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+The Project Gutenberg eBook, Eight Cousins, by Louisa May Alcott
+
+
+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: Eight Cousins
+       Or, The Aunt-Hill
+
+
+Author: Louisa May Alcott
+
+
+
+Release Date: January 13, 2012  [eBook #38567]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII)
+
+
+***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK EIGHT COUSINS***
+
+
+E-text prepared by Suzanne Shell, Emmy, and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made
+available by Internet Archive/American Libraries
+(http://www.archive.org/details/americana)
+
+
+
+Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this
+      file which includes the original illustrations.
+      See 38567-h.htm or 38567-h.zip:
+      (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/38567/38567-h/38567-h.htm)
+      or
+      (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/38567/38567-h.zip)
+
+
+      Images of the original pages are available through
+      Internet Archive/American Libraries. See
+      http://www.archive.org/details/eightcousinsorau00alco
+
+
+Transcriber's note:
+
+      Text enclosed by equal signs is in bold face (=bold=).
+
+      Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_).
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: ROSE AND HER AUNTS.--Page 37.]
+
+
+EIGHT COUSINS;
+
+Or,
+
+The Aunt-Hill.
+
+by
+
+LOUISA M. ALCOTT,
+
+Author of "Little Women," "An Old-Fashioned Girl," "Little Men,"
+"Rose in Bloom," "Under the Lilacs," "Jack and Jill,"
+"Hospital Sketches," "Work," "Silver Pitchers,"
+"Aunt Jo's Scrap-Bag."
+
+With Illustrations.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+    BOSTON:
+    ROBERTS BROTHERS.
+    1887.
+
+
+
+
+    Copyright, 1874,
+    BY LOUISA M. ALCOTT.
+
+
+    UNIVERSITY PRESS:
+    JOHN WILSON & SON, CAMBRIDGE.
+
+
+
+
+      To
+
+      The many boys & girls whose letters it has been
+      impossible to answer, this book is dedicated as a
+      peace offering by their friend
+
+                                           L. M. Alcott
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE.
+
+
+The Author is quite aware of the defects of this little story, many of
+which were unavoidable, as it first appeared serially. But, as Uncle
+Alec's experiment was intended to amuse the young folks, rather than
+suggest educational improvements for the consideration of the elders,
+she trusts that these short-comings will be overlooked by the friends of
+the EIGHT COUSINS, and she will try to make amends in a second volume,
+which shall attempt to show THE ROSE IN BLOOM.
+
+                                                      L. M. A.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+    CHAPTER                                      PAGE
+
+        I. TWO GIRLS                               1
+
+       II. THE CLAN                               10
+
+      III. UNCLES                                 23
+
+       IV. AUNTS                                  37
+
+        V. A BELT AND A BOX                       47
+
+       VI. UNCLE ALEC'S ROOM                      59
+
+      VII. A TRIP TO CHINA                        71
+
+     VIII. AND WHAT CAME OF IT                    84
+
+       IX. PHEBE'S SECRET                         93
+
+        X. ROSE'S SACRIFICE                      108
+
+       XI. POOR MAC                              118
+
+      XII. "THE OTHER FELLOWS"                   129
+
+     XIII. COSEY CORNER                          141
+
+      XIV. A HAPPY BIRTHDAY                      149
+
+       XV. EAR-RINGS                             165
+
+      XVI. BREAD AND BUTTON-HOLES                179
+
+     XVII. GOOD BARGAINS                         191
+
+    XVIII. FASHION AND PHYSIOLOGY                204
+
+      XIX. BROTHER BONES                         216
+
+       XX. UNDER THE MISTLETOE                   226
+
+      XXI. A SCARE                               241
+
+     XXII. SOMETHING TO DO                       253
+
+    XXIII. PEACE-MAKING                          265
+
+     XXIV. WHICH?                                279
+
+
+
+
+EIGHT COUSINS.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+_TWO GIRLS._
+
+
+ROSE sat all alone in the big best parlor, with her little handkerchief
+laid ready to catch the first tear, for she was thinking of her
+troubles, and a shower was expected. She had retired to this room as a
+good place in which to be miserable; for it was dark and still, full of
+ancient furniture, sombre curtains, and hung all round with portraits of
+solemn old gentlemen in wigs, severe-nosed ladies in top-heavy caps, and
+staring children in little bob-tailed coats or short-waisted frocks. It
+_was_ an excellent place for woe; and the fitful spring rain that
+pattered on the window-pane seemed to sob, "Cry away: I'm with you."
+
+Rose really did have some cause to be sad; for she had no mother, and
+had lately lost her father also, which left her no home but this with
+her great-aunts. She had been with them only a week, and, though the
+dear old ladies had tried their best to make her happy, they had not
+succeeded very well, for she was unlike any child they had ever seen,
+and they felt very much as if they had the care of a low-spirited
+butterfly.
+
+They had given her the freedom of the house, and for a day or two she
+had amused herself roaming all over it, for it was a capital old
+mansion, and was full of all manner of odd nooks, charming rooms, and
+mysterious passages. Windows broke out in unexpected places, little
+balconies overhung the garden most romantically, and there was a long
+upper hall full of curiosities from all parts of the world; for the
+Campbells had been sea-captains for generations.
+
+Aunt Plenty had even allowed Rose to rummage in her great china
+closet,--a spicy retreat, rich in all the "goodies" that children love;
+but Rose seemed to care little for these toothsome temptations; and when
+that hope failed, Aunt Plenty gave up in despair.
+
+Gentle Aunt Peace had tried all sorts of pretty needle-work, and planned
+a doll's wardrobe that would have won the heart of even an older child.
+But Rose took little interest in pink satin hats and tiny hose, though
+she sewed dutifully till her aunt caught her wiping tears away with the
+train of a wedding-dress, and that discovery put an end to the sewing
+society.
+
+Then both old ladies put their heads together and picked out the model
+child of the neighborhood to come and play with their niece. But Annabel
+Bliss was the worst failure of all, for Rose could not bear the sight of
+her, and said she was so like a wax doll she longed to give her a pinch
+and see if she would squeak. So prim little Annabel was sent home, and
+the exhausted aunties left Rose to her own devices for a day or two.
+
+Bad weather and a cold kept her in-doors, and she spent most of her time
+in the library where her father's books were stored. Here she read a
+great deal, cried a little, and dreamed many of the innocent bright
+dreams in which imaginative children find such comfort and delight. This
+suited her better than any thing else, but it was not good for her, and
+she grew pale, heavy-eyed, and listless, though Aunt Plenty gave her
+iron enough to make a cooking-stove, and Aunt Peace petted her like a
+poodle.
+
+Seeing this, the poor aunties racked their brains for a new amusement,
+and determined to venture a bold stroke, though not very hopeful of its
+success. They said nothing to Rose about their plan for this Saturday
+afternoon, but let her alone till the time came for the grand surprise,
+little dreaming that the odd child would find pleasure for herself in a
+most unexpected quarter.
+
+Before she had time to squeeze out a single tear a sound broke the
+stillness, making her prick up her ears. It was only the soft twitter of
+a bird, but it seemed to be a peculiarly gifted bird, for while she
+listened the soft twitter changed to a lively whistle, then a trill, a
+coo, a chirp, and ended in a musical mixture of all the notes, as if the
+bird burst out laughing. Rose laughed also, and, forgetting her woes,
+jumped up, saying eagerly,--
+
+"It is a mocking-bird. Where is it?"
+
+Running down the long hall, she peeped out at both doors, but saw
+nothing feathered except a draggle-tailed chicken under a burdock leaf.
+She listened again, and the sound seemed to be in the house. Away she
+went, much excited by the chase, and following the changeful song it led
+her to the china-closet door.
+
+"In there? How funny!" she said. But when she entered, not a bird
+appeared except the everlastingly kissing swallows on the Canton china
+that lined the shelves. All of a sudden Rose's face brightened, and,
+softly opening the slide, she peered into the kitchen. But the music had
+stopped, and all she saw was a girl in a blue apron scrubbing the
+hearth. Rose stared about her for a minute, and then asked abruptly,--
+
+"Did you hear that mocking-bird?"
+
+"I should call it a phebe-bird," answered the girl, looking up with a
+twinkle in her black eyes.
+
+"Where did it go?"
+
+"It is here still."
+
+"Where?"
+
+"In my throat. Do you want to hear it?"
+
+"Oh, yes! I'll come in." And Rose crept through the slide to the wide
+shelf on the other side, being too hurried and puzzled to go round by
+the door.
+
+The girl wiped her hands, crossed her feet on the little island of
+carpet where she was stranded in a sea of soap-suds, and then, sure
+enough, out of her slender throat came the swallow's twitter, the
+robin's whistle, the blue-jay's call, the thrush's song, the wood-dove's
+coo, and many another familiar note, all ending as before with the
+musical ecstasy of a bobolink singing and swinging among the meadow
+grass on a bright June day.
+
+Rose was so astonished that she nearly fell off her perch, and when the
+little concert was over clapped her hands delightedly.
+
+"Oh, it was lovely! Who taught you?"
+
+"The birds," answered the girl, with a smile, as she fell to work
+again.
+
+"It is very wonderful! I can sing, but nothing half so fine as that.
+What is your name, please?"
+
+"Phebe Moore."
+
+"I've heard of phebe-birds; but I don't believe the real ones could do
+that," laughed Rose, adding, as she watched with interest the scattering
+of dabs of soft soap over the bricks, "May I stay and see you work? It
+is very lonely in the parlor."
+
+"Yes, indeed, if you want to," answered Phebe, wringing out her cloth in
+a capable sort of way that impressed Rose very much.
+
+"It must be fun to swash the water round and dig out the soap. I'd love
+to do it, only aunt wouldn't like it, I suppose," said Rose, quite taken
+with the new employment.
+
+"You'd soon get tired, so you'd better keep tidy and look on."
+
+"I suppose you help your mother a good deal?"
+
+"I haven't got any folks."
+
+"Why, where do you live, then?"
+
+"I'm going to live here, I hope. Debby wants some one to help round, and
+I've come to try for a week."
+
+"I hope you _will_ stay, for it is very dull," said Rose, who had taken
+a sudden fancy to this girl, who sung like a bird and worked like a
+woman.
+
+"Hope I shall; for I'm fifteen now, and old enough to earn my own
+living. You have come to stay a spell, haven't you?" asked Phebe,
+looking up at her guest and wondering how life _could_ be dull to a girl
+who wore a silk frock, a daintily frilled apron, a pretty locket, and
+had her hair tied up with a velvet snood.
+
+"Yes, I shall stay till my uncle comes. He is my guardian now, and I
+don't know what he will do with me. Have you a guardian?"
+
+"My sakes, no! I was left on the poor-house steps a little mite of a
+baby, and Miss Rogers took a liking to me, so I've been there ever
+since. But she is dead now, and I take care of myself."
+
+"How interesting! It is like Arabella Montgomery in the 'Gypsy's Child.'
+Did you ever read that sweet story?" asked Rose, who was fond of tales
+of foundlings, and had read many.
+
+"I don't have any books to read, and all the spare time I get I run off
+into the woods; that rests me better than stories," answered Phebe, as
+she finished one job and began on another.
+
+Rose watched her as she got out a great pan of beans to look over, and
+wondered how it would seem to have life all work and no play. Presently
+Phebe seemed to think it was her turn to ask questions, and said,
+wistfully,--
+
+"You've had lots of schooling, I suppose?"
+
+"Oh, dear me, yes! I've been at boarding-school nearly a year, and I'm
+almost dead with lessons. The more I got, the more Miss Power gave me,
+and I was so miserable I 'most cried my eyes out. Papa never gave me
+hard things to do, and he always taught me so pleasantly I loved to
+study. Oh, we were so happy and so fond of one another! But now he is
+gone, and I am left all alone."
+
+The tear that would not come when Rose sat waiting for it came now of
+its own accord,--two of them in fact,--and rolled down her cheeks,
+telling the tale of love and sorrow better than any words could do it.
+
+For a minute there was no sound in the kitchen but the little daughter's
+sobbing and the sympathetic patter of the rain. Phebe stopped rattling
+her beans from one pan to the other, and her eyes were full of pity as
+they rested on the curly head bent down on Rose's knee, for she saw that
+the heart under the pretty locket ached with its loss, and the dainty
+apron was used to dry sadder tears than any she had ever shed.
+
+Somehow, she felt more contented with her brown calico gown and
+blue-checked pinafore; envy changed to compassion; and if she had dared
+she would have gone and hugged her afflicted guest.
+
+Fearing that might not be considered proper, she said, in her cheery
+voice,--
+
+"I'm sure you ain't all alone with such a lot of folks belonging to you,
+and all so rich and clever. You'll be petted to pieces, Debby says,
+because you are the only girl in the family."
+
+Phebe's last words made Rose smile in spite of her tears, and she looked
+out from behind her apron with an April face, saying in a tone of comic
+distress,--
+
+"That's one of my troubles! I've got six aunts, and they all want me,
+and I don't know any of them very well. Papa named this place the
+Aunt-hill, and now I see why."
+
+Phebe laughed with her as she said encouragingly,--
+
+"Every one calls it so, and it's a real good name, for all the Mrs.
+Campbells live handy by, and keep coming up to see the old ladies."
+
+"I could stand the aunts, but there are dozens of cousins, dreadful boys
+all of them, and I detest boys! Some of them came to see me last
+Wednesday, but I was lying down, and when auntie came to call me I went
+under the quilt and pretended to be asleep. I shall _have_ to see them
+some time, but I do dread it so." And Rose gave a shudder, for, having
+lived alone with her invalid father, she knew nothing of boys, and
+considered them a species of wild animal.
+
+"Oh! I guess you'll like 'em. I've seen 'em flying round when they come
+over from the Point, sometimes in their boats and sometimes on
+horseback. If you like boats and horses, you'll enjoy yourself
+first-rate."
+
+"But I don't! I'm afraid of horses, and boats make me ill, and I _hate_
+boys!" And poor Rose wrung her hands at the awful prospect before her.
+One of these horrors alone she could have borne, but all together were
+too much for her, and she began to think of a speedy return to the
+detested school.
+
+Phebe laughed at her woe till the beans danced in the pan, but tried to
+comfort her by suggesting a means of relief.
+
+"Perhaps your uncle will take you away where there ain't any boys. Debby
+says he is a real kind man, and always brings heaps of nice things when
+he comes."
+
+"Yes, but you see that is another trouble, for I don't know Uncle Alec
+at all. He hardly ever came to see us, though he sent me pretty things
+very often. Now I belong to him, and shall have to mind him, till I am
+eighteen. I may not like him a bit, and I fret about it all the time."
+
+"Well, I wouldn't borrow trouble, but have a real good time. I'm sure I
+should think I was in clover if I had folks and money, and nothing to do
+but enjoy myself," began Phebe, but got no further, for a sudden rush
+and rumble outside made them both jump.
+
+"It's thunder," said Phebe.
+
+"It's a circus!" cried Rose, who from her elevated perch had caught
+glimpses of a gay cart of some sort and several ponies with flying manes
+and tails.
+
+The sound died away, and the girls were about to continue their
+confidences when old Debby appeared, looking rather cross and sleepy
+after her nap.
+
+"You are wanted in the parlor, Miss Rose."
+
+"Has anybody come?"
+
+"Little girls shouldn't ask questions, but do as they are bid," was all
+Debby would answer.
+
+"I do hope it isn't Aunt Myra; she always scares me out of my wits
+asking how my cough is, and groaning over me as if I was going to die,"
+said Rose, preparing to retire the way she came, for the slide, being
+cut for the admission of bouncing Christmas turkeys and puddings, was
+plenty large enough for a slender girl.
+
+"Guess you'll wish it _was_ Aunt Myra when you see who has come. Don't
+never let me catch you coming into my kitchen that way again, or I'll
+shut you up in the big biler," growled Debby, who thought it her duty to
+snub children on all occasions.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+_THE CLAN._
+
+
+ROSE scrambled into the china-closet as rapidly as possible, and there
+refreshed herself by making faces at Debby, while she settled her
+plumage and screwed up her courage. Then she crept softly down the hall
+and peeped into the parlor. No one appeared, and all was so still she
+felt sure the company was upstairs. So she skipped boldly through the
+half-open folding-doors, to behold on the other side a sight that nearly
+took her breath away.
+
+Seven boys stood in a row,--all ages, all sizes, all yellow-haired and
+blue-eyed, all in full Scotch costume, and all smiling, nodding, and
+saying as with one voice, "How are you, cousin?"
+
+Rose gave a little gasp and looked wildly about her as if ready to fly,
+for fear magnified the seven and the room seemed full of boys. Before
+she could run, however, the tallest lad stepped out of the line, saying
+pleasantly,--
+
+"Don't be frightened. This is the clan come to welcome you; and I'm the
+chief, Archie, at your service."
+
+[Illustration: THE EIGHT COUSINS.--Page 10.]
+
+He held out his hand as he spoke, and Rose timidly put her own into a
+brown paw, which closed over the white morsel and held it as the chief
+continued his introductions.
+
+"We came in full rig, for we always turn out in style on grand
+occasions. Hope you like it. Now I'll tell you who these chaps are, and
+then we shall be all right. This big one is Prince Charlie, Aunt Clara's
+boy. She has but one, so he is an extra good one. This old fellow is
+Mac, the bookworm, called Worm for short. This sweet creature is Steve
+the Dandy. Look at his gloves and top-knot, if you please. They are Aunt
+Jane's lads, and a precious pair you'd better believe. These are the
+Brats, my brothers, Geordie and Will, and Jamie the Baby. Now, my men,
+step out and show your manners."
+
+At this command, to Rose's great dismay, six more hands were offered,
+and it was evident that she was expected to shake them _all_. It was a
+trying moment to the bashful child; but, remembering that they were her
+kinsmen come to welcome her, she tried her best to return the greeting
+cordially.
+
+This impressive ceremony being over, the clan broke ranks, and both
+rooms instantly appeared to be pervaded with boys. Rose hastily retired
+to the shelter of a big chair and sat there watching the invaders and
+wondering when her aunt would come and rescue her.
+
+As if bound to do their duty manfully, yet rather oppressed by it, each
+lad paused beside her chair in his wanderings, made a brief remark,
+received a still briefer answer, and then sheered off with a relieved
+expression.
+
+Archie came first, and, leaning over the chair-back, observed in a
+paternal tone,--
+
+"I'm glad you've come, cousin, and I hope you'll find the Aunt-hill
+pretty jolly."
+
+"I think I shall."
+
+Mac shook his hair out of his eyes, stumbled over a stool, and asked
+abruptly,--
+
+"Did you bring any books with you?"
+
+"Four boxes full. They are in the library."
+
+Mac vanished from the room, and Steve, striking an attitude which
+displayed his costume effectively, said with an affable smile,--
+
+"We were sorry not to see you last Wednesday. I hope your cold is
+better."
+
+"Yes, thank you." And a smile began to dimple about Rose's mouth as she
+remembered her retreat under the bed-cover.
+
+Feeling that he had been received with distinguished marks of attention,
+Steve strolled away with his top-knot higher than ever, and Prince
+Charlie pranced across the room, saying in a free and easy tone,--
+
+"Mamma sent her love and hopes you will be well enough to come over for
+a day next week. It must be desperately dull here for a little thing
+like you."
+
+"I'm thirteen and a half, though I _do_ look small," cried Rose,
+forgetting her shyness in indignation at this insult to her newly
+acquired teens.
+
+"Beg pardon, ma'am; never should have guessed it." And Charlie went off
+with a laugh, glad to have struck a spark out of his meek cousin.
+
+Geordie and Will came together, two sturdy eleven and twelve year
+olders, and, fixing their round blue eyes on Rose, fired off a question
+apiece as if it was a shooting match and she the target.
+
+"Did you bring your monkey?"
+
+"No; he is dead."
+
+"Are you going to have a boat?"
+
+"I hope not."
+
+Here the two, with a right-about-face movement, abruptly marched away,
+and little Jamie demanded with childish frankness,--
+
+"Did you bring me any thing nice?"
+
+"Yes, lots of candy," answered Rose, whereupon Jamie ascended into her
+lap with a sounding kiss and the announcement that he liked her very
+much.
+
+This proceeding rather startled Rose, for the other lads looked and
+laughed, and in her confusion she said hastily to the young usurper,--
+
+"Did you see the circus go by?"
+
+"When? Where?" cried all the boys in great excitement at once.
+
+"Just before you came. At least I thought it was a circus, for I saw a
+red and black sort of cart and ever so many little ponies, and--"
+
+She got no farther, for a general shout made her pause suddenly, as
+Archie explained the joke by saying in the middle of his laugh,--
+
+"It was our new dog-cart and the Shetland ponies. You'll never hear the
+last of your circus, cousin."
+
+"But there were so many, and they went so fast, and the cart was so very
+red," began Rose, trying to explain her mistake.
+
+"Come and see them all!" cried the Prince. And before she knew what was
+happening she was borne away to the barn and tumultuously introduced to
+three shaggy ponies and the gay new dog-cart.
+
+She had never visited these regions before, and had her doubts as to the
+propriety of her being there now, but when she suggested that "Auntie
+might not like it," there was a general cry of,--
+
+"She told us to amuse you, and we can do it ever so much better out here
+than poking round in the house."
+
+"I'm afraid I shall get cold without my sacque," began Rose, who wanted
+to stay, but felt rather out of her element.
+
+"No, you won't! We'll fix you," cried the lads, as one clapped his cap
+on her head, another tied a rough jacket round her neck by the sleeves,
+a third nearly smothered her in a carriage blanket, and a fourth threw
+open the door of the old barouche that stood there, saying with a
+flourish,--
+
+"Step in, ma'am, and make yourself comfortable while we show you some
+fun."
+
+So Rose sat in state enjoying herself very much, for the lads proceeded
+to dance a Highland Fling with a spirit and skill that made her clap her
+hands and laugh as she had not done for weeks.
+
+"How is that, my lassie?" asked the Prince, coming up all flushed and
+breathless when the ballet was over.
+
+"It was splendid! I never went to the theatre but once, and the dancing
+was not half so pretty as this. What clever boys you must be!" said
+Rose, smiling upon her kinsmen like a little queen upon her subjects.
+
+"Ah, we're a fine lot, and that is only the beginning of our larks. We
+haven't got the pipes here or we'd
+
+    'Sing for you, play for you
+      A dulcy melody.'"
+
+answered Charlie, looking much elated at her praise.
+
+"I did not know we were Scotch; papa never said any thing about it, or
+seemed to care about Scotland, except to have me sing the old ballads,"
+said Rose, beginning to feel as if she had left America behind her
+somewhere.
+
+"Neither did we till lately. We've been reading Scott's novels, and all
+of a sudden we remembered that our grandfather was a Scotchman. So we
+hunted up the old stories, got a bagpipe, put on our plaids, and went
+in, heart and soul, for the glory of the clan. We've been at it some
+time now, and it's great fun. Our people like it, and I think we are a
+pretty canny set."
+
+Archie said this from the other coach-step, where he had perched, while
+the rest climbed up before and behind to join in the chat as they
+rested.
+
+"I'm Fitzjames and he's Roderick Dhu, and we'll give you the broadsword
+combat some day. It's a great thing, you'd better believe," added the
+Prince.
+
+"Yes, and you should hear Steve play the pipes. He makes 'em skirl like
+a good one," cried Will from the box, eager to air the accomplishments
+of his race.
+
+"Mac's the fellow to hunt up the old stories and tell us how to dress
+right, and pick out rousing bits for us to speak and sing," put in
+Geordie, saying a good word for the absent Worm.
+
+"And what do you and Will do?" asked Rose of Jamie, who sat beside her
+as if bound to keep her in sight till the promised gift had been handed
+over.
+
+"Oh, I'm the little foot-page, and do errands, and Will and Geordie are
+the troops when we march, and the stags when we hunt, and the traitors
+when we want to cut any heads off."
+
+"They are very obliging, I'm sure," said Rose, whereat the "utility men"
+beamed with modest pride, and resolved to enact Wallace and Montrose as
+soon as possible for their cousin's special benefit.
+
+"Let's have a game of tag," cried the Prince, swinging himself up to a
+beam with a sounding slap on Stevie's shoulder.
+
+Regardless of his gloves, Dandy tore after him, and the rest swarmed in
+every direction as if bent on breaking their necks and dislocating their
+joints as rapidly as possible.
+
+It was a new and astonishing spectacle to Rose, fresh from a prim
+boarding-school, and she watched the active lads with breathless
+interest, thinking their antics far superior to those of Mops, the dear
+departed monkey.
+
+Will had just covered himself with glory by pitching off of a high loft
+head first and coming up all right, when Phebe appeared with a cloak,
+hood, and rubbers, also a message from Aunt Plenty that "Miss Rose was
+to come in directly."
+
+"All right; we'll bring her!" answered Archie, issuing some mysterious
+order, which was so promptly obeyed that, before Rose could get out of
+the carriage, the boys had caught hold of the pole and rattled her out
+of the barn, round the oval and up to the front door with a cheer that
+brought two caps to an upper window, and caused Debby to cry aloud from
+the back porch,--
+
+"Them harum-scarum boys will certainly be the death of that delicate
+little creter!"
+
+But the "delicate little creter" seemed all the better for her trip, and
+ran up the steps looking rosy, gay, and dishevelled, to be received with
+lamentation by Aunt Plenty, who begged her to go and lie down at once.
+
+"Oh, please don't! We have come to tea with our cousin, and we'll be as
+good as gold if you'll let us stay, auntie," clamored the boys, who not
+only approved of "our cousin," but had no mind to lose their tea, for
+Aunt Plenty's name but feebly expressed her bountiful nature.
+
+"Well, dears, you can; only be quiet, and let Rose go and take her iron
+and be made tidy, and then we will see what we can find for supper,"
+said the old lady as she trotted away, followed by a volley of
+directions for the approaching feast.
+
+"Marmalade for me, auntie."
+
+"Plenty of plum-cake, please."
+
+"Tell Debby to trot out the baked pears."
+
+"I'm your man for lemon-pie, ma'am."
+
+"Do have fritters; Rose will like 'em."
+
+"She'd rather have tarts, _I_ know."
+
+When Rose came down, fifteen minutes later, with every curl smoothed and
+her most beruffled apron on, she found the boys loafing about the long
+hall, and paused on the half-way landing to take an observation, for
+till now she had not really examined her new-found cousins.
+
+There was a strong family resemblance among them, though some of the
+yellow heads were darker than others, some of the cheeks brown instead
+of rosy, and the ages varied all the way from sixteen-year-old Archie to
+Jamie, who was ten years younger. None of them were especially comely
+but the Prince, yet all were hearty, happy-looking lads, and Rose
+decided that boys were not as dreadful as she had expected to find them.
+
+They were all so characteristically employed that she could not help
+smiling as she looked. Archie and Charlie, evidently great cronies, were
+pacing up and down, shoulder to shoulder, whistling "Bonnie Dundee;" Mac
+was reading in a corner, with his book close to his near-sighted eyes;
+Dandy was arranging his hair before the oval glass in the hat-stand;
+Geordie and Will investigating the internal economy of the moon-faced
+clock; and Jamie lay kicking up his heels on the mat at the foot of the
+stairs, bent on demanding his sweeties the instant Rose appeared.
+
+She guessed his intention, and forestalled his demand by dropping a
+handful of sugar-plums down upon him.
+
+At his cry of rapture the other lads looked up and smiled involuntarily,
+for the little kinswoman standing there above was a winsome sight with
+her shy, soft eyes, bright hair, and laughing face. The black frock
+reminded them of her loss, and filled the boyish hearts with a kindly
+desire to be good to "our cousin," who had no longer any home but this.
+
+"There she is, as fine as you please," cried Steve, kissing his hand to
+her.
+
+"Come on, Missy; tea is ready," added the Prince encouragingly.
+
+"_I_ shall take her in." And Archie offered his arm with great dignity,
+an honor that made Rose turn as red as a cherry and long to run upstairs
+again.
+
+It was a merry supper, and the two elder boys added much to the fun by
+tormenting the rest with dark hints of some interesting event which was
+about to occur. Something uncommonly fine they declared it was, but
+enveloped in the deepest mystery for the present.
+
+"Did I ever see it?" asked Jamie.
+
+"Not to remember it; but Mac and Steve have, and liked it immensely,"
+answered Archie, thereby causing the two mentioned to neglect Debby's
+delectable fritters for several minutes, while they cudgelled their
+brains.
+
+"Who will have it first?" asked Will, with his mouth full of marmalade.
+
+"Aunt Plenty, I guess."
+
+"When will she have it?" demanded Geordie, bouncing in his seat with
+impatience.
+
+"Sometime on Monday."
+
+"Heart alive! what is the boy talking about?" cried the old lady from
+behind the tall urn, which left little to be seen but the topmost bow of
+her cap.
+
+"Doesn't auntie know?" asked a chorus of voices.
+
+"No; and that's the best of the joke, for she is desperately fond of
+it."
+
+"What color is it?" asked Rose, joining in the fun.
+
+"Blue and brown."
+
+"Is it good to eat?" asked Jamie.
+
+"Some people think so, but I shouldn't like to try it," answered
+Charlie, laughing so he spilt his tea.
+
+"Who does it belong to?" put in Steve.
+
+Archie and the Prince stared at one another rather blankly for a minute,
+then Archie answered with a twinkle of the eye that made Charlie explode
+again,--
+
+"To Grandfather Campbell."
+
+This was a poser, and they gave up the puzzle, though Jamie confided to
+Rose that he did not think he could live till Monday without knowing
+what this remarkable thing was.
+
+Soon after tea the Clan departed, singing "All the blue bonnets are over
+the border" at the tops of their voices.
+
+"Well, dear, how do you like your cousins?" asked Aunt Plenty, as the
+last pony frisked round the corner and the din died away.
+
+"Pretty well, ma'am; but I like Phebe better." An answer which caused
+Aunt Plenty to hold up her hands in despair and trot away to tell sister
+Peace that she never _should_ understand that child, and it was a mercy
+Alec was coming soon to take the responsibility off their hands.
+
+Fatigued by the unusual exertions of the afternoon, Rose curled herself
+up in the sofa corner to rest and think about the great mystery, little
+guessing that she was to know it first of all.
+
+Right in the middle of her meditations, she fell asleep and dreamed she
+was at home again in her own little bed. She seemed to wake and see her
+father bending over her; to hear him say, "My little Rose;" to answer,
+"Yes, papa;" and then to feel him take her in his arms and kiss her
+tenderly. So sweet, so real was the dream, that she started up with a
+cry of joy to find herself in the arms of a brown, bearded man, who held
+her close, and whispered in a voice so like her father's that she clung
+to him involuntarily,--
+
+"This is my little girl, and I am Uncle Alec."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+_UNCLES._
+
+
+WHEN Rose woke next morning, she was not sure whether she had dreamed
+what occurred the night before, or it had actually happened. So she
+hopped up and dressed, although it was an hour earlier than she usually
+rose, for she could not sleep any more, being possessed with a strong
+desire to slip down and see if the big portmanteau and packing-cases
+were really in the hall. She seemed to remember tumbling over them when
+she went to bed, for the aunts had sent her off very punctually, because
+they wanted their pet nephew all to themselves.
+
+The sun was shining, and Rose opened her window to let in the soft May
+air fresh from the sea. As she leaned over her little balcony, watching
+an early bird get the worm, and wondering how she should like Uncle
+Alec, she saw a man leap the garden wall and come whistling up the path.
+At first she thought it was some trespasser, but a second look showed
+her that it was her uncle returning from an early dip into the sea. She
+had hardly dared to look at him the night before, because whenever she
+tried to do so she always found a pair of keen blue eyes looking at her.
+Now she could take a good stare at him as he lingered along, looking
+about him as if glad to see the old place again.
+
+A brown, breezy man, in a blue jacket, with no hat on the curly head
+which he shook now and then like a water-dog; broad-shouldered, alert in
+his motions, and with a general air of strength and stability about him
+which pleased Rose, though she could not explain the feeling of comfort
+it gave her. She had just said to herself, with a sense of relief, "I
+guess I _shall_ like him, though he looks as if he made people mind,"
+when he lifted his eyes to examine the budding horse-chestnut overhead,
+and saw the eager face peering down at him. He waved his hand to her,
+nodded, and called out in a bluff, cheery voice,--
+
+"You are on deck early, little niece."
+
+"I got up to see if you had really come, uncle."
+
+"Did you? Well, come down here and make sure of it."
+
+"I'm not allowed to go out before breakfast, sir."
+
+"Oh, indeed!" with a shrug. "Then I'll come aboard and salute," he
+added; and, to Rose's great amazement, Uncle Alec went up one of the
+pillars of the back piazza hand over hand, stepped across the roof, and
+swung himself into her balcony, saying, as he landed on the wide
+balustrade: "Have you any doubts about me now, ma'am?"
+
+Rose was so taken aback, she could only answer with a smile as she went
+to meet him.
+
+"How does my girl do this morning?" he asked, taking the little cold
+hand she gave him in both his big warm ones.
+
+"Pretty well, thank you, sir."
+
+"Ah, but it should be _very well_. Why isn't it?"
+
+"I always wake up with a headache, and feel tired."
+
+"Don't you sleep well?"
+
+"I lie awake a long time, and then I dream, and my sleep does not seem
+to rest me much."
+
+"What do you do all day?"
+
+"Oh, I read, and sew a little, and take naps, and sit with auntie."
+
+"No running about out of doors, or house-work, or riding, hey?"
+
+"Aunt Plenty says I'm not strong enough for much exercise. I drive out
+with her sometimes, but I don't care for it."
+
+"I'm not surprised at that," said Uncle Alec, half to himself, adding,
+in his quick way: "Who have you had to play with?"
+
+"No one but Annabel Bliss, and she was _such_ a goose I couldn't bear
+her. The boys came yesterday, and seemed rather nice; but, of course, I
+couldn't play with them."
+
+"Why not?"
+
+"I'm too old to play with boys."
+
+"Not a bit of it: that's just what you need, for you've been
+molly-coddled too much. They are good lads, and you'll be mixed up with
+them more or less for years to come, so you may as well be friends and
+playmates at once. I will look you up some girls also, if I can find a
+sensible one who is not spoilt by her nonsensical education."
+
+"Phebe is sensible, I'm sure, and I like her, though I only saw her
+yesterday," cried Rose, waking up suddenly.
+
+"And who is Phebe, if you please?"
+
+Rose eagerly told all she knew, and Uncle Alec listened, with an odd
+smile lurking about his mouth, though his eyes were quite sober as he
+watched the face before him.
+
+"I'm glad to see that you are not aristocratic in your tastes, but I
+don't quite make out why you like this young lady from the poor-house."
+
+"You may laugh at me, but I do. I can't tell why, only she seems so
+happy and busy, and sings so beautifully, and is strong enough to scrub
+and sweep, and hasn't any troubles to plague her," said Rose, making a
+funny jumble of reasons in her efforts to explain.
+
+"How do you know that?"
+
+"Oh, I was telling her about mine, and asked if she had any, and she
+said, 'No, only I'd like to go to school, and I mean to some day.'"
+
+"So she doesn't call desertion, poverty, and hard work, troubles? She's
+a brave little girl, and I shall be proud to know her." And Uncle Alec
+gave an approving nod, that made Rose wish she had been the one to earn
+it.
+
+"But what are these troubles of yours, child?" he asked, after a minute
+of silence.
+
+"Please don't ask me, uncle."
+
+"Can't you tell them to me as well as to Phebe?"
+
+Something in his tone made Rose feel that it would be better to speak
+out and be done with it, so she answered, with sudden color and averted
+eyes,--
+
+"The greatest one was losing dear papa."
+
+As she said that, Uncle Alec's arm came gently round her, and he drew
+her to him, saying, in the voice so like papa's,--
+
+"That _is_ a trouble which I cannot cure, my child; but I shall try to
+make you feel it less. What else, dear?"
+
+"I am so tired and poorly all the time, I can't do any thing I want to,
+and it makes me cross," sighed Rose, rubbing the aching head like a
+fretful child.
+
+"That we _can_ cure and we _will_," said her uncle, with a decided nod
+that made the curls bob on his head, so that Rose saw the gray ones
+underneath the brown.
+
+"Aunt Myra says I have no constitution, and never shall be strong,"
+observed Rose, in a pensive tone, as if it was rather a nice thing to be
+an invalid.
+
+"Aunt Myra is a--ahem!--an excellent woman, but it is her hobby to
+believe that every one is tottering on the brink of the grave; and, upon
+my life, I believe she is offended if people don't fall into it! We will
+show her how to make constitutions and turn pale-faced little ghosts
+into rosy, hearty girls. That's my business, you know," he added, more
+quietly, for his sudden outburst had rather startled Rose.
+
+"I had forgotten you were a doctor. I'm glad of it, for I do want to be
+well, only I hope you won't give me much medicine, for I've taken quarts
+already, and it does me no good."
+
+As she spoke, Rose pointed to a little table just inside the window, on
+which appeared a regiment of bottles.
+
+"Ah, ha! Now we'll see what mischief these blessed women have been at."
+And, making a long arm, Dr. Alec set the bottles on the wide railing
+before him, examined each carefully, smiled over some, frowned over
+others, and said, as he put down the last: "Now I'll show you the best
+way to take these messes." And, as quick as a flash, he sent one after
+another smashing down into the posy-beds below.
+
+"But Aunt Plenty won't like it; and Aunt Myra will be angry, for she
+sent most of them!" cried Rose, half frightened and half pleased at such
+energetic measures.
+
+"You are my patient now, and I'll take the responsibility. My way of
+giving physic is evidently the best, for you look better already," he
+said, laughing so infectiously that Rose followed suit, saying
+saucily,--
+
+"If I don't like your medicines any better than those, I shall throw
+them into the garden, and then what will you do?"
+
+"When I prescribe such rubbish, I'll give you leave to pitch it
+overboard as soon as you like. Now what is the next trouble?"
+
+"I hoped you would forget to ask."
+
+"But how can I help you if I don't know them? Come, let us have No. 3."
+
+"It is very wrong, I suppose, but I do sometimes wish I had not _quite_
+so many aunts. They are all very good to me, and I want to please them;
+but they are so different, I feel sort of pulled to pieces among them,"
+said Rose, trying to express the emotions of a stray chicken with six
+hens all clucking over it at once.
+
+Uncle Alec threw back his head and laughed like a boy, for he could
+entirely understand how the good ladies had each put in her oar and
+tried to paddle her own way, to the great disturbance of the waters and
+the entire bewilderment of poor Rose.
+
+"I intend to try a course of uncles now, and see how that suits your
+constitution. I'm going to have you all to myself, and no one is to
+give a word of advice unless I ask it. There is no other way to keep
+order aboard, and I am captain of this little craft, for a time at
+least. What comes next?"
+
+But Rose stuck there, and grew so red, her uncle guessed what that
+trouble was.
+
+"I don't think I _can_ tell this one. It wouldn't be polite, and I feel
+pretty sure that it isn't going to be a trouble any more."
+
+As she blushed and stammered over these words, Dr. Alec turned his eyes
+away to the distant sea, and said so seriously, so tenderly, that she
+felt every word and long remembered them,--
+
+"My child, I don't expect you to love and trust me all at once, but I do
+want you to believe that I shall give my whole heart to this new duty;
+and if I make mistakes, as I probably shall, no one will grieve over
+them more bitterly than I. It is my fault that I am a stranger to you,
+when I want to be your best friend. That is one of my mistakes, and I
+never repented it more deeply than I do now. Your father and I had a
+trouble once, and I thought I never could forgive him; so I kept away
+for years. Thank God, we made it all up the last time I saw him, and he
+told me then, that if he was forced to leave her he should bequeath his
+little girl to me as a token of his love. I can't fill his place, but I
+shall try to be a father to her; and if she learns to love me half as
+well as she did the good one she has lost, I shall be a proud and happy
+man. Will she believe this and try?"
+
+Something in Uncle Alec's face touched Rose to the heart, and when he
+held out his hand with that anxious, troubled look in his eyes, she was
+moved to put up her innocent lips and seal the contract with a confiding
+kiss. The strong arm held her close a minute, and she felt the broad
+chest heave once as if with a great sigh of relief; but not a word was
+spoken till a tap at the door made both start.
+
+Rose popped her head through the window to say "come in," while Dr. Alec
+hastily rubbed the sleeve of his jacket across his eyes and began to
+whistle again.
+
+Phebe appeared with a cup of coffee.
+
+"Debby told me to bring this and help you get up," she said, opening her
+black eyes wide, as if she wondered how on earth "the sailor man" got
+there.
+
+"I'm all dressed, so I don't need any help. I hope that is good and
+strong," added Rose, eying the steaming cup with an eager look.
+
+But she did not get it, for a brown hand took possession of it as her
+uncle said quickly,--
+
+"Hold hard, my lass, and let me overhaul that dose before you take it.
+Do you drink all this strong coffee every morning, Rose?"
+
+"Yes, sir, and I like it. Auntie says it 'tones' me up, and I always
+feel better after it."
+
+"This accounts for the sleepless nights, the flutter your heart gets
+into at the least start, and this is why that cheek of yours is pale
+yellow instead of rosy red. No more coffee for you, my dear, and by and
+by you'll see that I am right. Any new milk downstairs, Phebe?"
+
+"Yes, sir, plenty,--right in from the barn."
+
+"That's the drink for my patient. Go bring me a pitcherful, and another
+cup; I want a draught myself. This won't hurt the honeysuckles, for they
+have no nerves to speak of." And, to Rose's great discomfort, the coffee
+went after the medicine.
+
+Dr. Alec saw the injured look she put on, but took no notice, and
+presently banished it by saying pleasantly,--
+
+"I've got a capital little cup among my traps, and I'll give it to you
+to drink your milk in, as it is made of wood that is supposed to improve
+whatever is put into it,--something like a quassia cup. That reminds me;
+one of the boxes Phebe wanted to lug upstairs last night is for you.
+Knowing that I was coming home to find a ready-made daughter, I picked
+up all sorts of odd and pretty trifles along the way, hoping she would
+be able to find something she liked among them all. Early to-morrow
+we'll have a grand rummage. Here's our milk! I propose the health of
+Miss Rose Campbell--and drink it with all my heart."
+
+It was impossible for Rose to pout with the prospect of a delightful
+boxful of gifts dancing before her eyes; so, in spite of herself, she
+smiled as she drank her own health, and found that fresh milk was not a
+hard dose to take.
+
+"Now I must be off, before I am caught again with my wig in a toss,"
+said Dr. Alec, preparing to descend the way he came.
+
+"Do you always go in and out like a cat, uncle?" asked Rose, much amused
+at his odd ways.
+
+"I used to sneak out of my window when I was a boy, so I need not
+disturb the aunts, and now I rather like it, for it's the shortest road,
+and it keeps me limber when I have no rigging to climb. Good-by till
+breakfast." And away he went down the water-spout, over the roof, and
+vanished among the budding honeysuckles below.
+
+"Ain't he a funny guardeen?" exclaimed Phebe, as she went off with the
+cups.
+
+"He is a very kind one, I think," answered Rose, following, to prowl
+round the big boxes and try to guess which was hers.
+
+When her uncle appeared at sound of the bell, he found her surveying
+with an anxious face a new dish that smoked upon the table.
+
+"Got a fresh trouble, Rosy?" he asked, stroking her smooth head.
+
+"Uncle, _are_ you going to make me eat oatmeal?" asked Rose, in a tragic
+tone.
+
+"Don't you like it?"
+
+"I de-test it!" answered Rose, with all the emphasis which a turned-up
+nose, a shudder, and a groan could give to the three words.
+
+"You are not a true Scotchwoman, if you don't like the 'parritch.' It's
+a pity, for I made it myself, and thought we'd have such a good time
+with all that cream to float it in. Well, never mind." And he sat down
+with a disappointed air.
+
+Rose had made up her mind to be obstinate about it, because she did
+heartily "detest" the dish; but as Uncle Alec did not attempt to make
+her obey, she suddenly changed her mind and thought she would.
+
+"I'll try to eat it to please you, uncle; but people are always saying
+how wholesome it is, and that makes me hate it," she said, half ashamed
+at her silly excuse.
+
+"I do want you to like it, because I wish my girl to be as well and
+strong as Jessie's boys, who are brought up on this in the good old
+fashion. No hot bread and fried stuff for them, and they are the biggest
+and bonniest lads of the lot. Bless you, auntie, and good morning!"
+
+Dr. Alec turned to greet the old lady, and, with a firm resolve to eat
+or die in the attempt, Rose sat down.
+
+In five minutes she forgot what she was eating, so interested was she in
+the chat that went on. It amused her very much to hear Aunt Plenty call
+her forty-year-old nephew "my dear boy;" and Uncle Alec was so full of
+lively gossip about all creation in general, and the Aunt-hill in
+particular, that the detested porridge vanished without a murmur.
+
+"You will go to church with us, I hope, Alec, if you are not too tired,"
+said the old lady, when breakfast was over.
+
+"I came all the way from Calcutta for that express purpose, ma'am. Only
+I must send the sisters word of my arrival, for they don't expect me
+till to-morrow, you know, and there will be a row in church if those
+boys see me without warning."
+
+"I'll send Ben up the hill, and you can step over to Myra's yourself; it
+will please her, and you will have plenty of time."
+
+Dr. Alec was off at once, and they saw no more of him till the old
+barouche was at the door, and Aunt Plenty just rustling downstairs in
+her Sunday best, with Rose like a little black shadow behind her.
+
+Away they drove in state, and all the way Uncle Alec's hat was more off
+his head than on, for every one they met smiled and bowed, and gave him
+as blithe a greeting as the day permitted.
+
+It was evident that the warning had been a wise one, for, in spite of
+time and place, the lads were in such a ferment that their elders sat in
+momentary dread of an unseemly outbreak somewhere. It was simply
+impossible to keep those fourteen eyes off Uncle Alec, and the dreadful
+things that were done during sermon-time will hardly be believed.
+
+Rose dared not look up after a while, for these bad boys vented their
+emotions upon her till she was ready to laugh and cry with mingled
+amusement and vexation. Charlie winked rapturously at her behind his
+mother's fan; Mac openly pointed to the tall figure beside her; Jamie
+stared fixedly over the back of his pew, till Rose thought his round
+eyes would drop out of his head; George fell over a stool and dropped
+three books in his excitement; Will drew sailors and Chinamen on his
+clean cuffs, and displayed them, to Rose's great tribulation; Steve
+nearly upset the whole party by burning his nose with salts, as he
+pretended to be overcome by his joy; even dignified Archie disgraced
+himself by writing in his hymn-book, "Isn't he _blue_ and _brown_?" and
+passing it politely to Rose.
