moments nothing was heard on all sides but "Only look here," and "Just
see _here_;" "Boys, here is my cannon;" "Here are lots of Roman
candles," &c.
They had crackers enough between them all to keep them busy the whole
day, and they soon got to work at them, and such a popping and cracking
began, as frightened all the cats and dogs about the house into the
woods.
It was fortunate that the house was situated on a hill, away from any
other; so Mr. Harrison let them make as much noise as they pleased,
without fear of disturbing any neighbours.
Presently the bell rang for prayers, and directly after that they had
breakfast; but the bread and milk and honey were not so much in favour
as usual, for the boys were so full of the Fifth of November, that they
had no time to think of honey.
Nearly all the fireworks were piled up on a seat against the wall in the
play-room. The boys were firing their crackers from their wooden
pistols, at some distance from the house.
For some time everything went on well. Mr. Harrison had strictly
forbidden them to have any fire in or near the play-room, and they were
careful to obey him. But, alas! I must tell you what happened through
the thoughtlessness of one of the boys. He was the youngest and smallest
of them all. He had fired off the crackers he had taken out, and he ran
into the play-room to get more. He held in his hand a piece of punk. All
boys know that this is what they use to light their fireworks, as it
burns very slowly, and lasts very long. The punk which the little fellow
held was burning. He had forgotten to lay it down. He went to the seat
where the fireworks were, and began to pull them about to find his
crackers.
As he was leaning over, the punk slipped from his fingers, and fell into
the midst of the combustibles.
The little fellow was so terribly frightened at this, that he rushed out
of the room, without trying to pick it up.
In a moment the fireworks all began to go off together. Pop! crack!
fizz! bang! whizz! went the elegant wheels and the crackers, the
grasshoppers, the Roman candles and the snakes, while the smoke rushed
through the house.
Mr. Harrison ran out of his room where he was reading, and saw,
instantly, that the house was in great danger of being burned down. The
boys heard the noise, and came flying back to the play-room, to save
what they could; but it was impossible to enter. The room was black with
smoke, and they looked on dismayed, as they heard the popping and
banging of their precious fireworks, while "Who did it?" "Who did it?"
was asked on all sides.
Mr. Harrison instantly shut all the doors leading to the play-room, and,
quicker than I can tell you, he got some pails of water, and threw them
into the room. After some effort, he succeeded in quenching the fire,
and ending this display of fireworks, which was a very different one
from what had been intended.
But what a sight presented itself! There lay the blackened remnants of
the wheels and Roman candles, and a large hole was burned in the side of
the room. The blouses of the boys, which hung just above, were burned,
some one arm, some both; and the room looked like desolation.
After the fright, and hurry, and confusion, were over, Mr. Harrison
called all the boys into the study. He looked very much offended,
indeed; and asked in a stern voice, "Which boy went into the play-room
with fire?"
The poor little fellow who had done the mischief was crying bitterly. It
was very easy to see that he was the guilty one, for the rest looked
grave, but not confused.
"Come to me, Edwin," said Mr. Harrison, "and tell me if you have
disobeyed me; don't be afraid to speak the truth."
"I did not mean to do it," sobbed the little boy. "I forgot to leave my
punk outside, and I dropped it by accident. I am very, very sorry, Mr.
Harrison. I am afraid all the boys will hate me, because I have spoiled
their sport. I hope you will forgive me, sir." And here his tears and
sobs redoubled.
"Edwin," said his kind teacher, "do you not know that my house might
have been burned to the ground by your carelessness?--and this night,
which we expected to spend so joyfully, we might have been without a
roof to cover us? I must punish you to make you remember this accident,
which your thoughtless disobedience has occasioned. You must remain in
the study until dinner-time. The rest of the boys may go out."
When the boys were out on the lawn again, they got together in a knot,
to talk about the accident. Some were very angry with Edwin, and said
Mr. Harrison ought to have given him a tremendous flogging; but others
were more generous. They were just as sorry for the loss of their
fireworks; but, when they looked towards the house, and saw little Edwin
gazing mournfully at them from the study window, and wiping away the
tears that fell from his eyes, they were more sorry for him, and wished
that he could be out among them. Still, they knew it was right that he
should be punished.
"Come, boys," said Phil, when they had been standing there talking some
time,--"come, let us go and see if anything is left."
They all ran to the play-room, and some of the boys cried out to
Edwin,--
"Don't cry, little fellow; we forgive you."
