I was frightened away from you just as I was going to implore yourcompassion for any unfortunate mouse that might happen to fall withinyour power; lest you should destroy my dear and only surviving brother,Longtail; but somebody entering the room, prevented me, and after I hadregained my hiding place, I resolved to quit the house, and oncemore set out in search of my beloved brother. Accordingly, with greatdifficulty I made my way out of the house; but my distress was muchincreased upon finding the snow so deep upon the ground, that it wasimpossible for me to attempt to stir, as upon stepping one foot out totry, I found it far too deep for me to fathom the bottom. This greatlydistressed me. 'Alas!' said I to myself, 'what shall I do now? Toproceed is impossible; and to return is very melancholy, without anytidings of my dear, dear Longtail.' But I was interrupted in the midstof these reflections, by the appearance of two cats, who came runningwith such violence as to pass by without observing me: however, itput me in such consternation, that regardless where I went, I sprungforward, and sunk so deep in the snow that I must inevitably soon haveperished, had not a boy come to the very place where I was, to gathersnow for making snowballs to throw at his companions. Happily for me, hetook me up in his hand, in the midst of the snow, which not less alarmedme, when I considered the sufferings I had before endured, and the crueldeath of my brother Brighteyes, from the hands of boys. Oh! thought I tomyself, what new tortures shall I now experience? Better had I perishedin the cold snow, than be spared only to be tormented by the cruel handsof unthinking children.
Scarcely had I made this reflection, when the boy called out, uponseeing me move, 'Lud! what have I got here?' at the same instant tossingthe handful of snow from him in a violent hurry, without attemptingto press it into a ball. Over I turned head and heels, wondering whatfurther would be my fate, when I was happy to find I fell unhurt uponsome hay, which was laid in the yard to fodder the cows and horses. HereI lay some time, so frightened by my adventure, as to be unable to move,and my little heart beat as if it would have burst its way through mybreast; nor were my apprehensions at all diminished by the approach of aman, who gathered the hay up in his arms, and carried it (with me in themidst of it) into the stable; where, after littering down the horses, heleft me once more to my own reflections.
After he had been gone some time, and all things were quiet, I beganto look about me, and soon found my way into a corn bin, where I madea most delicious supper, and slept free from any disturbance till themorning, when fearing I might be discovered, in case he should want anyof the oats for his horses, I returned by the same place I had entered,and hid myself in one corner of the hayloft, where I passed the wholeof the day more free from alarm than often falls to the lot of any of myspecies, and in the evening again returned to regale myself with corn,as I had done the night before. The great abundance with which I wassurrounded, strongly tempted me to continue where I was; but then thethoughts of my absent brother embittered all my peace, and the advice ofmy mother came so much across my mind, that I determined before the nextmorning I would again venture forth and seek my fortune and my brother.Accordingly, after having eaten a very hearty meal, I left the bin, andwas attempting to get out of the stable, when one of the horses beingtaken suddenly ill, made so much noise with his kicking and struggling,as to alarm the family, and the coachman entering with a lantern in hishand, put me into such consternation, that I ran for shelter into thepocket of a great coat, which hung up upon a peg next the harness of thehorses. Here I lay snug for some hours, not daring to stir, as I smeltthe footsteps of a cat frequently pass by, and heard the coachman extolher good qualities to a man who accompanied him into the stable; sayingshe was the best mouser in the kingdom. 'I do not believe,' added he, 'Ihave a mouse in the stable or loft, she keeps so good a lookout. For thelast two days I lent her to the cook, to put into her pantry, but I havegot her back again, and I would not part with her for a crown; no, notfor the best silver crown that ever was coined in the Tower.' Then,through a little moth hole in the lining of the coat, I saw him lift herup, stroke her, and put her upon the back of one of the horses, whereshe stretched herself out, and went to sleep.
In this situation I did not dare to stir, I had too often seen how eagercats are to watch mice, to venture out of the pocket, whilst she was sonear me, especially as I did not at all know the holes or cracks roundthe stable, and should, therefore, had she jumped down, been quite at aloss where to run. So I determined to continue where I was till eitherhunger forced me, or the absence of the cat gave a better opportunityof escaping. But scarce had I taken up this resolution when the coachmanagain entered, and suddenly taking the coat from the peg, put it on, andmarched out with me in his pocket.
It is utterly impossible to describe my fear and consternation at thisevent, to jump out whilst in the stable exposed me to the jaws of thecat, and to attempt it when out of doors was but again subjecting myselfto be frozen to death, for the snow continued still on the ground; yetto stay in his pocket was running the chance of suffering a still moredreadful death by the barbarous hands of man; and nothing did I expect,in case he should find me, but either to be tortured like Softdown, orgiven to be the sport of his favorite cat--a fate almost as much dreadedas the other. However it was soon put out of my power to determine, forwhilst I was debating in my own mind what course I had better take, hemounted the coachbox, and drove away with me in his pocket, till he cameto a large house, about a mile distant from this place; there he putdown the company he had in the coach, and then drove into the yard. Buthe had not been there many moments before the coachman of the family hewas come to, invited him into the kitchen to warm himself, drink a mugof ale, and eat a mouthful of cold meat. As soon as he entered, andhad paid the proper compliments to the Mrs. Betties and Mollies at theplace, he pulled off his great coat, and hung it across the back of hischair. I instantly seized the first opportunity and whilst they were allbusy assembling round the luncheon table, made my escape, and ran undera cupboard door close to the chimney, where I had an opportunity ofseeing and hearing all that passed, part of which conversation I willrelate to you.
