Birth and Childhood. 15 



its progress the suit furnished the neighbourhood with 

 topics of comment and denunciation for months and 

 years. The resulting feuds affected every family in 

 the district, and friendships were broken, never to be 

 healed. Every debate was spiced with general and 

 hearty dislike of the Wheelers. Greenfield was a 

 thorough democracy, in which, by some side wind of 

 fortune, that family of aristocratic tastes and manners 

 had been stranded. Their demeanour toward neigh- 

 bours quite their equals in intelligence and refinement 

 was pervaded by a condescension that was more than 

 Greenfield human nature could bear. These Wheelers 

 lived much like a squire's family in Yorkshire ; they 

 called their " help " " servants " ; and they kept fox 

 hounds of English breed, whose depredations so ag- 

 grieved Mrs. Youmans (who lived in the next house) 

 that to the end of her life she detested dogs, classing 

 them all as " hounds," in remembrance of Greenfield 

 days. 



In the general ill-will felt toward this family, Ed- 

 ward, child as he was, did not join. His sunny face 

 and lively ways had given him the free range of their 

 demesnes. He was sorry to see people who had been 

 kind to him contemned and humiliated. Their lawsuit 

 about the school, with all the discussion it aroused, 

 made a deep impression on his mind, and served as a 

 nucleus for observation and thought. As years went 

 on, this early implanted interest in the rights and 

 wrongs of State education deepened and widened. 



In the Wheeler household there was a humble 

 inmate to whom Edward became strongly attached. 

 This was a negro boy about five years his senior, Joe 

 Gundy by name. Joe did chores for the family ; but 

 his duties were so light that he had a good deal of 



