The great General Courteney, and all his Aide-de-Camps, intend to be here on their way from a review, besides many officers and ladies who know your papa very well, and wish to see my little grand-daughter; but I would not on any account allow you to appear before them, looking like a perfect tatterdemalion, as you too often do. They would suppose you had been drawn backwards through a hedge! Now my plan is, that you shall wear this old pink gingham for romping all morning in the garden, and dress in your last clean frock for dinner; but remember to keep out of sight till then. Remain within the garden walls, as none of the company will be walking there, but be sure to avoid the terrace and shrubberies till you are made tidy, for I shall be both angry and mortified if your papa's friends see you for the first time looking like rag-fair."

Laura promised to remember her grandmama's injunctions, and to remain invisible all morning; so off she set to the garden, singing and skipping with joy, as she ran towards her pleasant hiding-place, planning twenty ways in which the day might be delightfully spent alone.

Before long she had strung a long necklace of daisies--she had put many bright leaves in a book to dry--she had made a large ball of cowslips to toss in the air--she had watered the hyacinths, with a watering-pot, till they were nearly washed away--she had plucked more roses than could possibly be carried, and eat as many gooseberries and cherries as it was convenient to swallow,--but still there were several hours remaining to be enjoyed, and nothing very particular, that Laura could think of, to do.

Meantime, the miserable pink frock was torn worse than ever, and seemed to be made of nothing but holes, for every gooseberry-bush in the garden had got a share of it. Laura wished pink gingham frocks had never been invented, and wondered why nothing stronger could be made! Having become perfectly tired of the garden, she now wished herself anywhere else in the world, and thought she was no better off, confined in this way within four walls, than a canary bird in a cage.

"I should like so much to go, if it were only for five minutes, on the terrace!" said she to herself. "How much pleasanter it is than this.

Grandmama did not care where I went, provided n.o.body saw me! I may at least take a peep to see if any one is there!"

Laura now cautiously opened the garden-door, and put her head out, intending only to look for a moment, but the moment grew longer and longer, till it stretched into ten minutes.

"What crowds of fine people are walking about on the terrace!" thought she. "It looks as gay as a fair! Who can that officer be in a red coat, and c.o.c.ked hat with white feathers. Probably General Courteney paying attention to Lady Rockville. There is a lady in a blue cloak and blue flowers! how very pretty! Everybody is so exceedingly smart! and I see some little boys too! Grandmama never told me any children were coming!

I wonder how old they are, and if they will play with me in the evening!

It would be very amusing to venture a little nearer, and get a better glimpse of them all!"

If Laura's wishes pointed one way and her duty pointed the other, it was a very sad thing how often she forgot to pause and consider which she ought to follow; and on this occasion, as usual, she took the naughty side of the question, and prepared to indulge her curiosity, though very anxious that nothing might happen to displease her grandmama. She observed at some distance on the terrace, a remarkably large thick holly-bush, near which the great procession of company would probably pa.s.s before long, therefore, hoping n.o.body could possibly see her there, she stole hastily out of the garden, and concealed herself behind it; but when children do wrong, in hopes of not being found out, they generally find themselves mistaken, as Laura soon discovered to her cost. It is very lucky, however, for the culprits, when they are detected, that they may learn never to behave so foolishly again, because the greatest misfortune that can happen to a child is, not to be found out and punished when he does wrong.

A few minutes after Laura had taken her station behind the holly-bush, crowds of ladies and officers came strolling along, so very near her hiding-place, that she saw them all distinctly, and felt excessively amused and delighted at first, to be perched like a bird in a tree watching this grand party, while n.o.body saw her, nor guessed that she was there. Presently, however, Laura became sadly frightened when an officer in a scarlet coat happened to look towards the holly-bush, and exclaimed, with some surprise,

"There is surely something very odd about that plant! I see large pink spots between the leaves!"

