CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR.
EDEN'S TROUBLES.
Et tibi quae Samios diduxit littera ramos, Surgentem dextro monstravit limite callem.
Pers. three 56.
There has the Samian Y's instructive make, Pointed the road thy doubtful foot should take; There warned thy raw and yet unpractised youth, To tread the rising right-hand path of truth.
Brewster.
They went home in different directions, and morally too their pathshenceforth were widely diverse. The Pythagoreans chose the letter Y astheir symbol for a good and evil life. The broad, sloping, almostperpendicular left-hand stroke is an apt emblem for the facile downwarddescent into Avernus; the precipitous and narrow right-hand stroke aptlypresents the slippery, uphillward struggle of a virtuous course Iremember to have seen, as a child, another and a similar emblem whichimpressed me much. On the one side of the picture a snail was slowlycreeping up a steep path; on the other a stag rushed and boundedunrestrained down the sheer proclivities of a wide and darkening hill.Improvement is ever slow and difficult; degeneracy is too oftenstartling rapid. From henceforth, as we shall have occasion to seehereafter, Walter was progressing from strength to strength, adding tofaith virtue, and to virtue temperance, and to temperance knowledge, andto knowledge brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness charity--
"Springing from crystal step to crystal step Of the bright air--;"
while our poor Kenrick was gradually descending deeper and deeper intodarkness and despair.
Yet he loved Walter, and sighed for the old intimacy, while he was dailyabusing his character and affecting to scorn his conduct. In short, achange came over Kenrick. There had always been a little worm at theroot of his admiration of and affection for Walter. It was jealousy.He did not like to hear him praised so loudly by his friends andschoolfellows; and besides this he was vexed that Walter, Henderson, andPower, were more closely allied to each other than to him. He hadstruggled successfully against these unworthy feelings so long as Walterwas his friend, but now that he had allowed himself to seek a quarrelwith him they grew up with tremendous luxuriance. And he was sothoroughly in the wrong, and so obstinate in persisting to misunderstandand misrepresent his former friend, that gradually, by his pertinacityand injustice, he alienated the regard of all those who had once beenhis chosen companions. Even Whalley grew cool towards him. He had tolook elsewhere for associates, and unhappily he looked in the wrongdirection.
Meanwhile Walter, although he constantly grieved at the loss of afriend, was otherwise very happy. The boys at Saint Winifred's were notoverworked; there was enough work to stimulate but not to oppress them,and Walter's work grew more promising every day. He was fond of praise,and Mr Percival, while he always took care so to praise him as toobviate the danger of conceit, was not so scant of his approbation asmost men are. His warm and generous appreciation encouraged andrewarded Walter's exertions, so that he was quite the "star" of hisform. Many other boys did well under Mr Percival. There was a brightand cheerful emulation among them all, and they took especial pains withtheir exercises, which Mr Percival varied in every possible way, so asto call out the imagination and the fancy, to exercise both the reasonand the understanding, and to test the powers of attention and research.His method was so successful that it was often a real pleasure to lookover the exercises of his form, and he had adopted one plan for keepingup the boys' interest in them, which was eminently useful. All the_best_ exercises, if they attained to any positive excellence, were sentto Dr Lane; and at the end of the half-year, a number, printed oppositeto the boy's name, showed how often he had thus been "sent up for good."If in one fortnight _four_ separate exercises were so sent up, the formobtained, by this proof of industry, the remission of an hour's work,and as this honour could never be cheaply won it was highly prized. Nowtwo or three times Walter's unusually brilliant exercises had been thechief contribution towards winning these remitted hours, and thissuccess caused him double happiness, because it necessarily made him ageneral favourite with the form. Henderson (who had only got a singleremove at the beginning of the term, but had worked so hard in his newform that he had succeeded in his purpose of winning a remove _during_the term, and so being again in the same division with Walter) did hisbest to earn the same distinction, but he only succeeded when theexercise happened to be an English one, and on a subject which gave someopportunity for his sense of the ludicrous. He generally contrived tointroduce some purely fictitious "Eastern Apologue" as he called it; andas he rarely managed to keep the correct Oriental colouring, hiscombinations of Sultans, Tchokadars, Odaliques, and white bears, weresometimes so inexpressibly absurd that Mr Percival, to avoid fits oflaughter, was obliged to look over his exercises alone. Nor were hiseccentricities always confined to his English themes; his Latin verseswere occasionally no less extraordinary, and in one set, on the suicideof Ajax, the last few lines consisted of fragmentary words interspersedhere and there with numerous stars--a phenomenon which he explained toMr Percival in the gravest manner possible, by saying that here thevoice of Ajax was interrupted by sobs!
Happy in his work, Walter was no less happy in his play. The gloriousmid-day bathes on the hard sparkling yellow sands when the sea wassmooth as the blue of heaven, and clear as transparent glass--the longafternoons on the green and sunny cricket field--the strolls over themountains, and lazy readings under a tree in the fragrant fir-groves--all invigorated him, and gave to his face the health, and to his heartthe mirth, which told of an innocent life and a vigorous frame.
