【儿童英文读物】Melchior's Dream and Other Tales.docx

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1、【儿童英文读物】Melchiors Dream and Other TalesEDITORS PREFACE. It is always a memorable era in a mothers life when she first introduces a daughter into society. Many things contribute to make it so; among which is the fact of the personal blessing to herself, in having been permitted to see the dayto have

2、been spared, that is, to watch over her child in infancy, and now to see her entering life upon her own account. But a more uncommon privilege is the one granted to me on the present occasion, of introducing a daughter into the literary world; and the feelings of pride and pleasure it calls forth, a

3、re certainly not less powerful than those created by the commoner occurrence. It is my comfort also to add that these are not overclouded by any painful anxiety or misgiving. There may be differences of opinion as to the precise amount of literary merit in these tales; but viewed as the first produc

4、tions of a young author, they are surely full of promise; while their whole tone and aim is so unmistakably high, that even those who criticize the style will be apt to respect the writer. I ought here to express a hope that it will not be thought presumptuous on my part, to undertake the office of

5、introduction. I8 beg it to be understood that I address myself especially to those readers who have (I speak it with deep gratitude and pleasure) listened kindly and favourably to me for several years past, and who will, I trust, be no less well disposed towards my daughters writings. To them also i

6、t may be interesting to know, that in the J.H.G. of Melchiors Dream, etc., they will find the original of my own portrait of Aunt Judy. But I have still something more to say: another little bit of gratification to express. What one sister has written, another has illustrated by her pencil; a cause

7、of double thankfulness in my heart to Him from whom all good gifts come. Margaret Gatty.Note.The foregoing Preface was written for the first edition of Melchiors Dream, and other Tales. This was published in 1862 under Mrs. Ewings maiden initials, J.H.G. It contained the first five stories in the pr

8、esent volume, and these were illustrated by the writers eldest sister, M.S.G. AN ALLEGORY. Thou that hast given so much to me, Give one thing morea grateful heart.George Herbert. Well, father, I dont believe the Browns are a bit better off than we are; and yet when I spent the day with young Brown,

9、we cooked all sorts of messes in the afternoon; and he wasted twice as much rum and brandy and lemons in his trash, as I should want to make good punch of. He was quite surprised, too, when I told him that our mince-pies were kept shut up in the larder, and only brought out at meal-times, and then j

10、ust one apiece; he said they had mince-pies always going, and he got one whenever he liked. Old Brown never blows up about that sort of thing; he likes Adolphus to enjoy himself in the holidays, particularly at Christmas. The speaker was a boyif I may be allowed to use the word in speaking of an ind

11、ividual whose 10jackets had for some time past been resigned to a younger member of his family, and who daily, in the privacy of his own apartment, examined his soft cheeks by the aid of his sisters back-hair glass. He was a handsome boy too; tall, and like Davidruddy, and of a fair countenance; and

12、 his face, though clouded then, bore the expression of general amiability. He was the eldest son in a large young family, and was being educated at one of the best public schools. He did not, it must be confessed, think either small beer or small beans of himself; and as to the beer and beans that h

13、is family thought of him, I think it was pale ale and kidney-beans at least. Young Hopeful had, however, his weak points like the rest of us; and perhaps one of the weakest was the difficulty he found in amusing himself without bothering other people. He had quite a monomania for proposing the most

14、troublesome larks at the most inconvenient moments; and if his plans were thwarted, an ?olian harp is cheerful compared to the tone in which, arguing and lamenting, he Fought his battles oer again, to the distraction of every occupied member of the household. When the lords of the creation of all ag

15、es can 11find nothing else to do, they generally take to eating and drinking; and so it came to pass that our hero had set his mind upon brewing a jorum of punch, and sipping it with an accompaniment of mince-pies; and Paterfamilias had not been quietly settled to his writing for half-an-hour, when

16、he was disturbed by an application for the necessary ingredients. These he had refused, quietly explaining that he could not afford to waste his French brandy, etc., in school-boy cookery, and ending with, You see the reason, my dear boy? To which the dear boy replied as above, and concluded with th

