Aunt Fanny

“ He was very much astonished when he saw such little creatures all alone; and Nannie, looking as if she had been in the wars; but, in spite of her torn dress, looking like just what she was—the tender little pet of a household, watched over, and loved, and cared for night and day; and Harry, too, it was plain to see, with his bright eyes and [171] manly bearing, was of gentle birth and breeding. ”

“ Wait till children become grown people, for pity's sake, before you expect them to measure each other's worth by what they possess or wear!
"'The new schoolmaster, Meinherr Friedrich, comes to-morrow,' said Otto. 'I am so glad. I was weary of that old Master Hoffman, with his crooked problems and hard lessons.'
"'So was I, truly,' cried Kline, who, although a good merry boy, hated his books as he did medicine.
"'Ah, thou didst always like play better than work, my Kline,' said Max, 'and so do I. Meinherr Friedrich will be wise if he keep me and thee apart during school hours ”

“ Every day the good doctor came to see the mother and the little baby, and every day the mother grew stronger; and the greatest delight of both parents was to look at their new child, and softly kiss its tender cheek, and feel the velvet touch of its precious little hands. ”

“ The children had listened to the story of Eva, with eager, breathless attention; and when Ruth screamed out, "She will see! she will see!" they very nearly screamed, too, so rejoiced were they that the blindness had been removed; and the dear little girl had not suffered so much for nothing. [105]
"It must be so terrible to be blind," said Anna; "don't you remember when we went to see the exhibition of the blind children at the Academy of Music, the tears were rolling down mamma's face nearly the whole time, and we all felt so sorry, that we came home quite unhappy?" ”

“ Horses are animals, but they are not stupid or fools for all that. So Lightfoot, [36] while he kept his nose in the brook, had been quietly watching Harry out of the corner of his eye; and when the young gentleman tried to jump on his back, the horse gave a quick little start to one side, and a knowing flourish with his tail, which sent Mr. Harry plump into the brook for the second time that day, and then Lightfoot scampered off with a neigh which sounded remarkably like a horse laugh. ”

“ The rain is composed of lemonade, and the birds fall down from the trees all stuffed and roasted, ready to eat, from morning till night. The trees are covered with sugar-plums; and all the streams are full of goldfishes, which come when you whistle to them. They are real gold, and used for money by the inhabitants!' [50]
"'But—do they ever write exercises there?' asked Harry, with a cunning twinkle in his eye.
"'Never!' cried the sailor, who saw what the trouble was with the silly boy. 'The king of this delightful country has expressly forbidden it. ”

“ One day the good doctor brought a celebrated occulist to see Eva. An occulist is a physician who cures diseases of the eyes, and devotes his whole time and talent to that precious and delicate part of the human frame. ”

“ When we do any thing bad, mamma, you must punish us Aunt Fanny's way. Couldn't you punish us for something now?"
The little mother laughed at this comical request, and said—"I can't think of any thing just now to punish you for; and I hope you don't want to do any thing naughty on purpose."
"O dear, no!" cried the children, but George, with a good-humored twinkle in his eye, added—"At any rate, mamma, the next time Harry puts salt into the sugar-bowl, and makes me spoil my coffee, I intend to put powdered sugar into the salt-cellar for him to sprinkle over his stewed oysters." ”

“ And my lips the suds are sipping.
"'They're down my throat, and they're up my nose,
And to choke me you seem to be trying,
That I'll shut my mouth, you needn't suppose,
For how can I keep from crying?
"'And you rub as hard as ever you can,
And your hands are hard, to my sorrow;
No woman shall wash me, when I'm a man,
And I wish I was one to-morrow.'
"But at last Arthur went sulking down to breakfast, forgetting to say his prayers; and taking his seat at the table, whined out, the very first thing—'Just look at this piece of toast; it is all burnt, and as hard as a [115] stone. ”

“ I know, dear Anna, it is exactly such a tender, sweet story, as will most gratify your affectionate heart; so it is yours, with a kiss from your loving
Aunt Fanny.
"POOR RICH LITTLE EVA.
"On a curtained bed, in a darkened chamber in the city of Charleston, not many years ago, lay a beautiful lady, pale—almost dying; but, oh! how happy, for her earnest [75] prayer had been answered, and God had at last given her the blessing of a child, and the little tender life was even now nestling soft as a rose-leaf in her bosom. ”

“ Kline knit his brows, and gazed with anger and disappointment at the little Carl; and the rest, seeing him do this, felt themselves aggrieved; but suddenly the cloud cleared from Kline's face, and rushing forward, he caught Carl in his arms, crying—'Forgive me, dear Carl! ”

“ Her father hardly ever left the house, and her mother wept often, for she loved her child in her blindness as much as a mother could love, and had never wished her to go through so much suffering—suffering which might be fruitless ”

“ Opposite to these happy parents sat Mr. Vernon, a noble-looking gentleman, and his wife, a beautiful lady, uncle and aunt to the baby; and, in the distance, was the faithful black nurse, old Dinah, fast asleep, and quite as happy, in her own opinion, as the rest of the party. ”

“ As a last resource, he called Jumbo, his big cat, who was so fond of Arthur, that he [121] would let him do just what he pleased with him, that is, as long as his little master was kind; but to-day he pinched his ears, and pulled his tail, and twitched his whiskers at such a rate, that poor Jumbo puckered up his face like a pudding-bag, and squalled like a first-class opera singer. ”

“ I suppose Harry will have whiskers one of these days, if he lives to be a man; but Nannie will never have any, because if she Jives a thousand years she will never be a great, rough man, but a beautiful little woman, which is a great comfort to think of. ”

