One Day, as she was going through the next Village, she met with somewicked Boys who had got a young Raven, which they were going to throwat, she wanted to get the poor Creature out of their cruel Hands, andtherefore gave them a Penny for him, and brought him home. She calledhis Name _Ralph_, and a fine Bird he is. Do look at him and rememberwhat _Solomon_ says, _The Eye that despiseth his Father, and regardethnot the Distress of his Mother, the Ravens of the Valley shall peck itout, and the young Eagles eat it._ Now this Bird she taught to speak,to spell and to read; and as he was particularly fond of playing withthe large Letters, the Children used to call this _Ralph_'a Alphabet.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z.
He always sat at her Elbow, as you see in the first Picture, and whenany of the Children were wrong, she used to call out, _Put themright Ralph_, and a fine bird he is. Do look at him.
Some Days after she had met with the Raven, as she was walking in theFields, she saw some naughty Boys, who had taken a Pidgeon, and tied aString to its Leg, in order to let it fly, and draw it back again whenthey pleased; and by this Means they tortured the poor Animal with theHopes of Liberty and repeated Disappointment. This Pidgeon she alsobought, and taught him how to spell and read, though not to talk, andhe performed all those extraordinary Things which are recorded of thefamous Bird, that was some Time since advertised in the_Haymarket_, and visited by most of the great People in theKingdom. This Pidgeon was a very pretty Fellow, and she called him_Tom_. See here he is.
And as the Raven _Ralph_ was fond of the large Letters,_Tom_ the Pidgeon took Care of the small ones, of which hecomposed this Alphabet.
a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z.
The Neighbours knowing that Mrs. _Two Shoes_ was very good, as tobe sure nobody was better, made her a Present of a little Sky-lark,and a fine Bird he is.
Now as many People, even at that Time had learned to lie in Bed longin the Morning, she thought the Lark might be of Use to her and herPupils, and tell them when to get up.
_For be that is fond of his Bed, and lays 'till Noon, lives but halfhis Days, the rest being lost in Sleep, which is a Kind of Death_.
Some Time after this a poor Lamb had lost its Dam, and the Farmerbeing about to kill it, she bought it of him, and brought it home withher to play with the Children, and teach them when to go to Bed; forit was a Rule with the wise Men of that Age (and a very good one, letme tell you) to
_Rise with the Lark, and lie down with the Lamb._
This Lamb she called _Will_, and a pretty Fellow he is; do, lookat him.
No sooner was _Tippy_ the Lark and _Will_ the Ba-lambbrought into the School, but that sensible Rogue _Ralph_, theRaven, composed the following Verse, which every little good Boy andGirl should get by Heart.
_Early to Bed, and early to rise; Is the Way to be healthy, and wealthy, and wise_.
A sly Rogue; but it is true enough; for those who do not go to Bedearly cannot rise early; and those who do not rise early cannot domuch Business. Pray, let this be told at the Court, and to People whohave Routs and Rackets.
Soon after this, a Present was made to Mrs. _Margery_ of littleDog _Jumper_, and a pretty Dog he is. Pray, look at him.
_Jumper, Jumper, Jumper!_ He is always in a good Humour, andplaying and jumping about, and therefore he was called _Jumper_.The Place assigned for _Jumper_ was that of keeping the Door, sothat he may be called the Porter of the College, for he would letnobody go out, or any one come in, without the Leave of his Mistress.See how he sits, a saucy Rogue.
_Billy_ the Ba-lamb was a chearful Fellow, and all the Childrenwere fond of him, wherefore Mrs. _Two-Shoes_ made it a Rule, thatthose who behaved best should have _Will_ home with them at Nightto carry their Satchel or Basket at his Back, and bring it in theMorning. See what a fine Fellow he is, and how he trudges along.
CHAP. II.
_A Scene of Distress; in the School_.
