Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Textbook Advances in Service and Industrial Robotics Proceedings of The 27Th International Conference On Robotics in Alpe Adria Danube Region Raad 2018 Nikos A Aspragathos Ebook All Chapter PDF
Textbook Advances in Service and Industrial Robotics Proceedings of The 27Th International Conference On Robotics in Alpe Adria Danube Region Raad 2018 Nikos A Aspragathos Ebook All Chapter PDF
https://textbookfull.com/product/new-trends-in-medical-and-
service-robotics-advances-in-theory-and-practice-giuseppe-
carbone/
https://textbookfull.com/product/robotics-and-mechatronics-
proceedings-of-the-6th-iftomm-international-symposium-on-
robotics-and-mechatronics-isrm-2019-chin-hsing-kuo/
https://textbookfull.com/product/field-and-service-robotics-
results-of-the-10th-international-conference-1st-edition-david-s-
wettergreen/
Mechanisms and Machine Science 67
Nikos A. Aspragathos
Panagiotis N. Koustoumpardis
Vassilis C. Moulianitis Editors
Advances in
Service and
Industrial Robotics
Proceedings of the 27th International
Conference on Robotics in Alpe-Adria
Danube Region (RAAD 2018)
Mechanisms and Machine Science
Volume 67
Series editor
Marco Ceccarelli
LARM: Laboratory of Robotics and Mechatronics
DICeM: University of Cassino and South Latium
Via Di Biasio 43, 03043 Cassino (Fr), Italy
e-mail: ceccarelli@unicas.it
Advances in Service
and Industrial Robotics
Proceedings of the 27th International
Conference on Robotics in Alpe-Adria
Danube Region (RAAD 2018)
123
Editors
Nikos A. Aspragathos Vassilis C. Moulianitis
Department of Mechanical Engineering Department of Product and Systems Design
and Aeronautics Engineering
University of Patras University of the Aegean
Patras, Greece Syros, Greece
Panagiotis N. Koustoumpardis
Department of Mechanical Engineering
and Aeronautics
University of Patras
Patras, Greece
This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG
The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
Preface
v
vi Preface
This book is the collection of the accepted papers presented in the conference,
which is organized in 10 parts:
1. Human Robot Interaction and Collaboration: It includes nine (9) papers with
innovative methods for physical human–robot interaction, human–robot col-
laboration, collision detection, collided link identification, safety, variable
stiffness mechanisms and actuators and learning by demonstration or imitation.
2. Service Robots: This part includes five (5) papers demonstrating new robot
capabilities for bathing assistance, elderly and disable care, orthopaedic sur-
gery, the identification of upper limb motion specifications for robot-assisted
exercising, pneumatic artificial muscles and hand rehabilitation.
3. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles: The third part includes five (5) papers dedicated to
UAV for various applications such as forest monitoring, navigation in under-
ground mines, and visual methods for UAV such as photogrammetry, video
stabilization and horizon line detection.
4. Mobile and Walking Robots: Nine (9) papers contributing to the kinematic
design of a passively steered 4WD mobile platform, upgrading an all-terrain
autonomous robotic vehicle, a stability analysis for rough terrain navigation of
UGV, mobile robots for precision agriculture and stair climbing, design and test
of hexapod walking robots, and kinematic, dynamic analysis and control of
walking robots with elastic legs.
5. Robot Design and Optimization: This is the biggest part of the book including
twelve (12) papers with new approaches for the design of optimal and dex-
terousparallel and serial robots, design of mechanisms, mechatronic design of
systems, end-effectors and sensory tools.
6. Robot Control: Six (6) papers contribute new methods for robot control
including nonlinear and fuzzy control, gain scheduling, control of pneumatic
systems, control of constrained, underactuated or hyper-redundant manipulators
and backstepping control.
7. Motion planning and trajectory generation: The nine (9) papers included in this
part propose methods and approaches for motion and path planning, trajectory
generation and navigation, applications in micro-assembly and additive man-
ufacturing as well as an agent-based method for group movements.
8. Robotic Vision Systems: Eight (8) papers with research contribution in robotic
vision systems for detection, localization, mapping, eye localization and
tracking, with applications in garments or medicine.
9. Industrial Robots and applications: Eight (8) papers on industrial robots, robot
services and cloud manufacturing, Cyber-physical systems and robotics, and
methods for positioning systems and robot calibration are included in this part.
