40

Harsh Treatment, and Its Results

It was Sabbath morning. The girls, all neatly attired, had taken their places around the long tables in their study room to study their Bible lessons. The teacher on duty for the day, a tall, stately woman whose chief characteristics seemed to be a certain independence and determination of will, had, for the last few minutes, been promenading up and down the middle of the room. She came to the table around which the girls of the academic class were seated and authoritatively addressed Carrie Raymond, saying, “You must not talk.” Carrie had just addressed a few words to a schoolmate, as other girls had often done without reproof, but upon being admonished, she at once began studying her lesson. All might have gone well if she had not, as was a habit with her, leaned her cheek upon the palm of her hand and laughed slyly. But this action seemed to irritate the teacher, who returned to her and said, “I must punish you for your sauciness. Go and stand there on the floor.”

Carrie protested that she had intended no offense in laughing and that other girls had just been talking as well as herself. “Who are they?” asked the teacher. Carrie gave the names of two of the girls at the table, and they at once acknowledged that they had talked. The teacher quietly passed their offense by, but still insisted that Carrie should go and stand on the floor. Carrie stubbornly refused to obey, feeling that she had done nothing to deserve the punishment. Then, resolved that Carrie should obey her, the teacher decided to use force. Had she known Carrie’s nature better and the effect of harsh treatment upon her, it is to be hoped that she would not have attempted force. But, unfortunately, she did not understand her and was only bent upon securing obedience. After vainly attempting to force Carrie to yield, she raised her hand and gave her a stinging blow upon the cheek. This thoroughly incensed Carrie, who at once resolved that nothing should induce her to obey the unjust command.

At length, finding all her attempts futile, the teacher sent one of the girls to summon Dr. Mayhews, but he had not yet returned from church. “Call the matron,” the teacher then said; in compliance with this request, the girl went up to the matron’s room but soon returned with the information that she, too, was absent. “Summon Mr. Morton,” was the next command given. Carrie felt indignant when this command was given, for Mr. Morton was one of the teachers for whom she had a high regard and whose good opinion she greatly valued. If he should come in answer to the summons, he would probably think she had really done something to merit severe punishment since the teacher was so very anxious to have it administered. And, perhaps, he would never think well of her again. But, come what might, she did not intend to yield. She awaited rather anxiously the return of the girl who had gone in search of him, and when she returned alone and reported that she could not find him, Carrie felt much relieved.

All this time, the other girls had been neglected and the study hour had almost passed. The teacher, feeling, perhaps, the uselessness of attempts to force Carrie into obedience, left her for a little while. Presently she left the study room, but soon returned and informed Carrie that the matron was waiting to see her. Carrie thereupon arose from the seat she had so persistently insisted upon remaining in and went into the corridor. There she met Miss Tyndall, the matron, who asked her, not unkindly, why she would not obey the teacher’s command. Carrie told her the reasons, adding, “She insulted me.”

“No,” said the matron. But Carrie insisted that she did so in slapping her cheek, which yet burned.

“Perhaps she did not do the right thing,” said the matron, very kindly. “We will not require you to stand on the floor, but I think you ought to ask her pardon for the trouble you have given her.”

“I try to do right, but harsh treatment always makes me worse instead of better,” said Carrie.

“I am sorry this has happened, but I hope you will try to do right by asking her pardon for the way in which you have acted,” said the matron.

She spoke so kindly that Carrie’s better nature was won over, and she promised that she would do so. Then she returned to her seat in the study room. The teacher left the study room immediately at the close of the study hour, but Carrie wrote a note to her, asking her pardon for the stubborn way in which she had acted, adding, “If you had tried to govern me by kindness, instead of by severity, you would not have had so much trouble with me.” This note she took up to the teacher’s room, but, not finding her there, she placed it where it would easily be found and then returned to the study room.

It was not long before the teacher came to her, bringing a note in which she assured her that she was willing to forgive the offense and that she would endeavor to treat her kindly in the future.

Examinations had begun, and the pupils were all confidently expecting to go home the following week, when a very unwelcome guest came to the institution. So rude was this uninvited, unlooked-for guest as to insist on disfiguring the faces of many of the inmates with numberless red blotches. If it had been possible, good, kind-hearted Dr. Mayhews would have unceremoniously turned this guest out of doors in order to defend the pupils from his inquisitive touch, but measles was too powerful for even Dr. Mayhews to grapple successfully. However, Dr. and Mrs. Mayhews and the kind-hearted nurses resolved to nurse the victims until these ugly red blotches had been eradicated. So the large, airy dormitories on each side of the hospital were turned into temporary hospital wards. In these wards the patients were placed and told to lie still and be patient. But many of them did not obey this latter injunction to the letter. They wanted to go home, and they manifested their disappointment in not being able to do so at the time anticipated.

Thursday, the 24th of June, came, and those who had before been visited by Mr. Measles and had, therefore, on this occasion, escaped his touch, prepared for the homeward journey. Carrie Raymond, who was among those who had escaped, went up to the girls’ ward in company with several others to see their less fortunate schoolmates before leaving. She found about fifty of them lying in the clean, white beds—some of them with faces so disfigured by the red blotches as to be almost unrecognizable.

Soon the institution was deserted by all the pupils save the sick ones. Then, as these, one by one, recovered, they, too, left, to enjoy the bright summer days with loved ones at home.