I know, I know, I'm late again, as always. I hope you find this short chapter worthwhile, despite the wait.

The Education of Master Charles Bingley – Chapter 2

After disentangling the boy's arms, giving him a kiss on the brow and a quick squeeze, Great Papa sat Charlie on his feet and struggled to his own. Holding hands, they walked together the few short steps to Great Papa's great chest of drawers. After scratching his head for a moment to help reorder his thoughts, Josiah settled on the second uppermost drawer, from which he retrieved an ornate wooden box. Carefully removing it, he carried it back to the table nearest their favorite chair and patted himself all over until he retrieved a key. Thereafter, the two men resumed their prior seating arrangement.

The box was of dark mahogany, carved on all sides with elaborate depictions of ships and nautical scenes. Charlie, who had never seen anything like it before, whistled his amazement, running his fingers reverentially over its surface. "It's lovely, Great Papa. I did not know you had a treasure chest."

"Ah, but here's the thing about a treasure chest, lad," said Josiah, as he carefully retrieved something from the very bottom of the box, "The real treasure is always inside."

With a flourish he drew forth this treasure, an old and battered book. The book, an old abecedarium** entitled 'The Child's New Play-Thing', had been brand new when purchased by Josiah Bingley over fifty years ago, with profits from his first independent venture at sea. It had taken him nearly two decades to go from a green, ocean bound landlubber of fifteen, to the owner of the first of what would eventually become a fleet of trading ships, and all this had been accomplished despite the fact that he could barely read or write.

At sea, everyone spoke the same language, and those seamen who did not possess an understanding of the written word fared almost as well as those who did. But as Josiah's fortunes increased, so had his need to spend more time on land, and the need to fully comprehend the increasing number of manifests, bills of lading, contracts and other papers requiring his attention. Though not naturally a suspicious man he had also been no fool, employing two independent agents to verify the contents of these documents. Both parties had proven their trustworthiness, and neither side knew of the other. However, this took time and time was money, hence his growing determination to eliminate those middlemen and streamline the process.

But in order to do this he must make a change.

Even as a very young child born to illiterate parents, Josiah had always longed to make sense of the written word. Using every tool at his disposal - pub signs, inn signs, market broadsheets, shop advertisements – he would painstakingly pair pictures to the letters, over time learning to string those letters together to sound out the simplest of words, and eventually the most basic of sentences. But without reading material of his own with which to practice, his progress was stunted. It was further hindered when he left home to make his fortune at sea, for under his captain's watchful eye, there was precious little time with which to hone his meager skills. However, on the day he purchased his own ship he became his own master, his destiny was then his own to command. One year later, after returning from his very first and highly profitable venture at sea, he strode into a bookseller's shop, his pockets flush with coin. It was there that a kindly clerk assisted him with the purchase that would change his life forever.

But back to the present!

As Josiah Bingley's fingers lovingly caressed the stained brown sheepskin cover, his young companion glanced quickly upward, confusion and disappointment writ large on his features.

"But Great Papa, it's only a book!"

"Here's where yer wrong Charlie boy, here's where yer wrong," Josiah shook his head reproachfully, his eyes narrowed in mock rebuke, "This ain't just any old book. This one's special, as it has the advantage of having letters innit. All of 'em! Arranged as nice as you please from 'a' to 'zed'. I ask you lad, what better way is there to learn your letters than by studyin' a book with letters innit?"

Initially skeptical, young Charles ultimately found no way to dispute such flawless logic. His furrowed brow gave way and he nodded in somber acquiescence. Once again in full accord, the two men leaned into each other, heads touching, as Great Papa opened his treasure. As with any adventure embarked upon by these two friends, what better place to start than at the beginning?

"This here is the letter 'a'," Josiah explained, going on to expound on the sounds it made, both the long and short versions, and tracing with his finger to show how best to write it. However, upon seeing Charlie's eyes glazing over, Josiah wisely changed course, cutting straight to the chase. "Look to the side there, lad, see all them pictures? They will help you sound out the letter, as they are all pictures of things that start with the letter 'a'"

Together they sounded out the pictures, from acorn to ant and apple to ark, down the page they went, finally stopping to pause at the final picture, this one crudely drawn.

