Yes, quite a bairnie’s letter, but sincere and frank in every respect.
Teenie was in the habit of carefully ruling her paper before she began to write—this kept things straight; but in the present case she had had no time to do it, so the caligraphy went sprawling, tack and half tack diagonally, across the sheet. The spelling of the words, too, was in some instances quite original, to say the least of it.
“Dear father and mother,” the letter innocently began, “I’se runned away in ’Tonio’s sip (ship). I loves ’Tonio not a little wee bit like my tiny finger, but as high as the steeple, and I loves pore Bacly Stoort, an’ I loves pussy Malkin (Grimalkin[6]), and I does love the sea and all the pretty sea-birds, oh! ever so much. You woodn’t berlieve.
“So dood-bye, mammy and daddie. When your little Teenie tomes back she’ll be a big big dirl, and I’se going to catch lots and lots of fisses for you, and draw big nets and all.
“I’m going to see all all the world, and all the wild beasts and pretty beasties in the book Pason Grahame gave me. Wild beasts don’t eat dood little dirls; do they, daddy? But in course I’se goin’ to say my players every, every, every night, just like this:—
“‘This night as I lie down to sleep,
I give my sole to Christ to keep;
If I shood die before I wake,
I pray that Christ my soul shood take.’
“God bless daddy and mammy, and make me a bootiful (? dutiful) chile to them. Amen!
“So dood-bye. You must keep my garden now, and not let the naty (? naughty) kats strape (scrape) all up my sweet peas. With love and lots of kisses X X X X X X X.—I is still your offectionate dater,
“Teenie.”
Our young heroes, Barclay and Davie, had been down below at lessons in the half-deck, or mess-place of the second-class officers, cooper, carpenter, bo’s’n, &c. The bo’s’n was, in ship-work, the teacher to these youngsters, while Antonio himself super-intended the higher branches of their nautical education.