Beryl's Triumph by Eglanton Thorne

THE children were very sorry when their friend David Gilbank quitted Egloshayle. He had made a longer stay than he had intended at the Cornish village, and he carried away with him many beautiful sketches, to be worked up to perfection in his London studio. Not the least excellent of these was a water-colour sketch of Coral and Beryl, seated side by side in the shelter of a fisherman's boat, turned keel upwards on the beach. Mr. Gilbank hoped in time to finish this picture, and make it a worthy memorial of the little friends in whom he took such interest.

The children missed him sadly when he had gone away. There were no nice talks on the beach now, no preaching on Sunday afternoons, no friend who could tell them what they wanted to know. They wandered about listlessly on the Sunday afternoon following his departure, and found the time long and dull.

Beryl had been unusually silent for some time, and Coral, finding her remarks unheeded, had also grown thoughtful, when suddenly Beryl exclaimed, "Oh, Coral, I've thought of such a splendid thing!"

"What is it? " asked Coral, eager to hear any new idea which might brighten the dulness of their day.

"You know what Mr. Gilbank was saying last Sunday, how we might all help to make the kingdom grow and spread in the world? You remember that, don't you, Coral?"

"No," said Coral, shaking her head, and speaking in a tone of indifference, as she began to think that Beryl's grand idea was, after all, nothing very delightful. "No, I don't remember nothing about it."

"Oh, Coral, and it was so plain! " said Beryl. "Don't you recollect that he said we could be workers with God, and that even a child could do something for the kingdom?"

"No, I don't," said Coral decidedly. "Is that all you have to tell me?"

"Of course not; but that was what made me think of it. Coral, I've been thinking how nice it would be if we could keep a little Sunday school."

"Oh, Beryl, a Sunday school! What do you mean?"

"Why, don't you know that Mr. Gilbank said, what a pity it was that there was no Sunday school at Egloshayle, and the children were left to play about on the beach all Sunday afternoon? Now, I think you and I might keep a sort of school, just for the very little ones, you know."

"Oh, Beryl, do you really think we could? " exclaimed Coral, delighted, as all children are, with the idea of keeping school. "But do you think we are big enough? What could we teach them?"

"Oh, we could teach them something," said Beryl, confidently. "We must know more than they do; -at least we ought to," she added, with a momentary sense of her own mental poverty. "Anyhow, we could read to them, and teach them hymns. There's-'Around the throne of God in heaven,' and 'When mothers of Salem'; -I could ask Lucy to lend us her hymn-book, which has them in."

"Oh yes, that would be very nice," said Coral; "but where could we have the school?"

"We must have it somewhere on the beach," said Beryl; "it would never do to bring the children into the house. Aunt Cecilia would be in a rage. Oh, I know what, Coral. There's that cave which runs such a long way back, that would do splendidly. The rock at the entrance would do nicely to put our books on, and the children could sit on the ground, or stand. Yes, that is the very thing."

"But the cave is sometimes full of water," suggested Coral.

"Yes, when the tide is high," said Beryl; "but it is very often empty, and when it is high water we must go somewhere else. Come, Coral, let us run and have a look at it, and then we will try and find some nice little children, and ask them to come to us there next Sunday afternoon."

The appearance of the cave was considered to be satisfactory, on the whole, for though its walls were damp and slimy with seaweed, Beryl declared that no one need sit close to them, and the rock in the middle would do equally well for a table or a seat.

Having decided on the place of meeting, Beryl set to work to form a class. There were a number of children playing rather noisily at the further end of the beach. She walked towards them, followed by Coral, and as the young ladies drew near, the rougher children ceased their play, and stared wonderingly at them. Beryl was always very dignified in her approaches to the fisher-folk and their children, but at the same time, she was gracious, and the young people of Egloshayle admired the young lady greatly, though they stood rather in awe of her.

When Beryl, addressing one of the little ones, began to explain her scheme for a Sunday class, the child shrank away frightened, and would say nothing but "No" in reply to her invitation. The others to whom she spoke were just as unresponsive. This was discouraging, but Beryl, undaunted, proceeded to take the elder sisters into her confidence, and got them to promise to bring the little ones to the cave on the following Sunday afternoon. Then, contented with the arrangement they had made, she and Coral went home.