The Fairchild Family Page 15

  The History of the Orphan Boy

  Marten behaved well at breakfast]

  "In a little flowery valley near Tenterden there lived once a certainfarmer who had a wife and one little boy, whose name was Marten. Thefarmer and his wife were people who feared God and loved theirneighbours, and though they were not rich, they were contented. In thesame parish lived two gentlemen, named Squire Broom and Squire Blake,as the country people called them. Squire Broom was a man who fearedGod; but Squire Blake was one of those men who cared for nothing beyondthe things of this world. He was a very rich man, and was considered bythe neighbours to be good-tempered. His lady kept a plentiful house,and was glad to see anyone who came. They had no children, and, as theyhad been married many years, it was thought they never would have any.Squire Broom was not so rich as Squire Blake, and, though a very worthyman, was not of such pleasing manners, so that many people did not likehim, though in times of distress he was one of the kindest friends inthe world. Squire Broom had a very large family, which he brought up inan orderly, pious manner; but some of the neighbours did not fail tofind fault with him for being too strict with his children.

  "When little Marten was about three years of age his father was killedas he was going to Tenterden market by a fall from his horse. This wasso great a grief to his mother, who loved her husband very dearly, thatshe fell immediately into a bad state of health; and though she livedas much as two years after her husband, yet she was all that time adying woman. There was nothing in the thoughts of death which made thispoor woman unhappy at any time, excepting when she considered that shemust leave her little Marten to strangers; and this grieved her themore because little Marten was a very tender child, and had always beenso from his birth.

  "It happened a few weeks before her death, as little Marten's motherwas lying on her couch, that one Mrs. Short, who lived in Tenterden,and spent her time in gossiping from house to house, came bustling intothe room where Marten's mother lay.

  "'I am come to tell you,' said she, 'that Squire Blake's lady will behere just now.'

  "'It is some time since I have seen Mrs. Blake,' said Marten's mother;'but it is kind of her to visit me in my trouble.'

  "Whilst she was speaking Mr. Blake's carriage came up to the door, andMrs. Blake stepped out. She came into the parlour in a very free andfriendly manner, and, taking Marten's mother by the hand, she said shewas very sorry to see her looking so ill.

  "'Indeed,' said the sick woman, 'I am very ill, dear madam, and I thinkthat I cannot live longer than a few weeks; but God's will be done! Ihave no trouble in leaving this world but on account of little Marten;yet I know that God will take care of him, and that I ought not to betroubled on his account.'

  "Mrs. Blake then answered:

  "'As you have begun to speak upon the subject, I will tell you whatparticularly brought me here to-day.'

  "She then told her that, as she and Mr. Blake had a large fortune andno family, they were willing to take little Marten at her death andprovide for him as their own. This was a very great and kind offer, andmost people would have accepted it with joy; but the pious motherrecollected that Mr. Blake was one who declared himself to be withoutreligion; and she could not think of leaving her little boy to such aman. Accordingly she thanked Mrs. Blake for her kind offer--for a verykind offer it was--and said that she should feel obliged to her tillher dying moment.

  "'But,' added she, 'I cannot accept of your friendship for my littleboy, as I have a very dear Friend who would be disobliged if I did so.'

  "Mrs. Blake turned red, and was offended; for she had never oncethought it possible that Marten's mother should refuse her offer; andMrs. Short lifted up her hands and eyes, and looked as if she thoughtthe poor sick woman little better than a fool.

  "'Well,' said Mrs. Blake, 'I am surprised, I must confess. However, youmust know your own affairs best; but this I must say, that I thinkMarten may live long enough without having such another offer.'

  "'And I must say that you are standing in the child's way,' said Mrs.Short. 'Why, Mr. Blake can do ten times more for the child than hisfather could have done, had he lived a hundred years; and I think itvery ungrateful and foolish in you to make such a return for Mr. andMrs. Blake's kindness.'

  "'And pray,' said Mrs. Blake, 'who is this dear Friend who would be somuch disobliged by your allowing us to take the boy?'

  "'I suppose it is Squire Broom,' said Mrs. Short; 'for who else can itbe?'

  "'Yes,' said Mrs. Blake, 'I have no doubt it is, for Mr. Broom neverloved my husband. But,' added she, looking at Marten's mother, 'you dovery wrong if you think Mr. Broom could do as much for the child (evenif he were willing) as my husband. Mr. Broom is not rich, and he has agreat many children; whereas Mr. Blake has a very handsome fortune, andno near relation in the world. However, as you have once refused, I donot think I would take the boy now if you were to ask me.'