+
+Her only salvation was trying to fix her attention upon Uncle Mac,--a
+portly, placid gentleman, who seemed entirely unconscious of the
+iniquities of the Clan, and dozed peacefully in his pew corner. This was
+the only uncle Rose had met for years, for Uncle Jem and Uncle Steve,
+the husbands of Aunt Jessie and Aunt Clara, were at sea, and Aunt Myra
+was a widow. Uncle Mac was a merchant, very rich and busy, and as quiet
+as a mouse at home, for he was in such a minority among the women folk
+he dared not open his lips, and let his wife rule undisturbed.
+
+Rose liked the big, kindly, silent man who came to her when papa died,
+was always sending her splendid boxes of goodies at school, and often
+invited her into his great warehouse, full of teas and spices, wines and
+all sorts of foreign fruits, there to eat and carry away whatever she
+liked. She had secretly regretted that he was not to be her guardian;
+but since she had seen Uncle Alec she felt better about it, for she did
+not particularly admire Aunt Jane.
+
+When church was over, Dr. Alec got into the porch as quickly as
+possible, and there the young bears had a hug all round, while the
+sisters shook hands and welcomed him with bright faces and glad hearts.
+Rose was nearly crushed flat behind a door in that dangerous passage
+from pew to porch; but Uncle Mac rescued her, and put her into the
+carriage for safe keeping.
+
+"Now, girls, I want you all to come and dine with Alec; Mac also, of
+course. But I cannot ask the boys, for we did not expect this dear
+fellow till to-morrow, you know, so I made no preparations. Send the
+lads home, and let them wait till Monday, for really I was shocked at
+their behavior in church," said Aunt Plenty, as she followed Rose.
+
+In any other place the defrauded boys would have set up a howl; as it
+was, they growled and protested till Dr. Alec settled the matter by
+saying,--
+
+"Never mind, old chaps, I'll make it up to you to-morrow, if you sheer
+off quietly; if you don't, not a blessed thing shall you have out of my
+big boxes."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+_AUNTS._
+
+
+ALL dinner-time Rose felt that she was going to be talked about, and
+afterward she was sure of it, for Aunt Plenty whispered to her as they
+went into the parlor,--
+
+"Run up and sit awhile with Sister Peace, my dear. She likes to have you
+read while she rests, and we are going to be busy."
+
+Rose obeyed, and the quiet rooms above were so like a church that she
+soon composed her ruffled feelings, and was unconsciously a little
+minister of happiness to the sweet old lady, who for years had sat there
+patiently waiting to be set free from pain.
+
+Rose knew the sad romance of her life, and it gave a certain tender
+charm to this great-aunt of hers, whom she already loved. When Peace was
+twenty, she was about to be married; all was done, the wedding-dress lay
+ready, the flowers were waiting to be put on, the happy hour at hand,
+when word came that the lover was dead. They thought that gentle Peace
+would die too; but she bore it bravely, put away her bridal gear, took
+up her life afresh, and lived on,--a beautiful, meek woman, with hair
+as white as snow and cheeks that never bloomed again. She wore no
+black, but soft, pale colors, as if always ready for the marriage that
+had never come.
+
+For thirty years she had lived on, fading slowly, but cheerful, busy,
+and full of interest in all that went on in the family; especially the
+joys and sorrows of the young girls growing up about her, and to them
+she was adviser, confidante, and friend in all their tender trials and
+delights. A truly beautiful old maiden, with her silvery hair, tranquil
+face, and an atmosphere of repose about her that soothed whoever came to
+her!
+
+Aunt Plenty was utterly dissimilar, being a stout, brisk old lady, with
+a sharp eye, a lively tongue, and a face like a winter-apple. Always
+trotting, chatting, and bustling, she was a regular Martha, cumbered
+with the cares of this world and quite happy in them.
+
+Rose was right; and while she softly read psalms to Aunt Peace, the
+other ladies were talking about her little self in the frankest manner.
+
+"Well, Alec, how do you like your ward?" began Aunt Jane, as they all
+settled down, and Uncle Mac deposited himself in a corner to finish his
+doze.
+
+"I should like her better if I could have begun at the beginning, and so
+got a fair start. Poor George led such a solitary life that the child
+has suffered in many ways, and since he died she has been going on worse
+than ever, judging from the state I find her in."
+
+"My dear boy, we did what we thought best while waiting for you to wind
+up your affairs and get home. I always told George he was wrong to bring
+her up as he did; but he never took my advice and now here we are with
+this poor dear child upon our hands. I, for one, freely confess that I
+don't know what to do with her any more than if she was one of those
+strange, outlandish birds you used to bring home from foreign parts."
+And Aunt Plenty gave a perplexed shake of the head which caused great
+commotion among the stiff loops of purple ribbon that bristled all over
+her cap like crocus buds.
+
+"If _my_ advice had been taken, she would have remained at the excellent
+school where I placed her. But our aunt thought best to remove her
+because she complained, and she has been dawdling about ever since she
+came. A most ruinous state of things for a morbid, spoilt girl like
+Rose," said Mrs. Jane, severely.
+
+She had never forgiven the old ladies for yielding to Rose's pathetic
+petition that she might wait her guardian's arrival before beginning
+another term at the school, which was a regular Blimber hot-bed, and
+turned out many a feminine Toots.
+
+"_I_ never thought it the proper school for a child in good
+circumstances,--an heiress, in fact, as Rose is. It is all very well for
+girls who are to get their own living by teaching, and that sort of
+thing; but all _she_ needs is a year or two at a fashionable
+finishing-school, so that at eighteen she can come out with _eclat_,"
+put in Aunt Clara, who had been a beauty and a belle, and was still a
+handsome woman.
+
+"Dear, dear! how short-sighted you all are to be discussing education
+and plans for the future, when this unhappy child is so plainly marked
+for the tomb," sighed Aunt Myra, with a lugubrious sniff and a solemn
+wag of the funereal bonnet, which she refused to remove, being afflicted
+with a chronic catarrh.
+
+"Now, it is my opinion that the dear thing only wants freedom, rest, and
+care. There is a look in her eyes that goes to my heart, for it shows
+that she feels the need of what none of us can give her,--a mother,"
+said Aunt Jessie, with tears in her own bright eyes at the thought of
+her boys being left, as Rose was, to the care of others.
+
+Uncle Alec, who had listened silently as each spoke, turned quickly
+toward the last sister, and said, with a decided nod of approval,--
+
+"You've got it, Jessie; and, with you to help me, I hope to make the
+child feel that she is not quite fatherless and motherless."
+
+"I'll do my best, Alec; and I think you _will_ need me, for, wise as you
+are, you cannot understand a tender, timid little creature like Rose as
+a woman can," said Mrs. Jessie, smiling back at him with a heart full of
+motherly good-will.
+
+"I cannot help feeling that _I_, who have had a daughter of my own, can
+best bring up a girl; and I am _very_ much surprised that George did not
+intrust her to me," observed Aunt Myra, with an air of melancholy
+importance, for she was the only one who had given a daughter to the
+family, and she felt that she had distinguished herself, though
+ill-natured people said that she had dosed her darling to death.
+
+"I never blamed him in the least, when I remember the perilous
+experiments you tried with poor Carrie," began Mrs. Jane, in her hard
+voice.
+
+"Jane Campbell, I will _not_ hear a word! My sainted Caroline is a
+sacred subject," cried Aunt Myra, rising as if to leave the room.
+
+Dr. Alec detained her, feeling that he must define his position at once,
+and maintain it manfully if he hoped to have any success in his new
+undertaking.
+
+"Now, my dear souls, don't let us quarrel and make Rose a bone of
+contention,--though, upon my word, she _is_ almost a bone, poor little
+lass! You have had her among you for a year, and done what you liked. I
+cannot say that your success is great, but that is owing to too many
+fingers in the pie. Now, I intend to try my way for a year, and if at
+the end of it she is not in better trim than now, I'll give up the case,
+and hand her over to some one else. That's fair, I think."
+
+"She will not be here a year hence, poor darling, so no one need dread
+future responsibility," said Aunt Myra, folding her black gloves as if
+all ready for the funeral.
+
+"By Jupiter, Myra, you are enough to damp the ardor of a saint!" cried
+Dr. Alec, with a sudden spark in his eyes. "Your croaking will worry
+that child out of her wits, for she is an imaginative puss, and will
+fret and fancy untold horrors. You have put it into her head that she
+has no constitution, and she rather likes the idea. If she had not had a
+pretty good one, she _would_ have been 'marked for the tomb' by this
+time, at the rate you have been going on with her. I will not have any
+interference,--please understand that; so just wash your hands of her,
+and let me manage till I want help, then I'll ask for it."
+
+"Hear, hear!" came from the corner where Uncle Mac was apparently wrapt
+in slumber.
+
+"You were appointed guardian, so we can do nothing. But I predict that
+the girl will be spoilt, utterly spoilt," answered Mrs. Jane, grimly.
+
+"Thank you, sister. I have an idea that if a woman can bring up two boys
+as perfectly as you do yours, a man, if he devotes his whole mind to it,
+may at least attempt as much with one girl," replied Dr. Alec, with a
+humorous look that tickled the others immensely, for it was a well-known
+fact in the family that Jane's boys were more indulged than all the
+other lads put together.
+
+"_I_ am quite easy, for I really do think that Alec will improve the
+child's health; and by the time his year is out, it will be quite soon
+enough for her to go to Madame Roccabella's and be finished off," said
+Aunt Clara, settling her rings, and thinking, with languid satisfaction,
+of the time when she could bring out a pretty and accomplished niece.
+
+"I suppose you will stay here in the old place, unless you think of
+marrying, and it's high time you did," put in Mrs. Jane, much nettled at
+her brother's last hit.
+
+"No, thank you. Come and have a cigar, Mac," said Dr. Alec, abruptly.
+
+"Don't marry; women enough in the family already," muttered Uncle Mac;
+and then the gentlemen hastily fled.
+
+"Aunt Peace would like to see you all, she says," was the message Rose
+brought before the ladies could begin again.
+
+"Hectic, hectic!--dear me, dear me!" murmured Aunt Myra, as the shadow
+of her gloomy bonnet fell upon Rose, and the stiff tips of a black
+glove touched the cheek where the color deepened under so many eyes.
+
+"I am glad these pretty curls are natural; they will be invaluable by
+and by," said Aunt Clara, taking an observation with her head on one
+side.
+
+"Now that your uncle has come, I no longer expect you to review the
+studies of the past year. I trust your time will not be _entirely_
+wasted in frivolous sports, however," added Aunt Jane, sailing out of
+the room with the air of a martyr.
+
+Aunt Jessie said not a word, but kissed her little niece, with a look of
+tender sympathy that made Rose cling to her a minute, and follow her
+with grateful eyes as the door closed behind her.
+
+After everybody had gone home, Dr. Alec paced up and down the lower hall
+in the twilight for an hour, thinking so intently that sometimes he
+frowned, sometimes he smiled, and more than once he stood still in a
+brown study. All of a sudden he said, half aloud, as if he had made up
+his mind,--
+
+"I might as well begin at once, and give the child something new to
+think about, for Myra's dismals and Jane's lectures have made her as
+blue as a little indigo bag."
+
+Diving into one of the trunks that stood in a corner, he brought up,
+after a brisk rummage, a silken cushion, prettily embroidered, and a
+quaint cup of dark carved wood.
+
+"This will do for a start," he said, as he plumped up the cushion and
+dusted the cup. "It won't do to begin too energetically, or Rose will be
+frightened. I must beguile her gently and pleasantly along till I've
+won her confidence, and then she will be ready for any thing."
+
+Just then Phebe came out of the dining-room with a plate of brown bread,
+for Rose had been allowed no hot biscuit for tea.
+
+"I'll relieve you of some of that," said Dr. Alec, and, helping himself
+to a generous slice, he retired to the study, leaving Phebe to wonder at
+his appetite.
+
+She would have wondered still more if she had seen him making that brown
+bread into neat little pills, which he packed into an attractive ivory
+box, out of which he emptied his own bits of lovage.
+
+"There! if they insist on medicine, I'll order these, and no harm will
+be done. I _will_ have my own way, but I'll keep the peace, if possible,
+and confess the joke when my experiment has succeeded," he said to
+himself, looking very much like a mischievous boy, as he went off with
+his innocent prescriptions.
+
+Rose was playing softly on the small organ that stood in the upper hall,
+so that Aunt Peace could enjoy it; and all the while he talked with the
+old ladies Uncle Alec was listening to the fitful music of the child,
+and thinking of another Rose who used to play for him.
+
+As the clock struck eight, he called out,--
+
+"Time for my girl to be abed, else she won't be up early, and I'm full
+of jolly plans for to-morrow. Come and see what I have found for you to
+begin upon."
+
+Rose ran in and listened with bright, attentive face, while Dr. Alec
+said, impressively,--
+
+"In my wanderings over the face of the earth, I have picked up some
+excellent remedies, and, as they are rather agreeable ones, I think you
+and I will try them. This is an herb-pillow, given to me by a wise old
+woman when I was ill in India. It is filled with saffron, poppies, and
+other soothing plants; so lay your little head on it to-night, sleep
+sweetly without a dream, and wake to-morrow without a pain."
+
+"Shall I really? How nice it smells." And Rose willingly received the
+pretty pillow, and stood enjoying its faint, sweet odor, as she listened
+to the doctor's next remedy.
+
+"This is the cup I told you of. Its virtue depends, they say, on the
+drinker filling it himself; so you must learn to milk. I'll teach you."
+
+"I'm afraid I never can," said Rose; but she surveyed the cup with
+favor, for a funny little imp danced on the handle, as if all ready to
+take a header into the white sea below.
+
+"Don't you think she ought to have something more strengthening than
+milk, Alec? I really shall feel anxious if she does not have a tonic of
+some sort," said Aunt Plenty, eying the new remedies suspiciously, for
+she had more faith in her old-fashioned doses than all the magic cups
+and poppy pillows of the East.
+
+"Well, ma'am, I'm willing to give her a pill, if you think best. It is a
+very simple one, and very large quantities may be taken without harm.
+You know hasheesh is the extract of hemp? Well, this is a preparation of
+corn and rye, much used in old times, and I hope it will be again."
+
+"Dear me, how singular!" said Aunt Plenty, bringing her spectacles to
+bear upon the pills, with a face so full of respectful interest that it
+was almost too much for Dr. Alec's gravity.
+
+"Take one in the morning, and a good-night to you, my dear," he said,
+dismissing his patient with a hearty kiss.
+
+Then, as she vanished, he put both hands into his hair, exclaiming, with
+a comical mixture of anxiety and amusement,--
+
+"When I think what I have undertaken, I declare to you, aunt, I feel
+like running away and not coming back till Rose is eighteen!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+_A BELT AND A BOX._
+
+
+WHEN Rose came out of her chamber, cup in hand, next morning, the first
+person she saw was Uncle Alec standing on the threshold of the room
+opposite, which he appeared to be examining with care. When he heard her
+step, he turned about and began to sing,--
+
+"Where are you going, my pretty maid?"
+
+"I'm going a-milking, sir, she said," answered Rose, waving the cup; and
+then they finished the verse together in fine style.
+
+Before either spoke, a head, in a nightcap so large and beruffled that
+it looked like a cabbage, popped out of a room farther down the hall,
+and an astonished voice exclaimed,--
+
+"What in the world are you about so early?"
+
+"Clearing our pipes for the day, ma'am. Look here, auntie, can I have
+this room?" said Dr. Alec, making her a sailor's bow.
+
+"Any room you like, except sister's."
+
+"Thanks. And may I go rummaging round in the garrets and glory-holes to
+furnish it as I like?"
+
+"My dear boy, you may turn the house upside down if you will only stay
+in it."
+
+"That's a handsome offer, I'm sure. I'll stay, ma'am; here's my little
+anchor, so you will get more than you want of me this time."
+
+"That's impossible! Put on your jacket, Rose. Don't tire her out with
+antics, Alec. Yes, sister, I'm coming!" and the cabbage vanished
+suddenly.
+
+The first milking lesson was a droll one; but after several scares and
+many vain attempts, Rose at last managed to fill her cup, while Ben held
+Clover's tail so that it could not flap, and Dr. Alec kept her from
+turning to stare at the new milk-maid, who objected to both these
+proceedings very much.
+
+"You look chilly in spite of all this laughing. Take a smart run round
+the garden and get up a glow," said the doctor, as they left the barn.
+
+"I'm too old for running, uncle; Miss Power said it was not lady-like
+for girls in their teens," answered Rose primly.
+
+"I take the liberty of differing from Madame Prunes and Prisms, and, as
+your physician, I _order_ you to run. Off with you!" said Uncle Alec,
+with a look and a gesture that made Rose scurry away as fast as she
+could go.
+
+Anxious to please him, she raced round the beds till she came back to
+the porch where he stood, and, dropping down upon the steps, she sat
+panting, with cheeks as rosy as the rigolette on her shoulders.
+
+"Very well done, child; I see you have not lost the use of your limbs
+though you _are_ in your teens. That belt is too tight; unfasten it,
+then you can take a long breath without panting so."
+
+"It isn't tight, sir; I can breathe perfectly well," began Rose, trying
+to compose herself.
+
+Her uncle's only answer was to lift her up and unhook the new belt of
+which she was so proud. The moment the clasp was open the belt flew
+apart several inches, for it was impossible to restrain the involuntary
+sigh of relief that flatly contradicted her words.
+
+"Why, I didn't know it was tight! it didn't feel so a bit. Of course it
+would open if I puff like this, but I never do, because I hardly ever
+run," explained Rose, rather discomfited by this discovery.
+
+"I see you don't half fill your lungs, and so you can wear this absurd
+thing without feeling it. The idea of cramping a tender little waist in
+a stiff band of leather and steel just when it ought to be growing,"
+said Dr. Alec, surveying the belt with great disfavor as he put the
+clasp forward several holes, to Rose's secret dismay, for she was proud
+of her slender figure, and daily rejoiced that she wasn't as stout as
+Luly Miller, a former schoolmate, who vainly tried to repress her
+plumpness.
+
+"It will fall off if it is so loose," she said anxiously, as she stood
+watching him pull her precious belt about.
+
+"Not if you keep taking long breaths to hold it on. That is what I want
+you to do, and when you have filled this out we will go on enlarging it
+till your waist is more like that of Hebe, goddess of health, and less
+like that of a fashion-plate,--the ugliest thing imaginable."
+
+"How it does look!" and Rose gave a glance of scorn at the loose belt
+hanging round her trim little waist. "It will be lost, and then I shall
+feel badly, for it cost ever so much, and is real steel and Russia
+leather. Just smell how nice."
+
+"If it is lost I'll give you a better one. A soft silken sash is much
+fitter for a pretty child like you than a plated harness like this; and
+I've got no end of Italian scarfs and Turkish sashes among my traps. Ah!
+that makes you feel better, doesn't it?" and he pinched the cheek that
+had suddenly dimpled with a smile.
+
+"It is very silly of me, but I can't help liking to know that"--here she
+stopped and blushed and held down her head, ashamed to add, "you think I
+am pretty."
+
+Dr. Alec's eyes twinkled, but he said very soberly,--
+
+"Rose, are you vain?"
+
+"I'm afraid I am," answered a very meek voice from behind the veil of
+hair that hid the red face.
+
+"That is a sad fault." And he sighed as if grieved at the confession.
+
+"I know it is, and I try not to be; but people praise me, and I can't
+help liking it, for I really don't think I am repulsive."
+
+The last word and the funny tone in which it was uttered were too much
+for Dr. Alec, and he laughed in spite of himself, to Rose's great
+relief.
+
+"I quite agree with you; and in order that you may be still less
+repulsive, I want you to grow as fine a girl as Phebe."
+
+"Phebe!" and Rose looked so amazed that her uncle nearly went off again.
+
+"Yes, Phebe; for she has what you need,--health. If you dear little
+girls would only learn what real beauty is, and not pinch and starve and
+bleach yourselves out so, you'd save an immense deal of time and money
+and pain. A happy soul in a healthy body makes the best sort of beauty
+for man or woman. Do you understand that, my dear?"
+
+"Yes, sir," answered Rose, much taken down by this comparison with the
+girl from the poor-house. It nettled her sadly, and she showed that it
+did by saying quickly,--
+
+"I suppose you would like to have me sweep and scrub, and wear an old
+brown dress, and go round with my sleeves rolled up, as Phebe does?"
+
+"I should very much, if you could work as well as she does, and show as
+strong a pair of arms as she can. I haven't seen a prettier picture for
+some time than she made of herself this morning, up to the elbows in
+suds, singing like a blackbird while she scrubbed on the back stoop."
+
+"Well, I do think you are the queerest man that ever lived!" was all
+Rose could find to say after this display of bad taste.
+
+"I haven't begun to show my oddities yet, so you must make up your mind
+to worse shocks than this," he said, with such a whimsical look that she
+was glad the sound of a bell prevented her showing more plainly what a
+blow her little vanities had already received.
+
+"You will find your box all open up in auntie's parlor, and there you
+can amuse her and yourself by rummaging to your heart's content; I've
+got to be cruising round all the morning getting my room to rights,"
+said Dr. Alec, as they rose from breakfast.
+
+"Can't I help you, uncle?" asked Rose, quite burning to be useful.
+
+"No, thank you. I'm going to borrow Phebe for a while, if Aunt Plenty
+can spare her."
+
+"Anybody,--any thing, Alec. You will want me, I know, so I'll give
+orders about dinner and be all ready to lend a hand;" and the old lady
+bustled away full of interest and good-will.
+
+"Uncle will find that _I_ can do some things that Phebe can't; so now!"
+thought Rose, with a toss of the head as she flew to Aunt Peace and the
+long-desired box.
+
+Every little girl can easily imagine what an extra good time she had
+diving into a sea of treasures and fishing up one pretty thing after
+another, till the air was full of the mingled odors of musk and
+sandal-wood, the room gay with bright colors, and Rose in a rapture of
+delight. She began to forgive Dr. Alec for the oatmeal diet when she saw
+a lovely ivory work-box; became resigned to the state of her belt when
+she found a pile of rainbow-colored sashes; and when she came to some
+distractingly pretty bottles of attar of rose, she felt that they almost
+atoned for the great sin of thinking Phebe the finer girl of the two.
+
+Dr. Alec meanwhile had apparently taken Aunt Plenty at her word, and
+_was_ turning the house upside down. A general revolution was evidently
+going on in the green-room, for the dark damask curtains were seen
+bundling away in Phebe's arms; the air-tight stove retiring to the
+cellar on Ben's shoulder; and the great bedstead going up garret in a
+fragmentary state, escorted by three bearers. Aunt Plenty was
+constantly on the trot among her store-rooms, camphor-chests, and
+linen-closets, looking as if the new order of things both amazed and
+amused her.
+
+Half the peculiar performances of Dr. Alec cannot be revealed; but as
+Rose glanced up from her box now and then she caught glimpses of him
+striding by, bearing a bamboo chair, a pair of ancient andirons, a queer
+Japanese screen, a rug or two, and finally a large bathing-pan upon his
+head.
+
+"What a curious room it will be," she said, as she sat resting and
+refreshing herself with "Lumps of Delight," all the way from Cairo.
+
+"I fancy _you_ will like it, deary," answered Aunt Peace, looking up
+with a smile from some pretty trifle she was making with blue silk and
+white muslin.
+
+Rose did not see the smile, for just at that moment her uncle paused at
+the door, and she sprang up to dance before him, saying, with a face
+full of childish happiness,--
+
+"Look at me! look at me! I'm so splendid I don't know myself. I haven't
+put these things on right, I dare say, but I do like them _so_ much!"
+
+"You look as gay as a parrot in your fez and cabaja, and it does my
+heart good to see the little black shadow turned into a rainbow," said
+Uncle Alec, surveying the bright figure before him with great
+approbation.
+
+He did not say it, but he thought she made a much prettier picture than
+Phebe at the wash-tub, for she had stuck a purple fez on her blonde
+head, tied several brilliant scarfs about her waist, and put on a truly
+gorgeous scarlet jacket with a golden sun embroidered on the back, a
+silver moon on the front, and stars of all sizes on the sleeves. A pair
+of Turkish slippers adorned her feet, and necklaces of amber, coral, and
+filigree hung about her neck, while one hand held a smelling-bottle, and
+the other the spicy box of oriental sweetmeats.
+
+"I feel like a girl in the 'Arabian Nights,' and expect to find a magic
+carpet or a wonderful talisman somewhere. Only I don't see how I ever
+_can_ thank you for all these lovely things," she said, stopping her
+dance, as if suddenly oppressed with gratitude.
+
+"I'll tell you how,--by leaving off the black clothes, that never should
+have been kept so long on such a child, and wearing the gay ones I've
+brought. It will do your spirits good, and cheer up this sober old
+house. Won't it, auntie?"
+
+"I think you are right, Alec, and it is fortunate that we have not begun
+on her spring clothes yet, for Myra thought she ought not to wear any
+thing brighter than violet, and she is too pale for that."
+
+"You just let me direct Miss Hemming how to make some of these things.
+You will be surprised to see how much I know about piping hems and
+gathering arm-holes and shirring biases," began Dr. Alec, patting a pile
+of muslin, cloth, and silk with a knowing air.
+
+Aunt Peace and Rose laughed so that he could not display his knowledge
+any farther till they stopped, when he said good-naturedly,--
+
+"That will go a great way toward filling out the belt, so laugh away,
+Morgiana, and I'll go back to my work, or I never shall be done."
+
+"I couldn't help it, 'shirred biases' were so very funny!" Rose said, as
+she turned to her box after the splendid laugh. "But really, auntie,"
+she added soberly, "I feel as if I ought not to have so many nice
+things. I suppose it wouldn't do to give Phebe some of them? Uncle might
+not like it."
+
+"He would not mind; but they are not suitable for Phebe. Some of the
+dresses you are done with would be more useful, if they can be made over
+to fit her," answered Aunt Peace in the prudent, moderate tone which is
+so trying to our feelings when we indulge in little fits of charitable
+enthusiasm.
+
+"I'd rather give her new ones, for I think she is a little bit proud and
+might not like old things. If she was my sister it would do, because
+sisters don't mind, but she isn't, and that makes it bad, you see. I
+know how I can manage beautifully; I'll adopt her!" and Rose looked
+quite radiant with this new idea.
+
+"I'm afraid you could not do it legally till you are older, but you
+might see if she likes the plan, and at any rate you can be very kind to
+her, for in one sense we are all sisters, and should help one another."
+
+The sweet old face looked at her so kindly that Rose was fired with a
+desire to settle the matter at once, and rushed away to the kitchen just
+as she was. Phebe was there, polishing up the antique andirons so busily
+that she started when a voice cried out: "Smell that, taste this, and
+look at me!"
+
+Phebe sniffed attar of rose, crunched the "Lump of Delight" tucked into
+her mouth, and stared with all her eyes at little Morgiana prancing
+about the room like a brilliant paroquet.
+
+"My stars, ain't you splendid!" was all she could say, holding up two
+dusty hands.
+
+[Illustration: ROSE AND PHEBE.]
+
+"I've got heaps of lovely things upstairs, and I'll show them all to
+you, and I'd go halves, only auntie thinks they wouldn't be useful, so I
+shall give you something else; and you won't mind, will you, because I
+want to adopt you as Arabella was in the story. Won't that be nice?"
+
+"Why, Miss Rose, have you lost your wits?"
+
+No wonder Phebe asked, for Rose talked very fast, and looked so odd in
+her new costume, and was so eager she could not stop to explain. Seeing
+Phebe's bewilderment, she quieted down and said, with a pretty air of
+earnestness,--
+
+"It isn't fair that I should have so much and you so little, and I want
+to be as good to you as if you were my sister, for Aunt Peace says we
+are all sisters really. I thought if I adopted you as much as I can now,
+it would be nicer. Will you let me, please?"
+
+To Rose's great surprise, Phebe sat down on the floor and hid her face
+in her apron for a minute without answering a word.
+
+"Oh dear, now she's offended, and I don't know what to do," thought
+Rose, much discouraged by this reception of her offer.
+
+"Please, forgive me; I didn't mean to hurt your feelings, and hope you
+won't think--" she faltered presently, feeling that she must undo the
+mischief if possible.
+
+But Phebe gave her another surprise, by dropping the apron and showing a
+face all smiles, in spite of tears in the eyes, as she put both arms
+round Rose and said, with a laugh and sob,--
+
+"I think you are the dearest girl in the world, and I'll let you do any
+thing you like with me."
+
+"Then you do like the plan? You didn't cry because I seemed to be kind
+of patronizing? I truly didn't mean to be," cried Rose, delighted.
+
+"I guess I do like it! and cried because no one was ever so good to me
+before, and I couldn't help it. As for patronizing, you may walk on me
+if you want to, and I won't mind," said Phebe, in a burst of gratitude,
+for the words, "we are all sisters," went straight to her lonely heart
+and nestled there.
+
+"Well, now, we can play I'm a good sprite out of the box, or, what is
+better, a fairy godmother come down the chimney, and you are Cinderella,
+and must say what you want," said Rose, trying to put the question
+delicately.
+
+Phebe understood that, for she had a good deal of natural refinement,
+though she did come from the poor-house.
+
+"I don't feel as if I wanted any thing now, Miss Rose, but to find some
+way of thanking you for all you've done," she said, rubbing off a tear
+that went rolling down the bridge of her nose in the most unromantic
+way.
+
+"Why, I haven't done any thing but given you a bit of candy! Here, have
+some more, and eat 'em while you work, and think what I _can_ do. I must
+go and clear up, so good-by, and don't forget I've adopted you."
+
+"You've given me sweeter things than candy, and I'm not likely to forget
+it." And carefully wiping off the brick-dust, Phebe pressed the little
+hand Rose offered warmly in both her hard ones, while the black eyes
+followed the departing visitor with a grateful look that made them very
+soft and bright.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+_UNCLE ALEC'S ROOM._
+
+
+SOON after dinner, and before she had got acquainted with half her new
+possessions, Dr. Alec proposed a drive, to carry round the first
+instalment of gifts to the aunts and cousins. Rose was quite ready to
+go, being anxious to try a certain soft burnous from the box, which not
+only possessed a most engaging little hood, but had funny tassels
+bobbing in all directions.
+
+The big carriage was full of parcels, and even Ben's seat was loaded
+with Indian war-clubs, a Chinese kite of immense size, and a pair of
+polished ox-horns from Africa. Uncle Alec, very blue as to his clothes,
+and very brown as to his face, sat bolt upright, surveying well-known
+places with interest, while Rose, feeling unusually elegant and
+comfortable, leaned back folded in her soft mantle, and played she was
+an Eastern princess making a royal progress among her subjects.
+
+At three of the places their calls were brief, for Aunt Myra's catarrh
+was unusually bad; Aunt Clara had a room full of company; and Aunt Jane
+showed such a tendency to discuss the population, productions, and
+politics of Europe, Asia, and Africa, that even Dr. Alec was dismayed,
+and got away as soon as possible.
+
+"Now we will have a good time! I do hope the boys will be at home," said
+Rose, with a sigh of relief, as they wound yet higher up the hill to
+Aunt Jessie's.
+
+"I left this for the last call, so that we might find the lads just in
+from school. Yes, there is Jamie on the gate watching for us; now you'll
+see the Clan gather; they are always swarming about together."
+
+The instant Jamie saw the approaching guests he gave a shrill whistle,
+which was answered by echoes from meadow, house, and barn, as the
+cousins came running from all directions, shouting, "Hooray for Uncle
+Alec!" They went at the carriage like highwaymen, robbed it of every
+parcel, took the occupants prisoners, and marched them into the house
+with great exultation.
+
+"Little Mum! little Mum! here they are with lots of goodies! Come down
+and see the fun right away! quick!" bawled Will and Geordie amidst a
+general ripping off of papers and a reckless cutting of strings that
+soon turned the tidy room into a chaos.
+
+Down came Aunt Jessie with her pretty cap half on, but such a beaming
+face below it that one rather thought the fly-away head-gear an
+improvement than otherwise. She had hardly time to greet Rose and the
+doctor before the boys were about her, each clamoring for her to see his
+gift and rejoice over it with him, for "little Mum" went halves in every
+thing. The great horns skirmished about her as if to toss her to the
+ceiling; the war-clubs hurtled over her head as if to annihilate her; an
+amazing medley from the four quarters of the globe filled her lap, and
+seven excited boys all talked to her at once.
+
+But she liked it; oh dear, yes! and sat smiling, admiring, and
+explaining, quite untroubled by the din, which made Rose cover up her
+ears and Dr. Alec threaten instant flight if the riot was not quelled.
+That threat produced a lull, and while the uncle received thanks in one
+corner, the aunt had some little confidences made to her in the other.
+
+"Well, dear, and how are things going with you now? Better, I hope, than
+they were a week ago."
+
+"Aunt Jessie, I think I'm going to be very happy, now uncle has come. He
+does the queerest things, but he is _so_ good to me I can't help loving
+him;" and, nestling closer to little Mum, Rose told all that had
+happened, ending with a rapturous account of the splendid box.
+
+"I am very glad, dear. But, Rose, I must warn you of one thing; don't
+let uncle spoil you."
+
+"But I like to be spoilt, auntie."
+
+"I don't doubt it; but if you turn out badly when the year is over he
+will be blamed, and his experiment prove a failure. That would be a
+pity, wouldn't it? when he wants to do so much for you, and can do it if
+his kind heart does not get in the way of his good judgment."
+
+"I never thought of that, and I'll try not to be spoilt. But how _can_ I
+help it?" asked Rose anxiously.
+
+"By not complaining of the wholesome things he wants you to do; by
+giving him cheerful obedience as well as love; and even making some
+small sacrifices for his sake."
+
+"I will, I truly will! and when I get in a worry about things may I come
+to you? Uncle told me to, and I feel as if I shouldn't be afraid."
+
+"You may, darling; this is the place where little troubles are best
+cured, and this is what mothers are for, I fancy;" and Aunt Jessie drew
+the curly head to her shoulder with a tender look that proved how well
+she knew what medicine the child most needed.
+
+It was so sweet and comfortable that Rose sat still enjoying it till a
+little voice said,--
+
+"Mamma, don't you think Pokey would like some of my shells? Rose gave
+Phebe some of her nice things, and it was very good of her. Can I?"
+
+"Who is Pokey?" asked Rose, popping up her head, attracted by the odd
+name.
+
+"My dolly; do you want to see her?" asked Jamie, who had been much
+impressed by the tale of adoption he had overheard.
+
+"Yes; I'm fond of dollies, only don't tell the boys, or they will laugh
+at me."
+
+"They don't laugh at me, and they play with my dolly a great deal; but
+she likes me best;" and Jamie ran away to produce his pet.
+
+"I brought my old doll, but I keep her hidden because I am too big to
+play with her, and yet I can't bear to throw her away, I'm so fond of
+her," said Rose, continuing her confidences in a whisper.
+
+"You can come and play with Jamie's whenever you like, for we believe in
+dollies up here," began Aunt Jessie, smiling to herself as if something
+amused her.
+
+Just then Jamie came back, and Rose understood the smile, for his dolly
+proved to be a pretty four-year-old little girl, who trotted in as fast
+as her fat legs would carry her, and, making straight for the shells,
+scrambled up an armful, saying, with a laugh that showed her little
+white teeth,--
+
+"All for Dimmy and me, for Dimmy and me!"
+
+[Illustration: JAMIE AND HIS DOLLY.]
+
+"That's my dolly; isn't she a nice one?" asked Jamie, proudly surveying
+his pet with his hands behind him and his short legs rather far
+apart,--a manly attitude copied from his brothers.
+
+"She is a dear dolly. But why call her Pokey?" asked Rose, charmed with
+the new plaything.
+
+"She is such an inquisitive little body she is always poking that mite
+of a nose into every thing; and as Paul Pry did not suit, the boys fell
+to calling her Pokey. Not a pretty name, but very expressive."
+
+It certainly was, for, having examined the shells, the busy tot laid
+hold of every thing she could find, and continued her researches till
+Archie caught her sucking his carved ivory chessmen to see if they were
+not barley-sugar. Rice-paper pictures were also discovered crumpled up
+in her tiny pocket, and she nearly smashed Will's ostrich egg by trying
+to sit upon it.
+
+"Here, Jim, take her away; she's worse than the puppies, and we can't
+have her round," commanded the elder brother, picking her up and handing
+her over to the little fellow, who received her with open arms and the
+warning remark,--
+
+"You'd better mind what you do, for I'm going to 'dopt Pokey like Rose
+did Phebe, and then you'll have to be very good to her, you big
+fellows."
+
+"'Dopt away, baby, and I'll give you a cage to keep her in, or you won't
+have her long, for she is getting worse than a monkey;" and Archie went
+back to his mates, while Aunt Jessie, foreseeing a crisis, proposed that
+Jamie should take his dolly home, as she was borrowed, and it was time
+her visit ended.
+
+"_My_ dolly is better than yours, isn't she? 'cause she can walk and
+talk and sing and dance, and yours can't do any thing, can she?" asked
+Jamie with pride, as he regarded his Pokey, who just then had been moved
+to execute a funny little jig and warble the well-known couplet,--
+
+    "'Puss-tat, puss-tat, where you been?'
+     'I been Lunnin, to saw a Tween.'"
+
+After which superb display she retired, escorted by Jamie, both making
+a fearful din blowing on conch shells.
+
+"We must tear ourselves away, Rose, because I want to get you home
+before sunset. Will you come for a drive, Jessie?" said Dr. Alec, as the
+music died away in the distance.
+
+"No, thank you; but I see the boys want a scamper, so, if you don't
+mind, they may escort you home, but not go in. That is only allowed on
+holidays."
+
+The words were hardly out of Aunt Jessie's mouth when Archie said, in a
+tone of command,--
+
+"Pass the word, lads. Boot and saddle, and be quick about it."
+
+"All right!" And in a moment not a vestige of boy remained but the
+litter on the floor.
+
+The cavalcade went down the hill at a pace that made Rose cling to her
+uncle's arm, for the fat old horses got excited by the antics of the
+ponies careering all about them, and went as fast as they could pelt,
+with the gay dog-cart rattling in front, for Archie and Charlie scorned
+shelties since this magnificent equipage had been set up. Ben enjoyed
+the fun, and the lads cut up capers till Rose declared that "circus" was
+the proper name for them after all.
+
+When they reached the house they dismounted, and stood, three on each
+side the steps, in martial attitudes, while her ladyship was handed out
+with great elegance by Uncle Alec. Then the clan saluted, mounted at
+word of command, and with a wild whoop tore down the avenue in what they
+considered the true Arab style.
+
+"That was splendid, now it is safely ended," said Rose, skipping up the
+steps with her head over her shoulder to watch the dear tassels bob
+about.
+
+"I shall get you a pony as soon as you are a little stronger," said Dr.
+Alec, watching her with a smile.
+
+"Oh, I couldn't ride one of those horrid, frisky little beasts! They
+roll their eyes and bounce about so, I should die of fright," cried
+Rose, clasping her hands tragically.
+
+"Are you a coward?"
+
+"About horses I am."
+
+"Never mind, then; come and see my new room;" and he led the way
+upstairs without another word.
+
+As Rose followed she remembered her promise to Aunt Jessie, and was
+sorry she had objected so decidedly. She was a great deal more sorry
+five minutes later, and well she might be.
+
+"Now take a good look, and tell me what you think of it," said Dr. Alec,
+opening the door and letting her enter before him, while Phebe was seen
+whisking down the backstairs with a dust-pan.
+
+Rose walked to the middle of the room, stood still, and gazed about her
+with eyes that brightened as they looked, for all was changed.
+
+This chamber had been built out over the library to suit some fancy, and
+had been unused for years, except at Christmas times, when the old house
+overflowed. It had three windows,--one to the east, that overlooked the
+bay; one to the south, where the horse-chestnuts waved their green fans;
+and one to the west, toward the hills and the evening sky. A ruddy
+sunset burned there now, filling the room with an enchanted glow; the
+soft murmur of the sea was heard, and a robin chirped "Good night!"
+among the budding trees.
+
+Rose saw and heard these things first, and felt their beauty with a
+child's quick instinct; then her eye took in the altered aspect of the
+room, once so shrouded, still and solitary, now so full of light and
+warmth and simple luxury.
+
+India matting covered the floor, with a gay rug here and there; the
+antique andirons shone on the wide hearth, where a cheery blaze
+dispelled the dampness of the long-closed room. Bamboo lounges and
+chairs stood about, and quaint little tables in cosey corners; one
+bearing a pretty basket, one a desk, and on a third lay several
+familiar-looking books. In a recess stood a narrow white bed, with a
+lovely Madonna hanging over it. The Japanese screen half folded back
+showed a delicate toilet-service of blue and white set forth on a marble
+slab, and near by was the great bath-pan, with Turkish towels and a
+sponge as big as Rose's head.
+
+"Uncle must love cold water like a duck," she thought, with a shiver.
+
+Then her eye went on to the tall cabinet, where a half-open door
+revealed a tempting array of the drawers, shelves, and "cubby holes,"
+which so delight the hearts of children.
+
+"What a grand place for my new things," she thought, wondering what her
+uncle kept in that cedar retreat.
+
+"Oh me, what a sweet toilet-table!" was her next mental exclamation, as
+she approached this inviting spot.
+
+A round old-fashioned mirror hung over it, with a gilt eagle a-top,
+holding in his beak the knot of blue ribbon that tied up a curtain of
+muslin falling on either side of the table, where appeared little
+ivory-handled brushes, two slender silver candlesticks, a porcelain
+match-box, several pretty trays for small matters, and, most imposing of
+all, a plump blue silk cushion, coquettishly trimmed with lace, and pink
+rose-buds at the corners.
+
+That cushion rather astonished Rose; in fact, the whole table did, and
+she was just thinking, with a sly smile,--
+
+"Uncle is a dandy, but I never should have guessed it," when he opened
+the door of a large closet, saying, with a careless wave of the hand,--
+
+"Men like plenty of room for their rattle-traps; don't you think that
+ought to satisfy me?"
+
+Rose peeped in and gave a start, though all she saw was what one usually
+finds in closets,--clothes and boots, boxes and bags. Ah! but you see
+these clothes were small black and white frocks; the row of little boots
+that stood below had never been on Dr. Alec's feet; the green bandbox
+had a gray veil straying out of it, and,--yes! the bag hanging on the
+door was certainly her own piece-bag, with a hole in one corner. She
+gave a quick look round the room and understood now why it had seemed
+too dainty for a man, why _her_ Testament and Prayer-book were on the
+table by the bed, and what those rose-buds meant on the blue cushion. It
+came upon her in one delicious burst that this little paradise was all
+for her, and, not knowing how else to express her gratitude, she caught
+Dr. Alec round the neck, saying impetuously,--
+
+"O uncle, you are _too_ good to me! I'll do any thing you ask me; ride
+wild horses and take freezing baths and eat bad-tasting messes, and let
+my clothes hang on me, to show how much I thank you for this dear,
+sweet, lovely room!"
+
+"You like it, then? But why do you think it is yours, my lass?" asked
+Dr. Alec, as he sat down looking well pleased, and drew his excited
+little niece to his knee.
+
+"I don't _think_, I _know_ it is for me; I see it in your face, and I
+feel as if I didn't half deserve it. Aunt Jessie said you would spoil
+me, and I must not let you. I'm afraid this looks like it, and
+perhaps,--oh me!--perhaps I ought not to have this beautiful room after
+all!" and Rose tried to look as if she could be heroic enough to give it
+up if it was best.
+
+"I owe Mrs. Jessie one for that," said Dr. Alec, trying to frown, though
+in his secret soul he felt that she was quite right. Then he smiled that
+cordial smile, which was like sunshine on his brown face, as he said,--
+
+"This is part of the cure, Rose, and I put you here that you might take
+my three great remedies in the best and easiest way. Plenty of sun,
+fresh air, and cold water; also cheerful surroundings and some work; for
+Phebe is to show you how to take care of this room, and be your little
+maid as well as friend and teacher. Does that sound hard and
+disagreeable to you, dear?"
+
+"No, sir; very, very pleasant, and I'll do my best to be a good patient.
+But I really don't think any one _could_ be sick in this delightful
+room," she said, with a long sigh of happiness as her eye went from one
+pleasant object to another.
+
+"Then you like my sort of medicine better than Aunt Myra's, and don't
+want to throw it out of the window, hey?"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+_A TRIP TO CHINA._
+
+
+"COME, little girl, I've got another dose for you. I fancy you won't
+take it as well as you did the last, but you will like it better after a
+while," said Dr. Alec, about a week after the grand surprise.
+
+Rose was sitting in her pretty room, where she would gladly have spent
+all her time if it had been allowed; but she looked up with a smile, for
+she had ceased to fear her uncle's remedies, and was always ready to try
+a new one. The last had been a set of light gardening tools, with which
+she had helped him put the flower-beds in order, learning all sorts of
+new and pleasant things about the plants as she worked, for, though she
+had studied botany at school, it seemed very dry stuff compared with
+Uncle Alec's lively lesson.
+
+"What is it now?" she asked, shutting her work-box without a murmur.
+
+"Salt-water."
+
+"How must I take it?"
+
+"Put on the new suit Miss Hemming sent home yesterday, and come down to
+the beach; then I'll show you."
+
+"Yes, sir," answered Rose obediently, adding to herself, with a shiver,
+as he went off: "It is too early for bathing, so I _know_ it is
+something to do with a dreadful boat."
+
+Putting on the new suit of blue flannel, prettily trimmed with white,
+and the little sailor-hat with long streamers, diverted her mind from
+the approaching trial, till a shrill whistle reminded her that her uncle
+was waiting. Away she ran through the garden, down the sandy path, out
+upon the strip of beach that belonged to the house, and here she found
+Dr. Alec busy with a slender red and white boat that lay rocking on the
+rising tide.
+
+"That is a dear little boat; and 'Bonnie Belle' is a pretty name," she
+said, trying not to show how nervous she felt.
+
+"It is for you; so sit in the stern and learn to steer, till you are
+ready to learn to row."
+
+"Do all boats wiggle about in that way?" she asked, lingering as if to
+tie her hat more firmly.
