this; and much as she would have liked to relieve her little girl, she
did not think it best, and hoped that the burden she had brought upon
herself might be of service to her.
However, when the next Thursday came, and Lily was to go to the second
"sewing meeting," she was very glad that she had so much done on her
petticoat.
"For I would be too ashamed to go to-day if I had not done better than
I did last week, mamma," she said. "And two or three of the children
in our class have finished their work already; and here is old me with
mine not quite half done."
Lily was very "scornful," as she would have called it, of herself in
these days, and rather delighted in heaping uncomplimentary names and
reproaches upon her own head.
When she reached Mrs. Bradford's house at the appointed time, she was
rather dismayed to find that, in spite of her industry of the last few
days, the other children had accomplished much more than she had done.
Maggie's skirt was so near completion that she had but a little piece
of the hem to do; and she had only left this, in order that she might,
as she said keep company with the rest in the sewing meeting. And
Maggie had made a button-hole! Yes, actually made a button-hole! It was
her first attempt, but still it was tolerably well done. It had cost
her a good deal of trouble too, and even some few tears; but she had
persevered, and now was glad that she had done so.
"Patience and Perseverance conquer all things, you know," she said to
Lily, when Bessie, with some pardonable pride in her sister's success,
displayed this triumph of art; "but I really thought that button-hole
must conquer me, only I wouldn't let it, if I did cry a little about
it."
Bessie, too, had nearly finished her bag; and though Belle was rather
behind the others, she had a fair prospect of being quite through with
her task in time.
They all encouraged Lily, and told her she might still finish her
petticoat by the appointed day, if she would but continue to do as well
as she was now doing.
The sewing meeting passed off this day without hindrance; for Baby
Annie was not admitted; and there was nothing else especially to
take off Lily's attention from the task in hand. Aunt Annie read
an interesting story, it was true, but all the little girls sewed
industriously as they listened; and at the end of the hour Maggie's
petticoat and Bessie's bag were completed, while those of Belle and
Lily had made fair progress.
"I have only three more days," said the latter, "for you know we have
to give in the things on Tuesday, and this is Thursday."
Lily's tone was rather hopeless.
"I think you might finish your skirt in two days, Lily," said Miss
Stanton. "Two hours' steady work such as you have given to it to-day
would be quite time enough. If I were you I should sew one hour
to-morrow, and one on Saturday, so that you may have little or nothing
for your last day, Monday."
"Why wouldn't it do just as well to keep some for Monday?" asked Lily,
folding up her work.
"Only that if you could finish it in the next two days it would be
better," answered Miss Annie, "because something might happen to
prevent you from doing so at the last moment."
"Don't have any more putting-off fits, Lily," said Maggie. "Don't you
find 'distance lends enchantment to the view' of Pro? What are you
laughing at, Aunt Annie? There is such a proverb, for I read it this
very morning, only I didn't think I should have a good chance to use it
so soon. I'll show it to you, so you need not think I made it up."
"Yes, I know," said Annie, catching the rosy, eager face between her
two hands, and lovingly kissing either dimpled cheek. "It is an old,
old proverb, and one very well known, dear Maggie; and let us hope that
Procrastination may indeed look so much better at a distance than near
at hand that Lily may keep it there, and not let it come near her."
"Aunt Annie," said Bessie, "you must be a very laughable person, for so
often you laugh at things that we don't think funny at all."
"That is true," answered Aunt Annie, whose eyes were brimming with
mischief, while she laughed more merrily than ever.
"Well," said Lily, "I did not quite understand what Maggie meant till
Miss Annie said that, but I do know now; and, indeed, I do think Pro is
better far off than close by. I'm sure I am a great deal better anyway,
and I shall never let him come near me again."
Bessie stood looking gravely at her as she spoke.
"I see you don't quite trust me, Bessie," said Lily, "but you'll see.
If you only knew all that I know, you'd learn what good reason I have
for believing I shall never procrastinate again; but I'd rather not
tell you what it is."
For Lily did really shrink from letting her little playmates know of
her sad behavior to her dear mother, although she could not refrain
from alluding to it in this mysterious manner.
