Murad the Unlucky, and Other Tales

by Maria Edgeworth

  CHAPTER VI

  "Knowledge for them unlocks her _useful_ page, And virtue blossoms for a better age."--BARBAULD.

  A few days after Madame de Fleury had told Victoire the fable of the lionand the mouse, she was informed by Sister Frances that Victoire had putthe fable into verse. It was wonderfully well done for a child of nineyears old, and Madame de Fleury was tempted to praise the lines; but,checking the enthusiasm of the moment, she considered whether it would beadvantageous to cultivate her pupil's talent for poetry. Excellence inthe poetic art cannot be obtained without a degree of application forwhich a girl in her situation could not have leisure. To encourage herto become a mere rhyming scribbler, without any chance of obtainingcelebrity or securing subsistence, would be folly and cruelty. Earlyprodigies in the lower ranks of life are seldom permanently successful;they are cried up one day, and cried down the next. Their productionsrarely have that superiority which secures a fair preference in the greatliterary market. Their performances are, perhaps, said to be _wonderful,all things considered_, &c. Charitable allowances are made; the booksare purchased by associations of complaisant friends or opulent patrons;a kind of forced demand is raised, but this can be only temporary anddelusive. In spite of bounties and of all the arts of protection,nothing but what is intrinsically good will long be preferred, when itmust be purchased. But granting that positive excellence is attained,there is always danger that for works of fancy the taste of the publicmay suddenly vary: there is a fashion in these things; and when the modechanges, the mere literary manufacturer is thrown out of employment; heis unable to turn his hand to another trade, or to any but his ownpeculiar branch of the business. The powers of the mind are oftenpartially cultivated in these self-taught geniuses. We often see thatone part of their understanding is nourished to the prejudice of therest--the imagination, for instance, at the expense of the judgment: sothat whilst they have acquired talents for show they have none for use.In the affairs of common life they are utterly ignorant and imbecile--orworse than imbecile. Early called into public notice, probably beforetheir moral habits are formed, they are extolled for some play of fancyor of wit, as Bacon calls it, some juggler's trick of the intellect; theyimmediately take an aversion to plodding labour, they feel raised abovetheir situation; possessed by the notion that genius exempts them notonly from labour, but from vulgar rules of prudence, they soon disgracethemselves by their conduct, are deserted by their patrons, and sink intodespair or plunge into profligacy.

  Convinced of these melancholy truths, Madame de Fleury was determined notto add to the number of those imprudent or ostentatious patrons, whosacrifice to their own amusement and vanity the future happiness of theirfavourites. Victoire's verses were not handed about in fashionablecircles, nor was she called upon to recite them before a brilliantaudience, nor was she produced in public as a prodigy; she was educatedin private, and by slow and sure degrees, to be a good, useful, and happymember of society. Upon the same principles which decided Madame deFleury against encouraging Victoire to be a poetess, she refrained fromgiving any of her little pupils accomplishments unsuited to theirsituation. Some had a fine ear for music, others showed powers ofdancing; but they were taught neither dancing nor music--talents which intheir station were more likely to be dangerous than serviceable. Theywere not intended for actresses or opera-girls, but for shop-girls,mantua-makers, work-women, and servants of different sorts; consequentlythey were instructed in things which would be most necessary and usefulto young women in their rank of life. Before they were ten years oldthey could do all kinds of plain needlework, they could read and writewell, and they were mistresses of the common rules of arithmetic. Afterthis age they were practised by a writing-master in drawing out billsneatly, keeping accounts, and applying to every-day use their knowledgeof arithmetic. Some were taught by a laundress to wash and get up finelinen and lace; others were instructed by a neighbouring traiteur inthose culinary mysteries with which Sister Frances was unacquainted. Insweetmeats and confectioneries she yielded to no one; and she made herpupils as expert as herself. Those who were intended for ladies' maidswere taught mantua-making, and had lessons from Madame de Fleury's ownwoman in hairdressing.