'Well, Mr. John,' said a footman, addressing himself to the man whosepocket I had just left, 'how fare you? Are you pretty hearty? You lookwell, I am sure.' 'Aye, and so I am, replied he. 'I never was better inall my life; I live comfortably, have a good master and mistress, eatand drink bravely, and what can a man wish for more? For my part I amquite contented, and if I do but continue to enjoy my health, I am sureI shall be very ungrateful not to be so.' 'That's true,' said the other,'but the misfortune of it is, people never know when they are well off,but are apt to fret and wish and wish and fret, for something or otherall their lives, and so never have any enjoyment. Now for my own part,I must needs confess, that I cannot help wishing I was a gentleman, andthink I should be a deal happier if I was.' 'Pshaw!' replied John, 'Idon't like now to hear a man say so; it looks as if you are discontentedwith the state in which you are placed, and depend upon it, you are inthe one that is fittest for you, or you would not have been put into it.And as for being happier if you were a gentleman, I don't know whatto say to it. To be sure, to have a little more money in one's pocket,nobody can deny that it would be very agreeable; and to be at libertyto come in and go out when one pleased, to be sure would be verycomfortable. But still, Bob, still you may assure yourself, that nostate in this world is free from care, and if we were turned into lords,we should find many causes for uneasiness. So here's your good health,'said he, lifting the mug to his mouth, 'wishing, my lad, you maybe contented, cheerful, and good humoured; for without these threerequisites, content, cheerfulness, and good humour, no one person uponearth, rich or poor, old or young, can ever feel comfortable or happy;and so here's to you, I say.' 'And here's the same good wishes to you,'said a clean decent cook-woman servant, who took up the mug upon John'sputting it down. 'Content, cheerfulness, and good humour, I think wasthe toast.' Then wiping her mouth, as she began her speech, she added,'and an excellent one it is: I wish all folks would m
ind it, andendeavour to acquire three such good qualifications.' 'I am sure,'rejoined another female servant, whose name I heard was Sally, 'I wishso too: at least I wish Miss Mary would try to gain a little more of thegood humour; for I never came near such a cross crab in my life as itis. I declare I hate the sight of the girl, she is such a proud littleminx she would not vouchsafe to speak to a poor servant for the world;as if she thought because we are poorer, we were therefore not of thesame nature: her sisters, I think are worth ten of her, they alwaysreply so civilly if a body speaks to them, and say, "Yes, if you please,Mrs. Sally, or No, thank you, Mr. Bob;" or "I should be obliged to youif you would do so and so, Mrs. Nelly," and not plain yes or no, as shedoes; and well too if you can get even that from her; for sometimes Ideclare she will not deign to give one any answer at all.' 'Aye, that isa sure thing she won't,' replied the maid servant who first drank, 'itis a sad thing she should behave so; I can't think, for my part, whereshe learns it; I am sure neither her papa nor mamma set her the exampleof it, for they always speak as pretty and as kind as it is possibleto do; and I have heard, with my own ears, my mistress tell her of ittwenty and twenty times, but she will do so. I am sure it is a sad thingthat she should, for she will always make people dislike her. I am sure,if young gentlemen and ladies did not know how it makes people love themto speak civilly and kind, they would take great care not to behave likeMiss Mary. Do you know, the other day, when Mrs. Lime's maid broughtlittle Miss Peggy to see my mistress, when she went away, she made acourtesy to Miss Mary, and said, "Good morning to you, Miss." And wouldyou think it, the child stood like a stake, and never returned it somuch as by a nod of the head, nor did she open her lips. I saw by herlooks the maid took notice of it, and I am sure I have such a regard forthe family, that I felt quite ashamed of her behaviour.' 'Oh! she servedme worse than that,' resumed Sally, 'for, would you believe it, theother day I begged her to be so kind as to let her mamma know I wantedto speak with her; and I did not choose to go into the room myself,because I was dirty, and there was company there; but for all I desiredher over and over only just to step in (and she was at play close to thedoor) yet, could you suppose it possible, she was ill-natured enough torefuse me, and would not do it at last.' 'Well, if ever I heard the likeof that!' exclaimed John, whose pocket I had been in. 'I think that wasbeing cross indeed, and if a child of mine was to behave in that surlymanner, I would whip it to death almost. I abominate such unkind doings,let everyone, I say, do as they like to be done by, and that is the onlyway to be happy, and the only way to deserve to be so; for if folks willnot try to be kind, and oblige others, why should anybody try to pleasethem? And if Miss Mary was my girl, and chose to behave rude and crossto the servants, if I was her papa, I would order them to refuse doinganything for her. I would soon humble her pride I warrant you, fornobody should make her puddings, or cut her bread, or do anything forher till she learned to be kind, and civil, and thankful too, for allthat was done for her. I have no notion, for my part, for a child togive herself such airs for nothing; and because her parents happen tohave a little more money in their pockets, for that reason to think shemay be rude to poor folks; but though servants are poor, still surelythey are richer than she is; I should like to ask her how much she hasgot? and which way she came by it? A child I am sure is no richer than abeggar, for they have not a farthing that is not given them through merebounty; whereas a servant who works for his living, has a right and justclaim to his wages, and may truly call them his own; but a child hasnot one farthing that is not its parents. So here's my service to you,Miss,' said he, (again lifting the ale-mug to his mouth) 'and wishingher a speedy reformation of manners, I drink to her very good health.'
John drank to the bottom of the mug, and then shaking the last dropinto the ashes under the grate, he told the following story, as he satswinging the mug by its handle across his two forefingers, which he hadjoined for that purpose.
'When my father was a young man he lived at one Mr. Speedgo's, as upperfootman: they were vastly rich. Mr. Speedgo was a merchant, and by goodluck he gathered gold as fast as his neighbours would pick up stones (asa body may say). So they kept two or three carriages, there was a coach,and a chariot, and a phaeton, and I can't tell what besides, and a powerof servants you may well suppose to attend them all; and very well theylived, with plenty of victuals and drink. But though they wanted fornothing still they never much loved either their master or mistress,they used to give their orders in so haughty and imperious a manner; andif asked a civil question, answer so shortly, as if they thought theirservants not worthy of their notice: so that, in short, no one lovedthem, nor their children either, for they brought them up just likethemselves, to despise everyone poorer than they were; and to speak ascross to their servants as if they had been so many adders they wereafraid would bite them.
'I have heard my father say, that if Master Speedgo wanted his horseto be got ready, he would say, "Saddle my horse!" in such a displeasingmanner as made it quite a burthen to do anything for him. Or if theyoung ladies wanted a piece of bread and butter, or cake, they wouldsay, "Give me a bit of cake;" or, if they added the word pray toit, they spoke in such a grumpy way, as plainly showed they thoughtthemselves a deal better than their servants; forgetting that an honestservant is just as worthy a member of society as his master, and whilsthe behaves well, as much deserving of civility as anybody. But to goon with my story. I have already told you Mr. Speedgo was very rich andvery proud, nor would he on any account suffer anyone to visit at hishouse whom he thought below him, as he called it; or at least, if hedid, he always took care to behave to them in such a manner, as plainlyto let them know he thought he showed a mighty favour in conversing withthem.
'Among the rest of the servants there was one Molly Mount, as good ahearted girl, my father says, as ever lived: she had never received mucheducation, because her parents could not afford to give her any, andshe learned to read after she was at Mr. Speedgo's from one of thehousemaids, who was kind enough to teach her a little; but you maysuppose, from such sort of teaching, she was no very good scholar.However, she read well enough to be able to make out some chapters inthe Bible; and an excellent use she made of them, carefully fulfillingevery duty she there found recommended as necessary for a Christianto practice. She used often to say she was perfectly contented in herstation, and only wished for more money that she might have it inher power to do more good. And sometimes, when she was dressing andattending the young ladies of the family, she would advise them tobehave prettier than they did; telling them, "That by kindness andcivility they would be so far from losing respect, that, on thecontrary, they would much gain it. For we cannot (she would very trulysay) have any respect for those people who seem to forget their humannature, and behave as if they thought themselves superior to the rest oftheir fellow-creatures. Young ladies and gentlemen have no occasionto make themselves very intimate or familiar with their servants; buteverybody ought to speak civilly and good-humouredly, let it be to whomit may: and if I was a lady I should make it a point never to look crossor speak gruffly to the poor, for fear they should think I forgot I wasof the same human nature as they were." By these kind of hints, whichevery now and then she would give to the misses, they were prodigiouslyoffended, and complained of her insolence, as they called it, to theirmamma, who very wrongly, instead of teaching them to behave better,joined with them in blaming Molly for her freedom, and, to show herdispleasure at her conduct, put on a still haughtier air, whenever shespoke to her, than she did to any other of the servants. Molly, however,continued to behave extremely well, and often very seriously lamentedin the kitchen the wrong behaviour of the family. "I don't mind it," shewould say, "for my own part; I know that I do my duty, and their crosslooks and proud behaviour can do me no real harm: but I cannot helpgrieving for their sakes; it distresses me to think that people whoought to know better, should, by their ill conduct, make themselves somany enemies, when they could so easily gain friends--I am astonishedhow anybody can act so foolishl
y."
