The Project Gutenberg eBook of Willie and Lucy abroad

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Title: Willie and Lucy abroad

Author: Agnes Giberne

Release date: June 2, 2026 [eBook #78805]

Language: English

Original publication: London: The Religious Tract Society, 1873

Other information and formats: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/78805

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WILLIE AND LUCY ABROAD ***

Transcriber's note: Unusual and inconsistent spelling is as printed.

WILLIE AND LUCY ABROAD.

BY THE AUTHOR OF

"WILLIE AND LUCY AT THE SEA-SIDE;" "WILLIE AND LUCY AT HOME;"

"HUNGERING AND THIRSTING;" ETC.

[Agnes Giberne]

LONDON:

THE RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY

56, PATERNOSTER ROW; 65, ST. PAUL'S CHURCHYARD;

AND 164, PICCADILLY.

MANCHESTER: 100, CORPORATION STREET.

BRIGHTON: 31, WESTERN ROAD.

LONDON

PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS

STAMFORD STREET AND CHARING CROSS.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER.

I. GOING ABROAD

II. ON BOARD THE STEAMER

III. WILLIE'S MISTAKE

IV. SNOW-PEAKS

V. A SWISS WALK

VI. UP A MOUNTAIN

VII. A ROW ON THE LAKE

VIII. WILLIE'S FALL

IX. THE END

WILLIE AND LUCY ABROAD.

CHAPTER I.

GOING ABROAD.

"MAMMA," said Willie Gray, one morning, stopping short in the midst of building a high brick tower upon the floor—"Mamma, Nurse says it is just a year since we went to the sea-side."

"Nurse is quite right, Willie."

"Are you going to take us to the sea-side again this summer, Mamma?"

"No, I think not," said Mrs. Gray, smiling a little.

"I am sorry for that," said Willie; "because I should like so much to dig in the sand, and to make houses and hills and rivers, and to swim my boat, and to row on the water. It would be very nice. Are we going to stay at home all the summer, Mamma?"

"No, I hope we are going somewhere," said Mrs. Gray. "Guess where it is to be, Willie."

"Into the country?" asked Willie.

"No, not the country."

"To London?" asked Willie, with rather a grave face, for he thought that would not be half so nice.

"No, not London either."

"Then, I don't know where it can be, if it is not either sea-side, or London, or country," said Willie.

"You were saying just now that you were fond of making hills on the sand," said Mrs. Gray. "But those are very little hills, Willie. How would you like to see real hills—very, very high ones?"

"I should like it very much," said Willie. "I would scamper up them with Pepper, and see which could run the fastest."

"Pepper will have to stay at home, I am afraid. Do you know what the very highest hills are called?"

"Mountains," said Willie.

"Have you ever seen a mountain?" asked Mrs. Gray.

"No, Mamma; because you told me, you know, that we have not got great mountains in England. I should like to see a tall great mountain very much. Are we then going to see a mountain this year? Oh, Mamma, are we?"

Willie gave a great jump of delight as his Mamma's face showed him that he had found out the truth at last.

"Not one mountain only, Willie, but a great many. We are going to a country which has some of the highest mountains in the world. Do you know where Mont Blanc is?"

"Mont Blanc," said Willie, slowly. "I had that in my lessons only a little while ago, and you told me that it meant White Mountain, because it always has snow upon it."

"Yes, that is the reason the name was given, no doubt. Good boy, not to forget what you are told. And in what country is Mont Blanc?"

Willie did not look very certain.

"It is in Switzerland, Willie."

"And are we going to Switzerland?" asked Willie. "And are we going to live up on the top of Mont Blanc?"

"That is a silly question, Willie. You are not thinking what you are saying. Do you not know what I told you about those very high mountains?"

"Oh yes! You said it was so hard to get to the top, and the cold there is dreadful, and people cannot breathe well up there. Mamma, I don't mean are we going to live on the top, but are we going to Mont Blanc?"

"No, not to Mont Blanc, but to a village on the shores of a great lake in the same country. Look here, Willie."

Mrs. Gray pulled out her watch as she spoke. Willie had often seen it before, but he always liked to see it again. It was such a tiny little gold watch, with such bright jewels shining in the back.

"Do you know where this watch was made?" asked Mrs. Gray.

"Was it not at a shop?" asked Willie.

"Yes, but not any shop in England. It was made at Geneva. And Geneva is a town built at the end of a lovely lake, which is called the Lake of Geneva."

"And are we going to live at Geneva?" asked Willie.

"Not to live in Switzerland at all, Willie; for we are only going for a few weeks. We shall stay in a village near the other end of the lake, and I hope you may have many a scramble in the mountains."

"It will be very, very nice," said Willie. "And how soon shall we go, Mamma?"

"Next week, I hope."

Willie clapped his hands, and then said, "May I go and tell Lucy?"

"Yes, run away. She does not know yet."

Willie dashed upstairs in a great hurry, and threw open the nursery door, calling out—

"Lucy, Lucy, only hear! Where do you think we are going this summer?"

Lucy was sitting on her little low chair, with her doll in her lap, putting on its best frock, and she was so busy that she did not answer.

"Lucy," Willie cried again, "where do you think we are going?"

"I don't know," said Lucy, trying to tie some very short frock strings, and then giving a sigh. "Nurse, I do wish I had a bit of tape for my dolly."

"I'll give you a piece, Miss Lucy. How long do you want it?"

"Lucy, you don't care a bit about my news," said Willie, half-vexed. "I don't think I will tell you any more."

"I'll listen just in a minute," said Lucy, looking up. "I only want to tie my dolly's frock. Thank you, Nursie. Now, Willie."

But Willie was rather put out. He walked to the window, and stood looking into the garden.

"Come, Master Willie," said Nurse, "what is it?"

"Lucy doesn't care," said Willie, in a tone which sounded just a little sulky.

"I do," said Lucy, looking up at him. "I am sure I want to hear your news, Willie."

"It's about our going out somewhere this summer," said Willie, twisting round, with his back to the window; "but I don't think I will tell you now."

"Oh! Yes you will," said Nurse. "It would not be kind if you did not."

"Nurse, do 'you' know?" asked Willie.

And Nurse nodded her head.

"Don't tell Lucy, because I want to tell," said Willie, all at once in a great hurry to speak. "Lucy, we are going to Switzerland."

