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LONDON:
THOMAS DEAN AND SON,
THREADNEEDLE STREET

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CONTENTS.

STORY OF THE KIND GOVERNESS AND HER

PUPILS.

STORY OF THE DEAF GENTLEMAN.

INTERESTING STORY OF PATTY BELL, THE

LITTLE ORPHAN.

THE HAPPY REFORMATION OF COUSIN JAMES.

7
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FIVE SENSES.

BEAR! dear Miss Murray," exclaimed
both Mary and Julia Belford, as they
clung round their governess, eager to
1 welcome her return from a visit to
( her friends. I am so glad you have
come back," said Mary. "And so
am I," echoed Julia; and so I am sure little Freddy
will be, and cousin James, too;" and, as though to
verify the assertion, both the boys at that moment
entered the room. Freddy came up to her in great
glee, holding up his rosy smiling face for a kiss; whilst
cousin James, scarcely giving her a nod, or a hasty
"how d'ye do," cast an enquiring glance on a present
to them all, of books and toys, that was lying on the
table, in the hope of discovering amongst them a packet
of Banbury cakes, knowing that Miss Murray would
pass through that town on her return.

THE FIVE SENSES.

Cousin James was a young East Indian, brought up
in all the self-indulgence of those luxurious and indolent
people, and being the only survivor of a large family of
children, had had the misfortune to have his inclinations
more attended to than his education; he had been over-
petted and admired, and, consequently, was in a fair
way to be spoiled, when, luckily for him, it was deemed
adviseable to send him to England on account of his
health; and he had been, therefore, consigned by his
parents to the care of hi' uncle and aunt Belford, with
a thousand tender injunctions as to his comforts, and a
positive interdict against his going to school, or studying
at home, till he was perfectly well, and I am sorry to
add, willing, of which latter condition he seemed in no
hurry to evince any symptoms, though he did abun-
dantly of restored health and vigour; but as he was
naturally neither deficient in talent, or good temper, his
friends were in hopes of eradicating his faults, and
improving his manners, by his association with his
cousins, and being under the daily notice of Miss
Murray.
"You cannot be more pleased, my dears," said that
young lady, "at seeing me than I am to be with you
again, though I leave many dear relations and friends
for another six months: but then I am treated so kindly
by your papa and mamma, and have so much to gratify
me in your docility and attachment, that I should be
inexcusable, did I suffer myself to be dull on my
return. I only wish that every one who, like me, has
been obliged to seek a home amongst -trangers, could

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Mr. Belford shol-wir i his children the planets.

THE FIVE SENSES.

speak of it and feel as I do. But now," added Miss
Murray, in her usually cheerful manner, tell me how
lessons have gone on in my absence."
papa says he has been governess this time," said
Julia; "he has taken us out almost every fine morning,
and told us the names, and showed us so many beauties,
that we never noticed before, in little wild flowers and
different grasses." "Then, on a clear night, he has
pointed out the stars to us," added Mary; "telling us
which were planets, and showing us some of the con-
stellations, so that we shall know them again when we
see them."
And papa says we have five senses," chimed in little
Freddy;-" And more too, I should think," said cousin
James, rather out of humour, at failing to discover any-
thing resembling a paper of cakes amongst the packages
before him. 0, no, only five, cousin James," answered
the little boy; I'll tell you their names;" and he be-
gan to count on his fingers, "first, there is SEEING,
then comes HEARING, then FEELING, then SMELLING,
and last, TASTING."
"'Stead of last, that ought to be first," said cousin
James. "But why, Master Sedgewick?" enquired
Miss Murray. "Because it is the best, to be sure,"
answered the rude young epicure. "But you must
prove it to be the best," rejoined Miss Murray; "your
merely saying so will convince no one."
"Well, then," said cousin James, "can't I eat my
,dinner without seeing, supposing I was blind; and
without hearing, supposing I was deaf; and even with-

THE FIVE SENSES.

out feeling, if somebody would put it into my mouth
for me; and I don't care much about smelling, when
it is once on my plate, though I do like to sniff at it on
top of the kitchen stairs, when there is anything savoury
going on below. So you see I could do with that one
sense without any other, better than I could do with all
the rest, without that one."
But, even admitting that you would do so," returned
Miss Murray, "it does not follow that other people
could, and, therefore, you have not proved what you
asserted; to be deprived of any one of the five senses,
would subject us to an infinite number of inconve-
niences. To lose the power of tasting, would undoubt-
edly be a severe infliction; but to preserve it on condi-
tion of giving up the other four, would be a much
worse evil still; consider what a delight it is to hear
beautiful music, lively and clever conversation, the
voices of those we love. Then how much there is in
being able to see; for instance, have you not just heard
how pleased your cousin Julia was in being shown the
minute beauties of even the commonest flower ?"
0, I don't care for any flower but the baker's," in-
terrupted cousin James, who having been encouraged
by his attendants in India, to consider flippancy as wit,
was seldom at a loss for pert answers; "there's some
use in that, it makes us nice tarts and cakes;" and then
unable longer to bear his uncertainty as to a present of
the latter, he added, "I suppose you did'nt come
through Banbury this time, did you, Miss Murray?"
"What makes you think that I did not?" "Because,"

THE FIVE SENSES.

answered cousin James, hesitating a little, and colour-
ing with just a very faint tinge of shame, I thought
that every body who travelled through Banbury bought
some cakes."
"Perhaps, as that is the custom, I did so too," an-
swered Miss Murray. 0! then its all right," exclaimed
the youth, with great animation; "I thought, as I
did'nt see them, that you had not brought any."
1 "That would be no proof," said Miss Murray, for
I may have found them so particularly good as to be
induced to eat them all before I got home, as you did
the early strawberries you purchased before I went
away." Cousin James looked for a moment rather
abashed at having this piece of selfishness brought to
his recollection, but disappointment being the stronger
feeling, he muttered something that implied it was
natural and right to expect cakes from Banbury.
But suppose I brought you, instead of a nice cake
from Banbury, a nice book from Oxford," said Miss
Murray. "I don't call books nice," grumbled the
ill-educated boy. "Except the cookery book," said
Mary, slily; "I often see you reading that." Aye,
there's some pleasure in reading that," answered cousin
James;" and I only wish that I could always get such
a lot of eggs and cream, and almonds and spices, and
other nice things, that they tell us is wanted for even
a little pudding."
"I almost believe, cousin," said Julia, laughing,
that you never think of any thing but eating," O,
yes, but I do, though; for, when I have done eating, I

9

THE FIVE SENSES.

think of sleeping," answered cousin James; half restored
to good humour, by having an opportunity of showing
what he considered to be his wit, though the joke was
against himself.
"Your thinking of sleeping, according to your own
account," observed Miss Murray, "is the natural con-
sequences of over feeding; or, as we are speaking of
the five senses, I might say, of gratifying the one sense
of tasting, to the prejudice of the other four; for too
great an indulgence of any one of them, must tend to
blunt the acuteness of the others; and when asleep,
though they still act in a degree, yet it is without our
control; therefore, to devote more time to slumber
than what nature requires, is to limit not only the
period, but our powers of enjoyment. Eating and
sleeping, and reading the cookery book," she added,
laughing; pray, Master James, with these three ways
for disposing of your time, what sort of a man do you
expect to be?" "A capital one, I hope," returned
cousin James, "tall, stout, and with a great pair of
black whiskers."
"Then, I think," said Miss Murray, "I know a
young lady who, if she should be willing to wait till
you are ten years older, will make you a very suitable
wife; she, like you, gives the preference to one sense
far above all the others, though that one is not tasting.
Seeing is the favourite with her; not that she cares to
read any more than you do; or to look at a beautiful
country, flowers, or stars, as Mary and Julia do; what
she most delights in beholding is herself, her dresses,

10

THE FIVE SENSES.

and trinkets, for which purpose, she spends a great por-
tion of her time before the looking-glass, trying on
various ornaments, and admiring her own beauty;
never considering that, perhaps, that same glass may,
in the brief course of a few years, reflect a very dif-
ferent appearance, though from the same object, when
it may be too late to attain the cultivation of mind, and
agreeable manners, that so well compensate to their
possessor, for the decay of personal attractions."
"Is she very beautiful?" asked Mary. "Perfectly
so, as to complexion and regularity of features," an-
swered Miss Murray; "but the spirit and intelligence
that should give expression to both form and face, is
wanting, and she more resembles a wax doll, than a
being endowed with thought and feeling; it is Ellen
Elton that I speak of." "I thought you did," cried
Mary; but what a nice girl her sister Lucy is, I like
her a great deal the best." "So everybody does that
I have heard speak of the two," returned the governess;
"and yet she has neither fine features nor a brilliant
complexion; but then she has what her sister is defi-
cient in, for Lucy has taken as much pains to ornament
her mind, as Ellen has her person."
Miss Murray would, perhaps, have farther illustrated
her subject of the five senses, had not a loud yawn from
cousin James interrupted her; having but little relish
for such discourse, his eyes were beginning to close, and
he was swaying to and fro, in some danger of tumbling
off his chair.
"0, fie, Master Sedgwick," said Miss Murray, going

11

THE FIVE SENSES.

up to him, "you surely would not be so rude as to fall
asleep in the company of ladies ? if you hope to be a
capital man, as you term it, you must be polite; or else,
though you should grow up tall and stout, and with a
great pair of whiskers, you will not be half so much
admired as you would be if well-behaved, although
short, thin, and with no whiskers at all. I am going
now to divide the toys and books; and perhaps I may
find a cake or two from Banbury, though you could
not."
At these words cousin James sprung from his seat
with an alacrity he seldom evinced, made a stammering
apology, and followed with the rest of the young people
to the table, out of the drawer of which Miss Murray
took a small paper bag, containing but two cakes, which
having divided, she presented a half to each of them,
looking as grave as she possibly could, for it was a great
effort to refrain from at least smiling, perceiving as she
did the effect produced on the countenance of cousin
James, by the smallness of the gift. Little Freddy, as
well as his sisters, saw and understood it too, and with
the truthfulness of early childhood, that suggested no
necessity for concealment, and the generous feeling that
had been nurtured in him, immediately offered his por-
tion to the selfish boy, excusing himself to Miss Murray
for so doing, by saying, Please ma'am to let me give
mine to cousin James, because I know he will like to
have it, for whenever we talked of your coming back,
he used to say he longed for the time too, as he was
sure you would bring us some cakes from Banbury."

12

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Miss Murray distributing the presents to her little pupils.

THE FIVE SENSES.

