Jr. Horatio Alger

“ There is something irresistible in the witchery of beauty; and Willie felt a warm glow crimsoning his cheeks, as for a moment, forgetful of every thing else, he bent his eyes earnestly upon Lizzie. Then another feeling came over him; and, with a look of shame at his scanty and ill-fitting garments, he dropped her hand, and involuntarily [213] shrank back, as if seeking to screen them from sight.
Perceiving the movement, and guessing its cause, Mr. Dinsmoor, with a view to dissipate these feelings, led forward Harry and Charlie, the younger boys, and told them to make acquaintance with Willie. ”

“ Then it was that he began to appreciate more fully the importance of Floy’s services. Ever ready to minister to his wants, no one [28] could wish a more faithful or attentive nurse. As she sat by his bedside in the long days through which his sickness was protracted, busily engaged with her sewing, he would lie for hours, watching the motion of her busy fingers with pleased interest. Occasionally—for he had nothing else to do—his mind would wander back to the scenes of his early manhood, and he would sigh over the recollection of the happiness which might have been his. ”

“ Mr. Hathaway, as he looked at it intently, found that it reflected a small room, scantily furnished; while a fire flickered in the grate. A bed stood in one corner of the room, on which reposed a sick man. By the side of it sat a woman, with a thin shawl over her shoulders, busily plying her needle. An infant boy lay in a cradle not far off, which a little girl called Alice, whose wasted form and features spoke of want and privation, was rocking to sleep. ”

“ Together they entered; and a moment afterwards, just as Miss Hetty was preparing to lay the cloth for dinner, a knock sounded through the house.
“Goodness!” said Miss Hetty, fluttered. “Who can it be that wants to see me at this hour?”
Smoothing down her apron, and giving a look at the glass to make sure that her hair was in order, she hastened to the door.
“Will it be asking too much, madam, to request a seat by your fire for myself and little girl for a few moments? It is very cold.” ”

“ The entrance to it is a filthy arched passage-way, round which are crowded miserable tenements; so miserable, that the scanty sunlight, which finds its way through the dirt-begrimed windows, seems to shrink away, as if it were more than half ashamed of the company it is in. In front of these houses, you may see men whose faces betray no evidence of intelligence or virtue; women whose miserable and woe-begone expression, perchance [158] loud voice and angry vituperation, attest that from them all that renders the sex attractive has for ever departed ”

“ Wealth, happiness, and long life: I will confer either of these upon you. Choose.”
“And may I choose any thing I like?” said Wide-awake, with eyes sparkling.
“Yes,” said the fairy (for so we must now call her) .
“Then I will choose that my mother be restored to sight.”
“You have chosen well, my child,” said [74] the fairy, kindly: “it shall be as you say; and, to reward you for your affection to your mother, I will freely bestow upon you the three gifts which you did not choose. You shall be rich; and your life shall be both long and happy.” ”

“ He had observed the young Fraulein’s eyes wandering toward the side of the church on which he sat, and he could not mistake the object that attracted them. Whenever the maiden saw that he was returning her gaze, she always cast down her eyes; and then, of course, she looked ten-fold as beautiful in the eyes of Heinrich Dort.
After all, the eye is more eloquent than the tongue. Heinrich thought he could not mistake it in this instance. ”

“ It will defray all your expenses, and bear you back to Portland. But beware lest you divulge to any one the chance that has befallen you; for, should you be so indiscreet, I swear to you by Solomon’s seal, which glows with unapproachable splendor, that you will instantly be transformed into a gigantic jackass, and be doomed in that shape to walk the earth for ever as the penalty of your folly. ”

“ Bright lights gleam from the parlor windows, and shouts of mirth and laughter ring out upon the night.
All is joy and brightness and festivity within those palace-homes. The snow-flakes fall idly against the window-panes. They cannot chill the hearts within, nor place a bar upon their enjoyment; for this is Christmas Eve, long awaited, at length arrived. [207] Christmas Eve, around which so many youthful anticipations cluster, has enjoyments peculiarly its own, over which the elements, however boisterous, have no control. ”

