Bluff Crag, or, A Good Word Costs Nothing(txt+pdf+epub+mobi电子书下载)

作者：Cupples, George, Mrs

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Bluff Crag, or, A Good Word Costs Nothing试读：

his is such a capital night for a story, papa," said Robert Lincoln to his father, who had laid away his newspaper and seemed inclined to take an extra forty winks.

"Indeed, Robert," said Mr. Lincoln, smiling, "I wonder if you would ever tire of hearing stories. I don't think I have one left; you and Lily have managed to exhaust my store."

"O papa, please don't say that," cried Lily, who was putting away her school-books on their proper shelf at the end of the room. "I am sure, if you shut your eyes and think very hard for a few minutes, you will be sure to find one."

"Very well, then, I shall try," said Mr. Lincoln; "perhaps there may be one among the cobwebs in my brain." Covering his face over with his newspaper, Mr. Lincoln lay back in his chair, and the children, drawing their stools closer to the fire, waited in patience to see the result of his meditation. It soon became evident, however, by his breathing, which became louder and longer, that Mr. Lincoln was falling asleep, and when at last he gave a loud snore, Robert could stand it no longer, and springing up, pulled the newspaper away, exclaiming,—

"O papa, you were actually going to sleep! You'll never find the story if you do!"

"I think, after all, I must have dropped over," said Mr. Lincoln, rubbing his eyes; "but you are wrong in thinking I couldn't find a story in my sleep, for I was just in the middle of such a nice one, when you wakened me, and, lo and behold, I found it was a dream."

"Oh, do tell us what you dreamed, papa," said Lily. "Your dreams are so funny sometimes. I think I like them better than the real stories."

"But it was only a bit of a dream. Bob there in his impatience knocked off the end, and I think it was going to be a very entertaining one."

"I'll tell you how you can manage, papa," said Lily earnestly, "you can make an end to it as you go along: you do tell us such nice stories out of your head."

Mrs. Lincoln having come into the room with the two younger children, a chair was placed for her and baby beside Mr. Lincoln. Little Dick trotted off to Robert's knee, and the dog, Charley, hearing that a story was going to be told, laid himself down on the rug before the fire, at Lily's feet.WAITING FOR PAPA'S STORY.

"It's a very strange story, mamma," said Robert. "Papa fell asleep for two or three minutes, and dreamed the beginning of it. I am so sorry I wakened him; but he gave such a loud snore, I never thought he could be dreaming when he did that."

"Ah, but you are wrong there," said Mr. Lincoln, laughing; "you will hear the reason of the snore very soon. Well, then, to begin—but how can I begin? Lily likes stories to set out with 'Once upon a time;' and you, Master Bob, like me to mention the hero's name, and tell you how old he is, and describe him particularly. Now, in this case, I can do neither."

"You will require to say, Once upon a time, when I was taking 'forty winks,'" said Mrs. Lincoln, laughing. "I cannot see how you are to relate this strange story without a beginning."

"Neither can I," said Mr. Lincoln. "You know everything depends upon a good beginning. Therefore I think I had better go to sleep again, and perhaps I shall dream one."

"Oh, please, papa, don't; I am sure the one mamma suggested is first-rate," said Robert impatiently.

"Very well, then, once upon a time I dreamed a dream—"

"It's Joseph and his broders papa is going to tell us about," cried little Dick. "Oh, I like that."

Every one laughed, while Robert explained that this was papa's dream, not Joseph's; which set the little fellow's mind wandering away still more into the favourite narrative, and it was only after a whispered threat from Robert that he would be taken up to the nursery if he did not sit quiet and listen, that he consented to leave Joseph and his brethren alone for the present.

"It's no use," said Mr. Lincoln, laughing, "somehow the dream has fled. I'll tell you what we shall do,—we shall ask mamma to tell one of her stories about when she was a little girl."

"I should like to have heard the dream, papa," said Lily, "but if it has fled away it won't be brought back. I know I never can get mine to do it till perhaps just when I am not thinking about it, then there, it is quite distinctly."

"Well, that will be the way mine may do," said Mr. Lincoln. "Come, mamma, we are waiting for yours. A good story-teller should begin without delay, and we all know what a capital one you are."

"Very well, then," said Mrs. Lincoln. "You must know that when I was a little girl I had been ill, and your grandmamma sent me to live with her brother, my Uncle John, who was the rector of the neighbouring parish. Uncle John had no children, and his wife had died just a few weeks before I went to pay him this visit. He had been very fond of my aunt, and he was still very sad about her death; so that it would have been rather a dull life but for Dolly, the housekeeper. Every morning after breakfast Dolly had to go for potatoes to a small field at a little distance from the rectory, and she usually took me with her if the day was fine. I ran about so much chasing butterflies and birds, that when the basket was filled I was quite tired out, and very glad to be placed upon the wheel-barrow and be taken home in this manner by the good-natured Dolly.

