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+The Project Gutenberg eBook, Ethel Morton at Sweetbrier Lodge, by Mabell
+S. C. Smith
+
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+
+
+
+Title: Ethel Morton at Sweetbrier Lodge
+
+
+Author: Mabell S. C. Smith
+
+
+
+Release Date: February 23, 2011  [eBook #35364]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+
+***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ETHEL MORTON AT SWEETBRIER LODGE***
+
+
+E-text prepared by Stephen Hutcheson, Roger Frank, and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net)
+
+
+
+Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this
+      file which includes the original illustrations.
+      See 35364-h.htm or 35364-h.zip:
+      (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/35364/35364-h/35364-h.htm)
+      or
+      (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/35364/35364-h.zip)
+
+
+
+
+
+ETHEL MORTON AT SWEETBRIER LODGE
+
+by
+
+MABELL S. C. SMITH
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+The World Syndicate Publishing Company
+Cleveland, Ohio         New York, N. Y.
+
+Printed in the United States of America
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+
+
+  CHAPTER                                                            PAGE
+     I A New Craft                                                      9
+    II Playing with Concrete                                           25
+   III The Club Selects the Benches                                    37
+    IV Christopher Finds a New Lodging                                 52
+     V The Law of Laughter                                             67
+    VI Spring All the Year Round                                       80
+   VII Closets and Stepmothers                                         94
+  VIII "Off to Philadelphia in the Morning"                           104
+    IX Helen Distinguishes Herself                                    122
+     X The Land of "Cat-fish and Waffles"                             136
+    XI Lights and a Fall                                              150
+   XII In the Family Hospital                                         162
+  XIII A Golden Color Scheme                                          173
+   XIV At the Metropolitan                                            184
+    XV Preparations for the Housewarming                              203
+   XVI Columbus Day                                                   219
+  XVII The Parting Breakfast                                          234
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER I
+                              A NEW CRAFT
+
+
+"Carefully! O, do be careful, Ethel Brown! I'm so afraid I'll drop one of
+them!"
+
+It was Ethel Blue Morton speaking to her cousin, who was helping her and
+their other cousin, Dorothy Smith, take Dicky Morton's newly hatched
+chickens out of the incubator and put them into the brooder.
+
+"I _have_ dropped one," exclaimed Dorothy. "Poor little dinky thing! It
+didn't hurt it a bit, though. See, it's running about as chipper as
+ever."
+
+"Are you counting 'em?" demanded Dicky, whose small hands were better
+suited than those of the girls for making the transfer that was to
+establish the chicks in their new habitation.
+
+"Yes," answered all three in chorus.
+
+"Here's one with a twisted leg. He must have fallen off the tray when he
+was first hatched." cried Ethel Brown.
+
+"He lookth pretty well. I gueth he'll live if I feed him by himthelf tho
+the throng ones won't crowd him away from the feed panth," said Dicky,
+examining the cripple, for in spite of his small supply of seven years he
+had learned from his big brother Roger and from his grandfather Emerson a
+great deal about the use of an incubator and the care of young chickens.
+
+"That's a good hatch for this time of year," Ethel Brown announced when
+she added together the numbers which each handler reported to her. "A
+hundred and thirty-seven."
+
+"Hear their little beaks tapping the wooden floor," Ethel Blue said,
+calling their attention to the behavior of the just-installed little
+fowls who were making themselves entirely at home with extraordinary
+promptness.
+
+"They take naturally to oatmeal flakes, don't they?" commented Dorothy.
+"I always thought the old hen taught the chicks to scratch, and there's a
+little chap scratching as vigorously as if he had been taking lessons
+ever since he was born."
+
+"They don't need lessons. Scratching is as natural as eating to them.
+Hear them hum?"
+
+They all listened, smiling at the note of contentment that buzzed gently
+from the greedy groups of crowding chicks. As the oatmeal disappeared the
+chickens looked about them for shelter and discovered the strips of cloth
+that did duty for the maternal wings. Rushing beneath them they cuddled
+side by side in the covered part of the brooder.
+
+"Look at that one tucking his head under his wing like a grown-up hen!"
+exclaimed Ethel Blue.
+
+"I'll have to turn the lamp up a little higher tho they won't crowd and
+hurt each other," Dicky decided.
+
+"I'd wait a minute until they begin to warm the whole of their house by
+the warmth from their bodies," urged Ethel Brown, and her brother agreed
+that there was no need of haste, but he watched them closely until he saw
+that they were not trampling on each other's backs or sitting down hard
+on each other's heads.
+
+"When will they come out again?" asked Dorothy, who had never seen an
+incubator and brooder in operation before and who was immensely
+interested.
+
+"When they are hungry."
+
+"How soon will that be?"
+
+"In about two hours. They're a good deal like babies."
+
+"And is this brooder a really good step-mother?"
+
+"It's a foster-mother," corrected Ethel Blue. "It isn't anything so
+horrid as a step-mother."
+
+"O, I don't think step-mothers are horrid," objected Dorothy.
+
+"Yeth, they are," insisted Dicky. "All the fairy stories say they're
+cruel."
+
+"O, fairy stories," sniffed Dorothy.
+
+"I imagine fairy stories are right about step-mothers," insisted Ethel
+Blue.
+
+"Did you ever know one?" asked Dorothy.
+
+"No, I never did; but I have a feeling that they couldn't love a child
+that wasn't their own."
+
+"Why not?" demanded Ethel Brown. "Mother loves you just as well as she
+does her own children and you're only her niece."
+
+"Not her own niece, either--Uncle Roger's niece," corrected Ethel Blue;
+"but then, Aunt Marion is a darling."
+
+"I don't see why a step-mother shouldn't be a darling."
+
+"I don't see why she shouldn't be but I don't believe she ever is," and
+Ethel Blue stuck to her opinion.
+
+"Well, there aren't any 'steps' around this family, so we can't tell by
+our own experience," cried Dorothy, "and we've got this chicken family
+moved into its new house, so let's go and see what the workmen are doing
+at our new house."
+
+Dorothy's mother had been planning for several months to build a house on
+a lot of land on the same street that they were living on now, but
+farther away from the Mortons' and nearer the farm where lived the
+Mortons' grandfather and grandmother, Mr. and Mrs. Emerson. The
+contractor had been at work only a few days.
+
+"He had just finished staking off the ground when I was there the other
+afternoon," said Ethel Brown.
+
+"He's way ahead of that now," Dorothy reported as they walked on, three
+abreast across the sidewalk, their blue serge suits all alike, their
+Tipperary hats set at the same angle on their heads, and only the
+different colors of their eyes and hair distinguishing them to a careless
+observer. "He told me yesterday that the whole cellar would be dug by
+this afternoon and they would be beginning to put in the concrete wall."
+
+"Where?"
+
+"The cellar wall."
+
+"I thought cellar walls were made of stone."
+
+"Sometimes they are, but when there isn't stone all cut, concrete is more
+convenient and cheaper, too."
+
+"And it lasts forever, I was reading the other day."
+
+"I should say it did. Those old Pyramids in Egypt are partly made of
+concrete, they think, and they are three or four thousand years old."
+
+"Does Aunt Louise expect her house to last three or four thousand years?"
+
+"She wants it durable; and fireproof, any way, because we're some
+distance from the engine house."
+
+"If we watch this house grow it will be almost like building it with our
+own hands, won't it?" exclaimed Ethel Brown, for, although the house was
+her aunt's, Mrs. Smith had made all the cousins feel that she wanted them
+to have a share in the pleasure that she and Dorothy were having in
+making a shelter for themselves after their many years of wandering. She
+and her daughter consulted over every part of the plans and they had
+often asked the opinion of the Mortons, so that they all had come to say
+"our house" quite as if it were to belong to them.
+
+As they approached the knoll which they had been calling "our house lot"
+for several months, they saw that the gravel for the concrete was being
+hauled to the top of the hill where the bags of sand and cement had
+already been unloaded and a small concrete mixer set up.
+
+"They do things fast, don't they!" exclaimed Dorothy. "There's Mr.
+Anderson, the contractor."
+
+A tall, substantial Scotsman bowed to them as they reached the top of the
+hill.
+
+"Have you come to superintend us, Miss Dorothy?" he asked pleasantly.
+"We're going to make all our preparations for mixing the concrete to-day,
+and then we'll start up the machine to-morrow."
+
+"You won't have the cellar wall all built by to-morrow after school, will
+you?" asked Dorothy anxiously. "We want to see how you do it."
+
+"It won't take long to do this small cellar so you'd better hurry right
+here from your luncheon," Mr. Anderson returned as he walked away to
+attend to the placing of the pile of gravel, and to lay a friendly hand
+on the sides of the panting horses.
+
+"If your driveway doesn't wind around more than this road that the
+hauling men have made all your friends' horses will be puffing like mills
+when they reach the top," Ethel Blue warned her cousin.
+
+"Mother and the architect and a landscape gardener have it all drawn on
+paper," Dorothy responded. "It's going to sweep around the foot of the
+knoll and come gently up the side and lie quite flat on top of the ridge
+for a little way before it reaches the front door."
+
+"That will be a long walk for people on foot."
+
+"Ethel Blue is speaking for herself," laughed Ethel Brown.
+
+"And for Dorothy, too. She'll walk most of the time even if Aunt Louise
+is going to set up a car."
+
+"There's to be a footpath over there," Dorothy indicated a side of the
+hill away from the proposed driveway. "It will be a short cut and it's
+going to be walled in with shrubs so it won't be seen from the driveway."
+
+"What would be the harm if you could see it from the driveway?"
+
+"O, the lines would interfere, the landscape artist said. You mustn't
+have things confused, you know," and she shook her head as if she knew a
+great deal about the subject.
+
+"I suppose it would look all mixy and queer if you should see the grounds
+from an airship," guessed Ethel Brown, "but I don't see what difference
+it would make from the ground."
+
+"I guess it would be ugly or he wouldn't be so particular about it,"
+insisted Dorothy. "That's his business--to make grounds look lovely."
+
+"I think I can see what he means," ventured Ethel Blue, who knew
+something about drawing and design. "I watched Aunt Marion's dressmaker
+draping an evening gown for her one day. She made certain lines straight
+and other lines curved, but the two kinds of lines didn't cross each
+other any old way; she put them in certain places so that they would each
+make the other kind of line look better and not make the general effect
+confusing."
+
+"Don't you remember how it was when we were planning Dorothy's garden on
+top of this ridge, back of the house and the garage?" Ethel Brown
+reminded them. "We had to draw several positions for the different beds
+because some of our plans looked perfectly crazy--just a mess of square
+beds and oblong beds and round beds."
+
+"They made you dizzy--I remember. We found we had to follow Roger's
+advice and make them balance."
+
+"Helen says there's a lot of geometry in laying out a garden. I guess
+she's right."
+
+Helen and Roger were Ethel Brown's older sister and brother. They were in
+the high school.
+
+They had come now to the excavation for the cellar and watched the
+Italian laborers throwing out the last shovelfuls of earth.
+
+"They're very particular about making the earth wall smooth," commented
+Ethel Brown.
+
+"I imagine they have to if the wall is to be concrete," returned Dorothy.
+
+"They've cut it under queerly at the foot on both sides; what's that
+for?"
+
+"I haven't the dimmest," answered Dorothy briefly. "Let's ask Mr.
+Anderson."
+
+"You'd find it hard to stand up straight if you had only a leg to stand
+on and not a foot," that gentleman answered to the question. "That
+concrete foot gives a good solid foundation, and it helps to repel the
+frost if that should get into the ground so deep. Do you see the planks
+the men are setting up twelve inches in from the bank?"
+
+The girls nodded.
+
+"They are making a fence all around the cellar you see; that is to keep
+the concrete in place when it is poured in, and to give it shape."
+
+"Is it soft like mud?"
+
+"It is made of one part of cement and two and one-half parts of sand and
+five parts of gravel. Do you cook?"
+
+They all nodded again.
+
+"When you come to-morrow you'll see the mixing machine making a stiff
+batter of those three things--cement and sand and gravel."
+
+"It must be like putting raisins in a plum pudding," suggested Ethel
+Brown. "You have to be careful the stones--the raisins--don't all sink to
+the bottom or get bunched together in one place."
+
+"That's the idea," smiled Mr. Anderson. "All those things and water go
+into one end of the mixer and they come out at the other end concrete in
+a soft state. Then the men shovel the stuff into the space between the
+fence and the earth bank, making sure that that widening trench at the
+foot is chock full and they thump it down and let it 'set.'"
+
+"I think the cellar will look very ugly with that old plank wall,"
+decided Dorothy seriously.
+
+"The planks will be taken away."
+
+"Won't the concrete show lines where the cracks between the boards were?"
+
+"Do you see those rolls of heavy paper over there? The planks will be
+lined with that so that the concrete will come against a perfectly smooth
+surface. When the wood is taken away the men will go over it with a
+smoothing tool and when they have finished even your particular eye will
+see nothing to take exception to."
+
+"O, I knew it would be right somehow," murmured Dorothy, who was afraid
+she had hurt Mr. Anderson's feelings. "I just didn't know how you managed
+it."
+
+"Here's the way the end of the wall would look if you could slice down
+right through it," and the contractor took out his notebook and drew a
+cross section of the concrete wall showing its widened foot.
+
+"What's the floor to be made of?" asked Ethel Blue.
+
+"Concrete--four inches of it," answered Mr. Anderson promptly. "It will
+slope a trifle toward this end, and there a drainage pipe will be laid to
+carry off any water used in washing the floor. Then a layer of cement
+will go on top of the concrete."
+
+"What's that for?"
+
+"To make it all smooth. It will be rounded up at the corners and sides
+where it joins the walls, so there won't be any chance for the dust to
+collect."
+
+"The cellar in our house is awfully damp," remarked Ethel Brown.
+"Sometimes you can see the water dripping down the stones."
+
+"The walls and the floor of this cellar will be waterproofed with a
+mixture of rich cement and sand mortar, and I think you'll find, young
+ladies, that you'll have a cellar that'll be hard to beat."
+
+The contractor slapped his notebook emphatically and beamed at them so
+amiably that they felt the greatest confidence in what he proposed.
+
+"Any way, I haven't anything better to suggest," said Dorothy dryly.
+
+Mr. Anderson walked off, giving a roar of amusement as he left them.
+
+"Where does the sun rise from here?" asked Ethel Blue as she stood at the
+spot where was to be the front of the house, and gazed about her. "Does
+the house face directly south?"
+
+"No, it faces just half way between south and west. The corners of the
+house point to north, south, east and west. Mother said that if the front
+was due south the back would be due north and she didn't want a whole
+side of her house facing north."
+
+"It does have a chilly sound," shivered Ethel Brown.
+
+"With a point stretching toward the north the rooms that have a northern
+exposure will also have the morning sun and the afternoon sun."
+
+"I know Aunt Louise will have her dining room where the morning sun will
+shine in."
+
+"Yes, _ma'am_," returned Dorothy emphatically. "It makes you feel better
+all day if you eat your breakfast in the sunshine. By this plan of
+Mother's every room in the house will have direct sunshine at some part
+of the day."
+
+"It's great," approved Ethel Blue. "Can't we ask Mr. Anderson about
+making a bird's bath out of cement?" she inquired. "Ethel Brown and I saw
+a beauty at Mrs. Schermerhorn's and perhaps he'd let us have some of the
+concrete to-morrow when the men are mixing it, and we can try to make
+one."
+
+The girls raced over to the spot where the contractor was just about to
+get into his Ford, and stopped him.
+
+"Would you mind letting us have a little concrete to-morrow to make a
+bird's bath with?" begged Dorothy breathlessly.
+
+"A bird's bath?" repeated Mr. Anderson. "How are you going to make it?"
+
+"Couldn't we put some concrete in a pan and squeeze another pan down on
+to it and let it harden?"
+
+"Why, yes, something like that," returned Mr. Anderson slowly.
+
+"Do you want to make it yourselves?"
+
+"Yes, indeed," all three girls cried in chorus.
+
+He smiled at their enthusiasm and offered a suggestion.
+
+"I suppose you want the bird's bath for your garden, Miss Dorothy;--why
+don't you make a little pool for the garden?"
+
+"Oh, could we?"
+
+"If you could get a tub and lay down a flooring of concrete and then put
+in another tub enough smaller so that there would be a space between the
+walls, then you could fill the space with concrete. When it set, you
+could take out the inner tub after two or three days and turn the
+concrete out of the outer tub and there you'd have a concrete tub that
+you could move about."
+
+"That sounds great," beamed Dorothy, "but wouldn't it be awfully heavy?"
+
+"Here's a better way, then. If you can make up your mind exactly where
+you want to have it in your garden you can have a hole dug, lay down your
+floor of concrete and put your small tub on it."
+
+"I see--then you fill the space between the tub and the earth with
+concrete."
+
+"Precisely; thump it down hard and let it stand untouched for a while.
+Then take away your tub, and there you are again."
+
+"You can't make the concrete floor and leave it, can you?"
+
+"No, indeed. You must have everything ready to do the whole thing at
+once. Put in your tub which is to be your mold, while the floor is still
+plastic--"
+
+"Eh?" inquired Ethel Brown.
+
+"Soft enough to mold; and then pour in the walls right off quick. You
+can't fool round when you're working with concrete."
+
+"How can we keep the water fresh in the tub?" asked Ethel Blue of
+Dorothy.
+
+Dorothy paused, not knowing what to say.
+
+"It would be fun to keep gold fish in it," she said, "but they would have
+to have fresh water, wouldn't they?" She turned appealingly to Mr.
+Anderson.
+
+"That's not hard to manage," he said. "You can put a bit of broomstick
+between the earth wall and the outer wall of your tub-mold and pour the
+concrete around it. When the concrete has hardened you pull out the stick
+and there is a hole. Then you can have a drain dug that will tap that
+hole on the outside and carry off the water through a few lengths of
+drain pipe."
+
+"What's to prevent the water running off all the time?" Ethel Blue wanted
+to know.
+
+"Keep a plug in it," answered the contractor briefly. "And there should
+be waterproofing stuff mixed with the materials. You have your gardener
+dig a hole in the garden," he said, adding, "don't forget to have plenty
+of grease."
+
+"What's that for?"
+
+"Why do you grease your cake pans?"
+
+"So the cake won't stick."
+
+"Same here. On the cellar wall we lined the inside of the wooden forms
+with paper. That isn't so easy with round forms, so you grease them."
+
+"I never thought there was any likeness between concrete and cooking,"
+laughed Ethel Brown as the girls watched Mr. Anderson's skill in taking
+his little car over the rough ground around the cellar excavation, "but
+there seems to be plenty."
+
+"Let's chase off and see if we can collect the things we shall need
+to-morrow," urged Dorothy. "I'll have to find Patrick and bring him here
+and show him just where to dig the hole."
+
+"Where are you going to dig the hole?"
+
+"I think just in the open place on top of the ridge."
+
+"I wouldn't," objected Ethel Brown.
+
+"Why not?"
+
+"Won't it be too warm in summer? If you're going to have gold fish you
+don't want to boil them."
+
+"The water would get pretty hot in the sun, wouldn't it?" considered her
+cousin. "What do you think of a place under that tree?"
+
+"It ought not to be too near the tree because the roots will grow out a
+long way from the trunk of the tree and they might get under the pool and
+break up the concrete."
+
+"Oh, could a tender little thing like a root break concrete that's as
+hard as stone?"
+
+"It certainly can. Grandfather showed me a crack in a concrete wall of
+his on the farm that was made by the root of a big tree not far off."
+
+"Well, then we can't have our pool anywhere near a tree. A shrub wouldn't
+hurt it, though; why can't it go near those shrubs that are going to
+separate the flower garden from the vegetable garden?"
+
+"That place would be all right because there's a tall spruce there that
+throws a shadow over the shrubs for a part of the day. That's all you
+need; you don't want to take away all the sunshine from the pool."
+
+So the exact spot was decided on and marked so that Patrick should make
+no mistake, and then the girls rushed off on a search for shallow basins
+and a tub.
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER II
+                         PLAYING WITH CONCRETE
+
+
+It was not the Ethels and Dorothy alone who appeared at the "new place"
+the next afternoon to make the experiments with concrete. Helen, Ethel
+Brown's elder sister, and her friend, Margaret Hancock, of Glen Point,
+were so interested in the younger girls' account of what they were going
+to do with Mr. Anderson's help that they came too.
+
+As they puffed up the steep knoll on which the new house was to stand
+they stopped beside the cellar hole to see what progress had been made
+since the day before.
+
+"They have just frisked along!" Dorothy exclaimed when she saw that not
+only was the inside fence-mold all built but that the concrete floor was
+laid and that the men were pouring the mixture in between the planks and
+the earth wall and pounding it down as they poured.
+
+"Mr. Anderson said 'you can't fool round when you're working with
+concrete,'" Ethel Brown repeated. "They aren't, are they?"
+
+The men were all working as fast as they could move, some of them
+shovelling the materials into the mixer, others running the machine,
+others wheeling the wet concrete in iron barrows to the men at the edge
+of the cellar who tamped it down as fast as it was poured into the narrow
+space that defined the growing wall.
+
+"When it is full, way up to the top, what happens next?" Dorothy inquired
+of Mr. Anderson who came over to where they were standing.
+
+"Then we're going to build on it a three foot wall of concrete blocks to
+support the upper part of the house."
+
+"That's the wall that has the cellar windows in it?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Then do make good big ones; Mother likes a bright cellar," urged
+Dorothy.
+
+"We're going to make her a beauty," promised the contractor. "Come up
+into your garden now and let's get this concrete work up there done.
+Here, Luigi," he called to an Italian, "bring us a load of concrete over
+there," and he waved his hand in the direction of the spot where Patrick
+had dug the hole for the tub.
+
+They all examined the hole with care and the Ethels fitted in the tub and
+found that their digger had done his work skilfully, since there were
+just about three inches between the earth and the tub all around. They
+pulled the tub out again and under Mr. Anderson's direction they greased
+it thoroughly.
+
+"We want to do every bit we can ourselves," they insisted when he
+suggested that Luigi might do that part for them.
+
+"Don't forget the hole for the drainage," he reminded them. "Have you got
+your stick? And on which side are you going to have that?"
+
+They surveyed the ground about the hole and decided that a drainage pipe
+might run a few inches underground for a short distance and discharge
+itself at the edge of a bank below which a vegetable garden was to lie.
+
+"If you're careful what you plant there it will be an advantage to the
+ground to have this dampening once in a while," said Mr. Anderson, who
+was something of a gardener. "There won't be enough water to drown out
+any of your plants."
+
+Luigi emptied a load of concrete into the hole and while he was gone to
+get a new supply the girls thumped it down hard, fitted in the greased
+tub and wedged a bit of broomstick which Roger, Ethel Brown's brother,
+had cut for Dorothy into the space between the tub and the earth just at
+the top of the concrete flooring. When Luigi came back they were ready to
+thump as he poured and three loads filled up the space entirely.
+
+"Now, then, Luigi will bring you one of the smoothing tools that the men
+over there are using and you can make the top look even," and Mr.
+Anderson gave more instructions to the Italian.
+
+"It will be pretty to have some plants at the edge so they'll bend over
+and see themselves in the water," suggested Margaret.
+
+"I should think there must be some water plants that would grow inside
+without much trouble," Ethel Blue said.
+
+"We must look that up; they'd probably need a little soil of some sort,"
+Helen reminded them.
+
+"They'd be awfully pretty," said Dorothy complacently. "Don't you seem to
+see it--with gold fish swimming around among the stems?"
+
+"Dicky might lend us his old turtle," laughed Ethel Brown. "He's tired of
+taking care of it. You could put a stick in here partly above the water,
+for him to sun himself on. I don't see why he wouldn't be quite happy
+here."
+
+Dicky's turtle was a family joke. Dicky had found him two years before
+and had taken him home thinking he was a piece of stone. His excitement
+and terror when the stone lying on the library table stuck out first a
+head and then one leg after another to the number of four, had never been
+forgotten by the people who saw him at this thrilling moment.
+
+"Now for your bird's bath," Mr. Anderson reminded his pupils. "You have
+to work fast, you know."
+
+Dorothy brought out her two shallow basins, one smaller than the other.
+The larger had its inside well greased and the smaller was thoroughly
+rubbed over on its under side. Into the larger they poured about an inch
+of concrete and then squeezed the smaller dish into it, but not so
+sharply that it cut through. They filled in the crack between the two,
+pushing and patting the mixture into place, and they smoothed the edge so
+that it turned over the rim of the larger bowl before they cut it off
+evenly all around with a wire.
+
+"There," said Mr. Anderson as he watched them. "We'll see what will come
+from that. It might be better done--" at which the girls all pulled long
+faces--"but also, it might be worse, or I'm very much mistaken."
+
+"I wish we could make some garden furniture," sighed Dorothy, holding up
+her dripping hands helplessly, but at the same time gazing with joy at
+their new manufacture.
+
+"You could if you would make the forms," said Mr. Anderson. "All you need
+to do is to make a bench inside of another bench and fill the space
+between with concrete."
+
+"That sounds easy, but if you were a girl, Mr. Anderson, you might find
+it a little hard to make the forms."
+
+"We can all drive nails," insisted Ethel Brown stoutly. "I believe I'll
+try."
+
+But the others laughed at her and reminded her that she would have to
+drive the nails through rather heavy planking, so she gave up the notion.
+
+"What are the walls going to be made of?" Margaret asked Dorothy.
+
+"Something fireproof, Mother said, but I don't know what she finally
+decided on. I'll ask Mr. Anderson."
+
+"Plaster on hollow tile," the contractor answered absent-mindedly over
+his shoulder, as he walked briskly before them back to the cellar.
+
+The girls saw that he was too full of business now to pay any more
+attention to them, so they thanked him for giving them so much time and
+made some investigations on their own account among the piles of material
+lying about on the grounds.
+
+"I wonder if this could be 'hollow-tile,'" Ethel Blue said to the rest as
+she came across a stack of strange-looking pieces of brown earthenware.
+
+"It's certainly hollow," returned Ethel Brown, "but I always supposed
+tiles were flat things. That's a tile Mother sets the teapot on to keep
+the heat from harming the polish of the table."
+
+They stood about the pile of brown, square-edged pipes, roughly glazed
+inside and out, through whose length ran three square holes. They asked
+two workmen as they passed what they were. One said "Hollow tile," and
+the other, "Terra-cotta."
+
+"I suspect they're both right," Helen decided. "Probably they're hollow
+tile made of terra-cotta."
+
+"But I thought terra-cotta was lighter brown and smooth. They make little
+images out of terra-cotta," insisted Dorothy.
+
+"I've seen those," agreed Margaret, "but I suppose there can be different
+qualities of terra-cotta just as there are different qualities of china."
+
+"This stuff is fireproof, any way," explained Dorothy. "I remember now
+hearing Mother and the architect talking about it. And they said
+something about a 'dead air space.' That must mean the holes."
+
+"What's dead air space for?" inquired Ethel Blue.
+
+"I think it dries up the dampness, or keeps it out so that it doesn't get
+into the house."
+
+"These are useful old blocks, then, even if they aren't pretty," decided
+Helen, patting the ugly pile.
+
+Mr. Anderson strolled toward them again after giving various directions
+to his men.
+
+"Just how is this tile used?" inquired Dorothy, as he seemed to be more
+at leisure now.
+
+"We build a wall of this hollow tile," he answered; "then we put the
+plaster right on to it. Do you see that the outside is rather rough? That
+is so the plaster will have something to take hold of. We mix it up of
+cement and lime and sand and put on three coats. The first one is mixed
+with hair, and mashed on hard so that it will stick and it is roughened
+so that the next coat will stick to it."
+
+"Is the next coat made of the same stuff?"
+
+"Without the hair; and the third coat is as thin as cream and is flowed
+on to make a smooth-looking outside finish."
+
+"That's a lot of work," commented Dorothy.
+
+"That's not all we're going to do to your walls; Mrs. Smith wants them to
+be a trifle yellowish in tone--a little warmer than the natural color of
+the plaster--so we're going to wash on some mineral matter that will give
+them color and waterproof them at the same time."
+
+"Killing two birds," murmured Helen.
+
+"Then the whole house will look plastery except the roof and chimneys,"
+said Ethel Brown.
+
+"Including the roof and chimneys," returned Mr. Anderson. "We're going to
+use concrete shingles--"
+
+"Concrete shingles! Doesn't that sound funny!"
+
+"They are colored, so they look like green or red shingles."
+
+"What color is Mother going to have?"
+
+"Dark green. The chimney is to be made of reinforced concrete."
+
+"'Reinforced' must mean 'strengthened,' but how do you strengthen it?"
+inquired Margaret.
+
+"You've seen how we build a mold to pour the concrete in; inside of the
+mold we build a sort of cage of steel rods. Don't you see that when the
+concrete hardens it would be almost impossible for such a reinforced
+piece of work to break through?"
+
+"Couldn't an earthquake break it?"
+
+"An earthquake might give a piece of solid concrete such a twist that it
+would crack through, but suppose the crack found itself up against a
+steel rod? Don't you think it would complicate matters?"
+
+The girls thought it would.
+
+"I'm awfully glad our chimney is going to be reinforced," Dorothy
+exclaimed, "because up on this knoll we're going to feel the wind a lot
+and it would be horrid if the chimney should fall down!"
+
+"It certainly would," agreed the Ethels, but Mr. Anderson assured them
+that they need not be afraid of any accident of the sort with a
+reinforced concrete chimney.
+
+"I've seen skyscrapers going up in New York," said Margaret "and all the
+beams were of steel. Are you going to use steel beams here?"
+
+"No, we don't often use steel construction for small houses, but this
+house is going to be more fireproof than most small houses even if it
+does have wooden beams. You watch it as it goes on and notice all the
+points that make for fireproofness. It will interest you," Mr. Anderson
+promised as he walked away.
+
+The girls all washed their hands as well as they could with the hose with
+which the workmen watered the concrete mixture, but they had nothing to
+dry them on and they walked down the road holding them before them and
+waving them in the breeze.
+
+"Mother will think we are crazy if she happens to be looking out of the
+window," said Dorothy.
+
+"My aunt sent you a message, Dorothy," said Margaret.
+
+"What aunt? I didn't know you had an aunt," replied Dorothy.
+
+"She seems like a new aunt to us; James and I haven't seen her since we
+were little bits of things."
+
+"Where does she live?" asked Ethel Blue.
+
+"In Washington. She's an interior decorator and she's awfully busy, so
+when she has had to come on to New York to buy materials or to see people
+she has never had a chance to stay with us."
+
+"Is she going to make a visit this time?" inquired Ethel Brown.
+
+"She has come for a long visit now. She has a commission to decorate a
+house in Englewood. It's going to take her several weeks, and then she
+wants to rest and do some studying and to make the rounds of the
+decorators in the city, so it will be several months before she goes back
+again."
+
+"That's nice," said Ethel Blue politely, and she was glad she had thought
+so because Margaret said at once, "We think it's splendid. She's a young
+aunt, lots and lots younger than Mother, and James and I think she's
+loads of fun."
+
+"What was her message to me?" asked Dorothy.
+
+"O, we were telling her about the United Service Club and the things we
+did--sending gifts to the war orphans and celebrating holidays and our
+plans for helping some poor women and children in the summer and for
+taking care of the Belgian baby. She was awfully interested and said she
+felt as if she knew all of you people and the Watkinses quite well, we
+talked about you so much. Then we told her about Dorothy's house, and how
+Mrs. Smith had said we might all give our opinions about the decorating,
+and she asked us to tell you that she'd be very glad indeed to act as
+consulting decorator when you come to the inside work."
+
+"Why, that's awfully sweet of her!" exclaimed Dorothy. "Mother isn't
+going to have a regular decorator, and I know she'll be immensely pleased
+to have Miss--what is your aunt's name?"
+
+"Graham; she's our Aunt Daisy!"
+
+"--to have Miss Graham give us advice and 'check up' on our suggestions."
+
+"By the time your house is ready for that part she will have finished her
+Englewood house; but she said she'd be glad to come over and see the
+house and the plans any time when she was free for the afternoon, and she
+hoped you'd consult her about everything you wanted to."
+
+"Daisy is a pretty name, isn't it?" Ethel Blue murmured to herself. "I
+wish one of us was named Daisy."
+
+"Her name is really Margaret; I'm named after her. Daisy is the nickname
+for Margaret, you know."
+
+"It's a lovely name," said Ethel Blue again.
+
+"And please tell Miss Daisy that I think she's the finest ever, and
+Mother will think so, too, when I tell her about this," added Dorothy.
+
+"And do ask her to come over to one of the U. S. C. meetings when we
+happen to be doing something that will interest her," concluded Helen,
+who was the president of the club.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER III
+                      THE CLUB SELECTS THE BENCHES
+
+
+It seemed to Dorothy and the Ethels that the outside of Sweetbrier Lodge,
+as Mrs. Smith had determined to call her house, went up with remarkable
+speed, but that the inside would never be done--never! Every day the
+girls walked down the road after school, and stood and surveyed the
+general appearance from the sidewalk and from across the street and
+sometimes they went on to Mrs. Emerson's and discussed vigorously as to
+whether the view of the corner of the house that was to be seen now would
+still be seen after the leaves came out or whether the house would be
+entirely concealed by the foliage.
+
+"That's 'one of the things no feller knows,'" Mr. Emerson quoted. "We
+shall have to wait and see."
+
+"We can get an idea how it is to look from the road," said Ethel Brown.
+
+"Only there'll be a lot of planting," Dorothy explained. "There'll be a
+hedge along the street and a lot of shrubs on the knoll and the house
+will be covered with vines in the course of time."
+
+"That's another good point about concrete," declared Mr. Emerson; "vines
+don't injure it as they do brick."
+
+"We'll have it entirely covered, then," laughed Dorothy.
+
+"I thought it was to be a bungalow," said Mrs. Emerson. "Your mother has
+always spoken of it as a bungalow, but the plans I saw the men following
+the other day when I went up the hill to take a look at things, seemed to
+me like a two story house."
+
+"Mother changed her mind," said Dorothy. "She thought a bungalow would be
+too crowded now that we have little Belgian Elisabeth with us, so the
+house is going to have two stories and an attic."
+
+"The U. S. C. couldn't get on without Dorothy's attic," smiled Ethel
+Brown, for almost all of the presents for the Christmas Ship had been
+made in the attic of Dorothy's present abiding place, and the Club had
+had many meetings there.
+
+"There's nothing like having a well-thought-out plan before you attempt
+building," said Mr. Emerson, "and that your mother had."
+
+"She tried to think of every possible need, Ayleesabet's as well as our
+own," continued Dorothy, using the pronunciation that the Belgian baby
+had given her own name.
+
+"She has a good contractor in Anderson."
+
+"He didn't make the very lowest bid," said Dorothy. "There was one man
+who was lower, but he was such a lot lower that Mother thought there must
+be something the matter with the quality of the material he used, or that
+he employed workmen so poor that they might not do their work well, so
+she didn't consider that offer at all."
+
+"She was very wise," commended Mr. Emerson. "He might have spoiled the
+whole thing and have cost her more money in the end by turning out a poor
+job."
+
+While the building was going on and before the inside work was done the
+girls spent a good deal of time in planning for the furnishing of the
+garden. The flower and vegetable beds had all been arranged some weeks
+before and many of them had been planted, but the artistic part of the
+garden had been left until there should be time to devote to it. Mrs.
+Smith had promised Dorothy that she should have the choice of the garden
+furniture, reserving for herself a veto power if her daughter chose
+anything that seemed to her entirely unsuitable.
+
+"Not that I expect to use it," she said, smiling at the girls who were
+listening to her.
+
+The selection of the benches and tables and trellises was made a subject
+of attention by the whole United Service Club. A meeting was called in
+the partly begun garden so that they might have the "lie of the land"
+before them as they talked. Dorothy took with her a number of catalogues
+from which to select or to gather ideas.
+
+"We've got a good shelter of large trees already provided for us," she
+said as they all seated themselves in such shade as the young leaves
+made.
+
+"There ought to be a fine large settee under it where we can have Club
+meetings all summer, no matter how warm it is," urged Tom Watkins with
+wise foresight. Tom and his sister, Della, came out from New York for the
+club gatherings, and the prospect of meeting out of doors instead of in
+the attic, which was delightful in winter but not so attractive in warm
+weather, made him offer this shrewd suggestion.
+
+"In the first place," said Dorothy again, opening the various catalogues
+and spreading them on the grass where they could all see them, "don't you
+think it would be pretty to have all the chairs and benches of one
+pattern? Or don't you?"
+
+"I think it would," answered Ethel Brown, examining the pages carefully
+before she made her decision.
+
+"Would what?"
+
+"I should like them all alike. It would be messy to have a lot of
+different patterns."
+
+Ethel Blue, who had a good deal of artistic sense and ability, nodded her
+agreement with this belief. They all came to the same conclusion.
+
+"Then, let's pick out the pattern," said Dorothy, who had an orderly
+mind.
+
+"Something plain, so the visitor's eye won't be drawn to the benches
+instead of the flowers," recommended Helen. "Suppose we were sitting
+here, for instance, and looking toward the flower beds--there will be
+some tables and chairs between us and the flowers, probably--"
+
+"If the seeds will only grow," Dorothy sighed comically.
+
+"--and we want to forget them and not have them intrude on our
+attention."
+
+"Correct!" James Hancock thumped the ground by way of applause.
+
+"What's the plainest pattern there is?" asked Della, extending her hand
+for a book.
+
+"That one--but that's too plain," remonstrated Ethel Blue. "That's so
+plain that it draws your attention as much as if it were all fussed up."
+
+They laughed at her disgust and urged her to choose the next plainest.
+
+"I rather think this one with cross bars is pretty," she decided
+seriously. "You wouldn't get tired of that--especially if they're all
+painted dark green so you won't see them much."
+
+"You girls seem to want to have invisible furniture," grinned Roger. "Me
+for something more substantial."
+
+"These will be substantial enough--they're made of cypress," retorted
+Helen, "but you don't want to see a lot of chairs and benches when you
+come out to observe the beauties of nature, my child."
+
+"I can bay the moon on a white bench with an elaborate pattern just as
+musically as on a plain, dark green one," insisted Roger.
+
+"Don't pay any attention to him," urged Ethel Brown, which crushing
+remark from a younger sister was rewarded by a hair-pull effectively
+delivered by Roger.
+
+"Yow!" squealed Ethel.
+
+"Now who's baying the moon?" inquired her brother.
+
+"Let's decide on the cross-barred kind," decreed Dorothy.
+
+"The Lady of the Garden has made her decision," announced James, tooting
+through his hands as if he were a herald making an announcement. "Now for
+the shapes. How many are you going to have, Lady?"
+
+"I think there ought to be a very large bench that would hold almost all
+the Club, and then one or two smaller benches and two or three chairs and
+two small tables for lemonade and cocoa."
+
+"And to hold the Secretary's book when she's writing," urged Ethel Blue
+who held the office of scribe and had not always found herself
+conveniently situated to do her work.
+
+"Here's a bully bench for the whole U. S. C.," cried Tom. "It's curved so
+it will fit right under this semi-circle of trees as if it were made for
+this very spot."
+
+He held up the picture of a wide bench with two wings. It was greeted
+with applause.
+
+"When that is made in the pattern we chose it will be as pretty as any
+one could ask for," Dorothy decided.
+
+"And painted green," added Ethel Blue, at which they all laughed. "I'm
+serious about the green," she insisted. "Don't you see what I mean,
+Dorothy?" she continued, appealing to the person who was to have the
+final decision on the question.
+
+"I think you're right," replied Dorothy. "Don't mind what they say. Write
+down one of those, Miss Secretary, and one of these right-angled
+ones--don't you all of you think that's a comfy one?"
+
+They did, and they also approved of the single bench and the chairs and
+the small tables.
+
+"They won't be all jammed up in this corner, of course," Dorothy
+explained gravely, "but when we have a Club meeting we can bring them
+together if we want to and room enough for everybody."
+
+"I thought we were all to sit on the big bench," objected Tom with an air
+of deep disappointment.
+
+"So we shall if you boys are too lazy to pull the other benches and
+chairs over here," answered Dorothy. "If we have plenty we can arrange
+them any way we want to."
+
+"What about trellises?" inquired Ethel Blue who had been continuing her
+researches in the catalogues. "Here are some beauties. Don't you think
+you'll need some?"
+
+"She certainly will if that Dorothy Perkins rambler rose gets busy as it
+ought to," decided Roger.
+
+"There'll be a lot of vines and tall things if they'll only grow," said
+Dorothy hopefully. "I think there ought to be one or two flat ones and an
+arbor that will be a trellis."
+
+"Here's an arbor that you can walk through or sit down in while you
+admire your plants, and you will be protected from the sun," Tom pointed
+out.
+
+"And that same one with a lattice back and a bench inside makes a pretty
+good imitation of a summer house," suggested Ethel Brown.
+
+"We'll have one apiece of those, then."
+
+"Count up and see how much stuff you're planning to order," Roger
+suggested. "You've got a huge big place to set them in here but you don't
+want too much wood work, nevertheless."
+
+They came to the conclusion that there were not too many for the size of
+the grounds and were well satisfied with their choice.
+
+"Do you see how well we're going to see the house from here?" Dorothy
+asked.
+
+They all agreed that it would be very pretty from that point.
+
+"My idea is that the garden must look well from the house," said Dorothy.
+"Mother wants a pergola somewhere. Don't you think the right place for it
+would be covering a walk leading from the house to here?"
+
+"That's a great notion," approved Tom. "As you came toward the garden
+you'd have a--what do you call the effect--where you see a view framed in
+somehow?"
+
+"Do you mean a vista?" asked Margaret.
+
+"That's it. There would be a vista of the garden."
+
+"It will be lovely!" Helen said decisively. "And I don't see why there
+shouldn't be a trellis framing a view of the woods toward Grandfather
+Emerson's; that would be pretty, too."
+
+Dorothy went over to look at the drawing that Helen held up to her and
+decided straightway that it was worth trying. They all went toward the
+upper side of the garden where young peach trees were planted on the
+northern slope of the ridge and chose a spot which gave a charming
+picture of the adjoining field with its brook and the woods beyond.
+
+"The birds are coming along pretty well now," announced James who had
+been lying on his back gazing up into the branches swaying in the upper
+breeze.
+
+"Are you going to build any bird houses, Dorothy?" asked Ethel Brown.
+
+"I suppose we'll have to if we want them to stay late in the season or
+all winter," replied her cousin. "But bird houses are so ugly."
+
+"Not the modern ones," interposed James eagerly. "You make them out of
+pieces of the trunks of trees with the bark on, and you fix up a platform
+with a stick on it that has spikes to hang suet on and they aren't a bit
+conspicuous and lots of birds will stay all winter that otherwise would
+go south before the regular Palm Beach rush."
+
+"We must have some then," Dorothy made up her mind. "Say 'Robert of
+Lincoln'?" she begged Ethel Brown, who was the Club's reciter, "and then
+we'll go home and have some cocoa and cookies."
+
+"Do, Ethel Brown;" "Come on," were the cries from all the U. S. C.
+members as they settled themselves to listen to Bryant's charming verses.
+
+    Merrily swinging on brier and weed,
+        Near to the nest of his little dame,
+    Over the mountain side and mead,
+        Robert of Lincoln is telling his name,
+            Bob-o'link, bob-o'-link,
+            Spink, spank, spink;
+    Snug and safe is that nest of ours,
+    Hidden among the summer flowers,
+                Chee, chee, chee.
+
+    Robert of Lincoln is gaily dressed,
+        Wearing a bright black wedding coat;
+    White are his shoulders and white his crest,
+        Hear him call in his cheery note:
+            Bob-o'link, bob-o'-link,
+            Spink, spank, spink;
+    Look, what a nice new coat is mine,
+    Sure there was never a bird so fine.
+                Chee, chee, chee.
+
+    Robert of Lincoln's Quaker wife,
+        Pretty and quiet, with plain brown wings,
+    Passing at home a patient life,
+        Broods in the grass while her husband sings:
+            Bob-o'link, bob-o'-link,
+            Spink, spank, spink;
+    Brood, kind creature; you need not fear
+    Thieves and robbers while I am here.
+                Chee, chee, chee.
+
+    Modest and shy as a nun is she,
+        One weak chirp is her only note,
+    Braggart and prince of braggarts is he,
+        Pouring boasts from his little throat:
+            Bob-o'link, bob-o'-link,
+            Spink, spank, spink;
+    Never was I afraid of man;
+    Catch me, cowardly knaves, if you can.
+                Chee, chee, chee.
+
+    Six white eggs on a bed of hay,
+        Flecked with purple, a pretty sight!
+    There as the mother sits all day,
+        Robert is singing with all his might:
+          Bob-o'link, bob-o'-link,
+          Spink, spank, spink;
+    Nice good wife that never goes out,
+    Keeping house while I frolic about.
+              Chee, chee, chee.
+
+    Soon as the little ones chip the shell
+        Six wide mouths are open for food;
+    Robert of Lincoln bestirs him well,
+        Gathering seed for the hungry brood.
+            Bob-o'link, bob-o'-link,
+            Spink, spank, spink;
+    This new life is likely to be
+    Hard for a gay young fellow like me.
+                Chee, chee, chee.
+
+    Robert of Lincoln at length is made
+        Sober with work and silent with care;
+    Off is his holiday garment laid,
+        Half forgotten that merry air,
+            Bob-o'link, bob-o'-link,
+            Spink, spank, spink;
+    Nobody knows but my mate and I
+    Where our nest and our nestlings lie.
+                Chee, chee, chee.
+
+    Summer wanes, the children are grown;
+        Fun and frolic no more he knows;
+    Robert of Lincoln's a humdrum crone;
+        Off he flies and we sing as he goes:
+            Bob-o'link, bob-o'-link,
+            Spink, spank, spink;
+    When you can pipe that merry old strain,
+    Robert of Lincoln, come back again.
+                Chee, chee, chee.
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER IV
+                    CHRISTOPHER FINDS A NEW LODGING
+
+
+There was trouble in chicken circles. The young chicks that the Ethels
+and Dorothy had helped Dicky move from the incubator to the brooder were
+making rapid progress toward broiler size, and had been transferred to a
+run of their own where they scratched and dozed happily through the long
+spring days. Dicky and Ayleesabet, the Belgian baby, were examining them
+on a late June afternoon. Dicky had brought with him his old friend, the
+turtle, which had not yet been moved to Dorothy's pool, since his present
+owner wanted to wait until his aunt's house was occupied before he let so
+cherished a possession go where he might slip away and his loss, perhaps,
+be unnoticed.
+
+"When you're living right there tho you can watch Chrithtopher Columbuth
+all the time I'll let you have him," Dicky had promised Dorothy.
+
+"I see myself in my mind's eye sitting side of the tank all day and night
+holding the turtle's paw!" Dorothy exclaimed when she told the Ethels of
+Dicky's decision.
+
+Perhaps because he felt that he was soon to be parted from his old
+comrade Dicky's affection for Christopher seemed to increase and he
+developed a habit of carrying him about, sometimes in his hand and
+sometimes in a little basket which Dorothy had made for Christopher's
+Christmas gift. To-day he had brought him to the chicken yard in his hand
+and had laid him down on the ground while he examined his flock and
+called Ayleesabet's attention to the beauties of this or the other
+miniature hen.
+
+Elisabeth's words were few, but she managed to make her wants and
+opinions known with surprising ease, and she never had the least trouble
+about expressing her emotions. Her little playmate had learned this and
+therefore when he heard loud howls behind his back he knew that it was
+not anger that was disturbing the usually placid baby, but terror. Shriek
+after shriek arose although it seemed to him that he turned about almost
+instantly.
+
+He was not in time, however, to prevent her from being thrown down in
+some mysterious way, or to see the cause of the commotion among the
+chickens. They fluttered and squawked and ran to and fro, tumbling over
+each other and running with perfect indifference over the baby as she lay
+yelling on the ground. Her blue romper legs came up every now and then
+out of the mass of chicken feathers, and their kicking only added to the
+disturbance and confusion of the chicks.
+
+The hubbub did not go unnoticed. Roger ran from his vegetable garden to
+see what was the matter; Helen appeared from her garden of wild flowers;
+Miss Merriam, the baby's caretaker, ran from the porch where she was
+talking with the Ethels who were waiting for the out-of-town members of
+the U. S. C. to arrive. At the moment when all these people were rushing
+to the rescue, Margaret and James Hancock, just off the Glen Point street
+car, hurried from the corner, and Della and Tom Watkins, arrived by the
+latest train from New York, burst open the gate in their excitement.
+
+To meet all these inquiries came Dicky, tugging after him by the leg, the
+baby, howling pitifully by this time as she was dragged over the grass.
+Miss Merriam seized her and hugged her tight.
+
+"What's the matter with the little darling precious?" she crooned.
+
+Ayleesabet gathered herself together courageously and her sobbing died
+away.
+
+"What was it all about?" Miss Merriam inquired of Dicky.
+
+"I don't know," replied Dicky, his own lip trembling as he tried to
+understand the rapid, thrilling experience.
+
+"Tell Gertrude what happened," Miss Merriam urged the baby, wiping away
+her tears and setting her down on her feet on the grass just as
+Christopher Columbus bumped his way over the sod to join them.
+
+Ayleesabet's conversational powers were not equal to the explanation, but
+her little hands could tell a great deal, and her caretaker was skilled
+in interpreting them. She pointed to the turtle and called him by the
+nickname that Dicky had given him, "Chriththy"; then she spread out her
+fat little fingers and waved a forward motion with her hand.
+
+"Chrissy stuck out his head and legs and walked ahead," interpreted Miss
+Merriam. "Where was he, Dicky?"
+
+"In the chicken yard."
+
+Elisabeth was kneeling beside the turtle now, tapping his shell with a
+chubby forefinger; after which she rolled over on her back and screamed.
+
+Miss Merriam shook her head at this demonstration, but Dicky translated
+it out of his previous experience.
+
+"The chickenth hit hith thhell with their beakth, and, when he moved they
+were frightened and knocked her over," he guessed.
+
+"That's just what happened, I believe," said Roger, setting Elisabeth on
+her feet once more. "I've seen the chickens run like anything from
+Christopher, and probably they ran between the baby's legs and upset her
+and then scampered all over her. I don't wonder she was scared."
+
+Christopher gave no testimony in the case. He may have been overcome by
+the confusion; at any rate he withdrew into his shell and preserved a
+studied calm from which he could not be roused.
+
+"I think you can have him," said Dicky suddenly to Dorothy, who had come
+through the fence at the corner where her yard joined her cousins'. "He
+botherth me."
+
+"Very well," said Dorothy. "Let's take him over to Sweetbrier Lodge this
+afternoon. We're all going over there anyway--bring him along, Dicky."
+
+So the procession set forth, Dicky and his shell-covered friend at the
+fore, escorted by all the rest of the United Service Club, while Miss
+Merriam and her charge, whose walking ability had not yet developed much
+speed, brought up the rear.
+
+As they all toiled up the hill to Sweetbrier Lodge Mrs. Smith and Mrs.
+Morton came out on the veranda of the new house to watch them.
+
+"Has anything happened?" called Mrs. Smith as soon as they were within
+earshot.
+
+"We're just bringing Christopher over to his new home," Dorothy explained
+to her mother.
+
+      "'The time of the singing of birds is come,
+      And the voice of the turtle is heard in our land,'"
+
+quoted Mrs. Morton. "I used to think that that meant a turtle like
+Dicky's and not a turtle-dove," and the two mothers laughed and
+disappeared within the house while the younger people kept on to the
+garden and the concrete pool.
+
+When they reached there Dicky gazed at the pool in dismay.
+
+"There ithn't any water in it," he objected, shaking his head doubtfully.
+
+"We can reach it with the hose and fill it up in no time," his cousin
+explained.
+
+"It'll run out of the hole," pointing to the hole made by the broomstick
+when the concrete was soft.
+
+"We'll put a plug in the hole."
+
+"He hasn't any log to sit on."
+
+"Roger will find him a stick."
+
+"I don't want to leave him here all alone," screamed Dicky, overcome by a
+renewal of his former misgivings. Casting himself on the ground he hugged
+his treasure to his breast and waved his legs in the air.
+
+"You can take him back again if you want to," Ethel Brown reminded him,
+"but you know he's always getting into trouble with the chickens now. He
+seems to run away every day."
+
+As the memory of the latest encounter between Christopher and the chicks
+with Elisabeth's overthrow, flashed before him, Dicky howled again. There
+seemed to be no haven on earth for his favorite.
+
+"I'll tell you what we'll do," suggested Dorothy soothingly. "Let's go
+down to the house. The laundry is finished, and we can put him in one of
+the tubs there until this pool is fixed to suit you."
+
+"It'th dark in the laundry," objected Dicky again.
+
+"Not in this laundry. You see," explained Dorothy, sitting down beside
+the sufferer and patting him gently, "the house is built on the side of a
+hill, so the laundry has full sized windows and is bright and cheerful
+though it's on a level with the cellar. I think Christopher will like
+it."
+
+Dicky stood up, his face smeared with tears, but a new interest gleaming
+in his reddened eyes.
+
+"Come on," urged Ethel Blue, tactfully; "let's all go and see if we can't
+make him comfortable."
+
+"I'll pick up a piece of log for him as we go along," promised Roger, and
+he and Tom and James went off towards the woods to look for just the
+right thing.
+
+"What a perfectly dandy cellar. Why, it's as bright as the upper part of
+the house!" exclaimed Margaret as the procession invaded the lower
+regions of the Lodge.
+
+"Isn't it fine!" agreed Dorothy. "The workmen have cleared it all up,
+and, if this part were all, it might be lived in right off."
+
+"The whitewashed walls make it look bright."
+
+"And the large windows! I never saw such windows in a cellar."
+
+"Mother says I may put little cheesecloth curtains in them."
+
+"Curtains will look sweet the day after you take in the winter supply of
+coal," grinned Roger, who appeared with the other boys, carrying
+Christopher's bit of log.
+
+"They won't look dirty, if that's what you mean by 'sweet,'" Dorothy
+retorted. "Look--" and she opened the door of a coal bin--"the coal is
+put in through a concrete chute that leads directly into the bin and the
+bin is entirely shut off from the cellar. No dust floats out of that,
+young man."
+
+"How do you get the coal out?"
+
+"Here's a little door that slides up and catches. You notice that the
+floor of the bin isn't level with the cellar floor; it's raised to make
+it a comfortable height for shoveling. Under it is the place for the logs
+for the open fires. There are two bins, one for furnace coal and the
+other for the coal for the stoves, and the kindling wood goes in this
+third one. They are all together and large enough but not too large, and
+the furnace coal is near the boiler and the small coal is near the
+laundry and the wood is close to the dumb waiter that will take that and
+the clean clothes upstairs."
+
+"All as compact as a cut-out puzzle," approved Roger. "I take off my hat
+to this arrangement."
+
+"Thank you," courtesied Dorothy. "Mother and I worked that out together,
+and we're rather pleased with it ourselves."
+
+"What do you do with the ashes?" asked Roger, who took care of several
+furnaces in the winter time, and therefore made his examination as a
+specialist.
+
+"Put them down that chute with a swinging door and into a covered can. It
+will be hard for the ashes to fly there."
+
+"This is the concrete floor we superintended," said Helen, looking at it
+closely.
+
+"All smooth and well drained with rounded edges. It's going to be as
+clean as a whistle down here. See the metal ceiling? That's for fire
+prevention, and so is the sprinkler system and there's a metal covered
+door at the head of the cellar stairs."
+
+"There seems to be a lot of machinery for a small house," observed James
+as he carried his examination around the space.
+
+"Mother said she couldn't afford luxuries but she could afford comforts
+and these are some of the comforts," smiled Dorothy.
+
+"Not very pretty comforts," remarked Ethel Blue dryly.
+
+"'Handsome is as handsome does,'" quoted her cousin. "When these things
+get to working you won't care whether they're beautiful to look at or
+not."
+
+"What's the heating system--steam or hot water?" asked Tom, standing
+before the boiler.
+
+"Hot water. They say it's more convenient for a small house because you
+don't have to keep up such a big fire all the time."
+
+"That's so; in steam heating there has to be fire enough to make steam,
+anyway, doesn't there?"
+
+"And when the steam in the pipes cools it turns to water and dribbles
+away, but in the hot water system there will be some heat in the outside
+of your radiator as long as the water inside has any warmth at all."
+
+"How does the expense compare?" inquired James who was always interested
+in the financial side of all questions.
+
+"The hot water system is said to be cheaper," replied Dorothy.
+
+"Why are there so many pipes?" asked Ethel Brown, looking with a puzzled
+air at the collection before her.
+
+"Hear me lecture on heating!" laughed Dorothy; "but I did study it all
+out with Mother, so I think I'm telling you the truth about it. There
+have to be two sets of pipes, one to take the hot water to the radiators
+and the other to bring it back after it has cooled."
+
+"There seem to be big pipes and small ones."
+
+"Mains and branch pipes they call them. The man who put these in said
+this house was especially well arranged for piping because it wouldn't
+take any more pressure to force the water into one radiator than another.
+He says there's going to be a good even heat all over everywhere."
+
+"There isn't a lot of difference between radiators for steam and those
+for hot water, is there?" asked Ethel Blue.
+
+"No, you have to put something with water in it on top of both kinds to
+make the air of the room moist. Here you have to open the air valve
+yourself and let out the air that accumulates in the radiator. In the
+steam ones they are automatically worked by steam."
+
+"There can't be much air in the hot water radiator, I should think," said
+Margaret thoughtfully.
+
+"There isn't. You only have to open the valve two or three times in the
+course of the winter. The biggest difference is that the hot water system
+has to have an expansion tank."
+
+"What's that?"
+
+"Why, when steam is shut up it just presses harder than ever, but when
+water is heated it swells and it's likely to burst open whatever it's in,
+so there has to be an open tank up at the top of the house where it can
+go and swell around all it wants to," laughed Dorothy.
+
+"What are these affairs?" inquired Margaret who had been looking at two
+other arrangements near by.
+
+"That one is a gas thing for heating water in summer when there isn't any
+other fire. There's a tiny flame burning all the time, and when the water
+is drawn out of the tank the flame becomes larger automatically and heats
+up a new supply."
+
+"That's a fine scheme; you don't have to heat the house up and yet the
+water is always ready. What's the other?"
+
+"That's to burn up the garbage. In the kitchen there's a tiny closet for
+the garbage pail. It's ventilated from the outside. There is a thing that
+burns the garbage and makes it heat the water, but Mother decided that we
+had so small a family that there might be days when there wouldn't be
+fuel enough to make a decent fire, so we'd better have the gas heater."
+
+"The other would be economical for a hotel," observed prudent James.
+
+"Here's the refrigerating plant," Dorothy said, motioning toward a tank
+and a set of pipes and a small motor.
+
+"Going to cut out the iceman?" grinned Tom.
+
+"We're going to be independent of him. Mother doesn't like natural ice,
+any way; she went over to the Rosemont pond last winter when the men were
+cutting and the ice was so dirty she made up her mind right off that she
+didn't want any more of it. This thing will chill the refrigerator up in
+the kitchen and pipes from it are going under the flooring of the drawing
+room and the dining room so they can be made comfy in summer."
+
+"Hope you can cut them off in winter!" and Roger gave a tremendous
+shiver.
+
+"We can," Dorothy reassured him.
+
+"Good work!"
+
+"It makes small cakes of ice too, so we can always have plenty for the
+Club lemonades."
+
+"I don't know but I think that's more useful than the heating
+arrangements," approved plump little Della.
+
+"That's because you're fat," responded Tom with brotherly frankness. "You
+think you suffer most in summer, but if you didn't have any heat in
+winter you'd change your cry."
+
+"I suppose I should, but I do nearly _melt_ in warm weather," sighed
+Della.
+
+"We don't mean to if we can help it," laughed Dorothy. "This is the
+air-washing arrangement over here," went on Dorothy, as she continued her
+round of the cellar.
+
+"Air-washing!" was the general chorus.
+
+"As long as we have a little motor we're going to make it useful. There's
+a small fan here that brings in the fresh air. It goes into a 'spray
+chamber' and is washed free of dust with water that is cold in summer and
+warm in winter."
+
+"I see clearly that the temperature of this castle is going to be just
+right," exclaimed Roger.
+
+"After the air leaves the spray chamber it goes over some plates that
+take all the moisture out of it, and then the fan forces it through the
+pipes that go into every room."
+
+"Are those the little gratings I noticed in all the rooms the other day?"
+asked Ethel Blue.
+
+"Those are the ventilators. Don't you think we've made everything very
+compact here? All these pipes take up very little room."
+
+"Mighty little!" commended Roger. "And they're all open so you can get at
+them without any trouble."
+
+"Here's a scheme Patrick suggested," laughed Dorothy, pointing upward to
+what looked like a concrete shelf with an upturned border almost at the
+top of the cellar wall.
+
+"What's it for?" asked Ethel Brown.
+
+"That shelf is directly underneath the seat beside the fireplace in the
+drawing room. Patrick plans to save himself the trouble of carrying up
+the logs by piling them on this shelf down here. Then he lifts the cover
+of the seat upstairs and all he has to do is to take out his wood and
+make his fire!"
+
+"That certainly is a cracker-jack labor saving device! Good for Patrick!"
+
+"He's especially tickled with the vacuum cleaner run by this same little
+motor. You ought to hear him talk about it."
+
+"What are these cupboards for?" asked Helen who had been exploring.
+
+"That one with the glass doors is for preserves, and the place in the
+other corner that has a fence for its two inside walls is a place for
+cleaning silver and shoes and lamps and brasses. See--there are cupboards
+along the inside of the fence. They hold all the cleaning materials, and
+the cleaner can sit in a swing chair in the middle and use a different
+part of the concrete shelf against the two cellar walls for boots or
+fire-irons or knives and forks or lamps. At one end is a sink so he can
+have what water he needs for his work and he can wash his hands when he
+turns from one kind of cleaning to another."
+
+"And he isn't all smothered up in a small room. Who thought of that?"
+
+"Patrick and I worked that out together. Patrick has lots of ingenuity."
+
+"I should say you had, too!" exclaimed Della, admiringly.
+
+"Here's where Dorothy does her carpentering," cried James.
+
+"I may move that bench up in the attic later," explained Dorothy, "but I
+thought I'd leave it here until the house was done, because there are apt
+to be little things to be hammered and nailed for some time, I suppose."
+
+"How long are you going to be before you fikth a plathe for Chrithopher
+Columbuth?" demanded Dicky, whose patience was entirely exhausted.
+
+"We'll make him happy right here and now," answered Dorothy briskly,
+throwing open the door of the laundry.
+
+The sun shone gayly on the concrete floor and the room was a cheerful
+spot. An electric washing machine stood ready although covered tubs were
+built against the wall for use in emergencies, and at one side was a
+drying closet. There were numerous plugs against the wall for the
+attachment of pressing irons.
+
+"What's this?" asked Ethel Brown, lifting a cover of a hopper at the base
+of a chute.
+
+"That's the chute for soiled clothes. The other end is on the bedroom
+floor, and it saves carrying."
+
+"That's as good as Patrick's log device!" smiled Helen.
+
+"Shall I put Christopher's log in here?" asked Roger, lifting the top of
+one of the stationary tubs.
+
+"Yes, fix it so he can crawl up and sit in the sunshine where it strikes
+the tub. We'll have to draw some water from the hydrant outside; the
+water isn't turned on in the house yet."
+
+Roger picked up a pail that was standing near by and went up the cellar
+stairs two at a time.
+
+"Now, sir," he said to Dicky when he came back, "I'll lift you up and you
+can put Christopher into his new abode."
+
+Dicky deposited his charge gently on the log and he lay there poking out
+his head to enjoy the sunshine.
+
+"Did you bring some bits of meat for him?" Roger asked.
+
+For answer Dicky turned out of the pocket of his rompers a handful of
+chopped beef.
+
+"Certainly unappetizing in appearance," said Tom, wrinkling his nose,
+"but I dare say Christopher is not particular."
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER V
+                          THE LAW OF LAUGHTER
+
+
+The Mortons were sitting on their porch on a warm evening waving fans and
+trying to think that the coming night promised comfortable sleep. The
+Ethels sat on the upper step, Roger was stretched on the floor at one
+side, Helen sat beside her mother's hammock which she kept in gentle
+motion by an occasional movement of her hand, and Dicky was dozing in a
+large chair. In a near-by tree an insect insisted that "Katy did," and in
+the grass a cricket chirruped its shrill call.
+
+"I do feel that Aunt Louise's being able to build this pretty house after
+all her years of wandering is about the nicest thing that ever happened
+out of a fairy story," murmured Helen softly to her mother, but loudly
+enough for the others to hear.
+
+"There are people who talk about the law of compensation," smiled Mrs.
+Morton in the darkness. "They think that if one good is lacking in our
+lives other goods take its place."
+
+"Do you believe that?"
+
+"I believe that everything that happens to us comes because we have
+obeyed or disobeyed God's laws. Sometimes we are quite unconscious of
+disobeying them, but the law has to work out just as if we knew all about
+it."
+
+"For instance?" came a deep voice from the floor, indicating that Roger
+had awakened.
+
+"Do you remember the time you walked off the end of the porch one day?"
+
+"I should say I did! My nose aches at the mere thought of it."
+
+"You didn't know anything about the law of gravitation, but the law
+worked in your case just as if you had known all about it."
+
+"I'm bound to state that it did," confirmed Roger, still gently rubbing
+his nose as he lay in the shadow.
+
+"It seems as if it might have held up for a little boy who didn't know
+what he was going to get by disobeying it," said Ethel Blue
+sympathetically.
+
+"But it didn't and it never does," returned Mrs. Morton. "That's one
+reason why we ought to try to learn what God's laws are just as fast and
+as thoroughly as we can; not only the laws of nature like the law of
+gravitation, but laws of morality and justice and right thinking and
+unselfishness and kindness toward others."
+
+"Sometimes mighty mean people seem to prosper," said Ethel Brown, with a
+hint of rebellion in her voice.
+
+"That's because those people obey to the letter the law that controls
+prosperity of a material kind. A man may be cruel to his wife and unkind
+to his children, but he may have a genius for making money. Some people
+call it the law of compensation. I call it merely an understanding of the
+financial law and a lack of understanding of the law of kindness."
+
+"I don't see what law dear Aunt Louise could have broken to have made her
+have such a hard time," wondered Ethel Blue. "Her husband being killed
+and her having to wander about without a home for so many years--that
+seems like a hard punishment."
+
+"Men have decided that 'ignorance of the law is no excuse'!" said her
+aunt, "and the same thing is true of laws that are not man-made."
+
+"That seems awfully hard," objected Helen; "it doesn't seem fair to
+punish a person for what he doesn't know."
+
+"If a cannibal should come to Rosemont and should kill some one and have
+a barbecue, we should think that he ought to be deprived of his liberty
+because he was a dangerous person to have about, even if we felt sure
+that he did not know that he was doing an act forbidden by New Jersey
+law. The position is that although a person may be ignorant of the law it
+is his business to know it. That seems to be the way with the higher
+laws; we may break them in our ignorance--but we ought not to be
+ignorant. We ought to try just as hard as we know how all the time to do
+everything as well as we can and to be as good as we can. If we never let
+ourselves do a mean act or think a mean thought we're bound to come to an
+understanding of the great laws sooner than if we just jog along not
+thinking anything about them. I believe one reason why your Aunt Louise
+was so slow in reaching the end of her troubles after Uncle Leonard died
+was because she was unable to control her sorrow. She has told me that
+she was completely crushed by his death and the condition of poverty in
+which she found herself with a little child--Dorothy--to take care of."
+
+"I don't blame her," murmured Ethel Blue.
+
+"She blames herself, because she has learned that giving way to grief
+paralyzes all the powers that God has given us to carry on the work of
+life with. If our minds are filled with gloom our bodies don't behave as
+they ought to--I dare say even you children know that."
+
+"I know," agreed Ethel Blue, who was sensitive and imaginative and
+suffered unnecessarily over many things.
+
+"Your mind doesn't go, either," Roger added. "I know when I got in the
+dumps last spring about graduating I couldn't do a thing. My work went
+worse than ever. It was only when Mr. Wheeler"--referring to the
+principal of the high school--"jollied me up and told me I was getting on
+as well as the rest of the fellows that I took a brace; and you know I
+did come out all right."
+
+"I should say you did, dear," acknowledged his mother proudly. "Instances
+like that make you understand how necessary it is to be brave and to be
+filled with joy because life is going on as well as it is. It is our duty
+to make the most of everything that is given us--our bodies, our minds,
+our spirits--and if courage will help or joy will help then we must
+cultivate courage and joy."
+
+"Did Aunt Louise see that after a while?"
+
+"Not for a long time, she says. After the shock of Uncle Leonard's sudden
+death had worn away somewhat she began naturally to have a little more
+courage--not to be so completely crushed as she was at first. Then she
+saw that when she was feeling brave she could accomplish more, and
+succeed better in new undertakings. If she went to ask for work somewhere
+and had no hope that she would receive it she usually did not receive it;
+but if she went feeling that this day was to be one of success for her it
+usually was."
+
+"I suppose she went in with a sort 'Of course you'll give it to me' air
+that made the men she was asking think of 'of course' they would," smiled
+Roger.
+
+"I don't doubt it. Then she says that she found out that there was real
+value in laughter."
+
+"In laughter!" repeated Ethel Brown. "Why laughter is just foolishness."
+
+"No, indeed; laughter is the outward expression of delight."
+
+"Lord Chesterfield told his son he hoped he'd never hear him laugh in all
+his life," offered Roger.
+
+"Lord Chesterfield hated noisy laughter as much as I do. There's nothing
+more annoying than empty, silly giggling and laughter; but the laughter
+that means real delight over something worth being delighted at--that's
+quite another matter. Lord Chesterfield and I are agreed in being opposed
+to a vulgar _manner_ of laughing, but we are also agreed in believing
+that delight needs expression. Isn't it in that same letter that he says
+he hopes he will often see his son smile?"
+
+"Same place," responded Roger briefly.
+
+"Aunt Louise says she found that even if she wasn't feeling really gay
+she could raise her spirits by doing her best to laugh at something. If
+you hunt hard enough there is almost always something funny enough to
+laugh at within reach of you."
+
+"Like Dicky here snoozing away as soundly as if he were in bed."
+
+"Poor little man. You needn't carry him up yet, though. He's not
+uncomfortable there."
+
+"There's one thing I think is perfectly wonderful about Aunt Louise,"
+said Ethel Blue; "she takes so much pleasure out of little things. She's
+interested in everything the U. S. C. does, and she wants to help on
+anything the town undertakes--you know how nice she was about the school
+gardens--and sometimes when a day comes that seems just stupid with
+nothing to do at all, if you go over to Aunt Louise's she'll tell you
+something she's seen or heard that day that you never would have noticed
+for yourself and that really is interesting."
+
+"She gets their full value out of everything that passes before her eyes.
+It's the wisest thing to do. The big things of life are more absorbing
+but very few of us encounter the big things of life. Most of us meet the
+small matters, the everyday happenings, and nothing else."
+
+"Isn't life full of a mess of 'em!" ejaculated Roger. "Getting up and
+dressing and brushing your hair and eating three meals a day have to be
+done three hundred sixty-five times a year; whereas you hear some
+splendid music or come across a fine new poem or find yourself in a
+position where you can do a real kindness about once in a cat's age.
+Queer, isn't it?"
+
+"That's just why it's a good plan to see the opportunities in the little
+things. If we see with clear eyes we may be able to do some small
+kindnesses oftener than 'once in a cat's age.' It's certainly true that
+the everyday troubles, the trifling annoyances, are really harder to bear
+than the big troubles."
+
+"O-o-o!" disclaimed Helen.
+
+"The big troubles give you a bigger shock, but then you pull yourself
+together and summon your strength, and strength to endure them comes. But
+the small matters--they come so often and they seem such pin pricks that
+it seems not worth while to call upon your powers of endurance."
+
+"Yet if you don't you're as cross as two sticks all the time," finished
+Helen. "I know how it is. It's like having a serious wound or a mosquito
+bite."
+
+They all laughed, for Roger, as if to illustrate her remarks, gave a slap
+at a buzzing enemy at just the appropriate moment.
+
+"Another thing that helps to make Aunt Louise a happy woman now is that
+she is at peace not only with everybody on earth but also with herself.
+If she makes a mistake she doesn't fret about it; she does her best to
+remedy it, and she does her best not to repeat it. 'Once may be excusable
+ignorance,' she says, 'but twice is stupidity,' and then she tells the
+tale of the boy who was walking across a field and fell into a dry well
+which he knew nothing about. He roared loudly and after a time a farmer
+heard him and pulled him out. The next day he was walking across the same
+field and he fell again into the same well."
+
+"He set up the same roar, I suppose."
+
+"A perfect imitation of the previous one. The same farmer came. When he
+looked down the well and saw the same boy he said disgustedly, 'Yesterday
+I thought ye were a poor, unknowin' lad; to-day I know ye're a sad
+fool.'"
+
+Again they all laughed.
+
+"She's always cheerful and always affectionate and she's as dear as she
+can be and I'm glad she's going to have this lovely house and I wish we
+had one just like it," cried Helen in a burst.
+
+"We have a good house."
+
+"But it doesn't belong to us."
+
+"We Army and Navy people can't expect to own houses, my child. You don't
+need to have that told you at this late day."
+
+"I know that. If Father weren't so keen on having us all together while
+we're being educated we wouldn't have been in Rosemont as long as we
+have; but I sometimes envy the people who have a home of their own that
+they are sure to stay in for ever so many years."
+
+"When you feel that way you must think of the many advantages of the Army
+and Navy children. If your father had not been on the Pacific station
+when you were the Ethels' age you wouldn't have had a chance to see
+California when you were old enough to enjoy it and remember it."
+
+"I know, Mother. I didn't mean to growl. I just thought that Father had
+as much money as Aunt Louise from his father, and he had his salary
+besides, and yet we haven't a house of our own."
+
+"We've had a good many of Uncle Sam's houses, which is more than your
+Aunt Louise has had. But you must remember that her inheritance from your
+Grandfather Morton was accumulating for many years while her family
+didn't know where she was, while your father and Ethel Blue's father have
+been spending the income of theirs all along."
+
+"Uncle Roger has had a lot of children to spend his on, but Father hasn't
+had any one but me," said Ethel Blue, whose life had been entirely spent
+with her cousins because her mother had died when she was a tiny baby.
+Never before had she thought whether her father, who was a captain in the
+Army, had any money or not. Now she saw that he must be better provided
+with it than his brother, her Uncle Roger, the father of Ethel Brown and
+Helen and Roger and Dicky, who was a Lieutenant in the Navy.
+
+"Your father is always generous with his money, but I dare say he is
+saving it for some time when he will want it," suggested Mrs. Morton.
+
+"I don't know when he'll want it any more than he does now," said Ethel
+Blue.
+
+"Perhaps he'll want to have a house of his own at whatever post he is
+when he has a grown-up daughter," smiled Helen. "You'd better learn to
+keep house right off."
+
+The idea thrilled Ethel. Never before had she happened to think of the
+possibility of joining her father after her school days were over. Never
+having known any home except with Ethel Brown and her other cousins she
+had always seen the future as shared with them. The notion of leaving
+them was painful, but the chance of being always with her father, of
+being his housekeeper, of seeing him every day, of making him
+comfortable, was one that filled her with delight. Her blue eyes filled
+with tenderness as she dreamed over the possibility.
+
+"I have lots to learn yet before I should know enough," she murmured,
+staring almost unseeingly at her cousin, "but it's wonderful to think I
+could do it."
+
+The new idea would not leave her mind, though, indeed, she made no effort
+to drive it out. That the future might hold for her a change so complete
+was something she wanted to let her thoughts linger on. She hardly
+noticed that Roger was gathering Dicky up into his arms to carry him
+upstairs to bed, or that there was a general stir on the veranda,
+betokening a move indoors.
+
+"Miss Graham was at Dorothy's this afternoon," Ethel Brown said as she
+rose and picked up the straw cushion on which she had been sitting.
+
+"Was she?" inquired Helen interestedly. "I wish I had seen her. I never
+have yet, you know."
+
+"Neither has Ethel Blue. She and Aunt Louise and Dorothy and I went over
+to the new house and looked at the attic. She says she'll come over next
+week and help us about the bedroom floor. That will be ready then for us
+to talk about the decorating."
+
+"Be sure and let me know when she is coming. What did she say about the
+attic?"
+
+"She liked it especially because it had been sheathed, following all the
+ins and outs. She thought the irregularity was pretty. She suggested a
+closet for furs over the kitchen. It won't cost much to bring the
+refrigerating pipes up there, she says."
+
+"That's bully. Aunt Louise may take care of my fur gloves for me next
+summer if the moths don't eat them up this year," promised Roger who had
+stopped in the doorway to hear Ethel Brown's report, and stood with the
+still sleeping Dicky over his shoulder.
+
+"She suggested a raised ledge about fourteen inches high to stand trunks
+on."
+
+"Then you don't break your back bending over them when you're hunting for
+something," exclaimed Helen. "That's splendid. She seems to have
+practical ideas as well as ornamental ones."
+
+"She thought there ought to be a fire bucket closet up there, too. You
+know Aunt Louise has had them put in on all the other floors, but she
+didn't think of it there."
+
+"What is it?" asked Mrs. Morton.
+
+"Just a narrow closet with four shelves. On each of the lower three are
+fire buckets to be kept full of water all the time and on the top shelf
+are some of those hand grenade things and chemical squirt guns. They
+don't look very well when they're right out in sight. This way covers
+them up but makes them just as convenient. There is to be no lock on the
+door of the closet and FIRE is to be painted outside so every one will
+know where it is even if he gets rattled when the fire really happens."
+
+"Are the maids' rooms to be on the attic floor?" asked Mrs. Morton.
+
+"Two little beauties, and a bath-room between them. One room is to be
+pink and the other blue and they're going to have ivory paint and fluffy
+curtains just like Dorothy's."
+
+"Did you think to say anything to Miss Graham about the Club's using the
+attic in winter for weekly meetings?"
+
+"Dorothy did. She thought a movable platform would be a great scheme; one
+wide enough for us to use for a little stage when we wanted to have
+singing or recitations up there. She picked out a good place for the
+phonograph, where the shape of the ceiling wouldn't make the sound queer,
+and she thought rattan furniture stained brown would be pretty, and scrim
+curtains--not dead white ones, but a sort of goldeny cream that would
+harmonize with the wood. There are lovely big cotton rugs in dull blues,
+that aren't expensive, she says; and if we don't want to see the row of
+trunks and chests against the wall we can arrange screens that will shut
+them out of sight and will also take the place of the pictures that you
+can't hang on a wall that slopes the wrong way."
+
+"I don't see, then, but Aunt Louise will have an attic and we'll have a
+club room and both parties to the transaction will be pleased," beamed
+Helen, who, as president of the Club was always careful that the members
+should be comfortable when they gathered for their weekly talking and
+planning and working.
+
+"Doesn't Miss Graham come from Washington?" asked Ethel Blue dreamily,
+half awakening to the conversation.
+
+"Yes, you know she does."
+
+"Fort Myer is just across the river; I wonder if she knows Father."
+
+"Ask her when you see her," recommended Ethel Brown, and they all went in
+to bed as a clap of thunder gave promise of a cooling shower.
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER VI
+                       SPRING ALL THE YEAR ROUND
+
+
+It proved to be quite a week later before the workmen were far enough
+along to make it worth while for Miss Graham to be summoned to a
+conference on the decoration of the bedroom floor, and when Ethel Blue
+met her at last she forgot altogether to ask if she knew her dearly
+beloved father.
+
+There were several reasons why she did not ask. In the first place she
+had forgotten that she meant to; in the next, Miss Daisy was so absorbed
+in what she was hearing from all the Club members about their ideas for
+the bed-rooms, and so interested in comparing them with her own practical
+knowledge of how they could be carried out, that no one who listened to
+her or saw her at work wanted to interrupt her with any questions that
+had no bearing on the matter in hand.
+
+Not that she was not interested in the young people. She was thoroughly
+interested in them. She knew all of their names and sorted out one from
+the other immediately just from Margaret's and James's descriptions of
+them. She listened attentively to their suggestions and they all felt
+that she was treating their ideas with respect and that if she did not
+always agree with them she had a good reason for it.
+
+"I think she's the most competent woman almost that I ever saw," said
+Helen admiringly to Margaret as they stood at one side of the upper hall
+and watched her as she rapidly sketched for Mrs. Smith what she meant by
+a certain plan of window hanging.
+
+Helen was greatly interested in new occupations for women and the fact
+that this woman had studied to be an interior decorator and had succeeded
+so well that she had orders from the suburbs of New York itself had
+impressed the young girl as making her well worth trying to know well.
+Helen was not drawn toward interior decorating--she had already made up
+her mind, that she was to be one of the scientific home-makers educated
+at the School of Mothercraft--but she admired women with the courage to
+start new things, and this work seemed to her to be perfectly suited to a
+woman and at the same time of enough importance to be really worth while
+putting a lot of preparation into it. The dressing of shop windows seemed
+to her another peculiarly feminine occupation, hardly entered at all, as
+yet, by women, and capable of being developed into an art.
+
+"The decoration of a room or a building ought to seem a sort of growth
+from the room or the building," Miss Graham was explaining to the Ethels.
+"It ought to seem perfectly natural that it should be there, just as a
+blossom seems perfectly natural to find on a plant. I never like the
+phrase 'applied design,'" she continued, smiling as she turned to Mrs.
+Smith. "It sounds as if you made a design and then clapped it on to the
+afflicted spot as if it were a plaster of some kind."
+
+"Too often it looks that way," Mrs. Smith smiled in return. "Come and see
+how we've arranged our sleeping porches."
+
+As Miss Graham stood in the doorway that opened on to the porch of
+Dorothy's room, one hand resting on Ethel Brown's shoulder, Helen felt
+more than ever the power--for friendliness and good will as well as for
+the execution of her art--that this dark-eyed, dark-haired, ruddy-cheeked
+young woman possessed. Her nose was a trifle too short for beauty and her
+mouth a bit too wide, but her coloring denoted health, her hair curled
+crisply over a broad forehead, her teeth were brilliantly white, and the
+straight folds of her gown showed the lines of her strong figure as the
+strange dull blue-green of her linen frock, dashed with a bit of orange,
+brought into relief all the good points of her tinting.
+
+"She makes you want to stop and look at her," Helen decided, "and you
+want to know her, too."
+
+Mrs. Smith had arranged for three sleeping porches, one for her own room,
+one for Dorothy's, and a larger one outside of the nursery where the
+Belgian baby enjoyed herself in the daytime. This porch was also shared
+by Elisabeth's care-taker. Each porch was on a different side of the
+house, so that they did not encroach upon each other, and each was
+somewhat different in arrangement.
+
+"Did you originate this idea?" asked Miss Graham, as she examined the
+sliding windows by which the bed was to be shut off from the room at
+night and enclosed in the room in the morning. "You never need step out
+of bed on to the cold floor of the porch," she commented approvingly.
+
+"I saw that in a sanitarium," returned Mrs. Smith. "It was desirable that
+the patients should never be chilled and the doctor and architect
+invented this way of preventing it."
+
+"It's capital," smiled Miss Graham, "and so simple. When the inside sash
+is closed, the outside is up, and vice versa. Are they all like this?"
+
+"Yes," answered her hostess. "Dorothy is to have a couch in that corner,
+and a table and chairs. There is to be a screw eye attached to the foot
+of the couch. A weight on the end of a cord will go through a pulley
+fastened to the wall, high up over the head of the couch. There will be a
+hook at the other end of the cord. When this hook goes into the screw eye
+and the weight is pulled, the couch will stand on its head and will be
+out of the way at any time when floor space is more to be desired than
+lying down comfort."
+
+"Of course there will be some sort of drapery to cover the under side
+when it is hauled up against the wall," said Miss Graham with a question
+in her voice.
+
+"Dorothy has something in mind that is going to meet that difficulty, she
+thinks," answered Mrs. Smith.
+
+"Are you going to have your room of any decided color," asked Miss
+Graham.
+
+"I've been perfectly crazy for a rose-colored room, ever since I was a
+tiny child," answered Dorothy. "I've set my heart on this room's looking
+like a pink rose--"
+
+"Or a bunch of apple blossoms?" asked Miss Graham.
+
+Ethel Blue looked quickly at the decorator when she made this suggestion
+which at once stirred the young girl's imagination to a mental sight of a
+springtime tree laden with clusters of blossoms, whose delicate white was
+flushed with the delicate pink of the dawn. The suggestion appealed to
+her immediately as possible of a development far more exquisite than that
+which Dorothy had planned. Both would be pink, yet the fineness of the
+new color scheme seemed to her suited to Dorothy's slender grace. She
+could not have put it into words but she felt that Miss Graham had a
+feeling for color that enabled her to adapt the room in which the color
+was to be used to the personality of the young girl who was chiefly to
+use it. Instinctively she moved closer to Miss Graham and met her smiling
+glance with a nod and smile of understanding.
+
+Dorothy liked the new idea.
+
+"I think an apple-blossom room would be perfectly lovely," she exclaimed.
+"If Mother would only let me use wall-paper--I saw such a beauty pattern
+the other day. There were clusters of apple-blossoms all over it."
+
+"Are you going to use wall-paper," Miss Graham asked Mrs. Smith.
+
+"Dorothy and I decided that we would not use wall-paper in the bed-rooms
+at any rate," answered Dorothy's mother.
+
+"I wish we hadn't," pouted Dorothy, but she was cheered when Miss Graham
+nodded her approval of their decision.
+
+"You're quite right," she said. "Apart from the sanitary side it isn't a
+good plan to paper walls until the plaster is thoroughly dry. This is
+especially true of a house built on the side of a hill."
+
+"This house has such a wonderful concrete foundation," said Margaret,
+"that I should think it would be always perfectly solid."
+
+"So should I," answered Miss Graham, "but there's always a chance that
+some part of the soil beneath may give a little when the full weight of a
+house rests upon it. The settling of a house for only a half inch or an
+inch would play havoc with the plaster on these walls."
+
+"You think we'd better hold back the paper for a final resort?" asked
+Mrs. Smith.
+
+"I never advise paper in bed-rooms unless there's good reason to do so,"
+answered the decorator. "Here is what I should suggest for an
+apple-blossom room--though perhaps you have some ideas that you would
+like to have carried out?" she interrupted herself to ask Dorothy.
+
+"No," said Dorothy, "as long as it's pink and pretty I don't care how it
+is decorated."
+
+Miss Graham stood in the centre of the room now, noticing how the
+sunshine fell on the floor, the shadow at the end where the sleeping
+porch was, and the possible positions for the various articles of
+furniture.
+
+"I seem to see these walls washed with a white which is tinted with a
+faint flush of pink," said Miss Graham slowly, as she thought it out.
+"That means a pink so delicate that it will not irritate the weariest
+nerves and will soothe to sleep by its beauty. The wood-work should be
+similar in tone but a trifle more like ivory. Do you know that chintz
+that has blurry, indefinite flowers on it?"
+
+Dorothy said that she did.
+
+"I saw a lovely piece of it the other day with a design of
+apple-blossoms. I should use that as a covering for your bed, your couch,
+your chairs, and for hangings for the windows. Then across one end of the
+wall--on that shadiest side,--I should throw a branch of apple-blossoms,
+painted in the same blurry, indefinite way in which the flowers appear on
+the chintz. I knew a man who was enough of the artist in his soul to do
+the thing as if the wall had suddenly grown thin and through it you could
+see an apple tree in blossom out in the orchard."
+
+"I think that would be perfectly lovely," said Dorothy, and all the
+others expressed the greatest pleasure at the proposed scheme of
+decoration.
+
+"Here is what I would suggest for the windows," said Miss Daisy, taking
+out her note book, and sketching with a few rapid lines the folds of
+apple-blossom chintz, falling straight at the sides, with a valance at
+the top showing a very slight fullness.
+
+"Between these and the windows," said Miss Graham, "I should put Swiss
+muslin, either perfectly plain or dotted or with a fine cross-bar,
+whichever you like best. I should have those muslin curtains next to the
+glass all alike all over the house and the shades, too, so that the
+effect from the outside will be uniform and not messy."
+
+"That neatness will suit Ethel Brown's ideas of what is harmonious,"
+laughed Helen, and Miss Graham flashed her brilliant smile on Ethel
+Brown, who was nodding her approval of the idea as she listened.
+
+"Now, how had you planned to finish the other sleeping porches?" inquired
+Miss Graham.
+
+"We thought we'd better have a radiator on the one leading off the
+nursery," said Mrs. Smith.
+
+"You'll have to be awfully careful about its freezing," warned Miss
+Graham.
+
+"I suppose we shall, but it seemed as if it might be advisable with a
+child who has been so delicate as Elisabeth. You will see that the outer
+ledge of her porch is somewhat higher than either Dorothy's or mine and
+there are pieces of lattice work to fill in the openings on very cold
+nights. We thought we'd have out there a low play-table for the baby, and
+one or two little chairs and a work-table and easy-chair for Miss
+Merriam."
+
+"There are cotton Chinese rugs that are extremely pretty for upstairs
+porches," said Miss Graham. "One that is largely white but has a dash of
+green and pink, would be charming for Dorothy's porch. What color is the
+baby's room to be?"
+
+"Ethel Blue wants us to have it pale blue."
+
+Again a vivid look of appreciation came into Miss Graham's eyes as she
+turned them on Ethel Blue, but she merely said, "There are charming
+Chinese rugs in white with dull blue designs like old Chinese pottery.
+Tell me what you had planned in your mind for Elisabeth," she continued,
+turning toward the young girl and extending her hand so winningly that
+Ethel found herself not only standing beside her with a feeling that she
+had been her friend for a long time, but filled with confidence that her
+suggestions would not be laughed at, and might indeed be really good.
+
+"I thought of walls and paint of white faintly colored with blue. It was
+just about what you suggested for Dorothy's room, only blue instead of
+pink; and it seemed to me that there might be blue birds--for happiness,
+you know--skimming along the walls, up near the top."
+
+"One of those big Chinese rugs that is almost all white, but has a little
+blue, would be lovely, wouldn't it?" cried Helen, seizing the idea.
+
+"Several small ones would be better," returned Miss Graham, "because a
+baby's room has to be kept so spick and span that you want to have light
+rugs that are easy to take up and clean."
+
+"You know those little round seats that you sometimes see in railway
+waiting rooms?" asked Ethel Blue.
+
+Miss Graham said she had noticed them.
+
+"Don't you think one would be cunning for Elisabeth? The seat part ought
+to be awfully low and there could be light blue cushions on it. And then
+I think it would be fun if there was a low bench running around two sides
+of the room, with cushions of the same color on it. It would do for a
+table and a seat both."
+
+Miss Graham thought the idea was capital.
+
+"How would you paint them?" she asked.
+
+"Wouldn't a sort of bluish-white like the wood-work be pretty," asked
+Ethel Blue. "You know that shiny paint that is so highly polished that
+the baby's finger marks won't show on it."
+
+"Enamel paint," translated Miss Graham. "I think it would be very pretty,
+and I should have all the little chairs and tables painted the same way.
+There are a lot of little things that would be charming in the nursery,"
+she continued. "You can have a solid table, whose top lifts off,
+disclosing a sand-pile inside. And some parts of that seat around the
+room ought to lift up so that the baby can put away her own toys in the
+box underneath the cushions."
+
+"I thought a great big doll's house might fit into one corner so that it
+would be two-sided," said Ethel Blue. "If the lower floor was all one
+room the baby could walk right in and sit down with the dolls."
+
+"Do you think she could keep still long enough to make a real visit?"
+laughed Helen.
+
+"You'll want to interest her in plants and animals as she grows up,"
+suggested Miss Graham. "You might begin even now by having an aquarium
+with a few water plants and some gold fish and you must arrange to have
+it on a good solid stand so that it won't tip over if Elisabeth should
+happen to throw her fat little self against it. I suppose she's too small
+to have had any regular training as yet?" she continued, turning to Mrs.
+Smith.
+
+"Miss Merriam, who is taking care of her, is trying some of the
+Montessori ideas."
+
+"I thought perhaps she was. Madame Montessori tries to make all her
+training a natural outcome of the children's lives and to develop them to
+use what they know in their daily occupations. If Elisabeth had a
+clothes-closet small enough for her to hang up and take down her own
+dresses and coats and rompers, I think Miss Merriam would find that she
+would be trying to put them on and fasten them herself very soon."
+
+"Wouldn't a clothes pole about three feet high be too cunning for words,"
+exclaimed Ethel Blue, and Dorothy cried, "Do let us have all these
+things, Mother. Elisabeth will look like a little white Persian kitten,
+trotting around in this blue and white room!"
+
+"Had you made any plans for your own room, Mrs. Smith?" asked Miss
+Graham.
+
+"Oh, Aunt Louise, I do wish you'd have one of those gray rooms, with
+scarlet lacquer furniture," cried Helen eagerly.
+
+Before Mrs. Smith could answer, Miss Graham had interposed a soft
+objection.
+
+"I wouldn't," she said. "A room like that has several reasons for
+non-existence. They are very handsome because the real scarlet lacquer is
+beautiful in itself, and it's valuable too, but a room whose chief appeal
+to the eye is scarlet is not restful."
+
+"You think scarlet is not a proper color for a bed-room," responded
+Helen.
+
+"Not at all suitable to my way of thinking. It's exciting, rather than
+soothing. Another objection to it here is that a room containing such a
+vivid color should be a dark room, and all of your bed-rooms are
+splendidly light. But the most serious objection to my mind, is this.
+Just step out here in the entry with me for a minute."
+
+They all followed Miss Graham on to the landing at the head of the
+stairs.
+
+"In a house as small as this," she said, "you can see from the hall into
+all the bed-rooms. That means that from the decorator's point of view,
+the entire floor ought to be harmonious. Behind us, for instance, is the
+baby's delicate blue nursery. Just ahead is Dorothy's apple-blossom room.
+Do you think that a room of gray and scarlet and black is going to be
+harmonious with those delicate tints?"
+
+They saw her meaning at once and agreed with her that it would not be
+suitable.
+
+"I decorated a small apartment last winter," she said, "that turned out
+very happily. The sitting room was one of these scarlet lacquer rooms and
+the bed-room was done in tones of pale green and dull orange. You felt as
+if you were sitting in an orange grove in Florida on an evening when a
+frost was expected and they were burning smudges to warm the trees."
+
+"I know," cried Dorothy, "I've seen them do that. You see the oranges
+gleaming through the misty smoke, and it's all hazy and beautiful."
+
+"It turned out well in this room that I did," said Miss Graham, modestly,
+"but if you accept the blue and pink colorings for the other rooms here,"
+she said, turning to Mrs. Smith with a smile, "I'm afraid your own room
+will have to be of some delicate tone to harmonize with them."
+
+"There are certain shades of yellow, that would be suitable," returned
+Mrs. Smith.
+
+"A primrose yellow," answered Miss Graham, "would be charming, and it
+would not be hard to find a lovely chintz, that would give you just the
+spring-like atmosphere that you'd enjoy having about you all the time."
+
+"I think we're going to have this floor a little piece of spring all the
+year around," said Ethel Blue; and again Miss Graham flashed at her a
+look of understanding.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER VII
+                        CLOSETS AND STEPMOTHERS
+
+
+After they had shown all the rest of the house to Miss Daisy the family
+party gathered on the brick terrace outside of the drawing room to
+investigate lemonade and little cakes. The Ethels had brought the
+lemonade from home in a thermos bottle which kept it cool and refreshing,
+and that morning Dorothy had made some "hearts and rounds" which proved
+most appetizing with the cool drink.
+
+A few canvas chairs which Mrs. Smith had sent over from home, so that she
+might have something to sit down on when she visited the new house, were
+all the furniture of the veranda, but the girls found several boxes which
+the workmen had left, and they laid planks on them and made benches that
+were entirely comfortable. A similar arrangement with the boxes turned on
+their ends provided a little table on which they placed the refreshments.
+Paper cups answered every necessary purpose, although they were not
+beautiful, and paper plates held the hearts and rounds just as well as if
+they had been china.
+
+They were all a little tired after walking about the house for so long a
+time, and those of them who had chairs leaned back with satisfaction and
+looked over the low parapet to the adjoining meadow with its brook and
+its cluster of woods at the upper end. Beyond the fields the Emersons'
+house could be seen dimly through the trees.
+
+"We wondered in the springtime whether we should be able to see this
+house from Grandfather's house," said Ethel Brown. "I haven't looked
+lately, but I guess we can, or else we shouldn't be able to see
+Grandfather's house from here."
+
+"The line of those far-away mountains is very beautiful against the sky,"
+Miss Graham noticed, with her keen observation of everything that added
+to the loveliness of the landscape.
+
+"They are far enough away to have a blue haze hanging over them," said
+Mrs. Smith, "and they give you a feeling that our quiet country scene
+here has a great deal of variety after all."
+
+"Your house is admirably placed to make the most of every beauty around
+you," said Miss Daisy, "and I hope you'll allow me to compliment you on
+the way it is turning out. You know they say that you have to build two
+or three houses in order to build one exactly to your satisfaction, but I
+should think that you were almost accomplishing that with your first
+attempt."
+
+"I am glad you like so many things about it," said Mrs. Smith. "Dorothy
+and I would be pleased with almost any house that really belonged to us,
+for we've had nothing of our own for many years, but of course it is a
+tremendous satisfaction to have this develop into something that is
+beautiful and livable too."
+
+"You've added so many happy touches," said Miss Graham. "Take for
+instance this terrace. A brick terrace always makes me think of some old
+country house in England, with its dark red walls buried among the
+brilliant green foliage. So many of those houses have terraces like this,
+partly roofed like yours, and wide enough to be really an extra room."
+
+"Aunt Louise's terrace is really two extra rooms," said Ethel Blue,
+"because it opens from the drawing room and also from the dining room."
+
+"We're going to have all our meals out here in pleasant weather, whenever
+it's warm enough," said Dorothy.
+
+"I can see you're sufficiently afraid of New Jersey mosquitoes to have a
+part screened."
+
+"It's the only prudent thing to do," returned Mrs. Smith. "Jersey
+mosquitoes are really more than a joke, but if you have this wire cage to
+get into you can defy them. You can see that at the end of the terrace
+opposite the dining room our cage covers the whole of the floor, while up
+at this end only a part is wired in. In the evening when the buzzers are
+buzzing we can take shelter behind the screen, but in the daytime we can
+sit outside as we're doing now."
+
+"Are you going to glass it in winter? I see you have a radiator."
+
+"There are to be long glass sashes that fit into the same grooves that
+hold the screens now. The open fire will take off the chill on autumn
+mornings and the radiator ought to keep us warm even when the snow is
+banked against the glass."
+
+"With palms and rubber plants and rugs and wicker chairs and tables--I
+suppose you'll have wicker?" Mrs. Morton interrupted herself to inquire
+of her sister-in-law.
+
+"Yes, wicker, but we haven't decided between brown or green," and Mrs.
+Smith turned appealingly to Miss Graham.
+
+"Neither, I should say. Don't you think a dull dark red, a mahogany
+red--would be pretty with this brick floor?"
+
+"And against the concrete wall. I do; and it ought not to be hard to find
+rugs with dull reds and greens that will draw all those earthy, autumnal
+shades together."
+
+"You might have one of those swinging settees hanging by chains from the
+ceiling."
+
+"Dorothy would enjoy that."
+
+"So would we," interposed Ethel Brown. "I seem to see myself perching on
+it, waving my lemonade cup."
+
+"Don't illustrate all over me," remonstrated Ethel Blue, dodging the
+flowing bowl.
+
+"I like very much the seclusion you've gained by building up the wall at
+the end of the terrace on the side toward the road," said Miss Graham.
+
+"We found that people could see from the road any one sitting on the
+terrace, although we're so high here," said Mrs. Smith, "but with the
+parapet built up at that end, they can't see anything, even though there
+is an opening in the wall."
+
+"And the window frames a lovely picture of the meadows across the road
+from you."
+
+"I don't see," said Ethel Brown, "why you always call your living room a
+drawing room, Aunt Louise."
+
+"It isn't a living room," returned Mrs. Smith. "A living room is really a
+room which is used both as a sitting room and a dining room. No room
+which is used for only one of those purposes should be called a living
+room."
+
+"Lots of people do," insisted Ethel Brown.
+
+"But they are not right," returned her aunt.
+
+"Drawing room seems a very formal name for it," Helen said. "Of course
+we're used to it, because Grandmother Emerson always calls her parlor a
+drawing room, but she has a huge, big room, so my idea of a drawing room
+is always something immense."
+
+"Perhaps it is rather old-fashioned and stately," admitted Mrs. Smith;
+"but the drawing room is simply a place where the family _withdraws_ to
+sit together and talk together, and it need not be any more formal than
+the people who use it. But I protest that my drawing room or sitting
+room, or whatever it may be, shall not be called a living room, because
+it is not devoted to eating as well as sitting."
+
+"I am glad you make that distinction," said Miss Graham. "So many people
+are careless about using the word and nowadays you seldom find a real
+living room except in a bungalow in the country where people are living
+very informally during the summer, and where space is limited. There's
+another thing about your house that I like exceedingly," she continued,
+"and that is your closets."
+
+Mrs. Morton, who had joined the party on the terrace, laughed heartily at
+this praise.
+
+"That ought to please you, Louise," she said, and added, turning to Miss
+Graham, "Louise has spent more time inventing all sorts of cupboards and
+closets than in drawing the original plan of the house, I really
+believe."
+
+"I know it wasn't wasted time," returned Miss Graham. "I have every
+sympathy with a craze for closets. You can't have too many to suit me. Do
+you remember that room at Mt. Vernon entirely surrounded by cupboards and
+closets? I always thought Washington must have had an extraordinarily
+orderly mind to want to have all his dining room belongings carefully
+placed on shelves behind closed doors!"
+
+"I wonder how many different kinds of closets we have," murmured Dorothy,
+beginning to count them up on her fingers. Everybody tossed in a
+contribution, naming the closet which she happened to remember.
+
+"A coat closet near the front door," said Ethel Brown.
+
+"Clothes closets in every bed-room and two extra ones in the attic,"
+added Mrs. Smith.
+
+"A dress closet with mirrors on the doors, that turn back to make a
+three-fold dressing glass. I envy you that comfort, Louise," said Mrs.
+Morton.
+
+"You'll notice that the coat closets and the clothes closets all have
+long poles with countless hangers on them," said Mrs. Smith. "They'll
+hold a tremendous number of garments; many more than Dorothy and I have."
+
+"The closet I'm craziest about is the one that is filled with glass cubes
+to put hats in," said Helen. "You open the door and there are half a
+dozen, and you can see the hats right through, so you don't have to keep
+pulling out one box after another, always getting the wrong one first."
+
+"That's a perfectly splendid idea," approved Miss Graham. "I suppose
+along the lower part of the closet side of your room, you have small
+closets and cupboards for shoes and for blouses."
+
+"I have my blouse closet above my shoe closet," returned Mrs. Smith.
+
+"Did you notice the tall, thin closet for one-piece dresses?" asked Ethel
+Blue.
+
+"I should think that would be splendid because it doesn't jam up your
+evening dresses," said Helen, who was beginning to think longingly of
+real, grown-up evening dresses.
+
+"That's the closet Ethel Blue always calls the 'stepmother closet,'"
+laughed Ethel Brown.
+
+"Why 'stepmother closet'?" inquired Miss Graham quickly.
+
+"Because it would pinch a stepmother so hard if she got into it," said
+Ethel Blue.
+
+Miss Graham looked puzzled and Dorothy explained.
+
+"Ethel Blue hates stepmothers. She doesn't know why, except that they are
+always horrid in fairy stories, but she thinks this long narrow closet
+would be just the place to put a horrid one into to punish her."
+
+"Stepmothers are often very nice," said Mrs. Morton.
+
+"I had a stepmother," said Miss Graham, "and I couldn't have loved my own
+mother more tenderly, and I'm sure she loved Margaret's mother and me
+quite as well as if we had been her own children. In fact, I think she
+was more careful of us than she was of her own children. She used to say
+we were a legacy to her and that she felt it her duty as well as her
+delight to be extra good to us, for our mother's sake."
+
+Ethel Blue listened and smiled at the kind brown eyes that were smiling
+at her, but she shook her head as if she were unconvinced.
+
+"At any rate you might select your closet to fit your stepmother," Miss
+Daisy laughed, "and if you wanted to be very bad to a thin one, you could
+make her squeeze up small in one of the glass hat boxes, and a fat one
+would suffer most in this narrow closet of yours."
+
+They all laughed again and went on with the list of closets in the house.
+
+"You noticed, I hope," said Mrs. Smith, "that almost every closet in the
+house has an electric bulb inside that lights when you open the door and
+goes out again when the door is closed."
+
+"Splendid," approved Miss Graham. "Is there one in your linen closet?"
+
+"Yes, indeed. Did you notice that the linen closet is on the bedroom
+floor? There need be no carrying up and down stairs of heavy bed linen.
+The linen for the maid's room, in the attic, is kept in a small linen
+closet up there, and the table linen belongs in a closet made especially
+for it in the dining room. It has many glass shelves quite close
+together, so that each table cloth may have a spot to itself and the
+centrepieces and doilies may be kept flat with nothing to rumple them."
+
+"I suppose the medicine closets will go into the bath-rooms when the
+other fittings are installed," said Mrs. Morton.
+
+"Yes," returned her sister-in-law.
+
+"Did you notice the pretty cedar shavings that the carpenters left on the
+floor of the cedar closet?" asked Dorothy. "They say they always leave
+the cedar shavings they made, because people like to put them among their
+clothes to make them fragrant."
+
+"I'm glad you are having a cedar closet," said Margaret. "Mother got
+along with a cedar chest for a great many years, but she has always
+longed for a cedar closet. She had one built this summer."
+
+"We have both," said Dorothy. "The chest is going up in the attic and the
+closet is on the bedroom floor."
+
+"The thing that pleases me most in the closet line," said Ethel Brown,
+who is a good cook, "is the pastry closet just off the kitchen. The
+carpenter told me there was a refrigerating pipe running around it so
+that it would always be cool, and there was to be a plate glass shelf on
+which the pastry could be rolled out."
+
+"You certainly have the latest wrinkles," exclaimed Mrs. Morton
+admiringly. "I have never seen that arrangement in real life. I thought
+it only existed in large hotels or the women's magazines!"
+
+"There are lots of other little comforts in our house," laughed Dorothy,
+"and there are two or three more kinds of closets if we count bookcases
+that have doors and cupboards to keep games in."
+
+"They're every one modern and useful except that stepmother squeezer,"
+said Miss Graham, rising to take leave. "That sounds like some invention
+of the Middle Ages when people used to torture each other to death so
+cheerfully."
+
+"O, I wouldn't _torture_ her," protested Ethel Blue.
+
+"Unless she were a really truly fairy story bad one," Miss Daisy
+insisted. "Could you resist that?"
+
+She held Ethel Blue's eyes for just a second with her smiling gaze that
+was graven down in the depths of her warm brown ones.
+
+"I wouldn't _really_ hurt her," Ethel Blue repeated, and wondered why she
+felt as if she had been taken seriously.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER VIII
+                  "OFF TO PHILADELPHIA IN THE MORNING"
+
+
+"Helen," called Mrs. Morton a few days later just after the morning visit
+of the letter carrier, "I have a note here from Uncle Richard asking me
+if I can run over to Philadelphia and attend to a little matter of
+business for him. He is so tied up at Fort Myer that he can't possibly
+get away. Do you think it would be pleasant if you and I went over for a
+few days and took Roger and the children with us?"
+
+The "children" of the Morton family meant those younger than Roger and
+Helen. Helen received the suggestion with a cry of delight.
+
+"It would be just too lovely for anything," she said, waving in the air
+the little linen dress she was making for Elisabeth.
+
+"The younger girls had the Massachusetts trip this summer that you and
+Roger didn't share," her mother said. "I think this time we might all of
+us go, and I'm not sure that it would not be pleasant to ask the
+Watkinses and the Hancocks."
+
+"The whole U. S. C.!" cried Helen. "Mother, you certainly were born a
+darling. How did you ever think of anything so perfectly galoptious?"
+
+"It's natural for me to be 'galoptious,'" her mother returned, laughing.
+"Now, we shall have to work fast, if we are going to accomplish Uncle
+Richard's errand, because the people whom he wants me to see will be in
+Philadelphia only to-morrow. He has telegraphed them, asking them to keep
+an hour for me, so I must go over to-day or very early to-morrow
+morning."
+
+"Would you like to have me call up Margaret and Della on the telephone
+and see if they can go to-day? If they can, I don't see why we can't fly
+around tremendously and get our bags packed this morning and take an
+afternoon train," said Helen, who was beginning to grow energetic as the
+full prospect of the pleasure before her appeared before the eyes of her
+mind.
+
+Mrs. Morton agreeing, Helen flew to the telephone, and was lucky enough
+to catch Margaret at Glen Point and Della in New York without any
+difficulty. They both said that they would consult their mothers and
+would call Helen again within an hour. She then telephoned to Dorothy,
+but found that she was at Sweetbrier Lodge and as the telephone had not
+been put in yet, she was, for a moment, at a loss what to do. She
+remembered, however, that Ethel Brown and Ethel Blue had spoken of
+spending the morning at Grandmother Emerson's, and she therefore called
+up her house in the hope that they might be there.
+
+They had just left there to go and do a little house-cleaning in the cave
+in Fitzjames' woods, where they frequently enjoyed an afternoon lemonade.
+Mrs. Emerson said, however, that she could easily send a messenger after
+them, and that it would not be many minutes before she would ring Helen
+in her turn.
+
+"I haven't anything to report," Helen said to her mother after she had
+made these various calls, "but I had better be getting out our handbags
+and trying to find Roger, I suppose."