10. Social Robotics: The last part includes six (6) dealing with new challenges in
educational robotics, ethics and UAVs, educational kits and development of
cognitive skills.
This book collects the most recent impact works in robotics research and is a
source for inspiration for future developments.
Preface vii
We would like to thank the RAAD Advisory Board, the International Scientific
Committee and the National Organizing Committee for their valuable support. We
are grateful to IFToMM and University of Patras which have supported RAAD
2018. We thank the members of the Robotics Group, and the students of the
Robotics Club, Mechanical Engineering and Aeronautics Department, University of
Patras, who helped in the organization of the conference. A special thanks to Mrs
Georgia Kritikou, who together with her other scientific burden acted as the
Conference Secretary. Finally, we would like to thank the publisher Springer and its
Editorial staff for accepting and helping in the publication of this Proceedings
volume within the book series on Mechanism and Machine Science (MMS).
General Chair
Co-chairs
Advisory Board
ix
x Organization
General Secretary
xiii
xiv Contents
Service Robots
Identification of Upper Limb Motion Specifications via Visual
Tracking for Robot Assisted Exercising . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
M. A. Laribi, A. Decatoire, Giuseppe Carbone, D. Pisla, and S. Zeghloul
Hand Rehabilitation Device Actuated by a Pneumatic Muscle . . . . . . . . 102
Carlo De Benedictis, Walter Franco, Daniela Maffiodo, and Carlo Ferraresi
Handheld Robotized Systems for Orthopedic Surgery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
G. Boiadjiev, T. Boiadjiev, K. Delchev, R. Kastelov, K. Zagurki,
and I. Chavdarov
Usability Study of Tele-controlled Service Robot for Increasing
the Quality of Life of Elderly and Disabled – “ROBCO 17” . . . . . . . . . 121
Nayden Chivarov, Denis Chikurtev, Ivaylo Rangelov, Emanuil Markov,
Alexander Gigov, Nedko Shivarov, Kaloyan Yovchev,
and Lyubomira Miteva
Human-Centered Service Robotic Systems for Assisted Living . . . . . . . 132
Xanthi S. Papageorgiou, Georgia Chalvatzaki, Athanasios C. Dometios,
and Costas S. Tzafestas
Robot Control
Studying Various Cost Functions by Nonlinear Programming
for the Control of an Underactuated Mechanical System . . . . . . . . . . . . 389
Tamás Faitli and József K. Tar
Contents xvii
Social Robotics
Social Robotics in Education: State-of-the-Art and Directions . . . . . . . . 689
T. Pachidis, E. Vrochidou, V. G. Kaburlasos, S. Kostova, M. Bonković,
and V. Papić
MYrobot – Mobile Educational Platform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 701
Ondrej Karpis, Juraj Micek, and Veronika Olesnanikova
On Ethical and Legal Issues of Using Drones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 710
Ivana Budinska
Effects of Physical Activity Based HCI Games on the Attention,
Emotion and Sensory-Motor Coordination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 718
Hasan Kandemir and Hatice Kose
The Impact of Robotics in Children Through Education Scenarios . . . . 728
Ápostolos Tsagaris, Maria Chatzikyrkou, and Gabriel Mansour
Trends in Educational Robotics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 737
Daniela Floroiu, Paul C. Patic, and Luminita Duta
Author Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 745
Human Robot Interaction
and Collaboration
Manipulator Collision Detection and Collided
Link Identification Based on Neural Networks
1 Introduction
Safety is necessary factor when the robots and humans share the same workspace
because the proximity of the operator to the robot can lead to potential injuries.
Therefore, a system for collision avoidance or detecting the collision should be
incorporated to collaborative manipulators. Collision can be avoided by monitoring the
environment using vision as presented in [1, 2] or using proximity sensors as in [3].
Although these methods can be used for collision avoidance, modifications in the
manipulator body are required for the sensors installation.
Some researchers contributed to the safety system in HRI by the collision detection
and reaction methods such as disturbance observer method [4, 5], nonlinear adaptive
impedance control law [6] and detection methods based fuzzy logic and neural net-
works [7, 8].
