The St. Cloud journal. [volume] (St. Cloud, Minn.) 1866-1876, 1869-03-04
MARGARET MERLYN.
WRITTEN FOR THE ST. CLOUD JOURNAL,
BY MRS. JANE G. SWISSHELM.
CHAPTER XXI.

LITTLE PEV6h GOlNd HUME.
When Margaret was brought to
s:Thc Home," little Peters body was
not roly-boly, as it was when he fought
for his bread. 1t was not pleasant tc
spank Peter now! In fact it had not
been for good while, but Peter con.
tinued to provoke spanking. Several
of the inmates of "rhc Home" resem-
bled Peter in these particulars, and this
might have been the reason why Miss
Irouton had adopted the "chunking"
process. This consisted in closing her
hands so as to make her thumbs and
bent fore~6ngers answer as the point of
the battering rams, into which she
converted her powerful sinewy arms.
She might have been quoted as proof
that food calculated to nourish brain
must be rather fa7orable to muscle
also; and one might therefore have ar
gued the case v;ce versa. But no mat
ter for this. She was strong enough
to "chunk" Peter "mighty," Aunt
Becky thought, but not strong enough
to reform his bad habits; and when
Law and Order had prevailed and Mrs.
Wold had been dismissed, when jim
my bad so far recovered that he had
left the room and gone to sit most of
his days in the children's diningroom,
Peter kept his bed. Maybe Mrs. Wold
had encouraged him in feigning sick
ness: Miss 1ronton said she had; and
Mrs. Wold was weak woman. She
had wept over the graves Of those little
prattlcrs who had drunk life from her
bosom. She had always called "these
things" ''children," and they called
her smother" She had kissed them,
and nursed them, and loved them dear
ly, and neglected her housekeeping to
tend the sick until even Mrs. Granger
could not sustain her as a model
housekeeper.
It was during the second week of
Jimmy's sickness that the housekeep-
ing committee came to visit. They
found dust on the drawingroom furni-
ture. Mrs. Mendit actually wrote her
name on the top of the marble table !!
There was grease on the pantry floor.
The beds in the girls dormitory were
not made, and it was ten o'clock. The
washerwoman had hidden away clothes
which ought to have been washed, and
these were found in the coal hole. tt e
man who lives the moon and spends
his whole time peeping into closets and
corners, and Mrs. Mendit can alone,
tell all tie other enormities brought to
light on that day in the department Of
the matron, who was all worn out,
while Miss Ironton was fresh and strong
as northeast breeze, and had her
smiles and school in the most perfect
order.
Airs. Paxton aud Miss Dugdale were
grievcd in their hearts at q state of dis
order contrasting with their own me-
mage, where rot speck of dust was
ever visible, and the cat never dreamed
Of transgressing a rule. True, the
children would miss the matrou; but
what, to a model housekeeper, are
children, or any other subliunary con-
sideration when compared to a we'll
kept house? Verify they are as the
small duet of tho balance! The COM
mitto were the guardians of "The Insti-
tution," and must sustain the character
of "The Institution" So Mrs. Wold
was sent away, and there was NJ one to
spoil Peter. "Nliss Ironton kindly
consented,"-it was so kind in her to
consent-"to fill the position of both
matron and teacher"
On the second morning Of that Pc
riod of double duty, which won her "a
first ratio notice" in THE Weekly Jour-
nal, she came inte the dormitory to see
that everybody was up aud dressed, and
their beds lett in proper order. Peter
was not up. She had not expected
him to be, but she examined his bed,
and becoming enraged, first struck him
repeatedly With the points of the batter.
ing rams, then seized him by one arm
and dracped him out of bed. Maroa.