The Cincinnati daily star. [volume] ([Cincinnati, Ohio]) 1875-1880, 1880-03-04

Ray and Rob were taught their lessons
by their father in his study, a little dark,
close place, that was as terrible to them
as if it had been torture-chamber; for
their acquaintance with letters was small,
with the cane was large, and their
canings we're always given them there.
But this morning they were free, fer
their father had been called away to a
dying parishioner on the other iside Of
the big brown moor that shelved away
from the edge of their orchards. So
Rob and Ray ran out into the air and
dragged their iittlebrothers with tn EN-,
and the babies even in their wooden
cart, and romped about, and raced, and
slid, and pelted, and danced, and made
themself merry, rs though no cane were
lying on the study-table, and no blurred
copy-books waiting, grim and grimy.
They playedsat sledging, of which they
had seen some prints in Christmas pa
pers, and have made belief the babies
were Princesses; they then played at
being Napoleon at Moscow, whose story
they had Just come to in "Markham's S
History" and were 50 delighted with
their marches and battles, and their own
deaths and burials in the snow, that they
never heard the one step which at all
times sent a tremor of fear through
them. The cold voice of the Vicar cleft
the cold air like knife.
care your lessons donef
Rob, who was burying Tammie in the
snow, and Ray, who was carrying Dickie
as frost-bitten soldier of the Old Guard
on his shoulders, both heard, and their
innocent sport ceased as dogs play
ceases at the sharp crack of a whip.
"We have done no lessons, papa"
"What have you done, thenw
"We have been at play"
every well, 60 into the study"
Rob began to cry, and Rays lips quiv-
cred. They knew what the order meant.
at was all my fault master. all lmine,"
cried Keziah, but the Vicar put her
aside.
"You spoil the children; that is we'll
known" he said coldly. "But the boys
are too old not to know their own duty"
Keziah spoke in vain; the boys were
hidden to 60 to the study.
"Whip only me, papa" said.Ray, tim
idly; "only me, please, because if I had
staid in, Rob would have staid in too"
The Vicar in his inmost soul recog-
nized the generosity of the plea, and felt
proud of his little son, but he did not
seem to have heard it, and he gave both
equal punishment upon the palms of
their small, sunburnt, cold hands. Then
they were shut in to do their lessons,
with two lunches of dry bread instead
of dinner.
The Vicar was man who held discip-
line in high esteem, and enforced it.
They did their lessons; Ray quickly,
Rob tardily, both watering the pages Of
primer and copy-book with scalding
tears. Then they huddled together in
the deep bay of the one narrow window
to hear each other repeat what they had
had to learn by rote. The easement
looked on the lawn at the side of the
house; on the grass was big hawthorn
tree, and under the tree were huddled
together. like themselves, a score OF
| birds.
"Do look at the Birds" says Ray.
elbow putfed out they look and how
dull, and all their feathers stick up
right"
7'They're cold," said Rob, thoughtful
ly, and added with feliow-feeling, as he
heard the sound of dishes and knives and
forks in the adjoining chamber:
"Perhaps they are hungry, too."
"HungryT' repeated Ray, who had
never thought how birds lived. Then
the color flushed back into his little pale
face, he jumped up, and upset all the les
son-books."
"Of course they are hungry-how silly
/ am!-the ground is frozen-they eat
worms and seeds, and now they can't get
any. Oh, the poor, poor, poor little
thingsl"
He jumped off the wiudov-seat, got
his dry bread, and jumped on again,
threw open ono of the leaden window
panes, and crumbled up his bread and
flung it out to the birds. Instantly they
darted down, motley little throng;
brown sparrows, gray linnets, speckled
thrushes, chafinches with their variega-
ted wings, three big blackbirds, one tiny
blue tomtit, and many robins. They
were no longer dull; they hoped and
pecked and futtered and chirped to each
other and ate in concert, and were very
much better behaved than a famished
crowd of human beings ever would have
been.
The great hawthorn-tree spread above
them, glittering with icicies on every
branch, the swhite, hard, smooth snow
was ~beneath them, the bright-natured
feathered things soon grew themselves
again, and their merry chirping made
the frosty air alive with "Lieder ohne
Worte," as gaily as ife the hawthorn
then were in flower, and they were at
work in it making their nests. Rob and
Ray were in ecstasies; they hung against
the easement, pouring out showers Of
crumbs, laughing and half-crying in de-
light at their clever and wonderful dis
covery that the birds in the snow had
been hungry. They never remembered
that they themselves would be very hun
cry themselves, for in their excitement
and sympathy they had crumbled away
I [ ~,xololx1 Al