diff options
Diffstat (limited to '41127-0.txt')
| -rw-r--r-- | 41127-0.txt | 10778 |
1 files changed, 10778 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/41127-0.txt b/41127-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6258e92 --- /dev/null +++ b/41127-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,10778 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 41127 *** + +Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this + file which includes the original illustration. + See 41127-h.htm or 41127-h.zip: + (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/41127/41127-h/41127-h.htm) + or + (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/41127/41127-h.zip) + + + Images of the original pages are available through + Internet Archive/American Libraries. See + http://archive.org/details/roseinbloomseque00alcoiala + + +Transcriber's note: + + Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_). + + Small capital text has been replaced with all capitals. + + Variations in spelling, punctuation and hyphenation have + been retained except in obvious cases of typographical error. + + Page 372: "snowdrops in your bonny hair?" The transcriber + has replaced the question mark with a period (full stop). + + + + + +ROSE IN BLOOM. + +[Illustration: frontispiece] + +A Sequel to "Eight Cousins." + +by + +LOUISA M. ALCOTT, + +Author of "Little Women," "An Old-Fashioned Girl," "Little Men," +"Hospital Sketches," "Aunt Jo's Scrap-Bag," "Work," +"Eight Cousins," etc. + +With Illustration. + + + + + + + +Boston: +Roberts Brothers. +1876. + +Copyright, 1876, +By Louisa M. Alcott. + +[Illustration: publisher's mark] + +Cambridge: +Press of John Wilson & Son. + + + + +PREFACE. + + +As authors may be supposed to know better than any one else what they +intended to do when writing a book, I beg leave to say that there is +no moral to this story. Rose is not designed for a model girl: and the +Sequel was simply written in fulfilment of a promise; hoping to afford +some amusement, and perhaps here and there a helpful hint, to other +roses getting ready to bloom. + + L. M. ALCOTT. + + SEPTEMBER, 1876. + + + + +CONTENTS. + + + Chap. Page + + I. COMING HOME 1 + + II. OLD FRIENDS WITH NEW FACES 30 + + III. MISS CAMPBELL 52 + + IV. THORNS AMONG THE ROSES 69 + + V. PRINCE CHARMING 80 + + VI. POLISHING MAC 99 + + VII. PHEBE 123 + + VIII. BREAKERS AHEAD 149 + + IX. NEW YEAR'S CALLS 160 + + X. THE SAD AND SOBER PART 179 + + XI. SMALL TEMPTATIONS 191 + + XII. AT KITTY'S BALL 212 + + XIII. BOTH SIDES 234 + + XIV. AUNT CLARA'S PLAN 252 + + XV. ALAS FOR CHARLIE 261 + + XVI. GOOD WORKS 276 + + XVII. AMONG THE HAYCOCKS 290 + + XVIII. WHICH WAS IT? 309 + + XIX. BEHIND THE FOUNTAIN 333 + + XX. WHAT MAC DID 342 + + XXI. HOW PHEBE EARNED HER WELCOME 355 + + XXII. SHORT AND SWEET 367 + + + + +ROSE IN BLOOM. + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +_COMING HOME._ + + +Three young men stood together on a wharf one bright October day, +awaiting the arrival of an ocean steamer with an impatience which +found a vent in lively skirmishes with a small lad, who pervaded the +premises like a will-o'-the-wisp, and afforded much amusement to the +other groups assembled there. + +"They are the Campbells, waiting for their cousin, who has been abroad +several years with her uncle, the Doctor," whispered one lady to +another, as the handsomest of the young men touched his hat to her as +he passed, lugging the boy, whom he had just rescued from a little +expedition down among the piles. + +"Which is that?" asked the stranger. + +"Prince Charlie, as he's called,--a fine fellow, the most promising of +the seven; but a little fast, people say," answered the first speaker, +with a shake of the head. + +"Are the others his brothers?" + +"No, cousins. The elder is Archie, a most exemplary young man. He has +just gone into business with the merchant uncle, and bids fair to be +an honor to his family. The other, with the eye-glasses and no gloves, +is Mac, the odd one, just out of college." + +"And the boy?" + +"Oh, he is Jamie, the youngest brother of Archibald, and the pet of +the whole family. Mercy on us! he'll be in if they don't hold on to +him." + +The ladies' chat came to a sudden end just there; for, by the time +Jamie had been fished out of a hogshead, the steamer hove in sight and +every thing else was forgotten. As it swung slowly round to enter the +dock, a boyish voice shouted,-- + +"There she is! I see her and uncle and Phebe! Hooray for Cousin Rose!" +and three small cheers were given with a will by Jamie, as he stood on +a post waving his arms like a windmill, while his brother held on to +the tail of his jacket. + +Yes, there they were,--Uncle Alec swinging his hat like a boy, with +Phebe smiling and nodding on one side, and Rose kissing both hands +delightedly on the other, as she recognized familiar faces and heard +familiar voices welcoming her home. + +"Bless her dear heart, she's bonnier than ever! Looks like a +Madonna,--doesn't she?--with that blue cloak round her, and her bright +hair flying in the wind!" said Charlie excitedly, as they watched the +group upon the deck with eager eyes. + +"Madonnas don't wear hats like that. Rose hasn't changed much, but +Phebe has. Why, she's a regular beauty!" answered Archie, staring +with all his might at the dark-eyed young woman, with the brilliant +color and glossy, black braids shining in the sun. + +"Dear old uncle! doesn't it seem good to have him back?" was all Mac +said; but he was not looking at "dear old uncle," as he made the +fervent remark, for he saw only the slender blonde girl near by, and +stretched out his hands to meet hers, forgetful of the green water +tumbling between them. + +During the confusion that reigned for a moment as the steamer settled +to her moorings, Rose looked down into the three faces upturned to +hers, and seemed to read in them something that both pleased and +pained her. It was only a glance, and her own eyes were full; but +through the mist of happy tears she received the impression that +Archie was about the same, that Mac had decidedly improved, and that +something was amiss with Charlie. There was no time for observation, +however; for in a moment the shoreward rush began, and, before she +could grasp her travelling bag, Jamie was clinging to her like an +ecstatic young bear. She was with difficulty released from his +embrace, to fall into the gentler ones of the elder cousins, who took +advantage of the general excitement to welcome both blooming girls +with affectionate impartiality. Then the wanderers were borne ashore +in a triumphal procession, while Jamie danced rapturous jigs before +them even on the gangway. + +Archie remained to help his uncle get the luggage through the Custom +House, and the others escorted the damsels home. No sooner were they +shut up in a carriage, however, than a new and curious constraint +seemed to fall upon the young people; for they realized, all at once, +that their former playmates were men and women now. Fortunately, Jamie +was quite free from this feeling of restraint, and, sitting +bodkin-wise between the ladies, took all sorts of liberties with them +and their belongings. + +"Well, my mannikin, what do you think of us?" asked Rose, to break an +awkward pause. + +"You've both grown so pretty, I can't decide which I like best. Phebe +is the biggest and brightest looking, and I was always fond of Phebe; +but, somehow you are so kind of sweet and precious, I really think I +_must_ hug you again," and the small youth did it tempestuously. + +"If you love me best, I shall not mind a bit about your thinking Phebe +the handsomest, because she _is_. Isn't she, boys?" asked Rose, with a +mischievous look at the gentlemen opposite, whose faces expressed a +respectful admiration which much amused her. + +"I'm so dazzled by the brilliancy and beauty that has suddenly burst +upon me, I have no words to express my emotions," answered Charlie, +gallantly dodging the dangerous question. + +"I can't say yet, for I have not had time to look at any one. I will +now, if you don't mind;" and, to the great amusement of the rest, Mac +gravely adjusted his eye-glasses and took an observation. + +"Well?" said Phebe, smiling and blushing under his honest stare, yet +seeming not to resent it as she did the lordly sort of approval which +made her answer the glance of Charlie's audacious blue eyes with a +flash of her black ones. + +"I think if you were my sister, I should be very proud of you, because +your face shows what I admire more than its beauty,--truth and +courage, Phebe," answered Mac, with a little bow, full of such genuine +respect that surprise and pleasure brought a sudden dew to quench the +fire of the girl's eyes, and soothe the sensitive pride of the girl's +heart. + +Rose clapped her hands just as she used to do when any thing delighted +her, and beamed at Mac approvingly, as she said,-- + +"Now that's a criticism worth having, and we are much obliged. I was +sure _you'd_ admire my Phebe when you knew her: but I didn't believe +you would be wise enough to see it at once; and you have gone up many +pegs in my estimation, I assure you." + +"I was always fond of mineralogy you remember, and I've been tapping +round a good deal lately, so I've learned to know precious metals when +I see them," Mac said with his shrewd smile. + +"That is the last hobby, then? Your letters have amused us immensely; +for each one had a new theory or experiment, and the latest was always +the best. I thought uncle would have died of laughing over the +vegetarian mania: it was so funny to imagine you living on bread and +milk, baked apples, and potatoes roasted in your own fire," continued +Rose, changing the subject again. + +"This old chap was the laughing-stock of his class. They called him +Don Quixote; and the way he went at windmills of all sorts was a sight +to see," put in Charlie, evidently feeling that Mac had been patted on +the head quite as much as was good for him. + +"But in spite of that the Don got through college with all the honors. +Oh, wasn't I proud when Aunt Jane wrote us about it! and didn't she +rejoice that her boy kept at the head of his class, and won the +medal!" cried Rose, shaking Mac by both hands in a way that caused +Charlie to wish "the old chap" had been left behind with Dr. Alec. + +"Oh come, that's all mother's nonsense. I began earlier than the other +fellows and liked it better: so I don't deserve any praise. Prince is +right, though: I did make a regular jack of myself; but, on the whole, +I'm not sure that my wild oats weren't better than some I've seen +sowed. Anyway, they didn't cost much, and I'm none the worse for +them," said Mac, placidly. + +"I know what 'wild oats' mean. I heard Uncle Mac say Charlie was +sowing 'em too fast, and I asked mamma, so she told me. And I know +that he was suspelled or expended, I don't remember which, but it was +something bad, and Aunt Clara cried," added Jamie, all in one breath; +for he possessed a fatal gift of making _malapropos_ remarks, which +caused him to be a terror to his family. + +"Do you want to go on the box again?" demanded Prince, with a warning +frown. + +"No, I don't." + +"Then hold your tongue." + +"Well, Mac needn't kick me; for I was only"--began the culprit, +innocently trying to make a bad matter worse. + +"That will do," interrupted Charlie, sternly, and James subsided a +crushed boy, consoling himself with Rose's new watch for the +indignities he suffered at the hands of the "old fellows," as he +vengefully called his elders. + +Mac and Charlie immediately began to talk as hard as their tongues +could wag, bringing up all sorts of pleasant subjects so successfully +that peals of laughter made passers-by look after the merry load with +sympathetic smiles. + +An avalanche of aunts fell upon Rose as soon as she reached home, and +for the rest of the day the old house buzzed like a beehive. Evening +found the whole tribe collected in the drawing-rooms, with the +exception of Aunt Peace, whose place was empty now. + +Naturally enough, the elders settled into one group after a while, and +the young fellows clustered about the girls, like butterflies round +two attractive flowers. Dr. Alec was the central figure in one room +and Rose in the other; for the little girl, whom they had all loved +and petted, had bloomed into a woman; and two years of absence had +wrought a curious change in the relative positions of the cousins, +especially the three elder ones, who eyed her with a mixture of boyish +affection and manly admiration that was both new and pleasant. + +Something sweet yet spirited about her charmed them and piqued their +curiosity; for she was not quite like other girls, and rather startled +them now and then by some independent little speech or act, which made +them look at one another with a sly smile, as if reminded that Rose +was "uncle's girl." + +Let us listen, as in duty bound, to what the elders are saying first; +for they are already building castles in the air for the boys and +girls to inhabit. + +"Dear child! how nice it is to see her safely back, so well and happy +and like her sweet little self!" said Aunt Plenty, folding her hands +as if giving thanks for a great happiness. + +"I shouldn't wonder if you found that you'd brought a firebrand into +the family, Alec. Two, in fact; for Phebe is a fine girl, and the lads +have found it out already, if I'm not mistaken," added Uncle Mac, with +a nod toward the other room. + +All eyes followed his, and a highly suggestive tableau presented +itself to the paternal and maternal audience in the back parlor. + +Rose and Phebe, sitting side by side on the sofa, had evidently +assumed at once the places which they were destined to fill by right +of youth, sex, and beauty; for Phebe had long since ceased to be the +maid and become the friend, and Rose meant to have that fact +established at once. + +Jamie occupied the rug, on which Will and Geordie stood at ease, +showing their uniforms to the best advantage; for they were now in a +great school, where military drill was the delight of their souls. +Steve posed gracefully in an arm-chair, with Mac lounging over the +back of it; while Archie leaned on one corner of the low +chimney-piece, looking down at Phebe as she listened to his chat with +smiling lips, and cheeks almost as rich in color as the carnations in +her belt. + +But Charlie was particularly effective, although he sat upon a +music-stool, that most trying position for any man not gifted with +grace in the management of his legs. Fortunately Prince was, and had +fallen into an easy attitude, with one arm over the back of the sofa, +his handsome head bent a little, as he monopolized Rose, with a +devoted air and a very becoming expression of contentment on his face. + +Aunt Clara smiled as if well pleased; Aunt Jessie looked thoughtful; +Aunt Jane's keen eyes went from dapper Steve to broad-shouldered Mac +with an anxious glance; Mrs. Myra murmured something about her +"blessed Caroline;" and Aunt Plenty said warmly,-- + +"Bless the dears! any one might be proud of such a bonny flock of +bairns as that." + +"I am all ready to play chaperon as soon as you please, Alec; for I +suppose the dear girl will come out at once, as she did not before you +went away. My services won't be wanted long, I fancy; for with her +many advantages she will be carried off in her first season or I'm +much mistaken," said Mrs. Clara, with significant nods and smiles. + +"You must settle all those matters with Rose: I am no longer captain, +only first mate now, you know," answered Dr. Alec, adding soberly, +half to himself, half to his brother,--"I wonder people are in such +haste to 'bring out' their daughters, as it's called. To me there is +something almost pathetic in the sight of a young girl standing on the +threshold of the world, so innocent and hopeful, so ignorant of all +that lies before her, and usually so ill prepared to meet the ups and +downs of life. We do our duty better by the boys; but the poor little +women are seldom provided with any armor worth having; and, sooner or +later, they are sure to need it, for every one must fight her own +battle, and only the brave and strong can win." + +"You can't reproach yourself with neglect of that sort, Alec, for you +have done your duty faithfully by George's girl; and I envy you the +pride and happiness of having such a daughter, for she is that to +you," answered old Mac, unexpectedly