THE STRANGE
VISITOR
How shall I ever go
through this rough world!
How find me older every setting
sun!
How merge my boyish heart in manliness!
--Coxe.
The little seed
that had been planted in Elmer's heart was not long in sending
forth a sturdy sprout; for it was in fertile soil, and there
was nothing to hinder rapid growth. Not only did he continue
to watch Edwin's pockets for coveted articles like the stones,
but from the match-safe in the kitchen to the purse of Mrs.
Fischer in the bureau-drawer he stole frequently. Nor did it
stop with this. At the village grocery he often slipped behind
the counter and took articles for which he did not pay, and
finally he visited the combination money-drawer.
Of much of Elmer's
dishonesty Edwin was aware; but, feeling that his mother would
believe no report about his cousin that he might bring, and
dreading her punishments for tattling, he kept all such
knowledge to himself. Even when blamed and abused for the
things that Elmer had done, he bore it patiently, unless
questioned; then he told the truth and took the consequences,
usually a beating.
Elmer, on the
other hand, while endeavoring to cover up his misdeeds, told
lie after lie, and when accused and blamed by the grocer and
others, he was screened and helped out of his difficulties by
Mrs. Fischer.
When Edwin was
about ten years of age, his mother moved from the village in
which she had been living to a farm among the foothills of the
Alleghany Mountains. Here it was that Edwin for the first time
saw an outline of the wonderful Blue Mountain of which he had
at Christmas time heard many weird and frightful legends. Blue
Mountain was one of the tall mountain-peaks that stood out a
little apart from the main ridge and was known among the
people as the home of St. Nicholas and his elves. Strange
stories were connected with the place, and all who believed
them were full of superstition and awe.
It was reported
that during the year St. Nick, as he was commonly called, was
busy manufacturing and preparing wonderful toys to be
distributed throughout the country among the children who were
deserving. In order to know to whom the presents were to go,
he sent out his elves into the homes to take an inventory of
the lives of die children. These reports were to be returned
just before Christmas eve so that he could use them as a guide
in distributing his gifts. For all the children who were not
entitled to presents tortures of many kinds were invented.
These were to be inflicted when the annual tours were made.
All this and much
more Edwin had heard in his former home at each
Christmas-tide, and as the tortures had always been his lot,
he did not like to think about the great mountain any more
than he could help. It was little wonder that he felt this
dread, for to him St. Nick was a fierce and terrible monster.
But it was a great mystery to him why St. Nick had never found
out about Elmer's misdeeds.
Even at the age of
ten Edwin was very small, and his ignorance concerning the
ordinary things of life was really painful. A dread of not
being understood seemed constantly to hover over him, and as
he had been taught to feel himself inferior and in the way,
there was no opportunity for him to improve. When company came
to the house, he was ordered to remain in the kitchen or in
the yard, but never in hearing-distance, and he was always too
busy to visit had he been permitted to do so. A few times he
had been sent to school to help the smaller children through
the snow or mud, but it was only occasionally and with no
explanation as to the meaning of school or the value of
learning.
Once the teacher
sent word to Mrs. Fischer that if she cared to have her son
learn to read she must supply him with a primer. Before doing
as the teacher had told her, Mrs. Fischer took up a primer
belonging to one of the other children, turned to a lesson
well over in the book, and commanded Edwin to read the
paragraph to which she was pointing. Seeing that he was unable
to tell one letter from another, she shouted at him: "Ed, you
blockhead! there is no use for you to try to learn anything,
and I will never spend any money for books to help you to
disgrace me any more." Then so great was her cruelty that the
child fell prostrate at her feet in a swoon. But even this did
not cause the heartless mother to be sorry for what she was
doing to her child. Almost before he had recovered from the
effects of this severe punishment, she ordered him, if he knew
anything at all, to tell her the time of day. When he could
not do this, he was again mistreated.
Shut away as he
had been from the society of every one who could have helped
him, he was, of course, unable to unravel the untruth that had
been related to him about Blue Mountain; and when told that
the time for St. Nick to pay them another visit was drawing
near, he looked upon the event with increasing dread.
"No good thing,
Ed, can you expect this year on Christmas eve," he heard Elmer
say a few days before that eventful night. "He never has
remembered you with any good, and I don't think he ever will."
Yes, Edwin knew
all about the neglect. He remembered, too, that he had been
told that upon Christmas eve, instead of going to bed, he must
sit before the fireplace upon a certain chair in the
sitting-room to await the arrival of St. Nick. Perfect
obedience being so impressed upon his mind, Edwin obeyed, but
imagined many things, one of which was that instant death
would follow any refusal to do the bidding of St. Nick.
Therefore when the appointed time arrived, Edwin was ready and
seated in his chair even before the remainder of the family
had retired. Then, while his cousins were thinking of the
happiness the morrow held in store for them, and the children
in other homes were dreaming of the sweet stories to which
they had listened concerning the Christ-child and God's great
love in sending his only Son as a Christmas gift to all the
world, Edwin heard a sound in the yard as of heavy tramping.
Then the lashing of a whip upon the window-pane and house
caused him to spring from his chair and seek for a corner in
which to hide. Presently he again heard the lashing upon
another window-pane, followed by a fierce blow upon the
kitchen-door, which had been purposely left ajar, and he saw
the door fly open and beheld an object so completely hideous
that he was more frightened than he had been upon any previous
occasion.
