The German's Daughter [pp. 737-760]

1~~ S4. Th emn eglr 3
I hope, to a better inheritance than that to which,
by a provision of the will of our old relative, I
succeeded; and, with the advantage of having read
a page or two of life, after a fashion to render cxperience abiding, I entered upon a new state of
things.
See, however, that h e h as clothes that will mark
him as the son of a gentleman, and a boy of fortune-in short, don't put up for him anything ordinary, Mrs. Pembroke. As he may be placed
among the sons of common people, it is as well to
have the thing understood."
Thus having said, and/being satisfied that he
had done his duty, my father left the room with an
elevated head, and not altogether without a certain
importance in his step and air.
" You are going away to-morrow, Henry," said
my mother when he was gone. " Get up my son,
" As vou probably already foresee, my situation
was now greatly changed, and certainly, as it respected worldly things, not for the worse. I, who
had hitherto been a shy, neglected, and unhappy
child, now became, in the twinkling of an eye, an
object of importance. I had known enough of the
misery of playing second, to be fully aware of the
grandeur I had acquired by my sudden rise to the
first part in our domestic harmony; and although,
child-like, I thought at first only of the playmate
I had lost, and lamented for my brother in sincerity
of soul, yet it was, perhaps, but the natural result
of past events, that I should, after a time, have
discovered the consolatory truth that there is' good
in every thing.' It was equally the consequence
of after occurrences that, at the age of twelve,
I should have become a spoiled, vain, and idle boy,
full of headstrong impulses and utterly devoid of
self-control. About that time, however, some excellent friend, whose benevolence I bless for it,
advised my parents to send me to school, and, although I had been taught to read and write, yet,
upon reflection, it did seem, even to the comprehension of my mother, clouded as it was by maternal affection, that these accomplishments would,
by themselves, hardly suffice to a gentleman of
my extended prospects. It was therefore decreed
that I should be sent to school. When this decision was announced to me, I forthwith measured
my length upon the parlor floor-inot in a faintingi
fit, Mrs. Vere-only in a fit of heroics (which is
apt, you know, in the long run, to end in such a
position) and I immediately executed a succession
of kicks, so rapid and energetic, that my mother
was excessively annoyed, and condescended to
observe that'she thought I must be distracted,'
whilst my father more sensibly remarked that'he
had never seen a child want a-whipping so badly."'
'; But," added this judicious parent, " it is hardly
worth my while to begin with him now, my dear,
for Mr. Twinkle, they tell me, has so much of the
habits of a strict disciplinarian, that the birch trees
are mere stalks all over his neighborhood. He is
exactly the master that will suit this boy."
At this consolatory inthnation, I struggled even
more fancifully than before.
" I am sure I do not want my child to be whipped," said my mother, soothingly.
"Get up and behave yourself, Henry, and don't
make my head ache so!"insolM.Tilw
"Leave the bad fellow to himself," said my
father," and have his trunk packed this very night,
my dear, for he shall go to-morrow. I would not
keep him in the house another day for the world.
an d let me speak to you."
" I won't-I won't- I won't- and I will no t go
to school'!"
" You will, my son, for you must. Come and
let me talk to you. When you hear wh a t I have
to tell you, y o u will like to go to sch o ol."
At this I arose to hear what in the wo rl d could
make me like to go to school.
"My mother began by setting forth my present
want of the'education of a gentleman,' which
she explainned to be a very disgraceful circumstance. Then she reminded me that Philip Maxwell, and Tom Richardson, both boys of pretenisions inferior to mine were already at school, and
then she pathetically assured me that it would be
hereafter not more a grief to me than to her, to
hear people praise them for ability and information, whilst I should be pointed at as a lazy ignoramus. Oh! no-neither of us would ever bear
that. And when I seemed sufficiently shocked at
this idea, she most pleasantly slid into a gay description of school-boy life-its holiday sports-its
naughty scrapes. Before she had finished her
discourse, I longed for the morning that I might
set off.
"I give you this early history Mrs. Vere, that
you may comprehend how little I am to be blamed
for the resolute and impetuous energy which, at a
later period, marked my rebellion against a parental decree.
" I will not give you all my school life in detail.
That chronicle is much beneath your attention. But
if you could, by any possibility, patiently set yourself to its investigation, you would easily perceive
that the propensities which were so strongly developed in my early boyhood were but little restrained even during any subjection to the government
of Mr. Twinkle. My father, I fancy, had relented
when he found himself about to leave his only son
beneath a strange roof, and had given my instructor
some hint or other which was destined to turn to
my advantage. At least I very often found that
for some such trivial error, as speaking or laughing
in school, Mr. Twinkle would raise in succession
eyes, voice and cane against the offender, and
upon discovering his identity with my privileged
self, turn all three together upon some junior
wretch, whose surprise at the transfer was equalled
1840.]
The Ge2-man's Dau-hier.
0739