The St. Cloud journal. [volume] (St. Cloud, Minn.) 1866-1876, 1869-04-08
MARGARET MERLYN.
WRITTEN FOR THE ST, CLOUD JOURNAL.
y
BY MRS. JANE G. SWISsHELM.
CHAPTER xxx.
OLD ACQUAINTANCES.

\
There was a press Of Office work,
and Margaret did. not feel justified in
neglecting the interests Of her employ.
t-er to 90 at ence and see further about
the progress OF events at The Home
beside she agreed with Judge Kendon
in. thinking that the effect of the efforts
to, remove. Miss Ironton would restrain
her for some time. She and her party
had openly declared that a corrupt con-
spiracy had been formed against her,
and consistency would demand that the
children should be made as comfortable
as possible to satisfy any one who
might undertake to pry into the secrets
Of The Institution. Thus it came
about that several weeks passed before
Margaret called on Mrs. Granger. She
then learned that. so far from rcceding
from any position she had taken, in
consideration of the rebukes which had
been administered to her, Miss Iron
ton had a. sumed all the airs of victory,
and that her supporters were more than
ever determined to sustain her in car
rying out the rules which she had
adopted as essential in training the
children for their proper places in soci-
ETY..
1t was the old drama of the Iron
Bedstead which is. being rehearsed and
repeated in families, schools, acade-
mics and colleges, in public and private
institutions and verdicts, every hour
Of every day, only that Miss Irouton
differed from most actors in greater
faithfulness to the original. She had
lived in the family OF the Hon. Angus
tus, had taken the measure of the
young Irontops at various ages and
stages, had kept faithful record, and
therefore knew exactly how child
Of given number Of months should
deport himself in order to attain the &C.
me Of perfection, as a member of scci-
ETY..
Mrs. Batemau had so forcibly called
the attention Of the Managers to the
total want Of religious instruction of
children that Mrs. Granger had made
an effort to supply the deficiency, and
had gone up on Sabbath forenoon to
open a Sabbath school. This Miss
lronton resented as an impertinent in
reference, refused the key Of the school
room, and finally became so violent and
abusive that Mrs. Granger was driven
from the field in futter and fright,
which confined her to bed for the great
er part Of the week.
Miss Ironton believed that the mind
of child should be left free from re-
ligious prejudice, like piece of blank
paper, to be written upon by judgment
matured in the teachings of philosophy.
The schoolhouso and dotmitory above
were about to be plastered and finished
with water-tight roof: This had been
interpreted by Judge Kendon and Mar
garet as physical comfort to the child
rem; but Margaret now learned that
this had been the pretext for sending
away Aunt Becky and two other wo-
men one of them she who had sought
to conceal the cracker, who had been a
kind of semi-pensioners in the Institu.
tion, receivinglow wages and doing such
work as they could. Their places had
been filled by washing machine and a
stout, stolid girl, and as neither could
be suspected of spelling the children,
Miss Ironton congratulated herself on
the change.
Margaret felt that 1t would not do tc
leave the children until the Annual
Meeting without some further effort te
protect them in the interval, and con
cluded that as the property worth two
hundred thousand dollars was the grea
weight on the lever which was crush
ing them, it would be best to unite The
fears of the Midway and Ironton par
tics in the prospect Of its loss. Sht
had promised not to give any publ.
statement of facts before the annua
election; and all that was left for >he1
to do was to appeal to the heirs at law
and if possible have a suit instituted
for the recovery of tue property.
AS this was step for which no on
appeared ready to be responsible, sb'
wrote direct to the nephew Of Mrs
Grey, stating the position Of affairs
and asking him as an act Of common
humanity to wrest the property left b.
that lady from its present use as pris
on and slaughter house of orpba,