'In this sensible manner she would frequently talk about the sin aswell as the folly of pride. And one day, as she was talking to herfellow-servants, rather louder than in prudence she ought to have done,her two young ladies overheard her; and the next time she went to dressthem, they enquired what it was she had been saying to the other maids."Indeed, ladies," said she, "I hope you will excuse my telling you. Ithink, if you give yourselves time to reflect a little, you will notinsist upon knowing, as it is beneath such rich ladies as you are, toconcern yourselves with what poor servants talk about." This answer didnot, however, satisfy them, and they positively commanded her to letthem know. Molly was by far too good a woman to attempt to deceiveanyone; she therefore replied, "If, ladies, you insist upon knowing whatI said, I hope you will not take anything amiss that I may tell you,thus compelled as I am by your commands. You must know then, Miss Betsyand Miss Rachael, that I was saying how sad a thing it was for people tobe proud because they are rich; or to fancy, because they happen to havea little more money, that for that reason they are better than theirservants, when in reality the whole that makes one person better thananother is, having superior virtues, being kinder and more good natured,and readier to assist and serve their fellow-creatures; these are thequalifications, I was saying, that make people beloved, and not beingpossessed of money. Money may, indeed, procure servants to do theirbusiness for them, but it is not in the power of all the riches in theworld to purchase the love and esteem of anyone. What a sad thing thenit is, when gentlefolks behave so as to make themselves despised; andthat will ever be the case with all those who, like (excuse me, ladies,you insisted upon my telling you what I said) Miss Betsy, and MissRachael, and Master James, show such contempt to all their inferiors.Nobody could wish children of their fortunes to make themselves toofree, or play with their servants; but if they were little kings andqueens, still they ought to speak kind and civil to everyone. Indeed ourking and queen would scorn to behave like the children of this family,and if--" She was going on, but they stopped her, saying, "If you sayanother word, we will push you out of the room this moment, yourude, bold, insolent woman; you ought to be ashamed of speaking sodisrespectfully of your betters; but we will tell our mamma, that wewill, and she won't suffer you to allow your tongue such liberties.""If," replied Molly, "I have offended you, I am sorry for it, and begyour pardon, ladies; I am sure I had no wish to do so; and you shouldremember that you both insisted upon my telling you what I had beensaying." "So we did," said they, "but you had no business to say it all;and I promise you my mamma shall know it."
'In this manner they went on for some time; but, to make short of mystory, they represented the matter in such a manner to their mother,that she dismissed Molly from her service, with a strict charge never tovisit the house again. "For," said Mrs. Speedgo, "no servant who behavesas you have done, shall ever enter my doors again, or eat anothermouthful in my house." Molly had no desire so suddenly to quit herplace; but as her conscience perfectly acquitted her of any wilfulcrime, after receiving her wages, respectfully wishing all the familytheir health, and taking a friendly leave of her fellow-servants, sheleft the house, and soon engaged herself as dairy-maid in a farmer'sfamily, about three miles off; in which place she behaved so extremelywell, and so much to the satisfaction of her master and mistress, that,after she had lived there a little more than two years, with theirentire approbation, she was married to their eldest son, a sober, worthyyoung man, to whom his father gave a fortune not much less than threethousand pounds, with which he bought and stocked a very pretty farm inSomersetshire, where they lived as happy as virtue and affluence couldmake them. By industry and care they prospered beyond their utmostexpectations, and, by their prudence and good behaviour, gained theesteem and love of all who knew them.
'To their servants (for they soon acquired riches enough to keep threeor four, I mean household ones, besides the number that were employed inthe farming business) they behaved with such kindness and civility, thathad they even given less wages than their neighbours, they would neverhave been in want of any; everyone being desirous of getting into afamily where they were treated with such kindness and condescension.
'In this happy manner they continued to live for many years, bringingup a large family of children to imitate their virtues; but one greatmortification they were obliged to submit to, which was that of puttingtheir children very early to boarding school, a circumstance whichthe want of education in Mrs. and indeed I may add Mr. Flail, renderedabsolutely necessary.
'But I am afraid, Mrs. Sally and Mrs. Nelly, you will be tired, as Ihave but half told my story; but I will endeavour to make short workof it, though indeed it deserves to be noticed, for it will teach onea great deal, and convince one how little the world's riches are to bedepended on.
'I have said, you know, that Mr. Speedgo was a merchant, and a very richone too. It is unknown what vast sums of money he used to spend! when,would you think it, either through spending it too fast, or some losseshe met with in trade, he broke all to nothing, and had not a farthing topay his creditors. I forgot how many thousand pounds it was he owed;but it was a vast great many. Well! this you may be sure was a greatmortification to them; they begged for mercy from their creditors; butas in their prosperity they had never shown much mercy themselves tothose they thought beneath them, so now they met with very little fromothers: the poor saying they deserved it for their pride; the richcondemning them for their presumption, in trying to vie with those ofsuperior birth; and those who had been less successful in business,blaming them for their extravagance, which, they said, had justlybrought on them their misfortunes.
'In this distress, in vain it was they applied for assistance to thosethey had esteemed their friends; for as they never had been careful toform their connections with people of real merit, only seeking to beacquainted with those who were rich and prosperous, so now they could nolonger return their civilities, they found none were ready to show themany, but everyone seemed anxious to keep from them as much as possible.Thus distressed, and finding no one willing to help them, the youngsquire, Master James, was obliged to go to sea: while Miss Betsy andMiss Rachael were even forced to try to get their living by service,a way of life they were both ill qualified to undertake, for they hadalways so accustomed themselves to be waited on and attended, that theyscarcely knew how to help themselves, much less how to work for others.The consequence of which was, they gave so little satisfaction to theiremployers, that they staid but a little time in a place, and from sofrequently changing, no family, who wished to be well settled, wouldadmit them, as they thought it impossible they could be good servantswhom no one thought worthy of keeping.
'It is impossible to describe the many and great mortifications thosetwo young ladies met with. They now frequently recollected the words ofMolly Mount, and earnestly wished they had attended to them whilst itwas in their power, as by so doing they would have secured to themselvesfriends. And they very forcibly found, that, although they were poor andservants, yet they were as sensible of kind treatment and civility, asif they had been richer.
'After they had been for some years changing from place to place, alwaysobliged to put up with very low wages, upon account of their being soill qualified for servants, it happened that Miss Betsy got into serviceat Watchet, a place about three miles distant from Mr. Flail's farm.Here she had a violent fit of illness, and not having been long enoughin the family to engage their generosity to keep her, she was dismissedupon account of her ill health rendering her wholly incapable of doingher business for which she was hired. She then, with the very littlemoney she had, procured a lodging in a miserable little dirty cottage;but through weakness being unable to work, she soon exhausted her wholestock, and was even obliged to quit this habitation, bad as it was, andfor some days support herself wholly by begging from door to door, oftenmeeting with very unkind language for so idle an employment; some peopletelling her to go to her parish, when, alas! her parish was many milesdistant, and she, p
oor creature, had no means of getting there.