  Amongst her numerous friends and acquaintances, and amongst theshopkeepers whom she was in the habit of employing, Madame de Fleury hadmeans of placing and establishing her pupils suitably and advantageously:of this, both they and their parents were aware, so that there was aconstant and great motive operating continually to induce them to exertthemselves, and to behave well. This reasonable hope of reaping thefruits of their education, and of being immediately rewarded for theirgood conduct; this perception of the connection between what they aretaught and what they are to become, is necessary to make young peopleassiduous; for want of attending to these principles many splendidestablishments have failed to produce pupils answerable to theexpectations which had been formed of them.

  During seven years that Madame de Fleury persevered uniformly on the sameplan, only one girl forfeited her protection--a girl of the name ofManon; she was Victoire's cousin, but totally unlike her in character.

  When very young, her beautiful eyes and hair caught the fancy of a richlady, who took her into her family as a sort of humble playfellow for herchildren. She was taught to dance and to sing: she soon excelled inthese accomplishments, and was admired, and produced as a prodigy oftalent. The lady of the house gave herself great credit for havingdiscerned, and having brought forward, such talents. Manon's moralcharacter was in the meantime neglected. In this house, where there wasa constant scene of hurry and dissipation, the child had frequentopportunities and temptations to be dishonest. For some time she was notdetected; her caressing manners pleased her patroness, and servilecompliance with the humours of the children of the family secured theirgoodwill. Encouraged by daily petty successes in the art of deceit, shebecame a complete hypocrite. With culpable negligence, her mistresstrusted implicitly to appearances; and without examining whether she werereally honest, she suffered her to have free access to unlocked drawersand valuable cabinets. Several articles of dress were missed from timeto time; but Manon managed so artfully, that she averted from herself allsuspicion. Emboldened by this fatal impunity, she at last attempteddepredations of more importance. She purloined a valuable snuff-box--wasdetected in disposing of the broken parts of it at a pawnbroker's, andwas immediately discarded in disgrace; but by her tears and vehementexpressions of remorse she so far worked upon the weakness of the lady ofthe house as to prevail upon her to conceal the circumstance thatoccasioned her dismissal. Some months afterwards, Manon, pleading thatshe was thoroughly reformed, obtained from this lady a recommendation toMadame de Fleury's school. It is wonderful that, people, who in otherrespects profess and practise integrity, can be so culpably weak as togive good characters to those who do not deserve them: this is really oneof the worst species of forgery. Imposed upon by this treacherousrecommendation, Madame de Fleury received into the midst of her innocentyoung pupils one who might have corrupted their minds secretly andirrecoverably. Fortunately a discovery was made in time of Manon's realdisposition. A mere trifle led to the detection of her habits offalsehood. As she could not do any kind of needlework, she was employedin winding cotton; she was negligent, and did not in the course of theweek wind the same number of balls as her companions; and to concealthis, she pretended that she had delivered the proper number to thewoman, who regularly called at the end of the week for the cotton. Thewoman persisted in her account, and the children in theirs; and Manonwould not retract her assertion. The poor woman gave up the point; butshe declared that she would the next time send her brother to make up theaccount, because he was sharper than herself, and would not be imposedupon so easily. The ensuing week the brother came, and he proved to bethe very pawnbroker to whom Manon formerly offered the stolen box: heknew her immediately; it was in vain that she attempted to puzzle him,and to persuade him that she was not the same person.
The man was clearand firm. Sister Frances could scarcely believe what she heard. Struckwith horror, the children shrank back from Manon, and stood in silence.Madame de Fleury immediately wrote to the lady who had recommended thisgirl, and inquired into the truth of the pawnbroker's assertions. Thelady, who had given Manon a false character, could not deny the facts,and could apologise for herself only by saying that "she believed thegirl to be partly reformed, and that she hoped, under Madame de Fleury'sjudicious care, she would become an amiable and respectable woman."

  Madame de Fleury, however, wisely judged that the hazard of corruptingall her pupils should not be incurred for the slight chance of correctingone, whose bad habits wore of such long standing. Manon was expelledfrom this happy little community--even Sister Frances, the most mild ofhuman beings, could never think of the danger to which they had beenexposed without expressing indignation against the lady who recommendedsuch a girl as a fit companion for her blameless and beloved pupils.