Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1878-10-11
NO. 24l.
Gales aud Sketehes.
LAL.
Continued from Yesterday


"These children" were dirty, ragged,
bare-iooted quartet from our second shep-
herds hut, who lowered about wherever
Clint was, and worshipped him as won
derful being from world afar.
Poor little wretches At one time had
made some efforts to improve them; and
thinking it best to strike at the root of the
matter, began by urging their miserable.
reprobate mother to introduce something
ike order and neatness into their hut.
But never made the attempt twice. be-
ing met by a torrent of half-tipsy abuse,
and threatened with the loss OF her hus-
band-an invaluable statiOn-h hand, and one
| should really have been unwilling to
lose.
The only step could take to mitigate
the nuisance was to remove the whole
family to an old hut a mile further from
the station, where Mrs. Mahaffy's pecu-
liarities were less obtrusive. 1t would
have seemed wretched place, perhaps,
to many an English cottager, perched on
| hillside, roughly built of planks half an
| inch apart, and thatched with towi-grass.
But, such as il was. I've known people to
live happily there. and make 1t look neat
| and pleasant too. Pretty it could not fail
to be in such situation; and it always
seemed to me sin TO poison such view
with cabbage-stalks, and potato-paripgs,
! and heaps OF sinking mussel shells.
Did the miserable, shOck-headed imps
who sprawled among the fern, hatless and
shOeless, never see the yellow sands below
| their hillside, and the restless, ever-chapg-
ing seaP Did they ever look up and
learn anything from the peaks overhead,
which, clothed with dark shrubs and leaf
age, lowered above till they set q sharp
CLEAN OF snow against the blue OF the
skyP
These are some of the questions used
to ask myself when first went to Wyke;
but, you see. | had other things to think
about. and. like most reformers, after /
had removed the blot little further from
my own door. forgot all about the needs,
material and spiritual, of the young
Mahaffvs.
"Ah, my boy, at first felt just as you
do; but found it waste of time, as you
will"
| However, whether Clint was more per-
severing. or whether he found out q bet
ter way to go to work, l can't say; but
to my amusement. one Sunday afternoon.
when the Rev. Walter Hooper rode over
as usual to preach TO us, up came little
procession, with very clean and shy faces
and new pinafores, which for the life of
me | couldn't identity. The truth only
| dawned on me when I saw Clint rise
| from his rug in the corner, and take Lal,
the eldest girl, by the hand to show her to
q seat.
| Through all the service Lal kept her
eyes fixed in humble alteration on Clint's
face, rising or kneeling as he did and af-
ter that, every Sunday, whatever the
lapses in the week might be, she never
failed to appear, scrubbed and tidy, at the
| service hour. -
"How on earth have you done it. Fair
fax ?" I asked the same night, while we
were having our last smoke before turning
in. He laughed. my dear fellow, don't
ask me. never felt more aslonished in
my life, or more humbled, if you can un-
derstand. ! did give Lal a talking to
about a week ago. and few shillings to
rig out the kids afresh. but | had no
notion that what said would have pro-
| duced such a stupendous effect. And. to
tell the truth, Ralph, felt ashamed to
think how little one really tries to do,
when saw that poor girl coming up so
bravely just for few words of mine! If
you won't laugh, old fellow, am going
to have Lal and her brothers up twice q
week till they know how to read"
| "Laugh honor you for it, only won't
you find it an awful grind f'
"Why. yes, I'm afraid SHALL" answer
ed Fairfax, knocking the ashes out of his
pipe. and staring at the fire; land yet
can I look at poor wretch like Lal with
out feeling uncomfortable. l suppose it's
what persons call conscience; and my
conscience won't let me rest till I've
taught these young savages. at any rate,
what little know myself
| $50 Clints evening school began--be-
gan at the kitchen table after supper was
over--the pupils being Alice Mahaffy,
popularity known as "Lal," and her broth
ers Bill and Ted and the schoolmaster
being that ineffable swell, Fairfax Clint.
Ted and Bill having grown up like
young goats on the open hillside. were
sharp enough to all out door signs and
sounds, but hopelessly dense when it came
to the alphabet. But ..Lal proved won-
der to herself. and q source OF pride to
her teacher Never was girl so deter
mined to learn what at first seemed per-
teclly ncomprehensible and bewildering.
Many time have gone to the ki,ch-
en- to look. and have seen Lal.
with knit brow and flushed face. bending
over her book, and muttering hercoly be-
tween her teeth; I'm see Il sometime,
Master Clint; try me again! but l am
such a fool tonight"
One night. long after the little class had
been dismissed. found Lal crouching
| against the outer door in wild fit OF
weeping.
"Hollo Lal. what's up?" asked. pulling
her into the moonlight ''has that precious
mother been hammering you again ?" But
no answer could extract except not
very polite request to leave her alone, and
wrenching herself out of my grasp, she
ran away and hid herself among the man.
uka. This little incident would not have
remained probably in my mind. but for
the chance remark OF my parson one Sum
day shortly aterward. had been riding
part way home with him after service,
and as we went up the hill by the Ma
hafys hut we came on Lal lying asleep
ful-length under a wild cherry tree, with
her hands behind her head for pillow,