At night they fulfilled their intention, my benefactor was truly distressed to see my miserable condition, and taking me to the mistress of the house, and implored her assistance to cure me; she wished to have me killed instantly, but that he would not consent to. As she was a humane woman, she endeavoured to cure me; and got some oil, which she carefully rubbed over me, and I was kept in a place where these wicked boys could not come to me. I had the pleasure of hearing that these boys had been expelled from the school, the greatest disgrace that could befall them.
It was long before I was entirely recovered; the next holidays Augustus determined to take me home with him, and leave me in charge of his amiable sister, whom he knew would nurse me tenderly. There I may say I was perfectly happy for some time. I became a mother, and had the delight of seeing my children beloved by Augustus and his sister.
Once, owing to the carelessness of a servant, I hatched some duck eggs, I did not perceive the mistake, till taking my chickens (as I thought them) out, to teach them to scratch, they all ran towards the water; in vain I called after them to stop, that they would be drowned if they attempted to go in; deaf to my entreaties, they threw themselves in, I came to the pond in all the agonies of despair, expecting to see all my precious little ones dead; but, to my astonishment, they were all swimming merrily. A duck with whom I was intimate (for I made it a rule to treat all the domestic fowls with civility) came up and assured me she would take care of my young charge while they were on the water, and teach them to swim.
Soon after, Augustus intended giving a supper to some of his friends, and it was proposed that each one should bring his favourite dish; Charles Mellish, Manly's cousin, was staying with him, he was a boy of an ardent temper, and would do any thing by way of frolic, or what he called fun; from the time this supper was proposed, he determined his dish should differ from every other persons, he accordingly procured from the cook a large pie dish and cover, and when the party assembled, he came into the poultry yard, seized me, and in spite of my peeking and scratching, forced me into it, covered me over with leaves, and placed the lid on; when he entered the parlour, I heard a number of little voices say, I wonder what Charles has got. He replied, something different to any one else I think; but before I let you see what it is, I must make an agreement that if it is different, every one of the ladies shall give me a kiss; but if any other person ever thought of bringing the same, every one in the room shall have the liberty to give me a slap on the face. This being agreed to, he set the dish upon the table, and took off the lid; I, who had been sadly cramped, immediately flew out, to the great astonishment of all present. I suppose master Charles received the reward from the ladies, but of that I did not wait to be witness; but ran out of the room as fast as possible.
Charles's dish.
Not long after, I was again seized by the same gentleman, who having discovered that miss Manly, and a party of her friends were assembled round a small fire, telling terrible stories of ghosts and murders, resolved to frighten them; he placed a ladder by the side of the chimney, and mounting it, put me in at the top. I was glad to escape from him, so I flew down the chimney, carrying the soot with me, which suddenly put out the fire; and when I entered the room, the most terrible screams were heard from all quarters; the servants soon came in with lights, to know what misfortune had happened, to occasion such an uproar. I had hidden myself in a corner of the room; one of the young ladies said it must be a ghost, that they had been sitting very quietly, when suddenly they heard a tremendous noise, the fire was extinguished in an instant, that a thick cloud of smoke followed, and a great black thing, the shape of which she could not distinguish, knocked against her face, and threw her down. By this time, Charles had joined them, and hearing such exaggerated stories, burst into a hearty laugh. You may laugh, said one of the ladies, but had you been here when it happened, you would have been as frightened as we were, it could not be fancy, for see the fire is out, and what a strong smell of sulphur is in the room.
The fright.
What would you think of me, if I discovered the cause of this wonderful affair? I should think you very clever indeed. Well then, give me a candle and I will soon find the ghost; he then took one off the table and by its assistance, soon discovered poor me sitting disconsolate under the table; at this the whole party joined in a hearty laugh; except myself, who had got some soot in my eyes, which made them very painful. Augustus took me in his arms, my poor hen, said he, you have had many strange adventures, and if you should ever take it into your head to write them (for all animals write their lives now-a-days), you shall make good mention of me, for I will now give you a good supper after your troubles.