University of Virginia Library

3. CHAPTER III.
The Dwarf.

The dwarf, who had betrayed in his
brief conversation more feeling in reference
to his deformity than he usually exhibited,
kissed the fair hand of his sister
with affectionate awe, and began to apply
himself to his task.

The maiden stood looking at him for a
few moments with painful interest. He
had never but once before, many years
ago, alluded to his deformed shape, and
then with a sort of idiotic wonder on seeing
the reflection of his person in the water
by the side of her own. He then expressed
astonishment and surprise that
he was so hideous and she so lovely: but
it was unaccompanied by any manifestation
of emotion. It was simply idiotic
wonder.

His habitual insensibility to his condition
was the only solace her affectionate
and warm heart received from the
contemplation of his revolting personal
appearance. She felt thankful that he
was deficient in that intelligence which
would render his life miserable at the full
realization of his physical degradation
among men.

He was her brother—her only brother,
and as he was always kind to her, and
seemed to worship her and look up to her
as to a superior being, she felt for him a
strong and sacred attachment. She felt
that it was her duty to love him whom
all men hated and cast off. Even his
father treated him with neglect and severity,
bringing him up rather as a slave
than a son. But poor Tom always found
a shelter from the world's harshness in
e sympathy of his noble sister. She
was like an angel given to guard him.—
His attachment to her was like that of a
dog for its master; he was always faithful
to her, and in her service was bold
and active. He would have sacrificed
his life to serve her. Between him and
his unloving father she had always interposed
and saved him from many a
blow. Poor Tom! All gratitude and
all feeling were not quite extinguished in
his bosom. May was all the world to him,
and all the future. He had vague ideas
of Heaven, and he peopled it with angels,
all like his sister May. To contemplate
his dependent affection and watchful devotion,
and her protecting tenderness and
gentle sympathy, was a spectacle of the
most touching and beautiful character.—
The helplessness of poor Tom called into
exercise all the benevolent and holier
attributes of the generous sister's heart,
and made her a lovelier character than
perhaps she would have been; for we all
need external objects to develope our internal
qualities. Without the poor and
wretched, charity and pity could not live
in the human bosom. The kindness of
May, also, drew forth from the darkness
of Tom's soul the half-trained sensibilities
and scarcely-formed affections which
lay there, and which otherwise had never
manifested themselves; thus keeping his
soul for ever locked up in the hideous
prison of his body. Her influence subdued
the savage ferocity which at times,
under the harsh treatment of his father,
showed itself to be a native element of
his character; and out of a ferocious
brute she gradually cultivated a grateful,
faithful monitor.

May had, however, but little sympathy
herself from her dark-souled brother.—
He could not enter into her sorrows, or
understand her griefs. He could not
converse. He had no ideas to give or
interchange. His existence was comprised,
not in thought, but in feeling. He
had a heart, for May had unfolded its affections
towards herself; but he had no
head. He could talk only in the accents
of affection, or else in the bitter complaints
of hatred against his father and all
those who mocked at his deformity; for
there are persons to whom misfortune is
not sacred.

May needed sympathy at this time.—
She felt the want of some one to talk
with. Bonus seemed to understand when
she was unhappy quicker than her brother,
and to manifest a lively interest in
her. He now drew near her, seeing her
stand with a sad face gazing vacantly upon
the sea, and, looking up into her face
with his soft, intelligent eyes, seemed to
ask her what he should do for her. She
saw him, and patting him upon the head,
said,

`Poor Bonus! You can do nothing to
help me! You nor Tom can enter into
my unhappiness. Yet I know you miss
your master, and are sorrowful that he
comes not; for though he never loved
my poor brother, he has always loved
you!'

`Yes, father loves Bonus. Tom hate
Bonus,' said the idiot with a scowl, as he
clenched his enormous hand and shook
it morosely in the dog's face.

Bonus remained immoveable, calmly
eyeing him. He knew as well as any human
being did, that poor Tom was not a
responsible person. He now seemed to
regard him with dignified commisseration.

`You should not hate Bonus! He is
faithful and has twice saved your life!'
said May, with gentle severity of reproof.

`Yes, Tom love Bonus. Bonus good
dog! He never call Tom, `Hunchy'
and `Devil's child!' Tom love Bonus
and hate father!'

Here the idiot unclenched his hand
and, with a face full of kindly emotion,
patted Bonus on the neck. The sensible
animal slightly wagged his tail and licked
the palm of his hand with devotion, as if
he loved Tom because, May, his mistress
loved him.

`I wish, Bonus, you were a bird—an
Eagle—that you might fly and bring me
news of my dear father!' said May,
earnestly as she once more cast her eyes
along the horizon of the sea.

`I hope father'll never come back,'
said the idiot, with emphasis. `Tom get
no more beating.'

`You are selfish, Tom! You are
wicked to say so.'

`Yes, the devil told Tom he was wicked,'
answered the dwarf, with a countenance
of fear and grief. `He say Tom
you are wicked and when you die I shall
have you! I told him May said I was
good. Now you say Tom is wicked.'

Here he began to give vent to a flood
of tears, and it was some moments before
she could pacify him.

`You are good, Tom. I am sorry
you dream so. It is because you sleep
so much!'

`I dream more about the old 'un
when I'm wake, May. He comes and
talks with me when I'm makin' the net.
He stands one side and I the other, and
always asks me to let him knot a strand.
But I know if I do he will make the net
to catch me in it, and so I threw the
servin'-mallet at his head and he goes off
bIowin' like a porpus.'

`You should'nt think about him and
you wont see him. There, go to work
at your task, and I will by and by give

you a nice supper. You know if you
don't finish the net by the time father
returns he will be angry with you.'