'At last she wandered, in this distressful situation, to the house ofMr. Flail, and walked into the farm yard just at the time the cows werebeing milked. She, who for a long time had tasted nothing but bits ofbroken bread, and had no drink besides water she had scooped up in herhands, looked at the quantity of fresh milk with a most wishful eye;and, going to the women who were milking, she besought them in a movingmanner to give her a draught, as she was almost ready to perish. "Forpity's sake," said she, "have compassion upon a poor wretch, dying withsickness, hunger, and thirst; it is a long time since I have tasteda mouthful of wholesome victuals, my lips are now almost parched withthirst, and I am so faint for want, that I can scarcely stand; mysufferings are very great indeed, it would melt a heart of stone to hearthe story of my woes. Oh! have pity upon a fellow-creature then, andgive me one draught of that milk, which can never be missed out of sovast a quantity as you have there, and may you never, never, know whatit is to suffer as I now do." To this piteous request, she received foranswer, the common one of "Go about your business, we have nothing foryou, so don't come here." "We should have enough to do indeed," said oneof the milkers, "if we were to give every idle beggar who would like adraught of this delicious milk; but no, indeed, we shall not give you adrop; so go about your business, and don't come plaguing us here." Mrs.Flail, who happened to be in the yard, with one of her children who wasfeeding the chickens, overheard enough of this to make her comeforward, and enquire what was the matter. "Nothing, ma'am," replied themilk-maid, "only I was sending away this nasty dirty creature, who wasso bold as to come asking for milk indeed! But beggars grow so impudentnow-a-days there never was the like of it." "Oh fie!" returned Mrs.Flail, shocked at her inhuman way of speaking, "fie upon you, to speakin so unkind a manner of a poor creature in distress." Then turning tothe beggar, she inquired what she wanted, in so mild a tone of voice,that it encouraged her to speak and tell her distress.
'Mrs. Flail listened with the greatest attention, and could not helpbeing struck with her speech and appearance; for though she was clothedin rags (having parted with all her better clothes to pay for lodgingand food) still there was a something in her language and manner whichdiscovered that she was no common beggar. Betsy had stood all the timewith her eyes fixed upon the ground, scarcely once lifting them tolook at the face of Mrs. Flail; and she was so changed herself by hertroubles and sickness, that it was impossible for any one who had everseen Miss Speedgo, to recollect her in her present miserable state. Mrs.Flail, however, wanted no farther inducement to relieve her than to hearshe was in want. "Every fellow-creature in distress," she used to say,"was a proper object of her bounty; and whilst she was blessed withplenty she thought it her duty to relieve, as far as she prudentlycould, all whom she knew to be in need." She therefore fetched a mug,and, filling it with milk herself, gave it to the poor woman to drink."Here," said she, "take this, good woman, and I hope it will refresh andbe of service to you." Betsy held out her hand for it, and, lifting hereyes up to look at Mrs. Flail, whilst she thanked her for her kindness,was greatly astonished to discover in her benefactress, the featuresof her old servant, Molly Mount. "Bless me!" said she, with an airof confusion, "What do I see? Who is it? Where am I? Madam, pardon myboldness, but pray forgive me, ma'am, but is not your name Mount?" "Itwas," replied Mrs. Flail, "but I have been married for thirteen years toa Mr. Flail, and that is my name now. But, pray, where did you ever seeme before? or how came you to know anything of me?" Poor Betsy couldreturn no answer, her shame at being seen by her servant that was, inher present condition, and the consciousness of having so ill-treatedthat very servant, to whose kindness she was now indebted; all togetherwere too much for her in her weak state, and she fell senseless at Mrs.Flail's feet.
'This still added to Mrs. Flail's surprise, and she had her carried intothe house and laid upon a bed, where she used every means to bring herto herself again; which, after a considerable time, succeeded; and shethen (covered with shame and remorse) told her who she was, and howshe came into that miserable condition. No words can describe theastonishment Mrs. Flail was in, at hearing the melancholy story of hersufferings; nor is it possible to tell with what generosity and kindnessshe strove to comfort her, telling her to compose herself, for sheshould no longer be in want of any thing. "I have, thank Heaven," saidshe, "a most worthy good man for my husband, who will rejoice with me inhaving it in his power to relieve a suffering fellow-creature. Do not,therefore, any longer distress yourself upon what passed between usformerly. I had, for my part, forgotten it, if you had not now told itme; but, however I might then take the liberty to censure you for toomuch haughtiness. I am sure I have no occasion to do so now. Think nomore, therefore, I beseech you, upon those times which are now past; butbe comforted, and make yourself as happy as in my humble plain manner ofliving you can possibly do."
'She then furnished her with some of her own clothes, till she couldprocure her new ones, and sent immediately for a physician from the nexttown; by following of whose prescription, together with good nursing,and plenty of all necessaries, she soon recovered her health; but shewas too deeply affected with the thoughts of her former misconduct everto feel happy in her situation, though Mrs. Flail used every method inher power to render her as comfortable as possible. Nor did she confineher goodness only to this one daughter, but sent also for her sister andmother (her father being dead), and fitted up a neat little housefor them near their own. But as the Flails could not afford wholly tomaintain them for nothing, they entrusted the poultry to their care;which enabled them to do with one servant less; and by that means theycould, without any great expense, afford to give them sufficient to maketheir lives comfortable, that is, as far as their own reflections wouldlet them; for the last words Mrs. Speedgo said to Molly, when she partedfrom her, dwelt continually upon her mind, and filled her with shame andremorse.
'"I told her," said she, "that she should never again come into mydoors, or eat another mouthful in my house; and now it is her bountyalone which keeps us all from perishing. Oh! how unworthy are we of suchgoodness! True, indeed, was what she told you, that kindness and virtuewere far more valuable than riches. Goodness and kindness no time orchange can take from us; but riches soon fly as it were away, and thenwhat are we the better for having been once possessed of them?"'
Here Mr. John stopped, and jumping hastily up, and turning round to Mrs.Sally, Mrs. Nelly, and Mr. Bob, exclaimed, rubbing his hands--'Thereladies, I have finished my story; and, let me tell you, so longpreaching has made my throat dry, so another mug of ale, if you please,Master Bobby (tapping him at the same time upon the shoulder), anothermug of ale, my boy; for faith, talking at the rate I have done,is enough to wear a man's lungs out, and, in truth, I have need ofsomething to hearten me after such fatigue.'
'Well, I am sure,' replied Mrs. Sally and Mrs. Nelly, in the samebreath, 'we are greatly obliged to you for your history; and I am sureit deserves to be framed and glazed, and it ought to be hung up in thehall of every family, that all people may see the sad effects of pride,and how little cause people have, because they are rich, to despisethose who are poor; since it frequently happens, that those who thisyear are like little kings, may the next be beggars; and then they willrepent, when it is too late, of all their pride and unkindness theyshowed to those beneath them.'
