MASTER HENRY'S 
 
 GREEN BAG; 
 
 ITS LOSS 
 
 AO RECOVERY. 
 
 TROY, N. Y. 
 MERRIAM & MOORE. 
 
MASTER HENRY'S GREEN BAG 
 
 TOHEN little Henry Milner was 
 \$Mu about six years of age, Mr. 
 Dalben allowed him to keep a cer- 
 tain bag of rubbish in a closet in 
 the parlor, which the little boy pri- 
 zed not a little. 
 
 This green bag was the general 
 repository of Henry's treasures ; and 
 one would have thought that there 
 could be no fear of its being stolen, 
 because the bag, together with all 
 its contents, would never have fetch- 
 ed any thing like the value of a sil- 
 ver sixpence. The bag was made 
 of a part of an old green baize 
 floor-cloth, put together with infinite 
 labor by Henry himself ; and the 
 contents were, an extraordinary as- 
 semblage of nails, string, snail-shells, 
 
4 MASTER HENRY'S GREEN BAG. 
 
 scraps of paper, sticks, old vials, a 
 bundle of penny pictures, a knife 
 that would not cut, and bits of broken 
 plates, which Henry used as pallets 
 and painting-stones. 
 
 It happened one day, that Mrs. 
 Kitty the housekeeper threatening a 
 thorough cleaning of the study, and 
 a general dusting of the books, Mr. 
 
 Dalben, made his escape immediately 
 after breakfast accompanied by Hen* 
 
I 
 
 MASTER HENRY'S GREEN BAG. 5 
 
 ry, intending to spend the morning 
 in the woods, and to dine and drink 
 tea with a clergyman who resided 
 in the neighborhood. 
 
 As soon as Mr. Dalben was clear 
 off the premises, Mrs. Kitty be- 
 gan her operations ; being aided by 
 Thomas the gardener, Sally the cook, 
 and the old wash-woman. 
 
 Who shall presume to give an ac- 
 count, of the clouds of dust which 
 were now excited, and the violent 
 concussions and agitations which 
 took place, whilst Mrs. Kitty and 
 her assistants, turned chairs, tables, 
 carpets, cushions, rugs, and sofas, 
 out of the windows as it were ? 
 
 Every thing, however, went on 
 successfully, till Mrs. Kitty, in an 
 unfortunate moment, cast her eyes 
 on Henry's green bag, which lay in 
 a corner of the closet . and there she 
 beheld a large snail crawling upon 
 
 / 
 
6 MASTER HENRY'S GREEN BAG. 
 
 the outside of the bag, with its shell 
 on its back, and its horns erected in 
 a most formidable manner. 
 
 It happened that Henry had been 
 the day before in quest of snail-shells, 
 and, though often warned to the con- 
 trary, had brought home one or two 
 with their inhabitants still alive and 
 well, within them. He had not done 
 this with the actual intention of being 
 disobedient, but through carelessness, 
 which is almost as bad. The sight 
 of this snail filled Mrs. Kitty with 
 almost as much horror as if she had 
 seen a serpent, coiled up in the cor- 
 ner of the closet : and such was her 
 indignation, that she took up the bag 
 with the tongs, and threw it out, 
 together with its inestimable con- 
 tents, into an ash-hole in the yard, 
 muttering, as she went, " I wonder 
 master will allow such rubbish and 
 vermin to be in the parlors. Master 
 
MASTER HENRY'S LOSS. 
 
 T 
 
 used to be so particular, and would 
 not allow a dog even to walk over 
 the carpet; and now he suffers the 
 child to litter the house from top to 
 bottom. It is downright impossible 
 to keep things clean and wholesome, 
 while such doings are permitted." 
 