+
+"Oh, yes, pitch about like nut-shells when the sea is a bit rough,"
+answered her sailor uncle, never guessing her secret woe.
+
+"Is it rough to-day?"
+
+"Not very; it looks a trifle squally to the eastward, but we are all
+right till the wind changes. Come."
+
+"Can you swim, uncle?" asked Rose, clutching at his arm as he took her
+hand.
+
+"Like a fish. Now then."
+
+[Illustration: "SUPPOSE WE GO TO CHINA."--Page 74]
+
+"Oh, please hold me _very_ tight till I get there! Why _do_ you have the
+stern so far away?" and, stifling several squeaks of alarm in her
+passage, Rose crept to the distant seat, and sat there holding on with
+both hands and looking as if she expected every wave to bring a sudden
+shipwreck.
+
+Uncle Alec took no notice of her fear, but patiently instructed her in
+the art of steering, till she was so absorbed in remembering which was
+starboard and which larboard, that she forgot to say "Ow!" every time a
+big wave slapped against the boat.
+
+"Now where shall we go?" she asked, as the wind blew freshly in her
+face, and a few long, swift strokes sent them half across the little
+bay.
+
+"Suppose we go to China?"
+
+"Isn't that rather a long voyage?"
+
+"Not as I go. Steer round the Point into the harbor, and I'll give you a
+glimpse of China in twenty minutes or so."
+
+"I should like that!" and Rose sat wondering what he meant, while she
+enjoyed the new sights all about her.
+
+Behind them the green Aunt-hill sloped gently upward to the grove at the
+top, and all along the seaward side stood familiar houses, stately,
+cosey, or picturesque. As they rounded the Point, the great bay opened
+before them full of shipping, and the city lay beyond, its spires rising
+above the tall masts with their gay streamers.
+
+"Are we going there?" she asked, for she had never seen this aspect of
+the rich and busy old city before.
+
+"Yes. Uncle Mac has a ship just in from Hong Kong, and I thought you
+would like to go and see it."
+
+"Oh, I should! I love dearly to go poking about in the warehouses with
+Uncle Mac; every thing is so curious and new to me; and I'm specially
+interested in China because you have been there."
+
+"I'll show you two genuine Chinamen who have just arrived. You will like
+to welcome Whang Lo and Fun See, I'm sure."
+
+"Don't ask me to speak to them, uncle; I shall be sure to laugh at the
+odd names and the pig-tails and the slanting eyes. Please let me just
+trot round after you; I like that best."
+
+"Very well; now steer toward the wharf where the big ship with the queer
+flag is. That's the 'Rajah,' and we will go aboard if we can."
+
+In among the ships they went, by the wharves where the water was green
+and still, and queer barnacles grew on the slippery piles. Odd smells
+saluted her nose, and odd sights met her eyes, but Rose liked it all,
+and played she was really landing in Hong Kong when they glided up to
+the steps in the shadow of the tall "Rajah." Boxes and bales were rising
+out of the hold and being carried into the warehouse by stout porters,
+who tugged and bawled and clattered about with small trucks, or worked
+cranes with iron claws that came down and clutched heavy weights,
+whisking them aloft to where wide doors like mouths swallowed them up.
+
+Dr. Alec took her aboard the ship, and she had the satisfaction of
+poking her inquisitive little nose into every available corner, at the
+risk of being crushed, lost, or drowned.
+
+"Well, child, how would you like to take a voyage round the world with
+me in a jolly old craft like this?" asked her uncle, as they rested a
+minute in the captain's cabin.
+
+"I should like to see the world, but not in such a small, untidy, smelly
+place as this. We would go in a yacht all clean and comfortable; Charlie
+says that is the proper way," answered Rose, surveying the close
+quarters with little favor.
+
+"You are not a true Campbell if you don't like the smell of tar and
+salt-water, nor Charlie either, with his luxurious yacht. Now come
+ashore and chin-chin with the Celestials."
+
+After a delightful progress through the great warehouse, peeping and
+picking as they went, they found Uncle Mac and the yellow gentlemen in
+his private room, where samples, gifts, curiosities, and newly arrived
+treasures of all sorts were piled up in pleasing pro-fusion and
+con-fusion.
+
+As soon as possible Rose retired to a corner, with a porcelain god on
+one side, a green dragon on the other, and, what was still more
+embarrassing, Fun See sat on a tea-chest in front, and stared at her
+with his beady black eyes till she did not know where to look.
+
+Mr. Whang Lo was an elderly gentleman in American costume, with his
+pig-tail neatly wound round his head. He spoke English, and was talking
+busily with Uncle Mac in the most commonplace way,--so Rose considered
+_him_ a failure. But Fun See was delightfully Chinese from his junk-like
+shoes to the button on his pagoda hat; for he had got himself up in
+style, and was a mass of silk jackets and slouchy trousers. He was short
+and fat, and waddled comically; his eyes were very "slanting," as Rose
+said; his queue was long, so were his nails; his yellow face was plump
+and shiny, and he was altogether a highly satisfactory Chinaman.
+
+Uncle Alec told her that Fun See had come out to be educated, and could
+only speak a little pigeon English; so she must be kind to the poor
+fellow, for he was only a lad, though he looked nearly as old as Mr.
+Whang Lo. Rose said she would be kind; but had not the least idea how to
+entertain the queer guest, who looked as if he had walked out of one of
+the rice-paper landscapes on the wall, and sat nodding at her so like a
+toy Mandarin that she could hardly keep sober.
+
+In the midst of her polite perplexity, Uncle Mac saw the two young
+people gazing wistfully at one another, and seemed to enjoy the joke of
+this making acquaintance under difficulties. Taking a box from his
+table, he gave it to Fun See with an order that seemed to please him
+very much.
+
+Descending from his perch, he fell to unpacking it with great neatness
+and despatch, while Rose watched him, wondering what was going to
+happen. Presently, out from the wrappings came a teapot, which caused
+her to clasp her hands with delight, for it was made in the likeness of
+a plump little Chinaman. His hat was the cover, his queue the handle,
+and his pipe the nose. It stood upon feet in shoes turned up at the
+toes, and the smile on the fat, sleepy face was so like that on Fun's
+when he displayed the teapot, that Rose couldn't help laughing, which
+pleased him much.
+
+[Illustration: FUN SIGNIFIED IN PANTOMIME THAT THEY WERE HERS.--Page
+79.]
+
+Two pretty cups with covers, and a fine scarlet tray, completed the
+set, and made one long to have a "dish of tea," even in Chinese style,
+without cream or sugar.
+
+When he had arranged them on a little table before her, Fun signified in
+pantomime that they were hers, from her uncle. She returned her thanks
+in the same way, whereupon he returned to his tea-chest, and, having no
+other means of communication, they sat smiling and nodding at one
+another in an absurd sort of way till a new idea seemed to strike Fun.
+Tumbling off his seat, he waddled away as fast as his petticoats
+permitted, leaving Rose hoping that he had not gone to get a roasted
+rat, a stewed puppy, or any other foreign mess which civility would
+oblige her to eat.
+
+While she waited for her funny new friend, she improved her mind in a
+way that would have charmed Aunt Jane. The gentlemen were talking over
+all sorts of things, and she listened attentively, storing up much of
+what she heard, for she had an excellent memory, and longed to
+distinguish herself by being able to produce some useful information
+when reproached with her ignorance.
+
+She was just trying to impress upon her mind that Amoy was two hundred
+and eighty miles from Hong Kong, when Fun came scuffling back, bearing
+what she thought was a small sword, till he unfurled an immense fan, and
+presented it with a string of Chinese compliments, the meaning of which
+would have amused her even more than the sound if she could have
+understood it.
+
+She had never seen such an astonishing fan, and at once became absorbed
+in examining it. Of course, there was no perspective whatever, which
+only gave it a peculiar charm to Rose, for in one place a lovely lady,
+with blue knitting-needles in her hair, sat directly upon the spire of a
+stately pagoda. In another charming view a brook appeared to flow in at
+the front door of a stout gentleman's house, and out at his chimney. In
+a third a zigzag wall went up into the sky like a flash of lightning,
+and a bird with two tails was apparently brooding over a fisherman whose
+boat was just going aground upon the moon.
+
+It was altogether a fascinating thing, and she would have sat wafting it
+to and fro all the afternoon, to Fun's great satisfaction, if Dr. Alec's
+attention had not suddenly been called to her by a breeze from the big
+fan that blew his hair into his eyes, and reminded him that they must
+go. So the pretty china was repacked, Rose furled her fan, and with
+several parcels of choice teas for the old ladies stowed away in Dr.
+Alec's pockets, they took their leave, after Fun had saluted them with
+the "three bendings and the nine knockings," as they salute the Emperor,
+or "Son of Heaven," at home.
+
+"I feel as if I had really been to China, and I'm sure I look so," said
+Rose, as they glided out of the shadow of the "Rajah."
+
+She certainly did, for Mr. Whang Lo had given her a Chinese umbrella;
+Uncle Alec had got some lanterns to light up her balcony; the great fan
+lay in her lap, and the tea-set reposed at her feet.
+
+"This is not a bad way to study geography, is it?" asked her uncle, who
+had observed her attention to the talk.
+
+"It is a very pleasant way, and I really think I have learned more
+about China to-day than in all the lessons I had at school, though I
+used to rattle off the answers as fast as I could go. No one explained
+any thing to us, so all I remember is that tea and silk come from there,
+and the women have little bits of feet. I saw Fun looking at mine, and
+he must have thought them perfectly immense," answered Rose, surveying
+her stout boots with sudden contempt.
+
+"We will have out the maps and the globe, and I'll show you some of my
+journeys, telling stories as we go. That will be next best to doing it
+actually."
+
+"You are so fond of travelling, I should think it would be very dull for
+you here, uncle. Do you know, Aunt Plenty says she is sure you will be
+off in a year or two."
+
+"Very likely."
+
+"Oh me! what _shall_ I do then?" sighed Rose, in a tone of despair that
+made Uncle Alec's face brighten with a look of genuine pleasure as he
+said significantly,--
+
+"Next time I go I shall take my little anchor with me. How will that
+suit?"
+
+"Really, uncle?"
+
+"Really, niece."
+
+Rose gave a little bounce of rapture which caused the boat to "wiggle"
+in a way that speedily quieted her down. But she sat beaming joyfully
+and trying to think which of some hundred questions she would ask first,
+when Dr. Alec said, pointing to a boat that was coming up behind them in
+great style,--
+
+"How well those fellows row! Look at them, and take notes for your own
+use by and by."
+
+The "Stormy Petrel" was manned by half a dozen jaunty-looking sailors,
+who made a fine display of blue shirts and shiny hats, with stars and
+anchors in every direction.
+
+"How beautifully they go, and they are only boys. Why, I do believe they
+are _our_ boys! Yes, I see Charlie laughing over his shoulder. Row,
+uncle, row! oh, please do, and not let them catch up with us!" cried
+Rose, in such a state of excitement that the new umbrella nearly went
+overboard.
+
+"All right, here we go!" and away they did go with a long steady sweep
+of the oars that carried the "Bonnie Belle" through the water with a
+rush.
+
+The lads pulled their prettiest, but Dr. Alec would have reached the
+Point first, if Rose, in her flurry, had not retarded him by jerking the
+rudder ropes in a most unseamanlike way, and just as she got right again
+her hat blew off. That put an end to the race, and while they were still
+fishing for the hat the other boat came alongside, with all the oars in
+the air, and the jolly young tars ready for a frolic.
+
+"Did you catch a crab, uncle?"
+
+"No, a blue-fish," he answered, as the dripping hat was landed on a seat
+to dry.
+
+"What have you been doing?"
+
+"Seeing Fun."
+
+"Good for you, Rose! I know what you mean. We are going to have him up
+to show us how to fly the big kite, for we can't get the hang of it.
+Isn't he great fun, though?"
+
+"No, little Fun."
+
+"Come, stop joking, and show us what you've got."
+
+"You'd better hoist that fan for a sail."
+
+"Lend Dandy your umbrella; he hates to burn his pretty nose."
+
+"I say, uncle, are you going to have a Feast of Lanterns?"
+
+"No, I'm going to have a feast of bread and butter, for it's tea-time.
+If that black cloud doesn't lie, we shall have a gust before long, so
+you had better get home as soon as you can, or your mother will be
+anxious, Archie."
+
+"Ay, ay, skipper. Good-night, Rose; come out often, and we'll teach you
+all there is to know about rowing," was Charlie's modest invitation.
+
+Then the boats parted company, and across the water from the "Petrel's"
+crew came a verse from one of the Nonsense Songs in which the boys
+delighted.
+
+    "Oh, Timballoo! how happy we are,
+     We live in a sieve and a crockery jar!
+     And all night long, in the starlight pale,
+     We sail away, with a pea-green sail,
+     And whistle and warble a moony song
+     To the echoing sound of a coppery gong.
+       Far and few, far and few
+     Are the lands where the Jumblies live;
+     Their heads are green, and their hands are blue,
+       And they went to sea in a sieve."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+_AND WHAT CAME OF IT._
+
+
+"UNCLE, could you lend me a ninepence? I'll return it as soon as I get
+my pocket-money," said Rose, coming into the library in a great hurry
+that evening.
+
+"I think I could, and I won't charge any interest for it, so you need
+not be in any hurry to repay me. Come back here and help me settle these
+books if you have nothing pleasanter to do," answered Dr. Alec, handing
+out the money with that readiness which is so delightful when we ask
+small loans.
+
+"I'll come in a minute; I've been longing to fix my books, but didn't
+dare to touch them, because you always shake your head when I read."
+
+"I shall shake my head when you write, if you don't do it better than
+you did in making out this catalogue."
+
+"I know it's bad, but I was in a hurry when I did it, and I am in one
+now." And away went Rose, glad to escape a lecture.
+
+But she got it when she came back, for Uncle Alec was still knitting his
+brows over the list of books, and sternly demanded, pointing to a
+tipsy-looking title staggering down the page,--
+
+"Is that meant for 'Pulverized Bones,' ma'am?"
+
+"No, sir; it's 'Paradise Lost.'"
+
+"Well, I'm glad to know it, for I began to think you were planning to
+study surgery or farming. And what is this, if you please? 'Babies'
+Aprons' is all _I_ can make of it."
+
+Rose looked hard at the scrawl, and presently announced, with an air of
+superior wisdom,--
+
+"Oh, that's 'Bacon's Essays.'"
+
+"Miss Power did not teach any thing so old-fashioned as writing, I see.
+Now look at this little memorandum Aunt Plenty gave me, and see what a
+handsome plain hand that is. She went to a dame-school and learnt a few
+useful things well; that is better than a smattering of half a dozen
+so-called higher branches, I take the liberty of thinking."
+
+"Well, I'm sure I was considered a bright girl at school, and learned
+every thing I was taught. Luly and me were the first in all our classes,
+and 'specially praised for our French and music and those sort of
+things," said Rose, rather offended at Uncle Alec's criticism.
+
+"I dare say; but if your French grammar was no better than your English,
+I think the praise was not deserved, my dear."
+
+"Why, uncle, we _did_ study English grammar, and I could parse
+beautifully. Miss Power used to have us up to show off when people came.
+I don't see but I talk as right as most girls."
+
+"I dare say you do, but we are all too careless about our English. Now,
+think a minute and tell me if these expressions are correct,--'Luly and
+me,' 'those sort of things,' and 'as right as most girls.'"
+
+Rose pulled her pet curl and put up her lip, but had to own that she was
+wrong, and said meekly, after a pause which threatened to be sulky,--
+
+"I suppose I should have said 'Luly and I,' in that case, and 'that sort
+of things' and 'rightly,' though 'correctly' would have been a better
+word, I guess."
+
+"Thank you; and if you will kindly drop 'I guess,' I shall like my
+little Yankee all the better. Now, see here, Rosy, I don't pretend to
+set myself up for a model in any thing, and you may come down on my
+grammar, manners, or morals as often as you think I'm wrong, and I'll
+thank you. I've been knocking about the world for years, and have got
+careless, but I want my girl to be what _I_ call well educated, even if
+she studies nothing but the 'three Rs' for a year to come. Let us be
+thorough, no matter how slowly we go."
+
+He spoke so earnestly and looked so sorry to have ruffled her that Rose
+went and sat on the arm of his chair, saying, with a pretty air of
+penitence,--
+
+"I'm sorry I was cross, uncle, when I ought to thank you for taking so
+much interest in me. I guess,--no, I think you are right about being
+thorough, for I used to understand a great deal better when papa taught
+me a few lessons than when Miss Power hurried me through so many. I
+declare my head used to be such a jumble of French and German, history
+and arithmetic, grammar and music, I used to feel sometimes as if it
+would split. I'm sure I don't wonder it ached." And she held on to it as
+if the mere memory of the "jumble" made it swim.
+
+"Yet that is considered an excellent school, I find, and I dare say it
+would be if the benighted lady did not think it necessary to cram her
+pupils like Thanksgiving turkeys, instead of feeding them in a natural
+and wholesome way. It is the fault with most American schools, and the
+poor little heads will go on aching till we learn better."
+
+This was one of Dr. Alec's hobbies, and Rose was afraid he was off for a
+gallop, but he reined himself in and gave her thoughts a new turn by
+saying suddenly, as he pulled out a fat pocket-book,--
+
+"Uncle Mac has put all your affairs into my hands now, and here is your
+month's pocket-money. You keep your own little accounts, I suppose?"
+
+"Thank you. Yes, Uncle Mac gave me an account-book when I went to
+school, and I used to put down my expenses, but I couldn't make them go
+very well, for figures are the one thing I am not at all clever about,"
+said Rose, rummaging in her desk for a dilapidated little book, which
+she was ashamed to show when she found it.
+
+"Well, as figures are rather important things to most of us, and you may
+have a good many accounts to keep some day, wouldn't it be wise to begin
+at once and learn to manage your pennies before the pounds come to
+perplex you?"
+
+"I thought you would do all that fussy part and take care of the pounds,
+as you call them. Need I worry about it? I do hate sums so!"
+
+"I shall take care of things till you are of age, but I mean that you
+shall know how your property is managed and do as much of it as you can
+by and by; then you won't be dependent on the honesty of other people."
+
+"Gracious me! as if I wouldn't trust you with millions of billions if I
+had them," cried Rose, scandalized at the mere suggestion.
+
+"Ah, but I might be tempted; guardians are sometimes; so you'd better
+keep your eye on me, and in order to do that you must learn all about
+these affairs," answered Dr. Alec, as he made an entry in his own very
+neat account-book.
+
+Rose peeped over his shoulder at it, and then turned to the arithmetical
+puzzle in her hand with a sigh of despair.
+
+"Uncle, when you add up your expenses do you ever find you have got more
+money than you had in the beginning?"
+
+"No; I usually find that I have a good deal less than I had in the
+beginning. Are you troubled in the peculiar way you mention?"
+
+"Yes; it is very curious, but I never _can_ make things come out
+square."
+
+"Perhaps I can help you," began Uncle Alec, in the most respectful tone.
+
+"I think you had better, for if I have got to keep accounts I may as
+well begin in the right way. But please don't laugh! I know I'm very
+stupid, and my book is a disgrace, but I never _could_ get it straight."
+And with great trepidation Rose gave up her funny little accounts.
+
+It really _was_ good in Dr. Alec not to laugh, and Rose felt deeply
+grateful when he said, in a mildly suggestive tone,--
+
+"The dollars and cents seem to be rather mixed; perhaps if I just
+straightened them out a bit we should find things all right."
+
+"Please do, and then show me on a fresh leaf how to make mine look nice
+and ship-shape as yours do."
+
+As Rose stood by him watching the ease with which he quickly brought
+order out of chaos, she privately resolved to hunt up her old arithmetic
+and perfect herself in the first four rules, with a good tug at
+fractions, before she read any more fairy tales.
+
+"Am I a rich girl, uncle?" she asked suddenly, as he was copying a
+column of figures.
+
+"Rather a poor one, I should say, since you had to borrow a ninepence."
+
+"That was your fault, because you forgot my pocket-money. But, really,
+shall I be rich by and by?"
+
+"I am afraid you will."
+
+"Why afraid, uncle?"
+
+"Too much money is a bad thing."
+
+"But I can give it away, you know; that is always the pleasantest part
+of having it, _I_ think."
+
+"I'm glad you feel so, for you _can_ do much good with your fortune if
+you know how to use it well."
+
+"You shall teach me, and when I am a woman we will set up a school where
+nothing but the three Rs shall be taught, and all the children live on
+oatmeal, and the girls have waists a yard round," said Rose, with a
+sudden saucy smile dimpling her cheeks.
+
+"You are an impertinent little baggage, to turn on me in that way right
+in the midst of my first attempt at teaching. Never mind, I'll have an
+extra bitter dose for you next time, miss."
+
+"I knew you wanted to laugh, so I gave you a chance. Now I will be good,
+master, and do my lesson nicely."
+
+So Dr. Alec had his laugh, and then Rose sat down and took a lesson in
+accounts which she never forgot.
+
+"Now come and read aloud to me; my eyes are tired, and it is pleasant to
+sit here by the fire while the rain pours outside and Aunt Jane lectures
+upstairs," said Uncle Alec, when last month's accounts had been put in
+good order and a fresh page neatly begun.
+
+Rose liked to read aloud, and gladly gave him the chapter in "Nicholas
+Nickleby" where the Miss Kenwigses take their French lesson. She did her
+very best, feeling that she was being criticised, and hoping that she
+might not be found wanting in this as in other things.
+
+"Shall I go on, sir?" she asked very meekly when the chapter ended.
+
+"If you are not tired, dear. It is a pleasure to hear you, for you read
+remarkably well," was the answer that filled her heart with pride and
+pleasure.
+
+"Do you really think so, uncle? I'm so glad! papa taught me, and I read
+for hours to him, but I thought, perhaps, he liked it because he was
+fond of me."
+
+"So am I; but you really do read unusually well, and I am very glad of
+it, for it is a rare accomplishment, and one I value highly. Come here
+in this cosey, low chair; the light is better, and I can pull these
+curls if you go too fast. I see you are going to be a great comfort as
+well as a great credit to your old uncle, Rosy." And Dr. Alec drew her
+close beside him with such a fatherly look and tone that she felt it
+would be very easy to love and obey him since he knew how to mix praise
+and blame so pleasantly together.
+
+Another chapter was just finished, when the sound of a carriage warned
+them that Aunt Jane was about to depart. Before they could go to meet
+her, however, she appeared in the door-way looking like an unusually
+tall mummy in her waterproof, with her glasses shining like cat's eyes
+from the depths of the hood.
+
+"Just as I thought! petting that child to death and letting her sit up
+late reading trash. I do hope you feel the weight of the responsibility
+you have taken upon yourself, Alec," she said, with a certain grim sort
+of satisfaction at seeing things go wrong.
+
+"I think I have a very realizing sense of it, sister Jane," answered Dr.
+Alec, with a comical shrug of the shoulders and a glance at Rose's
+bright face.
+
+"It is sad to see a great girl wasting these precious hours so. Now, my
+boys have studied all day, and Mac is still at his books, I've no doubt,
+while you have not had a lesson since you came, I suspect."
+
+"I have had five to-day, ma'am," was Rose's very unexpected answer.
+
+"I'm glad to hear it; and what were they, pray?"
+
+Rose looked very demure as she replied,--
+
+"Navigation, geography, grammar, arithmetic, and keeping my temper."
+
+"Queer lessons, I fancy; and what have you learned from this remarkable
+mixture, I should like to know?"
+
+A naughty sparkle came into Rose's eyes as she answered, with a droll
+look at her uncle,--
+
+"I can't tell you all, ma'am, but I have collected some useful
+information about China, which you may like, especially the teas. The
+best are Lapsing Souchong, Assam Pekoe, rare Ankoe, Flowery Pekoe,
+Howqua's mixture, Scented Caper, Padral tea, black Congou, and green
+Twankey. Shanghai is on the Woosung River. Hong Kong means 'Island of
+sweet waters.' Singapore is 'Lion's Town.' 'Chops' are the boats they
+live in; and they drink tea out of little saucers. Principal productions
+are porcelain, tea, cinnamon, shawls, tin, tamarinds, and opium. They
+have beautiful temples and queer gods; and in Canton is the Dwelling of
+the Holy Pigs, fourteen of them, very big, and all blind."
+
+The effect of this remarkable burst was immense, especially the fact
+last mentioned. It entirely took the wind out of Aunt Jane's sails; it
+was so sudden, so varied and unexpected, that she had not a word to say.
+The glasses remained fixed full upon Rose for a moment, and then, with a
+hasty "Oh, indeed!" the excellent lady bundled into her carriage and
+drove away, somewhat bewildered and very much disturbed.
+
+She would have been more so if she had seen her reprehensible
+brother-in-law dancing a triumphal polka down the hall with Rose in
+honor of having silenced the enemy's battery for once.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+_PHEBE'S SECRET._
+
+
+"WHY do you keep smiling to yourself, Phebe?" asked Rose, as they were
+working together one morning, for Dr. Alec considered house-work the
+best sort of gymnastics for girls; so Rose took lessons of Phebe in
+sweeping, dusting, and bed-making.
+
+"I was thinking about a nice little secret I know, and couldn't help
+smiling."
+
+"Shall I know it sometime?"
+
+"Guess you will."
+
+"Shall I like it?"
+
+"Oh, won't you, though!"
+
+"Will it happen soon?"
+
+"Sometime this week."
+
+"I know what it is! The boys are going to have fire-works on the Fourth,
+and have got some surprise for me. Haven't they?"
+
+"That's telling."
+
+"Well, I can wait; only tell me one thing,--is uncle in it?"
+
+"Of course he is; there's never any fun without him."
+
+"Then it is all right, and sure to be nice."
+
+Rose went out on the balcony to shake the rugs, and, having given them a
+vigorous beating, hung them on the balustrade to air, while she took a
+look at her plants. Several tall vases and jars stood there, and a month
+of June sun and rain had worked wonders with the seeds and slips she had
+planted. Morning-glories and nasturtiums ran all over the bars, making
+haste to bloom. Scarlet beans and honeysuckles were climbing up from
+below to meet their pretty neighbors, and the woodbine was hanging its
+green festoons wherever it could cling.
+
+The waters of the bay were dancing in the sunshine, a fresh wind stirred
+the chestnut-trees with a pleasant sound, and the garden below was full
+of roses, butterflies, and bees. A great chirping and twittering went on
+among the birds, busy with their summer housekeeping, and, far away, the
+white-winged gulls were dipping and diving in the sea, where ships, like
+larger birds, went sailing to and fro.
+
+"Oh, Phebe, it's such a lovely day, I do wish your fine secret was going
+to happen right away! I feel just like having a good time; don't you?"
+said Rose, waving her arms as if she was going to fly.
+
+"I often feel that way, but I have to wait for my good times, and don't
+stop working to wish for 'em. There, now you can finish as soon as the
+dust settles; I must go do my stairs," and Phebe trudged away with the
+broom, singing as she went.
+
+Rose leaned where she was, and fell to thinking how many good times she
+had had lately, for the gardening had prospered finely, and she was
+learning to swim and row, and there were drives and walks, and quiet
+hours of reading and talk with Uncle Alec, and, best of all, the old
+pain and _ennui_ seldom troubled her now. She could work and play all
+day, sleep sweetly all night, and enjoy life with the zest of a healthy,
+happy child. She was far from being as strong and hearty as Phebe, but
+she was getting on; the once pale cheeks had color in them now, the
+hands were growing plump and brown, and the belt was not much too loose.
+No one talked to her about her health, and she forgot that she had "no
+constitution." She took no medicine but Dr. Alec's three great remedies,
+and they seemed to suit her excellently. Aunt Plenty said it was the
+pills; but, as no second batch ever followed the first, I think the old
+lady was mistaken.
+
+Rose looked worthy of her name as she stood smiling to herself over a
+happier secret than any Phebe had,--a secret which she did not know
+herself till she found out, some years later, the magic of good health.
+
+    "'Look only,' said the brownie,
+       'At the pretty gown of blue,
+     At the kerchief pinned about her head,
+       And at her little shoe,'"
+
+said a voice from below, as a great cabbage-rose came flying against her
+cheek.
+
+"What is the princess dreaming about up there in her hanging-garden?"
+added Dr. Alec as she flung back a morning-glory.
+
+"I was wishing I could do something pleasant this fine day; something
+very new and interesting, for the wind makes me feel frisky and gay."
+
+"Suppose we take a pull over to the Island? I intended to go this
+afternoon; but if you feel more like it now, we can be off at once."
+
+"I do! I do! I'll come in fifteen minutes, uncle. I _must_ just scrabble
+my room to rights, for Phebe has got a great deal to do."
+
+Rose caught up the rugs and vanished as she spoke, while Dr. Alec went
+in, saying to himself, with an indulgent smile,--
+
+"It may upset things a trifle, but half a child's pleasure consists in
+having their fun _when_ they want it."
+
+Never did duster flap more briskly than the one Rose used that day, and
+never was a room "scrabbled" to rights in such haste as hers. Tables and
+chairs flew into their places as if alive; curtains shook as if a gale
+was blowing; china rattled and small articles tumbled about as if a
+young earthquake was playing with them. The boating suit went on in a
+twinkling, and Rose was off with a hop and a skip, little dreaming how
+many hours it would be before she saw her pretty room again.
+
+Uncle Alec was putting a large basket into the boat when she arrived,
+and before they were off Phebe came running down with a queer, knobby
+bundle done up in a water-proof.
+
+"We can't eat half that luncheon, and I know we shall not need so many
+wraps. I wouldn't lumber the boat up so," said Rose, who still had
+secret scares when on the water.
+
+"Couldn't you make a smaller parcel, Phebe?" asked Dr. Alec, eying the
+bundle suspiciously.
+
+"No, sir, not in such a hurry," and Phebe laughed as she gave a
+particularly large knob a good poke.
+
+"Well, it will do for ballast. Don't forget the note to Mrs. Jessie, I
+beg of you."
+
+"No, sir. I'll send it right off," and Phebe ran up the bank as if she
+had wings to her feet.
+
+"We'll take a look at the light-house first, for you have not been there
+yet, and it is worth seeing. By the time we have done that it will be
+pretty warm, and we will have lunch under the trees on the Island."
+
+Rose was ready for any thing, and enjoyed her visit to the light-house
+on the Point very much, especially climbing up the narrow stairs and
+going inside the great lantern. They made a long stay, for Dr. Alec
+seemed in no hurry to go, and kept looking through his spy-glass as if
+he expected to discover something remarkable on sea or land. It was past
+twelve before they reached the Island, and Rose was ready for her lunch
+long before she got it.
+
+"Now this _is_ lovely! I do wish the boys were here. Won't it be nice to
+have them with us all their vacation? Why, it begins to-day, doesn't it?
+Oh, I wish I'd remembered it sooner, and perhaps they would have come
+with us," she said, as they lay luxuriously eating sandwiches under the
+old apple-tree.
+
+"So we might. Next time we won't be in such a hurry. I expect the lads
+will take our heads off when they find us out," answered Dr. Alec,
+placidly drinking cold tea.
+
+"Uncle, I smell a frying sort of a smell," Rose said, pausing suddenly
+as she was putting away the remains of the lunch half an hour later.
+
+"So do I; it is fish, I think."
+
+For a moment they both sat with their noses in the air, sniffing like
+hounds; then Dr. Alec sprang up, saying with great decision,--
+
+"Now this won't do! No one is permitted on this island without asking
+leave. I must see who dares to fry fish on my private property."
+
+Taking the basket on one arm and the bundle on the other, he strode away
+toward the traitorous smell, looking as fierce as a lion, while Rose
+marched behind under her umbrella.
+
+"We are Robinson Crusoe and his man Friday going to see if the savages
+have come," she said presently, for her fancy was full of the dear old
+stories that all children love so well.
+
+"And there they are! Two tents and two boats, as I live! These rascals
+mean to enjoy themselves, that's evident."
+
+"There ought to be more boats and no tents. I wonder where the prisoners
+are?"
+
+"There are traces of them," and Dr. Alec pointed to the heads and tails
+of fishes strewn on the grass.
+
+"And there are more," said Rose, laughing, as she pointed to a scarlet
+heap of what looked like lobsters.
+
+"The savages are probably eating their victims now; don't you hear the
+knives rattle in that tent?"
+
+"We ought to creep up and peep; Crusoe was cautious, you know, and
+Friday scared out of his wits," added Rose, still keeping up the joke.
+
+"But this Crusoe is going to pounce upon them regardless of
+consequences. If I am killed and eaten, you seize the basket and run for
+the boat; there are provisions enough for your voyage home."
+
+With that Uncle Alec slipped round to the front of the tent, and,
+casting in the big bundle like a bomb-shell, roared out, in a voice of
+thunder,--
+
+"Pirates, surrender!"
+
+A crash, a shout, a laugh, and out came the savages, brandishing knives
+and forks, chicken bones, and tin mugs, and all fell upon the intruder,
+pommelling him unmercifully as they cried,--
+
+"You came too soon! We are not half ready! You've spoilt it all! Where
+is Rose?"
+
+"Here I am," answered a half-stifled voice, and Rose was discovered
+sitting on the pile of red flannel bathing-clothes, which she had
+mistaken for lobsters, and where she had fallen in a fit of merriment
+when she discovered that the cannibals were her merry cousins.
+
+"You good-for-nothing boys! You are always bursting out upon me in some
+ridiculous way, and I always get taken in because I'm not used to such
+pranks. Uncle is as bad as the rest, and it's great fun," she said, as
+the lads came round her, half scolding, half welcoming, and wholly
+enjoying the double surprise.
+
+"You were not to come till afternoon, and mamma was to be here to
+receive you. Every thing is in a mess now, except your tent; we got that
+in order the first thing, and you can sit there and see us work," said
+Archie, doing the honors as usual.
+
+"Rose felt it in her bones, as Dolly says, that something was in the
+wind, and wanted to be off at once. So I let her come, and should have
+kept her away an hour longer if your fish had not betrayed you,"
+explained Uncle Alec, subsiding from a ferocious Crusoe into his
+good-natured self again.
+
+[Illustration: A CRASH, A SHOUT, A LAUGH, AND OUT CAME THE
+SAVAGES.--Page 99.]
+
+"As this seat is rather damp, I think I'll rise," said Rose, as the
+excitement lessened a little.
+
+Several fishy hands helped her up, and Charlie said, as he scattered the
+scarlet garments over the grass with an oar,--
+
+"We had a jolly good swim before dinner, and I told the Brats to spread
+these to dry. Hope you brought _your_ things, Rose, for you belong to
+the Lobsters, you know, and we can have no end of fun teaching you to
+dive and float and tread water."
+
+"I didn't bring any thing--" began Rose, but was interrupted by the
+Brats (otherwise Will and Geordie), who appeared bearing the big bundle,
+so much demoralised by its fall that a red flannel tunic trailed out at
+one end and a little blue dressing-gown at the other, while the knobs
+proved to be a toilet-case, rubbers, and a silver mug.
+
+"Oh, that sly Phebe! This was the secret, and she bundled up those
+things after I went down to the boat," cried Rose, with sparkling eyes.
+
+"Guess something is smashed inside, for a bit of glass fell out,"
+observed Will, as they deposited the bundle at her feet.
+
+"Catch a girl going anywhere without a looking-glass. We haven't got one
+among the whole lot of us," added Mac, with masculine scorn.
+
+"Dandy has; I caught him touching up his wig behind the trees after our
+swim," cut in Geordie, wagging a derisive finger at Steve, who promptly
+silenced him by a smart rap on the head with the drum-stick he had just
+polished off.
+
+"Come, come, you lazy lubbers, fall to work, or we shall not be ready
+for mamma. Take Rose's things to her tent, and tell her all about it,
+Prince. Mac and Steve, you cut away and bring up the rest of the straw;
+and you small chaps clear off the table, if you have stuffed all you
+can. Please, uncle, I'd like your advice about the boundary lines and
+the best place for the kitchen."
+
+Every one obeyed the Chief, and Rose was escorted to her tent by
+Charlie, who devoted himself to her service. She was charmed with her
+quarters, and still more so with the programme which he unfolded before
+her as they worked.
+
+"We always camp out somewhere in vacation, and this year we thought we'd
+try the Island. It is handy, and our fire-works will show off well from
+here."
+
+"Shall we stay over the Fourth? Three whole days! Oh, me! what a frolic
+it will be!"
+
+"Bless your heart, we often camp for a week, we big fellows; but this
+year the small chaps wanted to come, so we let them. We have great
+larks, as you'll see; for we have a cave and play Captain Kidd, and have
+shipwrecks, and races, and all sorts of games. Arch and I are rather
+past that kind of thing now, but we do it to please the children," added
+Charlie, with a sudden recollection of his sixteen years.
+
+"I had no idea boys had such good times. Their plays never seemed a bit
+interesting before. But I suppose that was because I never knew any boys
+very well, or perhaps you are unusually nice ones," observed Rose, with
+an artless air of appreciation that was very flattering.
+
+"We are a pretty clever set, I fancy; but we have a good many
+advantages, you see. There are a tribe of us, to begin with; then our
+family has been here for ages, and we have plenty of 'spondulics,' so we
+can rather lord it over the other fellows and do as we like. There,
+ma'am, you can hang your smashed glass on that nail and do up your back
+hair as fine as you please. You can have a blue blanket or a red one,
+and a straw pillow or an air cushion for your head, whichever you like.
+You can trim up to any extent, and be as free and easy as squaws in a
+wigwam, for this corner is set apart for you ladies, and we never cross
+the line uncle is drawing until we ask leave. Any thing more I can do
+for you, cousin?"
+
+"No, thank you. I think I'll leave the rest till auntie comes, and go
+and help you somewhere else, if I may."
+
+"Yes, indeed, come on and see to the kitchen. Can you cook?" asked
+Charlie, as he led the way to the rocky nook where Archie was putting up
+a sail-cloth awning.
+
+"I can make tea and toast bread."
+
+"Well, we'll show you how to fry fish and make chowder. Now you just set
+these pots and pans round tastefully, and sort of tidy up a bit, for
+Aunt Jessie insists on doing some of the work, and I want it to be
+decent here."
+
+By four o'clock the camp was in order, and the weary workers settled
+down on Lookout Rock to watch for Mrs. Jessie and Jamie, who was never
+far from mamma's apron-string. They looked like a flock of blue-birds,
+all being in sailor rig, with blue ribbon enough flying from the seven
+hats to have set up a milliner. Very tuneful blue-birds they were, too,
+for all the lads sang, and the echo of their happy voices reached Mrs.
+Jessie long before she saw them.
+
+The moment the boat hove in sight up went the Island flag, and the
+blue-jackets cheered lustily, as they did on every possible occasion,
+like true young Americans. This welcome was answered by the flapping of
+a handkerchief and the shrill "Rah! Rah! Rah!" of the one small tar who
+stood in the stern waving his hat manfully, while a maternal hand
+clutched him firmly in the rear.
+
+Cleopatra landing from her golden galley never received a heartier
+greeting than "Little Mum" as she was borne to her tent by the young
+folk, for love of whom she smilingly resigned herself to three days of
+discomfort; while Jamie immediately attached himself to Rose, assuring
+her of his protection from the manifold perils which might assail them.
+
+Taught by long experience that boys are _always_ hungry, Aunt Jessie
+soon proposed supper, and proceeded to get it, enveloped in an immense
+apron, with an old hat of Archie's stuck atop of her cap. Rose helped,
+and tried to be as handy as Phebe, though the peculiar style of table
+she had to set made it no easy task. It was accomplished at last, and a
+very happy party lay about under the trees, eating and drinking out of
+any one's plate and cup, and quite untroubled by the frequent appearance
+of ants and spiders in places which these interesting insects are not
+expected to adorn.
+
+"I never thought I should like to wash dishes, but I do," said Rose, as
+she sat in a boat after supper lazily rinsing plates in the sea, and
+rocking luxuriously as she wiped them.
+
+"Mum is mighty particular; we just give 'em a scrub with sand, and dust
+'em off with a bit of paper. It's much the best way, _I_ think," replied
+Geordie, who reposed in another boat alongside.
+
+"How Phebe would like this! I wonder uncle did not have her come."
+
+"I believe he tried to, but Dolly was as cross as two sticks, and said
+she couldn't spare her. I'm sorry, for we all like the Phebe bird, and
+she'd chirp like a good one out here, wouldn't she?"
+
+"She ought to have a holiday like the rest of us. It's too bad to leave
+her out."
+
+This thought came back to Rose several times that evening, for Phebe
+would have added much to the little concert they had in the moonlight,
+would have enjoyed the stories told, been quick at guessing the
+conundrums, and laughed with all her heart at the fun. The merry going
+to bed would have been best of all, for Rose wanted some one to cuddle
+under the blue blanket with her, there to whisper and giggle and tell
+secrets, as girls delight to do.
+
+Long after the rest were asleep, Rose lay wide awake, excited by the
+novelty of all about her, and a thought that had come into her mind. Far
+away she heard a city clock strike twelve; a large star like a mild eye
+peeped in at the opening of the tent, and the soft plash of the waves
+seemed calling her to come out. Aunt Jessie lay fast asleep, with Jamie
+rolled up like a kitten at her feet, and neither stirred as Rose in her
+wrapper crept out to see how the world looked at midnight.
+
+She found it very lovely, and sat down on a cracker keg to enjoy it
+with a heart full of the innocent sentiment of her years. Fortunately,
+Dr. Alec saw her before she had time to catch cold, for coming out to
+tie back the door-flap of his tent for more air, he beheld the small
+figure perched in the moonlight. Having no fear of ghosts, he quietly
+approached, and, seeing that she was wide awake, said, with a hand on
+her shining hair,--
+
+"What is my girl doing here?"
+
+"Having a good time," answered Rose, not at all startled.
+
+"I wonder what she was thinking about with such a sober look?"
+
+"The story you told of the brave sailor who gave up his place on the
+raft to the woman, and the last drop of water to the poor baby. People
+who make sacrifices are very much loved and admired, aren't they?" she
+asked, earnestly.
+
+"If the sacrifice is a true one. But many of the bravest never are
+known, and get no praise. That does not lessen their beauty, though
+perhaps it makes them harder, for we all like sympathy," and Dr. Alec
+sighed a patient sort of sigh.
+
+"I suppose you have made a great many? Would you mind telling me one of
+them?" asked Rose, arrested by the sigh.
+
+"My last was to give up smoking," was the very unromantic answer to her
+pensive question.
+
+"Why did you?"
+
+"Bad example for the boys."
+
+"That was very good of you, uncle! Was it hard?"
+
+"I'm ashamed to say it was. But as a wise old fellow once said, 'It is
+necessary to do right; it is not necessary to be happy.'"
+
+Rose pondered over the saying as if it pleased her, and then said, with
+a clear, bright look,--
+
+"A real sacrifice is giving up something you want or enjoy very much,
+isn't it?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Doing it one's own self because one loves another person very much and
+wants her to be happy?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"And doing it pleasantly, and being glad about it, and not minding the
+praise if it doesn't come?"
+
+"Yes, dear, that is the true spirit of self-sacrifice; you seem to
+understand it, and I dare say you will have many chances in your life to
+try the real thing. I hope they won't be very hard ones."
+
+"I think they will," began Rose, and there stopped short.
+
+"Well, make one now, and go to sleep, or my girl will be ill to-morrow,
+and then the aunts will say camping out was bad for her."
+
+"I'll go,--good night!" and throwing him a kiss, the little ghost
+vanished, leaving Uncle Alec to pace the shore and think about some of
+the unsuspected sacrifices that had made him what he was.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+_ROSE'S SACRIFICE._
+
+
+THERE certainly were "larks" on Campbell's Island next day, as Charlie
+had foretold, and Rose took her part in them like one intent on enjoying
+every minute to the utmost. There was a merry breakfast, a successful
+fishing expedition, and then the lobsters came out in full force, for
+even Aunt Jessie appeared in red flannel. There was nothing Uncle Alec
+could not do in the water, and the boys tried their best to equal him in
+strength and skill, so there was a great diving and ducking, for every
+one was bent on distinguishing himself.
+
+Rose swam far out beyond her depth, with uncle to float her back; Aunt
+Jessie splashed placidly in the shallow pools, with Jamie paddling near
+by like a little whale beside its mother; while the lads careered about,
+looking like a flock of distracted flamingoes, and acting like the
+famous dancing party in "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland."
+
+Nothing but chowder would have lured them from their gambols in the
+briny deep; that time-honored dish demanded the concentrated action of
+several mighty minds; so the "Water Babies" came ashore and fell to
+cooking.
+
+It is unnecessary to say that, when done, it was the most remarkable
+chowder ever cooked, and the quantity eaten would have amazed the world
+if the secret had been divulged. After this exertion a _siesta_ was
+considered the thing, and people lay about in tents or out as they
+pleased, the boys looking like warriors slumbering where they fell.
+
+The elders had just settled to a comfortable nap when the youngsters
+rose, refreshed and ready for further exploits. A hint sent them all off
+to the cave, and there were discovered bows and arrows, battle clubs,
+old swords, and various relics of an interesting nature. Perched upon a
+commanding rock, with Jamie to "splain" things to her, Rose beheld a
+series of stirring scenes enacted with great vigor and historical
+accuracy by her gifted relatives.
+
+Captain Cook was murdered by the natives of Owhyhee in the most
+thrilling manner. Captain Kidd buried untold wealth in the chowder
+kettle at the dead of night, and shot both the trusting villains who
+shared the secret of the hiding-place. Sinbad came ashore there and had
+manifold adventures, and numberless wrecks bestrewed the sands.
+
+Rose considered them by far the most exciting dramas she had ever
+witnessed; and when the performance closed with a grand ballet of Feejee
+Islanders, whose barbaric yells alarmed the gulls, she had no words in
+which to express her gratification.
+
+Another swim at sunset, another merry evening on the rocks watching the
+lighted steamers pass seaward and the pleasure-boats come into port,
+ended the second day of the camping out, and sent every one to bed
+early that they might be ready for the festivities of the morrow.
+
+"Archie, didn't I hear uncle ask you to row home in the morning for
+fresh milk and things?"
+
+"Yes; why?"
+
+"Please, may I go too? I have something of _great_ importance to
+arrange; you know I was carried off in a hurry," Rose said in a
+confidential whisper as she was bidding her cousins good-night.
+
+"I'm willing, and I guess Charlie won't mind."