This severe though unintended reproof, and practical
lesson against selfishness, from a little fellow so much
his junior, was not without effect.
"No, Freddy," said cousin James, colouring partly
with shame, but more with mortification, I am not
such a pig as that, neither, whatever folks may think of
me;" and he felt almost inclined to indulge his pride at
the expense of his favourite sense, by resigning his half
to the child; but that was too great an advance in
improvement to be expected as yet, for, a few months
back, he would unscrupulously have taken Freddy's
share, if offered, promising to make it up to him some
way or other, indeed it mattered not how, as he would
in all probability have forgotten the circumstance as
soon as the gratification produced by it was over.
You are a dear kind-hearted little boy, Freddy,"
said Miss Murray, kissing him; "and even had your
cousin been willing to take your cake, which I felt
assured he would not be," she added, as encourage-
ment to Master James, "there would be no occasion
for his doing so, for see here;" and again opening the
drawer, she showed them a large packet not as yet
broken into, and having now given them a whole one
a piece, the rest were put by till next day, and the toys
and books distributed.

13

FIVE SENSES.

CHAPTER II.

N the following morning, whilst Miss
Murray and her pupils were preparing
for their accustomed walk, Mary told
her many other occurrences that had
taken place in her absence;-of a party
her mamma had had, in which were
Miss Ryland, a blind lady, and Mr. Sedley, a gentleman
who had wholly lost his sense of hearing. Mamma
allowed Julia and me to be in the drawing-room for an
hour or two after tea," continued Mary, and we could
not help noticing all the time, how much happier Miss
Ryland seemed to be than Mr. Sedley; so I suppose it
is a great deal better to hear than it is to see."
It would very naturally seem so to you, from what
you then remarked," answered Miss Murray, because
you judged at once from what was immediately before
your observation; when you saw them they were both

THE FIVE SENSES.

in society; perhaps, if you were to visit them when at
home and alone, you might think differently, so we will
pay our respects to them in the course of our walk."
Both Mary and Julia said they should like it very
much, and so did cousin James, recollecting that Mr.
Sedley's garden was famed as having the best and
largest quantity of fruit, in the whole neighbourhood.
I once spent some months with a family," said Miss
Murray, as they pursued their way, "in which was a
gentleman both deaf and blind; he was not born so, but
had lost the use of those two important senses, after the
age of fourteen years; he was therefore fully aware of
his great privation." "How dreadful!" exclaimed
Mary, quite deaf and quite blind?" Yes, quite so,"
answered Miss Murray; "he could neither see a gleam
of the strongest light held up before his eyes, or hear
the loudest sound, though it was close to his ears."
"Poor, poor gentleman," cried Julia, her eyes filling
with tears of commiseration.
"It was, indeed, a most melancholy case," rejoined
Miss Murray; "but the human mind, when well regu-
lated, is so much disposed to accommodate itself to
circumstances, that even this unfortunate, in his dark-
ness and solitude, was not only desirous of life, but
often cheerful; he lived as it were in a little world of
his own creating, or rather, I should say, imagined out
of his thoughts. I have frequently heard him convers-
ing, question and answer, with himself." "How
curious," said Mary; "but, I suppose, as he could
neither HEAR nor SEE, he used to think he was alone,

15

THE FIVE SENSES.

or forget that he was not." "His friends, to relieve
the sameness of his existence, would often converse a
little with him," said Miss Murray; "How do you
think that was managed?"
They each declared their inability to guess, for as he
could not see, they could not talk to him with their
fingers, nor write on a slate, as they did at Mr. Sedley's,
for him to read it.
Another of the FIVE SENSES," resumed Miss Mur-
ray, "came to his aid, and this was FEELING, which,
from frequent use, and having his attention so much
fixed upon it, became so acute, that it is wonderful
how quickly, and accurately, he understood us; we used
to write, or rather trace the letters of each word, on the
palm of his hand, with our finger; thus we could make
or answer any enquiry on his part, or tell him anything
we thought might interest or amuse him."
The young people, even little Freddy, expressed great
sympathy for this singularly afflicted person. 0, how
I should have liked to have brought him plenty of
flowers," cried Julia; for I dare say he had the sense
of SMELLING, even more than we have, the same as he
had of FEELING."
"That he had, my dear," said Miss Murray, "and
he would have been most grateful for such attention."
"And I would have learnt to trace letters on his hand,"
said Mary. And I could have led him about," cried
Freddy, where the grass was softest, and the sun was
shining." All this was done for him, dears," answered
their pleased geverness, for there were several warm-

16

THE FIVE SENSES.

hearted little girls and boys living in the same house
with him, and he was very fond of them, although he
could neither see nor hear them. But, Master James,
you have not yet told us what you would have done for
him."
Why, if he had'nt money to buy it for himself,"
answered cousin James, perhaps I might have brought
him something nice to eat." But, supposing he had
sufficient money to purchase for himself?" rejoined
Miss Murray, such a consideration ought not to deter
you from making an occasional present, if you thought
it would gratify him to receive it. It would be very
hard, because a person is able to buy for themselves,
that they should never be shown those pleasing atten-
tions that it is necessary for others to procure in order
to offer. But here we are at Miss Ryland's, and Master
James, as you are the tallest, and our squire for the
present, suppose you knock at the door."
Miss Ryland, with the quickness of hearing peculiar
to blind persons, was aware of their approach long
before cousin James's rap, which he took care should be
such as became his ideas of self-importance. Feeling
her way to the parlour door, she eagerly welcomed them
all. I hope you have come to spend a long morning
with me," she said, "for I am dreadfully dull when
alone; I get so tired of playing the same tunes over and
over again." "I believe your maid, Nancy, reads to
you sometimes, does she not?" enquired Miss Murray.
" 0, yes," returned the blind lady; "but then, when I
was a girl, and could see, I never cared much about

17

THE FIVE SENSES.

books, so I got tired of them too. I am always wanting
some one to chat with, and tell me all the news and
gossip of the village."
Miss Murray was perfectly aware of this, so she did
her best to render her conversation such as was cal-
culated to amuse the very frivolous mind of poor Miss
Ryland, who sighed deeply when she departed, and
earnestly begged that she would come again soon.
Mary and Julia both noticed the very dull look with
which she bid them good bye, so different from the
expression of her countenance whilst they remained, and
what it had been when she had visited their mamma;
this they observed to Miss Murray. "I thought you
would notice it, my dears," she returned; but you must
not attribute it solely to her misfortune, for I fear that
Miss Ryland, unless constantly engaged in paying or
receiving visits, would be almost as dull as she is now,
even were her sight restored, never having cultivated
the useful art of amusing herself."
A few minutes brought them to the door of Mr.
Sedley, where cousin James had the pleasure of again
giving a magnificent double knock. They found him
alone in his study, though he did not consider himself
to be so, for he was surrounded by a well-chosen col-
lection of books, several of which laid open upon the
table. Unlike Miss Ryland, he was more inclined to
be vexed than pleased, at their visit; but, being both
polite and good-tempered, he quickly recovered his
composure, and received them kindly. Mary and Julia
having early learnt to observe and reflect, could not but

18

THE FIVE SENSES.

perceive how cheerful and happy the old gentleman was
in his solitary study, and that it was not their coming
that made him so, for that was evidently, at first, an
unwished-for interruption to his pursuits.
After the first salutations, Miss Murray, by means of
the slate, congratulated him on looking so well and
cheerful; as she understood he had been latterly con-
fined to the house by a sprained foot, and much more
alone than usual.
I am never alone," returned Mr. Sedley, unless
I prefer to be so; for I have only to step into this
room," he added, pointing round to his book shelves,
and I am immediately in the society of some of the
wisest and best men of all ages, and many nations; nor
do I want for the enlivening of wit to recreate a lighter
hour, for I have agreeable as well as intelligent com-
panions among them. Ah! my dear young gentle-
man," he continued, addressing cousin James, "let me
recommend you to early cultivate a good taste."
Cousin James felt it to be quite in his power to
answer that he had; for he had heard nothing of the
previous part of what Mr. Sedley had uttered, having
seated himself close to the library window, his whole
attention engrossed in the contemplation of a fine
strawberry-bed immediately beneath it; but when the
old gentleman explained that he meant a love of read-
ing, and a desire to acquire knowledge, Cousin James
checked what he was about to write down, for that
was quite another matter to a taste for raspberry tarts
and Banbury cakes; so he listened in silence, availing

19

THE FIVE SENSES.

himself of Mr. Sedley's infirmity as an excuse for not
replying.
A microscope was now produced, for the entertainment
of the young folks. Mary and Julia were delighted,
and only fearful of tiring their kind entertainer, who
had a variety of minute objects, such as the seeds of
plants, and very small insects, ready to shew them
through it. Cousin James was pleased too, for a little
while, and might have been so, longer, only he began to
fear that there would be no time for the expected treat
in the garden, by which he had alone been induced to
come; his imagination was revelling in the thought of
what a grand thing it would be if gardeners could make
strawberries grow really as large as they would appear
through such a powerful magnifier, and he longed to at
least indulge his fancy by seeing one so much increased
in size, though he could not his taste, in eating it;
besides, to ask for it would, perhaps make Mr. Sedley
think of inviting them to a walk in the garden, which
it certainly did, with an apology for not having done so
before, adding, You will excuse my accompanying you,
on account of my foot." "0, certainly," returned
Miss Murray, on the slate. "I will take Mary, Julia,
and Freddy; Master Sedgewick will be delighted to
remain with you till our return."
That I'm sure I shant," eagerly exclaimed Cousin
James, on hearing her read, in a sort of whisper to
herself, what she had written, before presenting it to
Mr. Sedley. 0, fie! Master Sedgewick," said Miss
Murray, you surely would not be so ill-bred as not to

20

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. edlei.y acomr.i ri:...i:; his ,young friends to the
summer-house.

THE FIVE SENSES.

propose staying with Mr. Sedley, as he is unable to
walk; you being the eldest, and a gentleman, are the
most proper person to do so."
O, I don't mind proposing," said Cousin James,
"' if I could be sure he would not keep me; but that
would be dreadful, you know."
It was almost impossible to help laughing at the
energy with which this was said; but as it would have
been both unfeeling and rude to Mr. Sedley, who could
not have understood the cause of her mirth, Miss
Murray commanded her countenance, presenting the
slate in defiance of the alarmed and breathless look of
poor Cousin James,/whose seeming proposal, to his great
relief, was declined with an acknowledgement of which
it was wholly undeserving.
Upon second thoughts," said Mr. Sedley, "I will
take my book, and accompany you as far as the sum-
mer-house, where I shall like to spend an hour or two
this fine morning; you will find the strawberries now in
perfection; pray do not spare them, or any thing else
that you may like to partake of."
If any one of the little party felt too modest to take
advantage of this kind permission, you may be sure
that it was not Cousin James; on the contrary, he
walked forward before the rest, that he might have first
choice, bobbing about in all directions, looking eagerly
up to the cherry trees, and down amongst the straw-
berries, and from side to side at the currants and goose-
berries, hoping to find some ripened, though the season
was as yet early.

