MOTHER MIDGE AND THE CORPORAL.
A long sloping piece of ground behind the two cottages had been laid
out as a kitchen-garden. The trim condition of the beds, the neatly
weeded paths, all bore traces of the Corporal's industry. But neither
he nor his assistants were to be seen. An overturned basket, with a
hoe and a rake lying beside it, and a boy's battered straw hat, alone
bore evidence of the morning's work. The bees were hovering over the
thyme, and a little white rabbit, that had escaped from its hutch, was
feasting on one of the finest cabbages.
"Where can they be?" asked Averil; and Mother Midge, whose sharp ears
had caught the sound of voices, suggested they were in the field with
the pensioners, a surmise which proved to be perfectly correct.
The field lay on the other side of the lane. It was a large field,
and boasted of a cow-house and a couple of sheds. The Corporal was
sitting on the gate, with a small group of boys round him, whom he
seemed haranguing. He had taken his pipe out of his mouth, and was
gesticulating with it. He was a small, wiry man, with gray stubby hair,
and a pair of twinkling black eyes. He had a large nose and a deep
voice, which were the only big things about him.
"It is no good you youngsters argufying with me," the Corporal was
saying, with an appearance of great severity. "What I say I sticks to.
That 'ere boy is a bully"--pointing to a small lad with the innocent
eyes of a cherub.
"Please, Mr. Corporal, I b'ain't that," replied the child, with a
terrified sniff.
"Don't you bandy words with me," continued the Corporal, sternly. "The
boy who shies stones at old Billy ought to be made an example of--that
is what I say."
"Please, sir, it was only fun," stammered the culprit. "Billy knows I
would not hurt him."
"What is the matter, Corporal?" interposed Averil, briskly. "Tim hasn't
got into mischief again, has he?" laying her hand caressingly on the
curly head.
"Servant, ma'am"--and the Corporal saluted her stiffly. "It is all
along of Billy's snorting and scampering, and kicking up his hoofs,
that I knew that mischief was going on. That boy"--pointing to the
still sniffing cherub--"goes without his pudding to-day. Look at Billy,
ma'am, and if ever a horse is injured in his tenderest feelings, that
horse is Billy. He can't stomach the sweetest patch of grass, he is
that wounded--and all along of Tim."
"Oh, fy, Tim!" was all Averil ventured to say--for the Corporal was a
severe disciplinarian, and allowed no infraction of rules. Any want of
kindness to the pensioners was always punished severely.
"Go back to your weeding, sir," continued the Corporal, and Tim slunk
away.
Averil looked after him regretfully. "Is he not a pretty boy?" she
whispered, so that the others could not hear her. "He is the Corporal's
favorite, though you would not think so to hear him. Tim and his
hurdy-gurdy and monkey came here a year ago. He was found sitting
beside a dry ditch one winter evening--his drunken father was lying at
the bottom. It was impossible to say whether Tim or the monkey looked
most miserable. The poor things were half starved, and had been cruelly
used. Topsy--that is the monkey--is in one of the sheds. Now, if there
is a thing in the world Tim loves, it is his monkey. Half Tim's grief
at the loss of his pudding will be that Topsy will forfeit his share.
Topsy is one of our pensioners. That is Billy"--pointing to a lean old
horse at the further end of the field. Two donkeys and an old goat were
feeding near him. A toothless old sheep-dog, and a yellow mongrel with
half a tail, were lying on a mat in front of the shed, basking in the
sunshine.
"The pensioners are all old then, my cousin?"
"Billy is old, and Floss, the sheep-dog, and Nanny also. Anyhow, my
pensioners all have a history. They have been through the furnace of
affliction--even that lame duck. Only Cherry, and the cocks and hens,
have led a happy existence. The Dove-cote has its rules, and one of
these is, kindness toward our four-legged pensioners."
"It is a good rule. Your pensioners seem well content. Who are these
other boys?"
Evidently the Corporal thought Annette's question was addressed to him,
for he struck in briskly:
"This is Snip, ma'am"--pointing to a sturdy-looking lad with a merry
face. "This is the fellow who aggravates our feelings by making a
spread-eagle of himself, and walking down the paths with his feet in
the air, and Bob barking alongside of him. Not but what Snip can do
his fair share of work too. I'd back that boy for hoeing a bed or
training a creeper against any gardener in the land"--this in a loud
aside that was perfectly audible to the grinning Snip. "Then there's
Dick"--singling out the next, a shambling, awkward boy, with a vacant,
gentle face. "Dick is the fellow who minds the pensioners. Who says
Dick isn't bright, when he can milk Cherry and harness Mike and Floss?