"Are we?" said Lucy. "I would rather go to the sea-side."

"Oh no, you wouldn't, because we shall see real mountains, and ice and snow in summer," said Willie. "And we shall have to cross over the sea. Nurse, I wonder if it will be like that day when you came from France once before. You told us, you know, that the water poured over the deck, and through the skylight, and right down upon you. I should like to see that."

"Thank you, Master Willie, but I think I would rather keep dry this time," said Nurse, laughing.

"Ah! But I only meant that I wanted to see the rough water—not to see you wet, Nurse."

————————————

CHAPTER II.

ON BOARD THE STEAMER.

THE next week was a busy time indeed with all the making ready for the journey. Willie and Lucy wanted very much to help in the packing, and thought it very great fun, but somehow they always found themselves in the way. They began to learn at last that the best way of helping was to keep in corners as much as they could.

Then the day came on which it had been fixed that they should all start. A fly came to the door, and the luggage was piled on the top, and they drove off to the station. They went by train to London, and there changed into a second train, which took them down to Dover. And when they reached Dover, they went straight on board the steamer which was to carry them to France.

Willie was so full of delight and wonder at all the new things he saw that, as Nurse said, he was "half out of his wits." He stumbled up against other people, and tripped his feet over boxes and ropes, and stared about him without seeing where he went, till Mr. Gray took his hand, and held it tightly, quite afraid that Willie would be lost in the bustle.

At last they were all safely on board, and the piles of luggage were stowed away, and no one else seemed coming. And then Willie gave a little jump, and cried out:

"Oh Mamma, we're off!"

"I don't like it," said Lucy, who was seated on Mrs. Gray's knee, and clinging to her, as if rather afraid. "I don't like such a noise."

"We are not going to have such a noise now," said Mrs. Gray, kissing her. "Sit up, Lucy, and see how pretty the water looks, and how the sun sparkles on it. We are not going to have a rough trip at all."

"Then the waves won't pour over the deck, will they?" said Willie, looking rather sober. "I wanted to see that."

"So you wanted to have a shower-bath, and be sent down to the cabin, did you, my little man?" said a voice close by.

Willie turned, and gazed up at the speaker, and thought he looked a very nice kind old gentleman indeed.

"No, I don't want to go down in the cabin at all to stay," said Willie. "I should like to stay up on deck all the while. But I did want to see it rough."

"Come with me, and you shall see it rough in one place," said the old gentleman.

Willie looked at his Mamma, but she nodded and smiled; so Willie gave his hand to the old gentleman, and ran along by his side. They went through a crowd of people sitting about on the deck, with children, and shawls, and bags, and baskets. And soon they reached the side of the steamer.

"Look over," said the old gentleman.

Willie did look over, and said:—

"Oh! Isn't it pretty? Oh, that is so rough!"

"What makes so much foam?" asked the old gentleman.

"The paddle-wheel," said Willie. "Oh, doesn't it sparkle?—And what big waves we leave behind us! I should like to go down quite close to all that white foam."

The old gentleman let Willie look until he was tired. Then, sitting down, he took Willie between his knees and said:—

"Now, suppose you tell me your name."

"Willie Gray," said Willie.

"Ah!—A nice quiet useful name. And you don't ask mine back?"

Willie seemed puzzled for a moment, and then said:—

"No, because it would be rude."

"Quite right, my little man. I am glad you are so well taught. Old gentlemen may ask many questions of little boys, which little boys could not ask of old gentlemen without great rudeness."

"Yes, I know," said Willie, nodding his head.

"And where are you going now, I wonder?" asked the gentleman.

"We are going to Switzerland," said Willie. "And we shall see great mountains, with snow on the tops of them in hot weather."

"Then I hope you will enjoy them very much," said the old gentleman. "Did you ever see a mountain before?"

"No," said Willie. "I have seen some hills, but never a real mountain."

"I think you will admire them very much. Look here, little Willie Gray."

Willie looked up in the old gentleman's face.

"Perhaps I may never happen to meet you again after to-day. It is most likely not. Shall I give you a little thought to carry away, and to keep in your mind, so that it will come back to you when you think of this steamer, and the paddle-wheel, and the foam, and the water?"

Willie could not think what the old gentleman meant, but he said, "Please."

"It is pretty there, is it not?" said the gentleman, pointing down to where the white sparkling foam rushed in a torrent past.

"Oh, very pretty!" said Willie.

"And the sea is pretty too, with its blue colour, and the blue sky over, and the bright sunshine?"

"I think it is all lovely," said Willie.

"Lovely it is—much more than just pretty. And the mountains which you are going to see, Willie—you will find them more grand and lovely than you can fancy now."

"Yes," said Willie.

"And I dare say Willie Gray knows who made all this beauty," said the old gentleman.

"God made it," said Willie slowly.

"Aye, God made it, Willie. He made the earth, and He gave the earth its beauty. He made the sea, and He gave the sea its beauty. He made the mountains, and birds, and flowers, and He gave them all their beauty. But He need not have done so. He might have made them all plain, and dark, and ugly. We don't deserve to have one bit of beauty round us."

"I am glad we have," said Willie. "I shouldn't like to see all the world ugly."

"Ah! But what ought we to learn from all this beauty that God has given us to enjoy? What does it show?"

"I think it shows that God loves us," said Willie, after a little thought.

"That is what I mean," said the old gentleman, patting Willie's head. "Don't forget that, my little man. Never look at beauty, and think only, 'How lovely it is!' But thank God in your heart, and think how kind and loving it is of God to give us such beauty and joy."

"I know that text: 'God so loved the world,'" said Willie.

"Tell me how it goes on, Willie. Does it say, 'He loved the world so much that He gave it beauty?'"

"No," said Willie. "'God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

"Aye; there is the greatest love of all," said the old gentleman. "It is kind and loving of God to send us so much beauty and joy as we have in our sinful world. But that is nothing to the love He showed in sending His own dear Son to die for our sins upon the Cross, that all—you and I too, Willie—might be safe for ever, if we put our trust in Him. Willie, if you know something, even a little, of the love of God, you are a happy little boy. If not, I pray that you may know it soon."

Then the old gentleman took Willie back to Mr. and Mrs. Gray, talking to him and telling him stories all the way as they went.

————————————

CHAPTER III.

WILLIE'S MISTAKE.