betraying the paternal sort of +tenderness men seldom feel for their sons. + +"I've tried, Mac, and I _am_ both proud and happy; but with every year +my anxiety seems to increase. I've done my best to fit Rose for what +may come, as far as I can foresee it; but now she must stand alone, +and all my care is powerless to keep her heart from aching, her life +from being saddened by mistakes, or thwarted by the acts of others. I +can only stand by, ready to share her joy and sorrow, and watch her +shape her life." + +"Why, Alec, what is the child going to do, that you need look so +solemn?" exclaimed Mrs. Clara, who seemed to have assumed a sort of +right to Rose already. + +"Hark! and let her tell you herself," answered Dr. Alec, as Rose's +voice was heard saying very earnestly,-- + +"Now you have all told your plans for the future, why don't you ask us +ours?" + +"Because we know that there is only one thing for a pretty girl to +do,--break a dozen or so of hearts before she finds one to suit, then +marry and settle," answered Charlie, as if no other reply was +possible. + +"That may be the case with many, but not with us; for Phebe and I +believe that it is as much a right and a duty for women to do +something with their lives as for men; and we are not going to be +satisfied with such frivolous parts as you give us," cried Rose, with +kindling eyes. "I mean what I say, and you cannot laugh me down. Would +_you_ be contented to be told to enjoy yourself for a little while, +then marry and do nothing more till you die?" she added, turning to +Archie. + +"Of course not: that is only a part of a man's life," he answered +decidedly. + +"A very precious and lovely part, but not _all_," continued Rose; +"neither should it be for a woman: for we've got minds and souls as +well as hearts; ambition and talents, as well as beauty and +accomplishments; and we want to live and learn as well as love and be +loved. I'm sick of being told that is all a woman is fit for! I won't +have any thing to do with love till I prove that I am something beside +a housekeeper and baby-tender!" + +"Heaven preserve us! here's woman's rights with a vengeance!" cried +Charlie, starting up with mock horror, while the others regarded Rose +with mingled surprise and amusement, evidently fancying it all a +girlish outbreak. + +"Ah, you needn't pretend to be shocked: you will be in earnest +presently; for this is only the beginning of my strong-mindedness," +continued Rose, nothing daunted by the smiles of good-natured +incredulity or derision on the faces of her cousins. "I have made up +my mind not to be cheated out of the real things that make one good +and happy; and, just because I'm a rich girl, fold my hands and drift +as so many do. I haven't lived with Phebe all these years in vain: I +know what courage and self-reliance can do for one; and I sometimes +wish I hadn't a penny in the world so that I could go and earn my +bread with her, and be as brave and independent as she will be pretty +soon." + +It was evident that Rose was in earnest now; for, as she spoke, she +turned to her friend with such respect as well as love in her face +that the look told better than any words how heartily the rich girl +appreciated the virtues hard experience had given the poor girl, and +how eagerly she desired to earn what all her fortune could not buy for +her. + +Something in the glance exchanged between the friends impressed the +young men in spite of their prejudices; and it was in a perfectly +serious tone that Archie said,-- + +"I fancy you'll find your hands full, cousin, if you want work; for +I've heard people say that wealth has its troubles and trials as well +as poverty." + +"I know it, and I'm going to try and fill my place well. I've got some +capital little plans all made, and have begun to study my profession +already," answered Rose, with an energetic nod. + +"Could I ask what it is to be?" inquired Charlie, in a tone of awe. + +"Guess!" and Rose looked up at him with an expression half-earnest, +half-merry. + +"Well, I should say that you were fitted for a beauty and a belle; +but, as that is evidently not to your taste, I am afraid you are going +to study medicine and be a doctor. Won't your patients have a heavenly +time though? It will be easy dying with an angel to poison them." + +"Now, Charlie, that's base of you, when you know how well women have +succeeded in this profession, and what a comfort Dr. Mary Kirk was to +dear Aunt Peace. I did want to study medicine; but uncle thought it +wouldn't do to have so many M.D.'s in one family, since Mac thinks of +trying it. Besides, I seem to have other work put into my hands that I +am better fitted for." + +"You are fitted for any thing that is generous and good; and I'll +stand by you, no matter what you've chosen," cried Mac heartily; for +this was a new style of talk from a girl's lips, and he liked it +immensely. + +"Philanthropy is a generous, good, and beautiful profession; and I've +chosen it for mine because I have much to give. I'm only the steward +of the fortune papa left me; and I think, if I use it wisely for the +happiness of others, it will be more blest than if I keep it all for +myself." + +Very sweetly and simply was this said, but it was curious to see how +differently the various hearers received it. + +Charlie shot a quick look at his mother, who exclaimed, as if in spite +of herself,-- + +"Now, Alec, _are_ you going to let that girl squander a fine fortune +on all sorts of charitable nonsense and wild schemes, for the +prevention of pauperism and crime?" + +"'They who give to the poor lend to the Lord,' and practical +Christianity is the kind He loves the best," was all Dr. Alec +answered; but it silenced the aunts, and caused even prudent Uncle Mac +to think with sudden satisfaction of certain secret investments he +had made, which paid him no interest but the thanks of the poor. + +Archie and Mac looked well pleased, and promised their advice and +assistance with the enthusiasm of generous young hearts. Steve shook +his head, but said nothing; and the lads on the rug at once proposed +founding a hospital for invalid dogs and horses, white mice and +wounded heroes. + +"Don't you think that will be a better way for a woman to spend her +life, than in dancing, dressing, and husband-hunting, Charlie?" asked +Rose, observing his silence and anxious for his approval. + +"Very pretty for a little while, and very effective too; for I don't +know any thing more captivating than a sweet girl in a meek little +bonnet, going on charitable errands and glorifying poor people's +houses with a delightful mixture of beauty and benevolence. +Fortunately, the dear souls soon tire of it, but it's heavenly while +it lasts." + +Charlie spoke in a tone of mingled admiration and contempt, and smiled +a superior sort of smile, as if he understood all the innocent +delusions as well as the artful devices of the sex, and expected +nothing more from them. It both surprised and grieved Rose, for it did +not sound like the Charlie she had left two years ago. But she only +said, with a reproachful look and a proud little gesture of head and +hand, as if she put the subject aside since it was not treated with +respect,-- + +"I am sorry you have so low an opinion of women: there _was_ a time +when you believed in them sincerely." + +"I do still, upon my word I do! They haven't a more devoted admirer +and slave in the world than I am. Just try me and see," cried Charlie, +gallantly kissing his hand to the sex in general. + +But Rose was not appeased, and gave a disdainful shrug, as she +answered with a look in her eyes that his lordship did not like,-- + +"Thank you: I don't want admirers or slaves, but friends and helpers. +I've lived so long with a wise, good man that I am rather hard to +suit, perhaps; but I don't intend to lower my standard, and any one +who cares for my regard must at least try to live up to it." + +"Whew! here's a wrathful dove! Come and smooth her ruffled plumage, +Mac. I'll dodge before I do further mischief," and Charlie strolled +away into the other room, privately lamenting that Uncle Alec had +spoiled a fine girl by making her strong-minded. + +He wished himself back again in five minutes; for Mac said something +that produced a gale of laughter, and when he took a look over his +shoulder the "wrathful dove" was cooing so peacefully and pleasantly +he was sorely tempted to return and share the fun. But Charlie had +been spoiled by too much indulgence, and it was hard for him to own +himself in the wrong even when he knew it. He always got what he +wanted sooner or later; and, having long ago made up his mind that +Rose and her fortune were to be his, he was secretly displeased at the +new plans and beliefs of the young lady, but flattered himself that +they would soon be changed when she saw how unfashionable and +inconvenient they were. + +Musing over the delightful future he had laid out, he made himself +comfortable in the sofa corner near his mother, till the appearance of +a slight refection caused both groups to melt into one. Aunt Plenty +believed in eating and drinking; so the slightest excuse for festivity +delighted her hospitable soul, and on this joyful occasion she +surpassed herself. + +It was during this informal banquet that Rose, roaming about from one +admiring relative to another, came upon the three younger lads, who +were having a quiet little scuffle in a secluded corner. + +"Come out here and let me have a look at you," she said enticingly; +for she predicted an explosion and public disgrace if peace was not +speedily restored. + +Hastily smoothing themselves down, the young gentlemen presented three +flushed and merry countenances for inspection, feeling highly honored +by the command. + +"Dear me, how you two have grown! You big things! how dare you get +ahead of me in this way?" she said, standing on tiptoe to pat the +curly pates before her; for Will and Geordie had shot up like weeds, +and now grinned cheerfully down upon her as she surveyed them in comic +amazement. + +"The Campbells are all fine, tall fellows; and we mean to be the best +of the lot. Shouldn't wonder if we were six-footers, like Grandpa," +observed Will proudly, looking so like a young Shanghae rooster, all +legs and an insignificant head, that Rose kept her countenance with +difficulty. + +"We shall broaden out when we get our growth. We are taller than Steve +now, a half a head, both of us," added Geordie, with his nose in the +air. + +Rose turned to look at Steve, and, with a sudden smile, beckoned to +him. He dropped his napkin, and flew to obey the summons; for she was +queen of the hour, and he had openly announced his deathless loyalty. + +"Tell the other boys to come here. I've a fancy to stand you all in a +row and look you over, as you did me that dreadful day when you nearly +frightened me out of my wits," she said, laughing at the memory of it +as she spoke. + +They came in a body, and, standing shoulder to shoulder, made such an +imposing array that the young commander was rather daunted for a +moment. But she had seen too much of the world lately to be abashed by +a trifle; and the desire to try a girlish test gave her courage to +face the line of smiling cousins with dignity and spirit. + +"Now I'm going to stare at you as you stared at me. It is my revenge +on you seven bad boys for entrapping one poor little girl, and +enjoying her alarm. I'm not a bit afraid of you now; so tremble and +beware!" + +As she spoke, Rose looked up into Archie's face and nodded +approvingly; for the steady gray eyes met hers fairly, and softened as +they did so,--a becoming change, for naturally they were rather keen +than kind. + +"A true Campbell, bless you!" she said, and shook his hand heartily as +she passed on. + +Charlie came next, and here she felt less satisfied, though scarcely +conscious why; for, as she looked, there came a defiant sort of flash, +changing suddenly to something warmer than anger, stronger than pride, +making her shrink a little and say, hastily,-- + +"I don't find the Charlie I left; but the Prince is there still, I +see." + +Turning to Mac with a sense of relief, she gently took off his +"winkers," as Jamie called them, and looked straight into the honest +blue eyes that looked straight back at her, full of a frank and +friendly affection that warmed her heart, and made her own eyes +brighten as she gave back the glasses, saying, with a look and tone of +cordial satisfaction,-- + +"_You_ are not changed, my dear old Mac; and I'm so glad of that!" + +"Now say something extra sweet to me, because I'm the flower of the +family," said Steve, twirling the blonde moustache, which was +evidently the pride of his life. + +Rose saw at a glance that Dandy deserved his name more than ever, and +promptly quenched his vanities by answering, with a provoking laugh,-- + +"Then the name of the flower of the family is Cock's-comb." + +"Ah, ha! who's got it now?" jeered Will. + +"Let us off easy, please," whispered Geordie, mindful that their turn +came next. + +"You blessed beanstalks! I'm proud of you: only don't grow quite out +of sight, or ever be ashamed to look a woman in the face," answered +Rose, with a gentle pat on the cheek of either bashful young giant; +for both were as red as peonies, though their boyish eyes were as +clear and calm as summer lakes. + +"Now me!" And Jamie assumed his manliest air, feeling that he did not +appear to advantage among his tall kinsmen. But he went to the head of +the class in every one's opinion when Rose put her arms round him, +saying, with a kiss,-- + +"You must be my boy now; for all the others are too old, and I want a +faithful little page to do my errands for me." + +"I will, I will! and I'll marry you too, if you'll just hold on till I +grow up!" cried Jamie, rather losing his head at this sudden +promotion. + +"Bless the baby, what is he talking about?" laughed Rose, looking down +at her little knight, as he clung about her with grateful ardor. + +"Oh, I heard the aunts say that you'd better marry one of us, and +keep the property in the family; so I speak first, because you are +very fond of me, and I _do_ love curls." + +Alas for Jamie! this awful speech had hardly left his innocent lips +when Will and Geordie swept him out of the room like a whirlwind; and +the howls of that hapless boy were heard from the torture-hall, where +being shut into the skeleton-case was one of the mildest punishments +inflicted upon him. + +Dismay fell upon the unfortunates who remained: but their confusion +was soon ended; for Rose, with a look which they had never seen upon +her face before, dismissed them with the brief command, "Break +ranks,--the review is over," and walked away to Phebe. + +"Confound that boy! You ought to shut him up, or gag him!" fumed +Charlie, irritably. + +"He shall be attended to," answered poor Archie, who was trying to +bring up the little marplot with the success of most parents and +guardians. + +"The whole thing was deuced disagreeable," growled Steve, who felt +that he had not distinguished himself in the late engagement. + +"Truth generally is," observed Mac dryly, as he strolled away with his +odd smile. + +As if he suspected discord somewhere, Dr. Alec proposed music at this +crisis; and the young people felt that it was a happy thought. + +"I want you to hear both my birds; for they have improved immensely, +and I am very proud of them," said the Doctor, twirling up the stool +and pulling out the old music-books. + +"I had better come first, for after you have heard the nightingale you +won't care for the canary," added Rose, wishing to put Phebe at her +ease; for she sat among them looking like a picture, but rather shy +and silent, remembering the days when her place was in the kitchen. + +"I'll give you some of the dear old songs you used to like so much. +This was a favorite, I think;" and sitting down she sang the first +familiar air that came, and sang it well in a pleasant, but by no +means finished, manner. + +It chanced to be "The Birks of Aberfeldie," and vividly recalled the +time when Mac was ill, and she took care of him. The memory was sweet +to her, and involuntarily her eye wandered in search of him. He was +not far away, sitting just as he used to sit when she soothed his most +despondent moods,--astride of a chair with his head down on his arms, +as if the song suggested the attitude. Her heart quite softened to him +as she looked, and she decided