No; I do not know that it would; for I am never happy when I fret and scold, nor when I have vexed you. I will try, Mamma, if you will love me dearly.
Little _Lydia_, as she spoke these last words, threw her arms round her Mamma’s neck; her Mamma gave her a very affectionate kiss, and then said, That I will, my love; and as a mean to assist you in your endeavours, I will, every evening, after you are gone to bed, write a story about you, to tell how you have behaved all day; and the next morning, when we all meet in the parlour, I will read it aloud; and I think you will be much better pleased with the story when you have been a good girl, than when you have been naughty.
Oh! dear, Mamma! when I have been naughty I shall not like at all to have the story read before every body.
Then you must take a great deal of care how you behave; you must recollect yourself to-morrow morning when you rise; in the evening I shall begin my story.
The next morning, Miss _Lydia_, as soon as she waked, recollected the conversation that had passed the day before between her Mamma and her, and determined to be very good all day; accordingly she jumped out of bed as soon as the maid called her, flood very still to be dressed; and when she was dressed, said, Thank you, _Mary_, in a very pretty tone of voice, and then kneeled down and said her prayers in a very decent composed manner; and prayed very heartily that she might be good all day. When she met her papa and mamma, and brothers and sisters in the parlour, after she had bidden them all good morning, she sat herself down very quietly at the bottom of the table, and did not ask for any thing, nor reach across the table to pull the bread and butter about, but sat still and looked very good-humoured, till her Mamma gave her a piece of bread with some very nice honey upon it, and a cup of tea, and then she ate her breakfast very genteely.
After breakfast, Miss _Lydia_ went into her Mamma’s dressing-room, unlocked a little red trunk, which her Mamma had given her a few days before, to keep her work and her books in, and took out the book she read in to her Mamma, which at that time was, _The Footstep to Mrs. Trimmer’s Sacred History_; and sitting down on a little stool at a distance from the fire, began to read very slowly, and in a very easy natural tone of voice; she minded her stops, and paid great attention to the sense, that she might read with propriety.