WHEN the steamer reached Calais, Mr. and Mrs. Gray, and Willie, and Lucy, and Nurse, went on shore. They slept that night at an hotel, and Willie thought it seemed very funny indeed to hear all the people talking French round him. The servant came in and spoke to Mrs. Gray, and Mrs. Gray spoke back, and Willie could not make out a word of what they said; so he began to laugh. But Mrs. Gray told him that was not polite, for the servant might think he was laughing at her. So Willie squeezed his hand over his mouth, and did his best to look grave.

Next day, they went on by train to Paris, and stayed there for two nights.

Willie thought the journey all very nice, but he was so eager to see the mountains that he would have liked to get on faster.

They had one day in a "diligence," that is, a large rumbling coach. Willie and Lucy were both very much pleased to have to get up and dress by candlelight at one o'clock in the morning, and to start in the coach at two. But they both grew very sleepy and tired as the fourteen hours of their long drive passed away, and Willie wanted very much to jump out sometimes, and take a run, and stretch his cramped legs.

It roused them quite up at last, though, to reach the high Jura Mountains. Willie rubbed his eyes, and began to look about him again quite briskly, and said:—

"Are we really going up a mountain, Mamma? And where is the snow?"

"The Jura Mountains are not high enough to keep snow on them all through the summer, dear," said Mrs. Gray. "Still they are very much higher than any hills you have ever seen."

Willie thought so too when the "diligence" had reached the top, and began to go down on the other side.

It was such a steep sharp zig-zag on which they drove, that Nurse was quite afraid lest the great "diligence" should topple over and fall down the mountain; but Mr. Gray said they need not have any fear. Willie clapped his hands when he saw a little chaise going quickly down in the bends of the road far below them. And, though the road was so steep, both the little chaise and the great "diligence" reached the bottom of the mountain quite safely.

Mr. and Mrs. Gray had settled to sleep in Geneva this night—the very same place where Mrs. Gray's pretty watch came from. Willie made a funny mistake when they first got there. Mr. Gray stayed behind at the station to see after the boxes, and sent on the others in a cab to the hotel. As soon as they were in their rooms, Willie ran to the window; and there, instead of the road, he saw a great deep strong stream of water, like a wide river, rushing past quite close to the house. Willie called out so loud that he startled the others.

"What is the matter, Master Willie?" asked Nurse.

"Oh Nurse, Nurse, look here!" cried Willie, in great distress. "There has been a flood, and the water has come right over the road, and Papa will be drowned."

"Why, Master Willie, that is the river," said Nurse.

"Oh no! It's the road. Look, it is close up to the house," said Willie, almost sobbing. "And Papa will never be able to drive here from the station."

Nurse took Willie's hand without a word, and, leading him into a second room across the passage, she told him to look out of the window.

"Why, there's the very road we came by. Oh Nurse, I'm so glad!" said Willie, in great relief. "But what is all that water?"

"Why, that is the river, Master Willie. That is at the back of the hotel, and the road is in front of it."

"The river?" said Willie.

"Yes, the river Rhone, Willie," said his Mamma, who was in the room. "Did you never hear the name of the Rhone at your lessons?"

Willie was not quite sure whether he had, but he felt very certain that he would never forget it again from this time. He liked to stand at the window of the other room and look down at the wide deep water, rushing and rushing past, and never stopping for a single instant. He thought even the snowy mountains could hardly be more lovely.

And, to tell the truth, Willie at first thought them a great deal less lovely. For the next day was damp, and dull, and drizzling, with heavy clouds low down in the sky. They had to finish off their long journey in a steamer, which took them from one end of the lake to the other, and it was a very dismal voyage indeed. Then, when they landed, they drove through pouring rain to the little village of Veytaux, where a friend had chosen them some lodgings.

But the lodgings were not so nice as Mr. and Mrs. Gray had wished. It was a dull little house, just in the middle of the village, and the sitting-room had only one window looking into a small yard, with high walls round it and a mulberry tree standing in the middle. Little Lucy was so tired that she curled herself up on the sofa and went sound asleep. And Willie stood by the window, looking out, and saying in a doleful tone:—

"Mamma, I don't like Switzerland one bit. It isn't the least like what I thought it was going to be."

"Wait a little, Willie," said his Mamma, smiling. "I don't like this house, I confess, but Papa will look out for other lodgings in a day or two. And as for Switzerland, you have not seen it yet."

"I don't care for the mountains," said Willie. "I am sure they don't look high."

"No, because you cannot see much of them—the clouds come so low down their sides."

"Do the tops go up higher than those clouds, Mamma?"

"Indeed they do. The mountains are all wearing night-caps to-day."

"I think they are day-caps," said Willie, "and very wet ones too, Mamma."

That little bit of a laugh cheered Willie up. He ate a very good tea, and then was glad to go to bed and to sleep, hoping to wake up and see something better worth looking at than low grey clouds next morning.

CHAPTER IV.

SNOW-PEAKS.

"WELL, Willie," said Mr. Gray the next morning, which was Sunday, "what do you think of Switzerland now?"

"Nurse says it is going to be a fine day, Papa."

"Have you seen the mountains yet?"

"No, Papa. There's only a wall, and a tree, to be seen from my room."

"Come here and look out."

There was not much to be seen here either, except the little yard with its mulberry tree. But, by standing close to the window, Willie could catch a glimpse of a clear white patch high up against the blue sky.

"Do you know what that is, Willie?"

"Isn't it a cloud, Papa?"

"That is the snowy summit of a mountain—the Dent du Midi, as it is called. It is a long way off from here, and it has seven peaks rising up, all in a row, but you cannot see them all from this window."

"It looks very high up," said Willie, slowly. "But I did not think mountains were like that, Papa. It seems more like a cloud."

"You will see the whole mountain more plainly by-and-by. There are mists below, hiding the sides. It is a grand sight, Willie."

"Please let me see too," said Lucy.

But when she had looked, she thought even less of it than Willie did, and the two children ate their breakfast with rather sober faces.

They did not look sober though, or think little of the mountains, after breakfast, when they started to go to church. It was a bright clear day, and the lake sparkled in the sunshine as if it were made of diamonds, and the mighty mountains rose all round, one behind another, till Willie thought there seemed no end to their number. He liked to see the great forests of pine trees too, which grew upon the sides of the mountains, and the vineyards down below, reaching almost to the shores of the lake.