+
+Mrs. Morton was already packing her valise with her own and Dicky's
+requirements and she nodded an assent to Helen's suggestion.
+
+It was not many minutes before the telephone bell began ringing. The
+first summons was from Margaret Hancock who said that her mother and
+father were delighted with the opportunity to have her and James go to
+Philadelphia in Mrs. Morton's care.
+
+"It will be a real Club expedition," she said gleefully, "and I'm just as
+sure as if I saw it with my own eyes, that you're packing a 'History of
+Philadelphia' in your hand-bag."
+
+Helen laughed because she was well accustomed to being joked about her
+love of history.
+
+"I notice all of you are willing enough to listen when I tell about
+places," she said, "and this time you'll have to take it from me because
+Grandfather won't be there to tell you."
+
+The next ring meant that the Ethels had returned to Mrs. Emerson's.
+
+"What do you want of us?" Ethel Blue asked in a tone that sounded as if
+she were not particularly pleased at being called back.
+
+"How would you like to go to Philadelphia?" Helen answered triumphantly.
+
+"Do you really mean it?" asked Ethel, who was not quite sure that her
+ears were hearing correctly.
+
+"I do mean it, and if you and Ethel Blue want to go with Mother and me
+this afternoon, you must rush home just as fast as you can and get your
+bags packed. Aunt Louise says Dorothy may go, but I can't find her, so
+please stop at the new house and see if she's there and tell her about
+it."
+
+"Well I should say we would," returned a voice that was now filled with
+delight. "Ethel Blue wants to know why Mother is going?" she asked.
+
+"On some business for her father--for Uncle Richard. But do stop
+chattering and come home as fast as you can rush. If we don't get off
+this afternoon, we can't go until to-morrow morning and we shan't be able
+to stay so long in Philadelphia."
+
+It was not until they reached home that the Ethels learned that the
+Watkinses and the Hancocks were to join the party, and they were so
+excited over the prospect of this Club pilgrimage, that they were hardly
+able to get together their belongings.
+
+The most difficult person to find was Roger who did not seem to be within
+reach of the telephone anywhere. They called up all the places where they
+thought it possible that he might be, but he could not be found, and he
+walked in just before luncheon quite unprepared for the surprise that
+awaited him.
+
+"Helen has packed your bag for you," his mother told him, "so rush and
+change your clothes and go to the train to meet Della and Tom."
+
+Rosemont being already part way on the road from New York and
+Philadelphia, it was necessary for the party to take a local train to the
+nearest stopping place of the Express. The Watkinses came out from New
+York on a local and the Hancocks arrived on the trolley, so that the
+entire group met at the Mortons' about half an hour before the time to
+start. They were all chattering briskly, all filled with enthusiasm for
+this new adventure.
+
+"Don't you think I'd better go too?" Mr. Emerson asked his daughter, as
+he counted up the throng and noticed their eagerness.
+
+"I don't think it's necessary, Father," Mrs. Morton replied. "Roger and
+Tom and James are surely big enough to escort us, and I know Philadelphia
+so well that I have no fear of our being lost in the city with three such
+competent young men to take care of us."
+
+Mr. Emerson smiled somewhat doubtfully and murmured something about his
+daughter's having a hopeful disposition.
+
+"You don't realize how serious Roger can be when he feels that he has
+actual responsibility," said Mrs. Morton, "and as for James Hancock, he
+is sometimes so grave that he almost alarms me."
+
+"He may be grave, but has he any sense?" asked Mr. Emerson tartly.
+
+"The children seem to think he has a great deal. At any rate I feel sure
+that no difficulty is going to come to us with these three big boys on
+hand and I wouldn't think of taking you on this fatiguing trip, on such a
+hot day," insisted his daughter.
+
+Mr. Emerson looked somewhat relieved although he again assured Mrs.
+Morton that he would be entirely willing to escort her and her flock.
+
+"No farther than the Rosemont station, thank you," she said, smiling.
+
+It was at the station and just as the train was drawing in that Mr.
+Emerson handed Helen a notebook.
+
+"You've taken me by surprise this morning," he said, "and I haven't had
+much time to get up my usual collection of historical poetry, but I
+couldn't let you go off without having something of the kind to remember
+me by."
+
+Helen and the Ethels laughed at this confession, for Mr. Emerson was so
+fond of American history that he was in the habit, whenever they all went
+on trips together, of supplying himself with ballads concerning any
+historical happenings in the district through which they were to travel.
+
+"Philadelphia ought to be a fertile field for you, sir," said James
+Hancock.
+
+"It is," returned the old gentleman, "but you'll escape the full force of
+my efforts this time, thanks to your quick start."
+
+The run to the junction and then to Philadelphia was made in a short
+time. It was fairly familiar to all of them and the country presented no
+beauties to make it remarkable, although Roger pretended to be a guide
+showing wonderful sights to the New Yorkers, Della and Tom.
+
+"Do you think, Mother, we shall have time to look up some of the
+historical places in the city?" asked Helen.
+
+"I thought that would be the most interesting thing to do," Mrs. Morton
+replied. "I shan't have to meet my business people until midday
+to-morrow, so this afternoon and to-morrow morning we can see many points
+of interest if we don't delay too long at each one."
+
+"Being related to the Navy through my paternal ancestor," said Roger in
+large language, "Philadelphia has always interested me because the father
+of old William Penn, its founder, was an Admiral in the English Navy."
+
+"I didn't know that," said Helen.
+
+"Watch me run for base!" exclaimed Roger. "I got one off of Helen on the
+first ball. It isn't often that Helen admits there's something she
+doesn't know about American history."
+
+"You miserable boy! You sound as if I were pretending to be a
+'know-it-all'! There are plenty of things I don't know about American
+history. For instance I know very little about William Penn, except that
+he was a Quaker."
+
+"Well then," said Roger, "allow me to inform you, beloved sister, that
+William Penn was an Oxford man and a preacher in the Society of Friends.
+He seems to have had some pull because the powers gave him a grant of
+Pennsylvania (that means Penn's Woods), in 1680. He went to America two
+years later and founded this minute little town which we are
+approaching."
+
+"Those old Englishmen on the other side certainly had a calm way of
+giving out grants of land without saying anything about it to the
+Indians, didn't they?" said Margaret.
+
+"Penn got along much better with the Indians than many of the heads of
+the colonies. He made a treaty with them, which is said to have been very
+remarkable in two ways; in the first place he wouldn't swear to keep it
+because he was a Quaker, and Quakers won't take an oath; and in the next
+place, he _did_ keep it, which was quite an event in colonial circles!"
+
+"He must have been a good chap," commented Tom.
+
+"You're going to see a statue of him as soon as you get off the train,"
+interposed Mrs. Morton.
+
+"Where is it?" asked Ethel Brown.
+
+"On top of the City Hall. It's the first thing you see when you come out
+of the railroad station. In fact you're so close to the Public Buildings,
+as they're called, that I doubt if you can see the top at all until you
+get farther away from them."
+
+"The statue must be enormous if it's up so high," said Ethel Blue.
+
+"I've been told it was thirty-seven feet high," returned Mrs. Morton,
+"and that the rim of the old gentleman's hat was so wide that a person
+could walk on it comfortably."
+
+"Wouldn't it be fun to do our back step on the edge of his hat!"
+exclaimed Ethel Blue to Ethel Brown, as they looked out the cab which was
+taking them to the hotel, and saw the figure of the benevolent Quaker
+black against the sky some five hundred feet above the ground.
+
+The hotel wherein Mrs. Morton established her flock was "in the heart of
+conservative Philadelphia." Immediately after luncheon they packed
+themselves into a large touring car and began their historical
+explorations.
+
+"If we do things according to time, we ought to go first to all of the
+places that have to do with William Penn," said Helen.
+
+"I'm afraid that might make us jump around the city a little," said Mrs.
+Morton, "because if I am not mistaken, the house that William Penn gave
+to his daughter Letitia, is out in Fairmount Park, and the one belonging
+to his grandson is in the Zoo. We'll see them before we go home, but now
+we had better give our attention to the things that are here in the city.
+To begin with we can go to the little park on whose site William Penn
+made his famous treaty with the Indians. It takes us somewhat out of our
+way, but I know Helen's orderly mind will like to begin there."
+
+Helen smiled at her mother's understanding of her, and the car sped
+northwards along the river front, now given over to business and
+tenements. At the Treaty Park they looked about them with their
+imaginations rather than with their eyes, for there was little of
+interest before them, while the Past held a vision of the elm tree under
+which the group of broad-hatted Friends discussed terms with the
+copper-colored natives. Lieutenant Morton's children were interested in
+seeing not far away the ship building yards where many an American
+battleship had slipped from the ways to pursue her peaceful course upon
+the ocean.
+
+Returning as they had come, they passed on Second Street the site of a
+house in which the Great Settler had lived, and promised themselves to
+remember that in Independence Hall they were to look for a piece of the
+Treaty Tree.
+
+"Everything that isn't called 'Penn' in this town seems to be called
+'Franklin,'" said Ethel Blue, after reading many of the signs on the
+buildings.
+
+"That's because the great Benjamin lived here for most of his life," said
+James, by way of explanation. "He was born in Boston, but he soon
+deserted those cold regions for a warmer clime, and made a name for
+himself here."
+
+"I should say he left it behind him," commented Ethel Blue again as she
+read another sign, this time of a "Penn Laundry."
+
+"Penn and Franklin are the two great men of old Philadelphia, without any
+doubt," said Mrs. Morton, as the machine stopped before Carpenters' Hall.
+
+"Help! Help!" cried Tom. "I blush to state that I don't know Carpenters'
+Hall from a ham sandwich."
+
+Helen looked at him with horror on her face.
+
+"Stand right here before we set foot inside and let me tell you that I am
+perfectly shocked that any American boy, old enough to have graduated
+from high school and to be going to Yale in a few weeks, should make such
+a statement as that!"
+
+She was genuinely troubled about it and Tom flushed as he saw that she
+really was scornful of his ignorance.
+
+"Now, next," she said, "do you know what the Boston Tea Party was?"
+
+Tom meekly said that he remembered that in December, 1773, a number of
+Boston men disguised as Indians had thrown overboard from a ship in the
+harbor, boxes of tea on which they refused to pay the British duty.
+
+Helen nodded approvingly.
+
+"I'm glad you remember that much," she said tartly. "After that Tea Party
+there was a continual and rapid growth of dislike for the Old Country,
+which was trying to tax the colonists, without allowing them any
+representation in the Parliament which was governing them. The feeling
+grew so strong that a Continental Congress, made up of delegates from the
+thirteen original Colonies, was called to meet here in Philadelphia, in
+September, 1774. It met here at Carpenters' Hall," she concluded
+triumphantly.
+
+Tom glanced up at the Hall with an entirely new interest.
+
+"In this same old building?" he asked.
+
+"In this very identical place," said Helen, and then she allowed the
+procession to enter the building.
+
+"September 17, 1774," repeated Ethel Brown thoughtfully. "Why, that was
+the autumn before the battles of Concord and Lexington."
+
+"Yes, the Revolution had not yet begun. The Continental Congress met to
+talk over the situation, and here are the very chairs the members used."
+
+Ethel Blue touched one of them with the tips of her fingers.
+
+"I'm glad I've touched anything as interesting as this," she said.
+
+"Look at the inscription," said James, calling their attention to the
+lettering. "WITHIN THESE WALLS HENRY, HANCOCK AND ADAMS INSPIRED THE
+DELEGATES OF THE COLONIES WITH NERVE AND SINEW FOR THE TOILS OF WAR!"
+
+"John Hancock was my great-great-grandfather's brother," said James
+proudly.
+
+"Good for you, old chap," exclaimed Roger, thumping him on the back,
+while Helen beamed at Margaret.
+
+"How long did these Congressmen chat here?" meekly asked Tom of Helen.
+
+"After about a month they agreed on what they called a Declaration of
+Rights, and they sent it over to Franklin, who was in England, and asked
+him to present it to the House of Commons."
+
+"In the light of after events I suppose the House of Commons didn't take
+a look at it," said Roger.
+
+"They certainly did not," replied Helen, "and the battles of Lexington
+and Concord were the result. You remember they were fought in April of
+1775. Ticonderoga was captured in May of the same year and the battle of
+Bunker Hill was fought in June."
+
+"And Congress kept on sitting while all this fighting was going on?"
+
+"Yes; the men discussed each new move as it was made. Early in June one
+of the members made a motion before the Congress that 'these Colonies
+ought to be Independent.'"
+
+"That idea seems simple enough to us now," said Tom, "but I dare say it
+was startling when a mere colonist proposed to break off with the mother
+country."
+
+"It seems to me it's about time for Grandfather Emerson to have some
+poetry on this period of history," said Ethel Brown. "If he were here,
+I'm sure he would never have let this Congress sit for eight or nine
+months without discovering something in poetry about it."
+
+Helen laughed.
+
+"You certainly understand Grandfather," she said. "In just about a
+minute, while we're going over to Independence Hall, I'm going to read
+you some verses that belong right in here. On the first of July they
+began to debate about this proposal that the colonists should be
+independent. It was a mighty important matter, of course, because if they
+adopted it, it certainly meant war, and if they did not beat in the war,
+it might mean a worse state of affairs than they were in at the present
+moment. So there was much to be said on both sides and it looked as if
+the vote was going to be very close. Here's where Rodney the delegate did
+some hard riding," and Helen took out one of the type-written sheets,
+which her grandfather had given her.
+
+"What Colony did he represent?" asked Ethel Blue.
+
+"Rodney was from Delaware," she returned, "Now listen, while I read you
+this poem."
+
+
+                             "RODNEY'S RIDE
+
+    "In that soft mid-land where the breezes bear
+    The North and South on the genial air,
+    Through the county of Kent, on affairs of state,
+    Rode Cæsar Rodney, the delegate.
+
+    "Burly and big and bold and bluff,
+    In his three-cornered hat and coat of snuff,
+    A foe to King George and the English State,
+    Was Cæsar Rodney, the delegate.
+
+    "Into Dover village he rode apace,
+    And his kinsfolk knew, from his anxious face,
+    It was matter grave that brought him there,
+    To the counties three on the Delaware.
+
+    "'Money and men we must have'm,' he said,
+    'Or the Congress fails and the cause is dead:
+    Give us both and the King shall not work his will.
+    We are men, since the blood of Bunker Hill!'
+
+    "Comes a rider swift on a panting bay:
+    'Ho, Rodney, ho, you must save the day,
+    For the Congress halts at a deed so great,
+    And your vote alone may decide its fate.'
+
+    "Answered Rodney then: 'I will ride with speed;
+    It is Liberty's stress; it is Freedom's need.
+    When stands it?' 'To-night. Not a moment to spare,
+    But ride like the wind from the Delaware.'
+
+    "'Ho, saddle the black! I've but half a day,
+    And the Congress sits eighty miles away--
+    But I'll be in time, if God grants me grace,
+    To shake my fist in King George's face.'
+
+    "He is up: he is off! and the black horse flies
+    On the northward road ere the 'God-speed' dies;
+    It is a gallop and spur as the leagues they clear,
+    And the clustering mile-stones move a-rear.
+
+    "It is two of the clock! and the fleet hoofs fling
+    The Fieldboro's dust with a clang and a cling;
+    It is three; and he gallops with slack rein where
+    The road winds down to the Delaware.
+
+    "Four; and he spurs into New Castle town,
+    From his panting steed he gets trim down--
+    'A fresh one, quick! not a moment's wait!'
+    And off speeds Rodney the delegate.
+
+    "It is five; and the beams of the western sun
+    Tinge the spires of Wilmington gold and dun;
+    Six; and the dust of Chester Street
+    Flies back in a cloud from the courser's feet.
+
+    "It is seven; the horse-boat, broad of beam,
+    At the Schuylkill ferry crawls over the stream--
+    And at seven-fifteen by the Rittenhouse clock,
+    He flings his reins to the tavern jock.
+
+    "The Congress is met; the debate's begun,
+    And Liberty lags for the vote of one--
+    When into the hall, not a moment late,
+    Walks Cæsar Rodney, the delegate.
+
+    "Not a moment late! and that half day's ride
+    Forwards the world with a mighty stride;
+    For the act was passed ere the midnight stroke
+    O'er the Quaker City its echoes woke.
+
+    "At Tyranny's feet was the gauntlet flung;
+    'We are free!' all the bells through the colonies rung,
+    And the sons of the free may recall with pride
+    The day of Delegate Rodney's ride."
+
+"Pretty stirring, isn't it! I take it that the Continental Congress had
+moved over to Independence Hall by this time," said Tom, when the reading
+was done.
+
+"Yes, they were over here, sitting in the East Room, when they passed the
+Declaration of Independence."
+
+An attendant seeing the interested faces of the young people, took them
+about the room and explained the relics to them.
+
+"This," he said, "is the very furniture that was in the room at the time
+of the signing of the Declaration. Right on this very table the Document
+received the signature of the President of the Congress--"
+
+"John Hancock," murmured Helen to James in an undertone.
+
+"--and the rest of them," continued the guide.
+
+"Is the original document here?" asked James, who was thrilling with
+interest, but who preserved the calmness which he inherited from his
+Scottish ancestors.
+
+"No," answered the caretaker. "That is kept at Washington in the Library
+of the State Department, but there is an exact copy of it over there on
+the wall."
+
+Going upstairs, the party remembered to look up the piece of the elm
+tree, under which Penn had signed his Treaty with the Indians, and they
+saw in addition the original Charter of Philadelphia, bearing the date
+1701.
+
+In another room they found some furniture belonging to Washington and
+Penn and various portraits of more historic than artistic interest. They
+enjoyed more seeing some of the boards of the original floor. These were
+carefully kept under glass, as if they were great treasures.
+
+"Now we're going to see the most sacred relic in America, next to the
+Declaration itself," said Helen, leading the way down the staircase at
+whose foot was the famous Liberty Bell, which had rung out its message of
+joy on July 4, 1775, when the delegates passed the Declaration and the
+people of Philadelphia knew that war was before them, and yet were glad
+to meet whatever might be the outcome of the defiance.
+
+They gathered in silence around the bell and read its
+description:--"PROCLAIM LIBERTY TO ALL THE LAND AND TO ALL THE
+INHABITANTS THEREOF." They noticed the crack which ran through it, and
+felt that they were looking upon a real veteran of that far-away time.
+
+"Grandfather told me not to forget to tell you about the little boy who
+gave the signal to the bell-ringer," Helen said. "He was stationed where
+he could see the door-keeper of the room in which the delegates were
+sitting. When the final vote was taken, the door-keeper gave the signal
+to the boy and he ran out, shouting the cry that resounded through the
+colonies, 'Ring! Ring! Ring!'"
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER IX
+                      HELEN DISTINGUISHES HERSELF
+
+
+"Come out into the Park for a few minutes," said Mrs. Morton. "I'm
+perfectly sure Helen has some poetry to read to us before very long, and
+if we can sit down for a minute or two on the benches, we can hear it at
+our convenience."
+
+"The fire of discontent had been smouldering for a long time," said
+Helen, beginning her lecture promptly when they were seated, "and just as
+soon as the Declaration was passed the flames burst out. There was
+fighting all over the colonies from South Carolina to New York City.
+Washington was made Commander-in-Chief of the little Army there, but he
+was quite unable to defeat the large force which the British sent. He
+retreated across New Jersey, and in December of 1776--"
+
+"About a year and a half later," interposed Ethel Brown.
+
+Helen nodded and continued: "he reached the Delaware River. The British
+followed him on the other bank of the river, with the centre of the army
+at Trenton, New Jersey. On Christmas Night of 1776, the future of the
+Colonies looked about as dark as the night itself, but here is what
+happened, told in some of the rhymes that Grandfather found for us." And
+Helen read Virginia Woodward Cloud's poem, called the "Ballad of Sweet
+P."
+
+"She was a spirited girl," said James gravely.
+
+"She was too nice a girl to be a deceiving girl," said Ethel Blue, and a
+vigorous discussion as to how much deception was fair in war time would
+have broken out if Helen had not continued her account of the Revolution
+around Philadelphia.
+
+"At day-break on the 26th of December, Washington entered Trenton and
+surprised the enemy," Helen ended.
+
+"It was in the battle of Trenton and in the battle of Princeton about a
+week later, that our Emerson great-great-great-grandfather fought, wasn't
+it?" said Roger, recalling the account which his grandfather had read to
+the Mortons several times from the old family Bible.
+
+"Yes, don't you remember how he fought against his daughter's English
+lover?"
+
+"We must ask the chauffeur where the Betsy Ross house is," said Mrs.
+Morton, rising and leading the way to the car.
+
+The man knew and set off at once through the few narrow streets, and
+before long they were standing in front of the old-fashioned dwelling.
+
+"Who is the lady?" murmured Tom in an undertone to Ethel Brown,
+pretending to be afraid that Helen would hear him but really speaking
+loudly enough to draw her attention.
+
+"Tom Watkins, you're perfectly dreadful," Helen exclaimed promptly. "Do
+you really mean that you don't know who Betsy Ross was?"
+
+This direct question was too much for Tom's truthfulness and he broke
+into a laugh.
+
+"I don't know that I should have known if I hadn't read the other day a
+tale about a play that some urchins wrote for the stage at Hull House in
+Chicago."
+
+"Did Jane Addams tell the story?"
+
+"She did, so it must be true. It was entirely original with some
+immigrant boys who had been studying American history. It went something
+like this:--in the first act some American Revolutionary soldiers are
+talking together and one of them says, 'Gee, ain't it fierce! We ain't
+got no flag.' The others agreed that it was fierce. In the next act a
+delegation of soldiers approached General Washington. They saluted, and
+then said to him, 'General, we ain't got no flag. Gee, ain't it fierce?'"
+
+Tom's story was received with many giggles.
+
+"What did Washington say?" asked Ethel Blue.
+
+"Washington agreed that it was fierce, and said that he'd do something
+about it, so the next act shows him at the house of Betsy Ross. He said
+to her, 'Mrs. Ross, we ain't got no flag. Ain't it fierce? What shall we
+do about it?'"
+
+"They didn't have a very large vocabulary," laughed Margaret.
+
+"But the American spirit was there," insisted Mrs. Morton.
+
+"What did Betsy say," inquired Ethel Brown.
+
+"Mrs. Ross said, 'It _is_ fierce. You hold the baby, George, and I'll
+make you something right off.'"
+
+"Isn't that perfectly delicious!" gurgled Dorothy.
+
+"And that last realistic scene took place in this little house!" said
+Mrs. Morton, shaking with mirth. "It belongs to the city now, so Betsy's
+patriotism and industry are remembered by many visitors."
+
+"Here's Grandfather's contribution to this moment," smiled Helen as she
+brought out still another of her type-written sheets, and read some lines
+by Minna Irving.
+
+
+                          "BETSY'S BATTLE FLAG
+
+    "From dusk till dawn the livelong night
+    She kept the tallow dips alight,
+    And fast her nimble fingers flew
+    To sew the stars upon the blue.
+    With weary eyes and aching head
+    She stitched the stripes of white and red,
+    And when the day came up the stair
+    Complete across a carven chair
+      Hung Betsy's battle flag.
+
+    "Like the shadows in the evening gray
+    The Continentals filed away,
+    With broken boots and ragged coats,
+    But hoarse defiance in their throats;
+    They bore the marks of want and cold,
+    And some were lame and some were old,
+    And some with wounds untended bled,
+    But floating bravely overhead
+      Was Betsy's battle flag.
+
+    "When fell the battle's leaden rain,
+    The soldier hushed his moan of pain
+    And raised his dying head to see
+    King George's troopers turn and flee.
+    Their charging column reeled and broke,
+    And vanished in the rolling smoke,
+    Before the glory of the stars,
+    The snowy stripes, and scarlet bars
+      Of Betsy's battle flag.
+
+    "The simple stone of Betsy Ross
+    Is covered now with mold and moss,
+    But still her deathless banner flies,
+    And keeps the color of the skies,
+    A nation thrills, a nation bleeds,
+    A nation follows where it leads,
+    And every man is proud to yield
+    His life upon a crimson field
+      For Betsy's battle flag."
+
+"When was it that Washington made his historic visit to Betsy?" asked
+Roger of Helen.
+
+"That was in June of 1776. A year later, on the fourteenth of June, 1777,
+Congress adopted the Stars and Stripes as our flag."
+
+"That's why June 14th is celebrated as Flag Day, I suppose," said Ethel
+Blue.
+
+"I think our flag has more meaning to it than any other flag in the
+world," declared Roger. "The thirteen stripes mean the thirteen original
+colonies, don't they?"
+
+"There were thirteen stars at the beginning. They've added a star for
+every new state that has joined the Union."
+
+"It certainly does make your heart beat to look at it, especially when
+you happen to come on it suddenly as Miss Bates said in those verses of
+hers that we had in our Peace Day Program on Lincoln's Birthday."
+
+"A Russian sea-captain once told me it looked to him like a mosaic," Mrs.
+Morton said.
+
+"But every piece of the mosaic is full of meaning," said Ethel Blue, "and
+mosaics make beautiful pictures any way."
+
+"There was a sad time ahead for Philadelphia in spite of Washington's
+successes at Trenton and Princeton," said Helen, taking up her story once
+more. "The Americans were successful in Vermont and northern New York,
+but in September, 1777, they were defeated at Brandywine Creek, and the
+British marched into Philadelphia a fortnight later and took possession
+of the town."
+
+"Wasn't it about that time that the American army spent the winter at
+Valley Forge?" asked Margaret. "I seem to remember something about their
+living in a great deal of distress, such as the soldiers in Europe are
+enduring now."
+
+"This was the time," confirmed Helen. "Grandfather has a few lines of
+Reed's here telling about it."
+
+    "Such was the winter's awful sight,
+    For many a dreary day and night,
+    What time our country's hope forlorn,
+    Of every needed comfort shorn,
+    Lay housed within a buried tent,
+    Where every keen blast found a rent,
+    And oft the snow was seen to sift
+    Along the floor its piling drift,
+    Or, mocking the scant blanket's fold,
+    Across the night-couch frequent rolled;
+    Where every path by a soldier beat,
+    Or every track where a sentinel stood,
+    Still held the print of naked feet,
+    And oft the crimson stains of blood;
+    Where Famine held her spectral court,
+    And joined by all her fierce allies;
+    She ever loved a camp or fort
+    Beleaguered by the wintry skies,--
+    But chiefly when Disease is by,
+    To sink frame and dim the eye,
+    Until, with seeking forehead bent,
+    In martial garments cold and damp,
+    Pale Death patrols from tent to tent,
+    To count the charnels of the camp.
+
+    Such was the winter that prevailed
+    Within the crowded, frozen gorge;
+    Such were the horrors that assailed
+    The patriot band at Valley Forge."
+
+"How long did the British hold the city?" asked Tom, after he had shaken
+his head over the Americans' troubles.
+
+"Six or eight months," said Helen, "and you can imagine what a thrilling
+time it was for American girls like Sweet P. I can fancy them walking
+daintily along the street turning their heads aside when a British
+officer passed them, as if he were too far beneath their notice for them
+even to glance at."
+
+They all laughed at the picture that Helen's words drew.
+
+"When Sir Henry Clinton evacuated Philadelphia in the middle of June, he
+started for New York. Washington followed him but did not win in the
+skirmish which they fought at Monmouth, New Jersey. The Indians on the
+western frontier had joined the British, and there was some terrible
+fighting there. Our fleet, as a general thing, was successful on the
+ocean. Clinton stayed for more than a year in New York City. Washington
+established himself just above the city where he could keep an eye on
+him."
+
+"Wasn't that the time when my old friend, Anthony Wayne, stirred up a
+little excitement up the Hudson?" asked Roger.
+
+"Yes, it was then he took Stony Point, which we saw when we went up the
+river to West Point. There was fighting in New Jersey and in the South,
+and the British seemed to be getting tired out."
+
+"It was at the end of several sharply fought fields that Cornwallis
+surrendered at Yorktown in Virginia, wasn't it?" inquired Roger.
+
+Tom looked at him with exaggerated respect.
+
+"It certainly is a great thing to be related to the Army and Navy. Here's
+Helen, a walking 'History of the Revolution,' and old Roger actually
+remembering something about Cornwallis's surrender!"
+
+"Bah!" acknowledged Roger.
+
+"They tell a story about the way that Philadelphia heard the news of the
+surrender," interposed the caretaker of the Betsy Ross house, who had
+been listening to the conversation. "There was an old German watchman
+walking the streets, and calling the hours through the night, as was the
+custom then. He cried out; 'Bast dree o'clock and Cornvallis ist daken.'
+People who had turned over in bed growling when they had been awakened by
+him before, were only too thankful to hear his hoarse voice croaking out
+the good news."
+
+"That was in October, 1781," went on Helen, after nodding her thanks to
+the caretaker for his addition to the story. "It took a good many months
+for the British to leave the country, for transportation was a difficult
+matter at that time."
+
+"I'll bet you the Americans were thankful to have peace," exclaimed
+James.
+
+"It sounds to me very much as if the British were, too," said Roger. "Any
+country must be grateful for a rest from such long distress."
+
+"Grandfather's poetry is by Freneau this time," said Helen. "I'm going to
+read you only two stanzas of it."
+
+    "The great unequal conflict past,
+    The Britons banished from our shore,
+    Peace, heaven-descended, comes at last,
+    And hostile nations rage no more;
+    From fields of death the weary swain
+    Returning, seeks his native plain.
+
+    In every vale she smiles serene,
+    Freedom's bright stars more radiant rise,
+    New charms she adds to every scene,
+    Her brighter sun illumes our skies.
+    Remotest realms admiring stand,
+    And hail the HERO of our Land."
+
+"Who is the Hero?" inquired Tom. "Washington, I suppose."
+
+"Yes, indeed," said Helen. "These verses were written when he was
+traveling through Philadelphia on his way to Mt. Vernon."
+
+"I know enough American history to tell you that he didn't stay there
+long," said Tom, proud of being able to bring forward one sure piece of
+information. "He was made President on his war record. That I do know."
+
+They all applauded this contribution. The care-taker of the house again
+could not resist joining the conversation.
+
+"The five years after the signing of the Treaty of Peace in 1783 were
+very critical years," he said. "The new country had almost no money and
+no definite policy, now that they had cut themselves free from England.
+Somebody proposed a Federal Convention and it met here in Philadelphia in
+1787."
+
+"What did they want to do this time?" asked Margaret.
+
+"Now they had to draw up some sort of Constitution for the new country.
+Washington was chosen President of the Convention and they worked from
+May until September in planning the Constitution, which they nick-named
+the 'New Roof.'"
+
+"Yes, I know about that," cried Helen. "Grandfather gave me a poem about
+that. He thought we'd be especially interested in it on account of
+Dorothy knowing so much about the building of a house,"--and she read
+them the old poem called 'The New Roof,' by Francis Hopkinson, one of the
+signers of the Declaration of Independence.
+
+    Come muster, my lads, your mechanical tools,
+    Your saws and your axes, your hammers and rules;
+    Bring your mallets and planes, your level and line,
+    And plenty of pins of American pine:
+    _For our roof we will raise, and our song still shall be,_
+    _Our government firm, and our citizens free._
+
+    Come, up with _the plates_, lay them firm on the wall,
+    Like the people at large, they're the ground-work of all;
+    Examine them well, and see that they're sound,
+    Let no rotten part in our building be found:
+    _For our roof we will raise, and our song still shall be_
+    _A government firm, and our citizens free._
+
+    Now hand up the _girders_, lay each in its place,
+    Between them the _joists_, must divide all the space;
+    Like assemblymen _these_ should lie level along,
+    Like _girders_, our senate prove loyal and strong:
+    _For our roof we will raise, and our song still shall be_
+    _A government firm over citizens free._
+
+    The rafters now frame; your _king-posts_ and _braces_,
+    And drive your pins home, to keep all in their places;
+    Let wisdom and strength in the fabric combine,
+    And your pins be all made of American pine:
+    _For our roof we will raise, and our song still shall be_
+    _A government firm over citizens free._
+
+    Our _king-posts_ are _judges_: how upright they stand,
+    Supporting the _braces_; the laws of the land:
+    The laws of the land, which divide right from wrong,
+    And strengthen the weak, by weak'ning the strong:
+    _For our roof we will raise, and our song still shall be_
+    _Laws equal and just, for a people that's free._
+
+    Up! up with the _rafters_; each frame is a _state_:
+    How nobly they rise! their span, too, how great!
+    From the north to the south, o'er the whole they extend,
+    And rest on the walls, whilst the walls they defend:
+    _For our roof we will raise, and our song still shall be_
+    _Combine in strength, yet as citizens free._
+
+    Now enter the _purlins_, and drive your pins through;
+    And see that your joints are drawn home and all true.
+    The _purlins_ will bind all the rafters together:
+    The strength of the whole shall defy wind and weather:
+    _For our roof we will raise, and our song still shall be_
+    _United as states, but as citizens free._
+
+    Come, raise up the _turret_; our glory and pride;
+    In the center it stands, o'er the whole to _preside_:
+    The sons of Columbia shall view with delight
+    Its pillars, and arches, and towering height:
+    _Our roof is now rais'd, and our song still shall be,_
+    _A federal head o'er a people that's free._
+
+    Huzza! my brave boys, our work is complete;
+    The world shall admire Columbia's fair seat;
+    Its strength against tempest and time shall be proof,
+    And thousands shall come to dwell under our roof:
+    _Whilst we drain the deep bowl, our toast still shall be,_
+    _Our government firm, and our citizens free._
+
+"Now that we have put the United States on a good running foundation, I
+think we might finish up our Revolutionary history by whirling out to
+Valley Forge," said Mrs. Morton. "It's a delightful ride, and I think we
+could do it comfortably in what is left of the afternoon."
+
+"I shall be glad," said Helen, pretending extreme fatigue, "for these
+ignorant people have made me work so hard remembering dates and things,
+that I'm quite exhausted, and I'd like to sit still and view the scenery
+for a while."
+
+The chauffeur said that he could manage the ride and even give them time
+for a walk when they reached their destination, if they were not in a
+hurry to return.
+
+"I think it would be fun to come back in the evening," said Margaret, and
+they started off with great satisfaction.
+
+As they passed Fairmount Park they promised themselves to see it in
+detail in the morning, but now there was only time to notice that much of
+it had been left in a natural condition, which was far more beautiful
+than any results that Art could have brought about.
+
+The road lay through a rolling country with pleasant suburban towns and
+comfortable-looking farm houses. At Valley Forge they felt like real
+pilgrims at a shrine, for they remembered the bitter suffering of the
+American soldiers and the even greater mental anguish of their leader,
+who sometimes felt that he had led his brave men into this distress, and
+might not be able to lead them to the victory which he must have, if the
+colonies were to become independent of the land they had sprung from.
+
+Across the surrounding hills they walked, reading with utmost interest
+the monuments and markers which commemorate events and places and people
+connected with this fateful winter. Below swept the Schuylkill River,
+between peaceful banks, far different from those that hem it in farther
+down, as it runs through the great city.
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER X
+                   THE LAND OF "CAT-FISH AND WAFFLES"
+
+
+It was a tired party that tumbled into bed that night but the long ride
+in the fresh air made them sleep like tops and they awoke the next
+morning entirely refreshed, and ready to start out again on their
+investigations of the City of Brotherly Love.
+
+"To-day I am not going to open my mouth," said Helen. "I talked
+altogether too much yesterday."
+
+"You were a wonder," said Tom, admiringly. "I wish I could remember dates
+the way you do."
+
+"Hush," said Helen, with a finger on her lip. "My energetic grandfather
+blocked out the whole history of Philadelphia in the revolutionary days
+for me, so it was not my unaided memory that reeled off all that
+information. Any way, I'm going to sit back and have the rest of you
+inform me to-day about the places we shall see."
+
+"What are we going to see?" inquired Roger. "Mother, you know this
+village; can't you make out a list for us?"
+
+Mrs. Morton said that she had some suggestions to make and Roger jotted
+them down in a book.
+
+"There are one or two churches," she said, "which have an interest
+because they are old, or have connection with some important person or
+because there is some strangeness about the way they are built."
+
+"I shall like those," said Ethel Blue. "I'm going to try to draw some of
+the doorways for Miss Graham. She asked me to draw any little thing about
+buildings that I thought would interest her."
+
+"You'll see some old-timey doorways in Rittenhouse Square," said Mrs.
+Morton. "That is like Washington Square in New York, only here the whole
+square has been preserved in its former beauty. You'll find more than one
+doorway, and which will be worth putting into your sketch book."
+
+"Would it take too much time to see the Mint?" asked James. "I shouldn't
+want to suggest it if it will take too long, but it would be awfully
+interesting."
+
+"I had the Mint on my list," said Mrs. Morton, tapping her forehead.
+
+"I'll transfer it from that spot to paper," laughed Roger.
+
+"I hope we can get the same chauffeur we had yesterday," said Ethel
+Brown; "he knew a lot about things."
+
+"I suppose he's accustomed to driving tourists," replied her mother.
+
+As good fortune would have it they were able to secure the same car, and
+the good-natured driver beamed at them, as they stowed themselves away as
+they had the day before. Mrs. Morton told him the chief "sights" which
+they wanted to see, and directed him to point out anything that they
+passed which would have some interest for the young people.
+
+First they went over to the old part of the town along the Delaware, to
+find one of the churches of which Mrs. Morton had spoken. On the way they
+stopped at Christ Church. Its high box pews seemed to them full of
+dignity, and they imagined the elaborately arranged head-dresses of the
+ladies and powdered wigs of the gentlemen, rising above the old-fashioned
+seats. The pulpit was high up on one side of the chancel.
+
+"This is the church that was presided over by Bishop White, the first
+Episcopal bishop of Pennsylvania," said Mrs. Morton. "He was influential
+in organizing the Episcopal Church in this country."
+
+Out in the graveyard, whose quiet seemed strangely out of place amid the
+hurry of the city, they found many stones bearing well-known names, among
+them that of Benjamin Franklin.
+
+"He died in 1790," read Delia, from the stone. "Wasn't that just about
+the time Washington was elected President?"
+
+"One year after," said Helen, who could not resist giving historical
+information. "The first real American Congress after the separation of
+the country from England met here in Philadelphia in 1789, and elected
+Washington as President."
+
+"You can't escape a little history as long as Sister Helen is around,"
+murmured Roger.
+
+"It wasn't I who started it," retorted Helen.
+
+"Now, children, be quiet. You may thank your stars that your sister knows
+so much about history," said Mrs. Morton; "it would be an excellent
+thing, Roger, if you stowed away some of it in your brain, too."
+
+"Yes'm," answered Roger meekly.
+
+It was while the car was on its way to the second old church of their
+search that the chauffeur asked James, who was sitting beside him, if he
+knew that "Hail Columbia" was written in Philadelphia.
+
+"I certainly didn't," said James. "Helen, did you know that 'Hail
+Columbia' was written in Philadelphia?"
+
+"No, I didn't know that," said Helen. "Tell me about it."
+
+With his eyes on the road and his hands on the wheel the chauffeur told
+James, who repeated the story over his shoulder to those in the back of
+the car, that while John Adams was president, there was a war scare,
+because French vessels were supposed to be off the coast ready to attack
+American merchant vessels. A man named John Hopkinson wrote the poem,
+which was sung one night at the Chestnut Street Theatre.
+
+"You mean our 'Hail Columbia'--the regular 'Hail Columbia'?" asked Ethel
+Brown.
+
+The chauffeur nodded at Ethel Brown. Her memory for verses was always
+good and she repeated the first stanza of the stirring song.
+
+    "Hail Columbia, happy land!
+    Hail! Ye Heroes, heaven-born band,
+    Who fought and bled in freedom's cause,
+    Who fought and bled in freedom's cause,
+    And when the storm of war was gone,
+    Enjoyed the peace your valor won;
+    Let independence be your boast,
+    Ever mindful what it cost,
+    Ever grateful for the prize,
+    Let its altar reach the skies."
+
+They all joined in the chorus.
+
+    "Firm united let us be,
+    Rallying round our liberty,
+    As a band of brothers joined,
+    Peace and safety we shall find."
+
+Almost on the river, toward the southern end of the town, was the church
+which the chauffeur called "Old Swedes Church," and whose correct name,
+Mrs. Morton said, was "Gloria Dei."
+
+"How old is it?" asked Dicky who was beginning to understand that they
+were on a historical pilgrimage. They all laughed at his seriousness, and
+his mother answered.
+
+"This building is only a little over two centuries old--but it's on the
+site of an old wooden church that was built in 1646. It was a Swedish
+church, originally, and then the whole congregation turned Episcopal."
+
+"It doesn't look as if they lived around the church in any great
+numbers," said Tom, gazing about him.
+
+"Most of the parishioners live now a long way from here," said the
+chauffeur, "but they love the church because they are the descendants of
+the original founders, and they come from great distances to the morning
+services and stay to Sunday School, old people and young ones, too, and
+cook their dinner in the Parish House."
+
+"That sounds like a New England village church to which all the farmers
+from around about come for the day," said Margaret Hancock. "I used to
+see them when I was a little girl and we went to New Hampshire for the
+summer. They bring their lunch and eat it under the trees between
+services."
+
+"Since we seem to be doing churches, we ought to go to a Quaker Meeting
+House," suggested Mrs. Morton, turning to the chauffeur for information.
+
+"There is one up on 12th Street, madam," he responded. "There's a boys'
+school connected with it that is very well known--the Penn Charter
+School. Lots of the old Quaker families send their boys there still."
+
+"I don't suppose there would be a meeting to-day," inquired Helen.
+
+The chauffeur shook his head.
+
+"You wouldn't like it, any way," he said. "I'm a Quaker myself, and I
+know when I was your age it was awfully hard work to keep still so long."
+
+"Is it worse than any other kind of church?" asked Dicky.
+
+The driver nodded again, dexterously avoiding a big truck as he answered.
+
+"The congregation just sits there until the Spirit moves someone to
+speak. I've been there many a time when they sat for two hours and
+nothing happened at all."
+
+"Dear me," exclaimed Ethel Blue, shaking her head gravely; "I don't
+believe I could keep still as long as that."
+
+"I dare say it's just as well that there is no meeting to-day," said Mrs.
+Morton. "Any way, I don't know that I should approve of your going to a
+religious service out of curiosity."
+
+Tom nodded in agreement with Mrs. Morton.
+
+"I'm sure Father wouldn't like it," he said.
+
+Tom's father was a clergyman in New York.
+
+"He doesn't object to our going to other churches," he went on, "but he
+has seen so much of tourists who come to New York and go around the city,
+taking in three or four churches on Sunday morning merely to hear the
+music or some celebrated speaker, that he has always warned us children
+against being 'religious rubber-necks.'"
+
+They all laughed and contented themselves with looking at the outside of
+the severely plain meeting-house.
+
+The tour over the Mint was filled with interest for all of them.
+
+"This is the oldest Mint in the United States," the guide explained to
+them.
+
+"What's the date?" Helen could not resist asking, although Roger shook
+his head at her and Tom visibly smothered a smile.
+
+"1792" the man replied. "We turn out gold and silver and copper here and
+we've done a great deal of minting for South America, and, of late years,
+for the Philippines."
+
+The boys were most interested in the processes by which the discs were
+cut out of plain sheets of metal and were then fed into tubes of just the
+right size to hold them, until they reached the stamping machine which
+gave them the impress they were to wear through life.
+
+"Those new gold pieces are certainly beauties," said Roger, looking at
+the eagle flying through the air on one coin and then at the same
+majestic bird standing with dignity on another.
+
+"I don't think this Indian has a very handsome nose," said Ethel Blue,
+critically, as she examined a five-cent piece.
+
+"But think how appropriate it is,--the noble red-man on one side of the
+nickel, and the buffalo of the plains on the other," returned James.
+
+The girls were more interested in the coin collection in the Mint's
+museum. Here they saw not only American coins, from the earliest to the
+most recent, but coins of other countries. One of them was the tiny bit
+of metal known as the "Widow's Mite."
+
+"The Widow didn't have to be very muscular to carry that around,"
+commented Roger.
+
+"But she must have had a separate bag to put it in or it would have been
+lost," returned practical Ethel Brown.
+
+"There's nothing doing in the Academy of Fine Arts now, ma'am," the
+chauffeur told Mrs. Morton, when she got into the car again. "It has a
+grand exhibition every winter but it's closed for the summer. Would you
+like to see the collections?"
+
+The question was put to the party and they agreed that they would prefer
+to stay out of doors in this brilliant summer weather.
+
+"We'll make an expedition to the Metropolitan Museum some day before
+long," promised Mrs. Morton.
+
+"I wish we might do it soon," said Dorothy. "Miss Graham said she'd go
+with us, and I think we should learn a lot from her because she's half an
+artist."
+
+"Let's ask her to take us as soon as we get back," said Ethel Blue. "I'm
+crazy about her, and this would be a good chance for us to be with her
+for almost all day."
+
+"I'll see that you have your opportunity soon," her Aunt Marion promised
+her.
+
+"We have time to run out to Mt. Airy this morning," suggested the
+chauffeur. "Then after luncheon, you could go to the Park and the Zoo in
+the afternoon."
+
+"What is Mt. Airy?" asked Della.
+
+"One of the finest deaf and dumb asylums in America," replied the young
+man proudly.
+
+Della shook her head and the rest of them pulled such long faces Mrs.
+Morton could not resist smiling.
+
+"I rather think these young people care more for human beings who can
+talk and hear," she said to the chauffeur. "At any rate," she went on,
+looking at her watch, "I must meet my business appointment now, so I
+suggest, Roger, that you take our party to Wanamaker's. You can see a lot
+of interesting things there, and can have your luncheon, and I'll meet
+you there when I am through with my business."
+
+So it was arranged, and the chauffeur was ordered for three o'clock to
+take them to Fairmount Park.
+
+At the appointed hour his cheerful face greeted them once again. Because
+of the Mortons' interest in the Navy, they first ran south to the League
+Island Navy Yard. Even their familiarity with many Navy Yards did not
+lessen their interest in this one, with its rows of officers' houses and
+its barracks and mess-room. Just because they were so familiar with
+similar places, however, they did not stay long, and the car was soon
+whirling northwards to the opposite end of the city. They went through
+miles and miles of streets lined with small houses.
+
+"These are the houses which have given Philadelphia the nick-name of the
+'City of Homes,'" exclaimed Mrs. Morton. "You see, in New York people are
+crowded on to a small tongue of land, between two rivers. Here there are
+two rivers also, but the space between them is wider. There's nothing to
+prevent the city's crossing the Schuylkill and running westward, as it
+began to do many long years ago."
+
+"These houses aren't very beautiful," commented Ethel Blue.
+
+"They are very neat," said Ethel Brown. "But don't you get tired of these
+red bricks and white shutters, and the little flights of white marble
+steps, all alike? I don't see how anybody knows when he has come home. I
+should think people would all the time be getting into their neighbors'
+houses by mistake."
+
+"It is much more wholesome for a family to have a house to itself, than
+for many families to be crowded into one building," said Mrs. Morton.
+
+"I don't see why," objected Tom, who had been born and reared in New
+York. "The large buildings are wonderfully constructed now-a-days for
+ventilation and sanitation. They couldn't be better in that respect."
+
+"That's true," said Mrs. Morton, "but a family loses something of its
+privacy when it lives in a building with other people. The householder is
+responsible for his own heating, his own side-walk, and so on, for all
+matters whose good care makes for the happiness of his family. The
+apartment dweller loses that work for the well-being of his family, when
+he lets go its responsibility."
+
+"I dare say you are right, Mrs. Morton," said Tom, "but in these days of
+co-operation, it seems to me you gain something by uniting, as apartment
+house people practically do, to hire some one to take the responsibility
+of the heating arrangements, the side-walks, the ashes, and so on."
+
+"It all depends on the conditions," returned Mrs. Morton. "In New York,
+especially on Manhattan Island, where land is so valuable that buildings
+must go up in the air, such co-operation has become desirable, but where
+there is plenty of space, it seems better for every household to be
+separate as far as possible."
+
+The chauffeur called their attention, as they passed through Logan
+Square, to the fact that this was the fourth city square they had seen
+since they had been in his care.
+
+"On our way south from the Penn Treaty Park, we went through Franklin
+Square, and then you saw Washington Square when you were down by
+Independence Hall. This morning you saw Rittenhouse Square. Logan is the
+fourth. These four squares were laid out by William Penn as a part of the
+original design of the city."
+
+Not far from Logan Square they were enabled to reach the bank of the
+Schuylkill, and the rest of the afternoon they spent in the lovely Park
+through which flows this river and the picturesque little Wissahickon.
+
+Their first visit was to the Zoo, which the chauffeur told them was one
+of the finest in the United States. They invested in peanuts and small
+cakes and made themselves popular with the animals whose cages they
+passed.
+
+Then they drove on, gliding swiftly in and out among the stately trees
+which the engineers of the Park had had the good sense to leave as they
+found them. Along the Wissahickon they noticed many small inns, all of
+which showed signs, inviting passers-by to come in and partake of
+"Cat-fish and Waffles."
+
+"I can understand the waffle supply being limited only by the energy of
+the cooks," exclaimed Roger, as he read one of the numerous summonses,
+"but if they catch the cat-fish in the Wissahickon they must keep an army
+of fishermen out in the boats all day long!"
+
+"I wish we could go out on the river," murmured Helen, as they whirled
+along the banks of the Schuylkill. "It looks so refreshing there."
+
+"I think we can get a barge at one of these boat houses and go up the
+river a little way," suggested Mrs. Morton, turning inquiringly to the
+chauffeur.
+
+"It's a pretty bit from about here up to a place called 'The Lilacs,'" he
+answered. "It's a pretty little club house."
+
+"Oh, do lets do it," cried Ethel Blue excitedly. "It would be lovely."
+
+So they went to a near-by boat house and made the arrangements. The boats
+were large, with seats for four rowers besides the seats in the stern and
+bow.
+
+The Ethels had learned to row at Chautauqua the summer before, so they
+occupied one seat.
+
+The three boys each took one of the other seats, each rowing a single
+oar. Helen sat on the seat with Tom, Margaret with Roger, and Dorothy
+with James.
+
+Mrs. Morton and Dicky sat in the stern, and Della played look-out in the
+bow.
+
+It was a charming pull between shores beautiful by nature and gay with
+boat houses from which merry parties were establishing themselves in
+boats and barges and canoes. The rowers found the trip not too hard upon
+the muscles, even the Ethels saying that they were not at all tired, when
+The Lilacs came in sight.
+
+The car met them at the Club House because they had to go back to the
+hotel and pack their bags in order to catch the train for home. The
+chauffeur had brought up with him a man from the boat house, to take the
+barge back where it belonged.
+
+They returned over different streets to the city so that they felt that
+they had a good idea of the geography of the town.
+
+"I've had a perfectly stunning time, Mrs. Morton," said Tom, as he bade
+her "Good-bye" on the train and thanked her for her care. "It has been
+splendid fun, and my only grief is that I am afraid Helen may have
+fatigued her brain, remembering all that history!"
+
+Helen wrinkled her nose at him, but she laughed good-naturedly and agreed
+with him that the trip had been great fun.
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER XI
+                           LIGHTS AND A FALL
+
+
+It was not often that Ethel Blue took a violent fancy to any one.
+Although she had something of the temperament that artists claim to have,
+she also had great reserve, and she found the companionship of her
+cousins, Ethel Brown and Dorothy, quite sufficient for her.
+
+Now, however, she was filled with admiration for Margaret's aunt, Miss
+Graham. Miss Graham suited her in so many ways. She was good to look at,
+and Ethel found herself gazing at her wholesome, amiable face, filled
+with life and earnestness and fun, and enjoyed it quite as much as if she
+had great beauty.
+
+Then, Miss Graham, because of her occupation as an interior decorator,
+knew something about art, and Ethel Blue wanted to know how to draw and
+paint, and how to appreciate pictures. She found that she never met Miss
+Graham without realizing afterwards that she had learned something from
+her. Perhaps it was only the meaning of a new phrase, or perhaps Miss
+Daisy called her attention to the light on the group of figures in some
+picture, or to the harmonies of color in the landscape. Whatever it was,
+it was not brought out in any preachy way and yet Ethel Blue found
+herself with quite a store of information that had come from her new
+friend.
+
+Miss Graham did not seem to single out Ethel Blue for particular
+attention. They naturally drifted together when there was a large party,
+because their tastes were similar.
+
+"I think your aunt Daisy is nicer than any aunt in the world except my
+aunt Marion," Ethel Blue confided to Margaret one day.
+
+"That's just about what James and I think," said Margaret.
+
+"Has she finished her Englewood house?" inquired Ethel.
+
+"Yes, that was done some time ago. That's why she has been able to go to
+see Mrs. Smith so many times recently. She has spent several afternoons
+at Sweetbrier Lodge, you know."
+
+Remembering this, Ethel Blue went to the new house one afternoon
+especially to see if Miss Graham was there. She had no definite reason
+for doing so--she merely thought she would like to see her. By good luck
+Miss Graham was there, as she had brought out some samples of hangings to
+show to Mrs. Smith, and she was waiting on the terrace for her to come,
+and resting as she waited.
+
+"I'm glad to see you, child," she called to Ethel Blue, and Ethel did not
+resent being called a child, for she realized that it was merely an
+endearing word coming from Miss Daisy's lips.
+
+"Bring one of those canvas chairs over here beside me," she urged, "and
+we'll look at the view and talk a while."
+
+"Isn't it going to be lovely when the real furniture is on the terrace
+here?" said Ethel Blue eagerly.
+
+"The view is lovely, no matter what the chairs are," returned Miss
+Graham, smiling at her affectionately. "When do you think your aunt is
+coming?"
+
+"I don't know. Did she expect you? Shall I run back to the house and tell
+her you are here?"
+
+"No, probably I'm a little early and I shall enjoy sitting here and
+talking with you until she comes."
+
+Ethel felt much complimented by this desire on Miss Graham's part and
+placed her chair beside her.
+
+Their eyes looked out across the field with its brook and the trees that
+sheltered Mr. Emerson's house. Across the street the meadows, rich with
+the field flowers of late summer, stretched away towards the distant
+river, and beyond that were more trees rearing their heights across the
+sky.
+
+As they looked a shadow fell on the meadow and moved swiftly across it.
+
+"It looks as if some huge birds were flying between the earth and the
+sun," smiled Miss Daisy.
+
+"Doesn't it go fast!" returned Ethel Blue.
+
+"Notice the change in the color of the meadow, when the sunlight is
+hidden for a minute and then falls again on the vegetation."
+
+Ethel Blue nodded, for she saw that the change was almost as if a sheet
+of colored glass had been held over a strong electric light.
+
+"Sometimes during a thunder shower," she said, "I've seen awfully queer
+colors over in that meadow."
+
+"The air is charged with electric particles sometimes," explained Miss
+Daisy, "and you are looking through them. You get different color effects
+during an ordinary rain storm, too."
+
+"I think rain over that meadow is going to be one of the prettiest things
+Dorothy will see from this terrace," said Ethel Blue.
+
+"She will have a long sweep to watch and a shower moves sometimes fast
+and sometimes slowly, so there will be opportunity to notice many
+changes," suggested Miss Graham.
+
+"I wonder if Aunt Louise is going to have electric lights out here on the
+porch," said Ethel Blue. "They will draw the mosquitoes like everything."
+
+"But she won't mind that because she can stay inside of her wire cage,"
+answered Miss Daisy. "Surely she's going to have electric lights. Don't
+you see the wires already put in?"
+
+"Of course," answered Ethel Blue. "How stupid of me! Those black ends are
+poking out all over the house and somehow I never thought what they were
+for."
+
+"Then you haven't noticed the lighting scheme that your Aunt and Dorothy
+have worked out. Let's walk through the house now, and see just how she
+has arranged it."
+
+They went through the door of the screen into the enclosed portion and
+then into the dining room.
+
+"Most people have one of those hang-down lights over the dining table,"
+said Ethel Blue. "I don't see any wire for one here. I'm glad Aunt Louise
+isn't going to have one. They never are the right height. You always have
+to be dodging under them to see the person across from you and the light
+shines on the table so brilliantly that you're almost afraid to eat
+anything it falls on."
+
+Miss Graham laughed at Ethel's vigorous protest, but she said that she,
+too, did not like a central light over the dining table.
+
+"There is no need of a very brilliant light in a dining room," she said.
+"You can see the people about the table without any difficulty in a
+subdued light and the general effect is far more beautiful than when
+people are sitting in a glare."
+
+"I think candle light is prettiest for the dining room," said Ethel Blue.
+
+"It is prettiest for the table," replied Miss Graham. "The place where
+you really want a strong light is over the serving table behind the
+screen. You don't want the maid to make any mistakes just because she
+can't see clearly the dishes she is handling. There you need a strong
+light, but it can be placed so low that the screen shields it for the
+room and it will not interfere with the dimmer light of the rest of the
+room."
+
+"I suppose there ought to be other lights in the room," said Ethel Blue.
+"You might find that there weren't any candles in the house some evening
+and then it would be awful to have only this light over the serving table
+and none of them in other parts of the room."
+
+Miss Graham laughed at the possibility of such a disaster.
+
+"There can be side-lights over the mantel-place," she said, "electric
+lights that look like candles, with pretty candle shades, and one or two
+similar arrangements on the other side of the room."
+
+"Don't you ever put a central light in the dining rooms you decorate?"
+asked Ethel Blue.
+
+"Sometimes I let the light flow out from a dull, golden globe set into
+the ceiling over the table. The glass of the bowl is so thick that only a
+gentle radiance comes from it and yet it ekes out the light from the
+candles."
+
+"Ethel Brown is particularly pleased with the switch out in the
+vestibule," said Ethel Blue. "You see you can come home when the house is
+all dark, and light the electricity in the hall by turning on the switch
+outside of the front door. Wouldn't it be a good joke on a burglar, if he
+did it by accident some night when he was trying to get in," laughed the
+young girl.
+
+"It's a capital invention," said Miss Graham. "You notice your aunt has
+side lights here in the hall. Have you ever happened to be in a house
+where they were moving the furniture about and every piece that passed
+the hall chandelier gave it a rap?"
+
+"That's the way it is in the house we're in now," said Ethel. "Every time
+any one goes away and the express man brings down a trunk, he hits the
+light in the hall. I don't know how many globes Aunt Marion has had
+broken that way."
+
+Upstairs they found the same side-lighting in all the bed rooms.
+
+"The theory of it is," said Miss Graham, "that when you want to see
+anything very clearly, you put in a light close to the place where you
+need to work. If you are going to arrange your hair before your dressing
+table, you want a light directly over your dressing glass. If you are
+going to read you turn on a light beside your reading stand. An upper
+light is usually for general illumination and a side light for real
+service."
+
+"A combination of the two lights makes a room ready for anything," said
+Ethel Blue.
+
+"I want you to notice particularly the fixtures that your Aunt Louise has
+selected for indirect lighting," said Miss Graham. "She has chosen
+beautiful bowls that look like alabaster. They turn upwards and the bulbs
+are hidden in them. The strong glare is against the ceiling so that the
+people get only the reflected light. There is to be one of those bowls on
+a high standard in the front hall, and one at the turn of the stair-case.
+They look like ancient Roman urns, giving forth a marvelous radiance."
+
+"I think that will be prettier than some clear, engraved glass covers,
+that I saw the other day," said Ethel Blue. "They showed the bulbs right
+through."
+
+"Far prettier," agreed Miss Graham. "The whole object of this indirect
+light is to make your room seem to be lighted by a glow whose real origin
+you hardly know. Of course your intelligence tells you that there are
+electric bulbs up there, but you don't want really to see them."
+
+"It seems to me that people must be thinking more about how to make
+things pretty than they used to," said Ethel Blue. "When Ethel Brown's
+grandfather built his house, Aunt Marion says it was thought very
+handsome by everybody in Rosemont. It has lots of convenient things in
+it, and plenty of brilliant lights, but the fixtures aren't pretty and
+the idea seems to be to make just as big a shine as possible."
+
+"Nowadays," said Miss Graham, "people try to make the useful things
+beautiful also whenever they can."
+
+"I'm glad to learn all about a house," said Ethel Blue, "because some
+time I may have to keep house for my father and I want to know everything
+there is to know. Of course army people have to live in Uncle Sam's
+houses, but still there are always different arrangements you can
+introduce, even in a government house."
+
+"I'm sure you'll be able to make useful everything you learn," said Miss
+Graham, "and your father will be pleased with whatever makes the house
+lovelier and more comfortable."
+
+"I've always meant to ask whether you didn't know my father," said Ethel
+Blue. "He is at Fort Myer, near Washington."
+
+"Captain Richard Morton," said Miss Daisy. "Yes, indeed. I know a great
+many of the officers and their families at Fort Myer. I've met your
+father and I know him well."
+
+"Isn't he the dearest old darling that ever walked?" said Ethel Blue,
+bouncing with enthusiasm.
+
+"He certainly is a very nice person," agreed Miss Graham, smiling, "and
+he thinks he has one of the finest daughters who ever walked."
+
+"Does he really?" cried Ethel Blue. "I'm so glad he does! You see, I so
+seldom see him that sometimes I'm afraid he'll forget all about me. Once
+when he came to Rosemont, I passed him in the street when he was walking
+up from the station, and he didn't know me and I didn't know him. Wasn't
+that perfectly frightful?"
+
+"That was too bad," agreed Miss Graham.
+
+"Somehow I've never thought of being able to live with him," said Ethel
+Blue. "You know I've always lived with Aunt Marion, because my mother
+died when I was a little bit of a baby, but the other day somebody said
+something about my going to Father later on, and I haven't been able to
+think of anything else since."
+
+"I know he wants you," said Miss Graham.
+
+"Has he spoken to you about it?"
+
+"Yes, often."
+
+"I suppose I'll have to be a million times older than I am now, before he
+thinks I'm able to take care of him," said Ethel Blue.
+
+"I don't believe it will be a whole million years," smiled Miss Graham.
+
+"I shall feel dreadfully to leave Aunt Marion and Ethel Brown. I've never
+been away from Ethel Brown more than three or four days in my whole
+life," said Ethel Brown's twin cousin, "but if my father needs me, why of
+course, I must go."
+
+"Indeed you must," returned Miss Graham, "and I'm sure he wants you just
+as soon as he can send for you."
+
+Ethel Blue was so overjoyed at this opinion, that she jumped up on the
+ledge on the top of the parapet running around the terrace, and danced
+with delight the fancy step--"One, two, three, back; one, two, three,
+back"--with which she and Ethel Brown were accustomed to express great
+satisfaction with the way in which life was treating them.
+
+To Miss Graham's horror, Ethel Blue's enthusiasm blinded her eyes and her
+third back step took her off the parapet. She fell to the ground and
+rolled down the hill, her slender little body bouncing from rock to rock
+with cruel force and increasing speed.
+
+Miss Graham gave a cry of distress and vaulted over the parapet with the
+ease which she had acquired in the gymnasium in her college days. Running
+the risk of rolling down hill herself, she bounded down the steep slope,
+and reached the foot almost as soon as did the body of the young girl,
+which lay very still, its head against the stone which had brought
+unconsciousness.
+
+Miss Graham turned over the limp little form, shuddering as she saw the
+bruise on the forehead. She tried to lift it but found she could make no
+progress up the steep knoll. Again and again she called to the workmen in
+the house, and finally two of them appeared at an upper window and made
+gestures of understanding when she beckoned to them. They leaped down the
+hill with long strides, and soon were carrying Ethel Blue up to the
+terrace.
+
+They laid her gently on the floor and ran to get water from the hydrant,
+while Miss Graham slipped off the young girl's shoes, raised her feet
+upon a block of wood that happened to be near by, so that the blood might
+flow towards her heart, and gently chafed her wrists. When the water
+came, she dashed a shower of it from the tips of her fingers on the pale
+little face lying so quietly against the bricks.
+
+"Will I run to de nex' house an' telephone for de doctor?" asked one of
+the men, and Miss Graham nodded an assent and added a direction to summon
+Mrs. Morton.
+
+Before either her aunt or the doctor came, however, Ethel Blue returned
+to consciousness. Before she opened her eyes, she heard a soft,
+affectionate voice crooning over her, "My dear little girl, my poor
+little girl."
+
+She kept her eyes closed for a minute or two, so pleasant was this sound
+from the lips of Miss Graham whom she had grown to love so fondly. When
+at last she opened her eyes and saw Miss Daisy's anxious face change its
+expression to one of delight, she almost felt that it was worth while to
+fall off a precipice to bring about such a result.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XII
+                         IN THE FAMILY HOSPITAL
+
+
+Mrs. Morton was acting as head nurse in the home hospital. Ethel Blue's
+injuries from her fall were not serious, but besides the bruises on her
+forehead, she had numerous large black and blue spots all over her body
+and she had been so shaken that the doctor thought it was well for her to
+stay in bed for a day or two.
+
+In addition to Ethel Blue, Dicky was laid low for the time being. He had
+gone over to his grandfather's and as he was accustomed to run about the
+farm by himself, and as he usually stayed near some of the workmen,
+nobody paid any attention to him. This time, however, he went up into the
+pasture, where he found most of the cows lying down in the shade of the
+trees and meditatively chewing their cuds after their morning meal.
+
+Dicky was not in the least afraid of cows, having been familiar with them
+from his babyhood. He therefore walked up to one of the prostrate
+creatures and sat down comfortably upon her neck, steadying himself by
+her nearest horn.
+
+Nothing happened for a minute of two, for either his weight was so slight
+that the cow hardly noticed it, or else his position did not interfere
+with her comfort. After a time, however, he began to pull at her horns in
+time with the motion of her jaws, and this measured movement seemed to
+annoy her. Shaking her head, she rose, first behind, throwing her rider
+even farther forward than he was, and then in front, tossing him off
+altogether.
+
+The distance to the ground was not great, but it was far enough for Dicky
+to be peppered with bumps and pretty well shaken. The cow paid no farther
+attention to him but walked off to a spot where she might be free from
+annoyance, and the little boy lay for some time on the ground before he
+could pull himself together and go to his grandfather's. By the time he
+reached there, his bruises were already turning black and he was
+interesting both to himself and to his relatives, although he was
+manfully keeping back his tears. The doctor ordered him to bed for a day
+or two, and now he lay on a cot at one side of the large room which
+served as the family hospital, and Ethel Blue at the other, comparing
+their wounds, and receiving the attention of Mrs. Morton. She had
+finished reading one of the Br'er Rabbit stories to them when Ethel Blue
+introduced the subject that was so constantly in her mind.
+
+"Did I tell you how I happened to fall off the terrace wall?" she asked
+her aunt.
+
+"I wondered how you did it; you are usually so sure-footed."
+
+"I was talking with Miss Daisy about my going to live with Father
+by-and-by. You know I never thought of it until the other night when we
+were all together on the porch and Helen,--wasn't it?--said something
+about it. I wish I didn't have to wait to finish school before I can go
+to him."
+
+"Are you in such a hurry to leave us?" said Mrs. Morton, with a little
+sigh for the many years of loving care she had spent over this child, who
+was to her like one of her own.
+
+Ethel Blue was conscience-stricken.
+
+"You know, Aunt Marion, I love all of you just like my own people. Only
+it seems so wonderful to think about being with Father all the time that
+I can't get it out of my mind--now it's in my mind."
+
+"There are a good many things to be considered," answered Mrs. Morton.
+"You know that an officer often has to be away from home and your father
+wouldn't like to leave you alone."
+
+Ethel Blue's face fell.
+
+"If I only had somebody like Dicky's Mary to stay with me," she said,
+referring to the nurse who had always taken care of Dicky, and who had
+lived on with the family after he was too old to need a nurse.
+
+"Perhaps your father might marry again and then there would be no
+difficulty about your being with him all the time."
+
+Mrs. Morton made the suggestion gently but Ethel Blue flushed angrily at
+once.
+
+"I think that's a perfectly horrible idea, Aunt Marion. That means a
+stepmother for me, and I think a stepmother is detestable."
+
+"Have you ever known one," inquired Mrs. Morton coolly.
+
+"No, I never have, but I've read a great deal about them and they're
+always cross and mean and their stepchildren hate them."
+
+"Don't you suppose that a great many stepchildren work up a dislike
+beforehand just because they read the same kind of stories that you seem
+to have been reading?" asked Mrs. Morton.
+
+Ethel Blue was a reasonable girl, and she thought this over before she
+answered.
+
+"Perhaps they do," she said, although slowly, as if she disliked to admit
+it.
+
+"I have happened to know several stepmothers," said Mrs. Morton, "and I
+never have known one who was not quite as kind or even kinder to her
+stepchildren, than to her own children. A mother feels that she can do as
+her judgment dictates with her own children, but with her stepchildren
+she weighs everything with even greater care, because she feels an added
+responsibility toward them."
+
+"But she can't love them as she does her own children," said Ethel Blue.
+
+"I think there is very little difference," said her Aunt Marion. "I am
+not your stepmother but at the same time I am not your own mother, and I
+am not conscious of loving you any less than I love Ethel Brown. You are
+both my dear girls."
+
+"I love Father but I do think Father would be mean if he gave me a
+stepmother," said Ethel Blue.
+
+"But, wouldn't _you_ be mean if you objected to his having the happiness
+of a household of his own, after all these years when he has not had
+one?" returned Mrs. Morton promptly. "Your father has lived a lonely life
+for many years, and if such a thing should happen as his deciding to
+marry again, I can't think that my little Ethel Blue would be so selfish
+as to make him unhappy--or even uncomfortable--about it."
+
+This was a new idea for Ethel Blue and she snuggled down under her covers
+and turned her head away to think about it.
+
+Her aunt left her alone and the room was quiet except for the noise made
+by Dicky's little hands, as he turned the pages of a picture book.
+
+It was almost dark when Mrs. Morton came back with Mary, each of them
+bearing a tray with the supper for one of the invalids.
+
+"I must say," laughed Mrs. Morton, as she entered the hospital, "these
+are pretty hearty meals for people who call themselves ill."
+
+"My mind isn't ill," said Ethel Blue; "it's just these bruises that hurt
+me," and Dicky understood what she meant, for he told Mary, who was
+arranging his pillows, that his "black and blue thspotth were awful
+thore," but that he was going to get up in the morning.
+
+As Mrs. Morton leaned over Ethel Blue's bed, the young girl put an arm
+around her aunt's neck and drew her down to her.
+
+"I've made up my mind not to be piggy if anything like that does happen,"
+she said, hesitatingly. "Do you know that it is going to happen?"
+
+"No, I do not," answered Mrs. Morton, "but I saw that you were in a frame
+of mind to make your father very unhappy if it should come to pass. You
+ought not to allow yourself to have such thoughts, even about an
+indefinite stepmother. They might easily turn into thoughts of real
+hatred for an actual stepmother."
+
+"But do you think there _might_ be a stepmother some time or other?"
+asked Ethel Blue.
+
+"Yes, dear, I do. Your father probably seems old to you, but he really is
+not very old and, as I said before, he has lived a lonely life for many
+years. You know it was fourteen years ago that your mother died, and
+since then he has had no home of his own and no loving companionship. He
+has not even had the delight of helping to bring up his little daughter.
+If he can make happiness for himself now, after all these years, don't
+you think that his little daughter ought to help him?"
+
+Ethel Blue nodded silently and ate her supper thoughtfully.
+
+"While you two were taking your nap, I went to Sweetbrier Lodge," said
+Mrs. Morton, by way of entertaining the invalids. "I am so much
+interested in the way that Aunt Louise has arranged for the maids. You
+know so many people have only a servant's workroom, the kitchen; and the
+maids have no room to sit in after their work is done. Aunt Louise has
+been very thoughtful in all her plans. The laundry and the kitchen and
+the pantry between the kitchen and the dining room, all have the most
+convenient arrangements possible. Every shelf and cupboard is placed so
+that the number of footsteps that the kitchen worker must take will be
+reduced as greatly as possible. Then there are all sorts of labor saving
+arrangements. You saw those in the kitchen and the cellar. The
+electrician has been there daily fitting up an electric range and
+dish-washing machine. The wires in the kitchen are placed just where they
+will be most serviceable, and there are plenty of windows so that the
+room is bright in the day-time. Then just off the kitchen, there is a
+delightful little sitting room, with a porch opening from it. It has a
+view toward the garden and FitzJames's woods, and it is to be prettily
+furnished."
+
+"There are two bed-rooms and a bath for the maids in the attic story,"
+said Ethel Blue. "They are going to be prettily furnished too."
+
+"Will they have a garden?" asked Dicky from his corner.
+
+"Do you know?" Mrs. Morton turned to Ethel for an answer.
+
+"I do understand now," she replied, "why Dorothy insisted on having the
+herb garden down by the house. I thought it was just because it would be
+convenient to have the herbs near the kitchen, but she planted flowers
+there too, and now I see that it will be a pretty flower garden for the
+maids to enjoy and to cut for their own rooms."
+
+"There are two things about Aunt Louise that are interesting," said Ethel
+Blue. "One is the way she always tries to make other people happy and
+comfortable."
+
+"She is naturally thoughtful and considerate," said Mrs. Morton, "and she
+has had much unhappiness in her life and has happened to meet many people
+who are unhappy, so it has taught her to do all she can to brighten other
+people's lives and to make them easier."
+
+"I don't believe many people who are building a house would let a lot of
+children say what they thought would be nice about it," said Ethel Blue.
+
+"She wants Dorothy and all of you to learn about the new ways of building
+and fitting up a house," returned Mrs. Morton, "and she knows how much
+fun it is to talk over such matters in a general pow-wow. Haven't all of
+you had a good deal of fun out of it?"
+
+"We certainly have," replied Ethel Blue. "I liked fixing up Ayleesabet's
+room particularly, because I suggested the idea, but we have all made
+suggestions for every room in the house. Aunt Louise has not agreed with
+all of them, but she always told us why she didn't agree or why she
+didn't like our ideas. She never was snippy about it, just because we
+were children. The other thing that is interesting in Aunt Louise, is the
+way she wants to have all sorts of new arrangements in a house."
+
+"Almost everybody does that," answered Mrs. Morton.
+
+"I don't know anybody in Rosemont who has all the things that Aunt Louise
+has put in. People have vacuum cleaners now-a-days, that they move around
+from one room to another, but she has hers built in, so the dirt is drawn
+right down into the cellar. She has every kind of electric thing she has
+ever heard of, I do believe."
+
+"The electrician was there to-day as I told you, arranging wires in the
+kitchen."
+
+"I was trying to count up as I was lying here, all the things in the
+house that go by electricity. Of course there's the door bell to begin
+with. Then there are all the lighting switches--the one in the vestibule
+and all the regular ones in the halls and rooms and a lot of them in the
+different closets, so that she never will have to struggle around in the
+dark for anything she is hunting for."
+
+"I saw a man putting in a little pilot light for the oven, to-day," said
+Mrs. Morton.
+
+"What's that for?"
+
+"So the cook can investigate the state of affairs in the oven. Sometimes
+it's hard to say how far along a dish at the back of the oven is. This
+light enables you to make out whether it is browning properly or not."
+
+"The man who put in the summer water-heater called the little light that
+burns all the time in that, a 'pilot,'" said Ethel Blue.
+
+"The dumb-waiter that runs from the cellar up through the house to take
+up kindling or whatever needs to be taken up stairs, runs at the touch of
+an electric button," said Mrs. Morton.
+
+"I wish there had been an elevator for people," said Ethel Blue.
+
+"The house isn't large enough to call for that," said her aunt, laughing.
+"Dorothy and her mother are able to go up one or two flights of stairs
+without much suffering!"
+
+Ethel laughed at the suggestion, and went on with her enumeration of the
+uses of electricity.
+
+"The city water runs into the house, but do you know that Aunt Louise has
+had an extra pump fitted into a deep well at the back of the house, and
+that is to work by electricity? She was afraid the house was so high up
+that the power of the town water might be weak sometimes."
+
+"She's prepared for anything, isn't she? She'll be quite independent if
+any accident should happen to the Rosemont reservoir."
+
+"You know the fittings of the laundry are electric."
+
+"And the electrician to-day was going to put in an electric hair dryer in
+the bath-room, so that a shampoo will require only a few minutes' time."
+
+"I see where all of us girls visit Dorothy on shampoo day," giggled Ethel
+Blue.
+
+"She'll be as popular as I used to be when our cherries were ripe," her
+Aunt Marion smiled in return. "I never seemed to have so many friends as
+during the June days when I always entertained my guests by inviting them
+up into the cherry tree."
+
+"Was that the cherry tree on the right thide of Chrandfather'th houthe?"
+asked Dicky suddenly from the corner where he had been supposed to be
+dozing.
+
+"The very same cherry tree, young man. I dare say you know it."
+
+"It'th too fat for me to thin up," he said, "but nektht year I'm going up
+on a ladder the minute I see a robin flying off with the first ripe
+cherry."
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XIII
+                         A GOLDEN COLOR SCHEME
+
+
+When the time came for having the interior decorating done in Sweetbrier
+Lodge and for getting the furniture, the U. S. C. felt that they were
+really in the very midst of a delightful experience. The attic was
+furnished with brown wicker, as Miss Graham had suggested. A small
+upright piano was brought up through a window, and this pleasant, quiet
+room at the top of the house, served to give Dorothy a spot for
+practising where she would disturb no one. Up here, too, she could keep
+any work that she was doing and merely put it into a chest that she had
+prepared for the purpose, whenever she wanted to leave it, or, if it was
+something that could not easily be moved, it might even be kept out upon
+the table and there would be no one to be annoyed by an appearance of
+untidiness.
+
+The piano was to be a pleasure at the club meetings, for all the U. S. C.
+members liked to sing, and Helen was planning that they should wind up
+every meeting during the coming winter with a good stirring chorus before
+they separated for the afternoon.
+
+On the bedroom floor, the furnishings were carried out as they had been
+planned, Elisabeth's room in blue, Dorothy's in pink, and Mrs. Smith's in
+primrose yellow, and the two guest chambers in violet and a delicate,
+misty grey. The wood-work was painted ivory white and the floors were all
+of hard wood. Rugs in harmonious tints gave the desirable depths of tone
+to the color plan.
+
+On this floor Mrs. Smith had a sewing room and also a small sitting room,
+where she could write business letters and be quite undisturbed. With the
+floor below came the really serious work of furnishing, the girls
+thought. The drawing room was the important feature of this floor.
+
+"Here is the family hearth," said Mrs. Smith to Dorothy, "and we want to
+make this room beautiful--one that people will like to come into and to
+stay in."
+
+"It must not be cold in color, then," said Dorothy. "Nobody likes to stay
+in a chilly looking room."
+
+"And it ought not to be too warm in color," said plump little Della, who
+suffered terribly from the heat in summer. "It just makes me perspire to
+_think_ of some of the thick, heavy-looking rooms I've been in. They are
+only suitable for zero weather and we don't seem to have any more zero
+weather nowadays."
+
+Mrs. Smith had allowed Dorothy to ask the club members to have cocoa with
+her on the afternoon when the final decisions were to be made. They had
+brought down from up-stairs some of the chairs and a table which had
+already been put into the bed-rooms. Dorothy and the Ethels had made
+cocoa and had baked some cocoanut cakes on the new electric oven, and
+they were all gathered in the drawing room, sipping their cocoa and
+looking about them at the possibilities of the room.
+
+"Before we begin, tell me how you made these cakes," said Margaret, who
+was always adding a new receipt to her cook book.
+
+"We took half a pound of dried cocoanut and two ounces of sugar and three
+ounces of ground rice, and mixed them all up together. Then we beat the
+whites of three eggs perfectly stiff and stirred the froth thoroughly
+into the other things," said Ethel Brown.
+
+"Then we dipped out a tablespoonful at a time and put it on to a buttered
+baking tin, and baked it all in a quick oven for five minutes," said
+Ethel Blue, "but we didn't take the tin out, right off. We let the oven
+cool and the little cakes cook slowly for half an hour longer."
+
+"They do be marvellous good," murmured James, and all the others agreed
+with him.
+
+Miss Graham had come over with Margaret and James, but she said that she
+was not going to give her professional advice until it was asked for.
+
+"I may as well tell you first of all," said Mrs. Smith, "what my color
+scheme is for this room, and then you can help me with the details. I
+want the whole thing to be in tones of brown, lightened by yellow, and
+contrasted with that dull blue you see in Oriental rugs. Now, keep that
+scheme of color in your mind and work it out for me."
+
+"I think you must have told the painter about it before he did the
+wood-work," guessed Margaret. "This wood-work is white, but a yellowish
+white that will be quite in harmony with your brown and gold scheme."
+
+"You've caught me," smiled Mrs. Smith. "It had to be done, so I told him
+what I wanted. It's successful, don't you think so?" she asked, looking
+toward Miss Graham.
+
+"Entirely," approved Miss Daisy.
+
+"The floors are hard wood, but I suppose you're going to have a big brown
+and gold and blue rug," said Helen.
+
+"Certainly those colors, if I can find just the right thing," said her
+aunt.
+
+"I was with Mother the other day in a rug shop," said Della, "and I saw
+beautiful Chinese rugs, with dull blue backgrounds and figures of brown
+and tan."
+
+"I've noticed," said Helen, "that Oriental rugs have a great deal of red
+and green in them. I should think it might be hard to find rugs with just
+brown and blue."
+
+"I have discovered that it is," said Mrs. Smith, "for I've already been
+on one or two searching trips. Still, those Chinese rugs that Della
+mentioned are always available, and if you hunt far enough you can get
+others with the brown note uppermost. What do you think about size?" she
+asked.
+
+"Oh," said Helen. "I seem to see in my mind's eye a huge, great, splendid
+one in the middle of the room."
+
+"It would be a beautiful rug probably," said Ethel Brown, "but I don't
+know that I should like one big fellow as much as two smaller ones."
+
+"Why not?" asked Miss Graham.
+
+"I don't know that I can tell you," answered Ethel Brown, blushing.
+"Perhaps it's because it makes the room seem too big and grand, and the
+arrangement of smaller ones would break it up into smaller sections, and
+make it seem more home-like."
+
+Miss Daisy nodded as if she were satisfied, but made no comment.
+
+"How do all of you feel about the size of the rugs?" inquired Mrs. Smith,
+and Helen put the question to vote.
+
+They decided that they liked the idea of two or more rugs of medium size
+with little ones where they were needed instead of a very large one in
+the centre of the room.
+
+"I think you're right," said Mrs. Smith, "and I think that it will be
+easier to find the smaller ones than the very large ones--and less
+expensive into the bargain," she said, laughing.
+
+"What is the furniture to be?" inquired Tom.
+
+"Dorothy and I had a few antiques that have been kept for us all these
+years from my father's house, and they have given us the note for the
+rest. They are mahogany, colonial in style, so we think that we must make
+the rest of the furniture harmonize with them."
+
+"Aunt Marion told me she saw some lovely reproductions of truly old
+chairs and tables and things," said Ethel Blue. "I suppose you can make
+the room look as if every piece in it was a truly old one."
+
+"If I had money enough, I could undoubtedly find truly old pieces," said
+Mrs. Smith, "but I think I shall content myself with the modern pieces in
+the old style."
+
+"At any rate, they will be stronger," said Margaret. "We have some very
+old furniture, and since we put steam heat in our house, they've been
+falling to pieces as fast as they could fall."
+
+"How are the walls of this room to be treated?" asked James.
+
+"There I want your help," said Mrs. Smith.
+
+"I saw a dark brown paper dashed with gold the other day, on the library
+wall at Mrs. Schermerhorn's," said Roger.
+
+"Too dark," cried the Ethels in chorus. "Mrs. Schermerhorn's wood-work is
+dark and Aunt Louise's is almost white."
+
+"There's a kind of Japanese paper that looks like metal burlap," said
+Margaret. "It has a little glint of gold in it."
+
+"That's too dark, too, I think," said Dorothy. "It ought to be something
+that will connect the yellow-white of the wood-work with the gold, which
+is the lightest tone in Mother's color scheme."
+
+Again Miss Graham nodded her approval, although she said nothing.
+
+"I saw a very wide pongee silk the other day that would be just about the
+right shade, if it could be put on like wall-paper," said Ethel Blue. "It
+would be a little darker than this paint, and it would tie on to the gold
+in the rug or in any piece of furniture covering."
+
+Again Miss Graham nodded.
+
+"And I don't see why it couldn't be stenciled," said Ethel Brown.
+"Something like the walls upstairs in the apple-blossom room, only of
+course something that would be appropriate for this room. But even if you
+didn't like that idea," she went on, "I think the pongee silk alone would
+be beautiful."
+
+Mrs. Smith liked that idea, too, but she hesitated to give her final
+decision until she had examined a certain homespun linen which she had
+had recommended to her as a possible success from the point of view of
+color.
+
+"Now that you have finished your cocoa, I want you to move your chairs
+over here, where you can look into the dining room," she said. "You see,
+I've had the dining room separated from this room by folding doors; there
+will be door curtains also, but I want to be able to shut off the room
+entirely from this room if I choose. Now, while we talk about the
+furniture here, look into the dining room and get the shape of it into
+your minds, so that you can regard it as a sort of outgrowth of this
+room. Are you comfortable now?"
+
+They said they were and went on to discuss the furniture.
+
+"Will all of the pieces be upholstered with the same material?" asked
+Ethel Blue.
+
+"Oh, no," cried Ethel Brown. "Let's have two or three different shades of
+brown, and one in the right shade of yellow and one or two in the same
+dull blue of the rug."
+
+Again Miss Graham nodded.
+
+"You want to repeat in the furniture the colors of the rug," she said.
+"They give you a wide range of tones because these Oriental rugs may have
+as many as twenty-five shades of blue, so finely graduated that you can
+hardly tell them apart, except with a reading glass. The brown and gold
+of the furniture will bring out the brown and gold of the floor covering
+and you must be careful that the yellow of the furniture is not so
+brilliant as to overpower the more delicate yellow of your walls. There
+should be a sort of scale from the yellowish white wood-work which is
+your highest note, down to the darkest shade of brown."
+
+"Now, that we've decided about the furniture, tell me what general idea
+you have for the dining room," said Mrs. Smith. "I'm all excitement to
+hear what you have to say about the dining room, because it isn't quite
+clear in my own mind, and I want to work it out with you."
+
+"You want it to be an outgrowth of this room," said Helen, "and you don't
+want it treated like an entirely separate room."
+
+"Since it is connected with this room by so wide an opening, when the
+doors are drawn back," said her aunt, "it seems to me as if it ought to
+be in harmony with the coloring here."
+
+They all agreed with this idea.
+
+"I suggest," said Margaret, "that the whole room might be a little darker
+than this room, although decorated with the same colors."
+
+Miss Graham again approved this.
+
+"It has the morning sun," said Dorothy, "and at night through most of the
+year the gas is lighted at dinner time so it isn't necessary to have it
+so bright as the other room."
+
+"Then why not have everything the same, except just a little deeper in
+tone," said Ethel Blue. "Have the wood-work a trifle darker and find some
+material for the walls or have them color-washed a few shades darker than
+the pongee. The floor is a little darker than this anyway and one of the
+darker blue Chinese rugs will be lovely on it."
+
+"Mother's china is blue Canton," said Dorothy. "That will give blue touch
+that will harmonize with the rugs."
+
+They were all pleased with their decisions and were greatly pleased when
+Miss Graham approved their wisdom.
+
+The electricians had put in the electric fixtures and they noticed that
+the dining room side lights of both the dining room and drawing room
+looked like sconces; that there was a glowing bowl of light in the
+ceiling above the dinner table; and that the half concealed lights were
+to give a pleasant radiance in the larger room, while plugs around the
+wall permitted the use of electric lamps for reading or sewing at many
+different points.
+
+"How is this little reception room to be done, Mrs. Smith?" asked James
+as he roamed into a small room just beside the front door.
+
+"This whole floor, all in all, is to have the same color scheme," said
+Mrs. Smith. "I think this and the hall will be done like the dining
+room."
+
+"Come out now, and see the maid's sitting room," cried Dorothy. "It is
+the cunningest thing and so pretty."
+
+The wicker furniture had already come for this room and the attic, and
+they all exclaimed at the delicate shade of gray rattan which made a
+charming back-ground for cushions of flowered chintz.
+
+"I think it's a dear duck of a room!" said Ethel Brown.
+
+"And see the roses on the walls!" exclaimed Dorothy. "And it opens on to
+a little porch that is going to be covered with rambler roses all summer,
+if I can possibly make them grow and blossom."
+
+"How many of you people can go to the Metropolitan Museum with me on
+Saturday?" asked Miss Graham. "I know you younger ones are all busy in
+school now, and the boys are getting ready to go to college, so that is
+your only day, for we want plenty of time."
+
+There was not one of them who could not go, so they arranged about trains
+and where they should pick up the Watkinses in New York, and separated
+with pleasant expectations of the very good time ahead of them.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XIV
+                          AT THE METROPOLITAN
+
+
+Dicky, the Honorary Member of the United Service Club, had been
+considered too young to become a member of the party to visit the
+Metropolitan Museum. He had, however, begged so hard not to be left
+behind, that Helen and Roger had relented, and had promised to take him
+if he, in his turn, would agree not to bother Miss Graham by asking more
+than a million questions every ten minutes. He was also under bond not to
+stray away from the party.
+
+As it turned out, however, the Honorary Member did not go to New York on
+the appointed day. He had planned an expedition of his own for purposes
+of investigation, and the results were such that he was not able to meet
+his other engagement later on.
+
+Underneath his bobbed hair Dicky kept a sharp pair of ears and there was
+very little of the talk about his aunt's new house that had escaped his
+attention. Among other things he had listened while his sisters and
+cousins had commented upon the manner in which the kitchen was equipped.
+The floor was concrete, the walls were of white tile, the shelves were of
+glass, and the cupboard doors of enameled metal.
+
+He had heard his mother say to his Aunt Louise: "Why, you could turn the
+hose on it to clean it, couldn't you?"
+
+The idea had inflamed his imagination and he determined to see how it
+would work. Detaching the hose and spray from the bath-room he trotted
+off immediately after breakfast, intent on putting into effect his
+mother's idea. It seemed to him that it would be a delight to live in a
+house where one might enter into the kitchen at any moment and find the
+cook spraying the walls with a hose. If the reality proved to be as
+charming as the anticipation, he was going to beg his mother to have
+their own kitchen made over promptly.
+
+The workmen were all upstairs at Sweetbrier Lodge but the lower doors
+were open so that there was no difficulty in achieving an entrance. He
+knew how to attach the spray to the faucet and a twist of the fingers
+turned on the water.
+
+It seemed to him as the first dash struck him full in the face, he having
+been a little careless about the nozzle, that his Aunt Louise need not
+have worried about the pressure of the town water. He shook his head like
+a pussy cat in the rain, but manfully restrained the ejaculation that
+leaped to his lips. He was glad that he did, because nobody interrupted
+and the succeeding moments were filled with ecstasy. He sprayed the
+floor, the electric range, the shiny white table, the glistening
+cupboards, and, best of all, the gleaming tiles of the walls down which
+the drops chased each other in a joyous race for the floor.
+
+The moments sped in this entrancing pursuit.
+
+At home a cry for Dicky had arisen as the time came to dress him for his
+trip to New York. Nobody knew where he had gone. It was not until Ethel
+Brown telephoned to Dorothy that they learned that he had been seen
+passing her house.
+
+"He must have gone to Sweetbrier Lodge for some reason or other," said
+Ethel Brown. "What on earth possessed him on this morning of all
+mornings!"
+
+She called to Roger, and he dashed off on the run to see if he could find
+his wandering brother. None of the workmen at the new house had any
+knowledge of his whereabouts, and it was not until Roger opened one of
+the carefully closed doors and was greeted by a dash of water, straight
+in his waistcoat, that he found the wanderer.
+
+Roger was a boy of even temper but he confessed to his mother afterwards
+that his fingers ached as never before to impress on Dicky his
+disapproval of his occupation.
+
+"What on earth are you doing here?" he demanded, snatching the hose from
+Dicky's reluctant fingers, and turning off the water.
+
+"Washing down the walls," replied Dicky truthfully.
+
+"Incidentally you've given yourself a good soaking," said Roger, looking
+at the thoroughly drenched little figure before him. "Here, slip into
+this coat, and I hope I haven't got to carry you home the whole way, you
+big, heavy creature."
+
+"I think I'd be warmer if I trotted myself," suggested Dicky, a little
+apprehensive of what might happen to him in the way of a bear hug, in his
+brother's strong arms.
+
+"I guess you're right," said Roger. "We'll have to run like deer, for
+it's almost time for the car to come for us. This puts an end to your
+going into town, I suppose you understand, young man."
+
+Dicky had not thought of losing his other joy while he was realizing his
+first delight, and he puckered his face for a howl, but before the sound
+could come out, Roger said: "You brought it on to yourself, so don't
+yell. This is the natural result of what you've been doing. You can't
+expect ten people to wait for you to be thoroughly dried and got ready to
+go into town, can you?"
+
+Dicky was an uncommonly reasonable child and he swallowed his sobs as he
+shook his head. There was no farther conversation, for both boys were
+running as fast as Roger's legs could set the pace. Dicky's strides were
+assisted by his brother, who seized his arm and helped him over the
+ground with giant steps.
+
+Mrs. Morton's view of the situation seemed to be painfully like Roger's,
+and Dicky found himself put into the care of Mary and an unnaturally
+rough bath towel, his only part in the expedition that had promised such
+happiness to him, being the sight of his relatives climbing into his
+grandfather's automobile and dashing off toward Glen Point, where they
+were to pick up Miss Graham and the Hancocks.
+
+When the party reached New York they made up their minds that they might
+as well approach the Museum containing many beautiful objects by the
+prettiest way possible, so at 59th Street the car swept into Central
+Park. As they entered, Miss Graham called their attention to the golden
+statue of General Sherman, made by the famous sculptor, Saint-Gaudens. As
+they neared the Museum, she pointed out Cleopatra's needle, an Egyptian
+shaft covered with hieroglyphics.
+
+"The poor old stone has had a hard time in this climate," said Roger. "It
+has scaled off terribly, hasn't it?"
+
+"They are trying to preserve it by a preparation of parafine," said Miss
+Graham.
+
+"I should think it would have to be repeated every winter," said Helen.
+"It doesn't seem as if parafine was much of a protection against heavy
+frost."
+
+Just inside the entrance of the building they found Della and Tom
+awaiting them. Miss Graham called their attention first to the tapestries
+hanging in the entrance hall, and told them something of the patient work
+that went into the production of one of these great sheets of painstaking
+embroidery.
+
+"Are they making them anywhere, nowadays?" asked Ethel Blue.
+
+"When the war is over and you go to Paris, you can see the tapestry
+workers in the Gobelins factory," said Miss Daisy. "Every machine has
+hung upon it the picture which the worker is copying. It may take a man
+six or seven years to complete one piece."
+
+"Shouldn't you think he would be sick to death of it!" exclaimed Dorothy.
+
+"I suppose the first year he tells himself he must be pleasant, so that
+he will see the picture get started. In the second year perhaps he'll be
+ready to put in the feet of his figures. Then all the middle years must
+be comparatively exciting because he's doing the central part of the
+picture; and the last year he has a sort of a thrill because it's almost
+done, even though the work may be all in the clouds."
+
+"I judge that they make landscapes with figures, chiefly," guessed James.
+
+"Many of them are landscapes with figures," replied Miss Daisy. "They
+have a wide variety of objects. The factory belongs to the government and
+the pieces are used as decorations for government buildings, and as gifts
+to people of other countries. The French Government gave Miss Alice
+Roosevelt a piece of Gobelin when she was married. I've seen it on
+exhibition in the Art Museum at Cincinnati."
+
+"I suppose all the workmen now have gone to the war, and the factory is
+closed," said Tom.
+
+"Probably. The men who work there now are descendants, sometimes in the
+third or fourth generation, of the early workers. They hold their
+positions for life and although their pay is not large they also have
+each a cottage and piece of land on the grounds of the factory."
+
+As the U. S. C. ascended the great stair-way they passed numerous
+impressive busts and stopped to look at all of them. Most of the men were
+famous Americans, whose names were already familiar to the young people.
+
+"Now," said Miss Graham, as they reached the head of the stairs, "later
+on we can choose the kind of thing we would like especially to see, but
+first I want to show you two or three pictures and we can talk a little
+about them. Then perhaps we will enjoy better the pictures we see
+afterwards."
+
+"I am sure we shall," answered Roger, politely, although his heart was
+yearning for the Riggs collection of armor.
+
+Miss Daisy read his mind.
+
+"I know you want to see the Riggs armor most of all," she said, "and
+Margaret and James have been talking a lot about the Morgan collection
+and the Ethels told me on the way in that they had seen in the Sunday
+papers reproductions of some of the pictures in the Altman collections
+and they want to see the originals. We can see all those later on, but
+first we will look for a minute at a very famous picture by a
+Frenchwoman, Rosa Bonheur."
+
+"Oh, I remember about her," said Helen. "She used to wear men's clothes
+when she was working in her studio. She said skirts bothered her."
+
+"I should think they would," said James. "I remember about her, too. She
+made a specialty of animals and sometimes she had lions and other wild
+animals from some Zoo, and let them wander about. She needed to be
+dressed so she could skip lively if they made any demonstration!"
+
+"Those are huge horses, aren't they," said Ethel Blue, as they stood
+before the "Horse Fair."
+
+"They look as if they were 'feeling gayly,' as the North Carolina
+mountaineers say," quoted Dorothy.
+
+"What is it all about?" asked Miss Graham.
+
+"Why, I don't know," answered Ethel Blue slowly. "Is it about anything in
+particular? Isn't it just a lot of horses being taken to a Horse Fair for
+exhibition?"
+
+Miss Graham nodded and said that that was probably all there was to it.
+Then she led them to a picture by a French artist, Meissonier.
+
+"I spot Napoleon," said Tom promptly, as they took up their position.
+
+"This is called 'Friedland, 1807,'" said Miss Graham.
+
+Before she could ask any question or make any suggestion about the
+picture, Helen had explained "Friedland."
+
+"That was one of Napoleon's famous battles. Here he defeated the Russians
+and Prussians."
+
+"Eighteen hundred and seven?" repeated James. "Why, Napoleon was at the
+very height of his power then, wasn't he?"
+
+"He looks it," said Margaret. "Doesn't he look as if he were the lord of
+the world? And how those men around him gaze at him with adoration! He
+certainly had a wonderful ability for making himself beloved by his
+soldiers!"
+
+Miss Graham had been listening to these comments with the greatest
+interest.
+
+"What difference do you see between this picture and the 'Horse Fair'?"
+she asked.
+
+They looked carefully at the picture before them and Ethel Blue scampered
+back to refresh her memory on the "Horse Fair."
+
+"There isn't any more action in one than the other," said James, "though,
+of course, it's different."
+
+"But this one makes me think a lot about a great man," added his sister.
+
+"And you want to know what it's all about," exclaimed Ethel Brown.
+
+"You feel as if there must be some story about this one," said Ethel
+Blue, returning from her expedition to the "Horse Fair."
+
+"That's just the point," said Miss Graham, patting her shoulder, "There's
+no especial appeal to the imagination in the 'Horse Fair.' You just see
+horses going to any horse fair in northern France, and there's nothing to
+tell you that one horse has won a ploughing match and that another is a
+candidate for a blue ribbon because of his great weight. But here you
+realize at once that Napoleon was a man to command attention. You want to
+know what he has been doing. You feel that there is some good reason for
+the evident admiration of his soldiers. Those two pictures are examples
+of two different classes of pictures. The 'Horse Fair' you might call a
+sketch in a traveller's note book. The Napoleon picture is an
+illustration in a story."
+
+The young people thought over all this and nodded their agreement.
+
+"Now come with me and see this picture of a pretty girl."
+
+Miss Graham led the way to the Morgan collection and they looked into the
+winning face of "Miss Farren." She seemed to be moving swiftly across the
+canvas, her dress and cloak streaming behind her from the speed of her
+motion.
+
+"She's a pretty girl," said Roger, with his hand on his heart. Tom nodded
+in agreement, but James shook his head.
+
+"She looks silly," he said sternly.
+
+"There isn't any story to her picture, I'm sure," said Helen. "That's
+just a portrait."
+
+"But may not a portrait indicate something of the character of the
+sitter?" asked Miss Graham.
+
+"It ought to," returned Margaret, "and I should think there was something
+of this girl's character in the portrait, but there's nothing to show
+that this might be the illustration of a story."
+
+"Unless it were the frontispiece, showing the picture of the heroine,"
+said Roger.
+
+"But the heroine doing nothing that is told about in the story," insisted
+Helen.
+
+Miss Graham made no comment on these criticisms but led the way to
+another picture, also of a girl, but this time of a girl in the dress of
+a peasant and not handsomely arrayed as was Miss Farren.
+
+"There is a bigger difference than clothes between these two," said
+Della, "but I don't know just what it is. This girl isn't pretty like
+Miss Farren."
+
+"Do you know who this is?" asked Miss Daisy.
+
+"Somebody who is thinking a lot," said Ethel Brown.
+
+"She is seeing things in her mind," said Ethel Blue.
+
+"Who is the most famous girl in history, who did that?" asked Miss
+Graham.
+
+"Jeanne d'Arc," said Helen. "She saw visions that inspired her to be a
+leader of men in the army and she brought about the coronation of her
+king when he was kept from his throne by the English who held Paris and a
+large part of France."
+
+"She is seeing visions now," whispered Ethel Blue, clinging to Miss
+Graham's arm.
+
+Miss Graham gently smoothed the fingers that were tensely closed over the
+sleeve of her jacket.
+
+"Why do you suppose Helen told us about Jeanne d'Arc just now?" she
+asked.
+
+"Because Helen just naturally knows all the history there is to be
+known," said Roger, joking his sister in brotherly fashion.
+
+Helen flushed and murmured something that sounded like, "I thought you'd
+like to know why she looked like that."
+
+"There is something more than just her character and her disposition in
+that picture," said Margaret.
+
+"If a single picture can be a story picture, I should think this was a
+story picture as much as the Napoleon one," said Tom.
+
+Again Miss Daisy nodded her approval.
+
+"I call it a story picture," she said. "Helen felt that it was,
+immediately, and that is why she told us something of the story of Jeanne
+d'Arc."
+
+"Most landscapes must be just note book pictures, then," guessed Ethel
+Brown.
+
+"Unless the landscape should be a background for some story," said Della.
+"There might be gypsies kidnapping a child, for instance."
+
+"Of course there are other divisions," said Miss Graham, "but roughly
+speaking, almost every picture is either a record of fact or of
+imagination, or else it tells a story."
+
+"It's going to be interesting to think about that, when we look at the
+other pictures we shall see later on," said Tom, and even Roger nodded
+assent, although his heart was still set upon the armor.
+
+"Now, let's go back for a moment to look at the 'Horse Fair,'" said Miss
+Graham. "What do you think a picture ought to have in it to be a real
+picture?" she asked as they went along the gallery.
+
+"It seems to me that a picture that is nothing but a record, as you said
+a few minutes ago, can't be much of a picture," said Roger. "I should
+want something more in a picture, something that would stir me up. Why,
+even Miss Farren's there isn't exactly a record, because you have
+something more than just eyes and nose and hair. She looks as if she
+would be fun to talk to, and as for the 'Horse Fair,' which was the other
+picture that we decided was a record, why that has in it more than just a
+lot of horses."
+
+"If Rosa Bonheur had wanted merely to draw some horses, she might have
+strung them along in a row so that we could get an idea of their size and
+color and could make a guess at their weight, but here we see them in
+action and we know that they are in good spirits and we feel some
+sympathy with the men who have a hard time to hold them."
+
+"Yes, that picture stirs me a little, too."
+
+"That is because both 'Miss Farren' and the 'Horse Fair' are real
+pictures. Any picture that tries to be more than merely a photographic
+reproduction must stir your emotions in one way or another," said Miss
+Daisy. "Now as we look at this picture, do you think the artist put into
+it everything that she saw on the road that morning when she passed this
+group of men and horses?"
+
+"I dare say not," said Della, "because there would be likely to be dogs
+and boys with the men, and perhaps some ugly houses in the background."
+
+"Why do you suppose she didn't put everything in?"
+
+"Why, a picture ought to try to be beautiful, oughtn't it, and some of
+those things might be ugly, or there might be so many of them that it
+would be confusing."
+
+"Those are both good reasons," said Miss Daisy. "They both show that the
+artist has to _select_ the things that he thinks will be of the greatest
+interest to the people who look at his pictures."
+
+"Now when he has picked them out, what should you say the next step was?"
+
+They were all rather blank at this question but after a while Roger said
+slowly, "Evidently she picked out just so many as being the best looking
+ones to put in the picture; and she didn't like them all facing the
+audience, ready to bob their heads at you as you look at them; she made
+them trot along the road in a natural way."
+
+"Certainly," approved Miss Graham. "She _arranged_ what she had selected
+so that they would be natural and--"
+
+"And so that the colors would show well?" asked Ethel Brown.
+
+"Yes, so that there would be contrasts of color that would be pleasing to
+the eye. Then there should be _balance_. Have you any idea what that
+means?"
+
+Nobody had.
+
+"I wonder if you haven't all noticed a Japanese print that Margaret has?"
+
+"You mean the one with big green leaves up in one corner and the
+grasshopper clinging to a tendril?" asked Helen.
+
+"That's the one," returned Miss Daisy. "Did it ever occur to you that
+those leaves were all crowded off into one corner of the picture?"
+
+"I never thought of it," said Margaret, "and I have looked at it every
+day for a year. They are, aren't they?"
+
+"But it didn't affect you unpleasantly, did it?"
+
+"Why, no. I think it's a pretty picture," said Ethel Brown.
+
+"It is," agreed Miss Graham; "but what device did the artist use to make
+you feel comfortable about it, and to make you forget that he had put a
+bunch of foliage up in one corner and had left more than one-half of his
+sheet blank?"
+
+Nobody could answer this question and Miss Graham had to give the
+explanation herself.
+
+"It's all a question of balance," she said. "The great mass of white
+paper in the lower right hand part of the picture balances the mass of
+green leaves in the upper left hand corner. The green is a heavier
+looking color than the white, and it therefore takes a larger amount of
+white to balance the green. The Japanese who made this painting
+understood that, and he has so arranged his leaves and his grasshopper,
+that the eye is entirely pleased by the balance that results. If Rosa
+Bonheur has managed wisely there should be masses of light and dark,
+balancing each other, and there should be spaces and solids, balancing
+each other."
+
+"Has she done it? It doesn't worry me any," said Roger. "I think she must
+have succeeded."
+
+Keeping Miss Graham's explanation in mind they took another look at the
+Napoleon picture and concluded that Meissonier also knew what he was
+about.
+
+"'Composition' means the putting together of a picture, doesn't it?"
+asked Helen. "I should think that the composition of a picture that has
+so many figures, must be extremely difficult."
+
+"Far more difficult, of course, than one for which the artist has
+selected fewer objects."
+
+"And of two artists producing complicated pictures like these, he is the
+better who gives an effect of simplicity."
+
+"Suppose that Rosa Bonheur had noticed that one of the men struggling
+with the horses had his face bound up with a cloth; does that have
+anything to do with the picture?"
+
+They all agreed that it had not.
+
+"Then she was perfectly right to leave out any object that would distract
+the observer's mind. She put into this picture of horses going to the
+horse fair only such things as would make the onlooker think of the
+beauty and spirit of the horses as shown by their handsome coats and by
+the difficulty which the men had in controlling them, and his imagination
+would be stirred to wonder as to which of these fine animals was to win a
+prize. Everything which might compete with these simple ideas the artist
+left out of the picture."
+
+"It must have been awfully hard to do such a lot of legs," said Ethel
+Blue, who knew a little about drawing.
+
+"An artist has to know a good deal about anatomy," returned Miss Graham.
+"He must know how the human body is made, and the horse's body, too, if
+he is to do a picture like this, and he even must know something about
+the under-structure of the earth. He must make the lines of those legs
+all move harmoniously. Look at this Napoleon picture once more."
+
+Once again they stood before "Friedland."
+
+"If you were to prolong the up-standing lines of weapons and helmets you
+would find that they were parallel or tended toward some point possibly
+outside of the picture. Unless an appearance of confusion is desired it
+would not do to have lines leading in every direction."
+
+"It would make a picture look every which way, wouldn't it?" said Ethel
+Blue.
+
+"Attention to such points as this helps to give expression to the whole
+picture," went on Miss Daisy. "Not only do the figures in the pictures
+have their own expression, but the picture as a whole may wear an
+expression of peace, like that quiet landscape over there; or of
+confusion, like this picture of the attempted assassination of a pope, or
+of orderly excitement, like that cavalry charge yonder."
+
+As they turned from one canvas to another the Club realized the truth of
+what Miss Graham was saying.
+
+"That is a fact, isn't it?" agreed Tom. "You don't have to see the look
+on the fellows' faces to get the general effect of the picture even from
+a distance."
+
+"We've been talking so much about color schemes in connection with
+Dorothy's new house, that I am sure the phrase is familiar to you," said
+Miss Graham. "Look at the color schemes of these pictures around us. Do
+you see that there are no discords because a color note is struck and all
+of the other shades and colors harmonize with it? That battle rush, for
+instance, is a study in red. Compare that with the dull misty blues,
+greens, and greys in LePage's 'Jeanne d'Arc.'"
+
+They went from one picture to another and proved the truth of this
+statement to their satisfaction.
+
+"Now we'll call our lesson done," said Miss Graham. "We'll have some
+luncheon downstairs and when we come up we can let Roger have his heart's
+desire, and we'll give the afternoon to looking at the Morgan and Altman
+and Riggs collections of wonders. I doubt if there was ever gathered
+together anywhere three such groups. The Altman pictures are choice, the
+Riggs armor is unequalled anywhere in the world, and the Morgan
+collection is the finest general collection ever owned by a private
+individual."
