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Title:
Gray Hairs Made Happy
An interesting story for children
Author: Anonymous
Release Date: June 9, 2021 [eBook #65579]
Language: English
Character set encoding: UTF-8
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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GRAY HAIRS MADE HAPPY ***
Gray Hairs made happy.
AN INTERESTING STORY
FOR CHILDREN.
Providence:
H. H. BROWN, PRINTER.
.........
1831.
Youth has its pleasures, and age has
its cares.
[3]
GRAY HAIRS MADE HAPPY.
Opposite to the house in which
Mary’s parents lived, was a little
opening, ornamented with a grass
plot, and overshaded by a venerable
tree, commanding an extensive
view before it. On this
delightful spot, Mary used frequently
to sit in her little chair,
while employed in knitting stockings
for her mamma.
As she was one day thus employed,
she saw a poor old man
advancing very slowly towards her.
His hair was as white as silver,
and his back bent with age; he
supported himself by a stick, and
seemed to walk with great difficulty.
“Poor man,” said Mary,[4]
looking at him most tenderly, “he
seems to be very much in pain,
and perhaps is very poor, which
are two dreadful evils.”
She also saw a number of boys,
who were following close behind
this poor old man. They passed
jokes upon his thread-bare coat,
which had very long skirts and
short sleeves, contrary to the fashion[5]
of those days. His hat, which
was quite rusty, did not escape
their notice; his cheeks were hollow
and his body thin. These
wicked boys no sooner saw him,
than they all burst out a laughing.
A stone lay in his way, which he
did not perceive, and over it he
stumbled, and had liked to have
fallen. This afforded them sport,
and they laughed loudly; but it
gave great pain to the poor old
man, who uttered a deep sigh.
It is very wicked for children to ridicule
aged persons. See II. Kings ii, 23.
“I once was as young as you
are,” said he to the boys, “but I
did not laugh at the infirmities of
age, as you do. The day will
come in which you will be old
yourselves, and every day is bringing
you forward to that period.
You will then be sensible of the
impropriety of your present conduct.”
Having thus spoken, he[6]
endeavored to hobble on again,
and made a second stumble, when
in struggling to save himself from
falling, he dropped his cane, and
down he fell. On this the wicked
boys renewed their laugh, and
highly enjoyed his misfortune.
Mary, who had seen every thing
that had passed, could not help
pitying the old man’s situation,
and therefore putting down her
stocking on the chair, ran towards
him, picked up the cane and gave
it him, and then taking hold of his
other arm, as if she had been as
strong as a woman, advised him
to lean upon her, and not mind
any thing the boys might say to
him.
The poor old man looking at
her very earnestly, ‘Sweet child,’
said he, ‘how good you are! This
kindness makes me in a moment[7]
forget all the ill behavior of those
naughty boys. May you ever be
happy.’ They then walked on
together; but the boys being probably
made ashamed of their conduct
by the behavior of Mary, followed
the old man no further.
While the boys were turning
about, one of them fell down also,
and all the rest began laughing,
as they had before done to the old
man. He was very angry with
them on that account, and as soon
as he got up, ran after his companions,
pelting them with stones.
He instantly became convinced,
how unjust it was to laugh at the
distresses of another, and formed
a resolution for the future, never
to laugh at any person’s pain. He
followed the old man he had been
laughing at, though at some distance,
wishing for an opportunity[8]
to do him some favor, by way of
atonement, for what he had done.
The good old man, in the mean
time, by the kind assistance of
Mary, proceeded with slow but
sure steps. She asked him to stop
and rest himself a little, and told
him, that her house was that before
him. “Pray stay,” said
she, “and sit a little under that
large tree. My parents, indeed,
are not at home, and therefore
you will not be so well treated;
yet it will be a little rest to you.”
The old man accepted Mary’s
offer. She brought him out a chair,
and then fetched some bread and
cheese and good small beer, which
was all the pretty maid could get
at. He thanked her very kindly,
and then entered into conversation
with her.
“I find, my dear,” said he,[9]
“you have parents. I doubt not
but you love them, and they love
you. They must be very happy,
and may they always continue to
be so.”
“And pray, good old man,”
said Mary, “I suppose you have
got children.” “I had a son,”
replied he, “who lived in London,
loved me tenderly, and frequently
came to see me; but alas! he is
now dead, and I am left disconsolate.
His widow, indeed, is rich;
but she assumes the character of
the lady, and thinks it beneath
her to inquire whether I be
dead or living, as she does not
wish it to be known, that her husband’s
father is a peasant.”