to forgive _him_ if no one else; for +she was sure that he had no mercenary plans about her tiresome money. + +Charlie had assumed a pensive air, and fixed his fine eyes upon her +with an expression of tender admiration, which made her laugh in spite +of all her efforts to seem unconscious of it. She was both amused and +annoyed at his very evident desire to remind her of certain +sentimental passages in the last year of their girl and boyhood, and +to change what she had considered a childish joke into romantic +earnest. This did not suit her; for, young as she was, Rose had very +serious ideas of love, and had no intention of being beguiled into +even a flirtation with her handsome cousin. + +So Charlie attitudinized unnoticed, and was getting rather out of +temper when Phebe began to sing; and he forgot all about himself in +admiration of her. It took every one by surprise: for two years of +foreign training added to several at home had worked wonders; and the +beautiful voice that used to warble cheerily over pots and kettles, +now rang out melodiously or melted to a mellow music that woke a +sympathetic thrill in those who listened. Rose glowed with pride as +she accompanied her friend; for Phebe was in her own world now,--a +lovely world where no depressing memory of poor-house or kitchen, +ignorance or loneliness, came to trouble her; a happy world where she +could be herself, and rule others by the magic of her sweet gift. + +Yes, Phebe was herself now, and showed it in the change that came over +her at the first note of music. No longer shy and silent, no longer +the image of a handsome girl, but a blooming woman, alive and full of +the eloquence her art gave her, as she laid her hands softly together, +fixed her eye on the light, and just poured out her song as simply +and joyfully as the lark does soaring toward the sun. + +"My faith, Alec! that's the sort of voice that wins a man's heart out +of his breast!" exclaimed Uncle Mac, wiping his eyes after one of the +plaintive ballads that never grow old. + +"So it would!" answered Dr. Alec, delightedly. + +"So it has," added Archie to himself; and he was right: for, just at +that moment, he fell in love with Phebe. He actually did, and could +fix the time almost to a second: for, at a quarter past nine, he +merely thought her a very charming young person; at twenty minutes +past, he considered her the loveliest woman he ever beheld; at five +and twenty minutes past, she was an angel singing his soul away; and +at half after nine he was a lost man, floating over a delicious sea to +that temporary heaven on earth where lovers usually land after the +first rapturous plunge. + +If any one had mentioned this astonishing fact, nobody would have +believed it; nevertheless, it was quite true: and sober, business-like +Archie suddenly discovered a fund of romance at the bottom of his +hitherto well-conducted heart that amazed him. He was not quite clear +what had happened to him at first, and sat about in a dazed sort of +way; seeing, hearing, knowing nothing but Phebe: while the unconscious +idol found something wanting in the cordial praise so modestly +received, because Mr. Archie never said a word. + +This was one of the remarkable things which occurred that evening; +another was that Mac paid Rose a compliment, which was such an +unprecedented fact, it produced a great sensation, though only one +person heard it. + +Everybody had gone but Mac and his father, who was busy with the +Doctor. Aunt Plenty was counting the teaspoons in the dining-room, and +Phebe was helping her as of old. Mac and Rose were alone,--he +apparently in a brown study, leaning his elbows on the chimney-piece; +and she lying back in a low chair, looking thoughtfully at the fire. +She was tired; and the quiet was grateful to her: so she kept silence +and Mac respectfully held his tongue. Presently, however, she became +conscious that he was looking at her as intently as eyes and glasses +could do it; and, without stirring from her comfortable attitude, she +said, smiling up at him,-- + +"He looks as wise as an owl: I wonder what he's thinking about?" + +"You, cousin." + +"Something good, I hope?" + +"I was thinking Leigh Hunt was about right when he said, 'A girl is +the sweetest thing God ever made.'" + +"Why, Mac!" and Rose sat bolt upright with an astonished face: this +was such an entirely unexpected sort of remark for the philosopher to +make. + +Evidently interested in the new discovery, Mac placidly continued, +"Do you know, it seems as if I never really saw a girl before, or had +any idea what agreeable creatures they could be. I fancy you are a +remarkably good specimen, Rose." + +"No, indeed! I'm only hearty and happy; and being safe at home again +may make me look better than usual perhaps: but I'm no beauty except +to uncle." + +"'Hearty and happy,'--that must be it," echoed Mac, soberly +investigating the problem. "Most girls are sickly or silly, I think I +have observed; and that is probably why I am so struck with you." + +"Of all queer boys you are the queerest! Do you really mean that you +don't like or notice girls?" asked Rose, much amused at this new +peculiarity of her studious cousin. + +"Well, no: I am only conscious of two sorts,--noisy and quiet ones. I +prefer the latter: but, as a general thing, I don't notice any of them +much more than I do flies, unless they bother me; then I'd like to +flap them away; but, as that won't do, I hide." + +Rose leaned back and laughed till her eyes were full: it was so +comical to hear Mac sink his voice to a confidential whisper at the +last words, and see him smile with sinful satisfaction at the memory +of the tormentors he had eluded. + +"You needn't laugh: it's a fact, I assure you. Charlie likes the +creatures, and they spoil him; Steve follows suit, of course. Archie +is a respectful slave when he can't help himself. As for me, I don't +often give them a chance; and, when I get caught, I talk science and +dead languages till they run for their lives. Now and then I find a +sensible one, and then we get on excellently." + +"A sad prospect for Phebe and me," sighed Rose, trying to keep sober. + +"Phebe is evidently a quiet one. I know she is sensible, or you +wouldn't care for her. I can see that she is pleasant to look at, so I +fancy I shall like her. As for you, I helped bring you up; therefore I +am a little anxious to see how you turn out. I was afraid your foreign +polish might spoil you, but I think it has not. In fact, I find you +quite satisfactory so far, if you don't mind my saying it. I don't +quite know what the charm is, though. Must be the power of inward +graces, since you insist that you have no outward ones." + +Mac was peering at her with a shrewd smile on his lips, but such a +kindly look behind the glasses, that she found both words and glance +very pleasant, and answered merrily,-- + +"I am glad you approve of me, and much obliged for your care of my +early youth. I hope to be a credit to you, and depend on your keeping +me straight; for I'm afraid I shall be spoilt among you all." + +"I'll keep my eye on you upon one condition," replied the youthful +Mentor. + +"Name it." + +"If you are going to have a lot of lovers round, I wash my hands of +you. If not, I'm your man." + +"You must be sheep-dog, and help keep them away; for I don't want any +yet awhile; and, between ourselves, I don't believe I shall have any +if it is known that I am strong-minded. That fact will scare most men +away like a yellow flag," said Rose: for, thanks to Dr. Alec's +guardianship, she had wasted neither heart nor time in the foolish +flirtations so many girls fritter away their youth upon. + +"Hum! I rather doubt that," muttered Mac, as he surveyed the damsel +before him. + +She certainly did not look unpleasantly strong-minded, for she _was_ +beautiful in spite of her modest denials. Beautiful with the truest +sort of beauty; for nobility of character lent its subtle charm to the +bloom of youth, the freshness of health, the innocence of a nature +whose sweet maidenliness Mac felt but could not describe. Gentle yet +full of spirit, and all aglow with the earnestness that suggests +lovely possibilities, and makes one hope that such human flowers may +have heaven's purest air and warmest sunshine to blossom in. + +"Wait and see," answered Rose; then, as her uncle's voice was heard in +the hall, she held out her hand, adding pleasantly, "The old times are +to begin again, so come soon and tell me all your doings, and help me +with mine just as you used to do." + +"You really mean it?" and Mac looked much pleased. + +"I really do. You are so little altered, except to grow big, that I +don't feel at all strange with you, and want to begin where we left +off." + +"That will be capital. Good-night, cousin," and to her great amazement +he gave her a hearty kiss. + +"Oh, but that is not the old way at all!" cried Rose, stepping back in +merry confusion; while the audacious youth assumed an air of mild +surprise, as he innocently asked,-- + +"Didn't we always say good-night in that way? I had an impression that +we did, and were to begin just as we left off." + +"Of course not; no power on earth would have bribed you to do it, as +you know well enough. I don't mind the first night, but we are too old +for that sort of thing now." + +"I'll remember. It was the force of habit, I suppose; for I'm sure I +must have done it in former times, it seemed so natural. Coming, +father!" and Mac retired, evidently convinced that he was right. + +"Dear old thing! he is as much a boy as ever, and that is such a +comfort; for some of the others have grown up very fast," said Rose to +herself, recalling Charlie's sentimental airs, and Archie's beatified +expression while Phebe sang. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +_OLD FRIENDS WITH NEW FACES._ + + +"It is _so_ good to be at home again! I wonder how we ever made up our +minds to go away!" exclaimed Rose, as she went roaming about the old +house next morning, full of the satisfaction one feels at revisiting +familiar nooks and corners, and finding them unchanged. + +"That we might have the pleasure of coming back again," answered +Phebe, walking down the hall beside her little mistress, as happy as +she. + +"Every thing seems just as we left it, even to the rose-leaves we used +to tuck in here," continued the younger girl, peeping into one of the +tall India jars that stood about the hall. + +"Don't you remember how Jamie and Pokey used to play Forty Thieves +with them, and how you tried to get into that blue one and got stuck, +and the other boys found us before I could pull you out?" asked Phebe, +laughing. + +"Yes, indeed; and speaking of angels one is apt to hear the rustling +of their wings," added Rose, as a shrill whistle came up the avenue, +accompanied by the clatter of hoofs. + +"It is the circus!" cried Phebe, gaily, as they both recalled the red +cart and the charge of the Clan. + +There was only one boy now, alas! but he made noise enough for half a +dozen; and, before Rose could run to the door, Jamie came bouncing in +with a "shining morning face," a bat over his shoulder, a red and +white jockey cap on his head, one pocket bulging with a big ball, the +other overflowing with cookies, and his mouth full of the apple he was +just finishing off in hot haste. + +"Morning! I just looked in to make sure you'd really come, and see +that you were all right," he observed, saluting with the bat and +doffing the gay cap with one effective twitch. + +"Good-morning, dear. Yes, we are really here, and getting to rights as +fast as possible. But it seems to me you are rather gorgeous, Jamie. +What do you belong to,--a fire company or a jockey club?" asked Rose, +turning up the once chubby face, which now was getting brown, and +square about the chin. + +"No, _ma'am_! Why, don't you know? I'm captain of the Base Ball Star +Club. Look at that, will you?" and, as if the fact was one of national +importance, Jamie flung open his jacket to display upon his proudly +swelling chest a heart-shaped red-flannel shield, decorated with a +white cotton star the size of a tea-plate. + +"Superb! I've been away so long I forgot there was such a game. And +_you_ are the captain?" cried Rose, deeply impressed by the high honor +to which her kinsman had arrived. + +"I just am, and it's no joke you'd better believe; for we knock our +teeth out, black our eyes, and split our fingers almost as well as the +big fellows. You come down to the Common between one and two and see +us play a match; then you'll understand what hard work it is. I'll +teach you to bat now if you'll come out on the lawn," added Jamie, +fired with a wish to exhibit his prowess. + +"No, thank you, captain. The grass is wet, and you'll be late at +school if you stay for us." + +"I'm not afraid. Girls are not good for much generally; but you never +used to mind a little wet, and played cricket like a good one. Can't +you ever do that sort of thing now?" asked the boy, with a pitying +look at these hapless creatures, debarred from the joys and perils of +manly sports. + +"I can run still: and I'll get to the gate before you; see if I +don't;" and, yielding to the impulse of the moment, Rose darted down +the steps before astonished Jamie could mount and follow. + +He was off in a moment: but Rose had the start; and, though old +Sheltie did his best, she reached the goal just ahead, and stood there +laughing and panting, all rosy with the fresh October air, a pretty +picture for several gentlemen who were driving by. + +"Good for you, Rose!" said Archie, jumping out to shake hands, while +Will and Geordie saluted, and Uncle Mac laughed at Jamie, who looked +as if girls had risen slightly in his opinion. + +"I'm glad it is you, because you won't be shocked. But I'm so happy to +be back I forgot I was not little Rose still," said Atalanta, +smoothing down her flying hair. + +"You look very like her, with the curls on your shoulders in the old +way. I missed them last night, and wondered what it was. How is uncle +and Phebe?" asked Archie, whose eyes had been looking over Rose's head +while he spoke toward the piazza, where a female figure was visible +among the reddening woodbines. + +"All well, thanks. Won't you come up and see for yourselves?" + +"Can't, my dear, can't possibly. Business, you know, business. This +fellow is my right-hand man, and I can't spare him a minute. Come, +Arch, we must be off, or these boys will miss their train," answered +Uncle Mac, pulling out his watch. + +With a last look from the light-haired figure at the gate to the +dark-haired one among the vines, Archie drove away, and Jamie cantered +after, consoling himself for his defeat with apple number two. + +Rose lingered a moment, feeling much inclined to continue her run, and +pop in upon all the aunts in succession; but, remembering her +uncovered head, was about to turn back, when a cheerful "Ahoy! ahoy!" +made her look up, to see Mac approaching at a great pace, waving his +hat as he came. + +"The Campbells are coming thick and fast this morning, and the more +the merrier," she said, running to meet him. "You look like a good boy +going to school, and virtuously conning your lesson by the way," she +added, smiling to see him take his finger out of the book he had +evidently been reading, and tuck it under his arm, just as he used to +do years ago. + +"I _am_ a school-boy going to the school I like best," he answered, +waving a plumy spray of asters, as if pointing out the lovely autumn +world about them, full of gay hues, fresh airs, and mellow sunshine. + +"That reminds me that I didn't get a chance to hear much about your +plans last night: the other boys all talked at once, and you only got +in a word now and then. What have you decided to be, Mac?" asked Rose, +as they went up the avenue side by side. + +"A man first, and a good one if possible; after that, what God +pleases." + +Something in the tone, as well as the words, made Rose look up quickly +into Mac's face, to see a new expression there. It was indescribable; +but she felt as she had often done when watching the mists part +suddenly, giving glimpses of some mountain-top, shining serene and +high against the blue. + +"I think you _will_ be something splendid; for you really look quite +glorified, walking under this arch of yellow leaves with the sunshine +on your face," she exclaimed, conscious of a sudden admiration never +felt before; for Mac was the plainest