Books: The Poorhouse Waif and His Divine Teacher
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Isabel C. Byrum >> The Poorhouse Waif and His Divine Teacher
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As Edwin had inherited from his mother a natural love for neatness, he had
already formed the habit of hanging his clothing upon the bedpost, and,
turning softly in the bed, he could see from where he was lying, a sight
that made him tremble with excitement. Elmer's hand was already in the
pocket containing the treasured stones, and Edwin could not help
exclaiming:
"What are you doing there, Elmer? Don't take those stones! They are mine!"
Elmer quickly withdrew his hand when he heard his cousin speak, for he did
not expect to be caught; but in an irritated tone a voice from the bed
opposite the boys said:
"Ed, what's the matter with you? Can't you let that boy alone? Shut your
mouth I say and let him have those stones if he wants them, for what are
they worth, anyway?"
Thus rebuked. Edwin said no more; and Elmer, glad to have his own way,
yielded to his selfish desire and, again thrusting his hand into the
trousers-pocket, became a thief indeed.
How sad! Edwin had early chosen the path of right because it was right, but
Elmer was already on the road that leads to destruction and death! Why?
Because he had decided in his heart to do evil. Even the kind old lady at
the almshouse had not entered his life. Was it Elmer's fault? Not
altogether. Temptation comes to all, but with the temptation there is a way
of escape (1 Cor. 10: 13). Elmer could have chosen to do right and leave
the stones where they belonged; but when he was caught in the act of
stealing, Mrs. Fischer, who was responsible for his training, should have
carefully taught him the dangers connected with stealing. A little seed of
dishonesty sown in the heart needs only cultivation to help it to grow.
The following morning when Edwin's tasks in the house were completed, he
was told to go outside to look after the baby, and here it was that he
recalled Elmer's act. After making sure that the stones were not in his
pocket, Edwin went over to that part of the yard in which his cousin was
playing, and as their eyes met he said:
"Elmer, why did you steal my stones last night? I want them back."
"I haven't got anything that belongs to you, and I didn't steal your
stones," Elmer almost shouted; and, running to Mrs. Fischer, he said
excitedly, "Ed called me a thief and said I stole those stones out of his
pocket last night."
"I'll teach him to call you a thief!" the woman exclaimed in an exasperated
tone and ran toward her son with a club and began using it freely upon him,
saying as she did so: "Ed, you wretched child! Is that all you've learned
at the poorhouse? What are those little old stones good for, anyway? And to
think you'd dare to accuse Elmer of stealing them!"
The beating that Edwin received was far worse than the one given him the
day before, and in the evening when he laid his little tired and aching
body upon the bed beside his cousin, he wondered why he was forced to
suffer and bear the punishment that rightfully belonged to some one else,
but he did not complain or feel unkindly toward those who justly deserved
the blame.
When at last he fell asleep, God sent angels to minister to the needs of
the little forlorn child, and they cared for him tenderly while he slept.
"When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up"
(Psa. 27: 10).
"But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an
evil-doer" (1 Pet. 4: 15).
CHAPTER VI
THE STRANGE VISITOR
How shall I ever go through this rough world!
How find me older every setting sun!
How merge my boyish heart in manliness!
--Coxe.
The little seed that had been planted in Elmer's heart was not long in
sending forth a sturdy sprout; for it was in fertile soil, and there was
nothing to hinder rapid growth. Not only did he continue to watch Edwin's
pockets for coveted articles like the stones, but from the match-safe in
the kitchen to the purse of Mrs. Fischer in the bureau-drawer he stole
frequently. Nor did it stop with this. At the village grocery he often
slipped behind the counter and took articles for which he did not pay, and
finally he visited the combination money-drawer.
Of much of Elmer's dishonesty Edwin was aware; but, feeling that his mother
would believe no report about his cousin that he might bring, and dreading
her punishments for tattling, he kept all such knowledge to himself. Even
when blamed and abused for the things that Elmer had done, he bore it
patiently, unless questioned; then he told the truth and took the
consequences, usually a beating.
Elmer, on the other hand, while endeavoring to cover up his misdeeds, told
lie after lie, and when accused and blamed by the grocer and others, he was
screened and helped out of his difficulties by Mrs. Fischer.