Here the conversation was put a stop to by the bell ringing, and Johnbeing ordered to drive to the door. I, who during the whole of thehistory had been feasting upon a mince-pie, now thought it safer toconceal myself in a little hole in the wainscot of the closet, where,finding myself very safe, I did not awake till midnight. After thefamily were all retired to rest, I peeped out of the hole, and there sawjust such another frightful trap as that which was the prelude topoor Softdown's sufferings. Startled at the sight, I retreated back asexpeditiously as possible, nor ever stopped till I found my way into abed-chamber, where lay two little girls fast asleep.
I looked about for some ti
me, peeping into every hole and corner beforeI could find any thing to eat, there being not so much as a candle inthe room with them. At last I crept into a little leathern trunk, whichstood on a table, not shut down quite close: here I instantly smeltsomething good: but was obliged to gnaw through a great deal of linento get at it; it was wrapped up in a lap-bag, amongst a vast quantity ofwork. However, I made my way through half a hundred folds, and at lastwas amply repaid, by finding out a nice piece of plum-cake, and the pipsof an apple, which I could easily get at, one half of it having been eataway. Whilst I was thus engaged I heard a cat mew, and not knowing hownear she might be, I endeavoured to jump out; but in the hurry I somehowor other entangled myself in the muslin, and pulled that, trunk and all,down with me; for the trunk stood half off the table, so that the leasttouch in the world overset it, otherwise my weight could never havetumbled it down.
The noise of the fall, however, waked the children, and I heard one sayto the other,--'Bless me! Mary, what is that noise?--What can it be? Iam almost frightened out of my wits; do, pray, sister, hug me close!''Pooh!' replied the other, 'never mind it! What in the world need yoube frightened at? What do you suppose will hurt you? It sounded as ifsomething fell down; but as it has not fallen upon us, and I do not hearanybody stirring, or speaking as if they were hurt, what need we careabout it? So pray, Nancy, let us go to sleep again; for as yet I havenot had half sufficient, I am sure; I hope morning is not coming yet,for I am not at all ready to get up.' 'I am sure,' answered the other,'I wish it was morning, and daylight now, for I should like to get upvastly, I do not like to lay here in the dark any longer; I have a greatmind to ring the bell, and then mamma or somebody will come to us witha candle.' 'And what in the world,' rejoined Mary, 'will be the use ofthat? Do you want a candle to light you to look for the wounds the noisehas given you; or what can you wish to disturb my mamma for? Come,let me cuddle you, and do go to sleep, child, for I cannot think whatoccasion there is for us to keep awake because we heard a noise; I neverknew that noise had teeth or claws to hurt one with; and I am sure thishas not hurt me; and so, whether you choose to lie awake or not, I willgo to sleep, and so good-bye to you, and pray do not disturb me anymore, for I cannot talk any longer.' 'But, Mary,' again replied theother, 'pray do not go to sleep yet, I want to speak to you.' 'Well,what do you want to say?' inquired Mary. 'Why, pray have you not veryoften,' said Nancy, 'heard of thieves breaking into people's houses androbbing them; and I am sadly afraid that noise was some rogues comingin; so pray, Mary, do not go to sleep, I am in such a fright and trembleyou cannot think. Speak, Mary, have not you, I say, heard of thieves?''Yes,' replied Mary, in a very sleepy voice, 'a great many times.''Well, then, pray sister, do not go to sleep,' said Nancy, in a peevishaccent, 'suppose, I say that noise I heard should be thieves, whatshould we do? What will become of us? O! what shall we do?'--'Why, goto sleep, I tell you,' said Mary, 'as fast as you can; at least, do praylet me, for I cannot say I am in the smallest fear about house-breakersor house-makers either; and of all the robberies I ever heard of in allmy life, I never heard of thieves stealing little girls; so do, there'sa dear girl, go to sleep again, and do not so foolishly frightenyourself out of your wits for nothing.' 'Well,' replied Nancy, 'I willnot keep you awake any longer; but I am sure I shall not be able to getanother wink of sleep all night.'
Here the conversation ended, and I could not help thinking how foolishit was for people to permit themselves to be terrified for nothing. Hereis a little girl, now, thought I, in a nice clean room, and covered upwarm in bed, with pretty green curtains drawn round her, to keep thewind from her head, and the light in the morning from her eyes; and yetshe is distressing herself, and making herself really uncomfortable, andunhappy, only because I, a poor, little, harmless mouse, with scarcelystrength sufficient to gnaw a nutshell, happened to jump from the table,and throw down, perhaps, her own box.--Oh! what a pity it is that peopleshould so destroy their own comfort! How sweetly might this child havepassed the night, if she had but, like her sister, wisely reflected thata noise could not possibly hurt them; and that, had any of the familyoccasioned it, by falling down, or running against anything in the darkwhich hurt them, most likely they would have heard some more stirringabout.
And upon this subject the author cannot help, in human form (as well asin that of a mouse), observing how extremely ridiculous it is for peopleto suffer themselves to be terrified upon every trifling occasion thathappens; as if they had no more resolution than a mouse itself, which isliable to be destroyed every meal it makes. And, surely, nothing canbe more absurd than for children to be afraid of thieves andhouse-breakers; since, as little Mary said, they never want to seekafter children. Money is all they want; and as children have very seldommuch of that in their possession, they may assure themselves they areperfectly safe, and have therefore no occasion to alarm themselves ifthey hear a noise, without being able to make out what it is; unless,indeed, like the child I have just been writing about, they would beso silly as to be frightened at a little mouse; for most commonly thenoises we hear, if we lay awake in the night, are caused by mice runningabout and playing behind the wainscot: and what reasonable person wouldsuffer themselves to be alarmed by such little creatures as those? Butit is time I should return to the history of my little make-believecompanion, who went on, saying--
The conversation I have been relating I overheard as I lay concealed ina shoe that stood close by the bedside, and into which I ran the momentI jumped off the table, and where I kept snug till the next morning;when, just as the clock was striking eight, the same Mrs. Nelly, whom Isaw the day before in the kitchen, entered the apartment, and accostedthe young ladies, saying, 'Good morning to you, ladies, do you know thatit is time to get up?' 'Then, pray, Nelly, lace my stays, will you?'said Miss Nancy. 'But lace mine first, and give me my other shoes; forthose I wore yesterday must be brushed, because I stepped in the dirt,and so when you go down you must remember, and take and brush them, andthen let me have them again,' said Mary; 'but come and dress me now.'
Well, thought I, this is a rude way of speaking, indeed, something likeMiss Nancy Artless, at the house where my poor dear Softdown was socruelly massacred; I am sure I hope I shall not meet with the like fatehere, and I wish I was safe out of this shoe; for, perhaps, presently itwill be wanted to be put on Mary's foot; and I am sure I must not expectto meet any mercy from a child who shows so bad a disposition as tospeak to a servant in so uncivil a manner, for no good-natured personwould do that.
