St. Nicholas Magazine for Boys and Girls, Vol. 5, No. 08, June 1878: Scribner's IllustratedVarious
General
St. Nicholas Magazine for Boys and Girls, Vol. 5, No. 08, June 1878: Scribner's Illustrated
Various
Children's literature -- Periodicals; Children's periodicals, American
"Hurrah!" shouted Will, as the "America" gave herself a little shake,
and, catching the wind, sailed slowly and somewhat unsteadily for the
home port, which, however, she reached in safety. "Wind up the cord!"
shouted Greta, just in time to prevent Will's throwing it aside. He
wondered what further use she had for the cord. It might go to the
bottom of the pool for aught he cared, now that the ship was safe. But
he wound it up as directed. It would have been quite a grief to the
thrifty little Dutch girl if so much fine cord had been wasted.
Thus ignominiously came in the stately ship "America," which Will had
set afloat with such pride! And it is doubtful whether she would
have come in at all, but for the stanch Dutch canal-boat that he had
regarded with a good deal of disdain.
If Will had been a girl, he would have exhausted the complimentary
adjectives of the Dutch language in praise of his cousin; but being a
boy, he only said, "Thank you, Greta."
The children remained at the pool until called to dinner; and after
that meal, they went back again and stayed until it was time to return
to Zaandam, so fascinated were they with sailing their vessels. These
changed hands so often that it was sometimes difficult to tell who had
charge of any particular boat, and a good deal of confusion was the
result. In justice to the "America," it must be stated that she cut no
more capers, and was the admiration of all.
Will had his faults, and one of these was the very high estimate
he placed on his own opinions. But he was generous-hearted, and he
admitted to himself that Greta had shown more cleverness than he in
the "America" affair. "She was _quicker_, anyway," he thought. "It
is likely that plan would have occurred to me after a time, but she
thought of it first. And it was good of her to help me; for she knew
that I went away so as not to play with her." It was not pleasant to
him to know that a girl had shown herself superior to him in anything
he considered his province; but he magnanimously forgave her for this,
and he said to Martin, after they were in bed that night:
"I've pretty much made up my mind to give my schooner to Greta. I
believe she thinks it the prettiest thing ever made."
"If you do that," said Martin, "I'll give my sloop to Minchen."
This plan was carried out, and the girls were more delighted than if
they had had presents of diamonds. But they insisted that the boys
should accept their canal-boats in exchange, the result of which
was that the Chesters, on their return to America, produced quite a
sensation among their schoolmates. For American-built vessels could be
bought in many stores in New York, but a Dutch canal-boat, with a red
sail, and a mast that was raised and lowered by a windlass, was not to
be found in all the city.
THE BUTTERFLY CHASE.
BY ELLIS GRAY.
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