Belle Powers' Locket

by Joanna H. Mathews

  VI.

  _PROVERB-PICTURES._

  For the rest of the day Mabel behaved better, on the whole, than theother children had expected. It is true that she was well amused, andalso that being a stranger and company, the other little girls gave wayto her, and let her do pretty much as she pleased. She showed herselfrather selfish, however, taking all their kindness as a matter ofcourse, and always seizing upon the best and prettiest things for herown use.

  But when it was time to go home, and the nurses came for Belle andMabel, there was much such a scene as had taken place on the daywhen Mabel had first been met by the other children. She positivelyrefused to go home; and when Mrs. Bradford insisted that she shouldobey, was led shrieking and screaming from the house, fighting withher long-suffering nurse in a manner which made poor Belle feel "too'shamed for any thing to go in the street with such disrespectablebehavior," and caused Daphne to declare that she and Miss Belle had"never been so _degraced_ in all our born days."

  This determined Belle to carry out her plan of the "proverb-pictures"as soon as possible; and when her hat was taken off, she immediatelybegged her papa for a sheet of fool's-cap paper and a pencil, and fellto work.

  When Mabel saw what she was about, she wanted to draw also; and heruncle furnished her with paper and pencil.

  "What are you making?" asked Mabel.

  "I'll tell you by and by, when it's all done," said Belle, severely."It's not ready for you to understand just yet; but it's going to be avery good lesson for you."

  However, she suffered Mabel to look over her paper, and even to copythe figures which grew beneath her busy fingers; Mabel little thinkingall the while that she herself was the subject of the pictures.Meantime Mr. Powers and Mrs. Walton, pleased to see the children soquiet, and apparently agreeing so well, talked quietly together.

  But this proved too good to last.

  "Now they're all done, and I'll tell you about them; and we'll see ifthey'll improve you," said Belle, when she had completed two pictures."Do you see these animals?" and she pointed with her pencil to acurious collection of four-legged objects, with every possible varietyof tail among them.

  "Yes," said Mabel: "what are they? Bugs?"

  "No," answered Belle, indignantly: "they are pigs. This is a'proverb-picture.' Proverbs are meant to do people good, or give thema lesson; but Maggie and Bessie and I think pictures make 'em plainer.This is a proverb that Maggie made up. Here is a man pouring milk intoa trough what the pigs eat out of, and this pig,"--directing Mabel'sattention to a creature without any legs, those four members whichwere supposed to belong to him lying scattered in all directions overthe picture, while long streaks intended to represent floods of tearspoured from his eyes,--"and this pig was so greedy that he ran as fastas he could to the end of the trough where he fought the man was goingto pour the milk. But the man fought he'd serve him right, and so hewent to the ofer end and poured the milk in there; and when the pigtried to run there, his legs were so tired they all fell off; so hecouldn't get any milk, and he cried so much he 'most drowned himself.And the proverb of the picture is, 'The greedy pig don't get much,after all.' When pigs or other people are greedy, their legs gen'allycome off, or other accidents; and if they don't, people think they'revery horrid, any way. Do you know who the greedy pig is meant for?"

  Mabel had a pretty clear idea, and was not pleased, which was notat all strange; but her curiosity was excited respecting the otherpicture, and she determined to satisfy it before she made anydisturbance.

  "What is this picture?" she asked, pouting, but taking no farthernotice of Belle's question.

  In the second sketch a number of square and triangular bodies, withlittle, round heads, and long, sprawling legs and arms, were groupedtogether in the wildest confusion at the two ends of the picture, whichextended the whole length of the sheet. In the middle was an objectsupposed to represent a carriage, the like whereof was never contrivedby any coach-maker upon the face of the earth; while a horse, in thesame condition as the pig before mentioned,--namely, with all hislegs broken off,--lay upon the ground; his mate, looking much like achair turned upside down, standing by, disconsolate. But the chiefinterest of the picture was intended to lie in the central figure,in which a small child, with very short skirts and very long limbs,was represented as dancing wildly about, with not rivers,--as in thecase of the pig,--but cataracts of tears spouting from her eyes. Twocircles, one within the other, stood for her head; the inner one,nearly as large as the outer, being her mouth, stretched to its utmostextent. And lest there should be any mistake as to the likeness, belowthis figure was printed in large, crooked letters,--

