OPENING THE SUBJECT.
The door suddenly opened, and in rushed Nat, under great excitement,
with his eyes "as large as saucers," to use a hyperbole, which means
only that his eyes looked very large indeed.
"Sam Drake has killed little Trip," said he to his mother.
"Killed Trip!" reiterated his mother, with great surprise.
"Yes; he kicked him down the steep side of Prospect Hill, and he is
stone dead."
"What did he do that for? Had he any trouble with Frank?"
"No, mother; he did it because he is an ugly boy, and for nothing else.
He is always doing some wrong thing. The teacher told him the other day
that he had more difficulty with the scholars than all the other boys
put together. Frank and I didn't want he should go with us; but he and
Ben came along and went without being asked to go."
"They are very bad boys," added his mother, "and I am afraid they will
make bad men. It is well known that they are disobedient at home, and
cause their parents a great deal of trouble, Sam especially."
"And such swearers I never heard in my life," continued Nat. "Every
third word Sam speaks is profane. And he is vulgar too. I wish you knew
how bad he is."
"I hope you will avoid his company as much as possible. Treat him
properly, but have as little to say to him as you can. I have been told
that he spends much of his time at the stable and tavern, where he hears
much profane and vulgar talk. Boys ought not to visit such places. By
and by he will be smoking and drinking as bad as any of them."
"He smokes now," said Nat; "and he told Charlie one day that a boy could
never be a man till he could smoke a 'long nine'."
"I hope you will never be a man, then," said his mother. "When a boy
gets to going to the tavern to smoke and swear, he is almost sure to
drink, and become a ruined man."
"I never do smoke, mother. I never go to the stable nor tavern, I don't
associate with Sam and Ben Drake, nor with James Cole, nor with Oliver
Fowle, more than I can help. For I know they are bad boys. I see that
the worst scholars at school are those who are said to disobey their
parents, and every one of them are poor scholars, and they use profane
language."
"That is very true, Nat," said his mother. "I am glad you take notice of
these things. Bad boys make bad men; always remember that. Be very
careful about the company you keep, for the Bible says, 'evil
communications corrupt good manners.' You know how to behave well, and
if you do as well as you can, you will be respected by all who know
you."
"But, mother," asked Nat, "may I go over to Frank's house, and help him
bury Trip? I won't be gone long."
"Yes, you may go, but it will be tea-time in an hour, and you must be
back then."
Out ran Nat in a hurry, for he had stayed longer to converse with his
mother than he meant to have done, and he was afraid Frank would get
tired of waiting. He left Frank at the corner of the street, to wait
until he ran home to ask his mother's permission to go with him to bury
the dog. Now, many boys would have gone without taking this trouble.
They would have taken the permission to go to Prospect Hill, to cover
going to Frank's house also. But Nat would not do this. It would be
taking advantage of his mother's kindness. He was never in the habit of
going away even to the nearest neighbor's without permission. Such boys
as Sam Drake are all over the neighborhood, and sometimes go even
further, without consulting their parents. Very often their parents do
not know where they are. If one of their associates should run home for
permission to do a given thing, as Nat did, such a fellow as Sam Drake
would be likely to say,
"I should like to see myself asking the old woman (his mother) to go
there. If I wanted to go, I should go. What does a woman know about
boys? I wouldn't be a baby all my days. If a fellow can't have his own
way, I wouldn't give a snap to live. Permission or no permission, I
would have the old folks know that I shall be my own man sometimes."
This is not manly independence, but youthful disobedience and
recklessness, that lead to ruin. All good people look with manifest
displeasure upon such an ungovernable spirit, and expect such boys will
find an early home in a prison.
When Nat reached the corner of the street, he found that Frank had gone,
so he hastened on, and was soon at Mr. Martin's (Frank's father).
"I waited a few minutes," said Frank, as he met Nat at the door, "and
then I thought I would run on and get all things ready."
"I was afraid that I had kept you waiting so long that you got out of
patience," added Nat. "But I stopped to tell mother about it, and she
had considerable to say."
Frank had related the circumstances of Trip's death to his mother before
Nat's arrival, and received her consent to bury the dog at the foot of
the garden.
"Come, now, let us run into the wood-shed for a box," said Frank; "I
have one there full of blocks that is just about right to put Trip
into."
"Then you mean he shall have a coffin? I thought you would tumble him
into his grave as they do dead soldiers on battle-fields."
"Not I. I have more respect for a _good_ dead dog than that. Look here,
is not that a capital box for it?" So saying he took up a small box full
of blocks, that had once served him for play-things, and having taken
the blocks out, he proceeded to lay Trip therein. His body just filled
the box, as if it were made on purpose; and having nailed on the lid,
they proceeded with it to the foot of the garden. They were not long in
digging a grave, and soon the remains of Trip were decently interred. As
the last shovel-full of dirt was thrown on, Nat gave utterance to a part
of a declamation which he had spoken in school two weeks before. The
portion he repeated was as follows:
"Not a drum was heard, nor a funeral note,
As his corse to the ramparts we hurried;
Not a soldier discharged his farewell shot,
O'er the grave where our hero we buried.
