Adventures in the Land of Canaan | Page 9

a
somersault and landing by Belinda's side with a broad grin upon his
face.
She made no reply, but instantly closed her eyes. She was not quite
sure but that he was laughing at her, so she thought it more prudent not
to see him.
"There! did you notice?" ... "Wasn't it pretty and simple?" said all the
Toys to one another as they looked at Belinda.
I must, however, make an exception when I say "all" the Toys. There
was one who did not utter a word. This was Jack, the curly-headed

Sailor-Boy, who was deeply in love with Belinda. He was so unhappy
about the matter that he feared to speak of her lest in so doing the
thought of his sorrow should make him shed unmanly tears in public.
I will tell you the cause of his grief. He could not make her see how
much he loved her. Whenever he came near her she immediately closed
her eyes. So that it did not matter what expression he assumed, it was
all wasted on Belinda. He worried himself about it very much.
"Is it," said he to himself, "because she doesn't happen to see, or
because she doesn't wish to see? How can I make her open her eyes?
Shall I speak to her coldly or gently, with mirth or with melancholy, in
poetry or in prose?"
"I will be poetical," he resolved; "I will sing her a song of love. That
may induce her to open her eyes."
Now Jack was only a simple Sailor-Lad; he knew little music and less
poetry. A few sea-songs and one or two little ballads, these were all he
had to trust to, and he could think of none that seemed suitable to the
occasion.
He thought long, and finally remembered the beginning of an old song
which, with a little alteration, would, he decided, do very well. So, in a
rough but tender voice, he thus sang to his lady-love:--
"Of all the girls I love so well, There's none I love like 'Linder; She is
the darling of my heart,-- And Linder rhymes with cinder."
"This," he said to himself, "will teach her how deep and how true my
love is for her. This should open her eyes."
But Belinda, quite unmoved, sat with them tightly closed.
"I will try again," he said to himself. And he sang the verse once more,
though this time his voice shook so greatly with emotion that he was
obliged to stop in the middle in order to steady it.

After this he sat silent, hoping that Belinda would even now open her
eyes.
"Then," said he, "she will see how sad I look, and she will surely be
touched."
But disappointment was again his lot. She never opened even half an
eye.
"Shiver my timbers!" said the luckless Sailor-Lad, "she'll be the death
of me."
And he went away mournfully whistling "The Death of Nelson."
Then he tried to startle her by suddenly shouting within her hearing a
few seafaring expressions he knew. "Hard-a-port! Lay aft! Yo, heave
ho!"
She half-opened her eyes, but immediately closed them again. "Those
expressions sound a little rough," she remarked.
He felt sorely tried.
"None so blind as those who won't see, my lass," he said one day.
"I should have thought," she answered with unaffected surprise, "it was
those who can't see."
"Have you looked up through the sky-light this afternoon?" he asked.
"The sunset is glorious."
"Describe it to me. I love descriptions," she said with simple
enthusiasm.
"You had better see it for yourself," he said crossly and turned away.
He felt so wretched that really he would have liked to go to sea.
He sighed again,--and looked back at Belinda. Why, her eyes were
open! He hurried over to her, pinching with great energy his arm as he

went, in order to make himself tearful, and thus, if possible, appear
more miserable than he already did. The tears did come, but just as he
got to Belinda she closed her eyes once more.
"The sunset is indeed perfect," she said, "I have been watching it till
my eyes ache, and I cannot keep them open any longer."
"I look just as if I had a cold in my head. You can see that for yourself,
can't you?" he asked, hoping that this question would induce her to
glance at him and observe his tears.
"Why, no," she answered, "I can't because my eyes are closed. But if
you say so, I suppose you must be correct."
"Belinda, I love you," said he.
"Thank you very much," answered she. "Isn't it extraordinary weather
for this time of the year? I can hardly believe that we are in the middle
of summer."
Poor Jack left in