CHAPTER XIV.THE TROUBLESOME SCHOLAR.
THERE was one boy in the academy who still caused Marcus no little anxiety. His name was Harrison Clark, and he was about fourteen years old, and large for his age. This was his first term at the academy. He was from an adjoining town, and but little was known of him, except what he himself chose to divulge. The achievement of his short life upon which he seemed to pride himself most, was a fight he had with his former teacher, a month or two before this, in which, according to his representation, he came off victor; and he had been heard to threaten a similar infliction upon Marcus, should that personage attempt to chastise him. One or two of the elder pupils were anxious that the insolence of this pert young gentleman should bechecked by a sound thrashing, and they even intimated to the teacher that aid would not be wanting, in case the boy should offer serious resistance. But Marcus thought there was a more excellent way to subdue him, and determined to try it, before resorting to harsh measures.
Marcus happened one day to fall in with a townsman of Harrison, from whom he gathered all the information he could in regard to the career and character of the boy. It appeared that he had been governed with severity, both at home and at school, so far as he had been governed at all. He had steadily grown worse, however, under this discipline, and his parents, finding they could do nothing with him, had sent him away to school, as the easiest way to rid themselves of a constant trouble. They were finally led to this course, by his altercation with his teacher. Several boys, it seemed, got into a wild frolic in the school-room, one day, before the opening of the session, in the course of which Harrison threw an inkstand at another lad, by which his face and clothes were stained, and the walls, floor, and seats soiled. The teacher, after investigating the matter, ordered Harrison tohold out his hand for punishment, which he refused to do, in an insolent manner. The teacher then attempted to seize his hand, but failing in this, he tripped the boy upon the floor, and a regular scuffle ensued. Another boy, still larger than Harrison, now rushed to the assistance of the latter, and before the disgraceful affray ended, they inflicted two or three serious blows upon the teacher, and then fled. They were both arrested for assault, and after a trial before a justice, were fined, Harrison ten dollars and the other boy five, besides the cost of the trial, which was divided between them. While it must be confessed that their punishment was just, I think few will deny that the teacher also was to be blamed for the part he acted in the affray.
“Now can’t you tell me something good about Harrison?” inquired Marcus, after listening to the foregoing recital. “I believe there is always some good trait in every person, however bad.”
“Well,” replied the other, “I’m thinking it would be rather hard to find anything very good about that chap. I don’t think he’s very hardened yet, but there’s precious little goodness about him, Ican tell you. He thinks a good deal of his mother, and that’s the best thing I ever saw about him. And he ought to like her, for she’s a right down good woman—only she’s one of your easy, gentle sort, that oughtn’t to have anything to do with such a young scapegrace as he is.”
Although Harrison had made himself sufficiently troublesome in the school-room, he had thus far avoided all flagrant offences. He manifested his disposition by an air of quiet insolence and defiance, and by petty acts of annoyance, too trivial for serious notice, even could they be proved against him, which was seldom the case. It was evident, however, that he was becoming emboldened by the absence of restraints and punishments with which he had been familiar in school, and Marcus looked forward with some solicitude to the certainty of an open collision with him, which day by day seemed more imminent. Meanwhile, the attempts of Marcus to win him over by kindness were not very well rewarded. If he spoke kindly to the boy on the play-ground or at his desk, he got no pleasant word or grateful look, in return. If he tried to draw him into conversation, the responses camegrudgingly in monosyllables. On Saturday, he invited Harrison to come over to pass the afternoon with him and the children; but the boy did not come; worse yet, he did not say whether he would or not; and still worse, he expressed no thanks for the invitation.
One cold morning, soon after the school opened, Marcus was somewhat annoyed by the coughing of the scholars—not a very unusual occurrence at that season. Having reduced the school to perfect silence, so that the falling of a pin might have been heard, he proceeded to say:—
“I notice that many of the scholars have rather troublesome coughs. I have a cold myself, and I suppose I could cough as hard as any of you, if I chose to. But I am not going to do it. There are two objections to coughing. One is, it is injurious. The effort required in coughing is apt to tear the delicate fibres of the lungs. Sometimes people burst blood-vessels, while coughing, and die in consequence. The other objection is, it is unpleasant to those around us, especially in a school-room, church, or other public assembly. Sometimes, I admit, it is necessary to cough; butI think most of our coughing is unnecessary. By a little attention, and a little effort of the will, we can prevent it. Now I propose that those who have colds try the experiment with me, and we will see who will hold out longest without coughing.”