"You know you're all coming to my house to spend the day with me on
Saturday," she continued; "and before you come, I shall have the
petticoat all finished, and will show it to you."
Lily kept faithfully to her resolution upon the next day, sewing
industriously for a full hour, and then putting by her work with the
consciousness that she had accomplished all that could be expected of
her for that day. Perhaps she had been further encouraged to do so
by hearing most of her young schoolmates say that morning that their
little garments were quite finished, and ready to be handed in to Miss
Ashton on Tuesday. Even Mabel Walton, although she had been quite ill
with a bad cold, had completed her bag; and little Belle hoped and
expected to put the last stitches in her's on that afternoon.
"Is your apron done, Nellie?" asked Lily of Nellie Ransom.
"Not quite," answered Nellie, "and I shall not finish it before
to-morrow, for my two little cousins are in town to-day, and I must
give up this afternoon to them. I am glad that I took the apron instead
of the petticoat, for I am sure I should not have had time to make the
last."
"You could have tried," said Gracie. "I'm sure a petticoat is not so
much to make. Mine was all done on Saturday evening, and I did not
have any help or showing either. Mamma is away, and I wouldn't let my
nurse help me, but did it every bit myself. But then every one says I'm
uncommonly handy with my needle;" and Gracie gave her head the toss
which always excited the displeasure of her schoolmates.
"Well," said Nellie, coloring and hesitating a little, "I felt pretty
sure that I could not make the petticoat in time, and I thought it was
better to take that which I knew I could do; and now you see I should
feel badly if I could not bring in my work when the rest do."
"Yes, and you were very right," said Belle. "I told Aunt Margaret about
you, and she said you were a wise, prudent little girl."
"I wouldn't be such a slow poke as Nellie, would you?" whispered Gracie
to Lily, when Nellie had moved away a little.
"I s'pose I'd be as I was made, and I s'pose you'd be as you were
made," said Lily, loftily, for her "scorn," as she would have called
it, was always excited by Gracie's attempts to exalt herself above her
companions and schoolmates, and it rather delighted her to put Gracie
down.
This was difficult, however. Gracie's self-sufficiency was so great
that only a very hard blow could overthrow it, even for a moment; and
Lily was too much afraid of being considered an anti-politer to speak
her mind as plainly as she might otherwise have done.
So Gracie was not at all rebuffed by the answer she received; and,
so far from taking it as the reproof Lily intended it to be, only
replied,--
"Yes, of course; but I'm very glad I was made smarter than Nellie. Why,
sometimes I can learn three lessons while she is learning one, she is
so slow and stupid!"
"She is _not_ stupid," retorted Lily, forgetting her determination to
"be courteous" in her indignation; and, indeed, Gracie often made it
difficult for those about her to keep to this resolution. "She is _not_
stupid, and if she is a little bit slow about learning, she always
knows her lessons perfectly, and never misses; no, never. You know
she's been head of the spelling class for most a year; you know it,
Gracie, and Miss Ashton says she is one of her very best scholars. And
the whole world knows"--Lily was waxing energetic in her defence, and
more earnest to be emphatic than strictly according to facts--"the
whole world knows that she writes the best compositions in our class
since Maggie Bradford left."
"Pooh! I never thought Maggie's compositions were so very great," said
Gracie.
"That shows you're no judge, and have very little common sense,"
said Lily severely. "I'm sure no one could write better poetry than
that poem she wrote for me, and you might be proud if you could make
such lovely verses. But I don't want to quarrel with you, Gracie, so
we'd better not talk any more about it, 'cause I do feel like saying
something not courteous to you."
Gracie in her turn would have liked to say something that was not very
pleasant, but she felt that she could not well do so when Lily declared
her intention of not quarrelling, and retired in such a graceful manner
from the threatened dispute. Still she did feel that somehow Lily had
had the best of it, and had rather taken her down, as she was apt to do
when Gracie displayed her vanity and self-conceit.
Moreover, clever and bright though she might be at her lessons, Gracie
was not very quick at words; and she often felt that Lily had the
advantage of her in their too frequent little disputes. And now while
she was hesitating as to whether she should make a sharp answer, and
what that answer should be, Miss Ashton came in and rang the bell;
so that the opportunity, or I should say temptation, for further
contention was at an end.
