these was but fourteen years old, and none of the rest had
yet attained their twelfth year.

AN ACCOUNT OF A FRAY,

BEGUN AND CARRIED ON FOR THE SAKE OF AN APPLE: IN WHICH ARE SHOWN THE
SAD EFFECTS OF RAGE AND ANGER.

It was on a fine summer's evening when the school-hours were at an end,
and the young ladies were admitted to divert themselves for some time,
as they thought proper, in a pleasant garden adjoining to the house,
that their governess, who delighted in pleasing them, brought out a
little basket of apples, which were intended to be divided equally
amongst them; but Mrs. Teachum being hastily called away (one of her
poor neighhours having had an accident which wanted her assistance),
she left the fruit in the hands of Miss Jenny Peace, the eldest of her
scholars, with a strict charge to see that every one had an equal share
of her gift.

But here a perverse accident turned good Mrs. Teachum's design of giving
them pleasure into their sorrow, and raised in their little hearts
nothing but strife and anger: for, alas! there happened to be one apple
something larger than the rest, on which the whole company immediately
placed their desiring eyes, and all at once cried out, 'Pray, Miss
Jenny, give me that apple.' Each gave her reasons why she had the best
title to it: the youngest pleaded her youth, and the eldest her age; one
insisted on her goodness, another from her meekness claimed a title to
preference; and one, in confidence of her strength, said positively,
she would have it; but all speaking together, it was difficult to
distinguish who said this, or who said that.

Miss Jenny begged them all to be quiet, but in vain; for she could not
be heard: they had all set their hearts on that fine apple, looking upon
those she had given them as nothing. She told them they had better
be contented with what they had, than be thus seeking what it was
impossible for her to give to them all. She offered to divide it into
eight parts, or to do anything to satisfy them; but she might as well
have been silent; for they were all talking and had no time to hear.
At last as a means to quiet the disturbance, she threw this apple,
the cause of their contention, with her utmost force over a hedge into
another garden, where they could not come at it.

At first they were all silent, as if they were struck dumb with
astonishment with the loss of this one poor apple, though at the same
time they had plenty before them.