generally earn money by teaching.”</p> - -<p>“Well,” said Lucy, “if I could only get any scholars.”</p> - -<p>“Why, you must be your own scholar; teach yourself to read. Come, I -think that will be an excellent plan.”</p> - -<p>“Can I earn any money so?” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“Yes, I should think so. It would take you three months, at a school, -to learn your letters,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">149</a></span> and three months is twelve weeks. Now, I -suppose that your father would have to pay about sixpence a week -for you to go to school, and that would make twelve sixpences; and -I presume he would be willing to give you as much as eight of the -sixpences, if you would learn to read yourself.”</p> - -<p>“Why not all the twelve?” asked Lucy.</p> - -<p>“Because you would not do quite all yourself. Somebody would have to -answer your questions, and show you what the letters were, at first; -so that you could not do it all yourself. I should think that perhaps -you might earn eight out of the twelve sixpences. That would be one -sixpence for every three letters.”</p> - -<p>“Well,” said Lucy, “I mean to try.”</p> - -<p>“If you think you would like to try,” said Miss Anne, “I’ll form a plan -for you, so that you can begin to-morrow.”</p> - -<p>Lucy said she should like to try, and accordingly Miss Anne reflected -upon the subject that evening, endeavoring to contrive some plan by -which Lucy might sit down by herself and study her letters, half an -hour every day, until she had learned them all. She thought of a plan -which she hoped might answer pretty well; and the next<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">150</a></span> morning she -made preparations for carrying it into execution.</p> - -<p>First she got Lucy’s little table, and set it near one of the windows -in her room; she also put her little chair before it. Then she got a -large flat pin-cushion, and put upon the table.</p> - -<p>“Why, Miss Anne!” said Lucy, who stood by looking at all these -preparations, “what is the pin-cushion for? I never heard of studying -with a pin-cushion.”</p> - -<p>“You’ll see,” said Miss Anne. “I am going to have you learn to read on -the <em>pin-cushion method</em>.”</p> - -<p>Then Miss Anne opened an ebony box, which she had upon her table, and -took out a very large pin, and also a stick of red sealing-wax. She -carried these into the kitchen, Lucy following her; then she lighted -a lamp, and melted some of the sealing-wax, and stuck it upon the -head of the pin, turning it round and round, and then warming it, and -pressing it with her fingers, until at last she had made a little ball -of sealing-wax, about as big as a pea, which covered and concealed the -original head of the pin.</p> - -<p>“There,” said Miss Anne, “that is your <em>pointer</em>.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">151</a></span> -“Let me take it, Miss Anne,” said Lucy. “I want to take it.”</p> - -<p>Miss Anne handed the pointer to Lucy, and she looked at it carefully, -as she walked slowly along back into Miss Anne’s room. When she got -there, Miss Anne took it, and stuck it into the pin-cushion, and -requested Lucy not to touch it.</p> - -<p>Then she went and found some of the scattered leaves of an old -picture-book, which had once been Royal’s, but was now nearly worn -out and almost destroyed. She took one of these leaves, and spread it -out upon the pin-cushion. Then she seated Lucy before it, and put the -pointer in her hands.</p> - -<p>“Now, Lucy,” said she, “what letter do you know?”</p> - -<p>“I know <em>o</em> the best,” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>Then Miss Anne pointed to the upper line, and in the third word there -was an <em>o</em>.</p> - -<p>“There,” said she—“prick it with your pointer.”</p> - -<p>Lucy pricked through the <em>o</em> with great force, so as to sink the pin -for half its length into the pin-cushion.</p> - -<p>“That will do,” said Miss Anne. “Now look along until you find another -<em>o</em>.”</p> - -<p>Lucy found one about the middle of the line.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">152</a></span> -“Now,” said Miss Anne, “prick <em>him</em> too,—only do it gently, so as just -to put the point in a little way; and when you are doing it, say, <em>o</em>.”</p> - -<p>Lucy did so. She pressed the point of the pin through the letter, and -at the instant that it went through, she said, <em>o</em>.</p> - -<p>“Now,” said Miss Anne, “the plan is for you to go on in that way. Look -all through that line, and prick every <em>o</em> you can find. Then take -the next line, and the next, and so on regularly through the whole, -and prick every <em>o</em>. After you have done, put the pointer into the -pin-cushion, and the pin-cushion into your drawer. Then set your chair -back, and bring the paper to me.”</p> - -<p>Lucy was very ready to go on with this work. In fact, while Miss Anne -was speaking, she had found another <em>o</em>, and was just going to prick; -but Miss Anne stopped her, and told her that it was not rulable to -begin to obey her orders until she had finished giving them.</p> - -<p>At last, Miss Anne went out of the room, and left Lucy at her work. -Lucy pricked away, very industriously, for nearly half an hour. She had -then got almost to the bottom of the page. There she found a capital -<em>o</em>, thus, <em>O</em>, at the beginning of a sentence; and she did not know<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">153</a></span> -whether she ought to prick such a one as that or not. While she was -considering, she heard Royal’s voice in the entry way, calling her.</p> - -<p>Lucy answered, in a loud voice,</p> - -<p>“Here I am, Royal,—here, in Miss Anne’s room.”</p> - -<p>Royal advanced to the door of Miss Anne’s room, and looked in. He had -his cap on, and seemed to be in haste.</p> - -<p>“Come, Lucy,” said he, “let’s go and make our boat.”</p> - -<p>“Well,” said Lucy, “just wait till I have pricked two more lines.”</p> - -<p>“Pricked,” said Royal,—“what do you mean by pricking?”</p> - -<p>Royal came up to the little table where Lucy was at work, and looked -over her shoulder, while she explained to him what she was doing.</p> - -<p>“I am going to find every <em>o</em> there is on this page, and prick them -all. I have pricked down to here already, and now I have got only two -lines more to prick, and then I shall come out.”</p> - -<p>“O, come out now,” said Royal, “and let the pricking go.”</p> - -<p>“No,” said Lucy, “I must wait and finish my work.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">154</a></span> -“That isn’t work,” said Royal; “it is nothing but play. It does not do -any good.”</p> - -<p>“Yes it does,” said Lucy; “I am doing it to earn money.”</p> - -<p>“To earn money!” repeated Royal; and he began to laugh aloud at the -idea of earning money in any such way as that.</p> - -<p>Lucy explained to Royal that this was a way which Miss Anne had -contrived for her to learn her letters herself, without troubling other -people, and that she had told her that she should have sixpence for -every three letters.</p> - -<p>Royal then perceived that the plan was at least worthy of being treated -with more respect than he had at first supposed;—but then he told Lucy -that, in his opinion, she was beginning wrong.</p> - -<p>“You ought to begin with some letter that you don’t know, Lucy,” said -he; “you know <em>o</em> now, as well as I know my own thumb; and of course -it’s of no use to prick it.”</p> - -<p>Lucy did not know what to reply to this reasoning,—only that Miss Anne -had told her to prick <em>o</em>, and Miss Anne knew best.