"Slowly and sadly we laid him down,
From the field of his fame fresh and gory,
We carved not a line, we raised not a stone,
But left him alone with his glory."
Frank smiled for the first time since Trip was kicked down the
precipice, and said,
"Nat, you are always getting off your oratory; and I really think the
occasion deserves a burst of eloquence. Poor Trip will never play hy-spy
again; our good times with him are over."
"There, now I must hurry home to supper," said Nat, "mother will be
waiting; so good-night till Monday."
Away he bounded homeward, and was just in season for his supper. After a
thorough washing of face and hands, he sat down to the table with as
keen an appetite as he ever had, his afternoon excursion having given
him a good relish for food. The conversation naturally turned upon the
fate of Trip, and the whole account of the tragedy was gone over again,
with such comments thereon as each one was disposed to make.
"I have a very difficult lesson in arithmetic to dig out to-night for
Monday," said Nat, as he rose from the table.
"Perhaps you will not be called upon to recite the lesson," replied his
mother.
"Any scholar who gets rid of reciting a lesson which this teacher gives
him must be one of the favorites," said Nat, not being the least
suspicious that his mother was going to communicate any thing
unpleasant. "For one, I want to recite it, after I have mastered it, and
I know that I _can_ master it. At any rate, I shall not give up beat
until I have tried."
"Then you mean to belong to the 'try company' a while longer?"
interrupted his mother.
"Yes, mother; the teacher read us some capital verses the other day on
'I'll try,' and she told a number of stories to illustrate what had been
accomplished by trying."
"Your purpose is very good indeed, Nat, and I am sorry that we are not
able to give you better advantages. But did you know that your services
are in great demand? The agent of the factory has been after you this
afternoon."
"For what?" asked Nat, with great surprise.
"To work in the factory to be sure. He wants a 'bobbin boy' very much,
and thinks that you will make a good one; what do you say to it?"
"You didn't tell him that I would go, did you?"
"Well, your father and I have talked the matter over, and concluded that
it will be necessary for you to do something for a living. We are poor,
and your father does not see how he can support the family and keep you
in school. The agent will give you two dollars a week, and this will be
a great help to us."
"You can't mean, mother, that I am not to go to school any more?"
inquired Nat.
"We do not know what may yet transpire in your favor, but for the
present, at least, your schooling must cease."
Nat was almost overcome at this announcement, and his lips fairly
quivered. His mother felt as badly as he did, though she exerted herself
to conceal her emotion. At length she went on to say,
"I do not expect you will accede to this plan without a struggle with
your love of study, but if it is best for us all that you should leave
school and work in a factory, you can do it cheerfully, can you not?"
"I can do it," answered Nat, "but not cheerfully."
"I did not mean exactly that, when I spoke; for I expect you will do it
only because our necessities make that change best."
"When does the agent want I should begin?" inquired Nat.
"On Monday. It is very short notice, but you may as well begin then as
any time. There is one thing to be thought of for your advantage. You
love to read, and the manufacturing company have a good library for the
operatives. You can take out books, and read evenings."
"There will be scarcely any time for me to read after coming out of the
factory at seven o'clock; and besides, after working from five o'clock
in the morning until seven at night, I think I shall like the bed better
than books."
"You will find as much time to acquire knowledge as ever Dr. Franklin
did, and many other men who have been distinguished; and that is some
encouragement."
"Last winter our teacher told Frank and I about Patrick Henry and Dr.
Franklin, and he said that boys now have far better advantages. Do you
suppose that the life of Dr. Franklin or the life of Patrick Henry will
be in the library at the factory?"
"I have no doubt that both of them are there, and you can take the first
opportunity to draw one of them out."
This last suggestion was a very important one to Nat. The prospect of
having access to a good library made Nat almost willing to go into the
factory. At any rate, after thinking the matter over, and becoming
convinced that it was best for the family, as his mother said, that he
should become a bobbin boy, and weighing the advantage of having a
library to visit, he was quite reconciled to the arrangement. He was the
eldest of the children, a large family, and it seemed reasonable that
he should be required to do something for a livelihood, if necessity
demanded. He knew very well that his parents would not have made such an
arrangement, unless their low circumstances had forced them to it. Both
of them highly valued a good school, and were interested in the
education of their children, but their desires could not be gratified.
Saturday evening wore away, and the family dispersed for nightly repose.
The last thoughts of Nat, ere he resigned himself to the arms of
Morpheus, were of school and bobbins.