Holidays at the Grange; or, A Week's Delight: Games and Stories for Parlor and FiresideHiggins, Emily Mayer
General
Holidays at the Grange; or, A Week's Delight: Games and Stories for Parlor and Fireside
Higgins, Emily Mayer
Amusements -- Juvenile literature; Children's stories; Indoor games -- Juvenile literature
When it was re-opened, George was found seated in the centre of the
room, under the hands of the Doctor, who was examining his eye; while
Cornelia, with an appearance of great anxiety, held the light. "Is it
out yet?" "No, Doctor: I feel it still--how it hurts!" Thereupon the
Doctor produced a formidable instrument from his pocket, and appeared
about to gouge out the eye by way of curing it; and the door was closed
amid cries of "eye!" "eye!" "eye!"--quite parliamentary, as Charlie
said. The second scene disclosed Cornelia apparently engaged in
household avocations, which were interrupted by a rap at the door. She
gave admittance to a man and boy who were peddling tin wares, and there
ensued such a sounding of tin-pans, and such a chaffering about tins,
that no doubt could exist in the minds of the spectators as to the word.
To act out the third syllable, Cornelia and George were seated at a
table, with lamp and books, when a knock was heard, and a traveller,
with carpet-bag and umbrella, entered the room. He had lost his way--he
was going to the town of Certainty, in the land of Theoretical
Speculation, and wanted some plain directions. "Oh, I can tell you
exactly how to get there," cried Cornelia. "Keep along this road, the
highway of Inquiry, until you find it bends off to the left into the
path of Metaphysics. The path becomes narrower and more difficult
continually, and many side-walks lead off to other spots: one, to the
wilderness of Atheism; another, to the populous city of
Thinkasyouplease; still another, to the dangerous bog of Alldoubt. But
if you follow the right road, you cannot possibly err." "Much obliged:
I'll try to keep the path." Presently, the traveller returned, in a
battered condition: he had wandered from the right track; his cloak of
philosophical reason had been torn by the briers of difficulty; his feet
pierced, through the shoes of intellectual pride, by the sharp stones of
suffering: he could not hear of any town of Certainty in the whole
country of Theoretical Speculation. "I believe we have all made a
mistake," replied George. "We erred in giving you a wrong direction: you
erred in following it. Certainty is situated in the land of Truth:
follow this highway of Inquiry in the opposite direction, until it leads
you to a well-trodden road formed by the juncture of Faith and Facts;
and then you cannot fail to reach Certainty. My sister Fancy misled you
into error." And when the company in the sitting-room cried out "err,"
"err," the shutting of the door showed they were not mistaken. For the
last scene, Aunt Lucy was called into requisition, and formed the
central object of the exhibition. But little wit was required to make,
of the whole, the word _Itinerant_.
"Now for a few puzzles and conundrums," cried Charlie, "I have one which
I think none of you can guess. Who are the most immoral of
manufacturers? Do you give it up?"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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