</p> - -<p>“At any rate,” said Royal, “you can finish it another time; so come out -with me now, and help me get out the boxes for our boat.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">155</a></span> -Lucy concluded that she would go out a few minutes with Royal, and -then come back again, and finish her work. They accordingly went out -together.</p> - -<p>They found one long box, which Royal said would do very well indeed for -a boat. The box was made to pack bedsteads in, and of course it was -more than six feet long; but it was narrow, like a boat, and Royal said -it was just the thing.</p> - -<p>The children got this down upon a place where the ground was smooth -and hard; and Lucy got so much interested in playing boat, that she -entirely forgot her pricking for two hours; and then the first bell -rang, to call them in to dinner.</p> - -<p>The first bell always rang ten minutes before the second bell. This -was to give Royal and Lucy time to come in and get ready. Lucy thought -that she should just have time to finish the two lines, and she ran in -to Miss Anne’s room to sit right down to her work. To her surprise, -however, as soon as she got in, she saw that her chair was not before -the little table, but had been set back; and the pin-cushion, pointer, -and paper, had all entirely disappeared.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">156</a></span> -Lucy went into the parlor, and found Miss Anne placing the chairs -around the dinner table.</p> - -<p>“Miss Anne,” said she, in a tone of complaint, “somebody has taken away -all my things.”</p> - -<p>“That is some of <em>my</em> mischief, I suppose,” said Miss Anne.</p> - -<p>“Did you take them away?” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“I <em>put</em> them away,” replied Miss Anne. “I went into my room, about an -hour after I left you there, and found that you had gone away to play, -and had left your work all out upon the table; and so I had to put it -away.”</p> - -<p>“Why, I was coming right back again,” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“And did you come right back?”</p> - -<p>“Why, no,” said Lucy. “Royal wanted me to stay with him so much!”</p> - -<p>“I thought you’d find it rather hard to earn money. You ought to have -waited until you had finished your work, and then you could have gone -out to play.—But I don’t mean that you did wrong. You had a right, if -you chose, to give up the plan of earning money, and have your play -instead.”</p> - -<p>“Why, Miss Anne, I almost finished the work. I pricked all but two -lines.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">157</a></span> -“Yes, but then you left the work of putting the things away to me; and -that gave me about as much trouble as all your pricking did good. So -you did not <em>earn</em> any thing.”</p> - -<p>“Well,” said Lucy, “I will try this afternoon, while Royal is at his -studies; and then he won’t want me to go out and play.”</p> - -<p>She took <em>s</em> for her letter that afternoon, and she pricked all that -she could find on the page. Then she put her work carefully away, all -except the page itself, which she brought to Miss Anne, so that she -might examine it. Miss Anne found that she had done it very well. She -had pricked almost every one. Miss Anne looked it over very carefully, -and could only find two or three which Lucy had overlooked.</p> - -<p>After this, Lucy persevered for several weeks in pricking letters. -She took a new letter every day, and she generally spent about half -an hour at each lesson. She learned to be very still while she was -thus engaged, saying nothing except to pronounce aloud the name of the -letter when she pricked it, which Miss Anne said was a very important -part of the exercise.</p> - -<p>In this way, in process of time, she learned all the letters of the -alphabet; and her father paid her the eight sixpences. With one of -these<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">158</a></span> sixpences she bought a fine black lead pencil, to draw with, and -a piece of India rubber, to rub out her marks when they were made wrong.</p> - -<p>Miss Anne also taught her how to make a purse to keep the rest of her -money in; and when the purse was done, Lucy put the money into it, and -got Miss Anne to let her keep it in one of her drawers. She was afraid -it would not be quite safe in her treasury.</p> - -<div class="figcenter width300"> -<img src="images/i-158.jpg" width="300" height="202" alt="" /> -</div> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">159</a></span></p> -</div> - - -<h2><a name="xiii" id="xiii"></a>CONVERSATION XIII.<br /> -<small>SKETCHING.</small></h2> - - -<p class="noi"><span class="smcap">Lucy</span> asked Miss Anne if she would let her go with her the next time -that she went out to make sketches, and let her try to see if she could -not make sketches too, with her new pencil. Miss Anne had two or three -pencils, which she kept in a little morocco case, and some small sheets -of drawing paper in a portfolio. Sometimes, when she went out to walk, -she used to take these drawing implements and materials with her, and -sit down upon a bank, or upon a rock, and draw, while Lucy was playing -around.</p> - -<p>But now, as Lucy herself had a pencil, she wanted to carry it out, so -that she could make sketches too.</p> - -<p>Miss Anne said that she should like this plan very much; and -accordingly, one pleasant summer afternoon, they set off. Miss Anne -tied Lucy’s pencil and India rubber together, by a strong silk thread, -so that the India rubber might<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">160</a></span> not be so easily lost. The other -necessary materials—namely, some paper, some pencils for Miss Anne, -and two thin books with stiff covers, to lay their paper upon, while -drawing—were all properly provided, and put in a bag, which Miss Anne -had made, and which she always used for this purpose.</p> - -<p>Lucy observed, also, that Miss Anne put something else in her bag. Lucy -thought, from its appearance, that it was a square block; but it was -folded up in a paper, and so she could not see. She asked Miss Anne -what it was, and Miss Anne told her it was a secret.</p> - -<p>They walked along without any particular adventure until they came to a -bridge across a stream. It was the same stream where they had sat upon -the rocks and seen George and the other boys fishing; but this was a -different part of the stream, and the water was deep and still. Lucy -and Miss Anne stopped upon the middle of the bridge, and looked over -the railing down to the dark water far below.</p> - -<p>“O, what deep water!” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“How could we get over this river if it were not for this bridge?”</p> - -<p>“Not very conveniently,” said Miss Anne.</p> - -<p>“We could not get over at all,” said Lucy.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">161</a></span> -“Perhaps we might,” said Miss Anne; “there are several ways of getting -over a river besides going over upon a bridge.”</p> - -<p>“What ways?” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“One is by a ferry.”</p> - -<p>“What is a ferry?” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“It is a large boat which is always ready to carry persons across. The -ferry-man generally lives in a house very near the bank of the river; -and if any body wants to go across the river, they call at his house -for him, and he takes them across in his boat. Then they pay him some -money.”