+
+It was a weary but a happy party that returned to Rosemont in the late
+afternoon.
+
+"One of these days is awfully hard on your head," confessed Roger, as he
+was talking to his mother about the Club's experience, "but it certainly
+is good for your gray matter."
+
+"We're going to remember whenever we look at pictures again," said Ethel
+Brown.
+
+"And there are lots of things in it that we shall think about when we
+look over the decorating in our house," insisted Dorothy.
+
+"What I thought was the nicest of all was the way Miss Graham taught us.
+It was just like talking. I think she is awfully nice," was Ethel Blue's
+decision.
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER XV
+                   PREPARATIONS FOR THE HOUSEWARMING
+
+
+The trip to the Metropolitan Museum gave every member of the party a new
+set of words for her vocabulary. They looked at pictures with opened eyes
+and talked of their "composition" and "balance." They were all of them
+more or less interested in photography and now they tried to take
+photographs that would be real pictures.
+
+"It isn't so easy to make a picture by selecting what you want to have
+and leaving out the things you don't want," said Roger to Helen one
+morning as they walked toward Sweetbrier Lodge, "when the things are
+right there in the landscape and won't get out of the camera's way. A
+painter would leave out that stupid old wooden house in the field there,
+but he'd leave in the splendid elm bending over it. Now if I 'shoot' the
+elm I've got to 'shoot' the house, too."
+
+"The only way out is to take the house at some angle that will show off
+any good points it may have," declared Helen, wrinkling a puzzled brow.
+
+"Then as likely as not you'll have to take the tree on the side where the
+lightning hit it and peeled off all its bark," growled her brother
+gloomily.
+
+"That just shows that a photographer has to be more skilful than a
+painter," she said. "The painter can do what he likes, but the
+photographer has to get good results out of what is set before him."
+
+"And as for balance--if nature happens to have placed things in balance,
+well and good; but if she didn't what can you do about it?"
+
+"Nothing, my child, unless you introduce some object that you have some
+power over. Put in a girl or a dog or a horse somewhere where their
+weight will bring about the result you want."
+
+"You can't carry girls and dogs and horses round with you," objected
+Roger, who was in a depressed mood this morning and found difficulties in
+every suggestion.
+
+"You've got enough sisters and cousins for the girls, and you can take
+Christopher Columbus around with you in your pocket to play the
+four-footed friend," laughed Helen.
+
+"Speaking of Columbus--are we going to celebrate Columbus Day this year?"
+asked Roger, as he deftly inserted a new spool of film. "It's just luck
+James and I being here at all, you know. We'd like to do something to
+celebrate being exposed to scarlet fever as soon as we got to Boston, and
+being sent home for it to incubate, and then having nothing hatch!"
+
+"Haven't you heard? Aunt Louise is going to have her housewarming on
+October 12, Columbus Day? She has asked the Club to do something
+appropriate."
+
+"I thought the Watkinses had asked us to go into New York to see the
+parade."
+
+"They have. That won't interfere with us. They'll come out here later and
+then we'll do something in the evening in the new attic to amuse Aunt
+Louise's guests."
+
+"Any idea what?"
+
+"I've got an idea in the back of my head. I'll have to talk it over first
+with the girls to see if we can manage the costumes. If we can I think it
+will be mighty pretty."
+
+Roger nodded absent-mindedly. He had perfect confidence in his sister's
+good judgment and he was willing to do his part for his aunt's sake as
+well as for the good name of the Club.
+
+"What are you taking?" Helen asked him after they had roamed about the
+new place for a time. "You seem to be using a lot of film."
+
+"I am. I thought I'd take the new house and garden from every point of
+view I could, inside and out, and make two or three portfolios of them
+and send them to Father and Uncle Richard, as they'd probably like to
+have them."
+
+"What a perfectly darling idea! Isn't Aunt Louise delighted?"
+
+"She seems to be," returned Roger.
+
+"You knew she had asked Uncle Richard to come up for her house-warming?"
+
+"Father, too; but it's dollars to doughnuts they won't be able to come,
+so I thought I'd do these any way."
+
+"Father won't be able to, but Uncle Richard may."
+
+"He'll be glad to have the prints even if he has seen the original
+places."
+
+"Perhaps he'll like them better on that account."
+
+"I think I should. It would be like having your memory illustrated."
+
+"Are you going to do the rockery in the garden?"
+
+"If the frost has left anything."
+
+"It must be placed in just the right spot for there's a lot of it left. I
+passed it early to-day and it looked almost as pretty as if it were
+summer."
+
+"Dorothy certainly made a success of that."
+
+"It was an afterthought, too."
+
+"I believe the chief reason it has been so lovely is that it was placed
+in a natural position. The rocks look as if they ought to be just where
+they are."
+
+"Mrs. Schermerhorn's rockery looks as if she had said, 'Lo, I'll have a
+rockery,' and then she stuck it right in the middle of her lawn where no
+collection of rocks has been for twenty years."
+
+"And she has hot-house ferns in it!"
+
+The brother and sister laughed delightedly at their neighbor's ideas of
+natural beauty.
+
+"Perhaps it was fortunate that Dorothy didn't have a hot-house to draw
+on," said Roger, moving from one side to another of his cousin's rockery
+in order to get the best view of its remaining loveliness.
+
+"Dorothy has too much sense. In the first place she snuggled hers in here
+under the trees, just the way the rocks are naturally over in FitzJames's
+Woods. Then she brought over here exactly the plants she found there."
+
+"It had to look as if it were a bit of the woods, didn't it?"
+
+"Do you want me to be in this picture?"
+
+"You look too dressed up."
+
+"Thank you! This is a middy I've worn all summer, and I'm just wearing
+out the rags of it on Saturdays."
+
+"Nevertheless, you dazzle me."
+
+"That's a polite way of saying you don't want me in the foreground. You'd
+better put in what Miss Daisy calls 'contemporaneous human interest.' I'm
+a great addition to any picture in which I appear."
+
+"You are, ma'am, of course," replied Roger with exaggerated politeness,
+"but I think I'd like you under an arbor in a graceful attitude and not
+hobnobbing with these wild flowers."
+
+"You forget that wild flowers have been my special care this summer,"
+returned Helen, withdrawing to a point where she would not interfere with
+Roger's plans. "Dorothy's wild garden is only a copy of mine."
+
+"Not in arrangement. Hers is prettier with everything piled up on the
+stones this way--columbines, ferns, wild ginger, hepaticas."
+
+"You're right about that. Mine had to be in a regular bed. Are you going
+to take a picture of the vegetable garden?"
+
+"Certainly I am. And of tomatoes that were started with and without dirt
+bands."
+
+Roger's chief attention during the summer garden campaign had been
+devoted to the raising of vegetables, while the girls had done wonders
+with flowers.
+
+"What are dirt bands?" inquired Helen.
+
+"I know," cried the voice of Ethel Brown who came in sight through the
+pergola. "They're brown paper cuffs to put around young plants. It keeps
+the earth all close and cozy and warm and they grow faster than the ones
+that don't wear such fine clothes."
+
+"Listen to that," Roger said approvingly to Helen. "Those Ethels haven't
+let anything slip that happened in any of our gardens all summer. They
+know all about everything!"
+
+"Roger is in a very complimentary mood this morning," laughed Helen. "If
+I could only think of something to say I'd be polite in return."
+
+"I'm sorry it doesn't come to you spontaneously," replied her brother,
+"but what care I?" and he broke into song:
+
+    "I'm a careless potato, and care not a pin
+      How into existence I came;
+    If they planted me drill-wise or dibbled me in,
+      To me 'tis exactly the same.
+
+    The bean and the pea may more loftily tower,
+      But I care not a button for them.
+    Defiance I nod with my beautiful flower
+      When the earth is hoed up to my stem."
+
+"Oo-hoo!" came a voice from the Lodge. "Come in and help."
+
+"There's Dorothy calling," cried Ethel Brown, and they all moved toward
+the house where they found their cousin on the back porch with an array
+of plates, bowls, stones, small plants, tiny trees and small china
+figures before her.
+
+"May I inquire, madam, what on earth--" began Roger, but Ethel Brown's
+exclamation enlightened him.
+
+"You're making Japanese gardens!"
+
+"I'm going to try to. I think they're awfully pretty and cunning. Let's
+each make one."
+
+Mrs. Smith had bought a professionally made garden at an Oriental shop in
+New York, and the girls were seized with a desire to copy it.
+
+"Here's the real thing," and Dorothy indicated a flat bowl of gray and
+dull green pottery. In it were some stones outlining the bed of a stream
+over which stretched the span of a tiny porcelain bridge. A twisted tree
+that looked aged in spite of its height of only three inches reared its
+evergreen head at one end of the bridge; a patch of grass the size of
+three fingers grew greenly at the other end, and a goldfish swam happily
+in a pool at the side.
+
+"Margaret told me that horse-radish would grow if you kept it damp and
+let it sprout, so I've got several pieces started for our gardens."
+
+Sure enough, the horse-radish had sent forth shoots and a head of small
+leaves quite tall enough for the size of the garden, and its body looked
+brownish and gnarled like some bit of queer Oriental wood. Dorothy had
+taken up little plants of running growth like partridge berry and she had
+collected many wee ferns.
+
+"We can sprinkle a pinch or two of grass seed and bird seed over them all
+when they're done," she said. "That ought to bring up something fresh
+every little while."
+
+"These will be all started for your housewarming," suggested Helen.
+
+"That's why I'm doing them. We can leave them here, and I'll come over
+every day so they'll be watered. I think they'll be awfully pretty and
+they'll be different from the usual decorations."
+
+"I read somewhere the other day that the Japs arrange their flowers with
+a meaning."
+
+"O, they do," cried Dorothy. "They have very little in one holder,
+perhaps only three flowers. One--the highest one--means Heaven, the next
+lower is Man, and the lowest is Earth."
+
+"I should have to have a diagram with every vase," insisted Roger.
+
+"The water in the bowl that holds the flowers represents the surface of
+the earth and the edge of the bowl is the horizon. Then they have ways of
+suggesting the different seasons--spring by flowers, summer by a lot of
+green leaves, autumn by bright colored leaves and winter by tall stems
+without much on them."
+
+"We've got flowers left in the gardens--lots of them," insisted Ethel
+Brown proudly.
+
+"Plenty," answered Dorothy; "and by this time next year I hope we'll have
+a little hot-house of our own so that we can have flowering plants all
+winter, but I like other things, too."
+
+"Miss Daisy was telling me the other day that we Americans didn't pay
+enough attention to using through the winter branches of trees and
+seedling trees from the woods and boughs of pine and fir and cedar," said
+Ethel Blue, who came through the house and had been listening to the
+conversation.
+
+"I don't see why you couldn't have a small maple-tree growing all winter
+in the dining-room if you put your mind on it," answered Helen.
+
+"A great jar of Norway spruce with cones hanging from the fingers would
+be stunning," decided Roger, as he set his horse-radish in place and
+planted a tree at one end of it.
+
+"The covers for the radiators are all on now," said Dorothy, changing the
+subject. "Did you notice them when you came through the house?"
+
+The Ethels had not and Helen and Roger had gone directly to the garden,
+so they all went in on a tour of examination.
+
+"Mother said that there was one thing about heating that she couldn't
+stand, and that was the ugly radiators; so the heating man has tried to
+hide them as much as he could. There isn't one in the house that stands
+out like a monument of pipes," declared Dorothy.
+
+"Even in the attic?"
+
+"Not even in the attic. See, he's covered most of them with grilles
+bronzed or painted like the wood-work of the room, so they aren't at all
+conspicuous."
+
+"It's these little points that make this house so attractive," declared
+Helen. "Aunt Louise has thought of everything."
+
+"What are you going to wear at the party?" asked Ethel Blue of Dorothy.
+
+"If we do that Columbus thing--" began Dorothy, looking at Helen.
+
+"Go on," the president of the U. S. C. replied to the inquiring gaze; "we
+might as well tell Roger now as later."
+
+"If we have the tableaux and pantomimes we can stay in our court
+dresses."
+
+"Court dresses?" inquired Roger, sitting up interestedly. "Why so
+scrumptious?"
+
+"Columbus at the court of Ferdinand and Isabella," answered Helen.
+
+"You as Columbus."
+
+"Me? Me? Why this honor?" asked Roger meekly.
+
+"Need you ask?" returned Helen. "That's in reply to your remarks about me
+as an addition to the foreground of your photographs."
+
+"Even. I don't care what I do as long as I have time to get it up."
+
+"You shall have plenty of time," promised Dorothy. "What I'm more
+interested in just now is what we're to have to eat on the festive
+night."
+
+"Is Aunt Louise going to let us decide?"
+
+"Subject to her veto, I suspect," smiled Helen.
+
+Dorothy nodded.
+
+"She says she wants something different from ice-cream and cake and
+chicken salad."
+
+They all laughed, for Rosemont was noted for invariably having these
+three excellent but monotonous viands at all her teas and receptions and
+church entertainments.
+
+"I move we have cold turkey," said Roger.
+
+"It's rather early for turks, but we can have capon if we can't find a
+good turkey," replied Ethel Brown, who kept the run of the Rosemont
+market.
+
+"Let's have little birds in aspic jelly," suggested Dorothy.
+
+They all gurgled with pleasure at this idea.
+
+"Squabs," went on Dorothy as her imagination began to work.
+
+"Um," commented Roger, his eyes shut.
+
+"Split them down the back, dip them into beaten egg and melted butter,
+sprinkle them with the finest bread crumbs and broil them."
+
+"O," came a gentle murmur from Roger, who was deeply affected by the
+recital of this appetizing dish. "Where's the aspic?"
+
+"You cut each squab in halves and put one-half in a mold and then you
+pour on the aspic."
+
+"Dorothy, you talk as if you'd been doing birds in aspic all your life.
+Did you ever cook them?"
+
+"Once," dimpled Dorothy. "At cooking school."
+
+"I know how to make aspic," declared Ethel Brown proudly.
+
+"Let's have it."
+
+"Soak a quarter of an ounce of vegetable gelatine in a pint of water for
+two hours; then add the strained juice of a lemon, pepper and salt and
+cayenne, two tablespoonfuls of Tarragon vinegar and another pint of
+water. Let it cook for a few minutes over a slow fire and then boil it
+for two or three minutes and strain it through a jelly bag over your
+birdies."
+
+"O, you can't do that that way," cried Ethel Blue. "Their elbows will
+show through when they're turned out of their molds. You have to put in a
+layer of jelly and when it is stiffened a little put in your bird, and
+then pour the rest of the jelly over it."
+
+"Correct," approved Dorothy. "We must be sure to have enough for each
+person to have a half bird in a mold. They are turned out at the last
+minute and a sprig of parsley is laid on top of each one."
+
+"Help! Help!" came a faint cry from Roger. "I am swooning with joy at the
+sound of this delicious food. I'm so glad Aunt Louise is giving this
+party and not one of the chicken salad ladies of Rosemont."
+
+"Aspic is good to know about for hot weather use," said Ethel Blue. "I've
+been meaning all summer to tell Della how to make it--she feels the heat
+so awfully."
+
+"You can put all sorts of meats in it, I suppose."
+
+"And vegetables; peas and beets and carrots very tender and cut very
+fine. Tomato jelly makes a good salad, too."
+
+"You could make pretty little individual molds of that."
+
+"What are we going to have for salad after these birds?" inquired Roger.
+
+"Let's have alligator pear salad. It's as easy as fiddle. You just have
+to pare the alligators and take out their cores--"
+
+"With a butcher's knife?" inquired Roger.
+
+"--and cut them in halves lengthwise. Then you put the pieces on a pale
+yellow-green lettuce leaf, and pour French dressing over it, and there
+you are!"
+
+"I like it all except the name," objected Roger.
+
+"Christen it something else, and be happy," urged Helen.
+
+"What for sweeties?" Roger demanded. "I'm going through this feast
+systematically."
+
+"Don't go on to the sweeties until we've settled on the bread, then,"
+insisted Ethel Brown, "I say Parker House rolls."
+
+"Or pocket book rolls--the same thing, only smaller," said Ethel Blue.
+
+"I haven't made any since we were at Chautauqua; I shall have to look
+them up again," confessed Dorothy.
+
+"I remember," said Ethel Brown. "You scald two cups of milk and then put
+into it three tablespoonfuls of butter, two teaspoonfuls of sugar and a
+teaspoonful and a half of salt. When it has cooled off a little add a
+dissolved yeast cake and three cups of flour and beat it like
+everything."
+
+"Command me on the day of the party," offered Roger politely.
+
+"We will," giggled the girls, and they said it so earnestly that Roger
+gazed at them suspiciously.
+
+"Cover it up and let it rise; then cut it through and through and knead
+in two and a half cups more flour. Let it rise again. Put it on a floured
+board, knead it, and roll it out to half an inch in thickness. Then cut
+out the rolls with a floured biscuit cutter. Brush one-half of each roll
+with melted butter and fold the round in halves."
+
+"Won't they slide open?"
+
+"Not if you pinch the edges together. Arrange them in your pan and cover
+them over so they can rise in comfort. Then bake them in a hot oven for
+from twelve to fifteen minutes," ended Ethel Brown.
+
+"They aren't as easy as Della's lightning biscuits, but they're so good
+when they're done that you don't mind having taken the trouble about
+them."
+
+"Now for the sweeties," insisted Roger. "I'm afraid you'll forget them
+and my tooth is as sweet as ever it was."
+
+"Are frozen things absolutely forbidden?" inquired Dorothy.
+
+"O, no, let's have one frozen thing. We're going to have some of the
+Rosemont people who aren't relatives, you know, and I hate to think of
+what they'd say about Aunt Louise if she didn't give them something
+frozen!" laughed Helen.
+
+"Let's have frozen peaches, then. Make them in the proportion of two
+quarts of peaches to two cups of sugar, a quart of water, and the juice
+of a lemon and a half. You peel the peaches and take out the stones and
+rub the fruit through a colander. Put the peach pulp and the lemon juice
+into a syrup made by boiling the sugar and water together for five
+minutes and letting it cool. Pour it all into the freezer and grind it
+until it is firm."
+
+"Command me," murmured Roger again.
+
+"Poor old Roger! You shan't be worked to death! Patrick will do the
+grinding."
+
+"For small mercies I'm thankful," returned Roger, a beaming smile
+breaking over his face.
+
+"I speak for chopped preserved ginger with whipped cream, served in those
+lovely ramequins of Aunt Louise's," cried Ethel Blue.
+
+"Why can't we have maple marguerites to go with everything?"
+
+"New to me, but let's have 'em," urged Roger.
+
+"Boil together a cup and a half of brown sugar and a half a cup of water
+until it makes a soft ball when it's dropped into cold water. Let it cool
+for a few minutes and then put in half a teaspoonful of maple flavoring
+and beat it all together. Have ready a quarter of a cup of finely chopped
+nut meats. Add half of this amount and drop this perfectly _dee_-licious
+stuff on to crackers. While it's still warm enough to be sticky sprinkle
+over the crackers the remainder of the nut meats."
+
+"I'll grind the nut meats," offered Roger.
+
+"And ask for heavy pay in marguerites!" laughed Ethel Brown.
+
+"I scorn your aspersions of my character," returned her brother solemnly.
+"What are you going to have to drink?"
+
+"Coffee--grape-juice--lemonade--the usual things."
+
+"I think that's a pretty good list. Write it down and let's see what Aunt
+Louise thinks of it," recommended Helen.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XVI
+                              COLUMBUS DAY
+
+
+Ethel Blue, as Columbus Day approached, was filled with many strange
+feelings, some of them far from pleasant. When she read a letter from her
+father a few days before the twelfth she felt as if dread had brought
+upon her exactly what she had dreaded. The letter was filled with loving
+expressions but it told her that her father was to be married very soon.
+
+"I know that you will love the dear lady who has honored me by saying
+that she will relieve my loneliness," he wrote.
+
+"_I_ would have relieved his loneliness if he had given me a chance,"
+Ethel sobbed to herself as she lay on her bed and read the tear-blotted
+lines for the tenth time.
+
+  "It will be a sorrow to you to leave Aunt Marion and your cousins, but
+  perhaps the thought that now you will belong in a home of your own will
+  make up for it, in part, at any rate. I don't see how we can all help
+  being happy together, and we must all try to make each other happy."
+
+Ethel Blue thought of a great many things to say in reply to her father.
+They sounded very smart and very convincing as she said them over to
+herself in a whisper, but just as she was wiping her eyes and getting up
+to sit at her desk and put them on paper her Aunt Marion's suggestion
+that she would be selfish if she did anything that would hurt her father
+or prevent him from making a belated happiness for himself cut her to the
+heart.
+
+"He doesn't love me or he wouldn't do it," she repeated, and then she
+remembered that all her life she had had a home and a loving family of
+cousins who were as good as brothers and sisters, while her father had
+spent the same time without the thought, even, of home-making.
+
+"I suppose it's some old Fort Myer woman who's as cross as two sticks,"
+she murmured again and again; and then an inner voice seemed to speak in
+her ear and tell her that there was no reason why she should not imagine
+that it was some really lovely person who was as sweet as she was pretty.
+
+"Everybody says my mother was pretty," thought poor Ethel Blue, who had
+been making herself very miserable by her old habit of "pretending"
+without any basis of fact, and who now was trying to get a scrap of
+comfort from the thought that her father had had good taste once and
+might be trusted to exercise it again.
+
+Whether or not to show the letter to her Aunt Marion she did not know.
+Her father had not said whether he had informed her or not. Usually Ethel
+told her aunt everything promptly, but now she did not feel as if she
+could speak of the thing that had appeared dreadful when it was only a
+possibility. The reality was so much worse that it did not seem as if she
+could trust herself to mention it.
+
+"Aunt Louise has asked him to come on to the housewarming," she said.
+"I'll wait and see if he comes. Then he can tell her and Aunt Marion
+himself; and if he doesn't come it won't be any worse for me to tell them
+a few days from now than right off this minute."
+
+It was so forlorn an Ethel Blue who dragged herself through the
+preparations for the Columbus Day entertainment, that Ethel Brown could
+not help noticing the melancholy air that hung over her usually smiling
+face. Ethel Blue would make no explanation to her cousin, nor would she
+tell her aunt anything more than the reassuring words that she was
+perfectly well. They gave up trying to make her talk about herself,
+trusting to time to bring its own healing.
+
+No letter came from her father announcing his acceptance of his sister
+Louise's invitation, nor did another letter reach Ethel Blue. She was
+inclined to make a grievance of this until it occurred to her that she
+was not likely to hear until she replied to her father's announcement of
+his proposed marriage.
+
+"It's a serious thing and I ought to answer his letter right off," her
+conscience told her, "but I can't say I'm glad and I don't want to say
+I'm not glad. I'll wait until after the twelfth, any way."
+
+Her feelings of selfishness and uncertainty made her a miserable girl
+during the interval.
+
+On the morning of Columbus Day the Mortons and Hancocks went into New
+York to the Watkinses. Della's and Tom's father was a clergyman who
+worked among the foreigners of the East Side. This was an advantage to
+the Club members when they watched the procession that wound its way from
+the lower part of the city northward to Columbus Circle at 59th Street.
+
+"These people must come from all over Europe," exclaimed Ethel Brown as
+bits of conversation in languages that she never had heard drifted to her
+ears.
+
+"New York is called one of the largest foreign cities in the world,"
+laughed Roger, whose spirits had risen although he was having
+difficulties again with his camera and its persistent desire to take
+everything that came within its range, "whether the girls are pretty or
+not!" he complained.
+
+"They say that New York is the second largest German city in the world,
+and that there are more Hebrews of different nationalities gathered here
+than anywhere else," said Tom.
+
+"Here are a lot of people wearing peasant costumes that I never saw in
+any geography," cried Dorothy.
+
+"When otherwise not accounted for you can generally put them among the
+Balkan states," laughed Della.
+
+"Look at that girl over there in peasant costume and right side of her is
+a girl in the latest New York style! That's a tremendous contrast."
+
+"I suppose the American-dressed girl thinks she is very fashionable, but
+the other looks much more sensibly dressed and more attractive, too,"
+said James gravely.
+
+"She's a great deal prettier girl for one reason," smiled his sister.
+"She would look better whatever she wore."
+
+They all laughed at James who insisted that he preferred peasant dress,
+but they all exclaimed with delight at the gorgeous costumes worn by a
+group of Hungarian men. Some of them were riding in carriages and they
+seemed very self-conscious but greatly pleased at the attention they
+attracted.
+
+"This is a great day for the Italians," said Helen as band after band,
+and society after society, bearing the Italian red, white and green
+passed them.
+
+"Well, Columbus was an Italian. They ought to feel comfortable about it.
+He discovered us."
+
+They all shouted at James's way of putting his defense of Columbus's
+countrymen.
+
+"If we're going to hear any of the speeches at Columbus Circle we'd
+better hop into the subway and speed to 59th Street," urged Tom.
+
+They were in plenty of time, and watched the placing around the Columbus
+monument of numberless wreaths and emblems which the societies brought
+with them, chiefly at the ends of tall poles and deposited at the feet of
+the statue of the great explorer.
+
+As soon as they reached home the Mortons all went over to Sweetbrier
+Lodge to help with the final decorations. The attic they had set in order
+the day before. This was necessary for they had to have a curtain and
+they wanted to put it through a rehearsal as well as themselves. Extra
+chairs had been brought in for the occasion and they were now unfolded so
+that the little audience room was ready for its opening performance.
+
+Below stairs all was ready in the kitchen department, the Ethels learned
+when they offered their services there. What was not completed was the
+arrangement of flowers and branches throughout the rooms. At the end of
+an hour during which the Ethels and Dorothy and Helen arranged and Roger
+carried, the house looked really lovely.
+
+The color scheme of the lower floor was so autumnal that it was not hard
+to follow it out in leaves and blossoms. Chrysanthemums were ready to
+emphasize the yellow tones, and bronze leaves from oaks and chestnuts
+carried on the darker hues. Here and there one of Dorothy's Japanese
+gardens gave an air of quaintness to a corner, or stood in relief against
+a screen.
+
+Upstairs the nursery was a bower of white cosmos; Dorothy's room was
+feathery with pink blossoms of the same delicate flower; against Mrs.
+Smith's primrose walls trailed the yellow leaves of a grapevine; purple
+asters nodded in the violet chamber, and the gray guest room wore fluffs
+of clematis.
+
+It was not a large party that gathered at Mrs. Smith's for the
+housewarming. The family connection was not small, however, and the
+newcomers had made some warm friends during the year that they had lived
+in Rosemont. The older Watkinses and Hancocks had come, and about fifty
+people filled the drawing room comfortably, admiring its beauty as they
+waited for the signal to go upstairs to the attic to see one of the
+entertainments which Rosemonters had learned to expect from the United
+Service Club.
+
+"It's very charming," murmured Mrs. Hancock to her sister. "I see your
+hand here."
+
+"Not very much," demurred Miss Graham. "I merely made an occasional
+suggestion or told them how to work out some good idea of their own. The
+color scheme is Mrs. Smith's."
+
+"It is charming," repeated Mrs. Hancock, her eyes moving from the
+yellow-white wood-work to the natural pongee walls and then on to the
+next shade of yellow, found in the draperies of the windows, made of a
+heavy linen dyed to strike the next note in the color scale. The
+furniture was upholstered in three or four shades of brown; a bit of gold
+flashed sombrely from the shadows, and an occasional touch of dull blue
+brought out the blue tones of the handsome rugs.
+
+Every one took a peek into the upper rooms as they passed upstairs to the
+attic. Ayleesabet's nursery received much praise, and the delicate tones
+of the bed-rooms won immediate approval. In the attic they found
+comfortable wicker chairs arranged about the room facing a small stage
+before which hung a tan linen curtain.
+
+"What are the children going to do?" asked Mr. Emerson of his hostess.
+
+"I really don't know," returned Mrs. Smith. "Dorothy said it would be
+appropriate for Columbus Day, so I entrusted it all to the young people."
+
+When the curtain was drawn the Club was disclosed grouped on the stage.
+They sang Miss Bates's "America the Beautiful," Mrs. Smith accompanying
+them on the piano.
+
+"That's all I have to do with the program," she said to Mr. Emerson when
+it was over and she had again taken her seat beside him.
+
+Then Tom told the story of Columbus--how he was born at Genoa and became
+a sailor and when he was about thirty-four years old went with a brother
+to live in Lisbon. Tom was seated on the stage at a table and two or
+three of the others sat about as if they were in a library listening to
+the talk. They entered quite naturally into the conversation.
+
+"Four years later," continued Tom, "somebody gave Columbus a map that put
+the Orient directly west of Spain, and Columbus became filled with a
+desire to search out the East by sailing west."
+
+"I've read that he died thinking he had discovered the East," responded
+Helen.
+
+"He laid his plans before the Portuguese king, but he found he couldn't
+trust him, so he went to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella in Spain. They
+summoned their wisest men to pass on the subject at a council held at
+Salamanca. For three years they kept him waiting about in uncertainty
+before they reported to the king that his idea was absurd. Columbus was
+furious--"
+
+"I should think he might have been."
+
+"--and he started at once for Paris to try to get the king of France,
+Charles VIII, to help him. He took his little son with him and one night
+they slept at a monastery. The prior became interested in Columbus's
+story and believed in him and didn't want the glory of his achievement to
+go to another country. So he managed to secure for him another interview
+with Ferdinand and Isabella, and we're going to see now," said Tom,
+turning to the audience, "what happened at the convent."
+
+With that the curtain fell. When it parted once more a dark curtain
+across the stage represented the outside of the convent. Ethel Brown
+recited Trowbridge's "Columbus at the Convent," while James acted the
+part of the Prior; Roger, Columbus; and Dicky, little Diego.
+
+"Those children have a real feeling for costume," whispered Miss Graham
+to her neighbor, and then started as she found that it was not her
+brother-in-law, Dr. Hancock, as she supposed, but Ethel Blue's father,
+Captain Morton, who had come in in the darkness.
+
+"How do you do?" he said, smiling at her startled air. "I suppose they
+made these things themselves."
+
+"The boys are wearing their sisters' long stockings and the girls made
+the short, puffy trunks and short, full coats."
+
+Ethel Brown's voice sounded clearly through the darkness though her
+hearers could not see her.
+
+    "Dreary and brown the night comes down,
+      Gloomy without a star.
+    On Palos town the night comes down;
+    The day departs with a stormy frown;
+      The sad sea moans afar.
+
+    "A convent-gate is near; 'tis late;
+      Ting-ling! the bell they ring.
+    They ring the bell, they ask for bread--
+    'Just for my child,' the father said.
+      Kind hands the bread will bring.
+
+    "White was his hair, his mien was fair,
+      His look was calm and great.
+    The porter ran and called a friar;
+    The friar made haste and told the prior;
+      The prior came to the gate."
+
+Here the dark curtain was drawn and a room was disclosed with a table at
+which the men sat and a small bed in which Dicky was put to sleep.
+
+    "He took them in, he gave them food;
+      The traveller's dreams he heard;
+    And fast the midnight moments flew,
+    And fast the good man's wonder grew,
+      And all his heart was stirred.
+
+    "The child the while, with soft, sweet smile,
+      Forgetful of all sorrow,
+    Lay soundly sleeping in his bed.
+    The good man kissed him then and said:
+      'You leave us not to-morrow!'
+
+    "'I pray you rest the convent's guest;
+      The child shall be our own--
+    A precious care, while you prepare
+    Your business with the court, and bear
+      Your message to the throne.'
+
+    "And so his guest he comforted.
+      O, wise, good prior, to you,
+    Who cheered the stranger's darkest days,
+    And helped him on his way, what praise
+      And gratitude are due!"
+
+The pantomime followed the lines closely.
+
+"Wasn't Dicky cunning!" exclaimed Dicky's adoring grandmother.
+
+"Dicky was a duck!" exclaimed Helen, who had slipped out to see the
+pantomime. "We told him what he was supposed to be--a little boy
+travelling with his father, and that they had to stop and ask for food
+and that a kind man took them in and gave him a comfy bed. He seemed to
+understand it all, and he took hold of James's hand and looked up in his
+face as seriously as if he were the real thing. He was splendid."
+
+"All the same I'm always relieved when Dicky's part is over and he hasn't
+done anything awful!" confessed Dorothy, who had come out also. "It would
+be just like him to say to James, 'You needn't give me any bread; I want
+cookieth!'"
+
+"We tried to impress on him that he wasn't to say anything--that nobody
+but Ethel Brown was to say anything; that was the game. I dare say if
+James had spoken Dicky would have ordered his meal to suit his fancy."
+
+Tom went on with Columbus's story at this point, but he spoke from the
+floor because tableaux were being arranged behind the curtains. He told
+how the interview with the king and queen that the prior had arranged,
+all went wrong and how Columbus started again for France but was called
+back by the queen whose imagination had been excited by what he told her,
+and who promised to pledge her jewels to raise money for his expedition.
+
+Here the curtains swung open and showed a brilliant scene, Della
+representing the queen, James the king, and all the other Club members,
+courtiers. Columbus was arguing his case before the court and he was
+shown in the act of knocking off the end of an egg to convince the men
+who had said that they would believe the world was round when they saw
+the impossible happen--when an egg should stand upright.
+
+"I hope Roger's hand won't slip," murmured Roger's mother; "that's a real
+egg!"
+
+It was while she was standing beside the queen as one of her ladies in
+waiting that Ethel Blue's eyes happened to fall on her father out in the
+audience. The light from the stage illuminated his face and she thought
+that she never had seen him so happy as he looked at that moment.
+
+"He's so dear and he's going away from me," she groaned inwardly. "Now if
+it were only dear Miss Daisy he's going to marry," she wished with all
+her heart as she noticed that Miss Graham sat in the next chair; "but it
+isn't; it's some old Fort Myer woman."
+
+The curtain fell on her misery and Tom again took up his tale. He told
+about the three tiny ships that Columbus managed to secure, and their
+setting sail and how frightened the sailors became when day after day
+passed and they saw no chance of ever reaching new land or ever returning
+home, and how they threatened to mutiny if he did not turn back.
+
+Then came another pantomime with Roger as Columbus and James as the mate
+of the _Santa Maria_, while Ethel Brown recited Joaquin Miller's poem:
+
+
+                                COLUMBUS
+
+    "Behind him lay the gray Azores,
+      Behind the Gates of Hercules;
+    Before him not the ghost of shores,
+      Before him only shoreless seas.
+    The good mate said: 'Now must we pray,
+      For lo, the very stars are gone.
+    Brave Admiral, speak, what shall I say?'
+      'Why, say, "Sail on! sail on! sail on! and on!"'
+
+    "'My men grow mutinous day by day;
+      My men grow ghastly wan and weak.'
+    The stout mate thought of home; a spray
+      Of salt wave washed his swarthy cheek.
+    'What shall I say, brave Admiral, say,
+      If we sight naught but seas at dawn?'
+    'Why, you shall say at break of day,
+      "Sail on! sail on! sail on! and on!"'
+
+    "They sailed and sailed, as winds might blow,
+      Until at last the blanched mate said:
+    'Why, now not even God would know
+      Should I and all my men fall dead.
+    These very winds forget their way,
+      For God from these dread seas is gone.
+    Now speak, brave Admiral, speak and say'--
+      He said: 'Sail on! sail on! and on!'
+
+    "They sailed. They sailed. Then spake the mate:
+      'This mad sea shows his teeth to-night.
+    He lifts his lip, he lies in wait,
+      With lifted teeth as if to bite;
+    Brave Admiral, say but one good word:
+      What shall we do when hope is gone?'
+    The words leapt like a leaping sword:
+      'Sail on! sail on! sail on! and on!'
+
+    "Then, pale and worn, he kept his deck,
+      And peered through darkness. Ah, that night
+    Of all dark nights! And then a speck--
+      A light! a light! a light! a light!
+    It grew, a starlit flag unfurled!
+      It grew to be Time's burst of dawn.
+    He gained a world; he gave that world
+      Its grandest lesson: 'On! sail on!'"
+
+The last picture was Columbus gazing joyfully at the land he had
+discovered through his perseverance. It was supposed to be the early
+morning of October 12, 1492, and Roger, surrounded by his sailors, stood
+with a foot on the rail of his boat, shielding his eyes from the rising
+sun, while the others crowded behind him, whispering with delight.
+
+When the curtains fell together for the last time the lights flashed out
+upon the audience and disclosed Captain Morton greeting his sister and
+sister-in-law and his nieces and nephews.
+
+"Where's my girl?" he inquired in his cordial, hearty voice. "Where's
+Ethel Blue?"
+
+Some one gave her a friendly push forward so her father did not notice
+the reluctance with which she had been almost creeping toward him. He
+threw his arm around her shoulders regardless of possible damage to the
+elegancies of her court costume, and kissed her heartily. The tears shone
+in her eyes as she forced herself to meet his searching gaze.
+
+"Not crying!" he whispered in her ear, and she felt her heart give a real
+pang as the happiness left his face and was replaced by his old look of
+sorrow and endurance. "Not crying!" he repeated in her ear. "Why, I
+thought you loved her! You've done nothing but write to me about Miss
+Daisy all summer!"
+
+"About Miss Daisy? Do you mean--? Is it Miss Daisy?"
+
+"It certainly is Miss Daisy. Here, come behind the curtain," and he swept
+his daughter and his _fiancée_ out of sight of the retiring audience. "It
+is Daisy Graham who is to be your dear mother, my little Ethel Blue. Are
+you satisfied now?"
+
+"O, Father! O, Miss Daisy!" cried Ethel Blue, sobbing now from relief and
+joy and clinging to both of them; "I never guessed it! It's too wonderful
+to be true!"
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XVII
+                         THE PARTING BREAKFAST
+
+
+Ethel Blue's change of mind about stepmothers was so complete that her
+cousins would have joked her about it except that her Aunt Marion advised
+them to say nothing to her on a subject that had once been so sore a
+theme.
+
+"Don't recall those painful thoughts," she advised. "Ethel Blue will be
+happier and certainly Miss Daisy will be if the present mood continues."
+
+"I thought you couldn't help loving her when you knew her," Captain
+Morton had said to Ethel Blue. "That's why I was willing to postpone the
+wedding all summer so that you and she might have a chance to become
+really well acquainted."
+
+"It was a good way," answered Ethel frankly. "If I had known about it I
+should have thought everything Miss Daisy did was done for its effect on
+me. I should have been suspicious of her all the time."
+
+"You have come to know a very dear woman in a natural way and it crowns
+my happiness that you should care so much for each other."
+
+Since he had waited so patiently for so many months Captain Morton begged
+that the wedding should take place at once. Mrs. Hancock urged her sister
+to have it in Glen Point.
+
+"If you go to Washington you'll have many acquaintances there but not any
+more loving friends than you've made here and in Rosemont," she said
+cordially. "It will give the Doctor and me the greatest happiness to have
+you married from our house, and it will be such a delight to all the U.
+S. C. if they know that they can all be at the wedding of their dear
+'Miss Daisy.'"
+
+"It will be easier for all the Rosemont people--and it would be very
+sweet to go to Richard from your house," murmured Daisy thoughtfully. "I
+believe I'll do it."
+
+"It will be easier to bring Aunt Mary on here than for all the New Jersey
+clans to go to Washington," insisted Mrs. Hancock, referring to the aunt
+with whom her sister had lived in Washington.
+
+"I'll do it," decided Daisy. "Richard's furlough is almost over so it
+will have to be very soon," she continued. "I'll have to begin my
+preparations at once."
+
+So all the plans were made for a quiet wedding for just the two families
+and their intimate friends. It was to be ten days after the housewarming.
+The ceremony was to be in the church at Glen Point, with Ethel Blue as
+maid of honor, and Margaret and Helen, Ethel Brown and Della as the
+bridesmaids.
+
+Even this very first decision gave the Ethels a twinge of pain, because
+it prophesied their coming separation. Never before had they been
+separated at any such function, yet now Ethel Blue was to be in one
+position and her twin cousin in another. They both sighed when it was
+talked over, and they glanced at each other a trifle sadly. They did not
+need to put the meaning of their glances into words.
+
+Dr. Hancock was to give the bride away. To everybody's regret Lieutenant
+Morton could not be present to act as his brother's best man.
+
+"I'm more sorry than I can tell you, old fellow," he wrote. "Roger will
+have to take my place and give you all my good wishes with his own. You
+may congratulate me, too, for I've just got word that my step has come. I
+can now sign myself,
+    "Your affectionate brother,
+        "Roger Morton,
+            "Capt. U.S.N."
+
+
+There was great rejoicing in the Morton family when they learned this
+news, and telegrams poured in on them all day long after the announcement
+was publicly made.
+
+"It gives one more touch of happiness," smiled Richard Morton, who went
+about beaming. He had to content himself with the companionship of his
+daughter, for his betrothed was too busy to give him much time. Probably
+this was a good thing, for it made her father's visit much as it always
+had been to Ethel Blue, and did not impress on her too abruptly the idea
+of their new relation.
+
+It was at the meeting of the U. S. C. held very soon after the
+housewarming that the members decided to give a breakfast in celebration
+of the wedding and of Ethel Blue's departure from Rosemont.
+
+"We'll call it a breakfast, but we'll have it rather late," said Helen.
+
+"Why?" growled Roger hungrily. "I like my morning nourishment early."
+
+"It's going to be out on our terrace, and it's getting to be late in the
+season and if it's too cold we can't have it there," said Dorothy.
+
+"Put in your glass windows and have it at a civilized hour," implored
+Roger.
+
+Dorothy looked at Helen.
+
+"I'll ask Mother if she won't do that," she said. "Then we can have a
+fire in the open fireplace out there if it should be really frosty. I
+forgot we had all those comforts!"
+
+"We must give the Glen Point people time to get over, if Roger can
+restrain his appetite a trifle," urged Ethel Brown.
+
+"We'd better have Della and Tom stay all night so they'll be here on
+time," urged Ethel Blue. "I can't get over New Haven being near enough
+for Tom to go back and forth so easily. I always thought it was as far
+off as Boston."
+
+"I declare I almost weep every time I think of Ethel Blue's leaving the
+club," sobbed Tom with loud groans.
+
+Ethel Blue tossed a pillow at him.
+
+"Stop making fun of me," she said with her pretended severity.
+
+"Ethel Blue was the founder of this club. Don't forget that," said James
+gravely.
+
+"Don't be so solemn, people; you'll make me bawl," and Ethel Blue looked
+around her wildly, as Ethel Brown made a dive into her pocket for her
+handkerchief, and Della sniffed.
+
+"Stop your nonsense, children," urged Helen. "Let's make a list of what
+we are going to do at our breakfast. First, what shall we eat?"
+
+The discussion waxed absorbing, but when it came to the arrangement of a
+program it was found that there seemed to be fewer ideas than was
+customary among them.
+
+"What's the matter?" asked Helen. "Usually we're tumbling over ourselves
+suggesting things."
+
+"I've got an idea, but it's sort of a joke and I don't want to take the
+edge off it by telling it now," admitted James.
+
+It proved that all of them were in the same predicament.
+
+"I'll tell you--let's have Helen and Roger the committee to arrange this
+program," suggested Tom. "Then we can each one tell the committee what
+our particular idea is, and they'll be the only ones who will know all
+the jokes."
+
+They decided that this would be the best way, and the committee withdrew
+to a corner where it was visited by one after the other of the rest of
+the members, while the unoccupied people drew around the piano on which
+Ethel Blue was playing popular songs.
+
+"When do you go?" Tom asked her as she stopped for a few minutes to hunt
+up a new piece of music.
+
+"The wedding is the day after our breakfast; then they go off on a week's
+trip and when they come back they'll pick me up here and take me on to
+Fort Myer with them."
+
+"That means that you'll only be here about ten days longer?"
+
+Ethel Blue nodded, her eyes filling.
+
+"I wish you'd give us your idea now, Tom," called Helen, seeing from
+across the room that her little cousin was not far from tears, and Tom
+went away, leaving her to let her fingers slip softly through a simple
+tune that her Aunt Marion had taught her to play in the dusk without her
+notes. She wondered if she would ever do it again; if her new mother and
+her father would want her to play it to them; if she should be happy, the
+only young person in the household when she had been accustomed to a
+large family; if she could ever get along without Dicky to tease her and
+to be teased.
+
+"Aunt Marion says that every change in life has its good points and its
+bad ones," she thought. "I must make the most out of the good points and
+try not to notice the bad ones or to change them into good ones."
+
+The tune rang out with a gayer lilt.
+
+"Any way, there are so many good points now that I ought not to think
+about the others. I've all my life wanted to live with Father. Here's my
+chance, and I must see only that my wish has come true."
+
+"You sound very gay over here by yourself," said James's voice behind
+her. "You don't sound as if you were sorry at all about leaving us."
+
+"I'm trying to balance things," Ethel Blue answered. "I lose Ethel Brown
+and all of you, but I gain Father."
+
+"You'll be coming north for your holidays next summer, I suppose. That
+will be a great old time for the U. S. C.," he said hopefully.
+
+"It would be simply too fine for words if the U. S. C. could go to
+Washington for Washington's Birthday next winter the way it did this
+winter," returned Ethel Blue, beaming at him.
+
+"There certainly is every inducement to get up an excursion there now,"
+said James. "You know we've decided on a round robin, don't you?"
+
+"A round robin? How does it work?"
+
+"Helen and Ethel Brown and the Honorary Member and Dorothy will be here
+in Rosemont, Margaret will be in Glen Point, Della in New York, you at
+Fort Myer and we boys at Harvard and Yale and the Boston Tech. Helen is
+going to start a letter on the first day of each month. She'll tell us
+what she's been doing. Ethel Brown will add on a bit; so will Dicky and
+Dorothy. It will go to Margaret. She'll put in a big batch of Glen Point
+news and send it in town to Della. When she has finished she'll send it
+on to Tom at New Haven, and in course of time it will reach Roger and me
+in Boston and Cambridge and we'll send it on to you in Washington."
+
+"That will be perfectly great!" exclaimed Ethel. "You can illustrate it
+with kodaks, and we'll all know what every one of us is doing all the
+time."
+
+"That was Aunt Daisy's idea. She thought we'd all like to keep together
+in some way even if we couldn't have our Saturday meetings."
+
+"Isn't she splendid!" ejaculated Ethel Blue, and at that instant she felt
+that she was far richer than ever before in her life.
+
+The morning of the breakfast proved to be clear and not too frost-filled
+for comfort.
+
+"We really hardly need the glass," Mrs. Smith said as she and Dorothy
+examined the terrace at an early hour.
+
+"It was safer to have it, though," answered Dorothy. "It might have
+rained and it never would have done to have the bride take cold. Now we
+can have the sashes open and the fire will take off the chill. It's a
+great combination."
+
+Mrs. Smith agreed that it was, and went on with her scrutiny of the
+table.
+
+When the guests arrived at nine o'clock, which was the very latest moment
+permitted them by Roger, they found the sun shining merrily on silver and
+glass and china, twinkling as if it were in the secret of the jokes that
+Helen and Roger had up their sleeves. Mr. Emerson had sent over his car
+for the Hancocks, for the Doctor's car was too small to convey the entire
+family.
+
+"It does my heart good to see Richard so radiant," said Mrs. Morton to
+her sister-in-law as Captain Morton ran down the steps to help his
+_fiancée_.
+
+"I believe the best part of his life is before him," Mrs. Smith answered
+softly, a smile on her lips.
+
+The hostess sat at one end of the table and Dorothy at the other. In the
+middle of one side was Helen, the president of the United Service Club,
+and in the middle of the other, Ethel Blue, the secretary and departing
+member. Mingled with the other club members were Mr. and Mrs. Emerson,
+who had contributed so greatly to the Club's pleasure during the
+preceding year, and Dr. and Mrs. Hancock, relatives of to-morrow's bride.
+The hour was too early for Mr. and Mrs. Watkins to come out from New
+York, but they telephoned their good wishes and congratulations while the
+meal was in progress.
+
+It was a simple breakfast but everything was good both to eat and to look
+at. It began with fruit, of which there were several kinds, and continued
+with a well-cooked cereal.
+
+"None of your five minute cereals for me," smiled Mrs. Smith. "I always
+have even the short-time ones cooked at least twice as long as they are
+reputed to need. It brings out their flavor better."
+
+After the cereal with its rich cream came chops for the meat eaters and
+individual _omelettes soufflés_, as light as a feather, for the egg
+eaters. The coffee was clear and turned to a warm gold when the cream
+worked its magic upon it. Broiled fresh mushrooms with bacon brought it
+all to an end.
+
+"Just the kind of muffins I like best," Ethel Brown said in a undertone
+to Dorothy.
+
+"Potatoes from our own farm," announced the hostess.
+
+"All praise to Dorothy, the farmer," hailed Mr. Emerson.
+
+"Mostly to Roger," protested Dorothy. "He managed the vegetable end of
+our planting."
+
+Helen tapped on her glass.
+
+"This will be the last meeting of all the members of the U. S. C.," she
+said, "because Ethel Blue and the boys are going away."
+
+A shade fell over the faces of all those around the table.
+
+"We who are left at home here are going to keep it up, so that there'll
+always be a Club for the wanderers to come back to. And we're going to
+have a round robin fly about every month."
+
+"Perhaps we'll all get together next summer in the holidays," suggested
+Tom.
+
+"We'll try to," the president continued. "Now I want to ask you to drink
+in Aunt Louise's nice brown coffee to the health of the founder of the
+United Service Club. She is its secretary and to-day she is distinguished
+as being about to leave us for good."
+
+They rapped the table and shouted Ethel Blue's name joyously. She sat
+with her head bowed, smiling.
+
+"Speech, speech," cried Mr. Emerson.
+
+"Thank you, thank you," replied Ethel Blue breathlessly. "I'm glad we've
+had the Club. It has been fun, although we've had to work pretty hard at
+it."
+
+"You've made fun for others," said Mrs. Emerson. "You've lived up to your
+name:--the United Service."
+
+"I'd like to propose the health of the Club as a whole," said Mrs.
+Morton. "As a citizen of Rosemont I can repeat what has been said to me
+by other citizens, even if, as the mother of some of the members, I might
+be somewhat embarrassed to utter such praise. Rosemont thinks that the
+United Service Club has done more to stir up the town than any other
+organization it has ever had."
+
+There was general applause from the grown-ups.
+
+"I'd like to hear some of these undertakings," said Captain Morton.
+"Won't some one recite them?"
+
+"O, Father, I wrote you all about them when each one came off," objected
+Ethel Blue.
+
+"Uncle Richard will hear what some of them are when we give out our
+prizes," said Helen. "We've decided to give prizes for certain especial
+successes. Ethel Brown, for instance, will be so good as to rise and
+receive a reward for reciting more poems than we ever knew could be
+learned by one small brain."
+
+Ethel Brown rose and received, while the rest applauded, a small sieve.
+
+"Why a sieve?" inquired Margaret.
+
+"The sieve is symbolic. Ethel takes in verse through her eyes and lets it
+out through her lips just like a sieve."
+
+After the laughter subsided, Helen continued:
+
+"Our next prize is for Grandfather Emerson, who supplied Ethel Brown with
+much of the material with which she has favored us."
+
+Mr. Emerson was decorated with a miniature well and pump.
+
+"I suppose this is the fount of English undefiled on which I drew," he
+commented.
+
+The president went on with her distribution. The jokes were all mild but
+for the Club members each had its meaning. James received a small pair of
+crutches, because he was the only one who had broken a leg.
+
+"I'm glad it wasn't scissors," said his father. "He might be led into
+cutting corners again."
+
+Dorothy received a pink tin containing a cake with pink icing--all by way
+of recognition of her love of cooking and of pink. Roger's gift was a set
+of collar and cuffs made from paper "dirt bands" and adorned with cuff
+buttons and a cravat of dazzling beauty.
+
+"A man of fashion and a farmer combined," Helen announced.
+
+Dicky received a watering can, by way of indicating his fondness for
+getting into trouble with water. A fan went to Della "for next summer's
+use." Tom had a little Roman soldier as a reminder of his representation
+of one of the Great Twin Brethren. Margaret's offering was a tiny
+Christmas Ship containing needles and a spool of thread. Helen gave
+herself a doll's coat like the one which she and Margaret had copied in
+great numbers for the war orphans. Ethel Blue's gift was a real
+present--a travelling case fitted with the necessaries of a journey. This
+came from all the members of the Club.
+
+"You're just too dear," whispered Ethel Blue, too overcome to speak.
+
+They drowned her voice in a burst of chatter, so that she might not burst
+into tears.
+
+"I have a few gifts left," said Helen, "and I'd like to give them out by
+acclamation. Whose tires have we worn until they were almost worn out and
+yet _she_ has never tired?"
+
+"Grandmother Emerson," came the ringing answer, and Helen ran around to
+her grandmother's chair and gave her a toy automobile.
+
+"Who made the most box furniture for Rose House?"
+
+"Roger," shouted James at the top of his lungs, while at the same moment
+Roger cried "James." The others, having been instructed to keep silent,
+concluded that the question was settled for them.
+
+"Roger _and_ James," decreed Helen, presenting each of them with a knife.
+
+"Who are our high-flyers?"
+
+"The Ethels," every one said promptly, for the Ethels were the only ones
+present who had been up in an aeroplane.
+
+A tiny flyer was given to each of them.
+
+So it went on until the supply of parcels in Helen's basket was
+exhausted.
+
+"Now, to wind up with," Helen said, "I want to thank Uncle Richard for
+giving us the very finest kind of present," and she waved her hand across
+the table to Miss Daisy, whose shining eyes and glowing cheeks told of
+her delight in all she had seen. "Uncle Richard is taking away Ethel
+Blue, but he's giving us an aunt. We love her already and we think we've
+all won a prize in her."
+
+"Ah, no," exclaimed Miss Daisy, slipping one hand into Ethel Blue's and
+laying the other on Captain Morton's shoulder. "It is I who have won a
+prize--a double prize!"
+
+
+
+
+      *      *      *      *      *
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's note:
+
+
+--Silently corrected some obvious typographical errors and misspellings.
+
+--Used hyphens more consistently, when the original showed a clear
+  preference.
+
+
+
+***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ETHEL MORTON AT SWEETBRIER LODGE***
+
+
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+<h1>The Project Gutenberg eBook, Ethel Morton at Sweetbrier Lodge, by Mabell
+S. C. Smith</h1>
+<pre>
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at <a href = "http://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a></pre>
+<p>Title: Ethel Morton at Sweetbrier Lodge</p>
+<p>Author: Mabell S. C. Smith</p>
+<p>Release Date: February 23, 2011  [eBook #35364]</p>
+<p>Language: English</p>
+<p>Character set encoding: UTF-8</p>
+<p>***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ETHEL MORTON AT SWEETBRIER LODGE***</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<h3>E-text prepared by Stephen Hutcheson, Roger Frank,<br />
+    and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team<br />
+    (http://www.pgdp.net)</h3>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<hr class="full" />
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+
+<div id="cover" class="img">
+<img src="images/cover.png" alt="Ethel Morton at Sweetbrier Lodge" width="400" height="746" />
+</div>
+<div class="box">
+<h1>ETHEL MORTON
+<br />AT SWEETBRIER
+<br />LODGE</h1>
+<p class="center">By
+<br />MABELL S. C. SMITH</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="center"><span class="smaller">THE WORLD SYNDICATE PUBLISHING COMPANY
+<br />Cleveland, Ohio <span class="gsw">New York, N. Y.</span></span></p>
+<p class="center"><span class="smaller"><i>Printed in the United States of America</i></span></p>
+</div>
+<h2>CONTENTS</h2>
+<dl class="toc">
+<dt class="smaller"><span class="lj">CHAPTER</span> PAGE</dt>
+<dt><a href="#c1"><span class="sc">I A New Craft</span></a> 9</dt>
+<dt><a href="#c2"><span class="sc">II Playing with Concrete</span></a> 25</dt>
+<dt><a href="#c3"><span class="sc">III The Club Selects the Benches</span></a> 37</dt>
+<dt><a href="#c4"><span class="sc">IV Christopher Finds a New Lodging</span></a> 52</dt>
+<dt><a href="#c5"><span class="sc">V The Law of Laughter</span></a> 67</dt>
+<dt><a href="#c6"><span class="sc">VI Spring All the Year Round</span></a> 80</dt>
+<dt><a href="#c7"><span class="sc">VII Closets and Stepmothers</span></a> 94</dt>
+<dt><a href="#c8"><span class="sc">VIII &ldquo;Off to Philadelphia in the Morning&rdquo;</span></a> 104</dt>
+<dt><a href="#c9"><span class="sc">IX Helen Distinguishes Herself</span></a> 122</dt>
+<dt><a href="#c10"><span class="sc">X The Land of &ldquo;Cat-fish and Waffles&rdquo;</span></a> 136</dt>
+<dt><a href="#c11"><span class="sc">XI Lights and a Fall</span></a> 150</dt>
+<dt><a href="#c12"><span class="sc">XII In the Family Hospital</span></a> 162</dt>
+<dt><a href="#c13"><span class="sc">XIII A Golden Color Scheme</span></a> 173</dt>
+<dt><a href="#c14"><span class="sc">XIV At the Metropolitan</span></a> 184</dt>
+<dt><a href="#c15"><span class="sc">XV Preparations for the Housewarming</span></a> 203</dt>
+<dt><a href="#c16"><span class="sc">XVI Columbus Day</span></a> 219</dt>
+<dt><a href="#c17"><span class="sc">XVII The Parting Breakfast</span></a> 234</dt>
+</dl>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_9">[9]</div>
+<h2 id="c1">CHAPTER I
+<br />A NEW CRAFT</h2>
+<p>&ldquo;Carefully! O, do be careful, Ethel
+Brown! I&rsquo;m so afraid I&rsquo;ll drop one of
+them!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>It was Ethel Blue Morton speaking to her cousin,
+who was helping her and their other cousin, Dorothy
+Smith, take Dicky Morton&rsquo;s newly hatched chickens
+out of the incubator and put them into the brooder.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I <i>have</i> dropped one,&rdquo; exclaimed Dorothy.
+&ldquo;Poor little dinky thing! It didn&rsquo;t hurt it a bit,
+though. See, it&rsquo;s running about as chipper as ever.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Are you counting &rsquo;em?&rdquo; demanded Dicky,
+whose small hands were better suited than those of
+the girls for making the transfer that was to establish
+the chicks in their new habitation.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; answered all three in chorus.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Here&rsquo;s one with a twisted leg. He must have
+fallen off the tray when he was first hatched.&rdquo; cried
+Ethel Brown.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_10">[10]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;He lookth pretty well. I gueth he&rsquo;ll live if I
+feed him by himthelf tho the throng ones won&rsquo;t
+crowd him away from the feed panth,&rdquo; said Dicky,
+examining the cripple, for in spite of his small supply
+of seven years he had learned from his big
+brother Roger and from his grandfather Emerson
+a great deal about the use of an incubator and the
+care of young chickens.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s a good hatch for this time of year,&rdquo;
+Ethel Brown announced when she added together
+the numbers which each handler reported to her.
+&ldquo;A hundred and thirty-seven.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Hear their little beaks tapping the wooden
+floor,&rdquo; Ethel Blue said, calling their attention to
+the behavior of the just-installed little fowls who
+were making themselves entirely at home with extraordinary
+promptness.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;They take naturally to oatmeal flakes, don&rsquo;t
+they?&rdquo; commented Dorothy. &ldquo;I always thought
+the old hen taught the chicks to scratch, and there&rsquo;s
+a little chap scratching as vigorously as if he had
+been taking lessons ever since he was born.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;They don&rsquo;t need lessons. Scratching is as natural
+as eating to them. Hear them hum?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>They all listened, smiling at the note of contentment
+that buzzed gently from the greedy groups of
+crowding chicks. As the oatmeal disappeared the
+chickens looked about them for shelter and discovered
+the strips of cloth that did duty for the maternal
+wings. Rushing beneath them they cuddled
+side by side in the covered part of the brooder.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_11">[11]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;Look at that one tucking his head under his
+wing like a grown-up hen!&rdquo; exclaimed Ethel Blue.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll have to turn the lamp up a little higher tho
+they won&rsquo;t crowd and hurt each other,&rdquo; Dicky decided.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;d wait a minute until they begin to warm the
+whole of their house by the warmth from their bodies,&rdquo;
+urged Ethel Brown, and her brother agreed
+that there was no need of haste, but he watched
+them closely until he saw that they were not trampling
+on each other&rsquo;s backs or sitting down hard on
+each other&rsquo;s heads.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;When will they come out again?&rdquo; asked Dorothy,
+who had never seen an incubator and brooder
+in operation before and who was immensely interested.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;When they are hungry.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;How soon will that be?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;In about two hours. They&rsquo;re a good deal like
+babies.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;And is this brooder a really good step-mother?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a foster-mother,&rdquo; corrected Ethel Blue.
+&ldquo;It isn&rsquo;t anything so horrid as a step-mother.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;O, I don&rsquo;t think step-mothers are horrid,&rdquo; objected
+Dorothy.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yeth, they are,&rdquo; insisted Dicky. &ldquo;All the fairy
+stories say they&rsquo;re cruel.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;O, fairy stories,&rdquo; sniffed Dorothy.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I imagine fairy stories are right about step-mothers,&rdquo;
+insisted Ethel Blue.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Did you ever know one?&rdquo; asked Dorothy.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_12">[12]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;No, I never did; but I have a feeling that
+they couldn&rsquo;t love a child that wasn&rsquo;t their own.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Why not?&rdquo; demanded Ethel Brown. &ldquo;Mother
+loves you just as well as she does her own children
+and you&rsquo;re only her niece.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Not her own niece, either&mdash;Uncle Roger&rsquo;s
+niece,&rdquo; corrected Ethel Blue; &ldquo;but then, Aunt
+Marion is a darling.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t see why a step-mother shouldn&rsquo;t be a
+darling.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t see why she shouldn&rsquo;t be but I don&rsquo;t believe
+she ever is,&rdquo; and Ethel Blue stuck to her opinion.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Well, there aren&rsquo;t any &lsquo;steps&rsquo; around this family,
+so we can&rsquo;t tell by our own experience,&rdquo; cried
+Dorothy, &ldquo;and we&rsquo;ve got this chicken family moved
+into its new house, so let&rsquo;s go and see what the
+workmen are doing at our new house.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Dorothy&rsquo;s mother had been planning for several
+months to build a house on a lot of land on the same
+street that they were living on now, but farther
+away from the Mortons&rsquo; and nearer the farm where
+lived the Mortons&rsquo; grandfather and grandmother,
+Mr. and Mrs. Emerson. The contractor had been
+at work only a few days.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;He had just finished staking off the ground when
+I was there the other afternoon,&rdquo; said Ethel Brown.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_13">[13]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;He&rsquo;s way ahead of that now,&rdquo; Dorothy reported
+as they walked on, three abreast across the sidewalk,
+their blue serge suits all alike, their Tipperary hats
+set at the same angle on their heads, and only the
+different colors of their eyes and hair distinguishing
+them to a careless observer. &ldquo;He told me yesterday
+that the whole cellar would be dug by this afternoon
+and they would be beginning to put in the concrete
+wall.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Where?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The cellar wall.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I thought cellar walls were made of stone.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Sometimes they are, but when there isn&rsquo;t stone
+all cut, concrete is more convenient and cheaper,
+too.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;And it lasts forever, I was reading the other
+day.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I should say it did. Those old Pyramids in
+Egypt are partly made of concrete, they think, and
+they are three or four thousand years old.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Does Aunt Louise expect her house to last three
+or four thousand years?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;She wants it durable; and fireproof, any way,
+because we&rsquo;re some distance from the engine house.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;If we watch this house grow it will be almost
+like building it with our own hands, won&rsquo;t it?&rdquo; exclaimed
+Ethel Brown, for, although the house was
+her aunt&rsquo;s, Mrs. Smith had made all the cousins
+feel that she wanted them to have a share in the
+pleasure that she and Dorothy were having in making
+a shelter for themselves after their many years
+of wandering. She and her daughter consulted over
+every part of the plans and they had often asked the
+opinion of the Mortons, so that they all had come
+to say &ldquo;our house&rdquo; quite as if it were to belong to
+them.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_14">[14]</div>
+<p>As they approached the knoll which they had been
+calling &ldquo;our house lot&rdquo; for several months, they
+saw that the gravel for the concrete was being hauled
+to the top of the hill where the bags of sand and
+cement had already been unloaded and a small concrete
+mixer set up.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;They do things fast, don&rsquo;t they!&rdquo; exclaimed
+Dorothy. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s Mr. Anderson, the contractor.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>A tall, substantial Scotsman bowed to them as
+they reached the top of the hill.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Have you come to superintend us, Miss Dorothy?&rdquo;
+he asked pleasantly. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re going to
+make all our preparations for mixing the concrete
+to-day, and then we&rsquo;ll start up the machine to-morrow.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You won&rsquo;t have the cellar wall all built by to-morrow
+after school, will you?&rdquo; asked Dorothy
+anxiously. &ldquo;We want to see how you do it.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It won&rsquo;t take long to do this small cellar so
+you&rsquo;d better hurry right here from your luncheon,&rdquo;
+Mr. Anderson returned as he walked away to attend
+to the placing of the pile of gravel, and to lay a
+friendly hand on the sides of the panting horses.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;If your driveway doesn&rsquo;t wind around more
+than this road that the hauling men have made all
+your friends&rsquo; horses will be puffing like mills when
+they reach the top,&rdquo; Ethel Blue warned her cousin.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_15">[15]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;Mother and the architect and a landscape gardener
+have it all drawn on paper,&rdquo; Dorothy responded.
+&ldquo;It&rsquo;s going to sweep around the foot of
+the knoll and come gently up the side and lie quite flat
+on top of the ridge for a little way before it reaches
+the front door.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That will be a long walk for people on foot.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Ethel Blue is speaking for herself,&rdquo; laughed
+Ethel Brown.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;And for Dorothy, too. She&rsquo;ll walk most of the
+time even if Aunt Louise is going to set up a car.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;There&rsquo;s to be a footpath over there,&rdquo; Dorothy
+indicated a side of the hill away from the proposed
+driveway. &ldquo;It will be a short cut and it&rsquo;s
+going to be walled in with shrubs so it won&rsquo;t be seen
+from the driveway.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What would be the harm if you could see it
+from the driveway?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;O, the lines would interfere, the landscape artist
+said. You mustn&rsquo;t have things confused, you
+know,&rdquo; and she shook her head as if she knew a
+great deal about the subject.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I suppose it would look all mixy and queer if
+you should see the grounds from an airship,&rdquo; guessed
+Ethel Brown, &ldquo;but I don&rsquo;t see what difference it
+would make from the ground.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I guess it would be ugly or he wouldn&rsquo;t be so
+particular about it,&rdquo; insisted Dorothy. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s his
+business&mdash;to make grounds look lovely.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I think I can see what he means,&rdquo; ventured
+Ethel Blue, who knew something about drawing and
+design. &ldquo;I watched Aunt Marion&rsquo;s dressmaker
+draping an evening gown for her one day. She
+made certain lines straight and other lines curved,
+but the two kinds of lines didn&rsquo;t cross each other
+any old way; she put them in certain places so that
+they would each make the other kind of line look
+better and not make the general effect confusing.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_16">[16]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;Don&rsquo;t you remember how it was when we were
+planning Dorothy&rsquo;s garden on top of this ridge, back
+of the house and the garage?&rdquo; Ethel Brown reminded
+them. &ldquo;We had to draw several positions
+for the different beds because some of our plans
+looked perfectly crazy&mdash;just a mess of square beds
+and oblong beds and round beds.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;They made you dizzy&mdash;I remember. We
+found we had to follow Roger&rsquo;s advice and make
+them balance.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Helen says there&rsquo;s a lot of geometry in laying
+out a garden. I guess she&rsquo;s right.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Helen and Roger were Ethel Brown&rsquo;s older sister
+and brother. They were in the high school.</p>
+<p>They had come now to the excavation for the
+cellar and watched the Italian laborers throwing out
+the last shovelfuls of earth.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;They&rsquo;re very particular about making the earth
+wall smooth,&rdquo; commented Ethel Brown.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I imagine they have to if the wall is to be concrete,&rdquo;
+returned Dorothy.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;They&rsquo;ve cut it under queerly at the foot on both
+sides; what&rsquo;s that for?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I haven&rsquo;t the dimmest,&rdquo; answered Dorothy
+briefly. &ldquo;Let&rsquo;s ask Mr. Anderson.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_17">[17]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;You&rsquo;d find it hard to stand up straight if you
+had only a leg to stand on and not a foot,&rdquo; that gentleman
+answered to the question. &ldquo;That concrete
+foot gives a good solid foundation, and it helps to
+repel the frost if that should get into the ground so
+deep. Do you see the planks the men are setting up
+twelve inches in from the bank?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The girls nodded.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;They are making a fence all around the cellar
+you see; that is to keep the concrete in place when
+it is poured in, and to give it shape.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Is it soft like mud?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It is made of one part of cement and two and
+one-half parts of sand and five parts of gravel. Do
+you cook?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>They all nodded again.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;When you come to-morrow you&rsquo;ll see the mixing
+machine making a stiff batter of those three
+things&mdash;cement and sand and gravel.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It must be like putting raisins in a plum pudding,&rdquo;
+suggested Ethel Brown. &ldquo;You have to be
+careful the stones&mdash;the raisins&mdash;don&rsquo;t all sink
+to the bottom or get bunched together in one place.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s the idea,&rdquo; smiled Mr. Anderson. &ldquo;All
+those things and water go into one end of the mixer
+and they come out at the other end concrete in a soft
+state. Then the men shovel the stuff into the space
+between the fence and the earth bank, making sure
+that that widening trench at the foot is chock full and
+they thump it down and let it &lsquo;set.&rsquo;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I think the cellar will look very ugly with that
+old plank wall,&rdquo; decided Dorothy seriously.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The planks will be taken away.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_18">[18]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;Won&rsquo;t the concrete show lines where the cracks
+between the boards were?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Do you see those rolls of heavy paper over
+there? The planks
+will be lined with that
+so that the concrete
+will come against a
+perfectly smooth surface.
+When the
+wood is taken away
+the men will go over
+it with a smoothing
+tool and when they
+have finished even
+your particular eye
+will see nothing to
+take exception to.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;O, I knew it
+would be right somehow,&rdquo;
+murmured
+Dorothy, who was
+afraid she had hurt
+Mr. Anderson&rsquo;s feelings.
+&ldquo;I just didn&rsquo;t
+know how you managed
+it.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Here&rsquo;s the way the end of the wall would look
+if you could slice down right through it,&rdquo; and the
+contractor took out his notebook and drew a cross
+section of the concrete wall showing its widened
+foot.</p>
+<div class="img">
+<img src="images/p1.png" alt="The Foundation Wall of Sweetbrier Lodge as Mr. Anderson Drew It" width="393" height="711" />
+<p>The Foundation Wall of Sweetbrier Lodge as Mr. Anderson Drew It</p>
+</div>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_19">[19]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;What&rsquo;s the floor to be made of?&rdquo; asked Ethel
+Blue.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Concrete&mdash;four inches of it,&rdquo; answered Mr.
+Anderson promptly. &ldquo;It will slope a trifle toward
+this end, and there a drainage pipe will be laid to
+carry off any water used in washing the floor. Then
+a layer of cement will go on top of the concrete.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What&rsquo;s that for?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;To make it all smooth. It will be rounded up
+at the corners and sides where it joins the walls, so
+there won&rsquo;t be any chance for the dust to collect.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The cellar in our house is awfully damp,&rdquo; remarked
+Ethel Brown. &ldquo;Sometimes you can see the
+water dripping down the stones.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The walls and the floor of this cellar will be
+waterproofed with a mixture of rich cement and sand
+mortar, and I think you&rsquo;ll find, young ladies, that
+you&rsquo;ll have a cellar that&rsquo;ll be hard to beat.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The contractor slapped his notebook emphatically
+and beamed at them so amiably that they felt the
+greatest confidence in what he proposed.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Any way, I haven&rsquo;t anything better to suggest,&rdquo;
+said Dorothy dryly.</p>
+<p>Mr. Anderson walked off, giving a roar of amusement
+as he left them.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Where does the sun rise from here?&rdquo; asked
+Ethel Blue as she stood at the spot where was to be
+the front of the house, and gazed about her.
+&ldquo;Does the house face directly south?&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_20">[20]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;No, it faces just half way between south and
+west. The corners of the house point to north,
+south, east and west. Mother said that if the front
+was due south the back would be due north and
+she didn&rsquo;t want a whole side of her house facing
+north.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It does have a chilly sound,&rdquo; shivered Ethel
+Brown.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;With a point stretching toward the north the
+rooms that have a northern exposure will also have
+the morning sun and the afternoon sun.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I know Aunt Louise will have her dining room
+where the morning sun will shine in.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes, <i>ma&rsquo;am</i>,&rdquo; returned Dorothy emphatically.
+&ldquo;It makes you feel better all day if you eat your
+breakfast in the sunshine. By this plan of Mother&rsquo;s
+every room in the house will have direct sunshine at
+some part of the day.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s great,&rdquo; approved Ethel Blue. &ldquo;Can&rsquo;t we
+ask Mr. Anderson about making a bird&rsquo;s bath out of
+cement?&rdquo; she inquired. &ldquo;Ethel Brown and I saw
+a beauty at Mrs. Schermerhorn&rsquo;s and perhaps he&rsquo;d
+let us have some of the concrete to-morrow when the
+men are mixing it, and we can try to make one.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The girls raced over to the spot where the contractor
+was just about to get into his Ford, and
+stopped him.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Would you mind letting us have a little concrete
+to-morrow to make a bird&rsquo;s bath with?&rdquo;
+begged Dorothy breathlessly.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;A bird&rsquo;s bath?&rdquo; repeated Mr. Anderson.
+&ldquo;How are you going to make it?&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_21">[21]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;Couldn&rsquo;t we put some concrete in a pan and
+squeeze another pan down on to it and let it
+harden?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Why, yes, something like that,&rdquo; returned Mr.
+Anderson slowly.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Do you want to make it yourselves?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes, indeed,&rdquo; all three girls cried in chorus.</p>
+<p>He smiled at their enthusiasm and offered a suggestion.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I suppose you want the bird&rsquo;s bath for your garden,
+Miss Dorothy;&mdash;why don&rsquo;t you make a little
+pool for the garden?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Oh, could we?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;If you could get a tub and lay down a flooring of
+concrete and then put in another tub enough smaller
+so that there would be a space between the walls,
+then you could fill the space with concrete. When
+it set, you could take out the inner tub after two or
+three days and turn the concrete out of the outer tub
+and there you&rsquo;d have a concrete tub that you could
+move about.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That sounds great,&rdquo; beamed Dorothy, &ldquo;but
+wouldn&rsquo;t it be awfully heavy?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Here&rsquo;s a better way, then. If you can make up
+your mind exactly where you want to have it in your
+garden you can have a hole dug, lay down your floor
+of concrete and put your small tub on it.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I see&mdash;then you fill the space between the tub
+and the earth with concrete.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Precisely; thump it down hard and let it stand
+untouched for a while. Then take away your tub,
+and there you are again.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_22">[22]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;You can&rsquo;t make the concrete floor and leave it,
+can you?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No, indeed. You must have everything ready
+to do the whole thing at once. Put in your tub
+which is to be your mold, while the floor is still
+plastic&mdash;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Eh?&rdquo; inquired Ethel Brown.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Soft enough to mold; and then pour in the walls
+right off quick. You can&rsquo;t fool round when you&rsquo;re
+working with concrete.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;How can we keep the water fresh in the tub?&rdquo;
+asked Ethel Blue of Dorothy.</p>
+<p>Dorothy paused, not knowing what to say.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It would be fun to keep gold fish in it,&rdquo; she said,
+&ldquo;but they would have to have fresh water, wouldn&rsquo;t
+they?&rdquo; She turned appealingly to Mr. Anderson.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s not hard to manage,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;You
+can put a bit of broomstick between the earth wall
+and the outer wall of your tub-mold and pour the
+concrete around it. When the concrete has hardened
+you pull out the stick and there is a hole. Then
+you can have a drain dug that will tap that hole on
+the outside and carry off the water through a few
+lengths of drain pipe.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What&rsquo;s to prevent the water running off all the
+time?&rdquo; Ethel Blue wanted to know.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Keep a plug in it,&rdquo; answered the contractor
+briefly. &ldquo;And there should be waterproofing stuff
+mixed with the materials. You have your gardener
+dig a hole in the garden,&rdquo; he said, adding, &ldquo;don&rsquo;t
+forget to have plenty of grease.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_23">[23]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;What&rsquo;s that for?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Why do you grease your cake pans?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;So the cake won&rsquo;t stick.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Same here. On the cellar wall we lined the inside
+of the wooden forms with paper. That isn&rsquo;t so
+easy with round forms, so you grease them.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I never thought there was any likeness between
+concrete and cooking,&rdquo; laughed Ethel Brown as the
+girls watched Mr. Anderson&rsquo;s skill in taking his little
+car over the rough ground around the cellar excavation,
+&ldquo;but there seems to be plenty.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Let&rsquo;s chase off and see if we can collect the
+things we shall need to-morrow,&rdquo; urged Dorothy.
+&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll have to find Patrick and bring him here and
+show him just where to dig the hole.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Where are you going to dig the hole?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I think just in the open place on top of the
+ridge.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I wouldn&rsquo;t,&rdquo; objected Ethel Brown.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Why not?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Won&rsquo;t it be too warm in summer? If you&rsquo;re
+going to have gold fish you don&rsquo;t want to boil them.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The water would get pretty hot in the sun,
+wouldn&rsquo;t it?&rdquo; considered her cousin. &ldquo;What do
+you think of a place under that tree?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It ought not to be too near the tree because the
+roots will grow out a long way from the trunk of the
+tree and they might get under the pool and break up
+the concrete.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Oh, could a tender little thing like a root break
+concrete that&rsquo;s as hard as stone?&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_24">[24]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;It certainly can. Grandfather showed me a
+crack in a concrete wall of his on the farm that was
+made by the root of a big tree not far off.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Well, then we can&rsquo;t have our pool anywhere near
+a tree. A shrub wouldn&rsquo;t hurt it, though; why can&rsquo;t
+it go near those shrubs that are going to separate the
+flower garden from the vegetable garden?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That place would be all right because there&rsquo;s a
+tall spruce there that throws a shadow over the
+shrubs for a part of the day. That&rsquo;s all you need;
+you don&rsquo;t want to take away all the sunshine from the
+pool.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>So the exact spot was decided on and marked so
+that Patrick should make no mistake, and then the
+girls rushed off on a search for shallow basins and
+a tub.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_25">[25]</div>
+<h2 id="c2">CHAPTER II
+<br />PLAYING WITH CONCRETE</h2>
+<p>It was not the Ethels and Dorothy alone who appeared
+at the &ldquo;new place&rdquo; the next afternoon to
+make the experiments with concrete. Helen, Ethel
+Brown&rsquo;s elder sister, and her friend, Margaret Hancock,
+of Glen Point, were so interested in the younger
+girls&rsquo; account of what they were going to do with
+Mr. Anderson&rsquo;s help that they came too.</p>
+<p>As they puffed up the steep knoll on which the new
+house was to stand they stopped beside the cellar
+hole to see what progress had been made since the
+day before.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;They have just frisked along!&rdquo; Dorothy exclaimed
+when she saw that not only was the inside
+fence-mold all built but that the concrete floor was
+laid and that the men were pouring the mixture in
+between the planks and the earth wall and pounding
+it down as they poured.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Mr. Anderson said &lsquo;you can&rsquo;t fool round when
+you&rsquo;re working with concrete,&rsquo;&rdquo; Ethel Brown repeated.
+&ldquo;They aren&rsquo;t, are they?&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_26">[26]</div>
+<p>The men were all working as fast as they could
+move, some of them shovelling the materials into
+the mixer, others running the machine, others wheeling
+the wet concrete in iron barrows to the men at
+the edge of the cellar who tamped it down as fast
+as it was poured into the narrow space that defined
+the growing wall.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;When it is full, way up to the top, what happens
+next?&rdquo; Dorothy inquired of Mr. Anderson
+who came over to where they were standing.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Then we&rsquo;re going to build on it a three foot wall
+of concrete blocks to support the upper part of the
+house.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s the wall that has the cellar windows in
+it?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Then do make good big ones; Mother likes a
+bright cellar,&rdquo; urged Dorothy.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;re going to make her a beauty,&rdquo; promised
+the contractor. &ldquo;Come up into your garden now
+and let&rsquo;s get this concrete work up there done.
+Here, Luigi,&rdquo; he called to an Italian, &ldquo;bring us a
+load of concrete over there,&rdquo; and he waved his hand
+in the direction of the spot where Patrick had dug the
+hole for the tub.</p>
+<p>They all examined the hole with care and the
+Ethels fitted in the tub and found that their digger
+had done his work skilfully, since there were just
+about three inches between the earth and the tub all
+around. They pulled the tub out again and under
+Mr. Anderson&rsquo;s direction they greased it thoroughly.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;We want to do every bit we can ourselves,&rdquo; they
+insisted when he suggested that Luigi might do that
+part for them.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_27">[27]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;Don&rsquo;t forget the hole for the drainage,&rdquo; he reminded
+them. &ldquo;Have you got your stick? And on
+which side are you going to have that?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>They surveyed the ground about the hole and decided
+that a drainage pipe might run a few inches
+underground for a short distance and discharge itself
+at the edge of a bank below which a vegetable
+garden was to lie.</p>
+<div class="img">
+<img src="images/p2.png" alt="The Way the Pool Looked When It Was Done" width="598" height="331" />
+<p>The Way the Pool Looked When It Was Done</p>
+</div>
+<p>&ldquo;If you&rsquo;re careful what you plant there it will be
+an advantage to the ground to have this dampening
+once in a while,&rdquo; said Mr. Anderson, who was something
+of a gardener. &ldquo;There won&rsquo;t be enough water
+to drown out any of your plants.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_28">[28]</div>
+<p>Luigi emptied a load of concrete into the hole and
+while he was gone to get a new supply the girls
+thumped it down hard, fitted in the greased tub and
+wedged a bit of broomstick which Roger, Ethel
+Brown&rsquo;s brother, had cut for Dorothy into the space
+between the tub and the earth just at the top of the
+concrete flooring. When Luigi came back they were
+ready to thump as he poured and three loads filled up
+the space entirely.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Now, then, Luigi will bring you one of the
+smoothing tools that the men over there are using
+and you can make the top look even,&rdquo; and Mr. Anderson
+gave more instructions to the Italian.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It will be pretty to have some plants at the edge
+so they&rsquo;ll bend over and see themselves in the water,&rdquo;
+suggested Margaret.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I should think there must be some water plants
+that would grow inside without much trouble,&rdquo; Ethel
+Blue said.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;We must look that up; they&rsquo;d probably need a
+little soil of some sort,&rdquo; Helen reminded them.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;They&rsquo;d be awfully pretty,&rdquo; said Dorothy complacently.
+&ldquo;Don&rsquo;t you seem to see it&mdash;with gold
+fish swimming around among the stems?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Dicky might lend us his old turtle,&rdquo; laughed
+Ethel Brown. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s tired of taking care of it.
+You could put a stick in here partly above the water,
+for him to sun himself on. I don&rsquo;t see why he
+wouldn&rsquo;t be quite happy here.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Dicky&rsquo;s turtle was a family joke. Dicky had
+found him two years before and had taken him home
+thinking he was a piece of stone. His excitement
+and terror when the stone lying on the library table
+stuck out first a head and then one leg after another
+to the number of four, had never been forgotten by
+the people who saw him at this thrilling moment.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_29">[29]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;Now for your bird&rsquo;s bath,&rdquo; Mr. Anderson reminded
+his pupils. &ldquo;You have to work fast, you
+know.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Dorothy brought out her two shallow basins, one
+smaller than the other. The larger had its inside
+well greased and the smaller was thoroughly rubbed
+over on its under side. Into the larger they poured
+about an inch of concrete and then squeezed the
+smaller dish into it, but not so sharply that it cut
+through. They filled in the crack between the two,
+pushing and patting the mixture into place, and they
+smoothed the edge so that it turned over the rim of
+the larger bowl before they cut it off evenly all around
+with a wire.</p>
+<div class="img">
+<img src="images/p3.png" alt="The Bird&rsquo;s Bath" width="554" height="173" />
+<p>The Bird&rsquo;s Bath</p>
+</div>
+<p>&ldquo;There,&rdquo; said Mr. Anderson as he watched them.
+&ldquo;We&rsquo;ll see what will come from that. It might be
+better done&mdash;&rdquo; at which the girls all pulled long
+faces&mdash;&ldquo;but also, it might be worse, or I&rsquo;m very
+much mistaken.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I wish we could make some garden furniture,&rdquo;
+sighed Dorothy, holding up her dripping hands helplessly,
+but at the same time gazing with joy at their
+new manufacture.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_30">[30]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;You could if you would make the forms,&rdquo; said
+Mr. Anderson. &ldquo;All you need to do is to make a
+bench inside of another bench and fill the space between
+with concrete.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That sounds easy, but if you were a girl, Mr.
+Anderson, you might find it a little hard to make the
+forms.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;We can all drive nails,&rdquo; insisted Ethel Brown
+stoutly. &ldquo;I believe I&rsquo;ll try.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>But the others laughed at her and reminded her
+that she would have to drive the nails through rather
+heavy planking, so she gave up the notion.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What are the walls going to be made of?&rdquo; Margaret
+asked Dorothy.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Something fireproof, Mother said, but I don&rsquo;t
+know what she finally decided on. I&rsquo;ll ask Mr. Anderson.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Plaster on hollow tile,&rdquo; the contractor answered
+absent-mindedly over his shoulder, as he walked
+briskly before them back to the cellar.</p>
+<p>The girls saw that he was too full of business now
+to pay any more attention to them, so they thanked
+him for giving them so much time and made some investigations
+on their own account among the piles of
+material lying about on the grounds.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I wonder if this could be &lsquo;hollow-tile,&rsquo;&rdquo; Ethel
+Blue said to the rest as she came across a stack of
+strange-looking pieces of brown earthenware.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s certainly hollow,&rdquo; returned Ethel Brown,
+&ldquo;but I always supposed tiles were flat things.
+That&rsquo;s a tile Mother sets the teapot on to keep the
+heat from harming the polish of the table.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_31">[31]</div>
+<p>They stood about the pile of brown, square-edged
+pipes, roughly glazed inside and out, through whose
+length ran three square holes. They asked two
+workmen as they passed what they were. One said
+&ldquo;Hollow tile,&rdquo; and the other, &ldquo;Terra-cotta.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I suspect they&rsquo;re both right,&rdquo; Helen decided.
+&ldquo;Probably they&rsquo;re hollow tile made of terra-cotta.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;But I thought terra-cotta was lighter brown
+and smooth. They make little images out of terra-cotta,&rdquo;
+insisted Dorothy.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve seen those,&rdquo; agreed Margaret, &ldquo;but I suppose
+there can be different qualities of terra-cotta just
+as there are different qualities of china.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;This stuff is fireproof, any way,&rdquo; explained Dorothy.
+&ldquo;I remember now hearing Mother and the
+architect talking about it. And they said something
+about a &lsquo;dead air space.&rsquo; That must mean the
+holes.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What&rsquo;s dead air space for?&rdquo; inquired Ethel
+Blue.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I think it dries up the dampness, or keeps it out
+so that it doesn&rsquo;t get into the house.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;These are useful old blocks, then, even if they
+aren&rsquo;t pretty,&rdquo; decided Helen, patting the ugly pile.</p>
+<p>Mr. Anderson strolled toward them again after
+giving various directions to his men.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Just how is this tile used?&rdquo; inquired Dorothy,
+as he seemed to be more at leisure now.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_32">[32]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;We build a wall of this hollow tile,&rdquo; he answered;
+&ldquo;then we put the plaster right on to it. Do
+you see that the outside is rather rough? That is
+so the plaster will have something to take hold of.
+We mix it up of cement and lime and sand and put
+on three coats. The first one is mixed with hair,
+and mashed on hard so that it will stick and it is
+roughened so that the next coat will stick to it.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Is the next coat made of the same stuff?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Without the hair; and the third coat is as thin
+as cream and is flowed on to make a smooth-looking
+outside finish.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="img">
+<img src="images/p4.png" alt="The Walls of Sweetbrier Lodge&mdash;Plaster on Hollow Tile" width="644" height="439" />
+<p>The Walls of Sweetbrier Lodge&mdash;Plaster on Hollow Tile</p>
+</div>
+<p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s a lot of work,&rdquo; commented Dorothy.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s not all we&rsquo;re going to do to your walls;
+Mrs. Smith wants them to be a trifle yellowish in tone&mdash;a
+little warmer than the natural color of the
+plaster&mdash;so we&rsquo;re going to wash on some mineral
+matter that will give them color and waterproof
+them at the same time.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Killing two birds,&rdquo; murmured Helen.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_33">[33]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;Then the whole house will look plastery except
+the roof and chimneys,&rdquo; said Ethel Brown.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Including the roof and chimneys,&rdquo; returned
+Mr. Anderson. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re going to use concrete
+shingles&mdash;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Concrete shingles! Doesn&rsquo;t that sound funny!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;They are colored, so they look like green or red
+shingles.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What color is Mother going to have?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Dark green. The chimney is to be made of reinforced
+concrete.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;Reinforced&rsquo; must mean &lsquo;strengthened,&rsquo; but
+how do you strengthen it?&rdquo; inquired Margaret.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You&rsquo;ve seen how we build a mold to pour the
+concrete in; inside of the mold we build a sort of cage
+of steel rods. Don&rsquo;t you see that when the concrete
+hardens it would be almost impossible for such a reinforced
+piece of work to break through?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Couldn&rsquo;t an earthquake break it?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;An earthquake might give a piece of solid concrete
+such a twist that it would crack through, but
+suppose the crack found itself up against a steel
+rod? Don&rsquo;t you think it would complicate matters?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The girls thought it would.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m awfully glad our chimney is going to be reinforced,&rdquo;
+Dorothy exclaimed, &ldquo;because up on this
+knoll we&rsquo;re going to feel the wind a lot and it would
+be horrid if the chimney should fall down!&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_34">[34]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;It certainly would,&rdquo; agreed the Ethels, but Mr.
+Anderson assured them that they need not be afraid
+of any accident of the sort with a reinforced concrete
+chimney.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve seen skyscrapers going up in New York,&rdquo;
+said Margaret &ldquo;and all the beams were of steel.
+Are you going to use steel beams here?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No, we don&rsquo;t often use steel construction for
+small houses, but this house is going to be more fireproof
+than most small houses even if it does have
+wooden beams. You watch it as it goes on and notice
+all the points that make for fireproofness. It
+will interest you,&rdquo; Mr. Anderson promised as he
+walked away.</p>
+<p>The girls all washed their hands as well as they
+could with the hose with which the workmen watered
+the concrete mixture, but they had nothing to dry
+them on and they walked down the road holding them
+before them and waving them in the breeze.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Mother will think we are crazy if she happens
+to be looking out of the window,&rdquo; said Dorothy.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;My aunt sent you a message, Dorothy,&rdquo; said
+Margaret.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What aunt? I didn&rsquo;t know you had an aunt,&rdquo;
+replied Dorothy.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;She seems like a new aunt to us; James and I
+haven&rsquo;t seen her since we were little bits of things.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Where does she live?&rdquo; asked Ethel Blue.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;In Washington. She&rsquo;s an interior decorator and
+she&rsquo;s awfully busy, so when she has had to come on
+to New York to buy materials or to see people she
+has never had a chance to stay with us.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_35">[35]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;Is she going to make a visit this time?&rdquo; inquired
+Ethel Brown.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;She has come for a long visit now. She has a
+commission to decorate a house in Englewood. It&rsquo;s
+going to take her several weeks, and then she wants
+to rest and do some studying and to make the rounds
+of the decorators in the city, so it will be several
+months before she goes back again.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s nice,&rdquo; said Ethel Blue politely, and she
+was glad she had thought so because Margaret said
+at once, &ldquo;We think it&rsquo;s splendid. She&rsquo;s a young
+aunt, lots and lots younger than Mother, and James
+and I think she&rsquo;s loads of fun.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What was her message to me?&rdquo; asked Dorothy.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;O, we were telling her about the United Service
+Club and the things we did&mdash;sending gifts to the
+war orphans and celebrating holidays and our plans
+for helping some poor women and children in the
+summer and for taking care of the Belgian baby.
+She was awfully interested and said she felt as if she
+knew all of you people and the Watkinses quite well,
+we talked about you so much. Then we told her
+about Dorothy&rsquo;s house, and how Mrs. Smith had
+said we might all give our opinions about the decorating,
+and she asked us to tell you that she&rsquo;d be very
+glad indeed to act as consulting decorator when you
+come to the inside work.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Why, that&rsquo;s awfully sweet of her!&rdquo; exclaimed
+Dorothy. &ldquo;Mother isn&rsquo;t going to have a regular
+decorator, and I know she&rsquo;ll be immensely pleased to
+have Miss&mdash;what is your aunt&rsquo;s name?&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_36">[36]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;Graham; she&rsquo;s our Aunt Daisy!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;&mdash;to have Miss Graham give us advice and
+&lsquo;check up&rsquo; on our suggestions.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;By the time your house is ready for that part she
+will have finished her Englewood house; but she said
+she&rsquo;d be glad to come over and see the house and the
+plans any time when she was free for the afternoon,
+and she hoped you&rsquo;d consult her about everything you
+wanted to.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Daisy is a pretty name, isn&rsquo;t it?&rdquo; Ethel Blue
+murmured to herself. &ldquo;I wish one of us was named
+Daisy.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Her name is really Margaret; I&rsquo;m named after
+her. Daisy is the nickname for Margaret, you
+know.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a lovely name,&rdquo; said Ethel Blue again.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;And please tell Miss Daisy that I think she&rsquo;s the
+finest ever, and Mother will think so, too, when I
+tell her about this,&rdquo; added Dorothy.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;And do ask her to come over to one of the U.&nbsp;S.&nbsp;C.
+meetings when we happen to be doing something
+that will interest her,&rdquo; concluded Helen, who was the
+president of the club.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_37">[37]</div>
+<h2 id="c3">CHAPTER III
+<br />THE CLUB SELECTS THE BENCHES</h2>
+<p>It seemed to Dorothy and the Ethels that the outside
+of Sweetbrier Lodge, as Mrs. Smith had determined
+to call her house, went up with remarkable
+speed, but that the inside would never be done&mdash;never!
+Every day the girls walked down the road
+after school, and stood and surveyed the general appearance
+from the sidewalk and from across the
+street and sometimes they went on to Mrs. Emerson&rsquo;s
+and discussed vigorously as to whether the view
+of the corner of the house that was to be seen now
+would still be seen after the leaves came out or
+whether the house would be entirely concealed by
+the foliage.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s &lsquo;one of the things no feller knows,&rsquo;&rdquo;
+Mr. Emerson quoted. &ldquo;We shall have to wait and
+see.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;We can get an idea how it is to look from the
+road,&rdquo; said Ethel Brown.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Only there&rsquo;ll be a lot of planting,&rdquo; Dorothy explained.
+&ldquo;There&rsquo;ll be a hedge along the street and
+a lot of shrubs on the knoll and the house will be covered
+with vines in the course of time.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s another good point about concrete,&rdquo; declared
+Mr. Emerson; &ldquo;vines don&rsquo;t injure it as they
+do brick.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_38">[38]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;ll have it entirely covered, then,&rdquo; laughed
+Dorothy.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I thought it was to be a bungalow,&rdquo; said Mrs.
+Emerson. &ldquo;Your mother has always spoken of it
+as a bungalow, but the plans I saw the men following
+the other day when I went up the hill to take a
+look at things, seemed to me like a two story house.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Mother changed her mind,&rdquo; said Dorothy.
+&ldquo;She thought a bungalow would be too crowded now
+that we have little Belgian Elisabeth with us, so the
+house is going to have two stories and an attic.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The U.&nbsp;S.&nbsp;C. couldn&rsquo;t get on without Dorothy&rsquo;s
+attic,&rdquo; smiled Ethel Brown, for almost all of the
+presents for the Christmas Ship had been made in
+the attic of Dorothy&rsquo;s present abiding place, and the
+Club had had many meetings there.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;There&rsquo;s nothing like having a well-thought-out
+plan before you attempt building,&rdquo; said Mr. Emerson,
+&ldquo;and that your mother had.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;She tried to think of every possible need, Ayleesabet&rsquo;s
+as well as our own,&rdquo; continued Dorothy, using
+the pronunciation that the Belgian baby had given
+her own name.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;She has a good contractor in Anderson.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;He didn&rsquo;t make the very lowest bid,&rdquo; said Dorothy.
+&ldquo;There was one man who was lower, but he
+was such a lot lower that Mother thought there must
+be something the matter with the quality of the material
+he used, or that he employed workmen so poor
+that they might not do their work well, so she didn&rsquo;t
+consider that offer at all.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_39">[39]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;She was very wise,&rdquo; commended Mr. Emerson.
+&ldquo;He might have spoiled the whole thing and have
+cost her more money in the end by turning out a poor
+job.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>While the building was going on and before the inside
+work was done the girls spent a good deal of
+time in planning for the furnishing of the garden.
+The flower and vegetable beds had all been arranged
+some weeks before and many of them had been
+planted, but the artistic part of the garden had been
+left until there should be time to devote to it. Mrs.
+Smith had promised Dorothy that she should have
+the choice of the garden furniture, reserving for herself
+a veto power if her daughter chose anything
+that seemed to her entirely unsuitable.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Not that I expect to use it,&rdquo; she said, smiling at
+the girls who were listening to her.</p>
+<p>The selection of the benches and tables and trellises
+was made a subject of attention by the whole
+United Service Club. A meeting was called in the
+partly begun garden so that they might have the &ldquo;lie
+of the land&rdquo; before them as they talked. Dorothy
+took with her a number of catalogues from which to
+select or to gather ideas.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got a good shelter of large trees already
+provided for us,&rdquo; she said as they all seated themselves
+in such shade as the young leaves made.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_40">[40]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;There ought to be a fine large settee under it
+where we can have Club meetings all summer, no
+matter how warm it is,&rdquo; urged Tom Watkins with
+wise foresight. Tom and his sister, Della, came out
+from New York for the club gatherings, and the
+prospect of meeting out of doors instead of in the
+attic, which was delightful in winter but not so attractive
+in warm weather, made him offer this shrewd
+suggestion.</p>
+<div class="img">
+<img src="images/p5.png" alt="&ldquo;A fine large settee&rdquo;" width="615" height="266" />
+<p>&ldquo;A fine large settee&rdquo;</p>
+</div>
+<p>&ldquo;In the first place,&rdquo; said Dorothy again, opening
+the various catalogues and spreading them on the
+grass where they could all see them, &ldquo;don&rsquo;t you
+think it would be pretty to have all the chairs and
+benches of one pattern? Or don&rsquo;t you?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I think it would,&rdquo; answered Ethel Brown, examining
+the pages carefully before she made her decision.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Would what?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I should like them all alike. It would be messy
+to have a lot of different patterns.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Ethel Blue, who had a good deal of artistic sense
+and ability, nodded her agreement with this belief.
+They all came to the same conclusion.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Then, let&rsquo;s pick out the pattern,&rdquo; said Dorothy,
+who had an orderly mind.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_41">[41]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;Something plain, so the visitor&rsquo;s eye won&rsquo;t be
+drawn to the benches instead of the flowers,&rdquo; recommended
+Helen. &ldquo;Suppose we were sitting here, for
+instance, and looking toward the flower beds&mdash;there
+will be some tables and chairs between us and the
+flowers, probably&mdash;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;If the seeds will only grow,&rdquo; Dorothy sighed
+comically.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;&mdash;and we want to forget them and not have
+them intrude on our attention.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Correct!&rdquo; James Hancock thumped the
+ground by way of applause.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What&rsquo;s the plainest pattern there is?&rdquo; asked
+Della, extending her hand for a book.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That one&mdash;but that&rsquo;s too plain,&rdquo; remonstrated
+Ethel Blue. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s so plain that it draws your attention
+as much as if it were all fussed up.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>They laughed at her disgust and urged her to
+choose the next plainest.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I rather think this one with cross bars is pretty,&rdquo;
+she decided seriously. &ldquo;You wouldn&rsquo;t get tired of
+that&mdash;especially if they&rsquo;re all painted dark green
+so you won&rsquo;t see them much.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You girls seem to want to have invisible furniture,&rdquo;
+grinned Roger. &ldquo;Me for something more
+substantial.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;These will be substantial enough&mdash;they&rsquo;re
+made of cypress,&rdquo; retorted Helen, &ldquo;but you don&rsquo;t
+want to see a lot of chairs and benches when you
+come out to observe the beauties of nature, my
+child.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_42">[42]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;I can bay the moon on a white bench with an
+elaborate pattern just as musically as on a plain, dark
+green one,&rdquo; insisted Roger.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Don&rsquo;t pay any attention to him,&rdquo; urged Ethel
+Brown, which crushing remark from a younger sister
+was rewarded by a hair-pull effectively delivered by
+Roger.</p>
+<div class="img">
+<img src="images/p6.png" alt="&ldquo;Benches and chairs and small tables for lemonade and cocoa&rdquo;" width="677" height="495" />
+<p>&ldquo;Benches and chairs and small tables for lemonade and cocoa&rdquo;</p>
+</div>
+<p>&ldquo;Yow!&rdquo; squealed Ethel.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Now who&rsquo;s baying the moon?&rdquo; inquired her
+brother.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Let&rsquo;s decide on the cross-barred kind,&rdquo; decreed
+Dorothy.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_43">[43]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;The Lady of the Garden has made her decision,&rdquo;
+announced James, tooting through his hands as if he
+were a herald making an announcement. &ldquo;Now
+for the shapes. How many are you going to have,
+Lady?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I think there ought to be a very large bench that
+would hold almost all the Club, and then one or two
+smaller benches and two or three chairs and two
+small tables for lemonade and cocoa.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;And to hold the Secretary&rsquo;s book when she&rsquo;s
+writing,&rdquo; urged Ethel Blue who held the office of
+scribe and had not always found herself conveniently
+situated to do her work.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Here&rsquo;s a bully bench for the whole U.&nbsp;S.&nbsp;C.,&rdquo;
+cried Tom. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s curved so it will fit right under
+this semi-circle of trees as if it were made for this
+very spot.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>He held up the picture of a wide bench with two
+wings. It was greeted with applause.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;When that is made in the pattern we chose it
+will be as pretty as any one could ask for,&rdquo; Dorothy
+decided.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;And painted green,&rdquo; added Ethel Blue, at
+which they all laughed. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m serious about the
+green,&rdquo; she insisted. &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t you see what I mean,
+Dorothy?&rdquo; she continued, appealing to the person
+who was to have the final decision on the question.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I think you&rsquo;re right,&rdquo; replied Dorothy. &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t
+mind what they say. Write down one of those,
+Miss Secretary, and one of these right-angled ones&mdash;don&rsquo;t
+you all of you think that&rsquo;s a comfy one?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>They did, and they also approved of the single
+bench and the chairs and the small tables.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_44">[44]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;They won&rsquo;t be all jammed up in this corner, of
+course,&rdquo; Dorothy explained gravely, &ldquo;but when we
+have a Club meeting we can bring them together if
+we want to and room enough for everybody.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="img">
+<img src="images/p7.png" alt="&ldquo;Here&rsquo;s an arbor that you can walk through&rdquo;" width="682" height="651" />
+<p>&ldquo;Here&rsquo;s an arbor that you can walk through&rdquo;</p>
+</div>
+<p>&ldquo;I thought we were all to sit on the big bench,&rdquo;
+objected Tom with an air of deep disappointment.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;So we shall if you boys are too lazy to pull the
+other benches and chairs over here,&rdquo; answered Dorothy.
+&ldquo;If we have plenty we can arrange them any
+way we want to.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_45">[45]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;What about
+trellises?&rdquo; inquired
+Ethel Blue
+who had been continuing
+her researches
+in the catalogues.
+&ldquo;Here
+are some beauties.
+Don&rsquo;t you think
+you&rsquo;ll need some?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;She certainly
+will if that Dorothy
+Perkins rambler
+rose gets busy
+as it ought to,&rdquo; decided
+Roger.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;There&rsquo;ll be a
+lot of vines and
+tall things if they&rsquo;ll
+only grow,&rdquo; said
+Dorothy hopefully.
+&ldquo;I think there
+ought to be one or
+two flat ones and
+an arbor that will
+be a trellis.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="img">
+<img src="images/p8.png" alt="A Trellis for the Rambler Rose" width="447" height="1024" />
+<p>A Trellis for the Rambler Rose</p>
+</div>
+<p>&ldquo;Here&rsquo;s an arbor
+that you can
+walk through or
+sit down in while
+you admire your
+plants, and you will be protected from the sun,&rdquo; Tom
+pointed out.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_46">[46]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;And that same one with a lattice back and a
+bench inside makes a pretty good imitation of a summer
+house,&rdquo; suggested Ethel Brown.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;ll have one apiece of those, then.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Count up and see how much stuff you&rsquo;re planning
+to order,&rdquo; Roger suggested. &ldquo;You&rsquo;ve got a huge
+big place to set them in here but you don&rsquo;t want too
+much wood work, nevertheless.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>They came to the conclusion that there were not
+too many for the size of the grounds and were well
+satisfied with their choice.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Do you see how well we&rsquo;re going to see the
+house from here?&rdquo; Dorothy asked.</p>
+<p>They all agreed that it would be very pretty from
+that point.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;My idea is that the garden must look well from
+the house,&rdquo; said Dorothy. &ldquo;Mother wants a pergola
+somewhere. Don&rsquo;t you think the right place
+for it would be covering a walk leading from the
+house to here?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s a great notion,&rdquo; approved Tom. &ldquo;As
+you came toward the garden you&rsquo;d have a&mdash;what do
+you call the effect&mdash;where you see a view framed
+in somehow?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Do you mean a vista?&rdquo; asked Margaret.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s it. There would be a vista of the garden.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_47">[47]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;It will be lovely!&rdquo; Helen said decisively.
+&ldquo;And I don&rsquo;t see why there shouldn&rsquo;t be a trellis
+framing a view of the woods toward Grandfather
+Emerson&rsquo;s; that would be pretty, too.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="img">
+<img src="images/p9.png" alt="A Trellis Framing a View of the Woods" width="556" height="701" />
+<p>A Trellis Framing a View of the Woods</p>
+</div>
+<p>Dorothy went over to look at the drawing that
+Helen held up to her and decided straightway that
+it was worth trying. They all went toward the upper
+side of the garden where young peach trees were
+planted on the northern slope of the ridge and chose
+a spot which gave a charming picture of the adjoining
+field with its brook and the woods beyond.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_48">[48]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;The birds are coming along pretty well now,&rdquo;
+announced James who had been lying on his back
+gazing up into the branches swaying in the upper
+breeze.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Are you going to build any bird houses, Dorothy?&rdquo;
+asked Ethel Brown.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I suppose we&rsquo;ll have to if we want them to stay
+late in the season or all winter,&rdquo; replied her cousin.
+&ldquo;But bird houses are so ugly.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Not the modern ones,&rdquo; interposed James eagerly.