With these kind of reflections I was amusing myself for some littletime, when, all on a sudden, they were put an end to, by my finding theshoe in which I was concealed, hastily taken up; and before I had timeto recollect what I had best do, I was almost killed by some violentblows I received, which well nigh broke every bone in my skin. I creptquite up to the toe of the shoe, so that I was not at all seen, and themaid, when she took up the shoes, held one in one hand, and the other inthe other, by their heels, and then slapped them hard together, to beatout of some of the dust which was in them. This she repeated three orfour times, till I was quite stunned; and how or which way I tumbled orgot out, I know not; but when I came to myself. I was close up behindthe foot of a table, in a large apartment, where were several children,and a gentleman and a lady, all conversing together with the greatestgood humour and harmony.
The first words I heard distinctly enough to remember, were those ofa little boy, about five years old, who, with eagerness exclaimed--'Iforget you! no that I never shall. If I was to go a hundred thousandmiles off, I am sure I shall never forget you. What! do you think Ishould ever, as long as I live, if it is a million of years, forget myown dear papa and mamma? No; that I should not, I am very, very sureI never should.' 'Well, but Tom,' interrupted the gentleman, 'if in amillion of years you should not forget us, I dare say, in less than twomonths you will forget our advice, and before you have been at schoolhalf that time, you will get to squabbling with and tricking the otherboys, just as they do with one another;
and instead of playing at alltimes with the strictest openness and honour, you will, I sadly fear,learn to cheat, and deceive, and pay no attention to what your motherand I have been telling you.' 'No', that I am sure I sha'n't!' repliedthe boy. 'What! do you think I shall be so wicked as to turn a thief,and cheat people?' 'I dare say, my dear,' resumed the father, 'you willnot do what we call thieving; but as I know there are many naughty boysin all schools, I am afraid they will teach you to commit dishonourableactions, and to tell you there is no harm in them, and that they aresigns of cleverness and spirit, and qualifications very necessary forevery boy to possess.' 'Aye, that's sure enough,' said the boy, whoappeared about ten years old, 'for they almost all declare, that ifa boy is not sharp and cunning, he might almost as well be out of theworld as in it. But, as you say, papa, I hate such behaviour, I am surethere is one of our boys, who is so wonderfully clever and acute, asthey call him, that I detest ever having any thing to do with him; forunless one watches him as a cat would watch a mouse, he is sure to cheator play one some trick or other.' 'What sort of tricks do you mean?'inquired the little boy. 'Why, I will tell you,' replied the other. 'Youknow nothing of the games we have at school, so if I was to tell you howhe plays at them, you would not understand what I meant. But you knowwhat walking about blindfold is, don't you? Well! one day, about a dozenboys agreed to have a blind race, and the boy who got nearest the goal,which was a stick driven in the ground with a shilling upon the top ofit, was to win the shilling, provided he did it fairly without seeing.''I suppose,' interrupted Tom, 'you mean the boy who got to the stickfirst.' 'No, I do not,' replied his brother, 'I mean what I say, the boywho got nearest it, no matter whether he came first or last; the funwas to see them try to keep in a straight path, with their eyes tiedup, whilst they wander quite in the wrong, and not to try who could runfastest. Well! when they, were all blinded, and twisted round three orfour times before they were suffered to set off, they directed theirsteps the way they thought would directly conduct them to the goal; andsome of them had almost reached it, when Sharply (the boy I mentioned)who had placed a shilling upon the stick, for they drew lots who shoulddo that, and he who furnished the money was to stand by it, to observewho won it by coming nearest; well, Sharply, I say, just as they cameclose to it, moved away softly to another place, above three yardsdistant from any of them (for I should have told you, that if none ofthem got within three yards, the shilling was to remain his, and theywere each to give him a penny.) So then he untied their eyes, andinsisted upon it they had all of them lost. But two or three of ushappened to be by, and so we said he had cheated them, and ought notto keep the money, as it had fairly been won by Smyth. But he would notgive it up, so it made a quarrel between him and Smyth, and at last theyfought, and Mr. Chiron confined them both in the school all the rest ofthe afternoon, and when he heard what the quarrel was about, he tookthe shilling from Sharply, and called him a mean-spirited cheat; but hewould not let Smyth have it, because he said he deserved to lose it forfighting about such a trifle, and so it was put into the forfeit-money.'
'But pray do not you think Sharply behaved extremely wrong?' 'Shamefullyso, indeed,' said the gentleman. 'I never could have any opinion of aboy 'who could act so dishonourably,' said the lady, 'let his clevernessbe what it would.' 'Pray, Frank, tell me some more,' said the littleboy. 'More!' replied Frank, 'I could tell you an hundred such kind ofthings. One time, as Peter Light was walking up the yard, with somedamsons in his hat, Sharply ran by, and as he passed, knocked his hatout of his hand, for the sake of scrambling for as many as he could gethimself. And sometimes, after the pie-woman has been there, he gets suchheaps of tarts you cannot think, by his different tricks: perhaps hewill buy a currant tart himself; then he would go about, calling out,"Who'll change a cheesecake for a currant tart?" and now-and-then hewill add, "and half a bun into the bargain!" Then two or three of theboys call out, "I will, I will!" and when they go to hold out theircheesecakes to him, he snatches them out of their hands before they areaware, and runs away in an instant; and whilst they stand for a momentin astonishment, he gets so much ahead of them that he eats them upbefore they can again overtake him. At other times, when he sees a boybeginning to eat his cake, he will come and talk carelessly to him fora few moments, and then all of a sudden call out, "Look! look!look!-there!" pointing his finger as if to show him something wonderful;and when the other, without suspecting any mischief, turns his head tosee what has so surprised him, away he snatches the cake, and runs offwith it, cramming it into his mouth in a moment.
'And when he plays at Handy-dandy, Jack-a-dandy, which will you have,upper hand or lower? if you happen to guess right, he slips whatever youare playing with into his other hand; and that you know is not playingfair; and so many of the boys tell him; but he does not mind any of us.And as he is clever at his learning, and always does his exercise quiteright, Mr. Chiron (who indeed does not know of his tricks) is very fondof him, and is for ever saying what a clever fellow he is, and proposinghim as an example to the rest of the boys; and I do believe many ofthem imitate his deceitful, cheating tricks, only for the sake of beingthought like him.'
'Aye! it is a sad thing,' interrupted the gentleman, 'that people whoare blessed with sense and abilities to behave well, should so misusethem as to set a bad, instead of a good example to others, and by thatmeans draw many into sin, who otherwise, perhaps, might never haveacted wrong. Was this Sharply, you have been speaking of, a dunce andblockhead at his book, he would never gain the commendations that Mr.Chiron now bestows upon him; and, consequently, no boy would wish to bethought like him; his bad example, therefore, would not be of half theimportance it now is.