"And had you no little girl to play with, mamma?" asked Robert.COMING FROM THE POTATO-FIELD.

"Not for some time," replied Mrs. Lincoln. "Every one knew how sad my uncle was, and did not intrude upon him; but I never wearied so long as I had Dolly beside me. She could not read herself, but she was very fond of hearing me read to her, and though I could not do it very well then, I managed to make out the stories. Then your grandmamma had taught me a number of hymns, and I used to repeat them, and sometimes to sing them, which pleased Dolly very much. I think it was overhearing me singing one of the hymns that made Uncle John take notice of me at last. He used to shut himself in his study, and I scarcely ever saw him from one week's end to the other; but one day as he was going up-stairs I had been singing, and he came into the parlour, and, taking me on his knee, asked me to sing the hymn over again. I was a little nervous at first, but grandmamma had always told me to do the best I could when asked to repeat or sing a hymn, and I did so now. I suppose the words of the hymn pleased him, for from that time he always had me to dine with him; and he had such a kind manner, that I soon recovered from my shyness, and used to sit on his knee and prattle away to him as if he had been your grandpapa, and I had known him all my life. It made Dolly so pleased, too, for she said her master was beginning to look quite like his old self; and she only hoped your grandmamma would allow me to stay ever so long with him.

"One day Uncle John returned earlier than usual, and calling Dolly, said, 'Get Miss Lilian ready to go out. Mrs. Berkley wishes me to spend the afternoon there, and I think it will do the child good. I fear she has had but a dull time of it lately.'

"'Oh, please don't say that, uncle!' I exclaimed. 'I would rather stay at home with Dolly;' for the thought of the grand Mrs. Berkley, who came into church with her powdered footman carrying her Bible behind her, frightened me.

"'No, no, my child; you must go with me,' said Uncle John quietly. 'It isn't good for you to be so much alone. You will have a good romp with some young people who are staying with Mrs. Berkley at present.'

"'But I shall be beside you, Uncle John, shall I not?' I asked, with trembling lip.

"'Why! are you afraid, dear? Come, come, this will never do; what is there to make you afraid? I am quite sure you will be sorry to leave when the hour comes for returning here.'

"Mrs. Berkley's house stood upon a rising ground having a beautiful view of the sea. The rectory was about a mile inland from it; but though I had been very anxious to go to the beach, Dolly had never been able to spare the time, and as for trusting Mary, the younger servant, to take me, that was quite out of the question.

"'I wonder if you could walk to Mrs. Berkley's,' said Uncle John. 'If so, we could go by the field-path, and so have a fine view of the sea. Do you think she could manage it, Dolly?'

"'Oh yes, sir,' said Dolly, catching a glimpse of my delighted expression. 'Miss Lily has been wishing to take that walk ever since she came; for she has never seen the sea, she tells me.'

"'Has never seen the sea!' said Uncle John, smiling, 'then there is a great treat in store for you; so come away, my child, and we shall have a quiet half-hour before going to Mrs. Berkley's.'

"I don't think I shall ever forget that walk with Uncle John. Seeing that I was interested in the birds and the butterflies, he told me all sorts of stories about them—how the former built their nests, and how the latter was first a caterpillar before changing into a bright butterfly. Then he pointed out many curious things about the flowers I plucked on the way. He seemed to my mind to know about everything; and, in consequence, my respect increased for him more and more, and I somehow became a little afraid of him.

"But when, from the top of the hill, we caught the first glimpse of the blue sea lying below, with the fishing-boats in the distance, I quite forgot I was beginning to be shy of Uncle John, and screamed aloud, clapping my hands delightedly. He was so good to me, too. Fearing that in my rapture I might lose my footing and slip down the face of the rocks, Uncle John took me by the hand, and holding me fast, let me gaze upon the scene without interruption.THE FIRST WALK BY THE SEA-SIDE.

"'Now we must go, dear,' said Uncle John. 'Strange, that of all the works of creation none make such a wonderful impression as the first sight one gets of the sea.'

"'Do you ever walk this way, uncle?' I inquired, as we turned into another path that led to Mrs. Berkley's mansion.

"'Sometimes; indeed, it is a favourite walk of mine,' he replied. 'I like to come and sit just at that point where you stood. Your aunt used to be very fond of that walk also.'

"'It will be such a nice place to see her in the clouds,' I said, but a little timidly, for this was the first time he had ever mentioned her name, and he had sighed heavily when he did so.