When Edwin was about ten years of age, his mother moved from the village in
which she had been living to a farm among the foothills of the Alleghany
Mountains. Here it was that Edwin for the first time saw an outline of the
wonderful Blue Mountain of which he had at Christmas time heard many weird
and frightful legends. Blue Mountain was one of the tall mountain-peaks
that stood out a little apart from the main ridge and was known among the
people as the home of St. Nicholas and his elves. Strange stories were
connected with the place, and all who believed them were full of
superstition and awe.
It was reported that during the year St. Nick, as he was commonly called,
was busy manufacturing and preparing wonderful toys to be distributed
throughout the country among the children who were deserving. In order to
know to whom the presents were to go, he sent out his elves into the homes
to take an inventory of the lives of die children. These reports were to be
returned just before Christmas eve so that he could use them as a guide in
distributing his gifts. For all the children who were not entitled to
presents tortures of many kinds were invented. These were to be inflicted
when the annual tours were made.
All this and much more Edwin had heard in his former home at each
Christmas-tide, and as the tortures had always been his lot, he did not
like to think about the great mountain any more than he could help. It was
little wonder that he felt this dread, for to him St. Nick was a fierce and
terrible monster. But it was a great mystery to him why St. Nick had never
found out about Elmer's misdeeds.
Even at the age of ten Edwin was very small, and his ignorance concerning
the ordinary things of life was really painful. A dread of not being
understood seemed constantly to hover over him, and as he had been taught
to feel himself inferior and in the way, there was no opportunity for him
to improve. When company came to the house, he was ordered to remain in the
kitchen or in the yard, but never in hearing-distance, and he was always
too busy to visit had he been permitted to do so. A few times he had been
sent to school to help the smaller children through the snow or mud, but it
was only occasionally and with no explanation as to the meaning of school
or the value of learning.
Once the teacher sent word to Mrs. Fischer that if she cared to have her
son learn to read she must supply him with a primer. Before doing as the
teacher had told her, Mrs. Fischer took up a primer belonging to one of the
other children, turned to a lesson well over in the book, and commanded
Edwin to read the paragraph to which she was pointing. Seeing that he was
unable to tell one letter from another, she shouted at him: "Ed, you
blockhead! there is no use for you to try to learn anything, and I will
never spend any money for books to help you to disgrace me any more." Then
so great was her cruelty that the child fell prostrate at her feet in a
swoon. But even this did not cause the heartless mother to be sorry for
what she was doing to her child. Almost before he had recovered from the
effects of this severe punishment, she ordered him, if he knew anything at
all, to tell her the time of day. When he could not do this, he was again
mistreated.
Shut away as he had been from the society of every one who could have
helped him, he was, of course, unable to unravel the untruth that had been
related to him about Blue Mountain; and when told that the time for St.
Nick to pay them another visit was drawing near, he looked upon the event
with increasing dread.
"No good thing, Ed, can you expect this year on Christmas eve," he heard
Elmer say a few days before that eventful night. "He never has remembered
you with any good, and I don't think he ever will."
Yes, Edwin knew all about the neglect. He remembered, too, that he had been
told that upon Christmas eve, instead of going to bed, he must sit before
the fireplace upon a certain chair in the sitting-room to await the arrival
of St. Nick. Perfect obedience being so impressed upon his mind, Edwin
obeyed, but imagined many things, one of which was that instant death would
follow any refusal to do the bidding of St. Nick. Therefore when the
appointed time arrived, Edwin was ready and seated in his chair even before
the remainder of the family had retired. Then, while his cousins were
thinking of the happiness the morrow held in store for them, and the
children in other homes were dreaming of the sweet stories to which they
had listened concerning the Christ-child and God's great love in sending
his only Son as a Christmas gift to all the world, Edwin heard a sound in
the yard as of heavy tramping. Then the lashing of a whip upon the
window-pane and house caused him to spring from his chair and seek for a
corner in which to hide. Presently he again heard the lashing upon another
window-pane, followed by a fierce blow upon the kitchen-door, which had
been purposely left ajar, and he saw the door fly open and beheld an object
so completely hideous that he was more frightened than he had been upon any
previous occasion.
There, clad in a pair of old trousers that were partly covered by a short
petticoat, and wearing a bright red blouse elaborately trimmed with white
cotton batting in imitation of white fur, a sunbonnet of faded blue, and a
false face in the form of a mule's head, stood the object posing himself as
St. Nicholas.
