The Silver Lining Part 19

"If I've seen any? why, certainly, by the dozen almost. I'll tell you one. I was working some few years ago for a Mr. Fouret. One of his cows having died from milk fever, it was found necessary to replace it. Now old Mrs. X. had two for sale at that time, and knowing that my master wanted to buy one, she offered him hers.

"I must tell you that this woman had the reputation of having the evil eye. Mr. Fouret did not care to refuse her, so he said he would go and see them. He went. When he came back, he told us he would not take them even if Mrs. X. gave them to him for nothing; they were very lean and deformed. So he resolved to risk being bewitched and bought one from Mr. Paslet.

"When he came back to the farm he said to me: 'Pierre, go and fetch the cow which I have bought at Mr. Paslet's farm.'

"'All right sir,' answered I, and I started.

"As I was coming back quietly with the beast, whom should I meet but Mrs. X.

"'Oh, it's you, Pierre,' she said grinning; 'where have you had that cow from?'

"I explained: 'Master had bought the animal in the morning from Mr.

Paslet and had sent me to fetch it.'

"'Ah, indeed,' she said, patting the animal; 'she's a fine beast.'

"When I saw her laying her hand on the poor creature, I said to myself, 'she's giving it her.' But what could I do? I said nothing, and the old woman went away.

"I had not proceeded more than one hundred yards when the animal began to show signs of illness. However, I managed to lead her to the farm which was not very far. But the beast got worse and worse.

Mr. Fouret came to examine her. 'What's the matter with the brute?'

he said, 'you've made her walk too fast I'm afraid; she seems to be tired and exhausted.'

"'Mr. Fouret,' I responded, 'I came along very slowly, but on the road I met Mrs. X.'

"'Did she touch the cow?' he inquired.

"'Yes,' I answered.

"'What a nuisance,' he exclaimed, and turning to the servant-boy who was there he said: 'take a horse and fetch the vet. as quickly as you possibly can.'

"The veterinary surgeon came. Of course, he was not going to say he did not know what was the matter with the beast, so he said it was----I forget the name now, it was a queer word he said, I know, a name which he was sure we should not remember anyone of us,--and told us to fetch some medicine.

"We gave her the drug. She seemed a little bit better and we left her for the night. In going to have a look at her on the following morning, I found the poor animal dead."

"Well," said Frank, "what proofs have you that it was really this woman who caused your cow to give up the ghost?"

"What proofs?" e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed the old man; "well, I think there were proofs enough; but, to be quite sure, Mr. Fouret consulted a white witch. She told him it was an old woman who was jealous of him, and gave my employer a powder to burn. 'You may be certain that the culpable person will come to you, when you have burnt that powder,'

she said to him.

"Mr. Fouret did as he had been told to do, and Mrs. X. came on the following morning. She said: 'I thought I would call so as to have a look at your new acquisition.'"

"I do not care to hear any more," interrupted Frank; "science and reasoning will in time do away with all this."

It was now time for them to attend to their work. They went. Not one word did they exchange. There seemed to be a gap between them. Old Pierre was vexed at being rebuked by a young man. Frank was in despair.

The next day when they were seated as usual having a chat after dinner, Pierre quietly produced from his pocket the _Gazette de Guernesey_. He had not said a word about superst.i.tion during the morning, but silently handed the paper to Frank, pointing with his finger at a paragraph.

Not a word was exchanged. The young man took the paper and read aloud: "Spiritualism. Another convert to spiritualism is reported, the learned ----. He is well known as the able and energetic editor of the ----."

The old man looked at Frank and in a deep voice said: "Is it ignorance?"

"This is a different thing altogether," he responded; "it is not that base superst.i.tion about which we were speaking yesterday.

Besides, learned people are not always the first to discover trickery."

Then he thought of the superst.i.tious, albeit educated people who frequent the gambling h.e.l.l at Monte Carlo; and stopped short.

Pierre looked at him; "Is it only ignorance?" he again asked.

"Bah," said Frank as he waved his hand with a gesture of supreme contempt; "I don't care what it is, it's very ridiculous and unreasonable."

The old man shook his head. "I believe what I've seen," he said.

Frank waxed hot. "You are then determined to remain in that state of narrow-mindedness, believing in all this nonsense. But, my man, you _must_ be miserable."

Again the stolid answer came: "I believe what I've seen."

"Listen," said Frank: "One day, when I was about nine years of age, I was looking at a pig which had been, to all appearances, killed.

As I was about to go nearer, the brute jumped down and came running after me. I, in my ignorance, thought it was a dead pig pursuing me, and when my mother told me the contrary, I said as you do: 'I believe what I have seen.'"

Quoth old Pierre: "As you say, it's a different thing altogether."

"Let us go about our work," said Frank; "we are losing our time I fear."

His hope of converting this man was almost extinguished.

"What are my decisions coming to?" he said to himself. "I had once determined to be an inventor, etcetera, and here I am with a face like the tan and tomato-stained hands. When I try to change Mait Pierre's notions, I fail. Notwithstanding, I will not be disheartened. Knowledge is power; if I fail here, I shall not fail everywhere."

Frank Mathers felt himself strong, rather too much so perhaps.

It is one of the defects of the self-educated, that they generally imagine themselves much more learned than they really are. Not having anyone to compete with, or a master to show them their imperfections, they rather over-estimate their capacities.

There is also another disadvantage in self-culture. The self-educated man is often only acquainted with the elements of a great many different sciences, but it is seldom that he is thoroughly versed in any single one. There are exceptions to this rule. One is when the student has a decided talent for something, and energy to pursue his studies.

Frank had studied something of almost everything and imagined himself a savant.

From this it must not be inferred that he was uneducated.

But, he lacked that knowledge of the world which is only acquired by mixing with the world.

CHAPTER XV.

DARK DAYS.

It was winter, dull winter, when nature rests and green fields are no more.