Harry's Holiday/Chapter II

Some time after this, Harry's mamma observed, during breakfast, what he knew before very well indeed, that it was the first of August, and Harry's birth-day.

"The first of August!" said his father; "so it is; the glorious first of August hey, Harry? let us shake hands about it, however. Let us see; how old does this make you?"

"Eleven, papa," said Harry.

"Eleven! Indeed!" said his father; "well then, in ten years you are to do as you like, and have your own way, I suppose; but you must do some​thing for me first; run and bring me that parcel from the library table."

Harry did not hesitate; but soon returned, feeling and looking a little conscious, though he scarcely knew why.

"Ah, that is it!" said his papa; "now then let us see!" All eyes, and, of course, both Harry's, were fixed on this interesting parcel, as it was turned round and round, like a joint of meat before the fire, while, the well-tied string was undoing; which Harry longed, and even offered to cut. At last, however, it was untied, and the parcel began to unfold itself; and first one, and then another brown paper. was dismissed; and then some white paper, and then some silver paper appeared and then—a watch!!!—which ​watch Harry’s good papa made him a present of without further ceremony, merely advising him, in general terms, to take care of it; for he well knew that a long discourse, just then, on the value of time, would not be much attended to.

After this, mamma stepped forward, saying, “I am afraid my present will not appear to very great advantage after the watch; but as Harry, in general, seems to like books, and takes care of them, I thought one of this kind would not be lost upon him: this, Harry, is the History of Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia; and if there should be some parts which you may not at present quite understand, yet you will be able to see, that though he could always do exactly as he ​pleased, he could never please himself."

"And now," said his father, "to crown all, Harry must have a holiday, I suppose?

"O, certainly!" said his mamma; "he must have a holiday—to-day, at least."

"To-day" said his papa, with a look which Harry knew meant something particular; "I'll tell you what,—he shall have a week's holiday!"

"A week's holiday!" said his mamma, with lifted brow, "why, Harry, you will be almost as happy as Robinson Crusoe, to-day."

Harry coloured at the recollection of that which this referred to; and new felt ashamed of the unkind thoughts her had entertained of his good papa and mamma; but they quickly changed ​the subject, as they did not wish to spoil the pleasure of his birth-day, and Harry soon recovered himself; but he could not help wondering, that, as his papa must have overheard him when he was talking to himself, he should have so many favours heaped upon him; that he should even be indulged with that very thing which he had wished for.

But Harry did not know that his father's principal reason for giving him this holiday, was to convince him, that he would not know what to do, if he might do as he liked. If he had been a little older, perhaps, he would have been reproved in a different way; but this method was chosen, because he was but a little boy, and because what he had said was so extremely silly. ​The next question with Harry was what to do, now that he had nothing to do, and could do as he liked. A watch, and a holiday, and a birth-day, and a fine day! Indeed it seemed to be of very little consequence just then, what he did, or whether he did any thing; for the mere thinking of all those advantages seemed happiness enough for the present. He turned heels over head, three or four times upon the grass-plot, by way of making a beginning, till he recollected his watch might not like the motion. What then should he do? Should he fly his kite?—that was worth thinking of, as it made an excuse for his looking to know the time, in order that he might be ready for his cousin Arthur, whom he soon expected. He ​found, however, that there was plenty of time; and his kite he determined to fly, that being a diversion he was always very fond of. So he took it under his arm; but as he passed the place where his rabbits were kept, he recollected they wanted feeding. He knew this ought to be attended to directly, and his conscience told him he was doing wrong, when he determined to fly his kite first; yet he left the poor hungry rabbits, although they were putting their noses through the bars as if trying to remind him of their wants; but it was of very little use to remind Harry of what he ought to do, when there was anything in the way that he liked to do; he had not yet found out that there is real pleasure in doing a thing that is not in itself amusing exactly at the ​proper time; and that there is certain disappointment indoing a thing that is in itself amusing at an improper time.

