Aunt Kitty's Tales

by Madame Guizot

  CHAPTER IV.

  GIVING.

  I do not intend to give you a history of what was done by the childreneach day of our visit, for this would make a very long story. When itwas fine weather they helped the gardener, as _they_ said, or hinderedhim, as _he_ sometimes complained--walked in the orchard, looking forripe fruit--or swung, and on a cool evening Mr. Arnott would sometimestake them out on the river in a pretty little sailing boat, or drivethem two or thee miles in a light, open carriage. When it rained, theyoverhauled Florence's toys, of which there were trunks full, or amusedthemselves with her books. They seemed to agree very well, at least weheard of no disagreements, though I fancied, towards the latter part ofour stay, that I sometimes saw a cloud on Mary's brow, but I asked noquestions, and it passed off without any complaint.

  One afternoon, when we had been there about a week, as Mr. and Mrs.Arnott and I were seated in the piazza enjoying the pleasant breeze, thechildren rushed in from the garden, seeming very anxious to give us someinformation, which, as each tried to speak louder than the others, itwas quite impossible for some time for us to understand. At length, byhearing a little from each, we made out that there were ripestrawberries in the neighborhood--_really ripe_--for the gardener hadseen them, and he said they were as large around as his thumb.

  "And you want me to send for some," Mr. Arnott began,--but, "Oh no,papa!" "Oh no, sir!" every voice again exclaimed, "we want to go forthem."

  "Go for them!--and pray, young ladies, how will you go?--am I to driveyou?"

  "Oh no, papa! we want to walk; and Andrew"--this was the name of Mr.Arnott's gardener--"says they will let us go into the garden and pickthem ourselves--and you know, mamma, Eliza can go with us and carry ourbaskets," added Florence, anticipating her mother's objection to theirgoing without some attendant to a place a mile off.

  And so it was arranged, and in a few minutes they set out, Elizacarrying the baskets, and each taking a shilling to pay for her berries.It seems they had gone only about half-way, when they met a poor womanwith a sick child in her arms, sitting to rest herself in the shade bythe side of the road. The woman looked so pale and sad that the servant,Eliza, who was a kind-hearted girl, spoke to her, and asked what was thematter?

  "Sick and weary," said the poor woman.

  "But how did you come to be in the road here by yourself?--and where areyou going?" asked Florence.

  "Why you see, Miss, I have been to the city, where a great many peopletold me that I might make twice as much money without slaving myself todeath, as I was doing, for the children; and so I took this baby andwent; but the baby fell sick, and indeed I think the city air did notsuit either of us, for I fell sick too, and could not work at all, and Ilonged so to get home and smell the country air, and see the otherchildren and friends' faces, instead of strangers, strangers always,that, as soon as I could walk, I set out, and thank God, I have got onlyeight miles more to walk, for I live at M----."

  "But why do you walk?" asked the children.

  "Ah, young ladies, poor folks that have not any money to pay for rides,must walk. As long as my money held out I got a ride on a cart now andthen for a sixpence, or a shilling, and that was a great help; but Ihave not even a sixpence left now to buy a bit of bread if I was ever sohungry."

  In a moment Harriet's shilling was in the poor woman's hand; Mary'sfollowed. She burst into tears, and thanked them again and again.Florence looked at her shilling, then at the woman, and said, "I havehalf a dollar at home, and that is four times as much as a shilling,you know, and if you will wait here till I have got the strawberries Iam going for, you can go back with me and I will give you that."

  "Thank you, my dear young lady," said the poor creature, "but I hope toget home this evening, and that I shall not do if I stop and go back onmy way--yet," she added, "half a dollar is a great deal. I wish I werenot so tired."

  "Florence," cried Harriet and Mary, both at once, "I will go back forthe money if you will tell me where it is, and the poor woman can resthere till I come back."

  "My good woman," said Eliza, "you are not fit to walk or even to rideeight miles to-night. Now our gardener's wife has a spare room in herhouse, and she is a kind woman, and will do every thing she can to makeyou comfortable; and to-morrow morning, I dare say, the gardener can getyou a lift on some farmer's cart all the way to M. So now, instead ofwaiting here, you had better go back at once, and Miss Florence can giveyou the half dollar when she comes home."

  "Yes, I will give you the half dollar," said Florence, "and that," sherepeated, turning to Mary, "is four times as much as a shilling, youknow."

  So it was arranged--the woman went back--the gardener's wifeaccommodated her--the gardener found a farmer going to M. the nextmorning, who promised to take her there on his cart--and when Florencecame home she gave her the half dollar, which, being four times as muchas a shilling, evidently made her, in her own opinion, and in Mary'stoo, four times as generous as Harriet or herself.