"I hope," said Miss Ashton, when the time came for dismissing school,
"I hope that not one of my little girls will fail me on Tuesday. I
should be very much disappointed, and mortified too, if I did not
receive each garment quite finished and ready for use. Some of you I
know are already through with the work which you have undertaken; and
after what I have said, I believe and hope there is no one who will be
willing to bring hers unfinished."
Her eye rested on Lily as she spoke. Perhaps she was hardly conscious
that it was so, but she almost involuntarily turned to her as the one
who was most likely to fail; and, however that might be, the little
girl felt herself called upon to answer, not only for herself, but for
the whole class.
"We'll be very sure to be ready, Miss Ashton," she said; "and I will
too. I see you are afraid of me, but you need not be, for I b'lieve I'm
quite cured now of putting off."
Miss Ashton smiled, but it was rather a doubtful smile, for she feared
that Lily was too confident of herself, and the strength of her own
resolutions.
So, as I have said, all this made Lily feel very industrious and prompt
that day; and as soon as she was at liberty for the work, she set to
her task at once, and accomplished it without delay.
But notwithstanding this, the day did not pass by without a fall into
the old bad habit, as you shall learn.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
IX.
_SATURDAY MORNING'S WORK._
Saturday came, a bright and beautiful day, as Lily rejoiced to see when
she ran to the window and peeped out as soon as she was out of her
little bed.
For she was to have quite a party of children to spend the day with
her, and she had been very anxious that the weather should be pleasant.
Maggie and Bessie, Belle and Mabel, and Nellie and Carrie Ransom were
all coming, and they expected to have a great frolic. All Lily's
playmates were fond of visiting her, not only because they loved her,
and her home was a pleasant one, but also because there was such a
grand play-room in Mr. Norris' house.
This was a great open attic hall or gallery. The house was a large one,
and this open space ran across the whole width of it, the attic rooms
being at either end, and a staircase coming up at the side. But this
was shut in by a door at the foot of the flight, so that it was quite
secluded, and considered rather an advantage, as it afforded a kind of
retiring room. There were large bins ranged on the opposite side from
the stairs, which had once been used to hold coal and wood; but they
were empty now, and the top of the lids afforded capital seats for the
spectators who witnessed certain performances which frequently took
place in the open arena. Never was there such a famous garret, or one
which had seen greater sport and fun.
Here the children could make as much noise as they pleased without fear
of disturbing older people; here there was plenty of space for playing
"tag," "hunt the slipper," "chairs," or any other frolicsome game;
here they acted proverbs, charades, and so forth. These last were now
their favorite amusements, and Mr. Norris' attic was considered the
best place for their performance.
For, added to these other advantages, there was also a room devoted to
the storing of all manner of odds and ends which were not in general
use, and were stored there to be out of the way; and with certain of
these articles the children were allowed to do as they pleased, and
to make them serviceable in their games and plays. Among them were
two or three old trunks full of old party dresses and ribbons; and
any little girl can imagine what delightful means these afforded for
"dressing up." There were flags, too, of various sizes and conditions,
old-fashioned curtain fixtures, and even a tent of striped red and
white canvas. All these Lily and her playmates were allowed to convert
to their own uses, so long as they destroyed nothing; and many an hour
did patient Nora, ever devoted to the pleasure of her nursling, spend
in putting them to rights after they had been thoroughly rummaged and
scattered abroad.
Chief among the treasures in the attic was an old rocking-horse which
had belonged to Tom; at least he had once been a rocking-horse, but
he had now not only lost his rockers, but also his hind legs. Strange
to say, however, this did not at all interfere with his usefulness;
perhaps it rather added to it, for when he was supposed to fill his
original character, namely, that of a horse, he was accommodated with
two imaginary limbs in the place of the missing members, and he never
complained that they did not answer the purpose quite as well.
The number of uses to which he was put, and the characters he was
supposed to represent, would be impossible to tell. Sometimes he was a
prince, and sometimes a beggar or a robber; sometimes a servant, and
sometimes a lover or husband; sometimes a little boy, at others a cross
old man; again he was converted into an elephant by having the end of
a curved iron pipe thrust into his mouth, or into a camel by a pillow
upon his back; at times, a fierce wild beast, growling and raging; at
others, the meekest of sheep or cows, mild and gentle in all respects.
