Chapter 8
Section 8 of Harper's Young People, Volume 1, Issue 13, January 27, 1880. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Bill Mosley, Llano County, Texas, USA. harper's young people volume one issue thirteen january twenty seventh eighteen eighty section eight the little delinquent lucy my lucy wilt thou not forgive thy little fritz pleaded the mother of two children whose father had been a soldier in the prussian army and whose bravery had been rewarded with a medal which was worn on his coat lapel
lucy answered with a deep sigh he was so cruel dear mother he pushed me down so rudely on the hard floor yes i saw that push but he was angry and i tried so well to do what he wished i kept the step and marched behind him and i helped to make his cap and i ran out to the poultry-yard for a feather which had dropped from the cock's tail the green and blue one that eats so much corn and i was as good a soldier as i knew how to be well what was the matter why i had my dear rosa in my arms and ludwig looked over the fence and laughed at fritz for having a girl with a doll in his regiment and fritz became very cross and said he would not play then i put my rosa down and went marching again but that dreadful great cock came and pecked at her eyes and i could not see her suffer so i hid her in my apron while fritz was not looking and we came into the house to fill our knapsacks then fritz saw rosa and he said i was a disobedient soldier and he pulled her out of my arms and tossed her down and broke her as you see
oh my dear my good rosa but i think fritz is sorry see he has been tied to the table a long while for punishment can you not forgive him lucy did not answer her little soul seemed much disturbed come i will tell thee a story my lucy of two other children and then perhaps thou wilt be more ready to let fritz go free far away up in the mountains where are the chamois and where the rocks are rough and the forests dark lived hans and gretchen they were wild as the chamois themselves and their old grandfather could scarcely keep them by his side long enough to tell them the story of the saviour's love or teach them even to read they knew the haunt of every wild creature in the woods and many were their quarrels over a nest of young birds or the possession of the animals they trapped they had no kind mother their words were often harsh and sometimes hunger made them really cruel to each other they were much to be pitied for their grandfather was lame as well as old and could do little for their support
one day in an eager chase after a rabbit gretchen gave hans a great push which sent him down over a rocky ledge on to some stones she was frightened to see that he did not move and still more frightened when she found he was moaning with pain she ran to get help and the neighbors came and lifted hans and carried him home but he never walked again his spine was hurt ah what sorrow then was gretchen's how she wished she had never been so unkind how she missed her companion in her wild rambles and in her search for the edelweiss flowers which she sold to travelers and so gained a little money little by little she learned how to be a better girl learned to be patient with hans who was often very cross and as she grew older and could better care for the house than her old grandfather they came to love her very much but do you think that little children who have been taught to be kind and to love the dear father in heaven whose son died on the cross should be willing to forgive when quarrels arise
both little faces had grown sad one with earnest resolve never again to be harsh with his sister the other with tender regret at last lucy said my mother i forgive fritz but what shall i do for poor rosa rosa shall have a new head when i have saved kreuzers to buy one said fritz and so they kissed and made up three famous diamonds a magnificent diamond belonging to the emperor of russia bought by the empress catherine weighs over one hundred and ninety-three carats it is said to be the size of a pigeon's head and to have been purchased for ninety thousand pounds besides a yearly sum for life to the greek merchant from whom it was bought this diamond formed one of the eyes of the famous idol juggernaut whose temple is on the coromandel coast and a french soldier who had deserted into the malabar service found the means of robbing the temple of it and escaped with it to madras
there he disposed of it to a ship captain for two thousand pounds and by him it was resold to a jew for twelve thousand pounds from him it was transferred for a large sum to the greek merchant this diamond now surmounts the imperial sceptre the diamond of the emperor of austria which formerly belonged to the grand dukes of tuscany weighs one hundred and thirty-nine and a half carats its estimated value is one hundred and fifty-five thousand pounds this stone is of a lemon yellow colour which greatly lessens its value among the prussian crown jewels is the famous regent or pitt diamond discovered in the pastille mine at golconda it weighs one hundred and thirty-six and three-quarters carats and is remarkable for its form and clearness which have caused it to be valued at one hundred and sixty thousand pounds although it cost only one hundred thousand pounds
it was stolen from the mine and sold to mr pitt grandfather of the great earl of chatham the duke of orleans purchased the diamond for presentation to king louis the fifteenth after the fall of louis the sixteenth the people insisted that the crown jewels should be exposed to the gaze of the mob and with them the regent diamond was shown so little however did the exhibitors confide in the honesty of these patriots that great precautions were taken to prevent the consequences of too strong an attraction the passer-by who chanced to demand in the name of the sovereign people a sight of the finest of the jewels entered a small room within which through a little window the diamond was presented for sight was fastened by a strong steel clasp to an iron chain the other end of which was secured within the window through which it was handed to the spectator two policemen kept a vigilant watch on the momentary possessor of the gem until having held in his hands the value of twelve millions of francs according to the estimate in the inventory of the crown jewels
he again took up his hook and basket at the door and disappeared this diamond which decorated the hilt of the sword of state of the first napoleon was taken by the prussians at waterloo and now belongs to the king of prussia in former times superstition attributed to the diamond many virtues it was supposed to protect the possessor from poison pestilence panic fear and enchantments of every kind a wonderful property was also ascribed to it when the figure of mars whom the ancients represented as the god of war was engraved upon it in such cases the diamond was believed to insure victory in battle to its fortunate owner whatever might be the number of his enemies for a long time diamonds were sent to holland to be cut and polished but this art is now well understood in england and has been recently introduced into this country
diamonds are not only worn as ornaments of dress or rare objects of art but they are employed for several useful purposes such as cutting glass by the glazier and all kinds of hard stones by the lapidary temerity a butterfly lived like a princess in a green and golden wood guarded day and night by the trees but as there was never a butterfly yet that did not prefer sunshine to safety she came fluttering out one morning and after dazzling all the flowers in the neighborhood spread her wings for a long flight there was no one to warn her of the dangers abroad so when she came to the railroad track she just settled upon it with no more fear than if it were a twig an ugly brown worm that had been sunning himself on a sleeper crept up to her you are in a dreadfully dangerous place he groaned why asked the little rainbow not a bit scared there's a great monster coming soon he crushes everything he meets he has no heart his bones are made of iron
how funny exclaimed the butterfly see how dark the sky is getting he will soon be here went on the worm solemnly oh pshaw it's only a shower coming up said the butterfly stretching her wings no it is the monster don't you feel the ground shake the storm is coming but the monster is coming too get into this hole under the track i beg you i entreat you get into this hole and be saved nonsense laughed the butterfly the rail was trembling and in the distance a strange wild shriek was heard a great puff of smoke went rolling up to the sky quick quick implored the worm do as i do or you will be killed there is no time to lose that the only answer he got was a laugh the monster was getting nearer and nearer and the worm with one more vain petition to the butterfly to follow him squirmed into a crevice under the rail on came the monster its great iron limbs pounding back and forth a rattle a shriek a puff of smoke he had come and gone the worm where was he
limp and dead in his little hole under the rail and the butterfly the poor beautiful butterfly oh she had simply flown away the end of section eight recording by bill mosley lano county texas u s a