As he sauntered down to the meadow where he was accustomed to play, he met an acquaintance whom he had often envied, because he had nothing to do; that is, he was not obliged to do any thing all day long; and though Harry saw that he never played with the cheerfulness of other boys, and seemed to take no pleasure in anything, yet he thought that he should, if he had his time to himself. Harry was, certainly, a much better boy than this, his acquaintance, though their dispositions were very much alike; and the reason was, that he was not so much indulged, and that he had something regularly to do. This young ​gentleman, whose name was Edward Thomson, had no father or mother, they having died when he was very little; and so he had the misfortune to live with a relation, who said she was so fond of him that she could never force him to do what he did not like. As he had no work-time, so he had no play-time; for as he could play always, he was always tired of play: he had, therefore, very few amusements, and was constantly cross, fretful, and discontented. His companions called him also very ill-natured, and this was true; for he was very selfish, and a selfish person is never very obliging, when another asks a favour of him.

“I’m going to fly my kite, Edward; will you go with me?” said Harry.

“Yes, if it is not too far,” said ​Edward, gaping, “but I thought you were obliged to mind your books always at this time in the morning.”

“But papa has given me a week’s holiday,” said Harry.

“A week’s holiday,” said Edward with a sneer, and are you contented with that?—none of your holidays for me!” This was true, indeed, for poor Edward never knew what it was to have a holiday.

“I would not be you for all the world,” added he. “But I have something besides a holiday,” said Harry, who did not quite like this last speech; “papa gave me this new watch to-day.”

“That can’t be yours,” said Edward.

“It is, though,” said Harry, “and here is my name on the seal.”

Now, though Edward had a great many fine playthings that Harry had ​not, he was, nevertheless, without a watch, and as he could not bear another to have what he had not yet obtained, he soon grew cross, and even angry with Harry, whom he now envied to a great degree—although he said he would not have such a watch as that, if he would give it him. Very soon after this, he parted from Harry and went home, determined to teaze one out of his aunt, if possible; but this he did not find so easy as he expected; for though, in general, she let him have what he asked for, or, at any rate, what he teazed for, she now said, that she was sure a person could have no use for a watch who had no use for his time.

Harry walked more briskly after this, glad to find that he was really as well off just now as Edward, whose ​aunt he had often thought so much kinder than his own papa and mamma.

He soon found himself in the open field; there was a fine wind, and his kite took its whole length of string without running (a great thing to Harry). He sent up several messengers, on one of which he wrote, “Ten o’clock, by my watch—birth-day.” But somehow, although his kite flew remarkably well, Harry did not enjoy his morning quite so much as usual; for his brothers were at their lessons, and there was he all alone; and it was no use, he thought, to be ever so happy all alone. He soon began to grow tired, and presently thought that this would be a nice opportunity to alter his rabbit-house; for he had not time, in general, to execute the grand ​scheme he projected. He determined, therefore, to set about it immediately, and, as he had no patience, he could not wait to wind the string of his kite properly upon the stick, but pulled it in as fast as he could; and gathering it up in a snarl, thrust it into his pocket, and set off home. Poor Harry forgot that the next time he wished to fly his kite, he must have an hour’s work to disentangle this string; but that he did not care about, because it was not now; and, according to his present feelings, he might never wish to fly his kite again.

As soon as he reached home, he fell to work upon the rabbits’ place; and having put his poor bunnies, one upon another in a basket, where they were not very comfortable, he soon knocked ​the old place to pieces, and while he was doing that he felt very glad that, he had thought of it.

To those who like altering, merely for the sake of it, there will always be a great deal more pleasure and amusement in destroying an old thing than in making a new one: and so Harry found it; for while he was rapping and rending, he could make a great apparent difference with but little trouble; but this could not be the case when rebuilding.

In order to do the thing thoroughly while he was about it, he pulled every part to pieces which he could possibly rend asunder; thus making a cruel quantity of work for himself when he should put it up again.

“I am afraid, Harry, you have made yourself a longer job than will suit you,” ​said his father, when he beheld what a wonderful clearance was made.

“O, I like doing it very much, papa," said Harry, “and I intend to make it a great deal better than it was before.”

“I am afraid you will make it a great deal worse,” said his father. “If you had asked my leave, I should not have consented to your pulling it to pieces; for this place was built by a carpenter, and cost a great deal of money. Pray, why did you wish to alter it?”

“Because it was so—it wanted to be—it was so very—the rabbits were never comfortable in it,” said Harry.