"'Why, what do you mean, Lily?' he asked abruptly, and, as I fancied, a little sternly.

"'When my sister Alice died, uncle, I was so sad and lonely without her,' I replied. 'Mamma was so busy nursing my brother William, that I had to amuse myself the best way I could; and so I used to sit by the window gazing up into the sky; and when the clouds came sailing past, I used to fancy I saw sister Alice in the very white ones. Nurse told me she is now clothed in white, and I knew Alice would weary to see me too; and I used to think God, who is so good and kind, would perhaps let her hide in the white clouds.'

"Uncle John drew me closer to him, and instead of reproving me for my fancy, he kissed me, as he said, 'Poor child, poor little town-bred child, if you had had flowers, and birds, and butterflies to chase, it would have been better for you. I think we shall have to write and ask mamma to send us Willie here also.'

"'Oh, that would be so nice!' I exclaimed. 'Willie would enjoy it so much! But see, uncle, there are some children with a donkey coming this way.'

"'These are some of the young people I told you were living with Mrs. Berkley.—Hollo!' cried uncle, signalling to the children, who came running down the path as fast as they could the moment they heard the rector's voice. There was a little girl on the donkey's back, and two boys by the side of it, with a stable-lad to see that she did not tumble off.

"'We were so glad when you called, sir,' said the oldest boy. 'Aunt Berkley said we might go and meet you, but we thought you would come by the highway.'

"'Yes; but this little niece of mine had never seen the sea, and I wanted to let her have her first view from the Bluff Crag.'VEA ON HER DONKEY.

"'Then you have never been down to the beach?' said the little girl. 'We must get aunt to allow us to go there after dinner. It is such a delightful walk;—isn't it, sir? And you needn't be afraid to trust her with us, for we take Natilie when we go, and she is so careful.'

"'And who is Natilie?' inquired Uncle John, lifting the little girl from the donkey at her request.

"'Oh, Natilie is our French maid, and she is so nice; even the boys like Natilie.—But what is your name, please?' she continued, turning to me. 'Mine is Vivian Berkley, but the boys and all my friends call me Vea.'

"'My name is Lilian, but I am called Lily at home—Lily Ashton,' I replied.

"'Then I shall call you Lily too, may I not?' she said, looking up into my face with a kindly smile, and taking my hand, while her beautiful blue eyes sparkled. 'I am so glad you have come, dear Lily,' she continued. 'I do want a companion like you so much!'

"'Do you find the boys unsocial, then, Miss Vea?' inquired Uncle John.

"'Oh no, sir,' she replied; 'but they are boys, and you know girls are not allowed to do exactly what they do, so I am often alone.'

"'And what do you do when you are alone?' said Uncle John, evidently amused with the precise though sweet tone of voice of little Vea.

"'I play with my doll Edith, and I read my story-books, and I talk to Natilie. Do you know, sir,' she said, letting my hand loose and taking my uncle's as we mounted up the steep slope to the road above, while the donkey was led round by another way, followed by the boys, 'poor Natilie, when she came to stay with us, could not speak a word of English, and she was so sad. And the boys used to laugh at her, and so did I sometimes, till Aunt Mary, in whose house we were living, told us that if we only knew poor Natilie's sad story we would be so sorry for her, that, instead of laughing, we would be apt to cry.'

"'And what was the story?' inquired the rector.

"'Oh,' said Vea, laughing, 'Aunt Mary was so cunning about it, she wouldn't tell us a word, but said we must learn our French very fast, and that then Natilie would tell it for herself; and as Aunt Mary said it was far more interesting than any we could read in our story-books, we did try to understand what she said to us very hard indeed. But we haven't heard the story yet; only we never laugh at Natilie now, for we have made out little bits of it, and we know the chief reason why she is sad is this: her husband is a very bad man, and he ran away and left her, and carried off her two little children, and she cannot find them.—But will you please walk into the garden, sir?' she continued, opening a side gate. 'Aunt said we might show you the new rustic table as we came along.'THE NEW RUSTIC TABLE.

"Patrick, the eldest boy, who had run on before, joined us just as we came up to the arbour, where a neat round table stood, having curious feet made out of the rough branches of a tree; the top had been polished, and painted with varnish, and looked very splendid indeed. But the quick eyes of Vea soon detected an ugly scar on the bright surface, as if some boy had been attempting to cut out a letter upon it.

"'Oh dear, who has done this?' cried little Vea, while Patrick turned away with blushing face. 'Patrick, this is a wicked action; do you know anything about it? Now be careful; think well before you answer.'