  _M A B U R L._

  "That," said Belle, more sternly than before, "is a picture aboutanother proverb that Maggie made up on purpose to be of use to you. Thename of it is, 'All scamper away as fast as they can go from a spoiledchild;' at least, that was what she meant. Here is the spoiled child,squealing and hollering; there is a poor horse that broke his leg; andhere are all the people in the street running away from her. Thesefour are policemen, and they were going to take her up; but even thepolicemen would not stand her, and ran away too. Even her mother 'camedegusted at her at last, and left her; so she had not a single personleft. And she had no one to give her something to eat, and no one toput her to bed; so she had to sleep in the gutter, and be starved, andin the morning she was dead, and all dirty out of the gutter."

  "She wasn't either," said Mabel.

  "She was too," contradicted Belle.

  Mabel made a snatch at the picture, which Belle as quickly drew fromher, so that between them it was torn in two; and Mabel at the samemoment set up the shriek she always gave when she was displeased.

  Mr. Powers and Mrs. Walton, their conversation thus suddenly brought toan end, turned hastily to see what was the matter.

  It was a sorry sight that met their eyes. Belle stood looking at hercousin with a face which, to do her justice, was only intended as theexpression of outraged and offended virtue; while Mabel, shriekingwith passion, was frantically tearing to bits the half of the sheet shehad secured.

  "What is it, children? What are you quarrelling about now?" asked boththe parents at once.

  Mabel did not, perhaps could not, answer; but Belle spoke up boldly.

  "I'm not quarrelling, papa," she said. "I was just trying to give Mabela lesson of what might happen to her if she didn't behave herself,and she was mad about it; and she tore my picture,--my nice, prettyproverb-picture that I would have given her if she had been good andimproved herself by it. I know Maggie and Bessie would think it veryinteresting if they saw it, and now I can't show it to them;" andBelle held up the torn sheet with a very aggrieved air. "It was onlygood intentions, papa; and she went and wouldn't have 'em," she added,feeling herself almost equal to Maggie Bradford as she made this grandspeech.

  Even Mrs. Walton could not help smiling in the midst of her efforts toquiet the screaming Mabel and lead her from the room.

  When they were gone, Mr. Powers took his little daughter on his knee;but Belle was not satisfied to see that he looked very grave. For amoment or two neither spoke, Belle not knowing exactly what to say,although she did wish to excuse herself; while her father seemed to bethinking.

  At last he said,--

  "My little girl, how long is this to go on?"

  "What, papa?" asked Belle, though she had a pretty clear idea what hemeant.

  "This constant quarrelling between you and your cousin. Your auntand I are very glad to see one another again; but all our comfort isdestroyed because you and Mabel disagree all the time."

  Belle looked rather hurt.

  "I'm sure, papa," she said, "I have tried to be good to-day, ever sinceI went to Maggie's and Bessie's; and she was a little good too, butgreedy and selfish. And then she was in such a passion when we hadto come home, I fought I'd better try to correct her. And I'm sure Ifought proverb-pictures was a good way to do it, but they just made hermad. I s'pose I might have known it," she
added, with a sigh: "she isso very bad and spoiled that things that do other children good onlymake her worse. See, papa, if this wasn't a nice lesson for her;" andspreading out the half of the sheet which she held, Belle explained toher papa the portion of her picture which still remained.

  Certainly, Mr. Powers did not find the likeness to Mabel veryflattering, or think it calculated to put her in a good humor withherself or the little artist. Nevertheless, he smiled a little, whichencouraged Belle, and she went on:--

  "I know that child must come to a bad end," she said; "and I shallnever try again to be friends with her, or to do her good,--no, never,never!"

  "Where is the little girl that wanted to be a sunbeam and shine forJesus, and show others the way to Him?" asked her father.

  Belle hung her head.

