Family life -- Juvenile fiction; Voyages and travels -- Juvenile fiction
The change in his life was doing him good. He was a willful little
creature, and the regular employment was taming him, and Mrs. Moseley's
motherly care, joined to a slight degree of wholesome discipline, was
subduing the little faults of selfishness which his previous life as
Cecile's sole charge could not but engender.
It is to be regretted that Toby, hitherto, perhaps, the most perfect
character of the three, should in these few weeks of prosperity
degenerate the most. Having no school to attend, and no care whatever
on his mind, this dog decided to give himself up to enjoyment. The
weather was most bitterly cold. It was quite unnecessary for him to
accompany Cecile and Maurice to school. _His_ education had long ago
been finished. So he selected to stay in the warm kitchen, and lie as
close to the stove as possible. He made dubious and uncertain friends
with the cat. He slept a great deal, he ate a great deal. As the weeks
flew on, he became fat, lazy-looking, and uninteresting. Were it not
for subsequent and previous conduct he would not have been a dog worth
writing about. So bad is prosperity for some!
But prosperous days were not the will of their heavenly Father for
these little pilgrims just yet, and their brief and happy sojourn with
kind Mrs. Moseley was to come to a rather sudden end.
Cecile, believing fully in the good clergyman's words, was waiting
patiently for that letter from France, which was to enable Maurice,
Toby, and herself to travel there in the very best way. Her little
heart was at rest. During the six weeks she remained with Mrs. Moseley,
she gained great strength both of body and mind.
She must find Lovedy. But surely Mr. Danvers was right and if she had a
grown person to go with her and her little brother, from how many
perils would they not be saved? She waited, therefore, quite quietly
for the letter that never came; meanwhile employing herself in learning
all she could about France. She was more sure than ever now that Lovedy
was there, for something seemed to tell her that Lovedy and Susie were
one. Of course this beautiful Susie had gone back to France, and once
there, Cecile would quickly find her. She had now a double delight and
pleasure in the hope of finding Lovedy Joy. She would give her her
mother's message, and her mother's precious purse of gold. But she
could do more than that. Lovedy's own mother was dead. But there was
another woman who cared for Lovedy with a mother's warm and tender
heart. Another woman who mourned for the lost Susie she could never
see, but for whom she kept a little room all warm and bright. Cecile
pictured over and over how tenderly she would tell this poor, wandering
girl of the love waiting for her, and longing for her, and of how she
herself would bring her back to Mammie Moseley.
Things were in this state, and the children and their adopted parents
were all very happy together, when the change that I have spoken of
came.
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.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account