17、e disrespectful (not to say ungrateful) hint, Old Brown never blows up about that sort of thing; he likes Adolphus to enjoy himself in the holidays. Whereupon Paterfamilias made answer, in the mildly deprecating tone in which the elder sometimes do answer the younger in these topsy-turvy days: Thats

18、 quite a different case. Dont you see, my boy, that Adolphus Brown is an only son, and you have nine brothers and sisters? If you have punch and mince-meat to play with, there is no reason why Tom should not have it, and James, and Edward, and William, and Benjamin, and Jack. And then there are your

19、 sisters. Twice the amount of 12the Browns mince-meat would not serve you. I like you to enjoy yourself in the holidays as much as young Brown or anybody; but you must remember that I send you boys to good schools, and give you all the substantial comforts and advantages in my power; and the Christm

20、as bills are very heavy, and I have a great many calls on my purse; and you must be reasonable. Dont you see? Well, father began the boy; but his father interrupted him. He knew the unvarying beginning of a long grumble, and dreading the argument, cut it short. I have decided. You must amuse yoursel

21、f some other way. And just remember that young Browns is quite another case. He is an only son. Whereupon Paterfamilias went off to his study and his sermon; and his son, like the Princess in Andersens story of the Swineherd, was left outside to sing, O dearest Augustine,Alls clean gone away!Not tha

22、t he did say thatthat was the princess songwhat he said was, I wish I were an only son! This was rather a vain wish, for round the dining-room fire (where he soon joined them) were gathered his nine brothers and sisters, who, to say the truth, 13were not looking much more lively and cheerful than he

23、. And yet (of all days in the year on which to be doleful and dissatisfied!) this was Christmas Eve. Now I know that the idea of dulness or discomfort at Christmas is a very improper one, particularly in a story. We all know how every little boy in a story-book spends the Christmas holidays. First,

24、there is the large hamper of good things sent by grandpapa, which is as inexhaustible as Fortunatuss purse, and contains everything, from a Norfolk turkey to grapes from the grandpaternal vinery. There is the friend who gives a guinea to each member of the family, and sees who will spend it best. Th

25、ere are the godpapas and godmammas, who might almost be fairy sponsors from the number of expensive gifts that they bring upon the scene. The uncles and aunts are also liberal. One night is devoted to a magic-lantern (which has a perfect focus), another to the pantomime, a third to a celebrated conj

26、uror, a fourth to a Christmas tree and juvenile ball. The happy youth makes himself sufficiently ill with plum-pudding, to testify to the reader how good it was, and how much there was of it; but recovers in time to fall a victim to the negus and trifle at 14supper for the same reason. He is neither

27、 fatigued with late hours nor surfeited with sweets; or if he is, we do not hear of it. But as this is a strictly candid history, I will at once confess the truth, on behalf of my hero and his brothers and sisters. They had spent the morning in decorating the old church, in pricking holly about the

28、house, and in making a mistletoe bush. Then in the afternoon they had tasted the Christmas soup and seen it given out; they had put a finishing touch to the snow man by crowning him with holly, and had dragged the yule-logs home from the carpenters. And now, the early tea being over, Paterfamilias h

29、ad gone to finish his sermon for to-morrow; his friend was shut up in his room; and Materfamilias was in hers, with one of those painful headaches which even Christmas will not always keep away. So the ten children were left to amuse themselves, and they found it rather a difficult matter. Heres a n

30、ice Christmas! said our hero. He had turned his youngest brother out of the arm-chair, and was now lying in it with his legs over the side. Heres a nice Christmas! A fellow might just as well be at school. I wonder what Adolphus Brown would think of being cooped up with a lot of children like this!

31、Its his party to-night, and hes to have champagne and ices. I wish I were an only son. 15 Thank you, said a chorus of voices from the floor. They were all sprawling about on the hearth-rug, pushing and struggling like so many kittens in a sack, and every now and then with a grumbled remonstrance: Do

32、nt, Jack! youre treading on me. You neednt take all the fire, Tom. Keep your legs to yourself, Benjamin. It wasnt I, etc., with occasionally the feebler cry of a small sister Oh! you boys are so rough. And what are you girls, I wonder? inquired the proprietor of the arm-chair with cutting irony. Whi

