Newspapers / The Orphans’ Friend (Oxford, … / Feb. 24, 1875, edition 1 / Page 1
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'■m/ VOL'JJIE I. OXFOIII), N. (!., WKUXKriDAY, FElilJUAUV 21-, 1875. Xl’MIiHU 8. g.EI.:iX:TEI> STCJI11.X I’iiOM TIIK CJlA'I'TKRliOX, KOEOOY’S t;3S!iI.B. (lllAl'TEH II.—(lON'I'ISUSn I-’UOM LA8'1' AVKKK. Tho old woinan i-iauKcd, and turning to tlie firo continued, af ter a luoinout’s silence, “Dear, dear, only to tliink that tiiat’s nine years ago ! ^y}lv, it seems only like yesterday. Me aiul my niastei' n^ere just a-leaviiig the heap, when all of a sudden we heard a ciy' close by ns looked round, but couldn’t see notliing, and were just a-going on when we heard it again, a bit louder. Now, d’nianedge lie were a great one lor children, and nev er could a-bear to hear them a- crying, so he says to mo, ‘Motlier! rin sure tliere’s a little one got lost or sonictliing just about here; YOU hold ni}' things while 1 take a look round.’ It were most too dark to see anything, but I let Furmedge go, and liy-and-liv, back he comes, a-hohling what 1 first thought was a bundle, but which were nothing more nor less than a baliy, and that baby was you, IWIy. Vrell, wo brought von home, and I felt rather cross like when Furmedge wouldn’t let me go straight round to the sta tion, but instead, went liiiriself to the milk shoj) and bought a half penny worth of milk! AV'e thought as how you must l)e about of a ten months ; and my ! liow you did take to tho ^nastcr, and he to yon, evcui tliat fii'st. night! lie \varmcd the milk liis yerv own self, and was as liappy r..i at and was as as a king when you looke him and smiled and ci’owed. V/e went the )iext day to the P’lice Station, and for seyeral days; but we couh.ln’t hear nothing of any body as had lost a baby ; and after a bit they told us as how we had ])etter take the child up to ‘I’he House.’ Tliee^^ening as they told us that you Avas asleep ; and just as avg were a- turning into bed, ourseU'Cs, he says, ‘No, motlier, I can’t see it.’ ‘See Avhat f says I. ‘^Vhy, tak ing the little ’iin up to the House! I can’t bear the tliouglit of such a ])retty innocent little tiling groAving up Avithout ever a kind AYord, pretty dear! and being- sent out into one of tliem liorrid little places, AAdicre there’s little to eat and plenty of Avork and hard Avords; just the A^ery thing to driA^e a poor girl to be bad. We take other ‘finds’ and keep ’em and sell ’em, and if Ave keep things as bring us money, v.’hy sliouldn’t Ave keep this here other kind of ‘find,’ Avliich may bring us in something else! Money is a good thing for us poor f(.»lks, but it’s not cverytliing. T'lie iiarsoii tells us kind Avords and deeds count for soinetliing up yonder; and it Avere only tlie Sunday be fore last as hoAv lie was jireaeli- ing about little children. I al ways tlionght Ave poor folks Avere not called upon for anything more than just to keep straight our selves, Avithoiit looldiig after other peo])lo’s belongings; but uoaa', J eaii’t bcliGA-e as Iioaa^ God meant me to find that there })oor little thing for nothing more than just No, missus, Ave’ll kee]) lier, and I’m sure avg shan’t never bo the Avorsc off’ Mrs. Furmedge stopped, and after willing a tear from her eA'C Avith tlie corner of her coat, she added, in a somcAvliat shaking voice, ‘and aa'g never Avas, Polly; and somehow I always feel tliat them four years the master lived after you c.)mc to us, Avere his happiest years. At first he al- Avays called you little ‘Nobody,’ because, he said, )-ou AA'ero ‘No body’s Cliild,’ but after a bit that didn’t ])Iease him, and lie says to me, ‘Alotlier,’ says lie, ‘if the lit- tie ’un’s nobody’s child on earth, tliat’s no reason she shouldn’t be God’s chihl, so you and me avIII just see almut it.’ JSo lie took doAvn his Prayer Book. Wliat a man ho alvA'ays Avas for liis Prayer Book! That A^ery one on the top of tho Bible, only it Iiad tAvo covere then ; and lie looked it all through, until he found out all about them as should stand for a child, and then ho saj's, ‘Mother, this liore little maid, (you aa’us about two then) must haA'e tAvo god-mothers and one god-father. Noav, i’ll be her god-father, and you and Mrs. Bates (you mind her, Ikilly, slie as lived In Butch er’s PoAV, a died a tAveh'e nioiitlis ago last Cl’.ristmas) shall he lier god-mothers, and Ave Avill take her up to Ciirist Church thisAmry next 8unday and have her done. And Avhat’s more, she sliaJi be called, 2iary, aftoi- our o\v\\ little ’un, Avho, if she Icid lived, may- Ix'-, might liave married ;uid had just such a liabe herself.’ ^irs. Furmedge stopjied again and looked into tho fire, between the sips she took from liev tca-cu[). Polly, too, had sto])])od in lier lab(>rs, ami sat Avith lii’ight eves the tale of her oAvn imi lisTening to early days. She AA-as the first to break the silence by exclaiming, ‘Grannie, I like that story lietter than an)' you CA’or tell me ! and I mind grandfatlier A’ery Avell, tln.mgh I AA'cren’t very old AA'hen he were took. I am eA’er so mucli bigger rn.iAv, and I am sure if you Avi.uild let me liave tlie key of da)'s, I could mind it ({uite safe, and I Avould clean n[) the place a hit. II AA'Ould be sonictliing to do, as I do get that tired of being about the streets all day, sjiecially Avhen it is so cold and Avet, Pd like to make our room clean like .Mrs. Kel licks’. ‘Oh, that’s AA'liat you’re after, is it V snapiiod the old Avoman; ‘Avell, if you are groAving too fine to liA'e along Avirli me, Avliy, just take yourself off, that’s all, and find somebody else to bide Avitli. ddiere’s lots of folks Avitli cleaner houses; primps they Avould Iuia'C you ; ])’rhaps they AA'Ouldn’t!’ A liad ending to a conA'crsalion Avliieli had been more fiiendh* than Avas coiumoii in tliat back kitchen, for mother Furmeilge AA'as not, as a rule, talkative, and the before-going outbreak Avas al most an unheard-of tiling. Nga’- ertlieless, Polly had tlie key next da)', though it Avas not giA^eiyhor with a good grace by the old woman. onAPTER nr..—polly’s life. Every one in this gi'cat Avorld of onrs leads some kind of life. to hand her over to ‘the House.’ | useful or friA'olous, for God and our neiglilior, or for ourselves, and CA'en Utile Poll)' h;ul lierlile; tliough, I am sure, slie tlnmglit little .Avlioiher it Avas usel’nl or dull, or for oilier })eople. No! ikdiy AA'as no gi’cai; llilnker, tliougli, frem liaviiig rouglied it a good deal in her short life, slie Imd liecome srully s]iar[), for one so )'oung, OA'er common, eA^ery- day matters. She had not hud much teaching, as Belmoro Gar dens AA'ero in a ])Oor, noAv suburb of London, wliich had not as yet had much atleiuion paid to it. ’Urue, there Avere the s(*-hools at- tached to Christ Clmrch, butAfrs. Furmedge could not spare the two-pence a-Aveek to pa)' for Pol ly, and it Avas only during tlie Avinter montlis of the last three years that a free iiight sclioolhad been opened liard by. Polly had been a regular attendant from tlie very first, and slio had struggled bravely through tlie/nrst dldicul- ties of both reading and writing, notAvithstanding sleepy eyes and cold fingers that came of her long chu's out of doors during motlier Furmedge’s absence at tho dust iieap. But Polly’s days Avere not with out interest to lier, and if you had asked her, she avouUI Imve giA'en you a avIioIo lid of duties, (selv-iniposed, indeed) Avhich, by their due pciformance, made the liuppinoss of lier Uto; and slie Avould Imve told you of jdeasures undreamt of b)' any one but lier- self. I must try and tell you of these duties and pleasures. Cleaulinoss and order AA'cre not, Avc have seen, marks of Mrs. Fnr- iiiedge’s back kitchen. The ‘tidy