It happened one Day, when Mrs. _Two-Shoes_ was diverting theChildren after Dinner, as she usually did with some innocent Games, orentertaining and instructive Stories, that a Man arrived with themelancholy News of _Sally Jones's_ Father being thrown from hisHorse, and thought past all Recovery; nay, the Messenger said, that hewas seemingly dying, when he came away. Poor _Sally_ was greatlydistressed, as indeed were all the School, for she dearly loved herFather, and Mrs. _Two-Shoes_, and all the Children dearly lovedher. It is generally said, that we never know the real Value of ourParents or Friends till we have lost them; but poor _Sally_ feltthis by Affection, and her Mistress knew it by Experience. All theSchool were in Tears, and the Messenger was obliged to return; butbefore he went, Mrs. _Two-Shoes_, unknown to the Children,ordered _Tom_ Pidgeon to go home with the Man, and bring a Letterto inform her how Mr. _Jones_ did. They set out together, and thePidgeon rode on the Man's Head, (as you see here) for the Man was ableto carry the Pidgeon, though the Pidgeon was not able to carry theMan, if he had, they would have been there much sooner, for _Tom_Pidgeon was _very good_, and never staid on an Errand.
Soon after the Man was gone the Pidgeon was lost, and the Concern theChildren were under for Mr. _Jones_ and little _Sally_ wasin some Measure diverted, and Part of their Attention turned after_Tom_, who was a great Favourite, and consequently much bewailed.Mrs. _Margery_, who knew the great Use and Necessity of teachingChildren to submit chearfully to the Will of Providence, bid them wipeaway their Tears, and then kissing _Sally_, you must be a goodGirl, says she, and depend upon GOD Almighty for his Blessing andProtection; for _he is a Father to the Fatherless, and defendeth allthose who put their Trust in him_. She then told them a Story,which I shall relate in as few Words as possible.
_The History of Mr._ Lovewell, _Father to Lady_ Lucy.
Mr. _Lovewell_ was born at _Bath_, and apprenticed to alaborious Trade in _London_, which being too hard for him, heparted with his Master by Consent, and hired himself as a commonServant to a Merchant in the City. Here he spent his leisure Hours notas Servants too frequently do, in Drinking and Schemes of Pleasure,but in improving his Mind; and among other Acquirements, he madehimself a complete Master of Accompts. His Sobriety, Honesty, and theRegard he paid to his Master's Interest, greatly recommended him inthe whole Family, and he had several Offices of Trust committed to hisCharge, in which he acquitted himself so well, that the Merchantremoved him from the Stable into the Counting-house.
Here he soon made himself Master of the Business, and became so usefulto the Merchant, that in regard to his faithful Services, and theAffection he had for him, he married him to his own Niece, a prudentagreeable young Lady; and gave him a Share in the Business. See whatHonesty and Industry will do for us. Half the great Men in_London_, I am told, have made themselves by this Means, and whowould but be honest and industrious, when it is so much our Interestand our Duty.
After some Years the Merchant died, and left Mr. _Lovewell_possessed of many fine Ships at Sea, and much Money, and he was happyin a Wife, who had brought him a Son and two Daughters, all dutifuland obedient. The Treasures and good Things, however, of this Life areso uncertain, that a Man can never be happy, unless he lays theFoundation for it in his own Mind. So true is that Copy in our WritingBooks, which tells us, that _a contented Mind is a continualFeast_.
After some Years successful Trade, he thought his Circumstancessufficient to insure his own Ships, or, in other Words, to send hisShips and Goods to Sea without being insured by others, as iscustomary among Merchants; when, unfortunately for him, four of themrichly laden were lost at Sea. This he supported with becomingResolution; but the next Mail brought him Advice, that nine otherswere taken by the _French_, with whom we were then at War; andthis, together with the Failure of three foreign Merchants whom he hadtrusted, compleated his Ruin. He was then obliged to call hisCreditors together, who took his Effects, and being angry with h
im forthe imprudent Step of not insuring his Ships, left him destitute ofall Subsistence. Nor did the Flatterers of his Fortune, those who hadlived by his Bounty when in his Prosperity, pay the least Regardeither to him or his Family. So true is another Copy, that you willfind in your Writing Book, which says, _Misfortune tries ourFriends_. All these Slights of his pretended Friends, and the illUsage of his Creditors, both he and his Family bore with ChristianFortitude; but other Calamities fell upon him, which he felt moresensibly.