Mary was much affected,
and could hardly believe that such
cruel people existed. “Ah! certain
I am,” said she, “that my[10]
dear mother would not behave so
cruelly.” He then rose and
thanked Mary with a blessing;
but she was determined not to
leave him, till she had accompanied
him a little way further.
As they walked on, they saw
the little boy who had been following
them; for he run on some way
before, and was then sitting on the
grass. When they looked upon
him he cast his eyes downwards,
got up after they had passed, and
followed them again. Mary observed
him, but said nothing.
She asked the old man if he
lived alone. “No, little lady,”
answered he, “I have a cottage
on the other side of that meadow,
seated in the middle of a little
garden, with an orchard and a
small field. An old neighbor,
whose cottage fell down through[11]
age, lives with me, and cultivates
my ground. He is an honest man,
and I am perfectly easy in his society;
but the loss of my son still
bears hard upon me, nor have I
the happiness to see any of his
children, who must by this time
have forgotten me.”
These complaints touched the
heart of Mary, who told him that
she and her mother would come
and see him. The sensibility
and kindness of this little girl,
served only to aggravate his grief,
by bringing to his mind the loss he
had sustained in his son. Tears
came in his eyes, when he pulled
out his handkerchief to wipe them;
and instead of again putting it into
his pocket, in the agitation of
his mind, it slipped aside, and fell
unnoticed by him or Mary.
The little boy who followed[12]
them, saw the handkerchief fall,
ran to pick it up, and gave it to
the old man, saying, “Here, good
old man, you dropped your handkerchief
and here it is.”—“Thank
you heartily, my little friend,”
said the old man. “Here is a
good natured lad, who does not
ridicule old age, nor laugh at
the afflictions that attend it. You
will certainly become an honest
man. Come both of you to my
habitation, and I will give you
some milk.” They had no sooner
reached the old man’s cottage,
than he brought out some milk,
and the best bread he had, which
though coarse, was good. They
all sat down upon the grass, and
made a comfortable repast. However,
Mary began to be afraid
her parents might come home, and
be uneasy at her absence; and[13]
the little boy was sorry to go, but
was sadly afraid, should he stay,
of being scolded by his mother.
“This mother of your’s,” said
the old man, “must be very cross
to scold you.”
“She is not always so,” replied
the boy; “but though she loves
me, she makes me fear her.”
“And your father?” “Oh, I
scarcely knew him, he having been
dead these four years.”—“Dead
these four years!” interrupted the
old man, and fixing his eyes attentively
on the boy. “Is it possible
that I have some recollection of
your features? Can it be little
Lemuel!”—“Yes, yes, Lemuel
is my name.”
For a few moments the old man
stood motionless, and with an altered
voice, his eyes swimming
with tears, cried out, “My dear[14]
Lemuel, you do not recollect your
grandfather! Embrace me! You
have got the very features of my
son! My dearest child, you was
not thinking of me! My son affectionately
loved me, and his son
will love me also. My old age
will not be so miserable as I expected,
and the evening of my
life will not pass without some joy.
I shall depart in peace!—But I
forget that by detaining you, I
may expose you to your mother’s
anger. Go, my dear child, for I
do not wish that my joy should
cost you tears. Go, love your
mother, and obey her commands,
even though you should not come
and see me. Come and see me
if you can; but do not disobey or
tell a story on any account.”
He then turned to Mary, and[15]
said, though he then did not wish
her to stay, for fear of offending
her parents, yet he hoped she
would come again. He then dismissed
them, giving them a hearty
blessing, and the two children
walked away hand in hand.
Mary got home safe before her
parents, who were not long after
her, when she told them every
thing that had passed, which furnished
an agreeable conversation
for the evening.
The next day, they all went to
see the good old man, and afterwards
frequently repeated their
visits. Lemuel also came to see
his grandfather, who was rejoiced
to hear him speak, and to receive
his affectionate caresses. Lemuel,
on his side, was equally rejoiced,
excepting when he did not[16]
meet with Mary; for then he went
home sorrowful and sad.
The nearer Lemuel arrived to
manhood, the more his affections
for Mary increased; and accordingly,
when he was old enough to
marry, he would think of no other
woman, though she was not
rich. The old man lived to see
them married and happy, and
then finally closed his eyes in
peace.
Transcriber’s Notes:
Punctuation and spelling inaccuracies were silently corrected.
Archaic and variable spelling have been preserved.
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