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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To Edwin it seemed that every moment that he from time to time spent with
these kind friends was precious indeed, but the effect upon the mother was
not what Mrs. Hahn had desired. Finding that her son could understand more
about the work, she became more particular and increased his tasks
accordingly until it seemed that he could do nothing to suit her. Poor
nervous child! if only he could have known the words of the Psalmist, what
a comfort they would have been--"He shall deliver the needy ... and
precious shall their blood be in his sight." (Psa. 72:12, 14).
CHAPTER VIII
DISCOVERS THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
Where'er thou art, He is; the eternal mind
Acts through all places; is to none confined;
Fills ocean, earth and air and all above,
And through the universal mass does move.
--Dryden.
Mrs. Fischer may have felt that her neighbors were learning too much about
her family matters and business affairs, and it may have been for other
reasons best known to herself, but she soon became dissatisfied with the
farm and thought best to move away to another part of the country. The
place decided upon was near a public highway where there was an extra
building that could be used by the uncle as a blacksmith-shop, and there
was also a good barn, where the horse, cow, and chickens could be kept.
When Mrs. Hahn heard of her neighbor's plans, she was sorry, for she had
become very much attached to Edwin and did not like to see him go so far
away from her home. She therefore decided to ask Mrs. Fischer to allow the
boy to stay through the summer months with them in their home. "He could do
lots of little light things that would be a great help to husband and me,"
she said.
"Well, I can't see why you are taking such an interest in that boy," the
mother replied. "Now, if he were bright like Elmer, I wouldn't be
surprized, but Ed is such a blockhead. You can have him, though, if you can
make any use of him, but I'm sure that you will very soon be sick of your
bargain."
Mrs. Hahn assured the mother they were willing to run the risk, and it was
decided that Edwin should stay with the Hahns for a while. So it happened
that Edwin saw his people pack their goods and drive away from the farm
leaving him behind. To be left in the care of the old couple whom he was
learning to love so dearly was indeed a happy change, but how great it was
none but him and his heavenly Father could understand. Surrounded as he was
in this home by kind friends, provided good food, and enabled to think
happy thoughts, he soon grew well and strong and was able to do all the
work that could be expected of any eleven-year-old boy.
In the new home of Mrs. Fischer things went along seemingly well enough for
a time, but as Elmer continued his underhanded work of taking things that
did not belong to him, he became more and more bold, and Mrs. Fischer, not
having Edwin to blame, was forced to see some of his faults.
One day shortly after the family were settled in their new home, word that
the barn was on fire rang out loud and clear, and a smell of burning wood
and hay and clouds of smoke filled the air. Rushing to the door, Mrs.
Fischer saw that the barn was wrapped in flames. With a scream for help she
ran out into the yard, where she discovered the uncle and several others
endeavoring to deaden the flames, but their efforts seemed all in vain.
It was too late to save the barn, so the attention of all was turned to the
house and other buildings. As the wind was in their favor, no other
building besides the barn was lost, and fortunately the disaster had
occurred in the daytime, when the animals and chickens were out in the lot,
so that the damage was not so great.
When the excitement had somewhat subsided, and Mrs. Fischer looked about
for some one to blame for carelessness, she found that Edwin was not there
and that Elmer was the guilty person. Having repeatedly watched his father
smoking a pipe or a cigar, Elmer had decided that it was time for him to
learn to smoke if he ever expected to appear like a man. Accordingly, with
a few stolen matches in his pocket and some corn-stalks cut into
cigar-lengths, he had gone to a place back of the barn for his first
lesson. He had not intended to have his actions upon this particular
occasion known, because both his father and Mrs. Fischer had seemed to be
against his learning to smoke so young. But through the fire, caused by the
dropping of burning matches among the litter at his feet, and the testimony
of his little brother, who had been present, his guilt became known.
Although Mrs. Fischer knew that Elmer deserved correction for this deed,
she simply smoothed the matter over and allowed it to pass by unnoticed.
But when the news of the burning of the barn reached the ears of Mrs. Hahn,
she said: "Edwin, you should be very thankful that you were not there. Had
you been, Elmer would no doubt have laid the blame on you, and in her fury
your mother might have thrown you into the flames." Edwin understood that
what Mrs. Hahn had said could very easily have been true, and he was very
glad that he had not been present when the barn was burned.