One glance at the frightful creature with the long whip in his hand would
have been sufficient to strike terror through the heart of a more
enlightened mind, and Edwin, with the remembrance of the suffering of
previous years still fresh in his mind, was under a mental strain that was
fearful indeed.
The strange form, pretending not to notice Edwin, laid down his whip and
began loosening the large pack of toys that were upon his shoulders. As the
sack was laid down in front of the old fireplace, a rubber ball rolled out
upon the rug, whereupon Edwin heard him say in a gruff tone:
"Now, if that hain't a mess! Guess I've come off without that there list,
after all. Thought those little imps wasn't going to get it in, and when
they did"--here he pulled out a long strip of paper that appeared to have
writing upon it and from which he began reading the names of the children
and the presents that each one was to receive.
As Edwin saw the costly gifts that were one by one taken from the sack,
there seemed to be nothing lacking and plenty for him to have at least one
toy, but his name was not called. There was a hobby-horse, a top, a horn, a
ball, a wagon, a doll, dishes, a rocker, candy, and nuts. A sudden longing
came into his heart to be remembered.
As if divining Edwin's thoughts, the monster, who was the child's own uncle
disguised, turned suddenly and, facing Edwin, said:
"Now, sir, I'll become acquainted with you! I'm the person that some folks
call Santa Claus, but by others I'm known as St. Nick. To you, Edwin, I
shall be St. Nick, and I want to say that if you touch any of these things
that I have placed here for your cousins, you'll find out what Old Nick can
do." Then with a wave of his hand he said, "Come on out here now before I
leave to go to another home. I want you to look at each of these things, so
that you will know just what they are like, and then you see to it that you
keep your stupid hands forever off!"
In obedience to the commanding voice of the frightful being, Edwin went
breathlessly forward and listened to the words:
"Do you see that horse? Well, that's Elmer's, and because he has been such
a good boy he shall have the ball and the top. The other things are for his
sister and brother. Now that you have seen these nice things that are for
good children, I want to show you the part that is to be yours, but you
will have to go out in the kitchen to see it."
On the way to the kitchen Old Nick, who had taken up his whip, flourished
it to hurry the child along, saying as he did so, "Now, you little gump,
here's your treat." Then he threw a few nuts upon the kitchen-floor and
ordered Edwin to hurry and pick them up. As the child obeyed, down came the
lash of the whip upon his fingers, and the blood began at once to ooze from
the deep gashes. When the hand was withdrawn, the lash fell upon his body.
Next he was told to dance and then to sing and at last to pray. As he each
time tried to obey, the whip was used upon him. The dance and the song were
both very crude, but the prayer was the words that he had learned from the
old lady at the alms-house. Those words Edwin felt were appropriate because
Old Nick had knelt beside a chair when explaining what he wanted him to do,
and he remembered that he had knelt thus at the old lady's knee. But before
the list of terrible tortures was exhausted, Edwin could stand no more.
Weakened by the loss of blood from his wounds and by the extreme fear, he
fell as though dead.
How long he was there or what happened after he had fainted Edwin could
never tell, but when he became conscious, he was alone and the room was
cold. Painfully he arose and by the aid of the lamp that was still burning
low, he crept away to his bed, which was fortunately very close to the
kitchen.
As the sun arose in the eastern sky, it cast its bright rays upon the
snow-covered ground around the home of Mrs. Fischer and caused a dazzling
brightness, but it did not erase the many footprints that had been made the
evening before by the supposed St. Nicholas, nor was it sufficient to
soothe the poor little aching head of the unfortunate Edwin.
Edwin had been in bed but a few hours when he heard the children's voices.
He listened to their remarks as they examined in turn the beautiful gifts,
and then--was it possible? He thought he heard the youngest child in a tone
of disappointment saying, "Why, where are Ed's stocking and things? Didn't
he get anything at all?"
The answer from Elmer was spoken differently. "No, hush!" he said. "Ed
hasn't anything here. Santa Claus, you know, doesn't bring gifts to every
one. There are only certain people who are allowed presents."
