The Nursery, August 1877, Vol. XXII, No. 2 / A Monthly Magazine for Youngest Readers

VOLUME XXII.—No. 2. BOSTON: JOHN L. SHOREY, No. 36 BROMFIELD STREET, 1877.
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1877, by JOHN L. SHOREY, In the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington. FRANKLIN PRESS: RAND, AVERY, AND COMPANY, 117 FRANKLIN STREET, BOSTON.


HERE are few of the little readers of The Nursery who could not tell of pleasant days spent among green fields and woods, or on the seashore. But in almost every large city, there are many children who have never been out of sight of brick walls.
Their homes are in close rooms in narrow streets, and there they live from one year's end to the other. In winter they are often pinched with cold. In summer they suffer even more from the heat. You may see them at windows and doors, or on hot sidewalks, trying to get a breath of fresh air. It is not pure air, but the best they can get.
What I am going to tell you is about two of those poor children. One is a little girl, nine years old, whom we will call Jane. The other, who is only eight years old, is her brother George.
Both children go to a Sunday school, and have for their teacher a kind lady, who takes great interest in them. One warm summer day, to their great delight, this lady, whom we will name Miss White, called for them to go with her on a trip to the seashore.
Dressed in the best clothes they could muster, they were soon on board the steamboat. Here every thing was new to them. As the boat steamed down the harbor, it would have been joy to anybody only to watch the happy expression on their faces.
By and by the boat neared the land; and there the children saw a wonderful sight. What do you suppose it was? It was a cow quietly feeding on the shore. They had never seen a cow before.
Then Jane got sight of an apple-tree, and George spied a man raking hay. Here was another new sensation. While they were feasting their eyes on green fields, and inhaling the sweet country air, the boat stopped at the wharf.