In his Distress, one of his Relations, who lived at _Florence_,offered to take his Son; and another, who lived at _Barbadoes_,sent for one of his Daughters. The Ship which his Son sailed in wascast away, and all the Crew supposed to be lost; and the Ship, inwhich his Daughter went a Passenger, was taken by Pyrates, and onePost brought the miserable Father an Account of the Loss of his twoChildren. This was the severest Stroke of all: It made him compleatlywretched, and he knew it must have a dreadful Effect on his Wife andDaughter; he therefore endeavoured to conceal it from them. But theperpetual Anxiety he was in, together with the Loss of his Appetiteand Want of Rest, soon alarmed his Wife. She found something waslabouring in his Breast, which was concealed from her; and one Nightbeing disturbed in a Dream, with what was ever in his Thoughts, andcalling out upon his dear Children; she awoke him, and insisted uponknowing the Cause of his Inquietude. _Nothing, my Dear, nothing,_says he, _The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away, blessed bethe Name of the Lord._ This was sufficient to alarm the poor Woman;she lay till his Spirits were composed, and as she thought asleep,then stealing out of Bed, got the Keys and opened his Bureau, whereshe found the fatal Account. In the Height of her Distractions, sheflew to her Daughter's Room, and waking her with her Shrieks, put theLetters into her Hands. The young Lady, unable to support this Load ofMisery, fell into a Fit, from which it was thought she never couldhave been recovered. However, at last she revived; but the Shock wasso great, that it entirely deprived her of her Speech.
Thus loaded with Misery, and unable to bear the Slights and Disdain ofthose who had formerly professed themselves Friends, this unhappy Familyretired into a Country, where they were unknown, in order to hidethemselves from the World; when, to support their Independency, theFather laboured as well as he could at Husbandry, and the Mother andDaughter sometimes got spinning and knitting Work, to help to furnishthe Means of Subsistence; which however was so precarious and uncertain,that they often, for many Weeks together, lived on nothing but Cabbageand Bread boiled in Water. But God never forsaketh the Righteous, norsuffereth those to perish who put their Trust in him. At this Time aLady, who was just come to England, sent to take a pleasant Seat readyfurnished in that Neighbourhood, and the Person who was employed for thePurpose, was ordered to deliver a Bank Note of an hundred Pounds to Mr._Lovewell_, another hundred to his Wife, and fifty to the Daughter,desiring them to take Possession of the House, and get it well airedagainst she came down, which would be in two or three Days at most.This, to People who were almost starving, was a sweet and seasonableRelief, and they were all sollicitous to know their Benefactress, but ofthat the Messenger himself was too ignorant to inform them. However, shecame down sooner than was expected, and with Tears embraced them againand again: After which she told the Father and Mother she had heard fromtheir Daughter, who was her Acquaintance, and that she was well and onher Return to England. This was the agreeable Subject of theirConversation till after Dinner, when drinking their Healths, she againwith Tears saluted them, and falling upon her Knees asked theirBlessings.
Tis impossible to express the mutual Joy which this occasioned. TheirConversation was made up of the most endearing Expressions,intermingled with Tears and Caresses. Their Torrent of Joy, however,was for a Moment interrupted, by a Chariot which stopped at the Gate,and which brought as they thought a very unseasonable Visitor, andtherefore she sent to be excused from seeing Company.
But this had no Effect, for a Gentleman richly dressed jumped out ofthe Chariot, and pursuing the Servant into the Parlour saluted themround, who were all astonished at his Behaviour. But when the Tearstrickled from his Cheeks, the Daughter, who had been some Years dumb,immediately cried out, _my Brother! my Brother! my Brother!_ andfrom that Instant recovered her Speech. The mutual Joy which thisoccasioned, is better felt than expressed. Those who have properSentiments of Humanity, Gratitude, and filial Piety will rejoice atthe Event, and those who have a proper Idea of the Goodness of God,and his gracious Providence, will from this, as well as otherInstances of his Goodness and Mercy, glorify his holy Name, andmagnify his Wisdom and Power, who is a Shield to the Righteous, anddefendeth all those who put their Trust in him.