"Oh no, Captain Digby, you are quite mistaken," answered one of the ladies, dressed in a bright yellow bonnet and green pelisse. "I see nothing particular there! only a common ugly bush of holly! I wonder you ever thought of noticing it!"

"But, Miss Perceval! there certainly is something very curious behind!

I would bet five to one there is!" replied Captain Digby, stepping up, close to the holly-bush, and peeping over: "What have we here! a ragged little girl, I do believe! in a pink frock!"

Poor Laura was now in a terrible sc.r.a.pe; she started up immediately to run away. Probably she never ran so fast in her life before, but Captain Digby was a person who enjoyed a joke, so he called out

"Tally-ho! a race for a thousand pounds!"

Off set the Captain, and away flew Laura. At any other time she would have thought it capital fun, but now she was frightened out of her wits, and tore away at the very top of her speed. The whole party of ladies and gentlemen stood laughing, and applauding, to see how fast they both cleared the ground, while Laura, seeing the garden gate still wide open, hoped she might be able to dart in, and close it, but alas! when she arrived within four steps of the threshold, feeling almost certain of escape, Captain Digby seized hold of her pink frock behind. It instantly began tearing, so she had great hopes of leaving the piece in his hand and getting off; but he was too clever for that, as he grasped hold of her long sash, which was floating far out behind, and led Laura a prisoner before the whole company.

When Lady Harriet discovered that this was really Laura advancing, her head hanging down, her hair streaming about her ears, and her face like a full moon, she could scarcely credit her own eyes, and held her hands up with astonishment, while uncle David shrugged his shoulders, till they almost met over his head, but not a word was said on either side until they got home, when Lady Harriet at last broke the awful silence by saying,

"My dear girl! you must, of course, be severely punished for this act of disobedience, and it is not so much on account of feeling angry at your misconduct that I mean to correct you, but because I love you, and wish to make you behave better in future. Parents are appointed by G.o.d to govern their children as he governs us, not carelessly indulging their faults, but wisely correcting them, for we are told that our Great Father in heaven chastens those whom he loves, and only afflicts us for great and wise purposes. I have suffered many sorrows in the world, but they always made me better in the end, and whatever discipline you meet with from me, or from that Great Being who loves you still more than I do, let it teach you to consider your ways, to repent of your wilfulness, and to pray that you may be enabled to act more properly in future."

"Yes, grandmama," replied Laura, with tears in her eyes, "I am quite willing to be punished, for it was very wrong indeed to make you so vexed and ashamed, by disobeying your orders."

"Then here is a long task which you must study before dinner, as a penalty for trespa.s.sing bounds. It is a beautiful poem on the death of Sir John Moore, which every school-girl can repeat, but being rather long, you will scarcely have time to learn it perfectly, before coming down to dessert, therefore, that you may be quite ready, I shall ring now for Lady Rockville's maid, and have you washed and dressed immediately. Remember this is your last clean frock, and be sure not to spoil it."

When Laura chose to pay attention, she could learn her lessons wonderfully fast, and her eyes seemed nailed to the book for some time after Lady Harriet went away, till at last she could repeat the whole poem perfectly well. It was neither "slowly nor sadly" that Laura "laid down" her book, after practising it all, in a sort of jig time, till she could rattle over the poem like a rail-road, and she walked to the window, still murmuring the verses to herself with prodigious glee, and giving little thought to their melancholy subject.

A variety of plans suggested themselves to her mind for amusing herself within doors, as she had been forbidden to venture out, and she lost no time in executing them. First, she tried on all her grandmama's caps at a looking-gla.s.s, none of which were improved by being crushed and tumbled in such a way. Then she quarrelled with Lady Rockville's beautiful c.o.c.katoo, till it bit her finger violently, and after that, she teazed the old cat till it scratched her; but all these diversions were not sufficiently entertaining, so Laura began to grow rather tired, till at last she went to gaze out at the portico of Holiday House, being perfectly determined, on no account whatever, to go one single step farther.

Here Laura saw many things which entertained her extremely, for she had scarcely ever seen more of the country than was to be enjoyed with Mrs.