</p> - -<p>“But suppose they are on the other side,” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“Then,” said Miss Anne, “they have to call or blow a trumpet. Sometimes -they have a trumpet for people to blow when they want the ferry-man to -come for them. But sometimes, where there are a great many travellers -on the road that leads to the ferry, the boats are coming and going all -the time; and then people don’t have to call or to blow any trumpet.”</p> - -<p>“How much money do they have to pay,” said Lucy, “for carrying them -across?”</p> - -<p>“That depends upon circumstances,” said Miss Anne. “If a man goes -alone, he does not have to pay so much as he does if he is in a -chaise;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">162</a></span> and if he has a carriage and two horses, he has to pay more -still.”</p> - -<p>“Why, Miss Anne,” said Lucy, “can they carry over a carriage and two -horses in a boat?”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said Miss Anne, “a stage-coach and six horses, if necessary. -They have large, flat-bottomed boats for the carriages and carts, and -small, narrow boats for men, when they want to go alone.”</p> - -<p>While this conversation had been going on, Miss Anne and Lucy had -walked along to some distance beyond the bridge. They took a road -which led to an old, deserted farm-house, and some other buildings -around it, all in a state of ruin and decay. The man who owned it had -built himself a new house, when he found that this was getting too old -to be comfortable to live in. The new house was upon another part of -his farm, and it was another road which led to it; so that these old -buildings had been left in a very secluded and solitary position. Miss -Anne liked very much to come to this place, when she came out to make -sketches, for she said that in all the views of the buildings, on every -side, there were a great many beautiful drawing lessons.</p> - -<p>The roof of the house in one place had tumbled in, and the shed had -blown down altogether.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">163</a></span> There was one barn, however, that was pretty -good; and, in fact, the farmer used it to store his surplus hay in it.</p> - -<p>Lucy sat down, with Miss Anne, under the shade of some trees, at a -little distance from the buildings, and they began to take out their -drawing materials.</p> - -<p>“Now, Miss Anne,” said Lucy, “what shall I draw?”</p> - -<p>“I think that the <em>well</em> will be the best lesson for you.”</p> - -<p>There was an old well at a little distance from the house, upon the -green, with a group of venerable old lilac bushes near it. The water -had been raised by a well-sweep, but the sweep itself had long since -gone to decay, though the tall post with a fork at the top, which had -supported the sweep, was still standing.</p> - -<p>So Miss Anne recommended that Lucy should attempt to draw the well.</p> - -<p>“But, Miss Anne,” said Lucy, “I want to draw the same thing that you -do.”</p> - -<p>“Very well,” said Miss Anne; “then we will both draw the well.”</p> - -<p>“So we will,” said Lucy; “but, Miss Anne, you must tell me how. I don’t -know how to draw, myself.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">164</a></span> -Miss Anne gave Lucy some instructions, according to her request. She -told her that she must mind the shape of the things more than anything -else. “All depends upon the proportions,” said Miss Anne.</p> - -<p>“What is proportion?” said Lucy. “Royal told me something about it, but -I could not understand him very well.”</p> - -<p>“Suppose you look over me a few minutes, and see how I do it,” said -Miss Anne.</p> - -<p>Lucy liked this proposal very much; and she stood very still, for some -time, while Miss Anne, with her paper upon her book, and her book upon -her knee, began to make her drawing, talking all the time as follows:—</p> - -<p>“First, there is the post; I will draw that first. I must make it look -just as long upon the paper as it does in reality. And do you think it -stands quite upright?”</p> - -<p>“No,” said Lucy, “it leans.”</p> - -<p>“Which way does it lean?” asked Miss Anne.</p> - -<p>“It leans towards the well, I think,” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“So it does; and I must draw a line for one side of the post, and make -this line lean over towards the place where my well is going to be, -just as much as the post really leans.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">165</a></span> -Miss Anne then drew the line, and asked Lucy to look at it carefully, -and see whether it leaned any more, or any less, than the real post did.</p> - -<p>Lucy looked at it very carefully, but she could not see that there was -any difference.</p> - -<p>“Now,” continued Miss Anne, “I must begin to draw the well; and I must -have it at just the right distance from the post.”</p> - -<p>Then Miss Anne put down her pencil very near to the post, and asked -Lucy if she thought that that was about right.</p> - -<p>“O no,” said Lucy, “that is a great deal too near.”</p> - -<p>Miss Anne then moved the point of her pencil off almost to the end of -the paper.</p> - -<p>“Would that be right?” said Miss Anne.</p> - -<p>“O no; that is too far.”</p> - -<p>“But it is not so far as it is in reality, on the ground, from the post -to the well.”</p> - -<p>“No,” said Lucy, “but you are not going to have the picture so large as -the real well.”</p> - -<p>“That is it, exactly,” said Miss Anne. “The picture itself is all going -to be smaller than the reality; and the drawing of the well must be -just as much smaller than the real well, as the drawing of the post is -than the real post. Then it is all in proportion.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">166</a></span> -“Now,” said Miss Anne, “I will move my pencil up nearer, and you may -tell me when it is too far off, and when it is too near, for the proper -place for me to draw the side of the well. Is <em>that</em> right?” she added, -after placing the point of the pencil in a new position.</p> - -<p>“That is too near,” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“And <em>that</em>?” said Miss Anne.</p> - -<p>“That is about right,” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“Look again, carefully.”</p> - -<p>“Hark! what’s that?” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“It sounds like thunder,” said Miss Anne; “but I rather think it is -only a wagon going over the bridge.”</p> - -<p>A few minutes afterwards, however, the sound was repeated, louder and -more distinct than before, and Miss Anne said it <em>was</em> thunder, and -that they must go home, or that they should get caught in a shower. -They looked around, and saw that there were some large, dark-looking -clouds rising in the west; and Miss Anne said that they must put away -their things, and go home as fast as they could.</p> - -<p>“But, Miss Anne,” said Lucy, “it is a great way home. I am afraid it -will rain on us before we get there.”</p> - -<p>“Why, if we can get across the bridge,” said<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">167</a></span> Miss Anne, “we can go -into some of the houses.”</p> - -<p>“Are there no houses before we come to the bridge?” asked Lucy.</p> - -<p>“No,” said Miss Anne; “but I think we shall have time to go farther -than that.”</p> - -<p>By this time they had put up their drawing materials, and began to walk -along towards the main road. Miss Anne said that she presumed that they -should have ample time to get home; for showers seldom came up so very -suddenly as to prevent their getting home from a walk.</p> - -<p>But when they had gone about half way to the bridge, Miss Anne began -to be afraid that they should not get home. There was a large, black -cloud spreading along the western sky, and the low and distant peals of -thunder came oftener, and grew gradually louder and louder. Miss Anne -walked very fast, leading Lucy, who ran along by her side.