+&ldquo;You make them out of pieces of the
+trunks of trees with the bark on, and you fix up
+a platform with a stick on it that has spikes to
+hang suet on and they aren&rsquo;t a bit conspicuous and
+lots of birds will stay all winter that otherwise would
+go south before the regular Palm Beach rush.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;We must have some then,&rdquo; Dorothy made up
+her mind. &ldquo;Say &lsquo;Robert of Lincoln&rsquo;?&rdquo; she begged
+Ethel Brown, who was the Club&rsquo;s reciter, &ldquo;and then
+we&rsquo;ll go home and have some cocoa and cookies.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Do, Ethel Brown;&rdquo; &ldquo;Come on,&rdquo; were the cries
+from all the U.&nbsp;S.&nbsp;C. members as they settled themselves
+to listen to Bryant&rsquo;s charming verses.</p>
+<div class="verse">
+<p class="t0">Merrily swinging on brier and weed,</p>
+<p class="t2">Near to the nest of his little dame,</p>
+<p class="t0">Over the mountain side and mead,</p>
+<p class="t2">Robert of Lincoln is telling his name,</p>
+<p class="t4">Bob-o&rsquo;link, bob-o&rsquo;-link,</p>
+<p class="t4">Spink, spank, spink;</p>
+<p class="t0">Snug and safe is that nest of ours,</p>
+<p class="t0">Hidden among the summer flowers,</p>
+<p class="t6">Chee, chee, chee.</p>
+</div>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_49">[49]</div>
+<div class="verse">
+<p class="t0">Robert of Lincoln is gaily dressed,</p>
+<p class="t2">Wearing a bright black wedding coat;</p>
+<p class="t0">White are his shoulders and white his crest,</p>
+<p class="t2">Hear him call in his cheery note:</p>
+<p class="t4">Bob-o&rsquo;link, bob-o&rsquo;-link,</p>
+<p class="t4">Spink, spank, spink;</p>
+<p class="t0">Look, what a nice new coat is mine,</p>
+<p class="t0">Sure there was never a bird so fine.</p>
+<p class="t6">Chee, chee, chee.</p>
+</div>
+<div class="verse">
+<p class="t0">Robert of Lincoln&rsquo;s Quaker wife,</p>
+<p class="t2">Pretty and quiet, with plain brown wings,</p>
+<p class="t0">Passing at home a patient life,</p>
+<p class="t2">Broods in the grass while her husband sings:</p>
+<p class="t4">Bob-o&rsquo;link, bob-o&rsquo;-link,</p>
+<p class="t4">Spink, spank, spink;</p>
+<p class="t0">Brood, kind creature; you need not fear</p>
+<p class="t0">Thieves and robbers while I am here.</p>
+<p class="t6">Chee, chee, chee.</p>
+</div>
+<div class="verse">
+<p class="t0">Modest and shy as a nun is she,</p>
+<p class="t2">One weak chirp is her only note,</p>
+<p class="t0">Braggart and prince of braggarts is he,</p>
+<p class="t2">Pouring boasts from his little throat:</p>
+<p class="t4">Bob-o&rsquo;link, bob-o&rsquo;-link,</p>
+<p class="t4">Spink, spank, spink;</p>
+<p class="t0">Never was I afraid of man;</p>
+<p class="t0">Catch me, cowardly knaves, if you can.</p>
+<p class="t6">Chee, chee, chee.</p>
+</div>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_50">[50]</div>
+<div class="verse">
+<p class="t0">Six white eggs on a bed of hay,</p>
+<p class="t2">Flecked with purple, a pretty sight!</p>
+<p class="t0">There as the mother sits all day,</p>
+<p class="t2">Robert is singing with all his might:</p>
+<p class="t3">Bob-o&rsquo;link, bob-o&rsquo;-link,</p>
+<p class="t3">Spink, spank, spink;</p>
+<p class="t0">Nice good wife that never goes out,</p>
+<p class="t0">Keeping house while I frolic about.</p>
+<p class="t5">Chee, chee, chee.</p>
+</div>
+<div class="verse">
+<p class="t0">Soon as the little ones chip the shell</p>
+<p class="t2">Six wide mouths are open for food;</p>
+<p class="t0">Robert of Lincoln bestirs him well,</p>
+<p class="t2">Gathering seed for the hungry brood.</p>
+<p class="t4">Bob-o&rsquo;link, bob-o&rsquo;-link,</p>
+<p class="t4">Spink, spank, spink;</p>
+<p class="t0">This new life is likely to be</p>
+<p class="t0">Hard for a gay young fellow like me.</p>
+<p class="t6">Chee, chee, chee.</p>
+</div>
+<div class="verse">
+<p class="t0">Robert of Lincoln at length is made</p>
+<p class="t2">Sober with work and silent with care;</p>
+<p class="t0">Off is his holiday garment laid,</p>
+<p class="t2">Half forgotten that merry air,</p>
+<p class="t4">Bob-o&rsquo;link, bob-o&rsquo;-link,</p>
+<p class="t4">Spink, spank, spink;</p>
+<p class="t0">Nobody knows but my mate and I</p>
+<p class="t0">Where our nest and our nestlings lie.</p>
+<p class="t6">Chee, chee, chee.</p>
+</div>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_51">[51]</div>
+<div class="verse">
+<p class="t0">Summer wanes, the children are grown;</p>
+<p class="t2">Fun and frolic no more he knows;</p>
+<p class="t0">Robert of Lincoln&rsquo;s a humdrum crone;</p>
+<p class="t2">Off he flies and we sing as he goes:</p>
+<p class="t4">Bob-o&rsquo;link, bob-o&rsquo;-link,</p>
+<p class="t4">Spink, spank, spink;</p>
+<p class="t0">When you can pipe that merry old strain,</p>
+<p class="t0">Robert of Lincoln, come back again.</p>
+<p class="t6">Chee, chee, chee.</p>
+</div>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_52">[52]</div>
+<h2 id="c4">CHAPTER IV
+<br />CHRISTOPHER FINDS A NEW LODGING</h2>
+<p>There was trouble in chicken circles. The
+young chicks that the Ethels and Dorothy had
+helped Dicky move from the incubator to the brooder
+were making rapid progress toward broiler size, and
+had been transferred to a run of their own where
+they scratched and dozed happily through the long
+spring days. Dicky and Ayleesabet, the Belgian
+baby, were examining them on a late June afternoon.
+Dicky had brought with him his old friend, the
+turtle, which had not yet been moved to Dorothy&rsquo;s
+pool, since his present owner wanted to wait until
+his aunt&rsquo;s house was occupied before he let so cherished
+a possession go where he might slip away and
+his loss, perhaps, be unnoticed.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;When you&rsquo;re living right there tho you can watch
+Chrithtopher Columbuth all the time I&rsquo;ll let you have
+him,&rdquo; Dicky had promised Dorothy.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I see myself in my mind&rsquo;s eye sitting side of the
+tank all day and night holding the turtle&rsquo;s paw!&rdquo;
+Dorothy exclaimed when she told the Ethels of
+Dicky&rsquo;s decision.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_53">[53]</div>
+<p>Perhaps because he felt that he was soon to be
+parted from his old comrade Dicky&rsquo;s affection for
+Christopher seemed to increase and he developed a
+habit of carrying him about, sometimes in his hand
+and sometimes in a little basket which Dorothy had
+made for Christopher&rsquo;s Christmas gift. To-day he
+had brought him to the chicken yard in his hand and
+had laid him down on the ground while he examined
+his flock and called Ayleesabet&rsquo;s attention to the beauties
+of this or the other miniature hen.</p>
+<p>Elisabeth&rsquo;s words were few, but she managed to
+make her wants and opinions known with surprising
+ease, and she never had the least trouble about
+expressing her emotions. Her little playmate had
+learned this and therefore when he heard loud howls
+behind his back he knew that it was not anger that
+was disturbing the usually placid baby, but terror.
+Shriek after shriek arose although it seemed to him
+that he turned about almost instantly.</p>
+<p>He was not in time, however, to prevent her from
+being thrown down in some mysterious way, or to
+see the cause of the commotion among the chickens.
+They fluttered and squawked and ran to and fro,
+tumbling over each other and running with perfect
+indifference over the baby as she lay yelling on the
+ground. Her blue romper legs came up every now
+and then out of the mass of chicken feathers, and
+their kicking only added to the disturbance and confusion
+of the chicks.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_54">[54]</div>
+<p>The hubbub did not go unnoticed. Roger ran
+from his vegetable garden to see what was the matter;
+Helen appeared from her garden of wild
+flowers; Miss Merriam, the baby&rsquo;s caretaker, ran
+from the porch where she was talking with the Ethels
+who were waiting for the out-of-town members of
+the U.&nbsp;S.&nbsp;C. to arrive. At the moment when all
+these people were rushing to the rescue, Margaret
+and James Hancock, just off the Glen Point street
+car, hurried from the corner, and Della and Tom
+Watkins, arrived by the latest train from New York,
+burst open the gate in their excitement.</p>
+<p>To meet all these inquiries came Dicky, tugging
+after him by the leg, the baby, howling pitifully by
+this time as she was dragged over the grass. Miss
+Merriam seized her and hugged her tight.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What&rsquo;s the matter with the little darling precious?&rdquo;
+she crooned.</p>
+<p>Ayleesabet gathered herself together courageously
+and her sobbing died away.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What was it all about?&rdquo; Miss Merriam inquired
+of Dicky.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know,&rdquo; replied Dicky, his own lip trembling
+as he tried to understand the rapid, thrilling experience.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Tell Gertrude what happened,&rdquo; Miss Merriam
+urged the baby, wiping away her tears and setting
+her down on her feet on the grass just as Christopher
+Columbus bumped his way over the sod to join them.</p>
+<p>Ayleesabet&rsquo;s conversational powers were not equal
+to the explanation, but her little hands could tell a
+great deal, and her caretaker was skilled in interpreting
+them. She pointed to the turtle and called him by
+the nickname that Dicky had given him, &ldquo;Chriththy&rdquo;;
+then she spread out her fat little fingers and
+waved a forward motion with her hand.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_55">[55]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;Chrissy stuck out his head and legs and walked
+ahead,&rdquo; interpreted Miss Merriam. &ldquo;Where was
+he, Dicky?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;In the chicken yard.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Elisabeth was kneeling beside the turtle now, tapping
+his shell with a chubby forefinger; after which
+she rolled over on her back and screamed.</p>
+<p>Miss Merriam shook her head at this demonstration,
+but Dicky translated it out of his previous experience.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The chickenth hit hith thhell with their beakth,
+and, when he moved they were frightened and
+knocked her over,&rdquo; he guessed.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s just what happened, I believe,&rdquo; said
+Roger, setting Elisabeth on her feet once more.
+&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve seen the chickens run like anything from Christopher,
+and probably they ran between the baby&rsquo;s
+legs and upset her and then scampered all over her.
+I don&rsquo;t wonder she was scared.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Christopher gave no testimony in the case. He
+may have been overcome by the confusion; at any
+rate he withdrew into his shell and preserved a
+studied calm from which he could not be roused.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I think you can have him,&rdquo; said Dicky suddenly
+to Dorothy, who had come through the fence at the
+corner where her yard joined her cousins&rsquo;. &ldquo;He
+botherth me.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Very well,&rdquo; said Dorothy. &ldquo;Let&rsquo;s take him
+over to Sweetbrier Lodge this afternoon. We&rsquo;re all
+going over there anyway&mdash;bring him along, Dicky.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_56">[56]</div>
+<p>So the procession set forth, Dicky and his shell-covered
+friend at the fore, escorted by all the rest
+of the United Service Club, while Miss Merriam and
+her charge, whose walking ability had not yet developed
+much speed, brought up the rear.</p>
+<p>As they all toiled up the hill to Sweetbrier Lodge
+Mrs. Smith and Mrs. Morton came out on the veranda
+of the new house to watch them.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Has anything happened?&rdquo; called Mrs. Smith
+as soon as they were within earshot.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;re just bringing Christopher over to his
+new home,&rdquo; Dorothy explained to her mother.</p>
+<div class="verse">
+<p class="t">&ldquo;&lsquo;The time of the singing of birds is come,</p>
+<p class="t">And the voice of the turtle is heard in our land,&rsquo;&rdquo;</p>
+</div>
+<p>quoted Mrs. Morton. &ldquo;I used to think that that
+meant a turtle like Dicky&rsquo;s and not a turtle-dove,&rdquo;
+and the two mothers laughed and disappeared within
+the house while the younger people kept on to the
+garden and the concrete pool.</p>
+<p>When they reached there Dicky gazed at the pool
+in dismay.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;There ithn&rsquo;t any water in it,&rdquo; he objected, shaking
+his head doubtfully.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;We can reach it with the hose and fill it up in no
+time,&rdquo; his cousin explained.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;ll run out of the hole,&rdquo; pointing to the hole
+made by the broomstick when the concrete was soft.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;ll put a plug in the hole.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;He hasn&rsquo;t any log to sit on.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Roger will find him a stick.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_57">[57]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want to leave him here all alone,&rdquo;
+screamed Dicky, overcome by a renewal of his former
+misgivings. Casting himself on the ground he
+hugged his treasure to his breast and waved his legs
+in the air.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You can take him back again if you want to,&rdquo;
+Ethel Brown reminded him, &ldquo;but you know he&rsquo;s always
+getting into trouble with the chickens now.
+He seems to run away every day.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>As the memory of the latest encounter between
+Christopher and the chicks with Elisabeth&rsquo;s overthrow,
+flashed before him, Dicky howled again.
+There seemed to be no haven on earth for his favorite.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll tell you what we&rsquo;ll do,&rdquo; suggested Dorothy
+soothingly. &ldquo;Let&rsquo;s go down to the house. The
+laundry is finished, and we can put him in one of the
+tubs there until this pool is fixed to suit you.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;th dark in the laundry,&rdquo; objected Dicky
+again.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Not in this laundry. You see,&rdquo; explained Dorothy,
+sitting down beside the sufferer and patting him
+gently, &ldquo;the house is built on the side of a hill, so
+the laundry has full sized windows and is bright
+and cheerful though it&rsquo;s on a level with the cellar.
+I think Christopher will like it.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Dicky stood up, his face smeared with tears, but
+a new interest gleaming in his reddened eyes.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Come on,&rdquo; urged Ethel Blue, tactfully; &ldquo;let&rsquo;s
+all go and see if we can&rsquo;t make him comfortable.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_58">[58]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll pick up a piece of log for him as we go
+along,&rdquo; promised Roger, and he and Tom and James
+went off towards the woods to look for just the right
+thing.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What a perfectly dandy cellar. Why, it&rsquo;s as
+bright as the upper part of the house!&rdquo; exclaimed
+Margaret as the procession invaded the lower regions
+of the Lodge.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Isn&rsquo;t it fine!&rdquo; agreed Dorothy. &ldquo;The workmen
+have cleared it all up, and, if this part were all,
+it might be lived in right off.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The whitewashed walls make it look bright.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;And the large windows! I never saw such windows
+in a cellar.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Mother says I may put little cheesecloth curtains
+in them.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Curtains will look sweet the day after you take
+in the winter supply of coal,&rdquo; grinned Roger, who
+appeared with the other boys, carrying Christopher&rsquo;s
+bit of log.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;They won&rsquo;t look dirty, if that&rsquo;s what you mean
+by &lsquo;sweet,&rsquo;&rdquo; Dorothy retorted. &ldquo;Look&mdash;&rdquo; and
+she opened the door of a coal bin&mdash;&ldquo;the coal is put
+in through a concrete chute that leads directly into
+the bin and the bin is entirely shut off from the cellar.
+No dust floats out of that, young man.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;How do you get the coal out?&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_59">[59]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;Here&rsquo;s a little door that slides up and catches.
+You notice that the floor of the bin isn&rsquo;t level with
+the cellar floor; it&rsquo;s raised to make it a comfortable
+height for shoveling. Under it is the place for the
+logs for the open fires. There are two bins, one for
+furnace coal and the other for the coal for the
+stoves, and the kindling wood goes in this third
+one. They are all together and large enough but
+not too large, and the furnace coal is near the boiler
+and the small coal is near the laundry and the wood
+is close to the dumb waiter that will take that and the
+clean clothes upstairs.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;All as compact as a cut-out puzzle,&rdquo; approved
+Roger. &ldquo;I take off my hat to this arrangement.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Thank you,&rdquo; courtesied Dorothy. &ldquo;Mother
+and I worked that out together, and we&rsquo;re rather
+pleased with it ourselves.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What do you do with the ashes?&rdquo; asked Roger,
+who took care of several furnaces in the winter time,
+and therefore made his examination as a specialist.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Put them down that chute with a swinging door
+and into a covered can. It will be hard for the
+ashes to fly there.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;This is the concrete floor we superintended,&rdquo;
+said Helen, looking at it closely.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;All smooth and well drained with rounded edges.
+It&rsquo;s going to be as clean as a whistle down here. See
+the metal ceiling? That&rsquo;s for fire prevention, and
+so is the sprinkler system and there&rsquo;s a metal covered
+door at the head of the cellar stairs.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;There seems to be a lot of machinery for a small
+house,&rdquo; observed James as he carried his examination
+around the space.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Mother said she couldn&rsquo;t afford luxuries but she
+could afford comforts and these are some of the comforts,&rdquo;
+smiled Dorothy.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_60">[60]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;Not very pretty comforts,&rdquo; remarked Ethel
+Blue dryly.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;Handsome is as handsome does,&rsquo;&rdquo; quoted her
+cousin. &ldquo;When these things get to working you
+won&rsquo;t care whether they&rsquo;re beautiful to look at or
+not.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What&rsquo;s the heating system&mdash;steam or hot
+water?&rdquo; asked Tom, standing before the boiler.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Hot water. They say it&rsquo;s more convenient for
+a small house because you don&rsquo;t have to keep up such
+a big fire all the time.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s so; in steam heating there has to be
+fire enough to make steam, anyway, doesn&rsquo;t
+there?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;And when the steam in the pipes cools it turns to
+water and dribbles away, but in the hot water system
+there will be some heat in the outside of your radiator
+as long as the water inside has any warmth at
+all.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;How does the expense compare?&rdquo; inquired
+James who was always interested in the financial side
+of all questions.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The hot water system is said to be cheaper,&rdquo; replied
+Dorothy.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Why are there so many pipes?&rdquo; asked Ethel
+Brown, looking with a puzzled air at the collection
+before her.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Hear me lecture on heating!&rdquo; laughed Dorothy;
+&ldquo;but I did study it all out with Mother, so I think I&rsquo;m
+telling you the truth about it. There have to be two
+sets of pipes, one to take the hot water to the radiators
+and the other to bring it back after it has
+cooled.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_61">[61]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;There seem to be big pipes and small ones.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Mains and branch pipes they call them. The
+man who put these in said this house was especially
+well arranged for piping because it wouldn&rsquo;t take any
+more pressure to force the water into one radiator
+than another. He says there&rsquo;s going to be a good
+even heat all over everywhere.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;There isn&rsquo;t a lot of difference between radiators
+for steam and those for hot water, is there?&rdquo; asked
+Ethel Blue.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No, you have to put something with water in it
+on top of both kinds to make the air of the room
+moist. Here you have to open the air valve yourself
+and let out the air that accumulates in the radiator.
+In the steam ones they are automatically
+worked by steam.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;There can&rsquo;t be much air in the hot water radiator,
+I should think,&rdquo; said Margaret thoughtfully.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;There isn&rsquo;t. You only have to open the valve
+two or three times in the course of the winter. The
+biggest difference is that the hot water system has to
+have an expansion tank.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What&rsquo;s that?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Why, when steam is shut up it just presses
+harder than ever, but when water is heated it swells
+and it&rsquo;s likely to burst open whatever it&rsquo;s in, so there
+has to be an open tank up at the top of the house
+where it can go and swell around all it wants to,&rdquo;
+laughed Dorothy.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_62">[62]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;What are these affairs?&rdquo; inquired Margaret
+who had been looking at two other arrangements
+near by.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That one is a gas thing for heating water in
+summer when there isn&rsquo;t any other fire. There&rsquo;s a
+tiny flame burning all the time, and when the water is
+drawn out of the tank the flame becomes larger automatically
+and heats up a new supply.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s a fine scheme; you don&rsquo;t have to heat the
+house up and yet the water is always ready. What&rsquo;s
+the other?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s to burn up the garbage. In the kitchen
+there&rsquo;s a tiny closet for the garbage pail. It&rsquo;s ventilated
+from the outside. There is a thing that burns
+the garbage and makes it heat the water, but Mother
+decided that we had so small a family that there
+might be days when there wouldn&rsquo;t be fuel enough
+to make a decent fire, so we&rsquo;d better have the gas
+heater.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The other would be economical for a hotel,&rdquo; observed
+prudent James.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Here&rsquo;s the refrigerating plant,&rdquo; Dorothy said,
+motioning toward a tank and a set of pipes and a
+small motor.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Going to cut out the iceman?&rdquo; grinned Tom.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;re going to be independent of him. Mother
+doesn&rsquo;t like natural ice, any way; she went over to
+the Rosemont pond last winter when the men were
+cutting and the ice was so dirty she made up her mind
+right off that she didn&rsquo;t want any more of it. This
+thing will chill the refrigerator up in the kitchen and
+pipes from it are going under the flooring of the
+drawing room and the dining room so they can be
+made comfy in summer.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_63">[63]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;Hope you can cut them off in winter!&rdquo; and
+Roger gave a tremendous shiver.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;We can,&rdquo; Dorothy reassured him.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Good work!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It makes small cakes of ice too, so we can always
+have plenty for the Club lemonades.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know but I think that&rsquo;s more useful than
+the heating arrangements,&rdquo; approved plump little
+Della.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s because you&rsquo;re fat,&rdquo; responded Tom with
+brotherly frankness. &ldquo;You think you suffer most
+in summer, but if you didn&rsquo;t have any heat in winter
+you&rsquo;d change your cry.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I suppose I should, but I do nearly <i>melt</i> in warm
+weather,&rdquo; sighed Della.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;We don&rsquo;t mean to if we can help it,&rdquo; laughed
+Dorothy. &ldquo;This is the air-washing arrangement
+over here,&rdquo; went on Dorothy, as she continued her
+round of the cellar.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Air-washing!&rdquo; was the general chorus.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;As long as we have a little motor we&rsquo;re going to
+make it useful. There&rsquo;s a small fan here that brings
+in the fresh air. It goes into a &lsquo;spray chamber&rsquo;
+and is washed free of dust with water that is cold in
+summer and warm in winter.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I see clearly that the temperature of this castle
+is going to be just right,&rdquo; exclaimed Roger.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_64">[64]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;After the air leaves the spray chamber it goes
+over some plates that take all the moisture out of it,
+and then the fan forces it through the pipes that go
+into every room.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Are those the little gratings I noticed in all the
+rooms the other day?&rdquo; asked Ethel Blue.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Those are the ventilators. Don&rsquo;t you think
+we&rsquo;ve made everything very compact here? All
+these pipes take up very little room.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Mighty little!&rdquo; commended Roger. &ldquo;And
+they&rsquo;re all open so you can get at them without any
+trouble.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Here&rsquo;s a scheme Patrick suggested,&rdquo; laughed
+Dorothy, pointing upward to what looked like a concrete
+shelf with an upturned border almost at the top
+of the cellar wall.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What&rsquo;s it for?&rdquo; asked Ethel Brown.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That shelf is directly underneath the seat beside
+the fireplace in the drawing room. Patrick
+plans to save himself the trouble of carrying up the
+logs by piling them on this shelf down here. Then
+he lifts the cover of the seat upstairs and all he has
+to do is to take out his wood and make his fire!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That certainly is a cracker-jack labor saving device!
+Good for Patrick!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;He&rsquo;s especially tickled with the vacuum cleaner
+run by this same little motor. You ought to hear
+him talk about it.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What are these cupboards for?&rdquo; asked Helen
+who had been exploring.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_65">[65]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;That one with the glass doors is for preserves,
+and the place in the other corner that has a fence for
+its two inside walls is a place for cleaning silver and
+shoes and lamps and brasses. See&mdash;there are cupboards
+along the inside of the fence. They hold all
+the cleaning materials, and the cleaner can sit in a
+swing chair in the middle and use a different part of
+the concrete shelf against the two cellar walls for
+boots or fire-irons or knives and forks or lamps. At
+one end is a sink so he can have what water he needs
+for his work and he can wash his hands when he turns
+from one kind of cleaning to another.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;And he isn&rsquo;t all smothered up in a small room.
+Who thought of that?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Patrick and I worked that out together. Patrick
+has lots of ingenuity.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I should say you had, too!&rdquo; exclaimed Della,
+admiringly.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Here&rsquo;s where Dorothy does her carpentering,&rdquo;
+cried James.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I may move that bench up in the attic later,&rdquo; explained
+Dorothy, &ldquo;but I thought I&rsquo;d leave it here
+until the house was done, because there are apt to be
+little things to be hammered and nailed for some
+time, I suppose.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;How long are you going to be before you fikth
+a plathe for Chrithopher Columbuth?&rdquo; demanded
+Dicky, whose patience was entirely exhausted.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;ll make him happy right here and now,&rdquo; answered
+Dorothy briskly, throwing open the door of
+the laundry.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_66">[66]</div>
+<p>The sun shone gayly on the concrete floor and the
+room was a cheerful spot. An electric washing machine
+stood ready although covered tubs were built
+against the wall for use in emergencies, and at one
+side was a drying closet. There were numerous plugs
+against the wall for the attachment of pressing irons.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What&rsquo;s this?&rdquo; asked Ethel Brown, lifting a
+cover of a hopper at the base of a chute.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s the chute for soiled clothes. The other
+end is on the bedroom floor, and it saves carrying.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s as good as Patrick&rsquo;s log device!&rdquo; smiled
+Helen.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Shall I put Christopher&rsquo;s log in here?&rdquo; asked
+Roger, lifting the top of one of the stationary tubs.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes, fix it so he can crawl up and sit in the sunshine
+where it strikes the tub. We&rsquo;ll have to draw
+some water from the hydrant outside; the water isn&rsquo;t
+turned on in the house yet.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Roger picked up a pail that was standing near by
+and went up the cellar stairs two at a time.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Now, sir,&rdquo; he said to Dicky when he came back,
+&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll lift you up and you can put Christopher into
+his new abode.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Dicky deposited his charge gently on the log and
+he lay there poking out his head to enjoy the sunshine.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Did you bring some bits of meat for him?&rdquo;
+Roger asked.</p>
+<p>For answer Dicky turned out of the pocket of his
+rompers a handful of chopped beef.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Certainly unappetizing in appearance,&rdquo; said
+Tom, wrinkling his nose, &ldquo;but I dare say Christopher
+is not particular.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_67">[67]</div>
+<h2 id="c5">CHAPTER V
+<br />THE LAW OF LAUGHTER</h2>
+<p>The Mortons were sitting on their porch on a
+warm evening waving fans and trying to think
+that the coming night promised comfortable sleep.
+The Ethels sat on the upper step, Roger was
+stretched on the floor at one side, Helen sat beside
+her mother&rsquo;s hammock which she kept in gentle motion
+by an occasional movement of her hand, and
+Dicky was dozing in a large chair. In a near-by
+tree an insect insisted that &ldquo;Katy did,&rdquo; and in the
+grass a cricket chirruped its shrill call.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I do feel that Aunt Louise&rsquo;s being able to build
+this pretty house after all her years of wandering is
+about the nicest thing that ever happened out of a
+fairy story,&rdquo; murmured Helen softly to her mother,
+but loudly enough for the others to hear.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;There are people who talk about the law of
+compensation,&rdquo; smiled Mrs. Morton in the darkness.
+&ldquo;They think that if one good is lacking in our lives
+other goods take its place.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Do you believe that?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I believe that everything that happens to us
+comes because we have obeyed or disobeyed God&rsquo;s
+laws. Sometimes we are quite unconscious of disobeying
+them, but the law has to work out just as if
+we knew all about it.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_68">[68]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;For instance?&rdquo; came a deep voice from the
+floor, indicating that Roger had awakened.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Do you remember the time you walked off the
+end of the porch one day?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I should say I did! My nose aches at the mere
+thought of it.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You didn&rsquo;t know anything about the law of gravitation,
+but the law worked in your case just as if you
+had known all about it.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m bound to state that it did,&rdquo; confirmed
+Roger, still gently rubbing his nose as he lay in the
+shadow.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It seems as if it might have held up for a little
+boy who didn&rsquo;t know what he was going to get by
+disobeying it,&rdquo; said Ethel Blue sympathetically.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;But it didn&rsquo;t and it never does,&rdquo; returned Mrs.
+Morton. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s one reason why we ought to try
+to learn what God&rsquo;s laws are just as fast and as
+thoroughly as we can; not only the laws of nature
+like the law of gravitation, but laws of morality and
+justice and right thinking and unselfishness and kindness
+toward others.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Sometimes mighty mean people seem to prosper,&rdquo;
+said Ethel Brown, with a hint of rebellion in
+her voice.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_69">[69]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s because those people obey to the letter
+the law that controls prosperity of a material kind.
+A man may be cruel to his wife and unkind to his
+children, but he may have a genius for making
+money. Some people call it the law of compensation.
+I call it merely an understanding of the financial
+law and a lack of understanding of the law of
+kindness.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t see what law dear Aunt Louise could
+have broken to have made her have such a hard
+time,&rdquo; wondered Ethel Blue. &ldquo;Her husband being
+killed and her having to wander about without a
+home for so many years&mdash;that seems like a hard
+punishment.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Men have decided that &lsquo;ignorance of the law is
+no excuse&rsquo;!&rdquo; said her aunt, &ldquo;and the same thing
+is true of laws that are not man-made.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That seems awfully hard,&rdquo; objected Helen; &ldquo;it
+doesn&rsquo;t seem fair to punish a person for what he
+doesn&rsquo;t know.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;If a cannibal should come to Rosemont and
+should kill some one and have a barbecue, we should
+think that he ought to be deprived of his liberty
+because he was a dangerous person to have about,
+even if we felt sure that he did not know that he
+was doing an act forbidden by New Jersey law.
+The position is that although a person may be
+ignorant of the law it is his business to know it.
+That seems to be the way with the higher laws; we
+may break them in our ignorance&mdash;but we ought
+not to be ignorant. We ought to try just as hard
+as we know how all the time to do everything as
+well as we can and to be as good as we can. If
+we never let ourselves do a mean act or think a
+mean thought we&rsquo;re bound to come to an understanding
+of the great laws sooner than if we just jog along
+not thinking anything about them. I believe one
+reason why your Aunt Louise was so slow in reaching
+the end of her troubles after Uncle Leonard died
+was because she was unable to control her sorrow.
+She has told me that she was completely crushed by
+his death and the condition of poverty in which she
+found herself with a little child&mdash;Dorothy&mdash;to
+take care of.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_70">[70]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t blame her,&rdquo; murmured Ethel Blue.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;She blames herself, because she has learned
+that giving way to grief paralyzes all the powers that
+God has given us to carry on the work of life with.
+If our minds are filled with gloom our bodies don&rsquo;t
+behave as they ought to&mdash;I dare say even you children
+know that.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I know,&rdquo; agreed Ethel Blue, who was sensitive
+and imaginative and suffered unnecessarily over
+many things.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Your mind doesn&rsquo;t go, either,&rdquo; Roger added.
+&ldquo;I know when I got in the dumps last spring about
+graduating I couldn&rsquo;t do a thing. My work went
+worse than ever. It was only when Mr. Wheeler&rdquo;&mdash;referring
+to the principal of the high school&mdash;&ldquo;jollied
+me up and told me I was getting on as well
+as the rest of the fellows that I took a brace; and
+you know I did come out all right.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I should say you did, dear,&rdquo; acknowledged his
+mother proudly. &ldquo;Instances like that make you
+understand how necessary it is to be brave and to
+be filled with joy because life is going on as well
+as it is. It is our duty to make the most of everything
+that is given us&mdash;our bodies, our minds, our
+spirits&mdash;and if courage will help or joy will help
+then we must cultivate courage and joy.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_71">[71]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;Did Aunt Louise see that after a while?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Not for a long time, she says. After the shock
+of Uncle Leonard&rsquo;s sudden death had worn away
+somewhat she began naturally to have a little more
+courage&mdash;not to be so completely crushed as she
+was at first. Then she saw that when she was feeling
+brave she could accomplish more, and succeed
+better in new undertakings. If she went to ask for
+work somewhere and had no hope that she would
+receive it she usually did not receive it; but if she
+went feeling that this day was to be one of success
+for her it usually was.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I suppose she went in with a sort &lsquo;Of course
+you&rsquo;ll give it to me&rsquo; air that made the men she was
+asking think of &lsquo;of course&rsquo; they would,&rdquo; smiled
+Roger.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t doubt it. Then she says that she found
+out that there was real value in laughter.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;In laughter!&rdquo; repeated Ethel Brown. &ldquo;Why
+laughter is just foolishness.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No, indeed; laughter is the outward expression
+of delight.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Lord Chesterfield told his son he hoped he&rsquo;d
+never hear him laugh in all his life,&rdquo; offered Roger.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_72">[72]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;Lord Chesterfield hated noisy laughter as much
+as I do. There&rsquo;s nothing more annoying than
+empty, silly giggling and laughter; but the laughter
+that means real delight over something worth being
+delighted at&mdash;that&rsquo;s quite another matter. Lord
+Chesterfield and I are agreed in being opposed to
+a vulgar <i>manner</i> of laughing, but we are also agreed
+in believing that delight needs expression. Isn&rsquo;t it
+in that same letter that he says he hopes he will often
+see his son smile?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Same place,&rdquo; responded Roger briefly.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Aunt Louise says she found that even if she
+wasn&rsquo;t feeling really gay she could raise her spirits
+by doing her best to laugh at something. If you
+hunt hard enough there is almost always something
+funny enough to laugh at within reach of you.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Like Dicky here snoozing away as soundly as
+if he were in bed.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Poor little man. You needn&rsquo;t carry him up yet,
+though. He&rsquo;s not uncomfortable there.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;There&rsquo;s one thing I think is perfectly wonderful
+about Aunt Louise,&rdquo; said Ethel Blue; &ldquo;she takes
+so much pleasure out of little things. She&rsquo;s interested
+in everything the U.&nbsp;S.&nbsp;C. does, and she wants
+to help on anything the town undertakes&mdash;you know
+how nice she was about the school gardens&mdash;and
+sometimes when a day comes that seems just stupid
+with nothing to do at all, if you go over to Aunt
+Louise&rsquo;s she&rsquo;ll tell you something she&rsquo;s seen or heard
+that day that you never would have noticed for yourself
+and that really is interesting.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_73">[73]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;She gets their full value out of everything that
+passes before her eyes. It&rsquo;s the wisest thing to do.
+The big things of life are more absorbing but very
+few of us encounter the big things of life. Most of
+us meet the small matters, the everyday happenings,
+and nothing else.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Isn&rsquo;t life full of a mess of &rsquo;em!&rdquo; ejaculated
+Roger. &ldquo;Getting up and dressing and brushing
+your hair and eating three meals a day have to be
+done three hundred sixty-five times a year; whereas
+you hear some splendid music or come across a fine
+new poem or find yourself in a position where you
+can do a real kindness about once in a cat&rsquo;s age.
+Queer, isn&rsquo;t it?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s just why it&rsquo;s a good plan to see the opportunities
+in the little things. If we see with clear
+eyes we may be able to do some small kindnesses
+oftener than &lsquo;once in a cat&rsquo;s age.&rsquo; It&rsquo;s certainly
+true that the everyday troubles, the trifling annoyances,
+are really harder to bear than the big troubles.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;O-o-o!&rdquo; disclaimed Helen.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The big troubles give you a bigger shock, but
+then you pull yourself together and summon your
+strength, and strength to endure them comes. But
+the small matters&mdash;they come so often and they
+seem such pin pricks that it seems not worth while to
+call upon your powers of endurance.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yet if you don&rsquo;t you&rsquo;re as cross as two sticks all
+the time,&rdquo; finished Helen. &ldquo;I know how it is. It&rsquo;s
+like having a serious wound or a mosquito bite.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_74">[74]</div>
+<p>They all laughed, for Roger, as if to illustrate her
+remarks, gave a slap at a buzzing enemy at just the
+appropriate moment.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Another thing that helps to make Aunt Louise
+a happy woman now is that she is at peace not only
+with everybody on earth but also with herself. If
+she makes a mistake she doesn&rsquo;t fret about it; she
+does her best to remedy it, and she does her best not
+to repeat it. &lsquo;Once may be excusable ignorance,&rsquo;
+she says, &lsquo;but twice is stupidity,&rsquo; and then she tells
+the tale of the boy who was walking across a field
+and fell into a dry well which he knew nothing
+about. He roared loudly and after a time a farmer
+heard him and pulled him out. The next day he
+was walking across the same field and he fell again
+into the same well.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;He set up the same roar, I suppose.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;A perfect imitation of the previous one. The
+same farmer came. When he looked down the well
+and saw the same boy he said disgustedly, &lsquo;Yesterday
+I thought ye were a poor, unknowin&rsquo; lad; to-day
+I know ye&rsquo;re a sad fool.&rsquo;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Again they all laughed.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;She&rsquo;s always cheerful and always affectionate
+and she&rsquo;s as dear as she can be and I&rsquo;m glad she&rsquo;s
+going to have this lovely house and I wish we had
+one just like it,&rdquo; cried Helen in a burst.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;We have a good house.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;But it doesn&rsquo;t belong to us.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;We Army and Navy people can&rsquo;t expect to own
+houses, my child. You don&rsquo;t need to have that told
+you at this late day.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_75">[75]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;I know that. If Father weren&rsquo;t so keen on
+having us all together while we&rsquo;re being educated we
+wouldn&rsquo;t have been in Rosemont as long as we have;
+but I sometimes envy the people who have a home
+of their own that they are sure to stay in for ever
+so many years.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;When you feel that way you must think of the
+many advantages of the Army and Navy children.
+If your father had not been on the Pacific station
+when you were the Ethels&rsquo; age you wouldn&rsquo;t have
+had a chance to see California when you were old
+enough to enjoy it and remember it.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I know, Mother. I didn&rsquo;t mean to growl. I
+just thought that Father had as much money as Aunt
+Louise from his father, and he had his salary besides,
+and yet we haven&rsquo;t a house of our own.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve had a good many of Uncle Sam&rsquo;s houses,
+which is more than your Aunt Louise has had. But
+you must remember that her inheritance from your
+Grandfather Morton was accumulating for many
+years while her family didn&rsquo;t know where she was,
+while your father and Ethel Blue&rsquo;s father have been
+spending the income of theirs all along.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Uncle Roger has had a lot of children to spend
+his on, but Father hasn&rsquo;t had any one but me,&rdquo; said
+Ethel Blue, whose life had been entirely spent with
+her cousins because her mother had died when she
+was a tiny baby. Never before had she thought
+whether her father, who was a captain in the Army,
+had any money or not. Now she saw that he must
+be better provided with it than his brother, her Uncle
+Roger, the father of Ethel Brown and Helen and
+Roger and Dicky, who was a Lieutenant in the
+Navy.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_76">[76]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;Your father is always generous with his money,
+but I dare say he is saving it for some time when
+he will want it,&rdquo; suggested Mrs. Morton.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know when he&rsquo;ll want it any more than
+he does now,&rdquo; said Ethel Blue.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Perhaps he&rsquo;ll want to have a house of his own
+at whatever post he is when he has a grown-up
+daughter,&rdquo; smiled Helen. &ldquo;You&rsquo;d better learn to
+keep house right off.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The idea thrilled Ethel. Never before had she
+happened to think of the possibility of joining her
+father after her school days were over. Never having
+known any home except with Ethel Brown and
+her other cousins she had always seen the future as
+shared with them. The notion of leaving them was
+painful, but the chance of being always with her father,
+of being his housekeeper, of seeing him every
+day, of making him comfortable, was one that filled
+her with delight. Her blue eyes filled with tenderness
+as she dreamed over the possibility.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I have lots to learn yet before I should know
+enough,&rdquo; she murmured, staring almost unseeingly
+at her cousin, &ldquo;but it&rsquo;s wonderful to think I could
+do it.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_77">[77]</div>
+<p>The new idea would not leave her mind, though,
+indeed, she made no effort to drive it out. That
+the future might hold for her a change so complete
+was something she wanted to let her thoughts linger
+on. She hardly noticed that Roger was gathering
+Dicky up into his arms to carry him upstairs to
+bed, or that there was a general stir on the veranda,
+betokening a move indoors.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Miss Graham was at Dorothy&rsquo;s this afternoon,&rdquo;
+Ethel Brown said as she rose and picked up the
+straw cushion on which she had been sitting.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Was she?&rdquo; inquired Helen interestedly. &ldquo;I
+wish I had seen her. I never have yet, you know.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Neither has Ethel Blue. She and Aunt Louise
+and Dorothy and I went over to the new house and
+looked at the attic. She says she&rsquo;ll come over next
+week and help us about the bedroom floor. That
+will be ready then for us to talk about the decorating.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Be sure and let me know when she is coming.
+What did she say about the attic?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;She liked it especially because it had been
+sheathed, following all the ins and outs. She
+thought the irregularity was pretty. She suggested
+a closet for furs over the kitchen. It won&rsquo;t cost
+much to bring the refrigerating pipes up there, she
+says.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s bully. Aunt Louise may take care of
+my fur gloves for me next summer if the moths
+don&rsquo;t eat them up this year,&rdquo; promised Roger who
+had stopped in the doorway to hear Ethel Brown&rsquo;s
+report, and stood with the still sleeping Dicky over
+his shoulder.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;She suggested a raised ledge about fourteen
+inches high to stand trunks on.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_78">[78]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;Then you don&rsquo;t break your back bending over
+them when you&rsquo;re hunting for something,&rdquo; exclaimed
+Helen. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s splendid. She seems to have
+practical ideas as well as ornamental ones.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;She thought there ought to be a fire bucket closet
+up there, too. You know Aunt Louise has had them
+put in on all the other floors, but she didn&rsquo;t think
+of it there.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What is it?&rdquo; asked Mrs. Morton.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Just a narrow closet with four shelves. On
+each of the lower three are fire buckets to be kept
+full of water all the time and on the top shelf are
+some of those hand grenade things and chemical
+squirt guns. They don&rsquo;t look very well when
+they&rsquo;re right out in sight. This way covers them
+up but makes them just as convenient. There is to
+be no lock on the door of the closet and FIRE is to
+be painted outside so every one will know where
+it is even if he gets rattled when the fire really happens.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Are the maids&rsquo; rooms to be on the attic floor?&rdquo;
+asked Mrs. Morton.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Two little beauties, and a bath-room between
+them. One room is to be pink and the other blue
+and they&rsquo;re going to have ivory paint and fluffy curtains
+just like Dorothy&rsquo;s.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Did you think to say anything to Miss Graham
+about the Club&rsquo;s using the attic in winter for weekly
+meetings?&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_79">[79]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;Dorothy did. She thought a movable platform
+would be a great scheme; one wide enough for us
+to use for a little stage when we wanted to have
+singing or recitations up there. She picked out a
+good place for the phonograph, where the shape of
+the ceiling wouldn&rsquo;t make the sound queer, and
+she thought rattan furniture stained brown would be
+pretty, and scrim curtains&mdash;not dead white ones,
+but a sort of goldeny cream that would harmonize
+with the wood. There are lovely big cotton rugs in
+dull blues, that aren&rsquo;t expensive, she says; and if
+we don&rsquo;t want to see the row of trunks and chests
+against the wall we can arrange screens that will
+shut them out of sight and will also take the place
+of the pictures that you can&rsquo;t hang on a wall that
+slopes the wrong way.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t see, then, but Aunt Louise will have an
+attic and we&rsquo;ll have a club room and both parties
+to the transaction will be pleased,&rdquo; beamed Helen,
+who, as president of the Club was always careful
+that the members should be comfortable when they
+gathered for their weekly talking and planning and
+working.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Doesn&rsquo;t Miss Graham come from Washington?&rdquo;
+asked Ethel Blue dreamily, half awakening to
+the conversation.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes, you know she does.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Fort Myer is just across the river; I wonder if
+she knows Father.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Ask her when you see her,&rdquo; recommended Ethel
+Brown, and they all went in to bed as a clap of thunder
+gave promise of a cooling shower.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_80">[80]</div>
+<h2 id="c6">CHAPTER VI
+<br />SPRING ALL THE YEAR ROUND</h2>
+<p>It proved to be quite a week later before the
+workmen were far enough along to make it
+worth while for Miss Graham to be summoned to
+a conference on the decoration of the bedroom floor,
+and when Ethel Blue met her at last she forgot altogether
+to ask if she knew her dearly beloved father.</p>
+<p>There were several reasons why she did not ask.
+In the first place she had forgotten that she meant
+to; in the next, Miss Daisy was so absorbed in
+what she was hearing from all the Club members
+about their ideas for the bed-rooms, and so interested
+in comparing them with her own practical knowledge
+of how they could be carried out, that no one
+who listened to her or saw her at work wanted to interrupt
+her with any questions that had no bearing
+on the matter in hand.</p>
+<p>Not that she was not interested in the young people.
+She was thoroughly interested in them. She
+knew all of their names and sorted out one from
+the other immediately just from Margaret&rsquo;s and
+James&rsquo;s descriptions of them. She listened attentively
+to their suggestions and they all felt that she
+was treating their ideas with respect and that if she
+did not always agree with them she had a good reason
+for it.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_81">[81]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;I think she&rsquo;s the most competent woman almost
+that I ever saw,&rdquo; said Helen admiringly to
+Margaret as they stood at one side of the upper hall
+and watched her as she rapidly sketched for Mrs.
+Smith what she meant by a certain plan of window
+hanging.</p>
+<p>Helen was greatly interested in new occupations
+for women and the fact that this woman had studied
+to be an interior decorator and had succeeded so
+well that she had orders from the suburbs of New
+York itself had impressed the young girl as making
+her well worth trying to know well. Helen was
+not drawn toward interior decorating&mdash;she had already
+made up her mind, that she was to be one of
+the scientific home-makers educated at the School
+of Mothercraft&mdash;but she admired women with the
+courage to start new things, and this work seemed
+to her to be perfectly suited to a woman and at
+the same time of enough importance to be really
+worth while putting a lot of preparation into it.
+The dressing of shop windows seemed to her another
+peculiarly feminine occupation, hardly entered
+at all, as yet, by women, and capable of being developed
+into an art.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_82">[82]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;The decoration of a room or a building ought
+to seem a sort of growth from the room or the
+building,&rdquo; Miss Graham was explaining to the
+Ethels. &ldquo;It ought to seem perfectly natural that
+it should be there, just as a blossom seems perfectly
+natural to find on a plant. I never like the phrase
+&lsquo;applied design,&rsquo;&rdquo; she continued, smiling as she
+turned to Mrs. Smith. &ldquo;It sounds as if you made
+a design and then clapped it on to the afflicted spot
+as if it were a plaster of some kind.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Too often it looks that way,&rdquo; Mrs. Smith smiled
+in return. &ldquo;Come and see how we&rsquo;ve arranged our
+sleeping porches.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>As Miss Graham stood in the doorway that
+opened on to the porch of Dorothy&rsquo;s room, one hand
+resting on Ethel Brown&rsquo;s shoulder, Helen felt more
+than ever the power&mdash;for friendliness and good
+will as well as for the execution of her art&mdash;that
+this dark-eyed, dark-haired, ruddy-cheeked young
+woman possessed. Her nose was a trifle too short
+for beauty and her mouth a bit too wide, but her
+coloring denoted health, her hair curled crisply over
+a broad forehead, her teeth were brilliantly white,
+and the straight folds of her gown showed the lines
+of her strong figure as the strange dull blue-green
+of her linen frock, dashed with a bit of orange,
+brought into relief all the good points of her tinting.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;She makes you want to stop and look at her,&rdquo;
+Helen decided, &ldquo;and you want to know her, too.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Mrs. Smith had arranged for three sleeping
+porches, one for her own room, one for Dorothy&rsquo;s,
+and a larger one outside of the nursery where the
+Belgian baby enjoyed herself in the daytime. This
+porch was also shared by Elisabeth&rsquo;s care-taker.
+Each porch was on a different side of the house, so
+that they did not encroach upon each other, and
+each was somewhat different in arrangement.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_83">[83]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;Did you originate this idea?&rdquo; asked Miss Graham,
+as she examined the sliding windows by which
+the bed was to be shut off from the room at night
+and enclosed in the room in the morning. &ldquo;You
+never need step out of bed on to the cold floor of
+the porch,&rdquo; she commented approvingly.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I saw that in a sanitarium,&rdquo; returned Mrs.
+Smith. &ldquo;It was desirable that the patients should
+never be chilled and the doctor and architect invented
+this way of preventing it.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s capital,&rdquo; smiled Miss Graham, &ldquo;and so
+simple. When the inside sash is closed, the outside
+is up, and vice versa. Are they all like this?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; answered her hostess. &ldquo;Dorothy is to
+have a couch in that corner, and a table and chairs.
+There is to be a screw eye attached to the foot of
+the couch. A weight on the end of a cord will go
+through a pulley fastened to the wall, high up over
+the head of the couch. There will be a hook at the
+other end of the cord. When this hook goes into
+the screw eye and the weight is pulled, the couch will
+stand on its head and will be out of the way at any
+time when floor space is more to be desired than
+lying down comfort.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Of course there will be some sort of drapery
+to cover the under side when it is hauled up against
+the wall,&rdquo; said Miss Graham with a question in her
+voice.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_84">[84]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;Dorothy has something in mind that is going
+to meet that difficulty, she thinks,&rdquo; answered Mrs.
+Smith.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Are you going to have your room of any decided
+color,&rdquo; asked Miss Graham.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been perfectly crazy for a rose-colored
+room, ever since I was a tiny child,&rdquo; answered
+Dorothy. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve set my heart on this room&rsquo;s looking
+like a pink rose&mdash;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Or a bunch of apple blossoms?&rdquo; asked Miss
+Graham.</p>
+<p>Ethel Blue looked quickly at the decorator when
+she made this suggestion which at once stirred the
+young girl&rsquo;s imagination to a mental sight of a
+springtime tree laden with clusters of blossoms,
+whose delicate white was flushed with the delicate
+pink of the dawn. The suggestion appealed to her
+immediately as possible of a development far more
+exquisite than that which Dorothy had planned.
+Both would be pink, yet the fineness of the new color
+scheme seemed to her suited to Dorothy&rsquo;s slender
+grace. She could not have put it into words but
+she felt that Miss Graham had a feeling for color
+that enabled her to adapt the room in which the
+color was to be used to the personality of the young
+girl who was chiefly to use it. Instinctively she
+moved closer to Miss Graham and met her smiling
+glance with a nod and smile of understanding.</p>
+<p>Dorothy liked the new idea.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I think an apple-blossom room would be perfectly
+lovely,&rdquo; she exclaimed. &ldquo;If Mother would
+only let me use wall-paper&mdash;I saw such a beauty
+pattern the other day. There were clusters of apple-blossoms
+all over it.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_85">[85]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;Are you going to use wall-paper,&rdquo; Miss Graham
+asked Mrs. Smith.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Dorothy and I decided that we would not use
+wall-paper in the bed-rooms at any rate,&rdquo; answered
+Dorothy&rsquo;s mother.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I wish we hadn&rsquo;t,&rdquo; pouted Dorothy, but she was
+cheered when Miss Graham nodded her approval of
+their decision.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You&rsquo;re quite right,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;Apart from
+the sanitary side it isn&rsquo;t a good plan to paper walls
+until the plaster is thoroughly dry. This is especially
+true of a house built on the side of a hill.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;This house has such a wonderful concrete foundation,&rdquo;
+said Margaret, &ldquo;that I should think it
+would be always perfectly solid.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;So should I,&rdquo; answered Miss Graham, &ldquo;but
+there&rsquo;s always a chance that some part of the soil
+beneath may give a little when the full weight of a
+house rests upon it. The settling of a house for
+only a half inch or an inch would play havoc with the
+plaster on these walls.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You think we&rsquo;d better hold back the paper for
+a final resort?&rdquo; asked Mrs. Smith.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I never advise paper in bed-rooms unless
+there&rsquo;s good reason to do so,&rdquo; answered the decorator.
+&ldquo;Here is what I should suggest for an apple-blossom
+room&mdash;though perhaps you have some
+ideas that you would like to have carried out?&rdquo; she
+interrupted herself to ask Dorothy.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_86">[86]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;No,&rdquo; said Dorothy, &ldquo;as long as it&rsquo;s pink and
+pretty I don&rsquo;t care how it is decorated.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Miss Graham stood in the centre of the room
+now, noticing how the sunshine fell on the floor, the
+shadow at the end where the sleeping porch was, and
+the possible positions for the various articles of
+furniture.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I seem to see these walls washed with a white
+which is tinted with a faint flush of pink,&rdquo; said Miss
+Graham slowly, as she thought it out. &ldquo;That
+means a pink so delicate that it will not irritate the
+weariest nerves and will soothe to sleep by its
+beauty. The wood-work should be similar in tone
+but a trifle more like ivory. Do you know that
+chintz that has blurry, indefinite flowers on it?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Dorothy said that she did.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I saw a lovely piece of it the other day with
+a design of apple-blossoms. I should use that as
+a covering for your bed, your couch, your chairs,
+and for hangings for the windows. Then across
+one end of the wall&mdash;on that shadiest side,&mdash;I
+should throw a branch of apple-blossoms, painted in
+the same blurry, indefinite way in which the flowers
+appear on the chintz. I knew a man who was
+enough of the artist in his soul to do the thing as
+if the wall had suddenly grown thin and through it
+you could see an apple tree in blossom out in the
+orchard.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I think that would be perfectly lovely,&rdquo; said
+Dorothy, and all the others expressed the greatest
+pleasure at the proposed scheme of decoration.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_87">[87]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;Here is what I would suggest for the windows,&rdquo;
+said Miss Daisy, taking out her note book,
+and sketching with a few rapid lines the folds of
+apple-blossom chintz, falling straight at the sides,
+with a valance at the top showing a very slight fullness.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Between these and the windows,&rdquo; said Miss
+Graham, &ldquo;I should put Swiss muslin, either perfectly
+plain or dotted or with a fine cross-bar, whichever
+you like best. I should have those muslin curtains
+next to the glass all alike all over the house and
+the shades, too, so that the effect from the outside
+will be uniform and not messy.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That neatness will suit Ethel Brown&rsquo;s ideas of
+what is harmonious,&rdquo; laughed Helen, and Miss Graham
+flashed her brilliant smile on Ethel Brown,
+who was nodding her approval of the idea as she
+listened.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Now, how had you planned to finish the other
+sleeping porches?&rdquo; inquired Miss Graham.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;We thought we&rsquo;d better have a radiator on the
+one leading off the nursery,&rdquo; said Mrs. Smith.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You&rsquo;ll have to be awfully careful about its freezing,&rdquo;
+warned Miss Graham.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_88">[88]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;I suppose we shall, but it seemed as if it might
+be advisable with a child who has been so delicate
+as Elisabeth. You will see that the outer ledge of
+her porch is somewhat higher than either Dorothy&rsquo;s
+or mine and there are pieces of lattice work to fill
+in the openings on very cold nights. We thought
+we&rsquo;d have out there a low play-table for the baby,
+and one or two little chairs and a work-table and
+easy-chair for Miss Merriam.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="img">
+<img src="images/p10.png" alt="A Play-table for the Baby" width="463" height="174" />
+<p>A Play-table for the Baby</p>
+</div>
+<p>&ldquo;There are cotton Chinese rugs that are extremely
+pretty for upstairs porches,&rdquo; said Miss Graham.
+&ldquo;One that is largely white but has a dash
+of green and pink, would be charming for Dorothy&rsquo;s
+porch. What color is the baby&rsquo;s room to be?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Ethel Blue wants us to have it pale blue.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Again a vivid look of appreciation came into
+Miss Graham&rsquo;s eyes as she turned them on Ethel
+Blue, but she merely said, &ldquo;There are charming
+Chinese rugs in white with dull blue designs like old
+Chinese pottery. Tell me what you had planned in
+your mind for Elisabeth,&rdquo; she continued, turning toward
+the young girl and extending her hand so winningly
+that Ethel found herself not only standing beside
+her with a feeling that she had been her friend
+for a long time, but filled with confidence that her
+suggestions would not be laughed at, and might indeed
+be really good.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_89">[89]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;I thought of walls and paint of white faintly
+colored with blue. It was just about what you suggested
+for Dorothy&rsquo;s room, only blue instead of
+pink; and it seemed to me that there might be blue
+birds&mdash;for happiness, you know&mdash;skimming along
+the walls, up near the top.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;One of those big Chinese rugs that is almost
+all white, but has a little blue, would be lovely,
+wouldn&rsquo;t it?&rdquo; cried Helen, seizing the idea.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Several small ones would be better,&rdquo; returned
+Miss Graham, &ldquo;because a baby&rsquo;s room has to be
+kept so spick and span that you want to have light
+rugs that are easy to take up and clean.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You know those little round seats that you
+sometimes see in railway waiting rooms?&rdquo; asked
+Ethel Blue.</p>
+<p>Miss Graham said she had noticed them.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Don&rsquo;t you think one would be cunning for Elisabeth?
+The seat part ought to be awfully low and
+there could be light blue cushions on it. And then
+I think it would be fun if there was a low bench
+running around two sides of the room, with cushions
+of the same color on it. It would do for a table
+and a seat both.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="img">
+<img src="images/p11.png" alt="&ldquo;There could be light blue cushions on the seat&rdquo;" width="476" height="258" />
+<p>&ldquo;There could be light blue cushions on the seat&rdquo;</p>
+</div>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_90">[90]</div>
+<p>Miss Graham thought the idea was capital.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;How would you paint them?&rdquo; she asked.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Wouldn&rsquo;t a sort of bluish-white like the wood-work
+be pretty,&rdquo; asked Ethel Blue. &ldquo;You know
+that shiny paint that is so highly polished that the
+baby&rsquo;s finger marks won&rsquo;t show on it.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="img">
+<img src="images/p12.png" alt="Ayleesabet&rsquo;s Goldfish" width="631" height="353" />
+<p>Ayleesabet&rsquo;s Goldfish</p>
+</div>
+<p>&ldquo;Enamel paint,&rdquo; translated Miss Graham. &ldquo;I
+think it would be very pretty, and I should have all
+the little chairs and tables painted the same way.
+There are a lot of little things that would be charming
+in the nursery,&rdquo; she continued. &ldquo;You can have
+a solid table, whose top lifts off, disclosing a sand-pile
+inside. And some parts of that seat around
+the room ought to lift up so that the baby can put
+away her own toys in the box underneath the cushions.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_91">[91]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;I thought a great big doll&rsquo;s house might fit into
+one corner so that it would be two-sided,&rdquo; said Ethel
+Blue. &ldquo;If the lower floor was all one room the
+baby could walk right in and sit down with the
+dolls.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Do you think she could keep still long enough to
+make a real visit?&rdquo; laughed Helen.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You&rsquo;ll want to interest her in plants and animals
+as she grows up,&rdquo; suggested Miss Graham.
+&ldquo;You might begin even now by having an aquarium
+with a few water plants and some gold fish and you
+must arrange to have it on a good solid stand so
+that it won&rsquo;t tip over if Elisabeth should happen to
+throw her fat little self against it. I suppose she&rsquo;s
+too small to have had any regular training as yet?&rdquo;
+she continued, turning to Mrs. Smith.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Miss Merriam, who is taking care of her, is
+trying some of the Montessori ideas.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I thought perhaps she was. Madame Montessori
+tries to make all her training a natural outcome
+of the children&rsquo;s lives and to develop them to use
+what they know in their daily occupations. If
+Elisabeth had a clothes-closet small enough for her
+to hang up and take down her own dresses and
+coats and rompers, I think Miss Merriam would
+find that she would be trying to put them on and
+fasten them herself very soon.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Wouldn&rsquo;t a clothes pole about three feet high
+be too cunning for words,&rdquo; exclaimed Ethel Blue,
+and Dorothy cried, &ldquo;Do let us have all these things,
+Mother. Elisabeth will look like a little white
+Persian kitten, trotting around in this blue and white
+room!&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_92">[92]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;Had you made any plans for your own room,
+Mrs. Smith?&rdquo; asked Miss Graham.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Oh, Aunt Louise, I do wish you&rsquo;d have one of
+those gray rooms, with scarlet lacquer furniture,&rdquo;
+cried Helen eagerly.</p>
+<p>Before Mrs. Smith could answer, Miss Graham
+had interposed a soft objection.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I wouldn&rsquo;t,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;A room like that has
+several reasons for non-existence. They are very
+handsome because the real scarlet lacquer is beautiful
+in itself, and it&rsquo;s valuable too, but a room whose
+chief appeal to the eye is scarlet is not restful.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You think scarlet is not a proper color for a
+bed-room,&rdquo; responded Helen.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Not at all suitable to my way of thinking. It&rsquo;s
+exciting, rather than soothing. Another objection
+to it here is that a room containing such a vivid
+color should be a dark room, and all of your bed-rooms
+are splendidly light. But the most serious
+objection to my mind, is this. Just step out here in
+the entry with me for a minute.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>They all followed Miss Graham on to the landing
+at the head of the stairs.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;In a house as small as this,&rdquo; she said, &ldquo;you
+can see from the hall into all the bed-rooms. That
+means that from the decorator&rsquo;s point of view, the
+entire floor ought to be harmonious. Behind us,
+for instance, is the baby&rsquo;s delicate blue nursery.
+Just ahead is Dorothy&rsquo;s apple-blossom room. Do
+you think that a room of gray and scarlet and black
+is going to be harmonious with those delicate tints?&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_93">[93]</div>
+<p>They saw her meaning at once and agreed with
+her that it would not be suitable.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I decorated a small apartment last winter,&rdquo; she
+said, &ldquo;that turned out very happily. The sitting
+room was one of these scarlet lacquer rooms and
+the bed-room was done in tones of pale green and
+dull orange. You felt as if you were sitting in an
+orange grove in Florida on an evening when a frost
+was expected and they were burning smudges to
+warm the trees.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I know,&rdquo; cried Dorothy, &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve seen them do
+that. You see the oranges gleaming through the
+misty smoke, and it&rsquo;s all hazy and beautiful.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It turned out well in this room that I did,&rdquo; said
+Miss Graham, modestly, &ldquo;but if you accept the
+blue and pink colorings for the other rooms here,&rdquo;
+she said, turning to Mrs. Smith with a smile, &ldquo;I&rsquo;m
+afraid your own room will have to be of some delicate
+tone to harmonize with them.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;There are certain shades of yellow, that would
+be suitable,&rdquo; returned Mrs. Smith.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;A primrose yellow,&rdquo; answered Miss Graham,
+&ldquo;would be charming, and it would not be hard to
+find a lovely chintz, that would give you just the
+spring-like atmosphere that you&rsquo;d enjoy having about
+you all the time.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I think we&rsquo;re going to have this floor a little
+piece of spring all the year around,&rdquo; said Ethel
+Blue; and again Miss Graham flashed at her a look
+of understanding.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_94">[94]</div>
+<h2 id="c7">CHAPTER VII
+<br />CLOSETS AND STEPMOTHERS</h2>
+<p>After they had shown all the rest of the house
+to Miss Daisy the family party gathered on
+the brick terrace outside of the drawing room to investigate
+lemonade and little cakes. The Ethels
+had brought the lemonade from home in a thermos
+bottle which kept it cool and refreshing, and that
+morning Dorothy had made some &ldquo;hearts and
+rounds&rdquo; which proved most appetizing with the cool
+drink.</p>
+<p>A few canvas chairs which Mrs. Smith had sent
+over from home, so that she might have something
+to sit down on when she visited the new house, were
+all the furniture of the veranda, but the girls found
+several boxes which the workmen had left, and they
+laid planks on them and made benches that were entirely
+comfortable. A similar arrangement with
+the boxes turned on their ends provided a little table
+on which they placed the refreshments. Paper cups
+answered every necessary purpose, although they
+were not beautiful, and paper plates held the hearts
+and rounds just as well as if they had been china.</p>
+<p>They were all a little tired after walking about
+the house for so long a time, and those of them
+who had chairs leaned back with satisfaction and
+looked over the low parapet to the adjoining
+meadow with its brook and its cluster of woods at
+the upper end. Beyond the fields the Emersons&rsquo;
+house could be seen dimly through the trees.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_95">[95]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;We wondered in the springtime whether we
+should be able to see this house from Grandfather&rsquo;s
+house,&rdquo; said Ethel Brown. &ldquo;I haven&rsquo;t looked
+lately, but I guess we can, or else we shouldn&rsquo;t be
+able to see Grandfather&rsquo;s house from here.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The line of those far-away mountains is very
+beautiful against the sky,&rdquo; Miss Graham noticed,
+with her keen observation of everything that added
+to the loveliness of the landscape.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;They are far enough away to have a blue haze
+hanging over them,&rdquo; said Mrs. Smith, &ldquo;and they
+give you a feeling that our quiet country scene here
+has a great deal of variety after all.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Your house is admirably placed to make the
+most of every beauty around you,&rdquo; said Miss Daisy,
+&ldquo;and I hope you&rsquo;ll allow me to compliment you on
+the way it is turning out. You know they say that
+you have to build two or three houses in order to
+build one exactly to your satisfaction, but I should
+think that you were almost accomplishing that with
+your first attempt.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I am glad you like so many things about it,&rdquo; said
+Mrs. Smith. &ldquo;Dorothy and I would be pleased
+with almost any house that really belonged to us, for
+we&rsquo;ve had nothing of our own for many years, but
+of course it is a tremendous satisfaction to have this
+develop into something that is beautiful and livable
+too.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_96">[96]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;You&rsquo;ve added so many happy touches,&rdquo; said
+Miss Graham. &ldquo;Take for instance this terrace. A
+brick terrace always makes me think of some old
+country house in England, with its dark red walls
+buried among the brilliant green foliage. So many
+of those houses have terraces like this, partly roofed
+like yours, and wide enough to be really an extra
+room.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Aunt Louise&rsquo;s terrace is really two extra rooms,&rdquo;
+said Ethel Blue, &ldquo;because it opens from the drawing
+room and also from the dining room.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;re going to have all our meals out here in
+pleasant weather, whenever it&rsquo;s warm enough,&rdquo; said
+Dorothy.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I can see you&rsquo;re sufficiently afraid of New Jersey
+mosquitoes to have a part screened.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s the only prudent thing to do,&rdquo; returned Mrs.
+Smith. &ldquo;Jersey mosquitoes are really more than a
+joke, but if you have this wire cage to get into you
+can defy them. You can see that at the end of the
+terrace opposite the dining room our cage covers the
+whole of the floor, while up at this end only a part is
+wired in. In the evening when the buzzers are buzzing
+we can take shelter behind the screen, but in the
+daytime we can sit outside as we&rsquo;re doing now.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Are you going to glass it in winter? I see you
+have a radiator.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;There are to be long glass sashes that fit into
+the same grooves that hold the screens now. The
+open fire will take off the chill on autumn mornings
+and the radiator ought to keep us warm even when
+the snow is banked against the glass.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_97">[97]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;With palms and rubber plants and rugs and
+wicker chairs and tables&mdash;I suppose you&rsquo;ll have
+wicker?&rdquo; Mrs. Morton interrupted herself to inquire
+of her sister-in-law.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes, wicker, but we haven&rsquo;t decided between
+brown or green,&rdquo; and Mrs. Smith turned appealingly
+to Miss Graham.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Neither, I should say. Don&rsquo;t you think a dull
+dark red, a mahogany red&mdash;would be pretty with
+this brick floor?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;And against the concrete wall. I do; and it
+ought not to be hard to find rugs with dull reds and
+greens that will draw all those earthy, autumnal
+shades together.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You might have one of those swinging settees
+hanging by chains from the ceiling.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Dorothy would enjoy that.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;So would we,&rdquo; interposed Ethel Brown. &ldquo;I
+seem to see myself perching on it, waving my lemonade
+cup.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Don&rsquo;t illustrate all over me,&rdquo; remonstrated
+Ethel Blue, dodging the flowing bowl.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I like very much the seclusion you&rsquo;ve gained by
+building up the wall at the end of the terrace on the
+side toward the road,&rdquo; said Miss Graham.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;We found that people could see from the road
+any one sitting on the terrace, although we&rsquo;re so
+high here,&rdquo; said Mrs. Smith, &ldquo;but with the parapet
+built up at that end, they can&rsquo;t see anything, even
+though there is an opening in the wall.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_98">[98]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;And the window frames a lovely picture of the
+meadows across the road from you.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t see,&rdquo; said Ethel Brown, &ldquo;why you always
+call your living room a drawing room, Aunt
+Louise.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It isn&rsquo;t a living room,&rdquo; returned Mrs. Smith.
+&ldquo;A living room is really a room which is used both
+as a sitting room and a dining room. No room
+which is used for only one of those purposes should
+be called a living room.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Lots of people do,&rdquo; insisted Ethel Brown.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;But they are not right,&rdquo; returned her aunt.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Drawing room seems a very formal name for
+it,&rdquo; Helen said. &ldquo;Of course we&rsquo;re used to it, because
+Grandmother Emerson always calls her parlor
+a drawing room, but she has a huge, big room, so
+my idea of a drawing room is always something immense.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Perhaps it is rather old-fashioned and stately,&rdquo;
+admitted Mrs. Smith; &ldquo;but the drawing room is
+simply a place where the family <i>withdraws</i> to sit together
+and talk together, and it need not be any more
+formal than the people who use it. But I protest
+that my drawing room or sitting room, or whatever
+it may be, shall not be called a living room, because
+it is not devoted to eating as well as sitting.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_99">[99]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;I am glad you make that distinction,&rdquo; said Miss
+Graham. &ldquo;So many people are careless about using
+the word and nowadays you seldom find a real living
+room except in a bungalow in the country where people
+are living very informally during the summer, and
+where space is limited. There&rsquo;s another thing about
+your house that I like exceedingly,&rdquo; she continued,
+&ldquo;and that is your closets.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Mrs. Morton, who had joined the party on the
+terrace, laughed heartily at this praise.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That ought to please you, Louise,&rdquo; she said,
+and added, turning to Miss Graham, &ldquo;Louise has
+spent more time inventing all sorts of cupboards and
+closets than in drawing the original plan of the
+house, I really believe.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I know it wasn&rsquo;t wasted time,&rdquo; returned Miss
+Graham. &ldquo;I have every sympathy with a craze for
+closets. You can&rsquo;t have too many to suit me. Do
+you remember that room at Mt. Vernon entirely surrounded
+by cupboards and closets? I always thought
+Washington must have had an extraordinarily orderly
+mind to want to have all his dining room belongings
+carefully placed on shelves behind closed
+doors!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I wonder how many different kinds of closets we
+have,&rdquo; murmured Dorothy, beginning to count them
+up on her fingers. Everybody tossed in a contribution,
+naming the closet which she happened to remember.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;A coat closet near the front door,&rdquo; said Ethel
+Brown.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Clothes closets in every bed-room and two extra
+ones in the attic,&rdquo; added Mrs. Smith.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_100">[100]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;A dress closet with mirrors on the doors, that
+turn back to make a three-fold dressing glass. I
+envy you that comfort, Louise,&rdquo; said Mrs. Morton.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You&rsquo;ll notice that the coat closets and the clothes
+closets all have long poles with countless hangers on
+them,&rdquo; said Mrs. Smith. &ldquo;They&rsquo;ll hold a tremendous
+number of garments; many more than Dorothy
+and I have.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The closet I&rsquo;m craziest about is the one that is
+filled with glass cubes to put hats in,&rdquo; said Helen.
+&ldquo;You open the door and there are half a dozen, and
+you can see the hats right through, so you don&rsquo;t have
+to keep pulling out one box after another, always getting
+the wrong one first.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s a perfectly splendid idea,&rdquo; approved Miss
+Graham. &ldquo;I suppose along the lower part of the
+closet side of your room, you have small closets and
+cupboards for shoes and for blouses.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I have my blouse closet above my shoe closet,&rdquo;
+returned Mrs. Smith.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Did you notice the tall, thin closet for one-piece
+dresses?&rdquo; asked Ethel Blue.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I should think that would be splendid because it
+doesn&rsquo;t jam up your evening dresses,&rdquo; said Helen,
+who was beginning to think longingly of real,
+grown-up evening dresses.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s the closet Ethel Blue always calls the
+&lsquo;stepmother closet,&rsquo;&rdquo; laughed Ethel Brown.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Why &lsquo;stepmother closet&rsquo;?&rdquo; inquired Miss Graham
+quickly.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Because it would pinch a stepmother so hard if
+she got into it,&rdquo; said Ethel Blue.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_101">[101]</div>
+<p>Miss Graham looked puzzled and Dorothy explained.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Ethel Blue hates stepmothers. She doesn&rsquo;t
+know why, except that they are always horrid in fairy
+stories, but she thinks this long narrow closet would
+be just the place to put a horrid one into to punish
+her.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Stepmothers are often very nice,&rdquo; said Mrs.
+Morton.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I had a stepmother,&rdquo; said Miss Graham, &ldquo;and
+I couldn&rsquo;t have loved my own mother more tenderly,
+and I&rsquo;m sure she loved Margaret&rsquo;s mother and me
+quite as well as if we had been her own children. In
+fact, I think she was more careful of us than she was
+of her own children. She used to say we were a
+legacy to her and that she felt it her duty as well as
+her delight to be extra good to us, for our mother&rsquo;s
+sake.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Ethel Blue listened and smiled at the kind brown
+eyes that were smiling at her, but she shook her head
+as if she were unconvinced.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;At any rate you might select your closet to fit
+your stepmother,&rdquo; Miss Daisy laughed, &ldquo;and if you
+wanted to be very bad to a thin one, you could make
+her squeeze up small in one of the glass hat boxes,
+and a fat one would suffer most in this narrow closet
+of yours.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>They all laughed again and went on with the list
+of closets in the house.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_102">[102]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;You noticed, I hope,&rdquo; said Mrs. Smith, &ldquo;that almost
+every closet in the house has an electric bulb inside
+that lights when you open the door and goes out
+again when the door is closed.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Splendid,&rdquo; approved Miss Graham. &ldquo;Is there
+one in your linen closet?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes, indeed. Did you notice that the linen
+closet is on the bedroom floor? There need be no
+carrying up and down stairs of heavy bed linen.
+The linen for the maid&rsquo;s room, in the attic, is kept in
+a small linen closet up there, and the table linen belongs
+in a closet made especially for it in the dining
+room. It has many glass shelves quite close together,
+so that each table cloth may have a spot to itself
+and the centrepieces and doilies may be kept flat
+with nothing to rumple them.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I suppose the medicine closets will go into the
+bath-rooms when the other fittings are installed,&rdquo;
+said Mrs. Morton.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; returned her sister-in-law.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Did you notice the pretty cedar shavings that the
+carpenters left on the floor of the cedar closet?&rdquo;
+asked Dorothy. &ldquo;They say they always leave the
+cedar shavings they made, because people like to
+put them among their clothes to make them fragrant.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m glad you are having a cedar closet,&rdquo; said
+Margaret. &ldquo;Mother got along with a cedar chest
+for a great many years, but she has always longed
+for a cedar closet. She had one built this summer.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;We have both,&rdquo; said Dorothy. &ldquo;The chest is
+going up in the attic and the closet is on the bedroom
+floor.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_103">[103]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;The thing that pleases me most in the closet
+line,&rdquo; said Ethel Brown, who is a good cook,
+&ldquo;is the pastry closet just off the kitchen. The
+carpenter told me there was a refrigerating pipe running
+around it so that it would always be cool, and
+there was to be a plate glass shelf on which the
+pastry could be rolled out.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You certainly have the latest wrinkles,&rdquo; exclaimed
+Mrs. Morton admiringly. &ldquo;I have never
+seen that arrangement in real life. I thought it only
+existed in large hotels or the women&rsquo;s magazines!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;There are lots of other little comforts in our
+house,&rdquo; laughed Dorothy, &ldquo;and there are two or
+three more kinds of closets if we count bookcases
+that have doors and cupboards to keep games in.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;They&rsquo;re every one modern and useful except that
+stepmother squeezer,&rdquo; said Miss Graham, rising to
+take leave. &ldquo;That sounds like some invention of
+the Middle Ages when people used to torture each
+other to death so cheerfully.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;O, I wouldn&rsquo;t <i>torture</i> her,&rdquo; protested Ethel
+Blue.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Unless she were a really truly fairy story bad
+one,&rdquo; Miss Daisy insisted. &ldquo;Could you resist
+that?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>She held Ethel Blue&rsquo;s eyes for just a second with
+her smiling gaze that was graven down in the depths
+of her warm brown ones.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I wouldn&rsquo;t <i>really</i> hurt her,&rdquo; Ethel Blue repeated,
+and wondered why she felt as if she had been taken
+seriously.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_104">[104]</div>
+<h2 id="c8">CHAPTER VIII
+<br />&ldquo;OFF TO PHILADELPHIA IN THE MORNING&rdquo;</h2>
+<p>&ldquo;Helen,&rdquo; called Mrs. Morton a few days
+later just after the morning visit of the letter
+carrier, &ldquo;I have a note here from Uncle Richard
+asking me if I can run over to Philadelphia and attend
+to a little matter of business for him. He is so
+tied up at Fort Myer that he can&rsquo;t possibly get away.
+Do you think it would be pleasant if you and I went
+over for a few days and took Roger and the children
+with us?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The &ldquo;children&rdquo; of the Morton family meant
+those younger than Roger and Helen. Helen received
+the suggestion with a cry of delight.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It would be just too lovely for anything,&rdquo; she
+said, waving in the air the little linen dress she was
+making for Elisabeth.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The younger girls had the Massachusetts trip
+this summer that you and Roger didn&rsquo;t share,&rdquo; her
+mother said. &ldquo;I think this time we might all of
+us go, and I&rsquo;m not sure that it would not be pleasant
+to ask the Watkinses and the Hancocks.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The whole U.&nbsp;S.&nbsp;C.!&rdquo; cried Helen. &ldquo;Mother,
+you certainly were born a darling. How did you
+ever think of anything so perfectly galoptious?&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_105">[105]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s natural for me to be &lsquo;galoptious,&rsquo;&rdquo; her
+mother returned, laughing. &ldquo;Now, we shall have
+to work fast, if we are going to accomplish Uncle
+Richard&rsquo;s errand, because the people whom he wants
+me to see will be in Philadelphia only to-morrow.
+He has telegraphed them, asking them to keep an
+hour for me, so I must go over to-day or very early
+to-morrow morning.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Would you like to have me call up Margaret and
+Della on the telephone and see if they can go to-day?
+If they can, I don&rsquo;t see why we can&rsquo;t fly around
+tremendously and get our bags packed this morning
+and take an afternoon train,&rdquo; said Helen, who was
+beginning to grow energetic as the full prospect of
+the pleasure before her appeared before the eyes of
+her mind.</p>
+<p>Mrs. Morton agreeing, Helen flew to the telephone,
+and was lucky enough to catch Margaret at
+Glen Point and Della in New York without any difficulty.
+They both said that they would consult their
+mothers and would call Helen again within an
+hour. She then telephoned to Dorothy, but found
+that she was at Sweetbrier Lodge and as the telephone
+had not been put in yet, she was, for a moment,
+at a loss what to do. She remembered, however,
+that Ethel Brown and Ethel Blue had spoken of
+spending the morning at Grandmother Emerson&rsquo;s,
+and she therefore called up her house in the hope that
+they might be there.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_106">[106]</div>
+<p>They had just left there to go and do a little house-cleaning
+in the cave in Fitzjames&rsquo; woods, where they
+frequently enjoyed an afternoon lemonade. Mrs.
+Emerson said, however, that she could easily send a
+messenger after them, and that it would not be many
+minutes before she would ring Helen in her turn.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I haven&rsquo;t anything to report,&rdquo; Helen said to her
+mother after she had made these various calls, &ldquo;but
+I had better be getting out our handbags and trying
+to find Roger, I suppose.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Mrs. Morton was already packing her valise with
+her own and Dicky&rsquo;s requirements and she nodded an
+assent to Helen&rsquo;s suggestion.</p>
+<p>It was not many minutes before the telephone bell
+began ringing. The first summons was from Margaret
+Hancock who said that her mother and father
+were delighted with the opportunity to have her and
+James go to Philadelphia in Mrs. Morton&rsquo;s care.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It will be a real Club expedition,&rdquo; she said gleefully,
+&ldquo;and I&rsquo;m just as sure as if I saw it with my own
+eyes, that you&rsquo;re packing a &lsquo;History of Philadelphia&rsquo;
+in your hand-bag.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Helen laughed because she was well accustomed to
+being joked about her love of history.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I notice all of you are willing enough to listen
+when I tell about places,&rdquo; she said, &ldquo;and this time
+you&rsquo;ll have to take it from me because Grandfather
+won&rsquo;t be there to tell you.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The next ring meant that the Ethels had returned
+to Mrs. Emerson&rsquo;s.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What do you want of us?&rdquo; Ethel Blue asked in
+a tone that sounded as if she were not particularly
+pleased at being called back.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_107">[107]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;How would you like to go to Philadelphia?&rdquo;
+Helen answered triumphantly.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Do you really mean it?&rdquo; asked Ethel, who was
+not quite sure that her ears were hearing correctly.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I do mean it, and if you and Ethel Blue want to
+go with Mother and me this afternoon, you must
+rush home just as fast as you can and get your bags
+packed. Aunt Louise says Dorothy may go, but I
+can&rsquo;t find her, so please stop at the new house and see
+if she&rsquo;s there and tell her about it.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Well I should say we would,&rdquo; returned a voice
+that was now filled with delight. &ldquo;Ethel Blue
+wants to know why Mother is going?&rdquo; she asked.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;On some business for her father&mdash;for Uncle
+Richard. But do stop chattering and come home as
+fast as you can rush. If we don&rsquo;t get off this afternoon,
+we can&rsquo;t go until to-morrow morning and we
+shan&rsquo;t be able to stay so long in Philadelphia.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>It was not until they reached home that the Ethels
+learned that the Watkinses and the Hancocks were to
+join the party, and they were so excited over the prospect
+of this Club pilgrimage, that they were hardly
+able to get together their belongings.</p>
+<p>The most difficult person to find was Roger who
+did not seem to be within reach of the telephone anywhere.
+They called up all the places where they
+thought it possible that he might be, but he could not
+be found, and he walked in just before luncheon quite
+unprepared for the surprise that awaited him.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_108">[108]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;Helen has packed your bag for you,&rdquo; his mother
+told him, &ldquo;so rush and change your clothes and go to
+the train to meet Della and Tom.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Rosemont being already part way on the road
+from New York and Philadelphia, it was necessary
+for the party to take a local train to the nearest stopping
+place of the Express. The Watkinses came
+out from New York on a local and the Hancocks arrived
+on the trolley, so that the entire group met at
+the Mortons&rsquo; about half an hour before the time to
+start. They were all chattering briskly, all filled
+with enthusiasm for this new adventure.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Don&rsquo;t you think I&rsquo;d better go too?&rdquo; Mr. Emerson
+asked his daughter, as he counted up the throng
+and noticed their eagerness.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think it&rsquo;s necessary, Father,&rdquo; Mrs. Morton
+replied. &ldquo;Roger and Tom and James are surely
+big enough to escort us, and I know Philadelphia so
+well that I have no fear of our being lost in the city
+with three such competent young men to take care of
+us.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Mr. Emerson smiled somewhat doubtfully and
+murmured something about his daughter&rsquo;s having a
+hopeful disposition.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You don&rsquo;t realize how serious Roger can be
+when he feels that he has actual responsibility,&rdquo; said
+Mrs. Morton, &ldquo;and as for James Hancock, he is
+sometimes so grave that he almost alarms me.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;He may be grave, but has he any sense?&rdquo; asked
+Mr. Emerson tartly.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_109">[109]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;The children seem to think he has a great deal.
+At any rate I feel sure that no difficulty is going to
+come to us with these three big boys on hand and I
+wouldn&rsquo;t think of taking you on this fatiguing trip,
+on such a hot day,&rdquo; insisted his daughter.</p>
+<p>Mr. Emerson looked somewhat relieved although
+he again assured Mrs. Morton that he would be entirely
+willing to escort her and her flock.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No farther than the Rosemont station, thank
+you,&rdquo; she said, smiling.</p>
+<p>It was at the station and just as the train was drawing
+in that Mr. Emerson handed Helen a notebook.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You&rsquo;ve taken me by surprise this morning,&rdquo; he
+said, &ldquo;and I haven&rsquo;t had much time to get up my
+usual collection of historical poetry, but I couldn&rsquo;t
+let you go off without having something of the kind
+to remember me by.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Helen and the Ethels laughed at this confession,
+for Mr. Emerson was so fond of American history
+that he was in the habit, whenever they all went on
+trips together, of supplying himself with ballads concerning
+any historical happenings in the district
+through which they were to travel.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Philadelphia ought to be a fertile field for you,
+sir,&rdquo; said James Hancock.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It is,&rdquo; returned the old gentleman, &ldquo;but you&rsquo;ll
+escape the full force of my efforts this time, thanks
+to your quick start.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The run to the junction and then to Philadelphia
+was made in a short time. It was fairly familiar to
+all of them and the country presented no beauties to
+make it remarkable, although Roger pretended to be
+a guide showing wonderful sights to the New
+Yorkers, Della and Tom.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_110">[110]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;Do you think, Mother, we shall have time to
+look up some of the historical places in the city?&rdquo;
+asked Helen.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I thought that would be the most interesting
+thing to do,&rdquo; Mrs. Morton replied. &ldquo;I shan&rsquo;t have
+to meet my business people until midday to-morrow,
+so this afternoon and to-morrow morning we can see
+many points of interest if we don&rsquo;t delay too long at
+each one.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Being related to the Navy through my paternal
+ancestor,&rdquo; said Roger in large language, &ldquo;Philadelphia
+has always interested me because the father
+of old William Penn, its founder, was an Admiral in
+the English Navy.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t know that,&rdquo; said Helen.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Watch me run for base!&rdquo; exclaimed Roger.
+&ldquo;I got one off of Helen on the first ball. It isn&rsquo;t
+often that Helen admits there&rsquo;s something she
+doesn&rsquo;t know about American history.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You miserable boy! You sound as if I were
+pretending to be a &lsquo;know-it-all&rsquo;! There are plenty
+of things I don&rsquo;t know about American history. For
+instance I know very little about William Penn, except
+that he was a Quaker.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Well then,&rdquo; said Roger, &ldquo;allow me to inform
+you, beloved sister, that William Penn was an Oxford
+man and a preacher in the Society of Friends. He
+seems to have had some pull because the powers gave
+him a grant of Pennsylvania (that means Penn&rsquo;s
+Woods), in 1680. He went to America two years
+later and founded this minute little town which we
+are approaching.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_111">[111]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;Those old Englishmen on the other side certainly
+had a calm way of giving out grants of land
+without saying anything about it to the Indians,
+didn&rsquo;t they?&rdquo; said Margaret.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Penn got along much better with the Indians
+than many of the heads of the colonies. He made
+a treaty with them, which is said to have been very
+remarkable in two ways; in the first place he wouldn&rsquo;t
+swear to keep it because he was a Quaker, and
+Quakers won&rsquo;t take an oath; and in the next place, he
+<i>did</i> keep it, which was quite an event in colonial
+circles!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;He must have been a good chap,&rdquo; commented
+Tom.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You&rsquo;re going to see a statue of him as soon as
+you get off the train,&rdquo; interposed Mrs. Morton.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Where is it?&rdquo; asked Ethel Brown.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;On top of the City Hall. It&rsquo;s the first thing you
+see when you come out of the railroad station. In
+fact you&rsquo;re so close to the Public Buildings, as they&rsquo;re
+called, that I doubt if you can see the top at all until
+you get farther away from them.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The statue must be enormous if it&rsquo;s up so high,&rdquo;
+said Ethel Blue.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been told it was thirty-seven feet high,&rdquo; returned
+Mrs. Morton, &ldquo;and that the rim of the old
+gentleman&rsquo;s hat was so wide that a person could walk
+on it comfortably.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_112">[112]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;Wouldn&rsquo;t it be fun to do our back step on the
+edge of his hat!&rdquo; exclaimed Ethel Blue to Ethel
+Brown, as they looked out the cab which was taking
+them to the hotel, and saw the figure of the benevolent
+Quaker black against the sky some five hundred
+feet above the ground.</p>
+<p>The hotel wherein Mrs. Morton established her
+flock was &ldquo;in the heart of conservative Philadelphia.&rdquo;
+Immediately after luncheon they packed
+themselves into a large touring car and began their
+historical explorations.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;If we do things according to time, we ought to
+go first to all of the places that have to do with William
+Penn,&rdquo; said Helen.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m afraid that might make us jump around the
+city a little,&rdquo; said Mrs. Morton, &ldquo;because if I am not
+mistaken, the house that William Penn gave to his
+daughter Letitia, is out in Fairmount Park, and the
+one belonging to his grandson is in the Zoo. We&rsquo;ll
+see them before we go home, but now we had better
+give our attention to the things that are here in the
+city. To begin with we can go to the little park on
+whose site William Penn made his famous treaty
+with the Indians. It takes us somewhat out of our
+way, but I know Helen&rsquo;s orderly mind will like to begin
+there.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_113">[113]</div>
+<p>Helen smiled at her mother&rsquo;s understanding of
+her, and the car sped northwards along the river
+front, now given over to business and tenements.
+At the Treaty Park they looked about them with their
+imaginations rather than with their eyes, for there
+was little of interest before them, while the Past held
+a vision of the elm tree under which the group of
+broad-hatted Friends discussed terms with the copper-colored
+natives. Lieutenant Morton&rsquo;s children
+were interested in seeing not far away the ship building
+yards where many an American battleship had
+slipped from the ways to pursue her peaceful course
+upon the ocean.</p>
+<p>Returning as they had come, they passed on Second
+Street the site of a house in which the Great Settler
+had lived, and promised themselves to remember
+that in Independence Hall they were to look for
+a piece of the Treaty Tree.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Everything that isn&rsquo;t called &lsquo;Penn&rsquo; in this town
+seems to be called &lsquo;Franklin,&rsquo;&rdquo; said Ethel Blue,
+after reading many of the signs on the buildings.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s because the great Benjamin lived here for
+most of his life,&rdquo; said James, by way of explanation.
+&ldquo;He was born in Boston, but he soon deserted those
+cold regions for a warmer clime, and made a name
+for himself here.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I should say he left it behind him,&rdquo; commented
+Ethel Blue again as she read another sign, this time
+of a &ldquo;Penn Laundry.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Penn and Franklin are the two great men of old
+Philadelphia, without any doubt,&rdquo; said Mrs. Morton,
+as the machine stopped before Carpenters&rsquo; Hall.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Help! Help!&rdquo; cried Tom. &ldquo;I blush to state
+that I don&rsquo;t know Carpenters&rsquo; Hall from a ham
+sandwich.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Helen looked at him with horror on her face.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_114">[114]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;Stand right here before we set foot inside and
+let me tell you that I am perfectly shocked that any
+American boy, old enough to have graduated from
+high school and to be going to Yale in a few weeks,
+should make such a statement as that!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>She was genuinely troubled about it and Tom
+flushed as he saw that she really was scornful of his
+ignorance.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Now, next,&rdquo; she said, &ldquo;do you know what the
+Boston Tea Party was?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Tom meekly said that he remembered that in
+December, 1773, a number of Boston men disguised
+as Indians had thrown overboard from a ship in the
+harbor, boxes of tea on which they refused to pay
+the British duty.</p>
+<p>Helen nodded approvingly.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m glad you remember that much,&rdquo; she said
+tartly. &ldquo;After that Tea Party there was a continual
+and rapid growth of dislike for the Old Country,
+which was trying to tax the colonists, without
+allowing them any representation in the Parliament
+which was governing them. The feeling grew so
+strong that a Continental Congress, made up of delegates
+from the thirteen original Colonies, was called
+to meet here in Philadelphia, in September, 1774.
+It met here at Carpenters&rsquo; Hall,&rdquo; she concluded triumphantly.</p>
+<p>Tom glanced up at the Hall with an entirely new
+interest.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;In this same old building?&rdquo; he asked.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_115">[115]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;In this very identical place,&rdquo; said Helen, and
+then she allowed the procession to enter the building.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;September 17, 1774,&rdquo; repeated Ethel Brown
+thoughtfully. &ldquo;Why, that was the autumn before
+the battles of Concord and Lexington.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes, the Revolution had not yet begun. The
+Continental Congress met to talk over the situation,
+and here are the very chairs the members used.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Ethel Blue touched one of them with the tips of
+her fingers.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m glad I&rsquo;ve touched anything as interesting as
+this,&rdquo; she said.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Look at the inscription,&rdquo; said James, calling their
+attention to the lettering. &ldquo;<span class="small">WITHIN THESE WALLS
+HENRY, HANCOCK AND ADAMS INSPIRED THE DELEGATES
+OF THE COLONIES WITH NERVE AND SINEW
+FOR THE TOILS OF WAR!</span>&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;John Hancock was my great-great-grandfather&rsquo;s
+brother,&rdquo; said James proudly.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Good for you, old chap,&rdquo; exclaimed Roger,
+thumping him on the back, while Helen beamed at
+Margaret.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;How long did these Congressmen chat here?&rdquo;
+meekly asked Tom of Helen.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;After about a month they agreed on what they
+called a Declaration of Rights, and they sent it over
+to Franklin, who was in England, and asked him to
+present it to the House of Commons.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;In the light of after events I suppose the House
+of Commons didn&rsquo;t take a look at it,&rdquo; said Roger.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_116">[116]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;They certainly did not,&rdquo; replied Helen, &ldquo;and
+the battles of Lexington and Concord were the result.
+You remember they were fought in April of 1775.
+Ticonderoga was captured in May of the same year
+and the battle of Bunker Hill was fought in June.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;And Congress kept on sitting while all this fighting
+was going on?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes; the men discussed each new move as it was
+made. Early in June one of the members made a
+motion before the Congress that &lsquo;these Colonies
+ought to be Independent.&rsquo;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That idea seems simple enough to us now,&rdquo; said
+Tom, &ldquo;but I dare say it was startling when a mere
+colonist proposed to break off with the mother country.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It seems to me it&rsquo;s about time for Grandfather
+Emerson to have some poetry on this period of history,&rdquo;
+said Ethel Brown. &ldquo;If he were here, I&rsquo;m
+sure he would never have let this Congress sit for
+eight or nine months without discovering something
+in poetry about it.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Helen laughed.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You certainly understand Grandfather,&rdquo; she
+said. &ldquo;In just about a minute, while we&rsquo;re going
+over to Independence Hall, I&rsquo;m going to read you
+some verses that belong right in here. On the first
+of July they began to debate about this proposal that
+the colonists should be independent. It was a
+mighty important matter, of course, because if they
+adopted it, it certainly meant war, and if they did not
+beat in the war, it might mean a worse state of affairs
+than they were in at the present moment. So
+there was much to be said on both sides and it looked
+as if the vote was going to be very close. Here&rsquo;s
+where Rodney the delegate did some hard riding,&rdquo;
+and Helen took out one of the type-written sheets,
+which her grandfather had given her.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_117">[117]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;What Colony did he represent?&rdquo; asked Ethel
+Blue.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Rodney was from Delaware,&rdquo; she returned,
+&ldquo;Now listen, while I read you this poem.&rdquo;</p>
+<h3>&ldquo;RODNEY&rsquo;S RIDE</h3>
+<div class="verse">
+<p class="t0">&ldquo;In that soft mid-land where the breezes bear</p>
+<p class="t0">The North and South on the genial air,</p>
+<p class="t0">Through the county of Kent, on affairs of state,</p>
+<p class="t0">Rode C&aelig;sar Rodney, the delegate.</p>
+</div>
+<div class="verse">
+<p class="t0">&ldquo;Burly and big and bold and bluff,</p>
+<p class="t0">In his three-cornered hat and coat of snuff,</p>
+<p class="t0">A foe to King George and the English State,</p>
+<p class="t0">Was C&aelig;sar Rodney, the delegate.</p>
+</div>
+<div class="verse">
+<p class="t0">&ldquo;Into Dover village he rode apace,</p>
+<p class="t0">And his kinsfolk knew, from his anxious face,</p>
+<p class="t0">It was matter grave that brought him there,</p>
+<p class="t0">To the counties three on the Delaware.</p>
+</div>
+<div class="verse">
+<p class="t0">&ldquo;&lsquo;Money and men we must have&rsquo;m,&rsquo; he said,</p>
+<p class="t0">&lsquo;Or the Congress fails and the cause is dead:</p>
+<p class="t0">Give us both and the King shall not work his will.</p>
+<p class="t0">We are men, since the blood of Bunker Hill!&rsquo;</p>
+</div>
+<div class="verse">
+<p class="t0">&ldquo;Comes a rider swift on a panting bay:</p>
+<p class="t0">&lsquo;Ho, Rodney, ho, you must save the day,</p>
+<p class="t0">For the Congress halts at a deed so great,</p>
+<p class="t0">And your vote alone may decide its fate.&rsquo;</p>
+</div>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_118">[118]</div>
+<div class="verse">
+<p class="t0">&ldquo;Answered Rodney then: &lsquo;I will ride with speed;</p>
+<p class="t0">It is Liberty&rsquo;s stress; it is Freedom&rsquo;s need.</p>
+<p class="t0">When stands it?&rsquo; &lsquo;To-night. Not a moment to spare,</p>
+<p class="t0">But ride like the wind from the Delaware.&rsquo;</p>
+</div>
+<div class="verse">
+<p class="t0">&ldquo;&lsquo;Ho, saddle the black! I&rsquo;ve but half a day,</p>
+<p class="t0">And the Congress sits eighty miles away&mdash;</p>
+<p class="t0">But I&rsquo;ll be in time, if God grants me grace,</p>
+<p class="t0">To shake my fist in King George&rsquo;s face.&rsquo;</p>
+</div>
+<div class="verse">
+<p class="t0">&ldquo;He is up: he is off! and the black horse flies</p>
+<p class="t0">On the northward road ere the &lsquo;God-speed&rsquo; dies;</p>
+<p class="t0">It is a gallop and spur as the leagues they clear,</p>
+<p class="t0">And the clustering mile-stones move a-rear.</p>
+</div>
+<div class="verse">
+<p class="t0">&ldquo;It is two of the clock! and the fleet hoofs fling</p>
+<p class="t0">The Fieldboro&rsquo;s dust with a clang and a cling;</p>
+<p class="t0">It is three; and he gallops with slack rein where</p>
+<p class="t0">The road winds down to the Delaware.</p>
+</div>
+<div class="verse">
+<p class="t0">&ldquo;Four; and he spurs into New Castle town,</p>
+<p class="t0">From his panting steed he gets trim down&mdash;</p>
+<p class="t0">&lsquo;A fresh one, quick! not a moment&rsquo;s wait!&rsquo;</p>
+<p class="t0">And off speeds Rodney the delegate.</p>
+</div>
+<div class="verse">
+<p class="t0">&ldquo;It is five; and the beams of the western sun</p>
+<p class="t0">Tinge the spires of Wilmington gold and dun;</p>
+<p class="t0">Six; and the dust of Chester Street</p>
+<p class="t0">Flies back in a cloud from the courser&rsquo;s feet.</p>
+</div>
+<div class="verse">
+<p class="t0">&ldquo;It is seven; the horse-boat, broad of beam,</p>
+<p class="t0">At the Schuylkill ferry crawls over the stream&mdash;</p>
+<p class="t0">And at seven-fifteen by the Rittenhouse clock,</p>
+<p class="t0">He flings his reins to the tavern jock.</p>
+</div>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_119">[119]</div>
+<div class="verse">
+<p class="t0">&ldquo;The Congress is met; the debate&rsquo;s begun,</p>
+<p class="t0">And Liberty lags for the vote of one&mdash;</p>
+<p class="t0">When into the hall, not a moment late,</p>
+<p class="t0">Walks C&aelig;sar Rodney, the delegate.</p>
+</div>
+<div class="verse">
+<p class="t0">&ldquo;Not a moment late! and that half day&rsquo;s ride</p>
+<p class="t0">Forwards the world with a mighty stride;</p>
+<p class="t0">For the act was passed ere the midnight stroke</p>
+<p class="t0">O&rsquo;er the Quaker City its echoes woke.</p>
+</div>
+<div class="verse">
+<p class="t0">&ldquo;At Tyranny&rsquo;s feet was the gauntlet flung;</p>
+<p class="t0">&lsquo;We are free!&rsquo; all the bells through the colonies rung,</p>
+<p class="t0">And the sons of the free may recall with pride</p>
+<p class="t0">The day of Delegate Rodney&rsquo;s ride.&rdquo;</p>
+</div>
+<p>&ldquo;Pretty stirring, isn&rsquo;t it! I take it that the Continental
+Congress had moved over to Independence
+Hall by this time,&rdquo; said Tom, when the reading was
+done.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes, they were over here, sitting in the East
+Room, when they passed the Declaration of Independence.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>An attendant seeing the interested faces of the
+young people, took them about the room and explained
+the relics to them.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;This,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;is the very furniture that was in
+the room at the time of the signing of the Declaration.
+Right on this very table the Document received
+the signature of the President of the Congress&mdash;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;John Hancock,&rdquo; murmured Helen to James in
+an undertone.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_120">[120]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;&mdash;and the rest of them,&rdquo; continued the guide.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Is the original document here?&rdquo; asked James,
+who was thrilling with interest, but who preserved
+the calmness which he inherited from his Scottish
+ancestors.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No,&rdquo; answered the caretaker. &ldquo;That is kept
+at Washington in the Library of the State Department,
+but there is an exact copy of it over there on
+the wall.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Going upstairs, the party remembered to look up
+the piece of the elm tree, under which Penn had
+signed his Treaty with the Indians, and they saw in
+addition the original Charter of Philadelphia, bearing
+the date 1701.</p>
+<p>In another room they found some furniture belonging
+to Washington and Penn and various portraits
+of more historic than artistic interest. They
+enjoyed more seeing some of the boards of the original
+floor. These were carefully kept under glass,
+as if they were great treasures.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Now we&rsquo;re going to see the most sacred relic in
+America, next to the Declaration itself,&rdquo; said Helen,
+leading the way down the staircase at whose foot
+was the famous Liberty Bell, which had rung out its
+message of joy on July 4, 1775, when the delegates
+passed the Declaration and the people of Philadelphia
+knew that war was before them, and yet were
+glad to meet whatever might be the outcome of the
+defiance.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_121">[121]</div>
+<p>They gathered in silence around the bell and read
+its description:&mdash;&ldquo;<span class="small">PROCLAIM LIBERTY TO ALL THE
+LAND AND TO ALL THE INHABITANTS THEREOF.</span>&rdquo;
+They noticed the crack which ran through it, and felt
+that they were looking upon a real veteran of that
+far-away time.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Grandfather told me not to forget to tell you
+about the little boy who gave the signal to the bell-ringer,&rdquo;
+Helen said. &ldquo;He was stationed where he
+could see the door-keeper of the room in which the
+delegates were sitting. When the final vote was
+taken, the door-keeper gave the signal to the boy and
+he ran out, shouting the cry that resounded through
+the colonies, &lsquo;Ring! Ring! Ring!&rsquo;&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_122">[122]</div>
+<h2 id="c9">CHAPTER IX
+<br />HELEN DISTINGUISHES HERSELF</h2>
+<p>&ldquo;Come out into the Park for a few minutes,&rdquo;
+said Mrs. Morton. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m perfectly
+sure Helen has some poetry to read to us before very
+long, and if we can sit down for a minute or two on
+the benches, we can hear it at our convenience.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The fire of discontent had been smouldering for
+a long time,&rdquo; said Helen, beginning her lecture
+promptly when they were seated, &ldquo;and just as soon
+as the Declaration was passed the flames burst
+out. There was fighting all over the colonies
+from South Carolina to New York City. Washington
+was made Commander-in-Chief of the little
+Army there, but he was quite unable to defeat the
+large force which the British sent. He retreated
+across New Jersey, and in December of 1776&mdash;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;About a year and a half later,&rdquo; interposed Ethel
+Brown.</p>
+<p>Helen nodded and continued: &ldquo;he reached the
+Delaware River. The British followed him on the
+other bank of the river, with the centre of the army
+at Trenton, New Jersey. On Christmas Night of
+1776, the future of the Colonies looked about as
+dark as the night itself, but here is what happened,
+told in some of the rhymes that Grandfather found
+for us.&rdquo; And Helen read Virginia Woodward
+Cloud&rsquo;s poem, called the &ldquo;Ballad of Sweet P.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_123">[123]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;She was a spirited girl,&rdquo; said James gravely.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;She was too nice a girl to be a deceiving girl,&rdquo;
+said Ethel Blue, and a vigorous discussion as to how
+much deception was fair in war time would have
+broken out if Helen had not continued her account of
+the Revolution around Philadelphia.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;At day-break on the 26th of December, Washington
+entered Trenton and surprised the enemy,&rdquo;
+Helen ended.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It was in the battle of Trenton and in the battle
+of Princeton about a week later, that our Emerson
+great-great-great-grandfather fought, wasn&rsquo;t it?&rdquo;
+said Roger, recalling the account which his grandfather
+had read to the Mortons several times from
+the old family Bible.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes, don&rsquo;t you remember how he fought against
+his daughter&rsquo;s English lover?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;We must ask the chauffeur where the Betsy
+Ross house is,&rdquo; said Mrs. Morton, rising and leading
+the way to the car.</p>
+<p>The man knew and set off at once through the few
+narrow streets, and before long they were standing
+in front of the old-fashioned dwelling.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Who is the lady?&rdquo; murmured Tom in an undertone
+to Ethel Brown, pretending to be afraid that
+Helen would hear him but really speaking loudly
+enough to draw her attention.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_124">[124]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;Tom Watkins, you&rsquo;re perfectly dreadful,&rdquo; Helen
+exclaimed promptly. &ldquo;Do you really mean that you
+don&rsquo;t know who Betsy Ross was?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>This direct question was too much for Tom&rsquo;s
+truthfulness and he broke into a laugh.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know that I should have known if I
+hadn&rsquo;t read the other day a tale about a play that
+some urchins wrote for the stage at Hull House in
+Chicago.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Did Jane Addams tell the story?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;She did, so it must be true. It was entirely original
+with some immigrant boys who had been studying
+American history. It went something like this:&mdash;in
+the first act some American Revolutionary soldiers
+are talking together and one of them says,
+&lsquo;Gee, ain&rsquo;t it fierce! We ain&rsquo;t got no flag.&rsquo; The
+others agreed that it was fierce. In the next act a
+delegation of soldiers approached General Washington.
+They saluted, and then said to him,
+&lsquo;General, we ain&rsquo;t got no flag. Gee, ain&rsquo;t it
+fierce?&rsquo;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Tom&rsquo;s story was received with many giggles.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What did Washington say?&rdquo; asked Ethel Blue.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Washington agreed that it was fierce, and said
+that he&rsquo;d do something about it, so the next act shows
+him at the house of Betsy Ross. He said to her,
+&lsquo;Mrs. Ross, we ain&rsquo;t got no flag. Ain&rsquo;t it fierce?
+What shall we do about it?&rsquo;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;They didn&rsquo;t have a very large vocabulary,&rdquo;
+laughed Margaret.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;But the American spirit was there,&rdquo; insisted
+Mrs. Morton.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_125">[125]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;What did Betsy say,&rdquo; inquired Ethel Brown.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Mrs. Ross said, &lsquo;It <i>is</i> fierce. You hold the
+baby, George, and I&rsquo;ll make you something right
+off.&rsquo;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Isn&rsquo;t that perfectly delicious!&rdquo; gurgled Dorothy.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;And that last realistic scene took place in this little
+house!&rdquo; said Mrs. Morton, shaking with mirth.
+&ldquo;It belongs to the city now, so Betsy&rsquo;s patriotism
+and industry are remembered by many visitors.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Here&rsquo;s Grandfather&rsquo;s contribution to this moment,&rdquo;
+smiled Helen as she brought out still another
+of her type-written sheets, and read some lines by
+Minna Irving.</p>
+<h3>&ldquo;BETSY&rsquo;S BATTLE FLAG</h3>
+<div class="verse">
+<p class="t0">&ldquo;From dusk till dawn the livelong night</p>
+<p class="t0">She kept the tallow dips alight,</p>
+<p class="t0">And fast her nimble fingers flew</p>
+<p class="t0">To sew the stars upon the blue.</p>
+<p class="t0">With weary eyes and aching head</p>
+<p class="t0">She stitched the stripes of white and red,</p>
+<p class="t0">And when the day came up the stair</p>
+<p class="t0">Complete across a carven chair</p>
+<p class="t">Hung Betsy&rsquo;s battle flag.</p>
+</div>
+<div class="verse">
+<p class="t0">&ldquo;Like the shadows in the evening gray</p>
+<p class="t0">The Continentals filed away,</p>
+<p class="t0">With broken boots and ragged coats,</p>
+<p class="t0">But hoarse defiance in their throats;</p>
+<p class="t0">They bore the marks of want and cold,</p>
+<p class="t0">And some were lame and some were old,</p>
+<p class="t0">And some with wounds untended bled,</p>
+<p class="t0">But floating bravely overhead</p>
+<p class="t">Was Betsy&rsquo;s battle flag.</p>
+</div>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_126">[126]</div>
+<div class="verse">
+<p class="t0">&ldquo;When fell the battle&rsquo;s leaden rain,</p>
+<p class="t0">The soldier hushed his moan of pain</p>
+<p class="t0">And raised his dying head to see</p>
+<p class="t0">King George&rsquo;s troopers turn and flee.</p>
+<p class="t0">Their charging column reeled and broke,</p>
+<p class="t0">And vanished in the rolling smoke,</p>
+<p class="t0">Before the glory of the stars,</p>
+<p class="t0">The snowy stripes, and scarlet bars</p>
+<p class="t">Of Betsy&rsquo;s battle flag.</p>
+</div>
+<div class="verse">
+<p class="t0">&ldquo;The simple stone of Betsy Ross</p>
+<p class="t0">Is covered now with mold and moss,</p>
+<p class="t0">But still her deathless banner flies,</p>
+<p class="t0">And keeps the color of the skies,</p>
+<p class="t0">A nation thrills, a nation bleeds,</p>
+<p class="t0">A nation follows where it leads,</p>
+<p class="t0">And every man is proud to yield</p>
+<p class="t0">His life upon a crimson field</p>
+<p class="t">For Betsy&rsquo;s battle flag.&rdquo;</p>
+</div>
+<p>&ldquo;When was it that Washington made his historic
+visit to Betsy?&rdquo; asked Roger of Helen.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That was in June of 1776. A year later, on
+the fourteenth of June, 1777, Congress adopted the
+Stars and Stripes as our flag.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s why June 14th is celebrated as Flag Day,
+I suppose,&rdquo; said Ethel Blue.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_127">[127]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;I think our flag has more meaning to it than any
+other flag in the world,&rdquo; declared Roger. &ldquo;The
+thirteen stripes mean the thirteen original colonies,
+don&rsquo;t they?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;There were thirteen stars at the beginning.
+They&rsquo;ve added a star for every new state that has
+joined the Union.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It certainly does make your heart beat to look
+at it, especially when you happen to come on it suddenly
+as Miss Bates said in those verses of hers that
+we had in our Peace Day Program on Lincoln&rsquo;s
+Birthday.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;A Russian sea-captain once told me it looked to
+him like a mosaic,&rdquo; Mrs. Morton said.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;But every piece of the mosaic is full of meaning,&rdquo;
+said Ethel Blue, &ldquo;and mosaics make beautiful
+pictures any way.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;There was a sad time ahead for Philadelphia in
+spite of Washington&rsquo;s successes at Trenton and
+Princeton,&rdquo; said Helen, taking up her story once
+more. &ldquo;The Americans were successful in Vermont
+and northern New York, but in September, 1777,
+they were defeated at Brandywine Creek, and the
+British marched into Philadelphia a fortnight later
+and took possession of the town.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Wasn&rsquo;t it about that time that the American
+army spent the winter at Valley Forge?&rdquo; asked Margaret.
+&ldquo;I seem to remember something about their
+living in a great deal of distress, such as the soldiers
+in Europe are enduring now.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;This was the time,&rdquo; confirmed Helen.
