The new life with plenty of wholesome plain food, plenty of fresh air,
long nights of good sleep, and happy exercise were developing the young
body into strength and beauty, even as the study and contact, with life
were developing the mind. Mikky grew up tall and straight and strong.
In all the school, even among the older boys, there was none suppler,
none so perfectly developed. His face and form were beautiful as
Adonis, and yet it was no pink and white feminine beauty. There was
strength, simplicity and character in his face. With the acceptance of
his new code of morals according to the president, had grown gradually
a certain look of high moral purpose. No boy in his presence dared use
language not up to the standard. No boy with his knowledge dared do a
mean or wrong thing. And yet, in spite of this, not a boy in the school
but admired him and was more or less led by him. If he had been one
whit less brave, one shade more conscious of self and self’s interests,
one tiny bit conceited, this would not have been. But from being a
dangerous experiment in their midst Mikky became known as a great
influence for good. The teachers saw it and marvelled. The matron saw
it and finally, though grudgingly, accepted it. The president saw it
and rejoiced. The students saw it not, but acknowledged it in their
lives.
Mikky’s flame of gold hair had grown more golden and flaming with the
years, so that when their ball team went to a near-by town to play,
Mikky was sighted by the crowd and pointed out conspicuously at once.
“Who is that boy with the hair?” some one would ask one of the team.
“That? Oh, that’s the Angel! Wait till you see him play,” would be the
reply. And he became known among outsiders as the Angel with the golden
hair. At a game a listener would hear:
“Oh, see! see! There’ll be something doing now. The Angel’s at the
bat!”
Yet in spite of all this the boy lived a lonely life. Giving of himself
continually to those about him, receiving in return their love and
devotion, he yet felt in a great sense set apart from them all. Every
now and again some boy’s father or mother, or both, would come down for
a trip through the South; or a sister or a little brother. Then that
boy would be excused from classes and go off with his parents for
perhaps a whole week; or they would come to visit him every day, and
Michael would look on and see the love light beaming in their eyes.
That would never be for him. No one had ever loved him in that way.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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