Pippin; A Wandering FlameRichards, Laura Elizabeth Howe
General
Pippin; A Wandering Flame
Richards, Laura Elizabeth Howe
Bildungsromans; Ex-convicts -- Fiction; Love stories; Orphans -- Fiction; Young men -- Fiction
He opened another letter, and learned that "yrs. respect'ly, Wm.
Billiam," hadn't got no work yet; no wun appeared to want him though he
show them the note, sir and sum sed when they was a plaice he shood have
it and a Nother man sed there wos not work enuf for strate men and he
gessed crooks wood haf to wate till the pigs begin to fly "but I
ramember wot you sed chapple In and i will keep strate sir you betcher
life excusin bad writin'." This letter, written all downhill with no
sign of punctuation, smudged and smeared by a not too clean shirtsleeve,
might have brought a smile to some faces, but the chaplain's face was
grave enough. The endless problem, the riddle without an answer. Not
work enough for the honest men; yet if the discharged criminal cannot
get work, how to prevent him from relapsing into crime? Who can blame
him? He goes out with his little newborn resolve, a feeble, tottering
thing, and tries for honest work. He has learned a trade behind the
bars, perhaps; he can make brooms and mats, weave rough baskets, cobble
shoes. He finds a dozen applicants before him. Questions are asked:
Where has he worked? What references can he give? If he tells the truth,
seven employers out of ten shake their heads. If he lies, he is found
out after a time and the result is the same; he is "bounced." Who can
blame the boss? Who can blame the man if--Round and round, over and
over! No royal road anywhere. Nothing to do but keep on trying.
The chaplain raised his head, and the fighting look came into his eyes.
Keep on! Never say die! The scroll--his eyes fell on the letter with its
forlorn smudges; that one looked as if a tear had fallen and been wiped
off with a grimy hand--the scroll was growing clearer; slowly, yes, but
steadily. You had only to look back twenty years, ten years, five! Line
upon line, precept upon precept; here a little and there a little--
"Aha!" The word was spoken aloud, in a tone of pleased surprise.
"Pippin, I verily believe!" said the chaplain. He studied the
superscription a moment. How he had labored over those upstrokes! It was
a good hand now, though the scamp would never be a professor of
calligraphy. Then he opened the envelope and read as follows:
DEAR FRIEND ELDER HADLEY RESPECTED SIR,
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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