Then Edwin heard his cousin explaining the story of Blue Mountain and St
Nicholas as he had often heard it before; but when his cousin said, "The
reason that Ed wasn't remembered is because he does so many bad things,"
Edwin wondered again what kind of report the elves had carried concerning
the pebbles and the other things that Elmer had taken dishonestly and what
explanation they had given regarding the lies. But there was seemingly no
way for Edwin to know these things. His storehouse of knowledge was
apparently closed, but still he was not discouraged in well-doing nor was
he tempted to do evil. Like Job, he could have said: "Thou knowest that I
am not wicked ... I am full of confusion ... Even when I remember I am
afraid, and trembling taketh hold on my flesh" (Job 10:7, 15; 21:6).
CHAPTER VII
MYSTERIES UNFOLDING
The brave are ever tender.
And feel the miseries of suffering virtue.
--Martyn.
Hedged about by such walls of difficulty, Edwin seemed to be shut entirely
away in a little world that was all his own. As he had no one to help him
to understand the every-day happenings about him, it was not strange that
the mysteries of nature were hidden as well. Shunned and abused as he was,
even curiosity was almost of no avail. But although he knew it not, the
all-seeing Eye was watching over him and angels were rejoicing over the
manner in which he was laying a foundation for a strong and noble Christian
character.
Edwin's holding no revenge in his heart toward those who had so repeatedly
wronged him made it easier, in a way, for him to endure his hardships. And
by constantly being watchful and on his guard, he was many times able to
improve little opportunities to assist either his mother or his uncle, and
in this way he sometimes evaded punishments that he would have otherwise
received. His always being on the alert made it easier for him to become
familiar with the names of various things that he could not have otherwise
known. To gain any knowledge at all was indeed a pleasure, and it enabled
him to escape so much unjust abuse.
As his love for doing good increased, so also his admiration for and
interest in the things of nature and that which was strange and mysterious
were deepened. He often wondered about the blue arch above his head, and,
supposing it to be an upper story to the earth, believed it to be inhabited
by a family similar to St. Nick and his elves. He often tried to imagine
what kind of man this being could be and wondered whether in any way he
resembled St. Nick.
In electrical storms he supposed that the man must be very angry and that
the sounds and flashes were the result of throwing or rolling heavy or
combustible articles of furniture as he had so repeatedly known his mother
and uncle to do. As such a view of life was all that he knew, it was not
strange that he could make no better comparison.
Occasionally he noticed his uncle and Elmer throwing stones high up in the
air, and sometimes when the stones went too high to be followed by the
naked eye, he supposed that they pierced the arch and lodged on the other
side.
The fact that while he was at the poorhouse a few persons had died and been
buried in the ground was till fresh in his memory, and from the oaths and
unkind language of his mother he had come to the conclusion that all must
die and be buried in the same manner. What became of them after death he
could not fathom, but he concluded that the frost in the winter-time was a
sort of cold vapor arising from the bodies of those who were dead and that
such things were all governed by the great man above the arch.
In the village where his mother had lived, very little attention was given
to family quarrels or to the troubles of children, but in this new
neighborhood it was different. A dear old couple by the name of Hahn,
living very close, soon became greatly interested in the child Edwin. Many
times they listened with deepest sympathy to his cries of agony and terror,
knowing that his cries were caused by cruel blows or kicks. Then when the
little fellow, all bleeding and bruised, would be discovered hobbling about
and endeavoring to comprehend what was expected of him that he might the
more perfectly perform the task THat had been assigned him, their hearts
were filled with indignation and pity.
"I don't see how it is," said Mrs. Hahn one day to her husband at the close
of the midday meal.
"Now, that Mrs. Fischer seems in some ways to be a pretty good sort of
woman, but when she speaks to her son, she acts like Satan himself. Only
yesterday I saw her out cleaning up the yard, and she seemed quite
good-natured until she discovered Ed coming out to help her. Then, without
telling him where to get it, she told him to hustle around and find her a
picket, for she wanted to fix the fence. I saw right away that he didn't
know what a picket was, but I wanted to see what he would do. He didn't
ask. Instead he ran around the house looking in every direction and came
back to tell her that he couldn't find any. Then, in a tone that she would
not have used for the dog she yelled at him that it was of no use to expect
an idiot like him to find anything. Next she went to a pile of pickets that
was near the barn and easily got herself what she was wanting. Still she
didn't explain anything to Edwin, but I could see that the boy knew then
what a 'picket' looked like.