He liked to see the Swiss people also, and to notice how unlike they were to English people. No one passed without saying "Bon jour," which Mrs. Gray told Willie was the French for "Good day." Mr. and Mrs. Gray always said "Bon jour" back again. Willie wanted to do it too, but he felt sure he should laugh if he tried, and he thought that would not seem polite. There were nice old women in black silk and lace caps, and other women in wide straw hats, with a little round knob at the top.

"Well, Willie," said his Papa, when they had all come back from church, "what do you think of the great mountains now?"

"Oh Papa, I think they are just as splendid as can be," said Willie. "I should like to go right up to the top of them."

"You could not go to the tops of the higher ones, for you are too small. But some of the lower mountains you shall try, Willie."

"I should like to live always by the mountains," said Willie. "Papa, the old gentleman in the steamer told me—"

"Told you what, Willie'?" asked his Papa, as Willie stopped.

"Lucy, you say it," said Willie, hanging his head. "I told you."

But Lucy only put down her head on her Mamma's dress, and Willie had to go on.

"He told me, Papa—he said—he said it was very good of God to make the mountains and the sea so lovely."

"And so indeed it is, Willie. Think how much pleasure God gives to us all by the beauty of the earth."

"Papa, is there anything about mountains in the Bible?" asked Willie.

"A good many things," said Mr. Gray. "See if you and Lucy can't tell me some."

"I know one," said Willie. "It was on a mountain that the Lord Jesus changed so bright, and His raiment was white, so that it couldn't be made any whiter."

"Quite true, Willie."

"And I know," said Lucy shyly. "It was on a mountain that the ark stopped."

"Yes, dear; the ark rested on Mount Ararat, when the flood began to pass away."

"And it was on Mount Sinai where Moses stayed up forty days," said Willie. "And wasn't it on a mountain, too, that God spoke to Elijah? And it was on a mountain that the Lord Jesus said those texts, 'Blessed are the pure in heart,' and 'Blessed are the meek,' and the others. And I know He used often to go and pray in a mountain at night. What numbers of mountains there are spoken about in the Bible!"

"I wonder if you can tell me some verses of a Psalm which you have often heard," said Mr. Gray. "Something about the sea and the hills."

Willie could not say what it was, so his father said the words for him.

"'The Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In His hand are all the corners of the earth; the strength of the hills is His also. The sea is His, and He made it, and His hands prepared the dry land. O come let us worship and fall down: let us kneel before the Lord our Maker."

"What does the strength of the hills mean, Papa?"

"Do you not see, Willie, what strong mighty hills they are—how nothing can overthrow them! Nothing that men could do, I mean. Only God who made them could destroy them. But to us they are indeed strong. Did you ever hear that verse:

"'Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever Thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting thou art God'?"

"I don't know," said Willie, slowly. "Isn't there a little bit of a hymn that we sing which is like that rather, Mamma?"

"Yes, dear. You mean this:

"'Before the hills in order stood,

Or earth received her frame,

From everlasting Thou art God,

To endless years the same.'"

"Yes, I meant that," said Willie. "I like that hymn."

"See if you can find one more verse about mountains—in the sixty-fifth psalm, Willie," said Mr. Gray.

Willie pored over his Bible for a minute or two, and then said:—

"Is it not this:

"'Which by His strength setteth fast the mountains, being girded with power'?"

"That is it, dear. So in one verse we read of the strength of the hills, and in a second verse of the strength of God who gave to the hills their strength. It is good to think of our God as so strong, Willie, when we know that we ourselves are so weak. It is good, because He is just as loving as He is strong, and likes nothing better than that we should go to Him for help in our weakness."

CHAPTER V.

A SWISS WALK.

"ARE you going to take us for a walk, Nurse? Oh Nurse, where are we going?" cried Willie, jumping about with delight after breakfast next morning.

"May we go to the lake?" asked Lucy.

"Oh no! We're going up the mountains," said Willie. "You'll take us, won't you, Nurse?"

"But I would much rather go down on the shore," said Lucy.

"But you can't, because I'm the eldest," said Willie. "And there is no sand on the shore, but only shingles, Papa says, and not nice shingles like those at the sea-side. I want a great deal more to go up the mountains."

"I wonder which is going to give way," said Nurse. "I can't take you to both places at the same time, you know."

Lucy said nothing, and Willie set himself with his back against the wall, looking rather cross.

"Master Willie is the eldest, to be sure," said Nurse, "and so he has the right to choose first. But then Miss Lucy is a little girl, and real gentlemen always give way to ladies."

"I am not a gentleman yet. I'm a boy," said Willie.

"But if gentlemen give way to ladies, boys should give way to girls," said Nurse.

"Lucy always wants to do what I don't like," said Willie.

"I don't," said Lucy, rather hurt. "I'll go up the mountains if you like. Only, please, don't let us go up quite so high as the snow, Willie, because I don't like to be cold."

Nurse kissed Lucy, and told her that there was no fear of their getting near the snow, and Willie felt rather small. He knew that he ought to draw back now, and offer to go on the shore. But, though he felt that he was acting like a selfish boy, his wishes were too strong, and he said nothing.

It was a lovely walk that they had, and Lucy soon ceased to be sorry that they had not gone down on the shore. They found a nice wide path, leading along the side of one of the mountains, and by-and-by they came to a stream of water, which ran through a little ravine, and crossed the road in front of them.

"Oh Nurse, how are we going to get across?" cried Willie.

"Why, I think I shall have to wade through and carry you both," said Nurse, laughing. "Or else we must turn back."

"Oh no, don't turn back!" said Willie. "Look, it isn't so wide up there on the grass. Could you not jump across? Or shall I get some big stones and put them in here?"

"Stepping-stones? Not a bad plan," said Nurse. "I don't see any large enough about here though."

"But I saw some a little way back; I am quite sure I did," said Willie. "May I go and see?"

"Yes, but we will all go," said Nurse. "I can't have you running about alone and losing yourself."

"I am sure I should not lose myself," said Willie.

But Nurse turned round, so he had to submit. Soon they found some large stones, just as Willie had thought, lying in the grass by the side of the path, and he was very glad he had seen them. Nurse took up two of the stones, and Willie lifted a third, which he could just hold with both hands; and even Lucy would carry a small one.

