"OH, what I would give for a sight of the ocean!" said Ruth Turner, as
she sat one hot day in June in their little parlor, with her two sisters
and their mother.
"We must content ourselves in the city this summer," said Mrs. Turner.
"What with the great fire, and the stagnation of trade, your father has
lost so much money that we cannot afford to hire a cottage by the
sea-side this year."
"Well, we must try to make home pleasant," said little Anna, whose pale,
pinched face showed that the pent air of the city had already begun to
affect her health.
"Let us all shut our eyes, and imagine ourselves on the beach," said
Ellen, who was the poetess of the family.
At that moment, the postman's knock at the door gave promise of a
letter. Ruth ran to get it, and, returning in a moment, handed her
mother a note, and said, "It is from that ugly, fat old Mr. Jenks, the
grocer: his name is on the back. What can he want?"
"Give me the letter, child," said Mrs. Turner; "and do not let me hear
you speak of any fellow-being with contempt, because he is ugly, fat, or
old. Mr. Jenks is all the time doing kind things. I am sorry to hear
that his wife is ill."
Mrs. Turner opened the letter, read it, and said, while her face
flushed, "Hear this, Miss Ruth, you who were so quick to speak ill of
Mr. Jenks:--
"DEAR MRS. TURNER,--Wife and I have concluded to take the next steamer
for England, not to be back till next October. You and your honest
husband must at once go down with your family, and occupy my furnished
cottage at Crescent Beach. Cellar and store-closet are well stocked with
groceries. Use and consume every thing as if it were your own. Don't say
_no_, but send me round word that you will do it. I don't like to leave
the cottage empty."
Ruth ran to a corner of the room, turned her face to the wall, and
covered it with her hands.
"Handsome is, that handsome does, Miss Ruth," cried little Anna.
"Well, Ruth, shall we accept the invitation?" said her mother.
"On one condition," said Ruth, turning round; "and that is, that you let
me go and thank Mr. Jenks myself for his great kindness. He is not old;
he is not ugly; and, if he is fat, so much the better."
The good grocer's offer was gratefully accepted. The little girls now
pass most of the summer days on the beach, where they pick up shells,
and pretty white stones, or bathe in the salt ocean. Every morning
brings fresh delights. Anna has rosy cheeks once more, and as for
Ellen, she sits on the rocks, and sketches, or writes poetry, every day.
Ruth has broken herself of the bad habit of speaking ill of persons
because of their looks. She knows now that a man may be "old, fat, and
ugly," and at the same time be full of love and kindness.