Christmas stories, English; Holidays -- Fiction; Short stories
And they went on and on together, until they came to very near the end of
the wood: so near, that they could see the sunset shining red before them
through the trees.
Yet, once more, while he broke his way among the branches, the traveller
lost his friend. He called and called, but there was no reply, and when
he passed out of the wood, and saw the peaceful sun going down upon a
wide purple prospect, he came to an old man sitting on a fallen tree.
So, he said to the old man, “What do you do here?” And the old man said
with a calm smile, “I am always remembering. Come and remember with me!”
So the traveller sat down by the side of that old man, face to face with
the serene sunset; and all his friends came softly back and stood around
him. The beautiful child, the handsome boy, the young man in love, the
father, mother, and children: every one of them was there, and he had
lost nothing. So, he loved them all, and was kind and forbearing with
them all, and was always pleased to watch them all, and they all honoured
and loved him. And I think the traveller must be yourself, dear
Grandfather, because this what you do to us, and what we do to you.
THE SCHOOLBOY’S STORY.
[1853]
BEING rather young at present—I am getting on in years, but still I am
rather young—I have no particular adventures of my own to fall back upon.
It wouldn’t much interest anybody here, I suppose, to know what a screw
the Reverend is, or what a griffin _she_ is, or how they do stick it into
parents—particularly hair-cutting, and medical attendance. One of our
fellows was charged in his half’s account twelve and sixpence for two
pills—tolerably profitable at six and threepence a-piece, I should
think—and he never took them either, but put them up the sleeve of his
jacket.
[Picture: Schoolboy with book: illustrated by Fred Walker]
As to the beef, it’s shameful. It’s _not_ beef. Regular beef isn’t
veins. You can chew regular beef. Besides which, there’s gravy to
regular beef, and you never see a drop to ours. Another of our fellows
went home ill, and heard the family doctor tell his father that he
couldn’t account for his complaint unless it was the beer. Of course it
was the beer, and well it might be!
However, beef and Old Cheeseman are two different things. So is beer.
It was Old Cheeseman I meant to tell about; not the manner in which our
fellows get their constitutions destroyed for the sake of profit.
Why, look at the pie-crust alone. There’s no flakiness in it. It’s
solid—like damp lead. Then our fellows get nightmares, and are bolstered
for calling out and waking other fellows. Who can wonder!
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