Golden Moments Read online

brought me one. Stop,stop; I have not had my third guess yet. Let me see: I gave myskipping-rope to Sally Brown. Oh, Phil, is it a skipping-rope?"

  Philip laughed.

  "Yes," said he, "it is a skipping-rope with fine painted handles. It isthe prettiest I could find in the shop."

  And Philip opened the parcel.

  "Oh, what a beauty!" said Maud; "it is far prettier than mine was. Andwhat nice rope! Oh, Phil, how good of you!"

  "Well, now let me see if you can skip with it," said Philip, giving itinto her hands.

  And Maud began to skip.

  "It is splendid," said she; "it almost skips of itself. I never skippedwith such a skipping-rope before. It is the thing I wanted most, Philip.How came you to think of it?"

  "Why," said Philip, "that was not very hard. You gave your rope tolittle Sally because she was a poor little girl, and her mother couldnot buy one for her. So I thought it was the best present I could giveyou, and the best surprise, and I took a walk into Linton to thetoy-shop there, and though I saw all sorts of toys, I only asked forskipping-ropes, and I bought the prettiest that the shop-keeper had tosell. I am glad you like it."

  "Yes, I like it very much. I could skip all day with it."

  "Well, don't do that, for I want to have a hopping-race with you, andthen we will try the new jump. Where is it?"

  "It is just at the end of the playground, over hurdles. They are notvery high, and I think I can jump over them. I know you can, and nowthat you are here I will try."

  And Maud put her skipping-rope into the brown paper, and laid it on thebench.

  "We will hop down to the hurdles, and then we will have a grandjumping-match," said Philip.

  "There's no compassion like a penny."]

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  AN EVENTFUL JOURNEY.

  Patty was fifteen when she left home for the first time to pay a visitto her Aunt Martha in London. Patty's home was in the country (for herfather was a farmer), so she was very eager to see all the wonders ofLondon. Her father drove her into the market-town very early on themorning of her departure, and as it was a very busy day with him, he wasobliged to leave her in the coach office all by herself, as the Londoncoach was not expected to start for half an hour. Patty kissed herfather with tears in her eyes, and he blessed her; and telling her to bea good girl and "not learn silly town ways," he strode off, whip inhand, towards the market-place, leaving Patty alone with herpossessions.

  They were not many--a leathern trunk that held all her wardrobe, abasket of flowers that hid a dozen of the largest and freshest eggs fromher mother's poultry-yard, and last--to Patty's extreme annoyance--adoll that her mother had insisted on making and sending to little Betsy,Aunt Martha's youngest child. Patty herself had not long passed the agefor loving dolls, and was, therefore, all the more sensitive on thesubject; so when the coach came thundering into the yard, and she wascalled to take her place by a man who addressed her as "Little Missy,"she was ready to shed tears of vexation. Patty had to remember hermother's words, to "take great care of the doll, as it had been a lot oftrouble to make," otherwise she might have been tempted to leave itbehind, or let it drop out of the coach window.

  Windsor was passed after a time, then Staines, and as the twilight cameon the coach was going at a good pace, with the last rays of sunset tothe left behind it, and the dark stretch of Hounslow Heath, with itsdismal gallows, in front. Suddenly the coach stopped, and was surroundedby three men on horseback, armed with pistols, their faces hidden behindblack crape masks. The ladies screamed, the men turned pale andtrembled, the guard made a faint show of resistance, but was at onceoverpowered; the driver looked on with apparent indifference while thecoach was ransacked.

  Patty had nothing worth taking--neither watch, jewels, nor money; butwhen asked by one of the men what she had, she held out the doll, almosthoping that he might take it, but he only laughed loudly. In a shorttime the coach was allowed to proceed on its way, Patty being the onlytraveller who had not been robbed.

  Very glad was Patty to see her uncle's kind face when the coach stoppedin London at the end of its journey, and great was the excitement whenit became known that they had been attacked by the way. When Patty toldthe story of the highwaymen to her aunt, and how she had offered themher doll, Aunt Martha gave a cry of horror.

