Waterbury evening Democrat., 1890-02-11

Know don't sympathize with criminals
at all! But Robin Hood and Jack
Sheppard lived in different ages, when
people were not - Gn,iehlarcd @ they
are now; and, D<aides." said :. 81
don't know wha1 tie req Robin and
Jack did; but th,. Aaein Hood and Jacb
Sheppard Of the ilovCls sad poems that
l can't help liking ard admiring,
robbed only rich people who could
afford to lose some of their ill-gotten
wealth.
But all wealth is not ill-gotten,"
interposed Mr. Rayner. mildly.
1T was then" l went on hastily
lat least. generally. And Robin Hood
didn t rob the good rich people. only
the bad ones and most of his spoil he
distributed among the poor, you
know | finished. triumphantly.
lit won do, Miss Christie, said he,
shaking his head mournfully. Il hap
pen to know something about this Lord
Dalston whose house was broken into;
and he is a very bad rich person in
deed, much more SO than the poor old
abbots whom your favoriie Robin Hood
treated so roughly. He ill-treated his
mother. stole and squandcred his Sis
ters fortunes, neglected his wife and
eiiNe w oiiuI Iltl up Ill luIlu-
tic asylum, Knocked out in pas
sion the left eye of one of his
own grooms, had embezzled money be-
fore he was twenty-onc and now owes
heavy debts to half the big tradesmen
in London. SO that he is something
like thief Now, if you were to find
out that the elan who had the chief
hand in planning the robbery of this
wicked rich man 5 property was young,
good-looking. wcll-dresscd, large sub
scrlber to charities, and in love with Il
pretty lady-likc girl, you ought, if you
were logical, to admire him rs much as
you do Robin Hood, and more than YOU
do Jack Sheppard
"Oh, Mr.. Rayner.' l said, Joining in
his laughter, chow absurd. But it is
too bad for you to make fun of my
logic. l can't put it properly; but
what l mean is this: In those days the
laws were unjust, SO that even good
men were forced into defiance of them;
but now that the laws are really. upon
th~ whole. fair, it is only wicked reo-
pie who disobey them"
Then you don't Ike wicked people,
Miss Ch1istie?'
Oh, MIR. Rayncr, of course not, I
wouldn't speak to 4 wicked person if L
IN, it..
- But you can't. You won't be able
to tell them from the good ones. except
that they are nicer; and by the time YOU
ind they are wicked you will like them
too much to 90 back"
You are quite mistaken in me, in
deed. can prove it to YOU by some
thing that happened to me not very
long ago. L knew person against
whom L had heard nothing, vino al
ways seemed to me to look guuI-n;,t-
urcd and simple. And then found
out that he was really a most wicked
man; and when saw him after that.
his very face seemed changed to M. to
look evil and cunning: and the >!s..t of
him made me shrink
l was thinking of Tom Parkcs ;:.i
the change | had Sc, med to see in lin
that morning. Mr.. Raynrr looked
me keenly while said This; BIZ. V.
not afraid of his finding out Va: =! i
meant IN such cautious staten ut.
And what would you do. if, in the
course of your career as Il .yu;. ;.nrsS,
you found yourself i'll Il fami V of W hose
morals you can not approve? Would
YOU give them lectures on the errors Of
their ways and try to convert them all
round, Miss Christie?"
"Oh, no, l couldn't do thatn' said I
"If l found myself among
icry dreadful people, should just run
AWAY back TO my uncle's house. where
nv mother lives, on the first oppor-
unity. L should be horribly afraid Of
HEM
'Wcll, child, l hope you will never
nave to do any thing so desperate rs
hat; but the profession of teaching has
Is dangers for Il beautiful woman" he |
said. gravely.
The last words gave a shock to me.
had never heard them applied to me |
before, and for 4 moment WAS with
'ut an answer. He got up and came |
oward me. when silrill cry as FROM |
'ut OF the ground caused him to start |
t was the only sound that ever drew
orth such display of ordinary human
weakness from self-posSrsSe:l Mr.. Ray
Ter. 1t came from the lips of his baby
laughter Mona. who, ragged, dirty and |
'lthered-looking as usual; had walked
II crawlcd through the mud and rushcs
i'll she had silently taken her place in
he long grass Il little way from us. and
Who now. seeing her father approach,
lad given vent to her eXtranrlinary
|islike of him in her usual undutif:l:
manner.
For one moment l saw in the dusk Il
ook pass over Mr.. Rayner'> face which
made me catch my breath and, quickly
5 it passed and gave place to !, light
augh, it had frightened me and mad.
ne long to escape. Mona was an cX-
use.
"Oh, you naughty little girl to be
ut so late at night without hat!
arah must have forgotten you. Come
l must take you IN now. Be a good
irl. and come with me-
Mona had somehow come to regard
ne with less animosity than she did
lost of the household. SO She let me
axe her in my arms and gave only one
acre yell when her father shook hands
18th me and accidentally touched her
irty little shoe. l gave her to Sarah
1 the hall; then | went into the school
DOM, and, moved by some spring of
anity, took my candle to the niantyl-
iccc and looked at myself in the glass