THE INIQUITIES OF THE FATHERS.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 949, 17 October 1910, Page 8

THE INIQUITIES OF THE FATHERS.

[By Olive H. H.owle,tt,] : 111 windy "Wellington; when the streets are crowded, children from four to fourteen, girls and boys, may be heard crying newspapers. ' And oh!' the shudders •one gets from their different nervetorturing twangs! I have often wanted to follow home and-knowsome of the tiny mites of five and-- six who - carry ' their bundles of: papers along the streets,;, so happy- and ragged. . Their funny little baby faces, look yory wise and old-fashioned: . One girl oi ten I did make friends with, for she was "runner" in our street. I petted her and gave her sweets. She was strange and uncanny to look at; frowsy, freckled,'and (my-husband's expres : aion) : "not violets." I might, add as a. matter of detail-that she.was a. thief, a liar, a vagabond.- ■ She stole, weka-fashion, anything she' could - detach; and. carry. - Every- day she had : 6ome story .to tell , me, and most of her- yarns .were obviously'inventions. One day when she knew 1 was out she -rapped -loudly,• asked for: my husband, and begged him to give her three sheets of paper .aid three envelopes for. a, penny. - - ' The stupid ;man gaye. her them j ishe put. them behind her' back and ; looked up cunningly. . • , ; "Got no penny." • lie was checkmated. : ' Once. I let herVcome in my-sitting-room;. ahe roained about .fingering, tilings,.. anu ; at last saw my violin case. ■ ; )"I want that; ..you give it._to' mcr v , ; "Wliy, that is a baby's cotttn, I roj plied,' "what do , you want- with; that, . "'Taint, I'know ifs,a ; ' violin." _ I said that if ;I''gav'e it to her I should have. to;. buy'' myself; another one; then' she. saidi someone;might give-me a new one,-and turned to my liusbaiid suggest-, irig" impishly— r : " :Vr; v -7 v ' ' "'Tretty lady—someone. m:gfit a W She managed to annex a small piece of pencil, andr a ,Teel.-. of cotton that day. I could-never get iher to .tell me wliere she lived..-, I have'often met her in moBt; uhaccbtintable places;; One.'summer even- | ing at dusk I was having an; J ramUe. ";I 'went slowly; up. some 'junny.; I wooden zig-zag. steps,-pondering/over the. initials. carved on ..the - shining:.rails, .ana-: wondering how many hands had helped to 'make .them ''Bo.,smooth. ; the top X found- my little news [ girl, sitting on- a grassy patch; counting a- huge ."bag of J. marbles.- She : ,'looked.' up,sideways at :' ine od".said:-r• •' >--r -• :; ' "Lost six to-day; give me penny to buy : more/' -v. • ; -v -- 1 . I - threw her • one/ v and she gav« me an i elfish- look, ;and. ran away down the- thistle-covered crossed a gully thai, was littered ' with* old - pots and ;pans, rusty- kerosene -tins, .and manyother kinds of slum- debris,V.thcn^ gamed, a block" of grimy-looking. ; hovels and . disappeared. . •• On the way she looked back many times, to see if I was following her, but whether she-was'going, to her. home or not i cannot : teU., Next day a different "runner left our \ paper, and 'I /havo 'never seen - her;-. : Certainly -deven lobelias in bloom lifted from' our- garden during the night, but that/-I suppose, 'Wa3;her _p.p.c. ...card.; After- that not "even a -card. - I often a think; -of my' own - carefullyguarded '• childhood;; and - find it easy, . to, forgive r my little, news, girl,for stealing 'mjritrifles.;' « 4 * » * ;:;This : :smSli::impresaon'->f: ; .a: ; ohiipfs;,| Vras; jotted down - one ; lazy ; morhicg, and :thrbwn' carelessly:-among' a,.'P"6,' of':accumulated. notes. :. . '. ' 1 had. forgotten. .: > ,'Then: suddenly, ■.my little news girl was again, recalled.. • Wo were travelling ■ .up, north on a-. dict-clihe-'tour, j"and:'';bne . night,at, a,; small; country h.otel, I happened to.pick up aii. old paper. : ' >. .' I was' glancing'.at' it casually .when_ ,my .eve. fell 'on- a ipolice; report about the ' time the'.•'lobeliM.-ichsappeMea.-; A child- who -gave ..the ' name of Olara Brinker, : ; ;13,' ! charged withiiving'vwith' dismrderlyr; per-, , sons': reputed' to . be' thieves.;:!-,- j.;, Inspector Devine .deposed,that-whenvhe, arrested her she, said ,her jather .was Lord'. BrinkCT ;V;he;,could ;.no^find. -such, a,, name-in the peerage.- ; His Worship committed her to ..the ..To Oranga, Home. A' member. ~ of ,- the • Solvation. askedto- -interview : v th© • child;: and.;;Teturned Uaying;, Clara iwas to -, go,;. but': begged", first /to, ;g'o ".home^- and; fetch.; some' blue, "abelias" and -;see. a, - pretty ; lady who promised her a' violin. • ■ Inspector Devine, said , there were do 'such . flowers!-as' "abelUs, and,.he ;be-. lieved the "pretty lad}''. , : \yas a. pure invention; • So • the '-j child: was .sent to Xe Oranga.■ W^.i,

