In this manner lived Little Jack, until he was twelve years old; at this time his poor old daddy fell sick, and became incapable of moving about. Jack did every thing he could think of for the poor man; he made his broths, he fed him with his own hands, he watched whole nights by his bed side, supporting his head, and helping him when he wanted to move. But it was all in vain; his poor daddy grew daily worse, and perceived it to be impossible that he should recover. He one day, therefore, called Little Jack to his bedside, and pressing his hand affectionately, told him that he was just going to die. Little Jack burst into a flood of tears at this information; but his daddy desired him to compose himself, and attend to the last advice he should be able to give him. “I have lived,” said the old man, “a great many years in poverty, but I do not know that I have been worse off than if I had been rich. I have avoided perhaps many faults and many uneasinesses, which I should have incurred had I been in another situation; and though I have often wanted a meal, and always fared hard, I have enjoyed as much health and life as usually fall to the lot of my betters. I am now going to die; I feel it in every part; the breath will soon be out of my body; then I shall be put in the ground, and the worms will eat your poor old daddy.” At this Jack renewed his tears and sobbings, for he was unable to restrain them. But the old man said, “Have patience, my child; though I shall soon leave this world, I humbly hope that God will pity me, and convey me to a better place, where I shall be happier than I have ever been here. This is what I have always taught you, and this belief gives me the greatest comfort in my last moments. The only regret I feel, is for you, my dearest child, whom I leave unprovided for. But you are strong and vigorous, and almost able to get your living. As soon as I am dead, you must go to the next village, and inform the people, that they may come and bury me. You must than endeavour to get into service, and work for your living; and if you are strictly honest, and sober, I do not doubt but you will find a livelihood, and that God, who is the common father of all, if you serve and love him truly, will protect and bless you.—Adieu, my child, I grow fainter and fainter; never forget your poor old daddy, nor the example he has set you; but in every situation of life, discharge your duty, and live like a soldier and a Christian.” When the old man had with difficulty uttered these last instructions, his voice entirely failed him, his limbs grew cold and stiff, and in a few minutes he expired without a groan. Little Jack, who hung crying over his daddy, called upon him in vain, in vain endeavoured to revive him. At length he pulled off his clothes, went into his daddy’s bed, and endeavoured for many hours to animate him with the warmth of his own body; but finding all his endeavours fruitless, he concluded that he was indeed dead, and therefore, weeping bitterly, he drest himself and went to the village as he had been ordered.
The poor little boy was thus left entirely destitute, and knew not what to do, but one of the farmers, who had been acquainted with him before, offered to take him into his house, and give him his victuals for a few months, till he could find a service. Jack thankfully accepted the offer, and served him faithfully for several months; during which time he learnt to milk, to drive the plough, and never refused any kind of work he was able to perform. But, by ill luck, this good-natured farmer contracted a fever, by overheating himself in the harvest, and died in the beginning of winter. His wife was therefore obliged to discharge her servants, and Jack was again turned loose upon the world, with only his clothes, and a shilling in his pocket, which his kind mistress had made him a present of. He was very sorry for the loss of his master; but he was now grown bigger and stronger, and thought he should easily find employment. He therefore set out upon his travels, walking all day, and inquiring at every farm-house for work. But in this attempt he was unfortunate, for nobody chose to employ a stranger; and though he lived with the greatest economy, he soon found himself in a worse situation than ever, without a farthing in his pocket, or a morsel of bread to eat. Jack, however, was not of a temper to be easily cast down; he walked resolutely on all day, but towards evening was overtaken by a violent storm of rain which wetted him to the skin before he could find a bush for shelter. Now poor Jack began to think of his old daddy, and the comforts he had formerly enjoyed upon the common, where he had always a roof to shelter him, and a slice of bread for supper. But tears and lamentations were vain; and therefore as soon as the storm was over, he pursued his journey, in hopes of finding some barn or out-house to creep into for the rest of the night. While he was thus wandering about, he saw at some distance a great light, which seemed to come from some prodigious fire. Jack did not know what this could be; but, in his present situation, he thought a fire no disagreeable object, and therefore determined to approach it. When he came nearer, he saw a large building which seemed to spout fire and smoke at several openings, and heard an incessant noise of blows, and the rattling of chains. Jack was at first a little frightened, but summoning all his