'Only think, then, my dear children, how extremely wicked it is, forthose who are blessed with understandings capable of acting as theyshould do, and making people admire them, at the same time to be guiltyof such real and great sin. For, however children at play may like totrick and deceive each other, and call it only play or fun, still, letme tell you, they are much mistaken if they flatter themselves there isno harm in it. It is a very wrong way of behaviour; it is mean, itis dishonorable, and it is wicked; and the boy or girl who would everpermit themselves to act in so unjustifiable a manner, however theymay excel in their learning, or exterior accomplishments, can never bedeserving of esteem, confidence, or regard. What esteem or respect couldI ever entertain of a person's sense or learning, who made no better useof it than to practise wickedness with more dexterity and grace than heotherwise would be enabled to do? Or, what confidence could I everplace in the person who, I knew, only wanted a convenient opportunityto defraud, trick, and deceive me? Or, what regard and love could Ipossibly entertain for such a one, who, unless I kept a constant watchover, as I must over a wild beast, would, like a wild beast, be sureto do me some injury? Would it be possible, I say, to love such acharacter, whatever shining abilities or depth of learning he mightpossess? Ask your own hearts, my dears, whether you think you could?'
To this they all answered at once, 'No, that I could not,' and 'I amsure I could not.' 'Well, then,' resumed the father, 'only think howodious that conduct must be, which robs us of the esteem, confidence,and love of our fellow-creatures; and that too, notwithstanding we mayat the same time be very clever, and have a great deal of sense andlearning. But, for my part, I confess I know not the least advantage ofour understanding or our learning, unless we make a proper use of them.Knowing a great deal, and having read a great many books, will be ofno service to us, unless we are careful to make a proper use of thatknowledge, and to improve by what we read, otherwise the time we sobestow is but lost, and we might as well spend the whole of our lives inidleness.
'Always remember, therefore, my loves, that the whole end of our takingthe trouble to instruct you, or putting ourselves to the expense ofsending you to school, or your attending to what is taught you, is,that you may grow better men and women than you otherwise would be; andunless, therefore, you do improve, we might as well spare ourselves thepains and expen
se, and you need not take the trouble of learning; since,if you will act wickedly, all our labour is but thrown away to no mannerof purpose.
'Mr. and Mrs. Sharply, how I pity them! What sorrow must they endure,to behold their son acting in the manner you have described; for nothingcan give so much concern to a fond parent's heart, as to see theirchildren, for whom they have taken so much pains, turn out naughty;and to deceive and cheat! What can be worse than that? I hope, my dearchildren, you will never, any of you, give us that dreadful misery! Ihope, my dear Tom, I hope you will never learn any of those detestableways your brother has been telling you of. And if it was not thatyou will often be obliged to see such things when you mix with otherchildren, I should be sorry you should even hear of such bad actions,as I could wish you to pass through life without so much as knowingsuch wickedness ever existed; but that is impossible. There are so manynaughty people in the world, that you will often be obliged to see andhear of crimes which I hope you will shudder to think of committingyourselves; and being warned of them beforehand, I hope it will put youmore upon your guard, not to be tempted, upon any consideration, to givethe least encouragement to them, much less to practise them yourselves.
'Perhaps, Tom, if your brother had not, by telling us of Sharply'stricks, given me an opportunity of warning you how extremely wrong andwicked they are, you might when you were at school, have thought themvery clever, and marks of genius; and therefore, like others of theboys, have tried to imitate them, and by that means have become aswicked, mean, and dishonourable yourself. And only think how it wouldhave grieved your mamma and me, to find the next holidays, our dearlittle Tom, instead of being that honest, open, generous-hearted boyhe now is, changed into a deceiver, a cheat, a liar, one whom we couldplace no trust or confidence in; for, depend upon it, the person whowill, when at play, behave unfair, would not scruple to do so in evenother action of his life. And the boy who will deceive for the sake of amarble, or the girl who would act ungenerously, for the sake of a doll'scap or a pin, will, when grown up, be ready to cheat and over-reachin their trades, or any affairs they may have to transact. And you mayassure yourselves that numbers of people who are every year hanged,began at first to be wicked by practising those little dishonourablemean actions, which so many children are too apt to do at play, withoutthinking of their evil consequences.
'I think, my dear,' said he, turning to his wife, 'I have heard youmention a person who you were acquainted with when a girl, who at lastwas hanged for stealing, I think, was not she?' 'No,' replied the lady,'she was not hanged, she was transported for one-and-twenty years.''Pray, madam, how transported? what is that?' inquired one of thechildren. 'People, my dear,' resumed the lady, 'are transported whenthey have committed crimes, which, according to the laws of our land,are not thought quite wicked enough to be hanged for; but still too badto suffer them to continue amongst other people. So, instead of hangingthem, the judge orders that they shall be sent on board a ship, built onpurpose to hold naughty people, and carried away from all their friends,a great many miles distant, commonly to America, where they are sold asslaves, to work very hard for as many years as they are transported for.And the person your papa mentioned was sold for twenty-one years;but she died before that time was out, as most of them do: they aregenerally used very cruelly, and work very hard; and besides, the heatof the climate seldom agrees with anybody who has been used to live inEngland, and so they generally die before their time is expired, andnever have an opportunity of seeing their friends any more, after theyare once sent away. How should any of you, my dears, like to be sentaway from your papa and me, and your brothers and sisters, and unclesand aunts, and all your friends, and never, never see us any more; andonly keep company with naughty, cross, wicked people, and labourvery hard, and suffer a great deal of sickness, and such a number ofdifferent hardships, you cannot imagine? Only think how shocking it mustbe! How should you like it?' 'Oh', not at all, not at all,' was echoedfrom everyone in the room.
'But such,' rejoined their mother, 'is the punishment naughty peoplehave; and such was the punishment the person your papa spoke of had;who, when she was young, no more expected to come to such an end thanany of you do. I was very well acquainted with her, and often used toplay with her, and she (like the boy Frank has been talking of) used tothink it a mark of cleverness to be able to deceive; and for the sakeof winning the game she was engaged in, would not scruple committing anylittle unfair action, which would give her the advantage.
'I remember one time, at such a trifling game as pushpin, she gave me avery bad opinion of her; for I observed, instead of pushing the pin asshe ought to do, she would try to lift it up with her finger a little,to make it cross over the other.
'And when we were all at cards, she would peep, to find out the picturedones, that she might have them in her own hand.
'And when we played at any game which had forfeits, she would try, bydifferent little artifices, to steal back her own before the time ofcrying them came; or, if she was the person who was to cry them, asyou call it, she would endeavour to see whose came next, that she mightorder the penalty accordingly.
'Or if we were playing at hide and seek, she would put what we had tohide either in her own pocket, or throw it into the fire, so that itwould be impossible to find it; and then, after making her companionshunt for it for an hour, till their patience was quite tired, and theygave out; she would burst out in a loud laugh! and say she only did itfor fun. But, for my part, I never could see any joke in such kind ofthings: the meanness, the baseness, the dish on our (sic), whichattendedit always, in my opinion, took off all degree of cleverness,or pleasure from such actions.
'There was another of her sly tricks which I forgot to mention, and thatwas, if at tea, or any other time, she got first to the plate of cakeor bread, she would place the piece she liked best where she thoughtit would come to her turn to have it: or if at breakfast she saw hersisters' basin have the under crust in it, and they happened not to beby, or to see her, she would take it out, and put her own, which shehappened not to like so well, in the stead.