+
+"Thank you; be sure you stand by me when I ask leave in the morning, and
+don't say any thing till then, except to Charlie. Promise," urged Rose,
+so eagerly that Archie struck an attitude, and cried dramatically,--
+
+"By yonder moon I swear!"
+
+"Hush! it's all right, go along;" and Rose departed as if satisfied.
+
+"She's a queer little thing, isn't she, Prince?"
+
+"Rather a nice little thing, _I_ think. I'm quite fond of her."
+
+Rose's quick ears caught both remarks, and she retired to her tent,
+saying to herself with sleepy dignity,--
+
+"Little thing, indeed! Those boys talk as if I was a baby. They will
+treat me with more respect after to-morrow, I guess."
+
+Archie did stand by her in the morning, and her request was readily
+granted, as the lads were coming directly back. Off they went, and Rose
+waved her hand to the islanders with a somewhat pensive air, for an
+heroic purpose glowed within her, and the spirit of self-sacrifice was
+about to be illustrated in a new and touching manner.
+
+While the boys got the milk Rose ran to Phebe, ordered her to leave her
+dishes, to put on her hat and take a note back to Uncle Alec, which
+would explain this somewhat mysterious performance. Phebe obeyed, and
+when she went to the boat Rose accompanied her, telling the boys she was
+not ready to go yet, but they could some of them come for her when she
+hung a white signal on her balcony.
+
+"But why not come now? What are you about, miss? Uncle won't like it,"
+protested Charlie, in great amazement.
+
+"Just do as I tell you, little boy; uncle will understand and explain.
+Obey, as Phebe does, and ask no questions. _I_ can have secrets as well
+as other people;" and Rose walked off with an air of lofty independence
+that impressed her friends immensely.
+
+"It's some plot between uncle and herself, so we won't meddle. All
+right, Phebe? Pull away, Prince;" and off they went, to be received with
+much surprise by the islanders.
+
+This was the note Phebe bore:--
+
+      "DEAR UNCLE,--I am going to take Phebe's place to-day,
+      and let her have all the fun she can. Please don't
+      mind what she says, but keep her, and tell the boys to
+      be very good to her for my sake. Don't think it is
+      easy to do this; it is very hard to give up the best
+      day of all, but I feel so selfish to have all the
+      pleasure, and Phebe none, that I wish to make this
+      sacrifice. Do let me, and don't laugh at it; I truly
+      do not wish to be praised, and I truly want to do it.
+      Love to all from
+
+                                                "ROSE."
+
+"Bless the little dear, what a generous heart she has! Shall we go after
+her, Jessie, or let her have her way?" said Dr. Alec, after the first
+mingled amusement and astonishment had subsided.
+
+"Let her alone, and don't spoil her little sacrifice. She means it, I
+know, and the best way in which we can show our respect for her effort
+is to give Phebe a pleasant day. I'm sure she has earned it;" and Mrs.
+Jessie made a sign to the boys to suppress their disappointment and
+exert themselves to please Rose's guest.
+
+Phebe was with difficulty kept from going straight home, and declared
+that she should not enjoy herself one bit without Miss Rose.
+
+"She won't hold out all day, and we shall see her paddling back before
+noon, I'll wager any thing," said Charlie; and the rest so strongly
+inclined to his opinion that they resigned themselves to the loss of the
+little queen of the revels, sure that it would be only a temporary one.
+
+But hour after hour passed, and no signal appeared on the balcony,
+though Phebe watched it hopefully. No passing boat brought the truant
+back, though more than one pair of eyes looked out for the bright hair
+under the round hat; and sunset came, bringing no Rose but the lovely
+color in the western sky.
+
+"I really did not think the child had it in her. I fancied it was a bit
+of sentiment, but I see she _was_ in earnest, and means that her
+sacrifice shall be a true one. Dear little soul! I'll make it up to her
+a thousand times over, and beg her pardon for thinking it might be done
+for effect," Dr. Alec said remorsefully, as he strained his eyes through
+the dusk, fancying he saw a small figure sitting in the garden as it had
+sat on the keg the night before, laying the generous little plot that
+had cost more than he could guess.
+
+"Well, she can't help seeing the fire-works any way, unless she is goose
+enough to think she must hide in a dark closet and not look," said
+Archie, who was rather disgusted at Rose's seeming ingratitude.
+
+"She will see ours capitally, but miss the big ones on the hill, unless
+papa has forgotten all about them," added Steve, cutting short the
+harangue Mac had begun upon the festivals of the ancients.
+
+"I'm sure the sight of her will be better than the finest fire-works
+that ever went off," said Phebe, meditating an elopement with one of the
+boats if she could get a chance.
+
+"Let things work; if she resists the brilliant invitation we give her
+she will be a heroine," added Uncle Alec, secretly hoping that she would
+not.
+
+Meanwhile Rose had spent a quiet, busy day helping Dolly, waiting on
+Aunt Peace, and steadily resisting Aunt Plenty's attempts to send her
+back to the happy island. It had been hard in the morning to come in
+from the bright world outside, with flags flying, cannon booming,
+crackers popping, and every one making ready for a holiday, and go to
+washing cups, while Dolly grumbled and the aunts lamented. It was very
+hard to see the day go by, knowing how gay each hour must have been
+across the water, and how a word from her would take her where she
+longed to be with all her heart. But it was hardest of all when evening
+came and Aunt Peace was asleep, Aunt Plenty seeing a gossip in the
+parlor, Dolly established in the porch to enjoy the show, and nothing
+left for the little maid to do but sit alone in her balcony and watch
+the gay rockets whizz up from island, hill, and city, while bands played
+and boats laden with happy people went to and fro in the fitful light.
+
+Then it must be confessed that a tear or two dimmed the blue eyes, and
+once, when a very brilliant display illuminated the island for a moment,
+and she fancied she saw the tents, the curly head went down on the
+railing, and a wide-awake nasturtium heard a little whisper,--
+
+"I hope some one wishes I was there!"
+
+The tears were all gone, however, and she was watching the hill and
+island answer each other with what Jamie called "whizzers, whirligigs,
+and busters," and smiling as she thought how hard the boys must be
+working to keep up such a steady fire, when Uncle Mac came walking in
+upon her, saying hurriedly,--
+
+"Come, child, put on your tippet, pelisse, or whatever you call it, and
+run off with me. I came to get Phebe, but aunt says she is gone, so I
+want you. I've got Fun down in the boat, and I want you to go with us
+and see my fire-works. Got them up for you, and you mustn't miss them,
+or I shall be disappointed."
+
+"But, uncle," began Rose, feeling as if she ought to refuse even a
+glimpse of bliss, "perhaps--"
+
+"I know, my dear, I know; aunt told me; but no one needs you now so much
+as I do, and I insist on your coming," said Uncle Mac, who seemed in a
+great hurry to be off, yet was unusually kind.
+
+So Rose went and found the little Chinaman with a funny lantern waiting
+to help her in and convulse her with laughter trying to express his
+emotions in pigeon English. The city clocks were striking nine as they
+got out into the bay, and the island fire-works seemed to be over, for
+no rocket answered the last Roman candle that shone on the Aunt-hill.
+
+"Ours are done, I see, but they are going up all round the city, and how
+pretty they are," said Rose, folding her mantle about her and surveying
+the scene with a pensive interest.
+
+"Hope my fellows have not got into trouble up there," muttered Uncle
+Mac, adding, with a satisfied chuckle, as a spark shone out, "No; there
+it goes! Look, Rosy, and see how you like this one; it was ordered
+especially in honor of your coming."
+
+Rose looked with all her eyes, and saw the spark grow into the likeness
+of a golden vase, then green leaves came out, and then a crimson flower
+glowing on the darkness with a splendid lustre.
+
+"Is it a rose, uncle?" she asked, clasping her hands with delight as she
+recognized the handsome flower.
+
+"Of course it is! Look again, and guess what those are," answered Uncle
+Mac, chuckling and enjoying it all like a boy.
+
+A wreath of what looked at first like purple brooms appeared below the
+vase, but Rose guessed what they were meant for and stood straight up,
+holding by his shoulder, and crying excitedly,--
+
+"Thistles, uncle, Scotch thistles! There are seven of them,--one for
+each boy! Oh, what a joke!" and she laughed so that she plumped into the
+bottom of the boat and stayed there till the brilliant spectacle was
+quite gone.
+
+[Illustration: "THAT WAS RATHER A NEAT THING, I FLATTER MYSELF," SAID
+UNCLE MAC.--Page 117.]
+
+"That was rather a neat thing, I flatter myself," said Uncle Mac in high
+glee at the success of his illumination. "Now, shall I leave you on the
+Island or take you home again, my good little girl?" he added, lifting
+her up with such a tone of approbation in his voice that Rose kissed him
+on the spot.
+
+"Home, please, uncle; and I thank you very, very much for the beautiful
+fire-work you got up for me. I'm so glad I saw it; and I know I shall
+dream about it," answered Rose steadily, though a wistful glance went
+toward the Island, now so near that she could smell powder and see
+shadowy figures flitting about.
+
+Home they went; and Rose fell asleep saying to herself, "It was harder
+than I thought, but I'm glad I did it, and I truly don't want any reward
+but Phebe's pleasure."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+_POOR MAC._
+
+
+ROSE'S sacrifice was a failure in one respect, for, though the elders
+loved her the better for it, and showed that they did, the boys were not
+inspired with the sudden respect which she had hoped for. In fact, her
+feelings were much hurt by overhearing Archie say that he couldn't see
+any sense in it; and the Prince added another blow by pronouncing her
+"the queerest chicken ever seen."
+
+It is apt to be so, and it is hard to bear; for, though we do not want
+trumpets blown, we do like to have our little virtues appreciated, and
+cannot help feeling disappointed if they are not.
+
+A time soon came, however, when Rose, quite unconsciously, won not only
+the respect of her cousins, but their gratitude and affection likewise.
+
+Soon after the Island episode, Mac had a sun-stroke, and was very ill
+for some time. It was so sudden that every one was startled, and for
+some days the boy's life was in danger. He pulled through, however; and
+then, just as the family were rejoicing, a new trouble appeared which
+cast a gloom over them all.
+
+Poor Mac's eyes gave out; and well they might, for he had abused them,
+and never being very strong, they suffered doubly now.
+
+No one dared to tell him the dark predictions of the great oculist who
+came to look at them, and the boy tried to be patient, thinking that a
+few weeks of rest would repair the overwork of several years.
+
+He was forbidden to look at a book, and as that was the one thing he
+most delighted in, it was a terrible affliction to the Worm. Every one
+was very ready to read to him, and at first the lads contended for this
+honor. But as week after week went by, and Mac was still condemned to
+idleness and a darkened room, their zeal abated, and one after the other
+fell off. It _was_ hard for the active fellows, right in the midst of
+their vacation; and nobody blamed them when they contented themselves
+with brief calls, running of errands, and warm expressions of sympathy.
+
+The elders did their best, but Uncle Mac was a busy man, Aunt Jane's
+reading was of a funereal sort, impossible to listen to long, and the
+other aunties were all absorbed in their own cares, though they supplied
+the boy with every delicacy they could invent.
+
+Uncle Alec was a host in himself, but he could not give all his time to
+the invalid; and if it had not been for Rose, the afflicted Worm would
+have fared ill. Her pleasant voice suited him, her patience was
+unfailing, her time of no apparent value, and her eager good-will was
+very comforting.
+
+The womanly power of self-devotion was strong in the child, and she
+remained faithfully at her post when all the rest dropped away. Hour
+after hour she sat in the dusky room, with one ray of light on her
+book, reading to the boy, who lay with shaded eyes silently enjoying the
+only pleasure that lightened the weary days. Sometimes he was peevish
+and hard to please, sometimes he growled because his reader could not
+manage the dry books he wished to hear, and sometimes he was so
+despondent that her heart ached to see him. Through all these trials
+Rose persevered, using all her little arts to please him. When he
+fretted, she was patient; when he growled, she ploughed bravely through
+the hard pages,--not dry to her in one sense, for quiet tears dropped on
+them now and then; and when Mac fell into a despairing mood, she
+comforted him with every hopeful word she dared to offer.
+
+He said little, but she knew he was grateful, for she suited him better
+than any one else. If she was late, he was impatient; when she had to
+go, he seemed forlorn; and when the tired head ached worst, she could
+always soothe him to sleep, crooning the old songs her father used to
+love.
+
+"I don't know what I _should_ do without that child," Aunt Jane often
+said.
+
+"She's worth all those racketing fellows put together," Mac would add,
+fumbling about to discover if the little chair was ready for her coming.
+
+That was the sort of reward Rose liked, the thanks that cheered her; and
+whenever she grew very tired, one look at the green shade, the curly
+head so restless on the pillow, and the poor groping hands, touched her
+tender heart and put new spirit into the weary voice.
+
+She did not know how much she was learning, both from the books she read
+and the daily sacrifices she made. Stories and poetry were her delight,
+but Mac did not care for them; and since his favorite Greeks and Romans
+were forbidden, he satisfied himself with travels, biographies, and the
+history of great inventions or discoveries. Rose despised this taste at
+first, but soon got interested in Livingstone's adventures, Hobson's
+stirring life in India, and the brave trials and triumphs of Watt and
+Arkwright, Fulton, and "Palissy, the Potter." The true, strong books
+helped the dreamy girl; her faithful service and sweet patience touched
+and won the boy; and long afterward both learned to see how useful those
+seemingly hard and weary hours had been to them.
+
+One bright morning, as Rose sat down to begin a fat volume entitled
+"History of the French Revolution," expecting to come to great grief
+over the long names, Mac, who was lumbering about the room like a blind
+bear, stopped her by asking abruptly,--
+
+"What day of the month is it?"
+
+"The seventh of August, I believe."
+
+"More than half my vacation gone, and I've only had a week of it! I call
+that hard," and he groaned dismally.
+
+"So it is; but there is more to come, and you may be able to enjoy
+that."
+
+"_May_ be able! I _will_ be able! Does that old noodle think I'm going
+to stay stived up here much longer?"
+
+"I guess he does, unless your eyes get on faster than they have yet."
+
+"Has he said any thing more lately?"
+
+"I haven't seen him, you know. Shall I begin?--this looks rather nice."
+
+"Read away; it's all one to me." And Mac cast himself down upon the old
+lounge, where his heavy head felt easiest.
+
+Rose began with great spirit, and kept on gallantly for a couple of
+chapters, getting over the unpronounceable names with unexpected
+success, she thought, for her listener did not correct her once, and lay
+so still she fancied he was deeply interested. All of a sudden she was
+arrested in the middle of a fine paragraph by Mac, who sat bolt upright,
+brought both feet down with a thump, and said, in a rough, excited
+tone,--
+
+"Stop! I don't hear a word, and you may as well save your breath to
+answer my question."
+
+"What is it?" asked Rose, looking uneasy, for she had something on her
+mind, and feared that he suspected what it was. His next words proved
+that she was right.
+
+"Now look here, I want to know something, and you've _got_ to tell me."
+
+"Please, don't,--" began Rose, beseechingly.
+
+"You _must_, or I'll pull off this shade and stare at the sun as hard as
+ever I can stare. Come now!" and he half rose, as if ready to execute
+the threat.
+
+"I will! oh, I will tell, if I know! But don't be reckless and do any
+thing so crazy as that," cried Rose, in great distress.
+
+"Very well; then listen, and don't dodge, as every one else does. Didn't
+the doctor think my eyes worse the last time he came? Mother won't say,
+but you _shall_."
+
+"I believe he did," faltered Rose.
+
+"I thought so! Did he say I should be able to go to school when it
+begins?"
+
+"No, Mac," very low.
+
+"Ah!"
+
+That was all, but Rose saw her cousin set his lips together and take a
+long breath, as if she had hit him hard. He bore the disappointment
+bravely, however, and asked quite steadily in a minute,--
+
+"How soon does he think I _can_ study again?"
+
+It was so hard to answer that! Yet Rose knew she must, for Aunt Jane had
+declared she _could_ not do it, and Uncle Mac had begged her to break
+the truth to the poor lad.
+
+"Not for a good many months."
+
+"How many?" he asked with a pathetic sort of gruffness.
+
+"A year, perhaps."
+
+"A whole year! Why, I expected to be ready for college by that time."
+And, pushing up the shade, Mac stared at her with startled eyes, that
+soon blinked and fell before the one ray of light.
+
+"Plenty of time for that; you must be patient now, and get them
+thoroughly well, or they will trouble you again when it will be harder
+to spare them," she said, with tears in her own eyes.
+
+"I won't do it! I _will_ study and get through somehow. It's all humbug
+about taking care so long. These doctors like to keep hold of a fellow
+if they can. But I won't stand it,--I vow I won't!" and he banged his
+fist down on the unoffending pillow as if he were pommelling the
+hard-hearted doctor.
+
+"Now, Mac, listen to me," Rose said very earnestly, though her voice
+shook a little and her heart ached. "You know you have hurt your eyes
+reading by firelight and in the dusk, and sitting up late, and now
+you'll have to pay for it; the doctor said so. You _must_ be careful,
+and do as he tells you, or you will be--blind."
+
+"No!"
+
+"Yes, it is true, and he wanted us to tell you that nothing but entire
+rest would cure you. I know it's dreadfully hard, but we'll all help
+you; I'll read all day long, and lead you, and wait upon you, and try to
+make it easier--"
+
+She stopped there, for it was evident that he did not hear a sound; the
+word "blind" seemed to have knocked him down, for he had buried his face
+in the pillow, and lay so still that Rose was frightened. She sat
+motionless for many minutes, longing to comfort him, but not knowing
+how, and wishing Uncle Alec would come, for he had promised to tell Mac.
+
+Presently, a sort of choking sound came out of the pillow, and went
+straight to her heart,--the most pathetic sob she ever heard, for,
+though it was the most natural means of relief, the poor fellow must not
+indulge in it because of the afflicted eyes. The "French Revolution"
+tumbled out of her lap, and, running to the sofa, she knelt down by it,
+saying, with the motherly sort of tenderness girls feel for any
+sorrowing creature,--
+
+"Oh, my dear, you mustn't cry! It is so bad for your poor eyes. Take
+your head out of that hot pillow, and let me cool it. I don't wonder
+you feel so, but please don't cry. I'll cry for you; it won't hurt
+_me_."
+
+[Illustration: "RUNNING TO THE SOFA, SHE KNELT DOWN BY IT."]
+
+As she spoke, she pulled away the cushion with gentle force, and saw the
+green shade all crushed and stained with the few hot tears that told
+how bitter the disappointment had been. Mac felt her sympathy, but,
+being a boy, did not thank her for it; only sat up with a jerk, saying,
+as he tried to rub away the tell-tale drops with the sleeve of his
+jacket: "Don't bother; weak eyes always water. I'm all right."
+
+But Rose cried out, and caught his arm: "Don't touch them with that
+rough woollen stuff! Lie down and let me bathe them, there's a dear boy;
+then there will be no harm done."
+
+"They do smart confoundedly. I say, don't you tell the other fellows
+that I made a baby of myself, will you?" he added, yielding with a sigh
+to the orders of his nurse, who had flown for the eye-wash and linen
+cambric handkerchief.
+
+"Of course I won't; but any one would be upset at the idea of
+being--well--troubled in this way. I'm sure you bear it splendidly, and
+you know it isn't half so bad when you get used to it. Besides, it is
+only for a time, and you can do lots of pleasant things if you can't
+study. You'll have to wear blue goggles, perhaps; won't that be funny?"
+
+And while she was pouring out all the comfortable words she could think
+of, Rose was softly bathing the eyes and dabbing the hot forehead with
+lavender-water, as her patient lay quiet with a look on his face that
+grieved her sadly.
+
+"Homer was blind, and so was Milton, and they did something to be
+remembered by, in spite of it," he said, as if to himself, in a solemn
+tone, for even the blue goggles did not bring a smile.
+
+"Papa had a picture of Milton and his daughters writing for him. It was
+a very sweet picture, I thought," observed Rose in a serious voice,
+trying to meet the sufferer on his own ground.
+
+"Perhaps I could study if some one read and did the eye part. Do you
+suppose I could, by and by?" he asked, with a sudden ray of hope.
+
+"I dare say, if your head is strong enough. This sun-stroke, you know,
+is what upset you, and your brains need rest, the doctor says."
+
+"I'll have a talk with the old fellow next time he comes, and find out
+just what I _may_ do; then I shall know where I am. What a fool I was
+that day to be stewing my brains and letting the sun glare on my book
+till the letters danced before me! I see 'em now when I shut my eyes;
+black balls bobbing round, and stars and all sorts of queer things.
+Wonder if all blind people do?"
+
+"Don't think about them; I'll go on reading, shall I? We shall come to
+the exciting part soon, and then you'll forget all this," suggested
+Rose.
+
+"No, I never shall forget. Hang the old 'Revolution!' I don't want to
+hear another word of it. My head aches, and I'm hot. Oh, wouldn't I like
+to go for a pull in the 'Stormy Petrel!'" and poor Mac tossed about as
+if he did not know what to do with himself.
+
+"Let me sing, and perhaps you'll drop off; then the day will seem
+shorter," said Rose, taking up a fan and sitting down beside him.
+
+"Perhaps I shall; I didn't sleep much last night, and when I did I
+dreamed like fun. See here, you tell the people that I know, and it's
+all right, and I don't want them to talk about it or howl over me.
+That's all; now drone away, and I'll try to sleep. Wish I could for a
+year, and wake up cured."
+
+"Oh, I wish, I wish you could!"
+
+Rose said it so fervently, that Mac was moved to grope for her apron and
+hold on to a corner of it, as if it was comfortable to feel her near
+him. But all he said was,--
+
+"You are a good little soul, Rosy. Give us 'The Birks;' that is a drowsy
+one that always sends me off."
+
+Quite contented with this small return for all her sympathy, Rose waved
+her fan and sang, in a dreamy tone, the pretty Scotch air, the burden of
+which is,--
+
+    "Bonny lassie, will ye gang, will ye gang
+      To the Birks of Aberfeldie?"
+
+Whether the lassie went or not I cannot say, but the laddie was off to
+the land of Nod in about ten minutes, quite worn out with hearing the
+bad tidings and the effort to bear them manfully.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+"_THE OTHER FELLOWS._"
+
+
+ROSE did tell "the people" what had passed, and no one "howled" over
+Mac, or said a word to trouble him. He had his talk with the doctor, and
+got very little comfort out of it, for he found that "just what he might
+do" was nothing at all; though the prospect of some study by and by, if
+all went well, gave him courage to bear the woes of the present. Having
+made up his mind to this, he behaved so well that every one was
+astonished, never having suspected so much manliness in the quiet Worm.
+
+The boys were much impressed, both by the greatness of the affliction
+which hung over him and by his way of bearing it. They were very good to
+him, but not always particularly wise in their attempts to cheer and
+amuse; and Rose often found him much downcast after a visit of
+condolence from the Clan. She still kept her place as head-nurse and
+chief-reader, though the boys did their best in an irregular sort of
+way. They were rather taken aback sometimes at finding Rose's services
+preferred to theirs, and privately confided to one another that "Old Mac
+was getting fond of being molly-coddled." But they could not help
+seeing how useful she was, and owning that she alone had remained
+faithful,--a fact which caused some of them much secret compunction now
+and then.
+
+Rose felt that she ruled in that room, if nowhere else, for Aunt Jane
+left a great deal to her, finding that her experience with her invalid
+father fitted her for a nurse, and in a case like this her youth was an
+advantage rather than a drawback. Mac soon came to think that no one
+could take care of him so well as Rose, and Rose soon grew fond of her
+patient, though at first she had considered this cousin the least
+attractive of the seven. He was not polite and sensible like Archie, nor
+gay and handsome like Prince Charlie, nor neat and obliging like Steve,
+nor amusing like the "Brats," nor confiding and affectionate like little
+Jamie. He was rough, absent-minded, careless, and awkward, rather
+priggish, and not at all agreeable to a dainty, beauty-loving girl like
+Rose.
+
+But when his trouble came upon him, she discovered many good things in
+this cousin of hers, and learned not only to pity but to respect and
+love the poor Worm, who tried to be patient, brave, and cheerful, and
+found it a harder task than any one guessed, except the little nurse,
+who saw him in his gloomiest moods. She soon came to think that his
+friends did not appreciate him, and upon one occasion was moved to free
+her mind in a way that made a deep impression on the boys.
+
+Vacation was almost over, and the time drawing near when Mac would be
+left outside the happy school-world which he so much enjoyed. This made
+him rather low in his mind, and his cousins exerted themselves to cheer
+him up, especially one afternoon when a spasm of devotion seemed to
+seize them all. Jamie trudged down the hill with a basket of
+blackberries which he had "picked all his ownself," as his scratched
+fingers and stained lips plainly testified. Will and Geordie brought
+their puppies to beguile the weary hours, and the three elder lads
+called to discuss base-ball, cricket, and kindred subjects, eminently
+fitted to remind the invalid of his privations.
+
+Rose had gone to drive with Uncle Alec, who declared she was getting as
+pale as a potato sprout, living so much in a dark room. But her thoughts
+were with her boy all the while, and she ran up to him the moment she
+returned, to find things in a fine state of confusion.
+
+With the best intentions in life, the lads had done more harm than good,
+and the spectacle that met Nurse Rose's eye was a trying one. The
+puppies were yelping, the small boys romping, and the big boys all
+talking at once; the curtains were up, the room close, berries scattered
+freely about, Mac's shade half off, his cheeks flushed, his temper
+ruffled, and his voice loudest of all as he disputed hotly with Steve
+about lending certain treasured books which he could no longer use.
+
+[Illustration: "THE SPECTACLE THAT MET NURSE ROSE'S EYE WAS A TRYING
+ONE."--Page 131]
+
+Now Rose considered this her special kingdom, and came down upon the
+invaders with an energy which amazed them and quelled the riot at once.
+They had never seen her roused before, and the effect was tremendous;
+also comical, for she drove the whole flock of boys out of the room
+like an indignant little hen defending her brood. They all went as
+meekly as sheep; the small lads fled from the house precipitately, but
+the three elder ones only retired to the next room, and remained there
+hoping for a chance to explain and apologize, and so appease the irate
+young lady, who had suddenly turned the tables and clattered them about
+their ears.
+
+As they waited, they observed her proceedings through the half-open
+door, and commented upon them briefly but expressively, feeling quite
+bowed down with remorse at the harm they had innocently done.
+
+"She's put the room to rights in a jiffy. What jacks we were to let
+those dogs in and kick up such a row," observed Steve, after a prolonged
+peep.
+
+"The poor old Worm turns as if she was treading on him instead of
+cuddling him like a pussy cat. Isn't he cross, though?" added Charlie,
+as Mac was heard growling about his "confounded head."
+
+"She will manage him; but it's mean in us to rumple him up and then
+leave her to smooth him down. I'd go and help, but I don't know how,"
+said Archie, looking much depressed, for he was a conscientious fellow,
+and blamed himself for his want of thought.
+
+"No more do I. Odd, isn't it, what a knack women have for taking care of
+sick folks?" and Charlie fell a-musing over this undeniable fact.
+
+"She has been ever so good to Mac," began Steve, in a self-reproachful
+tone.
+
+"Better than his own brother, hey?" cut in Archie, finding relief for
+his own regret in the delinquencies of another.
+
+"Well, you needn't preach; you didn't any of you do any more, and you
+might have, for Mac likes you better than he does me. I always fret him,
+he says, and it isn't my fault if I am a quiddle," protested Steve, in
+self-defence.
+
+"We have all been selfish and neglected him, so we won't fight about it,
+but try and do better," said Archie, generously taking more than his
+share of blame, for he had been less inattentive than either of the
+others.
+
+"Rose has stood by him like a good one, and it's no wonder he likes to
+have her round best. I should myself if I was down on my luck as he is,"
+put in Charlie, feeling that he really had not done "the little thing"
+justice.
+
+"I'll tell you what it is, boys,--we haven't been half good enough to
+Rose, and we've got to make it up to her somehow," said Archie, who had
+a very manly sense of honor about paying his debts, even to a girl.
+
+"I'm awfully sorry I made fun of her doll when Jamie lugged it out; and
+I called her 'baby bunting' when she cried over the dead kitten. Girls
+_are_ such geese sometimes, I can't help it," said Steve, confessing his
+transgressions handsomely, and feeling quite ready to atone for them if
+he only knew how.
+
+"I'll go down on my knees and beg her pardon for treating her as if she
+was a child. Don't it make her mad, though? Come to think of it, she's
+only two years or so younger than I am. But she is so small and pretty,
+she always seems like a dolly to me," and the Prince looked down from
+his lofty height of five feet five as if Rose was indeed a pygmy beside
+him.
+
+"That dolly has got a real good little heart, and a bright mind of her
+own, you'd better believe. Mac says she understands some things quicker
+than he can, and mother thinks she is an uncommonly nice girl, though
+she don't know all creation. You needn't put on airs, Charlie, though
+you _are_ a tall one, for Rose likes Archie better than you; she said
+she did because he treated her respectfully."
+
+"Steve looks as fierce as a game-cock; but don't you get excited, my
+son, for it won't do a bit of good. Of course, everybody likes the Chief
+best; they ought to, and I'll punch their heads if they don't. So calm
+yourself, Dandy, and mend your own manners before you come down on other
+people's."
+
+Thus the Prince with great dignity and perfect good nature, while Archie
+looked modestly gratified with the flattering opinions of his kinsfolk,
+and Steve subsided, feeling he had done his duty as a cousin and a
+brother. A pause ensued, during which Aunt Jane appeared in the other
+room, accompanied by a tea-tray sumptuously spread, and prepared to feed
+her big nestling, as that was a task she allowed no one to share with
+her.
+
+"If you have a minute to spare before you go, child, I wish you'd just
+make Mac a fresh shade; this has got a berry stain on it, and he must be
+tidy, for he is to go out to-morrow if it is a cloudy day," said Mrs.
+Jane, spreading toast in a stately manner, while Mac slopped his tea
+about without receiving a word of reproof.
+
+"Yes, aunt," answered Rose, so meekly that the boys could hardly believe
+it could be the same voice which had issued the stern command, "Out of
+this room, every one of you!" not very long ago.
+
+They had not time to retire, without unseemly haste, before she walked
+into the parlor and sat down at the work-table without a word. It was
+funny to see the look the three tall lads cast at the little person
+sedately threading a needle with green silk. They all wanted to say
+something expressive of repentance, but no one knew how to begin, and it
+was evident, from the prim expression of Rose's face, that she intended
+to stand upon her dignity till they had properly abased themselves. The
+pause was becoming very awkward, when Charlie, who possessed all the
+persuasive arts of a born scapegrace, went slowly down upon his knees
+before her, beat his breast, and said, in a heart-broken tone,--
+
+"Please forgive me this time, and I'll never do so any more."
+
+It was very hard to keep sober, but Rose managed it, and answered
+gravely,--
+
+"It is Mac's pardon you should ask, not mine, for you haven't hurt me,
+and I shouldn't wonder if you had him a great deal, with all that light
+and racket, and talk about things that only worry him."
+
+"Do you really think we've hurt him, cousin?" asked Archie, with a
+troubled look, while Charlie settled down in a remorseful heap among the
+table legs.
+
+"Yes, I do, for he has got a raging headache, and his eyes are as red
+as--as this emery bag," answered Rose, solemnly plunging her needle into
+a fat flannel strawberry.
+
+Steve tore his hair, metaphorically speaking, for he clutched his
+cherished top-knot and wildly dishevelled it, as if that was the
+heaviest penance he could inflict upon himself at such short notice.
+Charlie laid himself out flat, melodramatically begging some one to take
+him away and hang him; but Archie, who felt worst of all, said nothing
+except to vow within himself that he would read to Mac till his own eyes
+were as red as a dozen emery bags combined.
+
+Seeing the wholesome effects of her treatment upon these culprits, Rose
+felt that she might relent and allow them a gleam of hope. She found it
+impossible to help trampling upon the prostrate Prince a little, in
+words at least, for he had hurt her feelings oftener than he knew; so
+she gave him a thimble-pie on the top of his head, and said, with the
+air of an infinitely superior being,--
+
+"Don't be silly, but get up, and I'll tell you something much better to
+do than sprawling on the floor and getting all over lint."
+
+Charlie obediently sat himself upon a hassock at her feet; the other
+sinners drew near to catch the words of wisdom about to fall from her
+lips, and Rose, softened by this gratifying humility, addressed them in
+her most maternal tone.
+
+"Now, boys, if you really want to be good to Mac, you can do it in this
+way. Don't keep talking about things he can't do, or go and tell what
+fun you have had batting your ridiculous balls about. Get some nice book
+and read quietly; cheer him up about school, and offer to help him study
+by and by; _you_ can do that better than I, because I'm only a girl,
+and don't learn Greek and Latin and all sorts of headachy stuff."
+
+"Yes, but you can do heaps of things better than we can; you've proved
+that," said Archie, with an approving look that delighted Rose, though
+she could not resist giving Charlie one more rebuke, by saying, with a
+little bridling up of the head, and a curl of the lip that wanted to
+smile instead,--
+
+"I'm glad you think so, though I _am_ a 'queer chicken.'"
+
+This scathing remark caused the Prince to hide his face for shame, and
+Steve to erect his head in the proud consciousness that this shot was
+not meant for him. Archie laughed, and Rose, seeing a merry blue eye
+winking at her from behind two brown hands, gave Charlie's ear a
+friendly tweak, and extended the olive-branch of peace.
+
+"Now we'll all be good, and plan nice things for poor Mac," she said,
+smiling so graciously that the boys felt as if the sun had suddenly
+burst out from behind a heavy cloud and was shining with great
+brilliancy.
+
+The storm had cleared the air, and quite a heavenly calm succeeded,
+during which plans of a most varied and surprising sort were laid, for
+every one burned to make noble sacrifices upon the shrine of "poor Mac,"
+and Rose was the guiding star to whom the others looked with most
+gratifying submission. Of course, this elevated state of things could
+not endure long, but it was _very_ nice while it lasted, and left an
+excellent effect upon the minds of all when the first ardor had
+subsided.
+
+"There, that's ready for to-morrow, and I do hope it will be cloudy,"
+said Rose, as she finished off the new shade, the progress of which the
+boys had watched with interest.
+
+"I'd bespoken an extra sunny day, but I'll tell the clerk of the weather
+to change it. He's an obliging fellow, and he'll attend to it; so make
+yourself easy," said Charlie, who had become quite perky again.
+
+"It is very easy for you to joke, but how would you like to wear a
+blinder like that for weeks and weeks, sir?" and Rose quenched his
+rising spirits by slipping the shade over his eyes, as he still sat on
+the cushion at her feet.
+
+"It's horrid! Take it off, take it off! I don't wonder the poor old boy
+has the blues with a thing like that on;" and Charlie sat looking at
+what seemed to him an instrument of torture, with such a sober face that
+Rose took it gently away, and went in to bid Mac good-night.
+
+"I shall go home with her, for it is getting darkish, and she is rather
+timid," said Archie, forgetting that he had often laughed at this very
+timidity.
+
+"I think _I_ might, for she's taking care of my brother," put in Steve,
+asserting his rights.
+
+"Let's all go; that will please her," proposed Charlie, with a burst of
+gallantry which electrified his mates.
+
+"We will!" they said with one voice, and they did, to Rose's great
+surprise and secret contentment; though Archie had all the care of her,
+for the other two were leaping fences, running races, and having
+wrestling matches all the way down.
+
+They composed themselves on reaching the door, however; shook hands
+cordially all round, made their best bows, and retired with great
+elegance and dignity, leaving Rose to say to herself, with girlish
+satisfaction, as she went in,--
+
+"Now, _that_ is the way I like to be treated."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+_COSEY CORNER._
+
+
+VACATION was over, the boys went back to school, and poor Mac was left
+lamenting. He was out of the darkened room now, and promoted to blue
+goggles, through which he took a gloomy view of life, as might have been
+expected; for there was nothing he could do but wander about, and try to
+amuse himself without using his eyes. Any one who has ever been
+condemned to that sort of idleness knows how irksome it is, and can
+understand the state of mind which caused Mac to say to Rose in a
+desperate tone one day,--
+
+"Look here, if you don't invent some new employment or amusement for me,
+I shall knock myself on the head as sure as you live."
+
+Rose flew to Uncle Alec for advice, and he ordered both patient and
+nurse to the mountains for a month, with Aunt Jessie and Jamie as
+escort. Pokey and her mother joined the party, and one bright September
+morning six very happy-looking people were aboard the express train for
+Portland,--two smiling mammas, laden with luncheon baskets and wraps; a
+pretty young girl with a bag of books on her arm; a tall, thin lad with
+his hat over his eyes; and two small children, who sat with their short
+legs straight out before them, and their chubby faces beaming with the
+first speechless delight of "truly travelling."
+
+An especially splendid sunset seemed to have been prepared to welcome
+them when, after a long day's journey, they drove into a wide, green
+door-yard, where a white colt, a red cow, two cats, four kittens, many
+hens, and a dozen people, old and young, were gayly disporting
+themselves. Every one nodded and smiled in the friendliest manner, and a
+lively old lady kissed the new-comers all round, as she said heartily,--
+
+"Well, now, I'm proper glad to see you! Come right in and rest, and
+we'll have tea in less than no time, for you must be tired. Lizzie, you
+show the folks upstairs; Kitty, you fly round and help father in with
+the trunks; and Jenny and I will have the table all ready by the time
+you come down. Bless the dears, they want to go see the pussies, and so
+they shall!"
+
+The three pretty daughters did "fly round," and every one felt at home
+at once, all were so hospitable and kind. Aunt Jessie had raptures over
+the home-made carpets, quilts, and quaint furniture; Rose could not keep
+away from the windows, for each framed a lovely picture; and the little
+folks made friends at once with the other children, who filled their
+arms with chickens and kittens, and did the honors handsomely.
+
+The toot of a horn called all to supper, and a goodly party, including
+six children besides the Campbells, assembled in the long dining-room,
+armed with mountain appetites and the gayest spirits. It was impossible
+for any one to be shy or sober, for such gales of merriment arose they
+blew the starch out of the stiffest, and made the saddest jolly. Mother
+Atkinson, as all called their hostess, was the merriest there, and the
+busiest; for she kept flying up to wait on the children, to bring out
+some new dish, or to banish the live stock, who were of such a social
+turn that the colt came into the entry and demanded sugar; the cats sat
+about in people's laps, winking suggestively at the food; and speckled
+hens cleared the kitchen floor of crumbs, as they joined in the chat
+with a cheerful clucking.
+
+Everybody turned out after tea to watch the sunset till all the lovely
+red was gone, and mosquitoes wound their shrill horns to sound the
+retreat. The music of an organ surprised the new-comers, and in the
+parlor they found Father Atkinson playing sweetly on the little
+instrument made by himself. All the children gathered about him, and,
+led by the tuneful sisters, sang prettily till Pokey fell asleep behind
+the door, and Jamie gaped audibly right in the middle of his favorite,--
+
+    "Coo," said the little doves: "Coo," said she,
+    "All in the top of the old pine-tree."
+
+The older travellers, being tired, went to "bye low" at the same time,
+and slept like tops in home-spun sheets, on husk mattresses made by
+Mother Atkinson, who seemed to have put some soothing powder among them,
+so deep and sweet was the slumber that came.
+
+Next day began the wholesome out-of-door life, which works such wonders
+with tired minds and feeble bodies. The weather was perfect, and the
+mountain air made the children as frisky as young lambs; while the
+elders went about smiling at one another, and saying, "Isn't it
+splendid?" Even Mac, the "slow coach," was seen to leap over a fence as
+if he really could not help it; and when Rose ran after him with his
+broad-brimmed hat, he made the spirited proposal to go into the woods
+and hunt for a catamount.
+
+Jamie and Pokey were at once enrolled in the Cosey Corner Light
+Infantry,--a truly superb company, composed entirely of officers, all
+wearing cocked hats, carrying flags, waving swords, or beating drums. It
+was a spectacle to stir the dullest soul when this gallant band marched
+out of the yard in full regimentals, with Captain Dove--a solemn,
+big-headed boy of eleven--issuing his orders with the gravity of a
+general, and his Falstaffian regiment obeying them with more docility
+than skill. The little Snow children did very well, and Lieutenant Jack
+Dove was fine to see; so was Drummer Frank, the errand-boy of the house,
+as he rub-a-dub-dubbed with all his heart and drumsticks. Jamie had
+"trained" before, and was made a colonel at once; but Pokey was the best
+of all, and called forth a spontaneous burst of applause from the
+spectators as she brought up the rear, her cocked hat all over one eye,
+her flag trailing over her shoulder, and her wooden sword straight up in
+the air; her face beaming and every curl bobbing with delight as her fat
+legs tottered in the vain attempt to keep step manfully.
+
+Mac and Rose were picking blackberries in the bushes beside the road
+when the soldiers passed without seeing them, and they witnessed a sight
+that was both pretty and comical. A little farther on was one of the
+family burial spots so common in those parts, and just this side of it
+Captain Fred Dove ordered his company to halt, explaining his reason for
+so doing in the following words:--
+
+"That's a graveyard, and it's proper to muffle the drums and lower the
+flags as we go by, and we'd better take off our hats, too; it's more
+respectable, I think."
+
+"Isn't that cunning of the dears?" whispered Rose, as the little troop
+marched slowly by to the muffled roll of the drums, every flag and sword
+held low, all the little heads uncovered, and the childish faces very
+sober as the leafy shadows flickered over them.
+
+"Let's follow and see what they are after," proposed Mac, who found
+sitting on a wall and being fed with blackberries luxurious but
+tiresome.
+
+So they followed and heard the music grow lively, saw the banners wave
+in the breeze again when the graveyard was passed, and watched the
+company file into the dilapidated old church that stood at the corner of
+three woodland roads. Presently the sound of singing made the outsiders
+quicken their steps, and, stealing up, they peeped in at one of the
+broken windows.
+
+Captain Dove was up in the old wooden pulpit, gazing solemnly down upon
+his company, who, having stacked their arms in the porch, now sat in the
+bare pews singing a Sunday-school hymn with great vigor and relish.
+
+"Let us pray," said Captain Dove, with as much reverence as an army
+chaplain; and, folding his hands, he repeated a prayer which he thought
+all would know,--an excellent little prayer, but not exactly appropriate
+to the morning, for it was,--
+
+    "Now I lay me down to sleep."
+
+Every one joined in saying it, and it was a pretty sight to see the
+little creatures bowing their curly heads and lisping out the words they
+knew so well. Tears came into Rose's eyes as she looked; Mac took his
+hat off involuntarily, and then clapped it on again as if ashamed of
+showing any feeling.
+
+"Now I shall preach you a short sermon, and my text is, 'Little
+children, love one another.' I asked mamma to give me one, and she
+thought that would be good; so you all sit still and I'll preach it. You
+mustn't whisper, Marion, but hear _me_. It means that we should be good
+to each other, and play fair, and not quarrel as we did this very day
+about the wagon. Jack can't always drive, and needn't be mad because I
+like to go with Frank. Annette ought to be horse sometimes and not
+always driver; and Willie may as well make up his mind to let Marion
+build her house by his, for she _will_ do it, and he needn't fuss about
+it. Jamie seems to be a good boy, but I shall preach to him if he isn't.
+No, Pokey, people don't kiss in church or put their hats on. Now you
+must all remember what I tell you, because I'm the captain, and you
+should mind me."
+
+Here Lieutenant Jack spoke right out in meeting with the rebellious
+remark,--
+
+"Don't care if you are; you'd better mind yourself, and tell how you
+took away my strap, and kept the biggest doughnut, and didn't draw fair
+when we had the truck."
+
+"Yes, and you slapped Frank; I saw you," bawled Willie Snow, bobbing up
+in his pew.
+
+"And you took my book away and hid it 'cause I wouldn't go and swing
+when you wanted me to," added Annette, the oldest of the Snow trio.
+
+"I _shan't_ build my house by Willie's if he don't want me to, so now!"
+put in little Marion, joining the mutiny.
+
+"I _will_ tiss Dimmy! and I tored up my hat 'tause a pin picked me,"
+shouted Pokey, regardless of Jamie's efforts to restrain her.
+
+Captain Dove looked rather taken aback at this outbreak in the ranks;
+but, being a dignified and calm personage, he quelled the rising
+rebellion with great tact and skill by saying, briefly,--
+
+"We will sing the last hymn; 'Sweet, sweet good-by,'--you all know that,
+so do it nicely, and then we will go and have luncheon."
+
+Peace was instantly restored, and a burst of melody drowned the
+suppressed giggles of Rose and Mac, who found it impossible to keep
+sober during the latter part of this somewhat remarkable service.
+Fifteen minutes of repose rendered it a physical impossibility for the
+company to march out as quietly as they had marched in. I grieve to
+state that the entire troop raced home as hard as they could pelt, and
+were soon skirmishing briskly over their lunch, utterly oblivious of
+what Jamie (who had been much impressed by the sermon) called "the
+captain's beautiful teck."
+
+It was astonishing how much they all found to do at Cosey Corner; and
+Mac, instead of lying in a hammock and being read to, as he had
+expected, was busiest of all. He was invited to survey and lay out
+Skeeterville, a town which the children were getting up in a huckleberry
+pasture; and he found much amusement in planning little roads, staking
+off house-lots, attending to the water-works, and consulting with the
+"selectmen" about the best sites for public buildings; for Mac was a boy
+still, in spite of his fifteen years and his love of books.
+
+Then he went fishing with a certain jovial gentleman from the West; and
+though they seldom caught any thing but colds, they had great fun and
+exercise chasing the phantom trout they were bound to have. Mac also
+developed a geological mania, and went tapping about at rocks and
+stones, discoursing wisely of "strata, periods, and fossil remains;"
+while Rose picked up leaves and lichens, and gave him lessons in botany,
+in return for his lectures on geology.
+
+They led a very merry life; for the Atkinson girls kept up a sort of
+perpetual picnic; and did it so capitally, that one was never tired of
+it. So their visitors throve finely, and long before the month was out
+it was evident that Dr. Alec had prescribed the right medicine for his
+patients.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+_A HAPPY BIRTHDAY._
+
+
+THE twelfth of October was Rose's birthday, but no one seemed to
+remember that interesting fact, and she felt delicate about mentioning
+it, so fell asleep the night before wondering if she would have any
+presents. That question was settled early the next morning, for she was
+awakened by a soft tap on her face, and opening her eyes she beheld a
+little black and white figure sitting on her pillow, staring at her with
+a pair of round eyes very like blueberries, while one downy paw patted
+her nose to attract her notice. It was Kitty Comet, the prettiest of all
+the pussies, and Comet evidently had a mission to perform, for a pink
+bow adorned her neck, and a bit of paper was pinned to it bearing the
+words, "For Miss Rose, from Frank."