His life in this new home was so different in every way from what it had
been in his mother's and he was so happy and content that he had no desire
to return. He was therefore very sad when he was told in the fall that the
farm was sold and that as his old friends would go to the city to live with
their children, it would be necessary for him to return to his mother.
"I'm very sorry," Mrs. Hahn said, "that you must leave us; but, Edwin, I
believe that your mother will be more kind to you, because you have learned
how to do so many things and can do your work so well. I will see that Mr.
Hahn goes with you and will have him explain to your mother what you can
do, and when she sees that you can learn when you are taught and can do the
things that she expects of you, we shall hope that she will have more
patience with you than she has had in the past."
Thus it was that one day late in the fall as the sun was slowly sinking
down into a bed of crimson and gold, Mr. Hahn and Edwin drove up to the
place of which they had both heard but only Mr. Hahn had seen. If Edwin had
expected to find a pile of rubbish to be cleared away where the ruins of a
barn was resting, he was mistaken; for the owner of the property had
attended to that, and a new building had been erected upon the old
foundation, and everything else was neat and clean.
"Well, Mr. Hahn," Mrs. Fischer began in answer to the announcement that her
son had arrived, "I suppose you are very glad to be rid of your charge. I'm
afraid he has made you lots of trouble."
"Oh, no, Mrs. Fischer," Mr. Hahn replied, "we got along just fine! I have
no fault whatever to find with your son. He is as good-hearted and faithful
a boy about his work as I have ever seen, and if we were not going to leave
the farm, I wouldn't think of bringing him back. I think you have
misunderstood Edwin; for he seems so very anxious to learn and asks so many
questions about everything that I have found it hard to find enough answers
for them all. Then, when he has once learned a thing, he never forgets it,
and he seems to want to put every bit of his knowledge into use. I'm sure
your fears about his being dull are groundless, but he does need to be
taught, and you will do well to give him a fair chance along with the other
children."
After making a few other remarks and giving Edwin the promise, "If I ever
return to the farm again, I will let you know and will take you back
again," Mr. Hahn said, "Good-by," and Edwin was left behind to begin again
the kind of life that had been so hard and bitter. The kindnesses shown him
during the summer and the greater keenness of his judgment and
understanding made the renewal of past cruelties even harder to bear than
they had been before.
After Edwin's home-coming Elmer and the other children found more time to
shirk, and, seeing his eagerness and ability to do so many things that he
had not before understood, the family forced the poor little tired form to
work far beyond its strength. But without complaint Edwin strove to do all
the work assigned to him and to make every move count so that he would be
able to accomplish more than that if possible, but on every hand only
failure and unhappiness seemed to be awaiting him.
Late in November, one evening just before time to do the milking, Mrs.
Fischer, while in a terrible fit of anger because of some little mistake of
Edwin's hardly worth the mentioning, ordered him to go out in the yard and
bring her a good strong stick and to hurry. And Edwin, though knowing that
the stick was to be used upon himself, went to an apple-tree and cut from
it a good strong branch. Even under such extreme circumstances he was
determined to do his best. As he handed the stick to his mother, she
clutched it and with a fiendish expression she beat her son so cruelly that
he fell upon the floor. Then with her foot she kicked him about the room
until the blood was flowing freely from various wounds and gashes made by
her shoe and the stick.
The condition of the room and the helpless state of the child seemed to
enable the wicked woman at last to realize what she was doing, and, fearful
lest some one discover him thus, she ceased her cruelties and commanded
Edwin to get up and clean the room. Then, without waiting to be sure that
he could do so, she went out to the barn to milk the cow.
Edwin, in almost an unconscious state, realized at last that he was in the
kitchen alone, and he endeavored to arise, but there seemed to be a pain in
every part of his body, and he was lying in a pool of blood. After a great
effort he managed to reach the sink, but it was some time before he could
stop the flow of blood from his mouth. Looking at himself in the glass, he
saw that a portion of his lip was cut and loosely hanging so that the teeth
behind it were exposed, and the blood was still running from his mouth.
Until then, though he would not have known how to express the thought, he
had never ceased to hope that in some way or other he would be able to win
his mother's love and confidence, but with this terrible outbreak of
passion all desire to try to live seemed to vanish.