21

THE FIVE SENSES.

But poor Cousin James, in his haste to gratify his
one favourite sense, was doomed, this morning, to be-
come better acquainted with the other four, than he at
all liked or expected. Making a hurried snatch at a
particularly large double strawberry, he took hold of a
nettle that was hidden by the leaves; the sudden smart
caused him to jerk his hand in so rough a manner, that
the tender fruit was smashed in his grasp; so he lost
the expected treat, and had, instead of TASTING, a
pretty strong idea of what FEELING was; then, in
jumping up to reach some fine-looking cherries, he lost
his balance, and tumbled backwards on a little heap of
manure that laid at the foot of the tree, which being
disturbed by his weight, sent forth a smell not at all
agreeable; so here was another sense for Cousin James
to be annoyed by.
As they knew he was not hurt by his fall, and that
his troubles were all owing to his selfishness, little
Freddy and his sisters could not help laughing, which
sound reaching his ears, he was not a bit better pleased
with the sense of HEARING, than he had been with
those of FEELING and SMELLING; and when he looked
at the dirty state of his jacket and trowsers, he was
equally out of humour with SEEING. "You may laugh,
if you like," cried Cousin James; "but now that I
know, all at once, what the FIVE SENSES are, I am more
than ever sure that TASTING is a great, great deal the
best of them all." Then, followed by the rest, he went
to a cottage at the end of the grounds in which the
gardener lived, that he might get his clothes brushed,

THE FIVE SENSES.

and his face and hands washed, before returning to Mr.
Sedley, in the summer house.
The gardener's wife was frying onions and bits of
meat, all chopped up together, in a pan, and their
savory odour striking on Cousin James's sense of smell-
ing, in a very pleasant manner, he longed to be eating
too. So when he was brushed and washed, he went up
to the fire-place, and began sniffing in such a manner,
that the woman guessed what he wanted, and invited
him to have some.
Whilst she went to fetch a plate, Miss Murray asked
him if it was his intention to give her the trouble he
had already done, for nothing; and then to eat up her
dinner without paying for it too; further enquiring
whether he had any money about him. "I have some
pence in my pocket," answered Cousin James, in no
hurry to take them out; but being assured that he must
give the woman something, even though he did not taste
the savory mess, he handed them to her, and then
eagerly took a large spoonful of what was set before
him, saying Now I'll show you what a famous sense
TASTING is."
But, alas for Cousin James, the gardener's wife was
one of those idle slatterns, who never consider what
they are about, so as they can hurry through their work.
In slicing the onions, she had put in decayed parts with
the sound; and in her carelessness and haste, had taken
stale dripping instead of fresh, pouring into the pan all
the gravy that had settled at the bottom, which was
very stale indeed; the strength of the onions, when

23

THE FIVE SENSES.

frying, had overcome the dripping and the gravy, so
that the whole smelt very good, but when it came to
TASTING one mouthful was quite enough to prove that
to be altogether different. Cousin James thought of
his money; and always liking to have his pennyworth
for his penny, tried another mouthful; but it would
not do; so he was obliged to own, at least to himself,
that the sense of TASTING might be in fault, sometimes,
as well as those of SEEING, HEARING, FEELING, and
SMELLING.
Upon their return to the summer-house, they found
Mr. Sedley had laid down his book, and was apparently
thinking very deeply. "I am going to ask a favour of
you," he said, as Miss Murray held out her hand to
take leave. I want you to undertake a little com-
mission of enquiry, for which my unfortunate loss of
hearing entirely disqualifies myself." Miss Murray
immediately expressed not only her readiness, but the
pleasure she should feel, in obliging him; and Mr.
Sedley proceeded to say:
"A few days ago, I met with an incident that greatly
interested me, trifling as it might perhaps appear to
others. When the weather is warm enough, I fre-
quently read in this room, and that being the case on
Monday last, I brought my books and sat down for a
morning's enjoyment; there came on, soon after, a
sudden and rapid shower. A little girl, who has been
frequently hired by the gardener to assist in weeding,
was employed at the time, close by; seeing that she
continued at her work, though but ill protected from

24

1,.
t, *

.'i" L p e..i F I r, tini g her books to Mr. Scli-ey.

r\
\
n

i: 1

P
;Iji
I r

:...~ 111

'!Ilj~~4~~

THE FIVE SENSES.

the wet, her clothes being but scant and old, I desired
her to come in, and resumed my reading. Before the
rain had ceased, a friend arrived at the house, whom I
had not seen for some time, and on being told where I
was, came to me. As I could not hear him, I had almost
all the talk to myself, and in answer to his enquiry on
the slate, of how I amused myself, I expatiated on the
never-failing delight that I found in reading, and on
the goodness of God in affording me time for such a
relief to my infirmity, for I might have been poor, and
occupied in working for my living. The child was still
with me; she sat on that rustic stool opposite, looking
in my face, and listening to what I said, with an ear-
nestness of attention that I attributed to mere childish
anxiety and wonder; having no idea, then, of what was
really passing through her little brain.
"The shower at length being over, the poor thing
went again to her weeding, after dropping me a curt-
sey, and saying, as I suppose, Thank you, sir,' for I
could see that her lips moved, though I could not hear
what they uttered; my friend then accompanied me
into the house, and I thought no more of the matter.
Being in the summer-house again, next day, I was
reading, as I usually do, with great intentness, when,
suddenly raising my eyes from the page, I saw the little
weeder standing before me on the opposite side of the
table; three or four baby-looking books were in her
hand, tied together with a piece of clean tape; as soon
as she had attracted my notice, she pushed them towards
me, with flushed cheeks and eyes that sparkled with a

25

THE FIVE SENSES.

brightness scarcely conceivable. I never saw so beautiful
and so remarkable a pair of eyes as hers. I was, at first,
too much confused by the study I had been engaged in,
and the unexpectedness of her appearance and action,
to take up and undo the little parcel, which the poor
child perceiving, without being able to account for, a
look of the most painful disappointment shadowed her
countenance; then with the ardour of a young spirit
bent on achieving its good purpose, for such it was, she
untied the tape herself, and rendered fearless by the
consciousness of her motive and desire of success, opened
the books, one after the other, at their title-pages, eager-
ly holding them up before my eyes; and in the next
moment, rapidly turning over the leaves, pointed to the
wood-cuts, with an expression on her features of admir-
ing ecstacy, that she evidently expected to see reflected
in mine, and that seemed to say, You delight in read-
ing, and there's entertainment for you!' The books
were, Jack, the Giant Killer; Goody Two Shoes; and
Cinderella; with other stories of the same kind.
Soon as I could get a moment in which to arrange
my ideas, everything was evident to me that she wished
I should comprehend, so expressive was all she looked
and did. She had not only listened to, but compre-
hended what she had heard me say on the preceding
day; and had in consequence brought me the whole of
her library, thinking, in her untutored simplicity, that
books which had so highly gratified herself, must be
equally pleasing to me.
I was puzzled what to do: I could not bear to

26

THE FIVE SENSES.

undeceive her by refusing her present, neither would
it have been right to chill the warm impulse of so
generous a nature, by seeming less charmed than she
expected me to be; so I thanked her very much,
and then took out my purse, intending to give her far
more than their value, that she might supply her-
self with a fresh stock; but the look she gave me, on
perceiving my design, was such as made me sorry,
for her sake, that I had incurred it. I saw immedi-
ately that there was a delicacy of sentiment about
her, as well as ardour, that must have been inherent;
for where could she have acquired it? and to wound
this feeling would probably be to injure her future cha-
racter; so I returned the purse to my pocket, and again
made the sort of acknowledgment I thought she wished
for, and she left me in full possession of her treasure,
apparently as happy as she would have been, had I
conferred a favour on her, instead of she having be-
stowed one on me.
Now," continued Mr. Sedley, I come to the favour
I would request, Miss Murray, of you: I understand
from the gardener that she is an orphan; I should like
to have some enquiries made of the person with whom
she lives, as to who she is, and what has been her gene-
ral conduct, for I feel strongly inclined to do something
for her more than what mere casual charity might sug-
gest; if I am not greatly mistaken, she has both a
heart and mind highly susceptible of cultivation, and
having no children of my own, or relations, to interfere
with the disposition of my property, I have ample

27

THE FIVE SENSES.

means to afford her education, and to place her, after-
wards, in a more respectable rank in life than what her
friends can now possibly contemplate for her. Her
name is Patty Bell, and she dwells with an old woman
called Widow Barton, in one of the smallest cottages
down Willow-lane."
Miss Murray assured Mr. Sedley that she felt ex-
tremely interested in what he had narrated, and would
visit the widow on the following morning, and immedi-
ately after let him know the result; she then, with her
young charges, took leave.
"I wonder," said Cousin James, as they walked
home, what Mr. Sedley would give for a book worth
having, when he is willing to do so much for a trumpery
present as that he is making such a fuss about." I
cannot exactly say," answered Miss Murray, and I
would not advise you to try to find out." But I
think I shall, though," rejoined Cousin James; I
have got a great many books that I don't care anything
about, except for their binding, that makes them look
so well on the shelf." From which you never take
them; do you, Cousin James ?" asked Mary, laughing.
0, yes, I do, sometimes," said Cousin James, "to dust
them!" And having made this joke at the expense of
his ignorance, he was for a time supremely happy, but
the idea recurred of presenting to Mr. Sedley a book
which should produce to himself some advantage more
than its value; and he again intimated his determina-
tion to do so.
You put me in mind of a story related of one of the

28

THE FIVE SENSES.

