active 1801-1820? S. W.

“ Mansfield, “though she is but a child, in how respectable a light her industry makes her appear. She acquires the esteem of all who know her, and she has the satisfaction of feeling that she does not live in vain. As for poor old Maddox, I don’t know from what source his satisfactions can arise. The review of his past life can afford him no comfort; and if he looks forward to the close of his present existence, he must be shocked at the account to which he will then be called, for duties [122] neglected, talents misemployed, and a family ruined, through his want of care.”
Arthur. ”

“ Arthur. They are very industrious, indeed, Charles! Do you recollect Dr. Watts’s little hymn about the Busy Bee?
Charles. Yes, brother; I was just thinking of it.
Mrs. Mansfield. Repeat it then will you, my love? After the account I have been giving you, we shall attend to it with particular pleasure.
Charles. How doth the little busy bee
Improve each shining hour!
And gather honey all the day
From every opening flower! [149]
How skilfully she builds her cell! ”

“ Mansfield. “Besides, little folks should consider, that it is not their future advantage alone which should lead them to take pains with their studies—it is one of the absolute duties of their infant state. God Almighty did not mean that any of us should be idle at any time; and a child who is idle when he ought to be at his book, as much transgresses the will of God, as a man who neglects his trade, or a woman who takes no care of her family.” ”

“ But what is the rind, pray?”
“’Tis the same as the rest,” replied Rose; “only, being left to the air, it grows hard in time.” Then leading them into another room, she showed them a great number of cheeses; some were still soft, having been lately made; others, that had been longer kept, were grown quite hard.
[20]
“What is the whey good for?’ asked Charles, as they came back through the dairy.
“We give it to the pigs,” said Rose.
“So then,” said Arthur to himself as he walked away, “butter and cheese are both made from milk; but the butter is the greasy part, and the cheese is the curdy.” ”

“ That dreary country, where no grass will grow, and not any herb which we are accustomed to see, is nevertheless covered all over with a species of white moss, which serves as food for it. This is its only pasture; and it gets at it in winter, by scratching away the snow with its hinder legs.
Arthur. Is the rein deer good to eat, pray, ma’am?
Mr. Ashley. It is. So, when it has lived about sixteen years, the Laplander generally kills him for the sake of his flesh and his skin. ”

“ Arthur. I thought brewers made beer?
Mr. Mansfield. You were right. Brewers buy malt. They grind it, and then pour hot water upon it, to get out its strength and goodness. The [51] liquor thus obtained, which is sweet-wort, becomes the most valuable part of the commodity; for the malt has lost its virtue, and is called grains, and is only used to feed pigs and cattle. The wort is afterwards boiled with hops, which give it a bitterish taste instead of a sickly sweet, and keep it wholesome and good. ”

“ Arthur. How many can you shear in a day, good man?
The Man. Why, fifty, more or less. The quickest hands can finish one in ten minutes.
Charles during this time was helping a little girl to pick up the loose locks of wool that were scattered over the floor. His brother turned round, and saw how he was employed. What should he do? Every one was busy besides himself, and he could not bear to be the only idle person. A message came to fetch away one of the women, whose task it was to roll up the fleeces and pile them together on a heap. ”

“ Arthur. What must we feed the pigeons with?
Grandmamma. You may give them a few tares, if you like; but here we [81] have no occasion to supply them with much food, for they come to the barn doors, and pick up the corn that is scattered about.
Charles. Are all those one brood, that sit together on the top of that cart-house?
Grandmamma. No. Pigeons never lay more than two eggs at one time; and the pair that are hatched commonly continue mates to one another all their lives. ”

“ On a grass plot close to the cottage there were three or four hens under baskets; and they had each a little brood belonging to them, which the Bensons mistook for bantams. But Peggy said they were young [99] pheasants; their eggs they often set under hens, as they made the best mothers of any fowl.
“Are these all we are to see?” inquired Arthur.
“No, sir,” replied Peggy; “we have many that are full grown; only they are now scattered about, and hid among the bushes. I’ll call them.” ”

“ Arthur. I see the old hen does not eat much herself. She only pecks about the grits, to show them to her chickens.
Grandmamma. She is a very good mother; so we will give her some barley. That is the best food for the old ones.
Arthur. See, Charles, how oddly they drink! They turn up their heads whenever they swallow. ”

“ Ashley. The rein deer, my love, is a very extraordinary creature. It inhabits Lapland, and other cold countries, and answers to the inhabitants the purpose of most of the animals we have among us. It serves them instead of a horse, and draws their sledges with amazing swiftness over the frozen country. It supplies them too with milk and cheese, instead of the cow; and answers the purpose of our sheep, in furnishing them with warm covering.
Providence, who has thus formed the rein deer capable of supplying the numerous wants of man, has provided [96] with wonderful care for its support. ”

