Christmas, A Happy Time

Christmas, A Happy Time, by
Miss Mant

The Project Gutenberg EBook of Christmas, A Happy Time, by Miss
Mant This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net
Title: Christmas, A Happy Time A Tale, Calculated for the Amusement
and Instruction of Young Persons
Author: Miss Mant
Release Date: December 27, 2006 [EBook #20200]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ASCII
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK
CHRISTMAS, A HAPPY TIME ***

Produced by Sigal Alon, Sankar Viswanathan, and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was
produced from images generously made available by The Internet
Archive/American Libraries.)

[Illustration: "They both turned pale when they saw the dog almost

immediately disappear under the ice."]
CHRISTMAS,
A HAPPY TIME:
A Tale,
CALCULATED FOR
THE AMUSEMENT AND INSTRUCTION
OF
YOUNG PERSONS.

BY MISS MANT.

LONDON:
T. ALLMAN, 42, HOLBORN HILL,
1832.
* * * * *

CHRISTMAS,
A HAPPY TIME.
Harriet and Elizabeth Mortimer were two very pretty, and generally
speaking, very good little girls. Their kind papa and mamma had taken
a great deal of pains that they should be good, and it was very seldom
that they vexed them by being otherwise. A very happy time was now
expected in the family at Beech Grove, by the arrival of John and

Frederick Mortimer from school: it was within a few days of Christmas;
and as the sisters and brothers had never, till the last few months, been
separated, their meeting together again was looked forward to with
general and lively pleasure.
'Do you see anything of the stage, Elizabeth?' said Harriet to her sister,
who had been running down to the end of the plantation to peep over
the gate, and listen if she could hear the approach of wheels.
'No: there is nothing in sight,' replied Elizabeth, whose teeth chattered
from the cold, while her hands were so benumbed, she could scarcely
close the gate, which she had ventured to open about half an inch.
'They will never come,' said Harriet; 'but you should not open the gate,
you know papa and mamma both told us we should not do that. And
how cold you are! you are all over in a shiver. Come let us have a run
round, and that will warm you. Remember mamma begged of us not to
stand still in this sharp cutting wind.'
'Yes, so she did,' replied Elizabeth; 'and indeed it is very, very cold,
down at that corner. And they will not come any the sooner for our
standing there.'
And according to Harriet's proposal, the two little girls began to run
round the grounds, which put them in a complete glow; and Elizabeth's
fingers very soon ceased to ache with cold.
As they passed the green house, they saw the gardener matting up some
myrtles on the outside; and Elizabeth stopped, to enquire at what time
the coach was likely to pass.
'I look for it every minute, Miss,' replied the man; 'and that's the reason
I keep about here, that I may be handy to help the young gentlemen out,
and bring in the boxes and that. I look for them to be much grown,
Miss, for 'tis a fine bit now since we have seen them. I don't know what
Master John will say about his myrtle that he used to be so proud of, for
I am afraid its dead. But hark ye, Miss--sure that's wheels.--Yes, and
there comes a coach too.'

And away posted the gardener, and both the little girls after him.
It was a coach; and it was a very noisy one, or at least the passengers
were very noisy. Such a blowing of horns, and hallooing and huzzaing.
But the coach went by without stopping at the gate; and although the
gardener ran after it, and endeavoured to speak with the coachman, his
voice was drowned in the multitude of little voices within and without
the coach; and he was obliged to return, disappointed himself, to the
disappointed young ladies, who stood anxiously looking out, within the
gate.
Before there was time to express any regret, another coach appeared in
sight, and this might be the coach so much longed for. This also
approached with shouting and blowing of horns; again the gardener put
himself forward and this time the coach seemed to draw down towards
the gate. Harriet even fancied she saw her dear brother John looking out
of one of the windows. But again she was disappointed. The coachman,
though he drew to the side of the road, scarcely allowed his