`But he darn't touch Tom while you
are by.'

`But its better to get it done and not
make him angry. It is nine days since
he went, and you have not yet done five
hours work on it; and he said he should
be absent but three and would expect to
find it done when he returned.'

`I hope the fishes have got him,' said
the dwarf, with savage vindictiveness.

`Sail ho! Sail ho! How's the weather?
Stir your stumps you infernal dwarf!
What luck I say? Sail ho! Pretty Poll!
Pretty May! Work you rascal Tom!'

`I'll kill him. He's the devil, May!
I hate him! He always abuses me just
as father does.'

No, Tom, for my sake hurt him not!'
said the maiden, for the hundredth time
being compelled to interpose to save her
favorite from the rage of her brother.
`He does'nt know what he says.'

`Don't he? Is he fool-mad like poor
Tom?' asked the idiot, with wondering
inquisitiveness.

`Yes, brother.'

`Then Tom won't kill him!' was his
answer, his countenance at once resuming
its former inanity.

`Poll has spoken truly!' cried May,
with sudden animation. `Look, brother
Tom! Is not that a white sail off in the
south-east?'

`Sail ho! Sail ho! It's goin' to blow
like blazes! Tom you idle dog! Work!
Work! Work! Sail ho, I say!' screamed
the parrot from the cage.

`I don't see it, May. But Poll knows.
She has sharp eyes. Tom can't see
half the time.'

`Yes, Poll is right!' cried the maiden,
joyfully. `It must be father's smack!'

`I hope the wind in yonder cloud,
May, 'll blow till it sink him if it is. I
don't want nobody but you and I, and
Bonus to live here!'

The young girl was too deeply interested
in watching the distant sail, for
sail it was which had been discovered
by the parrot from his perch, to heed
his words. She hastened rapidly to the
verge of the cliff where the path commenced
descending to the beach below.

Here upon a naked rock, that projected
over the path-way, she stood, with
Bonus by her side, and gazed eagerly off
upon the ocean. with her two hands
hollowed into a focus, she looked long
and eagerly; while the dog, following the
direction of her eyes, seemed to be quite
as interested in the white speck on the
horizon as herself. He wagged his tail,
and he appeared to anticipate the arrival
of his long absent master. Tom remained
to go on with his task which he diligently
pursued from fear of his father's
blows, when he should come home, and
find the net unfinished.

The young girl watched the sail until
she was satisfied that it approached nearer
and nearer. Her face, on this discovery,
expressed her joy; and she began
to congratulate Bonus on soon seeing his
master. For an instant, to relieve her
eyes, pained by steadily fixing them upon
the distant vessel, she dropped them
to the bay immediately below her, where
cradled upon its calm bosom, lay at anchor
the little mackerel-boat we have already
described. She could look down
directly upon its deck. The sight of it
suggested the idea of going out to meet
her father.

`If there were a breath of air in the
bay, I would go down and embark in the
boat with Tom, and sail out to meet him.
But though there is a fresh breeze outside
all is as calm as a lake in the harbour.
I must check my impatience, and
await his slow approach. But I am disappointed!
It is not my father!' she

cried with surprise and grief, as a slight
change made in the course of the vessel
displayed three masts, and the rig of a
ship. Till this discovery, the vessel had
been standing directly towards her, so
that she presented only one mast; from
her great distance. May could not tell
the shape of the sails; and it might be
taken for her father's shallop-sloop. But
she now saw that what she supposed was
a small vessel, comparatively, very near
her, was a large ship half below the horizon,
her upper sails only visible.

It was a great disappointment to her;
for she was most tenderly attached to her
father, who, in his turn, idolized her for
her beauty and goodness. Her influence
over him had been extraordinary, for he
was a man of violent passions, and a stern,
cold character; and although she grieved
that he hated his dwarfed child as he
did, she exerted all her power to shield
him from his anger and endeavor to turn
his heart towards him. For her sake he
had withheld many a blow which would
have well nigh slain poor Tom, and her
sweet voice had stilled a thousand feelings
in his bosom. Her love rendered
her blind to her father's faults, save this,
his hatred of her brother; and this did
not make her love him less, but her brother
more. How could she see evil in a
father who never breathed an unkind
word to her, who never looked upon her
face but with admiring tenderness? How
could she judge him bad who to her was
good! How could he, who so loved her,
be wicked!

Yet there were dark tales abroad about
her father. They had even been whispered
with malice in her ears; but they
were not heeded. She shut her ears to
the words that fell on them, and would
never suffer them to rest a moment in
her mind.

Nine days before, as we have said, the
old Fisherman Northrop, had sailed from
the little secluded bay on a trip, as he
said, to Portland, to buy articles needed
in his profession, especially salt; and also
to lift his bounty money. He had
sailed in a small sloop of ninety tons,
which he used as his fishing vessel, for a
few months past, his swallow-tailed
schooner having been wrecked a few
months before in coming into the bay in
a storm, by being driven upon a ledge,
directly off its entrance, about a mile distant
from the scathed pine on the promontory.

The trip over to Portland and back
did not wholly occupy more than two or
three days; and, as the wind and weather
had been favorable almost every day
since his departure, and he still stayed
away, May, who was left alone with
her brother on the cliff, began to entertain
apprehensions for his safety; and these
fears had increased with each day's absence,
after the fourth passed without
bringing him.

He had taken in the sloop with him an
old man and two of his boys, who lived
on an island about a league distant towards
the mouth of the Kennebec, who,
from their poverty, having no vessel of
their own, usually embarked their fortunes
with him, and composed his crew whenever
he went on a fishing cruise.