  "'I am very sorry,' answered Marten's mother, 'to appear unthankful toyou; and perhaps, as I am a dying woman, I ought to tell you the truereason of my refusing your offer, though it may make you angry. I donot doubt but that you would be kind to little Marten, and I know thatyou have more to give him than his father could have had.'

  "She then, in a very delicate manner, hinted at Mr. Blake's irreligiousopinions, and acknowledged that it was on the account of these that shehad refused his protection for her son.

  "'The Lord Jesus Christ,' added she, 'is the dear Friend I spoke of, mydear madam, and the One I am afraid to offend by accepting Mr. Blake'soffer. You are welcome to tell Mr. Blake all I say.'

  "Mrs. Blake made no answer, but got up, and, wishing Marten's motherand Mrs. Short a good-morning, went away very much offended.

  "When Mrs. Short was left with the sick woman she failed not to speakher mind to her, and that very plainly, by telling her that sheconsidered her little better than a fool for what she had done.

  "Marten's mother answered: 'I am willing to be counted a fool forChrist's sake.'

  "The next day Marten's mother sent for Squire Broom; and when she hadtold him all that had passed between herself and Mrs. Blake, she askedhim if he would take charge of poor little Marten when she was dead,and also of what little money she might leave behind her; and see thatthe child was put to a good school. Squire Broom promised that he wouldbe a friend to the boy to the best of his power, and Marten's motherwas sure that he would do what he promised, for he was a good man. Andnow, not to make our story too long, I must tell you that Marten'smother grew weaker and weaker, and about three weeks after she had hadthis conversation with Mrs. Blake she was found one morning dead in herbed; and it was supposed she died without pain, as Susan, the maid, whoslept in the same room, had not heard her move or utter a sigh. She wasburied in Tenterden churchyard, and Squire Broom, as he had promised,took charge of all her affairs.

  "And now, after having done with little Marten's good mother, I shallgive you the history of the little boy himself, from the day when hewas awoke and found his poor mother dead; and you shall judge whetherGod heard his mother's prayer, and whether He took care of the poorlittle orphan.

  "Marten's mother was buried on Saturday evening. On Sunday littleMarten went and stood by his mother's grave, and no one but Susan couldpersuade him to come away. On Monday morning Squire Broom came in aone-horse chaise to take him to school at Ashford. The master of theschool at that time was a conscientious man but Squire Broom did notknow that he was so severe in the management of children as he provedto be.

  "Little Marten cried very much when he was put into the one-horsechaise with Squire Broom.

  "'Oh, let me stay with Susan! let me live with Susan!' he said.

  "'What!' said Squire Broom, 'and never learn to read? You must go toschool to learn to read, and other things a man should know.'

  "'Susan shall teach me to read,' said little Marten.

  "Squire Broom promised him that he should come back in the summer, andsee Susan, and little Marten tried to stop crying.

&n
bsp; "When little Marten got to Ashford school he was turned into a largestone hall, where about fifty boys were playing; he had never seen somany boys before, and he was frightened, and he crept into a corner.They all got round him, and asked him a great many questions, whichfrightened him more; and he began to cry and call for Susan. This setthe boys a-laughing, and they began to pull him about and tease him.

  "Little Marten was a pretty child; he was very fair, and had beautifulblue eyes and red lips, and his dark brown hair curled all over hishead; but he had always been very tender in his health; and thekickings and thumpings and beatings he got amongst the boys, instead ofmaking him hardy, made him the more sickly and drooping.

  "The boys used to rise very early, and, after they had been an hour inschool, they played in the churchyard (for the schoolroom stands in thechurchyard) till the bell rang to call them to breakfast. In theschoolroom there was only one fireplace, and the lesser boys couldnever get near it, so that little Marten used to be so numbed with coldin the mornings (for winter was coming) that he could scarcely holdhis book; and his feet and hands became so swelled with chilblainsthat, when the other boys went out to play, he could only creep afterthem. He was so stupefied with cold that he could not learn; he evenforgot his letters, though he had known them all when his mother wasalive; and, in consequence, he got several floggings. When his motherwas living he was a cheerful little fellow, full of play, and quick inlearning; but now he became dull and cast down, and he refused to eat;and he would cry and fret if anyone did but touch him. His poor littlefeet and hands were sore and bleeding with cold; so that he was afraidanyone should come near to touch him.

  "As the winter advanced it became colder and colder, and little Martengot a very bad cough, and grew very thin. Several people remarked tothe schoolmaster, 'Little Marten is not well; he gets very thin.' 'Oh,he will be better,' the master would answer, 'when he is more used tous. Many children, when they first come to school, pine after home; butwhat can I do for him? I must not make any difference between him andthe other boys.'