There, clad in a
pair of old trousers that were partly covered by a short
petticoat, and wearing a bright red blouse elaborately trimmed
with white cotton batting in imitation of white fur, a
sunbonnet of faded blue, and a false face in the form of a
mule's head, stood the object posing himself as St. Nicholas.
One glance at the
frightful creature with the long whip in his hand would have
been sufficient to strike terror through the heart of a more
enlightened mind, and Edwin, with the remembrance of the
suffering of previous years still fresh in his mind, was under
a mental strain that was fearful indeed.
The strange form,
pretending not to notice Edwin, laid down his whip and began
loosening the large pack of toys that were upon his shoulders.
As the sack was laid down in front of the old fireplace, a
rubber ball rolled out upon the rug, whereupon Edwin heard him
say in a gruff tone:
"Now, if that
hain't a mess! Guess I've come off without that there list,
after all. Thought those little imps wasn't going to get it
in, and when they did"--here he pulled out a long strip of
paper that appeared to have writing upon it and from which he
began reading the names of the children and the presents that
each one was to receive.
As Edwin saw the
costly gifts that were one by one taken from the sack, there
seemed to be nothing lacking and plenty for him to have at
least one toy, but his name was not called. There was a
hobby-horse, a top, a horn, a ball, a wagon, a doll, dishes, a
rocker, candy, and nuts. A sudden longing came into his heart
to be remembered.
As if divining
Edwin's thoughts, the monster, who was the child's own uncle
disguised, turned suddenly and, facing Edwin, said:
"Now, sir, I'll
become acquainted with you! I'm the person that some folks
call Santa Claus, but by others I'm known as St. Nick. To you,
Edwin, I shall be St. Nick, and I want to say that if you
touch any of these things that I have placed here for your
cousins, you'll find out what Old Nick can do." Then with a
wave of his hand he said, "Come on out here now before I leave
to go to another home. I want you to look at each of these
things, so that you will know just what they are like, and
then you see to it that you keep your stupid hands forever
off!"
In obedience to
the commanding voice of the frightful being, Edwin went
breathlessly forward and listened to the words:
"Do you see that
horse? Well, that's Elmer's, and because he has been such a
good boy he shall have the ball and the top. The other things
are for his sister and brother. Now that you have seen these
nice things that are for good children, I want to show you the
part that is to be yours, but you will have to go out in the
kitchen to see it."
On the way to the
kitchen Old Nick, who had taken up his whip, flourished it to
hurry the child along, saying as he did so, "Now, you little
gump, here's your treat." Then he threw a few nuts upon the
kitchen-floor and ordered Edwin to hurry and pick them up. As
the child obeyed, down came the lash of the whip upon his
fingers, and the blood began at once to ooze from the deep
gashes. When the hand was withdrawn, the lash fell upon his
body. Next he was told to dance and then to sing and at last
to pray. As he each time tried to obey, the whip was used upon
him. The dance and the song were both very crude, but the
prayer was the words that he had learned from the old lady at
the alms-house. Those words Edwin felt were appropriate
because Old Nick had knelt beside a chair when explaining what
he wanted him to do, and he remembered that he had knelt thus
at the old lady's knee. But before the list of terrible
tortures was exhausted, Edwin could stand no more. Weakened by
the loss of blood from his wounds and by the extreme fear, he
fell as though dead.
How long he was
there or what happened after he had fainted Edwin could never
tell, but when he became conscious, he was alone and the room
was cold. Painfully he arose and by the aid of the lamp that
was still burning low, he crept away to his bed, which was
fortunately very close to the kitchen.
As the sun arose
in the eastern sky, it cast its bright rays upon the
snow-covered ground around the home of Mrs. Fischer and caused
a dazzling brightness, but it did not erase the many
footprints that had been made the evening before by the
supposed St. Nicholas, nor was it sufficient to soothe the
poor little aching head of the unfortunate Edwin.
Edwin had been in
bed but a few hours when he heard the children's voices. He
listened to their remarks as they examined in turn the
beautiful gifts, and then--was it possible? He thought he
heard the youngest child in a tone of disappointment saying,
"Why, where are Ed's stocking and things? Didn't he get
anything at all?"
The answer from
Elmer was spoken differently. "No, hush!" he said. "Ed hasn't
anything here. Santa Claus, you know, doesn't bring gifts to
every one. There are only certain people who are allowed
presents."
Then Edwin
heard his cousin explaining the story of Blue Mountain and St
Nicholas as he had often heard it before; but when his cousin
said, "The reason that Ed wasn't remembered is because he does
so many bad things," Edwin wondered again what kind of report
the elves had carried concerning the pebbles and the other
things that Elmer had taken dishonestly and what explanation
they had given regarding the lies. But there was seemingly no
way for Edwin to know these things. His storehouse of
knowledge was apparently closed, but still he was not
discouraged in well-doing nor was he tempted to do evil. Like
Job, he could have said: "Thou knowest that I am not wicked
... I am full of confusion ... Even when I remember I am
afraid, and trembling taketh hold on my flesh" (Job 10:7, 15;
21:6).