"Now, Pa, I'll tell you what I'd like to do. Since his mother acts toward
him as she does, I'd like to ask him over here whenever he can come, just
as though he were coming to help us, you know, and then we could tell him
about many of these things that he doesn't know. Perhaps if he knew better
what they meant, it would not be so hard for him, and he would escape some
of the abuse."
"That's a bright idea, my good little wife," said Mr. Hahn smiling his
approval. "I believe that we ought to help the boy all that we can, for
he's sure having a hard time of it. Do what you think is best, but be
careful not to let Mrs. Fischer think you want to help her son, or all your
plans will be upset. She doesn't care what becomes of the boy, and I think
she would be glad to see him die, but doesn't dare to be the one to end his
life. But she'll do it if she keeps on as she is going."
"Well, with your consent I'll do what I can," replied Mrs. Hahn, and with a
relieved expression she hastened to make some plans that were to amount
very much to Edwin.
Mrs. Fischer graciously consented to let her son go to help the old couple
now and then, "but," she added, "you'll soon find that he's no good to
anybody. I find him lots more bother than he's worth."
"I'll risk that part of it," Mrs. Hahn answered, and from that day a great
change came into the poor boy's life.
In the home of Mr. and Mrs. Hahn, Edwin was still very timid, but they were
so kind and considerate that his intense fear gradually gave way to
confidence and trust. It seemed that his new friends were never vexed
because of his extreme ignorance. Instead of reproaching him for what he
did not know or understand, they took extra pains to explain their meaning
in the simplest language possible. To Edwin the explanation of the most
trifling every-day occurrences seemed wonderful, and to the unenlightened
child it opened up many avenues for thought that had hitherto been closed.
Never once while he was with them did they seem to grow weary of trying to
make things more simple and plain for the inquiring child.
The more Edwin associated with these friends, the more he began to
understand how he had been wronged; for many questions concerning the
earth, the sky, and himself were corrected. In explaining about St. Nick,
Mr. Hahn said:
"Edwin, that terrible creature that treated you so shamefully on Christmas
eve was not St. Nicholas at all. It was your uncle, who had, with the
consent of your mother, dressed himself in the hideous clothing in which he
appeared to you. He must have wanted to see just how much he could deceive
and frighten you."
"But how about his home in Blue Mountain?" Edwin asked in amazement. "If
Santa Claus doesn't make the toys up there, where does he make them?"
"Edwin, don't you believe those stories any longer," Mr. Hahn answered.
"Your uncle bought from a store in the city of M----all those presents that
he gave to his children. The stories that he told you about the elves
visiting the homes to discover who were bad are untrue. I know it seems
very strange to you, but what is the most difficult for me to understand is
how your mother and uncle could find pleasure in frightening and deceiving
you in such a way.
"Well, if Blue Mountain isn't the home of St. Nick, what is it?" Edwin
asked in a mystified tone.
Then in very simple words Edwin heard for the first time the real facts
regarding the great mountain that had until then been as an awful nightmare
to the unenlightened boy. Pointing away toward the line of blue and white
domes and peaks that grew more and more faint as they faded away in the
distance, Mr. Hahn explained that they were only high parts of the earth.
"Blue Mountain," he said, "is only one part of the range, and those dark
places that you see on its sides are just trees and bushes such as grow
right here in our yard. Then there are large rocks, some of them the size
of this house, and springs of water where many animals and birds may drink.
And in some places there are large flower-gardens, where the flowers grow
without the use of the spade or the hoe. I would certainly like to take you
to see the mountain, Edwin, if it were not so far away, but it would take
us too long to go and come, for it is very much farther away than it
seems."
Reasons were given also for the strange noises that Edwin had attributed to
the rolling of heavy articles of furniture, and the names sky, thunder, and
lightning were rightly applied. But with all their information, Mr. and
Mrs. Hahn gave no hint that there was a great and supreme Being over all,
one who had created all the wonders that they had been describing, for they
were not Christian people and were not acquainted with the love of God.
They were greatly interested in the things that pertain to this life, but
seemed unconcerned about heaven, eternity, and the Bible. So Edwin
continued to believe that some great man who had died and left the earth
was living above the blue arch and that the electrical storms were in some
way the result of fireside quarrels and confusion.
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