Five Happy Weeks

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Five Happy Weeks

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Title: Five Happy Weeks
Author: Margaret E. Sangster
Release Date: November 21, 2005 [EBook #17126]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ASCII
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HAPPY WEEKS ***

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[Illustration: Front cover]
[Illustration: Frontispiece]

FIVE HAPPY WEEKS.
BY MARGARET E. SANGSTER.

American Tract Society, 150 NASSAU STREET, NEW YORK.

ENTERED, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1875, by THE
AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY, in the Office of the Librarian of
Congress at Washington.

FIVE HAPPY WEEKS.
CHAPTER I.
"GOOD-BY, MAMMA!"
"I don't see how I can do such a thing," said mamma, shading her eyes
with a hand so white and thin that you could almost see through it. "I
never, never can go away, for five weeks, and leave these children; I
should not have a moment's peace."
"But, my darling," said papa, "the doctor says it is the only thing that
will restore your health. The children will be nicely taken care of, and I
am sure they will be as good and obedient as possible while you are
gone."
"You are going too, William; you seem to forget that. And we have
never been away from them before. What if Edith or Mabel should be
sick, or Johnnie should fall and break his arm, or--"
"Don't conjure up dreadful possibilities, Helen," said papa; "I'll tell you
how we will manage it. This house shall be shut, and we'll take

grandma and the children with us as far as Norfolk, and leave them
there with your Aunt Maria, while we make our trip. And we will stop
for them on our way home. What do you think of that plan?"
"Well," said mamma, with a faint smile, "I think I'll leave it to you. It
tires me to have to reason things out. Auntie would be kind to them, I
know, and I should feel easier if this house were shut up altogether."
Mrs. Evans had been ailing all the long cold winter, and as Spring
began to approach, she drooped more and more, until her husband and
her friends feared she would die. Then Dr. Phelps advised a short
journey to Florida and Mexico. He said she needed sea-air, and change,
and flowers. So it was settled that she should attempt it.
The children were having a frolic in the play-room while this talk had
been going on. Johnnie and Mabel had been arranging a little basket of
fruit for their mother, oranges, apples and grapes, and now they were
disputing as to which should present it to her.
"I ought to, I'm the oldest," said Johnnie. "I'm the biggest and the
strongest, and I will take it in to mamma myself."
"The bigger and the stronger ought to yield to the smaller and the
weaker," said a sweet voice. The children looked round, and saw a little
lady whom they all liked. She was Miss Simms, the dressmaker. Her
face was as round as an apple, she had two bright black eyes, and when
she laughed the dimples seemed to chase each other over her cheeks.
"I'm so glad you've come," said Mabel, running away from the fruit to
put her two fat arms as far round Miss Simms as they would reach.
"I am glad, too; it's jolly," said Johnnie. "But I'd like to know why you
think the bigger ought to give up to the littler. That's what I can't
understand. In the history books they never do it. The strong always
whip the weak."
"Well," said Miss Simms, "I'm not much of a scholar, and I've never
read many history books, as you call them, Master Johnnie; but I've

read my Bible, and I get my learning out of that. I'll tell you some of
my verses, and you can see what you make of them.
"'Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee
turn not thou away.'
"'Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.'
"'Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of
God.'
"'All things whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, do ye
even so to them, for this is the law and the prophets.'
"There," finished Miss Simms, "if that is the