  "La, child; you were nearer the truth than you knew!" she said; andtaking a pair of scissors, she cut the stitches that held together therag body of the doll, and there fell out some golden guineas on thetable, that the farmer had sent to his sister to pay for his Patty whileshe was in London.

  Patty enjoyed her visit to London, and came home again quite safely, asdid the doll, which Patty asked if she might keep in remembrance of thateventful journey.

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  BIRTHDAYS.

  Laura had a birthday last week, and asked some children to have tea withher, and we went, but I don't think any of us enjoyed it one bit. Ettyand I went, and our governess, Miss Ashton, went too; and we were veryglad of that, for we like Miss Ashton, and she takes care of us, becauseEtta isn't very strong. Laura has no brothers or sisters, poor thing! soshe doesn't know how to behave; and Miss Ashton tells us we ought to besorry for her, and so we are, only she needn't be _quite_ sodisagreeable.

  Laura was very grandly dressed. She had a new cream muslin hat on, and afrock with puffs and things on the sleeves, and all worked about in thatpretty pattern Etty likes so much. Then she had on a pale-green sash,and thin bronze shoes, and white silk socks. You never saw anything sosilly! We went with Miss Ashton and Miss Morris--that's Laura'sgoverness--into a field and played games; but Laura was so disagreeable,she kept on saying, "But it's _my_ birthday!" if any one else suggesteda game, and she wouldn't think of anything nice herself.

  At last Miss Morris suggested _Oranges and Lemons_, and Laura thoughtshe'd like that; so we began to play, Miss Ashton and Miss Morrisholding hands for the arch. But Laura didn't like me to hold her by herfrock, and when I held her sash it came undone, and she was angry, andsaid I hit her with a little twig I had in my hand, but that wasn'ttrue. So, as she was cross, we all sat down till it was tea-time, andafter that we went away. Etty and I _were_ glad to be home again.

  I was telling mother all about it when we came home; for _my_ birthdaywas yesterday, and _I_ was to have a party too, and I didn't want Lauraat my birthday party. Mother looked grave, and told me she wished Laurato be invited; and then I said--you see, I didn't think what I wassaying--"But it's _my_ birthday, mother!" Then I saw Etty looking at me,and felt so ashamed, because it was just like Laura, of whom I had beencomplaining. Mother wasn't angry: she only said she hoped I would setLaura a better example, and let her see that people should not beselfish, even on their birthdays.

  Well, my party was yesterday. Etty and I _did_ work hard, and we hadlots of games, and took it in turns to choose them; but I forgot allabout setting Laura a good example until everybody said good-by, andtold us how much they had enjoyed it. Laura threw her arms round my neckwhen she said good-by. She didn't say anything else until she gotoutside the door, then she put in her head to tell us, "Next time youcome to tea, Georgy, you and Etty shall choose _all_ the games!"

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  A MOTHER'S PROPHECY.

  "Well, children, have you been good at school?" inquired their mother,as Lina and Marie ran gleefully up the path.

  "Oh, so good!" promptly answered Marie, clapping her fat little hands asif to applaud her own virtue. "We danced in a ring till Dolly was sogiddy I had to sit down."

  "Poor Dolly!" said Mrs. Wolf.

  "Oh! she'll be better soon," said Marie cheerfully. "She's lying backbecause she's faint--at least, she says so; but I do believe the realreason is she likes it better than being at the bottom of the bag."

  "Very likely she does," said Mrs. Wolf, smiling at Marie's sp
eech, forthe little four-year-old girl quite believed her doll felt things as shedid. Then turning to Lina, "And what have you done, my darling?"

  Lina was seven years old, and could read and write nicely, and was in ahigher form in the school than Marie, whose school-work was, veryproperly, mostly play.

  "We did a new sort of lesson to-day, mother," said Lina. "See!" and shehanded a book to her mother, who stooped down to be on a level with thelittle scholar.

  "Open it at page forty-six, please, mother."

  "Yes; here it is, but it is only a picture of a rabbit," said Mrs. Wolf.

  "That is right," said Lina: "we all looked at that picture, and then wehad to