登陆注册
5287900000011

第11章 CHAPTER III(3)

The "little Indian," as Malachi called her, was an awkward accession to the family. Silence Withers knew no more about children and their ways and wants than if she had been a female ostrich. Thus it was that she found it necessary to send for a woman well known in the place as the first friend whose acquaintance many of the little people of the town had made in this vale of tears.

Thirty years of practice had taught Nurse Byloe the art of handling the young of her species with the soft firmness which one may notice in cats with their kittens,--more grandly in a tawny lioness mouthing her cubs. Myrtle did not know she was held; she only felt she was lifted, and borne up, as a cherub may feel upon a white-woolly cloud, and smiled accordingly at the nurse, as if quite at home in her arms.

"As fine a child as ever breathed the breath of life. But where did them black eyes come from? Born in Injy,--that 's it, ain't it? No, it's her poor mother's eyes to be sure. Does n't it seem as if there was a kind of Injin look to 'em? She'll be a lively one to manage, if I know anything about childun. See her clinchin' them little fists!"This was when Miss Silence came near her and brought her rather severe countenance close to the child for inspection of its features.

The ungracious aspect of the woman and the defiant attitude of the child prefigured in one brief instant the history of many long coming years.

It was not a great while before the two parties in that wearing conflict of alien lives, which is often called education, began to measure their strength against each other. The child was bright, observing, of restless activity, inquisitively curious, very hard to frighten, and with a will which seemed made for mastery, not submission.

The stern spinster to whose care this vigorous life was committed was disposed to discharge her duty to the girl faithfully and conscientiously; but there were two points in her character and belief which had a most important bearing on the manner in which she carried out her laudable intentions. First, she was one of that class of human beings whose one single engrossing thought is their own welfare,--in the next world, it is true, but still their own personal welfare. The Roman Church recognizes this class, and provides every form of specific to meet their spiritual condition.

But in so far as Protestantism has thrown out works as a means of insuring future safety, these unfortunates are as badly off as nervous patients who have no drops, pills, potions, no doctors' rules, to follow. Only tell a poor creature what to do, and he or she will do it, and be made easy, were it a pilgrimage of a thousand miles, with shoes full of split peas instead of boiled ones; but if once assured that doing does no good, the drooping Little-faiths are left at leisure to worry about their souls, as the other class of weaklings worry about their bodies. The effect on character does not seem to be very different in the two classes. Metaphysicians may discuss the nature of selfishness at their leisure; if to have all her thoughts centring on the one point of her own well-being by and by was selfishness, then Silence Withers was supremely selfish; and if we are offended with that form of egotism, it is no more than ten of the twelve Apostles were, as the reader may see by turning to the Gospel of St. Matthew, the twentieth chapter and the twenty-fourth verse.

The next practical difficulty was, that she attempted to carry out a theory which, whatever might be its success in other cases, did not work kindly in the case of Myrtle Hazard, but, on the contrary, developed a mighty spirit of antagonism in her nature, which threatened to end in utter lawlessness. Miss Silence started from the approved doctrine, that all children are radically and utterly wrong in all their motives, feelings, thoughts, and deeds, so long as they remain subject to their natural instincts. It was by the eradication, and not the education, of these instincts, that the character of the human being she was moulding was to be determined.

The first great preliminary process, so soon as the child manifested any evidence of intelligent and persistent self-determination, was to break her will.

There is no doubt that this was a legitimate conclusion from the teaching of Priest Pemberton, but it required a colder and harder nature than his own to carry out many of his dogmas to their practical application. He wrought in the pure mathematics, so to speak, of theology, and left the working rules to the good sense and good feeling of his people.

Miss Silence had been waiting for her opportunity to apply the great doctrine, and it came at last in a very trivial way.

"Myrtle does n't want brown bread. Myrtle won't have brown bread.

Myrtle will have white bread."

"Myrtle is a wicked child. She will have what Aunt Silence says she shall have. She won't have anything but brown bread."Thereupon the bright red lip protruded, the hot blood mounted to her face, the child untied her little "tire," got down from the table, took up her one forlorn, featureless doll, and went to bed without her supper. The next morning the worthy woman thought that hunger and reflection would have subdued the rebellious spirit. So there stood yesterday's untouched supper waiting for her breakfast. She would not taste it, and it became necessary to enforce that extreme penalty of the law which had been threatened, but never yet put in execution. Miss Silence, in obedience to what she felt to be a painful duty, without any passion, but filled with high, inexorable purpose, carried the child up to the garret, and, fastening her so that she could not wander about and hurt herself, left her to her repentant thoughts, awaiting the moment when a plaintive entreaty for liberty and food should announce that the evil nature had yielded and the obdurate will was broken.