kings of France," said Miss Murray; I believe it was
of Louis XI. When he was Dauphin, which is the
same as our Prince of Wales here, he used often to visit
a gardener who was celebrated for the size and delicious
flavour of his fruit; afterwards, upon ascending the
throne, he left off these visits; but his humble friend
the gardener, knowing how much he was interested in
the extraordinary growth of both fruits and vegetables,
thought he might still feel so, though his rank as king
prevented his coming to the garden as he had hitherto
done; he therefore one day took to him an enormous
radish, which for colour and thickness was the most
wonderful thing he had as yet produced. The monarch,
in recompense for this attention, and in remembrance
of many others he had received from him in former
times, ordered his treasurer to pay him the sum of a
thousand crowns.
This great liberality of the king soon became
known all over the village in which the gardener lived,
and the lord of the manor said, as you did just now,
'If his majesty gives so much for a trumpery radish,
what will he not do for me, if I give him my best horse,
which indeed is not to be matched by any other in all
France? my fortune will surely be made.' Accordingly,
he went with his horse to the king's palace, and being
admitted to his presence, begged his majesty's accept-
ance of the animal, bestowing on it, at the same time,
the most extravagant encomiums, winding up by assur-
ing him it was one of the greatest rarities of its species.
The king, on going to the window and beholding the

29

THE FIVE SENSES.

horse, which a groom was purposely parading before it,
readily admitted that it was a most singularly beautiful
creature, but he was not so willing to acknowledge the
disinterested motive that the lord of the manor at-
tempted to impose on his belief.
Finding out, by an adroit question, where he came
from, his majesty directly understood the whole busi-
ness, and turning to the cunning expectant, he said,
' And I, too, have in my possession as great a curiosity,
of its kind, as your horse appears to be of his;' he then
desired an attendant to bring in the radish, which, hav-
ing made suitable acknowledgments for his gift, he
presented to the disappointed courtier, as a valuable
offering in return.
So take care, Master Sedgewick," added Miss Mur-
ray, that you do not get in exchange for your hand-
somely bound volumes, poor Patty Bell's half worn-out
' trumpery,' as you are pleased to call them; though I
certainly think that Mr. Sedley would not easily be
induced to part with them; you may therefore only
obtain thanks, for I believe he can detect motives of
conduct as readily as did king Louis XI."
Cousin James was not a little mortified at having
displayed his selfishness to no purpose and in order to
hide his vexation by creating a laugh, he asked (in allu-
sion to the story) whether that was not the beginning
of the word horse-radish; he would have said origin, but
that was a term he had never learnt the signification of.
I was in hopes, Master Sedgewick," replied Miss
Murray, gravely, that instead of attempting to display

30

THE FIVE SENSES.

your wit, by making a silly jest of this little anecdote,
you would have shown your good sense by applying its
moral. However, I do not despair of you yet," she
added, for her principle in education was rather to en.
courage amendment by cheerful admonition, than to
repress error by too much stern severity. I still
think that you will allow your better feelings and un-
derstanding to triumph over your faults; and then,
perhaps, we may find your jokes more amusing, being
better pointed, than they are at present."

!r11
'I,, III iili

31

THE

FIVE SENSES.

v L CHAPTER III.

SN the following morning, Miss Murray, Mary,
Julia, and the two boys, had a delightful
walk across the meadows, to Willow-lane,
for the purpose of making their visit of
enquiry to Widow Barton. They found her seated at
the open door, busily employed in knitting; she was a
respectable old woman, though dressed in very mean
clothes, but then they were neatly mended and per-
fectly clean; her grey hair was tidily arranged beneath
a plain muslin cap of snowy whiteness, the border
fitting closely round her face; she was altogether a very
prepossessing and venerable looking person. Miss
Murray assuring her she had nothing to say but what
might be for the advantage of the child, begged that
she would allow her to make some enquiries about
Patty Bell.
The widow declaring her perfect willingness to answer

I ~~11 ;

Widow Barton relating the story of Patty Bell.

I
I
i~~~~~
I
I
I

THE FIVE SENSES.

any question that might be asked, showed the little
party into her cottage, and shut the door. Having
placed the only three chairs it contained, for the ac-
commodation of her lady visitors, she offered a couple
of stools, with many apologies, to the young gentlemen,
herself remaining standing; but this neither Miss
Murray or the little girls would permit, and, therefore,
making her sit down in what was evidently her own
peculiar seat; they, with the two boys, established
themselves as they could. Cousin James being in an
unusually good humour, having profited by the lesson
of the preceding day, turned a large empty flower pot
upside down, on which to rest his feet, and seated him-
self on the table, only begging that his cousins would
not fancy he was something nice and want to eat him,
because he was dressed and placed there.
"I suppose you know, Mrs. Barton," said Miss
Murray, "that your grandchild, Patty, is employed in
weeding the garden of Mr. Sedley." "She is no
grandchild of mine," interrupted the Widow; "but,
however, that is of no consequence, for she is just the
same to me as though she was." "Well, then," re-
sumed Miss Murray, "Mr. Selby being, from his
extreme deafness, unfitted to come himself, he has
requested me to enquire for him, with a view to serve
her, for he has taken a strong interest in the child, and
if she is as good as she appears to be, is desirous of
doing something towards educating and providing for
her, in a manner better than her friends may be able
to do."

33

THE FIVE SENSES.

"She has no friends, ma'am, poor little thing," said
the Widow; "no father, no mother, nor any other
relation that I ever heard of; when I am gone from her,
she will stand alone in the wide world, with only God
to protect and love her. It is this thought that makes
me still cling to life, though I am only a burthen on
others, being unable now to work hard enough for my
own support: Squire Sedley is a kind gentleman, and
he will have his reward."
He has it even now," answered Miss Murray; "in.
the consciousness of possessing not only the means, but
the will to assist his poor neighbours; but tell me all
you can about this little girl, as it is important to her
that I should be fully informed."
"Oh, Miss," replied the Widow; "I am only afraid
that when I get talking of my poor Patty, I shall tire
you, and these young ladies and gentlemen too." "0,
no," cried Mary, answering for herself and sister;
"for we have heard so much about her from Mr. Sedley,
that we quite like little Patty already." "And I'm
sure," said the incorrigible cousin James, in a whisper
to Julia, that I am too fond of nice little patties, ever
to be tired of hearing of them."
Her mother," said the Widow Barton, addressing
Miss Murray, died a few months after her birth, and it
was through that misfortune, pretty dear, that she came
to be with me. I had then two daughters living with
me, and we gained a livelihood by taking nurse chil-
dren, so the poor father brought his motherless babe to
our cottage; he was but a labouring man, but being of

34

THE FIVE SENSES.

frugal habits, and a fond parent, he paid us well for
taking care of her; every Monday, as regular as the
week came round, John Bell's money was ready for us.
This kept on till Patty was nearly two years old, when,
poor thing, her father caught a fever, and died in less
than a fortnight afterwards, leaving nothing behind him
but a few shillings, and some clothes of little value.
"We had often heard him say, that he was an only
child, and what few relations he had were poor, like
himself; and had, years ago, emigrated to some foreign
land; his wife had been a servant, and had left Scot-
land, which was her native country, when the family
she lived in came to England, so that there were no
friends to apply to on either side, even about his burial;
the parish did that for him, and offered to take the
child into the house; but somehow, I had grown so fond
of it, that I could not at first make up my mind to let
it go there. Folks said if we waited a bit, we might
perhaps get it into one of the Orphan Asylums; so I
thought that I would, and my daughters agreed to do so
too; and, in the mean time, more than one of the
tradespeople said they would help us to keep her; the
two bakers gave us three or four little loaves a week,
and the milkman, when he came in the morning, always
asked for little Pat's mug, that he might fill it with
milk.
"I shall always think," said the Widow, "that those
good deeds were lucky to them, for the bakers have
twice the custom now that they had then, and the milk-
man has never lost a cow since, though he sometimes

35

THE FIVE SENSES.

used to do so before. Now and then, when we went to
the village shop, to buy frocks and things for the other
children, the master would give us a remnant or two for
the baby, who had no objection to wear clothes, though
she could neither make nor pay for them, he used to
say, for he was a droll man and would have his joke.
' But never mind, Widow,' he afterwards said, she will
settle it all with you some day, I can see that in her
sweet face, and her little loving ways.'
"' And if she does not, I may never want it,' I would
answer; and then I used to think of the words of our
blessed Saviour, when he spoke of little children, and I
felt that I could not send her away to be amongst
strangers in the workhouse, though I know it is a great
thing to have such places provided for us, either in
childhood or old age; so, month after month, and at
last, year pfter year, passed away, and the little friendless
child was still with us.
"When she was about four years old, one of my
daughters married, and went soon after to live with her
husband in the north; and within one year more, the
other settled too, in a county a great way off. This was
a heavy loss to me, for I could not manage to amuse
children without their assistance, but I comforted
myself in thinking of their happiness, for they had
both of them married steady industrious men. I was
still able to do something for my living, and they each
sent me a trifle now and then, from their own earnings,
besides which, I had two shillings a week allowed to me
by the parish, for Patty. So I moved to this small

36

THE FIVE SENSES.

cottage, which having a bigger garden than I expected,
I had plenty of vegetables, and managed to pay my
rent, and did very well for the first year. But in the
second, we had so much cold and damp weather, that I
was taken with the rheumatism, and, by degrees, became
so lame, that I could not go out to work as I did before.
The poor child and I were obliged to pinch very hard to
make our money last out, so as to pay for all as we had
it, for I could never bear the thought of being in debt.
At last, about a twelvemonth ago, I became very ill;
and I said, one morning, 'I am no longer able to work;
I feel as though I could not even wash out the few
things we shall want to put on clean for Sunday; I fear
not only you, but I too, Patty, must now go into the
Union-house.' The poor thing tried to comfort me, and
begged so hard that I would lie down on the bed, that I
did so, and, tired with a long night of pain, I fell into a
sleep that lasted three or four hours. When I awoke, I
missed her from the room, and called; but getting no
answer, got up to look for her; and where, ma'am, do
you think I found her? asked the Widow Barton, for-
getting in her exultation that it was not likely any of
her visitors could tell; "why, in a shed at the bottom
of the garden, there was little Patty, with a tub before
her, standing on a stool that she might reach up to it,
and washing away as though she would have rubbed all
the skin off her hands, rather than not go on.
"I shall never forget," added the old dame, wiping
her eyes with a corner of her apron, "the bright look
that she turned upon me, though one of her dear little
D

37

THE FIVE SENSES.

fingers was nearly bleeding at the time; affectionate,
grateful little creature as she is. The good sleep I had
had, and the finding so much thought and kindness in
such a mere child, seemed to spirit me up in a moment,
so I made her let me finish, though she was very
unwilling that I should. But what I have to tell about
her did'nt end here. Next morning, I awoke early as
usual, for I was in the habit of fetching water-cresses
from a distance, and then carrying them round to the
gentlefolks' houses before breakfast time. I was saying
to myself, what shall I do if somebody else should get
my customers from me whilst I am ill? I must try to go,
even if I walk with two sticks; so I got gently out of
bed, for fear of disturbing the poor child; but early as
it was, she was already up and out. Well, I was very
much surprised at first, but recollecting that it was
May morning, I thought she had gone a maying, with
some young companions, who I know had asked her,
and that she had stole away softly for fear of waking
me.
"Finding myself much more lame than I thought
for, I was obliged to give up my intention of going
round the village, though it vexed me very much, so all
I could do was to wait patiently for Patty's return, and
get a bit of breakfast ready for her; that she had taken
care, before she went, should not be of much trouble to
me, for I found the cups and saucers set, the kettle
filled and put on the hob, and a pile of wood on the
hearth, ready for lighting the fire. Such a thoughtful
little creature, Miss, I never heard tell of, nor have

38

THE FIVE SENSES.