Crabtree in Charlotte Square. The punctual crows were all returning home at their usual hour for the evening, and looked like a black shower over her head, while hundreds of them seemed trying to make a concert at once; the robins hopped close to her feet, evidently accustomed to be fed; a tame pheasant, as fat as a London alderman, came up the steps to keep her company; and the peac.o.c.k, spreading his tail, and strutting about, looked the very picture of silly pride and vanity.

Laura admired and enjoyed all this extremely, and crumbled down nearly a loaf of bread, which she scattered on the ground, in order to be popular among her visitors, who took all they could get from her, and quarrelled among themselves about it, very much as boys and girls would perhaps have done in the same circ.u.mstances.

It happened at this moment, that a large flock of geese crossed the park, on their way towards the river, stalking along in a slow majestic manner, with their heads high in the air. Laura observed them at a distance, and thought they were the prettiest creatures in the world, with their pure white feathers and yellow stockings, so she wondered what kind of birds these were, having never seen a goose before, except when roasted for dinner, though, indeed, she was a sad goose herself, as will very soon be told.

"How I should like to examine those large, white, beautiful birds, a little nearer," thought Laura to herself. "I wonder if they could swim or fly!--oh! how perfect they would look, floating like water-lilies on the river, and then I might take a bit of bread to throw in, and they would all rush after it!"

Laura, as usual, did not wait to reflect what her grandmama might be likely to think; indeed it is to be feared Laura forgot at the moment that she had a grandmama at all, for her mind was never large enough to hold more than one thing at a time, and now it was entirely filled with the flock of geese. She instantly set off in pursuit of them, and began chasing the whole party across the park, making all sorts of dreadful noises, in hopes they might fly; but, on the contrary, they held up their heads, as if she had been a dancing-master, and marched slowly on, cackling loudly to each other, and evidently getting extremely angry.

Laura was now quite close to her new acquaintances, and even threw a pebble to hurry them forward, when suddenly an old gander stopped, and turned round in a terrible rage. The whole flock of geese then did the same, after which they flew towards Laura, with their bills wide open, hissing furiously, and stretching out their long necks in an angry menacing way, as if they wished to tear her in pieces.

Poor Laura became frightened out of any wits she ever had, and ran off, with all the geese after her! Anybody must have laughed into fits, could they have heard what a triumphant cackle the geese set up, and had they seen how fast she flew away. If Laura had borrowed a pair of wings from her pursuers, she could scarcely have got more quickly on.

In the hurry of escaping, she always looked back to see if the enemy followed, and scarcely observed which way she ran herself, till suddenly her foot stumbled over a large stone, and she fell headlong into the river!--oh, what a scream Laura gave! it terrified even the old gander himself, and sent the whole flock of geese marching off, nearly as fast as they had come; but Laura's cries also reached, at a great distance, the ears of somebody, who she would have been very sorry to think had heard them.

Lady Harriet, and all her friends at Holiday House, were taking a delightful walk under some fine old fir trees, on the banks of the river, admiring the beautiful scenery, while Miss Perceval was admiring nothing but her own fine pocket handkerchief, which had cost ten guineas, being worked with her name, trimmed with lace, and perfumed with eau de Cologne; and Captain Digby was admiring his own scarlet uniform, reflected in the bright clear water, and varying his employment occasionally by throwing pebbles into the stream, to see how far they would go. Suddenly, however, he stopped, with a look of surprise and alarm, saying, "What noise can that be!--a loud scream in the water!"

"Oh dear, no! it was only one of those horrid peac.o.c.ks," answered Miss Perceval, waving her fine pocket handkerchief. "They are the most disagreeable, noisy creatures in the world! If mama ever keeps one, I shall get him a singing-master, or put a muzzle on his mouth!"

"But surely there is something splashing in the river at a great distance. Do you not see that!--what can it be?"

