POETIC JUSTICE

New Zealand Tablet, 2 December 1909, Page 1411

POETIC JUSTICE

'Father, what is a poetic .justice^' asked Fred Stanley-* at the,, table. * ,r! ' „",--■ ' r \-i 'i«:*s "*- >J ° f^~' J - ~ '"■''-" ' Bless l "the boy! What puijjjfchat into his head?' said mother. >; v - „- V .■„ ,3. t *, : \i 'I {iiu>.i>\s.S • >"' '*.'am ■- •^Wliy, '"tjlere was 'something., aboutait lin, our -.reading lesson to-day,' and" "when I' asked Miss -Thompson- what" it ' meant,, she .4ai3 ; she would* sfeej^ha.\vT"manyJbf> us,ebut&.^|nd f out :^i»lseJv^s| s Ji^nd : , a^ipHHsfrati^ri'M it^oWoia&Wfcf but^l 3: xJo'n't a krioV- > how' to" find" out unless you tell me, father.' v - -a / fi t V^r^O" i.-i Jl 'i -V- "-- Mr. Stanley looked thoughtful,- for a moment, and then smiled, as if struck by "some amusing c recollection., p ' BootiCjjustice,?, he 4 said^ '.iso'ajilSndD-bf .^Mfefe- wh^eh reaches ' Us,, through the ■. unforeseen? consequence&^ofj our unjust acts'. 1 ! "- I wtll' ' tell ypif L a_ 'little st^ry, Fred^ which I think will furnish the-ullustfiJtion'^yo^-'^re after. , L .-,s 1 X -recall. a^ summer . a gp^Jm.a.n^ye'acSiagci!, when 1 was" not so large as/Tarn ,no,w4 r .{ T^oj other boys and I went blackberry_ing' J in"a big^ meadow several _ milf 3from home. Ori' ourVway .to^jbhe meadowy* 'as^weKp'defdteld along the dusty" highway, we.j-jmet/a stray dog. He was a friendlessj forlorn-looking creature, >anjl t , seemed, delig^t^l' to make < up_ witli us ; and Wfheri c> gdve >< mjn7s'*oine el ' scraps of bread and^meat ;f tqvq. ouri luni;h^b.a'sSet;K he": 'capefed for joy, and trotted along at^ouri. side 4 as if to say, "Now, boys, I'm one of you." named him Rover., „and, boylike tried ; to. . find - pjit .'.'how 1 linuclv ', he Mne\v- what *he could "do in the way of .^rickaj^and^wet^soon discovered that he would " fetch a"rid barry" beautifully. No matter how big the stick or stone, nor h6w far away we threw it, he would reach it and draw it back to us.- Fences, -ditches, — and brambles he seemed to regard only as so many obstacles^, thrown in his way to try his pl^ck.aAdpendur^iSe^ (M<3l he% overcame, them f'ali: J -'•' -■■'-'-'-' •' - /SiK.ai ;^ 'At ,TCe.,.re,aohedU-ttie- meadow, and scattered onfef in quest^6^black^|r^-i|fe. I discovered;' a hornets I ' Tlesl, ' thV large"st' l ever, saw, and I%h'a' ! V'e Seen 1 -a good many.j -•'• 'It was ■ biiilt ill a cluster of blackberry vines, and hung Low, .touching the it was^at- the'foot of a little" hill ; and as I scampered .up the latter I was met at the'Bummit by Rover, frisking about with a stick in his mouth. ( I, don'^.see why'^the^dpg^and"' the hornets^ 'nfest 'should" have 'cbrinected themselves in >my •; mind, b^ ; ijhey, , did, . and "a ,wicked the unions !"*"''"■■• '•> - '■"■• ■'~ -'■-'-"'•'--''' • -' '^ " ' "^ob^^ Wtilll.Oomeehere- . Well- have some fun." 4 THey came ."promptly, n and .1 explained my plan. -I , pointed out nest, andL proposed that we roll ' h a stoneadown upbn 'itj_ J>^and "send "Rover after the sion^K"And, oh, won'tK.it^be&funto^'see how astpnishbd'Klke'll^e when the hornets come out?" I cried in conclusion. JQiev^ , agreedv_.that--it-.would-"be*-"frinnyr~™* "We" "sele^cteoT^a 1 cooo>^ ] sized. ,stone l ,,..called^llaveris special A^trfje^tton l^W[i|f^|,n|l J ] starlea rt irtio'wii tfie |iilE Aftd wh& a [ we turngdsfthe dogc^osei; andi thfespboi' reifow,* 6 !^^*!!!^ pecting our trick, darted .after Jihe «stojie wjth a joyous bark. We had tak|H^o©|B&n.sfe,n|^|EJft^^round was smooth, the stone #errt^trufer ToTihe' marfc, and into the hornets^ nesteidust' as ffßov^r-^^^vajji^ottaltt. upon Jhe? po^r^animalL gjgd ! our i iatffcibipa%ioWf n & < MU { we ß *nadT ? ttßF begiin'lo dotible ourselves up in paisc«y3siris«o*f«laxtglSS^? £ >^h^S I) weh frenzied - yelps ofj^o^sjj^ssm^a^^ingrmiJatfidT^l&^oVaydffaal, followed closelyn^T afl tihev hoMLetSj, «©rfojrsjssS!; den^da dja© a fer^^d|tr"CTr U! piteoijgj a,pperils ffir.telpiS »I)^ASiQ?HM6S^%©wiefcrTOe aJb^K^,

p Tiff«TLs«BrfSS¥j9 low S^ 11 Vlfe^V Ife^1 fe^ h^^h^oTtme lasted, S ITtSifr 8 Tff °lerI er Iwslto the emerI gelicy* ana T wl*h-*stfperro#- instinct showed us a way to " rid ourselves of our vindictive assailants.. As soon.ras ne realised t h^we^Qo,were in disjjjiis^&j^'c'ou^iitW \o -—fljssistance, hej|sn^mndl|jjtoa stream which^owed through |§l§^g§Pp^M^W^W^tk^^y element when we were ■ bh& . y^^l^sJpJ?«d withdrawn^ fJTfeeji wea®at on ' ' •^^pJbftink of the siretnC and looked at fflfrer (foiefully our swollen, purple eyelids, while the water dripped trom our clothing, a.nd^a^^undred stingtoe ?f Siffinda teife^ wh W#l B *g |^ 1 » p Jvi4SJ& I ftwe hadTbeen 'having with judged us accordiiogly, and,^creeping- up to me,-licked~mv -hand-m-silent; "sympathy. Then some dormant sense of justice asserted itself within me. „. right. | \z T *^A S^« (J.&2M * * - JNfeitlftr of them -contradicted mej,\and, rising stifly, we went slowly home Ward, '" with Rover at t -our heels . 'That, my b^a^Bfr. StHft^rl^ffidaSS; 'is a good instance of jpoetic_ justice.',. .- ,