of all the cousins. + +"I don't know about that; but I have my dreams and aspirations, and +some of them are pretty high ones. Aim at the best, you know, and keep +climbing if you want to get on," he said, looking at the asters with +an inward sort of smile, as if he and they had some sweet secret +between them. + +"You are queerer than ever. But I like your ambition, and hope you +will get on. Only mustn't you begin at something soon? I fancied you +would study medicine with uncle: that used to be our plan, you know." + +"I shall, for the present at least, because I quite agree with you +that it is necessary to have an anchor somewhere, and not go floating +off into the world of imagination without ballast of the right sort. +Uncle and I had some talk about it last night, and I'm going up to +begin as soon as possible; for I've mooned long enough," and giving +himself a shake, Mac threw down the pretty spray, adding half aloud,-- + + "Chide me not, laborious band, + For the idle flowers I brought: + Every aster in my hand + Goes home laden with a thought." + +Rose caught the words and smiled, thinking to herself, "Oh, that's it: +he is getting into the sentimental age, and Aunt Jane has been +lecturing him. Dear me, how we _are_ growing up!" + +"You look as if you didn't like the prospect very well," she said +aloud; for Mac had rammed the volume of Shelley into his pocket, and +the glorified expression was so entirely gone Rose fancied that she +had been mistaken about the mountain-top behind the mists. + +"Yes, well enough: I always thought the profession a grand one; and +where could I find a better teacher than uncle? I've got into lazy +ways lately, and it is high time I went at something useful; so here I +go," and Mac abruptly vanished into the study, while Rose joined Phebe +in Aunt Plenty's room. + +The dear old lady had just decided, after long and earnest discussion, +which of six favorite puddings should be served for dinner, and thus +had a few moments to devote to sentiment; so, when Rose came in, she +held out her arms, saying fondly,-- + +"I shall not feel as if I'd got my child back again, until I have her +in my lap a minute. No, you're not a bit too heavy; my rheumatism +doesn't begin much before November: so sit here, darling, and put your +two arms round my neck." + +Rose obeyed, and neither spoke for a moment, as the old woman held the +young one close, and appeased the two years' longing of a motherly +heart by the caresses women give the creatures dearest to them. Right +in the middle of a kiss, however, she stopped suddenly; and, holding +out one arm, caught Phebe, who was trying to steal away unobserved. + +"Don't go: there's room for both in my love, though there isn't in my +lap. I'm so grateful to get my dear girls safely home again, that I +hardly know what I'm about," said Aunt Plenty, embracing Phebe so +heartily that she could not feel left out in the cold, and stood there +with her black eyes shining through the happiest tears. + +"There, now I've had a good hug, and feel as if I was all right again. +I wish you'd set that cap in order, Rose: I went to bed in such a +hurry I pulled the strings off and left it all in a heap. Phebe, dear, +you shall dust round a mite, just as you used to; for I haven't had +any one to do it as I like since you've been gone, and it will do me +good to see all my knickknacks straightened out in your tidy way," +said the elder lady, getting up with a refreshed expression on her +rosy old face. + +"Shall I dust in here too?" asked Phebe, glancing toward an inner room +which used to be her care. + +"No, dear, I'd rather do that myself. Go in if you like: nothing is +changed. I _must_ go and see to my pudding;" and Aunt Plenty trotted +abruptly away, with a quiver of emotion in her voice which made even +her last words pathetic. + +Pausing on the threshold as if it was a sacred place, the girls looked +in with eyes soon dimmed by tender tears; for it seemed as if the +gentle occupant was still there. Sunshine shone on the old geraniums +by the window; the cushioned chair stood in its accustomed place, with +the white wrapper hung across it, and the faded slippers lying ready. +Books and basket, knitting and spectacles, were all just as she had +left them; and the beautiful tranquillity that always filled the room +seemed so natural both lookers turned involuntarily toward the bed +where Aunt Peace used to greet them with a smile. There was no sweet +old face upon the pillow now, yet the tears that wet the blooming +cheeks were not for her who had gone, but for her who was left; +because they saw something which spoke eloquently of the love which +outlives death and makes the humblest thing beautiful and sacred. + +A well-worn footstool stood beside the bed, and in the high-piled +whiteness of the empty couch there was a little hollow where a gray +head nightly rested, while Aunt Plenty said the prayers her mother +taught her seventy years ago. + +Without a word, the girls softly shut the door: and, while Phebe put +the room in the most exquisite order, Rose retrimmed the plain white +cap, where pink and yellow ribbons never rustled now; both feeling +honored by their tasks, and better for their knowledge of the faithful +love and piety which sanctified a good old woman's life. + +"You darling creature, I'm _so_ glad to get you back! I know it's +shamefully early; but I really couldn't keep away another minute. Let +me help you: I'm dying to see all your splendid things; for I saw the +trunks pass, and I know you've quantities of treasures," cried +Annabel Bliss, all in one breath as she embraced Rose an hour later, +and glanced about the room bestrewn with a variety of agreeable +objects. + +"How well you are looking! Sit down and I'll show you my lovely +photographs. Uncle chose all the best for me, and it's a treat to see +them," answered Rose, putting a roll on the table and looking about +for more. + +"Oh, thanks! I haven't time now: one needs hours to study such things. +Show me your Paris dresses, there's a dear: I'm perfectly aching to +see the last styles," and Annabel cast a hungry eye toward certain +large boxes delightfully suggestive of French finery. + +"I haven't got any," said Rose, fondly surveying the fine photographs +as she laid them away. + +"Rose Campbell! you don't mean to say that you didn't get one Paris +dress at least?" cried Annabel, scandalized at the bare idea of such +neglect. + +"Not one for myself: Aunt Clara ordered several, and will be charmed +to show them when her box comes." + +"Such a chance! right there and plenty of money! How _could_ you love +your uncle after such cruelty?" sighed Annabel, with a face full of +sympathy. + +Rose looked puzzled for a minute, then seemed to understand, and +assumed a superior air which became her very well, as she said, +good-naturedly opening a box of laces, "Uncle did not forbid my doing +it, and I had money enough; but I chose not to spend it on things of +that sort." + +"Could and didn't! I can't believe it!" And Annabel sunk into a chair, +as if the thought was too much for her. + +"I did rather want to at first, just for the fun of the thing; in +fact, I went and looked at some amazing gowns. But they were very +expensive, very much trimmed, and not my style at all; so I gave them +up, and kept what I valued more than all the gowns Worth ever made." + +"What in the world was it?" cried Annabel, hoping she would say +diamonds. + +"Uncle's good opinion," answered Rose, looking thoughtfully into the +depths of a packing case, where lay the lovely picture that would +always remind her of the little triumph over girlish vanity, which not +only kept but increased "Uncle's good opinion." + +"Oh, indeed!" said Annabel, blankly, and fell to examining Aunt +Plenty's lace; while Rose went on with a happy smile in her eyes as +she dived into another trunk. + +"Uncle thinks one has no right to waste money on such things; but he +is very generous, and loves to give useful, beautiful, or curious +gifts. See, all these pretty ornaments are for presents; and you shall +choose first whatever you like." + +"He's a perfect dear!" cried Annabel, revelling in the crystal, +filigree, coral, and mosaic trinkets spread before her; while Rose +completed her rapture by adding sundry tasteful trifles fresh from +Paris. + +"Now tell me, when do you mean to have your coming-out party? I ask +because I've nothing ready, and want plenty of time; for, I suppose, +it will be _the_ event of the season," asked Annabel, a few minutes +later, as she wavered between a pink coral and a blue lava set. + +"I came out when I went to Europe; but I suppose Aunty Plen will want +to have some sort of merrymaking to celebrate our return. I shall +begin as I mean to go on, and have a simple, sociable sort of party, +and invite every one whom I like, no matter in what 'set' they happen +to belong. No one shall ever say _I_ am aristocratic and exclusive: so +prepare yourself to be shocked; for old friends and young, rich and +poor, will be asked to all my parties." + +"Oh, my heart! you _are_ going to be odd just as mamma predicted!" +sighed Annabel, clasping her hands in despair, and studying the effect +of three bracelets on her chubby arm in the midst of her woe. + +"In my own house I'm going to do as I think best; and, if people call +me odd, I can't help it. I shall endeavor not to do any thing very +dreadful; but I seem to inherit uncle's love for experiments, and mean +to try some. I dare say they will fail and I shall get laughed at; I +intend to do it nevertheless, so you had better drop me now before I +begin," said Rose, with an air of resolution that was rather alarming. + +"What shall you wear at this new sort of party of yours?" asked +Annabel, wisely turning a deaf ear to all delicate or dangerous topics +and keeping to matters she understood. + +"That white thing over there. It is fresh and pretty, and Phebe has +one like it. I never want to dress more than she does; and gowns of +that sort are always most appropriate and becoming to girls of our +age." + +"Phebe! you don't mean to say you are going to make a lady of _her_!" +gasped Annabel, upsetting her treasures, as she fell back with a +gesture that made the little chair creak again; for Miss Bliss was as +plump as a partridge. + +"She _is_ one already, and anybody who slights her slights me; for she +is the best girl I know and the dearest," cried Rose, warmly. + +"Yes, of course,--I was only surprised,--you are quite right; for she +_may_ turn out to be somebody, and then how glad you'll feel that you +were so good to her!" said Annabel, veering round at once, seeing +which way the wind blew. + +Before Rose could speak again, a cheery voice called from the hall,-- + +"Little mistress, where are you?" + +"In my room, Phebe, dear," and up came the girl Rose was going to +"make a lady of," looking so like one that Annabel opened her +china-blue eyes, and smiled involuntarily as Phebe dropped a little +courtesy in playful imitation of her old manner, and said quietly,-- + +"How do you do, Miss Bliss?" + +"Glad to see you back, Miss Moore," answered Annabel, shaking hands in +a way that settled the question of Phebe's place in _her_ mind for +ever; for the stout damsel had a kind heart in spite of a weak head, +and was really fond of Rose. It was evidently, "Love me, love my +Phebe;" so she made up her mind on the spot that Phebe _was_ somebody, +and that gave an air of romance even to the poor-house. + +She could not help staring a little, as she watched the two friends +work together, and listened to their happy talk over each new treasure +as it came to light; for every look and word plainly showed that years +of close companionship had made them very dear to one another. It was +pretty to see Rose try to do the hardest part of any little job +herself: still prettier to see Phebe circumvent her, and untie the +hard knots, fold the stiff papers, or lift the heavy trays with her +own strong hands; and prettiest of all to hear her say in a motherly +tone, as she put Rose into an easy chair,-- + +"Now, my deary, sit and rest; for you will have to see company all +day, and I can't let you get tired out so early." + +"That is no reason why I should let you either. Call Jane to help or +I'll bob up again directly," answered Rose, with a very bad +assumption of authority. + +"Jane may take my place downstairs; but no one shall wait on you here +except me, as long as I'm with you," said stately Phebe, stooping to +put a hassock under the feet of her little mistress. + +"It is very nice and pretty to see; but I don't know what people +_will_ say when she goes into society with the rest of us. I do hope +Rose won't be _very_ odd," said Annabel to herself as she went away to +circulate the depressing news that there was to be no grand ball; and, +saddest disappointment of all, that Rose had not a single Paris +costume with which to refresh the eyes and rouse the envy of her +amiable friends. + +"Now I've seen or heard from all the boys but Charlie, and I suppose +he is too busy. I wonder what he is about," thought Rose, turning from +the hall door, whither she had courteously accompanied her guest. + +The wish was granted a moment after; for, going into the parlor to +decide where some of her pictures should hang, she saw a pair of boots +at one end of the sofa, a tawny-brown head at the other, and +discovered that Charlie was busily occupied in doing nothing. + +"The voice of the Bliss was heard in the land, so I dodged till she +went upstairs, and then took a brief _siesta_ while waiting to pay my +respects to the distinguished traveller, Lady Hester Stanhope," he +said, leaping up to make his best bow. + +"The voice of the sluggard would be a more appropriate quotation, I +think. Does Annabel still pine for you?" asked Rose, recalling certain +youthful jokes upon the subject of unrequited affections. + +"Not a bit of it. Fun has cut me out, and the fair Annabella will be +Mrs. Tokio before the winter is over, if I'm not much mistaken." + +"What, little Fun See? How droll it seems to think of him grown up and +married to Annabel of all people! She never said a word about him; but +this accounts for her admiring my pretty Chinese things, and being so +interested in Canton." + +"Little Fun is a great swell now, and much enamoured of our fat +friend, who will take to chopsticks whenever he says the word. I +needn't ask how you do, cousin; for you beat that Aurora all hollow in +the way of color. I should have been up before, but I thought you'd +like a good rest after your voyage." + +"I was running a race with Jamie before nine o'clock. What were you +doing, young man?" + + "'Sleeping I dreamed, love, dreamed, love, of thee,'" + +began Charlie; but Rose cut him short by saying as reproachfully as +she could, while the culprit stood regarding her with placid +satisfaction,-- + +"You ought to have been up and at work like the rest of the boys. I +felt like a drone in a hive of very busy bees, when I saw them all +hurrying off to their business." + +"But, my dear girl, I've got no business. I'm making up my mind, you +see, and do the ornamental while I'm deciding. There always ought to +be one gentleman in a family, and that seems to be rather my line," +answered Charlie, posing for the character, with an assumption of +languid elegance which would have been very effective if his twinkling +eyes had not spoilt it. + +"There are none _but_ gentlemen in our family, I hope," answered Rose, +with the proud air she always wore when any thing was said derogatory +to the name of Campbell. + +"Of course, of course. I should have said gentleman of leisure. You +see it is against my principles to slave as Archie does. What's the +use? Don't need the money, got plenty; so why not enjoy it, and keep +jolly as long as possible? I'm sure cheerful people are public +benefactors in this world of woe." + +It was not easy to object to this proposition, especially when made by +a comely young man, who looked the picture of health and happiness as +he sat on the arm of the sofa, smiling at his cousin in the most +engaging manner. Rose knew very well that the Epicurean philosophy was +not the true one to begin life upon; but it was difficult to reason +with Charlie, because he always dodged sober subjects, and was so full +of cheery spirits, one hated to lessen the sort of sunshine which +certainly is a public benefactor. + +"You have such a clever way of