clothes, and tore them so much every day, that one person was scarcely sufficient to keep them in order for her. Not a frock was to be found which was not soiled or torn, nor a pair of shoes fit to be put on. 9. Her face could not be made clean without warm water, and that must be brought from the kitchen: then she had to look for her comb. In short, by the time all was ready and she was dressed, an hour had slipped away without her perceiving it. 10. Down stairs, however, she went, opened the parlor door, and was just going to make a fine courtesy to the gentleman, when, to her great surprise, she perceived her mother sitting alone at work by the fire. 11. The gentleman had shown his prints to her brothers and sisters, made each of them a present of a very pretty one, and had been gone some time. 12. Once Emma had a present of a very pretty green bonnet; but, rambling into an old, dirty closet, she left it there, and when she was asked what she had done with her bonnet, she said she did not know. 13. After much time was lost in looking for it, one of the servants found it with a black cat and four kittens asleep in it! And so entirely had they spoiled it that it never could be worn any more; so the careless girl was obliged to wear her old bonnet for many months. XLVII.-THE CARELESS GIRL. CONCLUDED. noth'ing sis'terş a-müşe'ment neigh'bors win'dōw slov'en-ly con-tin'u-al-ly re-cöûnt' ap-pear'ance pleas'ure as-sist'ing mör'ti-fi-ed com'fort-a-ble reş-o-lū'tion mō'ment pup'py 1. ONE day, when she was passing through the gate, to see who was coming down the lane, a little boy upon a horse, who came up from the sea-side every week with fish, noticing her there doing nothing, and seeing her slovenly appearance, called out, "Here! hark, you little girl! open the gate, I say! Come, make haste! Do not stand there like a post! What, are you asleep?" 2. Emma was so much ashamed that she could not move, but hung down her head; and the boy, who had a mind to make her save him the trouble of getting off from his horse, continued to talk to her in the same manner he had begun. 3. "Why, you little sloven! open the gate, I say! If you do not, I will tell the cook of you, and she will tell her mistress, and I shall get you turned out of the house." 4. Thus was Emma continually mortified by one person or another, and losing every pleasure and amusement which her brothers and sisters were indulged in because she was never ready to join in them. 5. They often went to walk in the charming woods and meadows which surrounded the house, and were sometimes sent with the servant to carry comfortable things to their poor, sick neighbors, from whom they received, in return, a thousand thanks, and prayers to God for their happiness; but Emma could have no share in either, for she was never with them, and they knew nothing of her. 6. Once, when their grandfather sent his coach to bring them to his house, Emma was not to be found. After seeking for her all over the house to no purpose, they at length found her in the garden, with her shoes wet and covered with mould, her frock in the same condition, and her hands and arms dirty quite up to the elbows. 7. Her mother said that the horses should not be kept a moment longer; the coachman was desired to drive on; and Emma was left to spend the day in the nursery, from which she was ordered not to stir. 8. There she spent a gloomy day indeed for she had no means of amusing herself, to make time pass lightly on. She had no pleasure in reading; so that all the pretty books which had been bought for her were of no use. 9. She could not play with her doll, for it had no clothes; they were all lost or burnt; and she had suffered a little puppy to play with her work-bag till both that and the work that was in it, thread-case, cotton, and every thing else, were all torn to pieces. 10. The only thing she found to do was, to sit down by the window, look at the road, and cry, till her brothers and sisters returned. Then she heard them recount the pleasure they had enjoyed, and talk of the pretty things they had seen. 11. When she saw how happy they were, she determined that she would no longer be called a careless girl. She promised her mother to reform, and her brothers and sisters were very kind in assisting her to keep her resolution. She is now a very good girl. |