Marcus had no sooner closed, than Harrison fell into a violent fit of coughing, which it was evident to all was feigned. Some of the younger scholars smiled at this ill-mannered freak, but others looked daggers at its perpetrator. Marcus uttered no rebuke, but the eyes of the rogue fell before his steady, quiet, searching look.
A day or two after this, there was great excitement in the village, occasioned by the discovery that several sheep had been killed by bears, the tracks of which were found in the neighborhood of “Turkey Hill.” The presence of these animals in the town had been suspected for several weeks, but this was their first attack upon the sheep-folds of the farmers. Arrangements were at once made for a grand bear hunt, the next afternoon, and all the male population, above fifteen years of age, were invited to take part in it.
Marcus found, the next morning, that most of hisboys had come to school prepared to join in the hunt, either as participants or spectators. All who could, had procured guns, and as the lads and young men lounged around the academy, in groups, examining and comparing their arms, a stranger might have suspected the existence of a “school rebellion” of a really startling description. But when the bell struck, the guns were peaceably deposited in the ante-room, and the school-room assumed its usual quiet aspect. At recess several of the boys were dismissed, having brought notes from home, requesting Marcus to excuse them at that hour. Two or three others petitioned for a similar favor, but, having no authority from their parents for making the request, Marcus felt obliged to deny them. He did this the more easily, because he thought the request a needless one. The hunting party was not to rendezvous until half past twelve o’clock—half an hour after the session closed for the day, for it was Saturday. Nevertheless, Harrison Clark, who was one of the disappointed applicants, appeared to think differently; for when the boys were called in from recess, he was missing. On looking from a window, Marcus saw him standing,gun in hand, near the post office, where a crowd of men appeared to be discussing the arrangements of the day. One of the large scholars was despatched to bring the runaway back; but Harrison saw the young man approaching, and mistrusting his errand, took to his heels, and made good his escape.
At twelve o’clock the session closed, the contents of sundry little baskets and tin pails were hurriedly disposed of for the benefit of the inner man, and most of the boys, accompanied by their teacher, then proceeded to the place of rendezvous. After waiting awhile for tardy stragglers, the hunting party was found to muster over a hundred men and boys, all armed. An experienced hunter was chosen captain, a few directions were given to the men, and the line of march was then taken up for Turkey Hill, some two miles distant.
On reaching the hunting ground, the guns were loaded, and the party then proceeded to form a ring around the hill, which was a low eminence, densely wooded, and abounding with ledges. Two files of men started in opposite directions, and encircled the hill until they met, scattering themselvesapart as they proceeded. Then, to test the connection of the ring in all its parts, the captain cried to his left hand man, “Are you there?” and he taking up the call, according to a previously arranged plan, shouted it to the man on his left, and thus it passed around, until it came back in a few moments to the leader. He then gave the order, “Forward!” in a similar manner; and as it ran round the line, the party began its slow march up the hill. They continued to ascend, gradually closing up the circle, until it embraced only about an acre of woods. The circle was now quite impervious to any animal, the hunters being within a few yards of each other. Only a small portion of the ring, however, was visible at any one point, owing to the trees and brush, and the inequality of the surface. Every gun was now cocked, and every eye was straining itself, to detect some sign of the presence of Bruin. Suddenly, the sharp crack of a gun was heard, followed by another, and another; and almost immediately, a large bear bounded out, towards the part of the circle where Marcus and Oscar were stationed. But ere the poor beast could reach the line, a score of bulletswere buried in his body, and he fell dead. Loud and long was the shout of triumph that went up from every side; and still louder did it grow, when it was found that this was not the only trophy, but that another though much smaller bear had been shot on the opposite side of the ring, when the reports of firearms were first heard.
The two carcasses were placed on sleds, and dragged to the village by the boys. The largest bear was found to weigh about four hundred and fifty pounds, but the weight of the other was a little short of two hundred pounds. Before the people separated for their homes, the two carcasses were put up at auction, and sold for about fifteen dollars. It was voted to give the money to the owner of the sheep killed by the bears—an aged man, in needy circumstances, who looked the gratitude he could not speak, when the generous proposal was ratified by a hearty “Aye!”