Then they came to the stream, and Nurse put down her two stones with care, and said, "Mind how you do it, Master Willie."

But Willie, instead of minding, threw his stone straight into the middle of the water, so that there came a great splash all over Nurse's dress.

"Oh Master Willie! How could you?" said Nurse gravely. "Just as I was speaking to you too."

"I didn't mean to wet you, Nurse; I can't help it."

"But you could have helped it if you had just thought for one moment before throwing the stone in," said Nurse. "My dress is quite wet, Master Willie, and I must go home now and change it."

Willie did not like that at all, and he began to cry. He cried so loud that Nurse was quite glad no one was by to see him acting so like a baby. The truth was, Willie felt he had been selfish about their choice of a walk that morning, and his feeling so made him ready to be cross about the least thing.

But Nurse would not go on. She could not walk in such wet clothes, and she also wanted Willie to learn not to do such careless things. Willie did not go on making a noise all the way home, but he sobbed to himself a little, and thought it very hard. And it never seemed to strike him that Nurse might think it rather hard on her part to have her clean dress made in such a mess. Only Nurse took it kindly, and did not make any fuss.

When Nurse had changed her wet clothes, she was quite ready to take them out again, and this time she said it should be to the shore.

"But I want to go up the mountain again," said Willie.

"Why, Willie, what a cross face!" said Mrs. Gray, looking up from her work. "Is that the way you are going to frown at the mountains while we are here?"

"Master Willie can't be happy unless he has things all his own way, ma'am," said Nurse.

Mrs. Gray asked what Nurse meant.

And Nurse told her how Willie had wanted to go up towards the mountains, and how Lucy had wanted to go down to the lake, and how Lucy had given way, and Willie had not even thanked her, and how he now wanted his own way over again.

"Willie, I thought you were a kinder little boy," said his Mamma. "I am sorry you can show so much temper. If you cannot be a cheerful and pleasant boy out of doors, you had better stay in with me this morning."

"Oh no—oh please, Mamma!" said Willie, in great alarm.

"Would you like to go on the shore with Nurse and Lucy, and will you not grumble any more?"

Willie hung his head, and at length said, rather faintly, "N-o!"

"But I want more than that, Willie. I can't have Nurse's and Lucy's pleasure spoilt by a fractious little boy."

"Mamma, I won't be cross," said Willie, with a great sigh.

And Lucy put her little arms round him, and said, "I'd rather go up the mountains again."

"No, we won't," said Willie. "We'll go right down on the shore, and look for pretty pebbles, and see if the tide is coming in."

"But you can't do that, Willie, because there are no tides in the lake," said Mrs. Gray.

"No tides!" Willie's eyes were wide open in surprise. "Does not the water come up and go down?"

"No; it is always the same, except that it is sometimes rough and sometimes smooth. That is one thing in which a lake is unlike the sea."

Willie was almost as anxious as Lucy herself now to see the lake. He was quite happy again, and, taking Lucy's little hand, he ran down the road towards the lake, with Nurse coming behind them, and they spent a very merry hour upon the shore, until it was time to go home to dinner.

CHAPTER VI.

UP A MOUNTAIN.

"WHAT do you think we are going to do to-day?" asked Mr. Gray the next morning.

Willie could not think what it might be; so he put down his bread and butter, and waited with a very anxious face to hear.

"Try and guess," said Mr. Gray, smiling.

"Are we going up the mountains?" said Willie.

"Not up more than one at a time," said Mr. Gray.

"Up one mountain then, Papa?"

"I have told some men to bring two mules here after breakfast. Mamma is going to ride one, and the other has a safe saddle for Lucy, and Nurse and you and I will walk. How would you like to go up to Glion?"

"Glion," said Willie slowly. "Oh Papa, is not that where the Swiss wooden house is on the top of the little mountain?"

"Little!" Mr. Gray said with a smile. "Yes, I think you mean the right one. The wooden house is called a châlet."

"It has a roof that sticks out all round, and it has balconies," said Willie. "Nurse told me it was called a 'chlâet.' Papa, I have wanted ever since we came to go up there, but Lucy can't walk so far."

"No; so she is going to ride," said his Papa.

Soon after breakfast the two mules were at the door. Willie thought they were very funny creatures, partly like horses and partly like donkeys. The one on which Lucy rode was a very quiet old mule indeed. Lucy was half-afraid at first, and held Nurse's hand tightly. But she soon found she need not fear, and she began to talk and laugh with Willie, as he ran by her side.

It was such a lovely day that no one could help feeling happy and bright. Willie had never seen such a deep blue sky as on that day, and far away in the distance there were white snow-peaks standing out against it. It was strange to look upon snow while they felt so hot themselves.

There was a broad carriage-road leading up to Glion, winding backwards and forwards, and all the way up Willie raced about, and hunted for flowers, and was very merry. So it was no wonder that by the time they reached the top, he was glad to sit down and rest. Mrs. Gray was helped off her mule, and Lucy was lifted down to the ground. Then Nurse opened a little basket which she had brought with her, and Willie felt so hungry with the mountain air that he was very glad indeed to think he might have a sandwich.

So they found a nice grassy spot, where they had a good view of the lake and mountains. And they sat down, and Mrs. Gray handed a sandwich to each of them, and took one for herself as well.

"I like this very much," said Willie—"Oh so much, Mamma! I should like to live up here all the rest of my life. Shouldn't you, Lucy?"

"No," said Lucy. "I want to go to bed by-and-by."

"But we could have beds up here," said Willie.

"You would find it very cold in winter, Willie," said his Papa.

"Should I?" said Willie. "But I like cold. Papa, is this mountain bigger than Heath Hill at home?"

"This mountain is a thousand feet high, Willie," said Mr. Gray, "and Heath Hill is two hundred feet. Which is the highest?"

"Oh this, a great deal," said Willie. "A thousand is a great deal more than two hundred. A thousand is ten hundred, and that is five times as much as two hundred. Papa, I should never have thought that this mountain was five times as high as Heath Hill."

"No; you called it 'a little mountain' this morning."

"So I did, Papa, and I am sure I never called our hill at home a little hill, because I always thought it so big."

"See if you can tell me the reason why you think this a little mountain and that a big hill, Willie."

Willie thought very hard, and ate a second sandwich and two biscuits, while he was thinking. At length he said:—

"I think I know."