+
+That pleased her extremely, and that was only the beginning of the fun,
+for surprises and presents kept popping out in the most delightful
+manner all through the day, the Atkinson girls being famous jokers and
+Rose a favorite. But the best gift of all came on the way to Mount
+Windy-top, where it was decided to picnic in honor of the great
+occasion. Three jolly loads set off soon after breakfast, for everybody
+went, and everybody seemed bound to have an extra good time, especially
+Mother Atkinson, who wore a hat as broad-brimmed as an umbrella, and
+took the dinner-horn to keep her flock from straying away.
+
+"I'm going to drive aunty and a lot of the babies, so you must ride the
+pony. And please stay behind us a good bit when we go to the station,
+for a parcel is coming, and you are not to see it till dinner-time. You
+won't mind, will you?" said Mac in a confidential aside during the wild
+flurry of the start.
+
+"Not a bit," answered Rose. "It hurts my feelings _very_ much to be told
+to keep out of the way at any other time, but birthdays and Christmas it
+is part of the fun to be blind and stupid, and poked into corners. I'll
+be ready as soon as you are, Giglamps."
+
+"Stop under the big maple till I call,--then you can't possibly see any
+thing," added Mac, as he mounted her on the pony his father had sent up
+for his use. "Barkis" was so gentle and so "willin'," however, that Rose
+was ashamed to be afraid to ride him; so she had learned, that she might
+surprise Dr. Alec when she got home; meantime she had many a fine canter
+"over the hills and far away" with Mac, who preferred Mr. Atkinson's old
+Sorrel.
+
+Away they went, and, coming to the red maple, Rose obediently paused;
+but could not help stealing a glance in the forbidden direction before
+the call came. Yes, there was a hamper going under the seat, and then
+she caught sight of a tall man whom Mac seemed to be hustling into the
+carriage in a great hurry. One look was enough, and, with a cry of
+delight, Rose was off down the road as fast as Barkis could go.
+
+[Illustration: "WHICH CAUSED BARKIS TO SHY."]
+
+"Now I'll astonish uncle," she thought. "I'll dash up in grand style,
+and show him that I am not a coward, after all."
+
+Fired by this ambition, she startled Barkis by a sharp cut, and still
+more bewildered him by leaving him to his own guidance down the steep,
+stony road. The approach would have been a fine success if, just as Rose
+was about to pull up and salute, two or three distracted hens had not
+scuttled across the road with a great squawking, which caused Barkis to
+shy and stop so suddenly that his careless rider landed in an
+ignominious heap just under old Sorrel's astonished nose.
+
+Rose was up again before Dr. Alec was out of the carryall, and threw two
+dusty arms about his neck, crying with a breathless voice,--
+
+"O uncle, I'm _so_ glad to see you! It is better than a cart-load of
+goodies, and so dear of you to come!"
+
+"But aren't you hurt, child? That was a rough tumble, and I'm afraid you
+must be damaged somewhere," answered the Doctor, full of fond anxiety,
+as he surveyed his girl with pride.
+
+"My feelings are hurt, but my bones are all safe. It's too bad! I was
+going to do it so nicely, and those stupid hens spoilt it all," said
+Rose, quite crest-fallen, as well as much shaken.
+
+"I couldn't believe my eyes when I asked 'Where is Rose?' and Mac
+pointed to the little Amazon pelting down the hill at such a rate. You
+couldn't have done any thing that would please me more, and I'm
+delighted to see how well you ride. Now, will you mount again, or shall
+we turn Mac out and take you in?" asked Dr. Alec, as Aunt Jessie
+proposed a start, for the others were beckoning them to follow.
+
+"Pride goeth before a fall,--better not try to show off again, ma'am,"
+said Mac, who would have been more than mortal if he had refrained from
+teasing when so good a chance offered.
+
+"Pride does go before a fall, but I wonder if a sprained ankle always
+comes after it?" thought Rose, bravely concealing her pain, as she
+answered, with great dignity,--
+
+"I _prefer_ to ride. Come on, and see who will catch up first."
+
+She was up and away as she spoke, doing her best to efface the memory of
+her downfall by sitting very erect, elbows down, head well up, and
+taking the motion of the pony as Barkis cantered along as easily as a
+rocking-chair.
+
+"You ought to see her go over a fence and race when we ride together.
+She can scud, too, like a deer when we play 'Follow the leader,' and
+skip stones and bat balls almost as well as I can," said Mac, in reply
+to his uncle's praise of his pupil.
+
+"I'm afraid you will think her a sad tomboy, Alec; but really she seems
+so well and happy, I have not the heart to check her. She has broken out
+in the most unexpected way, and frisks like a colt; for she says she
+feels so full of spirits she _must_ run and shout whether it is proper
+or not," added Mrs. Jessie, who had been a pretty hoyden years ago
+herself.
+
+"Good,--good! that's the best news you could tell me;" and Dr. Alec
+rubbed his hands heartily. "Let the girl run and shout as much as she
+will,--it is a sure sign of health, and as natural to a happy child as
+frisking is to any young animal full of life. Tomboys make strong women
+usually, and I had far rather find Rose playing foot-ball with Mac than
+puttering over bead-work like that affected midget, Ariadne Blish."
+
+"But she cannot go on playing foot-ball very long; and we must not
+forget that she has a woman's work to do by and by," began Mrs. Jessie.
+
+"Neither will Mac play foot-ball much longer, but he will be all the
+better fitted for business, because of the health it gives him. Polish
+is easily added, if the foundations are strong; but no amount of gilding
+will be of use if your timber is not sound. I'm sure I'm right, Jessie;
+and if I can do as well by my girl during the next six months as I have
+the last, my experiment _will_ succeed."
+
+"It certainly will; for when I contrast that bright, blooming face with
+the pale, listless one that made my heart ache a while ago, I can
+believe in almost any miracle," said Mrs. Jessie, as Rose looked round
+to point out a lovely view, with cheeks like the ruddy apples in the
+orchard near by, eyes clear as the autumn sky overhead, and vigor in
+every line of her girlish figure.
+
+A general scramble among the rocks was followed by a regular gypsy
+lunch, which the young folks had the rapture of helping to prepare.
+Mother Atkinson put on her apron, turned up her sleeves, and fell to
+work as gayly as if in her own kitchen, boiling the kettle slung on
+three sticks over a fire of cones and fir-boughs; while the girls spread
+the mossy table with a feast of country goodies, and the children
+tumbled about in every one's way till the toot of the horn made them
+settle down like a flock of hungry birds.
+
+As soon as the merry meal and a brief interval of repose were over, it
+was unanimously voted to have some charades. A smooth, green spot
+between two stately pines was chosen for the stage; shawls hung up,
+properties collected, audience and actors separated, and a word quickly
+chosen.
+
+The first scene discovered Mac in a despondent attitude and shabby
+dress, evidently much troubled in mind. To him entered a remarkable
+creature with a brown-paper bag over its head. A little pink nose peeped
+through one hole in the middle, white teeth through another, and above
+two eyes glared fiercely. Spires of grass stuck in each side of the
+mouth seemed meant to represent whiskers; the upper corners of the bag
+were twisted like ears, and no one could doubt for a moment that the
+black scarf pinned on behind was a tail.
+
+This singular animal seemed in pantomime to be comforting his master and
+offering advice, which was finally acted upon, for Mac pulled off his
+boots, helped the little beast into them, and gave him a bag; then,
+kissing his paw with a hopeful gesture, the creature retired, purring so
+successfully that there was a general cry of "Cat, puss, boots!"
+
+"Cat is the word," replied a voice, and the curtain fell.
+
+The next scene was a puzzler, for in came another animal, on all-fours
+this time, with a new sort of tail and long ears. A gray shawl concealed
+its face, but an inquisitive sunbeam betrayed the glitter as of goggles
+under the fringe. On its back rode a small gentleman in Eastern costume,
+who appeared to find some difficulty in keeping his seat as his steed
+jogged along. Suddenly a spirit appeared, all in white, with long
+newspaper wings upon its back and golden locks about its face.
+Singularly enough, the beast beheld this apparition and backed
+instantly, but the rider evidently saw nothing and whipped up
+unmercifully, also unsuccessfully, for the spirit stood directly in the
+path, and the amiable beast would not budge a foot. A lively skirmish
+followed, which ended in the Eastern gentleman's being upset into a
+sweet-fern bush, while the better-bred animal abased itself before the
+shining one.
+
+The children were all in the dark till Mother Atkinson said, in an
+inquiring tone,--
+
+"If that isn't Balaam and the ass, I'd like to know what it is. Rose
+makes a sweet angel, don't she?"
+
+"Ass" was evidently the word, and the angel retired, smiling with
+mundane satisfaction over the compliment that reached her ears.
+
+The next was a pretty little scene from the immortal story of "Babes in
+the Wood." Jamie and Pokey came trotting in, hand-in-hand, and, having
+been through the parts many times before, acted with great ease and much
+fluency, audibly directing each other from time to time as they went
+along. The berries were picked, the way lost, tears shed, baby
+consolation administered, and then the little pair lay down among the
+brakes and died with their eyes wide open and the toes of their four
+little boots turned up to the daisies in the most pathetic manner.
+
+"Now the wobins tum. You be twite dead, Dimmy, and I'll peep and see
+'em," one defunct innocent was heard to say.
+
+"I hope they'll be quick, for I'm lying on a stone, and ants are walking
+up my leg like fury," murmured the other.
+
+Here the robins came flapping in with red scarfs over their breasts and
+leaves in their mouths, which they carefully laid upon the babes
+wherever they would show best. A prickly blackberry-leaf placed directly
+over Pokey's nose caused her to sneeze so violently that her little legs
+flew into the air; Jamie gave a startled "Ow!" and the pitying fowls
+fled giggling.
+
+After some discussion it was decided that the syllable must be "strew or
+strow," and then they waited to see if it was a good guess.
+
+This scene discovered Annette Snow in bed, evidently very ill; Miss
+Jenny was her anxious mamma, and her merry conversation amused the
+audience till Mac came in as a physician, and made great fun with his
+big watch, pompous manner, and absurd questions. He prescribed one
+pellet with an unpronounceable name, and left after demanding twenty
+dollars for his brief visit.
+
+The pellet was administered, and such awful agonies immediately set in
+that the distracted mamma bade a sympathetic neighbor run for Mother
+Know-all. The neighbor ran, and in came a brisk little old lady in cap
+and specs, with a bundle of herbs under her arm, which she at once
+applied in all sorts of funny ways, explaining their virtues as she
+clapped a plantain poultice here, put a pounded catnip plaster there, or
+tied a couple of mullein leaves round the sufferer's throat. Instant
+relief ensued, the dying child sat up and demanded baked beans, the
+grateful parent offered fifty dollars; but Mother Know-all indignantly
+refused it and went smiling away, declaring that a neighborly turn
+needed no reward, and a doctor's _fee_ was all a humbug.
+
+The audience were in fits of laughter over this scene, for Rose imitated
+Mrs. Atkinson capitally, and the herb-cure was a good hit at the
+excellent lady's belief that "yarbs" would save mankind if properly
+applied. No one enjoyed it more than herself, and the saucy children
+prepared for the grand _finale_ in high feather.
+
+This closing scene was brief but striking, for two trains of cars
+whizzed in from opposite sides, met with a terrible collision in the
+middle of the stage, and a general smash-up completed the word
+_catastrophe_.
+
+"Now let us act a proverb. I've got one all ready," said Rose, who was
+dying to distinguish herself in some way before Uncle Alec.
+
+So every one but Mac, the gay Westerner, and Rose, took their places on
+the rocky seats and discussed the late beautiful and varied charade, in
+which Pokey frankly pronounced her own scene the "bestest of all."
+
+In five minutes the curtain was lifted; nothing appeared but a very
+large sheet of brown paper pinned to a tree, and on it was drawn a
+clock-face, the hands pointing to four. A small note below informed the
+public that 4 A.M. was the time. Hardly had the audience grasped this
+important fact when a long water-proof serpent was seen uncoiling itself
+from behind a stump. An inch-worm, perhaps, would be a better
+description, for it travelled in the same humpy way as that pleasing
+reptile. Suddenly a very wide-awake and active fowl advanced, pecking,
+chirping, and scratching vigorously. A tuft of green leaves waved upon
+his crest, a larger tuft of brakes made an umbrageous tail, and a shawl
+of many colors formed his flapping wings. A truly noble bird, whose legs
+had the genuine strut, whose eyes shone watchfully, and whose voice had
+a ring that evidently struck terror into the caterpillar's soul, if it
+was a caterpillar. He squirmed, he wriggled, he humped as fast as he
+could, trying to escape; but all in vain. The tufted bird espied him,
+gave one warbling sort of crow, pounced upon him, and flapped
+triumphantly away.
+
+"That early bird got such a big worm he could hardly carry him off,"
+laughed Aunt Jessie, as the children shouted over the joke suggested by
+Mac's nickname.
+
+"That is one of uncle's favorite proverbs, so I got it up for his
+especial benefit," said Rose, coming up with the two-legged worm beside
+her.
+
+"Very clever; what next?" asked Dr. Alec as she sat down beside him.
+
+"The Dove boys are going to give us an 'Incident in the Life of
+Napoleon,' as they call it; the children think it very splendid, and the
+little fellows do it rather nicely," answered Mac with condescension.
+
+A tent appeared, and pacing to and fro before it was a little sentinel,
+who, in a brief soliloquy, informed the observers that the elements were
+in a great state of confusion, that he had marched some hundred miles or
+so that day, and that he was dying for want of sleep. Then he paused,
+leaned upon his gun, and seemed to doze; dropped slowly down,
+overpowered with slumber, and finally lay flat, with his gun beside him,
+a faithless little sentinel. Enter Napoleon, cocked hat, gray coat, high
+boots, folded arms, grim mouth, and a melodramatic stride. Freddy Dove
+always covered himself with glory in this part, and "took the stage"
+with a Napoleonic attitude that brought down the house; for the
+big-headed boy, with solemn, dark eyes and square brow, was "the very
+moral of that rascal, Boneyparty," Mother Atkinson said.
+
+Some great scheme was evidently brewing in his mighty mind,--a trip
+across the Alps, a bonfire at Moscow, or a little skirmish at Waterloo,
+perhaps, for he marched in silent majesty till suddenly a gentle snore
+disturbed the imperial reverie. He saw the sleeping soldier and glared
+upon him, saying in an awful tone,--
+
+"Ha! asleep at his post! Death is the penalty,--he must die!"
+
+Picking up the musket, he is about to execute summary justice, as
+emperors are in the habit of doing, when something in the face of the
+weary sentinel appears to touch him. And well it might, for a most
+engaging little warrior was Jack as he lay with his shako half off, his
+childish face trying to keep sober, and a great black moustache over his
+rosy mouth. It would have softened the heart of any Napoleon, and the
+Little Corporal proved himself a man by relenting, and saying, with a
+lofty gesture of forgiveness,--
+
+"Brave fellow, he is worn out; I will let him sleep, and mount guard in
+his place."
+
+Then, shouldering the gun, this noble being strode to and fro with a
+dignity which thrilled the younger spectators. The sentinel awakes, sees
+what has happened, and gives himself up for lost. But the Emperor
+restores his weapon, and, with that smile which won all hearts, says,
+pointing to a high rock whereon a crow happens to be sitting: "Be brave,
+be vigilant, and remember that from yonder Pyramid generations are
+beholding you," and with these memorable words he vanishes, leaving the
+grateful soldier bolt upright, with his hand at his temple and deathless
+devotion stamped upon his youthful countenance.
+
+The applause which followed this superb piece had hardly subsided, when
+a sudden splash and a shrill cry caused a general rush toward the
+waterfall that went gambolling down the rocks, singing sweetly as it
+ran. Pokey had tried to gambol also, and had tumbled into a shallow
+pool, whither Jamie had gallantly followed, in a vain attempt to fish
+her out, and both were paddling about half frightened, half pleased with
+the unexpected bath.
+
+This mishap made it necessary to get the dripping infants home as soon
+as possible; so the wagons were loaded up, and away they went, as merry
+as if the mountain air had really been "Oxygenated Sweets not Bitters,"
+as Dr. Alec suggested when Mac said he felt as jolly as if he had been
+drinking champagne instead of the currant wine that came with a great
+frosted cake wreathed with sugar roses in Aunt Plenty's hamper of
+goodies.
+
+Rose took part in all the fun, and never betrayed by look or word the
+twinges of pain she suffered in her ankle. She excused herself from the
+games in the evening, however, and sat talking to Uncle Alec in a lively
+way, that both amazed and delighted him; for she confided to him that
+she played horse with the children, drilled with the light infantry,
+climbed trees, and did other dreadful things that would have caused the
+aunts to cry aloud if they knew of them.
+
+"I don't care a pin what they say if you don't mind, uncle," she
+answered, when he pictured the dismay of the good ladies.
+
+"Ah, it's all very well to defy _them_, but you are getting so rampant,
+I'm afraid you will defy me next, and then where are we?"
+
+"No, I won't! I shouldn't dare; because you are my guardian, and can put
+me in a strait-jacket if you like;" and Rose laughed in his face, even
+while she nestled closer with a confiding gesture pleasant to see.
+
+"Upon my word, Rosy, I begin to feel like the man who bought an
+elephant, and then didn't know what to do with him. I thought I had got
+a pet and plaything for years to come; but here you are growing up like
+a bean-stalk, and I shall find I've got a strong-minded little woman on
+my hands before I can turn round. There's a predicament for a man and an
+uncle!"
+
+Dr. Alec's comic distress was mercifully relieved for the time being by
+a dance of goblins on the lawn, where the children, with pumpkin
+lanterns on their heads, frisked about like will-o'-the-wisps, as a
+parting surprise.
+
+When Rose went to bed, she found that Uncle Alec had not forgotten her;
+for on the table stood a delicate little easel, holding two miniatures
+set in velvet. She knew them both, and stood looking at them till her
+eyes brimmed over with tears that were both sweet and sad; for they were
+the faces of her father and mother, beautifully copied from portraits
+fast fading away.
+
+Presently she knelt down, and, putting her arms round the little shrine,
+kissed one after the other, saying with an earnest voice, "I'll truly
+try to make them glad to see me by and by."
+
+And that was Rose's little prayer on the night of her fourteenth
+birthday.
+
+Two days later, the Campbells went home, a larger party than when they
+came; for Dr. Alec was escort, and Kitty Comet was borne in state in a
+basket, with a bottle of milk, some tiny sandwiches, and a doll's dish
+to drink out of, as well as a bit of carpet to lie on in her palace car,
+out of which she kept popping her head in the most fascinating manner.
+
+There was a great kissing and cuddling, waving of handkerchiefs, and
+last good-bys, as they went; and when they had started, Mother Atkinson
+came running after them, to tuck in some little pies, hot from the oven,
+"for the dears, who might get tired of bread and butter during that long
+day's travel."
+
+Another start, and another halt; for the Snow children came shrieking up
+to demand the three kittens that Pokey was coolly carrying off in a
+travelling-bag. The unhappy kits were rescued, half smothered, and
+restored to their lawful owners, amid dire lamentation from the little
+kidnapper, who declared that she only "tooked um 'cause they'd want to
+go wid their sister Tomit."
+
+Start number three and stoppage number three, as Frank hailed them with
+the luncheon-basket, which had been forgotten, after every one had
+protested that it was safely in.
+
+All went well after that, and the long journey was pleasantly beguiled
+by Pokey and Pussy, who played together so prettily that they were
+considered public benefactors.
+
+"Rose doesn't want to go home, for she knows the aunts won't let her
+rampage as she did up at Cosey Corner," said Mac, as they approached the
+old house.
+
+"I _can't_ rampage if I want to,--for a time, at least; and I'll tell
+you why. I sprained my ankle when I tumbled off of Barkis, and it gets
+worse and worse; though I've done all I know to cure it and hide it, so
+it shouldn't trouble any one," whispered Rose, knitting her brows with
+pain, as she prepared to descend, wishing her uncle would take her
+instead of her bundles.
+
+How he did it, she never knew; but Mac had her up the steps and on the
+parlor sofa before she could put her foot to the ground.
+
+"There you are,--right side up with care; and mind, now, if your ankle
+bothers you, and you are laid up with it, _I_ am to be your footman.
+It's only fair, you know; for I don't forget how good you have been to
+me." And Mac went to call Phebe, so full of gratitude and good-will that
+his very goggles shone.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+_EAR-RINGS._
+
+
+ROSE'S sprain proved to be a serious one, owing to neglect, and Dr. Alec
+ordered her to lie on the sofa for a fortnight at least; whereat she
+groaned dismally, but dared not openly complain, lest the boys turn upon
+her with some of the wise little sermons on patience which she had
+delivered for their benefit.
+
+It was Mac's turn now, and honorably did he repay his debt; for, as
+school was still forbidden, he had plenty of leisure, and devoted most
+of it to Rose. He took many steps for her, and even allowed her to teach
+him to knit, after assuring himself that many a brave Scotchman knew how
+to "click the pricks." She was obliged to take a solemn vow of secrecy,
+however, before he would consent; for, though he did not mind being
+called "Giglamps," "Granny" was more than his boyish soul could bear,
+and at the approach of any of the clan his knitting vanished as if by
+magic, which frequent "chucking" out of sight did not improve the stripe
+he was doing for Rose's new afghan.
+
+She was busy with this pretty work one bright October afternoon, all
+nicely established on her sofa in the upper hall, while Jamie and Pokey
+(lent for her amusement) were keeping house in a corner, with Comet and
+Rose's old doll for their "childerns."
+
+Presently, Phebe appeared with a card. Rose read it, made a grimace,
+then laughed and said,--
+
+"I'll see Miss Bliss," and immediately put on her company face, pulled
+out her locket, and settled her curls.
+
+"You dear thing, how _do_ you do? I've been trying to call every day
+since you got back, but I have so many engagements, I really couldn't
+manage it till to-day. So glad you are alone, for mamma said I could sit
+awhile, and I brought my lace-work to show you, for it's perfectly
+lovely," cried Miss Bliss, greeting Rose with a kiss, which was not very
+warmly returned, though Rose politely thanked her for coming, and bid
+Phebe roll up the easy chair.
+
+"How nice to have a maid!" said Annabel, as she settled herself with
+much commotion. "Still, dear, you must be very lonely, and feel the need
+of a bosom friend."
+
+"I have my cousins," began Rose, with dignity, for her visitor's
+patronizing manner ruffled her temper.
+
+"Gracious, child! you don't make friends of those great boys, do you?
+Mamma says she really doesn't think it's proper for you to be with them
+so much."
+
+"They are like brothers, and my aunts _do_ think it's proper," replied
+Rose, rather sharply, for it struck her that this was none of Miss
+Bliss's business.
+
+"I was merely going to say I should be glad to have you for _my_ bosom
+friend, for Hatty Mason and I have had an awful quarrel, and don't
+speak. She is too mean to live, so I gave her up. Just think, she never
+paid back one of the caramels I've given her, and never invited me to
+her party. I could have forgiven the caramels, but to be left out in
+that rude way was more than I could bear, and I told her never to look
+at me again as long as she lived."
+
+"You are very kind, but I don't think I want a bosom friend, thank you,"
+said Rose, as Annabel stopped to bridle and shake her flaxen head over
+the delinquent Hatty Mason.
+
+Now, in her heart Miss Bliss thought Rose "a stuck-up puss," but the
+other girls wanted to know her and couldn't, the old house was a
+charming place to visit, the lads were considered fine fellows, and the
+Campbells "are one of our first families," mamma said. So Annabel
+concealed her vexation at Rose's coolness, and changed the subject as
+fast as possible.
+
+"Studying French, I see; who is your teacher?" she asked, flirting over
+the leaves of "Paul and Virginia," that lay on the table.
+
+"I don't _study_ it, for I read French as well as English, and uncle and
+I often speak it for hours. He talks like a native, and says I have a
+remarkably good accent."
+
+Rose really could not help this small display of superiority, for French
+was one of her strong points, and she was vain of it, though she usually
+managed to hide this weakness. She felt that Annabel would be the better
+for a little crushing, and could not resist the temptation to patronize
+in her turn.
+
+"Oh, indeed!" said Miss Bliss, rather blankly, for French was not _her_
+strong point by any means.
+
+"I am to go abroad with uncle in a year or two, and he knows how
+important it is to understand the languages. Half the girls who leave
+school can't speak decent French, and when they go abroad they are _so_
+mortified. I shall be very glad to help you, if you like, for of course
+_you_ have no one to talk with at home."
+
+Now Annabel, though she _looked_ like a wax doll, had feelings within
+her instead of sawdust, and these feelings were hurt by Rose's lofty
+tone. She thought her more "stuck up" than ever, but did not know how to
+bring her down, yet longed to do it, for she felt as if she had received
+a box on the ear, and involuntarily put her hand up to it. The touch of
+an ear-ring consoled her, and suggested a way of returning tit for tat
+in a telling manner.
+
+"Thank you, dear; I don't need any help, for our teacher is from Paris,
+and of course _he_ speaks better French than your uncle." Then she
+added, with a gesture of her head that set the little bells on her ears
+to tingling: "How do you like my new ear-rings? Papa gave them to me
+last week, and every one says they are lovely."
+
+Rose came down from her high horse with a rapidity that was comical, for
+Annabel had the upper hand now. Rose adored pretty things, longed to
+wear them, and the desire of her girlish soul was to have her ears
+bored, only Dr. Alec thought it foolish, so she never had done it. She
+would gladly have given all the French she could jabber for a pair of
+golden bells with pearl-tipped tongues, like those Annabel wore; and,
+clasping her hands, she answered, in a tone that went to the hearer's
+heart,--
+
+"They are _too_ sweet for any thing! If uncle would only let me wear
+some, I should be _perfectly_ happy."
+
+"I wouldn't mind what he says. Papa laughed at me at first, but he likes
+them now, and says I shall have diamond solitaires when I am eighteen,"
+said Annabel, quite satisfied with her shot.
+
+"I've got a pair now that were mamma's, and a beautiful little pair of
+pearl and turquoise ones, that I am dying to wear," sighed Rose.
+
+"Then do it. I'll pierce your ears, and you must wear a bit of silk in
+them till they are well; your curls will hide them nicely; then, some
+day, slip in your smallest ear-rings, and see if your uncle don't like
+them."
+
+"I asked him if it wouldn't do my eyes good once when they were red, and
+he only laughed. People do cure weak eyes that way, don't they?"
+
+"Yes, indeed, and yours _are_ sort of red. Let me see. Yes, I really
+think you ought to do it before they get worse," said Annabel, peering
+into the large clear eye offered for inspection.
+
+"Does it hurt much?" asked Rose, wavering.
+
+"Oh dear, no! just a prick and a pull, and it's all over. I've done lots
+of ears, and know just how. Come, push up your hair and get a big
+needle."
+
+"I don't quite like to do it without asking uncle's leave," faltered
+Rose, when all was ready for the operation.
+
+"Did he ever forbid it?" demanded Annabel hovering over her prey like a
+vampire.
+
+"No, never!"
+
+[Illustration: "PUNCH!" SAID ROSE, IN THE TONE OF ONE GIVING THE ORDER
+"FIRE!"]
+
+"Then do it, unless you are _afraid_," cried Miss Bliss, bent on
+accomplishing the deed.
+
+That last word settled the matter, and, closing her eyes, Rose said
+"Punch!" in the tone of one giving the fatal order "Fire!"
+
+Annabel punched, and the victim bore it in heroic silence, though she
+turned pale and her eyes were full of tears of anguish.
+
+"There! Now pull the bits of silk often, and cold-cream your ears every
+night, and you'll soon be ready for the rings," said Annabel, well
+pleased with her job, for the girl who spoke French with "a fine accent"
+lay flat upon the sofa, looking as exhausted as if she had had both ears
+cut off.
+
+"It does hurt dreadfully, and I know uncle won't like it," sighed Rose,
+as remorse began to gnaw. "Promise not to tell, or I shall be teased to
+death," she added, anxiously, entirely forgetting the two little
+pitchers gifted with eyes as well as ears, who had been watching the
+whole performance from afar.
+
+"Never. Mercy me, what's that?" and Annabel started as a sudden sound of
+steps and voices came up from below.
+
+"It's the boys! Hide the needle. Do my ears show? Don't breathe a word!"
+whispered Rose, scrambling about to conceal all traces of their iniquity
+from the sharp eyes of the clan.
+
+Up they came, all in good order, laden with the proceeds of a nutting
+expedition, for they always reported to Rose and paid tribute to their
+queen in the handsomest manner.
+
+"How many, and how big! We'll have a grand roasting frolic after tea,
+won't we?" said Rose, plunging both hands into a bag of glossy brown
+nuts, while the clan "stood at ease" and nodded to Annabel.
+
+"That lot was picked especially for you, Rosy. I got every one myself,
+and they are extra whackers," said Mac, presenting a bushel or so.
+
+"You should have seen Giglamps when he was after them. He pitched out of
+the tree, and would have broken his blessed old neck if Arch had not
+caught him," observed Steve, as he lounged gracefully in the window
+seat.
+
+"You needn't talk, Dandy, when you didn't know a chestnut from a beech,
+and kept on thrashing till I told you of it," retorted Mac, festooning
+himself over the back of the sofa, being a privileged boy.
+
+"I don't make mistakes when I thrash you, old Worm, so you'd better mind
+what you are about," answered Steve, without a ray of proper respect for
+his elder brother.
+
+"It is getting dark, and I must go, or mamma will be alarmed," said
+Annabel rising in sudden haste, though she hoped to be asked to remain
+to the nut-party.
+
+No one invited her; and all the while she was putting on her things and
+chatting to Rose the boys were telegraphing to one another the sad fact
+that some one ought to escort the young lady home. Not a boy felt heroic
+enough to cast himself into the breach, however; even polite Archie
+shirked the duty, saying to Charlie, as they quietly slipped into an
+adjoining room,--
+
+"I'm not going to do all the gallivanting. Let Steve take that chit home
+and show his manners."
+
+"I'll be hanged if I do!" answered Prince, who disliked Miss Bliss
+because she tried to be coquettish with him.
+
+"Then I will," and, to the dismay of both recreant lads, Dr. Alec walked
+out of the room to offer his services to the "chit."
+
+He was too late, however, for Mac, obeying a look from Rose, had already
+made a victim of himself, and trudged meekly away, wishing the gentle
+Annabel at the bottom of the Red Sea.
+
+"Then I will take this lady down to tea, as the other one has found a
+_gentleman_ to go home with her. I see the lamps are lighted below, and
+I smell a smell which tells me that aunty has something extra nice for
+us to-night."
+
+As he spoke, Dr. Alec was preparing to carry Rose downstairs as usual;
+but Archie and Prince rushed forward, begging with penitent eagerness
+for the honor of carrying her in an arm-chair. Rose consented, fearing
+that her uncle's keen eye would discover the fatal bits of silk; so the
+boys crossed hands, and, taking a good grip of each curly pate, she was
+borne down in state, while the others followed by way of the banisters.
+
+Tea was ordered earlier than usual, so that Jamie and his dolly could
+have a taste, at least, of the holiday fun, for they were to stay till
+seven, and be allowed twelve roasted chestnuts apiece, which they were
+under bonds not to eat till next day.
+
+Tea was despatched rapidly, therefore, and the party gathered round the
+wide hearth in the dining-room, where the nuts were soon dancing gayly
+on hot shovels or bouncing out among the company, thereby causing
+delightful panics among the little ones.
+
+"Come, Rosy, tell us a story while we work, for you can't help much, and
+must amuse us as your share," proposed Mac, who sat in the shade
+pricking nuts, and who knew by experience what a capital little
+Scheherazade his cousin was.
+
+"Yes, we poor monkeys can't burn our paws for nothing, so tell away,
+Pussy," added Charlie, as he threw several hot nuts into her lap and
+shook his fingers afterward.
+
+"Well, I happen to have a little story with a moral to it in my mind,
+and I will tell it, though it is intended for younger children than
+you," answered Rose, who was rather fond of telling instructive tales.
+
+"Fire away," said Geordie, and she obeyed, little thinking what a
+disastrous story it would prove to herself.
+
+"Well, once upon a time, a little girl went to see a young lady who was
+very fond of her. Now, the young lady happened to be lame, and had to
+have her foot bandaged up every day; so she kept a basketful of
+bandages, all nicely rolled and ready. The little girl liked to play
+with this basket, and one day, when she thought no one saw her, she took
+one of the rolls without asking leave, and put it in her pocket."
+
+Here Pokey, who had been peering lovingly down at the five warm nuts
+that lay at the bottom of her tiny pocket, suddenly looked up and said,
+"Oh!" in a startled tone, as if the moral tale had become intensely
+interesting all at once.
+
+Rose heard and saw the innocent betrayal of the small sinner, and went
+on in a most impressive manner, while the boys nudged one another and
+winked as they caught the joke.
+
+"But an eye did see this naughty little girl, and whose eye do you think
+it was?"
+
+"Eye of Dod," murmured conscience-stricken Pokey, spreading two chubby
+little hands before the round face, which they were not half big enough
+to hide.
+
+Rose was rather taken aback by this reply, but, feeling that she was
+producing a good effect, she added, seriously,--
+
+"Yes, God saw her, and so did the young lady, but she did not say any
+thing; she waited to see what the little girl would do about it. She had
+been very happy before she took the bandage, but when it was in her
+pocket she seemed troubled, and pretty soon stopped playing and sat down
+in a corner, looking very sober. She thought a few minutes, and then
+went and put back the roll very softly, and her face cleared up, and she
+was a happy child again. The young lady was glad to see that, and
+wondered what made the little girl put it back."
+
+"Tonscience p'icked her," murmured a contrite voice from behind the
+small hands pressed tightly over Pokey's red face.
+
+"And why did she take it, do you suppose?" asked Rose, in a
+school-marmish tone, feeling that all the listeners were interested in
+her tale and its unexpected application.
+
+"It was _so_ nice and wound, and she wanted it deffly," answered the
+little voice.
+
+"Well, I'm glad she had such a good conscience. The moral is that
+people who steal don't enjoy what they take, and are not happy till they
+put it back. What makes that little girl hide her face?" asked Rose, as
+she concluded.
+
+"Me's so 'shamed of Pokey," sobbed the small culprit, quite overcome by
+remorse and confusion at this awful disclosure.
+
+"Come, Rose, it's too bad to tell her little tricks before every one,
+and preach at her in that way; you wouldn't like it yourself," began Dr.
+Alec, taking the weeper on his knee and administering consolation in the
+shape of kisses and nuts.
+
+Before Rose could express her regret, Jamie, who had been reddening and
+ruffling like a little turkey-cock for several minutes, burst out
+indignantly, bent on avenging the wound given to his beloved dolly.
+
+"_I_ know something bad that _you_ did, and I'm going to tell right out.
+You thought we didn't see you, but we did, and you said uncle wouldn't
+like it, and the boys would tease, and you made Annabel promise not to
+tell, and she punched holes in your ears to put ear-rings in. So now!
+and that's much badder than to take an old piece of rag; and I hate you
+for making my Pokey cry."
+
+Jamie's somewhat incoherent explosion produced such an effect that
+Pokey's small sin was instantly forgotten, and Rose felt that her hour
+had come.
+
+"What! what! what!" cried the boys in a chorus, dropping their shovels
+and knives to gather round Rose, for a guilty clutching at her ears
+betrayed her, and with a feeble cry of "Annabel made me!" she hid her
+head among the pillows like an absurd little ostrich.
+
+"Now she'll go prancing round with bird-cages and baskets and carts and
+pigs, for all I know, in her ears, as the other girls do, and won't she
+look like a goose?" asked one tormentor, tweaking a curl that strayed
+out from the cushions.
+
+"I didn't think she'd be so silly," said Mac, in a tone of
+disappointment that told Rose she had sunk in the esteem of her wise
+cousin.
+
+"That Bliss girl is a nuisance, and ought not to be allowed to come here
+with her nonsensical notions," said the Prince, feeling a strong desire
+to shake that young person as an angry dog might shake a mischievous
+kitten.
+
+"How do _you_ like it, uncle?" asked Archie, who, being the head of a
+family himself, believed in preserving discipline at all costs.
+
+"I am very much surprised; but I see she is a girl, after all, and must
+have her vanities like all the rest of them," answered Dr. Alec, with a
+sigh, as if he had expected to find Rose a sort of angel, above all
+earthly temptation.
+
+"What shall you do about it, sir?" inquired Geordie, wondering what
+punishment would be inflicted on a feminine culprit.
+
+"As she is fond of ornaments, perhaps we had better give her a nose-ring
+also. I have one somewhere that a Fiji belle once wore; I'll look it
+up," and, leaving Pokey to Jamie's care, Dr. Alec rose as if to carry
+out his suggestion in earnest.
+
+"Good! good! We'll do it right away! Here's a gimlet, so you hold her,
+boys, while I get her dear little nose all ready," cried Charlie,
+whisking away the pillows as the other boys danced about the sofa in
+true Fiji style.
+
+It was a dreadful moment, for Rose could not run away,--she could only
+grasp her precious nose with one hand and extend the other, crying
+distractedly,--
+
+"O uncle, save me, save me!"
+
+Of course he saved her; and when she was securely barricaded by his
+strong arm, she confessed her folly in such humiliation of spirit that
+the lads, after a good laugh at her, decided to forgive her and lay all
+the blame on the tempter, Annabel. Even Dr. Alec relented so far as to
+propose two gold rings for the ears instead of one copper one for the
+nose; a proceeding which proved that if Rose had all the weakness of her
+sex for jewellery, he had all the inconsistency of his in giving a
+pretty penitent exactly what she wanted, spite of his better judgment.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+_BREAD AND BUTTON-HOLES._
+
+
+"WHAT in the world is my girl thinking about all alone here, with such a
+solemn face?" asked Dr. Alec, coming into the study, one November day,
+to find Rose sitting there with folded hands and a very thoughtful
+aspect.
+
+"Uncle, I want to have some serious conversation with you, if you have
+time," she said, coming out of a brown study, as if she had not heard
+his question.
+
+"I'm entirely at your service, and most happy to listen," he answered,
+in his politest manner, for when Rose put on her womanly little airs he
+always treated her with a playful sort of respect that pleased her very
+much.
+
+Now, as he sat down beside her, she said, very soberly,--
+
+"I've been trying to decide what trade I would learn, and I want you to
+advise me."
+
+"Trade, my dear?" and Dr. Alec looked so astonished that she hastened to
+explain.
+
+"I forgot that you didn't hear the talk about it up at Cosey Corner. You
+see we used to sit under the pines and sew, and talk a great deal,--all
+the ladies, I mean,--and I liked it very much. Mother Atkinson thought
+that every one should have a trade, or something to make a living out
+of, for rich people may grow poor; you know, and poor people have to
+work. Her girls were very clever, and could do ever so many things, and
+Aunt Jessie thought the old lady was right; so when I saw how happy and
+independent those young ladies were, I wanted to have a trade, and then
+it wouldn't matter about money, though I like to have it well enough."
+
+Dr. Alec listened to this explanation with a curious mixture of
+surprise, pleasure, and amusement in his face, and looked at his little
+niece as if she had suddenly changed into a young woman. She had grown a
+good deal in the last six months, and an amount of thinking had gone on
+in that young head which would have astonished him greatly could he have
+known it all, for Rose was one of the children who observe and meditate
+much, and now and then nonplus their friends by a wise or curious
+remark.
+
+"I quite agree with the ladies, and shall be glad to help you decide on
+something if I can," said the Doctor seriously. "What do you incline to?
+A natural taste or talent is a great help in choosing, you know."
+
+"I haven't any talent, or any especial taste that I can see, and that is
+why I can't decide, uncle. So, I think it would be a good plan to pick
+out some very _useful_ business and learn it, because I don't do it for
+pleasure, you see, but as a part of my education, and to be ready in
+case I'm ever poor," answered Rose, looking as if she rather longed for
+a little poverty so that her useful gift might be exercised.
+
+"Well, now, there is one very excellent, necessary, and womanly
+accomplishment that no girl should be without, for it is a help to rich
+and poor, and the comfort of families depends upon it. This fine talent
+is neglected nowadays, and considered old-fashioned, which is a sad
+mistake, and one that I don't mean to make in bringing up my girl. It
+should be a part of every girl's education, and I know of a most
+accomplished lady who will teach you in the best and pleasantest
+manner."
+
+"Oh, what is it?" cried Rose eagerly, charmed to be met in this helpful
+and cordial way.
+
+"Housekeeping!" answered Dr. Alec.
+
+"Is that an accomplishment?" asked Rose, while her face fell, for she
+had indulged in all sorts of vague, delightful dreams.
+
+"Yes; it is one of the most beautiful as well as useful of all the arts
+a woman can learn. Not so romantic, perhaps, as singing, painting,
+writing, or teaching, even; but one that makes many happy and
+comfortable, and home the sweetest place in the world. Yes, you may open
+your big eyes; but it is a fact that I had rather see you a good
+housekeeper than the greatest belle in the city. It need not interfere
+with any talent you may possess, but it _is_ a necessary part of your
+training, and I hope that you will set about it at once, now that you
+are well and strong."
+
+"Who is the lady?" asked Rose, rather impressed by her uncle's earnest
+speech.
+
+"Aunt Plenty."
+
+"Is _she_ accomplished?" began Rose in a wondering tone, for this
+great-aunt of hers had seemed the least cultivated of them all.
+
+"In the good old-fashioned way she is very accomplished, and has made
+this house a happy home to us all, ever since we can remember. She is
+not elegant, but genuinely good, and so beloved and respected that there
+will be universal mourning for her when her place is empty. No one can
+fill it, for the solid, homely virtues of the dear soul have gone out of
+fashion, as I say, and nothing new can be half so satisfactory, to me at
+least."
+
+"I should like to have people feel so about me. Can she teach me to do
+what she does, and to grow as good?" asked Rose, with a little prick of
+remorse for even thinking that Aunt Plenty was a commonplace old lady.
+
+"Yes, if you don't despise such simple lessons as she can give. I know
+it would fill her dear old heart with pride and pleasure to feel that
+any one cared to learn of her, for she fancies her day gone by. Let her
+teach you how to be what she has been,--a skilful, frugal, cheerful
+housewife; the maker and the keeper of a happy home, and by and by you
+will see what a valuable lesson it is."
+
+"I will, uncle. But how shall I begin?"
+
+"I'll speak to her about it, and she will make it all right with Dolly,
+for cooking is one of the main things, you know."
+
+"So it is! I don't mind that a bit, for I like to mess, and used to try
+at home; but I had no one to tell me, so I never did much but spoil my
+aprons. Pies are great fun, only Dolly is _so_ cross, I don't believe
+she will ever let me do a thing in the kitchen."
+
+"Then we'll cook in the parlor. I fancy Aunt Plenty will manage her, so
+don't be troubled. Only mind this, I'd rather you learned how to make
+good bread than the best pies ever baked. When you bring me a handsome,
+wholesome loaf, entirely made by yourself, I shall be more pleased than
+if you offered me a pair of slippers embroidered in the very latest
+style. I don't wish to bribe you, but I'll give you my heartiest kiss,
+and promise to eat every crumb of the loaf myself."
+
+"It's a bargain! it's a bargain! Come and tell aunty all about it, for
+I'm in a hurry to begin," cried Rose, dancing before him toward the
+parlor, where Miss Plenty sat alone knitting contentedly, yet ready to
+run at the first call for help of any sort, from any quarter.
+
+No need to tell how surprised and gratified she was at the invitation
+she received to teach the child the domestic arts which were her only
+accomplishments, nor to relate how energetically she set about her
+pleasant task. Dolly dared not grumble, for Miss Plenty was the one
+person whom she obeyed, and Phebe openly rejoiced, for these new lessons
+brought Rose nearer to her, and glorified the kitchen in the good girl's
+eyes.
+
+To tell the truth, the elder aunts had sometimes felt that they did not
+have quite their share of the little niece who had won their hearts long
+ago, and was the sunshine of the house. They talked it over together
+sometimes, but always ended by saying that as Alec had all the
+responsibility, he should have the larger share of the dear girl's love
+and time, and they would be contented with such crumbs of comfort as
+they could get.
+
+[Illustration: UNCLE ALEC COULD NOT RESIST PEEPING IN AT THE DOOR.--Page
+185.]
+
+Dr. Alec had found out this little secret, and, after reproaching
+himself for being blind and selfish, was trying to devise some way of
+mending matters without troubling any one, when Rose's new whim
+suggested an excellent method of weaning her a little from himself. He
+did not know how fond he was of her till he gave her up to the new
+teacher, and often could not resist peeping in at the door, to see how
+she got on, or stealing sly looks through the slide when she was deep in
+dough, or listening intently to some impressive lecture from Aunt
+Plenty. They caught him at it now and then, and ordered him off the
+premises at the point of the rolling-pin; or, if unusually successful,
+and, therefore, in a milder mood, they lured him away with bribes of
+gingerbread, a stray pickle, or a tart that was not quite symmetrical
+enough to suit their critical eyes.
+
+Of course he made a point of partaking copiously of all the delectable
+messes that now appeared at table, for both the cooks were on their
+mettle, and he fared sumptuously every day. But an especial relish was
+given to any dish when, in reply to his honest praise of it, Rose
+colored up with innocent pride, and said modestly,--
+
+"I made that, uncle, and I'm glad you like it."
+
+It was some time before the perfect loaf appeared, for bread-making is
+an art not easily learned, and Aunt Plenty was very thorough in her
+teaching; so Rose studied yeast first, and through various stages of
+cake and biscuit came at last to the crowning glory of the "handsome,
+wholesome loaf." It appeared at tea-time, on a silver salver, proudly
+borne in by Phebe, who could not refrain from whispering, with a beaming
+face, as she set it down before Dr. Alec,--
+
+"Ain't it just lovely, sir?"
+
+"It is a regularly splendid loaf! Did my girl make it all herself?" he
+asked, surveying the shapely, sweet-smelling object, with real interest
+and pleasure.
