The son of Mr. John Dunlap, the father of Lucy, survived but one year
the death of his wife, which occurred when Lucy was born. Thus her
grandfather and uncle became sole protectors and guardians of the child;
that is until the lad, Jack Dunlap, came to live at the house of his
godfather.
Young Jack was the only child of a second cousin of the twin brothers;
his father had been lost at sea when Jack was yet a baby. His mother,
Martha Dunlap, had gladly availed herself of the kind offer of the boy’s
kinsman and godfather, when he proposed that the boy should come and
live with him in Boston, where he could obtain better opportunities for
securing an education than he could in the old town of Bedford.
Jack was twelve years of age when he became an inmate of the Dunlap
mansion, and a robust, sturdy little curly haired chap he was; Princess
Lucy’s conquest was instantaneous. Jack immediately enrolled himself as
the chief henchman, servitor and guard of the pretty fairy-like maid of
six years. No slave was ever more obedient and humble.
Great games awoke the echoes through Dunlap’s stately old dwelling;
in winter the lawn was converted into a slide, the fish-pond into a
skating-rink; in summer New Hampshire’s hills reverberated with the merry
shouts of Jack and “Princess” Lucy or flying over the blue waters of the
bay in the yacht that his godfather had given him. Jack, aided by Lucy’s
fresh young voice, sang rollicking songs of the sea.
The old gentlemen dubbed Jack, “Lucy’s Knight,” and were always perfectly
satisfied when the little girl was with her cousin.
“He is more careful of her than we are ourselves,” they would reply when
speaking of Jack and his guardianship.
All the fuming of Miss Lucy’s maids and the complaints of Miss Lucy’s
governess availed nothing, for even good old Mrs. Church joined in the
conspiracy of the grandfather and uncle, saying:
“She is perfectly safe in Jack’s care, and I wish to see rosy cheeks
rather than hear Emersonian philosophy from our pet.”
Notwithstanding the “lots of fun,” as Jack used to call their frolics,
Lucy and Jack did good hard work with their books, music and “all the
rest of it,” as the young people called drawing and dancing.
When Jack became twenty years of age, and was prepared to enter Harvard
college, where Mr. John Dunlap proposed to send him, he made his
appearance one day in the city and asked to see his kind kinsman.
“I thank you, sir, for your great kindness in offering to place me in
Harvard College, as I do for all the countless things you have done for
me, but I can’t accept your generous proposition. You will not be angry,
I am sure, for you know, I hope, how grateful I am for all you have done.
But, sir, I have a widowed mother and I wish to go to work that I may
earn money for her and obtain a start in life for myself,” said Jack with
boyish enthusiasm when admitted to the presence of Mr. John Dunlap.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account