+&ldquo;Grandfather has a few lines of Reed&rsquo;s here telling
+about it.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_128">[128]</div>
+<div class="verse">
+<p class="t0">&ldquo;Such was the winter&rsquo;s awful sight,</p>
+<p class="t0">For many a dreary day and night,</p>
+<p class="t0">What time our country&rsquo;s hope forlorn,</p>
+<p class="t0">Of every needed comfort shorn,</p>
+<p class="t0">Lay housed within a buried tent,</p>
+<p class="t0">Where every keen blast found a rent,</p>
+<p class="t0">And oft the snow was seen to sift</p>
+<p class="t0">Along the floor its piling drift,</p>
+<p class="t0">Or, mocking the scant blanket&rsquo;s fold,</p>
+<p class="t0">Across the night-couch frequent rolled;</p>
+<p class="t0">Where every path by a soldier beat,</p>
+<p class="t0">Or every track where a sentinel stood,</p>
+<p class="t0">Still held the print of naked feet,</p>
+<p class="t0">And oft the crimson stains of blood;</p>
+<p class="t0">Where Famine held her spectral court,</p>
+<p class="t0">And joined by all her fierce allies;</p>
+<p class="t0">She ever loved a camp or fort</p>
+<p class="t0">Beleaguered by the wintry skies,&mdash;</p>
+<p class="t0">But chiefly when Disease is by,</p>
+<p class="t0">To sink frame and dim the eye,</p>
+<p class="t0">Until, with seeking forehead bent,</p>
+<p class="t0">In martial garments cold and damp,</p>
+<p class="t0">Pale Death patrols from tent to tent,</p>
+<p class="t0">To count the charnels of the camp.</p>
+</div>
+<div class="verse">
+<p class="t0">Such was the winter that prevailed</p>
+<p class="t0">Within the crowded, frozen gorge;</p>
+<p class="t0">Such were the horrors that assailed</p>
+<p class="t0">The patriot band at Valley Forge.&rdquo;</p>
+</div>
+<p>&ldquo;How long did the British hold the city?&rdquo; asked
+Tom, after he had shaken his head over the Americans&rsquo;
+troubles.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_129">[129]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;Six or eight months,&rdquo; said Helen, &ldquo;and you can
+imagine what a thrilling time it was for American
+girls like Sweet P. I can fancy them walking
+daintily along the street turning their heads aside
+when a British officer passed them, as if he were too
+far beneath their notice for them even to glance
+at.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>They all laughed at the picture that Helen&rsquo;s words
+drew.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;When Sir Henry Clinton evacuated Philadelphia
+in the middle of June, he started for New York.
+Washington followed him but did not win in the
+skirmish which they fought at Monmouth, New Jersey.
+The Indians on the western frontier had joined
+the British, and there was some terrible fighting
+there. Our fleet, as a general thing, was successful
+on the ocean. Clinton stayed for more than a year
+in New York City. Washington established himself
+just above the city where he could keep an eye on
+him.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Wasn&rsquo;t that the time when my old friend, Anthony
+Wayne, stirred up a little excitement up the
+Hudson?&rdquo; asked Roger.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes, it was then he took Stony Point, which we
+saw when we went up the river to West Point.
+There was fighting in New Jersey and in the South,
+and the British seemed to be getting tired out.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It was at the end of several sharply fought fields
+that Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown in Virginia,
+wasn&rsquo;t it?&rdquo; inquired Roger.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_130">[130]</div>
+<p>Tom looked at him with exaggerated respect.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It certainly is a great thing to be related to the
+Army and Navy. Here&rsquo;s Helen, a walking &lsquo;History
+of the Revolution,&rsquo; and old Roger actually remembering
+something about Cornwallis&rsquo;s surrender!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Bah!&rdquo; acknowledged Roger.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;They tell a story about the way that Philadelphia
+heard the news of the surrender,&rdquo; interposed
+the caretaker of the Betsy Ross house, who had
+been listening to the conversation. &ldquo;There was an
+old German watchman walking the streets, and calling
+the hours through the night, as was the custom
+then. He cried out; &lsquo;Bast dree o&rsquo;clock and Cornvallis
+ist daken.&rsquo; People who had turned over in
+bed growling when they had been awakened by him
+before, were only too thankful to hear his hoarse
+voice croaking out the good news.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That was in October, 1781,&rdquo; went on Helen,
+after nodding her thanks to the caretaker for his addition
+to the story. &ldquo;It took a good many months
+for the British to leave the country, for transportation
+was a difficult matter at that time.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll bet you the Americans were thankful to have
+peace,&rdquo; exclaimed James.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It sounds to me very much as if the British were,
+too,&rdquo; said Roger. &ldquo;Any country must be grateful
+for a rest from such long distress.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Grandfather&rsquo;s poetry is by Freneau this time,&rdquo;
+said Helen. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m going to read you only two
+stanzas of it.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_131">[131]</div>
+<div class="verse">
+<p class="t0">&ldquo;The great unequal conflict past,</p>
+<p class="t0">The Britons banished from our shore,</p>
+<p class="t0">Peace, heaven-descended, comes at last,</p>
+<p class="t0">And hostile nations rage no more;</p>
+<p class="t0">From fields of death the weary swain</p>
+<p class="t0">Returning, seeks his native plain.</p>
+</div>
+<div class="verse">
+<p class="t0">In every vale she smiles serene,</p>
+<p class="t0">Freedom&rsquo;s bright stars more radiant rise,</p>
+<p class="t0">New charms she adds to every scene,</p>
+<p class="t0">Her brighter sun illumes our skies.</p>
+<p class="t0">Remotest realms admiring stand,</p>
+<p class="t0">And hail the HERO of our Land.&rdquo;</p>
+</div>
+<p>&ldquo;Who is the Hero?&rdquo; inquired Tom. &ldquo;Washington,
+I suppose.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes, indeed,&rdquo; said Helen. &ldquo;These verses were
+written when he was traveling through Philadelphia
+on his way to Mt. Vernon.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I know enough American history to tell you that
+he didn&rsquo;t stay there long,&rdquo; said Tom, proud of
+being able to bring forward one sure piece of information.
+&ldquo;He was made President on his war
+record. That I do know.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>They all applauded this contribution. The care-taker
+of the house again could not resist joining the
+conversation.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The five years after the signing of the Treaty
+of Peace in 1783 were very critical years,&rdquo; he said.
+&ldquo;The new country had almost no money and no definite
+policy, now that they had cut themselves free
+from England. Somebody proposed a Federal Convention
+and it met here in Philadelphia in 1787.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_132">[132]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;What did they want to do this time?&rdquo; asked
+Margaret.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Now they had to draw up some sort of Constitution
+for the new country. Washington was chosen
+President of the Convention and they worked from
+May until September in planning the Constitution,
+which they nick-named the &lsquo;New Roof.&rsquo;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes, I know about that,&rdquo; cried Helen.
+&ldquo;Grandfather gave me a poem about that. He
+thought we&rsquo;d be especially interested in it on account
+of Dorothy knowing so much about the building of a
+house,&rdquo;&mdash;and she read them the old poem called
+&lsquo;The New Roof,&rsquo; by Francis Hopkinson, one of the
+signers of the Declaration of Independence.</p>
+<div class="verse">
+<p class="t0">Come muster, my lads, your mechanical tools,</p>
+<p class="t0">Your saws and your axes, your hammers and rules;</p>
+<p class="t0">Bring your mallets and planes, your level and line,</p>
+<p class="t0">And plenty of pins of American pine:</p>
+<p class="t0"><i>For our roof we will raise, and our song still shall be,</i></p>
+<p class="t0"><i>Our government firm, and our citizens free.</i></p>
+</div>
+<div class="verse">
+<p class="t0">Come, up with <i>the plates</i>, lay them firm on the wall,</p>
+<p class="t0">Like the people at large, they&rsquo;re the ground-work of all;</p>
+<p class="t0">Examine them well, and see that they&rsquo;re sound,</p>
+<p class="t0">Let no rotten part in our building be found:</p>
+<p class="t0"><i>For our roof we will raise, and our song still shall be</i></p>
+<p class="t0"><i>A government firm, and our citizens free.</i></p>
+</div>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_133">[133]</div>
+<div class="verse">
+<p class="t0">Now hand up the <i>girders</i>, lay each in its place,</p>
+<p class="t0">Between them the <i>joists</i>, must divide all the space;</p>
+<p class="t0">Like assemblymen <i>these</i> should lie level along,</p>
+<p class="t0">Like <i>girders</i>, our senate prove loyal and strong:</p>
+<p class="t0"><i>For our roof we will raise, and our song still shall be</i></p>
+<p class="t0"><i>A government firm over citizens free.</i></p>
+</div>
+<div class="verse">
+<p class="t0">The rafters now frame; your <i>king-posts</i> and <i>braces</i>,</p>
+<p class="t0">And drive your pins home, to keep all in their places;</p>
+<p class="t0">Let wisdom and strength in the fabric combine,</p>
+<p class="t0">And your pins be all made of American pine:</p>
+<p class="t0"><i>For our roof we will raise, and our song still shall be</i></p>
+<p class="t0"><i>A government firm over citizens free.</i></p>
+</div>
+<div class="verse">
+<p class="t0">Our <i>king-posts</i> are <i>judges</i>: how upright they stand,</p>
+<p class="t0">Supporting the <i>braces</i>; the laws of the land:</p>
+<p class="t0">The laws of the land, which divide right from wrong,</p>
+<p class="t0">And strengthen the weak, by weak&rsquo;ning the strong:</p>
+<p class="t0"><i>For our roof we will raise, and our song still shall be</i></p>
+<p class="t0"><i>Laws equal and just, for a people that&rsquo;s free.</i></p>
+</div>
+<div class="verse">
+<p class="t0">Up! up with the <i>rafters</i>; each frame is a <i>state</i>:</p>
+<p class="t0">How nobly they rise! their span, too, how great!</p>
+<p class="t0">From the north to the south, o&rsquo;er the whole they extend,</p>
+<p class="t0">And rest on the walls, whilst the walls they defend:</p>
+<p class="t0"><i>For our roof we will raise, and our song still shall be</i></p>
+<p class="t0"><i>Combine in strength, yet as citizens free.</i></p>
+</div>
+<div class="verse">
+<p class="t0">Now enter the <i>purlins</i>, and drive your pins through;</p>
+<p class="t0">And see that your joints are drawn home and all true.</p>
+<p class="t0">The <i>purlins</i> will bind all the rafters together:</p>
+<p class="t0">The strength of the whole shall defy wind and weather:</p>
+<p class="t0"><i>For our roof we will raise, and our song still shall be</i></p>
+<p class="t0"><i>United as states, but as citizens free.</i></p>
+</div>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_134">[134]</div>
+<div class="verse">
+<p class="t0">Come, raise up the <i>turret</i>; our glory and pride;</p>
+<p class="t0">In the center it stands, o&rsquo;er the whole to <i>preside</i>:</p>
+<p class="t0">The sons of Columbia shall view with delight</p>
+<p class="t0">Its pillars, and arches, and towering height:</p>
+<p class="t0"><i>Our roof is now rais&rsquo;d, and our song still shall be,</i></p>
+<p class="t0"><i>A federal head o&rsquo;er a people that&rsquo;s free.</i></p>
+</div>
+<div class="verse">
+<p class="t0">Huzza! my brave boys, our work is complete;</p>
+<p class="t0">The world shall admire Columbia&rsquo;s fair seat;</p>
+<p class="t0">Its strength against tempest and time shall be proof,</p>
+<p class="t0">And thousands shall come to dwell under our roof:</p>
+<p class="t0"><i>Whilst we drain the deep bowl, our toast still shall be,</i></p>
+<p class="t0"><i>Our government firm, and our citizens free.</i></p>
+</div>
+<p>&ldquo;Now that we have put the United States on a
+good running foundation, I think we might finish up
+our Revolutionary history by whirling out to Valley
+Forge,&rdquo; said Mrs. Morton. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a delightful ride,
+and I think we could do it comfortably in what is left
+of the afternoon.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I shall be glad,&rdquo; said Helen, pretending extreme
+fatigue, &ldquo;for these ignorant people have made me
+work so hard remembering dates and things, that I&rsquo;m
+quite exhausted, and I&rsquo;d like to sit still and view the
+scenery for a while.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The chauffeur said that he could manage the ride
+and even give them time for a walk when they
+reached their destination, if they were not in a hurry
+to return.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I think it would be fun to come back in the evening,&rdquo;
+said Margaret, and they started off with great
+satisfaction.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_135">[135]</div>
+<p>As they passed Fairmount Park they promised
+themselves to see it in detail in the morning, but now
+there was only time to notice that much of it had
+been left in a natural condition, which was far more
+beautiful than any results that Art could have
+brought about.</p>
+<p>The road lay through a rolling country with pleasant
+suburban towns and comfortable-looking farm
+houses. At Valley Forge they felt like real pilgrims
+at a shrine, for they remembered the bitter suffering
+of the American soldiers and the even greater mental
+anguish of their leader, who sometimes felt that he
+had led his brave men into this distress, and might
+not be able to lead them to the victory which he must
+have, if the colonies were to become independent of
+the land they had sprung from.</p>
+<p>Across the surrounding hills they walked, reading
+with utmost interest the monuments and markers
+which commemorate events and places and people
+connected with this fateful winter. Below swept
+the Schuylkill River, between peaceful banks, far
+different from those that hem it in farther down, as
+it runs through the great city.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_136">[136]</div>
+<h2 id="c10">CHAPTER X
+<br />THE LAND OF &ldquo;CAT-FISH AND WAFFLES&rdquo;</h2>
+<p>It was a tired party that tumbled into bed that
+night but the long ride in the fresh air made them
+sleep like tops and they awoke the next morning entirely
+refreshed, and ready to start out again on their
+investigations of the City of Brotherly Love.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;To-day I am not going to open my mouth,&rdquo; said
+Helen. &ldquo;I talked altogether too much yesterday.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You were a wonder,&rdquo; said Tom, admiringly.
+&ldquo;I wish I could remember dates the way you do.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Hush,&rdquo; said Helen, with a finger on her lip.
+&ldquo;My energetic grandfather blocked out the whole
+history of Philadelphia in the revolutionary days for
+me, so it was not my unaided memory that reeled off
+all that information. Any way, I&rsquo;m going to sit
+back and have the rest of you inform me to-day about
+the places we shall see.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What are we going to see?&rdquo; inquired Roger.
+&ldquo;Mother, you know this village; can&rsquo;t you make out
+a list for us?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Mrs. Morton said that she had some suggestions
+to make and Roger jotted them down in a book.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_137">[137]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;There are one or two churches,&rdquo; she said,
+&ldquo;which have an interest because they are old, or have
+connection with some important person or because
+there is some strangeness about the way they are
+built.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I shall like those,&rdquo; said Ethel Blue. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m going
+to try to draw some of the doorways for Miss
+Graham. She asked me to draw any little thing
+about buildings that I thought would interest her.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You&rsquo;ll see some old-timey doorways in Rittenhouse
+Square,&rdquo; said Mrs. Morton. &ldquo;That is like
+Washington Square in New York, only here the
+whole square has been preserved in its former
+beauty. You&rsquo;ll find more than one doorway, and
+which will be worth putting into your sketch book.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Would it take too much time to see the Mint?&rdquo;
+asked James. &ldquo;I shouldn&rsquo;t want to suggest it if it
+will take too long, but it would be awfully interesting.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I had the Mint on my list,&rdquo; said Mrs. Morton,
+tapping her forehead.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll transfer it from that spot to paper,&rdquo; laughed
+Roger.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I hope we can get the same chauffeur we had
+yesterday,&rdquo; said Ethel Brown; &ldquo;he knew a lot about
+things.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I suppose he&rsquo;s accustomed to driving tourists,&rdquo;
+replied her mother.</p>
+<p>As good fortune would have it they were able to
+secure the same car, and the good-natured driver
+beamed at them, as they stowed themselves away as
+they had the day before. Mrs. Morton told him the
+chief &ldquo;sights&rdquo; which they wanted to see, and directed
+him to point out anything that they passed
+which would have some interest for the young people.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_138">[138]</div>
+<p>First they went over to the old part of the town
+along the Delaware, to find one of the churches of
+which Mrs. Morton had spoken. On the way they
+stopped at Christ Church. Its high box pews
+seemed to them full of dignity, and they imagined
+the elaborately arranged head-dresses of the ladies
+and powdered wigs of the gentlemen, rising above
+the old-fashioned seats. The pulpit was high up on
+one side of the chancel.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;This is the church that was presided over by
+Bishop White, the first Episcopal bishop of Pennsylvania,&rdquo;
+said Mrs. Morton. &ldquo;He was influential in
+organizing the Episcopal Church in this country.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Out in the graveyard, whose quiet seemed
+strangely out of place amid the hurry of the city,
+they found many stones bearing well-known names,
+among them that of Benjamin Franklin.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;He died in 1790,&rdquo; read Delia, from the stone.
+&ldquo;Wasn&rsquo;t that just about the time Washington was
+elected President?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;One year after,&rdquo; said Helen, who could not resist
+giving historical information. &ldquo;The first real
+American Congress after the separation of the country
+from England met here in Philadelphia in 1789,
+and elected Washington as President.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You can&rsquo;t escape a little history as long as Sister
+Helen is around,&rdquo; murmured Roger.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_139">[139]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;It wasn&rsquo;t I who started it,&rdquo; retorted Helen.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Now, children, be quiet. You may thank your
+stars that your sister knows so much about history,&rdquo;
+said Mrs. Morton; &ldquo;it would be an excellent thing,
+Roger, if you stowed away some of it in your brain,
+too.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes&rsquo;m,&rdquo; answered Roger meekly.</p>
+<p>It was while the car was on its way to the second
+old church of their search that the chauffeur asked
+James, who was sitting beside him, if he knew that
+&ldquo;Hail Columbia&rdquo; was written in Philadelphia.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I certainly didn&rsquo;t,&rdquo; said James. &ldquo;Helen, did
+you know that &lsquo;Hail Columbia&rsquo; was written in Philadelphia?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No, I didn&rsquo;t know that,&rdquo; said Helen. &ldquo;Tell
+me about it.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>With his eyes on the road and his hands on the
+wheel the chauffeur told James, who repeated the
+story over his shoulder to those in the back of the
+car, that while John Adams was president, there was
+a war scare, because French vessels were supposed to
+be off the coast ready to attack American merchant
+vessels. A man named John Hopkinson wrote the
+poem, which was sung one night at the Chestnut
+Street Theatre.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You mean our &lsquo;Hail Columbia&rsquo;&mdash;the regular
+&lsquo;Hail Columbia&rsquo;?&rdquo; asked Ethel Brown.</p>
+<p>The chauffeur nodded at Ethel Brown. Her
+memory for verses was always good and she repeated
+the first stanza of the stirring song.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_140">[140]</div>
+<div class="verse">
+<p class="t0">&ldquo;Hail Columbia, happy land!</p>
+<p class="t0">Hail! Ye Heroes, heaven-born band,</p>
+<p class="t0">Who fought and bled in freedom&rsquo;s cause,</p>
+<p class="t0">Who fought and bled in freedom&rsquo;s cause,</p>
+<p class="t0">And when the storm of war was gone,</p>
+<p class="t0">Enjoyed the peace your valor won;</p>
+<p class="t0">Let independence be your boast,</p>
+<p class="t0">Ever mindful what it cost,</p>
+<p class="t0">Ever grateful for the prize,</p>
+<p class="t0">Let its altar reach the skies.&rdquo;</p>
+</div>
+<p>They all joined in the chorus.</p>
+<div class="verse">
+<p class="t0">&ldquo;Firm united let us be,</p>
+<p class="t0">Rallying round our liberty,</p>
+<p class="t0">As a band of brothers joined,</p>
+<p class="t0">Peace and safety we shall find.&rdquo;</p>
+</div>
+<p>Almost on the river, toward the southern end of
+the town, was the church which the chauffeur called
+&ldquo;Old Swedes Church,&rdquo; and whose correct name,
+Mrs. Morton said, was &ldquo;Gloria Dei.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;How old is it?&rdquo; asked Dicky who was beginning
+to understand that they were on a historical pilgrimage.
+They all laughed at his seriousness, and his
+mother answered.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;This building is only a little over two centuries
+old&mdash;but it&rsquo;s on the site of an old wooden church
+that was built in 1646. It was a Swedish church,
+originally, and then the whole congregation turned
+Episcopal.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It doesn&rsquo;t look as if they lived around the church
+in any great numbers,&rdquo; said Tom, gazing about him.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_141">[141]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;Most of the parishioners live now a long way
+from here,&rdquo; said the chauffeur, &ldquo;but they love the
+church because they are the descendants of the original
+founders, and they come from great distances
+to the morning services and stay to Sunday School,
+old people and young ones, too, and cook their dinner
+in the Parish House.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That sounds like a New England village church
+to which all the farmers from around about come for
+the day,&rdquo; said Margaret Hancock. &ldquo;I used to see
+them when I was a little girl and we went to New
+Hampshire for the summer. They bring their lunch
+and eat it under the trees between services.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Since we seem to be doing churches, we ought
+to go to a Quaker Meeting House,&rdquo; suggested Mrs.
+Morton, turning to the chauffeur for information.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;There is one up on 12th Street, madam,&rdquo; he responded.
+&ldquo;There&rsquo;s a boys&rsquo; school connected with
+it that is very well known&mdash;the Penn Charter
+School. Lots of the old Quaker families send their
+boys there still.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t suppose there would be a meeting to-day,&rdquo;
+inquired Helen.</p>
+<p>The chauffeur shook his head.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You wouldn&rsquo;t like it, any way,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m
+a Quaker myself, and I know when I was your age it
+was awfully hard work to keep still so long.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Is it worse than any other kind of church?&rdquo;
+asked Dicky.</p>
+<p>The driver nodded again, dexterously avoiding a
+big truck as he answered.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_142">[142]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;The congregation just sits there until the Spirit
+moves someone to speak. I&rsquo;ve been there many a
+time when they sat for two hours and nothing happened
+at all.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Dear me,&rdquo; exclaimed Ethel Blue, shaking her
+head gravely; &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t believe I could keep still as
+long as that.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I dare say it&rsquo;s just as well that there is no meeting
+to-day,&rdquo; said Mrs. Morton. &ldquo;Any way, I don&rsquo;t
+know that I should approve of your going to a religious
+service out of curiosity.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Tom nodded in agreement with Mrs. Morton.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m sure Father wouldn&rsquo;t like it,&rdquo; he said.</p>
+<p>Tom&rsquo;s father was a clergyman in New York.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;He doesn&rsquo;t object to our going to other
+churches,&rdquo; he went on, &ldquo;but he has seen so much of
+tourists who come to New York and go around the
+city, taking in three or four churches on Sunday
+morning merely to hear the music or some celebrated
+speaker, that he has always warned us children
+against being &lsquo;religious rubber-necks.&rsquo;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>They all laughed and contented themselves with
+looking at the outside of the severely plain meeting-house.</p>
+<p>The tour over the Mint was filled with interest for
+all of them.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;This is the oldest Mint in the United States,&rdquo;
+the guide explained to them.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What&rsquo;s the date?&rdquo; Helen could not resist asking,
+although Roger shook his head at her and Tom
+visibly smothered a smile.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_143">[143]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;1792&rdquo; the man replied. &ldquo;We turn out gold
+and silver and copper here and we&rsquo;ve done a great
+deal of minting for South America, and, of late
+years, for the Philippines.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The boys were most interested in the processes by
+which the discs were cut out of plain sheets of metal
+and were then fed into tubes of just the right size to
+hold them, until they reached the stamping machine
+which gave them the impress they were to wear
+through life.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Those new gold pieces are certainly beauties,&rdquo;
+said Roger, looking at the eagle flying through the
+air on one coin and then at the same majestic bird
+standing with dignity on another.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think this Indian has a very handsome
+nose,&rdquo; said Ethel Blue, critically, as she examined a
+five-cent piece.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;But think how appropriate it is,&mdash;the noble red-man
+on one side of the nickel, and the buffalo of the
+plains on the other,&rdquo; returned James.</p>
+<p>The girls were more interested in the coin collection
+in the Mint&rsquo;s museum. Here they saw not only
+American coins, from the earliest to the most recent,
+but coins of other countries. One of them was the
+tiny bit of metal known as the &ldquo;Widow&rsquo;s Mite.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The Widow didn&rsquo;t have to be very muscular to
+carry that around,&rdquo; commented Roger.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;But she must have had a separate bag to put it
+in or it would have been lost,&rdquo; returned practical
+Ethel Brown.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_144">[144]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;There&rsquo;s nothing doing in the Academy of Fine
+Arts now, ma&rsquo;am,&rdquo; the chauffeur told Mrs. Morton,
+when she got into the car again. &ldquo;It has a
+grand exhibition every winter but it&rsquo;s closed for the
+summer. Would you like to see the collections?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The question was put to the party and they agreed
+that they would prefer to stay out of doors in this
+brilliant summer weather.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;ll make an expedition to the Metropolitan
+Museum some day before long,&rdquo; promised Mrs.
+Morton.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I wish we might do it soon,&rdquo; said Dorothy.
+&ldquo;Miss Graham said she&rsquo;d go with us, and I think
+we should learn a lot from her because she&rsquo;s half
+an artist.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Let&rsquo;s ask her to take us as soon as we get back,&rdquo;
+said Ethel Blue. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m crazy about her, and this
+would be a good chance for us to be with her for
+almost all day.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll see that you have your opportunity soon,&rdquo;
+her Aunt Marion promised her.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;We have time to run out to Mt. Airy this morning,&rdquo;
+suggested the chauffeur. &ldquo;Then after luncheon,
+you could go to the Park and the Zoo in the
+afternoon.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What is Mt. Airy?&rdquo; asked Della.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;One of the finest deaf and dumb asylums in
+America,&rdquo; replied the young man proudly.</p>
+<p>Della shook her head and the rest of them pulled
+such long faces Mrs. Morton could not resist smiling.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_145">[145]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;I rather think these young people care more
+for human beings who can talk and hear,&rdquo; she said
+to the chauffeur. &ldquo;At any rate,&rdquo; she went on,
+looking at her watch, &ldquo;I must meet my business appointment
+now, so I suggest, Roger, that you take
+our party to Wanamaker&rsquo;s. You can see a lot of
+interesting things there, and can have your luncheon,
+and I&rsquo;ll meet you there when I am through with
+my business.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>So it was arranged, and the chauffeur was ordered
+for three o&rsquo;clock to take them to Fairmount Park.</p>
+<p>At the appointed hour his cheerful face greeted
+them once again. Because of the Mortons&rsquo; interest
+in the Navy, they first ran south to the League
+Island Navy Yard. Even their familiarity with
+many Navy Yards did not lessen their interest in
+this one, with its rows of officers&rsquo; houses and its barracks
+and mess-room. Just because they were so
+familiar with similar places, however, they did not
+stay long, and the car was soon whirling northwards
+to the opposite end of the city. They went through
+miles and miles of streets lined with small houses.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;These are the houses which have given Philadelphia
+the nick-name of the &lsquo;City of Homes,&rsquo;&rdquo; exclaimed
+Mrs. Morton. &ldquo;You see, in New York
+people are crowded on to a small tongue of land,
+between two rivers. Here there are two rivers
+also, but the space between them is wider. There&rsquo;s
+nothing to prevent the city&rsquo;s crossing the Schuylkill
+and running westward, as it began to do many long
+years ago.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;These houses aren&rsquo;t very beautiful,&rdquo; commented
+Ethel Blue.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_146">[146]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;They are very neat,&rdquo; said Ethel Brown. &ldquo;But
+don&rsquo;t you get tired of these red bricks and white shutters,
+and the little flights of white marble steps, all
+alike? I don&rsquo;t see how anybody knows when he
+has come home. I should think people would all
+the time be getting into their neighbors&rsquo; houses by
+mistake.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It is much more wholesome for a family to
+have a house to itself, than for many families to be
+crowded into one building,&rdquo; said Mrs. Morton.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t see why,&rdquo; objected Tom, who had been
+born and reared in New York. &ldquo;The large buildings
+are wonderfully constructed now-a-days for ventilation
+and sanitation. They couldn&rsquo;t be better in
+that respect.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s true,&rdquo; said Mrs. Morton, &ldquo;but a family
+loses something of its privacy when it lives in
+a building with other people. The householder is
+responsible for his own heating, his own side-walk,
+and so on, for all matters whose good care makes
+for the happiness of his family. The apartment
+dweller loses that work for the well-being of his
+family, when he lets go its responsibility.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I dare say you are right, Mrs. Morton,&rdquo; said
+Tom, &ldquo;but in these days of co-operation, it seems
+to me you gain something by uniting, as apartment
+house people practically do, to hire some one to take
+the responsibility of the heating arrangements, the
+side-walks, the ashes, and so on.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_147">[147]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;It all depends on the conditions,&rdquo; returned Mrs.
+Morton. &ldquo;In New York, especially on Manhattan
+Island, where land is so valuable that buildings must
+go up in the air, such co-operation has become desirable,
+but where there is plenty of space, it seems
+better for every household to be separate as far as
+possible.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The chauffeur called their attention, as they
+passed through Logan Square, to the fact that this
+was the fourth city square they had seen since they
+had been in his care.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;On our way south from the Penn Treaty Park,
+we went through Franklin Square, and then you saw
+Washington Square when you were down by Independence
+Hall. This morning you saw Rittenhouse
+Square. Logan is the fourth. These four squares
+were laid out by William Penn as a part of the original
+design of the city.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Not far from Logan Square they were enabled to
+reach the bank of the Schuylkill, and the rest of
+the afternoon they spent in the lovely Park through
+which flows this river and the picturesque little
+Wissahickon.</p>
+<p>Their first visit was to the Zoo, which the
+chauffeur told them was one of the finest in the
+United States. They invested in peanuts and small
+cakes and made themselves popular with the animals
+whose cages they passed.</p>
+<p>Then they drove on, gliding swiftly in and out
+among the stately trees which the engineers of the
+Park had had the good sense to leave as they found
+them. Along the Wissahickon they noticed many
+small inns, all of which showed signs, inviting passers-by
+to come in and partake of &ldquo;Cat-fish and
+Waffles.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_148">[148]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;I can understand the waffle supply being limited
+only by the energy of the cooks,&rdquo; exclaimed Roger,
+as he read one of the numerous summonses, &ldquo;but if
+they catch the cat-fish in the Wissahickon they must
+keep an army of fishermen out in the boats all day
+long!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I wish we could go out on the river,&rdquo; murmured
+Helen, as they whirled along the banks of the
+Schuylkill. &ldquo;It looks so refreshing there.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I think we can get a barge at one of these boat
+houses and go up the river a little way,&rdquo; suggested
+Mrs. Morton, turning inquiringly to the chauffeur.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a pretty bit from about here up to a place
+called &lsquo;The Lilacs,&rsquo;&rdquo; he answered. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a pretty
+little club house.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Oh, do lets do it,&rdquo; cried Ethel Blue excitedly.
+&ldquo;It would be lovely.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>So they went to a near-by boat house and made
+the arrangements. The boats were large, with seats
+for four rowers besides the seats in the stern and
+bow.</p>
+<p>The Ethels had learned to row at Chautauqua the
+summer before, so they occupied one seat.</p>
+<p>The three boys each took one of the other seats,
+each rowing a single oar. Helen sat on the seat
+with Tom, Margaret with Roger, and Dorothy with
+James.</p>
+<p>Mrs. Morton and Dicky sat in the stern, and Della
+played look-out in the bow.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_149">[149]</div>
+<p>It was a charming pull between shores beautiful
+by nature and gay with boat houses from which
+merry parties were establishing themselves in boats
+and barges and canoes. The rowers found the trip
+not too hard upon the muscles, even the Ethels saying
+that they were not at all tired, when The Lilacs
+came in sight.</p>
+<p>The car met them at the Club House because they
+had to go back to the hotel and pack their bags in
+order to catch the train for home. The chauffeur
+had brought up with him a man from the boat house,
+to take the barge back where it belonged.</p>
+<p>They returned over different streets to the city
+so that they felt that they had a good idea of the
+geography of the town.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve had a perfectly stunning time, Mrs. Morton,&rdquo;
+said Tom, as he bade her &ldquo;Good-bye&rdquo; on the
+train and thanked her for her care. &ldquo;It has been
+splendid fun, and my only grief is that I am afraid
+Helen may have fatigued her brain, remembering all
+that history!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Helen wrinkled her nose at him, but she laughed
+good-naturedly and agreed with him that the trip
+had been great fun.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_150">[150]</div>
+<h2 id="c11">CHAPTER XI
+<br />LIGHTS AND A FALL</h2>
+<p>It was not often that Ethel Blue took a violent
+fancy to any one. Although she had something
+of the temperament that artists claim to have,
+she also had great reserve, and she found the companionship
+of her cousins, Ethel Brown and Dorothy,
+quite sufficient for her.</p>
+<p>Now, however, she was filled with admiration for
+Margaret&rsquo;s aunt, Miss Graham. Miss Graham
+suited her in so many ways. She was good to look
+at, and Ethel found herself gazing at her wholesome,
+amiable face, filled with life and earnestness
+and fun, and enjoyed it quite as much as if she had
+great beauty.</p>
+<p>Then, Miss Graham, because of her occupation
+as an interior decorator, knew something about art,
+and Ethel Blue wanted to know how to draw and
+paint, and how to appreciate pictures. She found
+that she never met Miss Graham without realizing
+afterwards that she had learned something from
+her. Perhaps it was only the meaning of a new
+phrase, or perhaps Miss Daisy called her attention
+to the light on the group of figures in some picture,
+or to the harmonies of color in the landscape.
+Whatever it was, it was not brought out in any
+preachy way and yet Ethel Blue found herself with
+quite a store of information that had come from her
+new friend.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_151">[151]</div>
+<p>Miss Graham did not seem to single out Ethel
+Blue for particular attention. They naturally
+drifted together when there was a large party, because
+their tastes were similar.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I think your aunt Daisy is nicer than any aunt
+in the world except my aunt Marion,&rdquo; Ethel Blue
+confided to Margaret one day.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s just about what James and I think,&rdquo; said
+Margaret.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Has she finished her Englewood house?&rdquo; inquired
+Ethel.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes, that was done some time ago. That&rsquo;s
+why she has been able to go to see Mrs. Smith so
+many times recently. She has spent several afternoons
+at Sweetbrier Lodge, you know.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Remembering this, Ethel Blue went to the new
+house one afternoon especially to see if Miss Graham
+was there. She had no definite reason for doing
+so&mdash;she merely thought she would like to see
+her. By good luck Miss Graham was there, as she
+had brought out some samples of hangings to show
+to Mrs. Smith, and she was waiting on the terrace
+for her to come, and resting as she waited.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m glad to see you, child,&rdquo; she called to Ethel
+Blue, and Ethel did not resent being called a child,
+for she realized that it was merely an endearing
+word coming from Miss Daisy&rsquo;s lips.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_152">[152]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;Bring one of those canvas chairs over here beside
+me,&rdquo; she urged, &ldquo;and we&rsquo;ll look at the view and
+talk a while.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Isn&rsquo;t it going to be lovely when the real furniture
+is on the terrace here?&rdquo; said Ethel Blue
+eagerly.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The view is lovely, no matter what the chairs
+are,&rdquo; returned Miss Graham, smiling at her affectionately.
+&ldquo;When do you think your aunt is coming?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know. Did she expect you? Shall I
+run back to the house and tell her you are here?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No, probably I&rsquo;m a little early and I shall enjoy
+sitting here and talking with you until she
+comes.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Ethel felt much complimented by this desire on
+Miss Graham&rsquo;s part and placed her chair beside
+her.</p>
+<p>Their eyes looked out across the field with its
+brook and the trees that sheltered Mr. Emerson&rsquo;s
+house. Across the street the meadows, rich with
+the field flowers of late summer, stretched away towards
+the distant river, and beyond that were more
+trees rearing their heights across the sky.</p>
+<p>As they looked a shadow fell on the meadow and
+moved swiftly across it.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It looks as if some huge birds were flying between
+the earth and the sun,&rdquo; smiled Miss Daisy.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Doesn&rsquo;t it go fast!&rdquo; returned Ethel Blue.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Notice the change in the color of the meadow,
+when the sunlight is hidden for a minute and then
+falls again on the vegetation.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_153">[153]</div>
+<p>Ethel Blue nodded, for she saw that the change
+was almost as if a sheet of colored glass had been
+held over a strong electric light.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Sometimes during a thunder shower,&rdquo; she said,
+&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve seen awfully queer colors over in that
+meadow.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The air is charged with electric particles sometimes,&rdquo;
+explained Miss Daisy, &ldquo;and you are looking
+through them. You get different color effects during
+an ordinary rain storm, too.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I think rain over that meadow is going to be
+one of the prettiest things Dorothy will see from this
+terrace,&rdquo; said Ethel Blue.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;She will have a long sweep to watch and a
+shower moves sometimes fast and sometimes slowly,
+so there will be opportunity to notice many changes,&rdquo;
+suggested Miss Graham.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I wonder if Aunt Louise is going to have electric
+lights out here on the porch,&rdquo; said Ethel Blue.
+&ldquo;They will draw the mosquitoes like everything.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;But she won&rsquo;t mind that because she can stay
+inside of her wire cage,&rdquo; answered Miss Daisy.
+&ldquo;Surely she&rsquo;s going to have electric lights. Don&rsquo;t
+you see the wires already put in?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Of course,&rdquo; answered Ethel Blue. &ldquo;How
+stupid of me! Those black ends are poking out all
+over the house and somehow I never thought what
+they were for.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_154">[154]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;Then you haven&rsquo;t noticed the lighting scheme
+that your Aunt and Dorothy have worked out.
+Let&rsquo;s walk through the house now, and see just how
+she has arranged it.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>They went through the door of the screen into
+the enclosed portion and then into the dining room.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Most people have one of those hang-down
+lights over the dining table,&rdquo; said Ethel Blue. &ldquo;I
+don&rsquo;t see any wire for one here. I&rsquo;m glad Aunt
+Louise isn&rsquo;t going to have one. They never are the
+right height. You always have to be dodging under
+them to see the person across from you and the light
+shines on the table so brilliantly that you&rsquo;re almost
+afraid to eat anything it falls on.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Miss Graham laughed at Ethel&rsquo;s vigorous protest,
+but she said that she, too, did not like a central
+light over the dining table.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;There is no need of a very brilliant light in a
+dining room,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;You can see the people
+about the table without any difficulty in a subdued
+light and the general effect is far more beautiful than
+when people are sitting in a glare.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I think candle light is prettiest for the dining
+room,&rdquo; said Ethel Blue.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It is prettiest for the table,&rdquo; replied Miss Graham.
+&ldquo;The place where you really want a strong
+light is over the serving table behind the screen.
+You don&rsquo;t want the maid to make any mistakes just
+because she can&rsquo;t see clearly the dishes she is handling.
+There you need a strong light, but it can be
+placed so low that the screen shields it for the room
+and it will not interfere with the dimmer light of the
+rest of the room.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_155">[155]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;I suppose there ought to be other lights in the
+room,&rdquo; said Ethel Blue. &ldquo;You might find that
+there weren&rsquo;t any candles in the house some evening
+and then it would be awful to have only this light
+over the serving table and none of them in other
+parts of the room.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Miss Graham laughed at the possibility of such a
+disaster.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;There can be side-lights over the mantel-place,&rdquo;
+she said, &ldquo;electric lights that look like candles, with
+pretty candle shades, and one or two similar arrangements
+on the other side of the room.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Don&rsquo;t you ever put a central light in the dining
+rooms you decorate?&rdquo; asked Ethel Blue.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Sometimes I let the light flow out from a dull,
+golden globe set into the ceiling over the table. The
+glass of the bowl is so thick that only a gentle radiance
+comes from it and yet it ekes out the light from
+the candles.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Ethel Brown is particularly pleased with the
+switch out in the vestibule,&rdquo; said Ethel Blue. &ldquo;You
+see you can come home when the house is all dark,
+and light the electricity in the hall by turning on the
+switch outside of the front door. Wouldn&rsquo;t it be
+a good joke on a burglar, if he did it by accident
+some night when he was trying to get in,&rdquo; laughed
+the young girl.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a capital invention,&rdquo; said Miss Graham.
+&ldquo;You notice your aunt has side lights here in the
+hall. Have you ever happened to be in a house
+where they were moving the furniture about and
+every piece that passed the hall chandelier gave it
+a rap?&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_156">[156]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s the way it is in the house we&rsquo;re in now,&rdquo;
+said Ethel. &ldquo;Every time any one goes away and
+the express man brings down a trunk, he hits the
+light in the hall. I don&rsquo;t know how many globes
+Aunt Marion has had broken that way.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Upstairs they found the same side-lighting in all
+the bed rooms.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The theory of it is,&rdquo; said Miss Graham, &ldquo;that
+when you want to see anything very clearly, you put
+in a light close to the place where you need to work.
+If you are going to arrange your hair before your
+dressing table, you want a light directly over your
+dressing glass. If you are going to read you turn
+on a light beside your reading stand. An upper
+light is usually for general illumination and a side
+light for real service.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;A combination of the two lights makes a room
+ready for anything,&rdquo; said Ethel Blue.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I want you to notice particularly the fixtures that
+your Aunt Louise has selected for indirect lighting,&rdquo;
+said Miss Graham. &ldquo;She has chosen beautiful
+bowls that look like alabaster. They turn upwards
+and the bulbs are hidden in them. The
+strong glare is against the ceiling so that the people
+get only the reflected light. There is to be one
+of those bowls on a high standard in the front hall,
+and one at the turn of the stair-case. They look
+like ancient Roman urns, giving forth a marvelous
+radiance.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_157">[157]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;I think that will be prettier than some clear,
+engraved glass covers, that I saw the other day,&rdquo;
+said Ethel Blue. &ldquo;They showed the bulbs right
+through.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Far prettier,&rdquo; agreed Miss Graham. &ldquo;The
+whole object of this indirect light is to make your
+room seem to be lighted by a glow whose real origin
+you hardly know. Of course your intelligence tells
+you that there are electric bulbs up there, but you
+don&rsquo;t want really to see them.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It seems to me that people must be thinking
+more about how to make things pretty than they
+used to,&rdquo; said Ethel Blue. &ldquo;When Ethel Brown&rsquo;s
+grandfather built his house, Aunt Marion says it
+was thought very handsome by everybody in Rosemont.
+It has lots of convenient things in it, and
+plenty of brilliant lights, but the fixtures aren&rsquo;t
+pretty and the idea seems to be to make just as big
+a shine as possible.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Nowadays,&rdquo; said Miss Graham, &ldquo;people try
+to make the useful things beautiful also whenever
+they can.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m glad to learn all about a house,&rdquo; said Ethel
+Blue, &ldquo;because some time I may have to keep house
+for my father and I want to know everything there
+is to know. Of course army people have to live in
+Uncle Sam&rsquo;s houses, but still there are always different
+arrangements you can introduce, even in a
+government house.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_158">[158]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m sure you&rsquo;ll be able to make useful everything
+you learn,&rdquo; said Miss Graham, &ldquo;and your
+father will be pleased with whatever makes the
+house lovelier and more comfortable.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve always meant to ask whether you didn&rsquo;t
+know my father,&rdquo; said Ethel Blue. &ldquo;He is at Fort
+Myer, near Washington.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Captain Richard Morton,&rdquo; said Miss Daisy.
+&ldquo;Yes, indeed. I know a great many of the officers
+and their families at Fort Myer. I&rsquo;ve met your father
+and I know him well.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Isn&rsquo;t he the dearest old darling that ever
+walked?&rdquo; said Ethel Blue, bouncing with enthusiasm.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;He certainly is a very nice person,&rdquo; agreed Miss
+Graham, smiling, &ldquo;and he thinks he has one of the
+finest daughters who ever walked.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Does he really?&rdquo; cried Ethel Blue. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m so
+glad he does! You see, I so seldom see him that
+sometimes I&rsquo;m afraid he&rsquo;ll forget all about me.
+Once when he came to Rosemont, I passed him in the
+street when he was walking up from the station, and
+he didn&rsquo;t know me and I didn&rsquo;t know him. Wasn&rsquo;t
+that perfectly frightful?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That was too bad,&rdquo; agreed Miss Graham.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Somehow I&rsquo;ve never thought of being able to
+live with him,&rdquo; said Ethel Blue. &ldquo;You know I&rsquo;ve
+always lived with Aunt Marion, because my mother
+died when I was a little bit of a baby, but the other
+day somebody said something about my going to
+Father later on, and I haven&rsquo;t been able to think of
+anything else since.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I know he wants you,&rdquo; said Miss Graham.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_159">[159]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;Has he spoken to you about it?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes, often.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I suppose I&rsquo;ll have to be a million times older
+than I am now, before he thinks I&rsquo;m able to take care
+of him,&rdquo; said Ethel Blue.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t believe it will be a whole million years,&rdquo;
+smiled Miss Graham.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I shall feel dreadfully to leave Aunt Marion
+and Ethel Brown. I&rsquo;ve never been away from
+Ethel Brown more than three or four days in my
+whole life,&rdquo; said Ethel Brown&rsquo;s twin cousin, &ldquo;but if
+my father needs me, why of course, I must go.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Indeed you must,&rdquo; returned Miss Graham,
+&ldquo;and I&rsquo;m sure he wants you just as soon as he can
+send for you.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Ethel Blue was so overjoyed at this opinion, that
+she jumped up on the ledge on the top of the parapet
+running around the terrace, and danced with delight
+the fancy step&mdash;&ldquo;One, two, three, back; one,
+two, three, back&rdquo;&mdash;with which she and Ethel
+Brown were accustomed to express great satisfaction
+with the way in which life was treating them.</p>
+<p>To Miss Graham&rsquo;s horror, Ethel Blue&rsquo;s enthusiasm
+blinded her eyes and her third back step took
+her off the parapet. She fell to the ground and
+rolled down the hill, her slender little body bouncing
+from rock to rock with cruel force and increasing
+speed.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_160">[160]</div>
+<p>Miss Graham gave a cry of distress and vaulted
+over the parapet with the ease which she had acquired
+in the gymnasium in her college days. Running
+the risk of rolling down hill herself, she
+bounded down the steep slope, and reached the foot
+almost as soon as did the body of the young girl,
+which lay very still, its head against the stone which
+had brought unconsciousness.</p>
+<p>Miss Graham turned over the limp little form,
+shuddering as she saw the bruise on the forehead.
+She tried to lift it but found she could make no
+progress up the steep knoll. Again and again she
+called to the workmen in the house, and finally two
+of them appeared at an upper window and made
+gestures of understanding when she beckoned to
+them. They leaped down the hill with long strides,
+and soon were carrying Ethel Blue up to the terrace.</p>
+<p>They laid her gently on the floor and ran to get
+water from the hydrant, while Miss Graham slipped
+off the young girl&rsquo;s shoes, raised her feet upon a
+block of wood that happened to be near by, so
+that the blood might flow towards her heart, and
+gently chafed her wrists. When the water came,
+she dashed a shower of it from the tips of her fingers
+on the pale little face lying so quietly against
+the bricks.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Will I run to de nex&rsquo; house an&rsquo; telephone for de
+doctor?&rdquo; asked one of the men, and Miss Graham
+nodded an assent and added a direction to summon
+Mrs. Morton.</p>
+<p>Before either her aunt or the doctor came, however,
+Ethel Blue returned to consciousness. Before
+she opened her eyes, she heard a soft, affectionate
+voice crooning over her, &ldquo;My dear little girl,
+my poor little girl.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_161">[161]</div>
+<p>She kept her eyes closed for a minute or two, so
+pleasant was this sound from the lips of Miss Graham
+whom she had grown to love so fondly. When
+at last she opened her eyes and saw Miss Daisy&rsquo;s
+anxious face change its expression to one of delight,
+she almost felt that it was worth while to fall off a
+precipice to bring about such a result.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_162">[162]</div>
+<h2 id="c12">CHAPTER XII
+<br />IN THE FAMILY HOSPITAL</h2>
+<p>Mrs. Morton was acting as head nurse in
+the home hospital. Ethel Blue&rsquo;s injuries
+from her fall were not serious, but besides the
+bruises on her forehead, she had numerous large
+black and blue spots all over her body and she had
+been so shaken that the doctor thought it was well
+for her to stay in bed for a day or two.</p>
+<p>In addition to Ethel Blue, Dicky was laid low
+for the time being. He had gone over to his grandfather&rsquo;s
+and as he was accustomed to run about
+the farm by himself, and as he usually stayed near
+some of the workmen, nobody paid any attention to
+him. This time, however, he went up into the pasture,
+where he found most of the cows lying down
+in the shade of the trees and meditatively chewing
+their cuds after their morning meal.</p>
+<p>Dicky was not in the least afraid of cows, having
+been familiar with them from his babyhood.
+He therefore walked up to one of the prostrate creatures
+and sat down comfortably upon her neck,
+steadying himself by her nearest horn.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_163">[163]</div>
+<p>Nothing happened for a minute of two, for either
+his weight was so slight that the cow hardly noticed
+it, or else his position did not interfere with her
+comfort. After a time, however, he began to pull
+at her horns in time with the motion of her
+jaws, and this measured movement seemed to annoy
+her. Shaking her head, she rose, first behind,
+throwing her rider even farther forward than he
+was, and then in front, tossing him off altogether.</p>
+<p>The distance to the ground was not great, but it
+was far enough for Dicky to be peppered with
+bumps and pretty well shaken. The cow paid no
+farther attention to him but walked off to a spot
+where she might be free from annoyance, and the
+little boy lay for some time on the ground before
+he could pull himself together and go to his grandfather&rsquo;s.
+By the time he reached there, his bruises
+were already turning black and he was interesting
+both to himself and to his relatives, although he was
+manfully keeping back his tears. The doctor ordered
+him to bed for a day or two, and now he lay
+on a cot at one side of the large room which served
+as the family hospital, and Ethel Blue at the other,
+comparing their wounds, and receiving the attention
+of Mrs. Morton. She had finished reading one
+of the Br&rsquo;er Rabbit stories to them when Ethel Blue
+introduced the subject that was so constantly in her
+mind.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Did I tell you how I happened to fall off the
+terrace wall?&rdquo; she asked her aunt.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I wondered how you did it; you are usually so
+sure-footed.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_164">[164]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;I was talking with Miss Daisy about my going
+to live with Father by-and-by. You know I never
+thought of it until the other night when we were all
+together on the porch and Helen,&mdash;wasn&rsquo;t it?&mdash;said
+something about it. I wish I didn&rsquo;t have to
+wait to finish school before I can go to him.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Are you in such a hurry to leave us?&rdquo; said Mrs.
+Morton, with a little sigh for the many years of loving
+care she had spent over this child, who was to
+her like one of her own.</p>
+<p>Ethel Blue was conscience-stricken.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You know, Aunt Marion, I love all of you just
+like my own people. Only it seems so wonderful
+to think about being with Father all the time that
+I can&rsquo;t get it out of my mind&mdash;now it&rsquo;s in my
+mind.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;There are a good many things to be considered,&rdquo;
+answered Mrs. Morton. &ldquo;You know that
+an officer often has to be away from home and your
+father wouldn&rsquo;t like to leave you alone.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Ethel Blue&rsquo;s face fell.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;If I only had somebody like Dicky&rsquo;s Mary to
+stay with me,&rdquo; she said, referring to the nurse who
+had always taken care of Dicky, and who had lived
+on with the family after he was too old to need a
+nurse.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Perhaps your father might marry again and
+then there would be no difficulty about your being
+with him all the time.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Mrs. Morton made the suggestion gently but
+Ethel Blue flushed angrily at once.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_165">[165]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;I think that&rsquo;s a perfectly horrible idea, Aunt
+Marion. That means a stepmother for me, and I
+think a stepmother is detestable.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Have you ever known one,&rdquo; inquired Mrs.
+Morton coolly.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No, I never have, but I&rsquo;ve read a great deal
+about them and they&rsquo;re always cross and mean and
+their stepchildren hate them.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Don&rsquo;t you suppose that a great many stepchildren
+work up a dislike beforehand just because they
+read the same kind of stories that you seem to have
+been reading?&rdquo; asked Mrs. Morton.</p>
+<p>Ethel Blue was a reasonable girl, and she thought
+this over before she answered.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Perhaps they do,&rdquo; she said, although slowly, as
+if she disliked to admit it.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I have happened to know several stepmothers,&rdquo;
+said Mrs. Morton, &ldquo;and I never have known one
+who was not quite as kind or even kinder to her
+stepchildren, than to her own children. A mother
+feels that she can do as her judgment dictates with
+her own children, but with her stepchildren she
+weighs everything with even greater care, because
+she feels an added responsibility toward them.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;But she can&rsquo;t love them as she does her own
+children,&rdquo; said Ethel Blue.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I think there is very little difference,&rdquo; said her
+Aunt Marion. &ldquo;I am not your stepmother but at
+the same time I am not your own mother, and I am
+not conscious of loving you any less than I love
+Ethel Brown. You are both my dear girls.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_166">[166]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;I love Father but I do think Father would be
+mean if he gave me a stepmother,&rdquo; said Ethel Blue.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;But, wouldn&rsquo;t <i>you</i> be mean if you objected to
+his having the happiness of a household of his own,
+after all these years when he has not had one?&rdquo;
+returned Mrs. Morton promptly. &ldquo;Your father
+has lived a lonely life for many years, and if such
+a thing should happen as his deciding to marry
+again, I can&rsquo;t think that my little Ethel Blue would
+be so selfish as to make him unhappy&mdash;or even uncomfortable&mdash;about
+it.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>This was a new idea for Ethel Blue and she snuggled
+down under her covers and turned her head
+away to think about it.</p>
+<p>Her aunt left her alone and the room was quiet
+except for the noise made by Dicky&rsquo;s little hands,
+as he turned the pages of a picture book.</p>
+<p>It was almost dark when Mrs. Morton came back
+with Mary, each of them bearing a tray with the
+supper for one of the invalids.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I must say,&rdquo; laughed Mrs. Morton, as she entered
+the hospital, &ldquo;these are pretty hearty meals
+for people who call themselves ill.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;My mind isn&rsquo;t ill,&rdquo; said Ethel Blue; &ldquo;it&rsquo;s just
+these bruises that hurt me,&rdquo; and Dicky understood
+what she meant, for he told Mary, who was arranging
+his pillows, that his &ldquo;black and blue
+thspotth were awful thore,&rdquo; but that he was going
+to get up in the morning.</p>
+<p>As Mrs. Morton leaned over Ethel Blue&rsquo;s bed,
+the young girl put an arm around her aunt&rsquo;s neck
+and drew her down to her.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_167">[167]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve made up my mind not to be piggy if anything
+like that does happen,&rdquo; she said, hesitatingly.
+&ldquo;Do you know that it is going to happen?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No, I do not,&rdquo; answered Mrs. Morton, &ldquo;but I
+saw that you were in a frame of mind to make your
+father very unhappy if it should come to pass. You
+ought not to allow yourself to have such thoughts,
+even about an indefinite stepmother. They might
+easily turn into thoughts of real hatred for an actual
+stepmother.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;But do you think there <i>might</i> be a stepmother
+some time or other?&rdquo; asked Ethel Blue.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes, dear, I do. Your father probably seems
+old to you, but he really is not very old and, as I
+said before, he has lived a lonely life for many
+years. You know it was fourteen years ago that
+your mother died, and since then he has had no
+home of his own and no loving companionship. He
+has not even had the delight of helping to bring up
+his little daughter. If he can make happiness for
+himself now, after all these years, don&rsquo;t you think
+that his little daughter ought to help him?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Ethel Blue nodded silently and ate her supper
+thoughtfully.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_168">[168]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;While you two were taking your nap, I went
+to Sweetbrier Lodge,&rdquo; said Mrs. Morton, by way
+of entertaining the invalids. &ldquo;I am so much interested
+in the way that Aunt Louise has arranged for
+the maids. You know so many people have only
+a servant&rsquo;s workroom, the kitchen; and the maids
+have no room to sit in after their work is done.
+Aunt Louise has been very thoughtful in all her
+plans. The laundry and the kitchen and the pantry
+between the kitchen and the dining room, all have
+the most convenient arrangements possible. Every
+shelf and cupboard is placed so that the number of
+footsteps that the kitchen worker must take will be
+reduced as greatly as possible. Then there are all
+sorts of labor saving arrangements. You saw those
+in the kitchen and the cellar. The electrician has
+been there daily fitting up an electric range and dish-washing
+machine. The wires in the kitchen are
+placed just where they will be most serviceable, and
+there are plenty of windows so that the room is
+bright in the day-time. Then just off the kitchen,
+there is a delightful little sitting room, with a porch
+opening from it. It has a view toward the garden
+and FitzJames&rsquo;s woods, and it is to be prettily
+furnished.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;There are two bed-rooms and a bath for the
+maids in the attic story,&rdquo; said Ethel Blue. &ldquo;They
+are going to be prettily furnished too.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Will they have a garden?&rdquo; asked Dicky from
+his corner.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Do you know?&rdquo; Mrs. Morton turned to
+Ethel for an answer.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I do understand now,&rdquo; she replied, &ldquo;why
+Dorothy insisted on having the herb garden down
+by the house. I thought it was just because it would
+be convenient to have the herbs near the kitchen, but
+she planted flowers there too, and now I see that it
+will be a pretty flower garden for the maids to enjoy
+and to cut for their own rooms.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_169">[169]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;There are two things about Aunt Louise that
+are interesting,&rdquo; said Ethel Blue. &ldquo;One is the way
+she always tries to make other people happy and
+comfortable.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;She is naturally thoughtful and considerate,&rdquo;
+said Mrs. Morton, &ldquo;and she has had much unhappiness
+in her life and has happened to meet many
+people who are unhappy, so it has taught her to do
+all she can to brighten other people&rsquo;s lives and to
+make them easier.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t believe many people who are building a
+house would let a lot of children say what they
+thought would be nice about it,&rdquo; said Ethel Blue.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;She wants Dorothy and all of you to learn about
+the new ways of building and fitting up a house,&rdquo;
+returned Mrs. Morton, &ldquo;and she knows how much
+fun it is to talk over such matters in a general pow-wow.
+Haven&rsquo;t all of you had a good deal of fun
+out of it?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;We certainly have,&rdquo; replied Ethel Blue. &ldquo;I
+liked fixing up Ayleesabet&rsquo;s room particularly, because
+I suggested the idea, but we have all made
+suggestions for every room in the house. Aunt
+Louise has not agreed with all of them, but she always
+told us why she didn&rsquo;t agree or why she didn&rsquo;t
+like our ideas. She never was snippy about it, just
+because we were children. The other thing that is
+interesting in Aunt Louise, is the way she wants
+to have all sorts of new arrangements in a house.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_170">[170]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;Almost everybody does that,&rdquo; answered Mrs.
+Morton.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know anybody in Rosemont who has all
+the things that Aunt Louise has put in. People
+have vacuum cleaners now-a-days, that they move
+around from one room to another, but she has hers
+built in, so the dirt is drawn right down into the cellar.
+She has every kind of electric thing she has
+ever heard of, I do believe.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The electrician was there to-day as I told you,
+arranging wires in the kitchen.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I was trying to count up as I was lying here, all
+the things in the house that go by electricity. Of
+course there&rsquo;s the door bell to begin with. Then
+there are all the lighting switches&mdash;the one in the
+vestibule and all the regular ones in the halls and
+rooms and a lot of them in the different closets, so
+that she never will have to struggle around in the
+dark for anything she is hunting for.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I saw a man putting in a little pilot light for the
+oven, to-day,&rdquo; said Mrs. Morton.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What&rsquo;s that for?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;So the cook can investigate the state of affairs
+in the oven. Sometimes it&rsquo;s hard to say how far
+along a dish at the back of the oven is. This light
+enables you to make out whether it is browning properly
+or not.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The man who put in the summer water-heater
+called the little light that burns all the time in that,
+a &lsquo;pilot,&rsquo;&rdquo; said Ethel Blue.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_171">[171]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;The dumb-waiter that runs from the cellar up
+through the house to take up kindling or whatever
+needs to be taken up stairs, runs at the touch of an
+electric button,&rdquo; said Mrs. Morton.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I wish there had been an elevator for people,&rdquo;
+said Ethel Blue.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The house isn&rsquo;t large enough to call for that,&rdquo;
+said her aunt, laughing. &ldquo;Dorothy and her mother
+are able to go up one or two flights of stairs without
+much suffering!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Ethel laughed at the suggestion, and went on with
+her enumeration of the uses of electricity.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The city water runs into the house, but do you
+know that Aunt Louise has had an extra pump fitted
+into a deep well at the back of the house, and that
+is to work by electricity? She was afraid the house
+was so high up that the power of the town water
+might be weak sometimes.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;She&rsquo;s prepared for anything, isn&rsquo;t she? She&rsquo;ll
+be quite independent if any accident should happen
+to the Rosemont reservoir.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You know the fittings of the laundry are electric.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;And the electrician to-day was going to put in
+an electric hair dryer in the bath-room, so that a
+shampoo will require only a few minutes&rsquo; time.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I see where all of us girls visit Dorothy on shampoo
+day,&rdquo; giggled Ethel Blue.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;She&rsquo;ll be as popular as I used to be when our
+cherries were ripe,&rdquo; her Aunt Marion smiled in return.
+&ldquo;I never seemed to have so many friends as
+during the June days when I always entertained my
+guests by inviting them up into the cherry tree.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_172">[172]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;Was that the cherry tree on the right thide of
+Chrandfather&rsquo;th houthe?&rdquo; asked Dicky suddenly
+from the corner where he had been supposed to be
+dozing.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The very same cherry tree, young man. I
+dare say you know it.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;th too fat for me to thin up,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;but
+nektht year I&rsquo;m going up on a ladder the minute
+I see a robin flying off with the first ripe cherry.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_173">[173]</div>
+<h2 id="c13">CHAPTER XIII
+<br />A GOLDEN COLOR SCHEME</h2>
+<p>When the time came for having the interior
+decorating done in Sweetbrier Lodge and
+for getting the furniture, the U.&nbsp;S.&nbsp;C. felt that they
+were really in the very midst of a delightful experience.
+The attic was furnished with brown
+wicker, as Miss Graham had suggested. A small
+upright piano was brought up through a window,
+and this pleasant, quiet room at the top of the house,
+served to give Dorothy a spot for practising where
+she would disturb no one. Up here, too, she could
+keep any work that she was doing and merely put
+it into a chest that she had prepared for the purpose,
+whenever she wanted to leave it, or, if it was
+something that could not easily be moved, it might
+even be kept out upon the table and there would be
+no one to be annoyed by an appearance of untidiness.</p>
+<p>The piano was to be a pleasure at the club meetings,
+for all the U.&nbsp;S.&nbsp;C. members liked to sing, and
+Helen was planning that they should wind up every
+meeting during the coming winter with a good stirring
+chorus before they separated for the afternoon.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_174">[174]</div>
+<p>On the bedroom floor, the furnishings were carried
+out as they had been planned, Elisabeth&rsquo;s room
+in blue, Dorothy&rsquo;s in pink, and Mrs. Smith&rsquo;s in
+primrose yellow, and the two guest chambers in violet
+and a delicate, misty grey. The wood-work was
+painted ivory white and the floors were all of hard
+wood. Rugs in harmonious tints gave the desirable
+depths of tone to the color plan.</p>
+<p>On this floor Mrs. Smith had a sewing room and
+also a small sitting room, where she could write
+business letters and be quite undisturbed. With the
+floor below came the really serious work of furnishing,
+the girls thought. The drawing room was the
+important feature of this floor.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Here is the family hearth,&rdquo; said Mrs. Smith to
+Dorothy, &ldquo;and we want to make this room beautiful&mdash;one
+that people will like to come into and to
+stay in.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It must not be cold in color, then,&rdquo; said Dorothy.
+&ldquo;Nobody likes to stay in a chilly looking room.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;And it ought not to be too warm in color,&rdquo; said
+plump little Della, who suffered terribly from the
+heat in summer. &ldquo;It just makes me perspire to
+<i>think</i> of some of the thick, heavy-looking rooms I&rsquo;ve
+been in. They are only suitable for zero weather
+and we don&rsquo;t seem to have any more zero weather
+nowadays.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_175">[175]</div>
+<p>Mrs. Smith had allowed Dorothy to ask the club
+members to have cocoa with her on the afternoon
+when the final decisions were to be made. They
+had brought down from up-stairs some of the chairs
+and a table which had already been put into the bed-rooms.
+Dorothy and the Ethels had made cocoa
+and had baked some cocoanut cakes on the new electric
+oven, and they were all gathered in the drawing
+room, sipping their cocoa and looking about them at
+the possibilities of the room.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Before we begin, tell me how you made these
+cakes,&rdquo; said Margaret, who was always adding a
+new receipt to her cook book.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;We took half a pound of dried cocoanut and
+two ounces of sugar and three ounces of ground
+rice, and mixed them all up together. Then we
+beat the whites of three eggs perfectly stiff and
+stirred the froth thoroughly into the other things,&rdquo;
+said Ethel Brown.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Then we dipped out a tablespoonful at a time
+and put it on to a buttered baking tin, and baked
+it all in a quick oven for five minutes,&rdquo; said Ethel
+Blue, &ldquo;but we didn&rsquo;t take the tin out, right off.
+We let the oven cool and the little cakes cook slowly
+for half an hour longer.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;They do be marvellous good,&rdquo; murmured
+James, and all the others agreed with him.</p>
+<p>Miss Graham had come over with Margaret and
+James, but she said that she was not going to give
+her professional advice until it was asked for.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I may as well tell you first of all,&rdquo; said Mrs.
+Smith, &ldquo;what my color scheme is for this room,
+and then you can help me with the details. I want
+the whole thing to be in tones of brown, lightened
+by yellow, and contrasted with that dull blue you
+see in Oriental rugs. Now, keep that scheme
+of color in your mind and work it out for me.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_176">[176]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;I think you must have told the painter about it
+before he did the wood-work,&rdquo; guessed Margaret.
+&ldquo;This wood-work is white, but a yellowish white
+that will be quite in harmony with your brown and
+gold scheme.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You&rsquo;ve caught me,&rdquo; smiled Mrs. Smith. &ldquo;It
+had to be done, so I told him what I wanted. It&rsquo;s
+successful, don&rsquo;t you think so?&rdquo; she asked, looking
+toward Miss Graham.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Entirely,&rdquo; approved Miss Daisy.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The floors are hard wood, but I suppose you&rsquo;re
+going to have a big brown and gold and blue rug,&rdquo;
+said Helen.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Certainly those colors, if I can find just the
+right thing,&rdquo; said her aunt.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I was with Mother the other day in a rug shop,&rdquo;
+said Della, &ldquo;and I saw beautiful Chinese rugs, with
+dull blue backgrounds and figures of brown and
+tan.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve noticed,&rdquo; said Helen, &ldquo;that Oriental rugs
+have a great deal of red and green in them. I
+should think it might be hard to find rugs with just
+brown and blue.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I have discovered that it is,&rdquo; said Mrs. Smith,
+&ldquo;for I&rsquo;ve already been on one or two searching
+trips. Still, those Chinese rugs that Della mentioned
+are always available, and if you hunt far
+enough you can get others with the brown note uppermost.
+What do you think about size?&rdquo; she
+asked.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_177">[177]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;Oh,&rdquo; said Helen. &ldquo;I seem to see in my mind&rsquo;s
+eye a huge, great, splendid one in the middle of the
+room.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It would be a beautiful rug probably,&rdquo; said
+Ethel Brown, &ldquo;but I don&rsquo;t know that I should like
+one big fellow as much as two smaller ones.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Why not?&rdquo; asked Miss Graham.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know that I can tell you,&rdquo; answered
+Ethel Brown, blushing. &ldquo;Perhaps it&rsquo;s because it
+makes the room seem too big and grand, and the
+arrangement of smaller ones would break it up into
+smaller sections, and make it seem more home-like.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Miss Daisy nodded as if she were satisfied, but
+made no comment.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;How do all of you feel about the size of the
+rugs?&rdquo; inquired Mrs. Smith, and Helen put the
+question to vote.</p>
+<p>They decided that they liked the idea of two or
+more rugs of medium size with little ones where
+they were needed instead of a very large one in the
+centre of the room.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I think you&rsquo;re right,&rdquo; said Mrs. Smith, &ldquo;and I
+think that it will be easier to find the smaller ones
+than the very large ones&mdash;and less expensive into
+the bargain,&rdquo; she said, laughing.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What is the furniture to be?&rdquo; inquired Tom.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Dorothy and I had a few antiques that have
+been kept for us all these years from my father&rsquo;s
+house, and they have given us the note for the rest.
+They are mahogany, colonial in style, so we think
+that we must make the rest of the furniture harmonize
+with them.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_178">[178]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;Aunt Marion told me she saw some lovely reproductions
+of truly old chairs and tables and
+things,&rdquo; said Ethel Blue. &ldquo;I suppose you can make
+the room look as if every piece in it was a truly old
+one.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;If I had money enough, I could undoubtedly
+find truly old pieces,&rdquo; said Mrs. Smith, &ldquo;but I think
+I shall content myself with the modern pieces in the
+old style.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;At any rate, they will be stronger,&rdquo; said
+Margaret. &ldquo;We have some very old furniture,
+and since we put steam heat in our house, they&rsquo;ve
+been falling to pieces as fast as they could fall.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;How are the walls of this room to be treated?&rdquo;
+asked James.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;There I want your help,&rdquo; said Mrs. Smith.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I saw a dark brown paper dashed with gold the
+other day, on the library wall at Mrs. Schermerhorn&rsquo;s,&rdquo;
+said Roger.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Too dark,&rdquo; cried the Ethels in chorus. &ldquo;Mrs.
+Schermerhorn&rsquo;s wood-work is dark and Aunt Louise&rsquo;s
+is almost white.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;There&rsquo;s a kind of Japanese paper that looks like
+metal burlap,&rdquo; said Margaret. &ldquo;It has a little glint
+of gold in it.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s too dark, too, I think,&rdquo; said Dorothy.
+&ldquo;It ought to be something that will connect the yellow-white
+of the wood-work with the gold, which is
+the lightest tone in Mother&rsquo;s color scheme.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_179">[179]</div>
+<p>Again Miss Graham nodded her approval, although
+she said nothing.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I saw a very wide pongee silk the other day
+that would be just about the right shade, if it could
+be put on like wall-paper,&rdquo; said Ethel Blue. &ldquo;It
+would be a little darker than this paint, and it would
+tie on to the gold in the rug or in any piece of furniture
+covering.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Again Miss Graham nodded.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;And I don&rsquo;t see why it couldn&rsquo;t be stenciled,&rdquo;
+said Ethel Brown. &ldquo;Something like the walls upstairs
+in the apple-blossom room, only of course
+something that would be appropriate for this room.
+But even if you didn&rsquo;t like that idea,&rdquo; she went on,
+&ldquo;I think the pongee silk alone would be beautiful.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Mrs. Smith liked that idea, too, but she hesitated
+to give her final decision until she had examined a
+certain homespun linen which she had had recommended
+to her as a possible success from the point
+of view of color.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Now that you have finished your cocoa, I want
+you to move your chairs over here, where you can
+look into the dining room,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;You see,
+I&rsquo;ve had the dining room separated from this room
+by folding doors; there will be door curtains also,
+but I want to be able to shut off the room entirely
+from this room if I choose. Now, while we talk
+about the furniture here, look into the dining room
+and get the shape of it into your minds, so that you
+can regard it as a sort of outgrowth of this room.
+Are you comfortable now?&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_180">[180]</div>
+<p>They said they were and went on to discuss the
+furniture.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Will all of the pieces be upholstered with the
+same material?&rdquo; asked Ethel Blue.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Oh, no,&rdquo; cried Ethel Brown. &ldquo;Let&rsquo;s have two
+or three different shades of brown, and one in the
+right shade of yellow and one or two in the same
+dull blue of the rug.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Again Miss Graham nodded.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You want to repeat in the furniture the colors
+of the rug,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;They give you a wide
+range of tones because these Oriental rugs may have
+as many as twenty-five shades of blue, so finely
+graduated that you can hardly tell them apart, except
+with a reading glass. The brown and gold of
+the furniture will bring out the brown and gold
+of the floor covering and you must be careful that
+the yellow of the furniture is not so brilliant as to
+overpower the more delicate yellow of your walls.
+There should be a sort of scale from the yellowish
+white wood-work which is your highest note, down
+to the darkest shade of brown.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Now, that we&rsquo;ve decided about the furniture,
+tell me what general idea you have for the dining
+room,&rdquo; said Mrs. Smith. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m all excitement to
+hear what you have to say about the dining room,
+because it isn&rsquo;t quite clear in my own mind, and I
+want to work it out with you.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You want it to be an outgrowth of this room,&rdquo;
+said Helen, &ldquo;and you don&rsquo;t want it treated like an
+entirely separate room.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_181">[181]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;Since it is connected with this room by so wide
+an opening, when the doors are drawn back,&rdquo; said
+her aunt, &ldquo;it seems to me as if it ought to be in
+harmony with the coloring here.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>They all agreed with this idea.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I suggest,&rdquo; said Margaret, &ldquo;that the whole
+room might be a little darker than this room, although
+decorated with the same colors.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Miss Graham again approved this.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It has the morning sun,&rdquo; said Dorothy, &ldquo;and at
+night through most of the year the gas is lighted at
+dinner time so it isn&rsquo;t necessary to have it so bright
+as the other room.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Then why not have everything the same, except
+just a little deeper in tone,&rdquo; said Ethel Blue.
+&ldquo;Have the wood-work a trifle darker and find some
+material for the walls or have them color-washed a
+few shades darker than the pongee. The floor is
+a little darker than this anyway and one of the
+darker blue Chinese rugs will be lovely on it.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Mother&rsquo;s china is blue Canton,&rdquo; said Dorothy.
+&ldquo;That will give blue touch that will harmonize with
+the rugs.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>They were all pleased with their decisions and
+were greatly pleased when Miss Graham approved
+their wisdom.</p>
+<p>The electricians had put in the electric fixtures
+and they noticed that the dining room side lights
+of both the dining room and drawing room looked
+like sconces; that there was a glowing bowl of light
+in the ceiling above the dinner table; and that the
+half concealed lights were to give a pleasant radiance
+in the larger room, while plugs around the wall permitted
+the use of electric lamps for reading or sewing
+at many different points.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_182">[182]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;How is this little reception room to be done,
+Mrs. Smith?&rdquo; asked James as he roamed into a
+small room just beside the front door.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;This whole floor, all in all, is to have the same
+color scheme,&rdquo; said Mrs. Smith. &ldquo;I think this and
+the hall will be done like the dining room.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Come out now, and see the maid&rsquo;s sitting
+room,&rdquo; cried Dorothy. &ldquo;It is the cunningest thing
+and so pretty.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The wicker furniture had already come for this
+room and the attic, and they all exclaimed at the
+delicate shade of gray rattan which made a charming
+back-ground for cushions of flowered chintz.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s a dear duck of a room!&rdquo; said Ethel
+Brown.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;And see the roses on the walls!&rdquo; exclaimed
+Dorothy. &ldquo;And it opens on to a little porch that
+is going to be covered with rambler roses all summer,
+if I can possibly make them grow and blossom.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;How many of you people can go to the Metropolitan
+Museum with me on Saturday?&rdquo; asked
+Miss Graham. &ldquo;I know you younger ones are all
+busy in school now, and the boys are getting ready
+to go to college, so that is your only day, for we
+want plenty of time.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_183">[183]</div>
+<p>There was not one of them who could not go, so
+they arranged about trains and where they should
+pick up the Watkinses in New York, and separated
+with pleasant expectations of the very good time
+ahead of them.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_184">[184]</div>
+<h2 id="c14">CHAPTER XIV
+<br />AT THE METROPOLITAN</h2>
+<p>Dicky, the Honorary Member of the United
+Service Club, had been considered too young
+to become a member of the party to visit the Metropolitan
+Museum. He had, however, begged so
+hard not to be left behind, that Helen and Roger
+had relented, and had promised to take him if he,
+in his turn, would agree not to bother Miss Graham
+by asking more than a million questions every
+ten minutes. He was also under bond not to stray
+away from the party.</p>
+<p>As it turned out, however, the Honorary Member
+did not go to New York on the appointed day. He
+had planned an expedition of his own for purposes
+of investigation, and the results were such that he
+was not able to meet his other engagement later on.</p>
+<p>Underneath his bobbed hair Dicky kept a sharp
+pair of ears and there was very little of the talk
+about his aunt&rsquo;s new house that had escaped his attention.
+Among other things he had listened while
+his sisters and cousins had commented upon the manner
+in which the kitchen was equipped. The floor
+was concrete, the walls were of white tile, the shelves
+were of glass, and the cupboard doors of enameled
+metal.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_185">[185]</div>
+<p>He had heard his mother say to his Aunt Louise:
+&ldquo;Why, you could turn the hose on it to clean it,
+couldn&rsquo;t you?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The idea had inflamed his imagination and he determined
+to see how it would work. Detaching the
+hose and spray from the bath-room he trotted off
+immediately after breakfast, intent on putting into
+effect his mother&rsquo;s idea. It seemed to him that it
+would be a delight to live in a house where one might
+enter into the kitchen at any moment and find the
+cook spraying the walls with a hose. If the reality
+proved to be as charming as the anticipation, he
+was going to beg his mother to have their own
+kitchen made over promptly.</p>
+<p>The workmen were all upstairs at Sweetbrier
+Lodge but the lower doors were open so that there
+was no difficulty in achieving an entrance. He
+knew how to attach the spray to the faucet and a
+twist of the fingers turned on the water.</p>
+<p>It seemed to him as the first dash struck him full
+in the face, he having been a little careless about
+the nozzle, that his Aunt Louise need not have worried
+about the pressure of the town water. He
+shook his head like a pussy cat in the rain, but manfully
+restrained the ejaculation that leaped to his
+lips. He was glad that he did, because nobody interrupted
+and the succeeding moments were filled
+with ecstasy. He sprayed the floor, the electric
+range, the shiny white table, the glistening cupboards,
+and, best of all, the gleaming tiles of the
+walls down which the drops chased each other in a
+joyous race for the floor.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_186">[186]</div>
+<p>The moments sped in this entrancing pursuit.</p>
+<p>At home a cry for Dicky had arisen as the time
+came to dress him for his trip to New York. Nobody
+knew where he had gone. It was not until
+Ethel Brown telephoned to Dorothy that they
+learned that he had been seen passing her house.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;He must have gone to Sweetbrier Lodge for
+some reason or other,&rdquo; said Ethel Brown. &ldquo;What
+on earth possessed him on this morning of all mornings!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>She called to Roger, and he dashed off on the run
+to see if he could find his wandering brother. None
+of the workmen at the new house had any knowledge
+of his whereabouts, and it was not until Roger
+opened one of the carefully closed doors and was
+greeted by a dash of water, straight in his waistcoat,
+that he found the wanderer.</p>
+<p>Roger was a boy of even temper but he confessed
+to his mother afterwards that his fingers ached as
+never before to impress on Dicky his disapproval of
+his occupation.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What on earth are you doing here?&rdquo; he demanded,
+snatching the hose from Dicky&rsquo;s reluctant
+fingers, and turning off the water.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Washing down the walls,&rdquo; replied Dicky truthfully.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_187">[187]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;Incidentally you&rsquo;ve given yourself a good soaking,&rdquo;
+said Roger, looking at the thoroughly drenched
+little figure before him. &ldquo;Here, slip into this coat,
+and I hope I haven&rsquo;t got to carry you home the whole
+way, you big, heavy creature.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I think I&rsquo;d be warmer if I trotted myself,&rdquo; suggested
+Dicky, a little apprehensive of what might
+happen to him in the way of a bear hug, in his brother&rsquo;s
+strong arms.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I guess you&rsquo;re right,&rdquo; said Roger. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ll
+have to run like deer, for it&rsquo;s almost time for the car
+to come for us. This puts an end to your going
+into town, I suppose you understand, young man.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Dicky had not thought of losing his other joy
+while he was realizing his first delight, and he puckered
+his face for a howl, but before the sound could
+come out, Roger said: &ldquo;You brought it on to yourself,
+so don&rsquo;t yell. This is the natural result of what
+you&rsquo;ve been doing. You can&rsquo;t expect ten people to
+wait for you to be thoroughly dried and got ready to
+go into town, can you?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Dicky was an uncommonly reasonable child and
+he swallowed his sobs as he shook his head. There
+was no farther conversation, for both boys were running
+as fast as Roger&rsquo;s legs could set the pace.
+Dicky&rsquo;s strides were assisted by his brother, who
+seized his arm and helped him over the ground with
+giant steps.</p>
+<p>Mrs. Morton&rsquo;s view of the situation seemed to
+be painfully like Roger&rsquo;s, and Dicky found himself
+put into the care of Mary and an unnaturally rough
+bath towel, his only part in the expedition that had
+promised such happiness to him, being the sight of
+his relatives climbing into his grandfather&rsquo;s automobile
+and dashing off toward Glen Point, where they
+were to pick up Miss Graham and the Hancocks.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_188">[188]</div>
+<p>When the party reached New York they made up
+their minds that they might as well approach the
+Museum containing many beautiful objects by the
+prettiest way possible, so at 59th Street the car
+swept into Central Park. As they entered, Miss
+Graham called their attention to the golden statue
+of General Sherman, made by the famous sculptor,
+Saint-Gaudens. As they neared the Museum, she
+pointed out Cleopatra&rsquo;s needle, an Egyptian shaft
+covered with hieroglyphics.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The poor old stone has had a hard time in this
+climate,&rdquo; said Roger. &ldquo;It has scaled off terribly,
+hasn&rsquo;t it?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;They are trying to preserve it by a preparation
+of parafine,&rdquo; said Miss Graham.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I should think it would have to be repeated
+every winter,&rdquo; said Helen. &ldquo;It doesn&rsquo;t seem as if
+parafine was much of a protection against heavy
+frost.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Just inside the entrance of the building they found
+Della and Tom awaiting them. Miss Graham
+called their attention first to the tapestries hanging
+in the entrance hall, and told them something of the
+patient work that went into the production of one
+of these great sheets of painstaking embroidery.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Are they making them anywhere, nowadays?&rdquo;
+asked Ethel Blue.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_189">[189]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;When the war is over and you go to Paris, you
+can see the tapestry workers in the Gobelins factory,&rdquo;
+said Miss Daisy. &ldquo;Every machine has hung
+upon it the picture which the worker is copying. It
+may take a man six or seven years to complete one
+piece.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Shouldn&rsquo;t you think he would be sick to death of
+it!&rdquo; exclaimed Dorothy.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I suppose the first year he tells himself he must
+be pleasant, so that he will see the picture get
+started. In the second year perhaps he&rsquo;ll be ready
+to put in the feet of his figures. Then all the middle
+years must be comparatively exciting because
+he&rsquo;s doing the central part of the picture; and the
+last year he has a sort of a thrill because it&rsquo;s almost
+done, even though the work may be all in the
+clouds.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I judge that they make landscapes with figures,
+chiefly,&rdquo; guessed James.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Many of them are landscapes with figures,&rdquo; replied
+Miss Daisy. &ldquo;They have a wide variety of
+objects. The factory belongs to the government
+and the pieces are used as decorations for government
+buildings, and as gifts to people of other countries.
+The French Government gave Miss Alice
+Roosevelt a piece of Gobelin when she was married.
+I&rsquo;ve seen it on exhibition in the Art Museum at Cincinnati.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I suppose all the workmen now have gone to
+the war, and the factory is closed,&rdquo; said Tom.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_190">[190]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;Probably. The men who work there now are
+descendants, sometimes in the third or fourth generation,
+of the early workers. They hold their positions
+for life and although their pay is not large
+they also have each a cottage and piece of land on
+the grounds of the factory.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>As the U.&nbsp;S.&nbsp;C. ascended the great stair-way they
+passed numerous impressive busts and stopped to
+look at all of them. Most of the men were famous
+Americans, whose names were already familiar to
+the young people.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Now,&rdquo; said Miss Graham, as they reached the
+head of the stairs, &ldquo;later on we can choose the kind
+of thing we would like especially to see, but first I
+want to show you two or three pictures and we can
+talk a little about them. Then perhaps we will enjoy
+better the pictures we see afterwards.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I am sure we shall,&rdquo; answered Roger, politely,
+although his heart was yearning for the Riggs collection
+of armor.</p>
+<p>Miss Daisy read his mind.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I know you want to see the Riggs armor most
+of all,&rdquo; she said, &ldquo;and Margaret and James have
+been talking a lot about the Morgan collection and
+the Ethels told me on the way in that they had seen
+in the Sunday papers reproductions of some of the
+pictures in the Altman collections and they want to
+see the originals. We can see all those later on,
+but first we will look for a minute at a very famous
+picture by a Frenchwoman, Rosa Bonheur.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Oh, I remember about her,&rdquo; said Helen. &ldquo;She
+used to wear men&rsquo;s clothes when she was working in
+her studio. She said skirts bothered her.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_191">[191]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;I should think they would,&rdquo; said James. &ldquo;I remember
+about her, too. She made a specialty of
+animals and sometimes she had lions and other wild
+animals from some Zoo, and let them wander about.
+She needed to be dressed so she could skip lively if
+they made any demonstration!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Those are huge horses, aren&rsquo;t they,&rdquo; said Ethel
+Blue, as they stood before the &ldquo;Horse Fair.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;They look as if they were &lsquo;feeling gayly,&rsquo; as the
+North Carolina mountaineers say,&rdquo; quoted Dorothy.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What is it all about?&rdquo; asked Miss Graham.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Why, I don&rsquo;t know,&rdquo; answered Ethel Blue
+slowly. &ldquo;Is it about anything in particular? Isn&rsquo;t
+it just a lot of horses being taken to a Horse Fair
+for exhibition?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Miss Graham nodded and said that that was probably
+all there was to it. Then she led them to a
+picture by a French artist, Meissonier.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I spot Napoleon,&rdquo; said Tom promptly, as they
+took up their position.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;This is called &lsquo;Friedland, 1807,&rsquo;&rdquo; said Miss
+Graham.</p>
+<p>Before she could ask any question or make any
+suggestion about the picture, Helen had explained
+&ldquo;Friedland.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That was one of Napoleon&rsquo;s famous battles.
+Here he defeated the Russians and Prussians.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Eighteen hundred and seven?&rdquo; repeated James.
+&ldquo;Why, Napoleon was at the very height of his
+power then, wasn&rsquo;t he?&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_192">[192]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;He looks it,&rdquo; said Margaret. &ldquo;Doesn&rsquo;t he
+look as if he were the lord of the world? And how
+those men around him gaze at him with adoration!
+He certainly had a wonderful ability for making himself
+beloved by his soldiers!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Miss Graham had been listening to these comments
+with the greatest interest.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What difference do you see between this picture
+and the &lsquo;Horse Fair&rsquo;?&rdquo; she asked.</p>
+<p>They looked carefully at the picture before them
+and Ethel Blue scampered back to refresh her
+memory on the &ldquo;Horse Fair.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;There isn&rsquo;t any more action in one than the
+other,&rdquo; said James, &ldquo;though, of course, it&rsquo;s different.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;But this one makes me think a lot about a great
+man,&rdquo; added his sister.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;And you want to know what it&rsquo;s all about,&rdquo; exclaimed
+Ethel Brown.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You feel as if there must be some story about
+this one,&rdquo; said Ethel Blue, returning from her expedition
+to the &ldquo;Horse Fair.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s just the point,&rdquo; said Miss Graham, patting
+her shoulder, &ldquo;There&rsquo;s no especial appeal to
+the imagination in the &lsquo;Horse Fair.&rsquo; You just see
+horses going to any horse fair in northern France,
+and there&rsquo;s nothing to tell you that one horse has won
+a ploughing match and that another is a candidate for
+a blue ribbon because of his great weight. But here
+you realize at once that Napoleon was a man to command
+attention. You want to know what he has
+been doing. You feel that there is some good reason
+for the evident admiration of his soldiers.
+Those two pictures are examples of two different
+classes of pictures. The &lsquo;Horse Fair&rsquo; you might
+call a sketch in a traveller&rsquo;s note book. The Napoleon
+picture is an illustration in a story.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_193">[193]</div>
+<p>The young people thought over all this and
+nodded their agreement.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Now come with me and see this picture of a
+pretty girl.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Miss Graham led the way to the Morgan collection
+and they looked into the winning face of &ldquo;Miss
+Farren.&rdquo; She seemed to be moving swiftly across
+the canvas, her dress and cloak streaming behind her
+from the speed of her motion.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;She&rsquo;s a pretty girl,&rdquo; said Roger, with his hand
+on his heart. Tom nodded in agreement, but James
+shook his head.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;She looks silly,&rdquo; he said sternly.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;There isn&rsquo;t any story to her picture, I&rsquo;m sure,&rdquo;
+said Helen. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s just a portrait.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;But may not a portrait indicate something of the
+character of the sitter?&rdquo; asked Miss Graham.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It ought to,&rdquo; returned Margaret, &ldquo;and I should
+think there was something of this girl&rsquo;s character in
+the portrait, but there&rsquo;s nothing to show that this
+might be the illustration of a story.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Unless it were the frontispiece, showing the picture
+of the heroine,&rdquo; said Roger.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;But the heroine doing nothing that is told about
+in the story,&rdquo; insisted Helen.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_194">[194]</div>
+<p>Miss Graham made no comment on these criticisms
+but led the way to another picture, also of a
+girl, but this time of a girl in the dress of a peasant
+and not handsomely arrayed as was Miss Farren.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;There is a bigger difference than clothes between
+these two,&rdquo; said Della, &ldquo;but I don&rsquo;t know just what
+it is. This girl isn&rsquo;t pretty like Miss Farren.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Do you know who this is?&rdquo; asked Miss Daisy.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Somebody who is thinking a lot,&rdquo; said Ethel
+Brown.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;She is seeing things in her mind,&rdquo; said Ethel
+Blue.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Who is the most famous girl in history, who did
+that?&rdquo; asked Miss Graham.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Jeanne d&rsquo;Arc,&rdquo; said Helen. &ldquo;She saw visions
+that inspired her to be a leader of men in the army
+and she brought about the coronation of her king
+when he was kept from his throne by the English
+who held Paris and a large part of France.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;She is seeing visions now,&rdquo; whispered Ethel
+Blue, clinging to Miss Graham&rsquo;s arm.</p>
+<p>Miss Graham gently smoothed the fingers that
+were tensely closed over the sleeve of her jacket.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Why do you suppose Helen told us about Jeanne
+d&rsquo;Arc just now?&rdquo; she asked.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Because Helen just naturally knows all the history
+there is to be known,&rdquo; said Roger, joking his
+sister in brotherly fashion.</p>
+<p>Helen flushed and murmured something that
+sounded like, &ldquo;I thought you&rsquo;d like to know why
+she looked like that.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_195">[195]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;There is something more than just her character
+and her disposition in that picture,&rdquo; said Margaret.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;If a single picture can be a story picture, I
+should think this was a story picture as much as the
+Napoleon one,&rdquo; said Tom.</p>
+<p>Again Miss Daisy nodded her approval.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I call it a story picture,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;Helen
+felt that it was, immediately, and that is why she
+told us something of the story of Jeanne d&rsquo;Arc.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Most landscapes must be just note book pictures,
+then,&rdquo; guessed Ethel Brown.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Unless the landscape should be a background
+for some story,&rdquo; said Della. &ldquo;There might be gypsies
+kidnapping a child, for instance.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Of course there are other divisions,&rdquo; said Miss
+Graham, &ldquo;but roughly speaking, almost every picture
+is either a record of fact or of imagination, or
+else it tells a story.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s going to be interesting to think about that,
+when we look at the other pictures we shall see later
+on,&rdquo; said Tom, and even Roger nodded assent, although
+his heart was still set upon the armor.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Now, let&rsquo;s go back for a moment to look at the
+&lsquo;Horse Fair,&rsquo;&rdquo; said Miss Graham. &ldquo;What do
+you think a picture ought to have in it to be a real
+picture?&rdquo; she asked as they went along the gallery.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_196">[196]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;It seems to me that a picture that is nothing but
+a record, as you said a few minutes ago, can&rsquo;t be
+much of a picture,&rdquo; said Roger. &ldquo;I should want
+something more in a picture, something that would
+stir me up. Why, even Miss Farren&rsquo;s there isn&rsquo;t
+exactly a record, because you have something more
+than just eyes and nose and hair. She looks as
+if she would be fun to talk to, and as for the &lsquo;Horse
+Fair,&rsquo; which was the other picture that we decided
+was a record, why that has in it more than just a lot
+of horses.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;If Rosa Bonheur had wanted merely to draw
+some horses, she might have strung them along in
+a row so that we could get an idea of their size and
+color and could make a guess at their weight, but
+here we see them in action and we know that they
+are in good spirits and we feel some sympathy with
+the men who have a hard time to hold them.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes, that picture stirs me a little, too.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That is because both &lsquo;Miss Farren&rsquo; and the
+&lsquo;Horse Fair&rsquo; are real pictures. Any picture that
+tries to be more than merely a photographic reproduction
+must stir your emotions in one way or another,&rdquo;
+said Miss Daisy. &ldquo;Now as we look at this
+picture, do you think the artist put into it everything
+that she saw on the road that morning when
+she passed this group of men and horses?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I dare say not,&rdquo; said Della, &ldquo;because there
+would be likely to be dogs and boys with the
+men, and perhaps some ugly houses in the background.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Why do you suppose she didn&rsquo;t put everything
+in?&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_197">[197]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;Why, a picture ought to try to be beautiful,
+oughtn&rsquo;t it, and some of those things might be ugly,
+or there might be so many of them that it would be
+confusing.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Those are both good reasons,&rdquo; said Miss Daisy.
+&ldquo;They both show that the artist has to <i>select</i> the
+things that he thinks will be of the greatest interest
+to the people who look at his pictures.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Now when he has picked them out, what should
+you say the next step was?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>They were all rather blank at this question but
+after a while Roger said slowly, &ldquo;Evidently she
+picked out just so many as being the best looking
+ones to put in the picture; and she didn&rsquo;t like them
+all facing the audience, ready to bob their heads at
+you as you look at them; she made them trot along
+the road in a natural way.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Certainly,&rdquo; approved Miss Graham. &ldquo;She <i>arranged</i>
+what she had selected so that they would be
+natural and&mdash;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;And so that the colors would show well?&rdquo; asked
+Ethel Brown.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes, so that there would be contrasts of color
+that would be pleasing to the eye. Then there
+should be <i>balance</i>. Have you any idea what that
+means?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Nobody had.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I wonder if you haven&rsquo;t all noticed a Japanese
+print that Margaret has?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You mean the one with big green leaves up in
+one corner and the grasshopper clinging to a tendril?&rdquo;
+asked Helen.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_198">[198]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s the one,&rdquo; returned Miss Daisy. &ldquo;Did
+it ever occur to you that those leaves were all
+crowded off into one corner of the picture?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I never thought of it,&rdquo; said Margaret, &ldquo;and I
+have looked at it every day for a year. They are,
+aren&rsquo;t they?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;But it didn&rsquo;t affect you unpleasantly, did it?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Why, no. I think it&rsquo;s a pretty picture,&rdquo; said
+Ethel Brown.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It is,&rdquo; agreed Miss Graham; &ldquo;but what device
+did the artist use to make you feel comfortable about
+it, and to make you forget that he had put a bunch
+of foliage up in one corner and had left more than
+one-half of his sheet blank?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Nobody could answer this question and Miss Graham
+had to give the explanation herself.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s all a question of balance,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;The
+great mass of white paper in the lower right hand
+part of the picture balances the mass of green leaves
+in the upper left hand corner. The green is a
+heavier looking color than the white, and it therefore
+takes a larger amount of white to balance the
+green. The Japanese who made this painting understood
+that, and he has so arranged his leaves and
+his grasshopper, that the eye is entirely pleased by
+the balance that results. If Rosa Bonheur has managed
+wisely there should be masses of light and dark,
+balancing each other, and there should be spaces and
+solids, balancing each other.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Has she done it? It doesn&rsquo;t worry me any,&rdquo;
+said Roger. &ldquo;I think she must have succeeded.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_199">[199]</div>
+<p>Keeping Miss Graham&rsquo;s explanation in mind they
+took another look at the Napoleon picture and concluded
+that Meissonier also knew what he was
+about.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;Composition&rsquo; means the putting together of
+a picture, doesn&rsquo;t it?&rdquo; asked Helen. &ldquo;I should
+think that the composition of a picture that has so
+many figures, must be extremely difficult.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Far more difficult, of course, than one for which
+the artist has selected fewer objects.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;And of two artists producing complicated pictures
+like these, he is the better who gives an effect
+of simplicity.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Suppose that Rosa Bonheur had noticed that
+one of the men struggling with the horses had his
+face bound up with a cloth; does that have anything
+to do with the picture?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>They all agreed that it had not.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Then she was perfectly right to leave out any
+object that would distract the observer&rsquo;s mind. She
+put into this picture of horses going to the horse
+fair only such things as would make the onlooker
+think of the beauty and spirit of the horses as shown
+by their handsome coats and by the difficulty which
+the men had in controlling them, and his imagination
+would be stirred to wonder as to which of these
+fine animals was to win a prize. Everything which
+might compete with these simple ideas the artist left
+out of the picture.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It must have been awfully hard to do such a lot
+of legs,&rdquo; said Ethel Blue, who knew a little about
+drawing.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_200">[200]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;An artist has to know a good deal about anatomy,&rdquo;
+returned Miss Graham. &ldquo;He must know
+how the human body is made, and the horse&rsquo;s body,
+too, if he is to do a picture like this, and he even
+must know something about the under-structure of
+the earth. He must make the lines of those legs
+all move harmoniously. Look at this Napoleon picture
+once more.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Once again they stood before &ldquo;Friedland.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;If you were to prolong the up-standing lines of
+weapons and helmets you would find that they were
+parallel or tended toward some point possibly outside
+of the picture. Unless an appearance of confusion
+is desired it would not do to have lines leading
+in every direction.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It would make a picture look every which way,
+wouldn&rsquo;t it?&rdquo; said Ethel Blue.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Attention to such points as this helps to give
+expression to the whole picture,&rdquo; went on Miss
+Daisy. &ldquo;Not only do the figures in the pictures
+have their own expression, but the picture as a whole
+may wear an expression of peace, like that quiet
+landscape over there; or of confusion, like this picture
+of the attempted assassination of a pope, or of
+orderly excitement, like that cavalry charge yonder.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>As they turned from one canvas to another the
+Club realized the truth of what Miss Graham was
+saying.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That is a fact, isn&rsquo;t it?&rdquo; agreed Tom. &ldquo;You
+don&rsquo;t have to see the look on the fellows&rsquo; faces to
+get the general effect of the picture even from a distance.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_201">[201]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve been talking so much about color schemes
+in connection with Dorothy&rsquo;s new house, that I am
+sure the phrase is familiar to you,&rdquo; said Miss Graham.
+&ldquo;Look at the color schemes of these pictures
+around us. Do you see that there are no discords
+because a color note is struck and all of the
+other shades and colors harmonize with it? That
+battle rush, for instance, is a study in red. Compare
+that with the dull misty blues, greens, and greys
+in LePage&rsquo;s &lsquo;Jeanne d&rsquo;Arc.&rsquo;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>They went from one picture to another and proved
+the truth of this statement to their satisfaction.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Now we&rsquo;ll call our lesson done,&rdquo; said Miss Graham.
+&ldquo;We&rsquo;ll have some luncheon downstairs and
+when we come up we can let Roger have his heart&rsquo;s
+desire, and we&rsquo;ll give the afternoon to looking at
+the Morgan and Altman and Riggs collections of
+wonders. I doubt if there was ever gathered together
+anywhere three such groups. The Altman
+pictures are choice, the Riggs armor is unequalled
+anywhere in the world, and the Morgan collection is
+the finest general collection ever owned by a private
+individual.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>It was a weary but a happy party that returned to
+Rosemont in the late afternoon.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;One of these days is awfully hard on your
+head,&rdquo; confessed Roger, as he was talking to his
+mother about the Club&rsquo;s experience, &ldquo;but it certainly
+is good for your gray matter.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_202">[202]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;re going to remember whenever we look at
+pictures again,&rdquo; said Ethel Brown.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;And there are lots of things in it that we shall
+think about when we look over the decorating in our
+house,&rdquo; insisted Dorothy.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What I thought was the nicest of all was the
+way Miss Graham taught us. It was just like talking.
+I think she is awfully nice,&rdquo; was Ethel Blue&rsquo;s
+decision.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_203">[203]</div>
+<h2 id="c15">CHAPTER XV
+<br />PREPARATIONS FOR THE HOUSEWARMING</h2>
+<p>The trip to the Metropolitan Museum gave
+every member of the party a new set of words
+for her vocabulary. They looked at pictures with
+opened eyes and talked of their &ldquo;composition&rdquo; and
+&ldquo;balance.&rdquo; They were all of them more or less
+interested in photography and now they tried to take
+photographs that would be real pictures.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It isn&rsquo;t so easy to make a picture by selecting
+what you want to have and leaving out the things
+you don&rsquo;t want,&rdquo; said Roger to Helen one morning
+as they walked toward Sweetbrier Lodge, &ldquo;when
+the things are right there in the landscape and won&rsquo;t
+get out of the camera&rsquo;s way. A painter would leave
+out that stupid old wooden house in the field there,
+but he&rsquo;d leave in the splendid elm bending over it.
+Now if I &lsquo;shoot&rsquo; the elm I&rsquo;ve got to &lsquo;shoot&rsquo; the
+house, too.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The only way out is to take the house at some
+angle that will show off any good points it may
+have,&rdquo; declared Helen, wrinkling a puzzled brow.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Then as likely as not you&rsquo;ll have to take the
+tree on the side where the lightning hit it and peeled
+off all its bark,&rdquo; growled her brother gloomily.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_204">[204]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;That just shows that a photographer has to be
+more skilful than a painter,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;The
+painter can do what he likes, but the photographer
+has to get good results out of what is set before
+him.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;And as for balance&mdash;if nature happens to have
+placed things in balance, well and good; but if she
+didn&rsquo;t what can you do about it?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Nothing, my child, unless you introduce some
+object that you have some power over. Put in a
+girl or a dog or a horse somewhere where their
+weight will bring about the result you want.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You can&rsquo;t carry girls and dogs and horses round
+with you,&rdquo; objected Roger, who was in a depressed
+mood this morning and found difficulties in every
+suggestion.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You&rsquo;ve got enough sisters and cousins for the
+girls, and you can take Christopher Columbus
+around with you in your pocket to play the four-footed
+friend,&rdquo; laughed Helen.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Speaking of Columbus&mdash;are we going to celebrate
+Columbus Day this year?&rdquo; asked Roger, as
+he deftly inserted a new spool of film. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s just
+luck James and I being here at all, you know.
+We&rsquo;d like to do something to celebrate being exposed
+to scarlet fever as soon as we got to Boston,
+and being sent home for it to incubate, and then
+having nothing hatch!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Haven&rsquo;t you heard? Aunt Louise is going to
+have her housewarming on October 12, Columbus
+Day? She has asked the Club to do something appropriate.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_205">[205]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;I thought the Watkinses had asked us to go into
+New York to see the parade.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;They have. That won&rsquo;t interfere with us.
+They&rsquo;ll come out here later and then we&rsquo;ll do something
+in the evening in the new attic to amuse Aunt
+Louise&rsquo;s guests.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Any idea what?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve got an idea in the back of my head. I&rsquo;ll
+have to talk it over first with the girls to see if we
+can manage the costumes. If we can I think it will
+be mighty pretty.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Roger nodded absent-mindedly. He had perfect
+confidence in his sister&rsquo;s good judgment and he was
+willing to do his part for his aunt&rsquo;s sake as well as
+for the good name of the Club.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What are you taking?&rdquo; Helen asked him after
+they had roamed about the new place for a time.
+&ldquo;You seem to be using a lot of film.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I am. I thought I&rsquo;d take the new house and
+garden from every point of view I could, inside and
+out, and make two or three portfolios of them and
+send them to Father and Uncle Richard, as they&rsquo;d
+probably like to have them.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What a perfectly darling idea! Isn&rsquo;t Aunt
+Louise delighted?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;She seems to be,&rdquo; returned Roger.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You knew she had asked Uncle Richard to come
+up for her house-warming?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Father, too; but it&rsquo;s dollars to doughnuts they
+won&rsquo;t be able to come, so I thought I&rsquo;d do these any
+way.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_206">[206]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;Father won&rsquo;t be able to, but Uncle Richard
+may.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;He&rsquo;ll be glad to have the prints even if he has
+seen the original places.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Perhaps he&rsquo;ll like them better on that account.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I think I should. It would be like having your
+memory illustrated.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Are you going to do the rockery in the garden?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;If the frost has left anything.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It must be placed in just the right spot for
+there&rsquo;s a lot of it left. I passed it early to-day and
+it looked almost as pretty as if it were summer.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Dorothy certainly made a success of that.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It was an afterthought, too.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I believe the chief reason it has been so lovely
+is that it was placed in a natural position. The
+rocks look as if they ought to be just where they
+are.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Mrs. Schermerhorn&rsquo;s rockery looks as if she had
+said, &lsquo;Lo, I&rsquo;ll have a rockery,&rsquo; and then she stuck it
+right in the middle of her lawn where no collection
+of rocks has been for twenty years.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;And she has hot-house ferns in it!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The brother and sister laughed delightedly at
+their neighbor&rsquo;s ideas of natural beauty.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Perhaps it was fortunate that Dorothy didn&rsquo;t
+have a hot-house to draw on,&rdquo; said Roger, moving
+from one side to another of his cousin&rsquo;s rockery in
+order to get the best view of its remaining loveliness.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_207">[207]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;Dorothy has too much sense. In the first place
+she snuggled hers in here under the trees, just the
+way the rocks are naturally over in FitzJames&rsquo;s
+Woods. Then she brought over here exactly the
+plants she found there.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It had to look as if it were a bit of the woods,
+didn&rsquo;t it?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Do you want me to be in this picture?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You look too dressed up.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Thank you! This is a middy I&rsquo;ve worn all
+summer, and I&rsquo;m just wearing out the rags of it on
+Saturdays.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Nevertheless, you dazzle me.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s a polite way of saying you don&rsquo;t want me
+in the foreground. You&rsquo;d better put in what Miss
+Daisy calls &lsquo;contemporaneous human interest.&rsquo;
+I&rsquo;m a great addition to any picture in which I appear.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You are, ma&rsquo;am, of course,&rdquo; replied Roger with
+exaggerated politeness, &ldquo;but I think I&rsquo;d like you
+under an arbor in a graceful attitude and not hobnobbing
+with these wild flowers.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You forget that wild flowers have been my special
+care this summer,&rdquo; returned Helen, withdrawing
+to a point where she would not interfere with
+Roger&rsquo;s plans. &ldquo;Dorothy&rsquo;s wild garden is only a
+copy of mine.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Not in arrangement. Hers is prettier with
+everything piled up on the stones this way&mdash;columbines,
+ferns, wild ginger, hepaticas.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_208">[208]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;You&rsquo;re right about that. Mine had to be in a
+regular bed. Are you going to take a picture of the
+vegetable garden?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Certainly I am. And of tomatoes that were
+started with and without dirt bands.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Roger&rsquo;s chief attention during the summer garden
+campaign had been devoted to the raising of vegetables,
+while the girls had done wonders with flowers.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What are dirt bands?&rdquo; inquired Helen.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I know,&rdquo; cried the voice of Ethel Brown who
+came in sight through the pergola. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re
+brown paper cuffs to put around young plants. It
+keeps the earth all close and cozy and warm and
+they grow faster than the ones that don&rsquo;t wear such
+fine clothes.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Listen to that,&rdquo; Roger said approvingly to
+Helen. &ldquo;Those Ethels haven&rsquo;t let anything slip
+that happened in any of our gardens all summer.
+They know all about everything!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Roger is in a very complimentary mood this
+morning,&rdquo; laughed Helen. &ldquo;If I could only think
+of something to say I&rsquo;d be polite in return.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m sorry it doesn&rsquo;t come to you spontaneously,&rdquo;
+replied her brother, &ldquo;but what care I?&rdquo; and he
+broke into song:</p>
+<div class="verse">
+<p class="t0">&ldquo;I&rsquo;m a careless potato, and care not a pin</p>
+<p class="t">How into existence I came;</p>
+<p class="t0">If they planted me drill-wise or dibbled me in,</p>
+<p class="t">To me &rsquo;tis exactly the same.</p>
+</div>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_209">[209]</div>
+<div class="verse">
+<p class="t0">The bean and the pea may more loftily tower,</p>
+<p class="t">But I care not a button for them.</p>
+<p class="t0">Defiance I nod with my beautiful flower</p>
+<p class="t">When the earth is hoed up to my stem.&rdquo;</p>
+</div>
+<p>&ldquo;Oo-hoo!&rdquo; came a voice from the Lodge.
+&ldquo;Come in and help.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;There&rsquo;s Dorothy calling,&rdquo; cried Ethel Brown,
+and they all moved toward the house where they
+found their cousin on the back porch with an array of
+plates, bowls, stones, small plants, tiny trees and
+small china figures before her.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;May I inquire, madam, what on earth&mdash;&rdquo; began
+Roger, but Ethel Brown&rsquo;s exclamation enlightened
+him.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You&rsquo;re making Japanese gardens!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m going to try to. I think they&rsquo;re awfully
+pretty and cunning. Let&rsquo;s each make one.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Mrs. Smith had bought a professionally made
+garden at an Oriental shop in New York, and the
+girls were seized with a desire to copy it.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Here&rsquo;s the real thing,&rdquo; and Dorothy indicated
+a flat bowl of gray and dull green pottery. In it
+were some stones outlining the bed of a stream over
+which stretched the span of a tiny porcelain bridge.
