"She hastens to the Sunday School." _Jane Taylor_.
Captain Carbonel had written to the President of Saint Cyril's, and at
once obtained his willing consent to the ladies attempting to form a
little Sunday School. Dr Fogram said that he should come down himself
on July 21, and should be very glad to take counsel with the Carbonels
on the state of Uphill. He would be glad to assist if any outlay were
needed.
The sisters were in high spirits. The only place they could find for
the purpose was the wash-house and laundry. Once in five weeks two
women, in high white muslin caps and checked aprons, of whom Betsy
Seddon was one, Betty Pucklechurch the other, came to assist the maids
in getting up the family linen--a tremendous piece of work. A tub was
set on the Saturday, with ashes placed in a canvas bag on a frame above;
water was poured on it, and ran through, so as to be fitted for the
operations which began at five o'clock in the morning, and absorbed all
the women of the establishment, and even old Pucklechurch, who was
called on to turn the mangle.
Except during this formidable week, the wash-house and laundry were
empty, and hither were invited the children. About twenty, of all ages,
came--the boys in smocks, the girls in print frocks and pinafores, one
in her mother's black bonnet, others in coarse straw or sun-bonnets.
All had shoes of some sort, but few had stockings, though the long
frocks concealed the deficiencies, and some wore stocking-legs without
feet.
They made very low bows, or pulled their forelocks, most grinned and
looked sheepish, and a very little one began to cry. It did not seem
very promising, but Mary and Dora began by asking all their names, and
saying they hoped to be better friends. They, for the most part, knew
nothing, with the exception of George Hewlett's two eldest, Bessie
Mole's girls, and one sharp boy of Dan Hewlett's, also the Pucklechurch
grandchildren; but even these had very dim notions, and nobody but the
Hewletts could tell a word of the Catechism.
To teach them the small commencement of doctrine comprised in the
earliest pages of "First Truths" was all that could be attempted, as
well as telling them a Bible story, to which the few intelligent ones
listened with pleasure, and Johnnie Hewlett showed that he had already
heard it--"from aunt," he said. He was a sickly, quiet-looking boy,
very different from his younger brother, Jem, who had organised a revolt
among the general multitude before long. None of these had enough
civilisation to listen or be attentive for five minutes together, and
when Mrs Carbonel looked round on hearing a howl, there was a pitched
battle going on between Jem and Lizzie Seddon over her little sister,
who had been bribed into coming with a lump of gingerbread, which the
boy was abstracting. He had been worked up enough even to lose his awe
of the ladies, and to kick and struggle when Dora, somewhat imprudently,
tried to turn him out.
The disturbance was so great that the sisters were obliged to dismiss
their pupils at least a quarter of an hour sooner than they had
intended, and without having tried to teach the short daily prayers that
had been part of the programme.
Somewhat crestfallen they sped back to the house.
"Did you ever see such a set of little savages?" cried Dora.
"Come, there was a very fair proportion of hopeful ones," was the reply.
These hopeful ones made one class under Dora, while Mary, who had more
patience and experience, undertook the others, who, when once wakened,
proved very eager and interested, in a degree new to those who are not
the first lights in gross darkness. Johnnie Hewlett was the brightest
among the children, for though his weekdays were occupied in what his
mother called "keeping a few birds," or, more technically,
"bird-starving," he spent most of his spare time beside his sick aunt,
and had not only been taught by her to read, but to think, and to say
his prayers.
As Dora gradually learnt, both Mary Hewlett and Judith Grey had been
children of a little "smock-frock" farmer, and had not been entirely
without breeding; but Molly had been the eldest, and had looked after
the babies, and done much of the work of the farm, till she plunged into
an early and most foolish marriage with the ne'er-do-well member of the
old sawyer's family, and had been going deeper into the mire ever since.
Judith, a good deal younger, and always delicate, had gone to the dame
school when Mrs Verdon was rather less inefficient, and at ten years
old had been taken into service by an old retired servant, who needed
her chiefly as a companion, and thence she had been passed on to a
family where the ladies were very kind to the servants, and the children
brought them their books and their information of all kinds, so that she
had much cultivation, religious and otherwise.
When her accident had sent her home to the only surviving member of her
family, she hoped to be of use to her sister and the children; but,
before long, she found it almost hopeless. Molly, indeed, was roughly
kind to her, but Dan took no notice of her except to "borrow" her money,
and any attempt to interfere with the management of the children was
resented.
Johnnie, the eldest boy, was fond of his aunt, and soon became her best
attendant when not out at the work that began at nine years old. He was
willing that she should teach him, and when the ladies came to see her,
she was full of stories of what he had told her. She said no word of
the rudeness of the girls or the tyranny of Jem, as she sat helpless by
the fire. When all were out, these were pleasant peaceful visits to
her, and she was grateful for the books Dora lent her, and the
needlework Mrs Carbonel gave her when she was well enough to do it.
Molly was not unwilling that her sister should be "a fav'rite," as she
called it, more especially as Jem was generally allowed to swallow any
dainty brought by the ladies that was to his taste.
Old Master Redford, Widow Mole's father, was another cheerful spot in
the village. He was a thoroughly good, devout person in a simple way,
and most grateful for Dora's coming to read to him. Old Pucklechurch
once, indeed, said, "What, ma'am, ye be never a-going to read to that
there Thomas Redford! Why, 'tis all one as singing Psalms to a dead
horse."
In spite, however, of this hopeless augury, Dora's voice did reach his
ears. He had made good use of his scanty opportunities, and had taught
his family to be thoroughly conscientious. There was another daughter
in service, who from time to time sent him a little help, but the
transit of money was a difficulty in those days, and the relief could
not often come. One morning Widow Mole fainted away in the hayfield,
and hardly heard Farmer Goodenough abusing her fine-lady airs, though
she trembled and shook so much when she tried to go on that she was
forced to let Tirzah Todd lead her home, and the next morning she could
not get up.
She had been in such plight before, and the shop trusted her, knowing
that she always strove to pay off her debts, but the farmer rated her
vehemently, declaring that she had been good for nothing since the
ladies had been putting fancies and megrims in her head, and that he
would not take her on again. Probably he did not mean to fulfil his
threat, for, as far as her strength allowed, she was the best and most
thorough worker of all his women, and he had no desire to have the whole
family on the rates; but the ladies believed it, and came home furious
with indignation, and even Captain Carbonel thought her justified in
accepting the dismissal, and as soon as "kitchen physic" had a little
restored her, she became washer-woman, weeding woman, and useful woman
generally at Greenhow Farm.
Many a cup of tea and thick slice of bread-and-butter were carried out
to her after breakfast, not to say three-cornered remnant of pie, or
sandwich of cold meat at luncheon; and, though some was saved for
"granfer and the children," still she began to look like another woman
ere many weeks were over.
Betsy Seddon and Molly Hewlett were much displeased, and reproached her
with having got the place by "hypercriting about."
Nanny Barton put on a white apron and brought out the big Bible when she
saw the ladies getting over the stile. The first time Dora was much
delighted; the second, Mrs Carbonel managed to see that the Bible was
open at one of the genealogies in the First Book of Chronicles, and
spied besides the dirtiest of all skirts under the apron. After that
she did not much heed when Nanny said she would come to church if her
shoes were not so bad.
Tirzah Todd laughed and showed her white teeth and merry eyes so
pleasantly that no one could help liking to talk with her, but alas! old
Pucklechurch took care to let them know that she could be just as merry
in a different way at the "Fox and Hounds."