APPEARANCES.
Those who impose upon the weak, sometimes get punished for their
meanness in an unexpected manner. This truth was very effectually
impressed upon Oscar, one March morning, as he was going to school.
The streets were in a very bad condition, being several inches deep
with a compound of snow, water, and mud, familiarly known as "slosh."
Just before reaching the school-house, he overtook two little boys with
a sled, and throwing himself upon it, he compelled them to drag him
along. It was hard sledding, and the boys naturally objected to
drawing such a heavy load; but Oscar kept his seat, and compelled them
to go on. For a few minutes, he rode along very quietly, although his
span of youngsters, who were continually muttering to themselves, did
not seem to enjoy the sport as well as he did. But, by a dexterous
movement, they soon balanced the debtor and creditor account. Giving
the sled a sudden jerk and lurch, in one of the sloppiest places they
had met with, their lazy passenger was thrown backward into the mud,
and imprinted a full length picture of himself in the yielding
material. The incident happened almost in front of the school-house,
and as Oscar rose from the mud, he was greeted by the shouts and
laughter of a hundred boys who witnessed the scene. Several men, also,
who were passing at the time, joined in the laughing chorus; and one,
who had observed the whole affair from the beginning, told Oscar the
boys had served him just right.
[Illustration: The Overturn.]
Ralph came to the relief of his brother, and having wiped off as much
of the mud and water from his back as he could, with a handkerchief,
Oscar started for home, wet to his skin. He was keenly sensitive to
any mortification of this kind, and it was a bitter pill for him to
appear in the crowded streets in such a plight. He imagined everybody
he met or overtook was staring at him, and laughing at the figure he
cut, and he wanted to hide his face from their sight. He never went
home from school so fast before; but when he had changed his dress, and
washed the dirt from his hands and face, it was too late to return. In
the afternoon, when he made his appearance at school, he was quite
generally greeted with the significant nickname of "Stick-in-the-mud,"
and had to stand a most remorseless fire of wit, pleasantry, and
ridicule the rest of the day, both at home and in the street.
Oscar thought quite as much as was proper of outward appearances. He
was commendably neat in his personal habits, and was seldom caught with
dirty hands and face, or uncombed hair, or soiled and ragged dress. He
loved to dress well, too, and no amount of persuasion could induce him
to wear a garment, if he fancied it did not set right, or was much out
of fashion, or had an old and patched-up look. In such a case, nothing
but the stern arm of authority was sufficient to overcome his
prejudices.
"There," said his mother one evening, after spending some time over one
of his jackets, which had become a little worn at the elbows; "there,
that will last you a spell longer, and look almost as well as it ever
did, too."
Oscar examined the garment. It was neatly mended, and looked very
well; but his eye rested upon a slight patch upon one of the elbows,
which entirely spoilt it for him, although it had previously been a
favorite garment.
"It's too small for me," he said; "why can't you keep it for Ralph?"
"No, you needn't keep it for Ralph," quickly replied the owner of that
name; "I haven't had anything but your old clothes to wear for a year
or two, and I should think it was my turn to have some of the new ones,
now. Make him wear that out, mother, won't you?"
"Yes, I intend he shall wear it awhile longer," replied Mrs. Preston.
"It looks well enough for any body."
"But see that detestable patch," said Oscar; "I don't want to wear
_that_ to school; folks will think I have borrowed one of Ben. Wright's
old jackets."
Ben Wright was one of Oscar's schoolmates. He was the son of a poor
widow, and was the most be-patched boy in Oscar's class, at the head of
which he stood. As he had nothing to recommend him but fine
scholarship, exemplary deportment, and a good character, in school and
out, he was a boy of little consequence in the eyes of Oscar.
"I wish you were _worthy_ to wear one of Benny's old jackets," replied
Mrs. Preston. "If you were half as good a boy as he is, I would not
complain. But you need not be afraid that anybody will mistake you for
him, even if you _do_ wear a patched garment."
"I believe you think Ben. Wright is a little angel," said Oscar, who
never liked to hear his humble but diligent classmate praised.
"I think he has some traits that you would do well to imitate," replied
his mother.
"I shall think I am imitating him, when I get that thing on," added
Oscar, in a contemptuous manner, alluding to the jacket.
"There, that will do, Oscar," replied Mrs. Preston, "You've said enough
about the jacket; don't let me hear another word of complaint. I took
a great deal of pains to mend it neatly, and it looks well enough for
you or any other boy. You may put it on to-morrow morning, and don't
you leave off wearing it till I tell you to."
Oscar nodded his head in a way that seemed to say, "You 'll see how
long I wear it;" but his mother did not observe the motion. He had a
short and easy way of getting rid of garments that he disliked.
Somehow other they were sure to waste away in a much faster manner than
those he had a fancy for; or, perhaps they would be rendered suddenly
useless, by some mysterious accident. But he would never admit that
their period of usefulness had been purposely shortened, though
suspicions of this kind were occasionally hinted.
Soon after this, Mr. Preston entered the room, and took a seat by the
fire He pulled out his watch to wind it up, as was his custom just
before bed-time, when Oscar said:
"Father, I wish you would buy me a watch. Frank King, and Bill
Andrews, and Charlie Grant, and almost all the large boys that I know,
have got watches, and I should think I might have one too; why can't I,
father?"