courage, he crept cautiously on to the building, and, looking through a chink, discovered several men and boys employed in blowing fires, and hammering burning masses of iron. This was a very comfortable sight to him in his present forlorn condition; so finding a door half open, he ventured in, and placed himself as near as he dared to one of the flaming furnaces. It was not long before he was discovered by one of the workmen, who asked him, roughly, what business he had there? Jack answered, with great humility, that he was a poor boy looking out for work; that he had had no food all day, and was wet with the rain; which was evident enough from the appearance of his clothes. By great good luck, the man he spoke to was good-natured, and therefore not only permitted him to stay by the fire, but gave him some broken victuals for his supper. After this, he laid himself down in a corner, and slept without disturbance till morning. He was scarcely awake the next day, when the master of the forge came in to overlook his men, who finding Jack, and hearing his story, began to reproach him as very lazy, and asked him why he did not work for his living. Jack assured him there was nothing he so earnestly desired, and that if he would please to employ him, there was nothing that he would not do to earn a subsistence. “Well, my boy,” said the master, “if this is true, you shall soon be tried; nobody need be idle here.” So calling his foreman, he ordered him to set the lad to work, and to pay him in proportion to his labour. Jack now thought himself completely happy, and worked with so much assiduity, that he soon gained a comfortable livelihood, and acquired the esteem of his master.
But unfortunately, he was a little too unreserved in his conversation, and communicated the story of his former life and education. This was great matter of diversion to all the other boys of the forge, who, whenever they were inclined to be merry, would call him Little Jack the beggar-boy, and imitate the baaing of a goat. This was too much for his warm temper, and he never failed to resent it; by which means he was engaged in continual quarrels and combats, to the great disturbance of the house; so that his master, though in other respects perfectly satisfied with his behaviour, began to fear that he should at last be obliged to discharge him.
It happened one day that a large company of gentleman and ladies were introduced to see the works. The master attended them, and explained, with great politeness, every part of his manufacture. They viewed with astonishment the different methods by which that useful and necessary ore of iron is rendered fit for human use. They examined the furnaces where it is melted down, to disengage it from the dross with which it is mixed in the bowels of the earth, and whence it runs down in liquid torrents like fire. They beheld with equal pleasure the prodigious hammers which, moved by the force of water, mould it into massy bars for the service of man. While they were busy in examining these different processes, they were alarmed by a sudden noise of discord which broke out on the other side of the building; and the master inquiring into the cause, was told, that it was only Little Jack, who was fighting with Tom the collier. At this the master cried out in a passion, “There is no peace to be expected in the furnace while that boy is employed; send him to me, and I will instantly discharge him.” At this moment Jack appeared, all covered with blood and dirt, and stood before his angry judge in a modest but resolute posture. “Is this the reward,” said his master, “you little audacious fellow, for all my kindness? Can you never refrain a single instant from broils and fighting? But I am determined to bear it no longer; and therefore you shall never, from this hour, do a single stroke of work for me.”—“Sir,” replied Little Jack, with great humility, but yet with firmness, “I am extremely sorry to have disobliged you, nor have I ever done it willingly, since I have been here; and if the other boys would only mind their business as well as I do, and not molest me, you would not have been offended now; for, I defy them all to say, that, since I have been in the house, I have ever given any one the least provocation, or ever refused, to the utmost of my strength, to do whatever I have been ordered.”—“Indeed that’s quite true,” said the foreman; “I must do Little Jack the justice to say, that there is not a more honest, sober, and industrious lad about the place. Set him to do what you will, he never sculks, never grumbles, never slights his work; and if it were not for a little passion and fighting, I don’t believe there would be his fellow in England.”—“Well,” said the master, a little mollified, “but what is the cause of all this sudden disturbance?”—“Sir,” answered Jack, “it is Tom that has been abusing me, and telling me that my father was a beggar-man, and my mother a nanny-goat; and, when I desired him to be quiet, he went baaing all about the house; and this I could not bear; for, as to my father, he was an honest soldier, and if I did suck a goat, she was the best creature in the world; and I won’t hear her abused while I have any strength in my body.” At this harangue, the whole audience were scarcely able to refrain from laughing; and the master, with more composure, told Jack to mind his business, and threatened the other boys with punishment if they disturbed him.