"Uncle John could scarcely keep from smiling at the way Vea spoke, and the anxious manner shown towards her brother. 'O Patrick,' she exclaimed, 'if you did this, it is very wicked; you must go and tell aunt about it at once.'

"Instead of answering, however, Patrick set off at a gallop, and disappeared behind some bushes, leaving Vea standing looking after him with glistening eyes. 'What is to be done now?' she said, as if to herself; 'it is so difficult to get Patrick to own a fault, and I fear he will lead Alfred into more mischief. O mamma, mamma, I wish you had never left us! I do try to keep the boys right, but they are so wild sometimes.'

"'You cannot do more than your best, my child,' said my uncle, laying his hand tenderly on her bowed head. 'Would you like me to speak to your aunt for Patrick?'

"'Oh no, sir, thank you very kindly,' she said, drying her eyes hastily; 'Patrick must confess the fault himself, if he has done it. Aunt Berkley is so good-natured, that I am sure she would excuse him if you asked; but that would not be safe for Patrick,—he forgets so soon, and will be at some other mischief directly. Aunt Mary warned me about this very sort of thing.'

"'Well, I am sure he ought to be a good boy, having such a kind, good little sister to look after him.'

"'Please, sir, don't say that,' said Vea, the tears coming to her eyes again; 'I don't deserve such praise; for the reason why Aunt Mary told me of Patrick's faults was, she wished to point out my own, and she knows I am so lazy, and don't like to check the boys, lest they should call me "Goody;" but Aunt Mary said I ought to look after them,—that a good word costs nothing; at anyrate, if I had only to bear being called a harmless name, it was but a very small cross, compared to the evil I might cause by allowing the boys to play mischievous tricks.'

"'That is right, my dear child,' said Uncle John; 'we must do our duty, however hard it may be; and though a good word in one sense costs nothing, still we all know it sometimes costs a good deal, and is a difficult matter, to a great many people.'ON BOARD THE STEAMER.

"To Vea's astonishment, instead of her Aunt Berkley letting her brother off easily, when she found out about the mischief done to the table, she was so very angry that she would not allow him to join the party that afternoon in the excursion in the steamer. While she pointed out the various objects of interest to Vea and myself, seeing that poor Vea was depressed in spirits—her kind heart suffering extremely when her brothers fell into error—Aunt Berkley whispered, 'You are not vexed with me, dear child, for punishing Patrick? If he had owned the fault, I would have forgiven him; but he was so stubborn, and would not even speak when spoken to. Alfred is so different.'

"'Oh no,' said Vea quickly; 'I am only sorry that he was so naughty and required the punishment;' but, as if afraid she was condemning her brother, she added, 'Patrick has a warm, affectionate nature, aunt; if he could only get over his love of mischief he would be a dear, good boy.'

"'Well, my dear, we must try to help him to be good. Boys will be boys, however; though it is necessary to punish them sometimes, else they might get into serious disgrace. We must have another excursion soon, and perhaps the thought of it will keep Patrick from being naughty.'

"On reaching home that afternoon they found the school-room empty; and though Patrick had been told he was to remain in the house till his aunt returned, he was nowhere to be found. Alfred sought for him in all their favourite haunts about the out-houses and garden, but without success. 'I'll tell you where he will be, Vea,' said Alfred, on his return to the school-room from a last hunt in the orchard,—'he has gone to the cave at the Bluff Crag.'

"'Oh, surely not,' said Vea in distress. 'Aunt told us distinctly we were never to go there without leave from her, and then only with some person who knows the coast well. What makes you fancy such a thing, Alfred?'

"'Because, I remember now, he muttered to himself about giving aunt something to be angry for; and he has often been wanting me to go there.'

"'I hope this is not the case, Alfred,' said Vea. 'But perhaps aunt would allow us to go down to the beach with Natilie, to look for him.'

"'I daresay she will,' said Alfred; 'but if you do ask her, don't mention Patrick's name; you needn't be getting him always into a scrape by your tale-telling.'

"'O Alfred, how cruel you are,' said Vea, 'when you know I am always trying to get you boys out of scrapes!' and the tears rose to her eyes.

"'Very well, then, I won't,' said Alfred; 'you are a dear, good little sister, and we do bother you tremendously sometimes. Stay you here, and I will ask aunt to let us go to the beach.'

"Alfred soon returned, stating that his aunt had said Yes at once to his request; 'But,' he added, laughing, 'I think she did not know very well what she was saying, she was so busy talking to the rector.'

"Natilie was quite willing to accompany us, and very soon we were down on the beach; but whichever way we looked we could not see any trace of the missing Patrick. All of a sudden Alfred gave a shout, and pointed in the direction of some great high rocks upon which stood a light-house.

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