“ But of this defect Gottfried was not conscious; or, at least, he would not have acknowledged it to be such. With all his wisdom, he knew not the meaning of virtue; for he was perpetually confounding it with learning; so that with him the philosophy [229] of life might be said to consist in these few words: “To be learned is to be virtuous.” Thus it was, that, in the pride of his attainments, he looked down upon other men as immeasurably his inferiors, and was even half convinced that they were of a different nature from himself. ”

“ Such is always the case, when a man, by his own act, shuts himself out from his kind, foregoes their sympathy and kind offices, and virtually says, “I am sufficient unto myself.”
Martin had one child, a girl, named Florence. At the time of the death of her mother, she was but six years old. He had loved her, perhaps, as much as it was in his power to love any one; and, as long as she remained with him, he did not withdraw himself so entirely from human companionship. ”

“ With fierce, angry moaning, drives fearfully past.”
In a large and pleasant room sat little Bertha, gazing thoughtfully into the fire. The fire crackled and burnt; and shadows, cast by its flickering light, danced on the wall. But little Bertha’s thoughts were far away, and she heeded them not. For many weeks, she had been looking forward to this very night; and now she was trying to conjecture what gifts good St. Nicholas had in store for her. At length she grew weary of conjecture, took a lamp from the table, and went up stairs to bed. ”

“ Just then, her husband stirred in his sleep; and Mary, hastily repeating, “Call again on Tuesday, and you shall have it,” closed the door, and went to his bedside.
“They are a proud set,” said Mudge to himself, as he descended the rickety staircase, which nearly caused him to stumble,—“they are a proud set; and they say pride and poverty always go together. But, if the rent isn’t ready on Tuesday, their pride will be likely to meet with a fall, or my name isn’t Mudge.”
Perceiving that her husband still slept, the artist’s wife took up her work, and began to ply her needle busily. ”

“ Dinsmoor looked in the direction indicated, and saw the little boy, without his perceiving that attention had been drawn towards him.
“Some poor boy,” she remarked to her husband, in a compassionate tone, “who loses for a moment the sensation of his own discomfort in witnessing our happiness. See how eagerly he looks at the tree! which no doubt appears like something marvellous to him.”
“Why can’t you let him come in?” asked Lizzie, eagerly. “He must be very cold out there, with the snow-flakes falling upon him. ”

“ At first, Arthur resolved to follow in the steps of his father-in-law, but, as is too often the case, found that genius unknown is unappreciated. His income became very scanty,—hardly sufficient to supply himself and Mary with the bare necessaries of life.
It was at this stage in their fortunes that it was announced, that, at the annual exhibition of paintings, the prize already alluded to would be awarded to the most meritorious production of art. This offer fired Arthur’s ambition. Why should not he, filled as he was with the inspiration of genius,—why [123] should not he gain it? ”

“ Young Arthur, who was a boy of a sensitive and highly imaginative temperament, found little sympathy with his peculiar tastes in the musty folios over which he was expected to pore day after day, or in the deeds and legal instruments which he was called upon to engross. He devoted his leisure time to obtaining some knowledge of painting from a teacher of that art. He made so great proficiency in this department as to surprise his teacher, who exclaimed, with enthusiasm, that he was born to be an artist. ”

“ Helen was not long in making the acquaintance of Ellen and Frank Gregory, the children of her employer, over whom she was expected thenceforth to have oversight.
Those who have always lived in the country, or to whom frequent visits have made it familiar, can hardly appreciate the depth of enjoyment which it brought to a child, who, like Helen, had been confined for years in the most noisome portion of a great city. ”

“ Address
“P. H. Gregory.”
“There,” said the reader, laying down his paper, “is a situation which will just suit you. You like children; and pretty much all you will have to do will be to attend to them. Then Mr. Gregory lives in a beautiful place. He is a rich man, and can afford it. Would you like to go?”
“Above all things,” said Helen, eagerly (for to her the prospect of a release from the dismal place in which she lived was most pleasing) .
“And you wouldn’t miss me, your affectionate uncle?” said the man, with a peculiar expression.
The child’s eyes fell. ”