“Well, Harry,” said his father, “I see you had no other reason for pulling this down than the want of something to do; but observe, you have a much ​better reason for building it up again, and that is, that I expect it to be done, and that without delay; it is the least you can do to make amends for destroying what was mine and not yours; but pray, where are your rabbits all this time?”

“In that basket,” said Harry, pointing to a small one that stood on the ground.

“In that basket! Well, I am sure they must be very civil to you to keep there,” said his father; “but, Harry, I see no rabbits.”

Harry peeped into the basket, which was, indeed, quite empty.

“I fancy these rabbits are like some young folks, and thought they should like a change,” said his father.

“Where can they be?” said Harry, ​moving the loose boards he had pulled down.

“I am afraid this will be an unfortunate affair,” said his father; “however, now we must make the best of it. I would advise you to look well for them about the yard and garden, and I will send your brothers to help you.”

“How provoking it is!” said Harry, as soon as his father was gone; “I am tired enough already; and now I have got to hunt, nobody knows where, for these rabbits.”

“How stupid of you to let your rabbits out!” said James; “I shall not look much.”

“Why, the rabbit place is pulled down, I declare!” said Frederick, who happened to look that way. ​“Mind your own business, will you,” said Harry.

“And I hope you will mind yours, when you are building it up again,” said James, “and a nice job you’ll have, papa says; he told mamma all about it.”

“And what was there to tell?” said Harry; “I thought you were come to help me find my rabbits.”

“I dare say they are in the field,” said Frederick.

“Then there they may keep,” said Harry, “I shall only look a little about the yard.”

So saying, he stooped very low, to see if they were under the water-butt; and while he was stooping under the tap, a drop fell from it exactly into the nape of his neck.

“Ah, I’ll make you repent that, though,” said Harry; thinking Frede​rick had done it, who stood close by; but, rising suddenly, he struck his head very hard against the tap, which coming out, the water almost knocked him down. His brothers instantly ran in, to give information. Harry himself could not get by, as the stream reached quite across the narrow place where he stood. At last a servant came, who, after making many exclamations, endeavoured to replace the tap; but in doing so, some of the water spirted with great force full in Harry’s face. Thinking this, too, was done on purpose, and not waiting to consider what he was doing, he pushed the servant down into the wet, and rushing through the stream of water, ran in doors.

“Ah! master Hinry! master Hinry! I’ll as surely tell your papa, sir, as ever—you are born alive!” said Ruth, ​who had fallen backwards, and was completely drenched.

“And so will I,” said Harry, “I’m determined.”

“What's all this?” said his father, hastening to the spot.

“He shuffed me down in the wet, sir, and I an’t going to stand it,” said Ruth, in a very angry tone of voice.

“Well, I only wanted to get by,” said Harry.

“He shuffed me fairly down, sir, if I never speak another word.—Oh! my good gracious!” said she, looking over her shoulder, “I haven’t got a dry thread about me!”

“Well, and why did you splash”—

“Come in Henry,” said his father, who generally called him Henry when he was displeased. ​Poor Henry followed, wet and woe-begone, saying, all the way, that Ruth splashed him on purpose.

“Now, Henry,” said his father, “you need not trouble yourself to say how it was, because I saw the whole affair from the window. I have taken some pains to make this a pleasant day to you, so that if it is an unpleasant one it will not be my fault; but I am obliged to say, that, as you are completely wet, you must take your clothes off, and, I think, too, it will be safest for you to go to bed: if this seems like a punishment to you, remember you have deserved it.”

So poor Harry was really sent to bed, at twelve o’clock on his birthday; a circumstance so very disagreeable to his pride, that the thing he ​most wished just then was, that he might not meet anybody as he went up stairs.

In a little while, his cousin Arthur came, who had been invited expressly on Harry’s account; and he had the mortification to hear him playing with his brothers in the yard below, and seeming very merry, while he lay wishing that he had not looked under the water-butt; or, at any rate, that he had not knocked the tap out, but never thinking about pushing Ruth down, or about going into a passion for nothing; nevertheless, the remembrance of his watch, made great amends for all he had suffered. He knew that he would have consented to stand some hours in a butt of water, and to have laid in bed for a fortnight, if such ​a process could have obtained him a watch.