+A twisted tree that looked aged in spite of its height
+of only three inches reared its evergreen head at
+one end of the bridge; a patch of grass the size of
+three fingers grew greenly at the other end, and a
+goldfish swam happily in a pool at the side.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_210">[210]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;Margaret told me that horse-radish would grow
+if you kept it damp and let it sprout, so I&rsquo;ve got several
+pieces started for our gardens.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Sure enough, the horse-radish had sent forth
+shoots and a head of small leaves quite tall enough
+for the size of the garden, and its body looked
+brownish and gnarled like some bit of queer Oriental
+wood. Dorothy had taken up little plants of running
+growth like partridge berry and she had collected
+many wee ferns.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;We can sprinkle a pinch or two of grass seed
+and bird seed over them all when they&rsquo;re done,&rdquo;
+she said. &ldquo;That ought to bring up something fresh
+every little while.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;These will be all started for your housewarming,&rdquo;
+suggested Helen.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s why I&rsquo;m doing them. We can leave
+them here, and I&rsquo;ll come over every day so they&rsquo;ll be
+watered. I think they&rsquo;ll be awfully pretty and
+they&rsquo;ll be different from the usual decorations.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I read somewhere the other day that the Japs
+arrange their flowers with a meaning.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;O, they do,&rdquo; cried Dorothy. &ldquo;They have very
+little in one holder, perhaps only three flowers.
+One&mdash;the highest one&mdash;means Heaven, the next
+lower is Man, and the lowest is Earth.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I should have to have a diagram with every
+vase,&rdquo; insisted Roger.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The water in the bowl that holds the flowers
+represents the surface of the earth and the edge of
+the bowl is the horizon. Then they have ways of
+suggesting the different seasons&mdash;spring by flowers,
+summer by a lot of green leaves, autumn by bright
+colored leaves and winter by tall stems without much
+on them.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_211">[211]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got flowers left in the gardens&mdash;lots of
+them,&rdquo; insisted Ethel Brown proudly.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Plenty,&rdquo; answered Dorothy; &ldquo;and by this time
+next year I hope we&rsquo;ll have a little hot-house of our
+own so that we can have flowering plants all winter,
+but I like other things, too.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Miss Daisy was telling me the other day that
+we Americans didn&rsquo;t pay enough attention to using
+through the winter branches of trees and seedling
+trees from the woods and boughs of pine and fir and
+cedar,&rdquo; said Ethel Blue, who came through the house
+and had been listening to the conversation.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t see why you couldn&rsquo;t have a small maple-tree
+growing all winter in the dining-room if you
+put your mind on it,&rdquo; answered Helen.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;A great jar of Norway spruce with cones hanging
+from the fingers would be stunning,&rdquo; decided
+Roger, as he set his horse-radish in place and planted
+a tree at one end of it.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The covers for the radiators are all on now,&rdquo;
+said Dorothy, changing the subject. &ldquo;Did you notice
+them when you came through the house?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The Ethels had not and Helen and Roger had
+gone directly to the garden, so they all went in on a
+tour of examination.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Mother said that there was one thing about
+heating that she couldn&rsquo;t stand, and that was the ugly
+radiators; so the heating man has tried to hide them
+as much as he could. There isn&rsquo;t one in the house
+that stands out like a monument of pipes,&rdquo; declared
+Dorothy.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_212">[212]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;Even in the attic?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Not even in the attic. See, he&rsquo;s covered most
+of them with grilles bronzed or painted like the
+wood-work of the room, so they aren&rsquo;t at all conspicuous.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s these little points that make this house so
+attractive,&rdquo; declared Helen. &ldquo;Aunt Louise has
+thought of everything.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What are you going to wear at the party?&rdquo;
+asked Ethel Blue of Dorothy.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;If we do that Columbus thing&mdash;&rdquo; began Dorothy,
+looking at Helen.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Go on,&rdquo; the president of the U.&nbsp;S.&nbsp;C. replied
+to the inquiring gaze; &ldquo;we might as well tell Roger
+now as later.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;If we have the tableaux and pantomimes we can
+stay in our court dresses.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Court dresses?&rdquo; inquired Roger, sitting up interestedly.
+&ldquo;Why so scrumptious?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Columbus at the court of Ferdinand and Isabella,&rdquo;
+answered Helen.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You as Columbus.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Me? Me? Why this honor?&rdquo; asked Roger
+meekly.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Need you ask?&rdquo; returned Helen. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s in
+reply to your remarks about me as an addition to the
+foreground of your photographs.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_213">[213]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;Even. I don&rsquo;t care what I do as long as I have
+time to get it up.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You shall have plenty of time,&rdquo; promised Dorothy.
+&ldquo;What I&rsquo;m more interested in just now is
+what we&rsquo;re to have to eat on the festive night.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Is Aunt Louise going to let us decide?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Subject to her veto, I suspect,&rdquo; smiled Helen.</p>
+<p>Dorothy nodded.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;She says she wants something different from ice-cream
+and cake and chicken salad.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>They all laughed, for Rosemont was noted for invariably
+having these three excellent but monotonous
+viands at all her teas and receptions and church entertainments.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I move we have cold turkey,&rdquo; said Roger.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s rather early for turks, but we can have
+capon if we can&rsquo;t find a good turkey,&rdquo; replied Ethel
+Brown, who kept the run of the Rosemont market.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Let&rsquo;s have little birds in aspic jelly,&rdquo; suggested
+Dorothy.</p>
+<p>They all gurgled with pleasure at this idea.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Squabs,&rdquo; went on Dorothy as her imagination
+began to work.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Um,&rdquo; commented Roger, his eyes shut.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Split them down the back, dip them into beaten
+egg and melted butter, sprinkle them with the finest
+bread crumbs and broil them.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;O,&rdquo; came a gentle murmur from Roger, who
+was deeply affected by the recital of this appetizing
+dish. &ldquo;Where&rsquo;s the aspic?&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_214">[214]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;You cut each squab in halves and put one-half in
+a mold and then you pour on the aspic.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Dorothy, you talk as if you&rsquo;d been doing birds
+in aspic all your life. Did you ever cook them?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Once,&rdquo; dimpled Dorothy. &ldquo;At cooking
+school.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I know how to make aspic,&rdquo; declared Ethel
+Brown proudly.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Let&rsquo;s have it.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Soak a quarter of an ounce of vegetable gelatine
+in a pint of water for two hours; then add the
+strained juice of a lemon, pepper and salt and
+cayenne, two tablespoonfuls of Tarragon vinegar and
+another pint of water. Let it cook for a few minutes
+over a slow fire and then boil it for two or
+three minutes and strain it through a jelly bag over
+your birdies.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;O, you can&rsquo;t do that that way,&rdquo; cried Ethel
+Blue. &ldquo;Their elbows will show through when
+they&rsquo;re turned out of their molds. You have to put
+in a layer of jelly and when it is stiffened a little
+put in your bird, and then pour the rest of the jelly
+over it.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Correct,&rdquo; approved Dorothy. &ldquo;We must be
+sure to have enough for each person to have a half
+bird in a mold. They are turned out at the last
+minute and a sprig of parsley is laid on top of each
+one.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Help! Help!&rdquo; came a faint cry from Roger.
+&ldquo;I am swooning with joy at the sound of this delicious
+food. I&rsquo;m so glad Aunt Louise is giving this
+party and not one of the chicken salad ladies of
+Rosemont.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_215">[215]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;Aspic is good to know about for hot weather
+use,&rdquo; said Ethel Blue. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been meaning all summer
+to tell Della how to make it&mdash;she feels the heat
+so awfully.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You can put all sorts of meats in it, I suppose.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;And vegetables; peas and beets and carrots
+very tender and cut very fine. Tomato jelly makes
+a good salad, too.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You could make pretty little individual molds
+of that.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What are we going to have for salad after these
+birds?&rdquo; inquired Roger.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Let&rsquo;s have alligator pear salad. It&rsquo;s as easy as
+fiddle. You just have to pare the alligators and
+take out their cores&mdash;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;With a butcher&rsquo;s knife?&rdquo; inquired Roger.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;&mdash;and cut them in halves lengthwise. Then
+you put the pieces on a pale yellow-green lettuce
+leaf, and pour French dressing over it, and there you
+are!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I like it all except the name,&rdquo; objected Roger.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Christen it something else, and be happy,&rdquo;
+urged Helen.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What for sweeties?&rdquo; Roger demanded. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m
+going through this feast systematically.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Don&rsquo;t go on to the sweeties until we&rsquo;ve settled
+on the bread, then,&rdquo; insisted Ethel Brown, &ldquo;I say
+Parker House rolls.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_216">[216]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;Or pocket book rolls&mdash;the same thing, only
+smaller,&rdquo; said Ethel Blue.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I haven&rsquo;t made any since we were at Chautauqua;
+I shall have to look them up again,&rdquo; confessed
+Dorothy.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I remember,&rdquo; said Ethel Brown. &ldquo;You scald
+two cups of milk and then put into it three tablespoonfuls
+of butter, two teaspoonfuls of sugar and
+a teaspoonful and a half of salt. When it has
+cooled off a little add a dissolved yeast cake and
+three cups of flour and beat it like everything.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Command me on the day of the party,&rdquo; offered
+Roger politely.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;We will,&rdquo; giggled the girls, and they said it so
+earnestly that Roger gazed at them suspiciously.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Cover it up and let it rise; then cut it through
+and through and knead in two and a half cups more
+flour. Let it rise again. Put it on a floured board,
+knead it, and roll it out to half an inch in thickness.
+Then cut out the rolls with a floured biscuit cutter.
+Brush one-half of each roll with melted butter and
+fold the round in halves.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Won&rsquo;t they slide open?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Not if you pinch the edges together. Arrange
+them in your pan and cover them over so they can
+rise in comfort. Then bake them in a hot oven for
+from twelve to fifteen minutes,&rdquo; ended Ethel Brown.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;They aren&rsquo;t as easy as Della&rsquo;s lightning biscuits,
+but they&rsquo;re so good when they&rsquo;re done that you don&rsquo;t
+mind having taken the trouble about them.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_217">[217]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;Now for the sweeties,&rdquo; insisted Roger. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m
+afraid you&rsquo;ll forget them and my tooth is as sweet as
+ever it was.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Are frozen things absolutely forbidden?&rdquo; inquired
+Dorothy.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;O, no, let&rsquo;s have one frozen thing. We&rsquo;re going
+to have some of the Rosemont people who aren&rsquo;t
+relatives, you know, and I hate to think of what
+they&rsquo;d say about Aunt Louise if she didn&rsquo;t give them
+something frozen!&rdquo; laughed Helen.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Let&rsquo;s have frozen peaches, then. Make them
+in the proportion of two quarts of peaches to two
+cups of sugar, a quart of water, and the juice of a
+lemon and a half. You peel the peaches and take
+out the stones and rub the fruit through a colander.
+Put the peach pulp and the lemon juice into a syrup
+made by boiling the sugar and water together for
+five minutes and letting it cool. Pour it all into the
+freezer and grind it until it is firm.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Command me,&rdquo; murmured Roger again.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Poor old Roger! You shan&rsquo;t be worked to
+death! Patrick will do the grinding.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;For small mercies I&rsquo;m thankful,&rdquo; returned
+Roger, a beaming smile breaking over his face.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I speak for chopped preserved ginger with
+whipped cream, served in those lovely ramequins of
+Aunt Louise&rsquo;s,&rdquo; cried Ethel Blue.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Why can&rsquo;t we have maple marguerites to go
+with everything?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;New to me, but let&rsquo;s have &rsquo;em,&rdquo; urged Roger.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_218">[218]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;Boil together a cup and a half of brown sugar
+and a half a cup of water until it makes a soft ball
+when it&rsquo;s dropped into cold water. Let it cool for a
+few minutes and then put in half a teaspoonful of
+maple flavoring and beat it all together. Have
+ready a quarter of a cup of finely chopped nut meats.
+Add half of this amount and drop this perfectly <i>dee</i>-licious
+stuff on to crackers. While it&rsquo;s still warm
+enough to be sticky sprinkle over the crackers the remainder
+of the nut meats.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll grind the nut meats,&rdquo; offered Roger.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;And ask for heavy pay in marguerites!&rdquo; laughed
+Ethel Brown.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I scorn your aspersions of my character,&rdquo; returned
+her brother solemnly. &ldquo;What are you going
+to have to drink?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Coffee&mdash;grape-juice&mdash;lemonade&mdash;the usual
+things.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I think that&rsquo;s a pretty good list. Write it down
+and let&rsquo;s see what Aunt Louise thinks of it,&rdquo; recommended
+Helen.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_219">[219]</div>
+<h2 id="c16">CHAPTER XVI
+<br />COLUMBUS DAY</h2>
+<p>Ethel Blue, as Columbus Day approached,
+was filled with many strange feelings, some of
+them far from pleasant. When she read a letter
+from her father a few days before the twelfth she
+felt as if dread had brought upon her exactly what
+she had dreaded. The letter was filled with loving
+expressions but it told her that her father was to be
+married very soon.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I know that you will love the dear lady who has
+honored me by saying that she will relieve my loneliness,&rdquo;
+he wrote.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;<i>I</i> would have relieved his loneliness if he had
+given me a chance,&rdquo; Ethel sobbed to herself as she
+lay on her bed and read the tear-blotted lines for the
+tenth time.</p>
+<p class="bq">&ldquo;It will be a sorrow to you to leave Aunt Marion and
+your cousins, but perhaps the thought that now you will
+belong in a home of your own will make up for it, in part,
+at any rate. I don&rsquo;t see how we can all help being happy
+together, and we must all try to make each other happy.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_220">[220]</div>
+<p>Ethel Blue thought of a great many things to say
+in reply to her father. They sounded very smart
+and very convincing as she said them over to herself
+in a whisper, but just as she was wiping her eyes and
+getting up to sit at her desk and put them on paper
+her Aunt Marion&rsquo;s suggestion that she would be
+selfish if she did anything that would hurt her father
+or prevent him from making a belated happiness for
+himself cut her to the heart.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;He doesn&rsquo;t love me or he wouldn&rsquo;t do it,&rdquo; she
+repeated, and then she remembered that all her life
+she had had a home and a loving family of cousins
+who were as good as brothers and sisters, while her
+father had spent the same time without the thought,
+even, of home-making.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I suppose it&rsquo;s some old Fort Myer woman who&rsquo;s
+as cross as two sticks,&rdquo; she murmured again and
+again; and then an inner voice seemed to speak in her
+ear and tell her that there was no reason why she
+should not imagine that it was some really lovely
+person who was as sweet as she was pretty.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Everybody says my mother was pretty,&rdquo; thought
+poor Ethel Blue, who had been making herself very
+miserable by her old habit of &ldquo;pretending&rdquo; without
+any basis of fact, and who now was trying to get a
+scrap of comfort from the thought that her father
+had had good taste once and might be trusted to exercise
+it again.</p>
+<p>Whether or not to show the letter to her Aunt
+Marion she did not know. Her father had not said
+whether he had informed her or not. Usually Ethel
+told her aunt everything promptly, but now she did
+not feel as if she could speak of the thing that had
+appeared dreadful when it was only a possibility.
+The reality was so much worse that it did not seem
+as if she could trust herself to mention it.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_221">[221]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;Aunt Louise has asked him to come on to the
+housewarming,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll wait and see if he
+comes. Then he can tell her and Aunt Marion himself;
+and if he doesn&rsquo;t come it won&rsquo;t be any worse for
+me to tell them a few days from now than right off
+this minute.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>It was so forlorn an Ethel Blue who dragged herself
+through the preparations for the Columbus Day
+entertainment, that Ethel Brown could not help noticing
+the melancholy air that hung over her usually
+smiling face. Ethel Blue would make no explanation
+to her cousin, nor would she tell her aunt anything
+more than the reassuring words that she was
+perfectly well. They gave up trying to make her
+talk about herself, trusting to time to bring its own
+healing.</p>
+<p>No letter came from her father announcing his acceptance
+of his sister Louise&rsquo;s invitation, nor did another
+letter reach Ethel Blue. She was inclined to
+make a grievance of this until it occurred to her that
+she was not likely to hear until she replied to her
+father&rsquo;s announcement of his proposed marriage.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a serious thing and I ought to answer his
+letter right off,&rdquo; her conscience told her, &ldquo;but I can&rsquo;t
+say I&rsquo;m glad and I don&rsquo;t want to say I&rsquo;m not glad.
+I&rsquo;ll wait until after the twelfth, any way.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Her feelings of selfishness and uncertainty made
+her a miserable girl during the interval.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_222">[222]</div>
+<p>On the morning of Columbus Day the Mortons
+and Hancocks went into New York to the Watkinses.
+Della&rsquo;s and Tom&rsquo;s father was a clergyman who
+worked among the foreigners of the East Side.
+This was an advantage to the Club members when
+they watched the procession that wound its way from
+the lower part of the city northward to Columbus
+Circle at 59th Street.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;These people must come from all over Europe,&rdquo;
+exclaimed Ethel Brown as bits of conversation in languages
+that she never had heard drifted to her ears.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;New York is called one of the largest foreign
+cities in the world,&rdquo; laughed Roger, whose spirits
+had risen although he was having difficulties again
+with his camera and its persistent desire to take
+everything that came within its range, &ldquo;whether the
+girls are pretty or not!&rdquo; he complained.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;They say that New York is the second largest
+German city in the world, and that there are more
+Hebrews of different nationalities gathered here than
+anywhere else,&rdquo; said Tom.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Here are a lot of people wearing peasant costumes
+that I never saw in any geography,&rdquo; cried Dorothy.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;When otherwise not accounted for you can generally
+put them among the Balkan states,&rdquo; laughed
+Della.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Look at that girl over there in peasant costume
+and right side of her is a girl in the latest New York
+style! That&rsquo;s a tremendous contrast.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_223">[223]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;I suppose the American-dressed girl thinks she
+is very fashionable, but the other looks much more
+sensibly dressed and more attractive, too,&rdquo; said
+James gravely.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;She&rsquo;s a great deal prettier girl for one reason,&rdquo;
+smiled his sister. &ldquo;She would look better whatever
+she wore.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>They all laughed at James who insisted that he
+preferred peasant dress, but they all exclaimed with
+delight at the gorgeous costumes worn by a group of
+Hungarian men. Some of them were riding in carriages
+and they seemed very self-conscious but greatly
+pleased at the attention they attracted.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;This is a great day for the Italians,&rdquo; said Helen
+as band after band, and society after society, bearing
+the Italian red, white and green passed them.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Well, Columbus was an Italian. They ought to
+feel comfortable about it. He discovered us.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>They all shouted at James&rsquo;s way of putting his defense
+of Columbus&rsquo;s countrymen.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;If we&rsquo;re going to hear any of the speeches at
+Columbus Circle we&rsquo;d better hop into the subway and
+speed to 59th Street,&rdquo; urged Tom.</p>
+<p>They were in plenty of time, and watched the
+placing around the Columbus monument of numberless
+wreaths and emblems which the societies brought
+with them, chiefly at the ends of tall poles and deposited
+at the feet of the statue of the great explorer.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_224">[224]</div>
+<p>As soon as they reached home the Mortons all
+went over to Sweetbrier Lodge to help with the final
+decorations. The attic they had set in order the day
+before. This was necessary for they had to have a
+curtain and they wanted to put it through a rehearsal
+as well as themselves. Extra chairs had been
+brought in for the occasion and they were now unfolded
+so that the little audience room was ready for
+its opening performance.</p>
+<p>Below stairs all was ready in the kitchen department,
+the Ethels learned when they offered their services
+there. What was not completed was the arrangement
+of flowers and branches throughout the
+rooms. At the end of an hour during which the
+Ethels and Dorothy and Helen arranged and Roger
+carried, the house looked really lovely.</p>
+<p>The color scheme of the lower floor was so
+autumnal that it was not hard to follow it out in
+leaves and blossoms. Chrysanthemums were ready
+to emphasize the yellow tones, and bronze leaves
+from oaks and chestnuts carried on the darker hues.
+Here and there one of Dorothy&rsquo;s Japanese gardens
+gave an air of quaintness to a corner, or stood in relief
+against a screen.</p>
+<p>Upstairs the nursery was a bower of white cosmos;
+Dorothy&rsquo;s room was feathery with pink blossoms of
+the same delicate flower; against Mrs. Smith&rsquo;s primrose
+walls trailed the yellow leaves of a grapevine;
+purple asters nodded in the violet chamber, and the
+gray guest room wore fluffs of clematis.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_225">[225]</div>
+<p>It was not a large party that gathered at Mrs.
+Smith&rsquo;s for the housewarming. The family connection
+was not small, however, and the newcomers had
+made some warm friends during the year that they
+had lived in Rosemont. The older Watkinses and
+Hancocks had come, and about fifty people filled the
+drawing room comfortably, admiring its beauty as
+they waited for the signal to go upstairs to the attic
+to see one of the entertainments which Rosemonters
+had learned to expect from the United Service Club.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s very charming,&rdquo; murmured Mrs. Hancock
+to her sister. &ldquo;I see your hand here.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Not very much,&rdquo; demurred Miss Graham. &ldquo;I
+merely made an occasional suggestion or told them
+how to work out some good idea of their own. The
+color scheme is Mrs. Smith&rsquo;s.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It is charming,&rdquo; repeated Mrs. Hancock, her
+eyes moving from the yellow-white wood-work to the
+natural pongee walls and then on to the next shade
+of yellow, found in the draperies of the windows,
+made of a heavy linen dyed to strike the next note in
+the color scale. The furniture was upholstered in
+three or four shades of brown; a bit of gold flashed
+sombrely from the shadows, and an occasional touch
+of dull blue brought out the blue tones of the handsome
+rugs.</p>
+<p>Every one took a peek into the upper rooms as
+they passed upstairs to the attic. Ayleesabet&rsquo;s
+nursery received much praise, and the delicate tones
+of the bed-rooms won immediate approval. In the
+attic they found comfortable wicker chairs arranged
+about the room facing a small stage before which
+hung a tan linen curtain.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What are the children going to do?&rdquo; asked Mr.
+Emerson of his hostess.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_226">[226]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;I really don&rsquo;t know,&rdquo; returned Mrs. Smith.
+&ldquo;Dorothy said it would be appropriate for Columbus
+Day, so I entrusted it all to the young people.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>When the curtain was drawn the Club was disclosed
+grouped on the stage. They sang Miss
+Bates&rsquo;s &ldquo;America the Beautiful,&rdquo; Mrs. Smith accompanying
+them on the piano.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s all I have to do with the program,&rdquo; she
+said to Mr. Emerson when it was over and she had
+again taken her seat beside him.</p>
+<p>Then Tom told the story of Columbus&mdash;how he
+was born at Genoa and became a sailor and when he
+was about thirty-four years old went with a brother
+to live in Lisbon. Tom was seated on the stage at
+a table and two or three of the others sat about as if
+they were in a library listening to the talk. They
+entered quite naturally into the conversation.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Four years later,&rdquo; continued Tom, &ldquo;somebody
+gave Columbus a map that put the Orient directly
+west of Spain, and Columbus became filled with a
+desire to search out the East by sailing west.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve read that he died thinking he had discovered
+the East,&rdquo; responded Helen.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;He laid his plans before the Portuguese king,
+but he found he couldn&rsquo;t trust him, so he went to King
+Ferdinand and Queen Isabella in Spain. They summoned
+their wisest men to pass on the subject at a
+council held at Salamanca. For three years they
+kept him waiting about in uncertainty before they reported
+to the king that his idea was absurd. Columbus
+was furious&mdash;&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_227">[227]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;I should think he might have been.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;&mdash;and he started at once for Paris to try to get
+the king of France, Charles VIII, to help him. He
+took his little son with him and one night they slept
+at a monastery. The prior became interested in Columbus&rsquo;s
+story and believed in him and didn&rsquo;t want
+the glory of his achievement to go to another country.
+So he managed to secure for him another interview
+with Ferdinand and Isabella, and we&rsquo;re going
+to see now,&rdquo; said Tom, turning to the audience,
+&ldquo;what happened at the convent.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>With that the curtain fell. When it parted once
+more a dark curtain across the stage represented the
+outside of the convent. Ethel Brown recited Trowbridge&rsquo;s
+&ldquo;Columbus at the Convent,&rdquo; while James
+acted the part of the Prior; Roger, Columbus; and
+Dicky, little Diego.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Those children have a real feeling for costume,&rdquo;
+whispered Miss Graham to her neighbor, and then
+started as she found that it was not her brother-in-law,
+Dr. Hancock, as she supposed, but Ethel Blue&rsquo;s
+father, Captain Morton, who had come in in the
+darkness.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;How do you do?&rdquo; he said, smiling at her startled
+air. &ldquo;I suppose they made these things themselves.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The boys are wearing their sisters&rsquo; long stockings
+and the girls made the short, puffy trunks and
+short, full coats.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Ethel Brown&rsquo;s voice sounded clearly through the
+darkness though her hearers could not see her.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_228">[228]</div>
+<div class="verse">
+<p class="t0">&ldquo;Dreary and brown the night comes down,</p>
+<p class="t">Gloomy without a star.</p>
+<p class="t0">On Palos town the night comes down;</p>
+<p class="t0">The day departs with a stormy frown;</p>
+<p class="t">The sad sea moans afar.</p>
+</div>
+<div class="verse">
+<p class="t0">&ldquo;A convent-gate is near; &rsquo;tis late;</p>
+<p class="t">Ting-ling! the bell they ring.</p>
+<p class="t0">They ring the bell, they ask for bread&mdash;</p>
+<p class="t0">&lsquo;Just for my child,&rsquo; the father said.</p>
+<p class="t">Kind hands the bread will bring.</p>
+</div>
+<div class="verse">
+<p class="t0">&ldquo;White was his hair, his mien was fair,</p>
+<p class="t">His look was calm and great.</p>
+<p class="t0">The porter ran and called a friar;</p>
+<p class="t0">The friar made haste and told the prior;</p>
+<p class="t">The prior came to the gate.&rdquo;</p>
+</div>
+<p>Here the dark curtain was drawn and a room was
+disclosed with a table at which the men sat and a
+small bed in which Dicky was put to sleep.</p>
+<div class="verse">
+<p class="t0">&ldquo;He took them in, he gave them food;</p>
+<p class="t">The traveller&rsquo;s dreams he heard;</p>
+<p class="t0">And fast the midnight moments flew,</p>
+<p class="t0">And fast the good man&rsquo;s wonder grew,</p>
+<p class="t">And all his heart was stirred.</p>
+</div>
+<div class="verse">
+<p class="t0">&ldquo;The child the while, with soft, sweet smile,</p>
+<p class="t">Forgetful of all sorrow,</p>
+<p class="t0">Lay soundly sleeping in his bed.</p>
+<p class="t0">The good man kissed him then and said:</p>
+<p class="t">&lsquo;You leave us not to-morrow!&rsquo;</p>
+</div>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_229">[229]</div>
+<div class="verse">
+<p class="t0">&ldquo;&lsquo;I pray you rest the convent&rsquo;s guest;</p>
+<p class="t">The child shall be our own&mdash;</p>
+<p class="t0">A precious care, while you prepare</p>
+<p class="t0">Your business with the court, and bear</p>
+<p class="t">Your message to the throne.&rsquo;</p>
+</div>
+<div class="verse">
+<p class="t0">&ldquo;And so his guest he comforted.</p>
+<p class="t">O, wise, good prior, to you,</p>
+<p class="t0">Who cheered the stranger&rsquo;s darkest days,</p>
+<p class="t0">And helped him on his way, what praise</p>
+<p class="t">And gratitude are due!&rdquo;</p>
+</div>
+<p>The pantomime followed the lines closely.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Wasn&rsquo;t Dicky cunning!&rdquo; exclaimed Dicky&rsquo;s
+adoring grandmother.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Dicky was a duck!&rdquo; exclaimed Helen, who had
+slipped out to see the pantomime. &ldquo;We told him
+what he was supposed to be&mdash;a little boy travelling
+with his father, and that they had to stop and ask for
+food and that a kind man took them in and gave him
+a comfy bed. He seemed to understand it all, and
+he took hold of James&rsquo;s hand and looked up in his
+face as seriously as if he were the real thing. He
+was splendid.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;All the same I&rsquo;m always relieved when Dicky&rsquo;s
+part is over and he hasn&rsquo;t done anything awful!&rdquo;
+confessed Dorothy, who had come out also. &ldquo;It
+would be just like him to say to James, &lsquo;You needn&rsquo;t
+give me any bread; I want cookieth!&rsquo;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;We tried to impress on him that he wasn&rsquo;t to say
+anything&mdash;that nobody but Ethel Brown was to say
+anything; that was the game. I dare say if James
+had spoken Dicky would have ordered his meal to
+suit his fancy.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_230">[230]</div>
+<p>Tom went on with Columbus&rsquo;s story at this point,
+but he spoke from the floor because tableaux were being
+arranged behind the curtains. He told how the
+interview with the king and queen that the prior had
+arranged, all went wrong and how Columbus started
+again for France but was called back by the queen
+whose imagination had been excited by what he told
+her, and who promised to pledge her jewels to raise
+money for his expedition.</p>
+<p>Here the curtains swung open and showed a brilliant
+scene, Della representing the queen, James the
+king, and all the other Club members, courtiers.
+Columbus was arguing his case before the court and
+he was shown in the act of knocking off the end of an
+egg to convince the men who had said that they would
+believe the world was round when they saw the impossible
+happen&mdash;when an egg should stand upright.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I hope Roger&rsquo;s hand won&rsquo;t slip,&rdquo; murmured
+Roger&rsquo;s mother; &ldquo;that&rsquo;s a real egg!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>It was while she was standing beside the queen as
+one of her ladies in waiting that Ethel Blue&rsquo;s eyes
+happened to fall on her father out in the audience.
+The light from the stage illuminated his face and she
+thought that she never had seen him so happy as he
+looked at that moment.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;He&rsquo;s so dear and he&rsquo;s going away from me,&rdquo; she
+groaned inwardly. &ldquo;Now if it were only dear Miss
+Daisy he&rsquo;s going to marry,&rdquo; she wished with all her
+heart as she noticed that Miss Graham sat in the next
+chair; &ldquo;but it isn&rsquo;t; it&rsquo;s some old Fort Myer woman.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_231">[231]</div>
+<p>The curtain fell on her misery and Tom again took
+up his tale. He told about the three tiny ships that
+Columbus managed to secure, and their setting sail
+and how frightened the sailors became when day
+after day passed and they saw no chance of ever
+reaching new land or ever returning home, and how
+they threatened to mutiny if he did not turn back.</p>
+<p>Then came another pantomime with Roger as
+Columbus and James as the mate of the <i>Santa
+Maria</i>, while Ethel Brown recited Joaquin Miller&rsquo;s
+poem:</p>
+<h3>COLUMBUS</h3>
+<div class="verse">
+<p class="t0">&ldquo;Behind him lay the gray Azores,</p>
+<p class="t">Behind the Gates of Hercules;</p>
+<p class="t0">Before him not the ghost of shores,</p>
+<p class="t">Before him only shoreless seas.</p>
+<p class="t0">The good mate said: &lsquo;Now must we pray,</p>
+<p class="t">For lo, the very stars are gone.</p>
+<p class="t0">Brave Admiral, speak, what shall I say?&rsquo;</p>
+<p class="t">&lsquo;Why, say, &ldquo;Sail on! sail on! sail on! and on!&rdquo;&rsquo;</p>
+</div>
+<div class="verse">
+<p class="t0">&ldquo;&lsquo;My men grow mutinous day by day;</p>
+<p class="t">My men grow ghastly wan and weak.&rsquo;</p>
+<p class="t0">The stout mate thought of home; a spray</p>
+<p class="t">Of salt wave washed his swarthy cheek.</p>
+<p class="t0">&lsquo;What shall I say, brave Admiral, say,</p>
+<p class="t">If we sight naught but seas at dawn?&rsquo;</p>
+<p class="t0">&lsquo;Why, you shall say at break of day,</p>
+<p class="t">&ldquo;Sail on! sail on! sail on! and on!&rdquo;&rsquo;</p>
+</div>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_232">[232]</div>
+<div class="verse">
+<p class="t0">&ldquo;They sailed and sailed, as winds might blow,</p>
+<p class="t">Until at last the blanched mate said:</p>
+<p class="t0">&lsquo;Why, now not even God would know</p>
+<p class="t">Should I and all my men fall dead.</p>
+<p class="t0">These very winds forget their way,</p>
+<p class="t">For God from these dread seas is gone.</p>
+<p class="t0">Now speak, brave Admiral, speak and say&rsquo;&mdash;</p>
+<p class="t">He said: &lsquo;Sail on! sail on! and on!&rsquo;</p>
+</div>
+<div class="verse">
+<p class="t0">&ldquo;They sailed. They sailed. Then spake the mate:</p>
+<p class="t">&lsquo;This mad sea shows his teeth to-night.</p>
+<p class="t0">He lifts his lip, he lies in wait,</p>
+<p class="t">With lifted teeth as if to bite;</p>
+<p class="t0">Brave Admiral, say but one good word:</p>
+<p class="t">What shall we do when hope is gone?&rsquo;</p>
+<p class="t0">The words leapt like a leaping sword:</p>
+<p class="t">&lsquo;Sail on! sail on! sail on! and on!&rsquo;</p>
+</div>
+<div class="verse">
+<p class="t0">&ldquo;Then, pale and worn, he kept his deck,</p>
+<p class="t">And peered through darkness. Ah, that night</p>
+<p class="t0">Of all dark nights! And then a speck&mdash;</p>
+<p class="t">A light! a light! a light! a light!</p>
+<p class="t0">It grew, a starlit flag unfurled!</p>
+<p class="t">It grew to be Time&rsquo;s burst of dawn.</p>
+<p class="t0">He gained a world; he gave that world</p>
+<p class="t">Its grandest lesson: &lsquo;On! sail on!&rsquo;&rdquo;</p>
+</div>
+<p>The last picture was Columbus gazing joyfully at
+the land he had discovered through his perseverance.
+It was supposed to be the early morning of October
+12, 1492, and Roger, surrounded by his sailors, stood
+with a foot on the rail of his boat, shielding his eyes
+from the rising sun, while the others crowded behind
+him, whispering with delight.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_233">[233]</div>
+<p>When the curtains fell together for the last time
+the lights flashed out upon the audience and disclosed
+Captain Morton greeting his sister and sister-in-law
+and his nieces and nephews.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Where&rsquo;s my girl?&rdquo; he inquired in his cordial,
+hearty voice. &ldquo;Where&rsquo;s Ethel Blue?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Some one gave her a friendly push forward so her
+father did not notice the reluctance with which she
+had been almost creeping toward him. He threw
+his arm around her shoulders regardless of possible
+damage to the elegancies of her court costume, and
+kissed her heartily. The tears shone in her eyes as
+she forced herself to meet his searching gaze.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Not crying!&rdquo; he whispered in her ear, and she
+felt her heart give a real pang as the happiness left
+his face and was replaced by his old look of sorrow
+and endurance. &ldquo;Not crying!&rdquo; he repeated in her
+ear. &ldquo;Why, I thought you loved her! You&rsquo;ve
+done nothing but write to me about Miss Daisy all
+summer!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;About Miss Daisy? Do you mean&mdash;? Is it
+Miss Daisy?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It certainly is Miss Daisy. Here, come behind
+the curtain,&rdquo; and he swept his daughter and his
+<i>fianc&eacute;e</i> out of sight of the retiring audience. &ldquo;It is
+Daisy Graham who is to be your dear mother, my
+little Ethel Blue. Are you satisfied now?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;O, Father! O, Miss Daisy!&rdquo; cried Ethel Blue,
+sobbing now from relief and joy and clinging to both
+of them; &ldquo;I never guessed it! It&rsquo;s too wonderful
+to be true!&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_234">[234]</div>
+<h2 id="c17">CHAPTER XVII
+<br />THE PARTING BREAKFAST</h2>
+<p>Ethel Blue&rsquo;s change of mind about stepmothers
+was so complete that her cousins would
+have joked her about it except that her Aunt Marion
+advised them to say nothing to her on a subject that
+had once been so sore a theme.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Don&rsquo;t recall those painful thoughts,&rdquo; she advised.
+&ldquo;Ethel Blue will be happier and certainly
+Miss Daisy will be if the present mood continues.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I thought you couldn&rsquo;t help loving her when you
+knew her,&rdquo; Captain Morton had said to Ethel Blue.
+&ldquo;That&rsquo;s why I was willing to postpone the wedding
+all summer so that you and she might have a chance
+to become really well acquainted.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It was a good way,&rdquo; answered Ethel frankly.
+&ldquo;If I had known about it I should have thought
+everything Miss Daisy did was done for its effect on
+me. I should have been suspicious of her all the
+time.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You have come to know a very dear woman in a
+natural way and it crowns my happiness that you
+should care so much for each other.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Since he had waited so patiently for so many
+months Captain Morton begged that the wedding
+should take place at once. Mrs. Hancock urged her
+sister to have it in Glen Point.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_235">[235]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;If you go to Washington you&rsquo;ll have many acquaintances
+there but not any more loving friends
+than you&rsquo;ve made here and in Rosemont,&rdquo; she said
+cordially. &ldquo;It will give the Doctor and me the
+greatest happiness to have you married from our
+house, and it will be such a delight to all the U.&nbsp;S.&nbsp;C.
+if they know that they can all be at the wedding
+of their dear &lsquo;Miss Daisy.&rsquo;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It will be easier for all the Rosemont people&mdash;and
+it would be very sweet to go to Richard from
+your house,&rdquo; murmured Daisy thoughtfully. &ldquo;I believe
+I&rsquo;ll do it.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It will be easier to bring Aunt Mary on here than
+for all the New Jersey clans to go to Washington,&rdquo;
+insisted Mrs. Hancock, referring to the aunt with
+whom her sister had lived in Washington.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll do it,&rdquo; decided Daisy. &ldquo;Richard&rsquo;s furlough
+is almost over so it will have to be very soon,&rdquo; she
+continued. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll have to begin my preparations at
+once.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>So all the plans were made for a quiet wedding for
+just the two families and their intimate friends. It
+was to be ten days after the housewarming. The
+ceremony was to be in the church at Glen Point, with
+Ethel Blue as maid of honor, and Margaret and
+Helen, Ethel Brown and Della as the bridesmaids.</p>
+<p>Even this very first decision gave the Ethels a
+twinge of pain, because it prophesied their coming
+separation. Never before had they been separated
+at any such function, yet now Ethel Blue was to be in
+one position and her twin cousin in another. They
+both sighed when it was talked over, and they glanced
+at each other a trifle sadly. They did not need to
+put the meaning of their glances into words.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_236">[236]</div>
+<p>Dr. Hancock was to give the bride away. To
+everybody&rsquo;s regret Lieutenant Morton could not be
+present to act as his brother&rsquo;s best man.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m more sorry than I can tell you, old fellow,&rdquo;
+he wrote. &ldquo;Roger will have to take my place and
+give you all my good wishes with his own. You may
+congratulate me, too, for I&rsquo;ve just got word that my
+step has come. I can now sign myself,
+<br /><span class="t2">&ldquo;Your affectionate brother,</span>
+<br /><span class="t4">&ldquo;<span class="sc">Roger Morton</span>,</span>
+<br /><span class="t6">&ldquo;Capt. U.S.N.&rdquo;</span></p>
+<p class="tb">There was great rejoicing in the Morton family
+when they learned this news, and telegrams poured
+in on them all day long after the announcement was
+publicly made.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It gives one more touch of happiness,&rdquo; smiled
+Richard Morton, who went about beaming. He had
+to content himself with the companionship of his
+daughter, for his betrothed was too busy to give him
+much time. Probably this was a good thing, for it
+made her father&rsquo;s visit much as it always had been to
+Ethel Blue, and did not impress on her too abruptly
+the idea of their new relation.</p>
+<p>It was at the meeting of the U.&nbsp;S.&nbsp;C. held very
+soon after the housewarming that the members decided
+to give a breakfast in celebration of the wedding
+and of Ethel Blue&rsquo;s departure from Rosemont.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_237">[237]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;ll call it a breakfast, but we&rsquo;ll have it rather
+late,&rdquo; said Helen.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Why?&rdquo; growled Roger hungrily. &ldquo;I like my
+morning nourishment early.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s going to be out on our terrace, and it&rsquo;s getting
+to be late in the season and if it&rsquo;s too cold we
+can&rsquo;t have it there,&rdquo; said Dorothy.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Put in your glass windows and have it at a
+civilized hour,&rdquo; implored Roger.</p>
+<p>Dorothy looked at Helen.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll ask Mother if she won&rsquo;t do that,&rdquo; she said.
+&ldquo;Then we can have a fire in the open fireplace out
+there if it should be really frosty. I forgot we had
+all those comforts!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;We must give the Glen Point people time to get
+over, if Roger can restrain his appetite a trifle,&rdquo;
+urged Ethel Brown.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;d better have Della and Tom stay all night
+so they&rsquo;ll be here on time,&rdquo; urged Ethel Blue. &ldquo;I
+can&rsquo;t get over New Haven being near enough for
+Tom to go back and forth so easily. I always
+thought it was as far off as Boston.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I declare I almost weep every time I think of
+Ethel Blue&rsquo;s leaving the club,&rdquo; sobbed Tom with loud
+groans.</p>
+<p>Ethel Blue tossed a pillow at him.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Stop making fun of me,&rdquo; she said with her pretended
+severity.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Ethel Blue was the founder of this club. Don&rsquo;t
+forget that,&rdquo; said James gravely.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_238">[238]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;Don&rsquo;t be so solemn, people; you&rsquo;ll make me
+bawl,&rdquo; and Ethel Blue looked around her wildly, as
+Ethel Brown made a dive into her pocket for her
+handkerchief, and Della sniffed.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Stop your nonsense, children,&rdquo; urged Helen.
+&ldquo;Let&rsquo;s make a list of what we are going to do at our
+breakfast. First, what shall we eat?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The discussion waxed absorbing, but when it came
+to the arrangement of a program it was found that
+there seemed to be fewer ideas than was customary
+among them.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What&rsquo;s the matter?&rdquo; asked Helen. &ldquo;Usually
+we&rsquo;re tumbling over ourselves suggesting things.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve got an idea, but it&rsquo;s sort of a joke and I
+don&rsquo;t want to take the edge off it by telling it now,&rdquo;
+admitted James.</p>
+<p>It proved that all of them were in the same predicament.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll tell you&mdash;let&rsquo;s have Helen and Roger the
+committee to arrange this program,&rdquo; suggested Tom.
+&ldquo;Then we can each one tell the committee what our
+particular idea is, and they&rsquo;ll be the only ones who
+will know all the jokes.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>They decided that this would be the best way, and
+the committee withdrew to a corner where it was
+visited by one after the other of the rest of the members,
+while the unoccupied people drew around the
+piano on which Ethel Blue was playing popular
+songs.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;When do you go?&rdquo; Tom asked her as she
+stopped for a few minutes to hunt up a new piece of
+music.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_239">[239]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;The wedding is the day after our breakfast; then
+they go off on a week&rsquo;s trip and when they come back
+they&rsquo;ll pick me up here and take me on to Fort Myer
+with them.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That means that you&rsquo;ll only be here about ten
+days longer?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Ethel Blue nodded, her eyes filling.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I wish you&rsquo;d give us your idea now, Tom,&rdquo;
+called Helen, seeing from across the room that her
+little cousin was not far from tears, and Tom went
+away, leaving her to let her fingers slip softly through
+a simple tune that her Aunt Marion had taught her
+to play in the dusk without her notes. She wondered
+if she would ever do it again; if her new mother and
+her father would want her to play it to them; if she
+should be happy, the only young person in the household
+when she had been accustomed to a large family;
+if she could ever get along without Dicky to tease her
+and to be teased.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Aunt Marion says that every change in life has
+its good points and its bad ones,&rdquo; she thought. &ldquo;I
+must make the most out of the good points and try
+not to notice the bad ones or to change them into
+good ones.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The tune rang out with a gayer lilt.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Any way, there are so many good points now
+that I ought not to think about the others. I&rsquo;ve all
+my life wanted to live with Father. Here&rsquo;s my
+chance, and I must see only that my wish has come
+true.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_240">[240]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;You sound very gay over here by yourself,&rdquo; said
+James&rsquo;s voice behind her. &ldquo;You don&rsquo;t sound as if
+you were sorry at all about leaving us.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m trying to balance things,&rdquo; Ethel Blue answered.
+&ldquo;I lose Ethel Brown and all of you, but
+I gain Father.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You&rsquo;ll be coming north for your holidays next
+summer, I suppose. That will be a great old time
+for the U.&nbsp;S.&nbsp;C.,&rdquo; he said hopefully.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It would be simply too fine for words if the U.&nbsp;S.&nbsp;C.
+could go to Washington for Washington&rsquo;s Birthday
+next winter the way it did this winter,&rdquo; returned
+Ethel Blue, beaming at him.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;There certainly is every inducement to get up an
+excursion there now,&rdquo; said James. &ldquo;You know
+we&rsquo;ve decided on a round robin, don&rsquo;t you?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;A round robin? How does it work?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Helen and Ethel Brown and the Honorary
+Member and Dorothy will be here in Rosemont,
+Margaret will be in Glen Point, Della in New York,
+you at Fort Myer and we boys at Harvard and Yale
+and the Boston Tech. Helen is going to start a letter
+on the first day of each month. She&rsquo;ll tell us
+what she&rsquo;s been doing. Ethel Brown will add on a
+bit; so will Dicky and Dorothy. It will go to Margaret.
+She&rsquo;ll put in a big batch of Glen Point news
+and send it in town to Della. When she has finished
+she&rsquo;ll send it on to Tom at New Haven, and in course
+of time it will reach Roger and me in Boston and
+Cambridge and we&rsquo;ll send it on to you in Washington.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_241">[241]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;That will be perfectly great!&rdquo; exclaimed Ethel.
+&ldquo;You can illustrate it with kodaks, and we&rsquo;ll all
+know what every one of us is doing all the time.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That was Aunt Daisy&rsquo;s idea. She thought we&rsquo;d
+all like to keep together in some way even if we
+couldn&rsquo;t have our Saturday meetings.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Isn&rsquo;t she splendid!&rdquo; ejaculated Ethel Blue, and
+at that instant she felt that she was far richer than
+ever before in her life.</p>
+<p>The morning of the breakfast proved to be clear
+and not too frost-filled for comfort.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;We really hardly need the glass,&rdquo; Mrs. Smith
+said as she and Dorothy examined the terrace at an
+early hour.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It was safer to have it, though,&rdquo; answered Dorothy.
+&ldquo;It might have rained and it never would
+have done to have the bride take cold. Now we can
+have the sashes open and the fire will take off the
+chill. It&rsquo;s a great combination.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Mrs. Smith agreed that it was, and went on with
+her scrutiny of the table.</p>
+<p>When the guests arrived at nine o&rsquo;clock, which was
+the very latest moment permitted them by Roger,
+they found the sun shining merrily on silver and glass
+and china, twinkling as if it were in the secret of the
+jokes that Helen and Roger had up their sleeves.
+Mr. Emerson had sent over his car for the Hancocks,
+for the Doctor&rsquo;s car was too small to convey
+the entire family.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It does my heart good to see Richard so radiant,&rdquo;
+said Mrs. Morton to her sister-in-law as Captain
+Morton ran down the steps to help his <i>fianc&eacute;e</i>.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_242">[242]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;I believe the best part of his life is before him,&rdquo;
+Mrs. Smith answered softly, a smile on her lips.</p>
+<p>The hostess sat at one end of the table and Dorothy
+at the other. In the middle of one side was
+Helen, the president of the United Service Club, and
+in the middle of the other, Ethel Blue, the secretary
+and departing member. Mingled with the
+other club members were Mr. and Mrs. Emerson,
+who had contributed so greatly to the Club&rsquo;s pleasure
+during the preceding year, and Dr. and Mrs.
+Hancock, relatives of to-morrow&rsquo;s bride. The hour
+was too early for Mr. and Mrs. Watkins to come out
+from New York, but they telephoned their good
+wishes and congratulations while the meal was in
+progress.</p>
+<p>It was a simple breakfast but everything was good
+both to eat and to look at. It began with fruit, of
+which there were several kinds, and continued with
+a well-cooked cereal.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;None of your five minute cereals for me,&rdquo; smiled
+Mrs. Smith. &ldquo;I always have even the short-time
+ones cooked at least twice as long as they are reputed
+to need. It brings out their flavor better.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>After the cereal with its rich cream came chops
+for the meat eaters and individual <i>omelettes souffl&eacute;s</i>,
+as light as a feather, for the egg eaters. The coffee
+was clear and turned to a warm gold when the cream
+worked its magic upon it. Broiled fresh mushrooms
+with bacon brought it all to an end.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Just the kind of muffins I like best,&rdquo; Ethel Brown
+said in a undertone to Dorothy.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_243">[243]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;Potatoes from our own farm,&rdquo; announced the
+hostess.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;All praise to Dorothy, the farmer,&rdquo; hailed Mr.
+Emerson.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Mostly to Roger,&rdquo; protested Dorothy. &ldquo;He
+managed the vegetable end of our planting.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Helen tapped on her glass.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;This will be the last meeting of all the members
+of the U.&nbsp;S.&nbsp;C.,&rdquo; she said, &ldquo;because Ethel Blue and
+the boys are going away.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>A shade fell over the faces of all those around the
+table.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;We who are left at home here are going to keep
+it up, so that there&rsquo;ll always be a Club for the wanderers
+to come back to. And we&rsquo;re going to have a
+round robin fly about every month.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Perhaps we&rsquo;ll all get together next summer in
+the holidays,&rdquo; suggested Tom.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;ll try to,&rdquo; the president continued. &ldquo;Now I
+want to ask you to drink in Aunt Louise&rsquo;s nice brown
+coffee to the health of the founder of the United
+Service Club. She is its secretary and to-day she is
+distinguished as being about to leave us for good.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>They rapped the table and shouted Ethel Blue&rsquo;s
+name joyously. She sat with her head bowed, smiling.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Speech, speech,&rdquo; cried Mr. Emerson.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Thank you, thank you,&rdquo; replied Ethel Blue
+breathlessly. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m glad we&rsquo;ve had the Club. It
+has been fun, although we&rsquo;ve had to work pretty hard
+at it.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_244">[244]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;You&rsquo;ve made fun for others,&rdquo; said Mrs. Emerson.
+&ldquo;You&rsquo;ve lived up to your name:&mdash;the United
+Service.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;d like to propose the health of the Club as a
+whole,&rdquo; said Mrs. Morton. &ldquo;As a citizen of Rosemont
+I can repeat what has been said to me by other
+citizens, even if, as the mother of some of the members,
+I might be somewhat embarrassed to utter such
+praise. Rosemont thinks that the United Service
+Club has done more to stir up the town than any other
+organization it has ever had.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>There was general applause from the grown-ups.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;d like to hear some of these undertakings,&rdquo;
+said Captain Morton. &ldquo;Won&rsquo;t some one recite
+them?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;O, Father, I wrote you all about them when each
+one came off,&rdquo; objected Ethel Blue.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Uncle Richard will hear what some of them are
+when we give out our prizes,&rdquo; said Helen. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve
+decided to give prizes for certain especial successes.
+Ethel Brown, for instance, will be so good as to rise
+and receive a reward for reciting more poems than
+we ever knew could be learned by one small brain.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Ethel Brown rose and received, while the rest applauded,
+a small sieve.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Why a sieve?&rdquo; inquired Margaret.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The sieve is symbolic. Ethel takes in verse
+through her eyes and lets it out through her lips just
+like a sieve.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>After the laughter subsided, Helen continued:</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_245">[245]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;Our next prize is for Grandfather Emerson, who
+supplied Ethel Brown with much of the material with
+which she has favored us.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Mr. Emerson was decorated with a miniature well
+and pump.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I suppose this is the fount of English undefiled
+on which I drew,&rdquo; he commented.</p>
+<p>The president went on with her distribution. The
+jokes were all mild but for the Club members each
+had its meaning. James received a small pair of
+crutches, because he was the only one who had broken
+a leg.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m glad it wasn&rsquo;t scissors,&rdquo; said his father.
+&ldquo;He might be led into cutting corners again.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Dorothy received a pink tin containing a cake with
+pink icing&mdash;all by way of recognition of her love
+of cooking and of pink. Roger&rsquo;s gift was a set of
+collar and cuffs made from paper &ldquo;dirt bands&rdquo; and
+adorned with cuff buttons and a cravat of dazzling
+beauty.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;A man of fashion and a farmer combined,&rdquo;
+Helen announced.</p>
+<p>Dicky received a watering can, by way of indicating
+his fondness for getting into trouble with water.
+A fan went to Della &ldquo;for next summer&rsquo;s use.&rdquo; Tom
+had a little Roman soldier as a reminder of his representation
+of one of the Great Twin Brethren. Margaret&rsquo;s
+offering was a tiny Christmas Ship containing
+needles and a spool of thread. Helen gave herself
+a doll&rsquo;s coat like the one which she and Margaret
+had copied in great numbers for the war orphans.
+Ethel Blue&rsquo;s gift was a real present&mdash;a travelling
+case fitted with the necessaries of a journey. This
+came from all the members of the Club.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_246">[246]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;You&rsquo;re just too dear,&rdquo; whispered Ethel Blue,
+too overcome to speak.</p>
+<p>They drowned her voice in a burst of chatter, so
+that she might not burst into tears.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I have a few gifts left,&rdquo; said Helen, &ldquo;and I&rsquo;d
+like to give them out by acclamation. Whose tires
+have we worn until they were almost worn out and
+yet <i>she</i> has never tired?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Grandmother Emerson,&rdquo; came the ringing answer,
+and Helen ran around to her grandmother&rsquo;s
+chair and gave her a toy automobile.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Who made the most box furniture for Rose
+House?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Roger,&rdquo; shouted James at the top of his lungs,
+while at the same moment Roger cried &ldquo;James.&rdquo;
+The others, having been instructed to keep silent,
+concluded that the question was settled for them.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Roger <i>and</i> James,&rdquo; decreed Helen, presenting
+each of them with a knife.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Who are our high-flyers?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The Ethels,&rdquo; every one said promptly, for the
+Ethels were the only ones present who had been up
+in an aeroplane.</p>
+<p>A tiny flyer was given to each of them.</p>
+<p>So it went on until the supply of parcels in Helen&rsquo;s
+basket was exhausted.</p>
+<div class="pb" id="Page_247">[247]</div>
+<p>&ldquo;Now, to wind up with,&rdquo; Helen said, &ldquo;I want to
+thank Uncle Richard for giving us the very finest
+kind of present,&rdquo; and she waved her hand across the
+table to Miss Daisy, whose shining eyes and glowing
+cheeks told of her delight in all she had seen.
+&ldquo;Uncle Richard is taking away Ethel Blue, but he&rsquo;s
+giving us an aunt. We love her already and we think
+we&rsquo;ve all won a prize in her.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Ah, no,&rdquo; exclaimed Miss Daisy, slipping one
+hand into Ethel Blue&rsquo;s and laying the other on Captain
+Morton&rsquo;s shoulder. &ldquo;It is I who have won a
+prize&mdash;a double prize!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<h2>Transcriber&rsquo;s Note</h2>
+<ul>
+<li>Silently corrected some obvious typographical errors and misspellings.</li>
+<li>Used hyphens more consistently, when the original showed a clear preference.</li>
+</ul>
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<hr class="full" />
+<p>***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ETHEL MORTON AT SWEETBRIER LODGE***</p>
+<p>******* This file should be named 35364-h.txt or 35364-h.zip *******</p>
+<p>This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:<br />
+<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/3/5/3/6/35364">http://www.gutenberg.org/3/5/3/6/35364</a></p>
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+The Project Gutenberg eBook, Ethel Morton at Sweetbrier Lodge, by Mabell
+S. C. Smith
+
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+
+
+
+Title: Ethel Morton at Sweetbrier Lodge
+
+
+Author: Mabell S. C. Smith
+
+
+
+Release Date: February 23, 2011  [eBook #35364]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII)
+
+
+***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ETHEL MORTON AT SWEETBRIER LODGE***
+
+
+E-text prepared by Stephen Hutcheson, Roger Frank, and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net)
+
+
+
+Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this
+      file which includes the original illustrations.
+      See 35364-h.htm or 35364-h.zip:
+      (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/35364/35364-h/35364-h.htm)
+      or
+      (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/35364/35364-h.zip)
+
+
+
+
+
+ETHEL MORTON AT SWEETBRIER LODGE
+
+by
+
+MABELL S. C. SMITH
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+The World Syndicate Publishing Company
+Cleveland, Ohio         New York, N. Y.
+
+Printed in the United States of America
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+
+
+  CHAPTER                                                            PAGE
+     I A New Craft                                                      9
+    II Playing with Concrete                                           25
+   III The Club Selects the Benches                                    37
+    IV Christopher Finds a New Lodging                                 52
+     V The Law of Laughter                                             67
+    VI Spring All the Year Round                                       80
+   VII Closets and Stepmothers                                         94
+  VIII "Off to Philadelphia in the Morning"                           104
+    IX Helen Distinguishes Herself                                    122
+     X The Land of "Cat-fish and Waffles"                             136
+    XI Lights and a Fall                                              150
+   XII In the Family Hospital                                         162
+  XIII A Golden Color Scheme                                          173
+   XIV At the Metropolitan                                            184
+    XV Preparations for the Housewarming                              203
+   XVI Columbus Day                                                   219
+  XVII The Parting Breakfast                                          234
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER I
+                              A NEW CRAFT
+
+
+"Carefully! O, do be careful, Ethel Brown! I'm so afraid I'll drop one of
+them!"
+
+It was Ethel Blue Morton speaking to her cousin, who was helping her and
+their other cousin, Dorothy Smith, take Dicky Morton's newly hatched
+chickens out of the incubator and put them into the brooder.
+
+"I _have_ dropped one," exclaimed Dorothy. "Poor little dinky thing! It
+didn't hurt it a bit, though. See, it's running about as chipper as
+ever."
+
+"Are you counting 'em?" demanded Dicky, whose small hands were better
+suited than those of the girls for making the transfer that was to
+establish the chicks in their new habitation.
+
+"Yes," answered all three in chorus.
+
+"Here's one with a twisted leg. He must have fallen off the tray when he
+was first hatched." cried Ethel Brown.
+
+"He lookth pretty well. I gueth he'll live if I feed him by himthelf tho
+the throng ones won't crowd him away from the feed panth," said Dicky,
+examining the cripple, for in spite of his small supply of seven years he
+had learned from his big brother Roger and from his grandfather Emerson a
+great deal about the use of an incubator and the care of young chickens.
+
+"That's a good hatch for this time of year," Ethel Brown announced when
+she added together the numbers which each handler reported to her. "A
+hundred and thirty-seven."
+
+"Hear their little beaks tapping the wooden floor," Ethel Blue said,
+calling their attention to the behavior of the just-installed little
+fowls who were making themselves entirely at home with extraordinary
+promptness.
+
+"They take naturally to oatmeal flakes, don't they?" commented Dorothy.
+"I always thought the old hen taught the chicks to scratch, and there's a
+little chap scratching as vigorously as if he had been taking lessons
+ever since he was born."
+
+"They don't need lessons. Scratching is as natural as eating to them.
+Hear them hum?"
+
+They all listened, smiling at the note of contentment that buzzed gently
+from the greedy groups of crowding chicks. As the oatmeal disappeared the
+chickens looked about them for shelter and discovered the strips of cloth
+that did duty for the maternal wings. Rushing beneath them they cuddled
+side by side in the covered part of the brooder.
+
+"Look at that one tucking his head under his wing like a grown-up hen!"
+exclaimed Ethel Blue.
+
+"I'll have to turn the lamp up a little higher tho they won't crowd and
+hurt each other," Dicky decided.
+
+"I'd wait a minute until they begin to warm the whole of their house by
+the warmth from their bodies," urged Ethel Brown, and her brother agreed
+that there was no need of haste, but he watched them closely until he saw
+that they were not trampling on each other's backs or sitting down hard
+on each other's heads.
+
+"When will they come out again?" asked Dorothy, who had never seen an
+incubator and brooder in operation before and who was immensely
+interested.
+
+"When they are hungry."
+
+"How soon will that be?"
+
+"In about two hours. They're a good deal like babies."
+
+"And is this brooder a really good step-mother?"
+
+"It's a foster-mother," corrected Ethel Blue. "It isn't anything so
+horrid as a step-mother."
+
+"O, I don't think step-mothers are horrid," objected Dorothy.
+
+"Yeth, they are," insisted Dicky. "All the fairy stories say they're
+cruel."
+
+"O, fairy stories," sniffed Dorothy.
+
+"I imagine fairy stories are right about step-mothers," insisted Ethel
+Blue.
+
+"Did you ever know one?" asked Dorothy.
+
+"No, I never did; but I have a feeling that they couldn't love a child
+that wasn't their own."
+
+"Why not?" demanded Ethel Brown. "Mother loves you just as well as she
+does her own children and you're only her niece."
+
+"Not her own niece, either--Uncle Roger's niece," corrected Ethel Blue;
+"but then, Aunt Marion is a darling."
+
+"I don't see why a step-mother shouldn't be a darling."
+
+"I don't see why she shouldn't be but I don't believe she ever is," and
+Ethel Blue stuck to her opinion.
+
+"Well, there aren't any 'steps' around this family, so we can't tell by
+our own experience," cried Dorothy, "and we've got this chicken family
+moved into its new house, so let's go and see what the workmen are doing
+at our new house."
+
+Dorothy's mother had been planning for several months to build a house on
+a lot of land on the same street that they were living on now, but
+farther away from the Mortons' and nearer the farm where lived the
+Mortons' grandfather and grandmother, Mr. and Mrs. Emerson. The
+contractor had been at work only a few days.
+
+"He had just finished staking off the ground when I was there the other
+afternoon," said Ethel Brown.
+
+"He's way ahead of that now," Dorothy reported as they walked on, three
+abreast across the sidewalk, their blue serge suits all alike, their
+Tipperary hats set at the same angle on their heads, and only the
+different colors of their eyes and hair distinguishing them to a careless
+observer. "He told me yesterday that the whole cellar would be dug by
+this afternoon and they would be beginning to put in the concrete wall."
+
+"Where?"
+
+"The cellar wall."
+
+"I thought cellar walls were made of stone."
+
+"Sometimes they are, but when there isn't stone all cut, concrete is more
+convenient and cheaper, too."
+
+"And it lasts forever, I was reading the other day."
+
+"I should say it did. Those old Pyramids in Egypt are partly made of
+concrete, they think, and they are three or four thousand years old."
+
+"Does Aunt Louise expect her house to last three or four thousand years?"
+
+"She wants it durable; and fireproof, any way, because we're some
+distance from the engine house."
+
+"If we watch this house grow it will be almost like building it with our
+own hands, won't it?" exclaimed Ethel Brown, for, although the house was
+her aunt's, Mrs. Smith had made all the cousins feel that she wanted them
+to have a share in the pleasure that she and Dorothy were having in
+making a shelter for themselves after their many years of wandering. She
+and her daughter consulted over every part of the plans and they had
+often asked the opinion of the Mortons, so that they all had come to say
+"our house" quite as if it were to belong to them.
+
+As they approached the knoll which they had been calling "our house lot"
+for several months, they saw that the gravel for the concrete was being
+hauled to the top of the hill where the bags of sand and cement had
+already been unloaded and a small concrete mixer set up.
+
+"They do things fast, don't they!" exclaimed Dorothy. "There's Mr.
+Anderson, the contractor."
+
+A tall, substantial Scotsman bowed to them as they reached the top of the
+hill.
+
+"Have you come to superintend us, Miss Dorothy?" he asked pleasantly.
+"We're going to make all our preparations for mixing the concrete to-day,
+and then we'll start up the machine to-morrow."
+
+"You won't have the cellar wall all built by to-morrow after school, will
+you?" asked Dorothy anxiously. "We want to see how you do it."
+
+"It won't take long to do this small cellar so you'd better hurry right
+here from your luncheon," Mr. Anderson returned as he walked away to
+attend to the placing of the pile of gravel, and to lay a friendly hand
+on the sides of the panting horses.
+
+"If your driveway doesn't wind around more than this road that the
+hauling men have made all your friends' horses will be puffing like mills
+when they reach the top," Ethel Blue warned her cousin.
+
+"Mother and the architect and a landscape gardener have it all drawn on
+paper," Dorothy responded. "It's going to sweep around the foot of the
+knoll and come gently up the side and lie quite flat on top of the ridge
+for a little way before it reaches the front door."
+
+"That will be a long walk for people on foot."
+
+"Ethel Blue is speaking for herself," laughed Ethel Brown.
+
+"And for Dorothy, too. She'll walk most of the time even if Aunt Louise
+is going to set up a car."
+
+"There's to be a footpath over there," Dorothy indicated a side of the
+hill away from the proposed driveway. "It will be a short cut and it's
+going to be walled in with shrubs so it won't be seen from the driveway."
+
+"What would be the harm if you could see it from the driveway?"
+
+"O, the lines would interfere, the landscape artist said. You mustn't
+have things confused, you know," and she shook her head as if she knew a
+great deal about the subject.
+
+"I suppose it would look all mixy and queer if you should see the grounds
+from an airship," guessed Ethel Brown, "but I don't see what difference
+it would make from the ground."
+
+"I guess it would be ugly or he wouldn't be so particular about it,"
+insisted Dorothy. "That's his business--to make grounds look lovely."
+
+"I think I can see what he means," ventured Ethel Blue, who knew
+something about drawing and design. "I watched Aunt Marion's dressmaker
+draping an evening gown for her one day. She made certain lines straight
+and other lines curved, but the two kinds of lines didn't cross each
+other any old way; she put them in certain places so that they would each
+make the other kind of line look better and not make the general effect
+confusing."
+
+"Don't you remember how it was when we were planning Dorothy's garden on
+top of this ridge, back of the house and the garage?" Ethel Brown
+reminded them. "We had to draw several positions for the different beds
+because some of our plans looked perfectly crazy--just a mess of square
+beds and oblong beds and round beds."
+
+"They made you dizzy--I remember. We found we had to follow Roger's
+advice and make them balance."
+
+"Helen says there's a lot of geometry in laying out a garden. I guess
+she's right."
+
+Helen and Roger were Ethel Brown's older sister and brother. They were in
+the high school.
+
+They had come now to the excavation for the cellar and watched the
+Italian laborers throwing out the last shovelfuls of earth.
+
+"They're very particular about making the earth wall smooth," commented
+Ethel Brown.
+
+"I imagine they have to if the wall is to be concrete," returned Dorothy.
+
+"They've cut it under queerly at the foot on both sides; what's that
+for?"
+
+"I haven't the dimmest," answered Dorothy briefly. "Let's ask Mr.
+Anderson."
+
+"You'd find it hard to stand up straight if you had only a leg to stand
+on and not a foot," that gentleman answered to the question. "That
+concrete foot gives a good solid foundation, and it helps to repel the
+frost if that should get into the ground so deep. Do you see the planks
+the men are setting up twelve inches in from the bank?"
+
+The girls nodded.
+
+"They are making a fence all around the cellar you see; that is to keep
+the concrete in place when it is poured in, and to give it shape."
+
+"Is it soft like mud?"
+
+"It is made of one part of cement and two and one-half parts of sand and
+five parts of gravel. Do you cook?"
+
+They all nodded again.
+
+"When you come to-morrow you'll see the mixing machine making a stiff
+batter of those three things--cement and sand and gravel."
+
+"It must be like putting raisins in a plum pudding," suggested Ethel
+Brown. "You have to be careful the stones--the raisins--don't all sink to
+the bottom or get bunched together in one place."
+
+"That's the idea," smiled Mr. Anderson. "All those things and water go
+into one end of the mixer and they come out at the other end concrete in
+a soft state. Then the men shovel the stuff into the space between the
+fence and the earth bank, making sure that that widening trench at the
+foot is chock full and they thump it down and let it 'set.'"
+
+"I think the cellar will look very ugly with that old plank wall,"
+decided Dorothy seriously.
+
+"The planks will be taken away."
+
+"Won't the concrete show lines where the cracks between the boards were?"
+
+"Do you see those rolls of heavy paper over there? The planks will be
+lined with that so that the concrete will come against a perfectly smooth
+surface. When the wood is taken away the men will go over it with a
+smoothing tool and when they have finished even your particular eye will
+see nothing to take exception to."
+
+"O, I knew it would be right somehow," murmured Dorothy, who was afraid
+she had hurt Mr. Anderson's feelings. "I just didn't know how you managed
+it."
+
+"Here's the way the end of the wall would look if you could slice down
+right through it," and the contractor took out his notebook and drew a
+cross section of the concrete wall showing its widened foot.
+
+"What's the floor to be made of?" asked Ethel Blue.
+
+"Concrete--four inches of it," answered Mr. Anderson promptly. "It will
+slope a trifle toward this end, and there a drainage pipe will be laid to
+carry off any water used in washing the floor. Then a layer of cement
+will go on top of the concrete."
+
+"What's that for?"
+
+"To make it all smooth. It will be rounded up at the corners and sides
+where it joins the walls, so there won't be any chance for the dust to
+collect."
+
+"The cellar in our house is awfully damp," remarked Ethel Brown.
+"Sometimes you can see the water dripping down the stones."
+
+"The walls and the floor of this cellar will be waterproofed with a
+mixture of rich cement and sand mortar, and I think you'll find, young
+ladies, that you'll have a cellar that'll be hard to beat."
+
+The contractor slapped his notebook emphatically and beamed at them so
+amiably that they felt the greatest confidence in what he proposed.
+
+"Any way, I haven't anything better to suggest," said Dorothy dryly.
+
+Mr. Anderson walked off, giving a roar of amusement as he left them.
+
+"Where does the sun rise from here?" asked Ethel Blue as she stood at the
+spot where was to be the front of the house, and gazed about her. "Does
+the house face directly south?"
+
+"No, it faces just half way between south and west. The corners of the
+house point to north, south, east and west. Mother said that if the front
+was due south the back would be due north and she didn't want a whole
+side of her house facing north."
+
+"It does have a chilly sound," shivered Ethel Brown.
+
+"With a point stretching toward the north the rooms that have a northern
+exposure will also have the morning sun and the afternoon sun."
+
+"I know Aunt Louise will have her dining room where the morning sun will
+shine in."
+
+"Yes, _ma'am_," returned Dorothy emphatically. "It makes you feel better
+all day if you eat your breakfast in the sunshine. By this plan of
+Mother's every room in the house will have direct sunshine at some part
+of the day."
+
+"It's great," approved Ethel Blue. "Can't we ask Mr. Anderson about
+making a bird's bath out of cement?" she inquired. "Ethel Brown and I saw
+a beauty at Mrs. Schermerhorn's and perhaps he'd let us have some of the
+concrete to-morrow when the men are mixing it, and we can try to make
+one."
+
+The girls raced over to the spot where the contractor was just about to
+get into his Ford, and stopped him.
+
+"Would you mind letting us have a little concrete to-morrow to make a
+bird's bath with?" begged Dorothy breathlessly.
+
+"A bird's bath?" repeated Mr. Anderson. "How are you going to make it?"
+
+"Couldn't we put some concrete in a pan and squeeze another pan down on
+to it and let it harden?"
+
+"Why, yes, something like that," returned Mr. Anderson slowly.
+
+"Do you want to make it yourselves?"
+
+"Yes, indeed," all three girls cried in chorus.
+
+He smiled at their enthusiasm and offered a suggestion.
+
+"I suppose you want the bird's bath for your garden, Miss Dorothy;--why
+don't you make a little pool for the garden?"
+
+"Oh, could we?"
+
+"If you could get a tub and lay down a flooring of concrete and then put
+in another tub enough smaller so that there would be a space between the
+walls, then you could fill the space with concrete. When it set, you
+could take out the inner tub after two or three days and turn the
+concrete out of the outer tub and there you'd have a concrete tub that
+you could move about."
+
+"That sounds great," beamed Dorothy, "but wouldn't it be awfully heavy?"
+
+"Here's a better way, then. If you can make up your mind exactly where
+you want to have it in your garden you can have a hole dug, lay down your
+floor of concrete and put your small tub on it."
+
+"I see--then you fill the space between the tub and the earth with
+concrete."
+
+"Precisely; thump it down hard and let it stand untouched for a while.
+Then take away your tub, and there you are again."
+
+"You can't make the concrete floor and leave it, can you?"
+
+"No, indeed. You must have everything ready to do the whole thing at
+once. Put in your tub which is to be your mold, while the floor is still
+plastic--"
+
+"Eh?" inquired Ethel Brown.
+
+"Soft enough to mold; and then pour in the walls right off quick. You
+can't fool round when you're working with concrete."
+
+"How can we keep the water fresh in the tub?" asked Ethel Blue of
+Dorothy.
+
+Dorothy paused, not knowing what to say.
+
+"It would be fun to keep gold fish in it," she said, "but they would have
+to have fresh water, wouldn't they?" She turned appealingly to Mr.
+Anderson.
+
+"That's not hard to manage," he said. "You can put a bit of broomstick
+between the earth wall and the outer wall of your tub-mold and pour the
+concrete around it. When the concrete has hardened you pull out the stick
+and there is a hole. Then you can have a drain dug that will tap that
+hole on the outside and carry off the water through a few lengths of
+drain pipe."
+
+"What's to prevent the water running off all the time?" Ethel Blue wanted
+to know.
+
+"Keep a plug in it," answered the contractor briefly. "And there should
+be waterproofing stuff mixed with the materials. You have your gardener
+dig a hole in the garden," he said, adding, "don't forget to have plenty
+of grease."
+
+"What's that for?"
+
+"Why do you grease your cake pans?"
+
+"So the cake won't stick."
+
+"Same here. On the cellar wall we lined the inside of the wooden forms
+with paper. That isn't so easy with round forms, so you grease them."
+
+"I never thought there was any likeness between concrete and cooking,"
+laughed Ethel Brown as the girls watched Mr. Anderson's skill in taking
+his little car over the rough ground around the cellar excavation, "but
+there seems to be plenty."
+
+"Let's chase off and see if we can collect the things we shall need
+to-morrow," urged Dorothy. "I'll have to find Patrick and bring him here
+and show him just where to dig the hole."
+
+"Where are you going to dig the hole?"
+
+"I think just in the open place on top of the ridge."
+
+"I wouldn't," objected Ethel Brown.
+
+"Why not?"
+
+"Won't it be too warm in summer? If you're going to have gold fish you
+don't want to boil them."
+
+"The water would get pretty hot in the sun, wouldn't it?" considered her
+cousin. "What do you think of a place under that tree?"
+
+"It ought not to be too near the tree because the roots will grow out a
+long way from the trunk of the tree and they might get under the pool and
+break up the concrete."
+
+"Oh, could a tender little thing like a root break concrete that's as
+hard as stone?"
+
+"It certainly can. Grandfather showed me a crack in a concrete wall of
+his on the farm that was made by the root of a big tree not far off."
+
+"Well, then we can't have our pool anywhere near a tree. A shrub wouldn't
+hurt it, though; why can't it go near those shrubs that are going to
+separate the flower garden from the vegetable garden?"
+
+"That place would be all right because there's a tall spruce there that
+throws a shadow over the shrubs for a part of the day. That's all you
+need; you don't want to take away all the sunshine from the pool."
+
+So the exact spot was decided on and marked so that Patrick should make
+no mistake, and then the girls rushed off on a search for shallow basins
+and a tub.
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER II
+                         PLAYING WITH CONCRETE
+
+
+It was not the Ethels and Dorothy alone who appeared at the "new place"
+the next afternoon to make the experiments with concrete. Helen, Ethel
+Brown's elder sister, and her friend, Margaret Hancock, of Glen Point,
+were so interested in the younger girls' account of what they were going
+to do with Mr. Anderson's help that they came too.
+
+As they puffed up the steep knoll on which the new house was to stand
+they stopped beside the cellar hole to see what progress had been made
+since the day before.
+
+"They have just frisked along!" Dorothy exclaimed when she saw that not
+only was the inside fence-mold all built but that the concrete floor was
+laid and that the men were pouring the mixture in between the planks and
+the earth wall and pounding it down as they poured.
+
+"Mr. Anderson said 'you can't fool round when you're working with
+concrete,'" Ethel Brown repeated. "They aren't, are they?"
+
+The men were all working as fast as they could move, some of them
+shovelling the materials into the mixer, others running the machine,
+others wheeling the wet concrete in iron barrows to the men at the edge
+of the cellar who tamped it down as fast as it was poured into the narrow
+space that defined the growing wall.
+
+"When it is full, way up to the top, what happens next?" Dorothy inquired
+of Mr. Anderson who came over to where they were standing.
+
+"Then we're going to build on it a three foot wall of concrete blocks to
+support the upper part of the house."
+
+"That's the wall that has the cellar windows in it?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Then do make good big ones; Mother likes a bright cellar," urged
+Dorothy.
+
+"We're going to make her a beauty," promised the contractor. "Come up
+into your garden now and let's get this concrete work up there done.
+Here, Luigi," he called to an Italian, "bring us a load of concrete over
+there," and he waved his hand in the direction of the spot where Patrick
+had dug the hole for the tub.
+
+They all examined the hole with care and the Ethels fitted in the tub and
+found that their digger had done his work skilfully, since there were
+just about three inches between the earth and the tub all around. They
+pulled the tub out again and under Mr. Anderson's direction they greased
+it thoroughly.
+
+"We want to do every bit we can ourselves," they insisted when he
+suggested that Luigi might do that part for them.
+
+"Don't forget the hole for the drainage," he reminded them. "Have you got
+your stick? And on which side are you going to have that?"
+
+They surveyed the ground about the hole and decided that a drainage pipe
+might run a few inches underground for a short distance and discharge
+itself at the edge of a bank below which a vegetable garden was to lie.
+
+"If you're careful what you plant there it will be an advantage to the
+ground to have this dampening once in a while," said Mr. Anderson, who
+was something of a gardener. "There won't be enough water to drown out
+any of your plants."
+
+Luigi emptied a load of concrete into the hole and while he was gone to
+get a new supply the girls thumped it down hard, fitted in the greased
+tub and wedged a bit of broomstick which Roger, Ethel Brown's brother,
+had cut for Dorothy into the space between the tub and the earth just at
+the top of the concrete flooring. When Luigi came back they were ready to
+thump as he poured and three loads filled up the space entirely.
+
+"Now, then, Luigi will bring you one of the smoothing tools that the men
+over there are using and you can make the top look even," and Mr.
+Anderson gave more instructions to the Italian.
+
+"It will be pretty to have some plants at the edge so they'll bend over
+and see themselves in the water," suggested Margaret.
+
+"I should think there must be some water plants that would grow inside
+without much trouble," Ethel Blue said.
+
+"We must look that up; they'd probably need a little soil of some sort,"
+Helen reminded them.
+
+"They'd be awfully pretty," said Dorothy complacently. "Don't you seem to
+see it--with gold fish swimming around among the stems?"
+
+"Dicky might lend us his old turtle," laughed Ethel Brown. "He's tired of
+taking care of it. You could put a stick in here partly above the water,
+for him to sun himself on. I don't see why he wouldn't be quite happy
+here."
+
+Dicky's turtle was a family joke. Dicky had found him two years before
+and had taken him home thinking he was a piece of stone. His excitement
+and terror when the stone lying on the library table stuck out first a
+head and then one leg after another to the number of four, had never been
+forgotten by the people who saw him at this thrilling moment.
+
+"Now for your bird's bath," Mr. Anderson reminded his pupils. "You have
+to work fast, you know."
+
+Dorothy brought out her two shallow basins, one smaller than the other.
+The larger had its inside well greased and the smaller was thoroughly
+rubbed over on its under side. Into the larger they poured about an inch
+of concrete and then squeezed the smaller dish into it, but not so
+sharply that it cut through. They filled in the crack between the two,
+pushing and patting the mixture into place, and they smoothed the edge so
+that it turned over the rim of the larger bowl before they cut it off
+evenly all around with a wire.
+
+"There," said Mr. Anderson as he watched them. "We'll see what will come
+from that. It might be better done--" at which the girls all pulled long
+faces--"but also, it might be worse, or I'm very much mistaken."
+
+"I wish we could make some garden furniture," sighed Dorothy, holding up
+her dripping hands helplessly, but at the same time gazing with joy at
+their new manufacture.
+
+"You could if you would make the forms," said Mr. Anderson. "All you need
+to do is to make a bench inside of another bench and fill the space
+between with concrete."
+
+"That sounds easy, but if you were a girl, Mr. Anderson, you might find
+it a little hard to make the forms."
+
+"We can all drive nails," insisted Ethel Brown stoutly. "I believe I'll
+try."
+
+But the others laughed at her and reminded her that she would have to
+drive the nails through rather heavy planking, so she gave up the notion.
+
+"What are the walls going to be made of?" Margaret asked Dorothy.
+
+"Something fireproof, Mother said, but I don't know what she finally
+decided on. I'll ask Mr. Anderson."
+
+"Plaster on hollow tile," the contractor answered absent-mindedly over
+his shoulder, as he walked briskly before them back to the cellar.
+
+The girls saw that he was too full of business now to pay any more
+attention to them, so they thanked him for giving them so much time and
+made some investigations on their own account among the piles of material
+lying about on the grounds.
+
+"I wonder if this could be 'hollow-tile,'" Ethel Blue said to the rest as
+she came across a stack of strange-looking pieces of brown earthenware.
+
+"It's certainly hollow," returned Ethel Brown, "but I always supposed
+tiles were flat things. That's a tile Mother sets the teapot on to keep
+the heat from harming the polish of the table."
+
+They stood about the pile of brown, square-edged pipes, roughly glazed
+inside and out, through whose length ran three square holes. They asked
+two workmen as they passed what they were. One said "Hollow tile," and
+the other, "Terra-cotta."
+
+"I suspect they're both right," Helen decided. "Probably they're hollow
+tile made of terra-cotta."
+
+"But I thought terra-cotta was lighter brown and smooth. They make little
+images out of terra-cotta," insisted Dorothy.
+
+"I've seen those," agreed Margaret, "but I suppose there can be different
+qualities of terra-cotta just as there are different qualities of china."
+
+"This stuff is fireproof, any way," explained Dorothy. "I remember now
+hearing Mother and the architect talking about it. And they said
+something about a 'dead air space.' That must mean the holes."
+
+"What's dead air space for?" inquired Ethel Blue.
+
+"I think it dries up the dampness, or keeps it out so that it doesn't get
+into the house."
+
+"These are useful old blocks, then, even if they aren't pretty," decided
+Helen, patting the ugly pile.
+
+Mr. Anderson strolled toward them again after giving various directions
+to his men.
+
+"Just how is this tile used?" inquired Dorothy, as he seemed to be more
+at leisure now.
+
+"We build a wall of this hollow tile," he answered; "then we put the
+plaster right on to it. Do you see that the outside is rather rough? That
+is so the plaster will have something to take hold of. We mix it up of
+cement and lime and sand and put on three coats. The first one is mixed
+with hair, and mashed on hard so that it will stick and it is roughened
+so that the next coat will stick to it."
+
+"Is the next coat made of the same stuff?"
+
+"Without the hair; and the third coat is as thin as cream and is flowed
+on to make a smooth-looking outside finish."
+
+"That's a lot of work," commented Dorothy.
+
+"That's not all we're going to do to your walls; Mrs. Smith wants them to
+be a trifle yellowish in tone--a little warmer than the natural color of
+the plaster--so we're going to wash on some mineral matter that will give
+them color and waterproof them at the same time."
+
+"Killing two birds," murmured Helen.
+
+"Then the whole house will look plastery except the roof and chimneys,"
+said Ethel Brown.
+
+"Including the roof and chimneys," returned Mr. Anderson. "We're going to
+use concrete shingles--"
+
+"Concrete shingles! Doesn't that sound funny!"
+
+"They are colored, so they look like green or red shingles."
+
+"What color is Mother going to have?"
+
+"Dark green. The chimney is to be made of reinforced concrete."
+
+"'Reinforced' must mean 'strengthened,' but how do you strengthen it?"
+inquired Margaret.
+
+"You've seen how we build a mold to pour the concrete in; inside of the
+mold we build a sort of cage of steel rods. Don't you see that when the
+concrete hardens it would be almost impossible for such a reinforced
+piece of work to break through?"
+
+"Couldn't an earthquake break it?"
+
+"An earthquake might give a piece of solid concrete such a twist that it
+would crack through, but suppose the crack found itself up against a
+steel rod? Don't you think it would complicate matters?"
+
+The girls thought it would.
+
+"I'm awfully glad our chimney is going to be reinforced," Dorothy
+exclaimed, "because up on this knoll we're going to feel the wind a lot
+and it would be horrid if the chimney should fall down!"
+
+"It certainly would," agreed the Ethels, but Mr. Anderson assured them
+that they need not be afraid of any accident of the sort with a
+reinforced concrete chimney.
+
+"I've seen skyscrapers going up in New York," said Margaret "and all the
+beams were of steel. Are you going to use steel beams here?"
+
+"No, we don't often use steel construction for small houses, but this
+house is going to be more fireproof than most small houses even if it
+does have wooden beams. You watch it as it goes on and notice all the
+points that make for fireproofness. It will interest you," Mr. Anderson
+promised as he walked away.
+
+The girls all washed their hands as well as they could with the hose with
+which the workmen watered the concrete mixture, but they had nothing to
+dry them on and they walked down the road holding them before them and
+waving them in the breeze.
+
+"Mother will think we are crazy if she happens to be looking out of the
+window," said Dorothy.
+
+"My aunt sent you a message, Dorothy," said Margaret.
+
+"What aunt? I didn't know you had an aunt," replied Dorothy.
+
+"She seems like a new aunt to us; James and I haven't seen her since we
+were little bits of things."
+
+"Where does she live?" asked Ethel Blue.
+
+"In Washington. She's an interior decorator and she's awfully busy, so
+when she has had to come on to New York to buy materials or to see people
+she has never had a chance to stay with us."
+
+"Is she going to make a visit this time?" inquired Ethel Brown.
+
+"She has come for a long visit now. She has a commission to decorate a
+house in Englewood. It's going to take her several weeks, and then she
+wants to rest and do some studying and to make the rounds of the
+decorators in the city, so it will be several months before she goes back
+again."
+
+"That's nice," said Ethel Blue politely, and she was glad she had thought
+so because Margaret said at once, "We think it's splendid. She's a young
+aunt, lots and lots younger than Mother, and James and I think she's
+loads of fun."
+
+"What was her message to me?" asked Dorothy.
+
+"O, we were telling her about the United Service Club and the things we
+did--sending gifts to the war orphans and celebrating holidays and our
+plans for helping some poor women and children in the summer and for
+taking care of the Belgian baby. She was awfully interested and said she
+felt as if she knew all of you people and the Watkinses quite well, we
+talked about you so much. Then we told her about Dorothy's house, and how
+Mrs. Smith had said we might all give our opinions about the decorating,
+and she asked us to tell you that she'd be very glad indeed to act as
+consulting decorator when you come to the inside work."
+
+"Why, that's awfully sweet of her!" exclaimed Dorothy. "Mother isn't
+going to have a regular decorator, and I know she'll be immensely pleased
+to have Miss--what is your aunt's name?"
+
+"Graham; she's our Aunt Daisy!"
+
+"--to have Miss Graham give us advice and 'check up' on our suggestions."
+
+"By the time your house is ready for that part she will have finished her
+Englewood house; but she said she'd be glad to come over and see the
+house and the plans any time when she was free for the afternoon, and she
+hoped you'd consult her about everything you wanted to."
+
+"Daisy is a pretty name, isn't it?" Ethel Blue murmured to herself. "I
+wish one of us was named Daisy."
+
+"Her name is really Margaret; I'm named after her. Daisy is the nickname
+for Margaret, you know."
+
+"It's a lovely name," said Ethel Blue again.
+
+"And please tell Miss Daisy that I think she's the finest ever, and
+Mother will think so, too, when I tell her about this," added Dorothy.
+
+"And do ask her to come over to one of the U. S. C. meetings when we
+happen to be doing something that will interest her," concluded Helen,
+who was the president of the club.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER III
+                      THE CLUB SELECTS THE BENCHES
+
+
+It seemed to Dorothy and the Ethels that the outside of Sweetbrier Lodge,
+as Mrs. Smith had determined to call her house, went up with remarkable
+speed, but that the inside would never be done--never! Every day the
+girls walked down the road after school, and stood and surveyed the
+general appearance from the sidewalk and from across the street and
+sometimes they went on to Mrs. Emerson's and discussed vigorously as to
+whether the view of the corner of the house that was to be seen now would
+still be seen after the leaves came out or whether the house would be
+entirely concealed by the foliage.
+
+"That's 'one of the things no feller knows,'" Mr. Emerson quoted. "We
+shall have to wait and see."
+
+"We can get an idea how it is to look from the road," said Ethel Brown.
+
+"Only there'll be a lot of planting," Dorothy explained. "There'll be a
+hedge along the street and a lot of shrubs on the knoll and the house
+will be covered with vines in the course of time."
+
+"That's another good point about concrete," declared Mr. Emerson; "vines
+don't injure it as they do brick."
+
+"We'll have it entirely covered, then," laughed Dorothy.
+
+"I thought it was to be a bungalow," said Mrs. Emerson. "Your mother has
+always spoken of it as a bungalow, but the plans I saw the men following
+the other day when I went up the hill to take a look at things, seemed to
+me like a two story house."
+
+"Mother changed her mind," said Dorothy. "She thought a bungalow would be
+too crowded now that we have little Belgian Elisabeth with us, so the
+house is going to have two stories and an attic."
+
+"The U. S. C. couldn't get on without Dorothy's attic," smiled Ethel
+Brown, for almost all of the presents for the Christmas Ship had been
+made in the attic of Dorothy's present abiding place, and the Club had
+had many meetings there.
+
+"There's nothing like having a well-thought-out plan before you attempt
+building," said Mr. Emerson, "and that your mother had."
+
+"She tried to think of every possible need, Ayleesabet's as well as our
+own," continued Dorothy, using the pronunciation that the Belgian baby
+had given her own name.
+
+"She has a good contractor in Anderson."
+
+"He didn't make the very lowest bid," said Dorothy. "There was one man
+who was lower, but he was such a lot lower that Mother thought there must
+be something the matter with the quality of the material he used, or that
+he employed workmen so poor that they might not do their work well, so
+she didn't consider that offer at all."
+
+"She was very wise," commended Mr. Emerson. "He might have spoiled the
+whole thing and have cost her more money in the end by turning out a poor
+job."
+
+While the building was going on and before the inside work was done the
+girls spent a good deal of time in planning for the furnishing of the
+garden. The flower and vegetable beds had all been arranged some weeks
+before and many of them had been planted, but the artistic part of the
+garden had been left until there should be time to devote to it. Mrs.
+Smith had promised Dorothy that she should have the choice of the garden
+furniture, reserving for herself a veto power if her daughter chose
+anything that seemed to her entirely unsuitable.
+
+"Not that I expect to use it," she said, smiling at the girls who were
+listening to her.
+
+The selection of the benches and tables and trellises was made a subject
+of attention by the whole United Service Club. A meeting was called in
+the partly begun garden so that they might have the "lie of the land"
+before them as they talked. Dorothy took with her a number of catalogues
+from which to select or to gather ideas.
+
+"We've got a good shelter of large trees already provided for us," she
+said as they all seated themselves in such shade as the young leaves
+made.
+
+"There ought to be a fine large settee under it where we can have Club
+meetings all summer, no matter how warm it is," urged Tom Watkins with
+wise foresight. Tom and his sister, Della, came out from New York for the
+club gatherings, and the prospect of meeting out of doors instead of in
+the attic, which was delightful in winter but not so attractive in warm
+weather, made him offer this shrewd suggestion.
+
+"In the first place," said Dorothy again, opening the various catalogues
+and spreading them on the grass where they could all see them, "don't you
+think it would be pretty to have all the chairs and benches of one
+pattern? Or don't you?"
+
+"I think it would," answered Ethel Brown, examining the pages carefully
+before she made her decision.
+
+"Would what?"
+
+"I should like them all alike. It would be messy to have a lot of
+different patterns."
+
+Ethel Blue, who had a good deal of artistic sense and ability, nodded her
+agreement with this belief. They all came to the same conclusion.
+
+"Then, let's pick out the pattern," said Dorothy, who had an orderly
+mind.
+
+"Something plain, so the visitor's eye won't be drawn to the benches
+instead of the flowers," recommended Helen. "Suppose we were sitting
+here, for instance, and looking toward the flower beds--there will be
+some tables and chairs between us and the flowers, probably--"
+
+"If the seeds will only grow," Dorothy sighed comically.
+
+"--and we want to forget them and not have them intrude on our
+attention."
+
+"Correct!" James Hancock thumped the ground by way of applause.
+
+"What's the plainest pattern there is?" asked Della, extending her hand
+for a book.
+
+"That one--but that's too plain," remonstrated Ethel Blue. "That's so
+plain that it draws your attention as much as if it were all fussed up."
+
+They laughed at her disgust and urged her to choose the next plainest.
+
+"I rather think this one with cross bars is pretty," she decided
+seriously. "You wouldn't get tired of that--especially if they're all
+painted dark green so you won't see them much."
+
+"You girls seem to want to have invisible furniture," grinned Roger. "Me
+for something more substantial."
+
+"These will be substantial enough--they're made of cypress," retorted
+Helen, "but you don't want to see a lot of chairs and benches when you
+come out to observe the beauties of nature, my child."
+
+"I can bay the moon on a white bench with an elaborate pattern just as
+musically as on a plain, dark green one," insisted Roger.
+
+"Don't pay any attention to him," urged Ethel Brown, which crushing
+remark from a younger sister was rewarded by a hair-pull effectively
+delivered by Roger.
+
+"Yow!" squealed Ethel.
+
+"Now who's baying the moon?" inquired her brother.
+
+"Let's decide on the cross-barred kind," decreed Dorothy.
+
+"The Lady of the Garden has made her decision," announced James, tooting
+through his hands as if he were a herald making an announcement. "Now for
+the shapes. How many are you going to have, Lady?"
+
+"I think there ought to be a very large bench that would hold almost all
+the Club, and then one or two smaller benches and two or three chairs and
+two small tables for lemonade and cocoa."
+
+"And to hold the Secretary's book when she's writing," urged Ethel Blue
+who held the office of scribe and had not always found herself
+conveniently situated to do her work.
+
+"Here's a bully bench for the whole U. S. C.," cried Tom. "It's curved so
+it will fit right under this semi-circle of trees as if it were made for
+this very spot."
+
+He held up the picture of a wide bench with two wings. It was greeted
+with applause.
+
+"When that is made in the pattern we chose it will be as pretty as any
+one could ask for," Dorothy decided.
+
+"And painted green," added Ethel Blue, at which they all laughed. "I'm
+serious about the green," she insisted. "Don't you see what I mean,
+Dorothy?" she continued, appealing to the person who was to have the
+final decision on the question.
+
+"I think you're right," replied Dorothy. "Don't mind what they say. Write
+down one of those, Miss Secretary, and one of these right-angled
+ones--don't you all of you think that's a comfy one?"
+
+They did, and they also approved of the single bench and the chairs and
+the small tables.
+
+"They won't be all jammed up in this corner, of course," Dorothy
+explained gravely, "but when we have a Club meeting we can bring them
+together if we want to and room enough for everybody."
+
+"I thought we were all to sit on the big bench," objected Tom with an air
+of deep disappointment.
+
+"So we shall if you boys are too lazy to pull the other benches and
+chairs over here," answered Dorothy. "If we have plenty we can arrange
+them any way we want to."
+
+"What about trellises?" inquired Ethel Blue who had been continuing her
+researches in the catalogues. "Here are some beauties. Don't you think
+you'll need some?"
+
+"She certainly will if that Dorothy Perkins rambler rose gets busy as it
+ought to," decided Roger.
+
+"There'll be a lot of vines and tall things if they'll only grow," said
+Dorothy hopefully. "I think there ought to be one or two flat ones and an
+arbor that will be a trellis."
+
+"Here's an arbor that you can walk through or sit down in while you
+admire your plants, and you will be protected from the sun," Tom pointed
+out.
+
+"And that same one with a lattice back and a bench inside makes a pretty
+good imitation of a summer house," suggested Ethel Brown.
+
+"We'll have one apiece of those, then."
+
+"Count up and see how much stuff you're planning to order," Roger
+suggested. "You've got a huge big place to set them in here but you don't
+want too much wood work, nevertheless."
+
+They came to the conclusion that there were not too many for the size of
+the grounds and were well satisfied with their choice.
+
+"Do you see how well we're going to see the house from here?" Dorothy
+asked.
+
+They all agreed that it would be very pretty from that point.
+
+"My idea is that the garden must look well from the house," said Dorothy.
+"Mother wants a pergola somewhere. Don't you think the right place for it
+would be covering a walk leading from the house to here?"
+
+"That's a great notion," approved Tom. "As you came toward the garden
+you'd have a--what do you call the effect--where you see a view framed in
+somehow?"
+
+"Do you mean a vista?" asked Margaret.
+
+"That's it. There would be a vista of the garden."
+
+"It will be lovely!" Helen said decisively. "And I don't see why there
+shouldn't be a trellis framing a view of the woods toward Grandfather
+Emerson's; that would be pretty, too."
+
+Dorothy went over to look at the drawing that Helen held up to her and
+decided straightway that it was worth trying. They all went toward the
+upper side of the garden where young peach trees were planted on the
+northern slope of the ridge and chose a spot which gave a charming
+picture of the adjoining field with its brook and the woods beyond.
+
+"The birds are coming along pretty well now," announced James who had
+been lying on his back gazing up into the branches swaying in the upper
+breeze.
+
+"Are you going to build any bird houses, Dorothy?" asked Ethel Brown.
+
+"I suppose we'll have to if we want them to stay late in the season or
+all winter," replied her cousin. "But bird houses are so ugly."
+
+"Not the modern ones," interposed James eagerly. "You make them out of
+pieces of the trunks of trees with the bark on, and you fix up a platform
+with a stick on it that has spikes to hang suet on and they aren't a bit
+conspicuous and lots of birds will stay all winter that otherwise would
+go south before the regular Palm Beach rush."
+
+"We must have some then," Dorothy made up her mind. "Say 'Robert of
+Lincoln'?" she begged Ethel Brown, who was the Club's reciter, "and then
+we'll go home and have some cocoa and cookies."
+
+"Do, Ethel Brown;" "Come on," were the cries from all the U. S. C.
+members as they settled themselves to listen to Bryant's charming verses.
+
+    Merrily swinging on brier and weed,
+        Near to the nest of his little dame,
+    Over the mountain side and mead,
+        Robert of Lincoln is telling his name,
+            Bob-o'link, bob-o'-link,
+            Spink, spank, spink;
+    Snug and safe is that nest of ours,
+    Hidden among the summer flowers,
+                Chee, chee, chee.
+
+    Robert of Lincoln is gaily dressed,
+        Wearing a bright black wedding coat;
+    White are his shoulders and white his crest,
+        Hear him call in his cheery note:
+            Bob-o'link, bob-o'-link,
+            Spink, spank, spink;
+    Look, what a nice new coat is mine,
+    Sure there was never a bird so fine.
+                Chee, chee, chee.
+
+    Robert of Lincoln's Quaker wife,
+        Pretty and quiet, with plain brown wings,
+    Passing at home a patient life,
+        Broods in the grass while her husband sings:
+            Bob-o'link, bob-o'-link,
+            Spink, spank, spink;
+    Brood, kind creature; you need not fear
+    Thieves and robbers while I am here.
+                Chee, chee, chee.
+
+    Modest and shy as a nun is she,
+        One weak chirp is her only note,
+    Braggart and prince of braggarts is he,
+        Pouring boasts from his little throat:
+            Bob-o'link, bob-o'-link,
+            Spink, spank, spink;
+    Never was I afraid of man;
+    Catch me, cowardly knaves, if you can.
+                Chee, chee, chee.
+
+    Six white eggs on a bed of hay,
+        Flecked with purple, a pretty sight!
+    There as the mother sits all day,
+        Robert is singing with all his might:
+          Bob-o'link, bob-o'-link,
+          Spink, spank, spink;
+    Nice good wife that never goes out,
+    Keeping house while I frolic about.
+              Chee, chee, chee.
+
+    Soon as the little ones chip the shell
+        Six wide mouths are open for food;
+    Robert of Lincoln bestirs him well,
+        Gathering seed for the hungry brood.
+            Bob-o'link, bob-o'-link,
+            Spink, spank, spink;
+    This new life is likely to be
+    Hard for a gay young fellow like me.
+                Chee, chee, chee.
+
+    Robert of Lincoln at length is made
+        Sober with work and silent with care;
+    Off is his holiday garment laid,
+        Half forgotten that merry air,
+            Bob-o'link, bob-o'-link,
+            Spink, spank, spink;
+    Nobody knows but my mate and I
+    Where our nest and our nestlings lie.
+                Chee, chee, chee.
+
+    Summer wanes, the children are grown;
+        Fun and frolic no more he knows;
+    Robert of Lincoln's a humdrum crone;
+        Off he flies and we sing as he goes:
+            Bob-o'link, bob-o'-link,
+            Spink, spank, spink;
+    When you can pipe that merry old strain,
+    Robert of Lincoln, come back again.
+                Chee, chee, chee.
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER IV
+                    CHRISTOPHER FINDS A NEW LODGING
+
+
+There was trouble in chicken circles. The young chicks that the Ethels
+and Dorothy had helped Dicky move from the incubator to the brooder were
+making rapid progress toward broiler size, and had been transferred to a
+run of their own where they scratched and dozed happily through the long
+spring days. Dicky and Ayleesabet, the Belgian baby, were examining them
+on a late June afternoon. Dicky had brought with him his old friend, the
+turtle, which had not yet been moved to Dorothy's pool, since his present
+owner wanted to wait until his aunt's house was occupied before he let so
+cherished a possession go where he might slip away and his loss, perhaps,
+be unnoticed.
+
+"When you're living right there tho you can watch Chrithtopher Columbuth
+all the time I'll let you have him," Dicky had promised Dorothy.
+
+"I see myself in my mind's eye sitting side of the tank all day and night
+holding the turtle's paw!" Dorothy exclaimed when she told the Ethels of
+Dicky's decision.
+
+Perhaps because he felt that he was soon to be parted from his old
+comrade Dicky's affection for Christopher seemed to increase and he
+developed a habit of carrying him about, sometimes in his hand and
+sometimes in a little basket which Dorothy had made for Christopher's
+Christmas gift. To-day he had brought him to the chicken yard in his hand
+and had laid him down on the ground while he examined his flock and
+called Ayleesabet's attention to the beauties of this or the other
+miniature hen.
+
+Elisabeth's words were few, but she managed to make her wants and
+opinions known with surprising ease, and she never had the least trouble
+about expressing her emotions. Her little playmate had learned this and
+therefore when he heard loud howls behind his back he knew that it was
+not anger that was disturbing the usually placid baby, but terror. Shriek
+after shriek arose although it seemed to him that he turned about almost
+instantly.
+
+He was not in time, however, to prevent her from being thrown down in
+some mysterious way, or to see the cause of the commotion among the
+chickens. They fluttered and squawked and ran to and fro, tumbling over
+each other and running with perfect indifference over the baby as she lay
+yelling on the ground. Her blue romper legs came up every now and then
+out of the mass of chicken feathers, and their kicking only added to the
+disturbance and confusion of the chicks.
+
+The hubbub did not go unnoticed. Roger ran from his vegetable garden to
+see what was the matter; Helen appeared from her garden of wild flowers;
+Miss Merriam, the baby's caretaker, ran from the porch where she was
+talking with the Ethels who were waiting for the out-of-town members of
+the U. S. C. to arrive. At the moment when all these people were rushing
+to the rescue, Margaret and James Hancock, just off the Glen Point street
+car, hurried from the corner, and Della and Tom Watkins, arrived by the
+latest train from New York, burst open the gate in their excitement.
+
+To meet all these inquiries came Dicky, tugging after him by the leg, the
+baby, howling pitifully by this time as she was dragged over the grass.
+Miss Merriam seized her and hugged her tight.
+
+"What's the matter with the little darling precious?" she crooned.
+
+Ayleesabet gathered herself together courageously and her sobbing died
+away.
+
+"What was it all about?" Miss Merriam inquired of Dicky.
+
+"I don't know," replied Dicky, his own lip trembling as he tried to
+understand the rapid, thrilling experience.
+
+"Tell Gertrude what happened," Miss Merriam urged the baby, wiping away
+her tears and setting her down on her feet on the grass just as
+Christopher Columbus bumped his way over the sod to join them.
+
+Ayleesabet's conversational powers were not equal to the explanation, but
+her little hands could tell a great deal, and her caretaker was skilled
+in interpreting them. She pointed to the turtle and called him by the
+nickname that Dicky had given him, "Chriththy"; then she spread out her
+fat little fingers and waved a forward motion with her hand.
+
+"Chrissy stuck out his head and legs and walked ahead," interpreted Miss
+Merriam. "Where was he, Dicky?"
+
+"In the chicken yard."
+
+Elisabeth was kneeling beside the turtle now, tapping his shell with a
+chubby forefinger; after which she rolled over on her back and screamed.
+
+Miss Merriam shook her head at this demonstration, but Dicky translated
+it out of his previous experience.
+
+"The chickenth hit hith thhell with their beakth, and, when he moved they
+were frightened and knocked her over," he guessed.
+
+"That's just what happened, I believe," said Roger, setting Elisabeth on
+her feet once more. "I've seen the chickens run like anything from
+Christopher, and probably they ran between the baby's legs and upset her
+and then scampered all over her. I don't wonder she was scared."
+
+Christopher gave no testimony in the case. He may have been overcome by
+the confusion; at any rate he withdrew into his shell and preserved a
+studied calm from which he could not be roused.
+
+"I think you can have him," said Dicky suddenly to Dorothy, who had come
+through the fence at the corner where her yard joined her cousins'. "He
+botherth me."
+
+"Very well," said Dorothy. "Let's take him over to Sweetbrier Lodge this
+afternoon. We're all going over there anyway--bring him along, Dicky."
+
+So the procession set forth, Dicky and his shell-covered friend at the
+fore, escorted by all the rest of the United Service Club, while Miss
+Merriam and her charge, whose walking ability had not yet developed much
+speed, brought up the rear.
+
+As they all toiled up the hill to Sweetbrier Lodge Mrs. Smith and Mrs.
+Morton came out on the veranda of the new house to watch them.
+
+"Has anything happened?" called Mrs. Smith as soon as they were within
+earshot.
+
+"We're just bringing Christopher over to his new home," Dorothy explained
+to her mother.
+
+      "'The time of the singing of birds is come,
+      And the voice of the turtle is heard in our land,'"
+
+quoted Mrs. Morton. "I used to think that that meant a turtle like
+Dicky's and not a turtle-dove," and the two mothers laughed and
+disappeared within the house while the younger people kept on to the
+garden and the concrete pool.
+
+When they reached there Dicky gazed at the pool in dismay.
+
+"There ithn't any water in it," he objected, shaking his head doubtfully.
+
+"We can reach it with the hose and fill it up in no time," his cousin
+explained.
+
+"It'll run out of the hole," pointing to the hole made by the broomstick
+when the concrete was soft.
+
+"We'll put a plug in the hole."
+
+"He hasn't any log to sit on."
+
+"Roger will find him a stick."
+
+"I don't want to leave him here all alone," screamed Dicky, overcome by a
+renewal of his former misgivings. Casting himself on the ground he hugged
+his treasure to his breast and waved his legs in the air.
+
+"You can take him back again if you want to," Ethel Brown reminded him,
+"but you know he's always getting into trouble with the chickens now. He
+seems to run away every day."
+
+As the memory of the latest encounter between Christopher and the chicks
+with Elisabeth's overthrow, flashed before him, Dicky howled again. There
+seemed to be no haven on earth for his favorite.
+
+"I'll tell you what we'll do," suggested Dorothy soothingly. "Let's go
+down to the house. The laundry is finished, and we can put him in one of
+the tubs there until this pool is fixed to suit you."
+
+"It'th dark in the laundry," objected Dicky again.
+
+"Not in this laundry. You see," explained Dorothy, sitting down beside
+the sufferer and patting him gently, "the house is built on the side of a
+hill, so the laundry has full sized windows and is bright and cheerful
+though it's on a level with the cellar. I think Christopher will like
+it."
+
+Dicky stood up, his face smeared with tears, but a new interest gleaming
+in his reddened eyes.
+
+"Come on," urged Ethel Blue, tactfully; "let's all go and see if we can't
+make him comfortable."
+
+"I'll pick up a piece of log for him as we go along," promised Roger, and
+he and Tom and James went off towards the woods to look for just the
+right thing.
+
+"What a perfectly dandy cellar. Why, it's as bright as the upper part of
+the house!" exclaimed Margaret as the procession invaded the lower
+regions of the Lodge.
+
+"Isn't it fine!" agreed Dorothy. "The workmen have cleared it all up,
+and, if this part were all, it might be lived in right off."
+
+"The whitewashed walls make it look bright."
+
+"And the large windows! I never saw such windows in a cellar."
+
+"Mother says I may put little cheesecloth curtains in them."
+
+"Curtains will look sweet the day after you take in the winter supply of
+coal," grinned Roger, who appeared with the other boys, carrying
+Christopher's bit of log.
