Stories for the Young

Stories for the Young

The Project Gutenberg EBook of Stories for the Young, by Hannah More 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: Stories for the Young Or, Cheap Repository Tracts: Entertaining, Moral, and Religious. Vol. VI.
Author: Hannah More
Release Date: February 13, 2005 [EBook #15034]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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[Illustration: TAWNEY RACHEL.]

STORIES FOR THE YOUNG;
OR,
CHEAP REPOSITORY TRACTS:
ENTERTAINING, MORAL, AND RELIGIOUS.
BY HANNAH MORE AND OTHERS.
A NEW REVISED EDITION.
VOL. VI.
PUBLISHED BY THE AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY,
150 NASSAU-STREET, NEW YORK.

CONTENTS
VOL. VI.
Black Giles the Poacher; containing some account of a family who had rather live by their wits than their work.
History of Widow Brown's Apple-tree; being
Part II. of Black Giles the
Poacher.
Tawney Rachel; or, the Fortune-teller: with some account of Dreams, Omens, and Conjurers. Being
Part III. of Black Giles the Poacher.
The Happy Waterman.
The Gravestone.
Parley the Porter. An Allegory. Showing how robbers without can never get into a house unless there are traitors within.
A New Christmas Tract; or, the Right Way of Rejoicing at Christmas. Showing the reasons we have for joy at the event of our Saviour's birth.
A New Christmas Hymn.
Bear ye one another's Burdens; or, the Valley of Tears. A Vision.
The Strait Gate and the Broad Way; being the Second Part of the Valley of Tears.
The Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard.

BLACK GILES THE POACHER:
CONTAINING SOME ACCOUNT OF A FAMILY WHO HAD RATHER LIVE BY THEIR WITS THAN THEIR WORK[A]
BY HANNAH MORE.

PART I
[Footnote A: This story exhibits an accurate picture of that part of the country where the author then resided; and where, by her benevolent zeal, a great reformation was effected among the poor inhabitants of at least twenty parishes, within a circle of thirty miles.]
Poaching Giles lives on the borders of one of those great moors in Somersetshire. Giles, to be sure, has been a sad fellow in his time; and it is none of his fault if his whole family do not end their career either at the gallows, or at Botany Bay. He lives at that mud cottage, with the broken windows stuffed with dirty rags, just beyond the gate which divides the upper from the lower moor. You may know the house at a good distance by the ragged tiles on the roof, and the loose stones which are ready to drop out from the chimney; though a short ladder, a hod of mortar, and half an hour's leisure time would have prevented all this, and made the little dwelling tight enough. But as Giles had never learned any thing that was good, so he did not know the value of such useful sayings as, that "a tile in time saves nine."
Besides this, Giles fell into that common mistake, that a beggarly looking cottage, and filthy, ragged children, raised most compassion, and of course drew most charity. But as cunning as he was in other things, he was out in his reckoning here; for it is neatness, housewifery, and a decent appearance, which draws the kindness of the rich and charitable, while they turn away disgusted with filth and laziness: not out of pride, but because they see that it is next to impossible to mend the condition of those who degrade themselves by dirt and sloth; and few people care to help those who will not help themselves.
[Illustration]
The common on which Giles' hovel stands is quite a deep marsh in a wet winter, but in summer it looks green and pretty enough. To be sure, it would be rather convenient, when one passes that way in a carriage, if one of the children would run out and open the gate; but instead of any one of them running out as soon as they hear the wheels, which would be quite time enough, what does Giles do but set all his ragged brats, with dirty faces, matted locks, and naked feet and legs, to lie all day upon a sand-bank hard by the gate, waiting for the slender chance of what may be picked up from travellers. At the sound of a carriage, a whole covey of these little scarecrows start up, rush to the gate, and all at once thrust out their hats and aprons; and for fear this, together with the noise of their clamorous begging, should not sufficiently frighten the horses, they are very apt to let the gate slap full against you, before you are half way through, in their eager scuffle to snatch from each other the halfpence which you may have thrown out to them.