  "But, papa," she said presently, "you see it's no use with her. Ib'lieve she's the wickedest girl that ever lived, and I don't believethere's any thing bad she wouldn't do if she had a chance. She tookBaby Annie's chair to-day; and when baby didn't know any better, andcried for it, Mabel wouldn't give it to her. I think I'll just make upmy mind to leave her be all the rest of her life, and make b'lieve sheisn't my cousin. I wish she stayed to Boston or else to Europe."

  "For He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good," said Mr.Powers, softly.

  Belle gave another long, despairing sigh, and laid her head backagainst her father's shoulder; but she made no more attempt to excuseherself or to blame her cousin.

  "I will not say that you had not some thought of doing good to Mabel,"said Mr. Powers; "but you began wrong, Belle. I think you did not havevery kind feelings in your heart, and that you looked only at what wasnaughty and perverse in her; and so your picture was not pleasant, andonly made her angry. You and Maggie and Bessie understand and love oneanother, and so you take it pleasantly and patiently when one among youtries this way of helping another in what is right. But I hardly thinkthat any one of you three, good friends as you are, would have beenvery much pleased to have had such a picture made of you."

  Belle sat thoughtful a moment, and then answered,--

  "Well, no, papa, I don't b'lieve I would have liked it, if Maggie orBessie had made a proverb-picture about me slapping Daphne, or being ina passion, or doing any of those very naughty things I used to do somuch. But, papa, don't you think my patience about Mabel must be 'mostused up?"

  "See here," said Mr. Powers, drawing toward him a large Bible whichlay near, and turning over the leaves till he found the words hewanted,--"see here, dear, listen to these words: 'Charity sufferethlong and is kind, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, beareth allthings, believeth all things, hopeth all things.' I am afraid my littleBelle has not that kind of charity towards her cousin."

  "Charity, papa?" said Belle: "charity means giving money and things tobeggars and poor people, doesn't it?"

  "Charity here means love," said Mr. Powers,--"love to God and to man,that love which makes us want to work for Jesus by being gentle andpatient with the faults of others; which will not let us be made angryby little things; which is not ready to think harm of our friends andplaymates; love which believes and hopes that even those who are verywrong and naughty may be made better, and which teaches us to take thepleasantest way of doing this, not showing others their faults in amanner to pain or anger them, but trying to show them the better way byan example of kindness and gentleness."

  "Um--m--m, no, papa," said Belle, thoughtfully, when her father ceasedspeaking: "I don't think I have much of that kind of love-charity toMabel,--no, I don't b'lieve I have."

  "I fear not," said her papa; "but will you not try for it, my darling?"

  "Yes," she answered; "but you couldn't s'pect it would come very quick,papa. You see I don't know Mabel very well yet, and I guess I don'tcare 'bout knowing her any more than I do now. She's so very, veryspoiled, and I b'lieve she'll never be any better."

  "'Charity believeth all things, hopeth all things,'" said Mr. Powers.

  "Is that in the Bible Proverbs?" asked Belle.

  "No, it is not in Proverbs; but I can give you a verse from Proverbswhich may help you: 'A soft answer turneth away wrath.' Wrath meansanger."

  "Oh, yes!" said Belle: "I found that out; because to-day, when Mabelspoke very angry and cross, Bessie answered her very pleasant and nice;and Mabel looked at her just as if she didn't know what to make of her;and then she spoke nicely too, and quite behaved herself. I s'poseBessie has love-charity for Mabel. Tell me those words again, papa.I'll learn a little bit of 'em every day till I know 'em all, and tryto do 'em too."

  Her father did as she asked; and then, for it was growing late, senther away to bed, satisfied that his lesson was taking root, and thatBelle was sorry--though she did not say so--that she had offended Mabelby her "proverb-picture."

  He would have been still more sure of this, and well pleased too, hadhe heard his little girl when Daphne was undressing her, and as usualbegan to talk of Mabel in a very uncomplimentary way.

  "Daffy," said Belle, "I guess we'll have some charity for Mabel, notbeggar-charity, but love-charity, that 'b'lieveth all things, hopethall things,' and makes up its mind maybe she will learn better, and begood, after all."