+
+"Every particle herself, and never asked a bit of help or advice from
+any one," answered Aunt Plenty, folding her hands with an air of
+unmitigated satisfaction, for her pupil certainly did her great credit.
+
+"I've had so many failures and troubles that I really thought I never
+should be able to do it alone. Dolly let one splendid batch burn up
+because I forgot it. She was there and smelt it, but never did a thing,
+for she said, when I undertook to bake bread I must give my whole mind
+to it. Wasn't it hard? She might have called me at least," said Rose,
+recollecting, with a sigh, the anguish of that moment.
+
+"She meant you should learn by experience, as Rosamond did in that
+little affair of the purple jar, you remember."
+
+"I always thought it very unfair in her mother not to warn the poor
+thing a little bit; and she was regularly mean when Rosamond asked for a
+bowl to put the purple stuff in, and she said, in such a provoking way,
+'I did not agree to lend you a bowl, but I will, my dear.' Ugh! I always
+want to shake that hateful woman, though she _was_ a moral mamma."
+
+"Never mind her now, but tell me all about my loaf," said Dr. Alec, much
+amused at Rose's burst of indignation.
+
+"There's nothing to tell, uncle, except that I did my best, gave my mind
+to it, and sat watching over it all the while it was in the oven till I
+was quite baked myself. Every thing went right this time, and it came
+out a nice, round, crusty loaf, as you see. Now taste it, and tell me if
+it is good as well as handsome."
+
+"Must I cut it? Can't I put it under a glass cover and keep it in the
+parlor as they do wax flowers and fine works of that sort?"
+
+"What an idea, uncle! It would mould and be spoilt. Besides, people
+would laugh at us, and make fun of my old-fashioned accomplishment. You
+promised to eat it, and you must; not all at once, but as soon as you
+can, so I can make you some more."
+
+Dr. Alec solemnly cut off his favorite crusty slice, and solemnly ate
+it; then wiped his lips, and brushing back Rose's hair, solemnly kissed
+her on the forehead, saying heartily,--
+
+"My dear, it is perfect bread, and you are an honor to your teacher.
+When we have our model school I shall offer a prize for the best bread,
+and _you_ will get it."
+
+"I've got it already, and I'm quite satisfied," said Rose, slipping into
+her seat, and trying to hide her right hand which had a burn on it.
+
+But Dr. Alec saw it, guessed how it came there, and after tea insisted
+on easing the pain which she would hardly confess.
+
+"Aunt Clara says I am spoiling my hands, but I don't care, for I've had
+_such_ good times with Aunt Plenty, and I think she has enjoyed it as
+much as I have. Only one thing troubles me, uncle, and I want to ask you
+about it," said Rose, as they paced up and down the hall in the
+twilight, the bandaged hand very carefully laid on Dr. Alec's arm.
+
+"More little confidences? I like them immensely, so tell away, my dear."
+
+"Well, you see I feel as if Aunt Peace would like to do something for
+me, and I've found out what it can be. You know she can't go about like
+Aunty Plen, and we are so busy nowadays that she is rather lonely, I'm
+afraid. So I want to take lessons in sewing of her. She works so
+beautifully, and it is a useful thing, you know, and I ought to be a
+good needlewoman as well as housekeeper, oughtn't I?"
+
+"Bless your kind little heart, that is what I was thinking of the other
+day when Aunt Peace said she saw you very seldom now, you were so busy.
+I wanted to speak of it, but fancied you had as much on your hands as
+you could manage. It would delight the dear woman to teach you all her
+delicate handicraft, especially button-holes, for I believe that is
+where young ladies fail; at least I've heard them say so. So, do you
+devote your mind to button-holes; make 'em all over my clothes if you
+want something to practice on. I'll wear any quantity."
+
+Rose laughed at this reckless offer, but promised to attend to that
+important branch, though she confessed that darning was her weak point.
+Whereupon Uncle Alec, engaged to supply her with socks in all stages of
+dilapidation, and to have a new set at once, so that she could run the
+heels for him as a pleasant beginning.
+
+Then they went up to make their request in due form, to the great
+delight of gentle Aunt Peace, who got quite excited with the fun that
+went on while they wound yarn, looked up darning-needles, and fitted out
+a nice little mending basket for her pupil.
+
+Very busy and very happy were Rose's days now, for in the morning she
+went about the house with Aunt Plenty attending to linen-closets and
+store-rooms, pickling and preserving, exploring garret and cellar to see
+that all was right, and learning, in the good old-fashioned manner, to
+look well after the ways of the household.
+
+In the afternoon, after her walk or drive, she sat with Aunt Peace
+plying her needle, while Aunt Plenty, whose eyes were failing, knit and
+chatted briskly, telling many a pleasant story of old times, till the
+three were moved to laugh and cry together, for the busy needles were
+embroidering all sorts of bright patterns on the lives of the workers,
+though they seemed to be only stitching cotton and darning hose.
+
+It was a pretty sight to see the rosy-faced little maid sitting between
+the two old ladies, listening dutifully to their instructions, and
+cheering the lessons with her lively chatter and blithe laugh. If the
+kitchen had proved attractive to Dr. Alec when Rose was there at work,
+the sewing-room was quite irresistible, and he made himself so agreeable
+that no one had the heart to drive him away, especially when he read
+aloud or spun yarns.
+
+"There! I've made you a new set of warm nightgowns with four
+button-holes in each. See if they are not neatly done," said Rose, one
+day, some weeks after the new lessons began.
+
+"Even to a thread, and nice little bars across the end so I can't tear
+them when I twitch the buttons out. Most superior work, ma'am, and I'm
+deeply grateful; so much so, that I'll sew on these buttons myself, and
+save those tired fingers from another prick."
+
+"You sew them on?" cried Rose, with her eyes wide open in amazement.
+
+"Wait a bit till I get my sewing tackle, and then you shall see what _I_
+can do."
+
+"Can he, really?" asked Rose of Aunt Peace, as Uncle Alec marched off
+with a comical air of importance.
+
+"Oh, yes, I taught him years ago, before he went to sea; and I suppose
+he has had to do things for himself, more or less, ever since; so he has
+kept his hand in."
+
+He evidently had, for he was soon back with a funny little work-bag, out
+of which he produced a thimble without a top; and, having threaded his
+needle, he proceeded to sew on the buttons so handily that Rose was much
+impressed and amused.
+
+"I wonder if there is any thing in the world that _you_ cannot do," she
+said, in a tone of respectful admiration.
+
+"There are one or two things that I am not up to yet," he answered, with
+a laugh in the corner of his eye, as he waxed his thread with a
+flourish.
+
+"I should like to know what?"
+
+"Bread and button-holes, ma'am."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+_GOOD BARGAINS._
+
+
+IT was a rainy Sunday afternoon, and four boys were trying to spend it
+quietly in the "liberry," as Jamie called the room devoted to books and
+boys, at Aunt Jessie's. Will and Geordie were sprawling on the sofa,
+deep in the adventures of the scapegraces and ragamuffins whose
+histories are now the fashion. Archie lounged in the easy chair
+surrounded by newspapers; Charlie stood upon the rug, in an Englishman's
+favorite attitude, and, I regret to say, both were smoking cigars.
+
+"It is my opinion that this day will _never_ come to an end," said
+Prince, with a yawn that nearly rent him asunder.
+
+"Read and improve your mind, my son," answered Archie, peering solemnly
+over the paper behind which he had been dozing.
+
+"Don't you preach, parson; but put on your boots and come out for a
+tramp, instead of mulling over the fire like a granny."
+
+"No, thank you, tramps in an easterly storm don't strike me as amusing."
+There Archie stopped and held up his hand, for a pleasant voice was
+heard saying outside,--
+
+"Are the boys in the library, auntie?"
+
+"Yes, dear, and longing for sunshine; so run in and make it for them,"
+answered Mrs. Jessie.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+"It's Rose," and Archie threw his cigar into the fire.
+
+"What's that for?" asked Charlie.
+
+"Gentlemen don't smoke before ladies."
+
+"True; but I'm not going to waste _my_ weed," and Prince poked his into
+the empty inkstand that served them for an ash tray.
+
+A gentle tap at the door was answered by a chorus of "Come in," and Rose
+appeared, looking blooming and breezy with the chilly air.
+
+"If I disturb you, say so, and I'll go away," she began, pausing on the
+threshold with modest hesitation, for something in the elder boys' faces
+excited her curiosity.
+
+"You never disturb us, cousin," said the smokers, while the readers tore
+themselves from the heroes of the bar-room and gutter long enough to nod
+affably to their guest.
+
+As Rose bent to warm her hands, one end of Archie's cigar stuck out of
+the ashes, smoking furiously and smelling strongly.
+
+"Oh, you bad boys, how could you do it, to-day of all days?" she said
+reproachfully.
+
+"Where's the harm?" asked Archie.
+
+"You know as well as I do; your mother doesn't like it, and it's a bad
+habit, for it wastes money and does you no good."
+
+"Fiddle-sticks! every man smokes, even Uncle Alec, whom you think so
+perfect," began Charlie, in his teasing way.
+
+"No, he doesn't! He has given it up, and I know why," cried Rose
+eagerly.
+
+"Now I think of it, I haven't seen the old meerschaum since he came
+home. Did he stop it on our account?" asked Archie.
+
+"Yes," and Rose told the little scene on the seashore in the camping-out
+time.
+
+Archie seemed much impressed, and said manfully,--"He won't have done
+that in vain so far as I'm concerned. I don't care a pin about smoking,
+so can give it up as easy as not, and I promise you I will. I only do it
+now and then for fun."
+
+"You too?" and Rose looked up at the bonny Prince, who never looked less
+bonny than at that moment, for he had resumed his cigar, just to torment
+her.
+
+Now Charlie cared as little as Archie about smoking, but it would not do
+to yield too soon; so he shook his head, gave a great puff, and said
+loftily,--
+
+"You women are always asking us to give up harmless little things, just
+because _you_ don't approve of them. How would you like it if we did the
+same by you, Miss?"
+
+"If I did harmful or silly things, I'd thank you for telling me of them,
+and I'd try to mend my ways," answered Rose heartily.
+
+"Well, now, we'll see if you mean what you say. I'll give up smoking to
+please you, if you will give up something to please me," said Prince,
+seeing a good chance to lord it over the weaker vessel at small cost to
+himself.
+
+"I'll agree if it is as foolish as cigars."
+
+"Oh, it's ever so much sillier."
+
+"Then I promise; what is it?" and Rose quite trembled with anxiety to
+know which of her pet habits or possessions she must lose.
+
+"Give up your ear-rings," and Charlie laughed wickedly, sure that she
+would never hold to that bargain.
+
+Rose uttered a cry and clapped both hands to her ears where the gold
+rings hung.
+
+"O Charlie, wouldn't any thing else do as well? I've been through so
+much teasing and trouble, I do want to enjoy my pretty ear-rings, for I
+can wear them now."
+
+"Wear as many as you like, and I'll smoke in peace," returned this bad
+boy.
+
+"Will _nothing_ else satisfy you?" imploringly.
+
+"Nothing," sternly.
+
+Rose stood silent for a minute, thinking of something Aunt Jessie once
+said,--"You have more influence over the boys than you know; use it for
+their good, and I shall thank you all my life." Here was a chance to do
+some good by sacrificing a little vanity of her own. She felt it was
+right to do it, yet found it very hard, and asked wistfully,--
+
+"Do you mean _never_ wear them, Charlie?"
+
+"_Never_, unless you want me to smoke."
+
+"I never do."
+
+"Then clinch the bargain."
+
+He had no idea she would do it, and was much surprised when she took the
+dear rings from her ears, with a quick gesture, and held them out to
+him, saying, in a tone that made the color come up to his brown cheek,
+it was so full of sweet good will,--
+
+"I care more for my cousins than for my ear-rings, so I promise, and
+I'll keep my word."
+
+"For shame, Prince! let her wear her little danglers if she likes, and
+don't bargain about doing what you know is right," cried Archie, coming
+out of his grove of newspapers with an indignant bounce.
+
+But Rose was bent on showing her aunt that she _could_ use her influence
+for the boys' good, and said steadily,--
+
+"It is fair, and I want it to be so, then you will believe I'm in
+earnest. Here, each of you wear one of these on your watch-guard to
+remind you. _I_ shall not forget, because very soon I cannot wear
+ear-rings if I want to."
+
+As she spoke, Rose offered a little ring to each cousin, and the boys,
+seeing how sincere she was, obeyed her. When the pledges were safe, Rose
+stretched a hand to each, and the lads gave hers a hearty grip, half
+pleased and half ashamed of their part in the compact.
+
+Just at that moment Dr. Alec and Mrs. Jessie came in.
+
+"What's this? Dancing Ladies Triumph on Sunday?" exclaimed Uncle Alec,
+surveying the trio with surprise.
+
+"No, sir, it is the Anti-Tobacco League. Will you join?" said Charlie,
+while Rose slipped away to her aunt, and Archie buried both cigars
+behind the back log.
+
+When the mystery was explained, the elders were well pleased, and Rose
+received a vote of thanks, which made her feel as if she had done a
+service to her country, as she had, for every boy who grows up free from
+bad habits bids fair to make a good citizen.
+
+"I wish Rose would drive a bargain with Will and Geordie also, for I
+think these books are as bad for the small boys as cigars for the large
+ones," said Mrs. Jessie, sitting down on the sofa between the readers,
+who politely curled up their legs to make room for her.
+
+"I thought they were all the fashion," answered Dr. Alec, settling in
+the big chair with Rose.
+
+"So is smoking, but it is harmful. The writers of these popular stories
+intend to do good, I have no doubt, but it seems to me they fail because
+their motto is, 'Be smart, and you will be rich,' instead of 'Be honest,
+and you will be happy.' I do not judge hastily, Alec, for I have read a
+dozen, at least, of these stories, and, with much that is attractive to
+boys, I find a great deal to condemn in them, and other parents say the
+same when I ask them."
+
+"Now, Mum, that's too bad! I like 'em tip-top. This one is a regular
+screamer," cried Will.
+
+"They're bully books, and I'd like to know where's the harm," added
+Geordie.
+
+"You have just shown us one of the chief evils, and that is slang,"
+answered their mother quickly.
+
+"Must have it, ma'am. If these chaps talked all right, there'd be no fun
+in 'em," protested Will.
+
+"A boot-black _mustn't_ use good grammar, and a newsboy _must_ swear a
+little, or he wouldn't be natural," explained Geordie, both boys ready
+to fight gallantly for their favorites.
+
+"But my sons are neither boot-blacks nor newsboys, and I object to
+hearing them use such words as 'screamer,' 'bully,' and 'buster.' In
+fact, I fail to see the advantage of writing books about such people
+unless it is done in a very different way. I cannot think they will help
+to refine the ragamuffins, if they read them, and I'm sure they can do
+no good to the better class of boys, who through these books are
+introduced to police courts, counterfeiters' dens, gambling houses,
+drinking saloons, and all sorts of low life."
+
+"Some of them are about first-rate boys, mother; and they go to sea and
+study, and sail round the world, having great larks all the way."
+
+"I have read about them, Geordie, and though they _are_ better than the
+others, I am not satisfied with these _optical_ delusions, as I call
+them. Now, I put it to you, boys, is it natural for lads from fifteen to
+eighteen to command ships, defeat pirates, outwit smugglers, and so
+cover themselves with glory, that Admiral Farragut invites them to
+dinner, saying: 'Noble boy, you are an honor to your country!' Or, if
+the hero is in the army, he has hair-breadth escapes and adventures
+enough in one small volume to turn his hair white, and in the end he
+goes to Washington at the express desire of the President or
+Commander-in-Chief to be promoted to no end of stars and bars. Even if
+the hero is merely an honest boy trying to get his living, he is not
+permitted to do so in a natural way, by hard work and years of patient
+effort, but is suddenly adopted by a millionaire whose pocket-book he
+has returned; or a rich uncle appears from sea, just in the nick of
+time; or the remarkable boy earns a few dollars, speculates in pea-nuts
+or neckties, and grows rich so rapidly that Sinbad in the diamond valley
+is a pauper compared to him. Isn't it so, boys?"
+
+"Well, the fellows in these books _are_ mighty lucky, and very smart, I
+must say," answered Will, surveying an illustration on the open page
+before him, where a small but virtuous youth is upsetting a tipsy giant
+in a bar-room, and under it the elegant inscription: "Dick Dauntless
+punches the head of Sam Soaker."
+
+"It gives boys such wrong ideas of life and business; shows them so much
+evil and vulgarity that they need not know about, and makes the one
+success worth having a fortune, a lord's daughter, or some worldly
+honor, often not worth the time it takes to win. It does seem to me that
+some one might write stories that should be lively, natural, and
+helpful,--tales in which the English should be good, the morals pure,
+and the characters such as we can love in spite of the faults that all
+may have. I can't bear to see such crowds of eager little fellows at the
+libraries reading such trash; weak, when it is not wicked, and totally
+unfit to feed the hungry minds that feast on it for want of something
+better. There! my lecture is done; now I should like to hear what you
+gentlemen have to say," and Aunt Jessie subsided with a pretty flush on
+the face that was full of motherly anxiety for her boys.
+
+"Tom Brown just suits mother, and me too, so I wish Mr. Hughes would
+write another story as good," said Archie.
+
+"You don't find things of this sort in Tom Brown; yet these books are
+all in the Sunday-school libraries"--and Mrs. Jessie read the following
+paragraph from the book she had taken from Will's hand:--
+
+"'In this place we saw a tooth of John the Baptist. Ben said he could
+see locust and wild honey sticking to it. I couldn't. Perhaps John used
+a piece of the true cross for a toothpick.'"
+
+"A larky sort of a boy says that, Mum, and we skip the parts where they
+describe what they saw in the different countries," cried Will.
+
+"And those descriptions, taken mostly from guide-books, I fancy, are the
+only parts of any real worth. The scrapes of the bad boys make up the
+rest of the story, and it is for those you read these books, I think,"
+answered his mother, stroking back the hair off the honest little face
+that looked rather abashed at this true statement of the case.
+
+"Any way, mother, the ship part is useful, for we learn how to sail her,
+and by and by that will all come handy when we go to sea," put in
+Geordie.
+
+"Indeed; then you can explain this manoeuvre to me, of course--" and
+Mrs. Jessie read from another page the following nautical paragraph:--
+
+"The wind is south-south-west, and we can have her up four points closer
+to the wind, and still be six points off the wind. As she luffs up we
+shall man the fore and main sheets, slack on the weather, and haul on
+the lee braces."
+
+"I guess I could, if I wasn't afraid of uncle. He knows so much more
+than I do, he'd laugh," began Geordie, evidently puzzled by the
+question.
+
+"Ho, you know you can't, so why make believe? We don't understand half
+of the sea lingo, Mum, and I dare say it's all wrong," cried Will,
+suddenly going over to the enemy, to Geordie's great disgust.
+
+"I do wish the boys wouldn't talk to me as if _I_ was a ship," said
+Rose, bringing forward a private grievance. "Coming home from church,
+this morning, the wind blew me about, and Will called out, right in the
+street, 'Brail up the foresail, and take in the flying-jib, that will
+ease her.'"
+
+The boys shouted at the plaintive tone in which Rose repeated the words
+that offended her, and Will vainly endeavored to explain that he only
+meant to tell her to wrap her cloak closer, and tie a veil over the
+tempest-tossed feathers in her hat.
+
+"To tell the truth, if the boys _must_ have slang, I can bear the 'sea
+lingo,' as Will calls it, better than the other. It afflicts me less to
+hear my sons talk about 'brailing up the foresail' than doing as they
+'darn please,' and 'cut your cable' is decidedly preferable to 'let her
+rip.' I once made a rule that I would have no slang in the house. I give
+it up now, for I cannot keep it; but I will _not_ have rubbishy books;
+so, Archie, please send these two after your cigars."
+
+Mrs. Jessie held both the small boys fast with an arm round each neck,
+and when she took this base advantage of them they could only squirm
+with dismay. "Yes, right behind the back log," she continued,
+energetically. "There, my hearties--(you like sea slang, so I'll give
+you a bit)--now, I want you to promise not to read any more stuff for a
+month, and I'll agree to supply you with wholesome fare."
+
+"O mother! not a single one?" cried Will.
+
+"Couldn't we just finish those?" pleaded Geordie.
+
+"The boys threw away half-smoked cigars; and your books must go after
+them. Surely you would not be outdone by the 'old fellows,' as you call
+them, or be less obedient to little Mum than they were to Rose."
+
+"Course not! Come on, Geordie," and Will took the vow like a hero. His
+brother sighed, and obeyed, but privately resolved to finish his story
+the minute the month was over.
+
+"You have laid out a hard task for yourself, Jessie, in trying to
+provide good reading for boys who have been living on sensation stories.
+It will be like going from raspberry tarts to plain bread and butter;
+but you will probably save them from a bilious fever," said Dr. Alec,
+much amused at the proceedings.
+
+"I remember hearing grandpa say that a love for good books was one of
+the best safeguards a man could have," began Archie, staring
+thoughtfully at the fine library before him.
+
+"Yes, but there's no time to read nowadays; a fellow has to keep
+scratching round to make money or he's nobody," cut in Charlie, trying
+to look worldly-wise.
+
+"This love of money is the curse of America, and for the sake of it men
+will sell honor and honesty, till we don't know whom to trust, and it is
+only a genius like Agassiz who dares to say, 'I cannot waste my time in
+getting rich,'" said Mrs. Jessie sadly.
+
+"Do you want us to be poor, mother?" asked Archie, wondering.
+
+"No, dear, and you never need be, while you can use your hands; but I
+_am_ afraid of this thirst for wealth, and the temptations it brings. O
+my boys! I tremble for the time when I must let you go, because I think
+it would break my heart to have you fail as so many fail. It would be
+far easier to see you dead if it could be said of you as of Sumner,--'No
+man dared offer him a bribe.'"
+
+Mrs. Jessie was so earnest in her motherly anxiety that her voice
+faltered over the last words, and she hugged the yellow heads closer in
+her arms, as if she feared to let them leave that safe harbor for the
+great sea where so many little boats go down. The younger lads nestled
+closer to her, and Archie said, in his quiet, resolute way,--
+
+"I cannot promise to be an Agassiz or a Sumner, mother; but I do promise
+to be an honest man, please God."
+
+"Then I'm satisfied!" and holding fast the hand he gave her, she sealed
+his promise with a kiss that had all a mother's hope and faith in it.
+
+"I don't see how they ever _can_ be bad, she is so fond and proud of
+them," whispered Rose, quite touched by the little scene.
+
+"You must help her make them what they should be. You have begun
+already, and when I see those rings where they are, my girl is prettier
+in my sight than if the biggest diamonds that ever twinkled shone in her
+ears," answered Dr. Alec, looking at her with approving eyes.
+
+"I'm so glad you think I can do any thing, for I perfectly _ache_ to be
+useful, every one is _so_ good to me, especially Aunt Jessie."
+
+"I think you are in a fair way to pay your debts, Rosy, for when girls
+give up their little vanities, and boys their small vices, and try to
+strengthen each other in well-doing, matters are going as they ought.
+Work away, my dear, and help their mother keep these sons fit friends
+for an innocent creature like yourself; they will be the manlier men for
+it, I can assure you."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII.
+
+_FASHION AND PHYSIOLOGY._
+
+
+"PLEASE, sir, I guess you'd better step up right away, or it will be too
+late, for I heard Miss Rose say she knew you wouldn't like it, and she'd
+never dare to let you see her."
+
+Phebe said this as she popped her head into the study, where Dr. Alec
+sat reading a new book.
+
+"They are at it, are they?" he said, looking up quickly, and giving
+himself a shake, as if ready for a battle of some sort.
+
+"Yes, sir, as hard as they can talk, and Miss Rose don't seem to know
+what to do, for the things are ever so stylish, and she looks elegant in
+'em; though I like her best in the old ones," answered Phebe.
+
+"You are a girl of sense. I'll settle matters for Rosy, and you'll lend
+a hand. Is every thing ready in her room, and are you sure you
+understand how they go?"
+
+"Oh, yes, sir; but they are so funny! I know Miss Rose will think it's a
+joke," and Phebe laughed as if something tickled her immensely.
+
+"Never mind what she thinks so long as she obeys. Tell her to do it for
+my sake, and she will find it the best joke she ever saw. I expect to
+have a tough time of it, but we'll win yet," said the Doctor, as he
+marched upstairs with the book in his hand, and an odd smile on his
+face.
+
+There was such a clatter of tongues in the sewing-room that no one heard
+his tap at the door, so he pushed it open and took an observation. Aunt
+Plenty, Aunt Clara, and Aunt Jessie were all absorbed in gazing at Rose,
+who slowly revolved between them and the great mirror, in a full winter
+costume of the latest fashion.
+
+"Bless my heart! worse even than I expected," thought the Doctor, with
+an inward groan, for, to his benighted eyes, the girl looked like a
+trussed fowl, and the fine new dress had neither grace, beauty, nor
+fitness to recommend it.
+
+The suit was of two peculiar shades of blue, so arranged that patches of
+light and dark distracted the eye. The upper skirt was tied so tightly
+back that it was impossible to take a long step, and the under one was
+so loaded with plaited frills that it "wobbled"--no other word will
+express it--ungracefully, both fore and aft. A bunch of folds was
+gathered up just below the waist behind, and a great bow rode a-top. A
+small jacket of the same material was adorned with a high ruff at the
+back, and laid well open over the breast, to display some lace and a
+locket. Heavy fringes, bows, puffs, ruffles, and _revers_ finished off
+the dress, making one's head ache to think of the amount of work wasted,
+for not a single graceful line struck the eye, and the beauty of the
+material was quite lost in the profusion of ornament.
+
+A high velvet hat, audaciously turned up in front, with a bunch of pink
+roses and a sweeping plume, was cocked over one ear, and, with her curls
+braided into a club at the back of her neck, Rose's head looked more
+like that of a dashing young cavalier than a modest little girl's.
+High-heeled boots tilted her well forward, a tiny muff pinioned her
+arms, and a spotted veil tied so closely over her face that her
+eyelashes were rumpled by it, gave the last touch of absurdity to her
+appearance.
+
+"Now she looks like other girls, and as _I_ like to see her," Mrs. Clara
+was saying, with an air of great satisfaction.
+
+"She does look like a fashionable young lady, but somehow I miss my
+little Rose, for children dressed like children in my day," answered
+Aunt Plenty, peering through her glasses with a troubled look, for she
+could not imagine the creature before her ever sitting in her lap,
+running to wait upon her, or making the house gay with a child's blithe
+presence.
+
+"Things have changed since your day, Aunt, and it takes time to get used
+to new ways. But you, Jessie, surely like this costume better than the
+dowdy things Rose has been wearing all summer. Now, be honest, and own
+you do," said Mrs. Clara, bent on being praised for her work.
+
+"Well, dear, to be _quite_ honest, then, I think it is frightful,"
+answered Mrs. Jessie with a candor that caused revolving Rose to stop in
+dismay.
+
+"Hear, hear," cried a deep voice, and with a general start the ladies
+became aware that the enemy was among them.
+
+Rose blushed up to her hat brim, and stood, looking, as she felt, like a
+fool, while Mrs. Clara hastened to explain.
+
+"Of course I don't expect _you_ to like it, Alec, but I don't consider
+you a judge of what is proper and becoming for a young lady. Therefore I
+have taken the liberty of providing a pretty street suit for Rose. She
+need not wear it if you object, for I know we promised to let you do
+what you liked with the poor dear for a year."
+
+"It is a street costume, is it?" asked the Doctor, mildly. "Do you know,
+I never should have guessed that it was meant for winter weather and
+brisk locomotion. Take a turn, Rosy, and let me see all its beauties and
+advantages."
+
+Rose tried to walk off with her usual free tread, but the under-skirt
+got in her way, the over-skirt was so tight she could not take a long
+step, and her boots made it impossible to carry herself perfectly erect.
+
+"I haven't got used to it yet," she said, petulantly, kicking at her
+train, as she turned to toddle back again.
+
+"Suppose a mad dog or a runaway horse was after you, could you get out
+of the way without upsetting, Colonel?" asked the Doctor, with a twinkle
+in the eyes that were fixed on the rakish hat.
+
+"Don't think I could, but I'll try," and Rose made a rush across the
+room. Her boot-heels caught on a rug, several strings broke, her hat
+tipped over her eyes, and she plunged promiscuously into a chair, where
+she sat laughing so infectiously that all but Mrs. Clara joined in her
+mirth.
+
+"I should say that a walking suit in which one could not walk, and a
+winter suit which exposes the throat, head, and feet to cold and damp,
+was rather a failure, Clara; especially as it has no beauty to reconcile
+one to its utter unfitness," said Dr. Alec, as he helped Rose undo her
+veil, adding, in a low tone, "Nice thing for the eyes; you'll soon see
+spots when it is off as well as when it is on, and, by and by, be a case
+for an oculist."
+
+"No beauty!" cried Mrs. Clara, warmly. "Now that is just a man's
+blindness. This is the best of silk and camel's hair, real ostrich
+feathers, and an expensive ermine muff. What _could_ be in better taste,
+or more proper for a young girl?"
+
+"I'll show you, if Rose will go to her room and oblige me by putting on
+what she finds there," answered the Doctor, with unexpected readiness.
+
+"Alec, if it is a Bloomer, I shall protest. I've been expecting it, but
+I know I _cannot_ bear to see that pretty child sacrificed to your wild
+ideas of health. Tell me it _isn't_ a Bloomer!" and Mrs. Clara clasped
+her hands imploringly.
+
+"It is not."
+
+"Thank Heaven!" and she resigned herself with a sigh of relief, adding
+plaintively, "I did hope you'd accept my suit, for poor Rose has been
+afflicted with frightful clothes long enough to spoil the taste of any
+girl."
+
+"You talk of _my_ afflicting the child, and then make a helpless guy
+like that of her!" answered the Doctor, pointing to the little fashion
+plate that was scuttling out of sight as fast as it could go.
+
+He closed the door with a shrug, but before any one could speak, his
+quick eye fell upon an object which caused him to frown, and demand in
+an indignant tone,--
+
+"After all I have said, were you really going to tempt my girl with
+those abominable things?"
+
+"I thought we put them away when she wouldn't wear them," murmured Mrs.
+Clara, whisking a little pair of corsets out of sight, with guilty
+haste. "I only brought them to try, for Rose is growing stout, and will
+have no figure if it is not attended to soon," she added, with an air of
+calm conviction that roused the Doctor still more, for this was one of
+his especial abominations.
+
+"Growing stout! Yes, thank Heaven, she is, and shall continue to do it,
+for Nature knows how to mould a woman better than any corset-maker, and
+I won't have her interfered with. My dear Clara, _have_ you lost your
+senses that you can for a moment dream of putting a growing girl into an
+instrument of torture like this?" and with a sudden gesture he plucked
+forth the offending corsets from under the sofa cushion, and held them
+out with the expression one would wear on beholding the thumbscrews or
+the rack of ancient times.
+
+"Don't be absurd, Alec. There is no torture about it, for tight lacing
+is out of fashion, and we have nice, sensible things nowadays. Every one
+wears them; even babies have stiffened waists to support their weak
+little backs," began Mrs. Clara, rushing to the defence of the pet
+delusion of most women.
+
+"I know it, and so the poor little souls have weak backs all their days,
+as their mothers had before them. It is vain to argue the matter, and I
+won't try, but I wish to state, once for all, that if I ever see a pair
+of corsets near Rose, I'll put them in the fire, and you may send the
+bill to me."
+
+As he spoke, the corsets were on their way to destruction, but Mrs.
+Jessie caught his arm, exclaiming merrily, "Don't burn them, for mercy
+sake, Alec; they are full of whalebones, and will make a dreadful odor.
+Give them to me. I'll see that they do no harm."
+
+"Whalebones indeed! A regular fence of them, and metal gate-posts in
+front. As if our own bones were not enough, if we'd give them a chance
+to do their duty," growled the Doctor, yielding up the bone of
+contention with a last shake of contempt. Then his face cleared
+suddenly, and he held up his finger, saying, with a smile, "Hear those
+girls laugh; cramped lungs could not make hearty music like that."
+
+Peals of laughter issued from Rose's room, and smiles involuntarily
+touched the lips of those who listened to the happy sound.
+
+"Some new prank of yours, Alec?" asked Aunt Plenty, indulgently, for she
+had come to believe in most of her nephew's odd notions, because they
+seemed to work so well.
+
+"Yes, ma'am, my last, and I hope you will like it. I discovered what
+Clara was at, and got my rival suit ready for to-day. I'm not going to
+'afflict' Rose, but let her choose, and if I'm not entirely mistaken,
+she will like my rig best. While we wait I'll explain, and then you will
+appreciate the general effect better. I got hold of this little book,
+and was struck with its good sense and good taste, for it suggests a way
+to clothe women both healthfully and handsomely, and that is a great
+point. It begins at the foundations, as you will see if you will look at
+these pictures, and I should think women would rejoice at this
+lightening of their burdens."
+
+As he spoke, the Doctor laid the book before Aunt Plenty, who obediently
+brought her spectacles to bear upon the illustrations, and after a long
+look exclaimed with a scandalized face,--
+
+"Mercy on us, these things are like the night-drawers Jamie wears! You
+don't mean to say you want Rose to come out in this costume? It's not
+proper, and I won't consent to it!"
+
+"I do mean it, and I'm sure my sensible aunt _will_ consent when she
+understands that these,--well,--I'll call them by an Indian name, and
+say,--pajamas,--are for underwear, and Rose can have as pretty frocks as
+she likes outside. These two suits of flannel, each in one piece from
+head to foot, with a skirt or so hung on this easily fitting waist, will
+keep the child warm without burdening her with belts, and gathers, and
+buckles, and bunches round the waist, and leave free the muscles that
+need plenty of room to work in. She shall never have the back-ache if
+_I_ can help it, nor the long list of ills you dear women think you
+cannot escape."
+
+"_I_ don't consider it modest, and I'm sure Rose will be shocked at it,"
+began Mrs. Clara, but stopped suddenly as Rose appeared in the door-way,
+not looking shocked a bit.
+
+"Come on, my hygienic model, and let us see you," said her uncle, with
+an approving glance, as she walked in looking so mischievously merry,
+that it was evident she enjoyed the joke.
+
+"Well, I don't see any thing remarkable. That is a neat, plain suit; the
+materials are good, and it's not unbecoming, if you want her to look
+like a little schoolgirl; but it has not a particle of style, and no one
+would ever give it a second glance," said Mrs. Clara, feeling that her
+last remark condemned the whole thing.
+
+"Exactly what I want," answered the provoking Doctor, rubbing his hands
+with a satisfied air. "Rosy looks now like what she is, a modest little
+girl, who does not want to be stared at. I think she would get a glance
+of approval, though, from people who like sense and simplicity, rather
+than fuss and feathers. Revolve, my Hebe, and let me refresh my eyes by
+the sight of you."
+
+There was very little to see, however, only a pretty Gabrielle dress, of
+a soft, warm shade of brown, coming to the tops of a trim pair of boots
+with low heels. A seal-skin sack, cap, and mittens, with a glimpse of
+scarlet at the throat, and the pretty curls tied up with a bright velvet
+of the same color, completed the external adornment, making her look
+like a robin red-breast,--wintry, yet warm.
+
+"How do you like it, Rosy?" asked the Doctor, feeling that _her_ opinion
+was more important to the success of his new idea than that of all the
+aunts on the hill.
+
+"I feel very odd and light, but I'm warm as a toast, and nothing seems
+to be in my way," answered Rose, with a skip which displayed shapely
+gaiters on legs that now might be as free and active as a boy's under
+the modest skirts of the girl.
+
+"You can run away from the mad dogs, and walk off at a smart pace
+without tumbling on your nose, now, I fancy?"
+
+"Yes, uncle! suppose the dog coming, I just hop over a wall so--and when
+I walk of a cold day, I go like this--"
+
+Entering fully into the spirit of the thing, Rose swung herself over the
+high back of the sofa as easily as one of her cousins, and then went
+down the long hall as if her stout boots were related to the famous
+seven-leaguers.
+
+"There! you see how it will be; dress her in that boyish way and she
+will act like a boy. I do hate all these inventions of strong-minded
+women!" exclaimed Mrs. Clara, as Rose came back at a run.
+
+"Ah, but you see some of these sensible inventions come from the brain
+of a fashionable _modiste_, who will make you lovely, or what you value
+more,--'stylish' outside and comfortable within. Mrs. Van Tassel has
+been to Madame Stone, and is wearing a full suit of this sort. Van
+himself told me, when I asked how she was, that she had given up lying
+on the sofa, and was going about in a most astonishing way, considering
+her feeble health."
+
+"You don't say so! Let me see that book a moment," and Aunt Clara
+examined the new patterns with a more respectful air, for if the elegant
+Mrs. Van Tassel wore these "dreadful things" it would never do to be
+left behind, in spite of her prejudices.
+
+Dr. Alec looked at Mrs. Jessie, and both smiled, for "little Mum" had
+been in the secret, and enjoyed it mightily.
+
+"I thought that would settle it," he said with a nod.
+
+"I didn't wait for Mrs. Van to lead the way, and for once in my life I
+have adopted a new fashion before Clara. My freedom suit is ordered, and
+you _may_ see me playing tag with Rose and the boys before long,"
+answered Mrs. Jessie, nodding back at him.
+
+Meantime Aunt Plenty was examining Rose's costume, for the hat and sack
+were off, and the girl was eagerly explaining the new under-garments.
+
+"See, auntie, all nice scarlet flannel, and a gay little petticoat, and
+long stockings, oh, so warm! Phebe and I nearly died laughing when I put
+this rig on, but I like it ever so much. The dress is so comfortable,
+and doesn't need any belt or sash, and I can sit without rumpling any
+trimming, that's _such_ a comfort! I like to be tidy, and so, when I
+wear fussed-up things, I'm thinking of my clothes all the time, and
+that's tiresome. Do say you like it. I resolved _I_ would, just to
+please uncle, for he does know more about health than any one else, I'm
+sure, and I'd wear a bag if he asked me to do it."
+
+"I don't ask that, Rose, but I wish you'd weigh and compare the two
+suits, and then choose which seems best. I leave it to your own
+common-sense," answered Dr. Alec, feeling pretty sure he had won.
+
+"Why, I take this one, of course, uncle. The other is fashionable,
+and--yes--I must say I think it's pretty--but it's very heavy, and I
+should have to go round like a walking doll if I wore it. I'm much
+obliged to auntie, but I'll keep this, please."
+
+Rose spoke gently but decidedly, though there was a look of regret when
+her eye fell on the other suit which Phebe had brought in; and it was
+very natural to like to look as other girls did. Aunt Clara sighed;
+Uncle Alec smiled, and said heartily,--
+
+"Thank you, dear; now read this book and you will understand why I ask
+it of you. Then, if you like, I'll give you a new lesson; you asked for
+one yesterday, and this is more necessary than French or housekeeping."
+
+"Oh, what?" and Rose caught up the book which Mrs. Clara had thrown down
+with a disgusted look.
+
+Though Dr. Alec was forty, the boyish love of teasing was not yet dead
+in him, and, being much elated at his victory, he could not resist the
+temptation of shocking Mrs. Clara by suggesting dreadful possibilities,
+so he answered, half in earnest half in jest: "Physiology, Rose.
+Wouldn't you like to be a little medical student with Uncle Doctor for
+teacher, and be ready to take up his practice when he has to stop? If
+you agree, I'll hunt up my old skeleton to-morrow."
+
+That was _too_ much for Aunt Clara, and she hastily departed with her
+mind in a sad state of perturbation about Mrs. Van Tassel's new costume,
+and Rose's new study.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX.
+
+_BROTHER BONES._
+
+
+ROSE accepted her uncle's offer, as Aunt Myra discovered two or three
+days later. Coming in for an early call, and hearing voices in the
+study, she opened the door, gave a cry and shut it quickly, looking a
+good deal startled. The Doctor appeared in a moment, and begged to know
+what the matter was.
+
+"How _can_ you ask when that long box looks so like a coffin I thought
+it was one, and that dreadful thing stared me in the face as I opened
+the door," answered Mrs. Myra, pointing to the skeleton that hung from
+the chandelier cheerfully grinning at all beholders.
+
+"This is a medical college where women are freely admitted, so walk in,
+madam, and join the class if you'll do me the honor," said the Doctor,
+waving her forward with his politest bow.
+
+"Do, auntie; it's perfectly splendid," cried Rose's voice, and Rose's
+blooming face was seen behind the ribs of the skeleton, smiling and
+nodding in the gayest possible manner.
+
+"What _are_ you doing, child?" demanded Aunt Myra, dropping into a chair
+and staring about her.
+
+"Oh, I'm learning bones to-day, and I like it so much. There are twelve
+ribs, you know, and the two lower ones are called floating ribs, because
+they are not fastened to the breast bone. That's why they go in so
+easily if you lace tight and squeeze the lungs and heart in the--let me
+see, what was that big word--oh, I know--thoracic cavity," and Rose
+beamed with pride as she aired her little bit of knowledge.
+
+"Do you think that is a good sort of thing for her to be poking over?
+She is a nervous child, and I'm afraid it will be bad for her," said
+Aunt Myra, watching Rose as she counted vertebrae, and waggled a
+hip-joint in its socket with an inquiring expression.
+
+"An excellent study, for she enjoys it, and I mean to teach her how to
+manage her nerves so that they won't be a curse to her, as many a
+woman's become through ignorance or want of thought. To make a mystery
+or a terror of these things is a mistake, and I mean Rose shall
+understand and respect her body so well that she won't dare to trifle
+with it as most women do."
+
+"And she really likes it?"
+
+"Very much, auntie! It's all so wonderful, and so nicely planned, you
+can hardly believe what you see. Just think, there are 600,000,000 air
+cells in one pair of lungs, and 2,000 pores to a square inch of surface;
+so you see what quantities of air we _must_ have, and what care we
+should take of our skin so all the little doors will open and shut
+right. And brains, auntie, you've no idea how curious they are; I
+haven't got to them yet, but I long to, and uncle is going to show me a
+manikin that you can take to pieces. Just think how nice it will be to
+see all the organs in their places; I only wish they could be made to
+work as ours do."
+
+It was funny to see Aunt Myra's face as Rose stood before her talking
+rapidly with one hand laid in the friendliest manner on the skeleton's
+shoulder. Every word both the Doctor and Rose uttered hit the good lady
+in her weakest spot, and as she looked and listened a long array of
+bottles and pill-boxes rose up before her, reproaching her with the
+"ignorance and want of thought" that made her what she was, a nervous,
+dyspeptic, unhappy old woman.
+
+"Well, I don't know but you may be right, Alec, only I wouldn't carry it
+too far. Women don't need much of this sort of knowledge, and are not
+fit for it. I couldn't bear to touch that ugly thing, and it gives me
+the creeps to hear about 'organs,'" said Aunt Myra, with a sigh and her
+hand on her side.
+
+"Wouldn't it be a comfort to know that your liver was on the right side,
+auntie, and not on the left?" asked Rose with a naughty laugh in her
+eyes, for she had lately learned that Aunt Myra's liver complaint was
+not in the proper place.
+
+"It's a dying world, child, and it don't much matter where the pain is,
+for sooner or later we all drop off and are seen no more," was Aunt
+Myra's cheerful reply.
+
+"Well, I intend to know what kills me if I can, and meantime I'm going
+to enjoy myself in spite of a dying world. I wish you'd do so too, and
+come and study with uncle, it would do you good I'm sure," and Rose went
+back to counting vertebrae with such a happy face that Aunt Myra had not
+the heart to say a word to dampen her ardor.
+
+"Perhaps it's as well to let her do what she likes the little while she
+is with us. But pray be careful of her, Alec, and not allow her to
+overwork," she whispered as she went out.
+
+"That's exactly what I'm trying to do, ma'am, and rather a hard job I
+find it," he added, as he shut the door, for the dear aunts were
+dreadfully in his way sometimes.
+
+Half an hour later came another interruption in the shape of Mac, who
+announced his arrival by the brief but elegant remark,--
+
+"Hullo! what new game is this?"
+
+Rose explained, Mac gave a long whistle of surprise, and then took a
+promenade round the skeleton, observing gravely,--
+
+"Brother Bones looks very jolly, but I can't say much for his beauty."
+
+"You mustn't make fun of him, for he's a good old fellow, and you'd be
+just as ugly if your flesh was off," said Rose, defending her new friend
+with warmth.
+
+"I dare say, so I'll keep my flesh on, thank you. You are so busy you
+can't read to a fellow, I suppose?" asked Mac, whose eyes were better,
+but still too weak for books.
+
+"Don't you want to come and join my class? uncle explains it all to us,
+and you can take a look at the plates as they come along. We'll give up
+bones to-day and have eyes instead; that will be more interesting to
+_you_," added Rose, seeing no ardent thirst for physiological
+information in his face.
+
+"Rose, we must not fly about from one thing to another in this way,"
+began Dr. Alec; but she whispered quickly, with a nod towards Mac, whose
+goggles were turned wistfully in the direction of the forbidden books,--
+
+"He's blue to-day, and we must amuse him; give a little lecture on eyes,
+and it will do him good. No matter about me, uncle."
+
+"Very well; the class will please be seated," and the Doctor gave a
+sounding rap on the table.
+
+"Come, sit by me, dear, then we can both see the pictures; and if your
+head gets tired you can lie down," said Rose, generously opening her
+little college to a brother, and kindly providing for the weaknesses
+that all humanity is subject to.
+
+Side by side they sat and listened to a very simple explanation of the
+mechanism of the eye, finding it as wonderful as a fairy tale, for fine
+plates illustrated it, and a very willing teacher did his best to make
+the lesson pleasant.
+
+"Jove! if I'd known what mischief I was doing to that mighty delicate
+machine of mine, you wouldn't have caught me reading by fire light, or
+studying with a glare of sunshine on my book," said Mac, peering
+solemnly at a magnified eyeball; then, pushing it away, he added
+indignantly: "Why isn't a fellow taught all about his works, and how to
+manage 'em, and not left to go blundering into all sorts of worries?
+Telling him after he's down isn't much use, for then he's found it out
+himself and won't thank you."
+
+"Ah, Mac, that's just what I keep lecturing about, and people _won't_
+listen. You lads need that sort of knowledge so much, and fathers and
+mothers ought to be able to give it to you. Few of them _are_ able, and
+so we all go blundering, as you say. Less Greek and Latin and more
+knowledge of the laws of health for _my_ boys, if I had them.