But it must not be supposed that he escaped troubles of his own, and hisfirst trouble rose out of the kind boyish protectorate which he hadestablished over little Eden's interests.
His rescue of Eden from the clutches of a bad lot was one of Walter'sproudest and gladdest reminiscences. Instead of moping about miserableand lonely, and rapidly developing into a rank harvest the evil seedswhich his tormentors had tried to plant in his young heart, Eden was nowthe gayest of the gay. Secure from most annoyances by possessing therefuge of Power's study, and the certainty of Walter's help, he soonbegan to assert his own position among all the boys of his own age andstanding. No longer crushed and intimidated by bullying and badcompanions, he was lively, happy, and universally liked, but neverhappier than when Walter and Power admitted him, as they constantly did,into their own society.
Harpour and Jones, in their hatred against Walter, had an especialreason to keep Eden as far as they could under subjection, in additionto their general propensity to bully and domineer. They did not care totorment him when Walter was present, because with him, in spite of theirhostility, they felt it wise to maintain an armed neutrality. Butwhenever Walter was absent, they felt themselves safe. None of theother boys in their dormitory interfered except Henderson, and hisinterposition, though always generous, was both morally and physicallyweaker than Walter's. He would not, indeed, allow any positive cruelty,but he was not thoughtful or stable enough to see the duty ofinterfering to prevent other and hardly less tolerable persecutions.
It so happened that at a game of cricket Walter by accident had receiveda blow on the knee from the cricket-ball bowled by Franklin, who was atremendously hard and swift bowler. The hurt which this had caused wasso severe that he was ordered by Dr Keith to sleep on the ground-floorin the cottage for a fortnight, in order to save him the exertion ofrunning up and down so many stairs. The opportunity of this prolongedabsence was maliciously seized by the tyrants of Number 10; but Edenbore up far more manfully than he had done in the old days. He wasquite a different, and a far braver little fellow, thanks to Walter,than he had been the term before; and, looking forward to his friend'sspeedy return, he determined to bear his troubles without saying a wordabout them. He was far more bullied during this period than Hendersonknew of, for some of the threats and commands by which he was coercedwere given in Henderson's absence, as he was allowed to sit up half anhour later than those in the form below. For instance, Eden
was orderednever to look at a book or to finish learning his lessons in thebedroom; and he was strictly forbidden to get up until the second bellrang in the morning. If he disobeyed these orders, he was soused withwater, pelted with shoes, and beaten with slippers, and on the whole hefound it better to be content to lose place in form, and to getimpositions for missing chapel, than to attempt to brave thesehindrances. When, however, he had been late two mornings running,Henderson got the secret out of him, and at once entreated Harpour andJones to abandon this cruelty, throwing out hints that if they refused,he would take some measures to get it stopped by one of the monitors.If Eden had been plucky enough to embrace his natural right of obtainingprotection from one of his own schoolfellows in the sixth, he would havebeen efficiently defended. Appealing to a monitor in order to secureimmunity from disgraceful and wholly intolerable bullying is a verydifferent thing from telling a master; and although the worst boys triedto get it traditionally regarded as an unmitigated form of sneaking, yetthe public opinion of the best part of the school would have been foundto justify it. But the two bullies knew that Eden would never have theheart to venture on this appeal; and although they desisted from thisparticular practice at Henderson's request, they knew that he was toowavering a character, and too fond of popularity to be _easily_ inducedto make them his open enemies. If Eden had only told Walter, he knewthat Walter would have sheltered him from unkindness at all hazards; buthe was a thoroughly grateful child, and did not wish to get Walter intoany difficulties on his account. So, in schoolboy phrase, there wasnothing left for him but to "grin and bear it;" which he heroically did,earnestly longing for Walter's return to the dormitory as for somegolden age. But his trials were not over yet.
Is there in human nature an instinctive cruelty? That there is init--_when ill-trained_--an absorbing selfishness, a total absence of alltenderness and delicate consideration, is abundantly obvious. Butbesides this, there is often an astonishing and almost incredibletendency to take positive pleasure in the infliction of pain. Now it sohappens that Jones and Harpour were bad boys, as I have shown already,in the worst sense of the word, and yet the real _enjoyment_ which theyfelt in making little Eden's life miserable is an inexplicablephenomenon. One would have thought that the mere sight of the littleboy, his tender age; his delicate look, his extreme gentleness andcourtesy of manner, and the mute appealing glance in his blue eyes,would have sufficed to protect him from wanton outrage. It _did_suffice with most boys; but if anything, it added zest and piquancy tothe persecutions of those two big bullies.
Reader, have you ever been "taken prisoner?" that is to say, have youever been awaked from a sweet sleep by feeling an intolerable agony inyour right toe, and finding that it is caused by somebody having tied astring tight round it without waking you, and then pulling the saidstring with all his force? If not, congratulate yourself thereupon, andaccept the assurance of one who has undergone it, that the pain causedby this process is absolutely excruciating. It was this pain which madeEden start up with a scream during one of the nights I speak of, and thecry rose in intensity as he grew fully awake to the sensation.