putting things that I don't know how to +contradict you, though I still think I'm right," she said gravely. +"Mac likes to idle as well as you; but he is not going to do it, +because he knows it's bad for him to fritter away his time. He is +going to study a profession like a wise boy; though he would much +prefer to live among his beloved books, or ride his hobbies in peace." + +"That's all very well for _him_, because _he_ doesn't care for +society, and may as well be studying medicine as philandering about +the woods with his pockets full of musty philosophers and +old-fashioned poets," answered Charlie, with a shrug which plainly +expressed his opinion of Mac. + +"I wonder if musty philosophers, like Socrates and Aristotle, and +old-fashioned poets, like Shakspeare and Milton, are not safer company +for him to keep than some of the more modern friends you have?" said +Rose, remembering Jamie's hints about wild oats; for she could be a +little sharp sometimes, and had not lectured "the boys" for so long it +seemed unusually pleasant. + +But Charlie changed the subject skilfully by exclaiming with an +anxious expression,-- + +"I do believe you are going to be like Aunt Jane; for that's just the +way she comes down on me whenever she gets a chance! Don't take her +for a model, I beg: she is a good woman, but a mighty disagreeable +one, in my humble opinion." + +The fear of being disagreeable is a great bugbear to a girl, as this +artful young man well knew, and Rose fell into the trap at once; for +Aunt Jane was far from being her model, though she could not help +respecting her worth. + +"Have you given up your painting?" she asked rather abruptly, turning +to a gilded Fra Angelico angel which leaned in the sofa corner. + +"Sweetest face I ever saw, and very like you about the eyes, isn't +it?" said Charlie, who seemed to have a Yankee trick of replying to +one question with another. + +"I want an answer, not a compliment," and Rose tried to look severe, +as she put away the picture more quickly than she took it up. + +"Have I given up painting? Oh, no! I daub a little in oils, slop a +little in water-colors, sketch now and then, and poke about the +studios when the artistic fit comes on." + +"How is the music?" + +"More flourishing. I don't practise much, but sing a good deal in +company. Set up a guitar last summer, and went troubadouring round in +great style. The girls like it, and it's jolly among the fellows." + +"Are you studying any thing?" + +"Well, I have some law books on my table,--good, big, wise-looking +chaps,--and I take a turn at them semi-occasionally, when pleasure +palls or parents chide. But I doubt if I do more than learn what 'a +allybi' is this year," and a sly laugh in Charlie's eye suggested that +he sometimes availed himself of this bit of legal knowledge. + +"What _do_ you do then?" + +"Fair catechist, I enjoy myself. Private theatricals have been the +rage of late, and I have won such laurels that I seriously think of +adopting the stage as my profession." + +"Really!" cried Rose, alarmed. + +"Why not? if I _must_ go to work, isn't that as good as any thing?" + +"Not without more talent than I think you possess. With genius one can +do any thing: without it one had better let the stage alone." + +"There's a quencher for the 'star of the goodlie companie' to which I +belong. Mac hasn't a ray of genius for any thing, yet you admire him +for trying to be an M.D.," cried Charlie, rather nettled by her words. + +"It is respectable, at all events; and I'd rather be a second-rate +doctor than a second-rate actor. But I know you don't mean it, and +only say so to frighten me." + +"Exactly. I always bring it up when any one begins to lecture, and it +works wonders. Uncle Mac turns pale, the aunts hold up their hands in +holy horror, and a general panic ensues. Then I magnanimously promise +not to disgrace the family; and in the first burst of gratitude the +dear souls agree to every thing I ask; so peace is restored, and I go +on my way rejoicing." + +"Just the way you used to threaten to run off to sea, if your mother +objected to any of your whims. You are not changed in that respect, +though you are in others. You had great plans and projects once, +Charlie; and now you seem to be contented with being a 'jack of all +trades and master of none.'" + +"Boyish nonsense! Time has brought wisdom; and I don't see the sense +of tying myself down to one particular thing, and grinding away at it +year after year. People of one idea get so deucedly narrow and tame, +I've no patience with them. Culture is the thing; and the sort one +gets by ranging over a wide field is the easiest to acquire, the +handiest to have, and the most successful in the end. At any rate, it +is the kind I like, and the only kind I intend to bother myself +about." + +With this declaration, Charlie smoothed his brow, clasped his hands +over his head, and, leaning back, gently warbled the chorus of a +college song, as if it expressed his views of life better than he +could:-- + + "While our rosy fillets shed + Blushes o'er each fervid head, + With many a cup and many a smile + The festal moments we beguile." + +"Some of my saints here were people of one idea; and, though they were +not very successful in a worldly point of view while alive, they were +loved and canonized when dead," said Rose, who had been turning over a +pile of photographs upon the table, and, just then, found her +favorite, St. Francis, among them. + +"This is more to my taste. Those worn-out, cadaverous fellows give me +the blues; but here's a gentlemanly saint, who takes things easy, and +does good as he goes along, without howling over his own sins, or +making other people miserable by telling them of theirs." And Charlie +laid a handsome St. Martin beside the brown-frocked monk. + +Rose looked at both, and understood why her cousin preferred the +soldierly figure with the sword to the ascetic with his crucifix. One +was riding bravely through the world in purple and fine linen, with +horse and hound, and squires at his back; the other was in a +lazar-house, praying over the dead and dying. The contrast was a +strong one; and the girl's eyes lingered longest on the knight, though +she said thoughtfully,-- + +"Yours is certainly the pleasantest: and yet I never heard of any good +deed he did, except divide his cloak with a beggar; while my St. +Francis gave himself to charity just when life was most tempting, and +spent years working for God without reward. He's old and poor, and in +a dreadful place, but I won't give him up; and you may have your gay +St. Martin, if you want him." + +"No, thank you; saints are not in my line: but I'd like the +golden-haired angel in the blue gown, if you'll let me have her. She +shall be my little Madonna, and I'll pray to her like a good +Catholic," answered Charlie, turning to the delicate, deep-eyed +figure, with the lilies in its hand. + +"With all my heart, and any others that you like. Choose some for +your mother, and give them to her with my love." + +So Charlie sat down beside Rose to turn and talk over the pictures for +a long and pleasant hour. But when they went away to lunch, if there +had been any one to observe so small but significant a trifle, good +St. Francis lay face downward behind the sofa, while gallant St. +Martin stood erect upon the chimney-piece. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +_MISS CAMPBELL._ + + +While the travellers unpack their trunks, we will pick up, as briefly +as possible, the dropped stitches in the little romance we are +weaving. + +Rose's life had been a very busy and quiet one for the four years +following the May-day when she made her choice. Study, exercise, +house-work, and many wholesome pleasures, kept her a happy, hearty +creature, yearly growing in womanly graces, yet always preserving the +innocent freshness girls lose so soon when too early sent upon the +world's stage, and given a part to play. + +Not a remarkably gifted girl in any way, and far from perfect; full of +all manner of youthful whims and fancies; a little spoiled by much +love; rather apt to think all lives as safe and sweet as her own; and, +when want or pain appealed to her, the tender heart overflowed with a +remorseful charity, which gave of its abundance recklessly. Yet, with +all her human imperfections, the upright nature of the child kept her +desires climbing toward the just and pure and true, as flowers +struggle to the light; and the woman's soul was budding beautifully +under the green leaves behind the little thorns. + +At seventeen, Dr. Alec pronounced her ready for the voyage round the +world, which he considered a better finishing off than any school +could give her. But just then Aunt Peace began to fail, and soon +slipped quietly away to rejoin the lover she had waited for so long. +Youth seemed to come back in a mysterious way to touch the dead face +with lost loveliness, and all the romance of her past to gather round +her memory. Unlike most aged women, her friends were among the young; +and, at her funeral, the gray heads gave place to the band of loving +girls who made the sweet old maiden ready for her rest, bore her pall, +and covered her grave with the white flowers she had never worn. + +When this was over, poor Aunt Plenty seemed so lost without her +life-long charge that Dr. Alec would not leave her; and Rose gladly +paid the debt she owed by the tender service which comforts without +words. But Aunt Plenty, having lived for others all her days, soon +rebelled against this willing sacrifice, soon found strength in her +own sincere piety, solace in cheerful occupation, and amusement in +nursing Aunt Myra, who was a capital patient, as she never died and +never got well. + +So, at last, the moment came when, with free minds, the travellers +could set out; and on Rose's eighteenth birthday, with Uncle Alec and +the faithful Phebe, she sailed away to see and study the big, +beautiful world, which lies ready for us all, if we only know how to +use and to enjoy it. + +Phebe was set to studying music in the best schools; and, while she +trained her lovely voice with happy industry, Rose and her uncle +roamed about in the most delightful way, till two years were gone like +a dream, and those at home clamored for their return. + +Back they came, and now the heiress must make ready to take her place; +for at twenty-one she came into possession of the fortune she had been +trying to learn how to use well. Great plans fermented in her brain; +for, though the heart was as generous as ever, time had taught her +prudence, and observation shown her that the wisest charity is that +which helps the poor to help themselves. + +Dr. Alec found it a little difficult to restrain the ardor of this +young philanthropist, who wanted to begin at once to endow hospitals, +build homes, adopt children, and befriend all mankind. + +"Take a little time to look about you and get your bearings, child; +for the world you have been living in is a much simpler, honester one +than that you are now to enter. Test yourself a bit, and see if the +old ways seem best after all; for you are old enough to decide, and +wise enough to discover, what is for your truest good, I hope," he +said, trying to feel ready to let the bird escape from under his wing, +and make little flights alone. + +"Now, uncle, I'm very much afraid you are going to be disappointed in +me," answered Rose, with unusual hesitation, yet a very strong desire +visible in her eyes. "You like to have me quite honest, and I've +learned to tell you all my foolish thoughts: so I'll speak out, and if +you find my wish very wrong and silly, please say so; for I don't want +you to cast me off entirely, though I am grown up. You say, wait a +little, test myself, and try if the old ways are best. I should like +to do that; and can I in a better way than by leading the life other +girls lead, just for a little while," she added, as her uncle's face +grew grave. + +He _was_ disappointed; yet acknowledged that the desire was natural, +and in a moment saw that a trial of this sort might have its +advantages. Nevertheless, he dreaded it; for he had intended to choose +her society carefully, and try to keep her unspoiled by the world as +long as possible, like many another fond parent and guardian. But the +spirit of Eve is strong in all her daughters: forbidden fruit will +look rosier to them than any in their own orchards, and the +temptation to take just one little bite proves irresistible to the +wisest. So Rose, looking out from the safe seclusion of her girlhood +into the woman's kingdom which she was about to take possession of, +felt a sudden wish to try its pleasures before assuming its +responsibilities, and was too sincere to hide the longing. + +"Very well, my dear, try it if you like, only take care of your +health: be temperate in your gayety, and don't lose more than you +gain; if that is possible," he added under his breath, endeavoring to +speak cheerfully and not look anxious. + +"I know it is foolish; but I do want to be a regular butterfly for a +little while and see what it is like. You know I couldn't help seeing +a good deal of fashionable life abroad, though we were not in it; and +here at home the girls tell me about all sorts of pleasant things that +are to happen this winter; so, if you won't despise me _very_ much, I +should like to try it." + +"For how long?" + +"Would three months be too long? New Year is a good time to take a +fresh start. Every one is going to welcome me; so I must be gay in +spite of myself, unless I'm willing to seem very ungrateful and +morose," said Rose, glad to have so good a reason to offer for her new +experiment. + +"You may like it so well that the three months may become years. +Pleasure is very sweet when we are young." + +"Do you think it will intoxicate me?" + +"We shall see, my dear." + +"We shall!" and Rose marched away; looking as if she had taken a +pledge of some sort, and meant to keep it. + +It was a great relief to the public mind when it became known that +Miss Campbell was really coming out at last; and invitations to Aunt +Plenty's party were promptly accepted. Aunt Clara was much +disappointed about the grand ball she had planned; but Rose stood +firm, and the dear old lady had her way about every thing. + +The consequence was a delightfully informal gathering of friends to +welcome the travellers home. Just a good, old-fashioned, hospitable +house-warming; so simple, cordial, and genuine that those who came to +criticise remained to enjoy, and many owned the charm they could +neither describe nor imitate. + +Much curiosity was felt about Phebe, and much gossip went on behind +fans that evening; for those who had known her years ago found it hard +to recognize the little house-maid in the handsome young woman who +bore herself with such quiet dignity, and charmed them all with her +fine voice. "Cinderella has turned out a princess," was the general +verdict: and Rose enjoyed the little sensation immensely; for she had +had many battles to fight for her Phebe since she came among them, and +now her faith was vindicated. + +Miss Campbell herself was in great demand, and did the honors so +prettily that even Miss Bliss forgave her for her sad neglect of +Worth; though she shook her head over the white gowns, just alike +except that Phebe wore crimson and Rose blue trimmings. + +The girls swarmed eagerly round their recovered friend; for Rose had been +a favorite before she went away, and found her throne waiting for her +now. The young men privately pronounced Phebe the handsomest,--"But +then you know there's neither family nor money; so it's no use." Phebe, +therefore, was admired as one of the ornamental properties belonging +to the house, and let respectfully alone. + +But bonny Rose was "all right," as these amiable youths expressed it; +and many a wistful eye followed the bright head as it flitted about +the rooms, as if it were a second Golden Fleece to be won with +difficulty; for stalwart kinsmen hedged it round, and watchful aunts +kept guard. + +Little wonder that the girl found her new world an enchanting one, and +that her first sip of pleasure rather went to her head; for everybody +welcomed and smiled on her, flattered and praised, whispered agreeable +prophecies in her ear, and looked the compliments and congratulations +they dared not utter, till she felt as if she must have left her old +self somewhere abroad, and suddenly become a