But a lady who was in company seemed particularly interested about Little Jack, and when she had heard his story, said, “This must certainly be the little boy who opened a gate several years past for me upon Norcot Moor. I remember being struck with his appearance, and hearing him lament the loss of the goat that nursed him. I was very much affected then with his history, and since he deserves so good a character, if you will part with him, I will instantly take him into my service.” The master replied, that he should part with him with great satisfaction to such an excellent mistress; that, indeed, the boy deserved all the commendations which had been given; but since the other lads had such a habit of plaguing, and Jack was of so impatient a temper, he despaired of ever composing their animosities. Jack was then called, and informed of the lady’s offer, which he accepted with the greatest readiness, and received immediate directions to her house.
When the lady came home, she inquired concerning Jack, and found that he had arrived some time before her. She sent for him into the parlour, and kindly entered into conversation with him concerning his situation since she had first seen him upon the common. She was greatly pleased by the feeling manner in which he described the last moments of the old Soldier; she saw very clearly that the poor boy had an excellent disposition, a warm heart, and that what he had most to dread was his hastiness of temper. She, therefore, gently, yet very forcible, laid before him the evils which follow from a quarrelsome habit; how all persons come at last to dread the company of one who is apt to fall into disputes. She told him how people are always inclined to think him in the wrong against whom complaints are most frequently made, although perhaps he may have been on the right side in every instance. She pointed out to him how willing his master was to part with him; not because he was wrong in his disputes, but because he was in so many of them. “A quarrelsome boy,” said she, “is a nuisance in a family; there is no peace where he is, and every thing is kept in constant confusion and ill blood. You know, Jack, that it is your duty, as a Christian, to forgive others their trespasses against you; if, then, you fight upon every occasion, on which you may have suffered even real injury, you disobey your blessed Saviour, by violating one of his precepts. If any of your fellow-servants should do you any harm, forgive it according to the command of our Lord; if it should be often repeated, or be of a very heinous nature, come to me, and I shall see justice done between you and him. You know you cannot be a good judge in your own case, especially when your mind is filled with anger; therefore, I forbid you to take the matter into your own hands; you must not cause noise and riot in the family by coming to blows, even where the insult you may receive has been most unprovoked.”—Jack made very faithful promises of amendment; as indeed he might very sincerely do, for except when he was hurried away for the moment, he was ever ready to confess his failing.
Jack was now in a new sphere of life. His face was washed, his hair combed, he was clothed afresh, and appeared a very smart active lad. His business was, to help in the stable, to water the horses, to clean shoes, to perform errands, and to do all the jobs of the family; and in the discharge of these services, he soon gave universal satisfaction. He was indefatigable in doing what he was ordered, never grumbled, nor appeared out of temper, and seemed so quiet and inoffensive in his manners, that every body wondered how he had acquired the character of being quarrelsome. In a short time he became both the favourite and the drudge of the whole family; for, speak but kindly him, and call him a little soldier, and Jack was at every one’s disposal. This was Jack’s particular foible and vanity: at his leisure hours he would divert himself by the hour together, in poizing a dung-fork, charging with a broom-stick, and standing sentry at the stable door. Another propensity of Jack’s, which now discovered itself, was an immoderate love of horses. The instant he was introduced into the stable, he attached himself so strongly to these animals, that you would have taken him for one of the same species, or at least a near relation. Jack was never tired with rubbing them down and currying them; the coachman had scarcely any business but to sit on the box; all the operations of the stable were entrusted to Little Jack, nor was it ever known that he neglected a single particular. But what give him more pleasure than all the rest, was sometimes to accompany his mistress upon a little horse, which he managed with great dexterity.
Jack discovered too a great disposition for all the useful and mechanic arts. He had served an apprenticeship already to the manufacture of iron, and of this he was almost as vain as of being a soldier. As he began to extend his knowledge of the world, he saw that nothing could be done without iron. “How would you plough the ground,” said Jack; “how would you dig your garden; how would you even light a fire, dress a dinner, shoe a horse, or do the least thing in the world, if we workman at the forge did not take the trouble of preparing it for you?” Thus Jack would sometimes talk upon the dignity and importance of his own profession, to the great admiration of all the other servants.
These ideas naturally give Jack a great esteem for the profession of a blacksmith, and in his occasional visits to the forge with the horses, he learnt to make and fix a shoe as neatly as any artist in the country.