Chapter 1 A Baby is Found
In the west of England, in a part of the country called Somerset,
there lived a gentleman whose name was Allworthy. He might be
called the favourite of both Nature and Fortune, because Nature
had given him the gifts of good health, good sense and a kind
heart, and Fortune had made him one of the richest landowners
in that part of England.
In his youth this gentleman had married a good, beautiful
woman. They had three children, all of whom died young, and
about five years before this story begins his wife also died. He
loved her still, and sometimes said that he was waiting to join her
after death.
He now lived in the country most of the time, with his sister,
Miss Bridget Allworthy. This lady was now past the age of thirty.
She was a very good woman who often thanked God she was
not beautiful, because she believed that beauty led women into
wicked ways.
Now, reader, as Mr Allworthy had a large fortune, a good heart
and no family, you may think that he lived an honest life, gave to
the poor, built a hospital and died a rich man. It is true that he
did many of these things, but they are not the reason for this
story. Something much more extraordinary happened.
One evening, Mr Allworthy came back to his house very late
and very tired. He had been away in London on business for
several months. After a light supper with his sister, he went to
bed. First he spent some time on his knees, praying to God, and
then he pulled back the bedclothes. To his great surprise he saw a
baby lying in his bed in a sweet, deep sleep. He stood for some
time, looking at its innocent beauty, and then rang his bell to call
his elderly housekeeper, Mrs Deborah Wilkins.
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When Mrs Wilkins saw the child she cried out, 'My good sir!
What shall we do?' Mr Allworthy answered that she must take
care of the child that evening, and in the morning he would give
orders to find a nurse for it.
'Yes sir,' said Mrs Wilkins, 'and I hope you will give orders to
send its wicked mother to prison for doing this.'
'In leaving the baby here, Deborah,' said Mr Allworthy, 'I
suppose the poor woman has tried to provide a good home for
her child, and I am very glad she has not done worse.'
'But sir,' cried Mrs Wilkins,'why should you take care of the
child? Why not put it in a basket and leave it at the church door?
If you keep it people may think that you are the father.'
But Mr Allworthy did not hear her. He now had one of his
fingers in the sweet child's hand, and was smiling at it gently. So
Mrs Wilkins took the child to her room, and Mr Allworthy went
to bed and slept well until morning.
•
Mr Allworthy's house stood on a hill and had a charming view of
the valley beneath. To the right of the valley were several villages,
and to the left a great park. Beyond the park the country
gradually rose into a range of wild mountains, the tops of which
were above the clouds.
The house was very noble. It was surrounded by a fine garden,
with old oak trees and a stream that flowed down to a lake at the
bottom of the hill. From every room at the front of the house
you could see the lake, and a river that passed for several miles
through woods and fields till it emptied itself into the sea.
It was now the middle of May, and as Mr Allworthy stood
watching the sun rise over this lovely view, Miss Bridget
Allworthy rang her bell and called him to breakfast.
When she had poured the tea, Mr Allworthy told his sister he
had a present for her. She thanked him. This was not unusual as
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he often gave her new clothes and jewellery to wear. Imagine her
surprise when Mrs Wilkins produced the baby!
Miss Bridget was silent until her brother had told her the
whole story. He ended by saying that he had decided to take care
of the child and bring it up as his own.
Miss Bridget looked kindly at the child, and told her brother
she admired his generosity. He was a good man. However, she
was less kind about the poor, unknown mother, whom she called
every bad name she could think of. The next step was to discover
who the mother was. Mr Allworthy, leaving this task to his
housekeeper, and the child to his sister, left the room.
Mrs Wilkins waited for a sign from Miss Bridget. Did she
really agree with her brother? Miss Bridget looked for some time
at the child as it lay asleep in Mrs Wilkins's lap, then gave it a big
kiss, exclaiming about its beauty and innocence. When Mrs
Wilkins saw this, she too started squeezing and kissing the baby,
and cried out, 'Oh, the dear little child! The dear, sweet, pretty
child! He is as fine a boy as I have ever seen.'
Then Miss Bridget gave orders for the servants to get a very
good room in the house ready for the child, and to provide him
with everything he needed. She was as generous as if he had been
a child of her own.
•
Later that day, Mrs Wilkins went to the village nearby to ask
questions about the abandoned child. She soon decided that the
most likely mother was Jenny Jones.
Jenny Jones was a poor young girl from the vill