In the previous paper [9] a neural network (NN) was presented for collision
detection in one-joint motion. It is well known that there is a dynamic coupling
between the joints of the serial manipulator particularly in high speeds and accelera-
tions. Therefore, the scaling of our previous approach by using one independent NN for
each joint could not be generally applied. In this paper, one NN coupling two joints is
designed and trained by Levenberg-Marquardt (LM) algorithm where a priori knowl-
edge of the dynamic model of the robot is not required. In this method just the joint
position and torque sensors are used which are proprietary to the KUKA LWR
manipulator that is used for the experiments. For the training of the NN, the mea-
surements of the collision force mapped to the joints torque is required. Then the
trained NN can estimate the external torque and hence the collision is detected, and the
collided link is identified. The generalization ability of the trained NN is presented.
In this work, the KUKA LWR manipulator is used as shown in Fig. 1. The arm is
configured as a SCARA type robot (2-DoF for planar horizontal motions), to avoid the
effects of gravity during the control of the motions. Joint 1 represents KUKA’s A3 (4th
joint) and joint 2 represents KUKA’s A5 (6th joint). The collisions are performed
randomly by the human hand touching the end-effector and the link between the two
joints as shown in Fig. 1.
Fig. 1. (a) Experimental setup with Kuka LWR manipulator. (b) External force F is applied
during the motion of joints where the black spot means the center of mass for each link.
One NN is designed and trained using the external torque estimated from KUKA
Robot Controller (KRC). Then the trained NN is used to calculate the external torque,
detect the collisions and identify the collided link. If the external collision torque by the
trained NN exceeds a threshold value, then the collisions are detected. The collision
threshold is defined as the maximum of the absolute values of the training error
between the external torques estimated from KRC and the trained NN of contact-free
motion.
A sinusoidal motion hdi ðtÞ; where i ¼ 1; 2 with variable frequency is commanded
simultaneously to joint 1 and joint 2 respectively. These two serial joints compose a
coupled system where if any external force exerts on any link, then the torque of each
Manipulator Collision Detection and Collided Link Identification 5
joint is affected. If the collision occurs on the end-effector (case 1, Fig. 1), the effect
appears clearly on the measured joint torques of the two joints. But when there is
collision between the two joints (case 2, Fig. 1), a small effect occurs in the torque of
joint 2 because of the inertial force applied on the link whereas the effect on the torque
of joint 1 appears clearly. The measured torque of joint 1 is always higher than of joint
2 whether there is collision or no.
After many experiments and trials as discussed in our previous paper [9], the main
inputs for the neural network that give us the good performance and the minimum
mean squared error (mse) are the current position error ~ hi ðkÞ between the desired and
actual joint position, the previous position error ~ hi ðk 1Þ, the commanded joint
velocity h_ di and the measured joint torque si , where i ¼ 1; 2. The actual joint velocity
from the previous paper [9] is replaced by the commanded joint velocity since after
more experiments it is found that the performance of the NN (lower training error) is
better using the commanded joint velocity.
Three layers are used to compose the NN as shown in Fig. 2; the input layer, the
non-linear hidden layer and the output layer that calculates the external torques
s0ext1 ; s0ext2 of joints 1 and 2 that are compared respectively with the external torques
sext1 ; sext2 given by KRC. The external torques sext1 ; sext2 are used only for training the
network and the external collision force can be measured by any external sensor and
transformed to the joint torque by the Jacobian. It should be noted that one independent
NN for each joint is also applied but it has less performance than using one NN
coupling the two joints since the motion of the two joints is coupled system as
discussed.
Fig. 2. The multilayer neural network scheme for the two joints.
6 A.-N. Sharkawy et al.
The proposed method is evaluated and tested in the experimental setup by commanding
the robot to perform two joints motion with constant velocity profiles, which is a
common case in robot applications. The generalization of the trained NN is tested for
joint ranges outside the ones that have been used for training, to show its effectiveness.
Manipulator Collision Detection and Collided Link Identification 7
An external force sensor (ATI F/T Nano 25) is used to compare its readings that are
converted into joint torques via Jacobian with the external torques estimated by the
trained NN and KRC.
Fig. 3. The two external collision torques from KRC and NN.
Fig. 4. The three external collision torques from KRC, trained NN and using the force sensor
when there is collision on the end-effector.