At one time he spoke in a squeaking but plaintive voice; at another in
what was supposed to be a deep, roaring bass.
I forgot to say that he had lost his tail as well as his legs; and
his beauty was farther increased by the fact that Maggie and Lily,
finding his ears inconvenient for the proper fitting of crowns, caps,
wreaths, and other decorations, had cropped them close to his head. He
had also been shorn of his hair in various places, which gave him a
mangy and distressed appearance; so that, save in the eyes of his most
intimate and attached friends, he was not a horse of very fine personal
appearance.
This gallant and accommodating steed rejoiced in the name of Sir Percy
Hotspur; but this was laid aside when convenience demanded it, and he
obligingly answered to the name of the moment.
Dear to the hearts of Lily and her young friends was Sir Percy Hotspur;
and he was always tenderly cared for after he was through with his
performances, being left to repose in the intervals in a corner of the
attic, with his head upon an old sofa pillow, and carefully covered
with a disused carriage robe.
What a long history of an old rocking-horse, you may say, and so it is;
but, you see, Sir Percy Hotspur played a very important part in Lily's
life, and she was deeply attached to him, and as this is her story,
whatever concerned her deserves our attention.
With so many attractions, you may believe that an invitation to Lily's
house was always considered desirable, and eagerly accepted.
Never, I think, were four little girls who found more enjoyment in
their small lives and in one another, than our Maggie and Bessie,
Belle and Lily. They were so much together that whatever interested
one interested all the others, and any pleasure was increased if they
could all share it together.
But we must go to the history of this Saturday.
"Lily," said Mrs. Norris, as the family left the breakfast table, "it
is nine o'clock now; and if I were you, I would finish that little
petticoat at once. I think you can do it in an hour, and then it will
be off your mind and conscience; and after you have practised for half
an hour, you can enjoy yourself for the rest of the day as you please."
"I don't believe the children will come before twelve o'clock, do you,
mamma?" asked Lily.
"No, probably not."
"Then I have three hours," said Lily. "That is lots of time, and I
shall be sure to have it done, even if I don't begin right away."
"Take care, Lily," said her mother, lifting a warning finger, and
shaking her head with a smile which told the little girl what that
warning meant.
"Don't be afraid, mamma," she answered "I'll be sure to do it this
morning; and even if I did not quite finish it, I have Monday too."
Again Mrs. Norris shook her head, and this time without the smile;
for she plainly saw that Lily was in one of her careless, putting off
moods, and she feared the work would suffer.
"I am going right away, mamma," said Lily, as she saw how grave her
mother looked; and away she danced, singing as she went.
But as she ran through the hall, she met her brother Tom with his
puppy, which he was going to take for a walk. Lily never saw the little
dog without stopping to have a romp with him, and the playful little
fellow was growing fond of her already, and was always eager for the
frolic with which she indulged him.
He sprang upon her now, whining and crying with pleasure at seeing her,
and Lily stopped, of course, to pet him, and then began racing up and
down through the hall; while Tom good-naturedly waited, and stood by,
laughing at the antics of the two frolicsome young things. Gay and
careless as the puppy himself, Lily had no more thought for the task
awaiting her.
I do not know that she should be very much blamed for this; but few
little girls who would not have done the same, and Lily knew that there
was much more than time enough for the completion of the petticoat. But
I want to show you how the moments, yes, and the hours too, slipped
away; how little bits of idling and procrastination stole away the time
before she was aware, and in the end brought her into sad trouble.
A quarter of an hour went by in Lily's frolic with the puppy, until at
last Tom said he must go.
"I would take you with me, Lil," he said, "only that I know mamma
wishes you to do your work."
"Yes," said Lily reluctantly; and but for very shame she would have
begged to put off her work and accompany him.
Tom and his dog were gone, and Lily sauntered towards the sitting-room.
"I don't feel a bit like sewing now," she said to herself. "I could
have gone with Tom, and been back time enough to finish my petticoat.
Every one is so particular about my putting-off, and they never want me
to do any thing _I_ want to. But I s'pose I'll have to finish the old
thing now."