new and wonderfully +gifted being. + +"It is very nice, uncle; and I'm not sure that I mayn't want another +three months of it when the first are gone," she whispered to Dr. +Alec, as he stood watching the dance she was leading with Charlie in +the long hall after supper. + +"Steady, my lass, steady; and remember that you are not really a +butterfly, but a mortal girl with a head that will ache to-morrow," he +answered, watching the flushed and smiling face before him. + +"I almost wish there wasn't any to-morrow, but that to-night would +last for ever: it is so pleasant, and every one so kind," she said +with a little sigh of happiness, as she gathered up her fleecy skirts +like a white bird pluming itself for flight. + +"I'll ask your opinion about that at two A.M," began her uncle, with a +warning nod. + +"I'll give it honestly," was all Rose had time to say before Charlie +swept her away into the parti-colored cloud before them. + +"It's no use, Alec: train a girl as wisely as you choose, she will +break loose when the time comes, and go in for pleasure as eagerly as +the most frivolous; for ''tis their nature to,'" said Uncle Mac, +keeping time to the music as if he would not mind "going in" for a bit +of pleasure himself. + +"My girl shall taste and try; but, unless I'm much mistaken, a little +of it will satisfy her. I want to see if she will stand the test; for, +if not, all my work is a failure, and I'd like to know it," answered +the doctor, with a hopeful smile on his lips, but an anxious look in +his eyes. + +"She will come out all right,--bless her heart! so let her sow her +innocent wild oats and enjoy herself till she is ready to settle down. +I wish all our young folks were likely to have as small a crop, and +get through as safely as she will," added Uncle Mac, with a shake of +the head, as he glanced at some of the young men revolving before him. + +"Nothing amiss with your lads, I hope?" + +"No, thank heaven! So far I've had little trouble with either; though +Mac is an odd stick, and Steve a puppy. I don't complain; for both +will outgrow that sort of thing, and are good fellows at heart, thanks +to their mother. But Clara's boy is in a bad way; and she will spoil +him as a man as she has as a boy, if his father doesn't interfere." + +"I told brother Stephen all about him when I was in Calcutta last +year, and he wrote to the boy; but Clara has got no end of plans in +her head, and so she insisted on keeping Charlie a year longer when +his father ordered him off to India," replied the doctor, as they +walked away. + +"It is too late to 'order:' Charlie is a man now, and Stephen will +find that he has been too easy with him all these years. Poor fellow, +it has been hard lines for him, and is likely to be harder, I fancy, +unless he comes home and straightens things out." + +"He won't do that if he can help it; for he has lost all his energy +living in that climate, and hates worry more than ever: so you can +imagine what an effort it would be to manage a foolish woman and a +headstrong boy. We must lend a hand, Mac, and do our best for poor +old Steve." + +"The best we can do for the lad is to marry and settle him as soon as +possible." + +"My dear fellow, he is only three and twenty," began the doctor, as if +the idea was preposterous: then a sudden change came over him, as he +added with a melancholy smile, "I forget how much one can hope and +suffer, even at twenty-three." + +"And be all the better for, if bravely outlived," said Uncle Mac, with +his hand on his brother's shoulder, and the sincerest approval in his +voice. Then, kindly returning to the younger people, he went on +inquiringly, "You don't incline to Clara's view of a certain matter, I +fancy?" + +"Decidedly not. My girl must have the best, and Clara's training would +spoil an angel," answered Dr. Alec, quickly. + +"But we shall find it hard to let our little Rose go out of the +family. How would Archie do? He has been well brought up, and is a +thoroughly excellent lad." + +The brothers had retired to the study by this time, and were alone; +yet Dr. Alec lowered his voice as he said with a tender sort of +anxiety pleasant to see,-- + +"You know I do not approve of cousins marrying, so I'm in a quandary, +Mac; for I love the child as if she were my own, and feel as if I +could not give her up to any man whom I did not know and trust +entirely. It is of no use for us to plan; for she must choose for +herself: yet I do wish we could keep her among us, and give one of our +boys a wife worth having." + +"We must; so never mind your theories, but devote yourself to testing +our elder lads, and making one of them a happy fellow. All are +heart-whole, I believe, and, though young still for this sort of +thing, we can be gently shaping matters for them, since no one knows +how soon the moment may come. My faith! it is like living in a +powder-mill to be among a lot of young folks now-a-days. All looks as +calm as possible, till a sudden spark produces an explosion, and +heaven only knows where we find ourselves after it is over." + +And Uncle Mac sat himself comfortably down to settle Rose's fate; +while the doctor paced the room, plucking at his beard and knitting +his brows, as if he found it hard to see his way. + +"Yes, Archie is a good fellow," he said, answering the question he had +ignored before. "An upright, steady, intelligent lad, who will make an +excellent husband, if he ever finds out that he has a heart. I suppose +I'm an old fool, but I do like a little more romance in a young man +than he seems to have; more warmth and enthusiasm, you know. Bless the +boy! he might be forty instead of three or four and twenty: he's so +sober, calm, and cool. I'm younger now than he is, and could go +a-wooing like a Romeo if I had any heart to offer a woman." + +The doctor looked rather shamefaced as he spoke, and his brother burst +out laughing,-- + +"See here, Alec, it's a pity so much romance and excellence as yours +should be lost; so why don't you set these young fellows an example, +and go a-wooing yourself? Jessie has been wondering how you have +managed to keep from falling in love with Phebe all this time; and +Clara is quite sure that you only waited till she was safe under Aunt +Plenty's wing to offer yourself in the good old-fashioned style." + +"I!" and the doctor stood aghast at the mere idea; then he gave a +resigned sort of sigh and added like a martyr, "If those dear women +would let me alone, I'd thank them for ever. Put the idea out of their +minds for heaven's sake, Mac, or I shall be having that poor girl +flung at my head, and her comfort destroyed. She is a fine creature, +and I'm proud of her; but she deserves a better lot than to be tied to +an old fellow like me, whose only merit is his fidelity." + +"As you please, I was only joking," and Uncle Mac dropped the subject +with secret relief; for the excellent man thought a good deal of +family, and had been rather worried at the hints of the ladies. After +a moment's silence, he returned to a former topic, which was rather a +pet plan of his. "I don't think you do Archie justice, Alec. You don't +know him as well as I do; but you'll find that he has heart enough +under his cool, quiet manner. I've grown very fond of him, think +highly of him, and don't see how you could do better for Rose than to +give her to him." + +"If she will go," said the doctor, smiling at his brother's +business-like way of disposing of the young people. + +"She'll do any thing to please you," began Uncle Mac, in perfect good +faith; for twenty-five years in the society of a very prosaic wife had +taken nearly all the romance out of him. + +"It is of no use for us to plan, and I shall never interfere except to +advise; but, if I _were_ to choose one of the boys, I should incline +to my godson," answered the doctor, gravely. + +"What, my Ugly Duckling!" exclaimed Uncle Mac, in great surprise. + +"The Ugly Duckling turned out a swan, you remember. I've always been +fond of the boy, because he's so genuine and original. Crude as a +green apple now, but sound at the core, and only needs time to ripen. +I'm sure he'll turn out a capital specimen of the Campbell variety." + +"Much obliged, Alec; but it will never do at all. He's a good fellow, +and may do something to be proud of by and by; but he's not the mate +for our Rose. She needs some one who can manage her property when we +are gone; and Archie is the man for that, depend upon it." + +"Confound the property!" cried Dr. Alec, impetuously. "I want her to +be _happy_; and I don't care how soon she gets rid of her money if it +is going to be a millstone round her neck. I declare to you, I +dreaded the thought of this time so much that I've kept her away as +long as I could, and trembled whenever a young fellow joined us while +we were abroad. Had one or two narrow escapes, and now I'm in for it, +as you can see by to-night's 'success,' as Clara calls it. Thank +heaven, I haven't _many_ daughters to look after!" + +"Come, come, don't be anxious: take Archie, and settle it right up +safely and happily. That's my advice, and you'll find it sound," +replied the elder conspirator, like one having experience. + +"I'll think of it; but mind you, Mac, not a word of this to the +sisters. We are a couple of old fools to be match-making so soon; but +I see what is before me, and it's a comfort to free my mind to some +one." + +"So it is. Depend on me; not a breath even to Jane," answered Uncle +Mac, with a hearty shake and a sympathetic slap on the shoulder. + +"Why, what dark and awful secrets are going on here? Is it a +Freemasons' Lodge, and those the mystic signs?" asked a gay voice at +the door; and there stood Rose, full of smiling wonder at the sight of +her two uncles hand in hand, whispering and nodding to one another +mysteriously. + +They started, like school-boys caught plotting mischief, and looked so +guilty that she took pity on them, innocently imagining that the +brothers were indulging in a little sentiment on this joyful occasion; +so she added quickly, as she beckoned, without crossing the +threshold,-- + +"Women not allowed, of course: but both of you dear Odd Fellows are +wanted; for Aunt Plenty begs we will have an old-fashioned contra +dance, and I'm to lead off with Uncle Mac. I chose you, sir, because +you do it in style, pigeon-wings and all. So, please come; and Phebe +is waiting for you, Uncle Alec. She is rather shy you know, but will +enjoy it with you to take care of her." + +"Thank you, thank you!" cried both gentlemen, following with great +alacrity. + +Unconscious Rose enjoyed that Virginia reel immensely; for the +pigeon-wings were superb, and her partner conducted her through the +convolutions of the dance without a fault, going down the middle in +his most gallant style. Landing safely at the bottom, she stood aside +to let him get his breath; for stout Uncle Mac was bound to do or die +on that occasion, and would have danced his pumps through without a +murmur if she had desired it. + +Leaning against the wall with his hair in his eyes, and a decidedly +bored expression of countenance, was Mac, Jr., who had been surveying +the gymnastics of his parent with respectful astonishment. + +"Come and take a turn, my lad. Rose is as fresh as a daisy; but we old +fellows soon get enough of it, so you shall have my place," said his +father, wiping his face, which glowed like a cheerful peony. + +"No, thank you, sir: I can't stand that sort of thing. I'll race you +round the piazza with pleasure, cousin; but this oven is too much for +me," was Mac's uncivil reply, as he backed toward the open window, as +if glad of an excuse to escape. + +"Fragile creature, don't stay on my account, I beg. _I_ can't leave my +guests for a moonlight run, even if I dared to take it on a frosty +night in a thin dress," said Rose, fanning herself, and not a bit +ruffled by Mac's refusal; for she knew his ways, and they amused her. + +"Not half so bad as all this dust, gas, heat, and noise. What do you +suppose lungs are made of?" demanded Mac, ready for a discussion then +and there. + +"I used to know, but I've forgotten now. Been so busy with other +things that I've neglected the hobbies I used to ride five or six +years ago," she said, laughing. + +"Ah, those were times worth having! Are you going in for much of this +sort of thing, Rose?" he asked, with a disapproving glance at the +dancers. + +"About three months of it, I think." + +"Then good-by till New Year," and Mac vanished behind the curtains. + +"Rose, my dear, you really must take that fellow in hand before he +gets to be quite a bear. Since you have been gone, he has lived in his +books, and got on so finely that we have let him alone, though his +mother groans over his manners. Polish him up a bit, I beg of you; for +it is high time he mended his odd ways, and did justice to the fine +gifts he hides behind them," said Uncle Mac, scandalized at the +bluntness of his son. + +"I know my chestnut-burr too well to mind his prickles. But others do +not; so I _will_ take him in hand and make him a credit to the +family," answered Rose, readily. + +"Take Archie for your model: he's one of a thousand; and the girl who +gets him gets a prize I do assure you," added Uncle Mac, who found +match-making to his taste, and thought that closing remark a deep one. + +"Oh me, how tired I am!" cried Rose, dropping into a chair as the last +carriage rolled away, somewhere between one and two. + +"What is your opinion now, Miss Campbell?" asked the doctor, +addressing her for the first time by the name which had been uttered +so often that night. + +"My opinion is that Miss Campbell is likely to have a gay life if she +goes on as she has begun; and that she finds it very delightful so +far," answered the girl, with lips still smiling from their first +taste of what the world calls pleasure. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +_THORNS AMONG THE ROSES._ + + +For a time every thing went smoothly, and Rose was a happy girl; for +the world seemed a beautiful and friendly place, and the fulfilment of +her brightest dreams appeared to be a possibility. Of course, this +could not last, and disappointment was inevitable; because young eyes +look for a Paradise, and weep when they find a work-a-day world, which +seems full of care and trouble, till one learns to gladden and glorify +it with high thoughts and holy living. + +Those who loved her waited anxiously for the dis-illusion which must +come in spite of all their cherishing; for, till now, Rose had been so +busy with her studies, travels, and home duties, that she knew very +little of the triumphs, trials, and temptations of fashionable life. +Birth and fortune placed her where she could not well escape some of +them; and Doctor Alec, knowing that experience is the best teacher, +wisely left her to learn this lesson as she must many another, +devoutly hoping that it would not be a hard one. + +October and November passed rapidly; and Christmas was at hand, with +all its merry mysteries, home-gatherings, and good wishes. + +Rose sat in her own little sanctum, opening from the parlor, busily +preparing gifts for the dear five hundred friends who seemed to grow +fonder and fonder as the holidays drew near. The drawers of her +commode stood open, giving glimpses of dainty trifles, which she was +tying up with bright ribbons. + +A young girl's face at such moments is apt to be a happy one; but +Rose's was very grave as she worked, and now and then she threw a +parcel into the drawer with a careless toss, as if no love made the +gift precious. So unusual was this expression that it struck Dr. Alec +as he came in, and brought an anxious look to his eyes; for any cloud +on that other countenance dropped its shadow over his. + +"Can you spare a minute from your pretty work to take a stitch in my +old glove?" he asked, coming up to the table strewn with ribbon, lace, +and colored papers. + +"Yes, uncle, as many as you please." + +The face brightened with sudden sunshine; both hands were put out to +receive the shabby driving-glove; and the voice was full of that +affectionate alacrity which makes the smallest service sweet. + +"My Lady Bountiful is hard at work, I see. Can I help in any way?" he +asked, glancing at the display before him. + +"No, thank you; unless you can make me as full of interest and +pleasure in these things as I used to be. Don't you think preparing +presents a great bore, except for those you