“ Gottfried had just written the concluding paragraph of a treatise upon some abstruse subject, which possessed an interest only for scholars like himself. His pen dropped wearily from his fingers, and he passed his hand across his eyes.
“Yes,” said he, musingly, and a smile lighted up his face, “at length it is finished, the labor of many years. But the reward is to come. My fame as a scholar, already great [230] among men, will become greater still. Fame, bright goddess of my youthful dreams! how through weary years have I toiled for thee! ”

“ Penetrating every fold
Of her thin shawl; and she whispers,
Shivering, “I am very cold!”
Hark! the bells with brazen clangor,
Rising every moment higher,
Peal upon the startled city
The terrific cry of “Fire!” ”

“ We are apt to look to the Old World exclusively for startling contrasts between fashion and splendor on the one hand, and squalid wretchedness and crime on the other. With an air of complacency, we speak of our great and happy republic, as affording a retreat for the homeless, and a refuge for the oppressed. ”

“ Dinsmoor failed.
Eleven years had rolled by since the Christmas night on which our story opens. Lizzie had not belied the promise of her girlhood, but had developed into a radiantly beautiful girl. Already her hand had been sought in marriage; but, as yet, she had seen no one on whom she could look with that affection without which marriage would be a mockery.
Charlie and Harry, too,—eleven years had changed them not a little. The boys of four and six had become fine, manly youths of fifteen and seventeen. The eldest had entered college. ”

“ You must let me tell Arthur the good news.”
Mr. Audley summoned his son, and, pointing to Mr. Hathaway, said, “This gentleman has offered to send you to college at his own expense.”
The eyes of the youth lighted up; and he grasped the hand of his benefactor, saying, simply, “Oh! if you but knew how happy you have made me!”
“I do not deserve your thanks,” was the smiling reply. “I have learned that to make others happy is the most direct way to secure my own happiness.”
Mr. Hathaway took his way to the store. ”

“ On many a hearth the fire blazed brightly, in composed defiance of the insidious visitor who shuns the abodes of opulence, but forces his unwelcome entry into the habitations of the poor.
A child, thinly clad, was roaming through the streets. Every gust, as it swept along, chilled her through and through; and at length, unable to go farther, she sank down at the portal of Martin Kendrick’s dwelling. Extreme cold gave her courage ”

“ Some years since, there lived in Portland a worthy shoemaker named Peter Plunkett. Unpoetical as his name may appear, Peter possessed a vivid imagination, which, had it been properly cultivated, might have made him, perchance, a poet or a novelist. As it was, he chiefly employed it in building air-castles of more than royal magnificence, wherein dwelt fairies and genii. If there was any book that approached the Bible, in Peter’s estimation, it was the “Arabian Nights’ Entertainments.” ”

“ His clothing was poor, and too scanty to afford a sufficient protection against the inclemency of the season. Through the visor of his cap, which had become detached in the middle, having a connection only at the [206] two extremities, might be seen his rich brown hair. Notwithstanding the drawback of his coarse and ill-fitting attire, it was evident that he possessed a more than ordinary share of boyish beauty. But just at present his brow is overcast with a shade of anxiety; and his frame trembles with the cold, from which he is so insufficiently shielded. ”

“ He aspired to become in the world of intellect what Alexander was in the physical world, and, like that monarch, sighed to think that there were no more worlds to conquer,—no more victories to be gained. ”

“ When her poor grandmother was sick for nearly a year before she died,”—and Armstrong wiped his eyes with his ragged sleeve at the sorrowful thought,—“Helen took the whole care of [172] her and of me; and no one could find a better nurse.”
“It must have been a great care to you, Helen,” said Mrs. Gregory, kindly.
Helen had been so much taken aback by the last fabrication respecting a grandmother of whom she had never heard, that she was barely able to say, in a low voice,—
“Yes, ma’am.”
“But you will never regret it, my child,” said the lady. “God will not fail to reward good children. ”