'Only think, my dears, what frightful, sly, naughty tricks to be guiltyof! And from practising these, which she said there was no harm in, andshe only did them in play, and for a bit of fun, at last she came, bydegrees, to be guilty of greater. She two or three different times, whenshe was not seen, stole things out of shops; and one day, when shewas upon a visit, and thought she could do it cleverly, without beingdiscovered, put a couple of table spoons into her pocket. The footmanwho was waiting happened to see her; but fearing to give offence, hetook no notice of it till after she was gone home, when he told hismaster, who, justly provoked at being so ill-treated, by a person towhom he had shown every civility, went after her, called in her own twomaids, and his footman, as witnesses, and then insisted upon examiningher pockets, where he indeed found his own two spoons. He then sent forproper officers to secure her, had her taken into custody, and for thatoffence it was that she was transported.
'Thus, my dear children, you see the shocking consequence of eversuffering such vile habits to grow upon us; and I hope the exampleof this unhappy woman (which I assure you is a true story) will besufficient to warn you for ever, for a single time, being guilty ofso detestable a crime, lest you should, like her, by degrees come toexperience her fatal punishment.'
Just as the lady said these words a bell rang, and all getting uptogether, they went out of the room, the young one calling out, 'Todinner! to dinner! to dinner! here we all go to dinner!'
And I will seek for one too, said I to myself, (creeping out as soonas I found I was alone) for I feel very faint and hungry. I looked andlooked about a long while, for I could move but slow, on account of thebruises I had received in the shoe. At last under the table, round whichthe family had been sitting, I found a pincushion, which, being stuffedwith bran, afforded me enough to satisfy my hunger, but was excessivelydry and unsavoury; yet, bad as it was, I was obliged to be content atthat time with it; and had n
early done eating when the door opened, andin ran two or three of the children. Frightened out of my senses almost,I had just time to escape down a little hole in the floor, made by oneof the knots in the wood slipping out, and there I heard one of thegirls exclaim--
'O dear! who now has cut my pincushion? it was you did it, Tom.' 'No,indeed I did not,' replied he. 'Then it was you, Mary.' 'No, I knownothing of it,' answered she. 'Then it was you, Hetty.' 'That I am sureit was not,' said she; 'I am sure, I am certain it was not me; I ampositive it was not.' 'Ah,' replied the other, 'I dare say it was.''Yes, I think it is most likely,' said Mary. 'And so do I too,' saidTom. 'And pray why do you all think so?' inquired Hetty, in an angrytone. 'Because,' said the owner of the pincushion, 'you are the only onewho ever tells fibs; you told a story, you know, about the fruit; youtold a story too about the currant jelly; and about putting your fingersin the butter, at breakfast; and therefore there is a very great reasonwhy we should suspect you more than anybody else.' 'But I am sure,' saidshe, bursting into tears, 'I am very sure I have not meddled with it.''I do not at all know that,' replied the other, 'and I do think it wasyou; for I am certain if any one else had done it they would not denyit; and it could not come into this condition by itself, somebody musthave done it; and I dare say it was you; so say no more about it.'
Here the dispute was interrupted by somebody calling them out of theroom; and I could not help making some reflections on what had passed.How dreadful a crime, thought I, is lying and falsity; to what sadmortifications does it subject the person who is ever wicked enough tocommit it; and how does it expose them to the contempt of everyone, andmake them to be suspected of faults they are even perfectly free from.Little Hetty now is innocent, with respect to the pincushion with whichher sister charges her, as any of the others; yet, because she hasbefore forfeited her honour, she can gain no credit: no one believeswhat she says, she is thought to be guilty of the double fault ofspoiling the pincushion, and what is still worse, of lying to concealit; whilst the other children are at once believed, and their wordsdepended upon.
Surely, surely, thought I, if people would but reflect upon thecontempt, the shame, and the difficulties which lies expose them to,they would never be guilty of so terrible a vice, which subjects themto the scorn of all they converse with, and renders them at all timessuspected, even though they should, as in the case of Hetty, reallyspeak the truth. Such were my reflections upon falsehood, nor couldI help altogether blaming the owner of the pincushion for her hastyjudgment relating to it. Somebody, she was certain, must have done it;it was impossible it could come so by itself. That, to be sure, was verytrue; but then she never recollected that it was possible a little mousemight put it in that condition. Ah! thought I to myself, what pity isit, that human creatures, who are blest with understanding and facultiesso superior to any species, should not make better use of them; andlearn, from daily experience, to grow wiser and better for the future.This one instance of the pincushion, may teach (and surely peopleengaged in life must hourly find more) how dangerous it is to draw hastyconclusions, and to condemn people upon suspicion, as also the many,great, and bad consequences of lying.
Scarcely had I finished these soliloquies when a great knock at thehouse door made me give such a start that I fell off the joist on whichI was standing, and then ran straight forwards till I came out at alittle hole I found in the bricks above the parlour window: from thatI descended into the road, and went on unmolested till I reached amalt-house, about whose various apartments, never staying long inthe same, I continued to live; till one night, all on a sudden, Iwas alarmed by fire, which obliged me to retreat with the greatestexpedition.
I passed numberless rats and mice in my way, who, like myself, weredriven forth by the flames; but, alas! among them I found not mybrother. Despairing, therefore, of ever seeing him again, I determined,if possible, to find my way back to you, who before had shown mesuch kindness. Numberless were the fatigues and difficulties I had toencounter in my journey here; one while in danger from hungry cats, atanother almost perished with cold and want of food.
But it is needless to enumerate every particular; I should but tire yourpatience was I to attempt it; so I will hasten to a conclusion of myhistory, only telling you how you came to find me in that melancholycondition from which your mercy has now raised me.
I came into your house one evening concealed in the middle of afloor-cloth, which the maid had rolled up and set at the outside of theback door, whilst she swept the passage, and neglected to take it inagain till the evening, In that I hid myself, and upon her laying itdown, ran with all speed down the cellar-stairs, where I continued tillthe family were all gone to bed. Then I returned back, and came intoyour closet, where the scent of some figs tempted me to get into the jarin which you found me. I concealed myself among them, and after feastingmost deliciously, fell asleep, from which I was awakened by hearing avoice say, "Who has left the cover off the fig-jar?" and at thesame time I was involved in darkness by having it put on. In vain Iendeavoured to remove it, the figs were so low, that when I stood onthem I could but just touch it with my lips, and the jar being stone Icould not possibly fasten my nails to hang by the side.
In this dismal situation therefore I was constrained to stay, myapprehensions each day increasing as my food diminished, till at last,after feeding very sparingly for some days, it was quite exhausted; andI had endured the inexpressible tortures of hunger for three days andthree nights, when you happily released me, and by your compassionrestored me once more to life and liberty. Condescend, therefore,to preserve that life you have so lengthened, and take me under yourprotection.
'That most gladly,' interrupted I, 'I will do: you will live in thislarge green-flowered tin canister, and run in and out when you please,and I will keep you constantly supplied with food. But I must now shutyou in, for the cat has this moment entered the room.'
And now I cannot take leave of all my little readers, without once morebegging them, for their own sakes, to endeavour to follow all the goodadvice the mouse has been giving them; and likewise warning them to shunall those vices and follies, the practice of which renders children socontemptible and wicked.
The Life and Perambulations of a Mouse Page 6