同类推荐
  • 续词余丛话

    续词余丛话

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 送张祥之房陵

    送张祥之房陵

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 修禅要诀

    修禅要诀

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 小儿初生护养门

    小儿初生护养门

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 寿世青编

    寿世青编

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
热门推荐
  • 只要你不拒绝:学会去接受

    只要你不拒绝:学会去接受

    生活中,我们总是习惯了拒绝,在无意之中拒绝很多东西,而选择拒绝就意味着堵死了人生的条条大路,不去尝试,不去改变,只固守旧有的生活。《只要你不拒绝(学会去接受)》强调一种“不拒绝”的理念,旨在告诉读者只有面对失败、付出、改变、尝试、责任、宽容、理解、倾听等的时候,应以一种不拒绝的积极心态去应对,才能迎接希望的曙光。
  • BUNNER SISTERS

    BUNNER SISTERS

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 赌徒算法

    赌徒算法

    天像是漏了,雨下个不停。狭窄的小巷两旁,灰白色的高耸山墙在半空中支起浅灰色的云幕,云幕之外又沉沉实实地压着半片昏暗的天空。雨声淅淅沥沥,偶尔从半空传来一声清越的飞鸟破啼,转头看去,一只麻雀展开翅膀,暗光一般滑进灰暗的檐瓦下,便不见了。女人停下脚步,将黑色的伞折起来,轻轻地推开了门。这是一间街角的小咖啡屋,出售西式点心和手磨的热咖啡。空气里弥漫着一种温暖的淡淡苦香,柔黄的灯光温暖沉静。
  • 无敌天下

    无敌天下

    强者,永远都是寂寞的,只有战胜寂寞,才能无敌天下!地球少林世家亲传弟子黄小龙携带华夏无上武学秘典《易筋经》莫名穿越到了武魂世界。武魂世界,体内拥有武魂才能修炼斗气成为一名战士,而原本拥有超级逆天武魂的黄小龙在武魂觉醒时,却被家族之人误认为是普通的变异武魂。但是拥有“普通”变异武魂的黄小龙却一次又一次展露惊人天赋,一次又一次击败所谓的超级天才,一次又一次让家族和整个武魂世界震惊!
  • 你好薄先生

    你好薄先生

    (甜酥宠文1对1)他是帝都豪门继承人,全球最大集团幕后boss,位高权重,传说霸道凶狠杀人不眨眼,高冷禁欲不近女色。她前世识人不明,惨遭男友背叛,后妈陷害,死于非命。一朝重生,没想到却遭到薄祁瑾的骗婚,她将计就计,用尽办法讨好薄祁瑾,想借他复仇。婚后薄祁瑾花式宠妻,陪她斗后妈,治渣男,整绿茶,打白莲,让她从十八线一跃成为万众瞩目的影后……他就像只老虎,而她,最擅长的就是扮猪吃老虎……
  • 丞相下下签:穿越夫人要休夫

    丞相下下签:穿越夫人要休夫

    为寻找妹妹,她穿越三国,本该穿越的时间是三国鼎立,她却早了整整四十年!没有挟天子以令诸侯的曹操,没有驻守江东的孙权,更没有仁义为怀的刘备。一切的一切,都还只是年少时。那个策马扬鞭,遛狗逗鹰的少年郎曹孟德,那个儒雅翩翩四世三公的袁绍。一切繁华背后,她却知道“苍天已死,黄天当立”的乱世即将拉开序幕。一次次言笑晏晏,一次次纵酒狂歌,那一颗不属于建安元年的心,又该何去何从,又该如何挽回悲剧的重演。(新书《君王下下签》是此书续集~讲述曹操和不念女儿的爱恨情仇哦~)
  • 大原始时代

    大原始时代

    当梦醒时,无论在哪都要不甘平凡,创造属于我的悠闲原始大时代。…………
  • 健康孕产100分

    健康孕产100分

    本书坚持以人为本,以简单、轻松的风格,打造适合准父母们阅读的模式,传播人性化、通俗化、科学化的孕产育百科知识。让初为人母、初为人父的夫妻们少一分担心,多一分安心;少一分忧心,多一分开心!
  • 其心无住

    其心无住

    《其心无住》是《降伏其心》与《善用其心》的续集,也是我出关十年,开山创建东华寺的心得感悟和修学佛法二十余年的总结。出版此书旨在阐述自己的学佛观点,获得广大学佛者的指正。佛法浩如烟海,虽修学二十余年,仍难得法乳一滴。但终究有所感悟,正如三本书名所示,降伏其心为善用其心,用过不执著,不留恋,更不留痕迹,故、名“其心无住”。要将身口意之用发挥至极限,需先降伏身口意,继而善用身口意,最终达至过后无痕。其心大而无外,小而无内。大时包太虚,小时不容针。成事由其心,败事亦由心。其心被动为奴隶,其心主动成主人。其心不降,是懦夫。降之不善用,为愚夫。事过执著,留恋不舍,乃凡夫。其心降伏,善用且无住,则圣人成矣。
  • 丝路密码

    丝路密码

    洪武年间,西北塞外发生内乱,朝廷设置的安定、阿端两卫均被废除,撒马畏兀儿酋长遣使来京,请求明朝廷派遣一个能文能武的能人出使西域。而使团才过肃州,便与大明派出保护使团的五百精兵和一百锦衣卫精锐缇骑一起神秘消失。此事震惊朝野,洪武皇帝分别派出锦衣卫与六扇门暗查使团失踪案,随着案件调查的深入,一个惊天的阴谋浮出水面……