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Article THE FIRST OFFENCE. ← Page 4 of 13 →
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The First Offence.
In the pretty parlour of the next cottage sat Mrs . Wilmot and her father . " How sad it is to see that boy growing up so violent ; it would break Mabel ' s heart to part them ; but I should reall y be glad if they were not so intimate . I fear he will make her rough . " " No , never , my love , " answered the old man . " I do not think there is
any danger of that , her nature is so gentle ; but it is a melancholy thing to see the evidence of so dangerous a sin as uncontrollable passion in that boy ; however , he is very young ; I daresay his parents will succeed in breaking him of it . " "My dear father , they never even tell him that it is wrong . What will become of him if he grows up so passionate ; this is the first time I ever saw him give way to it so much . "
A week passed , and dear Mabel had flung her arms about her playmate's neck , telling him innocently she loved him better than the doll , so she forgave him , and they had many more games together , and then he went back to school , unpunished—even unrebuked—for this his first exhibition of a sin which would grow with his growth and
strengthen with his strength . Autumn , winter , and spring , and summer continued their unvaried course for a year or two , and the midsummer holidays had begun again . Mabel had grown tall , and very lovely ; but , alas , for her , she had lost her patient teacher ; her kind instructor , the old man , had gone to
seek the rest a life of usefulness had purchased . Her idolizing mother had engaged a governess for a few hours each day ; but Mabel did not love learning—she would rather lay her pretty face , with its clustering ringlets , on her mother ' s shoulder , and listen to some romantic tale , and her sweet appeal to come and " sit with you and love
you , mother , " was irresistible , and so but little good was done . How anxiousl y Mabel had watched the garden gate the day she expected Fred from school . He came at last , but there was a sadness in his face so unlike his former
joyousness ; he was much grown , too , Mabel hardly knew him ; he nodded to her gravely , and entered his own house . Mabel stayed in the garden thinking he would come in presently ; but no—he came not , and she was obliged to content herself without him . In the evening she strolled out again , ancl seated herself in the arbour , the scene of the disaster with the poor doll . She had been there but a few
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The First Offence.
In the pretty parlour of the next cottage sat Mrs . Wilmot and her father . " How sad it is to see that boy growing up so violent ; it would break Mabel ' s heart to part them ; but I should reall y be glad if they were not so intimate . I fear he will make her rough . " " No , never , my love , " answered the old man . " I do not think there is
any danger of that , her nature is so gentle ; but it is a melancholy thing to see the evidence of so dangerous a sin as uncontrollable passion in that boy ; however , he is very young ; I daresay his parents will succeed in breaking him of it . " "My dear father , they never even tell him that it is wrong . What will become of him if he grows up so passionate ; this is the first time I ever saw him give way to it so much . "
A week passed , and dear Mabel had flung her arms about her playmate's neck , telling him innocently she loved him better than the doll , so she forgave him , and they had many more games together , and then he went back to school , unpunished—even unrebuked—for this his first exhibition of a sin which would grow with his growth and
strengthen with his strength . Autumn , winter , and spring , and summer continued their unvaried course for a year or two , and the midsummer holidays had begun again . Mabel had grown tall , and very lovely ; but , alas , for her , she had lost her patient teacher ; her kind instructor , the old man , had gone to
seek the rest a life of usefulness had purchased . Her idolizing mother had engaged a governess for a few hours each day ; but Mabel did not love learning—she would rather lay her pretty face , with its clustering ringlets , on her mother ' s shoulder , and listen to some romantic tale , and her sweet appeal to come and " sit with you and love
you , mother , " was irresistible , and so but little good was done . How anxiousl y Mabel had watched the garden gate the day she expected Fred from school . He came at last , but there was a sadness in his face so unlike his former
joyousness ; he was much grown , too , Mabel hardly knew him ; he nodded to her gravely , and entered his own house . Mabel stayed in the garden thinking he would come in presently ; but no—he came not , and she was obliged to content herself without him . In the evening she strolled out again , ancl seated herself in the arbour , the scene of the disaster with the poor doll . She had been there but a few