"Nothing at all, depend upon it! I could bet the value of my pocket handkerchief, ten guineas, that it is nothing. Officers who live constantly in barracks are so unaccustomed to the country, that they seem to expect something wonderful shall happen every minute! That is probably a salmon or a minnow."

"I am determined, however, to see. If you are quite sure this is a salmon, will you promise to eat for your dinner whatever we find, provided I can catch it?"

"Certainly! unless you catch a whale! Oh! I have dropped my pocket handkerchief,--pray pick it up!"

Captain Digby did so; but without waiting to examine the pattern, he instantly ran forward, and to his own very great astonishment, saw Laura up to her knees in the river, trying to scramble out, while her face was white with terror, and her limbs trembled with cold, like a poodle dog newly washed.

"Why, here you are again!--the very same little girl that I caught in the morning," cried he, laughing heartily, while he carefully pulled Laura towards the bank, though, by doing so, he splashed his beautiful uniform most distressingly. "We have had a complete game at bo-peep to-day, my friend! but here comes a lady who has promised to eat you up, therefore I shall have no more trouble."

Laura would have consented to be eaten up with pleasure, rather than encounter Lady Harriet's eye, who really did not recognize her for the first minute, as no one can suppose what a figure she appeared. The last clean frock had been covered entirely over with mud--her hair was dripping with water--and her new yellow sash might be any colour in the world. Laura felt so completely ashamed she could not look up from the ground, and so sorry she could not speak, while hot tears mingled themselves with the cold water which trickled down her face.

"What is the matter! Who is this?" cried Lady Harriet, hurrying up to the place where they stood. "Laura!! Impossible!!!"

"Let me put on a pair of spectacles, for I cannot believe my eyes without them!" said Major Graham. "Ah! sure enough it is Laura, and such a looking Laura as I never saw before. You must have had a nice cold bath!"

"I have heard," continued Lady Harriet, "that naughty people are often ducked in the water as a punishment, and in that respect I am sure Laura deserves what she has got, and a great deal more."

"She reminds me," observed Captain Digby, "of the Chinese bird which has no legs, so it constantly flies about from place to place, never a moment at rest."

"Follow me, Laura," said Lady Harriet, "that I may hear whether you have anything to say for yourself on this occasion. It is scarcely possible that there can be any excuse, but n.o.body should be condemned unheard."

When Laura had been put into dry clothes, she told her whole history, and entreated Lady Harriet to hear how very perfectly she had first learned her task, before venturing to stir out of the room; upon which her grandmama consented, and amidst tears and sobs, the monody on Sir John Moore was repeated without a single mistake. Lady Rockville then came in, to entreat that, as this was the last day of the visit to Holiday House, Laura might be forgiven and permitted to appear at dessert, as all the company were anxious to see her, and particularly Captain Digby, who regretted that he had been the means at first of getting her into a sc.r.a.pe.

"Indeed, my dear Lady Rockville! I might perhaps have agreed to your wishes," answered Lady Harriet, "particularly as Laura seems sincerely sorry, and did not premeditate her disobedience; but she actually has not a tolerable frock to appear in now!"

"I must lend her one of my velvet dresses to destroy next," said Lady Rockville, smiling.

"Uncle David's Mackintosh cloak would be the fittest thing for her to wear," replied Lady Harriet, rising to leave the room. "Laura, you must learn a double task now! Here it is! and at Lady Rockville's request I excuse you this once; though I am sorry that, for very sufficient reasons, we cannot see you at dessert, which otherwise I should have been most happy to do."

Laura sat down and cried during a quarter of an hour after Lady Harriet had gone to dinner. She felt sorry for having behaved ill, and sorry to have vexed her good grandmama; and sorry not to see all the fine party at dessert; and sorry to think that next day she must leave Holiday House; and sorry, last of all, to consider what Mrs. Crabtree would say when all her ruined frocks were brought home. In short, poor Laura felt perfectly overwhelmed with the greatness and variety of her griefs, and scarcely believed that any one in the world was ever more miserable than herself.