WILLIE AND LUCY AT THE SEA-SIDE.

FOR VERY LITTLE CHILDREN.

BY A. G. [Agnes Giberne]

LONDON:

THE RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY

56, PATERNOSTER ROW; 65, ST. PAUL'S CHURCHYARD; AND 164, PICCADILLY.

LONDON: PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, STANFORD STREET AND CHARING CROSS.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER.

I. WAKING

II. THE JOURNEY

III. THE SEA

IV. SPADES AND SAND

V. WILLIE IN BED

VI. A DONKEY RIDE

VII. A RAINY DAY

VIII. ROUGH WEATHER

IX. A ROW ON THE WATER

WILLIE AND LUCY AT THE SEA-SIDE.

CHAPTER I.

WAKING.

"WAKE up! Wake up! Master Willie."

Willie Gray rubbed his eyes, and sat up in the bed. Then he lay down again, and hid his face in the pillow.

"I'm so sleepy, nurse. I don't want to get up yet."

"Not get up yet, Master Willie, with the sun shining, and the birds singing like this? See;" and she drew the curtains aside, letting a bright sunbeam stream on his rosy face and tumbled hair—"it would be a shame to sleep any longer."

Willie's eyes were open by this time, and nurse added, "You forget, I think, where we are all going to-day."

"To the sea-side!" said Willie, clapping his hands, and wide awake at last. "Oh, nurse, are we really going?"

"To be sure we are, Master and a long journey we have before us too, while you are lying there and wanting to go to sleep. There is no time to be lost. Come, jump up, and dress as fast as you can. Why, Miss Lucy is twice as quick as you."

This made Willie jump out of bed, and set to work in good earnest. With nurse's help, he was very soon dressed, and then he knelt down to say his morning prayer, asking God to forgive his sins, to make him one of Jesus Christ's little lambs, and to bless his dear papa and mamma and little sister. Willie had been taught to say his prayers slowly and gravely, and to think all the time of what he was saying. He knew that if he looked about the room, and thought of other things, he could not hope that God would hear him.

This morning his mind was so full of the journey that he found it very hard to attend to what he was saying, but he kept his eyes shut, and tried not to let such thoughts come into his head. Then he stood up, and said his pretty morning hymn, and nurse read to him a few easy verses in the Bible, and then Willie gave her a kiss, and ran out of the room.

Such a bustle the house was in! Boxes were standing, packed and corded, in the hall, and there was papa at a side table, very busy over a great basket, which he was filling with buns, and biscuits, and cold chicken, all to be eaten on the way.

Little Lucy, Willie's sister, who was only five years old, stood looking on very gravely. She was a year younger than Willie, and Willie always felt as if he were a great deal older than she was.

"Lucy, isn't it nice?" he said to her. "Don't you think the journey will be fun? I do."

"No, I don't like it," said Lucy, shaking her head. "Nurse says there will be a great noise."

"Oh, but a noise won't hurt you, Lucy. It will be so nice to go on—on—faster than you can think. I want so much to see the train. You need not be afraid of it, Lucy. I'll take care of you."

"But you are not big enough," said Lucy, with a sigh.

And Mr. Gray stopped for a moment in his work of packing, to look down and ask—

"What is the matter, my little girl?"

"She's afraid of the train, papa," said Willie. "But she needn't be. I'll take care of her."

"You!" said Mr. Gray, with a little smile.

"I'm six years old, papa," said Willie, holding up his head, and wishing very much that he were taller.

Mr. Gray had a bag of biscuits in his hand, which he was just going to stow away in the basket. But he put it down for a minute, and patted Willie's head.

"I have no doubt you will do the best you can, my boy. But if papa and mamma and Lucy had no one to take care of them except their little Willie, I don't think they could feel very happy at going such a long journey."

"'You' can take care of yourself, papa," said Willie, rather surprised, and Lucy said the same.

"No, Lucy, papa can't take care of himself," said Mr. Gray, looking down gravely at the two little faces. "Papa is much bigger and stronger than either Willie or Lucy, but still he is not big enough or strong enough to take care of himself. Willie can tell me who can take care of us all."

"God can, papa," said Willie softly.

"Yes, Willie, and we must ask God to watch over us on our journey, and all the time we are away from home."

"And when we come back too," said Willie gravely.

"Quite right, Willie. We should never be happy to pass a single day, without feeling that we have prayed God to guard us and watch over us, for Jesus Christ's sake. And my little Lucy need have no fears about the journey. Willie might wish to take care of her, and might not be able, but God is able and willing too."