About a. month .after; this I Fas Jin jr' ihg'Nfriends ;inV Christohuroh;-._;and.> : .it ■ seemed:,natural' I .should. go; and: see ; my--littlo news girl.,'. ' -'.v.,'v ; i'l called'on'the ,matron,and. showed the', report./- She was a- quiet, sweet. woman;:with? a 'Very;kind Jace, and rshe looked pityingly as l she ■, told me : the. child, ■She':sngßested .:we, shouid, wait together-'and.-see the ! grave. ..There was a- small, cross: with just. the..name -and date./ She was a ,;wild,;' imaginative child, and . fretted in captivity ; had lost the power of 'resistance .aiid succumbed to; pneumonia,;. : ' When wo returned, the', matron^showed.. ■ me' ■a' :■ photo; of:the . little waif.. Sli?, said they always photographed-children • wh°se names , were doubtful. _ I looked at the ■funny,:-ugly, strange face, and felt sail; • then she-handed me.a /ohild's; shoulder—with; a' curious birthmark like a hammer. Evidence-enough;, to identify, '.but "what could; it-.'matter;!,-And yet I; borrowed them, and had them C °|oine sis'or 'eight ;months . afWrwaris,;l was staying in -a; country house.-- -.v isitors to lunch'. . i.- ; "Let me introduce lord v l stared -long before .I boweu. ,1 had been reading "Our Manifold Nature, ■ and' he.- seemed to have "stepped, straight out of "Eugenia.". ' • -". The same artificial , complexion, flabby, muscle, Suggestion. of Mine; unusual scent. 1 felt perplexed.' • • Vi'v',.'-. - .. After. lunch ho' walked; with me in' the garden; .What.fatality'made.our. talk turn, on birth-marks ?■ 'He told me j how ;in -England a girl of ungovernable passion,. a blacksmith's daughter,; fought another vil-. lage girl who'had attempted to rob her of her "lo'ver. - After .-both were nearlyex-. hansted, the former used one • of lier .father's: hammers-'with-fatal- effect. A heavy .'storm "came" on, : she: got< dr'erichedto .the skin and apparently made some attempt to fly, and remained long with T out shelter. The' result .was pneumonia, and in a .month she died. ' In, the meantime a. baby was. bom with the ais--tinct mark of a hammer oh' its shoulder.; . "Poor Clara," -said "she"wasn't 'a' .virtuous, ;girl/but we .could ■ have spared others • better." !; :■: ■■. - I showed- 1 him 'the photograph of my little waif's.sbbulder. - Never did. I .see .a man blanch and lose'all nerve so rapidly. I showed "him her.'; face. .' There was written' on ' the. back - just 'her; name' and place of .burial. Then we; talked ! of. other matters. ■ : .--'-^V. •"..The next time I ,was in .Christchureh-.1-went' went' to the cemetery.' ~On the little grave was • a cross -of . faded blue lobelias; on the .headstone hail; been added the real age. of the child, and. the words• - -.■■ . -."The sins of the fathers shall be visited on-the children." :■'' y.„ . . And I .suppose if I were;to"'find,'out every conceivable detail, there.would really, bo nothing more worth itelling. ; ;;; ': .