Part 5 (1/2)
Watts--
”Let dogs delight to bark and bite, For G.o.d has made 'em so; Let bears and lions growl and fight, For 'tis their nature too.
But, children, _you_ s'ould _never_ let Your angry _pa.s.s'ons_ rise!
Your little hands were _never_ made To sc'atch each other's eyes.”
----so I was not mad at him, 'cause he didn't _know_ he ought to love p.u.s.s.y.
”I _s'apped_ nurse the other day, 'cause she made me come out of the water before I wanted to, and _that_ was _very_ naughty; I begged her pardon, though, and gave her a piece of my _tandy_, that papa had brought me. Now, my dear peoples, I think that is long enough. S'pose we sing, 'I want to be an angel.'”
[Ill.u.s.tration: PLAYING CHURCH.]
Wasn't that a cunning little sermon? It put me in mind of how I used to play church in my childhood, long ago; when my young brother, dear little Davy, would stand on a chair, while I sat on my stool at his feet, and preach a sermon something like Robby's. Darling Davy! I fancied I could see his sweet face and earnest eyes looking down at me, from his happy home in heaven that Sunday afternoon; for he closed those dark eyes on this weary earth many long years since, and I never think of him now but as standing on the chair in our father's study (with, perhaps, mother looking in, unknown to him), and preaching from some simple text that we knew and loved, in quaint, yet childish words. Ah, well! perhaps it was better so, than that he should have lived to be a gray-headed old bachelor like ”brother Jose!”
So the children all sang the hymn, and that was the end of church. We pa.s.sed the rest of the afternoon telling Bible stories, and repeating hymns, and after tea it was clear once more, and dry enough to go out on the bluff.
You may be sure, we were all in famous spirits Monday morning, and ready for any sort of a frolic. Who could help being good humored with such company as my little neighbors? Mr. Lawson left us in the first train for the city; but, to make up, who should have come down in the early morning boat, but Tom Halstead and Miss Elsie Bluejay--or Brandlaw, I ought to say, since I know her name now; and they drove straight up to the Mansion House, of course--who wouldn't, when Neighbor Nelly was there? The children received Tom with shouts of joy; and he looked so handsome and happy, and his great black eyes sparkled so with good humor and fun, that I felt quite ready to admit him into my circle of little people that I knew and loved. Neighbor Nelly and he were an admirable contrast in point of appearance, and I shouldn't be surprised if the last remark made to me in strict confidence, by my friend Tom in his account of her, should come true some day.
I wish I could sketch a little picture of our party as we cl.u.s.tered together on the piazza, to show what manner of people we were then; and another, of our appearance in the water afterward. Ten o'clock was the hour for bathing that morning; so we each armed ourselves with our bathing clothes and a prodigious towel, like the main sail of a fis.h.i.+ng smack, and rushed down to the beach; that is, the younger members; Aunt Elsie, Mrs. Lawson, and I walked soberly along. Then we popped into separate bathing houses, still looking like respectable and responsible members of society, and popped out five minutes afterward--scarecrows!
spooks! animated rag-bags! with the last vestige of our gentility and good looks departed.
Aunt Elsie had taken leave of a most beautiful brown ”front” and fourteen luxuriant curls, the absence of which gave her an appearance very like a staid bald-headed owl; particularly as she would keep on her very round spectacles, and wore a pair of extremely long-fingered green cotton gloves. The long ends of the glove fingers, waving about in the water, were not unlike the owl's claws; while her gray woollen bathing dress might have pa.s.sed for a new sort of flannel feathers. A mortified blue sunbonnet, with all the canes out, was perched lop-sided on her head, and she wore a pair of bathing shoes, like brown poultices. The rest of us were just as bad, though; I was an ogre in green flannel, Tom and Jimmy monkeys in red, Mrs. Lawson tolerably lady-like in blue, with white tape tr.i.m.m.i.n.gs, and Neighbor Nelly a ridiculous little old jumping Jenny in white, with gorgeous red facings; and all in hats that defied our best friends to know us in.
How we laughed at each other, and then made haste over the sand, which was so hot that it nearly scorched our feet, and plumped into the nice cool ocean, where ever so many other frights were already hopping about.
Now for a rush into the deep water! here comes a big wave! down, down now! and over our heads it went! dousing us as it had Gipsey the Sat.u.r.day night, only we didn't squeal.
Presently, some people who had come from the next hotel, began dancing the ”Lancers” in the water, ducking under instead of bowing, and seeming to have such a good time, that nothing would suit the children but that they must begin dancing, too; in consequence of which a wave twice as high as usual came roaring up, and carried Neighbor Nelly right off her feet. Under the water she went, and for an instant we were quite frightened; but presently up she popped laughing, and trying to squeeze the salt water out of her eyes.
However, that put a stop to the dancing; and here let me tell you, that surf bathing is always a pretty venturesome thing to attempt, unless you grasp the ropes firmly, or have hold of some older and stronger person's hand.
There was one gentleman flouris.h.i.+ng about near us, who seemed bent upon trying how many odd things he could do in the water. Presently we saw him going down head first, and then his feet coming up in the air like a duck's! It looked so comical to see any one besides a duck standing upside down in the water, that we all burst out laughing, and just then along came another billow, and treated us each to a mouthful of salt water!
By this time we had been in long enough for one day, for you should always remember to come out before you feel chilled, and so we waded to the sh.o.r.e, looking more outlandish than ever, now the bathing dresses were all soaked, and hurried into the houses to get dry and dressed.
Surf bathing is a famous thing to give you an appet.i.te; and I don't wonder Mr. Laird provides so bountiful and well cooked a dinner, when I think of the famis.h.i.+ng five hundred people that were to be fed the day I was there, and every day beside. The ”Charge of the Light Brigade” was nothing to the charge we made upon the dishes; and as the dining room is sensibly arranged with tables accommodating about a dozen people each, we all sat together; and had such a merry time that two or three cross old dames looked sharply at our party, very curious to know what all the laughing was about. Our small friend Gipsey was the cause of it, partly, for he posted himself beside each of our chairs in turn, and made such surprising and despairing hops and skips after bits of chicken held up beyond his reach, that he very nearly turned a somerset each time.
We rewarded his patience at last by giving him some bones, which he crunched under the table with perfect satisfaction, while we were discussing the ice cream and other good things.
In the afternoon I was sitting reading the paper on the upper piazza, and the children were amusing themselves in their own fas.h.i.+on near me.
Nelly, with another little girl, whose name seemed to be ”Baby,” for they never called her anything else, were manufacturing a resplendent doll's dress for a waxen angel in a white spencer--or whatever those muslin concerns are called, which the ladies wear with colored skirts nowadays, and a black velvet pointed belt; while the boys, with their arms fraternally entwined, were interchanging confidences on the important subjects of ”My peg top,” ”Don't you think thirty-eight cents is a tremendous price for kites?” ”How many gla.s.s agates have you got?”
and so on--when Tom, looking very mischievous, suddenly lifted up dolly by the toe of her shoe, and asked, ”Why, Nelly, what's the matter with this doll; has she got the spinal complaint?”
”No, you goose,” said Nelly, laughing. ”What makes you ask that?”