St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1874-08-28
flor Mr Children.
Carroll's Temptation.


going to school the greatest pleasure,
because he was fond of study, and his
mother worked hard to give him the
time foI it and to clothc him decently
the greatest pain, because the lad was
crippled. and the straight well made
boys ridiculcd him and tainted him
with his crooked back, the result of a
fall in infancy.
No one in the large school of fifty
scholars was so fond of the cruel amuse-
mcnt of exciting the rage of the poor
hunchback by t;Iunts and sncers us
Weston Hall. the leader of his class,
the handSomest and sInartest of all Mr..
Grcy's scholars. The studies that Car
roll conquered by patient, laborious APP
piication, Weston learned easily, and
the two were the hest and first of the
large number of scholars.
Weston Hall was the son of rich
man, had been pcttcd and INDUCED
from his cradle, and was accustomed to
have his will Il law both at home and
amongst his school mates ; and it an
gcrcd him to have ii boy who was poor
and crippled keep So close to him in
all his studies, that he had to study
faithfully to keep the head of his class.
He missed no occasion to show his
spitcful resentment to Carroll, taking
unfair advantage of him whenever il
was possible, and leading the other
boys on to many insults upon the lads
addiction they would not have Thought
of alone.
Matters were in this state when Mr..
GREY, three weeks before the close of
the summer term, announced two prizes
for the competition of the school One
for the best historical composition, and
one for the best Latin verse. Ii WAS
really IL race between Carroll and Yves
ton, as they were far ahead of the 9th
cI scholars in all the studies of the
class.
Faithfully Carroll worked upon his
manuscripts, copying, revising ana I'M
proving them in every hour of leisure;
while Weston sneeringly told him he
could toss oil Al better composition III
Two hours than he could write i'll six
weeks.
1T Is really between Weston Hall and
myself, mother Carroll said, as he roll
led up his neatly written papers on the
moI ming of the examination. 9Th"
other boys will all send i'll il compost
iion but the prize will he between us
two. If | lose, Weston will have "a
new taunt 10 throw ut me, those on my
drformity and my poor clothes are get
ting old, if | win, he will find some new
tormcmts to show his anger Mother,
he said. earnestly, his pale face flush
ing. If were as strong and tall as
Weston Hall, ] would as soon strike a
baby or il girl lis | would torment Il boy
rs hclpless and feeble as | am. He
knows would he Il mere child i'll his
I. L IL 81
strength against my weakness
That is the cowardice of Il tyrant,
said Mrs. Fairwcll, gently. NO truly
brave boy is ever cruel or tyrtnnIcal.
But are you not starting for school too
early, my son
'All the compositions must be hand
ed in before nine, mother. Wish me
success
With all my heart y
There was time for lcisurcly walk !
ing when Carroll started, bnt when
nearly halfway to the school, he Saw
Weston Hall and ii group of other
school boys waiting at Mr.. Halls gate
for him to pass. Sue that they were
planning some cruel sport, he stepped |
back. and. hiding behind h"hso, Wit
ing i'll his turn until the road was clear.
1t was long time before the boys
wealied of standing there, and school
bell clang the quarter before nine, start
ling them all.
With Il shout, the whole group hur
ried on, and when they were we'll on
their way Carol came from his hiding
place. 1t was late for him for he could
not walk fast Or run If he was late;
but he hurried as much It's possible.
Suddenly he saw i'll his path small
roll tied with ribbon. He knew the
bold, clear writin" upon it as soon aS
he saw ii. 1t was Weston Halls com
position rolled together. Evidently he
had dropped them from his SCHOOLING
in his haste.
CAROLS heart beat fast Probably
Weston would not miss the roll until
he was in the schoolroom, and he
would not, 10y the rules of the school,
he allowed to leave the room after he
had once entered. If there waS no com
position from Weston Hall, Carroll was
sure of both prizes. There was no ac-
tive wrong to he committed. He need
not steal the papers nor destroy them.
lie had only to walk past them not
touching them. 1t waS Il strong temp
tation. For nearly three Years Carroll
had been Il martyr to the tyranny of
the rich, strong lad, and here was an
opportunity for Il singing revenge ly-
ing directly i'll his path. He stood If
rcsolute, pale with the struggle in his
mind. Then covering his face, he
whispered -
- Lord, strengthen me. Let me re-
member Christ's words Love thine en-
envy; DO good to them who despitetully
use You and prosecute You
Then he stopped and took up the pa
pcrs. 1t wanted but five minutes of
nine when Carroll Fairwcll entered the
School-room. Mr.. Grey was already in
his seat, with piles of neatly folded
manuscripts before him. and Weston
Hall sat at his desk his face clouded
and angry. hanging up his hat, Car
roll walked directly to Wcston's desk
and put the roll he had found in the
road before him.
You must have dropped this on your
WAY, he said quietly. Il found it..
And You brought it to me =
In his utter amazemcnt, Weston rails
cd his voice. and Mr.. Gray looked up.
What is the trouble ? he asked.
Trouble cried Weston, all that was
noble and generous in his heart urging
him to speak the truth. there is no
trouble, sir. Carroll Fairwcll has found
the compositions told YOU | had lost.
and has brought them to me-
Together the lads the one tall. erect,
and strong. the other slight. dWarfed.
and dcformcd advanced to the mas
tiers desk and placed there the compo
sitinns each had written for the prize.