From Fig. 4 where there is a collision on the end-effector only, both joints’ torques
are affected by the collision and also the close approximation between the three
8 A.-N. Sharkawy et al.
Fig. 5. The three external collision torques from KRC, trained NN and using the force sensor
when there is collision between the two joints.
external torques is very good particularly from the trained NN and KRC since the
external torque from KRC is used for training the NN. Before and after collision the
joint torques measured by the external sensor are zero and during the sudden collision
increased quite rapidly. This wave form illustrates the collision phenomenon most
accurately since the robot dynamics do not affect this measurements as it is the case in
the estimated joint torques by KRC. The actual collision detection time is calculated as
the elapsed time from the detection of the collision by the external force sensor to the
moment when the external torque by the trained NN exceeds the threshold so the actual
collision detection time for joint 1 and 2 is 14.8 ms and 27.01 ms respectively. From
Fig. 5 where there is a collision between the two joints only, joint 1 external torque is
highly affected by the collision, whereas joint 2 external torque has small effect at time
when the force exerts and this effect sometimes does not appear clearly if the collision
force is small. The close approximation between the three torques is good particularly
from the trained NN and KRC. The good approximation between the external joint
torques measured by KRC and external sensor with the estimated by the trained NN
proves the success of our trained NN. The actual collision detection time for joint 1 is
21.4 ms. As shown from the results the trained NN is easily identifying the collided
link since when the collision torques of joint 1 only exceeds the threshold, it means that
the collisions occur on the link between the two joint whereas when the collision
torques of both joints exceeds the threshold, it means that the collisions occur on the
end-effector.
To confirm the validity and efficiency of the proposed method under a wide range
of operating conditions and acquire a performance measure, another 61 trials of col-
lisions (NC) are evaluated with various magnitudes, points of collision, directions and
different velocities of the motion. Table 1 provides the performance in terms of the
number of the correctly detected collisions (CC), the number of false negatives
(FN) which is the number of collisions not detected by the method and the number of
the false positives (FP) which are the collision alerts provided by the method when
there is not an actual collision.
It is noted from Table 1 that when there are collisions at the end-effector, the
proposed method succeeds with 92.59% and 81.48% to detect the collisions affected on
Manipulator Collision Detection and Collided Link Identification 9
Table 1. Summary of the performance of the proposed method obtained for the different
collision scenarios and angular speeds of the joints
Collision scenario Joint Trained neural network Efficiency %
method
NC CC FN FP
Collisions on the end-effector Joint 1 27 27 0 2 92.59% 87.035%
Joint 2 27 26 1 3 81.48%
Collision between the two joints Joint 1 34 34 0 9 73.5% 73.5%
Joint 2 0 0 0 0 ---------
Average percentage 98.86% 1.136% 16% 82.52%
joints 1 and 2 respectively which could be considered very good success rate. When
there are collisions between the two joints, the trained NN succeeds but with a lower
rate (73.5%) to detect the collisions affecting on joint 1 only and not joint 2. Also the
number of the false positive collisions is low (16%) which means that our method has
less sensitivity to the external disturbances and unmodeled parameters. In another
meaning the efficiency of the presented method or the success average percentage to
detect the collisions is very good (82.52%).
collisions on the end-effector with a percentage of 87% whereas in [7] the Fuzzy
system achieves 85% and for collisions between the two joints our method achieves
73.5% whereas in [7] Fuzzy system has 50%.
Fig. 6. The two external collision torques from KRC and trained NN during out of range two
joints motion (from 10 to 40°).
Fig. 7. The two external collision torques from KRC and trained NN during out of range two
joints motion (from –110 to –80°).
In [8], the proposed method by Lu et al. depends on two external force sensors,
whereas our method does not require any external sensors and is used with any robot
without model knowledge but having joint torque sensors. Our method presents also
low detection time for the collisions. It should be noted that because of the different
data and operating conditions used in our paper and the other two papers, it is difficult
to compare quantitatively the time required for the detection of the collisions.
Manipulator Collision Detection and Collided Link Identification 11
In this paper, a method is proposed for human-robot collision detection based on the
multilayer neural network approach trained by Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm.
One NN system is implemented and trained for a 2-DoF robot which is a coupled
system. The training is stable and very fast. The inputs to the NN are derived from the
joint position and torque sensors and the method is able to detect the collision of the
robot with the human hand very quickly and identify the collided link. The evaluation
of the proposed method shows that our method, compared with the other methods, is
efficient in detecting the collisions, since it succeeds with very good and higher per-
centage to detect the collisions whether on the end-effector or between the two joints.