Law bless you! If all the boys were as clever as Dick we should do
well. Dick has nothing to say to book-learning"--dropping his voice
mysteriously. "Too many kicks in early life have put a stop to that.
Dick couldn't spell his own name--couldn't answer a question without a
stutter. But he is a rare one among the animals. The worst of it is, he
gets into a rage if he sees any one else misuse them. He had collared
Tim, and would have made an end of him in no time if Billy had not
snorted and kicked up his heels."
Dick seemed perfectly impervious to the Corporal's criticism. He
shambled away in an aimless manner.
"There is only wee Robbie left," interrupted Mother Midge, as the
Corporal laid down his empty pipe and paused for breath. "He is our
baby now, since dear little Barty left us. There are two other graves
besides his. We call them gardens. We can not hinder some of our doves
from flying away. Look at him!" as the little creature rubbed his face
lovingly against her gown. "That is his way of showing affection, for
wee Robbie is deaf and dumb."
Averil sat down and lifted him on to her lap, while the Corporal made
his salute, and hurried after his boys.
"He does not grow much," she said, touching his cheek softly. "Annette,
we have no idea of his age. He is just wee Robbie. He is almost as
small as he was that day when we first saw him;" and Averil gave a
faint shudder at the remembrance.
"Did you find this little one also, my cousin?"
"Yes," returned Averil, rocking him in her arms, while a soft, pitying
look came into her eyes. "I have spoken to you once or twice of a city
missionary who tells me of cases. His name is Stevenson; he is a good
man, and we are great friends. I was with him one day. I had just been
to see Daddy, who was very ill. We were passing a public-house--it was
in Whitechapel, but I forget the name; it is unfamiliar to me. It was
a wretched street, and the public-house was one of the lowest of its
kind. Just as we were passing, a miserable-looking tramp, with a child
in her arms, reeled out of the doorway. A man was following her. There
was some quarrel; she put down the child on the pavement and flew at
the man with the ferocity of a wild-cat. Mr. Stevenson wanted me to
move on, but I had caught sight of the child's face, and it seemed to
rivet me--such a white baby face, with such a dumb, agonized terror
stamped on it. 'The child! we can not leave the child!' I kept saying.
But Mr. Stevenson prevailed on me to take refuge in a shop near. A
crowd was collecting; there was no policeman, and no attempt was being
made to stop the drunken brawl. An hour later Mr. Stevenson entered
with a shocked face. He had the child in his arms; it looked half dead
with fright. 'It is too horrible,' he said. 'The woman is dead. No one
would interfere, and the brute--they say it is her husband--gave her
a push, and she fell and struck her head against the curb. They have
taken the man into custody. He is too drunk to know what has happened.
Here is the child. They tell me he is a deaf-mute. Did ever any one see
such a pitiful sight in a Christian country? Alas! that such things
should be.' I was sitting by Daddy's fireside. The Corporal got me some
water, and we washed the poor little creature (for he was in the most
filthy condition), and wrapped him up in an old shawl, and gave him
some warm bread and milk. His baby breath reeked of gin. But he was
famished, and took the warm food greedily. There was no Mother Midge
then. The Dove-cote was not in existence. I was obliged to leave him
with the Corporal until I could find some one to take care of him. Oh,
there is the dinner-bell! Do you hear the boys scampering to the house?
We must follow them, or the Corporal will have said grace."
It was a curious dinner-party, but Averil looked happier than Annette
had ever seen her, as she sat between wee Robbie and Deb. The Corporal
sat at one end of the table, with Mother Midge opposite to him. Deb
and Snip waited on every one. And several of the pensioners, including
Topsy and the lame jackdaw, were waiting for their portion of the meal.
The boys were on their best behavior before Averil. Even Snip did not
venture on one somersault. Tim's face grew a little sorrowful when he
caught sight of the pudding. A lean, brown arm was already clutching
his coat-sleeve, and the monkey's melancholy eyes were fixed on the
empty plate.
"Topsy shall have some of mine," whispered Averil. And Tim's face
cleared like magic.
When dinner was over, the boys rushed off to play in the field, and
the Corporal and Daddy lighted their pipes and strolled to the gate to
overlook them. Mother Midge was busy, and Averil proposed that she and
Annette should sit under the elm-tree.