33、ney piney, whiney piney. I wish there were no such things as brothers and sisters! You wish WHAT? said a voice from the shadow by the door, as deep and impressive as that of the ghost in Hamlet. The ten sprang up; but when the figure came into the fire-light, they saw that it was no ghost, but Pater

34、familiass old college friend, who spent most of his time abroad, and who, having no home or relatives of his own, had come to spend Christmas at his friends vicarage. You wish what? he repeated. Well, brothers and sisters are a bore, was the reply. One or two would be all very well; but just look, h

35、ere are ten of us; and it just spoils everything. 16 If a fellow wants to go anywhere, its somebody elses turn. If old Brown sends a basket of grapes, its share and share alike; all the ten must taste, and then theres about a grape and a half for each. If anybody calls or comes to luncheon, there ar

36、e a whole lot of brats swarming about, looking as if we kept a school. Whatever one does, the rest must do; whatever there is, the rest must share; whereas, if a fellow was an only son, he would have the wholeand by all the rules of arithmetic, one is better than a tenth. And by the same rules ten i

37、s better than one, said the friend. Sold again, sang out Master Jack from the floor, and went head over heels against the fender. His brother boxed his ears with great promptitude, and went on, Well, I dont care; confess, sir, isnt it rather a nuisance? Paterfamiliass friend looked very grave, and s

38、aid, quietly, I dont think I am able to judge. I never had brother or sister but one, and he was drowned at sea. Whatever I have had, I have had the whole of, and would have given it away willingly for some one to give it to. If any one sent me grapes, I ate them alone. If I made anything, there was

39、 no one to show it to. If I wanted to act, I must act all the characters, and be my own audience. I remember that I got a lot of sticks at last, and cut heads and 17faces to all of them, and carved names on their sides, and called them my brothers and sisters. If you want to know what I thought a ni

40、ce number for a fellow to have, I can only say that I remember carving twenty-five. I used to stick them in the ground and talk to them. I have been only, and lonely, and alone, all my life, and have never felt the nuisance you speak of. This was a funny account; but the speaker looked so far from f

41、unny that one of the sisters, who was very tender-hearted, crept up to him, and said, gently Richard is only joking; he doesnt really want to get rid of us. The other day the curate said he wished he had a sister, and Richard offered to sell us all for ninepence; but he is only in fun. Only it is ra

42、ther slow just now, and the boys get rather cross; at least, we all of us do. Its a dreadful state of things, said the friend, smiling through his black beard and moustachios. What is to be done? I know what would be very nice, insinuated the young lady. What? If you wouldnt mind telling us a very s

43、hort story till supper-time. The boys like stories. Thats a good idea, said Benjamin. As if the girls didnt! 18 But the friend proclaimed order, and seated himself with the girl in question on his knee. Well, what sort of a story is it to be? Any sort, said Richard; only not too true, if you please.

44、 I dont like stories like tracts. There was an usher at a school I was at, and he used to read tracts about good boys and bad boys to the fellows on Sunday afternoon. He always took out the real names, and put in the names of the fellows instead. Those who had done well in the week he put in as good

45、 ones, and those who hadnt as the bad. He didnt like me, and I was always put in as a bad boy, and I came to so many untimely ends I got sick of it. I was hanged twice, and transported once for sheep-stealing; I committed suicide one week, and broke into the bank the next; I ruined three families, b

46、ecame a hopeless drunkard, and broke the hearts of my twelve distinct parents. I used to beg him to let me be reformed next week; but he said he never would till I did my C?sar better. So, if you please, well have a story that cant be true. Very well, said the friend, laughing; but if it isnt true,

47、may I put you in? All the best writers, you know, draw their characters from their friends now-a-days. May I put you in? Oh, certainly! said Richard, placing himself 19in front of the fire, putting his feet on the hob, and stroking his curls with an air which seemed to imply that whatever he was put

48、 into would be highly favoured. The rest struggled, and pushed, and squeezed themselves into more modest but equally comfortable quarters; and after a few moments of thought, Paterfamiliass friend commenced the story of MELCHIORS DREAM. Melchior is my hero. He waswell, he considered himself a young man, so we will consider him so too. He was not perfect; but in these days the taste in heroes is for a good deal of imperfection, not to say wickednes