THE STUDENTS DECIDE "WHAT'S IN A NAME."
Major Billcord had the services of a distinguished lawyer from
Plattsburgh and of another from Elizabethtown to defend himself and the
six ruffians. They almost made a "celebrated case" of it. They got the
trial into the county court, and the six ruffians were sentenced to ten
days confinement in the county prison, and the major himself to thirty
days.
The assault and the conspiracy were too outrageous, in the opinion of
the justice, to be punished with a simple fine. The workingmen and the
farmers had got hold of the case and talked a great deal about it.
Against the advice of the eminent legal gentlemen he employed, Paul
Bristol was prosecuted for the first assault upon Walker Billcord, and
this brought in the testimony of Lily and her mother, which the lawyers
wanted to keep out. This evidence completed the history of the case by
filling in the beginning of the trouble.
Paul was fully justified and acquitted, and the people praised him for
his defence of his sister. Fathers and mothers were interested, for they
looked to the law for the protection of their children. Every effort was
made to save the magnate from the disgrace of being confined in a common
prison, but public sentiment would have been indignant, and he had to
serve out his time.
The farmers and mechanics were inclined to go as far the wrong way in
one direction as the major and his friends were in the other. The
magnate was a "soulless capitalist," a "bloated bondholder," and he
suffered, especially among the mill hands, for this senseless reason.
But the judge was even-handed between the two parties, and the major
learned a lesson which was worth half his fortune to him--that before
the law he was no more than the equal of the poor man.
Four of the six ruffians were taken from the institute by their parents,
who had sent them there to be fitted for college, and they were sure
that their sons had been led away by the influence of Major Billcord,
and by the lack of proper discipline in the school. Three others were
removed for the same reason. The loss of these pupils was a severe blow
to Colonel Buckmill, who had condemned the conduct of the major from
the first.
Though other students were soon obtained to take their places, and even
to increase the number of pupils in the school, the colonel realized
that he was not managing the institution on the right principle. The
magnate had lost much of his influence in the vicinity, and the
principal found that he could afford to be independent of him, for it
would pay better.
On the day of the examination, Captain Gildrock called the students of
Beech Hill together in the school-room in the afternoon, after the
studies had been finished. The model to which he had alluded at the time
of his lecture on shipbuilding was still on the table where it had been
placed on that occasion. The students had examined it with a great deal
of interest. They had read all they could find in the books in the
library on the subject, and studied the three plans on the wall.
They were very impatient, as young men always are, to begin the actual
work of building the boat. It was even more to their taste than erecting
a house, though many of them were now competent to frame a building from
the plans.
The subject of a name for the craft had engaged their attention, and
they had given a great deal of thought to it. They were all ambitious to
name the schooner, and a great variety of names was likely to be
presented. They had all been handed in; and when the principal announced
that the first business was to select one from them, Mr. Bentnick handed
him the envelope which contained them.
"Lily," said the captain, laughing, as he took the first paper from the
enclosure.
All the boys looked very good-natured, though something like
embarrassment appeared upon the faces of not a few of them.
"Lily," continued the captain, reading the second suggestion.
The good-natured looks expanded into smiles.
"Lily," the principal said again, as he drew out the third paper. The
smile became a little more intense.
"Lily," repeated the principal once more, and then he emptied all the
slips of paper from the envelope, and began to sort them over.
Principal, instructors and students were all laughing merrily by this
time. It was evident that the boys were very impressible fellows, and
had been captivated by the beauty of Miss Bristol. Possibly some of
them were disturbed because they found that others had made the same
selection as their own.
"They are not all alike," said Captain Gildrock, when he had finished
sorting the papers. "Only about two thirds of them are 'Lily.' It is
certainly a very pretty name, and there is no flower more pure and
beautiful than the lily. But the name is rather general and indefinite.
We have the tiger lily, the lily of the valley, the pond lily, and other
kinds. What do you say to calling the schooner the Pond Lily?"
"No, sir!" shouted a majority of the students, with one voice.
"The Tiger Lily, then?"
"No, sir," was the emphatic reply.
"Then Lily of the Valley?"
"No, sir!" again voted the majority.
"Perhaps I shall have to ask Miss Millweed for the names of other kinds
of lilies," added the principal, with a very pleasant smile.
"None of them!" exclaimed the crowd, encouraged by the cheerful
expression of the captain.
"None of them?"
"Lily Bristol!" called Luke Bennington. "I put in another name, but that
is what the fellows mean."
"Yes, sir!" cried the majority.
