New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1875-01-19


Christian girl, who teaches the little wretches |
in O missions school with enthusiasm, endures |
Tom with patient resignation. They are pic
turesque through dirt and misery; but what |
can you make of creature who mimcS your
singing of Ah non giun0e land cleyerly too), OF
thumps you on the back with "Giye US the
"Mulligan Guards. Nancy" Percy, brilliant
young lawyer, marked in society for his fine
aesthetic taste. does not endure Tom; he holds
him an unmannerly cub, with neither heart
nor brains. His father, out of regard to his
corns, holds him at arms length, and mentions
HIM only to grumble at his shoe and tailor
bills. Percy had been head OF his class in
schOOl-a career and distinction waited for him;
but what can be done with this dull, lazy
fellowq Even his mother, since he put on
trowsers for knickerbokers, has unconsciOusly
drawn away from the boy; sac is a loving,
gentle mother too; when he q baby lying
on her breast, he was part of herself good
deal dearer than herself. But this half-man,
half-child with all his strange developments
of cruelty and roughnesS, thoughts and ways
which are alien to her own, appalls and per-
plexes her. If she is coarse woman, she
nags and scolds him necessarily; if she be OF
self. At school, Tom herds with the undis-
tngushed rabble. There are certain palc'
broad browed youths who carry of the Prizes
at every exhibition day, and certain other
broad shouldered ruddy fellows who are mas
ter5 on the ball ground, but there are one or
two hundred Toms remarkable in neither BRAIN
nor body; they are neither heal nor foot OF
the roll; the masters hear their batting lessons
drowsily they are worn out with surfeit OF
commonplace boy.
Meanwhile nobody remembers that Tom is
Tom to himsclf-the only hero he knows in
the word-the one being whose pleasure and
hurts and chances for tomorrow he considers
night after night, and day after day. Iou
think that his mind is full of the chunk of
cake he is munching or the licking no means
to give Joe Peters. Bat tno boy knows quite
well where he stands in life; he sees all the
impatient looks, feels the act in every angry
word. He sees with keen insight how he Is
somehow outside of the world OF other people
crown men and women have their place and
work outlined and clear; his future and capa-
bility arc all vague--a nero nothing which
nobody concerns himself much about. There
is q certain immortal charm about the baby
IOI. ono DiDuSHI thc 5lOiy WIN "OA 49,
she "camc from God, who is her home"
Tom himself has reverence and pas
sionate love for the little thing; it brings the
tears to his eyes when she hugs or kisses him,
or when he sees her watching at the window
for him. But the charm and glamour woie
worn off him long ago; even his mother does
not see it now. lie does not know what can
BE the matter with him; he does not know
why, when he would be graceful and manly
like Percy, he is only priggish and ridiculous;
he does not understand why the problems
which come by nature to other fellows make
his heavy brain ache. The dullest, toughest
Tom does not want to be dull or rough. He
is in the cropping transition state when he can
not appear the child he was or the man nc will
be; he perpetually essays to be something, to
stand firmly somewhere in the worlds by
turns humble and c0nceitcd God knows now
bitter the consciousness Of his inteliOrity is to
the lad, how often he would like to so back
to Law his head on his mothers breast, or say
his baby prayers at her knee if he could know
that she felt just the same to him az long ago.
But now, as he stands at the parting OF the
WAYS for his whole life, he is left alone;
mother and God seem far from him. Must we
spend all our good fellowship on the man
| All our tenderness on the babyf Have we
nothing for TOMB
We tai, about our weather! Zero is our jumping
off place $50 to speak, of frigdty All below that is
| nhenomenal. OF course its different in different