After doing what he could to cover up his mother's cruel conduct, he
staggered through the open door and down the walk that led to the barn. He
was intending to do what he could to help with the evening work, but he
could not suppress the sobs that were welling up from his poor troubled and
wounded heart. Only hardships and discouragements seemed to be his portion,
and without considering who was liable to hear him, he cried out in his
anguish:
"If such it the best that a person can have in life, it would be better for
him not to live at all."
As the cry of distress floated in through the partly open stable-door, Mrs.
Fischer was filled with wonder. Never before had she heard her son speak so
sensibly, and, hastening to see what it all meant, she said: "Ah, Ed! I
heard you speak, and this time your words were not those of an idiot, but
wise and full of reason. But how dare you wish yourself dead? Don't you
know that there is a God over us who hears every word we say?" Then she
added, "Why is it on such things you can talk so well and on others you
seem so dull?"
At the sight of his mother's face and the sound of her words, two thoughts
flashed through his mind: "Have I done anything to displease her?" and "Is
there really some powerful being by the name of God above me in the sky?"
Instantly a feeling of awe and reverence filled his soul, and something
within him told him that this great Being who could hear all that he said
must be more than a common man. The very thought that God could hear him
speak made Him seem strangely near.
As he continued to think, his troubles seemed to vanish and the suffering
from his wounds became less intense. Then he remembered that the name of
God had been used many times by his mother, uncle, and the children in ways
that he was sure were wrong. If God could hear everything, what must he
think of the people who would talk about him thus? He wondered, too, why
Mr. Hahn had not mentioned the name of God when explaining the reasons for
the sounds above the sky, or "high blue arch," as he had called it. Poor
untaught child! God alone could be his teacher.
"Who is like unto the Lord our God, who dwelleth on high, who humbleth
himself to behold the things that are in heaven, and in earth! He raiseth
up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill;
that he may set him with princes, even with the princes of his people"
(Psa. 113:5-8).
CHAPTER IX
IN THE HOME OF A WITCH
A mother's love--how sweet the name!
What is a mother's love?
A noble, pure, and tender flame.
Enkindled from above.
To bless a heart of earthly mold;
The warmest love that can grow cold;
This is a mother's love.
--Montgomery.
Yes, this is the nature of a true mother's love, but such love poor Edwin
had never known. At the age of fourteen the unwelcome child felt that there
was nothing in life for him except that which was hard and unreasonable.
The things that he had learned from his kind friends, Mr. and Mrs. Hahn
concerning nature often helped him to forget his sorrows, and the fact
gained from his mother, that God's eyes were ever upon him, beholding his
actions all the time, was a constant source of comfort and satisfaction,
for he was sure that he was always trying to do his best.
"If I do as well as I can, God will surely know and care," he reasoned.
Thus, his Creator filled a place in the lonely life that had never known a
father's or mother's love. And strange as it may seem, the neglect and
abuse that Edwin endured did not rob him of his strength and ability to
perform all the duties assigned him. So if Mrs. Fischer had hoped to bring
on the premature death of her son through her cruel treatment, she was
disappointed, and within her evil heart she conceived another plan.
In a distant part of the country, among the hills where two public highways
crossed was a home, large, aristocratic, and almost elegant in appearance.
The large two-story-and-a-half brick house nestled amidst the dense
evergreen and floral shrubbery, the large luxuriant orchards widening
around it, the immense barn on the corner opposite, and the wheat- and
corn-fields waving in the distance, caused many a passer-by to envy the
possessors; but a look at the interior of the house and only a brief
acquaintance with the occupants were sufficient to disillusion any one
regarding the family's culture and happiness.
Mr. Fitch, a thriving and ambitious young farmer, had inherited the home
and, having married a woman of an evil and superstitious family, soon
discovered that he was bound to a person whom the community looked upon as
a witch. The years had rolled by, and Mr. and Mrs. Fitch were now old. The
fame of the evil woman had been published, and she was considered as one
who was able to relieve people of any sickness or to drive trouble away
from their doors. The treatment, called powwowing, consisted of repeating
long lists of words that she had learned from a book called "The Black
Arts." This book and an almanac made up the entire Fitch library.
