328 



KIDD'S OWN JOURNAL. 



•whole force of a summer sun poured down 

 upon its devoted head, without even the 

 shelter of a leaf or a bough to protect it.* 

 The poor creature lay at the bottom of its 

 cage, gasping for breath, and was unfur- 

 nished with either food or water. So strongly 

 did I feel moved to pity by its unfortunate 

 condition, that 1 determined to intercede in 

 its behalf. I knocked repeatedly with my 

 knuckles on the door ; but receiving no 

 answer, I gently raised the latch, and found 

 myself in a small low apartment, which ap- 

 peared to answer the double purpose of a 

 kitchen and a living room. 



The scene which now presented itself was 

 worthy the pencil of a Wilkie or a Hunt. 

 There was but one human being present ; but 

 from her I could not take my eyes. . . . Nay 

 now, gentle reader, repress that smile, which 

 is curling your lip so disdainfully, and cease 

 your bantering remarks ; formethinks I hear 

 you say, " Now for a love adventure ; the 

 author has mounted his highflyer, and is 

 going to rave about dimpled cheeks, pearly 

 teeth, and dove-like eyes, in a strain more 

 befitting a midshipman in her Majesty's 

 navy, than a sober, middle-aged gentleman, 

 who wears short gaiters, and carries two 

 seals to his watch." No, my dear friend, 

 there were neither dimples, teeth, nor even 

 eyes to be seen ; for these last were closed 

 in sleep : and as for the two first, they had ! 

 long taken a final leave of the person , 

 before me. In sober parlance she was ' 

 an old woman — a very old woman — and 

 one who bore no traces of ever having 

 been remarkable for personal attractions. , 

 What then, you will say, could I see 

 so interesting about her ? I scarcely know 

 myself ; perhaps it was the whole scene to- 

 gether that pleased me ; there was, besides, | 

 an air of neatness and comfort in the interior 

 of the cottage, which the outside did not 

 lead one to expect. 



Seeing that my entrance into this dwelling , 

 did not awake its inmate, who still continued : 

 to slumber in her high-backed chair, I hesi- 

 tated what to do ; but being, like the good 

 dame before me, rather overcome with the 

 heat of the weather, I took possession of a 

 vacant seat, and began to look about me. 

 The old-fashioned, one-handed clock, ticked 

 solemnly in its tall and well-polished case ; 

 and the walnut-w r ood dresser was garnished 

 with its holiday plates; but the large open 

 chimney pleased me the most ; — it was 

 capacious enough to form a little room of 

 itself. The massive fire-dogs, of cast iron, 

 seemed as if they had once belonged to the 

 . i 



* Similar acts of brutal cruelty may at this 

 season be witnessed daily, both in town and 

 country. Innocent birds, as we have repeatedly . 

 said, are a doomed race. — Ed. K. J. 



hall of some baronial mansion, and accorded 

 well with the stout iron plate which defended 

 the chimney-back from the fire. 



Across the mantel-piece was stretched a 

 small valance of printed cotton, over which 

 was suspended, in a neat black frame, a 

 picture of the Nativity, upon which the 

 artist had not been sparing of his colors. 

 On either side of this, hung a china medal- 

 lion ; upon that on the right was inscribed, 

 " Prepare to meet thy God," and on its 

 companion, " Lay hold on eternal life." 

 Near the fire-place stood a quaint-looking 

 arm-chair, the seat of which was covered 

 with a well-worn calf-skin. — But to return 

 to the old woman : there she sat near the 

 ample chimney, and by the side of a small 

 round table, whose three legs each termi- 

 nated in a claw holding a ball. Before her 

 lay a few of those miscellaneous articles 

 which are supposed to be necessary to the 

 art of stitchery. In the midst of these 

 things sat a pretty tortoiseshell kitten, div- 

 ing its little busy paw into the recesses of 

 the work-basket, and making a glorious 

 confusion amongst the cotton and bobbins : 

 luckily for her, all this mighty mischief 

 was unperceived by her mistress, who still 

 continued her nap. 



The work upon which the good woman had 

 been engaged, was the knitting of a stocking; 

 and though the grasp of her fingers was un- 

 loosed from the pins, they were frequently 

 moved by the convulsive twitchings of an 

 uneasy sleep. The ball of worsted had 

 rolled into the middle of the room, assisted 

 perhaps by the same mischievous agency 

 that was at work amongst the cottons. 



The slumbers of the person before me 

 were by no means tranquil ; ever and anon 

 she sighed bitterly ; and once I thought 

 that 1 saw a tear stealing from under her 

 eye-lashes. " Poor soul! " thought I, ; ' you, 

 too, have tasted of the bitterness of 

 life ! " It seemed to me also, as if she had 

 known better days ; for her dress, though 

 made of coarse materials, and in a byegone 

 fashion, had something about it above that 

 of a common cottager. Her silvery hair 

 was neatly parted below her plaited cap-frill, 

 and her neckerchief was of snowy whiteness. 

 She was a little woman, of a spare habit ; 

 and though there was nothing approaching 

 to a lady about her, yet she did not look 

 exactly like a village goody. 



At length, with a heavy sigh, she awoke ; 

 and, contrary to my expectation, manifested 

 but little surprise at seeing me before her. 

 It is true I have not much the appearance 

 of either a housebreaker or a pedlar. She 

 did not even ask my business, but mechani- 

 cally resuming her knitting, she quietly in- 

 formed me that her nephew would be home 

 from his work in a few minutes, as the clock 