"Why here," shouted Phil--"here's a lot of Roman candles all safe and
sound. Hurrah!"
"And here are six wheels in this corner," cried Thomas. "We are not so
badly off, after all."
The boys at this good news began to rummage under the pile of ruins, and
managed to collect quite a respectable quantity of fireworks. There were
enough left to make a display with in the evening, though not near so
splendid as they had intended.
"Hurrah!" cried the boys, "we have plenty of Fifth of November left."
"I have lots of crackers outside," said Phil; "but we won't fire them
off now. They will do for the small boys to-night. Let us go to the
stable, and pay our respects to Napoleon, and Old Pudding-head. They
will think themselves quite neglected on this glorious occasion."
So they sallied off to the stable, and saddled the pony and the donkey,
and led them out to the play-ground, where Napoleon treated them in turn
to a very fine dance on his hind-legs, and Old Pudding-head, not to be
behindhand in politeness, gave all the little boys a somersault over his
nose. They had a first-rate frolic, and did not think once of the lost
fireworks.
After dinner--and a fine dinner they had of chickens, and goose-pie, and
custard--Mr. Harrison took the boys (little Edwin, too) down into the
village, where a band of musicians were playing and parading through the
street. Every little while they would stop playing and hurrah! The boys
always hurrahed when the band did, for boys in general are not slow
about making a noise. So they made all the noise they possibly could,
and came back to tea, each one so hoarse, that Mrs. Harrison asked them
if they had frogs in their throats.
At last the evening came, and a still and beautiful evening it was. The
stars peeped out, one by one, and the moon stayed in--that is, she did
not make her appearance until very late. They could not have had a finer
night for the grand display.
The family were all assembled on the lawn, and Mr. Harrison fixed the
wheels so nicely, that they whizzed round in the most astonishing
manner. The Roman candles went up beautifully, and the grasshoppers and
snakes sent the little fellows laughing and scampering in all
directions.
The hurrahing was tremendous, and the shouts of laughter were tremendous
too.
Altogether they had a very nice time, and went off to bed tired, it is
true, but highly pleased with their day's enjoyment--all except little
Edwin. He sighed many times, and could hardly get to sleep; but his
carelessness was a good lesson to him, for it afterwards made him the
most careful boy in the school.
After the Fifth of November, the boys settled down into their usual
employments. Their gardens were carefully tended, and many a fine
bouquet of flowers was presented with pride and pleasure to Mrs.
Harrison. They ate pumpkin-pie, made with their own pumpkins, and
thought them the most delicious pumpkins that ever grew; and their
melons were the sweetest melons they ever tasted in all their lives.
They were very attentive in school also; and at the end of the term,
when the boys were preparing to go home for the holidays, they all said
it was the pleasantest time they had ever spent together. They parted
with their kind teacher with many thanks for his kindness, and hopes
that after the holidays all would meet together again, and be as happy
as before.
THE CHRISTMAS PARTY.
Mr. and Mrs. Percy had seven grandchildren, all very pretty and very
good. These children did not all have the same father and mother--that
is, Mr. and Mrs. Percy's eldest son had three children, whose names were
Mary, and Carry, and Thomas; and one of their daughters was married, and
had three children--their names were Willy, and Bella, and Fanny; and
their youngest son was married and had one child. Her name was Sarah.
She was the youngest of the children, and they all loved her very much,
and her Grandma made a great pet of her.
The children and their parents had been invited to eat a Christmas
dinner with their Grandma, and they had been promised a little dance in
the evening. Even little Sarah was to go, and stay to the ball, as she
called it. They were glad, for they liked to go to their dear Grandma's
very much.
At last Christmas came. It was a bright, frosty day; the icicles that
hung from the iron railing, sparkled as the sun shone upon them, and the
little boys in the streets made sliding ponds of the gutters, and did
not mind a bit when they came down on their backs, but jumped up and
tried it again; and a great many people were hurrying along with large
turkeys to cook for their Christmas dinner, and everybody looked very
happy indeed.
After these children, about whom I am telling you, came back from
church, they were dressed very nicely, and although they lived in three
different houses, they all got to their Grandma's very nearly at the
same time. The first thing they did was to run up to their Grandma, and
wish her a merry Christmas, and kiss her, and say that they hoped she
felt quite well. Then they did the same to their Grandpa and Aunties,
for they had two dear, kind aunts, who lived with their Grandparents.
Then they all hugged and kissed each other, and jumped about so much,
that some kissed noses and some kissed chins, and little Sarah was
almost crazy with delight, for she had never been to so large a party
before.
