A Great Emergency and Other Tales

In Short

This nineteenth-century collection gathers four stories of childhood ambition, domestic friction, and quiet generosity. In the title story, young Charlie runs away in search of high-seas adventure, only to discover true heroism at home. A Very Ill-Tempered Family examines the fierce, destructive squabbles of siblings attempting home theatricals. Our Field captures the imaginative joy of three children adopting a stray dog, while Madam Liberality follows a sickly girl whose greatest delight is giving to others. Marked by keen psychological observation, Ewing’s fiction endures because it treats the moral struggles of youth with seriousness, humour, and precise detail.

The Story

The volume opens with A Great Emergency, narrated by Charlie, a young boy raised on grand tales of his late father's military bravery. Eager to perform deeds worthy of his lineage, Charlie grows jealous when his sister Henrietta and brother Rupert command attention at home. Encouraged by his friend Fred, who shares wild stories of his own grandfather’s nautical exploits, Charlie resolves to run away to sea. The pair slip aboard a canal barge managed by the rough-spoken Mr. Rowe, navigating locks and dirty streets until they reach the London docks. Stowing away on a ship called the Atalanta, Charlie anticipates glory, but the harsh reality of cold nights and suspicious sailors quickly dampens his spirits. Meanwhile, a catastrophic fire breaks out back home. Rupert and Henrietta display genuine, quiet courage by rescuing Baby Cecil from the flames, leaving Charlie to realize upon his return that real emergencies require humble duty rather than romantic posturing.

The second tale, A Very Ill-Tempered Family, shifts to the domestic battleground of the Marsh household. Isobel, her twin Philip, and their younger siblings suffer from sharp tongues and quick tempers. When the children attempt to produce a home play, minor disagreements over roles and props escalate into bitter feuds. Philip loses his temper, strikes his brother Charles down the stairs, and abandons the production, taking key props with him. Guilt-ridden and miserable, Isobel pursues him across the marshland. Guided by the stern yet compassionate wisdom of their Aunt Isobel—who carries the lifelong regret of an unforgiven quarrel—the siblings learn the difficult work of self-control and mutual forgiveness.

Our Field provides a brief, charming interlude. Three siblings rescue a half-drowned dog, name him Perronet, and willingly sacrifice their daily sugar rations so their mother will allow them to keep him. They discover an overgrown, flower-filled field that becomes their private sanctuary, where they hold dog shows and revel in simple, unselfish pleasures.

The final story, Madam Liberality, focuses on Darling, a sickly girl plagued by quinsy and frail health. Despite her physical suffering, her defining trait is a relentless desire to give gifts to her brothers and sisters. She saves paper, ribbon, and small treats, content to go without so that others may celebrate. When a severe attack of quinsy leaves her bedridden during a long-planned Christmas tree celebration, she insists the party proceed without her, deriving supreme joy from hearing her brother lead three cheers in her honour from the room below.

How It Unfolds

The urge for adventure Charlie grows restless in his quiet household, listening to romantic stories of military glory and longing for grand events that never seem to happen.

The canal voyage Determined to prove himself, Charlie runs away with Fred, traveling down the canal aboard Mr. Rowe's barge while learning the uncomfortable reality of cheap lodgings and dirty dockyards.

A domestic crisis While Charlie seeks adventure abroad, a dangerous fire breaks out at home, forcing Henrietta and Rupert to perform a dangerous, real-world rescue to save Baby Cecil.

Friction in the nursery In A Very Ill-Tempered Family, the children's ambitious plans for a home theatrical collapse under the weight of petty jealousy and uncontrolled tempers.

A bitter realization After Philip knocks Charles down the stairs in anger, Isobel pursues her twin across the marsh, prompted by her aunt's sober warning about the lasting cost of pride.

Saving Perronet Three children pull a shivering, half-drowned puppy from the water in Our Field and give up their portion of sugar to cover the costs of his keep.

The spirit of giving Despite suffering from a painful throat infection, young Darling in Madam Liberality carefully plots Christmas surprises for her siblings, finding her happiness entirely in theirs.

The People

• Charlie longs to perform brave deeds like his late father. Driven by an underlying jealousy of his siblings, he runs away to sea, only to learn that self-importance is not the same as true bravery.
• Rupert and Henrietta are Charlie’s older siblings. Rupert manages his own knee injury with quiet fortitude, while Henrietta calmly nurses him and later braves a house fire to save their baby brother.
• Isobel is an intelligent, sharp-tongued girl in A Very Ill-Tempered Family. She struggles against her inherited quick temper, learning through hard experience how easily harsh words ruin family harmony.
• Philip is Isobel’s twin brother, whose pride and explosive anger lead him to strike his brother Charles and abandon the family play before he is brought to see his fault.
• Aunt Isobel serves as a sober mentor to her young namesake. She carries the heavy burden of an old quarrel that was never reconciled before her loved one died, using her grief to warn the children against pride.
• Madam Liberality (Darling) is a delicate, chronically ill girl who turns her physical limitations outward, finding her life's purpose in thrift, planning, and secret acts of generosity.

In Its Own Voice

"If you leaves a comfortable 'ome, sir, to go a-looking for adventures in this fashion, you must put up with rough quarters, and wot you can get."

Mr. Rowe, the canal barge-master, offers this dry bit of wisdom to Charlie as the runaway boy begins to feel the cold, intimidating reality of London's streets at night.

"I was in the right, and he was in the wrong. But I forgot how much harder a position it is to be in the wrong than in the right in a quarrel."

Aunt Isobel reflects on the tragic stubbornness of her youth, explaining to her niece how strict adherence to one's own pride can destroy a relationship forever.

"She could 'do without' anything, if the wherewithal to be hospitable was left to her."

The narrator sums up the essential nature of Madam Liberality, whose selflessness turns personal sacrifice into a source of genuine celebration.

What It's Really About

Underneath their juvenile settings, these stories examine the moral discipline required to live peaceably with others. Ewing explores how vanity and jealousy drive people toward destructive choices, whether running away from home or striking a sibling in anger. The narratives consistently contrast noisy self-assertion with quiet, unglamorous duty. Bravery in this collection is not defined by battlefield heroics or grand voyages, but by the daily self-mastery required to curb a sharp tongue, apologize after a quarrel, or give up one's own comfort for a brother or sister. The book asks how young people might cultivate genuine charity in a world full of small provocations.

Why Read It Today

Readers who appreciate classic Victorian literature like Louisa May Alcott's Little Women or Frances Hodgson Burnett's domestic fiction will find much to admire here. Ewing writes with sharp psychological accuracy, capturing the exact cadence of sibling rivalries, nursery squabbles, and childish misunderstandings. Her tone is warm and humorous without resorting to sentimental moralizing.

Modern readers should expect period sensibilities: nineteenth-century class distinctions, occasional phonetic dialect among working-class characters, and a firm background of traditional Christian morality. Yet these elements ground the stories in a vivid sense of place and time. What remains compelling is Ewing's deep respect for the interior lives of children. She understands that to a child, a cancelled play or a lost puppy feels as consequential as any adult crisis, and she renders those feelings with enduring clarity and skill.

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