times he was as sober and sincere as could be desired. Any one
might have lectured him for an hour without doing as much good
as that little call and the chat that grew out of it, for, though
nothing very wise or witty was said, many things were suggested,
and every one knows that persuasive influences are better than any
amount of moralizing. Neither Polly nor Will tried to do anything
of the sort, and that was the charm of it. Nobody likes to be talked
to, but nobody can resist the eloquence of unconscious preaching.
With all his thoughtlessness, Tom was quick to see and feel these
things, and was not spoilt enough yet to laugh at them. The sight of
Will and Polly’s simple affection for one another reminded him of
a neglected duty so pleasantly, that he could not forget it. Talking
of early days made him wish he could go back and start again,
doing better. Grandma’s name recalled the tender memory that
always did him good, and the thought that Polly trusted her dearest
brother to his care stirred up a manful desire to deserve the
confidence. Tortures would n’t have drawn a word of all this from
him, but it had its effect, for boys don’t leave their hearts and
consciences behind them when they enter college, and little things
of this sort do much to keep both from being damaged by the four
years’ scrimmage which begins the battle of life for most of them.
CHAPTER XI NEEDLES AND TONGUES
DEAR POLLY, The Sewing Circle meets at our house this P. M.
This is in your line, so do come and help me through. I shall
depend on you.
Yours ever, FAN.
“Bad news, my dear?” asked Miss Mills, who had just handed the
note to Polly as she came in one noon, a few weeks after Jenny’s
arrival.
Polly told her what it was, adding, “I suppose I ought to go and
help Fanny, but I can’t say I want to. The girls talk about things I
have nothing to do with, and I don’t find their gossip very amusing.
I ‘m an outsider, and they only accept me on Fan’s account; so I sit
in a corner and sew, while they chatter and laugh.”
“Would n’t it be a good chance to say a word for Jenny? She wants
work, and these young ladies probably have quantities done
somewhere. Jenny does fine work exquisitely, and begins to feel
anxious to be earning something. I don’t want her to feel dependent
and unhappy, and a little well-paid sewing would be all she needs
to do nicely. I can get it for her by running round to my friends, but
I really have n’t the time, till I get the Mullers off. They are
paupers here, but out West they can take care of themselves, so I
‘ve begged the money to send them, and as soon as I can get them
some clothes, off they go. That ‘s the way to help people help
themselves,” and Miss Mills clashed her big scissors energetically,
as she cut out a little red flannel shirt.
“I know it is, and I want to help, but I don’t know where to begin,”
said Polly, feeling quite oppressed with the immensity of the work.
“We can’t any of us do all we would like, but we can do our best
for every case that comes to us, and that helps amazingly. Begin
with Jenny, my dear; tell those girls about her, and if I ‘m not much
mistaken, you will find them ready to help, for half the time it is n’t
hardness of heart, but ignorance or thoughtlessness on the part of
the rich, that makes them seem so careless of the poor.”
“To tell the truth, I ‘m afraid of being laughed at, if I try to talk
seriously about such things to the girls,” said Polly, frankly.
“You believe that ‘such things’ are true? You are sincere in your
wish to help better them, and you respect those who work for that
end?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Then, my dear, can’t you bear a little ridicule for the sake of a