  "One morning in the beginning of December, when the boys were playingin the churchyard before breakfast, little Marten, not being able torun, or scarcely to walk, by reason of his chilblains, came creepingafter them; his lips were blue and cold, and his cheeks white. Helooked about for some place where he might be sheltered a little fromthe cold wind; and at length he ventured to creep into the porch of anold house, which stood on one side of the churchyard. The door of thehouse was open a little way, and Marten peeped in: he saw within asmall neat kitchen, where was a bright fire; an elderly maid-servantwas preparing breakfast before the fire; the tea-kettle was boiling;and the toast-and-butter and muffins stood ready to be carried into theparlour. A large old cat slept before the fire; and in one corner ofthe kitchen was a parrot upon a stand.

  "Whilst Marten was peeping in, and longing for a bit oftoast-and-butter, a little old lady, dressed in a gray silk gown,wearing a mob-cap and long ruffles, came into the kitchen by the innerdoor. She first spoke to the parrot, then stroked the cat; and then,turning towards the porch-door, she said (speaking to the maid):

  "_A little old lady, dressed in a gray silk gown, cameinto the kitchen._"--Page 101.]

  "'Hannah, why do you leave the door open? The wind comes in very cold.'So saying, she was going to push the door to, when she saw poor littleMarten. She observed his black coat, his little bleeding hands, and hispale face, and she felt very sorry for him. 'What little fellow areyou?' she said, as she held the door in her hand. 'Where do you comefrom, and what do you want at my door?'

  "'My name is Marten,' he answered, 'and I am very cold.'

  "'Do you belong to the school, my dear?' said she.

  "'Yes, ma'am,' he answered; 'my mother is dead, and I am very cold.'

  "'Poor little creature!' said the old lady, whose name was Lovel. 'Doyou hear what he says, Hannah? His mother is dead, and he is very cold!Do, Hannah, run over to the school-house, and ask the master if he willgive this little boy leave to stay and breakfast with me.'

  "Hannah set down a tea-cup which she was wiping, and looking at Marten:

  "'Poor young creature!' she said. 'It is a pity that such a babe asthis should be in a public school. Come in, little one, whilst I runover to your master and ask leave for you to stay a little with mymistress.'

  "Hannah soon returned with the master's leave, and poor little Martenwent gladly upstairs into Mrs. Lovel's parlour. There Mrs. Lovel tookoff his wet shoes and damp stockings, and hung them to the fire, whileshe rubbed his little numbed feet till they were warm. In the meantimeHannah brought up the tea-things and toast-and-butter, and set allthings in order upon the round table.

  "'You are very good,' said little Marten to Mrs. Lovel; 'I will comeand see you every day.'

  "'You shall come as often as you please,' said Mrs. Lovel, 'if you area good little boy.'

  "'Then I will come at breakfast-time, and at dinner-time, and atsupper-time,' said Marten.

  "Mrs. Lovel smiled and looked at Hannah, who was bringing up thecream-pot, followed by the cat. Puss took her place very gravely at onecorner of the table, without touching anything.

  "'Is that your cat, ma'am?' said Marten.

  "'Yes,' said Mrs. Lovel; 'and see how well she behaves: she never asksfor anything, but waits till she is served. Do you think you can behaveas well?'

  "'I will try, ma'am,' said Marten.

  "Mrs. Lovel then bade Marten fetch himself a chair, and they both satdown to breakfast. Marten behaved so well at breakfast that Mrs. Lovelinvited him to come to her at dinner-time, and said she would sendHannah to his master for leave. She then put on his dry shoes andstockings; and as the bell rang, she sent him over to school. Whenschool broke up at twelve o'clock, she sent Hannah again for him; andhe came running upstairs, full of joy.

  "'This is a half-holiday, ma'am,' he said, 'and I may stay with youtill bed-time: and I will come again to breakfast in the morning.'

  "'Very well,' said Mrs. Lovel; 'but if you come here so often you mustdo everything I bid you, and everything which Hannah bids you.'

  "'The same as I did to my poor mother, and to Susan?' said Marten.

  "'Yes, my dear,' said Mrs. Lovel.

  "'Then I will, ma'am,' said Marten.

  "So Marten sat down to dinner with Mrs. Lovel; and at dinner he toldher all he knew of himself and his mother; and after dinner, when shegave him leave, he went down to the kitchen to visit Hannah, and totalk to the parrot, and to look about him till tea-time. At tea-time hecame up again; and after tea Mrs. Lovel brought out a large Bible fullof pictures, and told him one or two stories out of the Bible, showinghim the pictures. At night Hannah carried him home, and he went warmand comfortable to bed.

