Madame Koski now proceeded to question Gerald regarding his humble friends, the fisherman and his wife, and nothing loth was he to talk of them, and of their kindness to him. She listened with great interest to his account of Michael’s being carried off to the public works, and of his interview with the Czar, to plead for the exchange. She had heard nothing of these particulars—she had only been told that a youth who had been shipwrecked when an infant, near the mouth of the Neva, was then, at the Emperor’s palace, and on her arrival, the paper which Gerald had written out had been put into her hand. Peter, on first seeing him, had himself been struck with the resemblance he bore to his early friend, and when Gerald proceeded to give the account of the wreck, he immediately surmised that the son of the Polish noble stood before him.
Though Peter was a man of fierce passions, and had little feeling, he was known to attach himself firmly to a few individuals. Madame Koski and her son, therefore felt some confidence in the continuance of his friendship and protection.
Gerald at last came to a determination to enter the University, though his own inclination would now have led him to go to his native land, and make a stand with the few brave men who would have joined him in another struggle for independence. Indeed, he did not wholly relinquish the idea, though he resolved at present on making the most of the advantages offered him for education.
Previous, to his entering, however, he and his mother took a journey to the village in which Michael and his wife were residing. Madame Koski was anxious to see the worthy couple who had acted so kindly to her son, that she might have an opportunity of expressing her deep gratitude, and she and Gerald were both desirous of ascertaining whether they could do anything to make the family more comfortable.
The meeting was affecting, and it gave mutual pleasure. Madame Koski was much pleased with the fisherman’s family, especially with Margaret, towards whom she thought she could never show sufficient kindness in return for the motherly part she had acted towards her friendless infant. The good woman brought forward the clothes in which Gerald was dressed when he was first cast upon their protecting care. And if any further proof of his identity had been needful, the sight of them would have quite satisfied Madame Koski that he was indeed her child. The view of the clothes, however, called forth many painful recollections, for though Gerald was restored to her, her two other children, who had been equally dear were lost. She was affected too when told of the careful manner in which the babe’s little ark had been enclosed, in order to shelter him from the waters. ‘Poor Jaqueline,’ she said, with tears in her eyes, ‘you were faithful to your charge to the very last. Oh!’ she added, turning to her son, ‘what a wonderful providence has followed thee, my child, from the moment I parted from thee, thou has never wanted a mother’s tender care.’
Madame Koski was a christian woman. She had been taught in the rough school of adversity, and she had learned, not only to submit with patience to the ills of life, but to see God’s gracious and merciful hand in all.
Madame Koski’s income was not very large, still she insisted on sharing it with Michael and his wife, who really stood in need of aid, though they were unwilling to receive it from her. The good couple had done all without any hope or prospect of reward, but they both repeatedly declared that Gerald had already more than repaid them for the services they had rendered him by the generous sacrifice he had made, which had, they said, been the means of saving Michael’s life.
Gerald returned with his mother to Moscow, and then commenced his studies with a cheerful spirit. He lived to be a comfort to his widowed parent, and an ornament to society; but he never had an opportunity of serving his country beyond what he could do as a private individual.
Within two or three years of the time when the above related events took place, Peter the Great once more gained ascendancy over the Poles, by a victory he won over his rival Charles the Twelfth. In consequence of this victory, Stanislaus was deposed and Frederick Augustus was restored to the throne.
Most of our young readers are no doubt aware that Poland is no longer a kingdom, but a Russian province. Subsequently to the period of which we have been speaking, the fall of the Polish nation was rapid, and their final overthrow took place about twenty years ago, under Nicholas, the present Emperor of Russia.
It now remains for us, young readers, to inquire what moral may be learned from the little history before us. Every book we read should do something more than amuse the fancy and interest the feelings. It should inform our minds and teach us some valuable lesson for practice. We have seen that our hero’s generous action was made in the Providence of God to lead to its own reward. Had he not sought an interview with the Czar he would not have discovered his mother. Again we may observe, that circumstances do not affect the conduct of individuals so as to prevent the possibility of their performing noble deeds. The fisherman and his wife practised generosity and kindness of the highest order, lowly and poor though they were; and the seemingly disadvantageous situation of the boy who was cast upon their bounty did not prevent his achieving a truly heroic action. Think not, therefore, that your circumstances, whatever they may be, shut you out from the exercise of exalted virtues, for there are no circumstances, however unfavourable, which exclude the performance of generous and self-denying deeds.