I seen before, and mine has been a long life, for I am
upwards of sixty; but I fear I tire you, for somehow I
can't speak of that time, without being quite run away
with, as I may say." Instead of being tired, I am
exceedingly interested," replied Miss Murray, "and so,
I am sure, are my young friends; pray go on, I long to
know where little Patty had gone to."
Well, Miss," resumed Widow Barton, back she
came with my water-cress basket on her arm, about the
time that I usually did, her eyes as bright as diamonds,
and her cheeks as fresh as a rose; '0, Granny,' she
said, as she ran up to me, 'every body has been so
kind; I fetched the cresses, and then I went and sold
them all; all, Granny! and people asked me why I
came instead of you? and when I told them you were
ill, and I had come without your knowing it, for fear
you would not let me, they patted me on the head and
said I was a good girl.' Then she lifted the clean white
cloth that covered her basket, and showed me (instead
of the May flowers I had at first expected to see, a
greater number of pence than I had ever been able to
collect in any morning that I had gone round with
cresses, myself; so we sat down to breakfast, quite
cheerful and happy; and the next day, the dear child
went again, and did so every morning till I was better,
and then I wouldn't let her, for fear she should be over
tired, and perhaps ill.
"As the weather grew warmer, I was less rheumatic,
and able to work a little in the fields, and Patty could
earn a trifle that way too, so we did pretty well whilst

39

THE FIVE SENSES.

the summer lasted; but when winter drew nigh, my
lameness returned, and we were again very poor, and
then it would have done your heart good, though I'm
sure it made mine ache, to see the thoughtfulness of
that young thing when we had but a scanty meal to
sit down to; especially when we think of the selfishness
of some children who are so much better off. She little
thought that I noticed it, but I could see that she ate
as slowly as possible, in the hope that I might get the
bigger share; and I am sure she must often have pre-
tended to have had enough, when she was still almost
hungry: but Providence still befriended us, and all
through little Patty, again.
Going out one morning, to sell a few flowers we had
carefully treasured, for they had bloomed very late in
the season, she saw something bright lying in the path
before her; it was nearly covered with dust, but Patty
was walking with her eyes toward the ground, for there
was a cold wind blowing against her, that made the
water run out of them; picking it up, she found it was
a half sovereign."
What a piece of good luck!" exclaimed Cousin
James, how pleased she must have been." Yes,
sir," returned the widow; from what I could learn
from her, she was indeed very much pleased, for the
first moment; but then, in the next, she thought, if she
was so glad to find it, how sorry somebody might be at
having lost it; so, instead of coming back to me directly,
she went on with her flowers, hoping to find the owner
of the money, for she meant to enquire of everybody
about it.

40

THE FIVE SENSES.

On turning down the next lane, leading to where
she was going, she saw a lady at some distance before
her, and thinking the half sovereign might be hers, she
ran after her as fast as she could; when she came up to
her, she was too much out of breath to speak: the lady,
thinking she wanted her to buy her flowers, asked their
price, when Patty, having got her voice again, told her
that was not what she meant; then she showed her the
piece of money she had picked up, and enquired if it
was hers."
She was a goose for that, though," observed Cousin
James, very much interested in this part of Patty's
story; "she should first have asked the lady whether
she had dropped any thing; and if she said Yes,' told
her to tell what it was." "That's very true, sir," an-
swered the widow, and the lady said so, too; but the
good, kind-hearted child was too young and too innocent
to think of all that. She believed everybody to be as
honest as herself; so when the lady, on counting some
money she carried in her glove, told her that it was
hers, she gave it to her, and was going on, without even
asking her to buy a flower; for that, she thought, would
sound like wishing to be paid for doing what she knew
to be right. I could understand that to be her feeling,
though she did not express it to me; and the lady
understood it too, as I learnt from her own lips, when
she came to the cottage next day; for she had ques-
tioned the child as to who she was, and where she lived;
and then little Patty had left her, and having sold her

41

THE FIVE SENSES.

flowers, came back to me with the money, and told me
all about the half sovereign."
"And did'nt the lady give her even a few pence to
buy a cake or two with ?" asked Cousin James, indig-
nantly.
No, sir," answered the widow, "and if she had,
Patty would not have laid them out in that way; what-
ever she had given to her, she always brought to me;
but of course I never spent it on myself, but kept it
entirely for her use; and when the pence got up to
fourpence or sixpence, she would now and then treat
herself with a book; for she is very fond of reading, and
the neighbours' children will sometimes lend her theirs,
for her stock is very small."
Did she never buy anything nice to eat, with her
money?" enquired Cousin James, in utter astonish-
ment; "such as raspberry tarts, cheesecakes,"-" Or
Banbury cakes, Master Sedgewick," added Miss Mur-
ray; "you don't mean to leave them out, I'm sure."
No, sir," replied Mrs. Barton; I don't think she
even knows the taste of such things."
"Dear me! how dreadful," exclaimed the self-in-
dulged Cousin James: I never heard of anything so
shocking,-I should really like to give her a treat."
Ah, sir," said the widow, that, perhaps, you may
easily do, if you have a few old books you have grown
past the age of being pleased with, and can spare; that
would be a treat to her, indeed."
I don't mean books," cried Cousin James, con-
temptuously; I want to see how she would look in a

42

THE FIVE SENSES.

pastry-cook's shop, when I tell her to eat a shilling's
worth, or perhaps eighteen-pennyworth of any thing
she likes there."
You are very kind, sir," answered the widow, but
I am afraid Patty, instead of enjoying such a treat as
that, would be thinking of how much bread might be
bought for the money, or perhaps of a new tippet, or
ribbon for her bonnet, to go to church in; for she
never fails, every Sunday, to be there, and likes to be
as clean and tidily drest as our poor means will afford.
You must not think, sir," added the good woman, "that
I tell you this in the hope of your bestowing the same
sum on her, in her own way; I only want to show what
sort of disposition hers is, as this lady wishes to know."
You have not yet told me," observed Miss Murray,
" what the owner of the half sovereign said to you,
when she called at your cottage."
In the first place, ma'am," replied the widow, "she
said a great deal of how much she was pleased with
Patty, even before the child had spoken, describing to
me the particularly bright and earnest look that she has
when she thinks she is doing what will give pleasure;
I know the look well, for I have seen it hundreds of
times. Before she could say that she had found it,
(for she was out of breath,) she had held up the piece
of money to the lady, her eyes speaking for her as
plainly as any words could do. C I would not give her
any reward at the time,' said the lady, because I would
not 'mix any selfish feeling with the pure delight that
she felt in having restored to the owner what must have

43

THE FIVE SENSES.

appeared to her of far greater value than it really was;
but now I must beg you to accept what she found; it
will buy her something more suitable for this cold
weather than what she had on yesterday, poor little
dear; and I shall like, if I can, to be of farther service
to you.' Then she asked me if I could knit stockings,
and finding that I could, she gave me a long job, for
she had a large family of boys, and besides brought me
some other customers from amongst her friends; so,
what with one thing and another, we have got through
the winter pretty well; and this spring, Patty has
earned more than I could expect from one so young, in
being hired to weed some of the gentlefolk's gardens,
amongst which is Squire Sedley's."
When the widow had concluded her little narrative,
Miss Murray expressed herself extremely pleased, and
assuring her that she would soon see her again, took
leave, but not till she had slipt into her hand a little
present. of money, given her by Mr. Sedley for the
purpose, not only to indemnify the child for the loss
of her library, for such it was, though voluntarily be-
stowed, but to gladden the widow's heart with some
little additional comforts, in her humble home.
In crossing the fields on their return, Miss Murray
and her young companions sought shelter from a sud-
den shower, beneath an old shed; and whilst there, had
a fresh opportunity of remarking on the five senses, as
being called into use all at once, and from the same
cause, that is, from the shower: for they FELT it, when
they stretched out their hands; and they could HEAR it,

44

THE FIVE SENSES.

at the same time, pattering on the leaves of a tree close
by; then they SMELT the pleasant odour it drew from
some newly-dug mould, on which it fell; and looking
up into the sky they BEHELD a beautiful rainbow occa-
sioned by it, for the sun was still shining. Cousin
James determined that TASTING should not be left out,
since they had each of the other four senses, held his
open palm under the eaves of the shed, by which means
he caught some of the drippings, so that he was enabled
to taste it, but, falling from off the dirty thatch, it was
not very nice, as you may suppose.
I don't care," cried Cousin James, making, at the
same time, a wry face at what he had swallowed, bad
luck now, better another time; yonder is a donkey, I'll
make up for all, by having a good ride." So saying, off
he scampered, and in another minute had clambered on
to the animals back; but the donkey seemed to know
that he had no business there, without leave, so he
ducked his head between his fore legs, and threw up his
hind feet, in the hope to get rid of him: but finding
that would not do, he set off in a hard trot, over some
rough ground into the next field, nearly shaking all the
breath out of poor Cousin James's body; for he was
not much of a rider, and had neither saddle, bridle, nor
stirrups, to help him; he was therefore obliged to cling
round the creature's neck to keep himself on, being
afraid to jump off whilst it went so fast, and he could
not stop it; so you may think what a ridiculous figure
he looked. Bad luck now, better another time,"
thought Cousin James; but unfortunately for him, it

45

THE FIVE SENSES.

turned out to be bad luck now, worse another time, for
he had no sooner repeated the saying to himself, than
the donkey, who of course went wherever he pleased,
rode him into the middle of a brook, and stooping low
down to drink, for the water was very shallow, threw
Cousin James over his head; so he not only had a ride,
but another tumble, and a bath at the end of it, out of
which he had to walk about twenty yards, amidst the
brayings of the donkey, who seemed thus to testify his
satisfaction at the prank he had played him; and the
shouting and laughing of some mischievous boys who
were idling about, and thought all they saw and heard
was very good fun. Cousin James, however, was of a
different opinion, so, without waiting for Miss Murray
to overtake him, he ran home as fast as he could, not a
little mortified at meeting with so ludicrous a finish to
his many disasters.

