The Children of the Public
Felix Carter, an orphan raised in the New York asylum through a chance encounter with Lafayette's procession, is taken in by wealthy Elkanah Ogden and boarded with farmers John and Betsy Myers in St. Lawrence County, where he grows up believing in the providence of "the Public." After Ogden's death and Myers's death, Felix supports himself through manual labor, schooling, prize-essay writing, and odd jobs, always refusing debt and trusting to honest work and public institutions. During a financial crash, a departing friend, Jonathan Whittemore, trades Felix a lottery-like ticket from Burrham's cheap-excursion and cyclopaedia combination scheme (which promised a $5,000 and a $10,000 dowry prize to a man and woman drawn by lot) in exchange for a German dictionary. Nearly penniless, Felix walks and boat-hitches toward New York to redeem the ticket, working his passage on a canal boat owned by the Grills family. There he meets Miss Jones (Fausta), a fellow passenger, and they form a quiet bond over shared reading and conversation. Continuing together to New York by steamboat, Fausta's trunk—containing her money and her aunt Mrs. Mason's address—is stolen from the dock. Unable to locate her aunt and unwilling to borrow money, Fausta insists on trusting "the Public" rather than accepting charity. Felix escorts her through the city, and together they use free public resources: police assistance, the Astor Library, cheap bakery meals, and finally a church, where each spends the night safely and respectably—Fausta in the gallery pew, Felix in a police-station bunk. The next day, Felix attends Burrham's chaotic distribution ceremony at Castle Garden. After the green-ticket winner (heavily veiled) refuses to unveil, the crowd riots, demanding "Face! face!" Felix is then drawn as the red-ticket ($5,000) winner. Trying to escape the hall to meet Fausta at the Library, he instead discovers that the veiled green-ticket winner is Fausta herself—she was Miss Stillingfleet's ticket heir. Reunited, Felix publicly quiets the mob by declaring himself "the Child of the Public, and her betrothed husband," restoring order. Mayor A—— hosts Felix warmly afterward, and Fausta's stolen trunk is eventually recovered, having been abandoned by the thief and returned unopened. Fausta then tells her own history: orphaned when her mother was accidentally killed by a stray ramrod during a military review, she was informally adopted as "Fille du Regiment" by the Montgomery Battalion, educated at their expense, and later supported herself as a schoolteacher and prize-essay writer, likewise trusting to "the Public" for care and opportunity. Recognizing their parallel lives as public-supported orphans, Felix and Fausta agree they belong together. After a brief stay with the unwelcoming Mrs. Mason, Fausta prepares for marriage, and on November 1 the two are married in the very church where they had taken shelter.
By Edward Everett Hale · First published 1860 · Genre: Historical Fiction, Social Commentary, Literary Fiction · 17,876 words
First lines
[This story originated in the advertisement of the humbug which it describes. Some fifteen or twenty years since, when gift enterprises rose to one of their climaxes, a gift of a large sum of money, I think $10,000, was offered in New York to the most successful ticket-holder in some scheme, and one of $5,000 to the second. It was arranged that one of these parties should be a man and the other a woman; and the amiable suggestion was added, on the part of the undertaker of the enterprise, that if the gentleman and lady who drew these prizes liked each other sufficiently well when the distribution was made, they might regard the decision as a match made for them in Heaven, and take the money as the dowry of the bride.
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The Children of the Public is listed on Textopian as a novella by Edward Everett Hale, dated 1860 CE.
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- Work type: Novella
- Author: Edward Everett Hale
- Date: 1860 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Historical Fiction, Social Commentary, Literary Fiction, Political Fiction, Drama
- Length: 17,876 words
- Structure: 1 section, 208 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)
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Similar titles
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Genres
- Historical Fiction — The narrative is set in a specific historical context and incorporates real historical events and figures.
- Social Commentary — The book addresses social issues and critiques societal norms and institutions.
- Literary Fiction — The writing style and thematic depth align with the conventions of literary fiction.
- Political Fiction — The plot and themes involve political elements and discussions on governance and public policy.
Tags
Utopian Fiction · Social Commentary · Satire · Humor · Philosophical · Psychological Insight · Family Dynamics · Childhood Development · Education System · Social Hierarchy · Class Struggle · Morality Tale