"Everything goes on just as usual when I am here," she explained. "By
and by the boys will come to their lessons. The Corporal teaches them
to read and write. I have not shown you my bedroom, Annette. I often
spend a night or two here. The thought of my Dove-cote helps me over my
worst times."
"Will you tell me how you came to think of it first, my cousin?"
"Well, it is not much of a story. There were the two old men, you see.
Oh, I forgot! I never told you about them. Mr. Stevenson had found them
out. One day as we were talking, he told me of an old soldier who was
very ill, and who was living in a miserable garret. 'He has a friend
with him,' he said, 'an old soldier, too--an ingenious fellow, who
supports them both by carving little wooden toys and selling them. They
are not related to each other, only old comrades. And it is wonderful
how neat and ship-shape the place is. The Corporal is as handy as a
woman. I wish you would go and see them, Miss Willmot. They seem to me
fine fellows, the Corporal especially.'
"Fine fellows indeed! Would you believe it, Annette, that the Corporal
was living on tea and bread, and working eighteen hours out of the
twenty-four to keep himself and his old chum from the disgrace of the
work-house? 'It is not the place for her majesty's soldiers, ma'am,'
observed the Corporal to me. 'I think it would break Daddy's heart to
take his medals into that sort of place. No, ma'am, asking your pardon.
The work-house and the jail are not for the likes of us. We don't mind
starving a bit if we can keep a roof over our heads. If only Daddy
could work! But when rheumatics gets into the bones there's no getting
it out again.' Well, I took a fancy to these brave, kindly old men. I
thought it was a noble thing for the Corporal to be starving himself
for his friend. If you want heroism, you will find it among the poor.
I used to go and see them constantly. I sent in a doctor for Daddy,
and nourishing food, and warm blankets, and some fuel for the fireless
grate. But I think some good tobacco from Mr. Harland pleased them
most. It seemed to make a different man of Daddy. Well, I did not see
my way clear at first. I had found wee Robbie, and the Corporal was
minding him. They were still in their miserable garret. Then all at
once the thought came to me, Why should not Mother Midge take care of
them all?"
"Then you knew her also."
"Oh, yes, I knew her. She was one of Mr. Stevenson's friends, and I had
already heard her history. Hers is such a sad story. There are no happy
stories at the Dove-cote. She was the youngest of a large family. Her
father was a lawyer. He was a bad, dishonest man, and very brutal to
his wife and daughters. He had even turned them out-of-doors, when he
was in one of his mad rages. He was taken up at last for disposing of
some trust money. I think he speculated with it. But before the trial
came on he died from some short inflammatory illness. Mother Midge
was hardly grown up then. But she has a keen recollection of all that
miserable time.
"The mother sunk into a chronic invalid. One of her daughters was
crippled; the rest worked at dress-making and millinery. Once they
kept a little school. But the name of Bennet was against them. They
had no friends; people seemed to be shy of them. Years of struggle
followed, during which first one, then another, succumbed. They were
all delicate except Mother Midge. She was the youngest and sturdiest
of them all. When I first knew her she was all alone. Her last sister
was just buried. She was working for a ladies' outfitting shop, and was
very poorly paid. Her eyesight, too, was failing, partly from impure
air and insufficient food. I thought, Why should not Lydia Bennet make
a home for my dear old men? I spoke to Mr. Harland, and he humored my
fancy. Dear father was just dead, and he thought the plan would occupy
my thoughts a little. He bought the cottages for me, and the field, and
I furnished a few rooms. Mother Midge took possession, and then came
the two old men and wee Robbie. Barty and Deb came next. It is only
a family, Annette. We do not pretend to do great things. Three of my
children--little Barty, and Freddy, and Nan, have left us--flown away,
as Mother Midge says. Jack will be the next to go. We have room for two
more. And as the pensioners die off we shall replace them. You have no
idea how wisely Mother Midge and the Corporal rule. These neglected
children learn to obey, and soon discover that their happiness consists
in keeping the rules. We allow no idleness. Every child feels that he
earns his or her daily bread. Even Dick, with his limited intellect,
has work that he can do. Ah! there they go to their lessons," as the
little knot of lads hurried past, with the Corporal at their head.
And then came Mother Midge with her knitting, and wee Robbie. "No one
can teach wee Robbie anything," said Averil; "but in his own way he is
as happy as the day is long."