nd the casual female parent who
attended the exercises sat on a front bench with beads of cold sweat on
her forehead, listening to the all-too-familiar halts and stammers.
Sometimes a bellowing infant who had clean forgotten his verse would
cast himself bodily on the maternal bosom and be borne out into the
open air, where he was sometimes kissed and occasionally spanked; but
in any case the failure added an extra dash of gloom and dread to the
occasion. The advent of Rebecca had somehow infused a new spirit into
these hitherto terrible afternoons. She had taught Elijah and Elisha
Simpson so that they recited three verses of something with such
comical effect that they delighted themselves, the teacher, and the
school; while Susan, who lisped, had been provided with a humorous poem
in which she impersonated a lisping child. Emma Jane and Rebecca had a
dialogue, and the sense of companionship buoyed up Emma Jane and gave
her self-reliance. In fact, Miss Dearborn announced on this particular
Friday morning that the exercises promised to be so interesting that
she had invited the doctor's wife, the minister's wife, two members of
the school committee, and a few mothers. Living Perkins was asked to
decorate one of the black-boards and Rebecca the other. Living, who was
the star artist of the school, chose the map of North America. Rebecca
liked better to draw things less realistic, and speedily, before the
eyes of the enchanted multitude, there grew under her skillful fingers
an American flag done in red, white, and blue chalk, every star in its
right place, every stripe fluttering in the breeze. Beside this
appeared a figure of Columbia, copied from the top of the cigar box
that held the crayons.

Miss Dearborn was delighted. "I propose we give Rebecca a good
hand-clapping for such a beautiful picture--one that the whole school
may well be proud of!"

The scholars clapped heartily, and Dick Carter, waving his hand, gave a
rousing cheer.

Rebecca's heart leaped for joy, and to her confusion she felt the tears
rising in her eyes. She could hardly see the way back to her seat, for
in her ignorant lonely little life she had never been singled out for
applause, never lauded, nor crowned, as in this wonderful, dazzling
moment. If "nobleness enkindleth nobleness," so does enthusiasm beget
enthusiasm, and so do wit and talent enkindle wit and talent. Alice
Robinson proposed that the school should sing Three Cheers for the Red,