</p> - -<p>Just as they came to the bridge, the great drops of rain began to fall.</p> - -<p>“There!” said Lucy,—“it’s beginning.”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said Miss Anne, “and I have a great mind to go under the bridge.”</p> - -<p>Miss Anne had just time to say “under the bridge,” when there came -another heavy clap of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">168</a></span> thunder, which sounded louder and nearer than -any which they had heard before. This decided Miss Anne at once. She -turned off from the entrance to the bridge, and began to walk down the -steep bank, leading Lucy. When they had descended to the margin of the -stream, they found a narrow strip of sand between the water and the -foundation of the bridge.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said Miss Anne, “here is plenty of room for us to stand.”</p> - -<p>They found a good place to stand, with the water of the stream before -them, and the great wall, which the bridge rested upon, behind them. -There were also some large, smooth stones lying there, which they could -sit down upon. A very few minutes after they had fixed themselves -in this place of shelter, the rain began to come down in torrents. -The thunder rolled and reverberated from one part of the heavens to -another, and once or twice Lucy saw a faint flash of lightning.</p> - -<p>Lucy was very much amused at the curious effect produced by the drops -of rain falling upon the water. They covered the water all over with -little bubbles. She kept calling upon Miss Anne to see; but Miss Anne -looked anxious and afraid. By and by, the rain began to come down -through<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">169</a></span> the bridge, and they had to move a little to keep from getting -wet. But they succeeded in getting a dry place, and keeping pretty -comfortable.</p> - -<p>“But what shall we do,” said Lucy, “if it rains all night? We can’t -stay here all night.”</p> - -<p>“Thunder showers don’t last long,” said Miss Anne. “I presume it will -be pleasant by and by, only we shall get our feet wet going home; for -the roads will be very wet, and full of pools of water.”</p> - -<p>Just then they heard the noise of wheels in the road, as if a chaise -or carriage of some sort were coming along towards them. The horse -travelled very fast, and soon came upon the bridge, and went along over -it, passing directly above their heads with great speed, and with a -noise which sounded louder to them than any clap of thunder which they -had heard. Lucy was sure that they would break through, and come down -upon their heads; and even Miss Anne was a little frightened. They -little knew who it was in the chaise. It was Royal going to find them, -to bring them home. He thought it probable that they had gone into -the old, ruined buildings, to be sheltered from the rain, and that he -should find them there.</p> - -<p>After looking there for them in vain, he came back, and he happened to -come to the bridge just<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">170</a></span> as Miss Anne and Lucy were coming out from -under it. They were very glad to see him. The shower was over. The sun -had come out; the grass and trees were glittering with the reflection -of the bright light from the drops of rain; and there were two great -rainbows in the east, one bright, and the other rather faint. Royal -said that he would have the faint rainbow, and Lucy might have the -bright one for hers. Lucy’s rainbow lasted until some time after they -got home.</p> - - - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -</div> -<h2><a name="xiv" id="xiv"></a>CONVERSATION XIV.<br /> -<small>DANGER.</small></h2> - - -<p class="noi"><span class="smcap">Lucy</span> often had singular adventures with Royal and her father; but one, -which interested her as much as any, was an adventure she once met with -in crossing a river. The circumstances were these:—</p> - -<p>They were on a journey; Lucy and Royal were travelling with their -father and mother.</p> - -<p>One evening, after they had reached the end of the journey for the -day, the party stopped in a village, built upon an eminence, which -overlooked a broad and very fertile-looking valley. It consisted of -extensive intervals, level and green, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">171</a></span> spotted with elms, and with -a river winding through them, until its course was lost among the -trees, a few miles below. After tea, Royal wanted to go down, across -the intervals, to the bank of the river, to see the water.</p> - -<p>“O yes,” said Lucy, “and let me go too, father.”</p> - -<p>“O no,” said Royal, “you must not go.”</p> - -<p>“Why not?” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“Because,” said Royal, “we may find a boat there, and want to take a -sail in it; and you couldn’t go.”</p> - -<p>“Why not?” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“Because,” said Royal, “you wouldn’t dare to go.”</p> - -<p>“Yes I should,” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“No,” said Royal, “you don’t dare to sleep in a room alone at night, in -a hotel.”</p> - -<p>“But I think she will not be afraid to go in the boat,” said her -father. “At any rate, we will let her go with us.”</p> - -<p>Lucy then went to get her bonnet; and when they were all ready, she and -Royal went out together; their father followed immediately afterwards. -Their mother, being fatigued, preferred to remain at home.</p> - -<p>From the principal street of the village, they passed out, through a -pair of bars, into a cart road, which led through the mowing fields -down towards the intervals.</p> - -<p>They walked on together, until they came down to the intervals, which -were level fields of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">172</a></span> grass and flowers, very beautiful, and extending -on each side of them very far. The road gradually grew narrower, until -at length it became a mere path, which finally conducted them to the -bank of the river. Royal and Lucy stood upon the bank, and looked down -into the water.</p> - -<p>The bank was quite high and steep, formed of earth, which seemed to -be, from time to time, caving into the water. It was green to the very -brink, and some large masses of turf lay down below at the water’s -edge, and partly in the water, where they had apparently fallen from -above. The shore on the opposite side of the river was, however, very -different. It was a low, sandy beach, with the water rippling along the -pebbles, which lay upon the margin of it.</p> - -<p>“O father,” said Royal, “I wish we could get over to that beach.”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said Lucy, “and then we could get down and throw stones into the -water.”</p> - -<p>“If we had a boat,” said Royal, “we could get across.”</p> - -<p>“O no,” said their father, “this river is too shallow for a boat.”</p> - -<p>“How do you know, father?” said Royal.</p> - -<p>“Why, I can see the bottom all the way; and then I know by the rapidity -of the current, that it must be quite shallow.”</p> - -<p>Just then they observed some men coming down towards them, on the bank -of the river. Royal’s father asked them, when they came up to where he -was standing, if there were any boats on the river.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">173</a></span> -“Yes,” said the men, “there is a small boat just above here, which you -can have if you want. Only bring it safe back again.”</p> - -<p>“I am very much obliged to you,” said Lucy’s father; “are there any -oars?”