+
+"They won't look dirty, if that's what you mean by 'sweet,'" Dorothy
+retorted. "Look--" and she opened the door of a coal bin--"the coal is
+put in through a concrete chute that leads directly into the bin and the
+bin is entirely shut off from the cellar. No dust floats out of that,
+young man."
+
+"How do you get the coal out?"
+
+"Here's a little door that slides up and catches. You notice that the
+floor of the bin isn't level with the cellar floor; it's raised to make
+it a comfortable height for shoveling. Under it is the place for the logs
+for the open fires. There are two bins, one for furnace coal and the
+other for the coal for the stoves, and the kindling wood goes in this
+third one. They are all together and large enough but not too large, and
+the furnace coal is near the boiler and the small coal is near the
+laundry and the wood is close to the dumb waiter that will take that and
+the clean clothes upstairs."
+
+"All as compact as a cut-out puzzle," approved Roger. "I take off my hat
+to this arrangement."
+
+"Thank you," courtesied Dorothy. "Mother and I worked that out together,
+and we're rather pleased with it ourselves."
+
+"What do you do with the ashes?" asked Roger, who took care of several
+furnaces in the winter time, and therefore made his examination as a
+specialist.
+
+"Put them down that chute with a swinging door and into a covered can. It
+will be hard for the ashes to fly there."
+
+"This is the concrete floor we superintended," said Helen, looking at it
+closely.
+
+"All smooth and well drained with rounded edges. It's going to be as
+clean as a whistle down here. See the metal ceiling? That's for fire
+prevention, and so is the sprinkler system and there's a metal covered
+door at the head of the cellar stairs."
+
+"There seems to be a lot of machinery for a small house," observed James
+as he carried his examination around the space.
+
+"Mother said she couldn't afford luxuries but she could afford comforts
+and these are some of the comforts," smiled Dorothy.
+
+"Not very pretty comforts," remarked Ethel Blue dryly.
+
+"'Handsome is as handsome does,'" quoted her cousin. "When these things
+get to working you won't care whether they're beautiful to look at or
+not."
+
+"What's the heating system--steam or hot water?" asked Tom, standing
+before the boiler.
+
+"Hot water. They say it's more convenient for a small house because you
+don't have to keep up such a big fire all the time."
+
+"That's so; in steam heating there has to be fire enough to make steam,
+anyway, doesn't there?"
+
+"And when the steam in the pipes cools it turns to water and dribbles
+away, but in the hot water system there will be some heat in the outside
+of your radiator as long as the water inside has any warmth at all."
+
+"How does the expense compare?" inquired James who was always interested
+in the financial side of all questions.
+
+"The hot water system is said to be cheaper," replied Dorothy.
+
+"Why are there so many pipes?" asked Ethel Brown, looking with a puzzled
+air at the collection before her.
+
+"Hear me lecture on heating!" laughed Dorothy; "but I did study it all
+out with Mother, so I think I'm telling you the truth about it. There
+have to be two sets of pipes, one to take the hot water to the radiators
+and the other to bring it back after it has cooled."
+
+"There seem to be big pipes and small ones."
+
+"Mains and branch pipes they call them. The man who put these in said
+this house was especially well arranged for piping because it wouldn't
+take any more pressure to force the water into one radiator than another.
+He says there's going to be a good even heat all over everywhere."
+
+"There isn't a lot of difference between radiators for steam and those
+for hot water, is there?" asked Ethel Blue.
+
+"No, you have to put something with water in it on top of both kinds to
+make the air of the room moist. Here you have to open the air valve
+yourself and let out the air that accumulates in the radiator. In the
+steam ones they are automatically worked by steam."
+
+"There can't be much air in the hot water radiator, I should think," said
+Margaret thoughtfully.
+
+"There isn't. You only have to open the valve two or three times in the
+course of the winter. The biggest difference is that the hot water system
+has to have an expansion tank."
+
+"What's that?"
+
+"Why, when steam is shut up it just presses harder than ever, but when
+water is heated it swells and it's likely to burst open whatever it's in,
+so there has to be an open tank up at the top of the house where it can
+go and swell around all it wants to," laughed Dorothy.
+
+"What are these affairs?" inquired Margaret who had been looking at two
+other arrangements near by.
+
+"That one is a gas thing for heating water in summer when there isn't any
+other fire. There's a tiny flame burning all the time, and when the water
+is drawn out of the tank the flame becomes larger automatically and heats
+up a new supply."
+
+"That's a fine scheme; you don't have to heat the house up and yet the
+water is always ready. What's the other?"
+
+"That's to burn up the garbage. In the kitchen there's a tiny closet for
+the garbage pail. It's ventilated from the outside. There is a thing that
+burns the garbage and makes it heat the water, but Mother decided that we
+had so small a family that there might be days when there wouldn't be
+fuel enough to make a decent fire, so we'd better have the gas heater."
+
+"The other would be economical for a hotel," observed prudent James.
+
+"Here's the refrigerating plant," Dorothy said, motioning toward a tank
+and a set of pipes and a small motor.
+
+"Going to cut out the iceman?" grinned Tom.
+
+"We're going to be independent of him. Mother doesn't like natural ice,
+any way; she went over to the Rosemont pond last winter when the men were
+cutting and the ice was so dirty she made up her mind right off that she
+didn't want any more of it. This thing will chill the refrigerator up in
+the kitchen and pipes from it are going under the flooring of the drawing
+room and the dining room so they can be made comfy in summer."
+
+"Hope you can cut them off in winter!" and Roger gave a tremendous
+shiver.
+
+"We can," Dorothy reassured him.
+
+"Good work!"
+
+"It makes small cakes of ice too, so we can always have plenty for the
+Club lemonades."
+
+"I don't know but I think that's more useful than the heating
+arrangements," approved plump little Della.
+
+"That's because you're fat," responded Tom with brotherly frankness. "You
+think you suffer most in summer, but if you didn't have any heat in
+winter you'd change your cry."
+
+"I suppose I should, but I do nearly _melt_ in warm weather," sighed
+Della.
+
+"We don't mean to if we can help it," laughed Dorothy. "This is the
+air-washing arrangement over here," went on Dorothy, as she continued her
+round of the cellar.
+
+"Air-washing!" was the general chorus.
+
+"As long as we have a little motor we're going to make it useful. There's
+a small fan here that brings in the fresh air. It goes into a 'spray
+chamber' and is washed free of dust with water that is cold in summer and
+warm in winter."
+
+"I see clearly that the temperature of this castle is going to be just
+right," exclaimed Roger.
+
+"After the air leaves the spray chamber it goes over some plates that
+take all the moisture out of it, and then the fan forces it through the
+pipes that go into every room."
+
+"Are those the little gratings I noticed in all the rooms the other day?"
+asked Ethel Blue.
+
+"Those are the ventilators. Don't you think we've made everything very
+compact here? All these pipes take up very little room."
+
+"Mighty little!" commended Roger. "And they're all open so you can get at
+them without any trouble."
+
+"Here's a scheme Patrick suggested," laughed Dorothy, pointing upward to
+what looked like a concrete shelf with an upturned border almost at the
+top of the cellar wall.
+
+"What's it for?" asked Ethel Brown.
+
+"That shelf is directly underneath the seat beside the fireplace in the
+drawing room. Patrick plans to save himself the trouble of carrying up
+the logs by piling them on this shelf down here. Then he lifts the cover
+of the seat upstairs and all he has to do is to take out his wood and
+make his fire!"
+
+"That certainly is a cracker-jack labor saving device! Good for Patrick!"
+
+"He's especially tickled with the vacuum cleaner run by this same little
+motor. You ought to hear him talk about it."
+
+"What are these cupboards for?" asked Helen who had been exploring.
+
+"That one with the glass doors is for preserves, and the place in the
+other corner that has a fence for its two inside walls is a place for
+cleaning silver and shoes and lamps and brasses. See--there are cupboards
+along the inside of the fence. They hold all the cleaning materials, and
+the cleaner can sit in a swing chair in the middle and use a different
+part of the concrete shelf against the two cellar walls for boots or
+fire-irons or knives and forks or lamps. At one end is a sink so he can
+have what water he needs for his work and he can wash his hands when he
+turns from one kind of cleaning to another."
+
+"And he isn't all smothered up in a small room. Who thought of that?"
+
+"Patrick and I worked that out together. Patrick has lots of ingenuity."
+
+"I should say you had, too!" exclaimed Della, admiringly.
+
+"Here's where Dorothy does her carpentering," cried James.
+
+"I may move that bench up in the attic later," explained Dorothy, "but I
+thought I'd leave it here until the house was done, because there are apt
+to be little things to be hammered and nailed for some time, I suppose."
+
+"How long are you going to be before you fikth a plathe for Chrithopher
+Columbuth?" demanded Dicky, whose patience was entirely exhausted.
+
+"We'll make him happy right here and now," answered Dorothy briskly,
+throwing open the door of the laundry.
+
+The sun shone gayly on the concrete floor and the room was a cheerful
+spot. An electric washing machine stood ready although covered tubs were
+built against the wall for use in emergencies, and at one side was a
+drying closet. There were numerous plugs against the wall for the
+attachment of pressing irons.
+
+"What's this?" asked Ethel Brown, lifting a cover of a hopper at the base
+of a chute.
+
+"That's the chute for soiled clothes. The other end is on the bedroom
+floor, and it saves carrying."
+
+"That's as good as Patrick's log device!" smiled Helen.
+
+"Shall I put Christopher's log in here?" asked Roger, lifting the top of
+one of the stationary tubs.
+
+"Yes, fix it so he can crawl up and sit in the sunshine where it strikes
+the tub. We'll have to draw some water from the hydrant outside; the
+water isn't turned on in the house yet."
+
+Roger picked up a pail that was standing near by and went up the cellar
+stairs two at a time.
+
+"Now, sir," he said to Dicky when he came back, "I'll lift you up and you
+can put Christopher into his new abode."
+
+Dicky deposited his charge gently on the log and he lay there poking out
+his head to enjoy the sunshine.
+
+"Did you bring some bits of meat for him?" Roger asked.
+
+For answer Dicky turned out of the pocket of his rompers a handful of
+chopped beef.
+
+"Certainly unappetizing in appearance," said Tom, wrinkling his nose,
+"but I dare say Christopher is not particular."
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER V
+                          THE LAW OF LAUGHTER
+
+
+The Mortons were sitting on their porch on a warm evening waving fans and
+trying to think that the coming night promised comfortable sleep. The
+Ethels sat on the upper step, Roger was stretched on the floor at one
+side, Helen sat beside her mother's hammock which she kept in gentle
+motion by an occasional movement of her hand, and Dicky was dozing in a
+large chair. In a near-by tree an insect insisted that "Katy did," and in
+the grass a cricket chirruped its shrill call.
+
+"I do feel that Aunt Louise's being able to build this pretty house after
+all her years of wandering is about the nicest thing that ever happened
+out of a fairy story," murmured Helen softly to her mother, but loudly
+enough for the others to hear.
+
+"There are people who talk about the law of compensation," smiled Mrs.
+Morton in the darkness. "They think that if one good is lacking in our
+lives other goods take its place."
+
+"Do you believe that?"
+
+"I believe that everything that happens to us comes because we have
+obeyed or disobeyed God's laws. Sometimes we are quite unconscious of
+disobeying them, but the law has to work out just as if we knew all about
+it."
+
+"For instance?" came a deep voice from the floor, indicating that Roger
+had awakened.
+
+"Do you remember the time you walked off the end of the porch one day?"
+
+"I should say I did! My nose aches at the mere thought of it."
+
+"You didn't know anything about the law of gravitation, but the law
+worked in your case just as if you had known all about it."
+
+"I'm bound to state that it did," confirmed Roger, still gently rubbing
+his nose as he lay in the shadow.
+
+"It seems as if it might have held up for a little boy who didn't know
+what he was going to get by disobeying it," said Ethel Blue
+sympathetically.
+
+"But it didn't and it never does," returned Mrs. Morton. "That's one
+reason why we ought to try to learn what God's laws are just as fast and
+as thoroughly as we can; not only the laws of nature like the law of
+gravitation, but laws of morality and justice and right thinking and
+unselfishness and kindness toward others."
+
+"Sometimes mighty mean people seem to prosper," said Ethel Brown, with a
+hint of rebellion in her voice.
+
+"That's because those people obey to the letter the law that controls
+prosperity of a material kind. A man may be cruel to his wife and unkind
+to his children, but he may have a genius for making money. Some people
+call it the law of compensation. I call it merely an understanding of the
+financial law and a lack of understanding of the law of kindness."
+
+"I don't see what law dear Aunt Louise could have broken to have made her
+have such a hard time," wondered Ethel Blue. "Her husband being killed
+and her having to wander about without a home for so many years--that
+seems like a hard punishment."
+
+"Men have decided that 'ignorance of the law is no excuse'!" said her
+aunt, "and the same thing is true of laws that are not man-made."
+
+"That seems awfully hard," objected Helen; "it doesn't seem fair to
+punish a person for what he doesn't know."
+
+"If a cannibal should come to Rosemont and should kill some one and have
+a barbecue, we should think that he ought to be deprived of his liberty
+because he was a dangerous person to have about, even if we felt sure
+that he did not know that he was doing an act forbidden by New Jersey
+law. The position is that although a person may be ignorant of the law it
+is his business to know it. That seems to be the way with the higher
+laws; we may break them in our ignorance--but we ought not to be
+ignorant. We ought to try just as hard as we know how all the time to do
+everything as well as we can and to be as good as we can. If we never let
+ourselves do a mean act or think a mean thought we're bound to come to an
+understanding of the great laws sooner than if we just jog along not
+thinking anything about them. I believe one reason why your Aunt Louise
+was so slow in reaching the end of her troubles after Uncle Leonard died
+was because she was unable to control her sorrow. She has told me that
+she was completely crushed by his death and the condition of poverty in
+which she found herself with a little child--Dorothy--to take care of."
+
+"I don't blame her," murmured Ethel Blue.
+
+"She blames herself, because she has learned that giving way to grief
+paralyzes all the powers that God has given us to carry on the work of
+life with. If our minds are filled with gloom our bodies don't behave as
+they ought to--I dare say even you children know that."
+
+"I know," agreed Ethel Blue, who was sensitive and imaginative and
+suffered unnecessarily over many things.
+
+"Your mind doesn't go, either," Roger added. "I know when I got in the
+dumps last spring about graduating I couldn't do a thing. My work went
+worse than ever. It was only when Mr. Wheeler"--referring to the
+principal of the high school--"jollied me up and told me I was getting on
+as well as the rest of the fellows that I took a brace; and you know I
+did come out all right."
+
+"I should say you did, dear," acknowledged his mother proudly. "Instances
+like that make you understand how necessary it is to be brave and to be
+filled with joy because life is going on as well as it is. It is our duty
+to make the most of everything that is given us--our bodies, our minds,
+our spirits--and if courage will help or joy will help then we must
+cultivate courage and joy."
+
+"Did Aunt Louise see that after a while?"
+
+"Not for a long time, she says. After the shock of Uncle Leonard's sudden
+death had worn away somewhat she began naturally to have a little more
+courage--not to be so completely crushed as she was at first. Then she
+saw that when she was feeling brave she could accomplish more, and
+succeed better in new undertakings. If she went to ask for work somewhere
+and had no hope that she would receive it she usually did not receive it;
+but if she went feeling that this day was to be one of success for her it
+usually was."
+
+"I suppose she went in with a sort 'Of course you'll give it to me' air
+that made the men she was asking think of 'of course' they would," smiled
+Roger.
+
+"I don't doubt it. Then she says that she found out that there was real
+value in laughter."
+
+"In laughter!" repeated Ethel Brown. "Why laughter is just foolishness."
+
+"No, indeed; laughter is the outward expression of delight."
+
+"Lord Chesterfield told his son he hoped he'd never hear him laugh in all
+his life," offered Roger.
+
+"Lord Chesterfield hated noisy laughter as much as I do. There's nothing
+more annoying than empty, silly giggling and laughter; but the laughter
+that means real delight over something worth being delighted at--that's
+quite another matter. Lord Chesterfield and I are agreed in being opposed
+to a vulgar _manner_ of laughing, but we are also agreed in believing
+that delight needs expression. Isn't it in that same letter that he says
+he hopes he will often see his son smile?"
+
+"Same place," responded Roger briefly.
+
+"Aunt Louise says she found that even if she wasn't feeling really gay
+she could raise her spirits by doing her best to laugh at something. If
+you hunt hard enough there is almost always something funny enough to
+laugh at within reach of you."
+
+"Like Dicky here snoozing away as soundly as if he were in bed."
+
+"Poor little man. You needn't carry him up yet, though. He's not
+uncomfortable there."
+
+"There's one thing I think is perfectly wonderful about Aunt Louise,"
+said Ethel Blue; "she takes so much pleasure out of little things. She's
+interested in everything the U. S. C. does, and she wants to help on
+anything the town undertakes--you know how nice she was about the school
+gardens--and sometimes when a day comes that seems just stupid with
+nothing to do at all, if you go over to Aunt Louise's she'll tell you
+something she's seen or heard that day that you never would have noticed
+for yourself and that really is interesting."
+
+"She gets their full value out of everything that passes before her eyes.
+It's the wisest thing to do. The big things of life are more absorbing
+but very few of us encounter the big things of life. Most of us meet the
+small matters, the everyday happenings, and nothing else."
+
+"Isn't life full of a mess of 'em!" ejaculated Roger. "Getting up and
+dressing and brushing your hair and eating three meals a day have to be
+done three hundred sixty-five times a year; whereas you hear some
+splendid music or come across a fine new poem or find yourself in a
+position where you can do a real kindness about once in a cat's age.
+Queer, isn't it?"
+
+"That's just why it's a good plan to see the opportunities in the little
+things. If we see with clear eyes we may be able to do some small
+kindnesses oftener than 'once in a cat's age.' It's certainly true that
+the everyday troubles, the trifling annoyances, are really harder to bear
+than the big troubles."
+
+"O-o-o!" disclaimed Helen.
+
+"The big troubles give you a bigger shock, but then you pull yourself
+together and summon your strength, and strength to endure them comes. But
+the small matters--they come so often and they seem such pin pricks that
+it seems not worth while to call upon your powers of endurance."
+
+"Yet if you don't you're as cross as two sticks all the time," finished
+Helen. "I know how it is. It's like having a serious wound or a mosquito
+bite."
+
+They all laughed, for Roger, as if to illustrate her remarks, gave a slap
+at a buzzing enemy at just the appropriate moment.
+
+"Another thing that helps to make Aunt Louise a happy woman now is that
+she is at peace not only with everybody on earth but also with herself.
+If she makes a mistake she doesn't fret about it; she does her best to
+remedy it, and she does her best not to repeat it. 'Once may be excusable
+ignorance,' she says, 'but twice is stupidity,' and then she tells the
+tale of the boy who was walking across a field and fell into a dry well
+which he knew nothing about. He roared loudly and after a time a farmer
+heard him and pulled him out. The next day he was walking across the same
+field and he fell again into the same well."
+
+"He set up the same roar, I suppose."
+
+"A perfect imitation of the previous one. The same farmer came. When he
+looked down the well and saw the same boy he said disgustedly, 'Yesterday
+I thought ye were a poor, unknowin' lad; to-day I know ye're a sad
+fool.'"
+
+Again they all laughed.
+
+"She's always cheerful and always affectionate and she's as dear as she
+can be and I'm glad she's going to have this lovely house and I wish we
+had one just like it," cried Helen in a burst.
+
+"We have a good house."
+
+"But it doesn't belong to us."
+
+"We Army and Navy people can't expect to own houses, my child. You don't
+need to have that told you at this late day."
+
+"I know that. If Father weren't so keen on having us all together while
+we're being educated we wouldn't have been in Rosemont as long as we
+have; but I sometimes envy the people who have a home of their own that
+they are sure to stay in for ever so many years."
+
+"When you feel that way you must think of the many advantages of the Army
+and Navy children. If your father had not been on the Pacific station
+when you were the Ethels' age you wouldn't have had a chance to see
+California when you were old enough to enjoy it and remember it."
+
+"I know, Mother. I didn't mean to growl. I just thought that Father had
+as much money as Aunt Louise from his father, and he had his salary
+besides, and yet we haven't a house of our own."
+
+"We've had a good many of Uncle Sam's houses, which is more than your
+Aunt Louise has had. But you must remember that her inheritance from your
+Grandfather Morton was accumulating for many years while her family
+didn't know where she was, while your father and Ethel Blue's father have
+been spending the income of theirs all along."
+
+"Uncle Roger has had a lot of children to spend his on, but Father hasn't
+had any one but me," said Ethel Blue, whose life had been entirely spent
+with her cousins because her mother had died when she was a tiny baby.
+Never before had she thought whether her father, who was a captain in the
+Army, had any money or not. Now she saw that he must be better provided
+with it than his brother, her Uncle Roger, the father of Ethel Brown and
+Helen and Roger and Dicky, who was a Lieutenant in the Navy.
+
+"Your father is always generous with his money, but I dare say he is
+saving it for some time when he will want it," suggested Mrs. Morton.
+
+"I don't know when he'll want it any more than he does now," said Ethel
+Blue.
+
+"Perhaps he'll want to have a house of his own at whatever post he is
+when he has a grown-up daughter," smiled Helen. "You'd better learn to
+keep house right off."
+
+The idea thrilled Ethel. Never before had she happened to think of the
+possibility of joining her father after her school days were over. Never
+having known any home except with Ethel Brown and her other cousins she
+had always seen the future as shared with them. The notion of leaving
+them was painful, but the chance of being always with her father, of
+being his housekeeper, of seeing him every day, of making him
+comfortable, was one that filled her with delight. Her blue eyes filled
+with tenderness as she dreamed over the possibility.
+
+"I have lots to learn yet before I should know enough," she murmured,
+staring almost unseeingly at her cousin, "but it's wonderful to think I
+could do it."
+
+The new idea would not leave her mind, though, indeed, she made no effort
+to drive it out. That the future might hold for her a change so complete
+was something she wanted to let her thoughts linger on. She hardly
+noticed that Roger was gathering Dicky up into his arms to carry him
+upstairs to bed, or that there was a general stir on the veranda,
+betokening a move indoors.
+
+"Miss Graham was at Dorothy's this afternoon," Ethel Brown said as she
+rose and picked up the straw cushion on which she had been sitting.
+
+"Was she?" inquired Helen interestedly. "I wish I had seen her. I never
+have yet, you know."
+
+"Neither has Ethel Blue. She and Aunt Louise and Dorothy and I went over
+to the new house and looked at the attic. She says she'll come over next
+week and help us about the bedroom floor. That will be ready then for us
+to talk about the decorating."
+
+"Be sure and let me know when she is coming. What did she say about the
+attic?"
+
+"She liked it especially because it had been sheathed, following all the
+ins and outs. She thought the irregularity was pretty. She suggested a
+closet for furs over the kitchen. It won't cost much to bring the
+refrigerating pipes up there, she says."
+
+"That's bully. Aunt Louise may take care of my fur gloves for me next
+summer if the moths don't eat them up this year," promised Roger who had
+stopped in the doorway to hear Ethel Brown's report, and stood with the
+still sleeping Dicky over his shoulder.
+
+"She suggested a raised ledge about fourteen inches high to stand trunks
+on."
+
+"Then you don't break your back bending over them when you're hunting for
+something," exclaimed Helen. "That's splendid. She seems to have
+practical ideas as well as ornamental ones."
+
+"She thought there ought to be a fire bucket closet up there, too. You
+know Aunt Louise has had them put in on all the other floors, but she
+didn't think of it there."
+
+"What is it?" asked Mrs. Morton.
+
+"Just a narrow closet with four shelves. On each of the lower three are
+fire buckets to be kept full of water all the time and on the top shelf
+are some of those hand grenade things and chemical squirt guns. They
+don't look very well when they're right out in sight. This way covers
+them up but makes them just as convenient. There is to be no lock on the
+door of the closet and FIRE is to be painted outside so every one will
+know where it is even if he gets rattled when the fire really happens."
+
+"Are the maids' rooms to be on the attic floor?" asked Mrs. Morton.
+
+"Two little beauties, and a bath-room between them. One room is to be
+pink and the other blue and they're going to have ivory paint and fluffy
+curtains just like Dorothy's."
+
+"Did you think to say anything to Miss Graham about the Club's using the
+attic in winter for weekly meetings?"
+
+"Dorothy did. She thought a movable platform would be a great scheme; one
+wide enough for us to use for a little stage when we wanted to have
+singing or recitations up there. She picked out a good place for the
+phonograph, where the shape of the ceiling wouldn't make the sound queer,
+and she thought rattan furniture stained brown would be pretty, and scrim
+curtains--not dead white ones, but a sort of goldeny cream that would
+harmonize with the wood. There are lovely big cotton rugs in dull blues,
+that aren't expensive, she says; and if we don't want to see the row of
+trunks and chests against the wall we can arrange screens that will shut
+them out of sight and will also take the place of the pictures that you
+can't hang on a wall that slopes the wrong way."
+
+"I don't see, then, but Aunt Louise will have an attic and we'll have a
+club room and both parties to the transaction will be pleased," beamed
+Helen, who, as president of the Club was always careful that the members
+should be comfortable when they gathered for their weekly talking and
+planning and working.
+
+"Doesn't Miss Graham come from Washington?" asked Ethel Blue dreamily,
+half awakening to the conversation.
+
+"Yes, you know she does."
+
+"Fort Myer is just across the river; I wonder if she knows Father."
+
+"Ask her when you see her," recommended Ethel Brown, and they all went in
+to bed as a clap of thunder gave promise of a cooling shower.
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER VI
+                       SPRING ALL THE YEAR ROUND
+
+
+It proved to be quite a week later before the workmen were far enough
+along to make it worth while for Miss Graham to be summoned to a
+conference on the decoration of the bedroom floor, and when Ethel Blue
+met her at last she forgot altogether to ask if she knew her dearly
+beloved father.
+
+There were several reasons why she did not ask. In the first place she
+had forgotten that she meant to; in the next, Miss Daisy was so absorbed
+in what she was hearing from all the Club members about their ideas for
+the bed-rooms, and so interested in comparing them with her own practical
+knowledge of how they could be carried out, that no one who listened to
+her or saw her at work wanted to interrupt her with any questions that
+had no bearing on the matter in hand.
+
+Not that she was not interested in the young people. She was thoroughly
+interested in them. She knew all of their names and sorted out one from
+the other immediately just from Margaret's and James's descriptions of
+them. She listened attentively to their suggestions and they all felt
+that she was treating their ideas with respect and that if she did not
+always agree with them she had a good reason for it.
+
+"I think she's the most competent woman almost that I ever saw," said
+Helen admiringly to Margaret as they stood at one side of the upper hall
+and watched her as she rapidly sketched for Mrs. Smith what she meant by
+a certain plan of window hanging.
+
+Helen was greatly interested in new occupations for women and the fact
+that this woman had studied to be an interior decorator and had succeeded
+so well that she had orders from the suburbs of New York itself had
+impressed the young girl as making her well worth trying to know well.
+Helen was not drawn toward interior decorating--she had already made up
+her mind, that she was to be one of the scientific home-makers educated
+at the School of Mothercraft--but she admired women with the courage to
+start new things, and this work seemed to her to be perfectly suited to a
+woman and at the same time of enough importance to be really worth while
+putting a lot of preparation into it. The dressing of shop windows seemed
+to her another peculiarly feminine occupation, hardly entered at all, as
+yet, by women, and capable of being developed into an art.
+
+"The decoration of a room or a building ought to seem a sort of growth
+from the room or the building," Miss Graham was explaining to the Ethels.
+"It ought to seem perfectly natural that it should be there, just as a
+blossom seems perfectly natural to find on a plant. I never like the
+phrase 'applied design,'" she continued, smiling as she turned to Mrs.
+Smith. "It sounds as if you made a design and then clapped it on to the
+afflicted spot as if it were a plaster of some kind."
+
+"Too often it looks that way," Mrs. Smith smiled in return. "Come and see
+how we've arranged our sleeping porches."
+
+As Miss Graham stood in the doorway that opened on to the porch of
+Dorothy's room, one hand resting on Ethel Brown's shoulder, Helen felt
+more than ever the power--for friendliness and good will as well as for
+the execution of her art--that this dark-eyed, dark-haired, ruddy-cheeked
+young woman possessed. Her nose was a trifle too short for beauty and her
+mouth a bit too wide, but her coloring denoted health, her hair curled
+crisply over a broad forehead, her teeth were brilliantly white, and the
+straight folds of her gown showed the lines of her strong figure as the
+strange dull blue-green of her linen frock, dashed with a bit of orange,
+brought into relief all the good points of her tinting.
+
+"She makes you want to stop and look at her," Helen decided, "and you
+want to know her, too."
+
+Mrs. Smith had arranged for three sleeping porches, one for her own room,
+one for Dorothy's, and a larger one outside of the nursery where the
+Belgian baby enjoyed herself in the daytime. This porch was also shared
+by Elisabeth's care-taker. Each porch was on a different side of the
+house, so that they did not encroach upon each other, and each was
+somewhat different in arrangement.
+
+"Did you originate this idea?" asked Miss Graham, as she examined the
+sliding windows by which the bed was to be shut off from the room at
+night and enclosed in the room in the morning. "You never need step out
+of bed on to the cold floor of the porch," she commented approvingly.
+
+"I saw that in a sanitarium," returned Mrs. Smith. "It was desirable that
+the patients should never be chilled and the doctor and architect
+invented this way of preventing it."
+
+"It's capital," smiled Miss Graham, "and so simple. When the inside sash
+is closed, the outside is up, and vice versa. Are they all like this?"
+
+"Yes," answered her hostess. "Dorothy is to have a couch in that corner,
+and a table and chairs. There is to be a screw eye attached to the foot
+of the couch. A weight on the end of a cord will go through a pulley
+fastened to the wall, high up over the head of the couch. There will be a
+hook at the other end of the cord. When this hook goes into the screw eye
+and the weight is pulled, the couch will stand on its head and will be
+out of the way at any time when floor space is more to be desired than
+lying down comfort."
+
+"Of course there will be some sort of drapery to cover the under side
+when it is hauled up against the wall," said Miss Graham with a question
+in her voice.
+
+"Dorothy has something in mind that is going to meet that difficulty, she
+thinks," answered Mrs. Smith.
+
+"Are you going to have your room of any decided color," asked Miss
+Graham.
+
+"I've been perfectly crazy for a rose-colored room, ever since I was a
+tiny child," answered Dorothy. "I've set my heart on this room's looking
+like a pink rose--"
+
+"Or a bunch of apple blossoms?" asked Miss Graham.
+
+Ethel Blue looked quickly at the decorator when she made this suggestion
+which at once stirred the young girl's imagination to a mental sight of a
+springtime tree laden with clusters of blossoms, whose delicate white was
+flushed with the delicate pink of the dawn. The suggestion appealed to
+her immediately as possible of a development far more exquisite than that
+which Dorothy had planned. Both would be pink, yet the fineness of the
+new color scheme seemed to her suited to Dorothy's slender grace. She
+could not have put it into words but she felt that Miss Graham had a
+feeling for color that enabled her to adapt the room in which the color
+was to be used to the personality of the young girl who was chiefly to
+use it. Instinctively she moved closer to Miss Graham and met her smiling
+glance with a nod and smile of understanding.
+
+Dorothy liked the new idea.
+
+"I think an apple-blossom room would be perfectly lovely," she exclaimed.
+"If Mother would only let me use wall-paper--I saw such a beauty pattern
+the other day. There were clusters of apple-blossoms all over it."
+
+"Are you going to use wall-paper," Miss Graham asked Mrs. Smith.
+
+"Dorothy and I decided that we would not use wall-paper in the bed-rooms
+at any rate," answered Dorothy's mother.
+
+"I wish we hadn't," pouted Dorothy, but she was cheered when Miss Graham
+nodded her approval of their decision.
+
+"You're quite right," she said. "Apart from the sanitary side it isn't a
+good plan to paper walls until the plaster is thoroughly dry. This is
+especially true of a house built on the side of a hill."
+
+"This house has such a wonderful concrete foundation," said Margaret,
+"that I should think it would be always perfectly solid."
+
+"So should I," answered Miss Graham, "but there's always a chance that
+some part of the soil beneath may give a little when the full weight of a
+house rests upon it. The settling of a house for only a half inch or an
+inch would play havoc with the plaster on these walls."
+
+"You think we'd better hold back the paper for a final resort?" asked
+Mrs. Smith.
+
+"I never advise paper in bed-rooms unless there's good reason to do so,"
+answered the decorator. "Here is what I should suggest for an
+apple-blossom room--though perhaps you have some ideas that you would
+like to have carried out?" she interrupted herself to ask Dorothy.
+
+"No," said Dorothy, "as long as it's pink and pretty I don't care how it
+is decorated."
+
+Miss Graham stood in the centre of the room now, noticing how the
+sunshine fell on the floor, the shadow at the end where the sleeping
+porch was, and the possible positions for the various articles of
+furniture.
+
+"I seem to see these walls washed with a white which is tinted with a
+faint flush of pink," said Miss Graham slowly, as she thought it out.
+"That means a pink so delicate that it will not irritate the weariest
+nerves and will soothe to sleep by its beauty. The wood-work should be
+similar in tone but a trifle more like ivory. Do you know that chintz
+that has blurry, indefinite flowers on it?"
+
+Dorothy said that she did.
+
+"I saw a lovely piece of it the other day with a design of
+apple-blossoms. I should use that as a covering for your bed, your couch,
+your chairs, and for hangings for the windows. Then across one end of the
+wall--on that shadiest side,--I should throw a branch of apple-blossoms,
+painted in the same blurry, indefinite way in which the flowers appear on
+the chintz. I knew a man who was enough of the artist in his soul to do
+the thing as if the wall had suddenly grown thin and through it you could
+see an apple tree in blossom out in the orchard."
+
+"I think that would be perfectly lovely," said Dorothy, and all the
+others expressed the greatest pleasure at the proposed scheme of
+decoration.
+
+"Here is what I would suggest for the windows," said Miss Daisy, taking
+out her note book, and sketching with a few rapid lines the folds of
+apple-blossom chintz, falling straight at the sides, with a valance at
+the top showing a very slight fullness.
+
+"Between these and the windows," said Miss Graham, "I should put Swiss
+muslin, either perfectly plain or dotted or with a fine cross-bar,
+whichever you like best. I should have those muslin curtains next to the
+glass all alike all over the house and the shades, too, so that the
+effect from the outside will be uniform and not messy."
+
+"That neatness will suit Ethel Brown's ideas of what is harmonious,"
+laughed Helen, and Miss Graham flashed her brilliant smile on Ethel
+Brown, who was nodding her approval of the idea as she listened.
+
+"Now, how had you planned to finish the other sleeping porches?" inquired
+Miss Graham.
+
+"We thought we'd better have a radiator on the one leading off the
+nursery," said Mrs. Smith.
+
+"You'll have to be awfully careful about its freezing," warned Miss
+Graham.
+
+"I suppose we shall, but it seemed as if it might be advisable with a
+child who has been so delicate as Elisabeth. You will see that the outer
+ledge of her porch is somewhat higher than either Dorothy's or mine and
+there are pieces of lattice work to fill in the openings on very cold
+nights. We thought we'd have out there a low play-table for the baby, and
+one or two little chairs and a work-table and easy-chair for Miss
+Merriam."
+
+"There are cotton Chinese rugs that are extremely pretty for upstairs
+porches," said Miss Graham. "One that is largely white but has a dash of
+green and pink, would be charming for Dorothy's porch. What color is the
+baby's room to be?"
+
+"Ethel Blue wants us to have it pale blue."
+
+Again a vivid look of appreciation came into Miss Graham's eyes as she
+turned them on Ethel Blue, but she merely said, "There are charming
+Chinese rugs in white with dull blue designs like old Chinese pottery.
+Tell me what you had planned in your mind for Elisabeth," she continued,
+turning toward the young girl and extending her hand so winningly that
+Ethel found herself not only standing beside her with a feeling that she
+had been her friend for a long time, but filled with confidence that her
+suggestions would not be laughed at, and might indeed be really good.
+
+"I thought of walls and paint of white faintly colored with blue. It was
+just about what you suggested for Dorothy's room, only blue instead of
+pink; and it seemed to me that there might be blue birds--for happiness,
+you know--skimming along the walls, up near the top."
+
+"One of those big Chinese rugs that is almost all white, but has a little
+blue, would be lovely, wouldn't it?" cried Helen, seizing the idea.
+
+"Several small ones would be better," returned Miss Graham, "because a
+baby's room has to be kept so spick and span that you want to have light
+rugs that are easy to take up and clean."
+
+"You know those little round seats that you sometimes see in railway
+waiting rooms?" asked Ethel Blue.
+
+Miss Graham said she had noticed them.
+
+"Don't you think one would be cunning for Elisabeth? The seat part ought
+to be awfully low and there could be light blue cushions on it. And then
+I think it would be fun if there was a low bench running around two sides
+of the room, with cushions of the same color on it. It would do for a
+table and a seat both."
+
+Miss Graham thought the idea was capital.
+
+"How would you paint them?" she asked.
+
+"Wouldn't a sort of bluish-white like the wood-work be pretty," asked
+Ethel Blue. "You know that shiny paint that is so highly polished that
+the baby's finger marks won't show on it."
+
+"Enamel paint," translated Miss Graham. "I think it would be very pretty,
+and I should have all the little chairs and tables painted the same way.
+There are a lot of little things that would be charming in the nursery,"
+she continued. "You can have a solid table, whose top lifts off,
+disclosing a sand-pile inside. And some parts of that seat around the
+room ought to lift up so that the baby can put away her own toys in the
+box underneath the cushions."
+
+"I thought a great big doll's house might fit into one corner so that it
+would be two-sided," said Ethel Blue. "If the lower floor was all one
+room the baby could walk right in and sit down with the dolls."
+
+"Do you think she could keep still long enough to make a real visit?"
+laughed Helen.
+
+"You'll want to interest her in plants and animals as she grows up,"
+suggested Miss Graham. "You might begin even now by having an aquarium
+with a few water plants and some gold fish and you must arrange to have
+it on a good solid stand so that it won't tip over if Elisabeth should
+happen to throw her fat little self against it. I suppose she's too small
+to have had any regular training as yet?" she continued, turning to Mrs.
+Smith.
+
+"Miss Merriam, who is taking care of her, is trying some of the
+Montessori ideas."
+
+"I thought perhaps she was. Madame Montessori tries to make all her
+training a natural outcome of the children's lives and to develop them to
+use what they know in their daily occupations. If Elisabeth had a
+clothes-closet small enough for her to hang up and take down her own
+dresses and coats and rompers, I think Miss Merriam would find that she
+would be trying to put them on and fasten them herself very soon."
+
+"Wouldn't a clothes pole about three feet high be too cunning for words,"
+exclaimed Ethel Blue, and Dorothy cried, "Do let us have all these
+things, Mother. Elisabeth will look like a little white Persian kitten,
+trotting around in this blue and white room!"
+
+"Had you made any plans for your own room, Mrs. Smith?" asked Miss
+Graham.
+
+"Oh, Aunt Louise, I do wish you'd have one of those gray rooms, with
+scarlet lacquer furniture," cried Helen eagerly.
+
+Before Mrs. Smith could answer, Miss Graham had interposed a soft
+objection.
+
+"I wouldn't," she said. "A room like that has several reasons for
+non-existence. They are very handsome because the real scarlet lacquer is
+beautiful in itself, and it's valuable too, but a room whose chief appeal
+to the eye is scarlet is not restful."
+
+"You think scarlet is not a proper color for a bed-room," responded
+Helen.
+
+"Not at all suitable to my way of thinking. It's exciting, rather than
+soothing. Another objection to it here is that a room containing such a
+vivid color should be a dark room, and all of your bed-rooms are
+splendidly light. But the most serious objection to my mind, is this.
+Just step out here in the entry with me for a minute."
+
+They all followed Miss Graham on to the landing at the head of the
+stairs.
+
+"In a house as small as this," she said, "you can see from the hall into
+all the bed-rooms. That means that from the decorator's point of view,
+the entire floor ought to be harmonious. Behind us, for instance, is the
+baby's delicate blue nursery. Just ahead is Dorothy's apple-blossom room.
+Do you think that a room of gray and scarlet and black is going to be
+harmonious with those delicate tints?"
+
+They saw her meaning at once and agreed with her that it would not be
+suitable.
+
+"I decorated a small apartment last winter," she said, "that turned out
+very happily. The sitting room was one of these scarlet lacquer rooms and
+the bed-room was done in tones of pale green and dull orange. You felt as
+if you were sitting in an orange grove in Florida on an evening when a
+frost was expected and they were burning smudges to warm the trees."
+
+"I know," cried Dorothy, "I've seen them do that. You see the oranges
+gleaming through the misty smoke, and it's all hazy and beautiful."
+
+"It turned out well in this room that I did," said Miss Graham, modestly,
+"but if you accept the blue and pink colorings for the other rooms here,"
+she said, turning to Mrs. Smith with a smile, "I'm afraid your own room
+will have to be of some delicate tone to harmonize with them."
+
+"There are certain shades of yellow, that would be suitable," returned
+Mrs. Smith.
+
+"A primrose yellow," answered Miss Graham, "would be charming, and it
+would not be hard to find a lovely chintz, that would give you just the
+spring-like atmosphere that you'd enjoy having about you all the time."
+
+"I think we're going to have this floor a little piece of spring all the
+year around," said Ethel Blue; and again Miss Graham flashed at her a
+look of understanding.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER VII
+                        CLOSETS AND STEPMOTHERS
+
+
+After they had shown all the rest of the house to Miss Daisy the family
+party gathered on the brick terrace outside of the drawing room to
+investigate lemonade and little cakes. The Ethels had brought the
+lemonade from home in a thermos bottle which kept it cool and refreshing,
+and that morning Dorothy had made some "hearts and rounds" which proved
+most appetizing with the cool drink.
+
+A few canvas chairs which Mrs. Smith had sent over from home, so that she
+might have something to sit down on when she visited the new house, were
+all the furniture of the veranda, but the girls found several boxes which
+the workmen had left, and they laid planks on them and made benches that
+were entirely comfortable. A similar arrangement with the boxes turned on
+their ends provided a little table on which they placed the refreshments.
+Paper cups answered every necessary purpose, although they were not
+beautiful, and paper plates held the hearts and rounds just as well as if
+they had been china.
+
+They were all a little tired after walking about the house for so long a
+time, and those of them who had chairs leaned back with satisfaction and
+looked over the low parapet to the adjoining meadow with its brook and
+its cluster of woods at the upper end. Beyond the fields the Emersons'
+house could be seen dimly through the trees.
+
+"We wondered in the springtime whether we should be able to see this
+house from Grandfather's house," said Ethel Brown. "I haven't looked
+lately, but I guess we can, or else we shouldn't be able to see
+Grandfather's house from here."
+
+"The line of those far-away mountains is very beautiful against the sky,"
+Miss Graham noticed, with her keen observation of everything that added
+to the loveliness of the landscape.
+
+"They are far enough away to have a blue haze hanging over them," said
+Mrs. Smith, "and they give you a feeling that our quiet country scene
+here has a great deal of variety after all."
+
+"Your house is admirably placed to make the most of every beauty around
+you," said Miss Daisy, "and I hope you'll allow me to compliment you on
+the way it is turning out. You know they say that you have to build two
+or three houses in order to build one exactly to your satisfaction, but I
+should think that you were almost accomplishing that with your first
+attempt."
+
+"I am glad you like so many things about it," said Mrs. Smith. "Dorothy
+and I would be pleased with almost any house that really belonged to us,
+for we've had nothing of our own for many years, but of course it is a
+tremendous satisfaction to have this develop into something that is
+beautiful and livable too."
+
+"You've added so many happy touches," said Miss Graham. "Take for
+instance this terrace. A brick terrace always makes me think of some old
+country house in England, with its dark red walls buried among the
+brilliant green foliage. So many of those houses have terraces like this,
+partly roofed like yours, and wide enough to be really an extra room."
+
+"Aunt Louise's terrace is really two extra rooms," said Ethel Blue,
+"because it opens from the drawing room and also from the dining room."
+
+"We're going to have all our meals out here in pleasant weather, whenever
+it's warm enough," said Dorothy.
+
+"I can see you're sufficiently afraid of New Jersey mosquitoes to have a
+part screened."
+
+"It's the only prudent thing to do," returned Mrs. Smith. "Jersey
+mosquitoes are really more than a joke, but if you have this wire cage to
+get into you can defy them. You can see that at the end of the terrace
+opposite the dining room our cage covers the whole of the floor, while up
+at this end only a part is wired in. In the evening when the buzzers are
+buzzing we can take shelter behind the screen, but in the daytime we can
+sit outside as we're doing now."
+
+"Are you going to glass it in winter? I see you have a radiator."
+
+"There are to be long glass sashes that fit into the same grooves that
+hold the screens now. The open fire will take off the chill on autumn
+mornings and the radiator ought to keep us warm even when the snow is
+banked against the glass."
+
+"With palms and rubber plants and rugs and wicker chairs and tables--I
+suppose you'll have wicker?" Mrs. Morton interrupted herself to inquire
+of her sister-in-law.
+
+"Yes, wicker, but we haven't decided between brown or green," and Mrs.
+Smith turned appealingly to Miss Graham.
+
+"Neither, I should say. Don't you think a dull dark red, a mahogany
+red--would be pretty with this brick floor?"
+
+"And against the concrete wall. I do; and it ought not to be hard to find
+rugs with dull reds and greens that will draw all those earthy, autumnal
+shades together."
+
+"You might have one of those swinging settees hanging by chains from the
+ceiling."
+
+"Dorothy would enjoy that."
+
+"So would we," interposed Ethel Brown. "I seem to see myself perching on
+it, waving my lemonade cup."
+
+"Don't illustrate all over me," remonstrated Ethel Blue, dodging the
+flowing bowl.
+
+"I like very much the seclusion you've gained by building up the wall at
+the end of the terrace on the side toward the road," said Miss Graham.
+
+"We found that people could see from the road any one sitting on the
+terrace, although we're so high here," said Mrs. Smith, "but with the
+parapet built up at that end, they can't see anything, even though there
+is an opening in the wall."
+
+"And the window frames a lovely picture of the meadows across the road
+from you."
+
+"I don't see," said Ethel Brown, "why you always call your living room a
+drawing room, Aunt Louise."
+
+"It isn't a living room," returned Mrs. Smith. "A living room is really a
+room which is used both as a sitting room and a dining room. No room
+which is used for only one of those purposes should be called a living
+room."
+
+"Lots of people do," insisted Ethel Brown.
+
+"But they are not right," returned her aunt.
+
+"Drawing room seems a very formal name for it," Helen said. "Of course
+we're used to it, because Grandmother Emerson always calls her parlor a
+drawing room, but she has a huge, big room, so my idea of a drawing room
+is always something immense."
+
+"Perhaps it is rather old-fashioned and stately," admitted Mrs. Smith;
+"but the drawing room is simply a place where the family _withdraws_ to
+sit together and talk together, and it need not be any more formal than
+the people who use it. But I protest that my drawing room or sitting
+room, or whatever it may be, shall not be called a living room, because
+it is not devoted to eating as well as sitting."
+
+"I am glad you make that distinction," said Miss Graham. "So many people
+are careless about using the word and nowadays you seldom find a real
+living room except in a bungalow in the country where people are living
+very informally during the summer, and where space is limited. There's
+another thing about your house that I like exceedingly," she continued,
+"and that is your closets."
+
+Mrs. Morton, who had joined the party on the terrace, laughed heartily at
+this praise.
+
+"That ought to please you, Louise," she said, and added, turning to Miss
+Graham, "Louise has spent more time inventing all sorts of cupboards and
+closets than in drawing the original plan of the house, I really
+believe."
+
+"I know it wasn't wasted time," returned Miss Graham. "I have every
+sympathy with a craze for closets. You can't have too many to suit me. Do
+you remember that room at Mt. Vernon entirely surrounded by cupboards and
+closets? I always thought Washington must have had an extraordinarily
+orderly mind to want to have all his dining room belongings carefully
+placed on shelves behind closed doors!"
+
+"I wonder how many different kinds of closets we have," murmured Dorothy,
+beginning to count them up on her fingers. Everybody tossed in a
+contribution, naming the closet which she happened to remember.
+
+"A coat closet near the front door," said Ethel Brown.
+
+"Clothes closets in every bed-room and two extra ones in the attic,"
+added Mrs. Smith.
+
+"A dress closet with mirrors on the doors, that turn back to make a
+three-fold dressing glass. I envy you that comfort, Louise," said Mrs.
+Morton.
+
+"You'll notice that the coat closets and the clothes closets all have
+long poles with countless hangers on them," said Mrs. Smith. "They'll
+hold a tremendous number of garments; many more than Dorothy and I have."
+
+"The closet I'm craziest about is the one that is filled with glass cubes
+to put hats in," said Helen. "You open the door and there are half a
+dozen, and you can see the hats right through, so you don't have to keep
+pulling out one box after another, always getting the wrong one first."
+
+"That's a perfectly splendid idea," approved Miss Graham. "I suppose
+along the lower part of the closet side of your room, you have small
+closets and cupboards for shoes and for blouses."
+
+"I have my blouse closet above my shoe closet," returned Mrs. Smith.
+
+"Did you notice the tall, thin closet for one-piece dresses?" asked Ethel
+Blue.
+
+"I should think that would be splendid because it doesn't jam up your
+evening dresses," said Helen, who was beginning to think longingly of
+real, grown-up evening dresses.
+
+"That's the closet Ethel Blue always calls the 'stepmother closet,'"
+laughed Ethel Brown.
+
+"Why 'stepmother closet'?" inquired Miss Graham quickly.
+
+"Because it would pinch a stepmother so hard if she got into it," said
+Ethel Blue.
+
+Miss Graham looked puzzled and Dorothy explained.
+
+"Ethel Blue hates stepmothers. She doesn't know why, except that they are
+always horrid in fairy stories, but she thinks this long narrow closet
+would be just the place to put a horrid one into to punish her."
+
+"Stepmothers are often very nice," said Mrs. Morton.
+
+"I had a stepmother," said Miss Graham, "and I couldn't have loved my own
+mother more tenderly, and I'm sure she loved Margaret's mother and me
+quite as well as if we had been her own children. In fact, I think she
+was more careful of us than she was of her own children. She used to say
+we were a legacy to her and that she felt it her duty as well as her
+delight to be extra good to us, for our mother's sake."
+
+Ethel Blue listened and smiled at the kind brown eyes that were smiling
+at her, but she shook her head as if she were unconvinced.
+
+"At any rate you might select your closet to fit your stepmother," Miss
+Daisy laughed, "and if you wanted to be very bad to a thin one, you could
+make her squeeze up small in one of the glass hat boxes, and a fat one
+would suffer most in this narrow closet of yours."
+
+They all laughed again and went on with the list of closets in the house.
+
+"You noticed, I hope," said Mrs. Smith, "that almost every closet in the
+house has an electric bulb inside that lights when you open the door and
+goes out again when the door is closed."
+
+"Splendid," approved Miss Graham. "Is there one in your linen closet?"
+
+"Yes, indeed. Did you notice that the linen closet is on the bedroom
+floor? There need be no carrying up and down stairs of heavy bed linen.
+The linen for the maid's room, in the attic, is kept in a small linen
+closet up there, and the table linen belongs in a closet made especially
+for it in the dining room. It has many glass shelves quite close
+together, so that each table cloth may have a spot to itself and the
+centrepieces and doilies may be kept flat with nothing to rumple them."
+
+"I suppose the medicine closets will go into the bath-rooms when the
+other fittings are installed," said Mrs. Morton.
+
+"Yes," returned her sister-in-law.
+
+"Did you notice the pretty cedar shavings that the carpenters left on the
+floor of the cedar closet?" asked Dorothy. "They say they always leave
+the cedar shavings they made, because people like to put them among their
+clothes to make them fragrant."
+
+"I'm glad you are having a cedar closet," said Margaret. "Mother got
+along with a cedar chest for a great many years, but she has always
+longed for a cedar closet. She had one built this summer."
+
+"We have both," said Dorothy. "The chest is going up in the attic and the
+closet is on the bedroom floor."
+
+"The thing that pleases me most in the closet line," said Ethel Brown,
+who is a good cook, "is the pastry closet just off the kitchen. The
+carpenter told me there was a refrigerating pipe running around it so
+that it would always be cool, and there was to be a plate glass shelf on
+which the pastry could be rolled out."
+
+"You certainly have the latest wrinkles," exclaimed Mrs. Morton
+admiringly. "I have never seen that arrangement in real life. I thought
+it only existed in large hotels or the women's magazines!"
+
+"There are lots of other little comforts in our house," laughed Dorothy,
+"and there are two or three more kinds of closets if we count bookcases
+that have doors and cupboards to keep games in."
+
+"They're every one modern and useful except that stepmother squeezer,"
+said Miss Graham, rising to take leave. "That sounds like some invention
+of the Middle Ages when people used to torture each other to death so
+cheerfully."
+
+"O, I wouldn't _torture_ her," protested Ethel Blue.
+
+"Unless she were a really truly fairy story bad one," Miss Daisy
+insisted. "Could you resist that?"
+
+She held Ethel Blue's eyes for just a second with her smiling gaze that
+was graven down in the depths of her warm brown ones.
+
+"I wouldn't _really_ hurt her," Ethel Blue repeated, and wondered why she
+felt as if she had been taken seriously.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER VIII
+                  "OFF TO PHILADELPHIA IN THE MORNING"
+
+
+"Helen," called Mrs. Morton a few days later just after the morning visit
+of the letter carrier, "I have a note here from Uncle Richard asking me
+if I can run over to Philadelphia and attend to a little matter of
+business for him. He is so tied up at Fort Myer that he can't possibly
+get away. Do you think it would be pleasant if you and I went over for a
+few days and took Roger and the children with us?"
+
+The "children" of the Morton family meant those younger than Roger and
+Helen. Helen received the suggestion with a cry of delight.
+
+"It would be just too lovely for anything," she said, waving in the air
+the little linen dress she was making for Elisabeth.
+
+"The younger girls had the Massachusetts trip this summer that you and
+Roger didn't share," her mother said. "I think this time we might all of
+us go, and I'm not sure that it would not be pleasant to ask the
+Watkinses and the Hancocks."
+
+"The whole U. S. C.!" cried Helen. "Mother, you certainly were born a
+darling. How did you ever think of anything so perfectly galoptious?"
+
+"It's natural for me to be 'galoptious,'" her mother returned, laughing.
+"Now, we shall have to work fast, if we are going to accomplish Uncle
+Richard's errand, because the people whom he wants me to see will be in
+Philadelphia only to-morrow. He has telegraphed them, asking them to keep
+an hour for me, so I must go over to-day or very early to-morrow
+morning."
+
+"Would you like to have me call up Margaret and Della on the telephone
+and see if they can go to-day? If they can, I don't see why we can't fly
+around tremendously and get our bags packed this morning and take an
+afternoon train," said Helen, who was beginning to grow energetic as the
+full prospect of the pleasure before her appeared before the eyes of her
+mind.
+
+Mrs. Morton agreeing, Helen flew to the telephone, and was lucky enough
+to catch Margaret at Glen Point and Della in New York without any
+difficulty. They both said that they would consult their mothers and
+would call Helen again within an hour. She then telephoned to Dorothy,
+but found that she was at Sweetbrier Lodge and as the telephone had not
+been put in yet, she was, for a moment, at a loss what to do. She
+remembered, however, that Ethel Brown and Ethel Blue had spoken of
+spending the morning at Grandmother Emerson's, and she therefore called
+up her house in the hope that they might be there.
+
+They had just left there to go and do a little house-cleaning in the cave
+in Fitzjames' woods, where they frequently enjoyed an afternoon lemonade.
+Mrs. Emerson said, however, that she could easily send a messenger after
+them, and that it would not be many minutes before she would ring Helen
+in her turn.
+
+"I haven't anything to report," Helen said to her mother after she had
+made these various calls, "but I had better be getting out our handbags
+and trying to find Roger, I suppose."
+
+Mrs. Morton was already packing her valise with her own and Dicky's
+requirements and she nodded an assent to Helen's suggestion.
+
+It was not many minutes before the telephone bell began ringing. The
+first summons was from Margaret Hancock who said that her mother and
+father were delighted with the opportunity to have her and James go to
+Philadelphia in Mrs. Morton's care.
+
+"It will be a real Club expedition," she said gleefully, "and I'm just as
+sure as if I saw it with my own eyes, that you're packing a 'History of
+Philadelphia' in your hand-bag."
+
+Helen laughed because she was well accustomed to being joked about her
+love of history.
+
+"I notice all of you are willing enough to listen when I tell about
+places," she said, "and this time you'll have to take it from me because
+Grandfather won't be there to tell you."
+
+The next ring meant that the Ethels had returned to Mrs. Emerson's.
+
+"What do you want of us?" Ethel Blue asked in a tone that sounded as if
+she were not particularly pleased at being called back.
+
+"How would you like to go to Philadelphia?" Helen answered triumphantly.
+
+"Do you really mean it?" asked Ethel, who was not quite sure that her
+ears were hearing correctly.
+
+"I do mean it, and if you and Ethel Blue want to go with Mother and me
+this afternoon, you must rush home just as fast as you can and get your
+bags packed. Aunt Louise says Dorothy may go, but I can't find her, so
+please stop at the new house and see if she's there and tell her about
+it."
+
+"Well I should say we would," returned a voice that was now filled with
+delight. "Ethel Blue wants to know why Mother is going?" she asked.
+
+"On some business for her father--for Uncle Richard. But do stop
+chattering and come home as fast as you can rush. If we don't get off
+this afternoon, we can't go until to-morrow morning and we shan't be able
+to stay so long in Philadelphia."
+
+It was not until they reached home that the Ethels learned that the
+Watkinses and the Hancocks were to join the party, and they were so
+excited over the prospect of this Club pilgrimage, that they were hardly
+able to get together their belongings.
+
+The most difficult person to find was Roger who did not seem to be within
+reach of the telephone anywhere. They called up all the places where they
+thought it possible that he might be, but he could not be found, and he
+walked in just before luncheon quite unprepared for the surprise that
+awaited him.
+
+"Helen has packed your bag for you," his mother told him, "so rush and
+change your clothes and go to the train to meet Della and Tom."
+
+Rosemont being already part way on the road from New York and
+Philadelphia, it was necessary for the party to take a local train to the
+nearest stopping place of the Express. The Watkinses came out from New
+York on a local and the Hancocks arrived on the trolley, so that the
+entire group met at the Mortons' about half an hour before the time to
+start. They were all chattering briskly, all filled with enthusiasm for
+this new adventure.
+
+"Don't you think I'd better go too?" Mr. Emerson asked his daughter, as
+he counted up the throng and noticed their eagerness.
+
+"I don't think it's necessary, Father," Mrs. Morton replied. "Roger and
+Tom and James are surely big enough to escort us, and I know Philadelphia
+so well that I have no fear of our being lost in the city with three such
+competent young men to take care of us."
+
+Mr. Emerson smiled somewhat doubtfully and murmured something about his
+daughter's having a hopeful disposition.
+
+"You don't realize how serious Roger can be when he feels that he has
+actual responsibility," said Mrs. Morton, "and as for James Hancock, he
+is sometimes so grave that he almost alarms me."
+
+"He may be grave, but has he any sense?" asked Mr. Emerson tartly.
+
+"The children seem to think he has a great deal. At any rate I feel sure
+that no difficulty is going to come to us with these three big boys on
+hand and I wouldn't think of taking you on this fatiguing trip, on such a
+hot day," insisted his daughter.
+
+Mr. Emerson looked somewhat relieved although he again assured Mrs.
+Morton that he would be entirely willing to escort her and her flock.
+
+"No farther than the Rosemont station, thank you," she said, smiling.
+
+It was at the station and just as the train was drawing in that Mr.
+Emerson handed Helen a notebook.
+
+"You've taken me by surprise this morning," he said, "and I haven't had
+much time to get up my usual collection of historical poetry, but I
+couldn't let you go off without having something of the kind to remember
+me by."
+
+Helen and the Ethels laughed at this confession, for Mr. Emerson was so
+fond of American history that he was in the habit, whenever they all went
+on trips together, of supplying himself with ballads concerning any
+historical happenings in the district through which they were to travel.
+
+"Philadelphia ought to be a fertile field for you, sir," said James
+Hancock.
+
+"It is," returned the old gentleman, "but you'll escape the full force of
+my efforts this time, thanks to your quick start."
+
+The run to the junction and then to Philadelphia was made in a short
+time. It was fairly familiar to all of them and the country presented no
+beauties to make it remarkable, although Roger pretended to be a guide
+showing wonderful sights to the New Yorkers, Della and Tom.
+
+"Do you think, Mother, we shall have time to look up some of the
+historical places in the city?" asked Helen.
+
+"I thought that would be the most interesting thing to do," Mrs. Morton
+replied. "I shan't have to meet my business people until midday
+to-morrow, so this afternoon and to-morrow morning we can see many points
+of interest if we don't delay too long at each one."
+
+"Being related to the Navy through my paternal ancestor," said Roger in
+large language, "Philadelphia has always interested me because the father
+of old William Penn, its founder, was an Admiral in the English Navy."
+
+"I didn't know that," said Helen.
+
+"Watch me run for base!" exclaimed Roger. "I got one off of Helen on the
+first ball. It isn't often that Helen admits there's something she
+doesn't know about American history."
+
+"You miserable boy! You sound as if I were pretending to be a
+'know-it-all'! There are plenty of things I don't know about American
+history. For instance I know very little about William Penn, except that
+he was a Quaker."
+
+"Well then," said Roger, "allow me to inform you, beloved sister, that
+William Penn was an Oxford man and a preacher in the Society of Friends.
+He seems to have had some pull because the powers gave him a grant of
+Pennsylvania (that means Penn's Woods), in 1680. He went to America two
+years later and founded this minute little town which we are
+approaching."
+
+"Those old Englishmen on the other side certainly had a calm way of
+giving out grants of land without saying anything about it to the
+Indians, didn't they?" said Margaret.
+
+"Penn got along much better with the Indians than many of the heads of
+the colonies. He made a treaty with them, which is said to have been very
+remarkable in two ways; in the first place he wouldn't swear to keep it
+because he was a Quaker, and Quakers won't take an oath; and in the next
+place, he _did_ keep it, which was quite an event in colonial circles!"
+
+"He must have been a good chap," commented Tom.
+
+"You're going to see a statue of him as soon as you get off the train,"
+interposed Mrs. Morton.
+
+"Where is it?" asked Ethel Brown.
+
+"On top of the City Hall. It's the first thing you see when you come out
+of the railroad station. In fact you're so close to the Public Buildings,
+as they're called, that I doubt if you can see the top at all until you
+get farther away from them."
+
+"The statue must be enormous if it's up so high," said Ethel Blue.
+
+"I've been told it was thirty-seven feet high," returned Mrs. Morton,
+"and that the rim of the old gentleman's hat was so wide that a person
+could walk on it comfortably."
+
+"Wouldn't it be fun to do our back step on the edge of his hat!"
+exclaimed Ethel Blue to Ethel Brown, as they looked out the cab which was
+taking them to the hotel, and saw the figure of the benevolent Quaker
+black against the sky some five hundred feet above the ground.
+
+The hotel wherein Mrs. Morton established her flock was "in the heart of
+conservative Philadelphia." Immediately after luncheon they packed
+themselves into a large touring car and began their historical
+explorations.
+
+"If we do things according to time, we ought to go first to all of the
+places that have to do with William Penn," said Helen.
+
+"I'm afraid that might make us jump around the city a little," said Mrs.
+Morton, "because if I am not mistaken, the house that William Penn gave
+to his daughter Letitia, is out in Fairmount Park, and the one belonging
+to his grandson is in the Zoo. We'll see them before we go home, but now
+we had better give our attention to the things that are here in the city.
+To begin with we can go to the little park on whose site William Penn
+made his famous treaty with the Indians. It takes us somewhat out of our
+way, but I know Helen's orderly mind will like to begin there."
+
+Helen smiled at her mother's understanding of her, and the car sped
+northwards along the river front, now given over to business and
+tenements. At the Treaty Park they looked about them with their
+imaginations rather than with their eyes, for there was little of
+interest before them, while the Past held a vision of the elm tree under
+which the group of broad-hatted Friends discussed terms with the
+copper-colored natives. Lieutenant Morton's children were interested in
+seeing not far away the ship building yards where many an American
+battleship had slipped from the ways to pursue her peaceful course upon
+the ocean.
+
+Returning as they had come, they passed on Second Street the site of a
+house in which the Great Settler had lived, and promised themselves to
+remember that in Independence Hall they were to look for a piece of the
+Treaty Tree.
+
+"Everything that isn't called 'Penn' in this town seems to be called
+'Franklin,'" said Ethel Blue, after reading many of the signs on the
+buildings.
+
+"That's because the great Benjamin lived here for most of his life," said
+James, by way of explanation. "He was born in Boston, but he soon
+deserted those cold regions for a warmer clime, and made a name for
+himself here."
+
+"I should say he left it behind him," commented Ethel Blue again as she
+read another sign, this time of a "Penn Laundry."
+
+"Penn and Franklin are the two great men of old Philadelphia, without any
+doubt," said Mrs. Morton, as the machine stopped before Carpenters' Hall.
+
+"Help! Help!" cried Tom. "I blush to state that I don't know Carpenters'
+Hall from a ham sandwich."
+
+Helen looked at him with horror on her face.
+
+"Stand right here before we set foot inside and let me tell you that I am
+perfectly shocked that any American boy, old enough to have graduated
+from high school and to be going to Yale in a few weeks, should make such
+a statement as that!"
+
+She was genuinely troubled about it and Tom flushed as he saw that she
+really was scornful of his ignorance.
+
+"Now, next," she said, "do you know what the Boston Tea Party was?"
+
+Tom meekly said that he remembered that in December, 1773, a number of
+Boston men disguised as Indians had thrown overboard from a ship in the
+harbor, boxes of tea on which they refused to pay the British duty.
+
+Helen nodded approvingly.
+
+"I'm glad you remember that much," she said tartly. "After that Tea Party
+there was a continual and rapid growth of dislike for the Old Country,
+which was trying to tax the colonists, without allowing them any
+representation in the Parliament which was governing them. The feeling
+grew so strong that a Continental Congress, made up of delegates from the
+thirteen original Colonies, was called to meet here in Philadelphia, in
+September, 1774. It met here at Carpenters' Hall," she concluded
+triumphantly.
+
+Tom glanced up at the Hall with an entirely new interest.
+
+"In this same old building?" he asked.
+
+"In this very identical place," said Helen, and then she allowed the
+procession to enter the building.
+
+"September 17, 1774," repeated Ethel Brown thoughtfully. "Why, that was
+the autumn before the battles of Concord and Lexington."
+
+"Yes, the Revolution had not yet begun. The Continental Congress met to
+talk over the situation, and here are the very chairs the members used."
+
+Ethel Blue touched one of them with the tips of her fingers.
+
+"I'm glad I've touched anything as interesting as this," she said.
+
+"Look at the inscription," said James, calling their attention to the
+lettering. "WITHIN THESE WALLS HENRY, HANCOCK AND ADAMS INSPIRED THE
+DELEGATES OF THE COLONIES WITH NERVE AND SINEW FOR THE TOILS OF WAR!"
+
+"John Hancock was my great-great-grandfather's brother," said James
+proudly.
+
+"Good for you, old chap," exclaimed Roger, thumping him on the back,
+while Helen beamed at Margaret.
+
+"How long did these Congressmen chat here?" meekly asked Tom of Helen.
+
+"After about a month they agreed on what they called a Declaration of
+Rights, and they sent it over to Franklin, who was in England, and asked
+him to present it to the House of Commons."
+
+"In the light of after events I suppose the House of Commons didn't take
+a look at it," said Roger.
+
+"They certainly did not," replied Helen, "and the battles of Lexington
+and Concord were the result. You remember they were fought in April of
+1775. Ticonderoga was captured in May of the same year and the battle of
+Bunker Hill was fought in June."
+
+"And Congress kept on sitting while all this fighting was going on?"
+
+"Yes; the men discussed each new move as it was made. Early in June one
+of the members made a motion before the Congress that 'these Colonies
+ought to be Independent.'"
+
+"That idea seems simple enough to us now," said Tom, "but I dare say it
+was startling when a mere colonist proposed to break off with the mother
+country."
+
+"It seems to me it's about time for Grandfather Emerson to have some
+poetry on this period of history," said Ethel Brown. "If he were here,
+I'm sure he would never have let this Congress sit for eight or nine
+months without discovering something in poetry about it."
+
+Helen laughed.
+
+"You certainly understand Grandfather," she said. "In just about a
+minute, while we're going over to Independence Hall, I'm going to read
+you some verses that belong right in here. On the first of July they
+began to debate about this proposal that the colonists should be
+independent. It was a mighty important matter, of course, because if they
+adopted it, it certainly meant war, and if they did not beat in the war,
+it might mean a worse state of affairs than they were in at the present
+moment. So there was much to be said on both sides and it looked as if
+the vote was going to be very close. Here's where Rodney the delegate did
+some hard riding," and Helen took out one of the type-written sheets,
+which her grandfather had given her.
+
+"What Colony did he represent?" asked Ethel Blue.
+
+"Rodney was from Delaware," she returned, "Now listen, while I read you
+this poem."
+
+
+                             "RODNEY'S RIDE
+
+    "In that soft mid-land where the breezes bear
+    The North and South on the genial air,
+    Through the county of Kent, on affairs of state,
+    Rode Caesar Rodney, the delegate.
+
+    "Burly and big and bold and bluff,
+    In his three-cornered hat and coat of snuff,
+    A foe to King George and the English State,
+    Was Caesar Rodney, the delegate.
+
+    "Into Dover village he rode apace,
+    And his kinsfolk knew, from his anxious face,
+    It was matter grave that brought him there,
+    To the counties three on the Delaware.
+
+    "'Money and men we must have'm,' he said,
+    'Or the Congress fails and the cause is dead:
+    Give us both and the King shall not work his will.
+    We are men, since the blood of Bunker Hill!'
+
+    "Comes a rider swift on a panting bay:
+    'Ho, Rodney, ho, you must save the day,
+    For the Congress halts at a deed so great,
+    And your vote alone may decide its fate.'
+
+    "Answered Rodney then: 'I will ride with speed;
+    It is Liberty's stress; it is Freedom's need.
+    When stands it?' 'To-night. Not a moment to spare,
+    But ride like the wind from the Delaware.'
+
+    "'Ho, saddle the black! I've but half a day,
+    And the Congress sits eighty miles away--
+    But I'll be in time, if God grants me grace,
+    To shake my fist in King George's face.'
+
+    "He is up: he is off! and the black horse flies
+    On the northward road ere the 'God-speed' dies;
+    It is a gallop and spur as the leagues they clear,
+    And the clustering mile-stones move a-rear.
+
+    "It is two of the clock! and the fleet hoofs fling
+    The Fieldboro's dust with a clang and a cling;
+    It is three; and he gallops with slack rein where
+    The road winds down to the Delaware.
+
+    "Four; and he spurs into New Castle town,
+    From his panting steed he gets trim down--
+    'A fresh one, quick! not a moment's wait!'
+    And off speeds Rodney the delegate.
+
+    "It is five; and the beams of the western sun
+    Tinge the spires of Wilmington gold and dun;
+    Six; and the dust of Chester Street
+    Flies back in a cloud from the courser's feet.
+
+    "It is seven; the horse-boat, broad of beam,
+    At the Schuylkill ferry crawls over the stream--
+    And at seven-fifteen by the Rittenhouse clock,
+    He flings his reins to the tavern jock.
+
+    "The Congress is met; the debate's begun,
+    And Liberty lags for the vote of one--
+    When into the hall, not a moment late,
+    Walks Caesar Rodney, the delegate.
+
+    "Not a moment late! and that half day's ride
+    Forwards the world with a mighty stride;
+    For the act was passed ere the midnight stroke
+    O'er the Quaker City its echoes woke.
+
+    "At Tyranny's feet was the gauntlet flung;
+    'We are free!' all the bells through the colonies rung,
+    And the sons of the free may recall with pride
+    The day of Delegate Rodney's ride."
+
+"Pretty stirring, isn't it! I take it that the Continental Congress had
+moved over to Independence Hall by this time," said Tom, when the reading
+was done.
+
+"Yes, they were over here, sitting in the East Room, when they passed the
+Declaration of Independence."
+
+An attendant seeing the interested faces of the young people, took them
+about the room and explained the relics to them.
+
+"This," he said, "is the very furniture that was in the room at the time
+of the signing of the Declaration. Right on this very table the Document
+received the signature of the President of the Congress--"
+
+"John Hancock," murmured Helen to James in an undertone.
+
+"--and the rest of them," continued the guide.
+
+"Is the original document here?" asked James, who was thrilling with
+interest, but who preserved the calmness which he inherited from his
+Scottish ancestors.
+
+"No," answered the caretaker. "That is kept at Washington in the Library
+of the State Department, but there is an exact copy of it over there on
+the wall."
+
+Going upstairs, the party remembered to look up the piece of the elm
+tree, under which Penn had signed his Treaty with the Indians, and they
+saw in addition the original Charter of Philadelphia, bearing the date
+1701.
+
+In another room they found some furniture belonging to Washington and
+Penn and various portraits of more historic than artistic interest. They
+enjoyed more seeing some of the boards of the original floor. These were
+carefully kept under glass, as if they were great treasures.
+
+"Now we're going to see the most sacred relic in America, next to the
+Declaration itself," said Helen, leading the way down the staircase at
+whose foot was the famous Liberty Bell, which had rung out its message of
+joy on July 4, 1775, when the delegates passed the Declaration and the
+people of Philadelphia knew that war was before them, and yet were glad
+to meet whatever might be the outcome of the defiance.
+
+They gathered in silence around the bell and read its
+description:--"PROCLAIM LIBERTY TO ALL THE LAND AND TO ALL THE
+INHABITANTS THEREOF." They noticed the crack which ran through it, and
+felt that they were looking upon a real veteran of that far-away time.
+
+"Grandfather told me not to forget to tell you about the little boy who
+gave the signal to the bell-ringer," Helen said. "He was stationed where
+he could see the door-keeper of the room in which the delegates were
+sitting. When the final vote was taken, the door-keeper gave the signal
+to the boy and he ran out, shouting the cry that resounded through the
+colonies, 'Ring! Ring! Ring!'"
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER IX
+                      HELEN DISTINGUISHES HERSELF
+
+
+"Come out into the Park for a few minutes," said Mrs. Morton. "I'm
+perfectly sure Helen has some poetry to read to us before very long, and
+if we can sit down for a minute or two on the benches, we can hear it at
+our convenience."
+
+"The fire of discontent had been smouldering for a long time," said
+Helen, beginning her lecture promptly when they were seated, "and just as
+soon as the Declaration was passed the flames burst out. There was
+fighting all over the colonies from South Carolina to New York City.
+Washington was made Commander-in-Chief of the little Army there, but he
+was quite unable to defeat the large force which the British sent. He
+retreated across New Jersey, and in December of 1776--"
+
+"About a year and a half later," interposed Ethel Brown.
+
+Helen nodded and continued: "he reached the Delaware River. The British
+followed him on the other bank of the river, with the centre of the army
+at Trenton, New Jersey. On Christmas Night of 1776, the future of the
+Colonies looked about as dark as the night itself, but here is what
+happened, told in some of the rhymes that Grandfather found for us." And
+Helen read Virginia Woodward Cloud's poem, called the "Ballad of Sweet
+P."
+
+"She was a spirited girl," said James gravely.
+
+"She was too nice a girl to be a deceiving girl," said Ethel Blue, and a
+vigorous discussion as to how much deception was fair in war time would
+have broken out if Helen had not continued her account of the Revolution
+around Philadelphia.
+
+"At day-break on the 26th of December, Washington entered Trenton and
+surprised the enemy," Helen ended.
+
+"It was in the battle of Trenton and in the battle of Princeton about a
+week later, that our Emerson great-great-great-grandfather fought, wasn't
+it?" said Roger, recalling the account which his grandfather had read to
+the Mortons several times from the old family Bible.
+
+"Yes, don't you remember how he fought against his daughter's English
+lover?"
+
+"We must ask the chauffeur where the Betsy Ross house is," said Mrs.
+Morton, rising and leading the way to the car.
+
+The man knew and set off at once through the few narrow streets, and
+before long they were standing in front of the old-fashioned dwelling.
+
+"Who is the lady?" murmured Tom in an undertone to Ethel Brown,
+pretending to be afraid that Helen would hear him but really speaking
+loudly enough to draw her attention.
+
+"Tom Watkins, you're perfectly dreadful," Helen exclaimed promptly. "Do
+you really mean that you don't know who Betsy Ross was?"
+
+This direct question was too much for Tom's truthfulness and he broke
+into a laugh.
+
+"I don't know that I should have known if I hadn't read the other day a
+tale about a play that some urchins wrote for the stage at Hull House in
+Chicago."
+
+"Did Jane Addams tell the story?"
+
+"She did, so it must be true. It was entirely original with some
+immigrant boys who had been studying American history. It went something
+like this:--in the first act some American Revolutionary soldiers are
+talking together and one of them says, 'Gee, ain't it fierce! We ain't
+got no flag.' The others agreed that it was fierce. In the next act a
+delegation of soldiers approached General Washington. They saluted, and
+then said to him, 'General, we ain't got no flag. Gee, ain't it fierce?'"
+
+Tom's story was received with many giggles.
+
+"What did Washington say?" asked Ethel Blue.
+
+"Washington agreed that it was fierce, and said that he'd do something
+about it, so the next act shows him at the house of Betsy Ross. He said
+to her, 'Mrs. Ross, we ain't got no flag. Ain't it fierce? What shall we
+do about it?'"
+
+"They didn't have a very large vocabulary," laughed Margaret.
+
+"But the American spirit was there," insisted Mrs. Morton.
+
+"What did Betsy say," inquired Ethel Brown.
+
+"Mrs. Ross said, 'It _is_ fierce. You hold the baby, George, and I'll
+make you something right off.'"
+
+"Isn't that perfectly delicious!" gurgled Dorothy.
+
+"And that last realistic scene took place in this little house!" said
+Mrs. Morton, shaking with mirth. "It belongs to the city now, so Betsy's
+patriotism and industry are remembered by many visitors."
+
+"Here's Grandfather's contribution to this moment," smiled Helen as she
+brought out still another of her type-written sheets, and read some lines
+by Minna Irving.
+
+
+                          "BETSY'S BATTLE FLAG
+
+    "From dusk till dawn the livelong night
+    She kept the tallow dips alight,
+    And fast her nimble fingers flew
+    To sew the stars upon the blue.
+    With weary eyes and aching head
+    She stitched the stripes of white and red,
+    And when the day came up the stair
+    Complete across a carven chair
+      Hung Betsy's battle flag.
+
+    "Like the shadows in the evening gray
+    The Continentals filed away,
+    With broken boots and ragged coats,
+    But hoarse defiance in their throats;
+    They bore the marks of want and cold,
+    And some were lame and some were old,
+    And some with wounds untended bled,
+    But floating bravely overhead
+      Was Betsy's battle flag.
+
+    "When fell the battle's leaden rain,
+    The soldier hushed his moan of pain
+    And raised his dying head to see
+    King George's troopers turn and flee.
+    Their charging column reeled and broke,
+    And vanished in the rolling smoke,
+    Before the glory of the stars,
+    The snowy stripes, and scarlet bars
+      Of Betsy's battle flag.
+
+    "The simple stone of Betsy Ross
+    Is covered now with mold and moss,
+    But still her deathless banner flies,
+    And keeps the color of the skies,
+    A nation thrills, a nation bleeds,
+    A nation follows where it leads,
+    And every man is proud to yield
+    His life upon a crimson field
+      For Betsy's battle flag."
+
+"When was it that Washington made his historic visit to Betsy?" asked
+Roger of Helen.
+
+"That was in June of 1776. A year later, on the fourteenth of June, 1777,
+Congress adopted the Stars and Stripes as our flag."
+
+"That's why June 14th is celebrated as Flag Day, I suppose," said Ethel
+Blue.
+
+"I think our flag has more meaning to it than any other flag in the
+world," declared Roger. "The thirteen stripes mean the thirteen original
+colonies, don't they?"
+
+"There were thirteen stars at the beginning. They've added a star for
+every new state that has joined the Union."
+
+"It certainly does make your heart beat to look at it, especially when
+you happen to come on it suddenly as Miss Bates said in those verses of
+hers that we had in our Peace Day Program on Lincoln's Birthday."
+
+"A Russian sea-captain once told me it looked to him like a mosaic," Mrs.
+Morton said.
+
+"But every piece of the mosaic is full of meaning," said Ethel Blue, "and
+mosaics make beautiful pictures any way."
+
+"There was a sad time ahead for Philadelphia in spite of Washington's
+successes at Trenton and Princeton," said Helen, taking up her story once
+more. "The Americans were successful in Vermont and northern New York,
+but in September, 1777, they were defeated at Brandywine Creek, and the
+British marched into Philadelphia a fortnight later and took possession
+of the town."
+
+"Wasn't it about that time that the American army spent the winter at
+Valley Forge?" asked Margaret. "I seem to remember something about their
+living in a great deal of distress, such as the soldiers in Europe are
+enduring now."
+
+"This was the time," confirmed Helen. "Grandfather has a few lines of
+Reed's here telling about it."
+
+    "Such was the winter's awful sight,
+    For many a dreary day and night,
+    What time our country's hope forlorn,
+    Of every needed comfort shorn,
+    Lay housed within a buried tent,
+    Where every keen blast found a rent,
+    And oft the snow was seen to sift
+    Along the floor its piling drift,
+    Or, mocking the scant blanket's fold,
+    Across the night-couch frequent rolled;
+    Where every path by a soldier beat,
+    Or every track where a sentinel stood,
+    Still held the print of naked feet,
+    And oft the crimson stains of blood;
+    Where Famine held her spectral court,
+    And joined by all her fierce allies;
+    She ever loved a camp or fort
+    Beleaguered by the wintry skies,--
+    But chiefly when Disease is by,
+    To sink frame and dim the eye,
+    Until, with seeking forehead bent,
+    In martial garments cold and damp,
+    Pale Death patrols from tent to tent,
+    To count the charnels of the camp.
+
+    Such was the winter that prevailed
+    Within the crowded, frozen gorge;
+    Such were the horrors that assailed
+    The patriot band at Valley Forge."
+
+"How long did the British hold the city?" asked Tom, after he had shaken
+his head over the Americans' troubles.
+
+"Six or eight months," said Helen, "and you can imagine what a thrilling
+time it was for American girls like Sweet P. I can fancy them walking
+daintily along the street turning their heads aside when a British
+officer passed them, as if he were too far beneath their notice for them
+even to glance at."
+
+They all laughed at the picture that Helen's words drew.
+
+"When Sir Henry Clinton evacuated Philadelphia in the middle of June, he
+started for New York. Washington followed him but did not win in the
+skirmish which they fought at Monmouth, New Jersey. The Indians on the
+western frontier had joined the British, and there was some terrible
+fighting there. Our fleet, as a general thing, was successful on the
+ocean. Clinton stayed for more than a year in New York City. Washington
+established himself just above the city where he could keep an eye on
+him."
+
+"Wasn't that the time when my old friend, Anthony Wayne, stirred up a
+little excitement up the Hudson?" asked Roger.
+
+"Yes, it was then he took Stony Point, which we saw when we went up the
+river to West Point. There was fighting in New Jersey and in the South,
+and the British seemed to be getting tired out."
+
+"It was at the end of several sharply fought fields that Cornwallis
+surrendered at Yorktown in Virginia, wasn't it?" inquired Roger.
+
+Tom looked at him with exaggerated respect.
+
+"It certainly is a great thing to be related to the Army and Navy. Here's
+Helen, a walking 'History of the Revolution,' and old Roger actually
+remembering something about Cornwallis's surrender!"
+
+"Bah!" acknowledged Roger.
+
+"They tell a story about the way that Philadelphia heard the news of the
+surrender," interposed the caretaker of the Betsy Ross house, who had
+been listening to the conversation. "There was an old German watchman
+walking the streets, and calling the hours through the night, as was the
+custom then. He cried out; 'Bast dree o'clock and Cornvallis ist daken.'
+People who had turned over in bed growling when they had been awakened by
+him before, were only too thankful to hear his hoarse voice croaking out
+the good news."
+
+"That was in October, 1781," went on Helen, after nodding her thanks to
+the caretaker for his addition to the story. "It took a good many months
+for the British to leave the country, for transportation was a difficult
+matter at that time."
+
+"I'll bet you the Americans were thankful to have peace," exclaimed
+James.
+
+"It sounds to me very much as if the British were, too," said Roger. "Any
+country must be grateful for a rest from such long distress."
+
+"Grandfather's poetry is by Freneau this time," said Helen. "I'm going to
+read you only two stanzas of it."
+
+    "The great unequal conflict past,
+    The Britons banished from our shore,
+    Peace, heaven-descended, comes at last,
+    And hostile nations rage no more;
+    From fields of death the weary swain
+    Returning, seeks his native plain.
+
+    In every vale she smiles serene,
+    Freedom's bright stars more radiant rise,
+    New charms she adds to every scene,
+    Her brighter sun illumes our skies.
+    Remotest realms admiring stand,
+    And hail the HERO of our Land."
+
+"Who is the Hero?" inquired Tom. "Washington, I suppose."
+
+"Yes, indeed," said Helen. "These verses were written when he was
+traveling through Philadelphia on his way to Mt. Vernon."
+
+"I know enough American history to tell you that he didn't stay there
+long," said Tom, proud of being able to bring forward one sure piece of
+information. "He was made President on his war record. That I do know."
+
+They all applauded this contribution. The care-taker of the house again
+could not resist joining the conversation.
+
+"The five years after the signing of the Treaty of Peace in 1783 were
+very critical years," he said. "The new country had almost no money and
+no definite policy, now that they had cut themselves free from England.
+Somebody proposed a Federal Convention and it met here in Philadelphia in
+1787."
+
+"What did they want to do this time?" asked Margaret.
+
+"Now they had to draw up some sort of Constitution for the new country.
+Washington was chosen President of the Convention and they worked from
+May until September in planning the Constitution, which they nick-named
+the 'New Roof.'"
+
+"Yes, I know about that," cried Helen. "Grandfather gave me a poem about
+that. He thought we'd be especially interested in it on account of
+Dorothy knowing so much about the building of a house,"--and she read
+them the old poem called 'The New Roof,' by Francis Hopkinson, one of the
+signers of the Declaration of Independence.
+
+    Come muster, my lads, your mechanical tools,
+    Your saws and your axes, your hammers and rules;
+    Bring your mallets and planes, your level and line,
+    And plenty of pins of American pine:
+    _For our roof we will raise, and our song still shall be,_
+    _Our government firm, and our citizens free._
+
+    Come, up with _the plates_, lay them firm on the wall,
+    Like the people at large, they're the ground-work of all;
+    Examine them well, and see that they're sound,
+    Let no rotten part in our building be found:
+    _For our roof we will raise, and our song still shall be_
+    _A government firm, and our citizens free._
+
+    Now hand up the _girders_, lay each in its place,
+    Between them the _joists_, must divide all the space;
+    Like assemblymen _these_ should lie level along,
+    Like _girders_, our senate prove loyal and strong:
+    _For our roof we will raise, and our song still shall be_
+    _A government firm over citizens free._
+
+    The rafters now frame; your _king-posts_ and _braces_,
+    And drive your pins home, to keep all in their places;
+    Let wisdom and strength in the fabric combine,
+    And your pins be all made of American pine:
+    _For our roof we will raise, and our song still shall be_
+    _A government firm over citizens free._
+
+    Our _king-posts_ are _judges_: how upright they stand,
+    Supporting the _braces_; the laws of the land:
+    The laws of the land, which divide right from wrong,
+    And strengthen the weak, by weak'ning the strong:
+    _For our roof we will raise, and our song still shall be_
+    _Laws equal and just, for a people that's free._
+
+    Up! up with the _rafters_; each frame is a _state_:
+    How nobly they rise! their span, too, how great!
+    From the north to the south, o'er the whole they extend,
+    And rest on the walls, whilst the walls they defend:
+    _For our roof we will raise, and our song still shall be_
+    _Combine in strength, yet as citizens free._
+
+    Now enter the _purlins_, and drive your pins through;
+    And see that your joints are drawn home and all true.
+    The _purlins_ will bind all the rafters together:
+    The strength of the whole shall defy wind and weather:
+    _For our roof we will raise, and our song still shall be_
+    _United as states, but as citizens free._
+
+    Come, raise up the _turret_; our glory and pride;
+    In the center it stands, o'er the whole to _preside_:
+    The sons of Columbia shall view with delight
+    Its pillars, and arches, and towering height:
+    _Our roof is now rais'd, and our song still shall be,_
+    _A federal head o'er a people that's free._
+
+    Huzza! my brave boys, our work is complete;
+    The world shall admire Columbia's fair seat;
+    Its strength against tempest and time shall be proof,
+    And thousands shall come to dwell under our roof:
+    _Whilst we drain the deep bowl, our toast still shall be,_
+    _Our government firm, and our citizens free._
+
+"Now that we have put the United States on a good running foundation, I
+think we might finish up our Revolutionary history by whirling out to
+Valley Forge," said Mrs. Morton. "It's a delightful ride, and I think we
+could do it comfortably in what is left of the afternoon."
+
+"I shall be glad," said Helen, pretending extreme fatigue, "for these
+ignorant people have made me work so hard remembering dates and things,
+that I'm quite exhausted, and I'd like to sit still and view the scenery
+for a while."
+
+The chauffeur said that he could manage the ride and even give them time
+for a walk when they reached their destination, if they were not in a
+hurry to return.
+
+"I think it would be fun to come back in the evening," said Margaret, and
+they started off with great satisfaction.
+
+As they passed Fairmount Park they promised themselves to see it in
+detail in the morning, but now there was only time to notice that much of
+it had been left in a natural condition, which was far more beautiful
+than any results that Art could have brought about.
+
+The road lay through a rolling country with pleasant suburban towns and
+comfortable-looking farm houses. At Valley Forge they felt like real
+pilgrims at a shrine, for they remembered the bitter suffering of the
+American soldiers and the even greater mental anguish of their leader,
+who sometimes felt that he had led his brave men into this distress, and
+might not be able to lead them to the victory which he must have, if the
+colonies were to become independent of the land they had sprung from.
+
+Across the surrounding hills they walked, reading with utmost interest
+the monuments and markers which commemorate events and places and people
+connected with this fateful winter. Below swept the Schuylkill River,
+between peaceful banks, far different from those that hem it in farther
+down, as it runs through the great city.
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER X
+                   THE LAND OF "CAT-FISH AND WAFFLES"
+
+
+It was a tired party that tumbled into bed that night but the long ride
+in the fresh air made them sleep like tops and they awoke the next
+morning entirely refreshed, and ready to start out again on their
+investigations of the City of Brotherly Love.
+
+"To-day I am not going to open my mouth," said Helen. "I talked
+altogether too much yesterday."
+
+"You were a wonder," said Tom, admiringly. "I wish I could remember dates
+the way you do."
+
+"Hush," said Helen, with a finger on her lip. "My energetic grandfather
+blocked out the whole history of Philadelphia in the revolutionary days
+for me, so it was not my unaided memory that reeled off all that
+information. Any way, I'm going to sit back and have the rest of you
+inform me to-day about the places we shall see."
+
+"What are we going to see?" inquired Roger. "Mother, you know this
+village; can't you make out a list for us?"
+
+Mrs. Morton said that she had some suggestions to make and Roger jotted
+them down in a book.
+
+"There are one or two churches," she said, "which have an interest
+because they are old, or have connection with some important person or
+because there is some strangeness about the way they are built."
+
+"I shall like those," said Ethel Blue. "I'm going to try to draw some of
+the doorways for Miss Graham. She asked me to draw any little thing about
+buildings that I thought would interest her."
+
+"You'll see some old-timey doorways in Rittenhouse Square," said Mrs.
+Morton. "That is like Washington Square in New York, only here the whole
+square has been preserved in its former beauty. You'll find more than one
+doorway, and which will be worth putting into your sketch book."
+
+"Would it take too much time to see the Mint?" asked James. "I shouldn't
+want to suggest it if it will take too long, but it would be awfully
+interesting."
+
+"I had the Mint on my list," said Mrs. Morton, tapping her forehead.
+
+"I'll transfer it from that spot to paper," laughed Roger.
+
+"I hope we can get the same chauffeur we had yesterday," said Ethel
+Brown; "he knew a lot about things."
+
+"I suppose he's accustomed to driving tourists," replied her mother.
+
+As good fortune would have it they were able to secure the same car, and
+the good-natured driver beamed at them, as they stowed themselves away as
+they had the day before. Mrs. Morton told him the chief "sights" which
+they wanted to see, and directed him to point out anything that they
+passed which would have some interest for the young people.
+
+First they went over to the old part of the town along the Delaware, to
+find one of the churches of which Mrs. Morton had spoken. On the way they
+stopped at Christ Church. Its high box pews seemed to them full of
+dignity, and they imagined the elaborately arranged head-dresses of the
+ladies and powdered wigs of the gentlemen, rising above the old-fashioned
+seats. The pulpit was high up on one side of the chancel.
+
+"This is the church that was presided over by Bishop White, the first
+Episcopal bishop of Pennsylvania," said Mrs. Morton. "He was influential
+in organizing the Episcopal Church in this country."
+
+Out in the graveyard, whose quiet seemed strangely out of place amid the
+hurry of the city, they found many stones bearing well-known names, among
+them that of Benjamin Franklin.
+
+"He died in 1790," read Delia, from the stone. "Wasn't that just about
+the time Washington was elected President?"
+
+"One year after," said Helen, who could not resist giving historical
+information. "The first real American Congress after the separation of
+the country from England met here in Philadelphia in 1789, and elected
+Washington as President."
+
+"You can't escape a little history as long as Sister Helen is around,"
+murmured Roger.
+
+"It wasn't I who started it," retorted Helen.
+
+"Now, children, be quiet. You may thank your stars that your sister knows
+so much about history," said Mrs. Morton; "it would be an excellent
+thing, Roger, if you stowed away some of it in your brain, too."
+
+"Yes'm," answered Roger meekly.
+
+It was while the car was on its way to the second old church of their
+search that the chauffeur asked James, who was sitting beside him, if he
+knew that "Hail Columbia" was written in Philadelphia.
+
+"I certainly didn't," said James. "Helen, did you know that 'Hail
+Columbia' was written in Philadelphia?"
+
+"No, I didn't know that," said Helen. "Tell me about it."
+
+With his eyes on the road and his hands on the wheel the chauffeur told
+James, who repeated the story over his shoulder to those in the back of
+the car, that while John Adams was president, there was a war scare,
+because French vessels were supposed to be off the coast ready to attack
+American merchant vessels. A man named John Hopkinson wrote the poem,
+which was sung one night at the Chestnut Street Theatre.
+
+"You mean our 'Hail Columbia'--the regular 'Hail Columbia'?" asked Ethel
+Brown.
+
+The chauffeur nodded at Ethel Brown. Her memory for verses was always
+good and she repeated the first stanza of the stirring song.
+
+    "Hail Columbia, happy land!
+    Hail! Ye Heroes, heaven-born band,
+    Who fought and bled in freedom's cause,
+    Who fought and bled in freedom's cause,
+    And when the storm of war was gone,
+    Enjoyed the peace your valor won;
+    Let independence be your boast,
+    Ever mindful what it cost,
+    Ever grateful for the prize,
+    Let its altar reach the skies."
+
+They all joined in the chorus.
+
+    "Firm united let us be,
+    Rallying round our liberty,
+    As a band of brothers joined,
+    Peace and safety we shall find."
+
+Almost on the river, toward the southern end of the town, was the church
+which the chauffeur called "Old Swedes Church," and whose correct name,
+Mrs. Morton said, was "Gloria Dei."
+
+"How old is it?" asked Dicky who was beginning to understand that they
+were on a historical pilgrimage. They all laughed at his seriousness, and
+his mother answered.
+
+"This building is only a little over two centuries old--but it's on the
+site of an old wooden church that was built in 1646. It was a Swedish
+church, originally, and then the whole congregation turned Episcopal."
+
+"It doesn't look as if they lived around the church in any great
+numbers," said Tom, gazing about him.
+
+"Most of the parishioners live now a long way from here," said the
+chauffeur, "but they love the church because they are the descendants of
+the original founders, and they come from great distances to the morning
+services and stay to Sunday School, old people and young ones, too, and
+cook their dinner in the Parish House."
+
+"That sounds like a New England village church to which all the farmers
+from around about come for the day," said Margaret Hancock. "I used to
+see them when I was a little girl and we went to New Hampshire for the
+summer. They bring their lunch and eat it under the trees between
+services."
+
+"Since we seem to be doing churches, we ought to go to a Quaker Meeting
+House," suggested Mrs. Morton, turning to the chauffeur for information.
+
+"There is one up on 12th Street, madam," he responded. "There's a boys'
+school connected with it that is very well known--the Penn Charter
+School. Lots of the old Quaker families send their boys there still."
+
+"I don't suppose there would be a meeting to-day," inquired Helen.
+
+The chauffeur shook his head.
+
+"You wouldn't like it, any way," he said. "I'm a Quaker myself, and I
+know when I was your age it was awfully hard work to keep still so long."
+
+"Is it worse than any other kind of church?" asked Dicky.
+
+The driver nodded again, dexterously avoiding a big truck as he answered.
+
+"The congregation just sits there until the Spirit moves someone to
+speak. I've been there many a time when they sat for two hours and
+nothing happened at all."
+
+"Dear me," exclaimed Ethel Blue, shaking her head gravely; "I don't
+believe I could keep still as long as that."
+
+"I dare say it's just as well that there is no meeting to-day," said Mrs.
+Morton. "Any way, I don't know that I should approve of your going to a
+religious service out of curiosity."
+
+Tom nodded in agreement with Mrs. Morton.
+
+"I'm sure Father wouldn't like it," he said.
+
+Tom's father was a clergyman in New York.
+
+"He doesn't object to our going to other churches," he went on, "but he
+has seen so much of tourists who come to New York and go around the city,
+taking in three or four churches on Sunday morning merely to hear the
+music or some celebrated speaker, that he has always warned us children
+against being 'religious rubber-necks.'"
+
+They all laughed and contented themselves with looking at the outside of
+the severely plain meeting-house.
+
+The tour over the Mint was filled with interest for all of them.
+
+"This is the oldest Mint in the United States," the guide explained to
+them.
+
+"What's the date?" Helen could not resist asking, although Roger shook
+his head at her and Tom visibly smothered a smile.
+
+"1792" the man replied. "We turn out gold and silver and copper here and
+we've done a great deal of minting for South America, and, of late years,
+for the Philippines."
+
+The boys were most interested in the processes by which the discs were
+cut out of plain sheets of metal and were then fed into tubes of just the
+right size to hold them, until they reached the stamping machine which
+gave them the impress they were to wear through life.
+
+"Those new gold pieces are certainly beauties," said Roger, looking at
+the eagle flying through the air on one coin and then at the same
+majestic bird standing with dignity on another.
+
+"I don't think this Indian has a very handsome nose," said Ethel Blue,
+critically, as she examined a five-cent piece.
+
+"But think how appropriate it is,--the noble red-man on one side of the
+nickel, and the buffalo of the plains on the other," returned James.
+
+The girls were more interested in the coin collection in the Mint's
+museum. Here they saw not only American coins, from the earliest to the
+most recent, but coins of other countries. One of them was the tiny bit
+of metal known as the "Widow's Mite."
+
+"The Widow didn't have to be very muscular to carry that around,"
+commented Roger.
+
+"But she must have had a separate bag to put it in or it would have been
+lost," returned practical Ethel Brown.
+
+"There's nothing doing in the Academy of Fine Arts now, ma'am," the
+chauffeur told Mrs. Morton, when she got into the car again. "It has a
+grand exhibition every winter but it's closed for the summer. Would you
+like to see the collections?"
+
+The question was put to the party and they agreed that they would prefer
+to stay out of doors in this brilliant summer weather.
+
+"We'll make an expedition to the Metropolitan Museum some day before
+long," promised Mrs. Morton.
+
+"I wish we might do it soon," said Dorothy. "Miss Graham said she'd go
+with us, and I think we should learn a lot from her because she's half an
+artist."
+
+"Let's ask her to take us as soon as we get back," said Ethel Blue. "I'm
+crazy about her, and this would be a good chance for us to be with her
+for almost all day."
+
+"I'll see that you have your opportunity soon," her Aunt Marion promised
+her.
+
+"We have time to run out to Mt. Airy this morning," suggested the
+chauffeur. "Then after luncheon, you could go to the Park and the Zoo in
+the afternoon."
+
+"What is Mt. Airy?" asked Della.
+
+"One of the finest deaf and dumb asylums in America," replied the young
+man proudly.
+
+Della shook her head and the rest of them pulled such long faces Mrs.
+Morton could not resist smiling.
+
+"I rather think these young people care more for human beings who can
+talk and hear," she said to the chauffeur. "At any rate," she went on,
+looking at her watch, "I must meet my business appointment now, so I
+suggest, Roger, that you take our party to Wanamaker's. You can see a lot
+of interesting things there, and can have your luncheon, and I'll meet
+you there when I am through with my business."
+
+So it was arranged, and the chauffeur was ordered for three o'clock to
+take them to Fairmount Park.
+
+At the appointed hour his cheerful face greeted them once again. Because
+of the Mortons' interest in the Navy, they first ran south to the League
+Island Navy Yard. Even their familiarity with many Navy Yards did not
+lessen their interest in this one, with its rows of officers' houses and
+its barracks and mess-room. Just because they were so familiar with
+similar places, however, they did not stay long, and the car was soon
+whirling northwards to the opposite end of the city. They went through
+miles and miles of streets lined with small houses.
+
+"These are the houses which have given Philadelphia the nick-name of the
+'City of Homes,'" exclaimed Mrs. Morton. "You see, in New York people are
+crowded on to a small tongue of land, between two rivers. Here there are
+two rivers also, but the space between them is wider. There's nothing to
+prevent the city's crossing the Schuylkill and running westward, as it
+began to do many long years ago."
+
+"These houses aren't very beautiful," commented Ethel Blue.
+
+"They are very neat," said Ethel Brown. "But don't you get tired of these
+red bricks and white shutters, and the little flights of white marble
+steps, all alike? I don't see how anybody knows when he has come home. I
+should think people would all the time be getting into their neighbors'
+houses by mistake."
+
+"It is much more wholesome for a family to have a house to itself, than
+for many families to be crowded into one building," said Mrs. Morton.
+
+"I don't see why," objected Tom, who had been born and reared in New
+York. "The large buildings are wonderfully constructed now-a-days for
+ventilation and sanitation. They couldn't be better in that respect."
+
+"That's true," said Mrs. Morton, "but a family loses something of its
+privacy when it lives in a building with other people. The householder is
+responsible for his own heating, his own side-walk, and so on, for all
+matters whose good care makes for the happiness of his family. The
+apartment dweller loses that work for the well-being of his family, when
+he lets go its responsibility."
+
+"I dare say you are right, Mrs. Morton," said Tom, "but in these days of
+co-operation, it seems to me you gain something by uniting, as apartment
+house people practically do, to hire some one to take the responsibility
+of the heating arrangements, the side-walks, the ashes, and so on."
+
+"It all depends on the conditions," returned Mrs. Morton. "In New York,
+especially on Manhattan Island, where land is so valuable that buildings
+must go up in the air, such co-operation has become desirable, but where
+there is plenty of space, it seems better for every household to be
+separate as far as possible."
+
+The chauffeur called their attention, as they passed through Logan
+Square, to the fact that this was the fourth city square they had seen
+since they had been in his care.
+
+"On our way south from the Penn Treaty Park, we went through Franklin
+Square, and then you saw Washington Square when you were down by
+Independence Hall. This morning you saw Rittenhouse Square. Logan is the
+fourth. These four squares were laid out by William Penn as a part of the
+original design of the city."
+
+Not far from Logan Square they were enabled to reach the bank of the
+Schuylkill, and the rest of the afternoon they spent in the lovely Park
+through which flows this river and the picturesque little Wissahickon.
+
+Their first visit was to the Zoo, which the chauffeur told them was one
+of the finest in the United States. They invested in peanuts and small
+cakes and made themselves popular with the animals whose cages they
+passed.
+
+Then they drove on, gliding swiftly in and out among the stately trees
+which the engineers of the Park had had the good sense to leave as they
+found them. Along the Wissahickon they noticed many small inns, all of
+which showed signs, inviting passers-by to come in and partake of
+"Cat-fish and Waffles."
+
+"I can understand the waffle supply being limited only by the energy of
+the cooks," exclaimed Roger, as he read one of the numerous summonses,
+"but if they catch the cat-fish in the Wissahickon they must keep an army
+of fishermen out in the boats all day long!"
+
+"I wish we could go out on the river," murmured Helen, as they whirled
+along the banks of the Schuylkill. "It looks so refreshing there."
+
+"I think we can get a barge at one of these boat houses and go up the
+river a little way," suggested Mrs. Morton, turning inquiringly to the
+chauffeur.
+
+"It's a pretty bit from about here up to a place called 'The Lilacs,'" he
+answered. "It's a pretty little club house."
+
+"Oh, do lets do it," cried Ethel Blue excitedly. "It would be lovely."
+
+So they went to a near-by boat house and made the arrangements. The boats
+were large, with seats for four rowers besides the seats in the stern and
+bow.
+
+The Ethels had learned to row at Chautauqua the summer before, so they
+occupied one seat.
+
+The three boys each took one of the other seats, each rowing a single
+oar. Helen sat on the seat with Tom, Margaret with Roger, and Dorothy
+with James.
+
+Mrs. Morton and Dicky sat in the stern, and Della played look-out in the
+bow.
+
+It was a charming pull between shores beautiful by nature and gay with
+boat houses from which merry parties were establishing themselves in
+boats and barges and canoes. The rowers found the trip not too hard upon
+the muscles, even the Ethels saying that they were not at all tired, when
+The Lilacs came in sight.
+
+The car met them at the Club House because they had to go back to the
+hotel and pack their bags in order to catch the train for home. The
+chauffeur had brought up with him a man from the boat house, to take the
+barge back where it belonged.
+
+They returned over different streets to the city so that they felt that
+they had a good idea of the geography of the town.
+
+"I've had a perfectly stunning time, Mrs. Morton," said Tom, as he bade
+her "Good-bye" on the train and thanked her for her care. "It has been
+splendid fun, and my only grief is that I am afraid Helen may have
+fatigued her brain, remembering all that history!"
+
+Helen wrinkled her nose at him, but she laughed good-naturedly and agreed
+with him that the trip had been great fun.
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER XI
+                           LIGHTS AND A FALL
+
+
+It was not often that Ethel Blue took a violent fancy to any one.
+Although she had something of the temperament that artists claim to have,
+she also had great reserve, and she found the companionship of her
+cousins, Ethel Brown and Dorothy, quite sufficient for her.
+
+Now, however, she was filled with admiration for Margaret's aunt, Miss
+Graham. Miss Graham suited her in so many ways. She was good to look at,
+and Ethel found herself gazing at her wholesome, amiable face, filled
+with life and earnestness and fun, and enjoyed it quite as much as if she
+had great beauty.
+
+Then, Miss Graham, because of her occupation as an interior decorator,
+knew something about art, and Ethel Blue wanted to know how to draw and
+paint, and how to appreciate pictures. She found that she never met Miss
+Graham without realizing afterwards that she had learned something from
+her. Perhaps it was only the meaning of a new phrase, or perhaps Miss
+Daisy called her attention to the light on the group of figures in some
+picture, or to the harmonies of color in the landscape. Whatever it was,
+it was not brought out in any preachy way and yet Ethel Blue found
+herself with quite a store of information that had come from her new
+friend.
+
+Miss Graham did not seem to single out Ethel Blue for particular
+attention. They naturally drifted together when there was a large party,
+because their tastes were similar.
+
+"I think your aunt Daisy is nicer than any aunt in the world except my
+aunt Marion," Ethel Blue confided to Margaret one day.
+
+"That's just about what James and I think," said Margaret.
+
+"Has she finished her Englewood house?" inquired Ethel.
+
+"Yes, that was done some time ago. That's why she has been able to go to
+see Mrs. Smith so many times recently. She has spent several afternoons
+at Sweetbrier Lodge, you know."
+
+Remembering this, Ethel Blue went to the new house one afternoon
+especially to see if Miss Graham was there. She had no definite reason
+for doing so--she merely thought she would like to see her. By good luck
+Miss Graham was there, as she had brought out some samples of hangings to
+show to Mrs. Smith, and she was waiting on the terrace for her to come,
+and resting as she waited.
+
+"I'm glad to see you, child," she called to Ethel Blue, and Ethel did not
+resent being called a child, for she realized that it was merely an
+endearing word coming from Miss Daisy's lips.
+
+"Bring one of those canvas chairs over here beside me," she urged, "and
+we'll look at the view and talk a while."
+
+"Isn't it going to be lovely when the real furniture is on the terrace
+here?" said Ethel Blue eagerly.
+
+"The view is lovely, no matter what the chairs are," returned Miss
+Graham, smiling at her affectionately. "When do you think your aunt is
+coming?"
+
+"I don't know. Did she expect you? Shall I run back to the house and tell
+her you are here?"
+
+"No, probably I'm a little early and I shall enjoy sitting here and
+talking with you until she comes."
+
+Ethel felt much complimented by this desire on Miss Graham's part and
+placed her chair beside her.
+
+Their eyes looked out across the field with its brook and the trees that
+sheltered Mr. Emerson's house. Across the street the meadows, rich with
+the field flowers of late summer, stretched away towards the distant
+river, and beyond that were more trees rearing their heights across the
+sky.