"Hallo! what's the row, Eden?" said Henderson, starting up in bed; butthe child could only continue his screams, and Henderson, springing outof bed stumbled against the string, and instantly (for the trick was afamiliar one) knew what was being done. As quick as thought he seizedthe string with his right-hand and, by pulling it _towards_ Eden,slackened the horrible tension of it, while with his left-hand herapidly took out a knife from his coat pocket and cut the cord in two.
Jones and Harpour, tittering at the success of their machination, werestanding with the string in their hands just outside the door in thepassage, and the sudden jerk showed them that the string was severed.
"I'll tell you what it is," said Henderson to them, with the mostdeliberate emphasis, "I don't care if you do lick me for telling you thetruth, but you two are just a couple of the greatest brutes in theschool."
"What's the matter, Flip?" asked Franklin, from his bed, in a drowsytone.
"Matter! why those two _brutes_," said Henderson, with strongindignation, "have been taking poor little Eden prisoner, and hurtinghim awfully."
"What a confounded shame!" said Franklin and Anthony in one voice; forthey, too, though they were sturdy fellows, had had some experience ofthe bullies in their earlier school days; and of late, followingWalter's example, they had always energetically opposed thismaltreatment of Eden.
"Draw it mild, you three, or we'll kick you," said Harpour.
"But we won't draw it mild," said Franklin; "it's quite true; you andJones _are_ brutes to bully that poor little fellow so. He never hurtyou."
"What an uppish lot you nips are," said Harpour; "it's all that fellowEvson's doing. Hang me, if I don't take it out of you;" and he advancedwith a slipper in his hand towards Franklin.
"Touch him if you dare," said Henderson; "if you do Anthony and I willstick by him; and, Cradock, you'll see fair play, won't you?"
"Pooh," said Cradock. "I'm asleep. Fight it out by yourselves."
"Never mind these little fools, Harpour," said Jones; "they're beneathyour notice. Besides, it's time to turn off to sleep." For Jones hadearned his soubriquet by always showing a particularly large whitefeather when there was any chance of a fray.
"Phew, Jones; none of us would give much for _you_," said Hendersoncontemptuously. "_Little_ fools, indeed! You know very well that _you_daren't lay a finger on the least of us, whether we're beneath yournotice or no. An ostrich is a big bird, but its white feathers arechiefly of use in helping it to run away." He went to Eden's bedside,for the child was still sobbing with pain, and was evidently in a greatstate of nervous agitation.
"Never mind, Eden," he said, in a kind and soothing voice; "think nomore of it; we won't let them take you prisoner again." And as he spokehe took his place by Eden's side, and looked with angry defiance at thetwo bullies.
"Those fellows hurt me so," said Eden, in an apologetic tone, bravelytrying to check his tears. "Oh, I wish Evson would come back."
"He is coming back in a night or two; his knee is nearly well. Ihaven't helped you enough, poor little fellow. I'm so sorry. I say,you _brutes_," he continued, raising his voice, "next time you bullyEden, I'll tell Somers as sure as fate."
"Tell away then," jeered Harpour; "better go and tell him before yourshoes wear out."
"Ah, you'll change your tone, Master Harpour, when you've been wellwhopped," answered Henderson.
"I should like to see Somers or any one else whop me," said Harpour, inan extremely "Ercles vein"; "by Jove! Lane himself shouldn't do it."
"Oh, indeed!"
"I'll `oh, indeed,' you!" said Harpour, getting out of bed; but hereCradock interfered, seized Harpour with his brawny arm, and said--
"There, that's badgering enough for one night. Do let a fellow go tosleep."
Harpour got into bed again, and Henderson, once more reassuring Edenthat he should not be again molested, followed his example. But, halfwith fright and half with pain, the poor boy lay awake most of thenight, and when he _did_ fall asleep he constantly started up again withtroubled dreams.
Next morning the two parties in the dormitory would hardly speak to eachother. They rose at daggers drawn, and in the highest dudgeon.Henderson was glad Anthony and Franklin had openly espoused the rightside, and was pleased at _anything_ which drew them out of thepernicious influence of the other two. This wasn't by any means apleasant state of things for Jones and Harpour, and it made them hateEden, the innocent cause of it, more than ever. Moreover, Harpour whowas not accustomed to be openly bearded, did not choose to let the reinsof despotism slip so easily out of his hands, and he determined toavenge himself yet, and to show that neither entreaties nor threatsshould prevent him from being as great a bully as he chose.
"Understand _you_, Henderson," he said, while they were dressing; "thatI shall do exactly what I like to that little muff there."
Eden reddened and said nothing; but Henderson, looking up from hiswash-hand basin, replied--"And understand _you_, Harpour, that if youbully him any more, I'll tell the head of the school."
Harpour made a spring at Henderson to thrash him for these words, butagain the burly Cradock interposed by saying, good-humouredly, as he puthimself in Harpour's way, "There, stop squabbling, for goodness' sake,you two, and let's have a little peace. Flip, you shut up."