Willie and Lucy stood looking on in silence for a few minutes, while Mr. Gray began again to pack the basket. Presently he shut down the lid, and tied it tight with a piece of string.

"Now, Willie, will you run and see if mamma is in the parlour, and tell her I am ready for breakfast as soon as she can give it to us."

Willie ran off, and found his mamma waiting, so he came back to tell his papa. Then he went again to the parlour, and rang the bell for family prayers, and put out the large Bible. After prayers, they all had breakfast, and a little later started in a fly for the station.

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CHAPTER II.

THE JOURNEY.

MR. and Mrs. Gray, with Willie, Lucy, and nurse, stood on the platform at the station, waiting for the train to come up. Lucy clung tight to nurse's hand, almost wishing herself at home again, and too much afraid of all the noise and bustle to feel very happy. Willie tried to cheer her up, but she only hid her face in nurse's dress, and then Willie grew a little cross, and told her she was "very silly."

"Hush, hush, Willie," said Mrs. Gray gently. "Lucy is not silly, but she is a very little girl, and does not know any better. Another time she will not mind the train, but now it is all new to her, and it frightens her."

"It doesn't frighten me, mamma."

"No, because you are older than Lucy, and you are a boy too. Boys never ought to be cowards, and I hope some day Lucy will not be one either. See here comes the train."

Brave as Willie thought himself, he could not help stepping close up to his mother's side, when there was a shrill whistle, and the great train rushed up, with its snorting puffing engine, going slower and slower till it quite stopped.

Mr. Gray took Lucy in his arms, and Mrs. Gray gave Willie her hand, and in another minute they were all seated safely in the train. They hardly had to wait at all, before there was another whistle and they moved off, gently at first but more quickly every moment.

Willie looked out of the window for some time, and could hardly help laughing to see all the fields and houses and trees looking just as if they were running away. After a while, he grew rather tired of the window, and began glancing about the inside of the carriage where they were—at the seats, the lamp, the old gentleman in the corner, and the two ladies near him. He was rather puzzled to think what the lamp could be for, and was just going to ask his mamma, when there was a loud sharp whistle, a rushing noise, and they were in perfect darkness, except for the glimmer of light from the roof.

Willie was half afraid, but he felt his mother's hand on his shoulder, and he could see a smile on her face, though the noise was too great to allow of talking. Mr. Gray leaned forward, and said very loud,—

"This is a 'tunnel.'"

And Willie made up his mind to ask by-and-bye what it all meant.

When they came out again into daylight, poor little Lucy was crying in nurse's arms, so Mrs. Gray took her on her lap, and gave her a biscuit. Then Willie had a game of bo-peep with her, but at this, the old gentleman in the corner looked very cross, and said something about "noisy tiresome children!" to the lady by his side. Mrs. Gray told Willie not to laugh quite so loud, and Willie did as he was told, but he thought the old gentleman as tiresome as the old gentleman had thought him.

"I'll ask mamma why he should mind my laughing," he thought. "That's 'two' things I want to know."

By-and-bye they stopped at a station, and Willie thought this a good time to ask the first of his questions.

"Papa," he said, "what is a tunnel?"

"Did you ever see a hill, Willie?" asked Mr. Gray.

"Oh, yes, papa—numbers of hills."

"Not so very many, my boy. Still you know what a hill is. Now suppose I wanted to make a railroad from my house to Mr. Brown's, how should I manage when I came to Heath Hill?"

"Make the train go round, papa," said Willie.

"But that would take it so far out of the way. Think of some other plan."

"Couldn't the train go over the hill?" asked Willie.

"No, uphill will not do. The path must be nearly if not quite level—that is, flat—for the train. Heath Hill is very steep."

"Is a tunnel made under the ground, then?" asked Willie slowly.

"That is right, Willie. You have found it out now. I should make a tunnel under the hill for the train to go through. Do you not call that a good plan?"

"I do not know. It makes such a noise, papa," said Willie, rather gravely.

"Who was it that I heard this morning, saying, 'Oh, a noise won't hurt you, Lucy'? You are not so brave now as then, Willie."

"Yes, papa—I'm not afraid," said Willie, sitting up straight. "I won't mind the tunnel next time at all. I did not this time so much as Lucy."

"Lucy is too young to know any better yet. But you are old enough to learn what a tunnel is, and not to be timid about it."