 Notwithstanding the unfortunate 
 circumstance of the snail being found 
 on the green bag, Mrs. Kitty had 
 finished her operations, much to her 
 own liking, by eight o'clock in the 
 evening, when Mr. Dalben and Hen- 
 ry returned. 
 
 iJL, ing learned his lessons, and 
 received permission to play, went to 
 
 MASTER HENRY'S LOSS. 
 
 morning, Henry hav~ 
 
8 
 
 MASTER HENRY'S LOSS. 
 
 his usual corner to look for his bag ; 
 but no bag was to be found. The 
 little boy never suspecting that his 
 friend Mrs. Kitty would be so treach- 
 erous as to put away his treasures, 
 searched all around for it, but in vain. 
 The bag was not in his bed-room or 
 his little garden ; for Mr. Dalben 
 had given him a bit of ground to dig 
 
 in and plant for himself ; nor in the 
 kennel, where he used now and then 
 
MASTER HENRY'S LOSS. 
 
 9 
 
 to put it, when his uncle called him 
 to walk, and he had not time to run 
 into the house with it ; nor in the 
 hollow tree in the garden ; nor under 
 his pillow. No — it was not to be 
 found any where ; and the little boy, 
 full of grief, came to Mr. Dalben, to 
 tell him of his distress. 
 
 Mr. Dalben, who was never deaf 
 to Henry's complaints, got up from 
 his desk, where he was writing, to 
 look in his own cupboards, if by 
 chance the bag might be found in 
 any of them ; but not finding it, he 
 recollected the overturn which had 
 taken place the day before, and sug- 
 gesting the idea that Mrs. Kitty had 
 perhaps removed the bag, advised 
 the little boy to make some inquiries 
 of her respecting it. At the idea of 
 Mrs. Kitty's taking away his treas- 
 ure, Henry's indignation rose, and 
 he walked out into the kitchen, in a 
 
10 
 
 MASTER HENRY'S LOSS. 
 
 state of high displeasure, and seeing 
 the housekeeper, he said, " Where 
 did you put my bag, Mrs. Kitty?" 
 
 " What bag ? " said the house- 
 keeper, still going on with certain 
 preparations for cooking which she 
 had in hand. 
 
 ' My bag," said Henry, swelling 
 with passion ; " my green bag." 
 
 "What! your bag of rubbish?" re- 
 turned Mrs. Kitty; "have you lost it?'* 
 
 "Yes," said Henry, " and you have 
 taken it." 
 
 " How do you know I have taken 
 it ? " said Mrs. Kitty. 
 
 " I know you have," said Henry, 
 " I know by your face : and if you 
 won't tell me, I will complain to my 
 uncle, that I will." 
 
 " Do then, Sir," said Mrs. Kitty ; 
 M and tell him also, that you have live 
 snails and all kind of vermin in it." 
 
 By this time Henry was in a vio» 
 
MASTER HENRY'S LOSS. 11 
 
 » ■ ■ ■ ■ — 
 
 lent passion, and seeing Thomas in 
 the garden, he ran out to make his 
 complaints to him. 
 
 Thomas could not help smiling at 
 the violent hea& and agitation of the 
 child. However, he told the little 
 boy, that he had seen Mrs. Kitty 
 carry out the bag with the tongs, 
 and that he believed she had put it 
 into the ash-hole. 
 
 " O did she ? " said Henry ; " then 
 I will soon have it out." Accord- 
 ingly, he ran to the place, brought 
 out the bag, which was covered with 
 ashes, and presently appeared on 
 the out-side of the kitchen window, 
 which was open, it being summer- 
 time, with the bag slung over his 
 shoulders, his hands, and face, and 
 his nankeen coat, being black with 
 ashes. 
 
 " Oh, oh, Mrs. Kitty," said Henry, 
 calling through the window ; and so 
 
12 
 
 MASTER HENRY'S LOSS. 
 
 I have discovered your tricks. I 
 have got my bag in spite of you. 1 
 have found it ; you shan't have it 
 again." So saying, he darted through^ 
 the hall door into the study, and laia 
 his bag of treasures, ashes and all, 
 on the Turkey carpet at the feet of 
 his uncle. 
 