Lily, you see, was allowing temptation to creep in. She did not still
its first whisperings, but suffered them to make her feel discontented
and fretful.
She had stopped at the foot of the staircase, and with both hands
clasped about the newel-post, was swaying herself back and forth, when
Nora spoke to her from the head of the stairs.
"Miss Lily," she said, by way of a gentle reminder, "do you need any
help with your work?"
"No, I b'lieve not," answered the little girl. "If I do, I'll come to
you. I was just thinking where I'd go to sew."
"Will you come to the nursery? It is all put in order," asked Nora,
anxious to carry her point, and seeing from Lily's manner that her old
enemy was busy with her.
"I'll see presently," said Lily. "I'm just going to the little parlor
to look for my petticoat. I forget what I did with it yesterday when I
had done sewing."
And, leaving her hold of the banisters, she crossed the hall. But as
she passed the open door of the drawing-room, the piano caught her eye,
and turned her thoughts into another channel.
"I think I'll go and practise first," she said. "It's all the same
thing, and I can do the petticoat afterwards. I have just the same
time."
This was true enough, but Lily was not wise, for she liked to practise,
and she did not like to sew; and it would have been better for her to
have done with the least pleasant duty first.
She placed herself at the piano, and, I must do her the justice to say,
practised steadily for half an hour.
"It is ten minutes of ten," she said, looking at the clock. "Oh,
there's lots of time yet; I can stay here a little longer. I'm going to
practise this new piece some more."
This new piece was one Miss Ashton had given her the day before, so
that she had had but one lesson on it; and it had all the charm of
novelty to her, besides being, as she thought, the prettiest piece she
had ever played.
"I'll astonish Miss Ashton by letting her see how well I have learned
it," she said to herself; and she remained at the piano, playing over
and over again the lively little waltz, until her mother's voice at the
door recalled her to her neglected duty.
"Lily," it said, "you have been practising more than half an hour,
dear."
"Yes, mamma," said Lily, glancing over at the clock again; "more than
three quarters; but my new music is so very pretty, and I want Miss
Ashton to be quite surprised with my knowing it so well."
"I am afraid Miss Ashton may have a less agreeable surprise if you do
not take care, my darling," said Mrs. Norris gravely.
"Oh, you mean about the petticoat, mamma; but there's lots and lots
of time. I b'lieve Pro has had hold of me this morning," said Lily,
jumping down from the piano stool, "and I'll come right away; but you
see I was so very sure about having time enough to-day, mamma, that
it did not make so much difference. There's a good deal of time yet
to-day, and I have Monday too."
"Put away your music, Lily," said her mother; and she stood waiting
while Lily laid in its place the music she would have left scattered
over the piano. Perhaps Mrs. Norris thought it just as well not to lose
sight again of her heedless little daughter until she had her settled
at her work.
"Bring your work-box to my room," said Mrs. Norris. "I have something
to do there, and we will have a nice, cosey time."
Lily ran for the box, and was back with it in a moment, for as she went
she said to herself,--
"I b'lieve I've let Pro steal a good many little thefts already this
morning; now I'll just send him off right away. I have plenty of time
yet, but now I really must make haste."
Lily's work-box was of rather formidable dimensions; indeed, some
people thought it but one stage removed from a small trunk. It had
been presented to her by an old lady with whom she was a great pet,
and although it was extremely inconvenient in regard to size and
weight, it was very handsomely fitted up with mother-of-pearl and
silver, and contained every implement which could be needed by the most
accomplished needle-woman. Upon the lid was a silver plate, with "For
an industrious little girl" engraved upon it.
Now as we know, our Lily was by no means an industrious little girl;
nevertheless she took great pride and delight in this "ark," as
Tom privately called it; and, although she had two or three other
work-boxes and baskets much more suitable and convenient in point of
size, she made use of this one whenever she could do so.
"It held so much," she said, and indeed it did; and here the petticoat
had reposed in the intervals when she was not busy with it; that is,
when Lily had put it away in a proper manner.
She followed her mother with this ponderous treasure clasped in both
arms; and, when she reached mamma's room, brought her little chair, and
opened the box.