love, and who love you?" +she added, in a tone which had a slight tremor in it as she uttered +the last words. + +"I don't give to people whom I care nothing for. Can't do it; +especially at Christmas, when good-will should go into every thing one +does. If all these 'pretties' are for dear friends, you must have a +great many." + +"I thought they were friends; but I find many of them are not, and +that's the trouble, sir." + +"Tell me all about it, dear, and let the old glove go," he said, +sitting down beside her with his most sympathetic air. + +But she held the glove fast, saying eagerly, "No, no, I love to do +this! I don't feel as if I could look at you while I tell what a bad, +suspicious girl I am," she added, keeping her eyes upon her work. + +"Very well, I'm ready for confessions of any iniquity, and glad to get +them; for sometimes lately I've seen a cloud in my girl's eyes, and +caught a worried tone in her voice. Is there a bitter drop in the cup +that promised to be so sweet, Rose?" + +"Yes, uncle. I've tried to think there was not; but it _is_ there, and +I don't like it. I'm ashamed to tell; and yet I want to, because you +will show me how to make it sweet, or assure me that I shall be the +better for it, as you used to do when I took medicine." + +She paused a minute, sewing swiftly; then out came the trouble all in +one burst of girlish grief and chagrin. + +"Uncle, half the people who are so kind to me don't care a bit for me, +but for what I can give them; and that makes me unhappy, because I was +so glad and proud to be liked. I do wish I hadn't a penny in the +world, then I should know who my true friends were." + +"Poor little lass! she has found out that all that glitters is not +gold, and the dis-illusion has begun," said the doctor to himself, +adding aloud, smiling yet pitiful, "And so all the pleasure is gone +out of the pretty gifts, and Christmas is a failure?" + +"Oh, no! not for those whom nothing can make me doubt. It is sweeter +than ever to make _these_ things, because my heart is in every stitch; +and I know that, poor as they are, they will be dear to you, Aunty +Plen, Aunt Jessie, Phebe, and the boys." + +She opened a drawer where lay a pile of pretty gifts, wrought with +loving care by her own hands; touching them tenderly as she spoke, and +patting the sailor's knot of blue ribbon on one fat parcel with a +smile that told how unshakable her faith in some one was. "But +_these_," she said, pulling open another drawer, and tossing over its +gay contents with an air half sad, half scornful, "these I _bought_ +and give because they are expected. _These_ people only care for a +rich gift, not one bit for the giver, whom they will secretly abuse if +she is not as generous as they expect. How _can_ I enjoy that sort of +thing, uncle?" + +"You cannot; but perhaps you do some of them injustice, my dear. Don't +let the envy or selfishness of a few poison your faith in all. Are you +sure that none of these girls care for you?" he asked, reading a name +here and there on the parcels scattered about. + +"I'm afraid I am. You see I heard several talking together the other +evening at Annabel's, only a few words, but it hurt me very much; for +nearly every one was speculating on what I would give them, and hoping +it would be something fine. 'She's so rich she ought to be generous,' +said one. 'I've been perfectly devoted to her for weeks, and hope she +won't forget it,' said another. 'If she doesn't give me some of her +gloves, I shall think she's very mean; for she has heaps, and I tried +on a pair in fun so she could see they fitted and take a hint,' added +a third. I did take the hint, you see;" and Rose opened a handsome box +in which lay several pairs of her best gloves, with buttons enough to +satisfy the heart of the most covetous. + +"Plenty of silver paper and perfume, but not much love went into +_that_ bundle, I fancy?" and Dr. Alec could not help smiling at the +disdainful little gesture with which Rose pushed away the box. + +"Not a particle, nor in most of these. I have given them what they +wanted, and taken back the confidence and respect they didn't care +for. It is wrong, I know; but I can't bear to think all the seeming +good-will and friendliness I've been enjoying was insincere and for a +purpose. That's not the way _I_ treat people." + +"I am sure of it. Take things for what they are worth, dear, and try +to find the wheat among the tares; for there is plenty if one knows +how to look. Is that all the trouble?" + +"No, sir, that is the lightest part of it. I shall soon get over my +disappointment in those girls, and take them for what they are worth +as you advise; but being deceived in them makes me suspicious of +others, and that is hateful. If I cannot trust people, I'd rather keep +by myself and be happy. I do detest manoeuvring and underhand plots +and plans!" + +Rose spoke petulantly, and twitched her silk till it broke; while +regret seemed to give place to anger as she spoke. + +"There is evidently another thorn pricking. Let us have it out, and +then 'I'll kiss the place to make it well,' as I used to do when I +took the splinters from the fingers you are pricking so unmercifully," +said the doctor, anxious to relieve his pet patient as soon as +possible. + +Rose laughed, but the color deepened in her cheeks, as she answered +with a pretty mixture of maidenly shyness and natural candor. + +"Aunt Clara worries me by warning me against half the young men I +meet, and insisting that they only want my money. Now that is +dreadful, and I won't listen: but I can't help thinking of it +sometimes; for they _are_ very kind to me, and I'm not vain enough to +think it is my beauty. I suppose I am foolish, but I do like to feel +that I am something beside an heiress." + +The little quiver was in Rose's voice again as she ended; and Dr. Alec +gave a quick sigh as he looked at the downcast face so full of the +perplexity ingenuous spirits feel when doubt first mars their faith, +and dims the innocent beliefs still left from childhood. He had been +expecting this, and knew that what the girl just began to perceive and +try modestly to tell, had long ago been plain to worldlier eyes. The +heiress _was_ the attraction to most of the young men whom she met. +Good fellows enough, but educated, as nearly all are now-a-days, to +believe that girls with beauty or money are brought to market to sell +or buy as the case may be. + +Rose could purchase any thing she liked, as she combined both +advantages; and was soon surrounded by many admirers, each striving to +secure the prize. Not being trained to believe that the only end and +aim of a woman's life was a good match, she was a little disturbed, +when the first pleasing excitement was over, to discover that her +fortune was her chief attraction. + +It was impossible for her to help seeing, hearing, guessing this from +a significant glance, a stray word, a slight hint here and there; and +the quick instinct of a woman felt even before it understood the +self-interest which chilled for her so many opening friendships. In +her eyes love was a very sacred thing, hardly to be thought of till it +came, reverently received, and cherished faithfully to the end. +Therefore, it is not strange that she shrunk from hearing it +flippantly discussed, and marriage treated as a bargain to be haggled +over, with little thought of its high duties, great responsibilities, +and tender joys. Many things perplexed her, and sometimes a doubt of +all that till now she had believed and trusted made her feel as if at +sea without a compass; for the new world was so unlike the one she had +been living in that it bewildered while it charmed the novice. + +Dr. Alec understood the mood in which he found her, and did his best +to warn without saddening by too much worldly wisdom. + +"You are something besides an heiress to those who know and love you; +so take heart, my girl, and hold fast to the faith that is in you. +There is a touchstone for all these things, and whatever does not ring +true doubt and avoid. Test and try men and women as they come along; +and I am sure conscience, instinct, and experience will keep you from +any dire mistake," he said, with a protecting arm about her, and a +trustful look that was very comforting. + +After a moment's pause she answered, while a sudden smile dimpled +round her mouth, and the big glove went up to half hide her tell-tale +cheeks,-- + +"Uncle, if I must have lovers, I do wish they'd be more interesting. +How can I like or respect men who go on as some of them do, and then +imagine women _can_ feel honored by the offer of their hands? hearts +are out of fashion, so they don't say much about them." + +"Ah, ha! that is the trouble is it? and we begin to have delicate +distresses do we?" said Dr. Alec, glad to see her brightening, and +full of interest in the new topic; for he _was_ a romantic old fellow, +as he confessed to his brother. + +Rose put down the glove, and looked up with a droll mixture of +amusement and disgust in her face. "Uncle, it is perfectly +disgraceful! I've wanted to tell you, but I was ashamed, because I +never could boast of such things as some girls do; and they were so +absurd I couldn't feel as if they were worth repeating even to you. +Perhaps I ought, though; for you may think proper to command me to +make a good match, and of course I should have to obey," she added, +trying to look meek. + +"Tell, by all means. Don't I always keep your secrets, and give you +the best advice, like a model guardian? You must have a confidant, and +where find a better one than here?" he asked, tapping his waistcoat +with an inviting gesture. + +"Nowhere: so I'll tell all but the names. I'd best be prudent; for I'm +afraid you may get a little fierce: you do sometimes when people vex +me," began Rose, rather liking the prospect of a confidential chat +with uncle; for he had kept himself a good deal in the background +lately. + +"You know our ideas are old-fashioned; so I was not prepared to have +men propose at all times and places, with no warning but a few smiles +and soft speeches. I expected things of that sort would be very +interesting and proper, not to say thrilling, on my part: but they are +not; and I find myself laughing instead of crying, feeling angry +instead of glad, and forgetting all about it very soon. Why, uncle, +one absurd boy proposed when we'd only met half a dozen times. But he +was dreadfully in debt, so that accounted for it perhaps," and Rose +dusted her fingers, as if she had soiled them. + +"I know him, and I thought he'd do it," observed the doctor with a +shrug. + +"You see and know every thing; so there's no need of going on, is +there?" + +"Do, do! who else? I won't even guess." + +"Well, another went down upon his knees in Mrs. Van's greenhouse and +poured forth his passion manfully, with a great cactus pricking his +poor legs all the while. Kitty found him there, and it was impossible +to keep sober; so he has hated me ever since." + +The doctor's "Ha! ha!" was good to hear, and Rose joined him; for it +was impossible to regard these episodes seriously, since no true +sentiment redeemed them from absurdity. + +"Another one sent me reams of poetry, and went on so Byronically, that +I began to wish I had red hair and my name was Betsey Ann. I burnt all +the verses: so don't expect to see them; and he, poor fellow, is +consoling himself with Emma. But the worst of all was the one who +would make love in public, and insisted on proposing in the middle of +a dance. I seldom dance round dances except with our boys; but that +night I did, because the girls laughed at me for being so 'prudish,' +as they called it. I don't mind them now; for I found I _was_ right, +and felt that I deserved my fate." + +"Is that all?" asked her uncle, looking "fierce," as she predicted, at +the idea of his beloved girl obliged to listen to a declaration, +twirling about on the arm of a lover. + +"One more: but him I shall not tell about; for I know _he_ was in +earnest and really suffered, though I was as kind as I knew how to be. +I'm young in these things yet, so I grieved for him, and treat his +love with the tenderest respect." + +Rose's voice sunk almost to a whisper as she ended; and Dr. Alec bent +his head, as if involuntarily saluting a comrade in misfortune. Then +he got up, saying with a keen look into the face he lifted by a finger +under the chin,-- + +"Do you want another three months of this?" + +"I'll tell you on New Year's day, uncle." + +"Very well: try to keep a straight course, my little captain; and, if +you see dirty weather ahead, call on your first mate." + +"Ay, ay, sir; I'll remember." + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +_PRINCE CHARMING._ + + +The old glove lay upon the floor forgotten, while Rose sat musing, +till a quick step sounded in the hall, and a voice drew near tunefully +humming. + + "As he was walkin' doun the street + The city for to view, + Oh, there he spied a bonny lass, + The window lookin' through." + + "Sae licht he jumpèd up the stair, + And tirled at the pin; + Oh, wha sae ready as hersel' + To let the laddie in?" + +sung Rose, as the voice paused and a tap came at the door. + +"Good morning, Rosamunda; here are your letters, and your most devoted +ready to execute any commissions you may have for him," was Charlie's +greeting, as he came in looking comely, gay, and debonair as usual. + +"Thanks: I've no errands unless you mail my replies, if these need +answering; so by your leave, Prince," and Rose began to open the +handful of notes he threw into her lap. + +"Ha! what sight is this to blast mine eyes?" ejaculated Charlie, as he +pointed to the glove with a melodramatic start; for, like most +accomplished amateur actors, he was fond of introducing private +theatricals into his "daily walk and conversation." + +"Uncle left it." + +"'Tis well; methought perchance a rival had been here," and, picking +it up, Charlie amused himself with putting it on the head of a little +Psyche, which ornamented the mantle-piece, humming, as he did so, +another verse of the old song,-- + + "He set his Jenny on his knee, + All in his Highland dress; + For brawly well he kenned the way + To please a bonny lass." + +Rose went on reading her letters, but all the while was thinking of +her conversation with her uncle, and something else, suggested by the +newcomer and his ditty. + +During the three months since her return, she had seen more of this +cousin than any of the others; for he seemed to be the only one who +had leisure to "play with Rose," as they used to say years ago. The +other boys were all at work, even little Jamie, many of whose play +hours were devoted to manful struggles with Latin grammar, the evil +genius of his boyish life. Dr. Alec had many affairs to arrange after +his long absence; Phebe was busy with her music; and Aunt Plenty still +actively superintended her housekeeping. Thus it fell out, quite +naturally, that Charlie should form the habit of lounging in at all +hours with letters, messages, bits of news, and agreeable plans for +Rose. He helped her with her sketching, rode with her, sung with her, +and took her to parties, as a matter of course; for Aunt Clara, being +the gayest of the sisters, played chaperon on all occasions. + +For a time it was very pleasant; but, by and by, Rose began to wish +Charlie would find something to do like the rest, and not make +dawdling after her the business of his life. The family were used to +his self-indulgent ways: and there was an amiable delusion in the +minds of the boys that he had a right to the best of every thing; for +to them he was still the Prince, the flower of the flock, and in time +to be an honor to the name. No one exactly knew how: for, though full +of talent, he seemed to have no especial gift or bias; and the elders +began to shake their heads, because, in spite of many grand promises +and projects, the moment for decisive action never came. + +Rose saw all this, and longed to inspire her brilliant cousin with +some manful purpose, which should win for him respect as well as +admiration. But she found it very hard: for, though he listened with +imperturbable good humor, and owned his shortcomings with delightful +frankness, he always had some argument, reason, or excuse to offer, +and out-talked her in five minutes; leaving her silenced, but +unconvinced. + +Of late she had observed that he seemed to feel as if her time and +thoughts