+Mathematics are all very well, but morals are better, and I wish, _how_
+I wish that I could help teachers and parents to feel it as they ought."
+
+"Some do; Aunt Jessie and her boys have capital talks, and I wish we
+could; but mother's so busy with her housekeeping, and father with his
+business, there never seems to be any time for that sort of thing; even
+if there was, it don't seem as if it would be easy to talk to them,
+because we've never got into the way of it, you know."
+
+Poor Mac was right there, and expressed a want that many a boy and girl
+feels. Fathers and mothers _are_ too absorbed in business and
+housekeeping to study their children, and cherish that sweet and natural
+confidence which is a child's surest safeguard, and a parent's subtlest
+power. So the young hearts hide trouble or temptation till the harm is
+done, and mutual regret comes too late. Happy the boys and girls who
+tell all things freely to father or mother, sure of pity, help, and
+pardon; and thrice happy the parents who, out of their own experience,
+and by their own virtues, can teach and uplift the souls for which they
+are responsible.
+
+This longing stirred in the hearts of Rose and Mac, and by a natural
+impulse both turned to Dr. Alec, for in this queer world of ours,
+fatherly and motherly hearts often beat warm and wise in the breasts of
+bachelor uncles and maiden aunts; and it is my private opinion that
+these worthy creatures are a beautiful provision of nature for the
+cherishing of other people's children. They certainly get great comfort
+out of it, and receive much innocent affection that otherwise would be
+lost.
+
+Dr. Alec was one of these, and his big heart had room for every one of
+the eight cousins, especially orphaned Rose and afflicted Mac; so, when
+the boy uttered that unconscious reproach to his parents, and Rose added
+with a sigh, "It must be beautiful to have a mother!"--the good Doctor
+yearned over them, and, shutting his book with a decided slam, said in
+that cordial voice of his,--
+
+"Now, look here, children, you just come and tell _me_ all your worries,
+and with God's help I'll settle them for you. That is what I'm here for,
+I believe, and it will be a great happiness to me if you can trust me."
+
+"We can, uncle, and we will!" both answered with a heartiness that
+gratified him much.
+
+"Good! now school is dismissed, and I advise you to go and refresh your
+600,000,000 air cells by a brisk run in the garden. Come again whenever
+you like, Mac, and we'll teach you all we can about your 'works,' as you
+call them, so you can keep them running smoothly."
+
+"We'll come, sir, much obliged," and the class in physiology went out to
+walk.
+
+Mac did come again, glad to find something he could study in spite of
+his weak eyes, and learned much that was of more value than any thing
+his school had ever taught him.
+
+Of course, the other lads made great fun of the whole thing, and plagued
+Dr. Alec's students half out of their lives. But they kept on
+persistently, and one day something happened which made the other
+fellows behave themselves for ever after.
+
+It was a holiday, and Rose up in her room thought she heard the voices
+of her cousins, so she ran down to welcome them, but found no one there.
+
+"Never mind, they will be here soon, and then we'll have a frolic," she
+said to herself, and thinking she had been mistaken she went into the
+study to wait. She was lounging over the table looking at a map when an
+odd noise caught her ear. A gentle tapping somewhere, and following the
+sound it seemed to come from the inside of the long case in which the
+skeleton lived when not professionally engaged. This case stood upright
+in a niche between two book-cases at the back of the room, a darkish
+corner, where Brother Bones, as the boys _would_ call him, was out of
+the way.
+
+As Rose stood looking in that direction, and wondering if a rat had got
+shut in, the door of the case swung slowly open, and with a great start
+she saw a bony arm lifted, and a bony finger beckon to her. For a minute
+she was frightened, and ran to the study door with a fluttering heart,
+but just as she touched the handle a queer, stifled sort of giggle made
+her stop short and turn red with anger. She paused an instant to collect
+herself, and then went softly toward the bony beckoner. A nearer look
+revealed black threads tied to the arm and fingers, the ends of threads
+disappearing through holes bored in the back of the case. Peeping into
+the deep recess, she also caught sight of the tip of an elbow covered
+with a rough gray cloth which she knew very well.
+
+Quick as a flash she understood the joke, her fear vanished, and with a
+wicked smile, she whipped out her scissors, cut the threads, and the
+bony arm dropped with a rattle. Before she could say, "Come out,
+Charlie, and let my skeleton alone," a sudden irruption of boys all in a
+high state of tickle proclaimed to the hidden rogue that his joke was a
+failure.
+
+"I told him not to do it, because it might give you a start," explained
+Archie, emerging from the closet.
+
+"I had a smelling-bottle all ready if she fainted away," added Steve,
+popping up from behind the great chair.
+
+"It's too bad of you not to squawk and run; we depended on it, it's such
+fun to howl after you," said Will and Geordie, rolling out from under
+the sofa in a promiscuous heap.
+
+"You are getting altogether too strong-minded, Rose; most girls would
+have been in a jolly twitter to see this old fellow waggling his finger
+at them," complained Charlie, squeezing out from his tight quarters,
+dusty and disgusted.
+
+"I'm used to your pranks now, so I'm always on the watch and prepared.
+But I won't have Brother Bones made fun of. I know uncle wouldn't like
+it, so please don't," began Rose just as Dr. Alec came in, and, seeing
+the state of the case at a glance, he said quietly,--
+
+"Hear how I got that skeleton, and then I'm sure you will treat it with
+respect."
+
+The boys settled down at once on any article of furniture that was
+nearest and listened dutifully.
+
+"Years ago, when I was in the hospital, a poor fellow was brought there
+with a rare and very painful disease. There was no hope for him, but we
+did our best, and he was so grateful that when he died he left us his
+body that we might discover the mysteries of his complaint, and so be
+able to help others afflicted in the same way. It did do good, and his
+brave patience made us remember him long after he was gone. He thought I
+had been kind to him, and said to a fellow-student of mine: 'Tell the
+Doctor I lave him me bones, for I've nothing else in the wide world, and
+I'll not be wanting 'em at all, at all, when the great pain has kilt me
+entirely.' So that is how they came to be mine, and why I've kept them
+carefully; for, though only a poor, ignorant fellow, Mike Nolan did what
+he could to help others, and prove his gratitude to those who tried to
+help him."
+
+As Dr. Alec paused, Archie closed the door of the case as respectfully
+as if the mummy of an Egyptian king was inside; Will and Geordie looked
+solemnly at one another, evidently much impressed, and Charlie pensively
+remarked from the coal-hod where he sat,--
+
+"I've often heard of a skeleton in the house, but I think few people
+have one as useful and as interesting as ours."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX.
+
+_UNDER THE MISTLETOE._
+
+
+ROSE made Phebe promise that she would bring her stocking into the
+"Bower," as she called her pretty room, on Christmas morning, because
+that first delicious rummage loses half its charm if two little
+night-caps at least do not meet over the treasures, and two happy voices
+Oh and Ah together.
+
+So when Rose opened her eyes that day they fell upon faithful Phebe,
+rolled up in a shawl, sitting on the rug before a blazing fire, with her
+untouched stocking laid beside her.
+
+"Merry Christmas!" cried the little mistress, smiling gayly.
+
+"Merry Christmas!" answered the little maid, so heartily that it did one
+good to hear her.
+
+"Bring the stockings right away, Phebe, and let's see what we've got,"
+said Rose, sitting up among the pillows, and looking as eager as a
+child.
+
+A pair of long knobby hose were laid out upon the coverlet and their
+contents examined with delight, though each knew every blessed thing
+that had been put into the other's stocking.
+
+Never mind what they were; it is evident that they were quite
+satisfactory, for as Rose leaned back, she said, with a luxurious sigh
+of satisfaction: "Now, I believe I've got every thing in the world that
+I want," and Phebe answered, smiling over a lapful of treasures: "This
+is the most splendid Christmas I ever had since I was born." Then, she
+added with an important air,--
+
+"Do wish for something else, because I happen to know of two more
+presents outside the door this minute."
+
+"Oh, me, what richness!" cried Rose, much excited. "I used to wish for a
+pair of glass slippers like Cinderella's, but as I can't have them, I
+really don't know what to ask for."
+
+Phebe clapped her hands as she skipped off the bed and ran to the door,
+saying merrily: "One of them _is_ for your feet any way. I don't know
+what you'll say to the other, but _I_ think it's elegant."
+
+So did Rose, when a shining pair of skates and a fine sled appeared.
+
+"Uncle sent those; I know he did; and, now I see them, I remember that I
+did want to skate and coast. Isn't it a beauty? See! they fit nicely,"
+and, sitting on the new sled, Rose tried a skate on her little bare
+foot, while Phebe stood by admiring the pretty _tableau_.
+
+"Now we must hurry and get dressed, for there is a deal to do to-day,
+and I want to get through in time to try my sled before dinner."
+
+"Gracious me, and I ought to be dusting my parlors this blessed minute!"
+and mistress and maid separated with such happy faces that any one would
+have known what day it was without being told.
+
+"Birnam Wood has come to Dunsinane, Rosy," said Dr. Alec, as he left the
+breakfast table to open the door for a procession of holly, hemlock, and
+cedar boughs that came marching up the steps.
+
+Snowballs and "Merry Christmases!" flew about pretty briskly for several
+minutes; then all fell to work trimming up the old house, for the family
+always dined together there on that day.
+
+"I rode miles and mileses, as Ben says, to get this fine bit, and I'm
+going to hang it there as the last touch to the rig-a-madooning," said
+Charlie, as he fastened a dull green branch to the chandelier in the
+front parlor.
+
+"It isn't very pretty," said Rose, who was trimming the chimney-piece
+with glossy holly sprays.
+
+"Never mind that, it's mistletoe, and any one who stands under it will
+get kissed whether they like it or not. Now's your time, ladies,"
+answered the saucy Prince, keeping his place and looking sentimentally
+at the girls, who retired precipitately from the dangerous spot.
+
+"You won't catch me," said Rose, with great dignity.
+
+"See if I don't!"
+
+"I've got my eye on Phebe," observed Will, in a patronizing tone that
+made them all laugh.
+
+"Bless the dear; I sha'n't mind it a bit," answered Phebe, with such a
+maternal air that Will's budding gallantry was chilled to death.
+
+"Oh, the mistletoe bough!" sang Rose.
+
+"Oh, the mistletoe bough!" echoed all the boys, and the teasing ended in
+the plaintive ballad they all liked so well.
+
+There was plenty of time to try the new skates before dinner, and then
+Rose took her first lesson on the little bay, which seemed to have
+frozen over for that express purpose. She found tumbling down and
+getting up again warm work for a time, but, with six boys to teach her,
+she managed at last to stand alone; and, satisfied with that success,
+she refreshed herself with a dozen grand coasts on the Amazon, as her
+sled was called.
+
+"Ah, that fatal color! it breaks my heart to see it," croaked Aunt Myra,
+as Rose came down a little late, with cheeks almost as ruddy as the
+holly berries on the wall, and every curl as smooth as Phebe's careful
+hands could make it.
+
+"I'm glad to see that Alec allows the poor child to make herself pretty
+in spite of his absurd notions," added Aunt Clara, taking infinite
+satisfaction in the fact that Rose's blue silk dress had three frills on
+it.
+
+"She is a very intelligent child, and has a nice little manner of her
+own," observed Aunt Jane, with unusual affability; for Rose had just
+handed Mac a screen to guard his eyes from the brilliant fire.
+
+"If I had a daughter like that to show my Jem when he gets home, I
+should be a very proud and happy woman," thought Aunt Jessie, and then
+reproached herself for not being perfectly satisfied with her four brave
+lads.
+
+Aunt Plenty was too absorbed in the dinner to have an eye for any thing
+else; if she had not been, she would have seen what an effect her new
+cap produced upon the boys. The good lady owned that she did "love a
+dressy cap," and on this occasion her head-gear was magnificent; for
+the towering structure of lace was adorned with buff ribbons to such an
+extent that it looked as if a flock of yellow butterflies had settled on
+her dear old head. When she trotted about the rooms the ruches quivered,
+the little bows all stood erect, and the streamers waved in the breeze
+so comically that it was absolutely necessary for Archie to smother the
+Brats in the curtains till they had had their first laugh out.
+
+Uncle Mac had brought Fun See to dinner, and it was a mercy he did, for
+the elder lads found a vent for their merriment in joking the young
+Chinaman on his improved appearance. He was in American costume now,
+with a cropped head, and spoke remarkably good English after six months
+at school; but, for all that, his yellow face and beady eyes made a
+curious contrast to the blonde Campbells all about him. Will called him
+the "Typhoon," meaning Tycoon, and the name stuck to him to his great
+disgust.
+
+Aunt Peace was brought down and set in the chair of state at table, for
+she never failed to join the family on this day, and sat smiling at them
+all "like an embodiment of Peace on earth," Uncle Alec said, as he took
+his place beside her, while Uncle Mac supported Aunt Plenty at the other
+end.
+
+"I ate hardly any breakfast, and I've done every thing I know to make
+myself extra hungry, but I really don't think I _can_ eat straight
+through, unless I burst my buttons off," whispered Geordie to Will, as
+he surveyed the bounteous stores before him with a hopeless sigh.
+
+"A fellow never knows what he can do till he tries," answered Will,
+attacking his heaped-up plate with the evident intention of doing his
+duty like a man.
+
+Everybody knows what a Christmas dinner is, so we need waste no words in
+describing this one, but hasten at once to tell what happened at the end
+of it. The end, by the way, was so long in coming that the gas was
+lighted before dessert was over, for a snow flurry had come on and the
+wintry daylight faded fast. But that only made it all the jollier in the
+warm, bright rooms, full of happy souls. Every one was very merry, but
+Archie seemed particularly uplifted,--so much so, that Charlie confided
+to Rose that he was afraid the Chief had been at the decanters.
+
+Rose indignantly denied the insinuation, for when healths were drunk in
+the good old-fashioned way to suit the elders, she had observed that
+Aunt Jessie's boys filled their glasses with water, and had done the
+same herself in spite of the Prince's jokes about "the rosy."
+
+But Archie certainly _was_ unusually excited, and when some one
+remembered that it was the anniversary of Uncle Jem's wedding, and
+wished he was there to make a speech, his son electrified the family by
+trying to do it for him. It was rather incoherent and flowery, as maiden
+speeches are apt to be, but the end was considered superb; for, turning
+to his mother with a queer little choke in his voice, he said that she
+"deserved to be blessed with peace and plenty, to be crowned with roses
+and lads-love, and to receive the cargo of happiness sailing home to her
+in spite of wind or tide to add another Jem to the family jewels."
+
+That allusion to the Captain, now on his return trip, made Mrs. Jessie
+sob in her napkin, and set the boys cheering. Then, as if that was not
+sensation enough, Archie suddenly dashed out of the room as if he had
+lost his wits.
+
+"Too bashful to stay and be praised," began Charlie, excusing the
+peculiarities of his chief as in duty bound.
+
+"Phebe beckoned to him; I saw her," cried Rose, staring hard at the
+door.
+
+"Is it more presents coming?" asked Jamie, just as his brother
+re-appeared looking more excited than ever.
+
+"Yes; a present for mother, and here it is!" roared Archie, flinging
+wide the door to let in a tall man who cried out,--
+
+"Where's my little woman? The first kiss for her, then the rest may come
+on as fast as they like."
+
+Before the words were out of his mouth, Mrs. Jessie was half hidden
+under his rough great-coat, and four boys were prancing about him
+clamoring for their turn.
+
+Of course, there was a joyful tumult for a time, during which Rose
+slipped into the window recess and watched what went on, as if it were a
+chapter in a Christmas story. It was good to see bluff Uncle Jem look
+proudly at his tall son, and fondly hug the little ones. It was better
+still to see him shake his brothers' hands as if he would never leave
+off, and kiss all the sisters in a way that made even solemn Aunt Myra
+brighten up for a minute. But it was best of all to see him finally
+established in grandfather's chair, with his "little woman" beside him,
+his three youngest boys in his lap, and Archie hovering over him like a
+large-sized cherub. That really was, as Charlie said, "A landscape to
+do one's heart good."
+
+"All hearty and all here, thank God!" said Captain Jem in the first
+pause that came, as he looked about him with a grateful face.
+
+"All but Rose," answered loyal little Jamie, remembering the absent.
+
+"Faith, I forgot the child! Where is George's little girl?" asked the
+Captain, who had not seen her since she was a baby.
+
+"You'd better say Alec's great girl," said Uncle Mac, who professed to
+be madly jealous of his brother.
+
+"Here I am, sir," and Rose appeared from behind the curtains, looking as
+if she had rather have staid there.
+
+"Saint George Germain, how the mite has grown!" cried Captain Jem, as he
+tumbled the boys out of his lap, and rose to greet the tall girl, like a
+gentleman as he was. But, somehow, when he shook her hand it looked so
+small in his big one, and her face reminded him so strongly of his dead
+brother, that he was not satisfied with so cold a welcome, and with a
+sudden softening of the keen eyes he took her up in his arms,
+whispering, with a rough cheek against her smooth one,--
+
+"God bless you, child! forgive me if I forgot you for a minute, and be
+sure that not one of your kinsfolk is happier to see you here than Uncle
+Jem."
+
+That made it all right; and when he set her down, Rose's face was so
+bright it was evident that some spell had been used to banish the
+feeling of neglect that had kept her moping behind the curtain so long.
+
+Then every one sat round and heard all about the voyage home,--how the
+Captain had set his heart on getting there in time to keep Christmas;
+how every thing had conspired to thwart his plan; and how, at the very
+last minute, he had managed to do it, and had sent a telegram to Archie,
+bidding him keep the secret, and be ready for his father at any moment,
+for the ship got into another port, and he might be late.
+
+Then Archie told how that telegram had burnt in his pocket all
+dinner-time; how he had to take Phebe into his confidence, and how
+clever she was to keep the Captain back till the speech was over, and he
+could come in with effect.
+
+The elders would have sat and talked all the evening, but the young
+folks were bent on having their usual Christmas frolic; so, after an
+hour of pleasant chat, they began to get restless, and having consulted
+together in dumb show, they devised a way to very effectually break up
+the family council.
+
+Steve vanished, and, sooner than the boys imagined Dandy could get
+himself up, the skirl of the bag-pipe was heard in the hall, and the
+bonny piper came to lead Clan Campbell to the revel.
+
+"Draw it mild, Stenie, my man; ye play unco weel, but ye mak a most
+infernal din," cried Uncle Jem, with his hands over his ears, for this
+accomplishment was new to him, and "took him all aback," as he expressed
+it.
+
+So Steve droned out a Highland reel as softly as he could, and the boys
+danced it to a circle of admiring relations. Captain Jem was a true
+sailor, however, and could not stand idle while any thing lively was
+going on; so, when the piper's breath gave out, he cut a splendid
+pigeon-wing into the middle of the hall, saying, "Who can dance a Fore
+and After?" and, waiting for no reply, began to whistle the air so
+invitingly that Mrs. Jessie "set" to him laughing like a girl; Rose and
+Charlie took their places behind, and away went the four with a spirit
+and skill that inspired all the rest to "cut in" as fast as they could.
+
+That was a grand beginning, and they had many another dance before any
+one would own they were tired. Even Fun See distinguished himself with
+Aunt Plenty, whom he greatly admired as the stoutest lady in the
+company; plumpness being considered a beauty in his country. The merry
+old soul professed herself immensely flattered by his admiration, and
+the boys declared she "set her cap at him," else he would never have
+dared to catch her under the mistletoe, and, rising on the tips of his
+own toes, gallantly salute her fat cheek.
+
+How they all laughed at her astonishment, and how Fun's little black
+eyes twinkled over this exploit! Charlie put him up to it, and Charlie
+was so bent on catching Rose, that he laid all sorts of pitfalls for
+her, and bribed the other lads to help him. But Rose was wide-awake, and
+escaped all his snares, professing great contempt for such foolish
+customs. Poor Phebe did not fare so well, and Archie was the one who
+took a base advantage of her as she stood innocently offering tea to
+Aunt Myra, whom she happened to meet just under the fatal bough. If his
+father's arrival had not rather upset him, I doubt if the dignified
+Chief would have done it, for he apologized at once in the handsomest
+manner, and caught the tray that nearly dropped from Phebe's hands.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Jamie boldly invited _all_ the ladies to come and salute him; and as for
+Uncle Jem, he behaved as if the entire room was a grove of mistletoe.
+Uncle Alec slyly laid a bit of it on Aunt Peace's cap, and then softly
+kissed her; which little joke seemed to please her very much, for she
+liked to have part in all the home pastimes, and Alec was her favorite
+nephew.
+
+Charlie alone failed to catch his shy bird, and the oftener she escaped
+the more determined he was to ensnare her. When every other wile had
+been tried in vain, he got Archie to propose a game with forfeits.
+
+"I understand that dodge," thought Rose, and was on her guard so
+carefully that not one among the pile soon collected belonged to her.
+
+"Now let us redeem them and play something else," said Will, quite
+unconscious of the deeply laid plots all about him.
+
+"One more round and then we will," answered the Prince, who had now
+baited his trap anew.
+
+Just as the question came to Rose, Jamie's voice was heard in the hall
+crying distressfully, "Oh, come quick, quick!" Rose started up, missed
+the question, and was greeted with a general cry of "Forfeit! forfeit!"
+in which the little traitor came to join.
+
+"Now I've got her," thought the young rascal, exulting in his fun-loving
+soul.
+
+"Now I'm lost," thought Rose, as she gave up her pin-cushion with a
+sternly defiant look that would have daunted any one but the reckless
+Prince. In fact, it made even him think twice, and resolve to "let Rose
+off easy," she had been so clever.
+
+"Here's a very pretty pawn, and what shall be done to redeem it?" asked
+Steve, holding the pin-cushion over Charlie's head, for he had insisted
+on being judge, and kept that for the last.
+
+"Fine or superfine?"
+
+"Super."
+
+"Hum, well, she shall take old Mac under the mistletoe and kiss him
+prettily. Won't he be mad, though?"--and this bad boy chuckled over the
+discomfort he had caused two harmless beings.
+
+There was an impressive pause among the young folks in their corner, for
+they all knew that Mac _would_ "be mad," since he hated nonsense of this
+sort, and had gone to talk with the elders when the game began. At this
+moment he was standing before the fire, listening to a discussion
+between his uncles and his father, looking as wise as a young owl, and
+blissfully unconscious of the plots against him.
+
+Charlie expected that Rose would say, "I won't!" therefore he was rather
+astonished, not to say gratified, when, after a look at the victim, she
+laughed suddenly, and, going up to the group of gentlemen, drew her
+_uncle_ Mac under the mistletoe and surprised him with a hearty kiss.
+
+"Thank you, my dear," said the innocent gentleman, looking much pleased
+at the unexpected honor.
+
+"Oh, come; that's not fair," began Charlie. But Rose cut him short by
+saying, as she made him a fine courtesy,--
+
+"You said 'Old Mac,' and though it was very disrespectful, I did it.
+That was your last chance, sir, and you've lost it."
+
+He certainly had, for, as she spoke, Rose pulled down the mistletoe and
+threw it into the fire, while the boys jeered at the crest-fallen
+Prince, and exalted quick-witted Rose to the skies.
+
+"What's the joke?" asked young Mac, waked out of a brown study by the
+laughter, in which the elders joined.
+
+But there was a regular shout when, the matter having been explained to
+him, Mac took a meditative stare at Rose through his goggles, and said
+in a philosophical tone, "Well, I don't think I should have minded much
+if she _had_ done it."
+
+That tickled the lads immensely, and nothing but the appearance of a
+slight refection would have induced them to stop chaffing the poor Worm,
+who could not see any thing funny in the beautiful resignation he had
+shown on this trying occasion.
+
+Soon after this, the discovery of Jamie curled up in the sofa corner, as
+sound asleep as a dormouse, suggested the propriety of going home, and a
+general move was made.
+
+They were all standing about the hall lingering over the good-nights,
+when the sound of a voice softly singing "Sweet Home," made them pause
+and listen. It was Phebe, poor little Phebe, who never had a home, never
+knew the love of father or mother, brother or sister; who stood all
+alone in the wide world, yet was not sad nor afraid, but took her bits
+of happiness gratefully, and sung over her work without a thought of
+discontent.
+
+I fancy the happy family standing there together remembered this and
+felt the beauty of it, for when the solitary voice came to the burden of
+its song, other voices took it up and finished it so sweetly, that the
+old house seemed to echo the word "Home" in the ears of both the orphan
+girls, who had just spent their first Christmas under its hospitable
+roof.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI.
+
+_A SCARE._
+
+
+"BROTHER ALEC, you surely don't mean to allow that child to go out such
+a bitter cold day as this," said Mrs. Myra, looking into the study,
+where the Doctor sat reading his paper, one February morning.
+
+"Why not? If a delicate invalid like yourself can bear it, surely my
+hearty girl can, especially as _she_ is dressed for cold weather,"
+answered Dr. Alec with provoking confidence.
+
+"But you have no idea how sharp the wind is. I am chilled to the very
+marrow of my bones," answered Aunt Myra, chafing the end of her purple
+nose with her sombre glove.
+
+"I don't doubt it, ma'am, if you _will_ wear crape and silk instead of
+fur and flannel. Rosy goes out in all weathers, and will be none the
+worse for an hour's brisk skating."
+
+"Well, I warn you that you are trifling with the child's health, and
+depending too much on the seeming improvement she has made this year.
+She is a delicate creature for all that, and will drop away suddenly at
+the first serious attack, as her poor mother did," croaked Aunt Myra,
+with a despondent wag of the big bonnet.
+
+"I'll risk it," answered Dr. Alec, knitting his brows, as he always did
+when any allusion was made to that other Rose.
+
+"Mark my words, you will repent it," and, with that awful prophecy, Aunt
+Myra departed like a black shadow.
+
+Now it must be confessed that among the Doctor's failings--and he had
+his share--was a very masculine dislike of advice which was thrust upon
+him unasked. He always listened with respect to the great-aunts, and
+often consulted Mrs. Jessie; but the other three ladies tried his
+patience sorely, by constant warnings, complaints, and counsels. Aunt
+Myra was an especial trial, and he always turned contrary the moment she
+began to talk. He could not help it, and often laughed about it with
+comic frankness. Here now was a sample of it, for he had just been
+thinking that Rose had better defer her run till the wind went down and
+the sun was warmer. But Aunt Myra spoke, and he could not resist the
+temptation to make light of her advice, and let Rose brave the cold. He
+had no fear of its harming her, for she went out every day, and it was a
+great satisfaction to him to see her run down the avenue a minute
+afterward, with her skates on her arm, looking like a rosy-faced
+Esquimaux in her seal-skin suit, as she smiled at Aunt Myra stalking
+along as solemnly as a crow.
+
+"I hope the child won't stay out long, for this wind _is_ enough to
+chill the marrow in younger bones than Myra's," thought Dr. Alec, half
+an hour later, as he drove toward the city to see the few patients he
+had consented to take for old acquaintance' sake.
+
+The thought returned several times that morning, for it _was_ truly a
+bitter day, and, in spite of his bear-skin coat, the Doctor shivered.
+But he had great faith in Rose's good sense, and it never occurred to
+him that she was making a little Casabianca of herself, with the
+difference of freezing instead of burning at her post.
+
+You see, Mac had made an appointment to meet her at a certain spot, and
+have a grand skating bout as soon as the few lessons he was allowed were
+over. She had promised to wait for him, and did so with a faithfulness
+that cost her dear, because Mac forgot his appointment when the lessons
+were done, and became absorbed in a chemical experiment, till a general
+combustion of gases drove him out of his laboratory. Then he suddenly
+remembered Rose, and would gladly have hurried away to her, but his
+mother forbade his going out, for the sharp wind would hurt his eyes.
+
+"She will wait and wait, mother, for she always keeps her word, and I
+told her to hold on till I came," explained Mac, with visions of a
+shivering little figure watching on the windy hill-top.
+
+"Of course, your uncle won't let her go out such a day as this. If he
+does, she will have the sense to come here for you, or to go home again
+when you don't appear," said Aunt Jane, returning to her "Watts on the
+Mind."
+
+"I wish Steve would just cut up and see if she's there, since I can't
+go," began Mac, anxiously.
+
+"Steve won't stir a peg, thank you. He's got his own toes to thaw out,
+and wants his dinner," answered Dandy, just in from school, and
+wrestling impatiently with his boots.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+So Mac resigned himself, and Rose waited dutifully till dinner-time
+assured her that her waiting was in vain. She had done her best to keep
+warm, had skated till she was tired and hot, then stood watching others
+till she was chilled; tried to get up a glow again by trotting up and
+down the road, but failed to do so, and finally cuddled disconsolately
+under a pine-tree to wait and watch. When she at length started for
+home, she was benumbed with the cold, and could hardly make her way
+against the wind that buffeted the frost-bitten rose most unmercifully.
+
+Dr. Alec was basking in the warmth of the study fire, after his drive,
+when the sound of a stifled sob made him hurry to the door and look
+anxiously into the hall. Rose lay in a shivering bunch near the
+register, with her things half off, wringing her hands, and trying not
+to cry with the pain returning warmth brought to her half-frozen
+fingers.
+
+"My darling, what is it?" and Uncle Alec had her in his arms in a
+minute.
+
+"Mac didn't come--I can't get warm--the fire makes me ache!" and with a
+long shiver Rose burst out crying, while her teeth chattered, and her
+poor little nose was so blue, it made one's heart ache to see it.
+
+In less time than it takes to tell it, Dr. Alec had her on the sofa
+rolled up in the bear-skin coat, with Phebe rubbing her cold feet while
+he rubbed the aching hands, and Aunt Plenty made a comfortable hot
+drink, and Aunt Peace sent down her own foot-warmer and embroidered
+blanket "for the dear."
+
+Full of remorseful tenderness, Uncle Alec worked over his new patient
+till she declared she was all right again. He would not let her get up
+to dinner, but fed her himself, and then forgot his own while he sat
+watching her fall into a drowse, for Aunt Plenty's cordial made her
+sleepy.
+
+She lay so several hours, for the drowse deepened into a heavy sleep,
+and Uncle Alec, still at his post, saw with growing anxiety that a
+feverish color began to burn in her cheeks, that her breathing was
+quick and uneven, and now and then she gave a little moan, as if in
+pain. Suddenly she woke up with a start, and seeing Aunt Plenty bending
+over her, put out her arms like a sick child, saying wearily,--
+
+"Please, could I go to bed?"
+
+"The best place for you, deary. Take her right up, Alec; I've got the
+hot water ready, and after a nice bath, she shall have a cup of my sage
+tea, and be rolled up in blankets to sleep off her cold," answered the
+old lady, cheerily, as she bustled away to give orders.
+
+"Are you in pain, darling?" asked Uncle Alec, as he carried her up.
+
+"My side aches when I breathe, and I feel stiff and queer; but it isn't
+bad, so don't be troubled, uncle," whispered Rose, with a little hot
+hand against his cheek.
+
+But the poor Doctor did look troubled, and had cause to do so, for just
+then Rose tried to laugh at Dolly charging into the room with a
+warming-pan, but could not, for the sharp pain that took her breath
+away, and made her cry out.
+
+"Pleurisy," sighed Aunt Plenty, from the depths of the bath-tub.
+
+"Pewmonia!" groaned Dolly, burrowing among the bedclothes with the
+long-handled pan, as if bent on fishing up that treacherous disease.
+
+"Oh, is it bad?" asked Phebe, nearly dropping a pail of hot water in her
+dismay, for she knew nothing of sickness, and Dolly's suggestion had a
+peculiarly dreadful sound to her.
+
+"Hush!" ordered the Doctor, in a tone that silenced all further
+predictions, and made every one work with a will.
+
+"Make her as comfortable as you can, and when she is in her little bed
+I'll come and say good-night," he added, when the bath was ready and the
+blankets browning nicely before the fire.
+
+Then he went away to talk quite cheerfully to Aunt Peace about its being
+"only a chill;" after which he tramped up and down the hall, pulling his
+beard and knitting his brows, sure signs of great inward perturbation.
+
+"I thought it would be too good luck to get through the year without a
+downfall. Confound my perversity! why couldn't I take Myra's advice and
+keep Rose at home? It's not fair that the poor child should suffer for
+my sinful over-confidence. She shall _not_ suffer for it! Pneumonia,
+indeed! I defy it!" and he shook his fist in the ugly face of an Indian
+idol that happened to be before him, as if that particularly hideous god
+had some spite against his own little goddess.
+
+In spite of his defiance his heart sunk when he saw Rose again, for the
+pain was worse, and the bath and blankets, the warming-pan and
+piping-hot sage tea, were all in vain. For several hours there was no
+rest for the poor child, and all manner of gloomy forebodings haunted
+the minds of those who hovered about her with faces full of the
+tenderest anxiety.
+
+In the midst of the worst paroxysm Charlie came to leave a message from
+his mother, and was met by Phebe coming despondently downstairs with a
+mustard plaster that had brought no relief.
+
+"What the dickens is the matter? You look as dismal as a tombstone," he
+said, as she held up her hand to stop his lively whistling.
+
+"Miss Rose is dreadful sick."
+
+"The deuce she is!"
+
+"Don't swear, Mr. Charlie; she really is, and it's Mr. Mac's fault," and
+Phebe told the sad tale in a few sharp words, for she felt at war with
+the entire race of boys at that moment.
+
+"I'll give it to him, make your mind easy about that," said Charlie,
+with an ominous doubling up of his fist. "But Rose isn't dangerously
+ill, is she?" he added anxiously, as Aunt Plenty was seen to trot across
+the upper hall, shaking a bottle violently as she went.
+
+"Oh, but she is, though. The Doctor don't say much, but he don't call it
+a 'chill' any more. It's 'pleurisy' now, and I'm _so_ afraid it will be
+_pewmonia_ to-morrow," answered Phebe, with a despairing glance at the
+plaster.
+
+Charlie exploded into a stifled laugh at the new pronunciation of
+pneumonia, to Phebe's great indignation.
+
+"How can you have the heart to do it, and she in such horrid pain? Hark
+to that, and then laugh if you darst," she said with a tragic gesture,
+and her black eyes full of fire.
+
+Charlie listened and heard little moans that went to his heart and made
+his face as sober as Phebe's. "O uncle, please stop the pain and let me
+rest a minute! Don't tell the boys I wasn't brave. I try to bear it, but
+it's so sharp I can't help crying."
+
+Neither could Charlie, when he heard the broken voice say that; but,
+boy-like, he wouldn't own it, and said pettishly, as he rubbed his
+sleeve across his eyes,--
+
+"Don't hold that confounded thing right under my nose; the mustard makes
+my eyes smart."
+
+"Don't see how it can, when it hasn't any more strength in it than meal.
+The Doctor said so, and I'm going to get some better," began Phebe, not
+a bit ashamed of the great tears that were bedewing the condemned
+plaster.
+
+"I'll go!" and Charlie was off like a shot, glad of an excuse to get out
+of sight for a few minutes.
+
+When he came back all inconvenient emotion had been disposed of, and,
+having delivered a box of the hottest mustard procurable for money, he
+departed to "blow up" Mac, that being his next duty in his opinion. He
+did it so energetically and thoroughly, that the poor Worm was cast into
+the depths of remorseful despair, and went to bed that evening feeling
+that he was an outcast from among men, and bore the mark of Cain upon
+his brow.
+
+Thanks to the skill of the Doctor, and the devotion of his helpers, Rose
+grew easier about midnight, and all hoped that the worst was over. Phebe
+was making tea by the study fire, for the Doctor had forgotten to eat
+and drink since Rose was ill, and Aunt Plenty insisted on his having a
+"good, cordial dish of tea" after his exertions. A tap on the window
+startled Phebe, and, looking up, she saw a face peering in. She was not
+afraid, for a second look showed her that it was neither ghost nor
+burglar, but Mac, looking pale and wild in the wintry moonlight.
+
+"Come and let a fellow in," he said in a low tone, and when he stood in
+the hall he clutched Phebe's arm, whispering gruffly, "How is Rose?"
+
+"Thanks be to goodness, she's better," answered Phebe, with a smile that
+was like broad sunshine to the poor lad's anxious heart.
+
+"And she will be all right again to-morrow?"
+
+"Oh, dear, no. Dolly says she's sure to have rheumatic fever, if she
+don't have noo-monia!" answered Phebe, careful to pronounce the word
+rightly this time.
+
+Down went Mac's face, and remorse began to gnaw at him again as he gave
+a great sigh and said doubtfully,--
+
+"I suppose I couldn't see her?"
+
+"Of course not at this time of night, when we want her to go to sleep!"
+
+Mac opened his mouth to say something more, when a sneeze came upon him
+unawares, and a loud "Ah rash hoo!" awoke the echoes of the quiet house.
+
+"Why didn't you stop it?" said Phebe reproachfully. "I dare say you've
+waked her up."
+
+"Didn't know it was coming. Just my luck!" groaned Mac, turning to go
+before his unfortunate presence did more harm.
+
+But a voice from the stair-head called softly, "Mac, come up; Rose wants
+to see you."
+
+Up he went, and found his uncle waiting for him.
+
+"What brings you here, at this hour, my boy?" asked the Doctor in a
+whisper.
+
+"Charlie said it was all my fault, and if she died I'd killed her. I
+couldn't sleep, so I came to see how she was, and no one knows it but
+Steve," he said with such a troubled face and voice that the Doctor had
+not the heart to blame him.
+
+Before he could say any thing more a feeble voice called "Mac!" and with
+a hasty "Stay a minute just to please her, and then slip away, for I
+want her to sleep," the Doctor led him into the room.
+
+The face on the pillow looked very pale and childish, and the smile that
+welcomed Mac was very faint, for Rose was spent with pain, yet could not
+rest till she had said a word of comfort to her cousin.
+
+"I knew your funny sneeze, and I guessed that you came to see how I did,
+though it is very late. Don't be worried. I'm better now, and it is my
+fault I was ill, not yours; for I needn't have been so silly as to wait
+in the cold just because I said I would."
+
+Mac hastened to explain, to load himself with reproaches, and to beg her
+not to die on any account, for Charlie's lecture had made a deep
+impression on the poor boy's mind.
+
+"I didn't know there was any danger of my dying," and Rose looked up at
+him with a solemn expression in her great eyes.
+
+"Oh, I hope not; but people do sometimes go suddenly, you know, and I
+couldn't rest till I'd asked you to forgive me," faltered Mac, thinking
+that Rose looked very like an angel already, with the golden hair loose
+on the pillow, and the meekness of suffering on her little white face.
+
+"I don't think I shall die; uncle won't let me; but if I do, remember I
+forgave you."
+
+She looked at him with a tender light in her eyes, and, seeing how
+pathetic his dumb grief was, she added softly, drawing his head down: "I
+wouldn't kiss you under the mistletoe, but I will now, for I want you to
+be sure I do forgive and love you just the same."
+
+That quite upset poor Mac; he could only murmur his thanks and get out
+of the room as fast as possible, to grope his way to the couch at the
+far end of the hall, and lie there till he fell asleep, worn out with
+trying not to "make a baby" of himself.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII.
+
+_SOMETHING TO DO._
+
+
+WHATEVER danger there might have been from the effects of that sudden
+chill, it was soon over, though of course Aunt Myra refused to believe
+it, and Dr. Alec cherished his girl with redoubled vigilance and
+tenderness for months afterward. Rose quite enjoyed being sick, because
+as soon as the pain ended the fun began, and for a week or two she led
+the life of a little princess secluded in the Bower, while every one
+served, amused, and watched over her in the most delightful manner. But
+the Doctor was called away to see an old friend who was dangerously ill,
+and then Rose felt like a young bird deprived of its mother's sheltering
+wing; especially on one afternoon when the aunts were taking their naps,
+and the house was very still within while snow fell softly without.
+
+"I'll go and hunt up Phebe, she is always nice and busy, and likes to
+have me help her. If Dolly is out of the way we can make caramels and
+surprise the boys when they come," Rose said to herself, as she threw
+down her book and felt ready for society of some sort.
+
+She took the precaution to peep through the slide before she entered the
+kitchen, for Dolly allowed no messing when she was round. But the coast
+was clear, and no one but Phebe appeared, sitting at the table with her
+head on her arms apparently asleep. Rose was just about to wake her with
+a "Boo!" when she lifted her head, dried her wet eyes with her blue
+apron, and fell to work with a resolute face on something she was
+evidently much interested in. Rose could not make out what it was, and
+her curiosity was greatly excited, for Phebe was writing with a
+sputtering pen on some bits of brown paper, apparently copying something
+from a little book.
+
+"I _must_ know what the dear thing is about, and why she cried, and then
+set her lips tight and went to work with all her might," thought Rose,
+forgetting all about the caramels, and, going round to the door, she
+entered the kitchen, saying pleasantly,--
+
+"Phebe, I want something to do. Can't you let me help you about any
+thing? or shall I be in the way?"
+
+"Oh, dear, no, miss; I always love to have you round when things are
+tidy. What would you like to do?" answered Phebe, opening a drawer as if
+about to sweep her own affairs out of sight: but Rose stopped her,
+exclaiming, like a curious child,--
+
+"Let me see! What is it? I won't tell if you'd rather not have Dolly
+know."
+
+"I'm only trying to study a bit; but I'm so stupid I don't get on much,"
+answered the girl reluctantly, permitting her little mistress to examine
+the poor contrivances she was trying to work with.
+
+A broken slate that had blown off the roof, an inch or two of pencil, an
+old almanac for a reader, several bits of brown or yellow paper ironed
+smoothly and sewed together for a copy-book, and the copies sundry
+receipts written in Aunt Plenty's neat hand. These, with a small bottle
+of ink and a rusty pen, made up Phebe's outfit, and it was little wonder
+that she did not "get on" in spite of the patient persistence that dried
+the desponding tears and drove along the sputtering pen with a will.
+
+"You may laugh if you want to, Miss Rose, I know my things are queer,
+and that's why I hide 'em; but I don't mind since you've found me out,
+and I ain't a bit ashamed except of being so backward at my age," said
+Phebe humbly, though her cheeks grew redder as she washed out some
+crooked capitals with a tear or two not yet dried upon the slate.
+
+"Laugh at you! I feel more like crying to think what a selfish girl I
+am, to have loads of books and things and never remember to give you
+some. Why didn't you come and ask me, and not go struggling along alone
+in this way? It was very wrong of you, Phebe, and I'll never forgive you
+if you do so again," answered Rose, with one hand on Phebe's shoulder
+while the other gently turned the leaves of the poor little copy-book.
+
+"I didn't like to ask for any thing more when you are so good to me all
+the time, miss, dear," began Phebe, looking up with grateful eyes.
+
+"O you proud thing! just as if it wasn't fun to give away, and I had the
+best of it. Now, see here, I've got a plan and you mustn't say no, or I
+shall scold. I want something to do, and I'm going to teach you all I
+know; it won't take long," and Rose laughed as she put her arm around
+Phebe's neck, and patted the smooth dark head with the kind little hand
+that so loved to give.
+
+"It would be just heavenly!" and Phebe's face shone at the mere idea;
+but fell again as she added wistfully, "Only I'm afraid I ought not to
+let you do it, Miss Rose. It will take time, and maybe the Doctor
+wouldn't like it."
+
+"He didn't want me to study much, but he never said a word about
+teaching, and I don't believe he will mind a bit. Any way, we can try it
+till he comes, so pack up your things and go right to my room and we'll
+begin this very day; I'd truly like to do it, and we'll have nice times,
+see if we don't!" cried Rose eagerly.
+
+It was a pretty sight to see Phebe bundle her humble outfit into her
+apron, and spring up as if the desire of her heart had suddenly been
+made a happy fact to her; it was a still prettier sight to see Rose run
+gayly on before, smiling like a good fairy as she beckoned to the other,
+singing as she went,--
+
+    "The way into my parlor is up a winding stair,
+     And many are the curious things I'll show you when you're there.
+          Will you, will you walk in, Phebe dear?"
+
+"Oh, won't I!" answered Phebe fervently, adding, as they entered the
+Bower, "You are the dearest spider that ever was, and I'm the happiest
+fly."
+
+"I'm going to be very strict, so sit down in that chair and don't say a
+word till school is ready to open," ordered Rose, delighted with the
+prospect of such a useful and pleasant "something to do."
+
+So Phebe sat demurely in her place while her new teacher laid forth
+books and slates, a pretty inkstand and a little globe; hastily tore a
+bit off her big sponge, sharpened pencils with more energy than skill,
+and when all was ready gave a prance of satisfaction that set the pupil
+laughing.
+
+"Now the school is open, and I shall hear you read, so that I may know
+in which class to put you, Miss Moore," began Rose with great dignity,
+as she laid a book before her scholar, and sat down in the easy chair
+with a long rule in her hand.
+
+Phebe did pretty well, only tripping now and then over a hard word, and
+pronouncing identical "identickle," in a sober way that tickled Rose,
+though never a smile betrayed her. The spelling lesson which followed
+was rather discouraging; Phebe's ideas of geography were very vague, and
+grammar was nowhere, though the pupil protested that she tried so hard
+to "talk nice like educated folks" that Dolly called her "a stuck-up
+piece who didn't know her place."
+
+"Dolly's an old goose, so don't you mind her, for she will say 'nater,'
+'vittles,' and 'doos' as long as she lives, and insist that they are
+right. You do talk very nicely, Phebe, I've observed it, and grammar
+will help you, and show why some things are right and others ain't,--are
+not, I mean," added Rose, correcting herself, and feeling that she must
+mind her own parts of speech if she was to serve as an example for
+Phebe.
+
+When the arithmetic came the little teacher was surprised to find her
+scholar quicker in some things than herself, for Phebe had worked away
+at the columns in the butcher's and baker's books till she could add so
+quickly and correctly that Rose was amazed, and felt that in this branch
+the pupil would soon excel the teacher if she kept on at the same pace.
+Her praise cheered Phebe immensely, and they went bravely on, both
+getting so interested that time flew unheeded till Aunt Plenty appeared,
+exclaiming, as she stared at the two heads bent over one slate,--
+
+"Bless my heart, what is going on now?"
+
+"School, aunty. I'm teaching Phebe, and it's great fun!" cried Rose,
+looking up with a bright face.
+
+But Phebe's was brighter, though she added, with a wistful look,--
+
+"Maybe I ought to have asked leave first; only when Miss Rose proposed
+this, I was so happy I forgot to. Shall I stop, ma'am?"