 Mr. Dalben had scarcely had time 
 to wonder at the strange appearance 
 of Henry, who looked not very un- 
 like a little chimney-sweeper, with 
 his bag of soot on his back, before 
 Mrs. Kitty rushed into the parlor and 
 threw herself into a seat, in a state 
 of the most violent indignation ; at 
 sight of whom, Henry snatched up 
 his bag, and ran to the other side of 
 his uncle's chair ; by the same motion, 
 making the dust fly over his uncle's 
 coat and neckcloth, and causing the 
 old gentleman to cough with con- 
 siderable violence. 
 
MRS. KITTY'S COMPLAINT. 
 
 RS. KITTY did not, however, 
 wait till Mr. Dalben had re- 
 covered his breath, before she gave 
 
14 
 
 MRS. KITTY'S COMPLAINT. 
 
 utterance to her anger. " Sir," she 
 said, " I hope you will please to pun- 
 ish Master Henry ; for it is no use 
 for me to be slaving myself to death 
 to keep your house clean, if he is to 
 be allowed to play such pranks. You 
 might as well, Sir, have one of the 
 sweeps in your house, as Master 
 Milner in the condition he now is. 
 Please, Sir, to look at his coat, and 
 his face and hands ; did you ever 
 see the like ? Did you ever see any 
 one in such a shocking condition ? " 
 
 Mr. Dalben looked at Kitty, then 
 at Henry, being unable to compre- 
 hend any thing at all of the matter. 
 The excessive anger of the house- 
 keeper, and the extraordinary dirti- 
 ness of Henry's appearance, at length, 
 however, set him to laugh ; by which 
 he inflamed in no small degree the 
 anger of Mrs. Kitty ; who thereupon 
 began again to expostulate. " Clean- 
 
MRS. KITTY'S COMPLAINT. 15 
 
 r " 1 ■ ' ' — .. . ■ 
 
 ing as I was," she said, " all yester- 
 day, I, and Thomas, and Sally, and 
 Betty Lea, all day long, and so nice 
 as the study looked; and to think 
 that Master Milner should have got 
 down into the ash-hole, to daub him- 
 self all over, and then come in here, 
 treading the ashes all over your best 
 carpet — indeed, Sir, it is very pro- 
 voking." 
 
 " Is that true, Henry ? " said Mr. 
 Dalben. 
 
 " Yes ; uncle," said Henry ; " I 
 went in for my bag, which Mrs, 
 Kitty had put there." 
 
 Mr. Dalben now began to compre- 
 hend the state of the case, and to 
 have some notion of the cause of 
 the quarrel between Mrs. Kitty and 
 the little boy ; and after a little con- 
 sideration, as he doubted not but 
 that Henry had been hasty and im- 
 pertinent, he insisted on his begging 
 
16 MRB, & TTY's COMPLAINT. 
 . TP. - i - "— " - — _ z 
 
 Mrs. Kitty's pardon. After which, 
 he delivered him into the hands of 
 Thomas, who put him into a tub of 
 water ; with the help of which, and 
 
MASTER HENRY'S PENITENCE. 17 
 
 a suit of clean clothes, he was pres- 
 ently put into a clean plight ; and 
 with the assistance of a broom and 
 duster in the parlor, all was again 
 brought into good order ; especially 
 as Sally very kindly undertook to 
 wash the green bag, and to restore 
 it to its former respectable condition. 
 
 MASTER HENRY'S PENITENCE. 
 
 N the afternoon of this same day, 
 after Mr. Dalben had spoken 
 to Mrs. Kitty about the green bag, 
 and while Henry was still humbled 
 under the shame of his misbehavior, 
 Mr. Dalben took him out to walk; 
 and whilst they were together, they 
 fell into the following discourse, 
 "Henry," said Mr. Dalben, "let 
 
18 MASTER HENRY'S PENITENCE. 
 
 but»iuiiiumjUlitiuinn«i tit iKii" 
 
 us talk a little about the affair of the 
 green bag. Did you behave ill in 
 that matter, do you think ? let us 
 consider the point." 
 
 " Uncle," said Henry, " I think 
 Mrs. Kitty should not have thrown 
 it among the ashes." 
 