Young Bingley initially wrinkled his brow in confusion. "What's this, Great Papa?" Suddenly he dissolved into giggles. "It looks a like a…" Charlie patted his rear. "…but 'bum' don't sound like it starts with an 'a'!"

"Ah yes!" said Josiah, beaming with pride, "That there is my own addition. I supposed I'd better explain it though, as it ain't exactly a straightforward thing. Now, had I drawn a donkey you'd a likely known straightaways what I was getting at. But fact of the matter is, I didn'a come across many donkeys in my line of work, least of all the four-legged kind. But you can mark my words," he intoned, one finger stabbing at the picture for emphasis, "that never a day passed that I didn'a feel obligated to kick one 'o these!"

Face aglow with fond recollections of his rough and tumble years at sea, Josiah Bingley leaned over to whisper his explanation in little Charlie's ear. Charlie, all agog, gazed with wonder into the face of his friend, his lips forming a perfect 'o'. Now this was education!

That day saw them make quick work of the rest of the book - the letters, 'c' and 's' being of particular interest - and soon little Charlie was able to recite all six and twenty letters of the King's English with no trouble at all! Not to mention the unexpected benefit of a greatly expanded vocabulary. (So many new words!) To further drive home their lesson Josiah added a musical component, teaching his student a rhyming song of his own creation. Admittedly it was more akin to a sea shanty than anything found in a nursery, having a head bobbing, rollicking tune, an infectious, foot tapping rhythm… and lyrics to make many a sailor blush.

With the help of Great Papa, Charlie accomplished in one day what Nurse Hammer had been attempting to teach him for months! Coincidentally, that very same person happened to make her presence known by way of a soft rap at the door. Her pretty face soon followed the knock as she peeped around the doorframe. After taking in the picturesque scene in front of her, she smiled indulgently and made the (mock) stern observation that that they were both quite late for supper. As she closed the door in her wake little Charlie fairly swooned, the combination of love for the pretty nurse and his newly acquired fervor for letters being almost entirely too much! Then a sudden thought came to mind.

"Great Papa," Charlie said excitedly, wriggling to get down, "I must go and bring Nurse Hammer back so we can show her our lessons!"

Josiah's eyes grew round with panic as he gathered the squirming boy to his chest. "Oh no, no, no, laddie! I do'na think that would be wise! Let's leave the womenfolk out of this."

"But... why, Great Papa?" Young Bingley, fair minded by nature, could not comprehend such an unjust restriction.

"Simply put, Charlie boy, they're not equipped to handle this type o' learnin'. Their heads will explode!" Josiah's arms radiated outward in ever widening arcs to simulate the force of the blast. As Charlie digested this bit of information (along with the possibility of testing it on Caroline) Josiah added yet another caveat.

"And I would greatly recommend that you don't tell yer papa either, as my grandson has lately grown entirely too high in the instep! What do you say, laddie? Let's keep this just betwixt the two of us."

Though not entirely convinced, little Charlie solemnly promised to uphold his end of the bargain.

~~~~~o~O~o~~~~~

Author's Note: Hmm, wonder how that's going to turn out?

I hope everyone out there has, or has had, a Josiah Bingley in their lives. Mine was my Grandma Mariah, whose wit and impish playfulness never failed to keep us entertained. Her mischief level could always be accurately gauged by how fast she swayed in her rocking chair. Let me tell you, at times that thing was a regular metronome! Unlike Josiah, her language, while colorful, was entirely non-profane. (But then again, she wasn't a seaman.)

If you had your own Great-Papa and are willing to share, please feel free to tell us about him/her, in your review.

** An abecedarium is a primer for teaching the alphabet. 'The Child's New Play-Thing', which touted itself as being a 'Spelling Book Intended to Make the Learning to Read a Diversion Instead of a Task' apparently lived up to its promise, as it remained in print almost sixty years, from 1742 until 1800. Josiah Bingley was on hand to pick up one from the very first edition! (Disclaimer - I am in no way an expert on 'The Child's New Play-Thing. Its content has been structured here solely to suit the needs of the story.)