"Are people never hurt in a tunnel?" asked Willie.

"Sometimes they are. And sometimes people are hurt when they are driving, and sometimes when they are walking, and sometimes when they are sitting quite quiet in the house. No one can be hurt anywhere, unless it is the will of God; and if it is, then we shall be hurt wherever we are."

"Then no one ought to be afraid," said Willie.

"No one, Willie, who can feel that God is his Father and will take care of him."

The train was now moving on again, but the cross gentleman and the two ladies were gone, so Mr. and Mrs. Gray, and Willie, and Lucy, and nurse were alone.

Willie could not help saying, "I am glad he has gone, mamma. He didn't like to see me playing."

"He did not like to hear my little boy's noisy laugh," said Mrs. Gray, with a smile.

"But, mamma, I wasn't near him."

"Near enough to disturb him in his reading, I suppose. Always try, Willie, not to disturb grown-up people by talking and laughing too loud when they are busy. If you do, they will be sorry to see you come, and glad to see you go. You would not like that?"

"No, I should like them to be glad to see me, mamma."

"So they will be, Willie, if you are a gentle polite boy, and think more of what other people like than of what you like yourself. Noisy, rude, tiresome children are always in the way."

"But you don't mind my laughing, mamma?"

"Not unless I am busy, then I like to be quiet. Perhaps the old gentleman in the corner was busy. At any rate, you should always be quiet when you are asked, Willie. Don't forget that, dear."

"I'll try not, mamma," said Willie, rather gravely.

CHAPTER III.

THE SEA.

"HERE we are, Willie! Now for the sea! How fresh and salt the air feels!"

"Lucy is asleep, papa," said Willie, rubbing his own eyes, and trying to look very wide awake.

"Some one else has been asleep, too, I think," said Mr. Gray, smiling. "Never mind; you will feel lively enough after a good night's rest. It has been a long journey, and you will be glad of your tea, and your bed."

They were now stopping at the station. Mr. Gray stepped out, and lifted Willie and Lucy upon the platform. Then he made a porter bring their boxes into the road, and put them on a fly, while they all got inside.

"Now, Willie, look out," said Mr. Gray, as they drove off.

And Willie did look out. He had never yet seen the sea, and he could not at all fancy what it was like. By-and-bye he saw a gleam of blue between some houses, and clapped his hands.

"Oh, papa! Was that the sea?"

"That was the sea, Willie. There it is again. You did not look in time, did you? But we shall drive along the parade in front of it in a minute, and then you will see it plainly. Here we come! Now look out!"

Willie looked again, and at last said with a little sigh:

"It's very pretty and blue, papa, and very big. I think if it wasn't so big, it would look like our pond at home."

"You will not think so, Willie, when you have seen it with great waves dashing about, and the spray flying in the wind. It is very still to-day. But you will soon change your mind about its being only like a pond."

"Shall I find any shells on the shore?" asked Willie.

"I hope so. Shells are almost always seen on sandy shores. You must dig holes in the sand too, and make hills and towers and all kinds of things."

"But I don't know what to dig with, papa."

"We will soon manage about that," said Mr. Gray, with a smile. "Do you think we could find a spade in the shops for those little fingers?"

"A spade! Oh, thank you, papa. Like what Rogers uses?"

"Not 'quite' so large as that, and it must be of wood. Lucy shall have one too."

"A small one," said Willie, looking down at Lucy's tiny hands.

"Yes—smaller than yours. Nurse will take you out on the shore, and sit and work while you dig, and I hope you will be very happy. Now we must get out. This is to be our home while we are at the sea-side."

Willie looked up at the house. It was not facing the sea, but was some little way up a side street. There was a small garden in front, up which Willie ran the moment he was out of the fly. Then he waited for his mamma, and she took his hand, and led him upstairs to the sitting-room, where the tea-things were laid out. Hats and bonnets were taken off, and sleepy little Lucy woke quite up over her milk and bread and butter. Willie thought he had never been so hungry in his life, and it was a long time before he had done his tea.

Then Lucy was taken off to bed, that she might be quite rested and fresh in the morning. Willie begged hard to go on the shore, and Mr. Gray said he would take him for a little while. So Willie fetched his cap, and they went out, down the street, across the parade, and then over the soft crisp sand.

Willie ran and jumped about, and hunted for shells, and almost shouted aloud with glee. The tide was now coming in, and the water was less smooth than before. Bright dancing waves rolled up, and broke on the beach, and Willie stood close at the water's edge, jumping back just in time to escape a wetting. Once or twice he was very nearly caught.