As you, my dear Children, may be sollicitous to know how this happyEvent was brought about, I must inform you, that Mr. _Lovewell_'s Son,when the Ship foundered, had with some others got into the long Boat,and was taken up by a Ship at Sea, and carried to the East Indies,where in a little Time he made a large Fortune; and the Pirates whotook his Daughter, attempted to rob her of her Chastity; but findingher Inflexible, and determined to die rather than to submit, some ofthem behaved to her in a very cruel Manner; but others, who had moreHonour and Generosity, became her Defenders; upon which a Quarrelarose between them, and the Captain, who was the worst of the Gang,being killed, the rest of the Crew carried the Ship into a Port of the_Manilla_ Islands, belonging to the _Spaniards_; where, when her Storywas known, she was treated with great Respect, and courted by a youngGentleman, who was taken ill of a Fever, and died before the Marriagewas agreed on, but left her his whole Fortune.
You see, my dear _Sally_, how wonderfully these People werepreserved, and made happy after such extreme Distress; we aretherefore never to despair, even under the greatest Misfortunes, forGOD Almighty is All-powerful and can deliver us at any Time. Remember_Job_, but I think you have not read so far, take the Bible,_Billy Jones_, and read the History of that good and patient Man.At this Instant something was heard to slap at the Window, _Wow,wow, wow_, says Jumper, and attempted to leap up and open the Door,at which the Children were surprized; but Mrs. _Margery_ knowingwhat it was, opened the Casement, as _Noah_ did the Window of theArk, and drew in _Tom_ Pidgeon with a Letter, and see here he is.
As soon as he was placed on the Table, he walked up to little_Sally_, and dropping the Letter, cried, _Co, Co, Coo_, asmuch as to say, _there read it_. Now this poor Pidgeon hadtravelled fifty Miles in about an Hour, to bring _Sally_ thisLetter, and who would destroy such pretty Creatures.--But let us readthe Letter.
_My dear_ Sally,
GOD Almighty has been very merciful, and restored your Pappa to usagain, who is now so well as to be able to sit up. I hear you are agood Girl, my Dear, and I hope you will never forget to praise theLord for this his great Goodness and Mercy to us--What a sad Thing itwould have been if your Father had died, and left both you and me, andlittle _Tommy_ in Distress, and without a Friend: Your Fathersends his Blessing with mine--Be good, my dear Child, and God Almightywill also bless you, whose Blessing is above all Things.
_I am, my Dear Sally_,
_Your ever affectionate Mother,_
MARTHA JONES.
CHAP. III.
_Of the amazing Sagacity and Instincts of a little Dog_.
Soon after this, a dreadful Accident happened in the School. It was ona _Thursday_ Morning, I very well remember, when the Childrenhaving learned their Lessons soon, she had given them Leave to play,and they were all running about the School, and diverting themselveswith the Birds and the Lamb; at this Time the Dog, all of a sudden,laid hold of his Mistress's Apron, and endeavoured to pull her out ofthe School. She was at first surprized, however, she followed him tosee what he intended. No sooner had he led her into the Garden, but heran back, and pulled out one of the Children in the same manner; uponwhich she ordered them all to leave the School immediately, and theyhad not been out five Minutes, before the Top of the House fell in.What a miraculous Deliverance was here! How
gracious! How good was GodAlmighty, to save all these Children from Destruction, and to make Useof such an Instrument, as a little sagacious Animal to accomplish hisDivine Will. I should have observed, that as soon as they were all inthe Garden, the Dog came leaping round them to express his Joy, andwhen the House was fallen, laid himself down quietly by his Mistress.
Some of the Neighbours, who saw the School fall, and who were in greatPain for _Margery_ and the little ones, soon spread the Newsthrough the Village, and all the Parents, terrified for theirChildren, came crowding in Abundance; they had, however, theSatisfaction to find them all safe, and upon their Knees, with theirMistress, giving God thanks for their happy Deliverance.