  "Mrs. Lovel grew every day fonder of little Marten; and, as the littleboy promised, he went to Mrs. Lovel's at breakfast, dinner, and supper;and Mrs. Lovel took the same care of him as his mother would have done,had she been living. She took charge of his clothes, mending them whenthey wanted it; prepared warm and soft woollen stockings for him,procured him a great-coat to wear in school, and got him some thickshoes to play in. She also would see that he learned his lessons wellevery day, to carry up to his master: she then practised him in readingout of school hours, so that it was surprising how quickly he now goton with his books. But the best of all was, that Mrs. Lovel from day today gave such holy teaching to little Marten as was best adapted tomake him a good man in after-life; and God blessed her teaching, andthe boy soon became all that she could desire.

  "A little before Christmas, Squire Broom came over to Ashford to seelittle Marten, and determined in his own mind, if he saw the childunwell, or not happy, to take him home and bring him up amongst his ownchildren; for Mrs. Broom had said that she thought little Marten almosttoo young to be at a public school, without a friend near him. Martenwas standing in Mrs. Lovel's parlour window, which looked into thechurchyard, when he saw Squire Broom's one-horse chaise draw up to theschool-house door. Wit
hout speaking a word, he ran downstairs, andacross the churchyard; and, taking Squire Broom's hand, as he steppedout of the chaise:

  "'I have got another mother, sir,' he said, 'a very good mother; and Ilove her with all my heart; and her name is Lovel; and you must come tosee her.'

  "'Why, my little man,' said Squire Broom, 'you look very well, andquite fat.'

  "When Squire Broom heard from the master what a kind friend Marten hadfound, and was told by all his friends in Ashford what a worthy womanMrs. Lovel was (everybody in Ashford knew Mrs. Lovel's good character),he was very much pleased on little Marten's account, and said his poormother's prayers were now answered.

  "Little Marten could not be contented till he had brought Squire Broomto see Mrs. Lovel, and to drink tea with her. During this visit, Mrs.Lovel asked Mr. Broom if Marten might spend his Christmas holidays withher; and from that time the little boy spent all his holidays with Mrs.Lovel. In the summer holidays she often took him to a farmhouse in thecountry, where she had lodgings; and there he had the pleasure ofseeing the haymaking, and hop-gathering, and all the country work, andof running about the fields. Once or twice she took him to Tenterden tosee his old friends, particularly Susan, who lived with her mother inTenterden.

  "Marten became a fine boy; and as he grew in stature he grew in grace.He was very fond of reading; and soon he became one of the bestscholars of his age in the school. As Mrs. Lovel got older, her eyesbecame dim; and then Marten read to her, and managed her accounts, andwas in all things as a dutiful son to her.

  "Marten continued with Mrs. Lovel till it was time he should leaveschool; and as he wished to become a clergyman, in order that he mightspend his life in the service of God, Mrs. Lovel paid for his going tothe University.

  "When Marten had been the proper time at the University, he wasordained a clergyman; and he then returned to Mrs. Lovel, and soonafterwards he got a living in a pretty village in Kent. There he wentto reside; and Mrs. Lovel, who was now become very old indeed, livedwith him. He was as kind to her, and to Hannah, as if he had been theirown child: and, indeed, it was but his duty to be so: he did everythingto make their last years happy, and their deaths easy. Mrs. Lovel leftall she had, when she died, to Marten; so that he was enabled to livein great comfort. Some time after Mrs. Lovel's death, he married SquireBroom's youngest daughter, who made him a kind and good wife, andhelped him to bring up their children well. Susan, who was now anelderly woman, took the place of Hannah when Hannah died, and neverleft her master till she herself died of old age."

  * * * * *

  By this time it was one o'clock; and the haymakers left off their work,and sat down in a row, by the brook-side, to eat their dinner. Mr.Fairchild called to his children from the place where he was lying, ata little distance, saying:

  "My dears, I begin to feel hungry. Lucy and Emily, see what Bettybrought in the basket this morning; and you, Henry, go to the brook,and bring some water."

  So Henry took an empty pitcher out of the basket, and ran gaily down tothe brook to fetch some water, whilst Lucy and Emily spread a cleannapkin on the grass, on which they placed the knives and forks andplates, with the loaf and cheese, and the fruit-pie, and a bottle ofbeer for their papa; for Betty was gone back to the house; and whenthey had said grace, they dined: after which the children went to playin the coppice and amongst the hay, for a little while. When they hadplayed as much as their mamma thought fit, they came back, and sat downto work, as they had done in the morning, whilst Henry read the storyin Lucy's book.

  Marten goes to school]