46

THE

FIVE SENSES.

CONCLUSION.

ISS MURRAY lost no time in communi-
cating the result of her enquiries to
SMr. Sedley, who was exceedingly pleased
at having the opinion he had formed
from Patty's countenance and manner so fully justified.
He was glad, too, that there were no relations to inter-
fere, because they might have been far less respectable
than the Widow Barton, and therefore have been a great
drawback on his benevolent intentions both for the
present and future welfare of the child.
Patty was, soon after, entirely new clothed, and sent
as a day-boarder to an excellent school in the village,
returning every evening to the widow, from whom it
would have been cruel to entirely separate her; Mr.
Sedley assuring the grateful and now happy old woman
that he should henceforth consider her only as Patty's
nurse, put a speedy end to the water-cress trade, and

~`;"~-~-~,'

IA''jj

THE FIVE SENSES.

other contrivances for a subsistence, making her a
weekly allowance amply sufficient for all their expenses.
At the end of the first six months of the little girl's
schooling, she had made such progress in writing, that
she was enabled to thank her benefactor in her own
words, just as though he could hear them; this had
been the great object of her ambition, from the moment
that a pen was first put into her hand.
During the holidays Mr. Sedley had her with him
for an hour or two every morning, talking to her, and
reading her replies, more and more gratified, the oftener
he conversed with her, so that he gradually began to
feel not only compassion, but attachment to her; this
feeling strengthened, as time passed on, and Patty made
such rapid improvement both in learning and appear-
ance, that before two years were over, she became as
much the child of his love, as she had been of his
bounty, and he was desirous that she should find her
home in his house, that he might have more frequent
opportunities of seeing and speaking to her; but he
thought how dreary the poor widow's home would be
without her.
At last it occurred to him that Mrs. Barton would be
a fitter companion for Mrs. Howel, his old housekeeper,
than the laughing, gossiping, younger servants, and
help, too, to keep them in order; so Mrs. Howel was
consulted, and being pleased with the arrangement, the
widow was duly installed in the house of Mr. Sedley,
by the title of Nurse; and then Patty's happiness was
complete, for she could be with her dear granny, as she

48

THE FIVE SENSES.

still affectionately called her, and at the same time be at
hand to render numberless little attentions to her gen-
erous protector, who never had a moment's cause to
repent having saved from obscurity and poverty a child
so eminently fitted to receive the blessing of a good
education.
In the mean time, Cousin James had been sent to
boarding school; his stout limbs, ruddy cheeks, and
particularly good appetite, contradicting all his asser-
tions of continued weakness and ill health; there the
boys, of whom there were not less than fifty, soon con-
trived to plague him out of his childishness and epicur-
ism; for he did not at all like their nicknaming him
" Raspberry Tart," Squire Lollypop," and Betty the
Cook." At first he was sullen, then he tried to joke in
return, but it would not do; he found himself treated
with contempt by the bigger boys, and what was still
worse, all the lesser ones got before him in his classes.
Cousin James was, therefore, at last stimulated to make
a great effort, for the purpose of redeeming his lost
time, and there is some hope that he may succeed,
though it is feared that he has still more inclination for
making smart answers, riddles, and conundrums, than
for solving problems in arithmetic, or studying other
sciences.
Mary and Julia are frequent visitors at Mr. Sedley's,
and Patty Bell, now grown a tall genteel-looking girl,
is as often at Mr. Belford's, deriving most important
advantages from the instruction and conversation of
Miss Murray. She has become a great favourite with

49

THE FIVE SENSES.

the whole family, for she never presumes upon her good
fortune, but is always modest in her deportment, and
even humble, her grateful heart full of pious thankful-
ness to her Creator, whose benificent care had provided
for the desolate and orphan baby that she was, so many,
and such kind friends.
At the last juvenile fete given by Mr. Sedley, a young
gentleman, rather fonder of such treasures than our
friend, Cousin James, remarked on the number of very
large and handsomely-bound books contained in that
gentleman's library, and asked him, on the slate, which
he most prized amongst all his volumes. Mr. Sedley
took him by the hand, and leading him to a minute
division on one of the shelves, showed him three very
small shabby-looking books not bound at all. They
were Jack, the Giant-Killer,--Goody Two Shoes,-and
Cinderella.
Mr. Sedley had scarcely dissipated the enquirer's
astonishment by a brief explanation, when Mary Bel-
ford, running into the room, followed by Cousin James,
asked Miss Murray if she remembered when little
Freddy, three years ago, had spoken of there being
five senses, that Cousin James had said and more too,
I should think." I remember it perfectly," returned
Miss Murray." "And he says so, still," rejoined Mary,
eagerly. "And I'm right, too," exclaimed Cousin
James, glancing round with a look of exultation, that
plainly told he thought he had something clever to say,
"for there's the sense to understand the proper use and
value of them all."

50

A

Mr. Sedley showing his young friends the books he
prized most.

te~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~1
i

THE FIVE SENSES.

As this piece of wit, for such it was intended to be,
indicated an improvement in both the disposition and
mind of the speaker, Miss Murray thought proper to
applaud it; it was the first time that such a tribute had
been paid him, in spite of all the many attempts he had
made to gain fame in that way, so there was no one,
amongst all the happy laughing group that now sur-
rounded Mr. Sedley, better pleased than was the once
very rude and excessively selfish-Cousin James.

THE END.

DEAN ANID QON, PRIINTER3
TH IEADNE ZDLE-STIEF' r

51

CONTENTS.

AUSTRALIA AND POLYNESIA.

OMOKO, KING OF AFRICA.

THE ELEPHANT, AND LITTLE DOG OF ASIA.

THE AMERICAN SLAVE TRADE.

EUROPE,-ENGLISH FREEDOM.

AUSTRALIA

AND

I POLYNESIA. ^

: USTRALIA and IOLYNESIA are now
usually considered the fifth division of
. i the globe; they are situated in the Paci-
fic Ocean, between the coasts of Africa
i and South America. Australia is a very
large island, indeed, it is the largest in
the world; and Polynesia consists of a
number of small ones, so called from a compound Greek
word bearing that signification, which being translated
is, Many Islands."

Some few years since, the Lotus, an English vessel
returning from Sydney, one of the principal towns in
Australia, was dren out of her course by a violent gale
of wind, which lasted through a whole night; and being
much injured, the captain, at break of day, deemed it
B

DIVISIONS OF THE WORLD.

advisable to seek shelter in the natural harbour of the
island near, that he afterwards found had remained
unknown to the discoverers of Polynesia. Expecting
to find it uninhabited, or else peopled with some portion
of the natives of that part of the world, he was sur-
prised, as the vessel reached the shore, at beholding a
group of persons nearly resembling the complexions and
characteristics of Europeans: this astonishment was
not a little increased, on hearing himself addressed by
the chief of these islanders in his own language, which,
though corrupted, was nevertheless sufficiently intelli-
gible to be understood.
Although these long-undiscovered people possessed
two indications of a more civilized state, such as lan-
guage and countenance, yet in their dress and deport-
ment, they were almost as uncouth and strange in
manners as the inhabitants of those other islands, scat-
tered on the bosom of the vast Pacific. To account
for this, it will be necessary to give a short history of
them, and how they came into their present condition
in this very remote part of Polynesia: which was related
to the captain by the eldest of the islanders.
"More than fifty years ago, a ship named the
Hector, had struck on the rocky coast of this obscure
island; she -had previously been nearly destroyed by an
engagement with a pirate vessel, in which the captain
and first mate had been killed. The enemy, soon after,
supposing her to be sinking, had suddenly left her in
pursuit of another prize seen in the distance. After
beating about for several days, her rudder being .wholly

4

7 -' 4
/
K
A e
6

Wreck of the Hector.

AUSTRALIA AND POLYNESIA.

useless, the unfortunate ship had drifted upon this
hitherto-unknown shore, by which means, those who
escaped their previous disasters, were saved, with the
principal part of the stores and cargo preserved.
This was indeed a very important circumstance to
these poor creatures, thrown, as they were, upon a
desert coast; men, women, and children, without any
shelter but what the trees afforded, or any food but
what they might otherwise chance to find; their vessel
a complete wreck, so that their only hope of leaving
the island, was in the possibility of some other ship
coming near enough to observe their signals, or being
within, hail. Yet such is the natural love of life, that,
although in this helpless state, their first feeling was
that of joy for their deliverance from their late danger
of the Hector sinking, and they all knelt down in pious
thanksgiving to the mercy of God for their preservation.
When they arose, they held a council as to what they
should do first. Nearly worn out with incessant exer-
tion, to prevent their ship filling with water, they stood
greatly in need of repose, but this indulgence was not
to be thought of until they had taken measures to
ascertain whether they could do so with at least com-
parative safety.
Having assured themselves that there was no
appearance of habitation for a considerable distance
round the spot on which they had landed, they resolved
to form a sort of tent for the women and children, by
suspending a sail to the boughs of one of the many
groups of trees growing close by; for this purpose, as;

DIVISIONS OF THE WORLD.

well as others, they went down to the vessel, which the
receding tide had left nearly dry, and fixed amongst the
rocks on which she had struck; on reaching her, they
were delighted to perceive that the water with which
she had been nearly filled, was rushing in a torrent
from a large hole just above the keel; this was of the
greatest service, for it enabled them to get at the store
of provisions, without which they must have, perhaps,
perished. Hard had been their labour, and short their
allowance, for many days past; you may judge, then,
with what anxiety they opened two of the casks, hoping
to find them dry inside; nor were they disappointed;
one contained salted beef, and the other biscuits, with
only some of the outside part of each a little injured
by the damp. A brisk fire was quickly kindled on the
ground, and whilst the women were engaged in prepar-
ing a substantial meal, several of the men busied them-
selves in forming a rude resting-place for their wives
and little ones; others continued to keep a good look
out, in case of being surprised by the natives, if there
were any. Besides this apprehension, there was ano-
ther, and that was the possibility of being visited by
wild beasts in the night. It was necessary to make
some preparation of defence against both these dangers.
As the best means of repelling any four-footed assail-
ants, they agreed to keep up a good fire till day-break,
for it is a well-known fact that animals in a wild state
are easily scared by this means. Human beings in the
same condition are as readily alarmed by the flash and
report of guns, so they provided themselves with a