+
+"Of course not, child; I'm glad to see you fond of your book, and to
+find Rose helping you along. My blessed mother used to sit at work with
+her maids about her, teaching them many a useful thing in the good old
+fashion that's gone by now. Only don't neglect your work, dear, or let
+the books interfere with the duties."
+
+As Aunt Plenty spoke, with her kind old face beaming approvingly upon
+the girls, Phebe glanced at the clock, saw that it pointed to five, knew
+that Dolly would soon be down, expecting to find preparations for supper
+under way, and, hastily dropping her pencil, she jumped up, saying,--
+
+"Please, can I go? I'll clear up after I've done my chores."
+
+"School is dismissed," answered Rose, and with a grateful "Thank you,
+heaps and heaps!" Phebe ran away singing the multiplication table as she
+set the tea ditto.
+
+That was the way it began, and for a week the class of one went on with
+great pleasure and profit to all concerned; for the pupil proved a
+bright one, and came to her lessons as to a feast, while the young
+teacher did her best to be worthy the high opinion held of her, for
+Phebe firmly believed that Miss Rose knew _every thing_ in the way of
+learning.
+
+Of course the lads found out what was going on, and chaffed the girls
+about the "Seminary," as they called the new enterprise; but they
+thought it a good thing on the whole, kindly offered to give lessons in
+Greek and Latin gratis, and decided among themselves that "Rose was a
+little trump to give the Phebe-bird such a capital boost."
+
+Rose herself had some doubts as to how it would strike her uncle, and
+concocted a wheedlesome speech which should at once convince him that it
+was the most useful, wholesome, and delightful plan ever devised. But
+she got no chance to deliver her address, for Dr. Alec came upon her so
+unexpectedly that it went out of her head entirely. She was sitting on
+the floor in the library, poring over a big book laid open in her lap,
+and knew nothing of the long-desired arrival till two large, warm hands
+met under her chin and gently turned her head back, so that some one
+could kiss her heartily on either cheek, while a fatherly voice said,
+half reproachfully, "Why is my girl brooding over a dusty Encyclopedia
+when she ought to be running to meet the old gentleman who couldn't set
+on another minute without her?"
+
+"O uncle! I'm so glad! and so sorry! Why didn't you let us know what
+time you'd be here, or call out the minute you came? Haven't I been
+homesick for you? and now I'm so happy to have you back I could hug your
+dear old curly head off," cried Rose, as the Encyclopedia went down with
+a bang, and she up with a spring that carried her into Dr. Alec's arms,
+to be kept there in the sort of embrace a man gives to the dearest
+creature the world holds for him.
+
+Presently he was in his easy chair with Rose upon his knee smiling up in
+his face and talking as fast as her tongue could go, while he watched
+her with an expression of supreme content, as he stroked the smooth
+round cheek, or held the little hand in his, rejoicing to see how rosy
+was the one, how plump and strong the other.
+
+"_Have_ you had a good time? _Did_ you save the poor lady? _Aren't_ you
+glad to be home again with your girl to torment you?"
+
+"Yes, to all those questions. Now tell me what you've been at, little
+sinner? Aunty Plen says you want to consult me about some new and
+remarkable project which you have dared to start in my absence."
+
+"She didn't tell you, I hope?"
+
+"Not a word more except that you were rather doubtful how I'd take it,
+and so wanted to 'fess' yourself and get round me as you always try to
+do, though you don't often succeed. Now, then, own up and take the
+consequences."
+
+So Rose told about her school in her pretty, earnest way, dwelling on
+Phebe's hunger for knowledge, and the delight it was to help her,
+adding, with a wise nod,--
+
+"And it helps me too, uncle, for she is so quick and eager I have to do
+my best or she will get ahead of me in some things. To-day, now, she had
+the word 'cotton' in a lesson and asked all about it, and I was ashamed
+to find I really knew so little that I could only say that it was a
+plant that grew down South in a kind of a pod, and was made into cloth.
+That's what I was reading up when you came, and to-morrow I shall tell
+her all about it, and indigo too. So you see it teaches me also, and is
+as good as a general review of what I've learned, in a pleasanter way
+than going over it alone."
+
+"You artful little baggage! that's the way you expect to get round me,
+is it? That's not studying, I suppose?"
+
+"No, sir, it's teaching; and please, I like it much better than having a
+good time all by myself. Besides, you know, I adopted Phebe and promised
+to be a sister to her, so I am bound to keep my word, am I not?"
+answered Rose, looking both anxious and resolute as she waited for her
+sentence.
+
+Dr. Alec was evidently already won, for Rose had described the old slate
+and brown paper copy-book with pathetic effect, and the excellent man
+had not only decided to send Phebe to school long before the story was
+done, but reproached himself for forgetting his duty to one little girl
+in his love for another. So when Rose tried to look meek and failed
+utterly, he laughed and pinched her cheek, and answered in that genial
+way which adds such warmth and grace to any favor,--
+
+"I haven't the slightest objection in the world. In fact, I was
+beginning to think I might let you go at your books again, moderately,
+since you are so well; and this is an excellent way to try your powers.
+Phebe is a brave, bright lass, and shall have a fair chance in the
+world, if we can give it to her, so that if she ever finds her friends
+they need not be ashamed of her."
+
+"I think she has found some already," began Rose eagerly.
+
+"Hey? what? has any one turned up since I've been gone?" asked Dr. Alec
+quickly, for it was a firm belief in the family that Phebe would prove
+to be "somebody" sooner or later.
+
+"No, her best friend turned up when _you_ came home, uncle," answered
+Rose with an approving pat, adding gratefully, "I can't half thank you
+for being so good to my girl, but she will, because I know she is going
+to make a woman to be proud of, she's so strong and true, and loving."
+
+"Bless your dear heart, I haven't begun to do any thing yet, more shame
+to me! But I'm going at it now, and as soon as she gets on a bit, she
+shall go to school as long as she likes. How will that do for a
+beginning?"
+
+"It will be 'just heavenly,' as Phebe says, for it is the wish of her
+life to 'get lots of schooling,' and she will be _too_ happy when I tell
+her. May I, please?--it will be so lovely to see the dear thing open her
+big eyes and clap her hands at the splendid news."
+
+"No one shall have a finger in this nice little pie; you shall do it all
+yourself, only don't go too fast, or make too many castles in the air,
+my dear; for time and patience must go into this pie of ours if it is to
+turn out well."
+
+"Yes, uncle, only when it _is_ opened won't 'the birds begin to sing?'"
+laughed Rose, taking a turn about the room as a vent for the joyful
+emotions that made her eyes shine. All of a sudden she stopped and asked
+soberly,--
+
+"If Phebe goes to school who will do her work? I'm willing, if I can."
+
+"Come here and I'll tell you a secret. Dolly's 'bones' are getting so
+troublesome, and her dear old temper so bad, that the aunts have decided
+to pension her off and let her go and live with her daughter, who has
+married very well. I saw her this week, and she'd like to have her
+mother come, so in the spring we shall have a grand change, and get a
+new cook and chamber-girl if any can be found to suit our honored
+relatives."
+
+"Oh, me! how can I ever get on without Phebe? Couldn't she stay, just so
+I could see her? I'd pay her board rather than have her go, I'm _so_
+fond of her."
+
+How Dr. Alec laughed at that proposal, and how satisfied Rose was when
+he explained that Phebe was still to be her maid, with no duties except
+such as she could easily perform between school-hours.
+
+"She is a proud creature, for all her humble ways, and even from us
+would not take a favor if she did not earn it somehow. So this
+arrangement makes it all square and comfortable, you see, and she will
+pay for the schooling by curling these goldilocks a dozen times a day
+if you let her."
+
+"Your plans are always _so_ wise and kind! That's why they work so well,
+I suppose, and why people let you do what you like with them. I really
+don't see how other girls get along without an Uncle Alec!" answered
+Rose, with a sigh of pity for those who had missed so great a blessing.
+
+When Phebe was told the splendid news, she did not "stand on her head
+with rapture," as Charlie prophesied she would, but took it quietly,
+because it was such a happy thing she had no words "big and beautiful
+enough to thank them in," she said; but every hour of her day was
+brightened by this granted wish, and dedicated to the service of those
+who gave it.
+
+Her heart was so full of content that it overflowed in music, and the
+sweet voice singing all about the house gave thanks so blithely that no
+other words were needed. Her willing feet were never tired of taking
+steps for those who had smoothed her way; her skilful hands were always
+busy in some labor of love for them, and on the face fast growing in
+comeliness there was an almost womanly expression of devotion, which
+proved how well Phebe had already learned one of life's great
+lessons,--gratitude.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII.
+
+_PEACE-MAKING._
+
+
+"STEVE, I want you to tell me something," said Rose to Dandy, who was
+making faces at himself in the glass, while he waited for an answer to
+the note he brought from his mother to Aunt Plenty.
+
+"P'raps I will, and p'raps I won't. What is it?"
+
+"Haven't Arch and Charlie quarrelled?"
+
+"Dare say; we fellows are always having little rows, you know. I do
+believe a sty is coming on my starboard eye," and Steve affected to be
+absorbed in a survey of his yellow lashes.
+
+"No, that won't do; I want to know all about it; for I'm sure something
+more serious than a 'little row' is the matter. Come, please tell me,
+Stenie, there's a dear."
+
+"Botheration! you don't want me to turn telltale, do you?" growled
+Steve, pulling his top-knot, as he always did when perplexed.
+
+"Yes, I do," was Rose's decided answer,--for she saw from his manner
+that she was right, and determined to have the secret out of him if
+coaxing would do it. "I don't wish you to tell things to every one, of
+course, but to me you may, and you must, because I have a right to know.
+You boys need somebody to look after you, and I'm going to do it, for
+girls are nice peace-makers, and know how to manage people. Uncle said
+so, and he is never wrong."
+
+Steve was about to indulge in a derisive hoot at the idea of her looking
+after them, but a sudden thought restrained him, and suggested a way in
+which he could satisfy Rose, and better himself at the same time.
+
+"What will you give me if I'll tell you every bit about it?" he asked,
+with a sudden red in his cheeks, and an uneasy look in his eyes, for he
+was half ashamed of the proposition.
+
+"What do you want?" and Rose looked up rather surprised at his question.
+
+"I'd like to borrow some money. I shouldn't think of asking you, only
+Mac never has a cent since he's set up his old chemical shop, where
+he'll blow himself to bits some day, and you and uncle will have the fun
+of putting him together again," and Steve tried to look as if the idea
+amused him.
+
+"I'll lend it to you with pleasure, so tell away," said Rose, bound to
+get at the secret.
+
+Evidently much relieved by the promise, Steve set his top-knot
+cheerfully erect again, and briefly stated the case.
+
+"As you say, it's all right to tell _you_, but don't let the boys know I
+blabbed, or Prince will take my head off. You see, Archie don't like
+some of the fellows Charlie goes with, and cuts 'em. That makes Prince
+mad, and he holds on just to plague Arch, so they don't speak to one
+another, if they can help it, and that's the row."
+
+"Are those boys bad?" asked Rose, anxiously.
+
+"Guess not, only rather wild. They are older than our fellows, but they
+like Prince, he's such a jolly boy; sings so well, dances jigs and
+breakdowns, you know, and plays any game that's going. He beat Morse at
+billiards, and that's something to brag of, for Morse thinks he knows
+every thing. I saw the match, and it was great fun!"
+
+Steve got quite excited over the prowess of Charlie, whom he admired
+immensely, and tried to imitate. Rose did not know half the danger of
+such gifts and tastes as Charlie's, but felt instinctively that
+something must be wrong if Archie disapproved.
+
+"If Prince likes any billiard-playing boy better than Archie, I don't
+think much of his sense," she said severely.
+
+"Of course he doesn't; but, you see, Charlie and Arch are both as proud
+as they can be, and won't give in. I suppose Arch _is_ right, but I
+don't blame Charlie a bit for liking to be with the others sometimes,
+they are such a jolly set," and Steve shook his head morally, even while
+his eye twinkled over the memory of some of the exploits of the "jolly
+set."
+
+"Oh, dear me!" sighed Rose, "I don't see what I can do about it, but I
+wish the boys would make up, for Prince can't come to any harm with
+Archie, he's so good and sensible."
+
+"That's the trouble; Arch preaches, and Prince won't stand it. He told
+Arch he was a prig and a parson, and Arch told him he wasn't a
+gentleman. My boots! weren't they both mad though! I thought for a
+minute they'd pitch into one another and have it out. Wish they had, and
+not gone stalking round stiff and glum ever since. Mac and I settle our
+rows with a bat or so over the head, and then we are all right."
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Rose couldn't help laughing as Steve sparred away at a fat sofa-pillow,
+to illustrate his meaning; and, having given it several scientific
+whacks, he pulled down his cuffs and smiled upon her with benign pity
+for her feminine ignorance of this summary way of settling a quarrel.
+
+"What droll things boys are!" she said, with a mixture of admiration and
+perplexity in her face, which Steve accepted as a compliment to his sex.
+
+"We are a pretty clever invention, miss, and you can't get on without
+us," he answered, with his nose in the air. Then, taking a sudden plunge
+into business, he added, "How about that bit of money you were going to
+land me? I've told, now you pay up."
+
+"Of course I will! How much do you want?" and Rose pulled out her purse.
+
+"_Could_ you spare five dollars? I want to pay a little debt of honor
+that is rather pressing," and Steve put on a mannish air that was
+comical to see.
+
+"Aren't all debts honorable?" asked innocent Rose.
+
+"Yes, of course; but this is a bet I made, and it ought to be settled up
+at once," began Steve, finding it awkward to explain.
+
+"Oh, don't bet, it's not right, and I know your father wouldn't like it.
+Promise you won't do so again, please promise!" and Rose held fast the
+hand into which she had just put the money.
+
+"Well, I won't. It's worried me a good deal, but I was joked into it.
+Much obliged, cousin, I'm all right now," and Steve departed hastily.
+
+Having decided to be a peace-maker, Rose waited for an opportunity, and
+very soon it came.
+
+She was spending the day with Aunt Clara, who had been entertaining some
+young guests, and invited Rose to meet them, for she thought it high
+time her niece conquered her bashfulness, and saw a little of society.
+Dinner was over, and every one had gone. Aunt Clara was resting before
+going out to an evening party, and Rose was waiting for Charlie to come
+and take her home.
+
+She sat alone in the elegant drawing-room, feeling particularly nice and
+pretty, for she had her best frock on, a pair of gold bands her aunt had
+just given her, and a tea-rose bud in her sash, like the beautiful Miss
+Van Tassel, whom every one admired. She had spread out her little skirts
+to the best advantage, and, leaning back in a luxurious chair, sat
+admiring her own feet in new slippers with rosettes almost as big as
+dahlias. Presently Charlie came lounging in, looking rather sleepy and
+queer, Rose thought. On seeing her, however, he roused up and said with
+a smile that ended in a gape,--
+
+"I thought you were with mother, so I took forty winks after I got those
+girls off. Now, I'm at your service, Rosamunda, whenever you like."
+
+"You look as if your head ached. If it does, don't mind me. I'm not
+afraid to run home alone, it's so early," answered Rose, observing the
+flushed cheeks and heavy eyes of her cousin.
+
+"I think I see myself letting you do it. Champagne always makes my head
+ache, but the air will set me up."
+
+"Why do you drink it, then?" asked Rose, anxiously.
+
+"Can't help it, when I'm host. Now, don't _you_ begin to lecture; I've
+had enough of Archie's old-fashioned notions, and I don't want any
+more."
+
+Charlie's tone was decidedly cross, and his whole manner so unlike his
+usual merry good-nature, that Rose felt crushed, and answered meekly,--
+
+"I wasn't going to lecture, only when people like other people, they
+can't bear to see them suffer pain."
+
+That brought Charlie round at once, for Rose's lips trembled a little,
+though she tried to hide it by smelling the flower she pulled from her
+sash.
+
+"I'm a regular bear, and I beg your pardon for being so cross, Rosy," he
+said in the old frank way that was so winning.
+
+"I wish you'd beg Archie's too, and be good friends again. You never
+were cross when _he_ was your chum," Rose said, looking up at him as he
+bent toward her from the low chimney-piece, where he had been leaning
+his elbows.
+
+In an instant he stood as stiff and straight as a ramrod, and the heavy
+eyes kindled with an angry spark as he said, in his high and mighty
+manner,--
+
+"You'd better not meddle with what you don't understand, cousin."
+
+"But I do understand, and it troubles me very much to see you so cold
+and stiff to one another. You always used to be together, and now you
+hardly speak. You are so ready to beg my pardon I don't see why you
+can't beg Archie's, if you are in the wrong."
+
+"I'm not!" this was so short and sharp that Rose started, and Charlie
+added in a calmer but still very haughty tone: "A gentleman always begs
+pardon when he has been rude to a lady, but one man doesn't apologize to
+another man who has insulted him."
+
+"Oh, my heart, what a pepperpot!" thought Rose, and, hoping to make him
+laugh, she added slyly: "I was not talking about men, but boys, and one
+of them a Prince, who ought to set a good example to his subjects."
+
+But Charlie would not relent, and tried to turn the subject by saying
+gravely, as he unfastened the little gold ring from his watch-guard,--
+
+"I've broken my word, so I want to give this back and free you from the
+bargain. I'm sorry, but I think it a foolish promise, and don't intend
+to keep it. Choose a pair of ear-rings to suit yourself, as my forfeit.
+You have a right to wear them now."
+
+"No, I can only wear one, and that is no use, for Archie will keep _his_
+word I'm sure!" Rose was so mortified and grieved at this downfall of
+her hopes that she spoke sharply, and would not take the ring the
+deserter offered her.
+
+He shrugged his shoulders, and threw it into her lap, trying to look
+cool and careless, but failing entirely, for he was ashamed of himself,
+and out of sorts generally. Rose wanted to cry, but pride would not let
+her, and, being very angry, she relieved herself by talk instead of
+tears. Looking pale and excited, she rose out of her chair, cast away
+the ring, and said in a voice that she vainly tried to keep steady,--
+
+"You are not at all the boy I thought you were, and I don't respect you
+one bit. I've tried to help you be good, but you won't let me, and I
+shall not try any more. You talk a great deal about being a gentleman,
+but you are not, for you've broken your word, and I can never trust you
+again. I don't wish you to go home with me. I'd rather have Mary.
+Good-night."
+
+And with that last dreadful blow, Rose walked out of the room, leaving
+Charlie as much astonished as if one of his pet pigeons had flown in his
+face and pecked at him. She was so seldom angry, that when her temper
+did get the better of her it made a deep impression on the lads, for it
+was generally a righteous sort of indignation at some injustice or
+wrong-doing, not childish passion.
+
+Her little thunder-storm cleared off in a sob or two as she put on her
+things in the entry-closet, and when she emerged she looked the brighter
+for the shower. A hasty good-night to Aunt Clara,--now under the hands
+of the hair-dresser,--and then she crept down to find Mary the maid. But
+Mary was out, so was the man, and Rose slipped away by the back-door,
+flattering herself that she had escaped the awkwardness of having
+Charlie for escort.
+
+There she was mistaken, however, for the gate had hardly closed behind
+her when a well-known tramp was heard, and the Prince was beside her,
+saying in a tone of penitent politeness that banished Rose's wrath like
+magic,--
+
+"You needn't speak to me if you don't choose, but I must see you safely
+home, cousin."
+
+She turned at once, put out her hand, and answered heartily,--
+
+"_I_ was the cross one. Please forgive me, and let's be friends again."
+
+Now that was better than a dozen sermons on the beauty of forgiveness,
+and did Charlie more good, for it showed him how sweet humility was, and
+proved that Rose practised as she preached.
+
+He shook the hand warmly, then drew it through his arm and said, as if
+anxious to recover the good opinion with the loss of which he had been
+threatened,--
+
+"Look here, Rosy, I've put the ring back, and I'm going to try again.
+But you don't know how hard it is to stand being laughed at."
+
+"Yes, I do! Ariadne plagues me every time I see her, because I don't
+wear ear-rings after all the trouble I had getting ready for them."
+
+"Ah, but her twaddle isn't half as bad as the chaffing _I_ get. It takes
+a deal of pluck to hold out when you are told you are tied to an
+apron-string, and all that sort of thing," sighed Charlie.
+
+"I thought you had a 'deal of pluck,' as you call it. The boys all say
+you are the bravest of the seven," said Rose.
+
+"So I am about some things, but I _cannot_ bear to be laughed at."
+
+"It is hard, but if one is right won't that make it easier?"
+
+"Not to me; it might to a pious parson like Arch."
+
+"Please don't call him names! I guess _he_ has what is called moral
+courage, and _you_ physical courage. Uncle explained the difference to
+me, and moral is the best, though often it doesn't look so," said Rose
+thoughtfully.
+
+Charlie didn't like that, and answered quickly, "I don't believe he'd
+stand it any better than I do, if he had those fellows at him."
+
+"Perhaps that's why he keeps out of their way, and wants you to."
+
+Rose had him there, and Charlie felt it, but would not give in just yet,
+though he was going fast, for, somehow, in the dark he seemed to see
+things clearer than in the light, and found it very easy to be
+confidential when it was "only Rose."
+
+"If he was my brother, now, he'd have some right to interfere," began
+Charlie, in an injured tone.
+
+"I wish he was!" cried Rose.
+
+"So do I," answered Charlie, and then they both laughed at his
+inconsistency.
+
+The laugh did them good, and when Prince spoke again, it was in a
+different tone,--pensive, not proud nor perverse.
+
+"You see, it's hard upon me that I have no brothers and sisters. The
+others are better off and needn't go abroad for chums if they don't
+like. _I_ am all alone, and I'd be thankful even for a little sister."
+
+Rose thought that very pathetic, and, overlooking the uncomplimentary
+word "even" in that last sentence, she said, with a timid sort of
+earnestness that conquered her cousin at once,--
+
+"Play I was a little sister. I know I'm silly, but perhaps I'm better
+than nothing, and I'd dearly love to do it."
+
+"So should I! and we will, for you are not silly, my dear, but a very
+sensible girl, we all think, and I'm proud to have you for a sister.
+There, now!" and Charlie looked down at the curly head bobbing along
+beside him, with real affection in his face.
+
+Rose gave a skip of pleasure, and laid one seal-skin mitten over the
+other on his arm, as she said happily.--
+
+"That's so nice of you! Now, you needn't be lonely any more, and I'll
+try to fill Archie's place till he comes back, for I know he will, as
+soon as you let him."
+
+"Well, I don't mind telling _you_ that while he was my mate I never
+missed brothers and sisters, or wanted any one else; but since he cast
+me off, I'll be hanged if I don't feel as forlorn as old Crusoe before
+Friday turned up."
+
+This burst of confidence confirmed Rose in her purpose of winning
+Charlie's Mentor back to him, but she said no more, contented to have
+done so well. They parted excellent friends, and Prince went home,
+wondering why "a fellow didn't mind saying things to a girl or woman
+which they would die before they'd own to another fellow."
+
+Rose also had some sage reflections upon the subject, and fell asleep
+thinking that there were a great many curious things in this world, and
+feeling that she was beginning to find out some of them.
+
+Next day she trudged up the hill to see Archie, and having told him as
+much as she thought best about her talk with Charlie, begged him to
+forget and forgive.
+
+"I've been thinking that perhaps I ought to, though I _am_ in the right.
+I'm no end fond of Charlie, and he's the best-hearted lad alive; but he
+can't say No, and that will play the mischief with him, if he does not
+take care," said Archie in his grave, kind way. "While father was home,
+I was very busy with him, so Prince got into a set I don't like. They
+try to be fast, and think it's manly, and they flatter him, and lead
+him on to do all sorts of things,--play for money, and bet, and loaf
+about. I hate to have him do so, and tried to stop it, but went to work
+the wrong way, so we got into a mess."
+
+"He is all ready to make up if you don't say much, for he owned to me he
+_was_ wrong; but I don't think he will own it to you, in words," began
+Rose.
+
+"I don't care for that; if he'll just drop those rowdies and come back,
+I'll hold my tongue and not preach. I wonder if he owes those fellows
+money, and so doesn't like to break off till he can pay it. I hope not,
+but don't dare to ask; though, perhaps, Steve knows, he's always after
+Prince, more's the pity," and Archie looked anxious.
+
+"I think Steve does know, for he talked about debts of honor the day I
+gave him--" There Rose stopped short and turned scarlet.
+
+But Archie ordered her to "fess," and had the whole story in five
+minutes, for none dared disobey the Chief. He completed her affliction
+by putting a five-dollar bill into her pocket by main force, looking
+both indignant and resolute as he said,--
+
+"Never do so, again; but send Steve to me, if he is afraid to go to his
+father. Charlie had nothing to do with that; _he_ wouldn't borrow a
+penny of a girl, don't think it. But that's the harm he does Steve, who
+adores him, and tries to be like him in all things. Don't say a word;
+I'll make it all right, and no one shall blame you."
+
+"Oh, me! I always make trouble by trying to help, and then letting out
+the wrong thing," sighed Rose, much depressed by her slip of the
+tongue.
+
+Archie comforted her with the novel remark that it was always best to
+tell the truth, and made her quite cheerful by promising to heal the
+breach with Charlie, as soon as possible.
+
+He kept his word so well that the very next afternoon, as Rose looked
+out of the window, she beheld the joyful spectacle of Archie and Prince
+coming up the avenue, arm-in-arm, as of old, talking away as if to make
+up for the unhappy silence of the past weeks.
+
+Rose dropped her work, hurried to the door, and, opening it wide, stood
+there smiling down upon them so happily, that the faces of the lads
+brightened as they ran up the steps eager to show that all was well with
+them.
+
+"Here's our little peace-maker!" said Archie, shaking hands with vigor.
+
+But Charlie added, with a look that made Rose very proud and happy, "And
+_my_ little sister."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV.
+
+_WHICH?_
+
+
+"UNCLE, I have discovered what girls are made for," said Rose, the day
+after the reconciliation of Archie and the Prince.
+
+"Well, my dear, what is it?" asked Dr. Alec, who was "planking the
+deck," as he called his daily promenade up and down the hall.
+
+"To take care of boys," answered Rose, quite beaming with satisfaction
+as she spoke. "Phebe laughed when I told her, and said she thought girls
+had better learn to take care of themselves first. But that's because
+_she_ hasn't got seven boy-cousins as I have."
+
+"She is right, nevertheless, Rosy, and so are you, for the two things go
+together, and in helping seven lads you are unconsciously doing much to
+improve one lass," said Dr. Alec, stopping to nod and smile at the
+bright-faced figure resting on the old bamboo chair, after a lively game
+of battledore and shuttlecock, in place of a run which a storm
+prevented.
+
+"Am I? I'm glad of that, but really, uncle, I do feel as if I _must_
+take care of the boys, for they come to me in all sorts of troubles, and
+ask advice, and I like it _so_ much. Only I don't always know what to
+do, and I'm going to consult you privately and then surprise them with
+my wisdom."
+
+"All right, my dear; what's the first worry? I see you have something on
+your little mind, so come and tell uncle."
+
+Rose put her arm in his, and, pacing to and fro, told him all about
+Charlie, asking what she could do to keep him straight, and be a real
+sister to him.
+
+"Could you make up your mind to go and stay with Aunt Clara a month?"
+asked the Doctor, when she ended.
+
+"Yes, sir; but I shouldn't like it. Do you really want me to go?"
+
+"The best cure for Charlie is a daily dose of Rose water, or Rose and
+water; will you go and see that he takes it?" laughed Dr. Alec.
+
+"You mean that if I'm there and try to make it pleasant, he will stay at
+home and keep out of mischief?"
+
+"Exactly."
+
+"But _could_ I make it pleasant? He would want the boys."
+
+"No danger but he'd have the boys, for they swarm after you like bees
+after their queen. Haven't you found that out?"
+
+"Aunt Plen often says they never used to be here half so much before I
+came, but I never thought _I_ made the difference, it seemed so natural
+to have them round."
+
+"Little Modesty doesn't know what a magnet she is; but she will find it
+out some day," and the Doctor softly stroked the cheek that had grown
+rosy with pleasure at the thought of being so much loved. "Now, you
+see, if I move the magnet to Aunt Clara's, the lads will go there as
+sure as iron to steel, and Charlie will be so happy at home he won't
+care for these mischievous mates of his; I hope," added the Doctor, well
+knowing how hard it was to wean a seventeen-year-old boy from his first
+taste of what is called "seeing life," which, alas! often ends in seeing
+death.
+
+"I'll go, uncle, right away! Aunt Clara is always asking me, and will be
+glad to get me. I shall have to dress and dine late, and see lots of
+company, and be very fashionable, but I'll try not to let it hurt me;
+and if I get in a puzzle or worried about any thing I can run to you,"
+answered Rose, good-will conquering timidity.
+
+So it was decided, and without saying much about the real reason for
+this visit, Rose was transplanted to Aunt Clara's, feeling that she had
+a work to do, and very eager to do it well.
+
+Dr. Alec was right about the bees, for the boys did follow their queen,
+and astonished Mrs. Clara by their sudden assiduity in making calls,
+dropping in to dinner, and getting up evening frolics. Charlie was a
+devoted host, and tried to show his gratitude by being very kind to his
+"little sister," for he guessed why she came, and his heart was touched
+by her artless endeavors to "help him be good."
+
+Rose often longed to be back in the old house, with the simpler
+pleasures and more useful duties of the life there; but, having made up
+her mind, in spite of Phebe, that "girls were made to take care of
+boys," her motherly little soul found much to enjoy in the new task she
+had undertaken.
+
+It was a pretty sight to see the one earnest, sweet-faced girl among the
+flock of tall lads, trying to understand, to help and please them with a
+patient affection that worked many a small miracle unperceived. Slang,
+rough manners, and careless habits were banished or bettered by the
+presence of a little gentlewoman; and all the manly virtues cropping up
+were encouraged by the hearty admiration bestowed upon them by one whose
+good opinion all valued more than they confessed; while Rose tried to
+imitate the good qualities she praised in them, to put away her girlish
+vanities and fears, to be strong and just and frank and brave as well as
+modest, kind, and beautiful.
+
+This trial worked so well that when the month was over, Mac and Steve
+demanded a visit in their turn, and Rose went, feeling that she would
+like to hear grim Aunt Jane say, as Aunt Clara did at parting, "I wish I
+could keep you all my life, dear."
+
+After Mac and Steve had had their turn, Archie and Company bore her away
+for some weeks; and with them she was so happy, she felt as if she would
+like to stay for ever, if she could have Uncle Alec also.
+
+Of course, Aunt Myra could not be neglected, and, with secret despair,
+Rose went to the "Mausoleum," as the boys called her gloomy abode.
+Fortunately, she was very near home, and Dr. Alec dropped in so often
+that her visit was far less dismal than she expected. Between them, they
+actually made Aunt Myra laugh heartily more than once; and Rose did her
+so much good by letting in the sunshine, singing about the silent
+house, cooking wholesome messes, and amusing the old lady with funny
+little lectures on physiology, that she forgot to take her pills and
+gave up "Mum's Elixir," because she slept so well, after the long walks
+and drives she was beguiled into taking, that she needed no narcotic.
+
+So the winter flew rapidly away, and it was May before Rose was fairly
+settled again at home. They called her the "Monthly Rose," because she
+had spent a month with each of the aunts, and left such pleasant
+memories of bloom and fragrance behind her, that all wanted the family
+flower back again.
+
+Dr. Alec rejoiced greatly over his recovered treasure; but as the time
+drew near when his year of experiment ended, he had many a secret fear
+that Rose might like to make her home for the next twelve month with
+Aunt Jessie, or even Aunt Clara, for Charlie's sake. He said nothing,
+but waited with much anxiety for the day when the matter should be
+decided; and while he waited he did his best to finish as far as
+possible the task he had begun so well.
+
+Rose was very happy now, being out nearly all day enjoying the beautiful
+awakening of the world, for spring came bright and early, as if anxious
+to do its part. The old horse-chestnuts budded round her windows, green
+things sprung up like magic in the garden under her hands, hardy flowers
+bloomed as fast as they could, the birds sang blithely overhead, and
+every day a chorus of pleasant voices cried, "Good morning, cousin,
+isn't it jolly weather?"
+
+No one remembered the date of the eventful conversation which resulted
+in the Doctor's experiment (no one but himself at least); so when the
+aunts were invited to tea one Saturday they came quite unsuspiciously,
+and were all sitting together having a social chat, when Brother Alec
+entered with two photographs in his hand.
+
+"Do you remember that?" he said, showing one to Aunt Clara, who happened
+to be nearest.
+
+"Yes, indeed; it is very like her when she came. Quite her sad,
+unchildlike expression, and thin little face, with the big dark eyes."
+
+The picture was passed round, and all agreed that "it was very like Rose
+a year ago." This point being settled, the Doctor showed the second
+picture, which was received with great approbation, and pronounced a
+"charming likeness."
+
+It certainly was, and a striking contrast to the first one, for it was a
+blooming, smiling face, full of girlish spirit and health, with no sign
+of melancholy, though the soft eyes were thoughtful, and the lines about
+the lips betrayed a sensitive nature.
+
+Dr. Alec set both photographs on the chimney-piece, and, falling back a
+step or two, surveyed them with infinite satisfaction for several
+minutes, then wheeled round, saying briefly, as he pointed to the two
+faces,--
+
+"Time is up; how do you think my experiment has succeeded, ladies?"
+
+"Bless me, so it is!" cried Aunt Plenty, dropping a stitch in her
+surprise.
+
+"Beautifully, dear," answered Aunt Peace, smiling entire approval.
+
+"She certainly _has_ improved, but appearances are deceitful, and she
+had no constitution to build upon," croaked Aunt Myra.
+
+"I am willing to allow that, as far as mere health goes, the experiment
+_is_ a success," graciously observed Aunt Jane, unable to forget Rose's
+kindness to her Mac.
+
+"So am I; and I'll go farther, for I really do believe Alec has done
+wonders for the child; she will be a beauty in two or three years,"
+added Aunt Clara, feeling that she could say nothing better than that.
+
+"I always knew he would succeed, and I'm so glad you all allow it, for
+he deserves more credit than you know, and more praise than he will ever
+get," cried Aunt Jessie, clapping her hands with an enthusiasm that
+caused Jamie's little red stocking to wave like a triumphal banner in
+the air.
+
+Dr. Alec made them a splendid bow, looking much gratified, and then said
+soberly,--
+
+"Thank you; now the question is, shall I go on?--for this is only the
+beginning. None of you know the hinderances I've had, the mistakes I've
+made, the study I've given the case, and the anxiety I've often felt.
+Sister Myra is right in one thing,--Rose _is_ a delicate creature, quick
+to flourish in the sunshine, and as quick to droop without it. She has
+no special weakness, but inherits her mother's sensitive nature, and
+needs the wisest, tenderest care to keep a very ardent little soul from
+wearing out a finely organized little body. I think I have found the
+right treatment, and, with you to help me, I believe we may build up a
+lovely and a noble woman, who will be a pride and comfort to us all."
+
+There Dr. Alec stopped to get his breath, for he had spoken very
+earnestly, and his voice got a little husky over the last words. A
+gentle murmur from the aunts seemed to encourage him, and he went on
+with an engaging smile, for the good man was slyly trying to win all the
+ladies to vote for him when the time came.
+
+"Now, I don't wish to be selfish or arbitrary, because I am her
+guardian, and I shall leave Rose free to choose for herself. We all want
+her, and if she likes to make her home with any of you rather than with
+me, she shall do so. In fact, I encouraged her visits last winter, that
+she might see what we can all offer her, and judge where she will be
+happiest. Is not that the fairest way? Will you agree to abide by her
+choice, as I do?"
+
+"Yes, we will," said all the aunts, in quite a flutter of excitement, at
+the prospect of having Rose for a whole year.
+
+"Good! she will be here directly, and then we will settle the question
+for another year. A most important year, mind you, for she has got a
+good start, and will blossom rapidly now if all goes well with her. So I
+beg of you don't undo my work, but deal very wisely and gently with my
+little girl, for if any harm come to her, I think it would break my
+heart."
+
+As he spoke, Dr. Alec turned his back abruptly and affected to be
+examining the pictures again; but the aunts understood how dear the
+child was to the solitary man who had loved her mother years ago, and
+who now found his happiness in cherishing the little Rose who was so
+like her. The good ladies nodded and sighed, and telegraphed to one
+another that none of them would complain if not chosen, or ever try to
+rob Brother Alec of his "Heart's Delight," as the boys called Rose.
+
+[Illustration: "THE COUSINS HAD BEEN A-MAYING."]
+
+Just then a pleasant sound of happy voices came up from the garden, and
+smiles broke out on all serious faces. Dr. Alec turned at once, saying,
+as he threw back his head, "There she is; now for it!"
+
+The cousins had been a-Maying, and soon came flocking in laden with the
+spoils.
+
+"Here is our bonny Scotch rose with all her thorns about her," said Dr.
+Alec, surveying her with unusual pride and tenderness, as she went to
+show Aunt Peace her basket full of early flowers, fresh leaves, and
+curious lichens.
+
+"Leave your clutter in the hall, boys, and sit quietly down if you
+choose to stop here, for we are busy," said Aunt Plenty, shaking her
+finger at the turbulent clan, who were bubbling over with the jollity
+born of spring sunshine and healthy exercise.
+
+"Of course, we choose to stay! Wouldn't miss our Saturday high tea for
+any thing," said the Chief, as he restored order among his men with a
+nod, a word, and an occasional shake.
+
+"What is up? a court-martial?" asked Charlie, looking at the assembled
+ladies with affected awe and real curiosity, for their faces betrayed
+that some interesting business was afloat.
+
+Dr. Alec explained in a few words, which he made as brief and calm as he
+could; but the effect was exciting, nevertheless, for each of the lads
+began at once to bribe, entice, and wheedle "our cousin" to choose his
+home.
+
+"You really ought to come to us for mother's sake, as a relish, you
+know, for she must be perfectly satiated with boys," began Archie, using
+the strongest argument he could think of at the moment.
+
+"Oh, do! we'll never slam, or bounce at you or call you 'fraid cat,' if
+you only will," besought Geordie and Will, distorting their countenances
+in the attempt to smile with overpowering sweetness.
+
+"And I'll always wash my hands 'fore I touch you, and you shall be my
+dolly, 'cause Pokey's gone away, and I'll love you _hard_," cried Jamie,
+clinging to her with his chubby face full of affection.
+
+"Brothers and sisters ought to live together; especially when the
+brother needs some one to make home pleasant for him," added Charlie,
+with the wheedlesome tone and look that Rose always found so difficult
+to resist.
+
+"You had her longest, and it's our turn now; Mac needs her more than you
+do, Prince, for she's 'the light of his eyes,' he says. Come, Rose,
+choose us, and I'll never use the musky pomade you hate again as long as
+I live," said Steve, with his most killing air, as he offered this noble
+sacrifice.
+
+Mac peered wistfully over his goggles, saying in an unusually wide-awake
+and earnest way,--
+
+"Do, cousin, then we can study chemistry together. My experiments don't
+blow up very often now, and the gases aren't at all bad when you get
+used to them."
+
+Rose meantime had stood quite still, with the flowers dropping from her
+hands as her eyes went from one eager face to another, while smiles
+rippled over her own at the various enticements offered her. During the
+laugh that followed Mac's handsome proposition, she looked at her uncle,
+whose eyes were fixed on her with an expression of love and longing that
+went to her heart.
+
+"Ah! yes," she thought, "_he_ wants me most! I've often longed to give
+him something that he wished for very much, and now I can."
+
+So, when, at a sudden gesture from Aunt Peace, silence fell, Rose said
+slowly, with a pretty color in her cheeks, and a beseeching look about
+the room, as if asking pardon of the boys,--
+
+"It's very hard to choose when everybody is so fond of me; therefore I
+think I'd better go to the one who seems to need me most."
+
+"No, dear, the one you love the best and will be happiest with," said
+Dr. Alec quickly, as a doleful sniff from Aunt Myra, and a murmur of "My
+sainted Caroline," made Rose pause and look that way.
+
+"Take time, cousin; don't be in a hurry to make up your mind, and
+remember, 'Codlin's your friend,'" added Charlie, hopeful still.
+
+"I don't want any time! I _know_ who I love best, who I'm happiest with,
+and I choose uncle. Will he have me?" cried Rose, in a tone that
+produced a sympathetic thrill among the hearers, it was so full of
+tender confidence and love.
+
+If she really had any doubt, the look in Dr. Alec's face banished it
+without a word, as he opened wide his arms, and she ran into them,
+feeling that home was there.
+
+No one spoke for a minute, but there were signs of emotion among the
+aunts, which warned the boys to bestir themselves before the water-works
+began to play. So they took hands and began to prance about uncle and
+niece, singing, with sudden inspiration, the nursery rhyme,--
+
+    "Ring around a Rosy!"
+
+Of course that put an end to all sentiment, and Rose emerged laughing
+from Dr. Alec's bosom, with the mark of a waistcoat button nicely
+imprinted on her left cheek. He saw it, and said with a merry kiss that
+half effaced it, "This is my ewe lamb, and I have set my mark on her, so
+no one can steal her away."
+
+That tickled the boys, and they set up a shout of
+
+    "Uncle had a little lamb!"
+
+But Rose hushed the noise by slipping into the circle, and making them
+dance prettily,--like lads and lasses round a May-pole; while Phebe,
+coming in with fresh water for the flowers, began to twitter, chirp, and
+coo, as if all the birds of the air had come to join in the spring revel
+of the eight cousins.
+
+    END OF PART FIRST.
+
+
+
+    University Press; John Wilson & Son, Cambridge.
+
+
+
+
+LOUISA M. ALCOTT'S WRITINGS.
+
+
+"_Miss Alcott is really a benefactor of households._"--H. H.
+
+"_Miss Alcott has a faculty of entering into the lives and feelings of
+children that is conspicuously wanting in most writers who address them
+and to this cause, to the consciousness among her readers that they are
+hearing about people like themselves, instead of abstract qualities
+labelled with names, the popularity of her books is due._"--Mrs. SARAH
+J. HALE.
+
+"_Dear Aunt Jo! You are embalmed in the thoughts and loves of thousands
+of little men and little women._"--EXCHANGE.
+
+      =Little Women=; or =Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy=. With
+      illustrations 16mo                                    $1.50
+
+      =Hospital Sketches, and Camp and Fireside Stories.=
+      With illustrations. 16mo                               1.50
+
+      =An Old-Fashioned Girl.= With illustrations. 16mo      1.50
+
+      =Little Men=: Life at Plumfield with Jo's Boys. With
+      illustrations. 16mo                                    1.50
+
+      =Jo's Boys and How they Turned Out.= A sequel to
+      "Little Men." With portrait of "Aunt Jo" 16mo          1.50
+
+      =Eight Cousins=; or, =The Aunt-Hill=. With
+      illustrations. 16mo                                    1.50
+
+      =Rose in Bloom.= A sequel to "Eight Cousins." 16mo     1.50
+
+      =Under the Lilacs.= With illustrations. 16mo           1.50
+
+      =Jack and Jill.= A Village Story. With illustrations.
+      16mo                                                   1.50
+
+      =Work=: A Story of Experience. With character
+      illustrations by Sol Eytinge. 16mo                     1.50
+
+      =Moods.= A Novel. New edition, revised and enlarged.
+      16mo                                                   1.50
+
+      =Silver Pitchers and Independence.= A Centennial Love
+      Story. 16mo                                            1.25
+
+      =Proverb Stories.= New edition, revised and enlarged.
+      16mo                                                   1.25
+
+      =Spinning-Wheel Stories.= With illustrations. 16mo     1.25
+
+      =My Boys, &c.= First volume of Aunt Jo's Scrap-Bag.
+      16mo                                                   1.00
+
+      =Shawl-Straps.= Second volume of Aunt Jo's Scrap-Bag.
+      16mo                                                   1.00
+
+      =Cupid and Chow-Chow, &c.= Third volume of Aunt Jo's
+      Scrap-Bag. 16mo                                        1.00
+
+      =My Girls, &c.= Fourth volume of Aunt Jo's Scrap-Bag.
+      16mo                                                   1.00
+
+      =Jimmy's Cruise in the Pinafore, &c.= Fifth volume of
+      Aunt Jo's Scrap-Bag. 16mo                              1.00
+
+      =An Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving, &c.= Sixth volume of
+      Aunt Jo's Scrap-Bag. 16mo                              1.00
+
+      =Little Women.= Illustrated. Embellished with nearly
+      200 characteristic illustrations from original designs
+      drawn expressly for this edition of this noted
+      American Classic. One small quarto, bound in cloth,
+      with emblematic designs                                2.50
+
+      =Little Women Series.= Comprising Little Women; Little
+      Men; Eight Cousins; Under the Lilacs; An Old-Fashioned
+      Girl; Jo's Boys; Rose in Bloom; Jack and Jill. 8 large
+      16mo volumes in a handsome box                        12.00
+
+      Each volume is complete is itself and is sold
+      separately.
+
+      =Lulu's Library.= Vol. I. A collection of New Stories.
+      16mo                                                   1.00
+
+_These books are for sale at all bookstores, or will be mailed,
+post-paid, on receipt of price, to any address._
+
+    ROBERTS BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS,
+    _Boston, Mass._
+
+
+
+
+LOUISA M. ALCOTT'S FAMOUS BOOKS.
+
+
+[Illustration: ROSE IN BLOOM.
+
+    A SEQUEL TO
+    "EIGHT COUSINS."]
+
+Price $1.50.
+
+    ROBERTS BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS,
+    _Boston_.
+
+
+[Illustration: WALTON RICKETSON, SCULP.
+
+Louisa May Alcott.]
+
+JO'S BOYS, AND HOW THEY TURNED OUT. A sequel to "Little Men." With a new
+portrait of "Aunt Jo." Price, $1.50.
+
+    ROBERTS BROTHERS. Publishers, Boston.
+
+
+[Illustration: AN OLD-FASHIONED GIRL.]
+
+PRICE $1.50.
+
+    ROBERTS BROTHERS, _Publishers, Boston_.
+
+
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's note:
+
+Obvious punctuation errors were corrected. Varied hyphenation
+such as "bag-pipe" and "bagpipe," "atop" and "a-top" was retained.
+
+Page 131, Illustration caption, "13" changed to "131". (Page 131)
+
+
+
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