 " And you ought not to have 
 brought living snails into the house," 
 paid Mr. Dalben. 
 
 " I did not intend to do it uncle," 
 
MASTER HENRY'S PENITENCE 19 
 
 said Henry ; " I did not see that there 
 were snails in the shells." 
 
 " When we are told to attend to 
 any duty, Henry," returned Mr. Dal- 
 ben, " we must not plead carelessness 
 as an excuse, and I will give you 
 this reason ; because carelessness 
 will not be received as an excuse at 
 the day of judgment. It will not do 
 then to say, I have done wrong, but 
 I did not intend to do wrong, it was 
 because I was thinking of something 
 else. The holy God will not receive 
 this as an excuse ; and it is always 
 wise and prudent for us to judge 
 ourselves, as we shall be hereafter 
 v judged. The ignorance and care- 
 lessness of men, and women, and 
 children, Henry, is the cause of 
 much sin. We may often see this 
 even among children in their plays ; 
 by mere carelessness they often pro- 
 Yoke one another to anger or other 
 
20 MASTER HENRY'S PENITENCE. 
 
 evil passions ; they are often igno- 
 rant because they will not learn, and 
 
 careless because they will not be 
 attentive." 
 
 " But," said Henry, " was it kind of 
 Mrs. Kitty to throw my bag among 
 the ashes ? " 
 
 " Was it kind of you, Henry," said 
 Mr. Dalben, " to bring so much dirt 
 into the parlor, after Kitty had been 
 at such trouble to clean it ? And so, 
 if you speak of unkindness, you have 
 
MASTER HENRY'S PENITENCE. 21 
 
 been quite as unkind as Kitty. And 
 now, Henry, I must point out to you 
 another thing, in which you have 
 acted wrong this day. Our Lord 
 Jesus Christ, though God in human 
 flesh, thought it a duty to submit 
 himself to his mother and to the 
 man who was called his father ; he 
 lived with them, and was subject to 
 them, till he was thirty years of age, 
 thus teaching us that we not only 
 ought to obey and honor our parents, 
 but to respect all those who are old- 
 er than ourselves, in whatever rank 
 or situation in life they may be ; and 
 to those who have taken care of us 
 in our infancy, we owe an especial 
 regard. On this account, Henry, 
 you acted particularly ill this morn- 
 ing, in showing so much disrespect 
 for Kitty ; and I hope, my boy, when 
 you return, that you will go to her 
 with all you heart, and express your 
 
22 MASTER HENRY'S PENITENCE. 
 
 sorrow, and be^ her to love you as 
 she used to do.' 
 
 During the remainder of the walk, 
 little Henry looked very serious , 
 and as soon as he got home, he ran 
 to his cupboard, brought out his 
 green bag, which Sally had washed, 
 
 and in which he had again put all 
 his little treasure ; and carrying it 
 
MASTER HENRY'S PENITENCE. 23 
 
 into the kitchen, where Mrs. Kitty 
 was at work, he laid it at her feet, 
 and bursting into tears, he said, 
 " There Mrs. Kitty, take my bag, 
 and do what you please with it ; 
 only forgive me for all my naughti- 
 ness, and love me as you used to 
 do." 
 
 Mrs. Kitty was quite overcome, 
 with this generous conduct of the 
 little boy. She threw clown her 
 work, put her arms round his neck, 
 and kissed him many, times, while 
 the tears ran down her cheeks. 
 
 " Take your bag again, dear Mas- 
 ter Milner," said Mrs. Kitty : " I am 
 very sorry that I was so angry with 
 you this morning : I never will put 
 away your treasures again ; no, 
 never as long as I live." So saying, 
 she took up the bag, put it again 
 into Henry's hand, and he heard 
 her say, while running out of the 
 
24 MASTER HENRY'S PENITENCE. 
 
 kitchen, " He is just like his dear 
 father, Sally, just such another ; the 
 Lord Almighty bless him ! " 
 
 And thus I conclude the history 
 of the green bag, in a manner which, 
 I think, will be agreeable to all lit- 
 tle boys who love God.