6

AUSTRALIA AND POLYNESIA.

plentiful supply of fuel, powder, and even shot, in case
it should be necessary. In addition to these precau-
tions, they took it by turns to keep a strict watch
through the hours of darkness, that they might be
ready to awaken the others, upon the slightest alarm.
Nothing, however, of the kind occurred, and all arose
in the morning, refreshed and invigorated for the
important work they had to do in the course of the day.
As soon as they had finished a hearty breakfast,
they went again to the wreck, to remove as much as
they could of her cargo and stores, whilst daylight and
the tide permitted, taking advantage of the bright sun-
shine to dry those things that were wet. They now
brought away what live stock had survived the perils
of the voyage; these were two calves, a few sheep, and
a litter of pigs, besides several full grown ones, and
some fowls, all of them not a little delighted at ex-
changing their uncomfortable home in the Hector for
the shelter of the trees and the soft fresh grass beneath
them. The ship's carpenters, with the assistance of
two of the passengers, who were of the same trade,
soon contrived pens, and sties, besides a large shed for
the casks of provisions and other stores, when dried;
for the sun has such power in that part of the world,
that it would have spoilt their meat, to expose it to its
rays longer than absolutely necessary.
"Amongst the crew and passengers of the wrecked
vessel, there was a considerable sum of money, besides
a much larger sum that had been entrusted to the
captain for some purpose unknown to them; this, of

DIVISIONS OF THE WORLD.

course, being of no present use, they wrapped up in
separate parcels, and locked up in a strong box, which
they took care to deposit in a safe place where they
could readily get at it, should an opportunity occur of
their leaving the island, as they had now discovered it
to be wholly uninhabited.
It is unnecessary to detail all that was done by
these first settlers, from whom the present population
sprung, for every one exerted their ingenuity to
better the condition of the whole, and prepare for the
future. Weeks and months passed away, without a
sail being seen, even in the most distant part to which
their sight could reach; so they worked on, patiently
and hopefully, that at no very distant time some friend
would come near them and afford them assistance.
There were, fortunately, among the passengers,
several emigrants of different callings, who had brought
with them their appropriate tools, intending to settle in
Australia. Two of these were weavers, who when the
common stock of clothes began to fail, contrived from
dried grasses and other materials, having discovered
plants on the island resembling the cotton tree and flax,
to weave a rough sort of cloth, of variegated colours,
which the women made up into summer garments; the
skins of wild animals supplying them with winter cloth-
ing, which, though rather unsightly, were tolerably
comfortable. At first, they had a good stock of needles
and thread; but these became used up and worn out in
the progress of years; and then they had recourse to
the same inventions as we read of in savage nations,

AUSTRALIA AND POLYNESIA.

making needles of fish bones, and thread of the stringy
fibres stript from the bark of trees; using, too, for
coarser purposes, the dried sinews of animals.
The wreck had, long since, been entirely broken up;
partly by the action of the waves that beat against her
every tide, but more by the hammers and other tools of
the carpenters; every piece of her, whether of wood or
metal, being a valuable possession, where there was
neither house or furniture of any kind: but so great
is the ingenuity of man, when compelled to the exertion
of his faculties from the necessity of his condition, that
in less time than might be expected, a village of neat-
looking huts was built, formed of wood and clay, and
thatched with moss and large leaves; patches of land
were sown with English seeds, for luckily, the Hector's
cargo had been of a varied description, being principally
intended for the use of the British settlers at Sydney.
The first year's produce of their agriculture was
nearly all put by, that by having more seed, the next
crop might be greatly increased; the same frugal care
was, in some measure, continued for several seasons
afterwards; thus at last, by submitting to temporary
privation, they were rewarded in the enjoyment of an
ample supply. The animals they had brought with
them being carefully attended and suffered to grow old,
rapidly increased in number, and at the period at which
the Lotus discovered the island, their domestic live
stock had become abundant. The little colony con-
tinued to build on the coast, first on account of watch-
ing the arrival of some chance vessel; but when this

DIVISIONS OF THE WORLD.

object became scarcely remembered by their successors,
they did the same for the sake of the food supplied to
them in the fish with which the harbour abounded.
Thus all went on very well for a long, long time;
but the want of the proper means of education began,
at last, to manifest its consequences amongst them, for
gradually the old people died, and the young ones
succeeded them; and then they grew old in their turn,
and their children became men and women, and they
had sons and daughters, who came after them, and had
children, too, without any schools in which they could
be instructed. Had the captain of the Hector lived to
have landed on the island, or even the first mate, both
being men of education, they might have devised some
plan for preventing the deplorable ignorance that had
gradually increased from year to year. Amongst all
those whose lives had been spared in the engagement
with the pirate vessel, there was not one capable of
becoming either school master or mistress; but few of
them could read at all; and those who could, had so
imperfect a knowledge of this most important art, that
the three or four books preserved from the water that
had flooded them, was nearly beyond their comprehen-
sion; and at last, merely served to give after genera-
tions some idea of what a book was, and were treasured
more as a wonder and curiosity to be looked at, than
from any just conception of their utility; so they grew
up, one set of children after another, ignorant of all but
their own strangely mixed manners and customs, for
there was still something English about them; 'till, at

10

AUSTRALIA AND POLYNESIA.

last, they became the excessively uneducated and odd-
looking people who presented themselves to the captain
of the Lotus.
All that they knew of things, history, or circum-
stances, beyond what was under their own daily observ-
ation, had been told them by their elders, and they
having had but very imperfect instruction themselves,
what they communicated was such a mixture of truth,
falsehood, and prejudice, that at length they believed
what was related to them of other countries, had, in
former years, taken place in their own island, and that
they were, even in their present state, the wisest people
in the world, so truly does self-sufficiency and ignorance
go together.
The crew of the Hector had, half in jest, and half in
earnest, selected one from amongst them, to rule the
rest; at first he went by the name of the Captain, but
afterwards, not content with this term of distinction, he
chose to be considered as King, by the title of Gabriel
the First, that being his Christian name, his other was
Gosling, which he gave to his territory, the island over
which he at length reigned with absolute power, as
King Gabriel, of Gosling; now those who had chosen
him, had not been induced to do so by any considera-
tion of wisdom or fitness for so important an office as
that he filled; they were merely influenced by his being
the highest in rank on board, having taken command
of the Hector on the death of the captain and first
mate, and his being, moreover, a good sailor and a
jovial messmate; but no sooner did he create himself

II

DIVISIONS OF THE WORLD.

king, than this last recommendation began gradually to
disappear, under pretence of the cares of his govern-
ment calling on him for great gravity; he strengthened
his power and indulged his ambition to have a better
habitation than the rest, entirely to himself, besides
gratifying his appetite with more dainty fare, by insti-
tuting a separate table for his exclusive use.
His successor, Gabriel the Second, was more import-
ant and kingly still, and by no means less selfish or
conceited."
The present monarch was Gabriel the Fifth, a regular
descendant from the mate king, the same name being
scrupulously preserved in that royal family.
Now it unfortunately happened, through want of
education, not only was each king successively more
ignorant than his predecessor, but his subjects became
so too; so that at the period of the Lotus's arrival, the
whole nation was in danger of possessing as little mental
cultivation as their unknown neighbours, the New Zea-
landers, or even the aborigines of Australia; although
they were certainly of a much more orderly and peace-
ful disposition.
Yet foolish, and consequently conceited as his present
majesty was, he had a son a great deal more foolish and
conceited still; his name too was, of course, Gabriel,
but to distinguish it from his father's, he was called
Prince Gaby; this future Gabriel the Sixth was about
twenty years old, and being vain of his person, spent
the greater part of his time in inventing new ornaments
for it; when fully adorned, he had something of the

12

rillnc Gaby at i, l.oilel

I
I
I
i
I
i
I

AUSTRALIA AND POLYNESIA.

appearance of a New Zealand chief, having, like them,
attached to his head dress, an embellishment arising on
either side, very much in the shape of a donkey's ears;
no other person on the island was permitted to wear a
cap of this description, unless, indeed, the king should
choose to do so, and no one from any other country,
who had the honor of conversing with Prince Gaby,
would probably think of disputing his claim to so ap-
propriate a mark of distinction.
The king, his father, being a very absolute monarch,
rough in speech, and possessing but little sensibility,
kept the prince as much in fear of him as he did his
other subjects, allowing him no power during his life-
time, nor assigning to him any part of his dominions;
but Prince Gaby was quite reconciled to this abject
state, for he had one treasure entirely his own, and that
he prized beyond the whole kingdom of Gosling, or
even half a dozen more, could they have been added to
it: this treasure was the last bit of what had once been
a large mirror in the unfortunate ship Hector. Though
a souce of the most infinite delight, yet it had cost poor
Prince Gaby more tears and sighs than any real afflic-
tion he had ever met with; for small as the fragment
was, he had contrived to make it smaller, and this he
had done in the hopes of enlarging it; once he had
placed it in the ground, thinking it might grow, by
which means a portion of the quicksilver had been
rubbed off; finding this experiment fail, he endeavoured
to stretch it, by pulling it on either side with his hands;
but in doing this, he only broke off some more of the

13

DIVISIONS OF THE WORLD.

cracked bits from the edges, and cut his fingers; so he
desisted from further attempts, making up his mind to
gaze upon himself, bit by bit, rather than run the risk
of not seeing himself at all.
The principal persons who landed from the Lotus,
under conviction of safety in so doing, were of different
nations; there was an European, of the name of Mild-
may, formerly a missionary, but latterly, having in-
herited a large fortune, he travelled for his own amuse-
ment and benevolent purposes; there was an Asiatic
from India; an American from New York; and a
negro king from Africa.
Gabriel the Fifth, attended by his whole court, had
come to the beach, on hearing of the wonderful arrival,
partly impelled by terror, and partly by curiosity, hav-
ing only very vague ideas of ships, or people different
from themselves. The astonishment and fear of the
half-naked children, when the vessel was anchored so
as to be distinctly seen, was almost equal to that of the
Esquimaux who live in the north polar sea amidst ice
and snow; and who, when Captain Ross first landed
there, asked if his ship was a great bird; and when they
were assured that it was not, wanted to know which it
had come from, the sun or the moon. Some of the grown
persons of Gosling, had certainly better, though very
imperfect, ideas about it; but Prince Gaby said "It is
the back of a great fish, or else a garden; for see, there
are rails round it;" and, pointing to the naked masts,
"trees growing out of it, though they have no boughs
or leaves upon them." As it was not etiquette at Gos-

14

i

I l

\

L,1

King Gabriel wclc rmin- the crew of the Lotus.