The number of the false positive collisions is low which means that the presented
method has low sensitivity to the external disturbances and unmodelled parameters.
The trained NN is tested using out of training range motion and presents satisfactory
performance which proves the generalization ability.
Because of the promising results in this paper, it is considered the extension of the
proposed approach to implement the collision detection system for three joints of the
manipulator taking into consideration the effect of the gravity during the motion.
References
1. Mohammed, A., Schmidt, B., Wang, L.: Active collision avoidance for human – robot
collaboration driven by vision sensors. Int. J. Com. Integr. Manuf. 30(9), 970–980 (2017)
2. Flacco, F., Kroeger, T., De Luca, A., Khatib, O.: A depth space approach for evaluating
distance to objects with application to human-robot collision avoidance. J. Intell. Robot.
Syst. 80(Suppl 1), S7–S22 (2015)
3. Lam, T.L., Yip, H.W., Qian, H., Xu, Y.: Collision avoidance of industrial robot arms using
an invisible sensitive skin. In: 2012 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent
Robots and Systems, pp. 4542–4543 (2012)
4. Haddadin, S., Albu-Schaffer, A., De Luca, A., Hirzinger, G.: Collision detection and
reaction: a contribution to safe physical human-robot interaction. In: 2008 IEEE/RSJ
International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, pp. 3356–3363 (2008)
5. Cho, C., Kim, J., Lee, S., Song, J.: Collision detection and reaction on 7 DOF service robot
arm using residual observer. J. Mech. Sci. Technol. 26(4), 1197–1203 (2012)
6. Morinaga, S., Kosuge, K.: Collision detection system for manipulator based on adaptive
impedance control law. In: Proceedings of the 2003 IEEE International Conference on
Robotics and Automation, pp. 1080–1085 (2003)
7. Dimeas, F., Avendano-valencia, L.D., Aspragathos, N.: Human - robot collision detection
and identification based on fuzzy and time series modelling. Robotica, 1–13 (2014)
8. Lu, S., Chung, J.H., Velinsky, S.A.: Human-robot collision detection and identification
based on wrist and base force/torque sensors. In: Proceedings of the 2005 IEEE International
Conference on Robotics and Automation, pp. 796–801, April 2005
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
two pretty note-books, intended as presents for Flora, Blandina, and
Jenny; for Miss Devine had given her ten dollars to do what she liked
with; and she had already spent it, in her own mind, in presents for
everybody she knew.
The other bugbear was rather more alarming. Maria and Alice Ward
were only just as old as herself, but their manners and dress made
them seem at least four years older. They were young ladies, while
Percy had never thought of being anything but a little girl. However,
they found a common subject of conversation in comparing their
schools; and when Percy heard their stories, she was very thankful
that she had been placed at Hansen School, instead of at the grand
establishment of Mrs. Flag. Then the girls found out that Percy had
lived all her life on the frontier, and they were full of curiosity about
army life and Indians; and, altogether, the visit went off very well, and
Percy could honestly say, in answer to her aunt's question, that she
had passed a pleasant day.
Percy's resolution, which she had faithfully kept so far, not to speak
of her terrors and worries, was a very wise one, and it did her a great
deal of good. She forgot her troubles much sooner when she did not
talk about them, and using self-control in words helped her to use it
in her thoughts as well. She did not say a single word even when the
carriage became entangled in a jam on Broadway, and made no
objection to going up and down in the elevator at Stewart's, though
she felt quite sure that they should stick somewhere and never get
out.
Percy had not expected any Christmas presents after her beautiful
desk and paper; but when she came down on Christmas morning,
there was a mysterious pile on her plate, covered by a white napkin.
"Oh, aunt, you give me too many nice things!" she exclaimed, as
successive boxes developed a silver napkin ring, a set of Scott's
poems with beautiful pictures, a package of dainty little kid gloves
(Percy always loved kid gloves), and some unheard-of sugar-plums
and dried fruits. "You and Cousin Margaret give me so much and do
so much for me, and I can't do anything for you."
"You can do one thing for us, little cousin," said Mrs. Ackerman.
"How would you like to give us half of yourself?"
"You know Margaret and myself are two very lonely women here,"
continued Mrs. Ackerman. "Do you think you would be willing to give
us half your holidays and half of your heart, and let us be at half the
expense of your education?"
