92 TWO SCHOOLMASTERS. antagonism existed between the scholars of "Saltmarsh's Commercial Academy," and those who received their education at the school connected with Bocking Chapel. Both schools were situated in Bocking, but the majority of the pupils were Braintree boys. Saltmarsh's Academy was frequented by tradesmen's sons; the chapel school by the children of mechanics and labourers. Saltmarsh's pupils were paid for quarterly; the scholars of the chapel school had to pay the sum of one penny weekly, which, if they were not punctual in bringing on the stipulated day, were sent back home again with strict injunctions not to return without it. The young gentlemen of Saltmarsh's Academy were taught unheard-of accomplishments, and every year made a public exhibition of their skill in penmanship in Joscelyn, the bookseller's windows, in High Street. The boys of the chapel school were taught to read by boys of the same age, or older than themselves, from boards hung up round the school; to draw animals on a black board, the four first rules of arithmetic on slates, and writing in books. Saltmarsh presided over his establishment with the supposed kindness and benignity of a man of culture, with whom no pupil ever ventured to take liberties. The less fortune scholars of the chapel school were superintended by one who had received the cognomen of "Cock Bantam "-from the obstinate character of his hair, which would never lie smooth-and whose A GRAND FIELD-DAY. 93 principal occupation consisted in walking from one end of the school-room to the other over the desks, thrashing the boys as he went with a formidable cane. Sometimes a pupil would so far forget the respect due to a schoolmaster, as to try and throw him down between the forms, when the whole school would be in an uproar. These and various other causes were the avowed reasons for the hostility existing between the two schools, and the perpetual warfare which the boys carried on with each other, in summer with stones and sticks, in winter with snow-balls, and throughout the whole year by irritating words, in the course of which the local proverb (though it could not strictly apply to either school) was bandied backwards and forwards "Braintree boys, brave boys; Church Street, puppy dogs; It so happened that one evening, after a grand field-day, when the fighting had been unusually severe -many of the combatants going home with swollen noses, scratched faces, black eyes, and torn clothesseveral boys found their way to the cottage of Lame Felix, who knew of the rivalry and had heard of the fight. "So, so, boys," he began, "there has been a general engagement, I hear, with a long list of wounded. 94 A QUAKER'S ADVICE. When is all this quarrelling to end? And to what good does it lead? I am afraid very few of you pay attention to the golden rule, or else your fighting propensities are very strong. What particular pleasure do you feel in having such a large nose as I see some of you have? or such highly-coloured circles round your eyes? Take my advice, boys, and leave off this foolish fighting; and, if you must fight, there are plenty of ways in which you can do so with credit to yourself, and benefit to others. "I shan't forget in a hurry what a Quaker once said to me, many years ago now. I was a boy at the time. Quarrelling with one of my companions, in a fit of passion I knocked him down. A Quaker passing by laid his hand on my shoulder, saying, 'Dost thou think thee can thank God for knocking thy friend down? Thou must have a queer conscience if thou canst. Thee shouldst remember God did not give unto thee strength to use it in that fashion. Strength was given thee to overcome the enemies of thine own bosom, and passion I take to be one of them. Before thou doest the like again, ask thyself whether thou canst thank God afterwards.' Many a time since have I asked myself the question. "Boys, there is so much to fight for, and against, in this world, that one had need reserve all his strength, or he may chance to get the worst of the battle; and remember that to him who overcometh' is the palm of victory alone given. INCLINATION AND DUTY. 95 "Life has been compared to many things-to a journey, a race, a pilgrimage, a ship crossing the ocean. But to my mind the truest of all comparisons is that of its being a warfare-a battle. "Fighting seems to be the grand necessity of life. There are two opposing forces in the world always struggling for the mastery; they are as opposite to each other as light is to darkness. SIN and GOODNESS are the two forces, and both take up their abode in every human heart, and there fight their battles, and there the one or the other gains its victory, or suffers its defeat. "Though they are but two forces, they take many shapes, assume many disguises, and answer to many different names. Sometimes they are called Inclination and Duty. Duty says, You must do this;' while Inclination replies, 'No; this is much the pleasanter. I much prefer doing this. And at it they go, and if in earnest they have a terrible fight. "Inclination is a big, huge-limbed kind of creature, fond of its own ease, disliking pain and the doing of disagreeable things. Duty is a brave, active, wiry little creature, clear-eyed and strong featured, able to endure much and often, never fighting shy of a thing because it is likely to give pain or sorrow; its voice has a brave ring in it, like the sound of the trumpet which calls the soldier to battle. There is a proverb I have heard which says- 'Duty's voice is calm and clear, he who lists may always hear.' Inclination has 96 PASSION AND GENTLENESS. a wheedling, oily, seductive kind of voice; not a voice that rouses, but one the tones of which enervate. “Well, these two creatures have many battles in every human heart; for, although it loves ease and pleasure, Inclination is terribly strong, and very often gets the victory. But if Duty, active and adroit, can but get a firm grip of its throat and hold on, then will Inclination be vanquished, although not killed. It will spring up into life and strength on the morrow; but every victory which is gained over it renders it less and less powerful. "Every boy's heart is a battle-field, where these opposing forces fight, and he has the option of aiding the one force or the other. He can always hear the clear tones of Duty's voice, he cannot mistake them ; and if when he hears its trumpet tones he will but arouse himself, and say, "'Tis duty's call, I must obey,' and turn a deaf ear to Inclination's enticing words, he will be aiding the good force to gain the victory. "These two forces frequently appear in another form the one as a red-faced, fiery-eyed little gentleman, who has a word and a blow for everybody and everything. I see that many boys court his acquaintance, and pay no attention to his sweet-eyed, calmfaced companion, who is yet the best and most worthy of the two. The fiery little gentleman is named PASSION, the other, GENTLENESS. Passion seems always to have the best of it; it asserts itself so loudly, and will hear no reason, and is more like an animal than any |