“ Not so in Senegal. Still there were other inconveniences, for Harry had not rested for five minutes, when he heard a stealthy footstep; his heart began to beat. He had learned in his Geography [58] that Senegal was full of wild beasts, as well as the sugar plums the treacherous sailor talked about. He began to wish he had staid in the ship; but if he returned, there was Jack Bowsprit, and there was Susan as sure as a gun. It is no doubt very disagreeable to be devoured by wild beasts; but then again it is very painful to be beaten by a Susan. ”

“ Upon this Arthur fairly broke down; and, bursting into tears, sobbed out—'Oh, dear mamma, I understand the lesson I have received from every one to-day. Do believe that I will try with all my strength to conquer my ill temper: I promise you. ”

“ A look from a physician has often more weight than many words spoken; and Ruth, who read the good doctor's face with the keenness of a child's perception, was the first to see an expression of hope shining upon [101] it. When the day came for the bandages to be removed, Eva's father and mother were so dreadfully agitated, that they had to leave the room. ”

“ We always make remarkably wise reflections when we are suffering from our misconduct. Harry began to think he had been acting very like a donkey, and would very willingly have returned home, and taken to studying his hated lessons. ”

“ THE FIFTH LETTER. THE ROSE CROWN.
For Clara.
Dear, tender-hearted little Clara:—In the olden time, there was a beautiful superstition in Germany, that on Christmas eve our Saviour, just as he was when a little child here below, comes at midnight in at the door, and fills all those children's shoes with gifts, who have followed His example of goodness and obedience. You know that [141] you hang up your stockings, and Santa Claus comes down the chimney; but the little German children believe that they are far more blessed. ”

“ I got in the room first, tore off the dishcloth—her best dishcloth—bran new, and threw it into the very middle of the fire; and she had the pleasure of seeing the last of her new dishcloth blazing up the chimney. So that's [72] what a cook gets when she pins her dishcloth on a boy."
The children clapped their hands, and screamed with laughter at this story; and they laughed still harder, when Harry put on a comical, half-provoked look, and added, "But you know mother made me take the very money I was going to buy a new ball with, and buy a yard of crash to make another dishcloth for the cook ”

“ So Harry took Nannie's hand, and led her out of the room. He felt quite bashful at first, and when he got into the hall and had shut the door, he dropped her hand; and then the two children stood and looked [164] at each other like two pussy cats on a fence; only they looked a great deal prettier, because, you know, neither of them had any fierce whiskers or long claws. Not they, indeed! ”

“ A hushed and joyous stillness reigned in the house, but every lip was smiling, from the good old black cook, who was 'so grad missis ben got her heart's desire,' to the funny little fellow with his wool standing up in kinks all over his head, who ran of errands, and who evinced his delight by walking on his kinky head all about the yard.
"Never was baby more welcomed. A daughter, too, just what her parents desired—a darling girl to be a companion for her mother all day long. ”

“ They cannot see the sunshine, or the beautiful flowers—let them feel the warm sunshine of a loving heart.
"In due course of time Mr. Vernon had two lovely children, the elder a pretty little maiden, with deep blue eyes, and dark, wavy hair, whose sweet name was Ruth. The dear little girl was six years old before the other darling came to gladden his parents' heart, and having no companions but her blind father and gentle mother, she grew to be quite a dignified little woman. ”

“ This most delightful announcement made the children chatter so fast, that Charley became [12] nearly sick, laughing at what they said; for George again called Aunt Fanny a "perfect bird!" and Harry improved it by exclaiming that she was a perfect cat bird! which, of course, meant something very complimentary.
"Won't she write stories like a mice!" cried Johnny.
"And won't mamma read the writing like a precious kitten!" said Clara.
"Well, I never knew kittens could read writing before," laughed Harry.
"But, mamma," said Anna, "the letter looks very thick; is the first story in it?" ”

“ I hope you will let me know if you think I have invented a good plan to cure a cross-patch. You know I am a great believer in our always trying first upon ourselves, what we propose to 'do to others,' as the very best way of finding out if we would like the same 'done to us.'"
"Why, that's the 'golden rule!'" cried little Minnie; and now the children settled themselves, and eagerly listened to the following story: [111]
ILL TEMPER.
"When Arthur was about seven years old, he was one of the very best boys to be found in a long summer's day. ”

“ As the falling, melting snow.'
"'Ah! thy song is sad, brother,' said little Marie: 'it makes me sigh.'
"As she spoke, a little boy, poorly clad, was seen coming up the avenue; and Gottfried exclaimed—'Here comes Heinrich!' and running out of the room, he presently returned, leading by the hand Heinrich, the little faggot-maker, whose mother, a poor but pious widow, lived in a hut just out of the village. [146]
"'Why, Heinrich, where hast thou been this cold day?' asked Marie. ”

“ That bright glare of light has dazzled even my strong eyes; and how can her feeble sight endure it?'
"'It is necessary, madam,' replied the [81] doctor. He seemed to be a cross old fellow, but beneath his gruff manner was hidden a great, kind heart.
"He took the child, and having sent the nurse away, turned from the mother, who lay anxiously watching him. He gazed fixedly at little Eva, while he exposed her beautiful and tender eyes to the bright glare of the morning sun. ”

“ No English writer has succeeded in so faithfully portraying the human passions as the talented author who has given to the world 'Heartsease' and the 'Heir of Redclyffe.' Her Juvenile "Writings have a charm of historical interest thrown around them, which cannot fail to render her works as much admired by young people as by those more advanced." ”

“ Once, when you were a very little fellow and were visiting at a cousin's house in the country, you busied yourself all one morning, pulling up radishes, eating the roots, and then setting the tops back in the earth, and when the gardener came to gather some for tea, he found them all wilted and flat to the ground. ”