"Tell me, then."

"Is it not, Papa, because—because—Papa, I don't know how to say it."

"Try, and do the best you can."

"Because there are not any bigger hills at home, and because the mountains here are so much bigger," said Willie. "I don't know how to say just what I mean."

"I see what you want to say. At home we have that one hill on a flat plain, and there is nothing else so large, which makes it seem a high hill, though it is not so really. But here, though this mountain is a thousand feet high, yet, as it stands among others which are three, and six, and eight, and nine thousand feet high, it only looks like a hill beside them. Just as Willie seems a very big boy if he is among a number of tiny babies, but a very little boy if he is among a number of tall men."

"Yes, Papa, that is just what I meant," said Willie.

Then he jumped up, and ran about with Lucy, and had a great deal of fun. By-and-by Mrs. Gray and Lucy mounted their mules again, and they all went down the road back to Verney.

CHAPTER VII.

A ROW ON THE LAKE.

WILLIE did so wish the six weeks of their stay would not go quite so fast. Each day he had some nice pleasure, and each day the mountains seemed to grow more grand and lovely. Willie often could not help thinking of what the old gentleman on the steamer had said about the love and goodness of God, in giving such beauty to the earth for the joy of men.

Sometimes Willie used to go long rambles with his Papa up the mountains, and bring home great bunches of wild flowers to his Mamma and to Lucy. Sometimes he used to go to places nearer at hand with Nurse, and frighten poor Nurse by scrambling about in steep places where she could not follow him.

But, then, Willie had learned now to do as he was told much more quickly than he used to do. But for that Nurse would not have dared to let him climb about nearly so much. It was only because she knew he would come back the moment she thought it right to call or beckon, that she could venture to let him scramble about as much as he did.

They used sometimes to go along the broad road beside the lake for a change. It was not so nice as up the mountains, but Willie and Lucy liked to see the little lizards running about on the walls from crevice to crevice. Sometimes Willie tried to catch them, but they always wriggled away.

At other times, Nurse took them walking through the vineyards. The paths there were very narrow; so Willie used to march on in front, with Lucy after him, and the low vines on each side. It was nice to see all the bunches of grapes, growing slowly ripe for the coming autumn. The grapes were very small, and hard, and green now, but by-and-by they would be large, and full, and sweet. Then on a certain day would begin the vintage that is, all the people would set to work to pick their grapes. Some of the grapes would be eaten, but the greater number would be used for making wine.

The old woman who owned the house, where Mr. Gray had now taken lodgings, had a nice little vineyard of her own. She was a kind old woman, and said she wished Mr. and Mrs. Gray would stay on till the vintage-time, so that they might spend a day in her vineyard, and eat as many grapes as they liked. Willie thought that would indeed be nice; but he knew they had no hope of doing any such thing, for Mr. Gray could not remain away so long from home.

One day Mr. Gray took them all out for a long row on the lake. Willie had been wanting very much to go, and he was glad when it at last came to pass.

"It doesn't feel like the sea at all," he said, as the boat moved softly over the still clear water. "There were big waves there, and Lucy was afraid; but there are no waves here."

"Was no one afraid except Lucy?" asked Mr. Gray.

"Papa, I don't think I was much afraid," said Willie.

"If you were even a little, you had better have told us about that little first, and about Lucy's fear after. But there are waves here too sometimes, Willie—when there comes a storm."

"Are there storms on the lake?" asked Willie.

"Very often in the winter, and sometimes in the summer too. People have often been drowned in this lake, if they have been careless, or have not known enough about boating, for the storms are very sudden when they do come, and boats are sometimes turned over all in a moment."

"Are there going to be any storms to-day?" asked Willie, rather gravely.

"No; I think we are pretty sure to have none to-day."

"There's no seaweed in this lake," said Willie, after a little while.

"Not likely to be seaweed in a lake, Willie," said his Mamma, laughing.

"No," said Willie; "I know there can't be, Mamma. But I should like to find some great long pieces of ribbon seaweed, like what we used to find last year."

"I like the sea," said Lucy.

"So do I," said Willie. "But I like the lake too. Papa, I do wish I might row the boat."

"You row, Willie!" said Mr. Gray. "I am afraid the boat will get along very slowly."

"I am sure I could do it," said Willie—"I am quite sure I could. It looks as easy as easy can be."

"Does it?" said Mr. Gray, smiling. "I would not be too sure, Willie, if I were you."

"Oh! But it does look so very easy," said Willie. "May I not try, Papa?"

"Very well," said his Papa.

So Mr. Gray handed one oar to Willie, and took the other himself. Willie grasped his oar with both hands, and tried his best, but he found it very hard to move. And at the first pull, Willie's oar missed the water, and went up into the air instead, and Willie went backwards into the bottom of the boat.

Willie was rather startled, but he would not cry, though he had to wink very hard for a minute after they picked him up; neither would he stop trying yet. Mr. Gray told him a little about how to hold and to manage the oar. Then Willie began again to pull, and he pulled with great care for some minutes.

But at length Lucy said, "Why, Willie, we are going round and round."

"No, we're not," said Willie.

"But I am sure we are," said Lucy; "because I had my back to Montreux first, and then I had my face to it, and now I have my back to it again."

"You can't, because I am rowing all straight," said Willie.

"And Papa is rowing hardly at all," said Lucy.

"No; but still I am moving the boat just a little," said Mr. Gray, "and Willie is not moving it at all. That is why we are going round."

"It is such a great heavy oar," said Willie, with a sigh, for his face was of the colour of scarlet, and his arms were aching.

"Shall I take it again?" asked Mr. Gray.

"Please, Papa," said Willie, humbly.

He was glad to get back to his old seat and dip his hands down in the cold water, while the boat again skimmed lightly over the lake, instead of slowly turning round and round.

"Well, Willie," said Mr. Gray, smiling.

"Papa, it is not so easy as it looked," said Willie.

"There's an honest boy to say plainly that you made a mistake. I do not mind how ready you are to try to do things, Willie, even when they seem hard; only next time, you must not be quite so sure of your own power to do well without practice. Most things want practice, and this needs a little more strength also than you possess."

————————————

CHAPTER VIII.

WILLIE'S FALL.

