Beryl's Triumph by Eglanton Thorne

THE children settled very happily to their daily tasks with Miss Burton. At first, the long hours of confinement were felt to be irksome. Beryl's pen was apt to drop from her fingers, and her mind to wander from her work, as the sound of the sea came to her through the open window, and the warm sunshine and fragrant breeze made her long to fling books aside, and roam abroad at will again. But a word or touch from Miss Burton would recall her attention, for Beryl was really anxious to do well and please her governess. She felt ashamed of knowing so little, and was anxious by great endeavours to make up for lost time. Miss Burton made their steps to knowledge as smooth and pleasant as possible for her young pupils.

On sounding the depths of their ignorance, she was appalled to discover how profound it was; but happily, the children, though backward, were neither slow nor dull. No one could call Beryl a stupid child. If she knew little of books, she had picked up a good deal of information about the common things of life in the course of her free-and-easy childhood.

Miss Burton was surprised to find how quickly Beryl learned when once she began to apply herself. The soil of her mind promised to yield all the richer harvest for having lain fallow so long.

The children were fortunate in the governess chosen for them. Hettie Burton was too young and too childlike to have acquired any formal, pedantic mode of imparting instruction, whilst, at the same time, her intellectual powers were such as would have qualified her to teach far older pupils. She had a natural aptitude for teaching, and did not find her work a drudgery. She varied the children's tasks so skilfully, that neither mind nor body could grow weary before lessons were over. She laid no unnecessary restrictions on their freedom.

Coral and Beryl still took their morning dip in the sea, and had a run on the beach afterwards before they went to lessons, and, weather permitting, there was always a long, pleasant ramble in the evening. The children enjoyed their walks all the more when Miss Burton accompanied them.

She was not of Miss Holly's opinion, that it was unladylike to run, and vulgar to jump or climb. She let her pupils make free use of their limbs, when school hours were over. Hettie was not too old to enjoy a run herself, and the nimble way in which she scaled the rocks excited Beryl's strong admiration.

One day, shortly after her arrival, the children took their governess to explore the depths of the long cave, and then poured into her astonished ears the story of their marvellous escape from drowning. Beryl was disposed to suppress the fact of their having tried to keep a Sunday school in the cave. She was afraid lest Miss Burton, like Mr. Hollys, should see something ridiculous in the idea. But Coral soon let out the fact; and though Miss Burton seemed very surprised to hear of it, she did not appear inclined to laugh.

"What made you think of keeping a Sunday school here? " she asked.

"Beryl thought of it," said Coral. "She wanted to do something for the kingdom."

"For the kingdom? " repeated Miss Burton, looking puzzled.

"It was Mr. Gilbank made me think of it," said Beryl, colouring as she spoke; "he said it was such a pity there was no Sunday school for the children at Egloshayle."

"Who is Mr. Gilbank? Your clergyman, I suppose? " said Miss Burton.

"Oh no! " exclaimed Beryl. "Mr. Trevor is our clergyman, and he is not in the least like Mr. Gilbank. You could never guess what Mr. Gilbank is like. He is the nicest, kindest man in the world, I think; except papa, of course, I mean."

Then, as Miss Burton began to ask further questions, Coral and Beryl told her all about the artist's visit to Egloshayle, and how he had taught them the meaning of the Lord's Prayer, and made them long to become children of the kingdom.

Miss Burton listened with surprised interest. Here was a subject on which the children were not ignorant. Young as they were, they had taken their place at the Master's feet, and had begun to learn of Him.

Hettie Burton stood silent and thoughtful for a few minutes, scarce heeding what the children said.

She, too, aspired to be a worker in the kingdom. She was thinking that perhaps the care and training of these two children did not represent all the work she was called to do at Egloshayle. It might be that she could work with Coral and Beryl as well as for them.

"Is there really no Sunday school here? " she asked presently.

"No, none at all," said Beryl.

"It is a pity," said Miss Burton. "I wish we could manage to have one."