"Grandma," said Willy, "I hung up my stocking last night, and what do
you think I got in it?"
His Grandma guessed that he got a birch-rod.
"No," said Willy, laughing, "I got a doughnut in the shape of a monkey
with a long tail; I ate the monkey for my breakfast, and it was very
good indeed."
The children all laughed at this, and Bella, Willy's sister, who was
the oldest of all the children, said she thought Willy had a
monkey-_look_ about him. So he went by the name of the monkey-eater for
the rest of the day.
Soon the bell rang for dinner, and they all went down stairs; for the
children and grown people were to dine together. It was now quite dark,
and the chandelier that hung over the table was lighted, the curtains
were drawn close, the fire burnt brightly, and the table-cloth was so
white and fine that it looked like satin.
The happy party sat down at a large round table, and the children's eyes
looked so bright and their cheeks so rosy, that it was the pleasantest
sight in the world to see. Little Sarah could not help having a great
many little laughs all to herself. She could not keep them in. She was
only four years old, so you may suppose she could not look very grave
and stiff on such a delightful occasion.
When Willy saw his little cousin Sarah trying to hide her sparkling
eyes, and her funny little laugh behind her mother's arm, he felt just
as if somebody was tickling him. So he pinched his lips together very
tight indeed, and casting his eyes up to the ceiling, tried to look as
grave as a judge. But it would not do; he burst out into such a fit of
laughing, that everybody else laughed too, and it was a long time before
they could get their faces straight enough to eat their dinner.
Would you like to know what they had for dinner? Well, I will tell you.
After their Grandpa had asked a blessing, they had some very nice soup.
The children did not care for soup. Then they had a fish stuffed with
all sorts of things, and stewed, and the grown people said the fish was
very nice; but the little ones did not care for that either. They then
had some roast beef and a boiled turkey with oysters. The children all
took turkey; Willy asked for a drum-stick, and his cousin Mary said he
wanted it to beat the monkey he ate in the morning. Bella chose a
merry-thought; little Sarah liked a hug-me-fast; Carry took a
wishing-bone; Thomas said he would have the other drum-stick to help
beat the monkey, and Fanny thanked her Grandma for a wing, so that she
could fly away when the beating of the monkey took place.
But this was not half the good things, for they afterwards had some
delicious game, such as partridges, and woodcocks, and some fried
oysters. All this pleased the grown people most. The children saved
their appetites for the dessert. Well, after this, the cloth was taken
off, and under that was another table-cloth just as white and fine as
the first.
Then came something that was quite astonishing. What do you think it
was? It was a great plum-pudding all on fire! it blazed away terribly,
and Willy thought they had better send for the fire-engines to put it
out; but it was blown out very easily, and the children each had a very
small piece, because it was too rich to eat much of, and their parents
did not wish to make them ill.
After that there came ice-creams, and jellies, and sweetmeats, that were
perfectly delicious; and then the other white cloth was taken off, and
under that was a beautiful red one. Then the servants put on the table
what the children liked best of all, and that was a dish of fine
motto-kisses, and oranges, and grapes, and other nice fine fruits.
The children sent the mottoes to each other, and had a great deal of
sport. Some one sent Willy this:--
"O William, William, 'tis quite plain to see
That all your life you will a monkey be."
He thought his cousin Mary had sent it, because he saw that she was
trying very hard to look grave, so he sent this to her:--
"Dear Mary, you are too severe--
You are too bad, I do declare;
Your motto has upset me quite,
I shan't get over it to-night."
Mary laughed when she read it, and said she had been just as cruel to
Thomas, for she had sent him this:--
"The rose is red, the violet blue,
The grass is green and so are you."
They had a good laugh at Thomas, but as he laughed as hard as any one,
it did no harm. Little Sarah had a great many mottoes. Her Mamma read
them to her, and it pleased her very much. She said it was a very nice
play, but she was tired with sitting such a long time at table, so her
Mother let her slip down from her chair.
Very soon all the rest got up, and went up stairs into the
drawing-room. But what was that in the middle of the room? It seemed to
be a large table covered all over with a red cloth. What could it be?
Willy said, "Grandma, that table looks as if something was on it;" and
little Sarah said, "Grandma, I guess Old Father Christmas has been
here."
[Illustration]
"Yes, dear children," said their Grandma, "Father Christmas has been
here, and this time he looked very much like your Grandpa. He will be up
soon, and then we will see what is on the table."