On Monday morning, when Marcus read to the school the names of absentees at the previous session, and called for excuses, he came to the following entry: “Harrison Clark—left at recess.” He paused a moment, and as no excuse was offered, added—
“Harrison, when school is dismissed in the afternoon, you may come to my desk.”
“Thisafternoon orforenoon?” inquired Harrison, not at all abashed.
“I said thisafternoon,” replied Marcus, who postponed the matter until that hour, because of the limited intermission from studies at noon.
As Marcus anticipated, Harrison was going off without paying any regard to this command, in the afternoon; but when called he went back, saying by way of apology that he forgot all about the matter. When they were alone, Marcus inquired, very pleasantly—
“Well, Harrison, how did you enjoy yourself, Saturday afternoon?”
“First-rate—didn’t you?” coolly replied the boy.
“Do you think you enjoyed the hunt as much as you would if you hadn’t gone off at recess, contrary to my express orders?” inquired Marcus.
“Well, yes, I don’t see as that made any difference,” replied Harrison, looking as calm and unconcerned as though he were discussing the point with some comrade.
“I see you are inclined to be frank,” continued Marcus. “I am glad of that—I like frank, open dealing in everybody, boys as well as men. Don’t you?”
“Why, yes, I do,” replied the boy.
“And are you willing to be perfectly frank with me, if I will be so with you, in talking over matters now?” inquired Marcus.
“Well, I can’t stop long—I agreed to go somewhere, after school,” replied Harrison.
“But we must attend to this business first,” replied Marcus, in a decided tone. “Now if you say you will deal frankly with me, I will proceed at once.”
“Well, I will,” said Harrison.
“Then I will be equally frank with you, and so we shall have a fair understanding of each other,” replied Marcus. “I have noticed for several weeks, especially since Mr. Upton has been sick, that you were inclined to be disrespectful towards me, and to annoy me and the school by certain little improprieties that it was difficult to prove wilful, though they certainly seemed to be so. As I know of no reason why you should wish to troubleme—for I believe I have always treated you kindly—I have taken as charitable a view of this as I could. I have tried to think that you did not mean any harm, but were only a little odd in your ways. But when you set my authority at defiance so coolly, last Saturday, I saw that something more serious than oddity was the matter. And that something has got to be met, promptly and decidedly. Now there are two ways of meeting such a spirit in a scholar. One way is, to inflict a severe and disgraceful punishment, which will serve as a warning to the other pupils, if it does not reform the guilty one. The other way is, to win him from his error by mild and kind means.
“Now, Harrison, you know very well which of these systems of government we have adopted here. You have seen no rod or ruler, since you came here, and I hope you will not, if you stay through the term. But that is by no means certain. Sometimes, when mild measures fail, Mr. Upton adopts stern ones; but he always tries kindness first. There is only one other resort, in desperate cases, and that is, to expel the offender. Now, if I have been rightly informed, the harshsystem had been pretty faithfully tried upon you before you came here, had it not?”
“I should think it had—but it didn’t do any good,” replied Harrison.
“And now kindness has been tried, andthathas done no good,” added Marcus, with a serious look. “What more can be done? Do you think that you ought to be privileged to do as you please, while all the other scholars are required to be obedient, and orderly, and respectful? You said you would be frank with me; now will you answer me that question, honestly?”
“I suppose not,” replied Harrison, rather reluctantly.
“Very well, now I wish you to answer another question, as frankly as you did that,” continued Marcus. “Do you think I ought to be expected to sacrifice my feelings, and strength, and time, in trying harsh measures upon a boy, when the experiment has already been made by others, and, as he admits, without any good result?”
“No, sir,” replied the boy, in a more respectful tone than usual.
“Neither do I,” said Marcus. “Then if kindmeasures fail, as they have in your case, so far, expulsion is the only remedy left; and that, of itself, is a very harsh, and painful, and disgraceful punishment. I can’t bear to think of it. It is casting the boy out from influences that might save him, into a world of new temptations and dangers. If he were the only one involved, I would put up with a great many provocations, before I would sentence a boy to such a fate as that. But the interests of the school sometimes require that a scholar should be expelled, and then the teacher must do his duty, however painful it may be. In such a case, the teacher and the boy are not the only sufferers. The parents and friends of the offender often suffer even worse than he does. I hear, Harrison, that you have an excellent mother. Is it so?”