As this Mr. Fitch passed the home of Mrs. Fischer on his way to and from
the city, it became his custom to stop at the uncle's blacksmith shop. In
this way the two families became acquainted, and Mrs. Fischer learned
something of the nature of the witch. Just why and how it was suggested to
the mind of Mrs. Fischer that the Fitch home would be the proper place to
send her son is hard to tell. It would seem that Satan (understanding
Edwin's desire to do right) helped her strive to throw every wicked
influence possible about him and plan to discourage, deceive, and tempt him
to do evil and become like the rest of the family. And she may have thought
that there was a possibility of a mysterious and unquestioned death. At
least, it happened that one day late in the summer she asked Mr. Fitch the
question:
"How would you like a fourteen-year-old boy who would work for you for his
board and clothes?"
"To be sure, I need one very much!" was the old man's reply. "My wife has a
little girl to help her, and I need a boy to be with me. He could help with
the chores and herd the cows. I've tried several lads, but they always run
off."
"Well, my Ed will be just the one for you then," said Mrs. Fischer
confidently. "You needn't be afraid that he will run off, for he knows too
well that he must stay where I put him."
"How about his wages and schooling?" Mr. Fitch inquired with a suspicious
glance at Mrs. Fischer, but he was instantly assured that such would not be
necessary. "Only his clothes and board will be required, and I shall expect
you to see that he earns them."
"Very well, ma'am, then we can count it a bargain, and I will take your son
right home with me today if you like," and the old farmer and Mrs. Fischer
hastened to the house to inform Edwin of the plan.
Edwin, brush in hand and down upon his knees, was diligently brushing away
the crumbs from under the table in the dining-room when he was told in a
few words to stop his work and prepare for the journey.
"You are to go home with Mr. Fitch," his mother explained. "He wants you to
live with him and be his choreboy."
Perhaps Mrs. Fischer did not understand the expression that came over
Edwin's face, but the news gave him intense satisfaction. He could compare
the change only to his visit in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Hahn, and he could
desire nothing better. Any place, Edwin reasoned, must be better than his
mother's home, and he was soon sitting beside Mr. Fitch as he drove away in
the direction of the mountains.
When they arrived at the place that Mr. Fitch explained was his home, Edwin
was more delighted than ever, for he had never pictured anything more
beautiful. But when they drew near the house and he heard oaths and
language still more vile than he had ever heard from his mother's tongue,
he wondered if he heard aright. Even during her most terrible tantrums he
had never heard such words, and when through the open kitchen-door he saw
Mrs. Fitch with a rolling-pin in one hand and a pie-pan in the other and
with her face turned toward the sky, blaspheming the great God of the
universe for permitting a certain crop to fail, he felt faint and sick.
Again and again the wicked woman blasphemed that holy name because of the
failure caused by drought, and threatened, on account of the failure, to
enter other fields and with a burning torch to set fire to them all. Then
as curse after curse upon other things rang from her lips, she continued
beating the air with rolling-pin and pan until it was dangerous to be
inside the room. Edwin remained very close to the door, and the girl whom
Mr. Fitch had mentioned as being his wife's helper, he saw spring to one
side just in time to escape being struck by a huge piece of dough that was
thrown by the wicked woman at her head.
How long the unearthly scene had been going on or would have continued is
hard to say, but from exhaustion Mrs. Fitch sank heavily upon the floor and
for some time was in an unconscious condition. In answer to Edwin's worried
expression Mr. Fitch remarked, "Oh, that's nothing! She'll be all right
after a while," and together they went out to the barn. Edwin asked no
questions, but he wondered if such things were right and had to be.
In this new place he soon discovered that he must bear, in some ways, even
greater cruelties than had been forced upon him in his mother's home, for
in rainy weather or during the hardest storms as much was expected of him
as when the sun was shining. Many times he was forced to work all day long
without a dry thread of clothing upon his body and often without sufficient
food. For all this he never complained, but he wondered why it was
impossible to please some people, when he was always satisfied with so
little.
The greater part of the Fitch property that was used for pasturing purposes
was low and swampy and had long been the haunt of many poisonous snakes.