Oh how the children did wish to peep! They could not look at anything
else; they danced and jumped round the table, and were in a great hurry
for their Grandpa. In a few minutes he came into the room, and all the
children ran up to him and said, "Dear Grandpa, do let us see what you
have got on the table."
He smiled, and went to the table and took the cloth off. The children
were so astonished that they could not say a single word; the table was
covered with beautiful things, and under it was something that looked
like a little red-brick house.
"Well," said their kind Grandpa, "my dear children, you did not think
you were going to be treated with such a fine show as this; you may go
up to the table, and see if you can find out who they are for." The
children gathered round the table, and Willy took from the top a fine
brig with all her sails set, and colours flying. His eyes sparkled when
he saw written on a slip of paper which lay on the deck, these words;
"For my dear Willy." The children clapped their hands, and nothing was
heard, but "How beautiful!" "What a fine ship!" "It is a brig of war,"
said Willy: "only look at the little brass guns on her deck! Thank you,
thank you, dear Grandpa. What is the name of my ship?"
"Her name is painted on her stern," said his Grandpa. Willy looked, and
saw that she was called the "Louisa." He blushed, and looked very funny,
and the other children laughed, for Willy knew a very pretty little girl
whose name was Louisa, and he liked her very much; and that was what
made them laugh when they heard the name.
After they had all admired the brig, they went back to the table, and
there were two beautiful books, full of engravings or pictures, one for
Bella and one for Mary; and next to these was a large wax doll for
Carry, and another for Fanny. Carry's doll was dressed in blue satin,
with a white satin hat and a lace veil, and Fanny's doll was dressed in
pink satin with a black velvet hat and feathers--their eyes opened and
shut, and they had beautiful faces.
How delighted the little girls were! They hugged their dolls to their
little breasts, and then ran to hug and kiss their Grandpa. Carry said,
"My dolly's name shall be Rose;" and Fanny said, "My dolly's name shall
be Christmas, because I got her on Christmas-day."
Well I must hurry and tell you the rest, for I am afraid my story is
getting too long. Thomas found for him a splendid menagerie, and all the
animals made noises like real animals. There were roaring lions, and
yelling tigers, and laughing hyenas, and braying asses, and chattering
monkeys, and growling bears, and many other wild beasts. Oh, how pleased
Thomas was, and all the children!
Little Sarah did nothing but jump up and down, and say, "So many things!
So many things! I never saw so many things!"
But who was to have the little house under the table, I wonder? There
was a little piece of paper sticking out of the chimney, and Sarah
pulled it out and carried it to her Grandpa. He took her up in his arms,
and read it to her. What was written on it was, "A baby-house for my
little darling Sarah."
"Why, I guess this must be for you," said Grandpapa.
"Yes, it is for me," said the little girl; "my name is Sarah, and it
must be for me."
Her Grandpa put her down, and led her to the table. He drew the little
house out, and opened it. The whole front of the house opened, and
there, inside, were two rooms; one was a parlour, and one a bedroom. The
children all cried out, "What a fine baby-house! Look at the
centre-table, and the red velvet chairs; and only see the elegant
curtains! Oh dear! how beautiful it is!"
Little Sarah did not say a word. She stood before the baby-house with
her hands stretched out, and jumped up and down, her eyes shining like
diamonds. She was too much pleased to speak. She looked so funny jumping
up and down all the time, that she made Willy laugh again, and then
everybody laughed.
At last she said, "There is a young lady sitting in the chair with a
red sash on. I think she wants to come out."
"Well, you may take her out," said her Grandpa. So Sarah took the young
lady out, and then took up the chairs and sofa, one by one, and smoothed
the velvet, and looked at the little clock on the mantelpiece, and
opened the little drawers of the bureau; and then putting them down, she
began to jump again.
There was never such a happy party before. The children hardly wished to
dance, they were so busy looking at their presents. But after a little
while they had a very nice dance. One of their aunts played for them;
she played so well, and kept such nice time, that it was quite a
pleasure to hear her.
It was now quite late, and little Sarah had fallen fast asleep on the
sofa, with the young lady out of the baby-house clasped tight to her
little bosom. So they wrapped her up, doll and all, in a great shawl,
and the rest put on their nice warm coats and cloaks; and after a great
deal of hugging and kissing, they got into the carriages with their
parents, and went home happy and delighted.
Thus ended this joyful Christmas-day.
LONDON:
Printed by G. BARCLAY, Castle St. Leicester Sq.