Part 6

Presently he was called to breakfast in the kitchen, and sat down among the ploughmen and carters. It was more astonishing than all to see how they ate, and to find that he could have as much as he wanted, and was eating too. There were great slices of bread, bacon, and pudding, and hot coffee, with a quantity of milk in it. After breakfast he saw the farm-yard, the great hay-stacks, and corn-stacks, and the barns. Such high places! some full of corn stored away,--one that looked empty and immense at first, but in which he soon saw there were all manner of things, strange to him, and which he admired very much;--these were various tools and machines, spades, rakes, hoes, sickles, hay-knives, hay-forks, pitch-forks, brooms, harrows, chaff-cutters, and numbers of other fine things.

Then he saw the stables, with the fine, strong, well-fed horses in their stalls, and saw the men take them out to their work again; and he saw the large cow-house, ready for the cows when they were put up in winter, with the calf-pens in one corner; and he saw the pig-styes, with all the pigs, large and small. At dinner and at supper he had as much as he could eat. At night he slept at the wagoner's in a little bed up in the garret; the moon shone in at the window in the roof when he lay down, and he saw the blue sky through it when he awoke, and heard sparrows chirping in the thatch. This was all the greatest wonder and delight to him.

Three days of this kind of life had passed, when Farmer Truman sent for Nancy and Roger.

"I have got an admission for Roger into the Orphan School of our county town," said he. "Your mother longed for you to be a scholar and learn a trade. Be a good boy, and you may make a man of yourself."

Nancy curtsied, and thanked the master. Roger said nothing, and Nancy could not make him understand that he ought to make his bow. That very day his friend the wagoner took him to the school. It was a fine building, with large rooms, and a great many boys. Everything was in good order. Roger was dressed in new clothes, and well taken care of, but he looked very grave, and was thought a stupid boy.

Three evenings afterwards, as the wagoner's wife was shutting her shutter, she heard a tap at the door, and when she opened it there stood Roger.

"Why, Roger, how came you here?" said she.

He only said "He liked best to be here."

She gave him a scolding for running away, but took him in, gave him some supper, and sent him to bed. The farmer was very angry, would not see him, nor let Nancy speak to him, and sent him back next morning.

Four evenings afterwards there was a tap at the wagoner's door as he and his wife sat at supper; and when they opened it there stood Roger again.

They were very angry this time, and sent him to bed without any supper. The farmer reproved him severely when he sent him back, and told him not to dare to run away again.

A week afterwards, when the wagoner came home from work, he saw Roger sitting under a tree near his door; and this time they would not take him in again at the school.

Nobody knew what to do with him now. His new clothes were sent back to the Orphan School, and his shabby old ones put on. Nancy was in great distress, and Roger was shut up in the garret till the farmer made up his mind about him.

Some kind ladies, relations of the farmer's, who were rich, happened to be at the farm then, and they said they would take the poor boy home. They lived in a town sixty miles off; so it was impossible, they said, he could run back from there. They took him away, therefore, and were very kind to him, clothed him well, taught him to read and write, gave him all his meals beside them, made him walk before them when they walked out, and never let him be out of their sight, except when they went out visiting, and then he was locked into a room with some play-things, and the servants told to take care of him. He seemed contented, and learned fast, but he never forgot his happy days. If he was told about some beautiful place, he asked if it was like the farm. If he read of some great man, he asked if he was as great as Farmer Truman.

Six months of this life had passed, when one day, Roger was missing and could be found nowhere. The kind ladies wrote to the farm, but many weeks passed and no one saw or heard of him.

At last, one cold bitter night in winter, a little low tap was heard at the wagoner's door.

"See if that be not Roger!" said his wife.

And Roger it was. Tattered, thin, and wearied, there he stood. He had begged his way and come back all the sixty miles on foot. It was impossible for the good woman to refuse to take him in.

The farmer declared the boy must be an idiot, when she went to him in the morning with her story; but she said, it was all along of his love of a country life.

"He has no turn, like, for scholarship," said she. "Could not you please to find him some work to do on the farm, and give him a trial?" Nancy looked imploringly through her tears, and Mrs. Truman said a kind word for him; so the farmer consented, and Roger was made cow-boy that very day.

Never was such a change seen as came over him. He brightened up. He shewed himself the most active, clever boy that had ever been there. He soon learned to do all manner of things, and was always ready to help at everything. He could harness the horses for ploughing or carting, clean them, feed them, or bring them back. He could feed the pigs and calves, drive the sheep to the fold, and at shearing time, hay-making, and harvesting, was of the greatest use. In short, as the men said, he could lend a hand at anything; and all this was done without neglecting his cows. Before he was sixteen he was made a carter, and drove a team of horses, with a great whip on his shoulder, and a white smock frock on; and no king was ever prouder of his sceptre and his robes. The farmer said he never had a better lad in his service, and he hoped he would never leave it, but grow up to be one of his regular labourers, and have a good cottage, and get a good wife of his own.

THOMPSON AND DAVIDSON. PRINTERS, GREAT ST. HELENS, LONDON.

=Transcriber's Notes:= hyphenation, spelling and grammar have been preserved as in the original Page 31, eyes now,' cried ==> eyes now," cried Page 35, lets them in. ==> lets them in." Page 37, through the leaves, ==> through the leaves. Page 39, pie? said Mrs. Grove, ==> pie?" said Mrs. Grove. Page 39, let me, said ==> let me," said Page 41, Florence? was shouted ==> Florence?" was shouted Page 42, found! cried Emily ==> found!" cried Emily Page 43, all be drowned? ==> all be drowned?" Page 45, again, what shall ==> again, "what shall Page 54, under it, But Thomas ==> under it. But Thomas Page 60, rakes? said she. ==> rakes?" said she. Page 60, dressed now, He had ==> dressed now. He had Page 60, all over him, ==> all over him. Page 51, famous shout, ==> famous shout. Page 70, trust you. ==> trust you?" Page 75, mama, said Rose ==> mama," said Rose Page 103, "They could not bear ==> They could not bear Page 122, coutinuing to milk ==> continuing to milk

End of Project Gutenberg's The Pleasures of the Country, by Harriet Myrtle