One portion of the land that was higher than the rest, Mr. Fitch had
decided to have prepared for spring plowing, and Edwin's work was to gather
the brush and the stones into piles that they might be burned or hauled
away. He was also instructed to drive the cows from those parts of the
pasture in which the snakes were the most numerous. With nothing to protect
his bare feet and with no understanding of the danger of snakebites, he was
often tramping in places where the reptiles were gliding past him in many
directions, but upon none of these occasions was he ever bitten.
It was said that ghosts and many strange objects were often discovered in
the house or grove of the Fitch property, and also that some unearthly
creatures had been frequently known to rise from an unused chimney and,
moving slowly toward the large field, to disappear always at a certain
place. Others said that ghosts and horrible-looking forms had been met in
the grove, and still others had heard strange noises, as the slamming of
doors and windows when no breeze was blowing, the moving of heavy pieces of
furniture, and the rattling and dragging of heavy chains.
One man said that once while working for Mr. Fitch he was sleeping in a
certain room when suddenly the covers from the bed began to move and that
although he resisted with all his strength, they were torn away. Feeling
confident that he was the only occupant of the room, he left the place in
the night vowing that he would never return.
These stories and many more were told by the visitors who congregated in
the evening about the home from time to time, and they were usually
approved and strengthened by Mr. and Mrs. Fitch, who could tell of many
worse and more absurd happenings. Edwin often listened to the weird tales
because those telling them were anxious to frighten him, but sometimes it
was because of his own curiosity. He was often seized with a strong desire
to investigate and to find out for himself whether the things that they
said were really true. Upon different occasions he was allowed to sleep in
the rooms that were supposed to be haunted, but never did he see or find
out anything that was unusual.
Lying and stealing and other evils were often freely discussed by the boys
and girls of the neighborhood when they gathered in the grove, and it was
no uncommon thing to hear some one telling of a narrow escape from
detection. Occasionally Eldwin was asked to tell a lie to help another
cover up some evil deed, but this Edwin always stoutly refused to do. When
fun was made of him or he was mocked for his principles of right, his
answer was always, "I never want any one to lie or steal for me, and I will
not do such things for any one else." His reason for speaking thus was not
that he looked upon either of these things as sins, for he had no
conception of what sin was. It was simply his sense of duty and his
admiration of doing that which was right and just. Thus, his mother's
desire to have him educated in wrong-doing was in no wise gratified, and
his young life, even in the home of one of Satan's most efficient servants,
was protected and preserved pure and blameless.
"Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor
standeth in the way of sinners." (Psa. 1:1).
CHAPTER X
A CONTRAST
When people once are in the wrong,
Each line they add is much too long;
Who fastest walks, but walks astray,
Is only furthest from his way.
--Prior.
At the age of nineteen Edwin was still untaught by man regarding the
hereafter and God. The little that he had gleaned from the words and
actions of the sinful people with whom he was forced to associate had
opened his understanding sufficiently for him to know that there is a
spirit life and some sort of reward for the evil and the good, but that was
about all.
His life in the home of Mr. Fitch had been hard indeed, but through all his
hardships the desire to do right had never left him, and the little prayer
learned in the poorhouse was still a comfort when he was lonely and sad.
Many times in the silent hours of the night as he repeated the words softly
to himself and realized the waves of strength and courage sweeping over
him, he was made to wonder, but he never thought of connecting the prayer
with God. To Edwin the words were simply a pleasant and sacred memory that
was treasured and appreciated, but his divine Teacher was using them as a
foundation for his spiritual education.
Although Elmer knew little more concerning the hereafter, he was far better
informed in the ways of the world, for his life had been paved with
opportunities, and he had made use of them. However, without a standard in
his heart such as Edwin had erected and with no home government to protect
and guide him, as a petted and humored and spoiled child he had indulged in
many sins until some of the crimes traced to his door were of the blackest
hue. He had already been tried for various crimes, but the latest trial was
for his having promised to marry a young girl, when he had already a living
wife and child in another part of the city. "Why," do you ask? "could this
difference be?" Take a look into the heart and life of each, and you will
discover the answer. Every thought and purpose of the one, regardless of
consequences, had been to do the right for principle's sake and because it
was right, and God, noting his good intentions, had guided him onward. The
other, from the time that he had stolen the pebbles in the silent hours of
the night, had sought for opportunities to do similar underhand deeds.
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