</p> - -<p>“There are some paddles,” replied one of the men. “They’re hid in the -bushes, just opposite the boat. There is a padlock on the boat, and -it looks as if it was locked, but it is not. You can take the padlock -right off.”</p> - -<p>The men then went on their way down the river, and Lucy and Royal -ran along the bank to see if they could find the boat. Their father -followed them more slowly. Presently, however, they all came to the -place where the boat was lying.</p> - -<p>It was a very small boat indeed. It was drawn up partly upon the bank, -which was here not quite so steep as where the children had first -stood, but was yet considerably precipitous. The boat was fastened, by -a chain, to the root of a large elm-tree, which was growing upon the -bank, the roots having been laid bare by the action of the water. There -was a padlock passing through a link of the chain in such a way as to -give the boat the appearance of being fastened; but Lucy’s father found -that the padlock would open easily, without any unlocking, and so they -soon got the boat at liberty.</p> - -<p>Royal then went to look around among the grass and bushes near, to see -if he could find the paddles. Presently he called out, “Here they<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">174</a></span> -are!” and in a few minutes he brought them to his father.</p> - -<p>“Now, Lucy,” said her father, “do you want to get in and sail across -the river?”</p> - -<p>“Isn’t there any danger?” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said her father, “I think there is considerable danger.”</p> - -<p>“What! that we shall get drowned?” exclaimed Lucy.</p> - -<p>“No,” replied her father; “only that we shall get upset.”</p> - -<p>“Well, father,” said Lucy, “if we get upset, we shall certainly be -drowned.”</p> - -<p>“O no,” replied her father; “the water isn’t deep enough to drown us -anywhere, if we stand upright upon the bottom. And then, besides, there -is no danger that we shall be upset, unless where it is very shallow -indeed. The current may sweep us away down the stream, so that we shall -lose command of the boat, and then, if we strike a large stone, or a -sunken log, the boat might fill or go over; but, then, in the places -where the current is so rapid, the water is nowhere more than knee -deep. Now you may go with us or not, just as you please.”</p> - -<p>“Royal, what would you do?” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“O, I’d go,” said Royal, “by all means.”</p> - -<p>“Would you, father?” asked Lucy.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said her father, “unless you are very much afraid.”</p> - -<p>Lucy said she was a little afraid, but not much; and she cautiously -stepped into the boat. Royal<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">175</a></span> got in after her, and when the two -children had taken their seats, their father followed them, and took -his place in the stern, with one of the paddles. Royal had the other. -The stern is the hinder part of a boat. The forward part is called the -<em>bows</em>. There was a chain attached to the bows of the boat, by which it -had been fastened to the shore.</p> - -<p>“Now, Royal,” said his father, when they were all seated, “you must -remember that, if you go with us, you must obey my orders exactly.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, father, I will,” said Royal.</p> - -<p>“And suppose,” said his father, “that I order you to jump into the -river.”</p> - -<p>“Then I’ll jump right in,” said Royal.</p> - -<p>“Well,” said his father, “we shall see.”</p> - -<p>Royal was seated forward, at the bows of the boat. The boat was -flat-bottomed, and square at both ends, so that there was very little -difference between the bows and the stern, and there was a place to sit -at each. Royal put his paddle into the water, and began to paddle a -little; but they made no progress, until his father was ready to work -his paddle at the stem of the boat; and then it began slowly to glide -up the river, keeping, however, all the time near the bank from which -they had set out. The water appeared to be much deeper on this side -than on the other, and the current was not so rapid. Lucy, however, by -looking over the side of the boat, could plainly see the gravel-stones -upon the bottom.</p> - -<p>They went along very smoothly and prosperously,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">176</a></span> but yet very slowly, -for some time; and at length Royal asked his father to put out more -into the stream. So his father turned the head of the boat out, and in -a very few minutes they found themselves in the middle of the river. -Now, however, instead of moving up, they found, by looking upon the -stones at the bottom, that they were drifting down. Royal observed, -too, that the water had become much more shallow, and the current was -stronger. He looked at his father, and found that he was exerting -himself, with all his strength, to force the boat against the current, -and keep it from being carried away.</p> - -<p>But the water was so shallow, that the end of his paddle rubbed upon -the bottom, and prevented his keeping the boat under command. Then he -thought that he would use his paddle for a setting-pole, instead of a -paddle; that is, that he would plant the lower end of it firmly into -the gravel at the bottom, and then push against it, and so force the -boat to go up the stream.</p> - -<p>In attempting to do this, however, he lost the command of his boat -still more. The current, setting strong against the bows, swept that -end of the boat round, so as to bring her broadside to the stream; and -then she was entirely at the mercy of the water, which here seemed to -pour over the stones in a torrent. The boat went flying along over the -rippling waves, within a very few inches of the pebble-stones below. -Royal began to be seriously afraid.</p> - -<p>“Can’t you stop her, father?” said he.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">177</a></span> -His father did not answer, he was so intent upon the effort which he -was making. He had thought of one more plan. He planted the foot of -his paddle into the gravel on the bottom, opposite the middle of the -boat, and then, letting the middle of the boat press against it, he -endeavored to hold it by main force; but the force of the water was so -great, that the boat was crowded over until it just began to let in -water; so that he was obliged to release his hold, and the boat drifted -away again. He then took his seat once more in the stern of the boat.</p> - -<p>“Now, Royal,” said he, “stand up and take hold of the painter.”</p> - -<p>“What is that?” said Royal.</p> - -<p>“The chain,” replied his father—“the chain fastened to the bows.”</p> - -<p>Royal did so.</p> - -<p>“Now,” said his father, “stand up steadily upon the bows, and then step -down carefully into the water.”</p> - -<p>Royal obeyed his father’s command with much firmness. The water was -about up to his knees. He staggered a little at first, as he carried -with him the motion of the boat; but he soon regained a firm footing.</p> - -<p>“Now stand still,” said his father, “and hold on.”</p> - -<p>Royal braced himself, by his position in the water, against the action -of the boat, which pulled hard upon the painter, and this immediately -brought the boat round, into a position parallel with the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">178</a></span> direction of -the current. By holding on firmly a moment longer, he stopped the boat, -and the current swept swiftly by it, dashing the rippling waves almost -over the bows. Lucy sat all this time very quietly on the middle seat, -without saying a word.</p> - -<p>“Now, Royal,” said his father, “see if you can draw us in towards the -shore.”