| 177 | 178 | 179 | 180 | 181 |
| 1 | 133 | 265 | 398 | 530 |
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stream; the smooth ground, rendered smoother still by blending lights
and shadows, inviting to runs and leaps, and long walks God knows
whither. It was more than boy could bear, and with a joyous whoop
the whole cluster took to their heels and spread themselves about,
shouting and laughing as they went.
'
It's natural, thank Heaven!' said the poor schoolmaster, looking after
them. 'I'm very glad they didn't mind me!'
It is difficult, however, to please everybody, as most of us would have
discovered, even without the fable which bears that moral, and in the
course of the afternoon several mothers and aunts of pupils looked in
to express their entire disapproval of the schoolmaster's proceeding. A
few confined themselves to hints, such as politely inquiring what red-
letter day or saint's day the almanack said it was; a few (these were
the profound village politicians) argued that it was a slight to the
throne and an affront to church and state, and savoured of
revolutionary principles, to grant a half-holiday upon any lighter
occasion than the birthday of the Monarch; but the majority
expressed their displeasure on private grounds and in plain terms,
arguing that to put the pupils on this short allowance of learning was
nothing but an act of downright robbery and fraud: and one old lady,
finding that she could not inflame or irritate the peaceable
schoolmaster by talking to him, bounced out of his house and talked
at him for half-an-hour outside his own window, to another old lady,
saying that of course he would deduct this half-holiday from his
weekly charge, or of course he would naturally expect to have an
opposition started against him; there was no want of idle chaps in
that neighbourhood (here the old lady raised her voice), and some
chaps who were too idle even to be schoolmasters, might soon find
that there were other chaps put over their heads, and so she would
have them take care, and look pretty sharp about them. But all these
taunts and vexations failed to elicit one word from the meek
schoolmaster, who sat with the child by his side - a little more
dejected perhaps, but quite silent and uncomplaining.
Towards night an old woman came tottering up the garden as speedily
as she could, and meeting the schoolmaster at the door, said he was
to go to Dame West's directly, and had best run on before her. He and
the child were on the point of going out together for a walk, and
without relinquishing her hand, the schoolmaster hurried away,
leaving the messenger to follow as she might.
They stopped at a cottage-door, and the schoolmaster knocked softly
at it with his hand. It was opened without loss of time. They entered a
room where a little group of women were gathered about one, older
than the rest, who was crying very bitterly, and sat wringing her
hands and rocking herself to and fro.
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