"But, but—Aunt Zoe—I don't know what she will say," stammered
Percy. "I believe mamma gave me to her, and she has been so good
to me. I must do as Aunt Zoe says."
"But, my dear, you couldn't be ungrateful for what you never had,"
said Mrs. Ackerman, soothingly. "You did not know us at all then."
Percy's Holidays.
"Oh, dear!" she exclaimed, as she glanced over it. "Mamma, Cousin
Sarah is coming to-morrow, to stay a week!"
Mrs. Ackerman sighed gently. "Well, my dear, you know she must be
somewhere; and if we only have her a week, we shouldn't complain."
"I dare say she will make it up by being afraid of fires," said Mrs.
Ackerman. "However, we must be kind to the poor thing, and we
won't let to-morrow spoil to-day, if we can help it. Come, Percy dear,
gather up your pretty things and put them away. It is time we were
getting ready for church."
Percy had dreaded Christmas, because she thought she should feel
so sadly, but the day passed very pleasantly, after all. She went to
church with her aunt and cousin, and after church they drove round
to the Orphans' Home, and saw all the children at their dinner of
turkeys and plum puddings. Percy passed a pleasant two hours in
her cousin's dressing-room, by the light of the fire, telling Margaret
about her father and mother, and learning from her anecdotes of her
mother's school life.
"And you knew papa, too, when he was young," asked Percy.
"Oh, yes; I knew him very well," answered Margaret. She spoke
quite cheerfully; but yet something, she did not quite know what,
made Percy think that Cousin Margaret would rather not talk about
her father, and she asked no more questions.
They had company at dinner and to spend the evening: two or three
young ladies who were very plainly dressed, and who were brought
and sent home again in Mrs. Ackerman's own carriage. Percy found
out afterwards that they were teachers in the public school and the
Sunday-school.
Percy could hardly keep back a scream, as the tall lady, having
hesitated at least two minutes while the track was clear, ran across
directly in front of an advancing engine, and only just cleared herself.
"I know it, Cousin Sarah," answered Margaret. "Our horses had to go
to the blacksmith's this morning. Just get in, and give the coachman
your check, and he will bring your trunk."
"Oh, but I assure you, I have heard of such things being done."
Then, after she had seen the trunk safely placed on the carriage:
"Oh, I was so frightened in the car. There was a man on the opposite
seat, who looked exactly as if he was drunk; and he spoke to me."
"He said, 'Would you like to see the morning paper, ma'am?'"
"There was no great harm in that. What made you think he was
drunk?"
"Oh, his face was red; and he kept laughing while he was reading
the paper."
"I don't know about that, child. I wasn't going to have any words with
him, so I just said, 'No, I thank you, sir,' and looked out of the
window. Why, Margaret, there is the very man. Depend upon it, he is
following us. What shall I do?"
"Dear me! Well, I am sure! But, Margaret, does this man know the
way to your house? It seems to me this is not the way I have come
before."
When they came to the shop, Cousin Sarah was so long in deciding
whether she would sit in the carriage, and risk being run away with,
or go into the shop and leave the hackman to run away with the
trunks, that there seemed some danger of the errands not being
done. However, she finally decided to wait while Margaret and Percy
went into the candy-shop and bought some matters with which to
finish the decoration of the orphans' Christmas-tree, which was to be
lighted up that evening.
"Now, Percy," said Margaret, when they arrived at home, "do you
suppose you can run round to The Home with these things, and find
your way back again?"
"Oh, yes!" replied Percy, cheerfully.
"You know you turn to your left, when you come out of the Asylum,
and go to the next corner, and then straight down the street. If you
are puzzled, ask a policeman."
"I think I can find the way," answered Percy; and she actually
enjoyed the idea of going out in the street alone, and on her own
feet. She did her errand at the Asylum and came home quite safely,
to report that the tree was going to be beautiful; and that the two
dolls she had dressed hung right at the top. When evening came,
there arose a new difficulty. Mrs. and Miss Ackerman, being
managers of The Home and knowing every child in it, naturally
wished to be present at the Christmas festival. But Cousin Sarah
would not go, because she was afraid to be out in the evening; and
she could not stay at home alone, because she should never dare to
be left with only the servants.
"But our coachman and horses are perfectly safe, Sarah," said Mrs.
Ackerman.
"And with reason, I suppose, since most horses are safe," remarked
Margaret.