</p> - -<p>Royal found, that although it had been so difficult for his father to -push the boat by the head, yet that he himself could draw it pretty -easily with the chain. So he walked along through the water towards the -shore, drawing the boat after him. In a few minutes, he had the bows -safely drawn up upon the sand.</p> - -<p>His father then stepped out upon the beach, telling Lucy to sit still. -He took his stand back a little, where the gravel was dry, while Royal -remained just in the edge of the water.</p> - -<p>“Now, Royal,” said his father, “you may see if you can draw Lucy up the -river. Keep just far enough from the shore to make the water half knee -deep.”</p> - -<p>Royal was much pleased with this arrangement; and as for Lucy, she was -delighted. She sat upon the middle seat, balancing herself exactly, so -as not to upset the boat; while Royal waded along, drawing her through -the water, which curled and rippled on each side.</p> - -<p>“O Lucy,” said Royal, stopping to look round, “we can play this is a -canal-boat, and that I am the horse.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">179</a></span> -“So we can,” said Lucy; and she began immediately to chirup to him, to -make him go faster.</p> - -<p>Royal dragged the boat along, while his father walked upon the shore. -Presently they came to a place where the water began to be deeper, and -the bottom more sandy; and Royal perceived that the current was not -nearly as rapid. He looked up to see how the water appeared before him, -and he found that it was smooth and glassy, instead of being rippled -and rough, as it had been below. His father noticed this difference in -the appearance of the water too; and he told Royal that it was a sign -that there was no current there. So he directed Royal to come in to the -shore, and they would all get in again.</p> - -<p>Royal accordingly drew the boat up to the shore, and they all got -in. Now they found that they could paddle the boat very easily. It -glided over the smooth water with a very gentle and pleasant motion. -Lucy looked over the side, and watched the change in the sandy bottom -far below. Sometimes she saw a great log lying across the bed of the -stream, then a rock, half imbedded in the sand, and next a school of -little fishes. The land, too, looked beautiful on each side, as they -passed along. There were willows here lining the bank, and now and then -a great elm, with branches drooping over almost into the water.</p> - -<p>After sailing about in this smooth water a little while, their father -said that it was time for them<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">180</a></span> to go home; and so he brought the -boat round, turning her head down the stream. After going down in that -direction for a little while, Royal said,</p> - -<p>“Why, father, you are going right upon the ripples again.”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said his father, “we are going over them.”</p> - -<p>“O father,” said Lucy, “we shall upset.”</p> - -<p>“No,” said her father, “there is no danger, going down.”</p> - -<p>“Why not?” said Royal.</p> - -<p>“Because,” said his father, “I shall keep her head down, and then, if -we strike a snag, it will do no harm.”</p> - -<p>“What is a snag?” said Lucy.</p> - -<p>“It is a log sunk in the water,” replied her father.</p> - -<p>By this time they had begun to enter the rippling water, and the boat -shot swiftly along, bounding over the little billows very merrily. Lucy -was at first a little afraid, but she soon began to feel safe, and to -enjoy the rapid motion. They soon reached the place where they had -taken the boat, and, leaving it there, fastened securely as they had -found it, they all went back across the intervals towards home.</p> - - -<p class="p120 center mt3">THE END.</p> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -</div> -<div class="tn"> -<p class="p120 center">Transcriber’s note:</p> - -<p class="noi">Punctuation has been standardised; spelling and hyphenation have been -retained as in the original publication except as follows:</p> - -<ul class="nobullet"> -<li>Pages <a href="#isnt">70</a> and <a href="#isnt2">71</a></li> -<li><ul class="nobullet"><li>is’nt it any darker <i>changed to</i><br /> -isn’t it any darker</li></ul></li> -</ul> -</div> - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's Cousin Lucy's Conversations, by Jacob Abbott - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK COUSIN LUCY'S CONVERSATIONS *** - -***** This file should be named 50793-h.htm or 50793-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/0/7/9/50793/ - -Produced by The Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images -generously made available by The Internet Archive/American -Libraries.) - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, -and may not be used if you charge for the eBooks, unless you receive -specific permission. If you do not charge anything for copies of this -eBook, complying with the rules is very easy. You may use this eBook -for nearly any purpose such as creation of derivative works, reports, -performances and research. They may be modified and printed and given -away--you may do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks -not protected by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the -trademark license, especially commercial redistribution. - -START: FULL LICENSE - -THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE -PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK - -To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free -distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work -(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full -Project Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at -www.gutenberg.org/license. - -Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works - -1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to -and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property -(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all -the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or -destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your -possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a -Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound -by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the -person or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph -1.E.8. - -1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be -used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who -agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few -things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See -paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this -agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below. - -1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the -Foundation" or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection -of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual -works in the collection are in the public domain in the United -States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the -United States and you are located in the United States, we do not -claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, -displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as -all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope -that you will support the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting -free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm -works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the -Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with the work. You can easily -comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the -same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg-tm License when -you share it without charge with others. - -1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern -what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are -in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, -check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this -agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, -distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any -other Project Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no -representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any -country outside the United States. - -1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: - -1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other -immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear -prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work -on which the phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the -phrase "Project Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, -performed, viewed, copied or distributed: - - This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and - most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no - restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it - under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this - eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the - United States, you'll have to check the laws of the country where you - are located before using this ebook. - -1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is -derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not -contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the -copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in -the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are -redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply -either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or -obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg-tm -trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted -with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution -must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any -additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms -will be linked to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works -posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the -beginning of this work. - -1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm -License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this -work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. - -1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this -electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without -prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with -active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project -Gutenberg-tm License. - -1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, -compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including -any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access -to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format -other than "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official -version posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site -(www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense -to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means -of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original "Plain -Vanilla ASCII" or other form. Any alternate format must include the -full Project Gutenberg-tm License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. - -1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, -performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works -unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing -access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -provided that - -* You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from - the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method - you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed - to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he has - agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid - within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are - legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty - payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in - Section 4, "Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg - Literary Archive Foundation." - -* You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies - you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he - does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm - License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all - copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue - all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg-tm - works. - -* You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of - any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the - electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of - receipt of the work. - -* You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free - distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. - -1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work or group of works on different terms than -are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing -from both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and The -Project Gutenberg Trademark LLC, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm -trademark. Contact the Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. - -1.F. - -1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable -effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread -works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project -Gutenberg-tm collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may -contain "Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate -or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other -intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or -other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or -cannot be read by your equipment. - -1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right -of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project -Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all -liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal -fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT -LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE -PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE -TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE -LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR -INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH -DAMAGE. - -1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a -defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can -receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a -written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you -received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium -with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you -with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in -lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person -or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second -opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If -the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing -without further opportunities to fix the problem. - -1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth -in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO -OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT -LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. - -1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied -warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of -damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement -violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the -agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or -limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or -unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the -remaining provisions. - -1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the -trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone -providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in -accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the -production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, -including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of -the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this -or any Project Gutenberg-tm work, (b) alteration, modification, or -additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any -Defect you cause. - -Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm - -Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of -electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of -computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It -exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations -from people in all walks of life. - -Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the -assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's -goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will -remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure -and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future -generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see -Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at -www.gutenberg.org - - - -Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation - -The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit -501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the -state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal -Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification -number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by -U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. - -The Foundation's principal office is in Fairbanks, Alaska, with the -mailing address: PO Box 750175, Fairbanks, AK 99775, but its -volunteers and employees are scattered throughout numerous -locations. Its business office is located at 809 North 1500 West, Salt -Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up to -date contact information can be found at the Foundation's web site and -official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact - -For additional contact information: - - Dr. Gregory B. Newby - Chief Executive and Director - gbnewby@pglaf.org - -Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation - -Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide -spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of -increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be -freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest -array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations -($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt -status with the IRS. - -The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating -charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United -States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a -considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up -with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations -where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND -DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular -state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate - -While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we -have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition -against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who -approach us with offers to donate. - -International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make -any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from -outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. - -Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation -methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other -ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To -donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate - -Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. - -Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project -Gutenberg-tm concept of a library of electronic works that could be -freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and -distributed Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of -volunteer support. - -Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed -editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in -the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not -necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper -edition. - -Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search -facility: www.gutenberg.org - -This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. - - - -</pre> - -</body> -</html> diff --git a/old/50793-h/images/cover.jpg b/old/50793-h/images/cover.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index d444d61..0000000 --- a/old/50793-h/images/cover.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/50793-h/images/frontispiece.jpg b/old/50793-h/images/frontispiece.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index f112362..0000000 --- a/old/50793-h/images/frontispiece.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/50793-h/images/i-032.jpg b/old/50793-h/images/i-032.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index c6e8f14..0000000 --- a/old/50793-h/images/i-032.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/50793-h/images/i-070.jpg b/old/50793-h/images/i-070.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 9d64212..0000000 --- a/old/50793-h/images/i-070.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/50793-h/images/i-087.jpg b/old/50793-h/images/i-087.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index bed786b..0000000 --- a/old/50793-h/images/i-087.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/50793-h/images/i-102.jpg b/old/50793-h/images/i-102.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index f8949eb..0000000 --- a/old/50793-h/images/i-102.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/50793-h/images/i-115.jpg b/old/50793-h/images/i-115.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 10959b7..0000000 --- a/old/50793-h/images/i-115.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/50793-h/images/i-117.jpg b/old/50793-h/images/i-117.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index d7af584..0000000 --- a/old/50793-h/images/i-117.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/50793-h/images/i-131.jpg b/old/50793-h/images/i-131.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 284103d..0000000 --- a/old/50793-h/images/i-131.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/50793-h/images/i-141.jpg b/old/50793-h/images/i-141.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 0b31b08..0000000 --- a/old/50793-h/images/i-141.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/50793-h/images/i-158.jpg b/old/50793-h/images/i-158.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 91e05b9..0000000 --- a/old/50793-h/images/i-158.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/50793-h/images/title1.jpg b/old/50793-h/images/title1.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index fb1f872..0000000 --- a/old/50793-h/images/title1.jpg +++ /dev/null |