“ Cannot you take it off?”
“Oh no, master Arthur, it is time the calf should be weaned. He is old enough now to eat grass, and we want the milk for the dairy; so we put the spikes on him, and because of them, as they would hurt her, the mother will not let him suck any more.”
“Is he to be killed?” inquired Charles.
“Not at present,” replied the old man. “Master means to keep him to draw in the team.”
“To draw in the team!” said Charles with some surprise.
[6]
“Yes,” returned Ralph; “we have always a team of oxen. You may see them ploughing in that field yonder ”

“ Why, a stag is turned out into the country, and then, fly where he will, a whole pack of dogs follow him in full cry; and a number of gentlemen, mounted on fine horses, gallop after with the greatest possible speed: and they don’t mind what they come to; for they leap over gates, and hedges, and ditches, and ride down hills that are almost as steep as precipices; and at last, when the stag can run no further, he is caught by the dogs, who kill him ”

“ The drones seldom leave the hive, and never assist to procure honey. When the time comes for making up their winter stores, they are, therefore, all killed by the working bees as useless members of society. As they are without stings, they are unable to defend themselves. The working bees compose the most numerous body of the state. They have the care of the hive, collect wax and honey from the [148] flowers, make the wax into combs, feed the young, keep the hive clean, turn out all strangers, and employ themselves in promoting the general good. ”

“ Charles. What is the use of ploughing, grandpapa?
Mr. Mansfield. To break up the earth, which would otherwise get so hard that no corn could grow in it. When a field has been ploughed, a [67] man walks over it, and scatters the seed all over the field. Then it is raked in by an instrument full of great iron teeth, called a harrow. Care must afterwards be taken to keep it free from weeds, but besides that nothing more can be done. It is left for the rain to water, and the sun to ripen it. ”

“ Ralph. To serve us for food, master Arthur. If we were to suffer all the cattle to live, they would eat all the grass and corn that we could grow; and then we should be starved, and you would not like that.
Arthur. No, I don’t want to starve; only I do not like to have things killed.
At this moment Mr. Mansfield came into the stable.
“We were talking about this poor calf, grandpapa,” said Charles. “Ralph says it is to be killed to-morrow to [8] make veal. I am sorry for it; it has such a pretty coat!”
“It cannot be helped, my dear,” replied his grandfather. ”

“ Charles. Oh, you promised just now to tell us something about Peggy.
Mr. Mansfield. I have only to say, that her character is the very reverse of her grandfather’s. She is a notable, active girl, and does a wonderful deal for her age. As Mr. Maddox still continues the same, the birds would be sadly neglected, if it were not for her care. Mr. Ashley puts her to school, where she learns to work: and I believe she keeps both her own and the old man’s clothes in very tolerable order. The cottage, too, is neat and clean, though there is no one to do any thing but herself. ”

“ Charles. Are they of much use, grandpapa?
Grandpapa. Not whilst they are alive. When dead, the flesh, you know, is eaten, and is called pork, or bacon if salted in a particular manner. The lard, or some of the fat, is used in making many sorts of plasters, and [26] the bristles are formed into brushes of various kinds; and are used by shoemakers and others in sewing leather, instead of needles.
Arthur. I like little pigs much better than I do great old ones.
Grandpapa. I cannot say the hog is a favourite animal with me. He is not only ugly, but his habits of life are disagreeable. ”

“ They do not see it, Arthur; they find it out by their smell, which as well as their hearing is very acute: so that, though nearly blind, they are not without the means of providing for their support, and of knowing how to avoid danger. ”

“ The eye is, therefore, merely given them to let them know that they are out of the way when they see the light. The mole shows great art in skinning worms, which it always does before it eats [160] them; stripping the skin from end to end, and squeezing out all the contents of the body. During summer they run in search of snails and worms, in the night-time, among the grass; which often makes them the prey of owls. Moles do a good deal of mischief in fields and gardens; because, by running under the earth, they loosen the roots of plants and corn. ”

“ Grandpapa. They are gentle, timid creatures, and require the care of man more than almost any other animal; as they have neither strength to defend themselves when attacked by their enemies, nor swiftness to run from danger.
Arthur. And they pay us for the care we take of them, by letting us have their wool?
Grandpapa. Indeed they do, Arthur; but not by their wool alone, for they are useful in more ways than one. Mutton, which you know is the flesh of the sheep, is one of the most wholesome meats we have; some parts of [36] the fat are melted down to make tallow. ”