“Yes, sir,” replied the boy.
“I have been told,” continued Marcus, “that she is a very kind, gentle, and sensitive woman. I hear, also, that you appear to think a great deal of her, and I hope the report is true, for agoodmother is a blessing for which we can never be too grateful.”
The expression of the boy’s face, at this mention of his mother, indicated that the report was not without foundation.
“Now,” continued Marcus, “how would your mother feel, if you should go home, and tell her that you had been expelled from the academy, for misconduct? Would it not almost break her heart? For her sake, as well as yours, I hope we shall not have to fall back upon that last resort. But as I promised to be frank with you, I must tell you, in all sincerity, that the course you have been pursuing will certainly lead to expulsion, if not abandoned. I do not say this to frighten you, but I am honestly pointing out to you arealdanger, and one that you will assuredly encounter very soon, if you do not take warning. You have been quite frank with me, so far, now I want to know if you will give me a plain and honest answer to one more question?”
“I will,” replied Harrison.
“I am going to ask the question now,” continued Marcus, “but you need not answer it to-night. I would rather that you should take time to think it over, and let me know your decision to-morrow.The question is this—whether you intend to keep on in your old habits, as though nothing had happened, or will you try to correct the faults I have mentioned? You will please to take notice that the question refers only to yourintentions. I do not ask you to promise never to disobey or be disrespectful again; but if you have any intention, or even the slightest wish, to reform these habits, I want you to say so, and I will help you all I can to accomplish the work. On the other hand, if you really prefer to do as you have been doing, I want you to tell me that, just as candidly. Remember you promised to be frank. You can go, now, and to-morrow you may tell me your decision.”
Harrison’s bearing was somewhat more subdued and respectful than usual, when he left Marcus. The same peculiarity was apparent in his conduct the next day, in school. When school was dismissed at noon, Harrison went of his own accord to the teacher’s desk, and said:—
“Mr. Page, I’ve thought over that matter that we talked about yesterday, and I’ve made up my mind to try to do better, hereafter.”
“I am very glad to hear you say so, Harrison,”replied Marcus, grasping the boy kindly by the hand. “If that is your intention, I have no doubt we shall get along pleasantly enough after this.”
“I’m sorry I went off, Saturday, and I wont do such a thing again,” added Harrison.
“That was quite a serious act of disobedience,” replied Marcus, “although I have refrained from saying much about it directly, thus far. If I should conclude that the offence required some kind of punishment, notwithstanding this confession, do you feel as though you could submit to it cheerfully?”
“Yes, sir, I think I could,” replied Harrison, rather hesitatingly.
“I suppose the fact that you ran away is known to all the scholars,” observed Marcus. “Now should you be willing to make the apology as publicly as the offence?”
This was a pretty severe test for Harrison. Remembering the braggadocio with which he had alluded to his offence, only the day before, in the presence of many of his school-mates, it was hard to say he was willing to stand up before them all, and humbly acknowledge his fault.
“Give me a frank answer, that is all I ask,” added Marcus, as he perceived the conflict in his pupil’s mind.
“Well, I suppose I ought to confess in public, and I must do it, if you say so, but it will come dreadful hard,” replied the boy, who seemed anxious and perplexed.
“Yes, I suppose it would be a very disagreeable duty,” said Marcus; “and on the whole, I think I will not ask it of you. The scholars know that I have taken private notice of the offence, and perhaps that will answer every purpose. If you will show to them a better example hereafter, that is all I will require, this time. The past shall all be forgiven and forgotten.”
The boy looked pleased and grateful, and before retiring, repeated his promise of amendment. This promise he kept. His feelings towards Marcus seemed to have undergone an entire change. True, every fault in his character and conduct was not corrected at once; but as there seemed to be a prevailing disposition in him to conform to the rules of the school, united with a sincere respect for his teacher, Marcus looked upon his errors as lenientlyas possible, and endeavored to encourage him in his good work by every proper method.
The next Monday, Mr. Upton resumed his post, and complimented Marcus very highly on finding the academy in so prosperous a state.