ONE DAY Willie and Lucy had been for one of their long rambles with Nurse. They were scrambling down a steep rough sledge-path, and Lucy had quite a bunch of pretty wild flowers in her hand, which they had been picking by the way. The two children walked in front, chattering as fast as those two little tongues very often did chatter, and Nurse came on behind them.

"It is only a fortnight now before we go home," said Willie. "Mamma told me so, and she said we had been here a month. Oh Lucy, how sorry I shall be to go! I do so like these mountains!"

"So do I," said Lucy. "But I want to see home again, and pussy, and my best dolly, Minna Anna Rosina."

"And I want to see Pepper," said Willie. "Poor dear little Pepper! How he will bark, and wag his tail, and shine up at me with his bright eyes when he sees me!—Won't he?"

"And pussy will purr and cuddle down in my arms," said Lucy. "And the flowers will have grown so. I think my rose tree will have some roses out by that time, because there were three green buds when I came away."

"And I dare say my pinks will all be out," said Willie. "I shall like to see them very much. But I am afraid a great many weeds will have grown in my garden. I do not like weeds at all. I wonder what is the good of weeds."

"I dare say a good many weeds are much more useful than you would think, Master Willie," said Nurse, from behind him.

"But do you think they are all useful, Nurse?" asked Willie, turning round.

"No, I don't know that I do, Master Willie," said Nurse. "For, you know, it was when Adam and Eve sinned that God sent thorns and briars to punish them. So I do not see it is likely that they were all meant to be of use. The wonder is that there 'are' so many good and pretty things."

"So the old gentleman in the steamer said," thought Willie.

Then Willie ran on again with Lucy—both of them scrambling and jumping along hand-in-hand, till Nurse was quite left behind.

"Oh Willie, see!—What a pretty flower!" cried Lucy, looking up at a little blue blossom which grew at the top of the left-hand bank.

"So it is," said Willie. "I'll climb up and pick it for you."

"You can't. It is too high."

"It isn't a bit. I've climbed much higher places than that. You quite forget I'm getting to be a big boy," added Willie, proudly.

"Only, please, don't hurt yourself," said Lucy, rather gravely, as Willie began his scramble.

It was not quite so easy to get to the top as he had thought, and when he reached it, he gave a great jump of delight, and cried, "I've done it—I've done it after all, Lucy."

Nurse was behind a bend in the road, but she never liked to have the children out of sight; so she walked on fast, meaning to tell them that they must not go on so far again. But just at the minute that she went round the corner and caught a glimpse of Willie on the top of the bank, Willie all at once lost his footing, and, with a loud shriek, went rolling down the other side.

Poor Nurse, in dreadful fear, tried at first to scramble up where Willie had stood, but she could not manage it at all. So she took the hand of little sobbing Lucy, and ran down the road to the next bend, which she knew would take them under the bank where they had been.

Lucy kept crying, and saying:—

"Oh Nurse! Will he be killed—will he be killed?"

But Nurse could not answer, and only hurried on as fast as she could walk. It did not take long to reach the path below, and there was Willie on the ground before them. He had rolled down so fast that he had gone right across the path, and lay stretched out, with his head hanging quite over the steep bank beyond. The wonder was that he had not gone down there as well.

"Oh Willie, Willie!" cried Lucy.

And the sound of her voice roused Willie, who had been half-stunned by his fall. He sat up and looked round him with pale cheeks and wide open eyes. And then, when Nurse lifted him to a safe place away from the edge, he burst into tears, and began to sob and cry.

"Come, Master Willie, are you much hurt?" asked Nurse, kissing and petting him, and trembling all over herself with the fright she had had. "Don't cry so, my dear. Where is the pain?"

"Oh! I don't know. I do not think I am hurt; but—but—I cannot help it," sobbed Willie, holding her tightly, yet feeling some shame at being so unlike a grown-up man. "Oh Nurse, I can't help it—and I do not want to cry!"

"Never mind; you will stop in a minute, Master Willie," said Nurse. "See if you can tell me whether you are hurt. Have you not any bruises to show me?"

Willie did not seem to know much more about the matter than Nurse herself. So she began to feel him all over, to make sure that no bones were broken, and that set Willie off laughing, and quite stopped his tears. He had scraped his forehead and hands against a rock, and they smarted a good deal, but Willie bore it bravely, and did not complain. His right foot too began to hurt him when he walked, and Nurse said he must have strained it a little; but he found he could get along pretty well by holding Nurse's arm.

"It was just like an old soldier going home after the battle," he said.

And he made Lucy laugh as much as he could, by making believe that he had been fighting, and had driven away a whole army of soldiers.

————————————

CHAPTER IX.

THE END.

BUT Willie's Mamma did not laugh when Willie came back, and Nurse told her what had taken place. She heard it all quite calmly, and only asked a few questions; but she grew very pale and grave. She made Willie come and sit down by her, and held him quite tight in her arms for a minute. And then she told Nurse to bring something to put upon Willie's forehead and hands, where he was hurt, to take away the pain. And after that, when Nurse and Lucy were gone away, and Willie was sitting still by his Mamma's side, he looked up in her face, and saw, to his surprise, that her eyes were full of tears.

"Why, Mamma, are you sorry about something?" he asked.

"Not sorry, Willie; only thankful—so thankful—for my Willie's escape. And I cannot help thinking of what might have been—of the dreadful sorrow we might now be in—if God had not watched over you, and kept you from falling farther."

"I might have tumbled down lower," said Willie.

"Yes; for Nurse says you had fallen quite across the sledge-path, and your head was hanging over on the other side."

"Yes, I know Nurse said so, though I did not know it, Mamma. I did not know where I was, till Lucy spoke to me. I wonder why I did not know. Should I have been hurt much, if I had fallen lower still, Mamma?"

"Indeed, Willie, I fear, from what Nurse says, that if you had gone down that next steep bank, I should never again have had my little boy sitting and talking by my side."

"Mamma, you need not cry about it," said Willie. "I will take more care after to-day. I did not mean to tumble over, but I gave a jump, and a bit of rock broke away under my feet, and somehow I went right down the other side. But I will be more careful, Mamma."

"I hope you will, darling, for my sake. You will not leave Nurse so far behind again. We ought to be very very thankful to our heavenly Father for keeping you in this danger. Oh Willie, I cannot help thinking how I should have felt, if that 'had' taken place—if my little boy had been taken from me in such a sudden dreadful way, and I could never have known whether he was one of God's own children or not."