“But I wish,” said Harry to himself, “I had taken that kite-string out of my pocket; if they see that, while they are drying my coat, I shall be scolded for it; it’s very hard one mayn’t do as one likes with one’s own things, when one is in a hurry and all.—Oh dear!” said he, as this brought the circumstance to his mind, “and there’s that rabbit-house to do: I certainly wish I had let that alone; however,” thought he, "if the rabbits are gone, I don’t see that I need do it; and so he almost wished that his rabbits, which a little while ago he was so fond of, might be lost, to save him trouble that he so much disliked. He was just thinking thus when some body knocked at his room door, ​“Who’s that?” said Harry.

“It is I,” said James; “and I have got something for you.”

“Come in then,” said Harry; who recollected this was his birth-day.

“Here is one of your rabbits,” said James as he entered, holding it by the ears over Harry’s face; “and papa says you may come down now, and begin building their house.”

“Ah, I know all about that!” said Harry. “I think I shall put this one in a box till I find the others; papa said, I should find the rabbits first; it’s no use building a rabbit place for one rabbit.”

“Well, you had better ask papa," said James.

“I have a great mind not to keep rabbits,” said Harry; “they are such a trouble always, and cost so much.” ​“So papa said before you had them. Hark! I think you are called,” said James.

“Here are your rabbits! all safe and sound!” said Frederic, bustling in with a basket; “where do you think they were?”

“Oh, I don’t know!” said Harry; “I should not have cared if they had kept there, wherever it was.”

“They were all under the water-butt as snug as could be; and so now you may set to work as fast as you please.”

“That will not be very fast, then, I guess,” said James.

“I think I shall sell them,” said Harry; “what will you give me for them? They are of no use to me that I know of.” ​James smiled and said, that was not the way to make a good bargain.

"I am afraid I have not money enough," said Frederic," or else"——

"Well, I'll tell you what," said Harry, "if you will let me have your guinea-pig, box and all, you shall have my four rabbits.

"But where am I to keep them," said Frederic, "now that their house is down?"

"Oh, why—you can—you may—you must—keep them in the basket till you can think of something better."

"Well, I will ask papa," said Frederic, and he ran down stairs, not hearing Harry's remonstrances, who did not wish him to do that at all. He soon returned with"—Papa says you had better keep your rabbits, and I my guinea-pig; but he says, let that be ​as it will, you must put up the rabbit-house again, because he says that is his; and he says, too, you had better come down and do it now.”

“Well,” said Harry, “I am not to have much of a holiday, I see.”

“Why you won’t be a week about it, will you?” said Frederic.

“No; but there will be something else you’ll see to-morrow to be done,” said Harry.

“Not unless you pull something else to pieces,” said James, as he and Frederic left the room.

Some time after Harry followed, and walked down the yard very leisurely, with his hands in his pockets; and so he stood a good while surveying the ruins; but at last he really began to pull the boards about: though it was long before he could find out where to place ​one of them; so little idea had he, either of what ought to be done, or of what he himself intended to do. However, at last he succeeded in patching up a place that would just hold his rabbits, though not nearly so comfortable nor so secure as it was before; for, instead of the door having two good hinges and a button, it was now only tied up with a piece of string, and where there had been open bars put to admit air, he placed a whole board, to save time, or rather trouble; and this was fixed so badly, that the rabbits could have pushed it down themselves if they had tried.

This was the way in which Harry did every thing that he grew tired of; and, as he never liked trouble, he always grew tired very soon, so that he seldom finished what he began; and when ​he was obliged to finish any thing, he slighted it as he did his rabbit place. On this account he seldom got any praise, though he was very fond of it; for what praise can be given to a thing that is left half done, or that is badly done, for want of pains and perseverance Indeed, when people have no good reason for what they do, it is not likely that they will do it well; but knowing that a thing is proper to be done, will, in general, cause those who undertake it to do it properly.

Harry, doing things in the way that has been mentioned, was in danger of being thought a blockhead; and certainly nobody would have thought he was clever, who looked at his rabbithouse; and he was in danger too of being thought ill-natured, from his indolence, which made him very unwil​ling to do any thing for another person that required the least trouble; yet he was really neither ill-natured, nor a blockhead.