Read Ebook: Raftmates: A Story of the Great River by Munroe Kirk

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Ebook has 1494 lines and 77407 words, and 30 pages

"How shall you do it, then?" asked Lucy.

"You'll see," replied her father.

He then put the till carefully into the box, and let it rest upon the sliders. He showed the children, too, how it would slide along from one end to the other.

"Let me slide it," said Lucy.

"Very carefully," said her father, "for it is not dry yet."

"And will it tear, now that it is not dry?" said Lucy.

"Perhaps it may not tear, but it will easily get bent out of shape. To-morrow you can slide it as much as you please."

The top of the till was just level with the top of the chest, so that the lid would shut down tight, just as if there was no till in it. So Lucy's father shut the lid down when it was all ready, and told the children that they might put the box away.

"We call it the marble box," said Lucy.

"What does that mean, sir?" said Lucy.

"True," replied his father; "that is an objection. But let me see; I believe we do use descriptive epithets in that way."

"Descriptive epithets," repeated Royal; "what are descriptive epithets?"

"Then I think," said Royal, "that it ought to describe the box, and not the persons that are to use it; or else it is not a good descriptive epithet."

"So should I," added Royal's mother.

"But perhaps," said Lucy's mother, "all such expressions are incorrect."

"No," said her father; "usage makes them correct. There is no other rule for good English than good usage."

They did no more about the box that evening; for it was now time for the children to go to bed. The next day, however, they made some rules for the box, which Royal wrote out in a very plain hand, and pasted upon the under side of the lid. They were as follows:--

"RULES.

"1. This box must not be opened for Royal or Lucy, unless they have been sick enough to have to take medicine.

"2. It must be shut and locked again, the first time they are well enough to go out of doors.

"3. The playthings and books must always be put back in good order, and the key given to mother."

When Royal had pasted the paper containing a copy of the rules into its place, he and Lucy began to look around the house to find books and playthings to put into it. Lucy said that she meant to go and ask her mother what she had better put in.

"What do you think, mother," said she, "that we had better put into the marble box?"

"That is rather a hard question to settle," her mother replied. "You want very interesting books and playthings when you are sick; but then all that you put in will be entirely lost to you while you continue well; for you know the box is never to be opened when you are well."

"Would you put in my little paint-box, mother?" asked Lucy.

"Why, no," answered her mother, "I think I should not; for you often want to use your paint-box when Marielle comes to see you."

"Well, at any rate," said Royal, "we will put in all our little pictures; for we don't care much about pasting pictures, except when we can't go out of doors."

They accordingly collected all their loose pictures, and old, worn-out picture-books, such as they were accustomed to cut the pictures out of, to make new picture-books with of their own. They also had a number of pieces of marble paper, and gilt paper, and other kinds of paper, of various colors, which they were accustomed to use for making little pocket-books, and wallets, and portfolios. These they tied up neatly together, and laid in the bottom of the box.

Then they selected a number of books, such as they thought they could best spare, and placed them in two rows in the bottom of the box, across the end. They also put in a number of playthings, the large ones below, and the smaller ones in the till. When all was ready, they locked it up, and gave their mother the key.

That night, however, when their father came home, the marble box had to be opened again a moment, to put in two parcels which he brought. One looked as if it had books in it, and the other something of an irregular shape. Their father would not tell them what was in the parcels. He only said it was something to amuse convalescents, whenever there should be any. He then locked up the box again immediately, and gave the key to the children, to be carried to their mother.

That evening Lucy said to Royal,--

"Royal, how long do you think it will be before you or I shall be sick?"

"I don't know," said Royal. "Why?"

"Because," said Lucy, "only I should like to open our marble box."

METAPHYSICS.

One time, when Lucy had been sick,--long after the convalescent box was made, and in fact, after it had been used a great many times,--she carried a little cricket up to it, in the back entry, and sat down before it, and began to read. Royal had helped her first to move it out near a window. It was placed with one end towards the window, and the lid was turned back against a chair which she had placed behind it. She had also placed another chair before it, in such a way that, when she was sitting upon her cricket, she could lay her book in this chair, using it as a sort of table. When Royal had helped her move out the great box, he had gone down into the yard to play, leaving her to arrange the other things herself.

Accordingly, when they were all arranged, Lucy asked Royal if he would not come up and see her study.

"Yes," said Royal, "I will come."

So Royal went up stairs again, to see Lucy's study, as she called it. He found her seated upon the cricket, with a picture-book open before her upon the chair.

"Well, Lucy," said Royal, "I think you have got a very good study. What are you reading?"

"I am reading stories," answered Lucy.

"What stories?" said Royal.

"One is about a parrot," replied Lucy; "and there are some others which I am going to read after I have finished this."

"But I think," said Royal, "that you had better come down and play with me, behind the garden."

The fact was, that Royal was going to make a little ship. He was going to work upon it at a seat in a shady place beyond the garden, and he wanted some company.

"Come, Lucy," said he, "do go."

"But I don't think that mother will let me go out yet," replied Lucy. "I have not got well enough to go out."

"I'll run and ask her," said Royal.

Lucy called to him to stop, but he paid no attention to her call. She did not want to have him go and ask her mother; for, even if her mother would consent, she did not wish to go out. She did not assign the true reason. The true reason was, that she was interested in the story about a parrot, that could say, "Breakfast is ready; all come to breakfast,"--and she did not wish to leave it. Her fear that her mother would not allow her to go out was, therefore, not the true reason. It was a false reason.

People very often assign false reasons, instead of true ones, for what they do, or are going to do. But it is very unwise to do this. They very often get into difficulty by it. Lucy got into difficulty in this case; for, in a few minutes, Royal came back, and said that his mother sent her word that she might go out, if she chose, and stay one hour.

Thus the false reason which Lucy gave for not going with Royal, was taken away, and yet she did not want to go; but then she was embarrassed to know what to say next. That is the way that persons often get into difficulty by assigning reasons which are not the honest and true reasons; for the false reasons are sometimes unexpectedly removed out of the way, and then they are placed in a situation of embarrassment, not knowing what to say next. It is a great deal better not to give any reasons at all, than to give those which are not the ones which really influence us, but which we only invent to satisfy other persons.

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