ing' u}>,’ given before bev early start in tlie morning for her Avork at the dust heap, Avas not fittedto tench her mueli of eitlier of those A’irtues, neither Avas tho ‘regular turn-out,’ now and tlien, a much lietter sdiocl for lier. Polly’s day might be said to begin wlien ‘Mother Furmedge’ closed her doi.u' and pocketed tlie ke)'". Tlie hour of tliis proceeding varied according to tho time of the A'car, as did also Polly’s pro visions for the day vary accord ing to tlie family finances, from nothing at all to a slice of bread, or a lialf-penny to buy a bit of ‘spotted dick’ for dinner. In her earlier years Polly al- Avays Avent with lier guardians to the heap, Avhere lier young life Avas spent grubbing among the dust, till her baby figure looked like nothing more nor less than a small liAung dust heap. This practice had, Iioavovg]’, lieen given up for some time, ‘Grannie’ hav ing decided that she learnt no good there. Poor little Avoman! perhaps she did not; but Avere the streets a more instructive place for her ! At any rate they furnished her friends, and perhaps tlio kindest of them, for dogs and cats, w'heii friendly, look kind, and say no sliai']) cutting things. Our Polly had a strange Avay of attracting her four-footed friends,, especially as her command of food, Avhich is the most usual way of gaining their affections, Avas small indeed. Most days slie contrived to stint liersolf of some jiart of the fare left her by ‘Grannie,’ to carry aj’ound the corner for tlie benefit of four or five dogs, avIio aa'ci'c al- Avays on the look-out for lu'r com ing, tlie first thing in tlie morn ing. The portion for eacli Avas, at liest, very small, and fre([uent- ly notliing at all; Imt tliere av,is a friendship between the eliiM and the creatures which made the rough jum])s and licks as accept able to tho (nte, as the ‘hie tliere, poor felloAvs !’ and caressing pats were to the others. Perhaps the longiiig./or Ioa’O, and tho (/irinf/, AA'iiich dwelt in the licart of ‘Nolxxly’s Oliild,’ found an ansAver in the hearts of these lionicless iogs. Each animal had its special charm to lier; and tlie half starved, dirty, white terriiw, wlio seemed more pn^jiared for' kicks and cuffs than kind Avords, had as warm a jilace in Polly’s affections as any dainty ‘Toa',’ or ‘King Chai'les,’ in those of a fasli- ionable young lady. But Polly’s friends Avere not all four-footed. She laid others, among Avliom was Mr. Taqip, an old cobbler, living in a narroAV alley turning out of Belmore Gardens. Hoaa- tlie ac(p.iaintance had begun, or wliat the link AA'as betAvoen the child au'I tlie surly old man, it AA'Ould be hard tosaAg as d’app Avas a man of foAv Avords, and Ills only notice of lier jires- ence Avas a ‘liumpli!’ uoav and then, in ansAver to some of i’olly’s small services or flow of chatter. As rig'ularly as the clock chimed iialf-jiast seven in tlie morning, so regular Avas Master d’app’s AvindoAv, in tlie small ‘lean-to,’ half above and lialf beloAV ground, Avliich servcd'liiiu for shop, liv ing, and bed room, opened, and a small jug and a farthing were placed on the sill, Avhero tho oavu- er’s AA'atcltful eyes, notAvithstand- Ing their shaggy, oA'er-hauging broAvy, could see that none but the right jierroii touched them. d'hls right person Avas our Polly, and before many minutes had passed, she Avas sure to take jug and money, and cany thorn to the nearest milk shop, Avliere the small jug Avas filled Avitli milk, the farthing received, and tho jug returned to Polly, Avho briskly conveyed it back to the old shoe maker. No AA'ord of thanks for tbis small office Avas given, neither was it looked for ; and for some days this Avas all that passed be- tAvoeii tliem. From time to time, lioAA'ever, Avlien Polly’s daily errand Avas done, some such >vords as the fol io Aving Avere addressed to her: ‘just look in about tAvelve.’ She kiiGAv tluat these Avords meant that some job of boot-mending had to be then taken liome to some dis tant customer of l^Iaster Tapp’s, and that she Avas to do it. Iky- ment for these small services there was none, nor had the thought of inch a thing crossed Polly’s mind. She kiiGAv that, thongli the old man held his head up, and reck oned Iier and the dust hea}) folks quite beneath him, money AA'as aearly as scarce in Master Tapp’s ieant-to,’ as in Mother Fimnedge’s back kitchen, and thongli no word had ever been spoken be- tAveen them on the subject, it Avas understood on both sides that these tilings Avere to he done b)' Polly ‘for love and not rOAvard.’ In mild Aveathor, and Avhen tho old man AA'as in good tcinj'cr, iho wiiidoAv used to be left o])(ai af ter tho arriA'al of tlio milk, or on Polly’s ]'(-tiirn from an orrand ; and on tlie sill, witli lier feet uit- sidc, lho litllo AYionan sat and, Avifh ‘Fluff,” tiio coblilcr’s old cal, nestled on lier lap, she Avouhl hablile MAvay for half an liour in something of tlio following strain : ‘I never came a-nigli such a set of dogs as 1 have now for friend liness; 1 can’t see liow it is no one else takes to them more. . It is a doAvu-right jdcasnre to see ‘Biif- fey,’ (I ahvays call liim tliat be cause I can’t find out any name he Avill ansAver to) waiting for me of a morning; lie sits just Avhere he can see me coming round the corner, Avitli Ins lioad on one side, and both ears cocked u}), and a-smiling as good as any body. Wlien 1 first knowed him doAvn by the market, lie alAvays Avaiked ever so far away from me, just as if he tliouglit I Avas a- going to kick him, and noAv he jnnqiR up and licks my hands as good as any of ’em. ‘GroAvler’ don’t make such a fuss, and I am glad lie don’t; as if he took to jumping up, he’d have mo over in a minute. 1 should lie doAvu right sorry tliough, if lie Avent away, as I’m fond of Ins broad, white back (leastways it Avoiilil be Avhite if it Avasn’t for tho smuts and dust), and sliort jtrey ears, and bob-tail and blinking old eyes. ‘Snap’ does fight so, and is aUvays coming Avith a scratch, or his eye Inmged up, or his ear torn, wiien I’m sure ho miglit have got a lesson from having the otlier ear clean toi’o off. I’d like to knoAA' sometimes Avhat becomes of the dogs Avhen they give up coming, especially when it has taken me so long to find out Avhat tlioir names are. Why, sometimes it takes me months to find out Avliat tliey Avill answer to! I aPwavs trie*^s ‘Toby’ first, and then I goes on to Dick, Charlie, and such like. Why, sometimes I have to think for hours for some new name to try Avith some of them.’ The talk, of com-se, A'aried ac cording to tlie subject in the small talker’s mind, but it Avas alAA'ays Polly AA'ho spoke and not Master Tajip, who worked on the same as if no one Avas by. It AA'as closed either by Polly’s liaA'ing talked her subject out, or by tlie old man’s rising and, AA'ithout further ado, closing the AA'indow, and leaving the child to turn her steps elsewhere. . Tho ‘elsewhere’ differed. Some days it meant a long Avandcring in the streets, a game Avith any stray child she camo across, or a long sit in the Avarm sun on a door step. Jilore frequently it Avas a visit to a young wife in a small alley near the Gardens. Advice to Boys.—^Yon are made to be kind, generous and niagnan- imons, says Horace Mann. If there is a boy in school wlio has a chib-foof don’t let liim kno^v you ever saAv it. If there is a boy Avitli ragged ^ clothes, don’t taU about rags in his hearing. If there is a lame boy, assign him some part in the play avIiIcIi does not require much running. If tliere is a dull one, help him to get his lesson.
The Orphans’ Friend (Oxford, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Feb. 24, 1875, edition 1
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