AUSTRALIA AND POLYNESIA.

ling, for the prince to be contradicted, except by his
father, this opinion was received in admiring silence.
The king as well as his visitors being equally satisfied
that there was no danger to be apprehended from each
other, invited them all to his parlass, by which he, of
course, meant palace; and here it may be as well to
state that I shall take the liberty of rendering his
majesty's language a little more intelligible than it was,
without a good deal of explanation, to his guests. I shall
likewise leave out the many words otherwise unneces-
sary, that the visitors were obliged to use to make
their meaning apparent to the Goslings.
In order to produce a suitable impression on the
strangers, King Gabriel ordered his prime minister, a
queer little man, to lead the way, playing his best tune
on an instrument slung round his neck, and on which he
drummed with two sticks, in a most discordant manner.
The prime minister of Gosling had a very different
office to that of the same functionary in other countries,
the chief of his ministration being to provide the dain-
tiest fare for the royal table, to stand by his master,
the king's chair or throne, on all great occasions, that
he might be in readiness to applaud all that his majesty
meant to be considered as either particularly wise or
witty, and that he might be at hand for any errand or
message the king should suddenly desire to send him
upon; as for consultation or advice, as required of
other prime ministers, that was not to be thought of at
Gosling, king Gabriel never heeding any body's opinion
but one, and that was his own.

15

DIVISIONS OF THE WORLD.

As the little party proceeded to the village, Mr. Mild-
may learnt, in answer to his questions, what was the
present condition of these strange people: as to their
origin, the account given by themselves was so mixed
up with fable, that it was with great difficulty he could
even guess at the truth.
They were now at the palace, which, instead of being
a house regularly built, was more like a group of differ-
ent sized huts, communicating one with another, having
no stairs to them. King Gabriel, on entering, ascended
what was meant for a throne; a clumsy contrivance, its
chief dignity consisting in its height, for when he had
reached to his seat, his head nearly touched the roof of
the spacious hut in which it was placed. The guests
being seated on benches and logs of wood, round a
roughly constructed table, the prime minister was
ordered to help the cooks in bringing in an ample
supply of provisions; but before this useful member of
the government of Gosling could obey the royal man-
date, he was stopped by Prince Gaby, who pointing to
the African, asked if he would not like to wash the
black off his hands and face before his dine, by which
he meant dinner: fortunately for the feelings of Omoko,
such was his name, he was too ignorant of English to
understand what was said, particularly such English as
was spoken by Prince Gaby.
"Having no knowledge of other countries," said Mr.
Mildmay, addressing the prince, "you are not aware
that it has pleased the Great Creator of us all to make
us of different complexions: in some places, the inha-

16

AUSTRALIA AND POLYNESIA.

bitants are of a copper colour; in others, of a yellow-
brown; and there is more than one nation in which the
natives are either nearly or wholly black, like my friend
here, who though of this complexion," added Mr. Mild-
may, turning to Gabriel, is a king in his own country,
the same as you are one here." This fact was men-
tioned by the good missionary in the hope of creating
respect for Omoko, but it wholly failed in its purposed
effect. A dawning recollection of having heard some-
thing from his grandfather Gabriel the Third, about
niggers, and their great inferiority, arose on the mind
of his white majesty, and this dawning recollection
becoming more vivid, he began to feel himself exceed-
ingly insulted by what appeared to him an invention on
the part of his reverend instructor. As for Prince
Gaby, having no such remembrances to real, he fixed
his stupid eyes with a wide stare on the object of his
astonishment, his mouth being equally distended, it
seemed indeed doubtful whether he would ever have
shut either of them again, had not his father suddenly
aroused him by exclaiming in his great indignation,
"He a king! how can that be?"
Omoko, annoyed by the observations of so many
eyes, and being, besides, an invalid, indicated by signs
that he should like to lie down in some quiet place;
this being made known to King Gabriel, the prime
minister was dispatched to act the part of chambermaid
to his sable majesty, in an adjoining hut, and to provide
him with dinner there.
The monarch of Gosling, still much ruffled, resumed

17

DIVISIONS OF THE WORLD.

the expression of his incredulity as soon as his guests
were supplied with refreshments. I remember, now,"
said he, what I had forgotten as told me by my grand-
father, and he had it from his father, and so on down
to the time of Gabriel the First, and he came from the
great country you call England, where they know every
thing, and so of course do we, for we are English, too,
though we live here."
Mr. Mildmay could not help smiling at this mode of
reasoning, but he did not interrupt the king's speech,
who went on to say My grandfather told me there were
such things in the world as black men; so far you speak
the truth, but as for their being kings! we won't believe
that; for he said they were made to work for us white
people, and they were to be flogged if they would not; is
it likely there can be kings among such fellows as those?"
Likely or not," returned Mr. Mildmay, I know
that it is so; and if you had not had the misfortune to
inhabit a country holding no communication with any
other, and being so wanting in the means of education,
you might have been assured of the fact, too." "But,"
replied his majesty, though we are born and bred
here, those who came first, were not; and they knew
and told every thing to their sons and daughters; and
they, in their turn, related all to their children; 'till at
last it came to us to teach ours; and so, of course, we
must go on knowing all things, just the same as they
did in the beginning." In reasoning thus," replied
Mr. Mildmay, gently, you are wrong: in the first
place, those who were the earliest inhabitants here,

18

AUSTRALIA AND POLYNESIA.

could not know all the things, as you express it, for that
is not within the limits of human capacity; they would
naturally impress upon the minds of those they in-
structed what they believed themselves, whether it was
true or false; but even supposing that all they taught
was real, only think for a moment how some facts must
be lost, and others become mixed with fable, in a coun-
try where all knowledge is trusted to one generation
relating to its successor what had been told to them
by the preceding; it would be the same in England,
where your first people came from, and in other lands,
too, if it were not for books. Anything recorded in a
book, if true at first, must be true always; and will
give the same accurate information to ages after, that it
did at the period in which it was written. Now, if your
people had learnt to read, and you had a good supply of
books, though you never left this island, yet you might
become acquainted with the history, manners, and cus-
toms, of other nations, which knowledge is exceedingly
amusing as well as useful."
Well," said the king, rather tired of being addressed
in so unusual a manner, suppose, as you know so
much, you tell us something about other places: we
like stories, and three or four of my people do nothing
else but make them; when they don't please us, we
send the teller to bed without his supper, that he may
keep awake and mend them against the morning."
I hope your majesty will not serve me so," observed
Mr. Mildmay, with a smile, should I be so unfortu-
nate as not to amuse you." King Gabriel hesitated
c

19

20 DIVISIONS OF THE WORLD.
for a moment, and then graciously assured him that he
would not; adding, "whatever your story is, we give
you leave to tell it; so begin." His reverend guest
replied, "As you seem to think that a man differing
from us in the colour of his skin, is altogether unlike
us in mind and feeling, I will tell you the story of
Omoko, the African king, who has accompanied us
hither."
I like a story makes shake," said Prince Gaby; by
which he meant, laugh. And I don't," interrupted
the king." I wish it was in my power to please
both," said Mr. Mildmay, good humouredly; but I
fear it is impossible." No matter, please me," an-
swered the king; "that's enough!" Thus exhorted, Mr.
Mildmay commenced as follows:-

STORY OF

OMOKO,

KING OF AFRICA.

FRICA," he said, may be considered
as the third division of the world; it
contains many different countries,
each governed by some chief or king.
Though many persons have gone there
from more educated nations, to make
discoveries, and instruct the natives, they have not been
able to reach far into the interior; thus we are still
ignorant as to many parts of it." "Well, I suppose
you know enough to tell us a story about it," interposed
the king, and that is all we want to hear."
"Omoko," resumed Mr. Mildmay, more amused than
offended by the rudeness of his host, was married to
one of the most beautiful princesses of a neighboring
state." Beautiful!" exclaimed Gabriel, with the
utmost contempt; "nonsense! how can that be?" "I
did not mean that she would be beautiful in the eyes of

DIVISIONS OF THE WORLD.

your majesty," returned Mr. Mildmay, but she cer-
tainly was so in those of King Omoko; for what is
considered as beautiful in one country, is often thought
quite the reverse in another; perhaps, if your majesty
had a daughter, the most perfect in form and face, of
all English girls, she would not have her claim to
beauty allowed, were she to go to Africa, or to visit the
Esquimaux, or many other countries where it is the
nature of the inhabitants to differ in feature and com-
plexion."
I can't believe that," said the king, "so go on with
your story, and let it be a good one." "Or else I may
go supperless to bed," observed his guest, with a smile.
"And perhaps get no breakfast in the morning," re-
plied the king, clapping his hands as a signal to the
prime minister that he had said something witty, and
meant to be applauded; upon which that unfortunate
little man threw himself into various extraordinary
attitudes, jumping about the floor of the hut, and
making a noise he meant for laughter, but having a
small voice, and a great cold, it was as little like that
sound of mirth, as it could well be.
When King Gabriel was satisfied with this tribute to
his cleverness, he took up a long white wand, that was
always placed on his right hand, to be in readiness for
such purposes, and with a gentle rap on the head of
his prime minister, or grand vizier as he would be called
in Asia, signified that he was to be quiet; this done, he
desired Mr. Mildmay to resume his narrative.
King Omoko being mild in his temper, and just in

22

I f
i
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._

The African Princes at their sports.

the administration of the laws of his country, was
beloved by all his subjects; and he would have been as
perfectly happy as it is possible for human beings to
become, but that, for many years after his marriage, he
had no children: he wished for a son, whom he might
train up to succeed him in the affection and respect of
those he was afterwards to govern. At length, it
pleased Providence to make him the father of two
princes, who, like their parents, were remarkable for
the amiability of their dispositions, and what, in that
country, was considered to be beauty. These youths,
born within a year of each other, grew up as though
they had been twins; so great was the affection sub-
sisting between them, that each felt more pleasure in
commendations bestowed on the other, than in any
praise that was given to himself.
Thus Wyombo and Piscenee, (for these were their
names,) became a pattern to all other brothers, and the
pride and pleasure of the good king, their father, con-
soling him for the death of their tender mother, which
took place a few years after their birth. They were
early taught the wild sports of their country; for, like
you, they had no books or communication with other
nations out of Africa, and were therefore ignorant of
any art but that of the chase and war, which latter it
was necessary to learn, that they might be able to
defend their kingdom, should it be attacked by other
chiefs.
One day, when out on an excursion, shooting wild
birds, which they did with bow and arrows, they were

AFRICA.

23