



Produced by Internet Archive; University of Florida, Christopher
Bloomfield and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team.





CHILD'S NEW STORY BOOK;

OR TALES AND DIALOGUES FOR LITTLE FOLKS.



1849. [Publication date on cover: 1850]



  I'll watch thy dawn of joys, and mould
         Thy little hearts to duty,--
  I'll teach thee truths as I behold
  Thy faculties, like flowers, unfold
         In intellectual beauty.





[Illustration: The Little Ship.]


The Little Ship.


"I have made a nice little ship, of cork, and am going to let it sail
in this great basin of water. Now let us fancy this water to be the
North-Pacific Ocean, and those small pieces of cork on the side of the
basin, to be the Friendly Islands, and this little man standing on the
deck of the ship, to be the famous navigator, Captain Cook, going to
find them."

"Do you know that the Friendly Islands were raised by corals?"

"I suppose they were."

"Do you know where Captain Cook was born?"

"He was born at Marton, a village in the North Riding of Yorkshire,
in England."



       *       *       *       *       *


[Illustration: The Little Girl and the Shell.]


The Little Girl and the Shell.


When I went to visit a friend, the other day, I saw a little girl with
whom I was much pleased. She sat on a low seat by the fire-side, and
she held in her hand a pretty white sea-shell, faintly tinted with pink,
which she kept placing against her ear; and all the while a settled calm
rested upon her face, and she seemed as if she were listening to the
holy tones of some loved voice; then taking it away from her ear, she
would gaze upon it with a look of deep fondness and pensive delight.
At last I said,

"What are you doing, my dear?"

"I am listening to the whisper."

"What whisper?" I asked.

"The whisper of the sea," she said. "My uncle sent me this shell, and
a letter in which he said, 'If I placed it against my ear I should hear
the whisper of the sea;' and he also said, he would soon come to us, and
bring me a great many pretty things; and mamma said, when we heard the
whisper of the shell, we would call it uncle Henry's promise. And so
it became very precious to me, and I loved its sound better than sweet
music."



       *       *       *       *       *


[Illustration: Robert and John.]


Robert and John.


One fine May morning, Robert and John were told by their mamma to go to
school. So they put on their caps, and having kissed their mamma, were
soon on their way. Now, first they had to pass through a pleasant lane,
with tall elm trees on one side, and a hawthorn hedge on the other; then
across two fields; then through a churchyard, and then up a little
grove, at the end of which was the school-house. But they had not gone
more than half the way down the lane, when John began to loiter behind,
to gather wild flowers, and to pick up smooth little pebbles which had
been washed clean by the rain, while Robert walked on reading his book.
At last, John, calling after his brother, said, "I do not see what is
the use of going to school this fine morning; let us play truant."

"No," replied Robert; "I will not take pleasure, for which I know I must
suffer in after hours."

"Nonsense about that," said John; "I will enjoy myself while I can."

"And so will I," replied Robert; "and I shall best enjoy myself by
keeping a good conscience, and so I will go to school."

"Very well, Robert, then tell the master that I am ill and cannot come,"
said John.

"I shall do no such thing, John," replied Robert; "I shall simply tell
the truth, if I am asked why you are not