"What do they do with watches?" inquired Mr. Preston.
"Why, what does anybody do with them? They carry them to tell the time
of day, of course," replied Oscar.
"And to make a display of watch-chain," added his father.
"No, that isn't it," replied Oscar; "but it's convenient to have a
watch with you. You don't know how I 'm plagued to tell what time it
is, sometimes. It would make me a good deal more punctual, if I had
one. I was late to school this morning, but it was n't my fault, for I
did n't know what time it was until I got to the school-house, and
found that the boys had all gone in."
"When I was of your age," said Mr. Preston, "boys never thought of
carrying watches, and yet they were taught to be as punctual as the
clock, in their attendance at school. If I had been tardy, and tried
to excuse myself by saying that I had no watch, I should have got
laughed at by the whole school. But where were you this morning, that
you did not know when it was school-time?"
"Over to Alf. Walton's."
"And couldn't find a time-piece about the premises?"
"Why--no--I--forgot--" replied Oscar, somewhat embarrassed by the
question.
"Just as I supposed," added his father; "you got along with that boy,
and forgot all about your school; and it would have been just the same,
if you 'd had half a dozen watches in your pocket."
"O no, father," said Oscar; "for if I 'd had a watch about me, I should
have looked at it."
"Well," added Mr. Preston, "if you don't care enough about punctuality
to take a little trouble to ascertain what time it is, when you have an
engagement, I don't think a watch would help you any in acquiring the
habit. You have n't made out a very strong case."
"No," remarked Mrs. Preston, "he wants a watch for show, and not
punctuality,--that's plain enough. He has just been making a great
fuss because I put a little bit of a patch on the elbow of his jacket.
He is getting to be quite fastidious, for a gentleman of his size."
"If you would think a little less of outside appearances, Oscar,"
continued his father, "and a little more of inward character, your
judgment of men and things would not be quite so much at fault as it is
now. If you judge of boys or men by the cloth and watches they wear,
and select your companions accordingly, you will soon find that you
have got a pretty set of friends. And so, too, if you think you can
secure the good opinion and respect of the world, merely by dressing
well, you are greatly mistaken. You must learn to judge people by
their characters, and not by their dress or appearance. If I could see
you trying to form a good character, I should care very little what
sort of garments you wore. I would buy you a watch, or anything else
in my power, if it would only make you behave better. In fact, I will
make you a handsome offer now, if you wish."
"Well, what is it?" inquired Oscar.
"I will agree to give you a nice watch, in six months from this time,
if you will do three things," continued his father.
"What are they?" inquired Oscar; "are they things that I can do?"
"Certainly," said Mr. Preston; "you can do them if you will only try.
The first is, that you render prompt obedience to your parents, during
these six months. Is n't that within your power?"
"Yes, sir," replied Oscar, somewhat reluctantly.
"The second is," continued Mr. Preston, "that you behave toward your
playmates and all other people in such a way, that no serious complaint
shall be made against you. Can you do that, if you try?"
"Yes, sir, I guess so," replied Oscar.
"And the last condition is, that you give sufficient attention to your
studies to gain admission to the High School, at the end of the term.
Is that in your power?"
"I suppose it is," said Oscar.
"You admit, then, that you _can_ keep these conditions," continued his
father; "the question now is, _will_ you do it?"
That was a hard question for Oscar to answer. He hesitated, and
twisted about in his chair, and at length replied:
"Why, I don't suppose I should make out, if I tried."
"No, you certainly would not, if that is your spirit," replied his
father. "You cannot accomplish anything unless you have some
confidence that you can do it, and firmly resolve to try. You just
admitted that you could keep these conditions, but it seems you are not
willing to make the attempt. You want a watch, but you don't intend to
obey your parents, or to conduct yourself properly, or to attend to
your lessons, for the sake of getting it--that's what you mean to say,
is it not?"
Oscar remained silent.
"I am sorry," continued his father, "that you will not take up with my
offer; for though I do not think it important that you should get the
watch, it is important that you should reform some of your habits. You
are getting to be altogether too wayward and headstrong, as well as
vain."
"If I get into the High School next summer, may I have the watch?"
inquired Oscar.
"No," replied his father, "not unless you comply with the other
conditions. But I want you to remember what I told you the other day,
that if you don't get into the High School at that time, I shall send
you to some boarding-school away from home, where you will be made to
study, and to behave yourself too. If strict discipline can do
anything for you, you shall have the benefit of it, you may depend upon
that."
Oscar was now two-thirds of the way through his last year in the school
he attended. His parents were anxious that he should go through the
High School course of studies, and, indeed, he had applied for
admission to that school the summer previous to this, but did not pass
the examination. There was still some doubt whether he would succeed
any better at the next examination; and in case of his failure, his
parents had decided to send him to a boarding-school in the country.
But there was nothing very alarming to him in the idea of going into
such an establishment, notwithstanding all his father said of the
strict discipline to which he would be subjected. There would be a
novelty about it, he imagined, that would make it quite pleasant.
Consequently, he cared very little whether he was accepted as a High
School pupil or not.