"Mamma," said Willie, looking down, and speaking low, "I do want to do right."

"But wanting to do right is not enough, Willie."

"No, I know," said Willie. "But you know what I mean, Mamma. I think—I don't know—" Willie stopped, and then said,—"I should like to be quite safe, so that you would not mind if I did tumble down a bank and were killed, Mamma."

"Not mind!" Mrs. Gray held Willie very tightly for a minute again as she said the words. "Nothing could ever keep me from 'minding,' Willie. But my very greatest wish of all for my little boy is that he should become one of Christ's own soldiers, so that he would indeed be safe for ever."

"I should like to be," said Willie softly. "I do not know how."

"He will teach you how Himself, Willie. I have told you many a time, but you can never really know till God sends His Holy Spirit into your heart."

"And I suppose I must wait for that?" said Willie.

"Yes, wait for it, Willie; but wait at His feet—wait at His door. You must go to the Lord Jesus in prayer, and tell Him your need, and He will answer you. You want to belong to Him. Well, give yourself to Him, and ask Him to do all the rest, because you have no power to make yourself good, or to make yourself love Him. And He will do it all, darling, if you truly pray, and seek, and wait for Him. It is like that hymn, 'Just as I am!' Do you know it?"

"No, Mamma," said Willie.

"Shall I say it to you?"

"Please," said Willie, in a whisper, putting down his face on his Mamma's arm.

"Just as I am—without one plea,

But that Thy blood was shed for me,

And that Thou bidst me come to Thee—

O Lamb of God, I come!

"Just as I am—and waiting not

To rid my soul of one dark blot—

To Thee, whose blood can cleanse each spot—

O Lamb of God, I come!

"Just as I am—poor, wretched, blind;

Sight, riches, healing of the mind,

Yea, all I need in Thee to find—

O Lamb of God, I come!

"Just as I am—Thou wilt receive,

Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve,

Because Thy promise I believe—

O Lamb of God, I come!

"Just as I am—Thy love unknown

Has broken every barrier down;

Now to be Thine, yea, Thine alone—

O Lamb of God, I come!"

"I like that very much," said Willie. "It is such a pretty hymn! May I learn it some day, Mamma?"

"I should like you very much to learn it, Willie dear," said Mrs. Gray.

Then Willie sat silent for a little while, and soon he dropped off sound asleep, with his head on his mother's knee, for his fall and alarm had made him tired.

But the next day he was as bright as ever, and his foot hardly pained him at all. How thankful Mrs. Gray felt that her little boy had passed through such danger, without any more harm!

The last fortnight of Willie and Lucy's Swiss visit was just as happy as the first month of it. They had many a long walk more, and many a ramble through the vineyards, and many a scramble after wild flowers, and many a game on the shore of the lake.

They had a second row on the water too, and this time Willie did not boast that he could row, though he asked to try once more, and did much better than at first, for he really helped to make the boat move.

One day, Mr. Gray took Willie to see an old castle, called Chillon. It was built quite out in the lake. Willie liked very much going across the bridge which led to it from the shore, and seeing the old dark dungeons where men had once on a time, long ago, been put in prison. Willie was very glad he did not live in days when 'he' could be taken up and put into a dark damp place underground, and kept there for weeks, and months, and years without any real reason, as was once so often done.

And one day Mr. and Mrs. Gray both went to Lausanne for a night, and Willie went with them. Lucy stayed behind with Nurse, because she was so soon tired. But Willie liked the little trip very much. They went and came back in a steamer on the lake, and they slept at an hotel. Willie thought Lausanne was a very nice large town, but the mountains looked so much farther away than they did at Montreux that he was very glad they had not spent their six weeks there.

Perhaps the thing which pleased him most of all at Lausanne was seeing some soldiers drilled. It made him think of the little box of tin soldiers which had been given him on his last birthday. Willie had once seen English soldiers being drilled; and when he saw Nurse next day at Montreux, he told her he was sure the English redcoats were a great deal more pretty than what the Swiss were. But still he was very glad he had seen the drilling at Lausanne. And the next week he and Lucy did nothing but play at soldiers, marching to and fro, and making believe to fire, till Nurse said she was quite tired of seeing the same thing done over so often.

It was a very pleasant six weeks that Willie and Lucy spent in Switzerland, by the shores of the lovely lake of Geneva. But, after all, though Willie had said he should like to live there all his life, yet, when the time came to return home, he found that he was not at all sorry. For, in spite of all the grandeur and beauty of the Swiss mountains, he thought there was no country like dear old England, and no place like home. And Willie could not but be very glad to see again his dear little dog Pepper, who had been pining after him all these weeks, and his garden, and his books, and his playthings, and his friends; for Willie had two or three little boy-friends of his own age living near him. Willie liked very much to see them all again, and to talk over all the sights he had seen during his absence.

And the very first evening after their return, he said to Mr. Gray:

"Papa, I do not wish now that we always lived on the mountains."

"I am glad of that, my boy—seeing we could not very well manage that you should do so," said Mr. Gray, with a smile.

"I like better living here," said Willie. "I am most fond of England, Papa; only I think the mountains are as lovely as can be. And when I am a big man, I mean to go and see them always in the summer, and climb right to the top of them, all among the snow and ice."

"Well, Willie, if you live to be a big man, and God gives you health and strength, I hope your wish may come true."

"Only it seems a long way off to when I shall be grown-up," said Willie.

"And you have a great many lessons to learn before then, Willie."

"I do not like lessons very much," said Willie, gravely.

"But you would like to be a wise man some day, Willie—not a great tall man with a little boy's mind?"

"No, I should not like that," said Willie, "because people would laugh at me."

"And, worse than that, it would be hiding away the powers God has given you, instead of using them in His service. The Bible tells us that whatever we attempt to do, we must do with our might; that means, we must do our very best. You have had a long holiday, Willie, and a great deal of pleasure; and now I hope you are going to be a very steady busy little boy, and do your lessons with all your might."

"I do mean to try, Papa," said Willie, in a thoughtful tone.

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Table of Contents

WILLIE AND LUCY ABROAD.

CHAPTER I.

CHAPTER II.

CHAPTER III.

CHAPTER IV.

CHAPTER V.

CHAPTER VI.

CHAPTER VII.

CHAPTER VIII.

CHAPTER IX.

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