Captain Gildrock improved this opportunity to say something about the
influence of female society, and especially of young ladies. If Beech
Hill were not a school of mechanic arts, he should be in favor of having
as many young ladies as young gentlemen on its roll of pupils. He was in
favor of co-education, whereat Mr. Bentnick shook his head, and seemed
to be uneasy in his seat, though Mr. Darlingby showed a disposition to
clap his hands. The captain was an old-fashioned man, he said, but he
hoped he had modern and progressive ideas. He was not in favor of
"pretty girls."
At this point about half a dozen of the students gave something like a
suppressed groan. The principal paused, the dissentients wished they had
said nothing; but he did not add a word. He seemed to feel that they had
as much right to express themselves in this manner as to applaud, or
express themselves in other ways.
"I don't believe in pretty girls as such," he continued, "because they
monopolize the sole attention of young men, to the exclusion of others
even more worthy who are personally less attractive. But I hardly expect
young gentlemen to adopt my views on this subject before they have
lived to be as old as I am. When you have an opportunity, boys, bestow
some attention upon the 'wallflowers.'"
He had not intended to say so much on this part of the subject, and he
resumed the general topic. Ladies should be treated with the utmost
respect, whether attractive or not, and even if they did not conduct
themselves like ladies. He did not prohibit the students from
associating with the young ladies of Genverres and the neighboring
towns, under proper circumstances, and thought female society was
beneficial to them. But profound respect must be the basis of such
relations. There should be nothing like undue familiarity with them, and
a young lady, even if not more than fifteen, should not be addressed by
her Christian name except by her relatives. It must always be "Miss
Bristol," and not "Lily," or even "Miss Lily."
"Not Miss Lily?" said a puzzled student.
"That is a grade of familiarity between the surname and the given name,
proper enough for persons who are intimate enough to use it, but not
applicable in the present instance. Now, to return to the name of the
schooner, from which the papers withdrew my attention. I am entirely
willing that you should give her a name."
After what the principal had said about pretty girls, most of the
students concluded that any attempt to give the name of one of that
sisterhood to the craft would be vetoed. They were not quite satisfied
to have their wishes disregarded. His last words, however, gave them a
little encouragement. The principal picked up the slips of paper and
counted them, or a portion of them.
"Twenty-three have given in the name of 'Lily,'" said he, taking up
those which indicated some other name. "'Champlain,' 'Lake Bird,' 'Lake
Gem,' 'Saranac,' and the names of most of the lakes and rivers in
Vermont. Among them are 'Addison' (our county), 'Genverres,' either of
which would be a very good, and a very appropriate name. I don't like
the fancy names, such as 'Gem of the Lake,' as well as the more
substantial ones. Now you may vote on the question, and the name among
those I have read which has a majority shall be the one selected."
This announcement brought out some applause. Then the captain said it
would be in order for any student who wished to recommend any particular
name, to say what he pleased on the subject. This permission brought
Luke Bennington to his feet.
"I don't believe there is a craft on the lake now called the
'Champlain.' There has been a large steamer, but she is no longer in
existence," said the speaker, with considerable earnestness. "In my
opinion--and I have seen the lakes of Scotland and Switzerland--Lake
Champlain is the finest lake in the world."
"Oh! Oh! Oh!" murmured several listeners.
"Of course the size of the lake comes into the comparison, or Lake
George might be nothing by the side of a little pond between a couple of
hills. We have the Adirondacks on one side, and the Green Mountains on
the other; and, taking everything into consideration, I vote for Lake
Champlain as the finest. For this reason, and because it is the element
on which the schooner is to figure, I hope its name will be given to
her."
Another student spoke in favor of "Battenkill," but he proved to be the
only one who had ever heard the name. He explained that it was a river
which had its source in Vermont, though it soon wandered into New York.
A third student spoke for "Addison," and a fourth for "Genverres." The
advocates of "Lily" seemed to be conscious of their strength, and all
of them were too bashful to make a speech in its favor.
Mr. Darlingby passed around the box, and all voted. The ballots were
quickly counted by the instructors, who appeared to be quite as much
interested as the boys, and the principal read the result. It was
evident then that a few did not care a straw for the name, and voted for
the fun of it.
"Tiger Lily, 1; Pond Lily, 1; Lake Gem, 1; Genverres, 1; Addison, 1;
Battenkill, 1; Champlain, 2; Lily, 28," the principal read from the
paper made out by Mr. Bentnick.
The vote was received with tremendous applause, and the students
continued to clap their hands until the captain raised his linger as a
signal for them to cease.
"The schooner will be called the 'Lily,'" added the principal.