There were not many shells to be seen, but he found a few, and put them into his pocket to give to Lucy. Like a kind little boy, he thought that as he had had the pleasure of the first walk, Lucy should have the pleasure of the first shells.

"Well, Willie, it is time to think of going home now," said Mr. Gray, at last, and Willie came up at once. "What do you think of the sea now? Is it no better than a pond?"

"Oh, papa, a great great deal. It isn't a bit like a pond now. I never saw such waves!"

"These are very small waves, Willie. Perhaps some day before we leave, you may see some really large ones. Now we must go home, for it is time that little boys should be in bed after such a long journey. In the morning, I hope you will have a nice game on the shore."

Willie gave a wistful look up into his father's face, and Mr. Gray saw what he was thinking of.

"You will want the spades, will you not? We must see what we can do. Now take one more look at the sea, and then we must leave the beach."

Willie did so, and turned away with a sigh of delight, as he said:

"Papa, I think the sea is the best thing in all the world!"

"Wait till you have seen all the world, my boy, before you decide. But I quite agree with you in thinking it a most grand and lovely sight. I have never yet seen anything that I could enjoy more."

"And only think, papa—a month or six weeks here," said Willie, as they walked over the parade. "Such a nice long time! I do hope it will be fine."

"Very likely it will much of the time. Sometimes of course we must expect rain, and then I hope you will bear it with good-temper, and amuse yourself indoors as well as you can. Here we are at the house. Now good-night, and run upstairs to nurse."

Willie did so, and was soon ready for bed. Lucy was asleep, so he kept the shells to give her in the morning, and in a little while he too was asleep and dreaming of the sea.

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CHAPTER IV.

SPADES AND SAND.

NEXT morning Willie gave Lucy the shells he had found, and she was very much pleased with them indeed. She jumped out of her bed, and gave him a kiss, and thanked him over and over again, saying—

"How kind of you, Willie! But don't you want them?"

"No, I would rather you should have them, Lucy. And we will try to find some more to-day."

Breakfast time soon came, and when the meal was over, nurse told Willie to get his cap, and then to keep quiet while she dressed Lucy, for they were going out on the shore. Willie found it very hard to stand still, while he was so happy; but he knew that if he jumped about, Lucy would want to do the same, so he only walked to the window and stood there, swinging his cap, and begging nurse to "make great haste."

At last they left the house, and Lucy held nurse's hand tight, and looked shy and timid as she always did in new places; but Willie wanted to scamper about, and did not like being called back by nurse.

"I am sure I shan't lose myself, nurse," he said, "and I won't get into mischief. Let me run along the parade, or down on the sands. Are we not going on the shore?"

"In a few minutes," nurse replied. "And don't run so far away again, Master Willie, or I shall be losing sight of you."

"But if you did, I could find my way home," said Willie, feeling a little bit inclined to be cross at not being allowed to run as far as he liked.

"But what do you think your mamma would say if I went home without you?" asked nurse. "No, no, Master Willie, you must be a good boy, and do as you are told, or I shall have to hold your hand and make you walk by my side. Here we are at the shop. Do you think you can help me choose two nice spades?"

Willie looked up with a smile, and clapped his hands.

"O nurse! How kind! Are we going to have them now? Did papa say so?"

"Yes, and here is the money," said nurse.

Then she told the shopwoman to show them some wooden spades, and very soon two were chosen and paid for,—a small one for Lucy, and a rather larger one for Willie.

How grand Willie felt as they walked towards the beach, and he swung his spade about! Nurse told him to carry it gently, but he forgot once or twice, and at length nearly knocked a little boy with it. Then nurse almost took it away from him, but Willie begged her to try him once more, and said he would be very careful, so she gave him one more trial. This time he did not forget, and as he did not swing it again, nurse let him carry it all the way.

When they reached the beach, she sat down on the sands, and took out her work. Willie and Lucy began digging holes near her, and trying which could dig the deepest. Of course Willie was the strongest, and made the largest hole, so he came and helped Lucy to make hers bigger.

"May we go down close to the water, nurse?" asked Willie after a time.

"If you will not get into any mischief," said nurse. "And Miss Lucy too? Well, you must take great care of her, and both of you must come back to me in a moment if I call you. I can't sit down there, for the sand is too flat and not dry enough, and I must get on with my work, for your mamma wants it done. But you may go if you like, only be very steady and careful."