"I will stay at home with Cousin Sarah, Aunt Ackerman," said Percy,
following her aunt to the hall, whither she went to speak to a servant.
"Mrs. Stewart told me to tell you and Margaret to be sure and come
early; especially Cousin Margaret, because they want her to help."
"My dear child; but I thought you wanted to see the tree and the
children very much?"
"I did," answered Percy, with a little sigh; "but then I saw it this
afternoon, you know; and the ladies seemed to want you so much.
Only, please, I should like to know who gets my dolls. I hope that
little round-faced infant will have one—the little girl I told you, was
like my little sister."
"I will see that she does. My dear little girl, I am ever so much
obliged to you. I am afraid you will have a dull evening."
"Oh, no. And please, aunt, may I have those big books of birds to
look at?"
Percy was not destined to have much comfort with the big books of
birds. Cousin Sarah was by no means pleased to be left alone in the
house, as she said, though she had an able-bodied man and three
women within call, whenever she chose to ring the bell.
"I don't know what you mean," said Percy, colouring. "I am sure Aunt
Ackerman and Margaret are just as kind as they can be."
"Oh, well! I dare say they are kind to you, child. You have a social
position, you see. And Cousin Julia Ackerman does mean to be kind,
I dare say; but she is no hand to do shopping at all. I sent her sixty
dollars to buy me a Paisley shawl; and when I came to look it over,
there were three threads of cotton in it. Now, a shawl that is part
cotton will fade in streaks, you know; and it seems hard to give so
much money for a faded shawl."
"I dare say it is only the cat; but I will go and see," said Percy, rising.
"My dear, I have left my trunk unlocked. You don't think any of the
servants will meddle with my things, do you?"
"I should think not," replied Percy. "You know they have all lived here
a long time, and aunt thinks they are quite honest. But I will go up
and lock it, and bring you the key, if you like."
"But you will be afraid to go up there in the dark. No, I think perhaps
you had better let it be. However, I assure you that the last time I
was here I lost fifteen cents in the strangest way. I never could
account for it."
"Perhaps you spent it, and then forgot about it," suggested Percy.
"One does sometimes. I know I paid twenty-five cents yesterday for
something, and I can't remember what it was."
"Dear me, what a fuss she does make," thought Percy, as, after she
was in bed, she heard Cousin Sarah fretting about the gas and the
fire, and the window fastenings, &c. "I wonder if I am as silly as that?
I declare I'll never borrow any more trouble; not if I never have any,"
thought the little girl, sleepily.
The next day at breakfast, Cousin Sarah announced that she had a
great deal of shopping to do; and she must have Margaret to go with
her, as she never could trust herself in those dreadful New York
shops alone. Margaret looked at her mother with a glance which said
plainly, "What shall I do?"
"I think you will have to rely upon me, or else put off your shopping
till to-morrow, cousin," replied Mrs. Ackerman, without a trace of ill-
temper or annoyance; "because, really, Margaret cannot be spared. I
don't think you need be afraid of being cheated at any of the
respectable stores. I have bought dry goods at Stewart's ever since I
was married, and I have never been imposed upon in a single
instance. Percy, my dear, will you ring the bell?"
All that morning, Percy wondered at the patience of her aunt. She
herself was very well entertained, looking at the pretty things in the
shops, or sitting in the carriage with her book; but Aunt Ackerman
must look at and pronounce upon every piece of goods half a dozen
times over. Cousin Sarah at last made up her mind to buy a silk and
a poplin, after having looked at, at least a hundred pieces of each;
but no sooner were they cut off and paid for, than she regretted her
choice, and wished all the way home that she had bought the black
silk instead of the blue, because blue was apt to fade, and the green
poplin instead of the black, because black poplin was no dress at all.
After they had finished their shopping, they went to Bigot's to lunch;
and here Cousin Sarah would not take any chocolate, because she
had heard that chocolate was shockingly adulterated, nor any
stewed oysters, because she had been told that they always used
the stale oysters to make the stews; and having finally disposed of a
large glass of calves-foot jelly, she remembered having read that
such jelly was always made of gelatine, which was manufactured out
of horses' hoofs and the parings of sheepskins. After lunch, Mrs.
Ackerman asked Cousin Sarah, whether she would like to go home,
or whether she had any more to do.