+
+As they looked a shadow fell on the meadow and moved swiftly across it.
+
+"It looks as if some huge birds were flying between the earth and the
+sun," smiled Miss Daisy.
+
+"Doesn't it go fast!" returned Ethel Blue.
+
+"Notice the change in the color of the meadow, when the sunlight is
+hidden for a minute and then falls again on the vegetation."
+
+Ethel Blue nodded, for she saw that the change was almost as if a sheet
+of colored glass had been held over a strong electric light.
+
+"Sometimes during a thunder shower," she said, "I've seen awfully queer
+colors over in that meadow."
+
+"The air is charged with electric particles sometimes," explained Miss
+Daisy, "and you are looking through them. You get different color effects
+during an ordinary rain storm, too."
+
+"I think rain over that meadow is going to be one of the prettiest things
+Dorothy will see from this terrace," said Ethel Blue.
+
+"She will have a long sweep to watch and a shower moves sometimes fast
+and sometimes slowly, so there will be opportunity to notice many
+changes," suggested Miss Graham.
+
+"I wonder if Aunt Louise is going to have electric lights out here on the
+porch," said Ethel Blue. "They will draw the mosquitoes like everything."
+
+"But she won't mind that because she can stay inside of her wire cage,"
+answered Miss Daisy. "Surely she's going to have electric lights. Don't
+you see the wires already put in?"
+
+"Of course," answered Ethel Blue. "How stupid of me! Those black ends are
+poking out all over the house and somehow I never thought what they were
+for."
+
+"Then you haven't noticed the lighting scheme that your Aunt and Dorothy
+have worked out. Let's walk through the house now, and see just how she
+has arranged it."
+
+They went through the door of the screen into the enclosed portion and
+then into the dining room.
+
+"Most people have one of those hang-down lights over the dining table,"
+said Ethel Blue. "I don't see any wire for one here. I'm glad Aunt Louise
+isn't going to have one. They never are the right height. You always have
+to be dodging under them to see the person across from you and the light
+shines on the table so brilliantly that you're almost afraid to eat
+anything it falls on."
+
+Miss Graham laughed at Ethel's vigorous protest, but she said that she,
+too, did not like a central light over the dining table.
+
+"There is no need of a very brilliant light in a dining room," she said.
+"You can see the people about the table without any difficulty in a
+subdued light and the general effect is far more beautiful than when
+people are sitting in a glare."
+
+"I think candle light is prettiest for the dining room," said Ethel Blue.
+
+"It is prettiest for the table," replied Miss Graham. "The place where
+you really want a strong light is over the serving table behind the
+screen. You don't want the maid to make any mistakes just because she
+can't see clearly the dishes she is handling. There you need a strong
+light, but it can be placed so low that the screen shields it for the
+room and it will not interfere with the dimmer light of the rest of the
+room."
+
+"I suppose there ought to be other lights in the room," said Ethel Blue.
+"You might find that there weren't any candles in the house some evening
+and then it would be awful to have only this light over the serving table
+and none of them in other parts of the room."
+
+Miss Graham laughed at the possibility of such a disaster.
+
+"There can be side-lights over the mantel-place," she said, "electric
+lights that look like candles, with pretty candle shades, and one or two
+similar arrangements on the other side of the room."
+
+"Don't you ever put a central light in the dining rooms you decorate?"
+asked Ethel Blue.
+
+"Sometimes I let the light flow out from a dull, golden globe set into
+the ceiling over the table. The glass of the bowl is so thick that only a
+gentle radiance comes from it and yet it ekes out the light from the
+candles."
+
+"Ethel Brown is particularly pleased with the switch out in the
+vestibule," said Ethel Blue. "You see you can come home when the house is
+all dark, and light the electricity in the hall by turning on the switch
+outside of the front door. Wouldn't it be a good joke on a burglar, if he
+did it by accident some night when he was trying to get in," laughed the
+young girl.
+
+"It's a capital invention," said Miss Graham. "You notice your aunt has
+side lights here in the hall. Have you ever happened to be in a house
+where they were moving the furniture about and every piece that passed
+the hall chandelier gave it a rap?"
+
+"That's the way it is in the house we're in now," said Ethel. "Every time
+any one goes away and the express man brings down a trunk, he hits the
+light in the hall. I don't know how many globes Aunt Marion has had
+broken that way."
+
+Upstairs they found the same side-lighting in all the bed rooms.
+
+"The theory of it is," said Miss Graham, "that when you want to see
+anything very clearly, you put in a light close to the place where you
+need to work. If you are going to arrange your hair before your dressing
+table, you want a light directly over your dressing glass. If you are
+going to read you turn on a light beside your reading stand. An upper
+light is usually for general illumination and a side light for real
+service."
+
+"A combination of the two lights makes a room ready for anything," said
+Ethel Blue.
+
+"I want you to notice particularly the fixtures that your Aunt Louise has
+selected for indirect lighting," said Miss Graham. "She has chosen
+beautiful bowls that look like alabaster. They turn upwards and the bulbs
+are hidden in them. The strong glare is against the ceiling so that the
+people get only the reflected light. There is to be one of those bowls on
+a high standard in the front hall, and one at the turn of the stair-case.
+They look like ancient Roman urns, giving forth a marvelous radiance."
+
+"I think that will be prettier than some clear, engraved glass covers,
+that I saw the other day," said Ethel Blue. "They showed the bulbs right
+through."
+
+"Far prettier," agreed Miss Graham. "The whole object of this indirect
+light is to make your room seem to be lighted by a glow whose real origin
+you hardly know. Of course your intelligence tells you that there are
+electric bulbs up there, but you don't want really to see them."
+
+"It seems to me that people must be thinking more about how to make
+things pretty than they used to," said Ethel Blue. "When Ethel Brown's
+grandfather built his house, Aunt Marion says it was thought very
+handsome by everybody in Rosemont. It has lots of convenient things in
+it, and plenty of brilliant lights, but the fixtures aren't pretty and
+the idea seems to be to make just as big a shine as possible."
+
+"Nowadays," said Miss Graham, "people try to make the useful things
+beautiful also whenever they can."
+
+"I'm glad to learn all about a house," said Ethel Blue, "because some
+time I may have to keep house for my father and I want to know everything
+there is to know. Of course army people have to live in Uncle Sam's
+houses, but still there are always different arrangements you can
+introduce, even in a government house."
+
+"I'm sure you'll be able to make useful everything you learn," said Miss
+Graham, "and your father will be pleased with whatever makes the house
+lovelier and more comfortable."
+
+"I've always meant to ask whether you didn't know my father," said Ethel
+Blue. "He is at Fort Myer, near Washington."
+
+"Captain Richard Morton," said Miss Daisy. "Yes, indeed. I know a great
+many of the officers and their families at Fort Myer. I've met your
+father and I know him well."
+
+"Isn't he the dearest old darling that ever walked?" said Ethel Blue,
+bouncing with enthusiasm.
+
+"He certainly is a very nice person," agreed Miss Graham, smiling, "and
+he thinks he has one of the finest daughters who ever walked."
+
+"Does he really?" cried Ethel Blue. "I'm so glad he does! You see, I so
+seldom see him that sometimes I'm afraid he'll forget all about me. Once
+when he came to Rosemont, I passed him in the street when he was walking
+up from the station, and he didn't know me and I didn't know him. Wasn't
+that perfectly frightful?"
+
+"That was too bad," agreed Miss Graham.
+
+"Somehow I've never thought of being able to live with him," said Ethel
+Blue. "You know I've always lived with Aunt Marion, because my mother
+died when I was a little bit of a baby, but the other day somebody said
+something about my going to Father later on, and I haven't been able to
+think of anything else since."
+
+"I know he wants you," said Miss Graham.
+
+"Has he spoken to you about it?"
+
+"Yes, often."
+
+"I suppose I'll have to be a million times older than I am now, before he
+thinks I'm able to take care of him," said Ethel Blue.
+
+"I don't believe it will be a whole million years," smiled Miss Graham.
+
+"I shall feel dreadfully to leave Aunt Marion and Ethel Brown. I've never
+been away from Ethel Brown more than three or four days in my whole
+life," said Ethel Brown's twin cousin, "but if my father needs me, why of
+course, I must go."
+
+"Indeed you must," returned Miss Graham, "and I'm sure he wants you just
+as soon as he can send for you."
+
+Ethel Blue was so overjoyed at this opinion, that she jumped up on the
+ledge on the top of the parapet running around the terrace, and danced
+with delight the fancy step--"One, two, three, back; one, two, three,
+back"--with which she and Ethel Brown were accustomed to express great
+satisfaction with the way in which life was treating them.
+
+To Miss Graham's horror, Ethel Blue's enthusiasm blinded her eyes and her
+third back step took her off the parapet. She fell to the ground and
+rolled down the hill, her slender little body bouncing from rock to rock
+with cruel force and increasing speed.
+
+Miss Graham gave a cry of distress and vaulted over the parapet with the
+ease which she had acquired in the gymnasium in her college days. Running
+the risk of rolling down hill herself, she bounded down the steep slope,
+and reached the foot almost as soon as did the body of the young girl,
+which lay very still, its head against the stone which had brought
+unconsciousness.
+
+Miss Graham turned over the limp little form, shuddering as she saw the
+bruise on the forehead. She tried to lift it but found she could make no
+progress up the steep knoll. Again and again she called to the workmen in
+the house, and finally two of them appeared at an upper window and made
+gestures of understanding when she beckoned to them. They leaped down the
+hill with long strides, and soon were carrying Ethel Blue up to the
+terrace.
+
+They laid her gently on the floor and ran to get water from the hydrant,
+while Miss Graham slipped off the young girl's shoes, raised her feet
+upon a block of wood that happened to be near by, so that the blood might
+flow towards her heart, and gently chafed her wrists. When the water
+came, she dashed a shower of it from the tips of her fingers on the pale
+little face lying so quietly against the bricks.
+
+"Will I run to de nex' house an' telephone for de doctor?" asked one of
+the men, and Miss Graham nodded an assent and added a direction to summon
+Mrs. Morton.
+
+Before either her aunt or the doctor came, however, Ethel Blue returned
+to consciousness. Before she opened her eyes, she heard a soft,
+affectionate voice crooning over her, "My dear little girl, my poor
+little girl."
+
+She kept her eyes closed for a minute or two, so pleasant was this sound
+from the lips of Miss Graham whom she had grown to love so fondly. When
+at last she opened her eyes and saw Miss Daisy's anxious face change its
+expression to one of delight, she almost felt that it was worth while to
+fall off a precipice to bring about such a result.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XII
+                         IN THE FAMILY HOSPITAL
+
+
+Mrs. Morton was acting as head nurse in the home hospital. Ethel Blue's
+injuries from her fall were not serious, but besides the bruises on her
+forehead, she had numerous large black and blue spots all over her body
+and she had been so shaken that the doctor thought it was well for her to
+stay in bed for a day or two.
+
+In addition to Ethel Blue, Dicky was laid low for the time being. He had
+gone over to his grandfather's and as he was accustomed to run about the
+farm by himself, and as he usually stayed near some of the workmen,
+nobody paid any attention to him. This time, however, he went up into the
+pasture, where he found most of the cows lying down in the shade of the
+trees and meditatively chewing their cuds after their morning meal.
+
+Dicky was not in the least afraid of cows, having been familiar with them
+from his babyhood. He therefore walked up to one of the prostrate
+creatures and sat down comfortably upon her neck, steadying himself by
+her nearest horn.
+
+Nothing happened for a minute of two, for either his weight was so slight
+that the cow hardly noticed it, or else his position did not interfere
+with her comfort. After a time, however, he began to pull at her horns in
+time with the motion of her jaws, and this measured movement seemed to
+annoy her. Shaking her head, she rose, first behind, throwing her rider
+even farther forward than he was, and then in front, tossing him off
+altogether.
+
+The distance to the ground was not great, but it was far enough for Dicky
+to be peppered with bumps and pretty well shaken. The cow paid no farther
+attention to him but walked off to a spot where she might be free from
+annoyance, and the little boy lay for some time on the ground before he
+could pull himself together and go to his grandfather's. By the time he
+reached there, his bruises were already turning black and he was
+interesting both to himself and to his relatives, although he was
+manfully keeping back his tears. The doctor ordered him to bed for a day
+or two, and now he lay on a cot at one side of the large room which
+served as the family hospital, and Ethel Blue at the other, comparing
+their wounds, and receiving the attention of Mrs. Morton. She had
+finished reading one of the Br'er Rabbit stories to them when Ethel Blue
+introduced the subject that was so constantly in her mind.
+
+"Did I tell you how I happened to fall off the terrace wall?" she asked
+her aunt.
+
+"I wondered how you did it; you are usually so sure-footed."
+
+"I was talking with Miss Daisy about my going to live with Father
+by-and-by. You know I never thought of it until the other night when we
+were all together on the porch and Helen,--wasn't it?--said something
+about it. I wish I didn't have to wait to finish school before I can go
+to him."
+
+"Are you in such a hurry to leave us?" said Mrs. Morton, with a little
+sigh for the many years of loving care she had spent over this child, who
+was to her like one of her own.
+
+Ethel Blue was conscience-stricken.
+
+"You know, Aunt Marion, I love all of you just like my own people. Only
+it seems so wonderful to think about being with Father all the time that
+I can't get it out of my mind--now it's in my mind."
+
+"There are a good many things to be considered," answered Mrs. Morton.
+"You know that an officer often has to be away from home and your father
+wouldn't like to leave you alone."
+
+Ethel Blue's face fell.
+
+"If I only had somebody like Dicky's Mary to stay with me," she said,
+referring to the nurse who had always taken care of Dicky, and who had
+lived on with the family after he was too old to need a nurse.
+
+"Perhaps your father might marry again and then there would be no
+difficulty about your being with him all the time."
+
+Mrs. Morton made the suggestion gently but Ethel Blue flushed angrily at
+once.
+
+"I think that's a perfectly horrible idea, Aunt Marion. That means a
+stepmother for me, and I think a stepmother is detestable."
+
+"Have you ever known one," inquired Mrs. Morton coolly.
+
+"No, I never have, but I've read a great deal about them and they're
+always cross and mean and their stepchildren hate them."
+
+"Don't you suppose that a great many stepchildren work up a dislike
+beforehand just because they read the same kind of stories that you seem
+to have been reading?" asked Mrs. Morton.
+
+Ethel Blue was a reasonable girl, and she thought this over before she
+answered.
+
+"Perhaps they do," she said, although slowly, as if she disliked to admit
+it.
+
+"I have happened to know several stepmothers," said Mrs. Morton, "and I
+never have known one who was not quite as kind or even kinder to her
+stepchildren, than to her own children. A mother feels that she can do as
+her judgment dictates with her own children, but with her stepchildren
+she weighs everything with even greater care, because she feels an added
+responsibility toward them."
+
+"But she can't love them as she does her own children," said Ethel Blue.
+
+"I think there is very little difference," said her Aunt Marion. "I am
+not your stepmother but at the same time I am not your own mother, and I
+am not conscious of loving you any less than I love Ethel Brown. You are
+both my dear girls."
+
+"I love Father but I do think Father would be mean if he gave me a
+stepmother," said Ethel Blue.
+
+"But, wouldn't _you_ be mean if you objected to his having the happiness
+of a household of his own, after all these years when he has not had
+one?" returned Mrs. Morton promptly. "Your father has lived a lonely life
+for many years, and if such a thing should happen as his deciding to
+marry again, I can't think that my little Ethel Blue would be so selfish
+as to make him unhappy--or even uncomfortable--about it."
+
+This was a new idea for Ethel Blue and she snuggled down under her covers
+and turned her head away to think about it.
+
+Her aunt left her alone and the room was quiet except for the noise made
+by Dicky's little hands, as he turned the pages of a picture book.
+
+It was almost dark when Mrs. Morton came back with Mary, each of them
+bearing a tray with the supper for one of the invalids.
+
+"I must say," laughed Mrs. Morton, as she entered the hospital, "these
+are pretty hearty meals for people who call themselves ill."
+
+"My mind isn't ill," said Ethel Blue; "it's just these bruises that hurt
+me," and Dicky understood what she meant, for he told Mary, who was
+arranging his pillows, that his "black and blue thspotth were awful
+thore," but that he was going to get up in the morning.
+
+As Mrs. Morton leaned over Ethel Blue's bed, the young girl put an arm
+around her aunt's neck and drew her down to her.
+
+"I've made up my mind not to be piggy if anything like that does happen,"
+she said, hesitatingly. "Do you know that it is going to happen?"
+
+"No, I do not," answered Mrs. Morton, "but I saw that you were in a frame
+of mind to make your father very unhappy if it should come to pass. You
+ought not to allow yourself to have such thoughts, even about an
+indefinite stepmother. They might easily turn into thoughts of real
+hatred for an actual stepmother."
+
+"But do you think there _might_ be a stepmother some time or other?"
+asked Ethel Blue.
+
+"Yes, dear, I do. Your father probably seems old to you, but he really is
+not very old and, as I said before, he has lived a lonely life for many
+years. You know it was fourteen years ago that your mother died, and
+since then he has had no home of his own and no loving companionship. He
+has not even had the delight of helping to bring up his little daughter.
+If he can make happiness for himself now, after all these years, don't
+you think that his little daughter ought to help him?"
+
+Ethel Blue nodded silently and ate her supper thoughtfully.
+
+"While you two were taking your nap, I went to Sweetbrier Lodge," said
+Mrs. Morton, by way of entertaining the invalids. "I am so much
+interested in the way that Aunt Louise has arranged for the maids. You
+know so many people have only a servant's workroom, the kitchen; and the
+maids have no room to sit in after their work is done. Aunt Louise has
+been very thoughtful in all her plans. The laundry and the kitchen and
+the pantry between the kitchen and the dining room, all have the most
+convenient arrangements possible. Every shelf and cupboard is placed so
+that the number of footsteps that the kitchen worker must take will be
+reduced as greatly as possible. Then there are all sorts of labor saving
+arrangements. You saw those in the kitchen and the cellar. The
+electrician has been there daily fitting up an electric range and
+dish-washing machine. The wires in the kitchen are placed just where they
+will be most serviceable, and there are plenty of windows so that the
+room is bright in the day-time. Then just off the kitchen, there is a
+delightful little sitting room, with a porch opening from it. It has a
+view toward the garden and FitzJames's woods, and it is to be prettily
+furnished."
+
+"There are two bed-rooms and a bath for the maids in the attic story,"
+said Ethel Blue. "They are going to be prettily furnished too."
+
+"Will they have a garden?" asked Dicky from his corner.
+
+"Do you know?" Mrs. Morton turned to Ethel for an answer.
+
+"I do understand now," she replied, "why Dorothy insisted on having the
+herb garden down by the house. I thought it was just because it would be
+convenient to have the herbs near the kitchen, but she planted flowers
+there too, and now I see that it will be a pretty flower garden for the
+maids to enjoy and to cut for their own rooms."
+
+"There are two things about Aunt Louise that are interesting," said Ethel
+Blue. "One is the way she always tries to make other people happy and
+comfortable."
+
+"She is naturally thoughtful and considerate," said Mrs. Morton, "and she
+has had much unhappiness in her life and has happened to meet many people
+who are unhappy, so it has taught her to do all she can to brighten other
+people's lives and to make them easier."
+
+"I don't believe many people who are building a house would let a lot of
+children say what they thought would be nice about it," said Ethel Blue.
+
+"She wants Dorothy and all of you to learn about the new ways of building
+and fitting up a house," returned Mrs. Morton, "and she knows how much
+fun it is to talk over such matters in a general pow-wow. Haven't all of
+you had a good deal of fun out of it?"
+
+"We certainly have," replied Ethel Blue. "I liked fixing up Ayleesabet's
+room particularly, because I suggested the idea, but we have all made
+suggestions for every room in the house. Aunt Louise has not agreed with
+all of them, but she always told us why she didn't agree or why she
+didn't like our ideas. She never was snippy about it, just because we
+were children. The other thing that is interesting in Aunt Louise, is the
+way she wants to have all sorts of new arrangements in a house."
+
+"Almost everybody does that," answered Mrs. Morton.
+
+"I don't know anybody in Rosemont who has all the things that Aunt Louise
+has put in. People have vacuum cleaners now-a-days, that they move around
+from one room to another, but she has hers built in, so the dirt is drawn
+right down into the cellar. She has every kind of electric thing she has
+ever heard of, I do believe."
+
+"The electrician was there to-day as I told you, arranging wires in the
+kitchen."
+
+"I was trying to count up as I was lying here, all the things in the
+house that go by electricity. Of course there's the door bell to begin
+with. Then there are all the lighting switches--the one in the vestibule
+and all the regular ones in the halls and rooms and a lot of them in the
+different closets, so that she never will have to struggle around in the
+dark for anything she is hunting for."
+
+"I saw a man putting in a little pilot light for the oven, to-day," said
+Mrs. Morton.
+
+"What's that for?"
+
+"So the cook can investigate the state of affairs in the oven. Sometimes
+it's hard to say how far along a dish at the back of the oven is. This
+light enables you to make out whether it is browning properly or not."
+
+"The man who put in the summer water-heater called the little light that
+burns all the time in that, a 'pilot,'" said Ethel Blue.
+
+"The dumb-waiter that runs from the cellar up through the house to take
+up kindling or whatever needs to be taken up stairs, runs at the touch of
+an electric button," said Mrs. Morton.
+
+"I wish there had been an elevator for people," said Ethel Blue.
+
+"The house isn't large enough to call for that," said her aunt, laughing.
+"Dorothy and her mother are able to go up one or two flights of stairs
+without much suffering!"
+
+Ethel laughed at the suggestion, and went on with her enumeration of the
+uses of electricity.
+
+"The city water runs into the house, but do you know that Aunt Louise has
+had an extra pump fitted into a deep well at the back of the house, and
+that is to work by electricity? She was afraid the house was so high up
+that the power of the town water might be weak sometimes."
+
+"She's prepared for anything, isn't she? She'll be quite independent if
+any accident should happen to the Rosemont reservoir."
+
+"You know the fittings of the laundry are electric."
+
+"And the electrician to-day was going to put in an electric hair dryer in
+the bath-room, so that a shampoo will require only a few minutes' time."
+
+"I see where all of us girls visit Dorothy on shampoo day," giggled Ethel
+Blue.
+
+"She'll be as popular as I used to be when our cherries were ripe," her
+Aunt Marion smiled in return. "I never seemed to have so many friends as
+during the June days when I always entertained my guests by inviting them
+up into the cherry tree."
+
+"Was that the cherry tree on the right thide of Chrandfather'th houthe?"
+asked Dicky suddenly from the corner where he had been supposed to be
+dozing.
+
+"The very same cherry tree, young man. I dare say you know it."
+
+"It'th too fat for me to thin up," he said, "but nektht year I'm going up
+on a ladder the minute I see a robin flying off with the first ripe
+cherry."
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XIII
+                         A GOLDEN COLOR SCHEME
+
+
+When the time came for having the interior decorating done in Sweetbrier
+Lodge and for getting the furniture, the U. S. C. felt that they were
+really in the very midst of a delightful experience. The attic was
+furnished with brown wicker, as Miss Graham had suggested. A small
+upright piano was brought up through a window, and this pleasant, quiet
+room at the top of the house, served to give Dorothy a spot for
+practising where she would disturb no one. Up here, too, she could keep
+any work that she was doing and merely put it into a chest that she had
+prepared for the purpose, whenever she wanted to leave it, or, if it was
+something that could not easily be moved, it might even be kept out upon
+the table and there would be no one to be annoyed by an appearance of
+untidiness.
+
+The piano was to be a pleasure at the club meetings, for all the U. S. C.
+members liked to sing, and Helen was planning that they should wind up
+every meeting during the coming winter with a good stirring chorus before
+they separated for the afternoon.
+
+On the bedroom floor, the furnishings were carried out as they had been
+planned, Elisabeth's room in blue, Dorothy's in pink, and Mrs. Smith's in
+primrose yellow, and the two guest chambers in violet and a delicate,
+misty grey. The wood-work was painted ivory white and the floors were all
+of hard wood. Rugs in harmonious tints gave the desirable depths of tone
+to the color plan.
+
+On this floor Mrs. Smith had a sewing room and also a small sitting room,
+where she could write business letters and be quite undisturbed. With the
+floor below came the really serious work of furnishing, the girls
+thought. The drawing room was the important feature of this floor.
+
+"Here is the family hearth," said Mrs. Smith to Dorothy, "and we want to
+make this room beautiful--one that people will like to come into and to
+stay in."
+
+"It must not be cold in color, then," said Dorothy. "Nobody likes to stay
+in a chilly looking room."
+
+"And it ought not to be too warm in color," said plump little Della, who
+suffered terribly from the heat in summer. "It just makes me perspire to
+_think_ of some of the thick, heavy-looking rooms I've been in. They are
+only suitable for zero weather and we don't seem to have any more zero
+weather nowadays."
+
+Mrs. Smith had allowed Dorothy to ask the club members to have cocoa with
+her on the afternoon when the final decisions were to be made. They had
+brought down from up-stairs some of the chairs and a table which had
+already been put into the bed-rooms. Dorothy and the Ethels had made
+cocoa and had baked some cocoanut cakes on the new electric oven, and
+they were all gathered in the drawing room, sipping their cocoa and
+looking about them at the possibilities of the room.
+
+"Before we begin, tell me how you made these cakes," said Margaret, who
+was always adding a new receipt to her cook book.
+
+"We took half a pound of dried cocoanut and two ounces of sugar and three
+ounces of ground rice, and mixed them all up together. Then we beat the
+whites of three eggs perfectly stiff and stirred the froth thoroughly
+into the other things," said Ethel Brown.
+
+"Then we dipped out a tablespoonful at a time and put it on to a buttered
+baking tin, and baked it all in a quick oven for five minutes," said
+Ethel Blue, "but we didn't take the tin out, right off. We let the oven
+cool and the little cakes cook slowly for half an hour longer."
+
+"They do be marvellous good," murmured James, and all the others agreed
+with him.
+
+Miss Graham had come over with Margaret and James, but she said that she
+was not going to give her professional advice until it was asked for.
+
+"I may as well tell you first of all," said Mrs. Smith, "what my color
+scheme is for this room, and then you can help me with the details. I
+want the whole thing to be in tones of brown, lightened by yellow, and
+contrasted with that dull blue you see in Oriental rugs. Now, keep that
+scheme of color in your mind and work it out for me."
+
+"I think you must have told the painter about it before he did the
+wood-work," guessed Margaret. "This wood-work is white, but a yellowish
+white that will be quite in harmony with your brown and gold scheme."
+
+"You've caught me," smiled Mrs. Smith. "It had to be done, so I told him
+what I wanted. It's successful, don't you think so?" she asked, looking
+toward Miss Graham.
+
+"Entirely," approved Miss Daisy.
+
+"The floors are hard wood, but I suppose you're going to have a big brown
+and gold and blue rug," said Helen.
+
+"Certainly those colors, if I can find just the right thing," said her
+aunt.
+
+"I was with Mother the other day in a rug shop," said Della, "and I saw
+beautiful Chinese rugs, with dull blue backgrounds and figures of brown
+and tan."
+
+"I've noticed," said Helen, "that Oriental rugs have a great deal of red
+and green in them. I should think it might be hard to find rugs with just
+brown and blue."
+
+"I have discovered that it is," said Mrs. Smith, "for I've already been
+on one or two searching trips. Still, those Chinese rugs that Della
+mentioned are always available, and if you hunt far enough you can get
+others with the brown note uppermost. What do you think about size?" she
+asked.
+
+"Oh," said Helen. "I seem to see in my mind's eye a huge, great, splendid
+one in the middle of the room."
+
+"It would be a beautiful rug probably," said Ethel Brown, "but I don't
+know that I should like one big fellow as much as two smaller ones."
+
+"Why not?" asked Miss Graham.
+
+"I don't know that I can tell you," answered Ethel Brown, blushing.
+"Perhaps it's because it makes the room seem too big and grand, and the
+arrangement of smaller ones would break it up into smaller sections, and
+make it seem more home-like."
+
+Miss Daisy nodded as if she were satisfied, but made no comment.
+
+"How do all of you feel about the size of the rugs?" inquired Mrs. Smith,
+and Helen put the question to vote.
+
+They decided that they liked the idea of two or more rugs of medium size
+with little ones where they were needed instead of a very large one in
+the centre of the room.
+
+"I think you're right," said Mrs. Smith, "and I think that it will be
+easier to find the smaller ones than the very large ones--and less
+expensive into the bargain," she said, laughing.
+
+"What is the furniture to be?" inquired Tom.
+
+"Dorothy and I had a few antiques that have been kept for us all these
+years from my father's house, and they have given us the note for the
+rest. They are mahogany, colonial in style, so we think that we must make
+the rest of the furniture harmonize with them."
+
+"Aunt Marion told me she saw some lovely reproductions of truly old
+chairs and tables and things," said Ethel Blue. "I suppose you can make
+the room look as if every piece in it was a truly old one."
+
+"If I had money enough, I could undoubtedly find truly old pieces," said
+Mrs. Smith, "but I think I shall content myself with the modern pieces in
+the old style."
+
+"At any rate, they will be stronger," said Margaret. "We have some very
+old furniture, and since we put steam heat in our house, they've been
+falling to pieces as fast as they could fall."
+
+"How are the walls of this room to be treated?" asked James.
+
+"There I want your help," said Mrs. Smith.
+
+"I saw a dark brown paper dashed with gold the other day, on the library
+wall at Mrs. Schermerhorn's," said Roger.
+
+"Too dark," cried the Ethels in chorus. "Mrs. Schermerhorn's wood-work is
+dark and Aunt Louise's is almost white."
+
+"There's a kind of Japanese paper that looks like metal burlap," said
+Margaret. "It has a little glint of gold in it."
+
+"That's too dark, too, I think," said Dorothy. "It ought to be something
+that will connect the yellow-white of the wood-work with the gold, which
+is the lightest tone in Mother's color scheme."
+
+Again Miss Graham nodded her approval, although she said nothing.
+
+"I saw a very wide pongee silk the other day that would be just about the
+right shade, if it could be put on like wall-paper," said Ethel Blue. "It
+would be a little darker than this paint, and it would tie on to the gold
+in the rug or in any piece of furniture covering."
+
+Again Miss Graham nodded.
+
+"And I don't see why it couldn't be stenciled," said Ethel Brown.
+"Something like the walls upstairs in the apple-blossom room, only of
+course something that would be appropriate for this room. But even if you
+didn't like that idea," she went on, "I think the pongee silk alone would
+be beautiful."
+
+Mrs. Smith liked that idea, too, but she hesitated to give her final
+decision until she had examined a certain homespun linen which she had
+had recommended to her as a possible success from the point of view of
+color.
+
+"Now that you have finished your cocoa, I want you to move your chairs
+over here, where you can look into the dining room," she said. "You see,
+I've had the dining room separated from this room by folding doors; there
+will be door curtains also, but I want to be able to shut off the room
+entirely from this room if I choose. Now, while we talk about the
+furniture here, look into the dining room and get the shape of it into
+your minds, so that you can regard it as a sort of outgrowth of this
+room. Are you comfortable now?"
+
+They said they were and went on to discuss the furniture.
+
+"Will all of the pieces be upholstered with the same material?" asked
+Ethel Blue.
+
+"Oh, no," cried Ethel Brown. "Let's have two or three different shades of
+brown, and one in the right shade of yellow and one or two in the same
+dull blue of the rug."
+
+Again Miss Graham nodded.
+
+"You want to repeat in the furniture the colors of the rug," she said.
+"They give you a wide range of tones because these Oriental rugs may have
+as many as twenty-five shades of blue, so finely graduated that you can
+hardly tell them apart, except with a reading glass. The brown and gold
+of the furniture will bring out the brown and gold of the floor covering
+and you must be careful that the yellow of the furniture is not so
+brilliant as to overpower the more delicate yellow of your walls. There
+should be a sort of scale from the yellowish white wood-work which is
+your highest note, down to the darkest shade of brown."
+
+"Now, that we've decided about the furniture, tell me what general idea
+you have for the dining room," said Mrs. Smith. "I'm all excitement to
+hear what you have to say about the dining room, because it isn't quite
+clear in my own mind, and I want to work it out with you."
+
+"You want it to be an outgrowth of this room," said Helen, "and you don't
+want it treated like an entirely separate room."
+
+"Since it is connected with this room by so wide an opening, when the
+doors are drawn back," said her aunt, "it seems to me as if it ought to
+be in harmony with the coloring here."
+
+They all agreed with this idea.
+
+"I suggest," said Margaret, "that the whole room might be a little darker
+than this room, although decorated with the same colors."
+
+Miss Graham again approved this.
+
+"It has the morning sun," said Dorothy, "and at night through most of the
+year the gas is lighted at dinner time so it isn't necessary to have it
+so bright as the other room."
+
+"Then why not have everything the same, except just a little deeper in
+tone," said Ethel Blue. "Have the wood-work a trifle darker and find some
+material for the walls or have them color-washed a few shades darker than
+the pongee. The floor is a little darker than this anyway and one of the
+darker blue Chinese rugs will be lovely on it."
+
+"Mother's china is blue Canton," said Dorothy. "That will give blue touch
+that will harmonize with the rugs."
+
+They were all pleased with their decisions and were greatly pleased when
+Miss Graham approved their wisdom.
+
+The electricians had put in the electric fixtures and they noticed that
+the dining room side lights of both the dining room and drawing room
+looked like sconces; that there was a glowing bowl of light in the
+ceiling above the dinner table; and that the half concealed lights were
+to give a pleasant radiance in the larger room, while plugs around the
+wall permitted the use of electric lamps for reading or sewing at many
+different points.
+
+"How is this little reception room to be done, Mrs. Smith?" asked James
+as he roamed into a small room just beside the front door.
+
+"This whole floor, all in all, is to have the same color scheme," said
+Mrs. Smith. "I think this and the hall will be done like the dining
+room."
+
+"Come out now, and see the maid's sitting room," cried Dorothy. "It is
+the cunningest thing and so pretty."
+
+The wicker furniture had already come for this room and the attic, and
+they all exclaimed at the delicate shade of gray rattan which made a
+charming back-ground for cushions of flowered chintz.
+
+"I think it's a dear duck of a room!" said Ethel Brown.
+
+"And see the roses on the walls!" exclaimed Dorothy. "And it opens on to
+a little porch that is going to be covered with rambler roses all summer,
+if I can possibly make them grow and blossom."
+
+"How many of you people can go to the Metropolitan Museum with me on
+Saturday?" asked Miss Graham. "I know you younger ones are all busy in
+school now, and the boys are getting ready to go to college, so that is
+your only day, for we want plenty of time."
+
+There was not one of them who could not go, so they arranged about trains
+and where they should pick up the Watkinses in New York, and separated
+with pleasant expectations of the very good time ahead of them.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XIV
+                          AT THE METROPOLITAN
+
+
+Dicky, the Honorary Member of the United Service Club, had been
+considered too young to become a member of the party to visit the
+Metropolitan Museum. He had, however, begged so hard not to be left
+behind, that Helen and Roger had relented, and had promised to take him
+if he, in his turn, would agree not to bother Miss Graham by asking more
+than a million questions every ten minutes. He was also under bond not to
+stray away from the party.
+
+As it turned out, however, the Honorary Member did not go to New York on
+the appointed day. He had planned an expedition of his own for purposes
+of investigation, and the results were such that he was not able to meet
+his other engagement later on.
+
+Underneath his bobbed hair Dicky kept a sharp pair of ears and there was
+very little of the talk about his aunt's new house that had escaped his
+attention. Among other things he had listened while his sisters and
+cousins had commented upon the manner in which the kitchen was equipped.
+The floor was concrete, the walls were of white tile, the shelves were of
+glass, and the cupboard doors of enameled metal.
+
+He had heard his mother say to his Aunt Louise: "Why, you could turn the
+hose on it to clean it, couldn't you?"
+
+The idea had inflamed his imagination and he determined to see how it
+would work. Detaching the hose and spray from the bath-room he trotted
+off immediately after breakfast, intent on putting into effect his
+mother's idea. It seemed to him that it would be a delight to live in a
+house where one might enter into the kitchen at any moment and find the
+cook spraying the walls with a hose. If the reality proved to be as
+charming as the anticipation, he was going to beg his mother to have
+their own kitchen made over promptly.
+
+The workmen were all upstairs at Sweetbrier Lodge but the lower doors
+were open so that there was no difficulty in achieving an entrance. He
+knew how to attach the spray to the faucet and a twist of the fingers
+turned on the water.
+
+It seemed to him as the first dash struck him full in the face, he having
+been a little careless about the nozzle, that his Aunt Louise need not
+have worried about the pressure of the town water. He shook his head like
+a pussy cat in the rain, but manfully restrained the ejaculation that
+leaped to his lips. He was glad that he did, because nobody interrupted
+and the succeeding moments were filled with ecstasy. He sprayed the
+floor, the electric range, the shiny white table, the glistening
+cupboards, and, best of all, the gleaming tiles of the walls down which
+the drops chased each other in a joyous race for the floor.
+
+The moments sped in this entrancing pursuit.
+
+At home a cry for Dicky had arisen as the time came to dress him for his
+trip to New York. Nobody knew where he had gone. It was not until Ethel
+Brown telephoned to Dorothy that they learned that he had been seen
+passing her house.
+
+"He must have gone to Sweetbrier Lodge for some reason or other," said
+Ethel Brown. "What on earth possessed him on this morning of all
+mornings!"
+
+She called to Roger, and he dashed off on the run to see if he could find
+his wandering brother. None of the workmen at the new house had any
+knowledge of his whereabouts, and it was not until Roger opened one of
+the carefully closed doors and was greeted by a dash of water, straight
+in his waistcoat, that he found the wanderer.
+
+Roger was a boy of even temper but he confessed to his mother afterwards
+that his fingers ached as never before to impress on Dicky his
+disapproval of his occupation.
+
+"What on earth are you doing here?" he demanded, snatching the hose from
+Dicky's reluctant fingers, and turning off the water.
+
+"Washing down the walls," replied Dicky truthfully.
+
+"Incidentally you've given yourself a good soaking," said Roger, looking
+at the thoroughly drenched little figure before him. "Here, slip into
+this coat, and I hope I haven't got to carry you home the whole way, you
+big, heavy creature."
+
+"I think I'd be warmer if I trotted myself," suggested Dicky, a little
+apprehensive of what might happen to him in the way of a bear hug, in his
+brother's strong arms.
+
+"I guess you're right," said Roger. "We'll have to run like deer, for
+it's almost time for the car to come for us. This puts an end to your
+going into town, I suppose you understand, young man."
+
+Dicky had not thought of losing his other joy while he was realizing his
+first delight, and he puckered his face for a howl, but before the sound
+could come out, Roger said: "You brought it on to yourself, so don't
+yell. This is the natural result of what you've been doing. You can't
+expect ten people to wait for you to be thoroughly dried and got ready to
+go into town, can you?"
+
+Dicky was an uncommonly reasonable child and he swallowed his sobs as he
+shook his head. There was no farther conversation, for both boys were
+running as fast as Roger's legs could set the pace. Dicky's strides were
+assisted by his brother, who seized his arm and helped him over the
+ground with giant steps.
+
+Mrs. Morton's view of the situation seemed to be painfully like Roger's,
+and Dicky found himself put into the care of Mary and an unnaturally
+rough bath towel, his only part in the expedition that had promised such
+happiness to him, being the sight of his relatives climbing into his
+grandfather's automobile and dashing off toward Glen Point, where they
+were to pick up Miss Graham and the Hancocks.
+
+When the party reached New York they made up their minds that they might
+as well approach the Museum containing many beautiful objects by the
+prettiest way possible, so at 59th Street the car swept into Central
+Park. As they entered, Miss Graham called their attention to the golden
+statue of General Sherman, made by the famous sculptor, Saint-Gaudens. As
+they neared the Museum, she pointed out Cleopatra's needle, an Egyptian
+shaft covered with hieroglyphics.
+
+"The poor old stone has had a hard time in this climate," said Roger. "It
+has scaled off terribly, hasn't it?"
+
+"They are trying to preserve it by a preparation of parafine," said Miss
+Graham.
+
+"I should think it would have to be repeated every winter," said Helen.
+"It doesn't seem as if parafine was much of a protection against heavy
+frost."
+
+Just inside the entrance of the building they found Della and Tom
+awaiting them. Miss Graham called their attention first to the tapestries
+hanging in the entrance hall, and told them something of the patient work
+that went into the production of one of these great sheets of painstaking
+embroidery.
+
+"Are they making them anywhere, nowadays?" asked Ethel Blue.
+
+"When the war is over and you go to Paris, you can see the tapestry
+workers in the Gobelins factory," said Miss Daisy. "Every machine has
+hung upon it the picture which the worker is copying. It may take a man
+six or seven years to complete one piece."
+
+"Shouldn't you think he would be sick to death of it!" exclaimed Dorothy.
+
+"I suppose the first year he tells himself he must be pleasant, so that
+he will see the picture get started. In the second year perhaps he'll be
+ready to put in the feet of his figures. Then all the middle years must
+be comparatively exciting because he's doing the central part of the
+picture; and the last year he has a sort of a thrill because it's almost
+done, even though the work may be all in the clouds."
+
+"I judge that they make landscapes with figures, chiefly," guessed James.
+
+"Many of them are landscapes with figures," replied Miss Daisy. "They
+have a wide variety of objects. The factory belongs to the government and
+the pieces are used as decorations for government buildings, and as gifts
+to people of other countries. The French Government gave Miss Alice
+Roosevelt a piece of Gobelin when she was married. I've seen it on
+exhibition in the Art Museum at Cincinnati."
+
+"I suppose all the workmen now have gone to the war, and the factory is
+closed," said Tom.
+
+"Probably. The men who work there now are descendants, sometimes in the
+third or fourth generation, of the early workers. They hold their
+positions for life and although their pay is not large they also have
+each a cottage and piece of land on the grounds of the factory."
+
+As the U. S. C. ascended the great stair-way they passed numerous
+impressive busts and stopped to look at all of them. Most of the men were
+famous Americans, whose names were already familiar to the young people.
+
+"Now," said Miss Graham, as they reached the head of the stairs, "later
+on we can choose the kind of thing we would like especially to see, but
+first I want to show you two or three pictures and we can talk a little
+about them. Then perhaps we will enjoy better the pictures we see
+afterwards."
+
+"I am sure we shall," answered Roger, politely, although his heart was
+yearning for the Riggs collection of armor.
+
+Miss Daisy read his mind.
+
+"I know you want to see the Riggs armor most of all," she said, "and
+Margaret and James have been talking a lot about the Morgan collection
+and the Ethels told me on the way in that they had seen in the Sunday
+papers reproductions of some of the pictures in the Altman collections
+and they want to see the originals. We can see all those later on, but
+first we will look for a minute at a very famous picture by a
+Frenchwoman, Rosa Bonheur."
+
+"Oh, I remember about her," said Helen. "She used to wear men's clothes
+when she was working in her studio. She said skirts bothered her."
+
+"I should think they would," said James. "I remember about her, too. She
+made a specialty of animals and sometimes she had lions and other wild
+animals from some Zoo, and let them wander about. She needed to be
+dressed so she could skip lively if they made any demonstration!"
+
+"Those are huge horses, aren't they," said Ethel Blue, as they stood
+before the "Horse Fair."
+
+"They look as if they were 'feeling gayly,' as the North Carolina
+mountaineers say," quoted Dorothy.
+
+"What is it all about?" asked Miss Graham.
+
+"Why, I don't know," answered Ethel Blue slowly. "Is it about anything in
+particular? Isn't it just a lot of horses being taken to a Horse Fair for
+exhibition?"
+
+Miss Graham nodded and said that that was probably all there was to it.
+Then she led them to a picture by a French artist, Meissonier.
+
+"I spot Napoleon," said Tom promptly, as they took up their position.
+
+"This is called 'Friedland, 1807,'" said Miss Graham.
+
+Before she could ask any question or make any suggestion about the
+picture, Helen had explained "Friedland."
+
+"That was one of Napoleon's famous battles. Here he defeated the Russians
+and Prussians."
+
+"Eighteen hundred and seven?" repeated James. "Why, Napoleon was at the
+very height of his power then, wasn't he?"
+
+"He looks it," said Margaret. "Doesn't he look as if he were the lord of
+the world? And how those men around him gaze at him with adoration! He
+certainly had a wonderful ability for making himself beloved by his
+soldiers!"
+
+Miss Graham had been listening to these comments with the greatest
+interest.
+
+"What difference do you see between this picture and the 'Horse Fair'?"
+she asked.
+
+They looked carefully at the picture before them and Ethel Blue scampered
+back to refresh her memory on the "Horse Fair."
+
+"There isn't any more action in one than the other," said James, "though,
+of course, it's different."
+
+"But this one makes me think a lot about a great man," added his sister.
+
+"And you want to know what it's all about," exclaimed Ethel Brown.
+
+"You feel as if there must be some story about this one," said Ethel
+Blue, returning from her expedition to the "Horse Fair."
+
+"That's just the point," said Miss Graham, patting her shoulder, "There's
+no especial appeal to the imagination in the 'Horse Fair.' You just see
+horses going to any horse fair in northern France, and there's nothing to
+tell you that one horse has won a ploughing match and that another is a
+candidate for a blue ribbon because of his great weight. But here you
+realize at once that Napoleon was a man to command attention. You want to
+know what he has been doing. You feel that there is some good reason for
+the evident admiration of his soldiers. Those two pictures are examples
+of two different classes of pictures. The 'Horse Fair' you might call a
+sketch in a traveller's note book. The Napoleon picture is an
+illustration in a story."
+
+The young people thought over all this and nodded their agreement.
+
+"Now come with me and see this picture of a pretty girl."
+
+Miss Graham led the way to the Morgan collection and they looked into the
+winning face of "Miss Farren." She seemed to be moving swiftly across the
+canvas, her dress and cloak streaming behind her from the speed of her
+motion.
+
+"She's a pretty girl," said Roger, with his hand on his heart. Tom nodded
+in agreement, but James shook his head.
+
+"She looks silly," he said sternly.
+
+"There isn't any story to her picture, I'm sure," said Helen. "That's
+just a portrait."
+
+"But may not a portrait indicate something of the character of the
+sitter?" asked Miss Graham.
+
+"It ought to," returned Margaret, "and I should think there was something
+of this girl's character in the portrait, but there's nothing to show
+that this might be the illustration of a story."
+
+"Unless it were the frontispiece, showing the picture of the heroine,"
+said Roger.
+
+"But the heroine doing nothing that is told about in the story," insisted
+Helen.
+
+Miss Graham made no comment on these criticisms but led the way to
+another picture, also of a girl, but this time of a girl in the dress of
+a peasant and not handsomely arrayed as was Miss Farren.
+
+"There is a bigger difference than clothes between these two," said
+Della, "but I don't know just what it is. This girl isn't pretty like
+Miss Farren."
+
+"Do you know who this is?" asked Miss Daisy.
+
+"Somebody who is thinking a lot," said Ethel Brown.
+
+"She is seeing things in her mind," said Ethel Blue.
+
+"Who is the most famous girl in history, who did that?" asked Miss
+Graham.
+
+"Jeanne d'Arc," said Helen. "She saw visions that inspired her to be a
+leader of men in the army and she brought about the coronation of her
+king when he was kept from his throne by the English who held Paris and a
+large part of France."
+
+"She is seeing visions now," whispered Ethel Blue, clinging to Miss
+Graham's arm.
+
+Miss Graham gently smoothed the fingers that were tensely closed over the
+sleeve of her jacket.
+
+"Why do you suppose Helen told us about Jeanne d'Arc just now?" she
+asked.
+
+"Because Helen just naturally knows all the history there is to be
+known," said Roger, joking his sister in brotherly fashion.
+
+Helen flushed and murmured something that sounded like, "I thought you'd
+like to know why she looked like that."
+
+"There is something more than just her character and her disposition in
+that picture," said Margaret.
+
+"If a single picture can be a story picture, I should think this was a
+story picture as much as the Napoleon one," said Tom.
+
+Again Miss Daisy nodded her approval.
+
+"I call it a story picture," she said. "Helen felt that it was,
+immediately, and that is why she told us something of the story of Jeanne
+d'Arc."
+
+"Most landscapes must be just note book pictures, then," guessed Ethel
+Brown.
+
+"Unless the landscape should be a background for some story," said Della.
+"There might be gypsies kidnapping a child, for instance."
+
+"Of course there are other divisions," said Miss Graham, "but roughly
+speaking, almost every picture is either a record of fact or of
+imagination, or else it tells a story."
+
+"It's going to be interesting to think about that, when we look at the
+other pictures we shall see later on," said Tom, and even Roger nodded
+assent, although his heart was still set upon the armor.
+
+"Now, let's go back for a moment to look at the 'Horse Fair,'" said Miss
+Graham. "What do you think a picture ought to have in it to be a real
+picture?" she asked as they went along the gallery.
+
+"It seems to me that a picture that is nothing but a record, as you said
+a few minutes ago, can't be much of a picture," said Roger. "I should
+want something more in a picture, something that would stir me up. Why,
+even Miss Farren's there isn't exactly a record, because you have
+something more than just eyes and nose and hair. She looks as if she
+would be fun to talk to, and as for the 'Horse Fair,' which was the other
+picture that we decided was a record, why that has in it more than just a
+lot of horses."
+
+"If Rosa Bonheur had wanted merely to draw some horses, she might have
+strung them along in a row so that we could get an idea of their size and
+color and could make a guess at their weight, but here we see them in
+action and we know that they are in good spirits and we feel some
+sympathy with the men who have a hard time to hold them."
+
+"Yes, that picture stirs me a little, too."
+
+"That is because both 'Miss Farren' and the 'Horse Fair' are real
+pictures. Any picture that tries to be more than merely a photographic
+reproduction must stir your emotions in one way or another," said Miss
+Daisy. "Now as we look at this picture, do you think the artist put into
+it everything that she saw on the road that morning when she passed this
+group of men and horses?"
+
+"I dare say not," said Della, "because there would be likely to be dogs
+and boys with the men, and perhaps some ugly houses in the background."
+
+"Why do you suppose she didn't put everything in?"
+
+"Why, a picture ought to try to be beautiful, oughtn't it, and some of
+those things might be ugly, or there might be so many of them that it
+would be confusing."
+
+"Those are both good reasons," said Miss Daisy. "They both show that the
+artist has to _select_ the things that he thinks will be of the greatest
+interest to the people who look at his pictures."
+
+"Now when he has picked them out, what should you say the next step was?"
+
+They were all rather blank at this question but after a while Roger said
+slowly, "Evidently she picked out just so many as being the best looking
+ones to put in the picture; and she didn't like them all facing the
+audience, ready to bob their heads at you as you look at them; she made
+them trot along the road in a natural way."
+
+"Certainly," approved Miss Graham. "She _arranged_ what she had selected
+so that they would be natural and--"
+
+"And so that the colors would show well?" asked Ethel Brown.
+
+"Yes, so that there would be contrasts of color that would be pleasing to
+the eye. Then there should be _balance_. Have you any idea what that
+means?"
+
+Nobody had.
+
+"I wonder if you haven't all noticed a Japanese print that Margaret has?"
+
+"You mean the one with big green leaves up in one corner and the
+grasshopper clinging to a tendril?" asked Helen.
+
+"That's the one," returned Miss Daisy. "Did it ever occur to you that
+those leaves were all crowded off into one corner of the picture?"
+
+"I never thought of it," said Margaret, "and I have looked at it every
+day for a year. They are, aren't they?"
+
+"But it didn't affect you unpleasantly, did it?"
+
+"Why, no. I think it's a pretty picture," said Ethel Brown.
+
+"It is," agreed Miss Graham; "but what device did the artist use to make
+you feel comfortable about it, and to make you forget that he had put a
+bunch of foliage up in one corner and had left more than one-half of his
+sheet blank?"
+
+Nobody could answer this question and Miss Graham had to give the
+explanation herself.
+
+"It's all a question of balance," she said. "The great mass of white
+paper in the lower right hand part of the picture balances the mass of
+green leaves in the upper left hand corner. The green is a heavier
+looking color than the white, and it therefore takes a larger amount of
+white to balance the green. The Japanese who made this painting
+understood that, and he has so arranged his leaves and his grasshopper,
+that the eye is entirely pleased by the balance that results. If Rosa
+Bonheur has managed wisely there should be masses of light and dark,
+balancing each other, and there should be spaces and solids, balancing
+each other."
+
+"Has she done it? It doesn't worry me any," said Roger. "I think she must
+have succeeded."
+
+Keeping Miss Graham's explanation in mind they took another look at the
+Napoleon picture and concluded that Meissonier also knew what he was
+about.
+
+"'Composition' means the putting together of a picture, doesn't it?"
+asked Helen. "I should think that the composition of a picture that has
+so many figures, must be extremely difficult."
+
+"Far more difficult, of course, than one for which the artist has
+selected fewer objects."
+
+"And of two artists producing complicated pictures like these, he is the
+better who gives an effect of simplicity."
+
+"Suppose that Rosa Bonheur had noticed that one of the men struggling
+with the horses had his face bound up with a cloth; does that have
+anything to do with the picture?"
+
+They all agreed that it had not.
+
+"Then she was perfectly right to leave out any object that would distract
+the observer's mind. She put into this picture of horses going to the
+horse fair only such things as would make the onlooker think of the
+beauty and spirit of the horses as shown by their handsome coats and by
+the difficulty which the men had in controlling them, and his imagination
+would be stirred to wonder as to which of these fine animals was to win a
+prize. Everything which might compete with these simple ideas the artist
+left out of the picture."
+
+"It must have been awfully hard to do such a lot of legs," said Ethel
+Blue, who knew a little about drawing.
+
+"An artist has to know a good deal about anatomy," returned Miss Graham.
+"He must know how the human body is made, and the horse's body, too, if
+he is to do a picture like this, and he even must know something about
+the under-structure of the earth. He must make the lines of those legs
+all move harmoniously. Look at this Napoleon picture once more."
+
+Once again they stood before "Friedland."
+
+"If you were to prolong the up-standing lines of weapons and helmets you
+would find that they were parallel or tended toward some point possibly
+outside of the picture. Unless an appearance of confusion is desired it
+would not do to have lines leading in every direction."
+
+"It would make a picture look every which way, wouldn't it?" said Ethel
+Blue.
+
+"Attention to such points as this helps to give expression to the whole
+picture," went on Miss Daisy. "Not only do the figures in the pictures
+have their own expression, but the picture as a whole may wear an
+expression of peace, like that quiet landscape over there; or of
+confusion, like this picture of the attempted assassination of a pope, or
+of orderly excitement, like that cavalry charge yonder."
+
+As they turned from one canvas to another the Club realized the truth of
+what Miss Graham was saying.
+
+"That is a fact, isn't it?" agreed Tom. "You don't have to see the look
+on the fellows' faces to get the general effect of the picture even from
+a distance."
+
+"We've been talking so much about color schemes in connection with
+Dorothy's new house, that I am sure the phrase is familiar to you," said
+Miss Graham. "Look at the color schemes of these pictures around us. Do
+you see that there are no discords because a color note is struck and all
+of the other shades and colors harmonize with it? That battle rush, for
+instance, is a study in red. Compare that with the dull misty blues,
+greens, and greys in LePage's 'Jeanne d'Arc.'"
+
+They went from one picture to another and proved the truth of this
+statement to their satisfaction.
+
+"Now we'll call our lesson done," said Miss Graham. "We'll have some
+luncheon downstairs and when we come up we can let Roger have his heart's
+desire, and we'll give the afternoon to looking at the Morgan and Altman
+and Riggs collections of wonders. I doubt if there was ever gathered
+together anywhere three such groups. The Altman pictures are choice, the
+Riggs armor is unequalled anywhere in the world, and the Morgan
+collection is the finest general collection ever owned by a private
+individual."
+
+It was a weary but a happy party that returned to Rosemont in the late
+afternoon.
+
+"One of these days is awfully hard on your head," confessed Roger, as he
+was talking to his mother about the Club's experience, "but it certainly
+is good for your gray matter."
+
+"We're going to remember whenever we look at pictures again," said Ethel
+Brown.
+
+"And there are lots of things in it that we shall think about when we
+look over the decorating in our house," insisted Dorothy.
+
+"What I thought was the nicest of all was the way Miss Graham taught us.
+It was just like talking. I think she is awfully nice," was Ethel Blue's
+decision.
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER XV
+                   PREPARATIONS FOR THE HOUSEWARMING
+
+
+The trip to the Metropolitan Museum gave every member of the party a new
+set of words for her vocabulary. They looked at pictures with opened eyes
+and talked of their "composition" and "balance." They were all of them
+more or less interested in photography and now they tried to take
+photographs that would be real pictures.
+
+"It isn't so easy to make a picture by selecting what you want to have
+and leaving out the things you don't want," said Roger to Helen one
+morning as they walked toward Sweetbrier Lodge, "when the things are
+right there in the landscape and won't get out of the camera's way. A
+painter would leave out that stupid old wooden house in the field there,
+but he'd leave in the splendid elm bending over it. Now if I 'shoot' the
+elm I've got to 'shoot' the house, too."
+
+"The only way out is to take the house at some angle that will show off
+any good points it may have," declared Helen, wrinkling a puzzled brow.
+
+"Then as likely as not you'll have to take the tree on the side where the
+lightning hit it and peeled off all its bark," growled her brother
+gloomily.
+
+"That just shows that a photographer has to be more skilful than a
+painter," she said. "The painter can do what he likes, but the
+photographer has to get good results out of what is set before him."
+
+"And as for balance--if nature happens to have placed things in balance,
+well and good; but if she didn't what can you do about it?"
+
+"Nothing, my child, unless you introduce some object that you have some
+power over. Put in a girl or a dog or a horse somewhere where their
+weight will bring about the result you want."
+
+"You can't carry girls and dogs and horses round with you," objected
+Roger, who was in a depressed mood this morning and found difficulties in
+every suggestion.
+
+"You've got enough sisters and cousins for the girls, and you can take
+Christopher Columbus around with you in your pocket to play the
+four-footed friend," laughed Helen.
+
+"Speaking of Columbus--are we going to celebrate Columbus Day this year?"
+asked Roger, as he deftly inserted a new spool of film. "It's just luck
+James and I being here at all, you know. We'd like to do something to
+celebrate being exposed to scarlet fever as soon as we got to Boston, and
+being sent home for it to incubate, and then having nothing hatch!"
+
+"Haven't you heard? Aunt Louise is going to have her housewarming on
+October 12, Columbus Day? She has asked the Club to do something
+appropriate."
+
+"I thought the Watkinses had asked us to go into New York to see the
+parade."
+
+"They have. That won't interfere with us. They'll come out here later and
+then we'll do something in the evening in the new attic to amuse Aunt
+Louise's guests."
+
+"Any idea what?"
+
+"I've got an idea in the back of my head. I'll have to talk it over first
+with the girls to see if we can manage the costumes. If we can I think it
+will be mighty pretty."
+
+Roger nodded absent-mindedly. He had perfect confidence in his sister's
+good judgment and he was willing to do his part for his aunt's sake as
+well as for the good name of the Club.
+
+"What are you taking?" Helen asked him after they had roamed about the
+new place for a time. "You seem to be using a lot of film."
+
+"I am. I thought I'd take the new house and garden from every point of
+view I could, inside and out, and make two or three portfolios of them
+and send them to Father and Uncle Richard, as they'd probably like to
+have them."
+
+"What a perfectly darling idea! Isn't Aunt Louise delighted?"
+
+"She seems to be," returned Roger.
+
+"You knew she had asked Uncle Richard to come up for her house-warming?"
+
+"Father, too; but it's dollars to doughnuts they won't be able to come,
+so I thought I'd do these any way."
+
+"Father won't be able to, but Uncle Richard may."
+
+"He'll be glad to have the prints even if he has seen the original
+places."
+
+"Perhaps he'll like them better on that account."
+
+"I think I should. It would be like having your memory illustrated."
+
+"Are you going to do the rockery in the garden?"
+
+"If the frost has left anything."
+
+"It must be placed in just the right spot for there's a lot of it left. I
+passed it early to-day and it looked almost as pretty as if it were
+summer."
+
+"Dorothy certainly made a success of that."
+
+"It was an afterthought, too."
+
+"I believe the chief reason it has been so lovely is that it was placed
+in a natural position. The rocks look as if they ought to be just where
+they are."
+
+"Mrs. Schermerhorn's rockery looks as if she had said, 'Lo, I'll have a
+rockery,' and then she stuck it right in the middle of her lawn where no
+collection of rocks has been for twenty years."
+
+"And she has hot-house ferns in it!"
+
+The brother and sister laughed delightedly at their neighbor's ideas of
+natural beauty.
+
+"Perhaps it was fortunate that Dorothy didn't have a hot-house to draw
+on," said Roger, moving from one side to another of his cousin's rockery
+in order to get the best view of its remaining loveliness.
+
+"Dorothy has too much sense. In the first place she snuggled hers in here
+under the trees, just the way the rocks are naturally over in FitzJames's
+Woods. Then she brought over here exactly the plants she found there."
+
+"It had to look as if it were a bit of the woods, didn't it?"
+
+"Do you want me to be in this picture?"
+
+"You look too dressed up."
+
+"Thank you! This is a middy I've worn all summer, and I'm just wearing
+out the rags of it on Saturdays."
+
+"Nevertheless, you dazzle me."
+
+"That's a polite way of saying you don't want me in the foreground. You'd
+better put in what Miss Daisy calls 'contemporaneous human interest.' I'm
+a great addition to any picture in which I appear."
+
+"You are, ma'am, of course," replied Roger with exaggerated politeness,
+"but I think I'd like you under an arbor in a graceful attitude and not
+hobnobbing with these wild flowers."
+
+"You forget that wild flowers have been my special care this summer,"
+returned Helen, withdrawing to a point where she would not interfere with
+Roger's plans. "Dorothy's wild garden is only a copy of mine."
+
+"Not in arrangement. Hers is prettier with everything piled up on the
+stones this way--columbines, ferns, wild ginger, hepaticas."
+
+"You're right about that. Mine had to be in a regular bed. Are you going
+to take a picture of the vegetable garden?"
+
+"Certainly I am. And of tomatoes that were started with and without dirt
+bands."
+
+Roger's chief attention during the summer garden campaign had been
+devoted to the raising of vegetables, while the girls had done wonders
+with flowers.
+
+"What are dirt bands?" inquired Helen.
+
+"I know," cried the voice of Ethel Brown who came in sight through the
+pergola. "They're brown paper cuffs to put around young plants. It keeps
+the earth all close and cozy and warm and they grow faster than the ones
+that don't wear such fine clothes."
+
+"Listen to that," Roger said approvingly to Helen. "Those Ethels haven't
+let anything slip that happened in any of our gardens all summer. They
+know all about everything!"
+
+"Roger is in a very complimentary mood this morning," laughed Helen. "If
+I could only think of something to say I'd be polite in return."
+
+"I'm sorry it doesn't come to you spontaneously," replied her brother,
+"but what care I?" and he broke into song:
+
+    "I'm a careless potato, and care not a pin
+      How into existence I came;
+    If they planted me drill-wise or dibbled me in,
+      To me 'tis exactly the same.
+
+    The bean and the pea may more loftily tower,
+      But I care not a button for them.
+    Defiance I nod with my beautiful flower
+      When the earth is hoed up to my stem."
+
+"Oo-hoo!" came a voice from the Lodge. "Come in and help."
+
+"There's Dorothy calling," cried Ethel Brown, and they all moved toward
+the house where they found their cousin on the back porch with an array
+of plates, bowls, stones, small plants, tiny trees and small china
+figures before her.
+
+"May I inquire, madam, what on earth--" began Roger, but Ethel Brown's
+exclamation enlightened him.
+
+"You're making Japanese gardens!"
+
+"I'm going to try to. I think they're awfully pretty and cunning. Let's
+each make one."
+
+Mrs. Smith had bought a professionally made garden at an Oriental shop in
+New York, and the girls were seized with a desire to copy it.
+
+"Here's the real thing," and Dorothy indicated a flat bowl of gray and
+dull green pottery. In it were some stones outlining the bed of a stream
+over which stretched the span of a tiny porcelain bridge. A twisted tree
+that looked aged in spite of its height of only three inches reared its
+evergreen head at one end of the bridge; a patch of grass the size of
+three fingers grew greenly at the other end, and a goldfish swam happily
+in a pool at the side.
+
+"Margaret told me that horse-radish would grow if you kept it damp and
+let it sprout, so I've got several pieces started for our gardens."
+
+Sure enough, the horse-radish had sent forth shoots and a head of small
+leaves quite tall enough for the size of the garden, and its body looked
+brownish and gnarled like some bit of queer Oriental wood. Dorothy had
+taken up little plants of running growth like partridge berry and she had
+collected many wee ferns.
+
+"We can sprinkle a pinch or two of grass seed and bird seed over them all
+when they're done," she said. "That ought to bring up something fresh
+every little while."
+
+"These will be all started for your housewarming," suggested Helen.
+
+"That's why I'm doing them. We can leave them here, and I'll come over
+every day so they'll be watered. I think they'll be awfully pretty and
+they'll be different from the usual decorations."
+
+"I read somewhere the other day that the Japs arrange their flowers with
+a meaning."
+
+"O, they do," cried Dorothy. "They have very little in one holder,
+perhaps only three flowers. One--the highest one--means Heaven, the next
+lower is Man, and the lowest is Earth."
+
+"I should have to have a diagram with every vase," insisted Roger.
+
+"The water in the bowl that holds the flowers represents the surface of
+the earth and the edge of the bowl is the horizon. Then they have ways of
+suggesting the different seasons--spring by flowers, summer by a lot of
+green leaves, autumn by bright colored leaves and winter by tall stems
+without much on them."
+
+"We've got flowers left in the gardens--lots of them," insisted Ethel
+Brown proudly.
+
+"Plenty," answered Dorothy; "and by this time next year I hope we'll have
+a little hot-house of our own so that we can have flowering plants all
+winter, but I like other things, too."
+
+"Miss Daisy was telling me the other day that we Americans didn't pay
+enough attention to using through the winter branches of trees and
+seedling trees from the woods and boughs of pine and fir and cedar," said
+Ethel Blue, who came through the house and had been listening to the
+conversation.
+
+"I don't see why you couldn't have a small maple-tree growing all winter
+in the dining-room if you put your mind on it," answered Helen.
+
+"A great jar of Norway spruce with cones hanging from the fingers would
+be stunning," decided Roger, as he set his horse-radish in place and
+planted a tree at one end of it.
+
+"The covers for the radiators are all on now," said Dorothy, changing the
+subject. "Did you notice them when you came through the house?"
+
+The Ethels had not and Helen and Roger had gone directly to the garden,
+so they all went in on a tour of examination.
+
+"Mother said that there was one thing about heating that she couldn't
+stand, and that was the ugly radiators; so the heating man has tried to
+hide them as much as he could. There isn't one in the house that stands
+out like a monument of pipes," declared Dorothy.
+
+"Even in the attic?"
+
+"Not even in the attic. See, he's covered most of them with grilles
+bronzed or painted like the wood-work of the room, so they aren't at all
+conspicuous."
+
+"It's these little points that make this house so attractive," declared
+Helen. "Aunt Louise has thought of everything."
+
+"What are you going to wear at the party?" asked Ethel Blue of Dorothy.
+
+"If we do that Columbus thing--" began Dorothy, looking at Helen.
+
+"Go on," the president of the U. S. C. replied to the inquiring gaze; "we
+might as well tell Roger now as later."
+
+"If we have the tableaux and pantomimes we can stay in our court
+dresses."
+
+"Court dresses?" inquired Roger, sitting up interestedly. "Why so
+scrumptious?"
+
+"Columbus at the court of Ferdinand and Isabella," answered Helen.
+
+"You as Columbus."
+
+"Me? Me? Why this honor?" asked Roger meekly.
+
+"Need you ask?" returned Helen. "That's in reply to your remarks about me
+as an addition to the foreground of your photographs."
+
+"Even. I don't care what I do as long as I have time to get it up."
+
+"You shall have plenty of time," promised Dorothy. "What I'm more
+interested in just now is what we're to have to eat on the festive
+night."
+
+"Is Aunt Louise going to let us decide?"
+
+"Subject to her veto, I suspect," smiled Helen.
+
+Dorothy nodded.
+
+"She says she wants something different from ice-cream and cake and
+chicken salad."
+
+They all laughed, for Rosemont was noted for invariably having these
+three excellent but monotonous viands at all her teas and receptions and
+church entertainments.
+
+"I move we have cold turkey," said Roger.
+
+"It's rather early for turks, but we can have capon if we can't find a
+good turkey," replied Ethel Brown, who kept the run of the Rosemont
+market.
+
+"Let's have little birds in aspic jelly," suggested Dorothy.
+
+They all gurgled with pleasure at this idea.
+
+"Squabs," went on Dorothy as her imagination began to work.
+
+"Um," commented Roger, his eyes shut.
+
+"Split them down the back, dip them into beaten egg and melted butter,
+sprinkle them with the finest bread crumbs and broil them."
+
+"O," came a gentle murmur from Roger, who was deeply affected by the
+recital of this appetizing dish. "Where's the aspic?"
+
+"You cut each squab in halves and put one-half in a mold and then you
+pour on the aspic."
+
+"Dorothy, you talk as if you'd been doing birds in aspic all your life.
+Did you ever cook them?"
+
+"Once," dimpled Dorothy. "At cooking school."
+
+"I know how to make aspic," declared Ethel Brown proudly.
+
+"Let's have it."
+
+"Soak a quarter of an ounce of vegetable gelatine in a pint of water for
+two hours; then add the strained juice of a lemon, pepper and salt and
+cayenne, two tablespoonfuls of Tarragon vinegar and another pint of
+water. Let it cook for a few minutes over a slow fire and then boil it
+for two or three minutes and strain it through a jelly bag over your
+birdies."
+
+"O, you can't do that that way," cried Ethel Blue. "Their elbows will
+show through when they're turned out of their molds. You have to put in a
+layer of jelly and when it is stiffened a little put in your bird, and
+then pour the rest of the jelly over it."
+
+"Correct," approved Dorothy. "We must be sure to have enough for each
+person to have a half bird in a mold. They are turned out at the last
+minute and a sprig of parsley is laid on top of each one."
+
+"Help! Help!" came a faint cry from Roger. "I am swooning with joy at the
+sound of this delicious food. I'm so glad Aunt Louise is giving this
+party and not one of the chicken salad ladies of Rosemont."
+
+"Aspic is good to know about for hot weather use," said Ethel Blue. "I've
+been meaning all summer to tell Della how to make it--she feels the heat
+so awfully."
+
+"You can put all sorts of meats in it, I suppose."
+
+"And vegetables; peas and beets and carrots very tender and cut very
+fine. Tomato jelly makes a good salad, too."
+
+"You could make pretty little individual molds of that."
+
+"What are we going to have for salad after these birds?" inquired Roger.
+
+"Let's have alligator pear salad. It's as easy as fiddle. You just have
+to pare the alligators and take out their cores--"
+
+"With a butcher's knife?" inquired Roger.
+
+"--and cut them in halves lengthwise. Then you put the pieces on a pale
+yellow-green lettuce leaf, and pour French dressing over it, and there
+you are!"
+
+"I like it all except the name," objected Roger.
+
+"Christen it something else, and be happy," urged Helen.
+
+"What for sweeties?" Roger demanded. "I'm going through this feast
+systematically."
+
+"Don't go on to the sweeties until we've settled on the bread, then,"
+insisted Ethel Brown, "I say Parker House rolls."
+
+"Or pocket book rolls--the same thing, only smaller," said Ethel Blue.
+
+"I haven't made any since we were at Chautauqua; I shall have to look
+them up again," confessed Dorothy.
+
+"I remember," said Ethel Brown. "You scald two cups of milk and then put
+into it three tablespoonfuls of butter, two teaspoonfuls of sugar and a
+teaspoonful and a half of salt. When it has cooled off a little add a
+dissolved yeast cake and three cups of flour and beat it like
+everything."
+
+"Command me on the day of the party," offered Roger politely.
+
+"We will," giggled the girls, and they said it so earnestly that Roger
+gazed at them suspiciously.
+
+"Cover it up and let it rise; then cut it through and through and knead
+in two and a half cups more flour. Let it rise again. Put it on a floured
+board, knead it, and roll it out to half an inch in thickness. Then cut
+out the rolls with a floured biscuit cutter. Brush one-half of each roll
+with melted butter and fold the round in halves."
+
+"Won't they slide open?"
+
+"Not if you pinch the edges together. Arrange them in your pan and cover
+them over so they can rise in comfort. Then bake them in a hot oven for
+from twelve to fifteen minutes," ended Ethel Brown.
+
+"They aren't as easy as Della's lightning biscuits, but they're so good
+when they're done that you don't mind having taken the trouble about
+them."
+
+"Now for the sweeties," insisted Roger. "I'm afraid you'll forget them
+and my tooth is as sweet as ever it was."
+
+"Are frozen things absolutely forbidden?" inquired Dorothy.
+
+"O, no, let's have one frozen thing. We're going to have some of the
+Rosemont people who aren't relatives, you know, and I hate to think of
+what they'd say about Aunt Louise if she didn't give them something
+frozen!" laughed Helen.
+
+"Let's have frozen peaches, then. Make them in the proportion of two
+quarts of peaches to two cups of sugar, a quart of water, and the juice
+of a lemon and a half. You peel the peaches and take out the stones and
+rub the fruit through a colander. Put the peach pulp and the lemon juice
+into a syrup made by boiling the sugar and water together for five
+minutes and letting it cool. Pour it all into the freezer and grind it
+until it is firm."
+
+"Command me," murmured Roger again.
+
+"Poor old Roger! You shan't be worked to death! Patrick will do the
+grinding."
+
+"For small mercies I'm thankful," returned Roger, a beaming smile
+breaking over his face.
+
+"I speak for chopped preserved ginger with whipped cream, served in those
+lovely ramequins of Aunt Louise's," cried Ethel Blue.
+
+"Why can't we have maple marguerites to go with everything?"
+
+"New to me, but let's have 'em," urged Roger.
+
+"Boil together a cup and a half of brown sugar and a half a cup of water
+until it makes a soft ball when it's dropped into cold water. Let it cool
+for a few minutes and then put in half a teaspoonful of maple flavoring
+and beat it all together. Have ready a quarter of a cup of finely chopped
+nut meats. Add half of this amount and drop this perfectly _dee_-licious
+stuff on to crackers. While it's still warm enough to be sticky sprinkle
+over the crackers the remainder of the nut meats."
+
+"I'll grind the nut meats," offered Roger.
+
+"And ask for heavy pay in marguerites!" laughed Ethel Brown.
+
+"I scorn your aspersions of my character," returned her brother solemnly.
+"What are you going to have to drink?"
+
+"Coffee--grape-juice--lemonade--the usual things."
+
+"I think that's a pretty good list. Write it down and let's see what Aunt
+Louise thinks of it," recommended Helen.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XVI
+                              COLUMBUS DAY
+
+
+Ethel Blue, as Columbus Day approached, was filled with many strange
+feelings, some of them far from pleasant. When she read a letter from her
+father a few days before the twelfth she felt as if dread had brought
+upon her exactly what she had dreaded. The letter was filled with loving
+expressions but it told her that her father was to be married very soon.
+
+"I know that you will love the dear lady who has honored me by saying
+that she will relieve my loneliness," he wrote.
+
+"_I_ would have relieved his loneliness if he had given me a chance,"
+Ethel sobbed to herself as she lay on her bed and read the tear-blotted
+lines for the tenth time.
+
+  "It will be a sorrow to you to leave Aunt Marion and your cousins, but
+  perhaps the thought that now you will belong in a home of your own will
+  make up for it, in part, at any rate. I don't see how we can all help
+  being happy together, and we must all try to make each other happy."
+
+Ethel Blue thought of a great many things to say in reply to her father.
+They sounded very smart and very convincing as she said them over to
+herself in a whisper, but just as she was wiping her eyes and getting up
+to sit at her desk and put them on paper her Aunt Marion's suggestion
+that she would be selfish if she did anything that would hurt her father
+or prevent him from making a belated happiness for himself cut her to the
+heart.
+
+"He doesn't love me or he wouldn't do it," she repeated, and then she
+remembered that all her life she had had a home and a loving family of
+cousins who were as good as brothers and sisters, while her father had
+spent the same time without the thought, even, of home-making.
+
+"I suppose it's some old Fort Myer woman who's as cross as two sticks,"
+she murmured again and again; and then an inner voice seemed to speak in
+her ear and tell her that there was no reason why she should not imagine
+that it was some really lovely person who was as sweet as she was pretty.
+
+"Everybody says my mother was pretty," thought poor Ethel Blue, who had
+been making herself very miserable by her old habit of "pretending"
+without any basis of fact, and who now was trying to get a scrap of
+comfort from the thought that her father had had good taste once and
+might be trusted to exercise it again.
+
+Whether or not to show the letter to her Aunt Marion she did not know.
+Her father had not said whether he had informed her or not. Usually Ethel
+told her aunt everything promptly, but now she did not feel as if she
+could speak of the thing that had appeared dreadful when it was only a
+possibility. The reality was so much worse that it did not seem as if she
+could trust herself to mention it.
+
+"Aunt Louise has asked him to come on to the housewarming," she said.
+"I'll wait and see if he comes. Then he can tell her and Aunt Marion
+himself; and if he doesn't come it won't be any worse for me to tell them
+a few days from now than right off this minute."
+
+It was so forlorn an Ethel Blue who dragged herself through the
+preparations for the Columbus Day entertainment, that Ethel Brown could
+not help noticing the melancholy air that hung over her usually smiling
+face. Ethel Blue would make no explanation to her cousin, nor would she
+tell her aunt anything more than the reassuring words that she was
+perfectly well. They gave up trying to make her talk about herself,
+trusting to time to bring its own healing.
+
+No letter came from her father announcing his acceptance of his sister
+Louise's invitation, nor did another letter reach Ethel Blue. She was
+inclined to make a grievance of this until it occurred to her that she
+was not likely to hear until she replied to her father's announcement of
+his proposed marriage.
+
+"It's a serious thing and I ought to answer his letter right off," her
+conscience told her, "but I can't say I'm glad and I don't want to say
+I'm not glad. I'll wait until after the twelfth, any way."
+
+Her feelings of selfishness and uncertainty made her a miserable girl
+during the interval.
+
+On the morning of Columbus Day the Mortons and Hancocks went into New
+York to the Watkinses. Della's and Tom's father was a clergyman who
+worked among the foreigners of the East Side. This was an advantage to
+the Club members when they watched the procession that wound its way from
+the lower part of the city northward to Columbus Circle at 59th Street.
+
+"These people must come from all over Europe," exclaimed Ethel Brown as
+bits of conversation in languages that she never had heard drifted to her
+ears.
+
+"New York is called one of the largest foreign cities in the world,"
+laughed Roger, whose spirits had risen although he was having
+difficulties again with his camera and its persistent desire to take
+everything that came within its range, "whether the girls are pretty or
+not!" he complained.
+
+"They say that New York is the second largest German city in the world,
+and that there are more Hebrews of different nationalities gathered here
+than anywhere else," said Tom.
+
+"Here are a lot of people wearing peasant costumes that I never saw in
+any geography," cried Dorothy.
+
+"When otherwise not accounted for you can generally put them among the
+Balkan states," laughed Della.
+
+"Look at that girl over there in peasant costume and right side of her is
+a girl in the latest New York style! That's a tremendous contrast."
+
+"I suppose the American-dressed girl thinks she is very fashionable, but
+the other looks much more sensibly dressed and more attractive, too,"
+said James gravely.
+
+"She's a great deal prettier girl for one reason," smiled his sister.
+"She would look better whatever she wore."
+
+They all laughed at James who insisted that he preferred peasant dress,
+but they all exclaimed with delight at the gorgeous costumes worn by a
+group of Hungarian men. Some of them were riding in carriages and they
+seemed very self-conscious but greatly pleased at the attention they
+attracted.
+
+"This is a great day for the Italians," said Helen as band after band,
+and society after society, bearing the Italian red, white and green
+passed them.
+
+"Well, Columbus was an Italian. They ought to feel comfortable about it.
+He discovered us."
+
+They all shouted at James's way of putting his defense of Columbus's
+countrymen.
+
+"If we're going to hear any of the speeches at Columbus Circle we'd
+better hop into the subway and speed to 59th Street," urged Tom.
+
+They were in plenty of time, and watched the placing around the Columbus
+monument of numberless wreaths and emblems which the societies brought
+with them, chiefly at the ends of tall poles and deposited at the feet of
+the statue of the great explorer.
+
+As soon as they reached home the Mortons all went over to Sweetbrier
+Lodge to help with the final decorations. The attic they had set in order
+the day before. This was necessary for they had to have a curtain and
+they wanted to put it through a rehearsal as well as themselves. Extra
+chairs had been brought in for the occasion and they were now unfolded so
+that the little audience room was ready for its opening performance.
+
+Below stairs all was ready in the kitchen department, the Ethels learned
+when they offered their services there. What was not completed was the
+arrangement of flowers and branches throughout the rooms. At the end of
+an hour during which the Ethels and Dorothy and Helen arranged and Roger
+carried, the house looked really lovely.
+
+The color scheme of the lower floor was so autumnal that it was not hard
+to follow it out in leaves and blossoms. Chrysanthemums were ready to
+emphasize the yellow tones, and bronze leaves from oaks and chestnuts
+carried on the darker hues. Here and there one of Dorothy's Japanese
+gardens gave an air of quaintness to a corner, or stood in relief against
+a screen.
+
+Upstairs the nursery was a bower of white cosmos; Dorothy's room was
+feathery with pink blossoms of the same delicate flower; against Mrs.
+Smith's primrose walls trailed the yellow leaves of a grapevine; purple
+asters nodded in the violet chamber, and the gray guest room wore fluffs
+of clematis.
+
+It was not a large party that gathered at Mrs. Smith's for the
+housewarming. The family connection was not small, however, and the
+newcomers had made some warm friends during the year that they had lived
+in Rosemont. The older Watkinses and Hancocks had come, and about fifty
+people filled the drawing room comfortably, admiring its beauty as they
+waited for the signal to go upstairs to the attic to see one of the
+entertainments which Rosemonters had learned to expect from the United
+Service Club.
+
+"It's very charming," murmured Mrs. Hancock to her sister. "I see your
+hand here."
+
+"Not very much," demurred Miss Graham. "I merely made an occasional
+suggestion or told them how to work out some good idea of their own. The
+color scheme is Mrs. Smith's."
+
+"It is charming," repeated Mrs. Hancock, her eyes moving from the
+yellow-white wood-work to the natural pongee walls and then on to the
+next shade of yellow, found in the draperies of the windows, made of a
+heavy linen dyed to strike the next note in the color scale. The
+furniture was upholstered in three or four shades of brown; a bit of gold
+flashed sombrely from the shadows, and an occasional touch of dull blue
+brought out the blue tones of the handsome rugs.
+
+Every one took a peek into the upper rooms as they passed upstairs to the
+attic. Ayleesabet's nursery received much praise, and the delicate tones
+of the bed-rooms won immediate approval. In the attic they found
+comfortable wicker chairs arranged about the room facing a small stage
+before which hung a tan linen curtain.
+
+"What are the children going to do?" asked Mr. Emerson of his hostess.
+
+"I really don't know," returned Mrs. Smith. "Dorothy said it would be
+appropriate for Columbus Day, so I entrusted it all to the young people."
+
+When the curtain was drawn the Club was disclosed grouped on the stage.
+They sang Miss Bates's "America the Beautiful," Mrs. Smith accompanying
+them on the piano.
+
+"That's all I have to do with the program," she said to Mr. Emerson when
+it was over and she had again taken her seat beside him.
+
+Then Tom told the story of Columbus--how he was born at Genoa and became
+a sailor and when he was about thirty-four years old went with a brother
+to live in Lisbon. Tom was seated on the stage at a table and two or
+three of the others sat about as if they were in a library listening to
+the talk. They entered quite naturally into the conversation.
+
+"Four years later," continued Tom, "somebody gave Columbus a map that put
+the Orient directly west of Spain, and Columbus became filled with a
+desire to search out the East by sailing west."
+
+"I've read that he died thinking he had discovered the East," responded
+Helen.
+
+"He laid his plans before the Portuguese king, but he found he couldn't
+trust him, so he went to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella in Spain. They
+summoned their wisest men to pass on the subject at a council held at
+Salamanca. For three years they kept him waiting about in uncertainty
+before they reported to the king that his idea was absurd. Columbus was
+furious--"
+
+"I should think he might have been."
+
+"--and he started at once for Paris to try to get the king of France,
+Charles VIII, to help him. He took his little son with him and one night
+they slept at a monastery. The prior became interested in Columbus's
+story and believed in him and didn't want the glory of his achievement to
+go to another country. So he managed to secure for him another interview
+with Ferdinand and Isabella, and we're going to see now," said Tom,
+turning to the audience, "what happened at the convent."
+
+With that the curtain fell. When it parted once more a dark curtain
+across the stage represented the outside of the convent. Ethel Brown
+recited Trowbridge's "Columbus at the Convent," while James acted the
+part of the Prior; Roger, Columbus; and Dicky, little Diego.
+
+"Those children have a real feeling for costume," whispered Miss Graham
+to her neighbor, and then started as she found that it was not her
+brother-in-law, Dr. Hancock, as she supposed, but Ethel Blue's father,
+Captain Morton, who had come in in the darkness.
+
+"How do you do?" he said, smiling at her startled air. "I suppose they
+made these things themselves."
+
+"The boys are wearing their sisters' long stockings and the girls made
+the short, puffy trunks and short, full coats."
+
+Ethel Brown's voice sounded clearly through the darkness though her
+hearers could not see her.
+
+    "Dreary and brown the night comes down,
+      Gloomy without a star.
+    On Palos town the night comes down;
+    The day departs with a stormy frown;
+      The sad sea moans afar.
+
+    "A convent-gate is near; 'tis late;
+      Ting-ling! the bell they ring.
+    They ring the bell, they ask for bread--
+    'Just for my child,' the father said.
+      Kind hands the bread will bring.
+
+    "White was his hair, his mien was fair,
+      His look was calm and great.
+    The porter ran and called a friar;
+    The friar made haste and told the prior;
+      The prior came to the gate."
+
+Here the dark curtain was drawn and a room was disclosed with a table at
+which the men sat and a small bed in which Dicky was put to sleep.
+
+    "He took them in, he gave them food;
+      The traveller's dreams he heard;
+    And fast the midnight moments flew,
+    And fast the good man's wonder grew,
+      And all his heart was stirred.
+
+    "The child the while, with soft, sweet smile,
+      Forgetful of all sorrow,
+    Lay soundly sleeping in his bed.
+    The good man kissed him then and said:
+      'You leave us not to-morrow!'
+
+    "'I pray you rest the convent's guest;
+      The child shall be our own--
+    A precious care, while you prepare
+    Your business with the court, and bear
+      Your message to the throne.'
+
+    "And so his guest he comforted.
+      O, wise, good prior, to you,
+    Who cheered the stranger's darkest days,
+    And helped him on his way, what praise
+      And gratitude are due!"
+
+The pantomime followed the lines closely.
+
+"Wasn't Dicky cunning!" exclaimed Dicky's adoring grandmother.
+
+"Dicky was a duck!" exclaimed Helen, who had slipped out to see the
+pantomime. "We told him what he was supposed to be--a little boy
+travelling with his father, and that they had to stop and ask for food
+and that a kind man took them in and gave him a comfy bed. He seemed to
+understand it all, and he took hold of James's hand and looked up in his
+face as seriously as if he were the real thing. He was splendid."
+
+"All the same I'm always relieved when Dicky's part is over and he hasn't
+done anything awful!" confessed Dorothy, who had come out also. "It would
+be just like him to say to James, 'You needn't give me any bread; I want
+cookieth!'"
+
+"We tried to impress on him that he wasn't to say anything--that nobody
+but Ethel Brown was to say anything; that was the game. I dare say if
+James had spoken Dicky would have ordered his meal to suit his fancy."
+
+Tom went on with Columbus's story at this point, but he spoke from the
+floor because tableaux were being arranged behind the curtains. He told
+how the interview with the king and queen that the prior had arranged,
+all went wrong and how Columbus started again for France but was called
+back by the queen whose imagination had been excited by what he told her,
+and who promised to pledge her jewels to raise money for his expedition.
+
+Here the curtains swung open and showed a brilliant scene, Della
+representing the queen, James the king, and all the other Club members,
+courtiers. Columbus was arguing his case before the court and he was
+shown in the act of knocking off the end of an egg to convince the men
+who had said that they would believe the world was round when they saw
+the impossible happen--when an egg should stand upright.
+
+"I hope Roger's hand won't slip," murmured Roger's mother; "that's a real
+egg!"
+
+It was while she was standing beside the queen as one of her ladies in
+waiting that Ethel Blue's eyes happened to fall on her father out in the
+audience. The light from the stage illuminated his face and she thought
+that she never had seen him so happy as he looked at that moment.
+
+"He's so dear and he's going away from me," she groaned inwardly. "Now if
+it were only dear Miss Daisy he's going to marry," she wished with all
+her heart as she noticed that Miss Graham sat in the next chair; "but it
+isn't; it's some old Fort Myer woman."
+
+The curtain fell on her misery and Tom again took up his tale. He told
+about the three tiny ships that Columbus managed to secure, and their
+setting sail and how frightened the sailors became when day after day
+passed and they saw no chance of ever reaching new land or ever returning
+home, and how they threatened to mutiny if he did not turn back.
+
+Then came another pantomime with Roger as Columbus and James as the mate
+of the _Santa Maria_, while Ethel Brown recited Joaquin Miller's poem:
+
+
+                                COLUMBUS
+
+    "Behind him lay the gray Azores,
+      Behind the Gates of Hercules;
+    Before him not the ghost of shores,
+      Before him only shoreless seas.
+    The good mate said: 'Now must we pray,
+      For lo, the very stars are gone.
+    Brave Admiral, speak, what shall I say?'
+      'Why, say, "Sail on! sail on! sail on! and on!"'
+
+    "'My men grow mutinous day by day;
+      My men grow ghastly wan and weak.'
+    The stout mate thought of home; a spray
+      Of salt wave washed his swarthy cheek.
+    'What shall I say, brave Admiral, say,
+      If we sight naught but seas at dawn?'
+    'Why, you shall say at break of day,
+      "Sail on! sail on! sail on! and on!"'
+
+    "They sailed and sailed, as winds might blow,
+      Until at last the blanched mate said:
+    'Why, now not even God would know
+      Should I and all my men fall dead.
+    These very winds forget their way,
+      For God from these dread seas is gone.
+    Now speak, brave Admiral, speak and say'--
+      He said: 'Sail on! sail on! and on!'
+
+    "They sailed. They sailed. Then spake the mate:
+      'This mad sea shows his teeth to-night.
+    He lifts his lip, he lies in wait,
+      With lifted teeth as if to bite;
+    Brave Admiral, say but one good word:
+      What shall we do when hope is gone?'
+    The words leapt like a leaping sword:
+      'Sail on! sail on! sail on! and on!'
+
+    "Then, pale and worn, he kept his deck,
+      And peered through darkness. Ah, that night
+    Of all dark nights! And then a speck--
+      A light! a light! a light! a light!
+    It grew, a starlit flag unfurled!
+      It grew to be Time's burst of dawn.
+    He gained a world; he gave that world
+      Its grandest lesson: 'On! sail on!'"
+
+The last picture was Columbus gazing joyfully at the land he had
+discovered through his perseverance. It was supposed to be the early
+morning of October 12, 1492, and Roger, surrounded by his sailors, stood
+with a foot on the rail of his boat, shielding his eyes from the rising
+sun, while the others crowded behind him, whispering with delight.
+
+When the curtains fell together for the last time the lights flashed out
+upon the audience and disclosed Captain Morton greeting his sister and
+sister-in-law and his nieces and nephews.
+
+"Where's my girl?" he inquired in his cordial, hearty voice. "Where's
+Ethel Blue?"
+
+Some one gave her a friendly push forward so her father did not notice
+the reluctance with which she had been almost creeping toward him. He
+threw his arm around her shoulders regardless of possible damage to the
+elegancies of her court costume, and kissed her heartily. The tears shone
+in her eyes as she forced herself to meet his searching gaze.
+
+"Not crying!" he whispered in her ear, and she felt her heart give a real
+pang as the happiness left his face and was replaced by his old look of
+sorrow and endurance. "Not crying!" he repeated in her ear. "Why, I
+thought you loved her! You've done nothing but write to me about Miss
+Daisy all summer!"
+
+"About Miss Daisy? Do you mean--? Is it Miss Daisy?"
+
+"It certainly is Miss Daisy. Here, come behind the curtain," and he swept
+his daughter and his _fiancee_ out of sight of the retiring audience. "It
+is Daisy Graham who is to be your dear mother, my little Ethel Blue. Are
+you satisfied now?"
+
+"O, Father! O, Miss Daisy!" cried Ethel Blue, sobbing now from relief and
+joy and clinging to both of them; "I never guessed it! It's too wonderful
+to be true!"
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XVII
+                         THE PARTING BREAKFAST
+
+
+Ethel Blue's change of mind about stepmothers was so complete that her
+cousins would have joked her about it except that her Aunt Marion advised
+them to say nothing to her on a subject that had once been so sore a
+theme.
+
+"Don't recall those painful thoughts," she advised. "Ethel Blue will be
+happier and certainly Miss Daisy will be if the present mood continues."
+
+"I thought you couldn't help loving her when you knew her," Captain
+Morton had said to Ethel Blue. "That's why I was willing to postpone the
+wedding all summer so that you and she might have a chance to become
+really well acquainted."
+
+"It was a good way," answered Ethel frankly. "If I had known about it I
+should have thought everything Miss Daisy did was done for its effect on
+me. I should have been suspicious of her all the time."
+
+"You have come to know a very dear woman in a natural way and it crowns
+my happiness that you should care so much for each other."
+
+Since he had waited so patiently for so many months Captain Morton begged
+that the wedding should take place at once. Mrs. Hancock urged her sister
+to have it in Glen Point.
+
+"If you go to Washington you'll have many acquaintances there but not any
+more loving friends than you've made here and in Rosemont," she said
+cordially. "It will give the Doctor and me the greatest happiness to have
+you married from our house, and it will be such a delight to all the U.
+S. C. if they know that they can all be at the wedding of their dear
+'Miss Daisy.'"
+
+"It will be easier for all the Rosemont people--and it would be very
+sweet to go to Richard from your house," murmured Daisy thoughtfully. "I
+believe I'll do it."
+
+"It will be easier to bring Aunt Mary on here than for all the New Jersey
+clans to go to Washington," insisted Mrs. Hancock, referring to the aunt
+with whom her sister had lived in Washington.
+
+"I'll do it," decided Daisy. "Richard's furlough is almost over so it
+will have to be very soon," she continued. "I'll have to begin my
+preparations at once."
+
+So all the plans were made for a quiet wedding for just the two families
+and their intimate friends. It was to be ten days after the housewarming.
+The ceremony was to be in the church at Glen Point, with Ethel Blue as
+maid of honor, and Margaret and Helen, Ethel Brown and Della as the
+bridesmaids.
+
+Even this very first decision gave the Ethels a twinge of pain, because
+it prophesied their coming separation. Never before had they been
+separated at any such function, yet now Ethel Blue was to be in one
+position and her twin cousin in another. They both sighed when it was
+talked over, and they glanced at each other a trifle sadly. They did not
+need to put the meaning of their glances into words.
+
+Dr. Hancock was to give the bride away. To everybody's regret Lieutenant
+Morton could not be present to act as his brother's best man.
+
+"I'm more sorry than I can tell you, old fellow," he wrote. "Roger will
+have to take my place and give you all my good wishes with his own. You
+may congratulate me, too, for I've just got word that my step has come. I
+can now sign myself,
+    "Your affectionate brother,
+        "Roger Morton,
+            "Capt. U.S.N."
+
+
+There was great rejoicing in the Morton family when they learned this
+news, and telegrams poured in on them all day long after the announcement
+was publicly made.
+
+"It gives one more touch of happiness," smiled Richard Morton, who went
+about beaming. He had to content himself with the companionship of his
+daughter, for his betrothed was too busy to give him much time. Probably
+this was a good thing, for it made her father's visit much as it always
+had been to Ethel Blue, and did not impress on her too abruptly the idea
+of their new relation.
+
+It was at the meeting of the U. S. C. held very soon after the
+housewarming that the members decided to give a breakfast in celebration
+of the wedding and of Ethel Blue's departure from Rosemont.
+
+"We'll call it a breakfast, but we'll have it rather late," said Helen.
+
+"Why?" growled Roger hungrily. "I like my morning nourishment early."
+
+"It's going to be out on our terrace, and it's getting to be late in the
+season and if it's too cold we can't have it there," said Dorothy.
+
+"Put in your glass windows and have it at a civilized hour," implored
+Roger.
+
+Dorothy looked at Helen.
+
+"I'll ask Mother if she won't do that," she said. "Then we can have a
+fire in the open fireplace out there if it should be really frosty. I
+forgot we had all those comforts!"
+
+"We must give the Glen Point people time to get over, if Roger can
+restrain his appetite a trifle," urged Ethel Brown.
+
+"We'd better have Della and Tom stay all night so they'll be here on
+time," urged Ethel Blue. "I can't get over New Haven being near enough
+for Tom to go back and forth so easily. I always thought it was as far
+off as Boston."
+
+"I declare I almost weep every time I think of Ethel Blue's leaving the
+club," sobbed Tom with loud groans.
+
+Ethel Blue tossed a pillow at him.
+
+"Stop making fun of me," she said with her pretended severity.
+
+"Ethel Blue was the founder of this club. Don't forget that," said James
+gravely.
+
+"Don't be so solemn, people; you'll make me bawl," and Ethel Blue looked
+around her wildly, as Ethel Brown made a dive into her pocket for her
+handkerchief, and Della sniffed.
+
+"Stop your nonsense, children," urged Helen. "Let's make a list of what
+we are going to do at our breakfast. First, what shall we eat?"
+
+The discussion waxed absorbing, but when it came to the arrangement of a
+program it was found that there seemed to be fewer ideas than was
+customary among them.
+
+"What's the matter?" asked Helen. "Usually we're tumbling over ourselves
+suggesting things."
+
+"I've got an idea, but it's sort of a joke and I don't want to take the
+edge off it by telling it now," admitted James.
+
+It proved that all of them were in the same predicament.
+
+"I'll tell you--let's have Helen and Roger the committee to arrange this
+program," suggested Tom. "Then we can each one tell the committee what
+our particular idea is, and they'll be the only ones who will know all
+the jokes."
+
+They decided that this would be the best way, and the committee withdrew
+to a corner where it was visited by one after the other of the rest of
+the members, while the unoccupied people drew around the piano on which
+Ethel Blue was playing popular songs.
+
+"When do you go?" Tom asked her as she stopped for a few minutes to hunt
+up a new piece of music.
+
+"The wedding is the day after our breakfast; then they go off on a week's
+trip and when they come back they'll pick me up here and take me on to
+Fort Myer with them."
+
+"That means that you'll only be here about ten days longer?"
+
+Ethel Blue nodded, her eyes filling.
+
+"I wish you'd give us your idea now, Tom," called Helen, seeing from
+across the room that her little cousin was not far from tears, and Tom
+went away, leaving her to let her fingers slip softly through a simple
+tune that her Aunt Marion had taught her to play in the dusk without her
+notes. She wondered if she would ever do it again; if her new mother and
+her father would want her to play it to them; if she should be happy, the
+only young person in the household when she had been accustomed to a
+large family; if she could ever get along without Dicky to tease her and
+to be teased.
+
+"Aunt Marion says that every change in life has its good points and its
+bad ones," she thought. "I must make the most out of the good points and
+try not to notice the bad ones or to change them into good ones."
+
+The tune rang out with a gayer lilt.
+
+"Any way, there are so many good points now that I ought not to think
+about the others. I've all my life wanted to live with Father. Here's my
+chance, and I must see only that my wish has come true."
+
+"You sound very gay over here by yourself," said James's voice behind
+her. "You don't sound as if you were sorry at all about leaving us."
+
+"I'm trying to balance things," Ethel Blue answered. "I lose Ethel Brown
+and all of you, but I gain Father."
+
+"You'll be coming north for your holidays next summer, I suppose. That
+will be a great old time for the U. S. C.," he said hopefully.
+
+"It would be simply too fine for words if the U. S. C. could go to
+Washington for Washington's Birthday next winter the way it did this
+winter," returned Ethel Blue, beaming at him.
+
+"There certainly is every inducement to get up an excursion there now,"
+said James. "You know we've decided on a round robin, don't you?"
+
+"A round robin? How does it work?"
+
+"Helen and Ethel Brown and the Honorary Member and Dorothy will be here
+in Rosemont, Margaret will be in Glen Point, Della in New York, you at
+Fort Myer and we boys at Harvard and Yale and the Boston Tech. Helen is
+going to start a letter on the first day of each month. She'll tell us
+what she's been doing. Ethel Brown will add on a bit; so will Dicky and
+Dorothy. It will go to Margaret. She'll put in a big batch of Glen Point
+news and send it in town to Della. When she has finished she'll send it
+on to Tom at New Haven, and in course of time it will reach Roger and me
+in Boston and Cambridge and we'll send it on to you in Washington."
+
+"That will be perfectly great!" exclaimed Ethel. "You can illustrate it
+with kodaks, and we'll all know what every one of us is doing all the
+time."
+
+"That was Aunt Daisy's idea. She thought we'd all like to keep together
+in some way even if we couldn't have our Saturday meetings."
+
+"Isn't she splendid!" ejaculated Ethel Blue, and at that instant she felt
+that she was far richer than ever before in her life.
+
+The morning of the breakfast proved to be clear and not too frost-filled
+for comfort.
+
+"We really hardly need the glass," Mrs. Smith said as she and Dorothy
+examined the terrace at an early hour.
+
+"It was safer to have it, though," answered Dorothy. "It might have
+rained and it never would have done to have the bride take cold. Now we
+can have the sashes open and the fire will take off the chill. It's a
+great combination."
+
+Mrs. Smith agreed that it was, and went on with her scrutiny of the
+table.
+
+When the guests arrived at nine o'clock, which was the very latest moment
+permitted them by Roger, they found the sun shining merrily on silver and
+glass and china, twinkling as if it were in the secret of the jokes that
+Helen and Roger had up their sleeves. Mr. Emerson had sent over his car
+for the Hancocks, for the Doctor's car was too small to convey the entire
+family.
+
+"It does my heart good to see Richard so radiant," said Mrs. Morton to
+her sister-in-law as Captain Morton ran down the steps to help his
+_fiancee_.
+
+"I believe the best part of his life is before him," Mrs. Smith answered
+softly, a smile on her lips.
+
+The hostess sat at one end of the table and Dorothy at the other. In the
+middle of one side was Helen, the president of the United Service Club,
+and in the middle of the other, Ethel Blue, the secretary and departing
+member. Mingled with the other club members were Mr. and Mrs. Emerson,
+who had contributed so greatly to the Club's pleasure during the
+preceding year, and Dr. and Mrs. Hancock, relatives of to-morrow's bride.
+The hour was too early for Mr. and Mrs. Watkins to come out from New
+York, but they telephoned their good wishes and congratulations while the
+meal was in progress.
+
+It was a simple breakfast but everything was good both to eat and to look
+at. It began with fruit, of which there were several kinds, and continued
+with a well-cooked cereal.
+
+"None of your five minute cereals for me," smiled Mrs. Smith. "I always
+have even the short-time ones cooked at least twice as long as they are
+reputed to need. It brings out their flavor better."
+
+After the cereal with its rich cream came chops for the meat eaters and
+individual _omelettes souffles_, as light as a feather, for the egg
+eaters. The coffee was clear and turned to a warm gold when the cream
+worked its magic upon it. Broiled fresh mushrooms with bacon brought it
+all to an end.
+
+"Just the kind of muffins I like best," Ethel Brown said in a undertone
+to Dorothy.
+
+"Potatoes from our own farm," announced the hostess.
+
+"All praise to Dorothy, the farmer," hailed Mr. Emerson.
+
+"Mostly to Roger," protested Dorothy. "He managed the vegetable end of
+our planting."
+
+Helen tapped on her glass.
+
+"This will be the last meeting of all the members of the U. S. C.," she
+said, "because Ethel Blue and the boys are going away."
+
+A shade fell over the faces of all those around the table.
+
+"We who are left at home here are going to keep it up, so that there'll
+always be a Club for the wanderers to come back to. And we're going to
+have a round robin fly about every month."
+
+"Perhaps we'll all get together next summer in the holidays," suggested
+Tom.
+
+"We'll try to," the president continued. "Now I want to ask you to drink
+in Aunt Louise's nice brown coffee to the health of the founder of the
+United Service Club. She is its secretary and to-day she is distinguished
+as being about to leave us for good."
+
+They rapped the table and shouted Ethel Blue's name joyously. She sat
+with her head bowed, smiling.
+
+"Speech, speech," cried Mr. Emerson.
+
+"Thank you, thank you," replied Ethel Blue breathlessly. "I'm glad we've
+had the Club. It has been fun, although we've had to work pretty hard at
+it."
+
+"You've made fun for others," said Mrs. Emerson. "You've lived up to your
+name:--the United Service."
+
+"I'd like to propose the health of the Club as a whole," said Mrs.
+Morton. "As a citizen of Rosemont I can repeat what has been said to me
+by other citizens, even if, as the mother of some of the members, I might
+be somewhat embarrassed to utter such praise. Rosemont thinks that the
+United Service Club has done more to stir up the town than any other
+organization it has ever had."
+
+There was general applause from the grown-ups.
+
+"I'd like to hear some of these undertakings," said Captain Morton.
+"Won't some one recite them?"
+
+"O, Father, I wrote you all about them when each one came off," objected
+Ethel Blue.
+
+"Uncle Richard will hear what some of them are when we give out our
+prizes," said Helen. "We've decided to give prizes for certain especial
+successes. Ethel Brown, for instance, will be so good as to rise and
+receive a reward for reciting more poems than we ever knew could be
+learned by one small brain."
+
+Ethel Brown rose and received, while the rest applauded, a small sieve.
+
+"Why a sieve?" inquired Margaret.
+
+"The sieve is symbolic. Ethel takes in verse through her eyes and lets it
+out through her lips just like a sieve."
+
+After the laughter subsided, Helen continued:
+
+"Our next prize is for Grandfather Emerson, who supplied Ethel Brown with
+much of the material with which she has favored us."
+
+Mr. Emerson was decorated with a miniature well and pump.
+
+"I suppose this is the fount of English undefiled on which I drew," he
+commented.
+
+The president went on with her distribution. The jokes were all mild but
+for the Club members each had its meaning. James received a small pair of
+crutches, because he was the only one who had broken a leg.
+
+"I'm glad it wasn't scissors," said his father. "He might be led into
+cutting corners again."
+
+Dorothy received a pink tin containing a cake with pink icing--all by way
+of recognition of her love of cooking and of pink. Roger's gift was a set
+of collar and cuffs made from paper "dirt bands" and adorned with cuff
+buttons and a cravat of dazzling beauty.
+
+"A man of fashion and a farmer combined," Helen announced.
+
+Dicky received a watering can, by way of indicating his fondness for
+getting into trouble with water. A fan went to Della "for next summer's
+use." Tom had a little Roman soldier as a reminder of his representation
+of one of the Great Twin Brethren. Margaret's offering was a tiny
+Christmas Ship containing needles and a spool of thread. Helen gave
+herself a doll's coat like the one which she and Margaret had copied in
+great numbers for the war orphans. Ethel Blue's gift was a real
+present--a travelling case fitted with the necessaries of a journey. This
+came from all the members of the Club.
+
+"You're just too dear," whispered Ethel Blue, too overcome to speak.
+
+They drowned her voice in a burst of chatter, so that she might not burst
+into tears.
+
+"I have a few gifts left," said Helen, "and I'd like to give them out by
+acclamation. Whose tires have we worn until they were almost worn out and
+yet _she_ has never tired?"
+
+"Grandmother Emerson," came the ringing answer, and Helen ran around to
+her grandmother's chair and gave her a toy automobile.
+
+"Who made the most box furniture for Rose House?"
+
+"Roger," shouted James at the top of his lungs, while at the same moment
+Roger cried "James." The others, having been instructed to keep silent,
+concluded that the question was settled for them.
+
+"Roger _and_ James," decreed Helen, presenting each of them with a knife.
+
+"Who are our high-flyers?"
+
+"The Ethels," every one said promptly, for the Ethels were the only ones
+present who had been up in an aeroplane.
+
+A tiny flyer was given to each of them.
+
+So it went on until the supply of parcels in Helen's basket was
+exhausted.
+
+"Now, to wind up with," Helen said, "I want to thank Uncle Richard for
+giving us the very finest kind of present," and she waved her hand across
+the table to Miss Daisy, whose shining eyes and glowing cheeks told of
+her delight in all she had seen. "Uncle Richard is taking away Ethel
+Blue, but he's giving us an aunt. We love her already and we think we've
+all won a prize in her."
+
+"Ah, no," exclaimed Miss Daisy, slipping one hand into Ethel Blue's and
+laying the other on Captain Morton's shoulder. "It is I who have won a
+prize--a double prize!"
+
+
+
+
+      *      *      *      *      *
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's note:
+
+
+--Silently corrected some obvious typographical errors and misspellings.
+
+--Used hyphens more consistently, when the original showed a clear
+  preference.
+
+
+
+***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ETHEL MORTON AT SWEETBRIER LODGE***
+
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