Now Percy had had a great dread of crossing ferries all her life; but
with the example of Cousin Sarah before her eyes, she resolved at
once not to be afraid, and answered promptly:
"We shall not get out," answered Aunt Ackerman. "We shall drive on
the boat at this side and off at the other. Of course you can get out, if
you please; but I never do, because it is some trouble, and our
horses are perfectly steady."
"Now, Julia," said Cousin Sarah, solemnly, "do you really think I am
going to do such a thing as that? Suppose the boat should sink?
How dreadful, to be drowned in a carriage and horses!"
"What would you do, if you had to cross on a raft, Cousin Sarah?"
she asked. "Or in a little bark canoe, where you had to sit flat down
in the bottom, and not move for fear of being upset?"
"Aunt Ackerman," said Percy, very soberly, after they had gone on
some little way in silence, "I never will borrow any trouble again as
long as I live."
"I know it is foolish," said Percy, blushing; "though I never knew how
silly it made people till—till lately. It makes one very unhappy for
nothing. I felt so badly because Aunt Zoe sent me to school; and
after all, I liked it ever so much; and, oh, aunt! You don't know how
silly I was about coming down here. Jenny said I was a goose, and I
was!"
"And yet you have had rather a nice time, haven't you?"
"Yes, indeed!" answered Percy. "I am so glad I came. It seems as if I
had been unfeeling and heartless sometimes, to enjoy myself so
much without dear papa and mamma."
"My love, papa and mamma would wish you to enjoy yourself,"
answered Aunt Ackerman, gently. "They do not want their little girl to
be unhappy all her life, because her heavenly Father has taken away
her earthly parents for a little while."
"It is wrong to be foolish, if one can help it: isn't it, dear?"
"And it makes people fretful, don't it, aunt?" asked Percy. "Blandina
says sometimes, 'Don't fret, Percy!' when I am in a worry for fear of
being late or losing my place."
"Yes, it is very apt to make people fretful and impatient; and, besides
that, my dear, the habit of borrowing trouble shows a want of faith in
our heavenly Father, and is a disobeying of an express command:
'Take therefore no thought for to-morrow: for the morrow shall take
thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil
thereof.' You know who said that, Percy."
"We know that our heavenly Father is perfectly wise and good and
all-powerful," continued Aunt Ackerman. "And we know that he loves
us, and has promised to give us all things that we need, if we seek
first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. We know of course
that he does, and permits many things which seem to us very
mysterious; but we must be content to leave all such things to him."
"We don't always know how things will turn out when we do our very
best," observed Percy.
"No, we never know exactly; and all we can do is to 'do our very
best,' as you say, and leave the result with him. Our Lord says we
are not to be anxious even about such necessary things as food and
clothes, you know. You see how unhappy poor Cousin Sarah makes
herself: and her mother is just so. They are always sure that
something dreadful is going to happen. They have a nice house; but
they take no comfort in it, because they are afraid it will burn down,
or that somebody will break into it. The last time I was there; Mrs.
McArthur and Sarah went all around the house with a candle, to see
that there were no robbers concealed in any of the rooms or closets.
Then they went around again without a light, to be sure that they had
not dropped any sparks; and, finally, Mrs. McArthur made another
round, to be sure that all the doors were fastened. They have a
beautiful garden; but they are always certain that the buds will be
killed, or the fruit stolen, or that the grapes won't ripen. They are
afraid of keeping a man-servant, for fear of being robbed, or of doing
without one, because they feel so unprotected. I don't tell you these
things to make you laugh at your cousins, my dear,—though I allow
that one cannot always help doing so; but I want you to see what
such a disposition is likely to grow to, unless it is taken in time."
Percy had plenty of chances to see this during the week that she
spent with Cousin Sarah, and the lesson did her a great deal of
good. All the girls noticed the change in her when she came back to
school. She did not reform her fault all at once, of course, but her
eyes were opened to see that it was a fault; and that, as Blandina
said, was half the battle.
THE END.
*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PERCY'S
HOLIDAYS ***
Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will
be renamed.
1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also
govern what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most
countries are in a constant state of change. If you are outside the
United States, check the laws of your country in addition to the terms
of this agreement before downloading, copying, displaying,
performing, distributing or creating derivative works based on this
work or any other Project Gutenberg™ work. The Foundation makes
no representations concerning the copyright status of any work in
any country other than the United States.