belonged exclusively to him, and rather resented the approach +of any other claimant. This annoyed her, and suggested the idea that +her affectionate interest and efforts were misunderstood by him, +misrepresented and taken advantage of by Aunt Clara, who had been most +urgent that she should "use her influence with the dear boy," though +the fond mother resented all other interference. This troubled Rose, +and made her feel as if caught in a snare; for, while she owned to +herself that Charlie was the most attractive of her cousins, she was +not ready to be taken possession of in this masterful way, especially +since other and sometimes better men sought her favor more humbly. + +These thoughts were floating vaguely in her mind as she read her +letters, and unconsciously influenced her in the chat that followed. + +"Only invitations, and I can't stop to answer them now, or I shall +never get through this job," she said, returning to her work. + +"Let me help. You do up, and I'll direct. Have a secretary; do now, +and see what a comfort it will be," proposed Charlie, who could turn +his hand to any thing, and had made himself quite at home in the +sanctum. + +"I'd rather finish this myself, but you may answer the notes if you +will. Just regrets to all but two or three. Read the names as you go +along, and I'll tell you which." + +"To hear is to obey. Who says I'm a 'frivolous idler' now?" and +Charlie sat down at the writing table with alacrity; for these hours +in the little room were his best and happiest. + +"Order is heaven's first law, and the view a lovely one, but I _don't_ +see any note-paper," he added, opening the desk and surveying its +contents with interest. + +"Right-hand drawer: violet monogram for the notes; plain paper for the +business letter. I'll see to that, though," answered Rose, trying to +decide whether Annabel or Emma should have the laced handkerchief. + +"Confiding creature! Suppose I open the wrong drawer, and come upon +the tender secrets of your soul?" continued the new secretary, +rummaging out the delicate note-paper with masculine disregard of +order. + +"I haven't got any," answered Rose, demurely. + +"What, not one despairing scrawl, one cherished miniature, one faded +floweret, etc., etc.? I can't believe it, cousin," and he shook his +head incredulously. + +"If I had, I certainly should not show them to you, impertinent +person! There _are_ a few little souvenirs in that desk, but nothing +very sentimental or interesting." + +"How I'd like to see 'em! But I should never dare to ask," observed +Charlie, peering over the top of the half-open lid with a most +persuasive pair of eyes. + +"You may if you want to, but you'll be disappointed, Paul Pry. Lower +left-hand drawer with the key in it." + +"'Angel of goodness, how shall I requite thee? Interesting moment, +with what palpitating emotions art thou fraught!'" and, quoting from +the "Mysteries of Udolpho," he unlocked and opened the drawer with a +tragic gesture. + +"Seven locks of hair in a box, all light; for 'here's your straw +color, your orange tawny, your French crown color, and your perfect +yellow' Shakspeare. They look very familiar, and I fancy I know the +heads they thatched." + +"Yes, you all gave me one when I went away, you know; and I carried +them round the world with me in that very box." + +"I wish the heads had gone too. Here's a jolly little amber god, with +a gold ring in his back and a most balmy breath," continued Charlie, +taking a long sniff at the scent-bottle. + +"Uncle brought me that long ago, and I'm very fond of it." + +"This now looks suspicious,--a man's ring with a lotus cut on the +stone and a note attached. I tremble as I ask, Who, when, and where?" + +"A gentleman, on my birthday, in Calcutta." + +"I breathe again: it was my sire?" + +"Don't be absurd. Of course it was, and he did every thing to make my +visit pleasant. I wish you'd go and see him like a dutiful son, +instead of idling here." + +"That's what Uncle Mac is eternally telling me; but I don't intend to +be lectured into the tread-mill till I've had my fling first," +muttered Charlie, rebelliously. + +"If you fling yourself in the wrong direction, you may find it hard to +get back again," began Rose, gravely. + +"No fear, if you look after me as you seem to have promised to do, +judging by the thanks you get in this note. Poor old governor! I +_should_ like to see him; for it's almost four years since he came +home last, and he must be getting on." + +Charlie was the only one of the boys who ever called his father +"governor:" perhaps because the others knew and loved their fathers, +while he had seen so little of his that the less respectful name came +more readily to his lips; since the elder man seemed in truth a +governor issuing requests or commands, which the younger too often +neglected or resented. + +Long ago Rose had discovered that Uncle Stephen found home made so +distasteful by his wife's devotion to society, that he preferred to +exile himself, taking business as an excuse for his protracted +absences. + +The girl was thinking of this, as she watched her cousin turn the ring +about with a sudden sobriety which became him well; and, believing +that the moment was propitious, she said earnestly,-- + +"He _is_ getting on. Dear Charlie, do think of duty more than pleasure +in this case, and I'm sure you never will regret it." + +"Do _you_ want me to go?" he asked quickly. + +"I think you ought." + +"And I think you'd be much more charming if you wouldn't always be +worrying about right and wrong! Uncle Alec taught you that along with +the rest of his queer notions." + +"I'm glad he did!" cried Rose, warmly; then checked herself, and said +with a patient sort of sigh, "You know women always want the men they +care for to be good, and can't help trying to make them so." + +"So they do; and we ought to be a set of angels: but I've a strong +conviction that, if we were, the dear souls wouldn't like us half as +well. Would they now?" asked Charlie, with an insinuating smile. + +"Perhaps not; but that is dodging the point. Will you go?" persisted +Rose, unwisely. + +"No, I will not." + +That was sufficiently decided; and an uncomfortable pause followed, +during which Rose tied a knot unnecessarily tight, and Charlie went on +exploring the drawer with more energy than interest. + +"Why, here's an old thing I gave you ages ago!" he suddenly exclaimed +in a pleased tone, holding up a little agate heart on a faded blue +ribbon. "Will you let me take away the heart of stone and give you a +heart of flesh?" he asked, half in earnest, half in jest, touched by +the little trinket and the recollections it awakened. + +"No, I will not," answered Rose, bluntly, much displeased by the +irreverent and audacious question. + +Charlie looked rather abashed for a moment; but his natural +light-heartedness made it easy for him to get the better of his own +brief fits of waywardness, and put others in good humor with him and +themselves. + +"Now we are even: let's drop the subject and start afresh," he said +with irresistible affability, as he coolly put the little heart in his +pocket, and prepared to shut the drawer. But something caught his eye, +and exclaiming, "What's this? what's this?" he snatched up a +photograph which lay half under a pile of letters with foreign +post-marks. + +"Oh! I forgot that was there," said Rose, hastily. + +"Who is the man?" demanded Charlie, eying the good-looking countenance +before him with a frown. + +"That is the Honorable Gilbert Murry, who went up the Nile with us, +and shot crocodiles and other small deer, being a mighty hunter, as I +told you in my letters," answered Rose gayly, though ill-pleased at +the little discovery just then; for this had been one of the narrow +escapes her uncle spoke of. + +"And they haven't eaten him yet, I infer from that pile of letters?" +said Charlie, jealously. + +"I hope not. His sister did not mention it when she wrote last." + +"Ah! then she is your correspondent? Sisters are dangerous things +sometimes." And Charlie eyed the packet suspiciously. + +"In this case, a very convenient thing; for she tells me all about her +brother's wedding as no one else would take the trouble to do." + +"Oh! well, if he's married, I don't care a straw about him. I fancied +I'd found out why you are such a hard-hearted charmer. But, if there +is no secret idol, I'm all at sea again." And Charlie tossed the +photograph into the drawer, as if it no longer interested him. + +"I'm hard-hearted because I'm particular, and, as yet, do not find any +one at all to my taste." + +"No one?" with a tender glance. + +"No one," with a rebellious blush, and the truthful addition, "I see +much to admire and like in many persons, but none quite strong and +good enough to suit me. My heroes are old-fashioned, you know." + +"Prigs, like Guy Carleton, Count Altenberg, and John Halifax: I know +the pattern you goody girls like," sneered Charlie, who preferred the +Guy Livingston, Beauclerc, and Rochester style. + +"Then I'm not a 'goody girl,' for I don't like prigs. I want a +gentleman in the best sense of the word, and I can wait; for I've seen +one, and know there are more in the world." + +"The deuce you have! Do I know him?" asked Charlie, much alarmed. + +"You think you do," answered Rose, with a mischievous sparkle in her +eye. + +"If it isn't Pem, I give it up. He is the best-bred fellow I know." + +"Oh, dear, no! far superior to Mr. Pemberton, and many years older," +said Rose, with so much respect that Charlie looked perplexed as well +as anxious. + +"Some apostolic minister, I fancy. You pious creatures always like to +adore a parson. But all we know are married." + +"He isn't." + +"Give a name, for pity's sake: I'm suffering tortures of suspense," +begged Charlie. + +"Alexander Campbell." + +"Uncle? Well, upon my word, that's a relief, but mighty absurd all the +same. So, when you find a young saint of that sort, you intend to +marry him, do you?" demanded Charlie, much amused and rather +disappointed. + +"When I find any man half as honest, good, and noble as uncle, I shall +be proud to marry him, if he asks me," answered Rose, decidedly. + +"What odd tastes women have!" And Charlie leaned his chin on his hand, +to muse pensively for a moment over the blindness of one woman who +could admire an excellent old uncle more than a dashing young cousin. + +Rose, meanwhile, tied up her parcels industriously, hoping she had not +been too severe; for it was very hard to lecture Charlie, though he +seemed to like it sometimes, and came to confession voluntarily, +knowing that women love to forgive when the sinners are of his sort. + +"It will be mail-time before you are done," she said presently; for +silence was less pleasant than his rattle. + +Charlie took the hint, and dashed off several notes in his best +manner. Coming to the business-letter, he glanced at it, and asked, +with a puzzled expression,-- + +"What is all this? Cost of repairs, &c., from a man named Buffum?" + +"Never mind that: I'll see to it by and by." + +"But I do mind, for I'm interested in all your affairs; and, though +you think I've no head for business, you'll find I have, if you'll try +me." + +"This is only about my two old houses in the city, which are being +repaired and altered so that the rooms can be let singly." + +"Going to make tenement-houses of them? Well, that's not a bad idea: +such places pay well, I've heard." + +"That is just what I'm _not_ going to do. I wouldn't have a +tenement-house on my conscience for a million of dollars,--not as they +are now," said Rose, decidedly. + +"Why, what do _you_ know about it, except that poor people live in +them, and the owners turn a penny on the rents?" + +"I know a good deal about them; for I've seen many such, both here +and abroad. It was not all pleasure with us, I assure you. Uncle +was interested in hospitals and prisons, and I sometimes went with +him: but they made me sad; so he suggested other charities, that +I could help about when we came home. I visited Infant Schools, +Working-women's Homes, Orphan Asylums, and places of that sort. You +don't know how much good it did me, and how glad I am that I have the +means of lightening a little some of the misery in the world." + +"But, my dear girl, you needn't make ducks and drakes of your fortune +trying to feed and cure and clothe all the poor wretches you see. +Give, of course: every one should do something in that line, and no +one likes it better than I. But don't, for mercy's sake, go at it as +some women do, and get so desperately earnest, practical, and +charity-mad that there is no living in peace with you," protested +Charlie, looking alarmed at the prospect. + +"You can do as you please. _I_ intend to do all the good I can by +asking the advice and following the example of the most 'earnest,' +'practical,' and 'charitable' people I know: so, if you don't approve, +you can drop my acquaintance," answered Rose, emphasizing the +obnoxious words, and assuming the resolute air she always wore when +defending her hobbies. + +"You'll be laughed at." + +"I'm used to that." + +"And criticised and shunned." + +"Not by people whose opinion I value." + +"Women shouldn't go poking into such places." + +"I've been taught that they should." + +"Well, you'll get some dreadful disease and lose your beauty, and +then where are you?" added Charlie, thinking that might daunt the +young philanthropist. + +But it did not; for Rose answered, with a sudden kindling of the eyes +as she remembered her talk with Uncle Alec,-- + +"I shouldn't like it: but there would be one satisfaction in it; for, +when I'd lost my beauty and given away my money, I should know who +really cared for me." + +Charlie nibbled his pen in silence for a moment, then asked, meekly,-- + +"Could I respectfully inquire what great reform is to be carried on in +the old houses which their amiable owner is repairing?" + +"I am merely going to make them comfortable homes for poor but +respectable women to live in. There is a class who cannot afford to +pay much, yet suffer a great deal from being obliged to stay in noisy, +dirty, crowded places like tenement-houses and cheap lodgings. I can +help a few of them, and I'm going to try." + +"May I humbly ask if these decayed gentlewomen are to inhabit their +palatial retreat rent-free?" + +"That was my first plan; but uncle showed me that it was wiser not to +make genteel paupers of them, but let them pay a small rent and feel +independent. I don't want the money of course, and shall use it in +keeping the houses tidy, or helping other women in like case," said +Rose, entirely ignoring her cousin's covert ridicule. + +"Don't expect any gratitude, for you won't get it; nor much comfort +with a lot of forlornities on your hands; and be sure that when it is +too late you will tire of it all, and wish you had done as other +people do." + +"Thanks for your cheerful prophecies; but I think I'll venture." + +She looked so undaunted that Charlie was a little nettled, and fired +his last shot rather recklessly,-- + +"Well, one thing I do know: you'll never get a husband if you go on in +this absurd way; and, by Jove! you need one to take care of you and +keep the property together!" + +Rose had a temper, but seldom let it get the better of her; now, +however, it flashed up for a moment. Those last words were peculiarly +unfortunate, because Aunt Clara had used them more than once, when +warning her against impecunious suitors and generous projects. She was +disappointed in her cousin, annoyed at having her little plans laughed +at, and indignant with him for his final suggestion. + +"I'll never have one, if I must give up the liberty of doing what I +know is right; and I'd rather go into the poor-house to-morrow than +'keep the property together' in the selfish way you mean!" + +That was all: but Charlie saw that he had gone too far, and hastened +to make his peace with the skill of a lover; for, turning to the +little cabinet piano behind him, he sung in his best style the sweet +old song,-- + + "Oh were thou in the cauld blast," + +dwelling with great effect, not only upon the tender assurance that + + "My plaid should shelter thee," + +but also that, even if a king, + + "The brightest jewel in my crown + Wad be my queen, wad be my queen." + +It was very evident that Prince Charming had not gone troubadouring in +vain; for Orpheus himself could not have restored harmony more +successfully. The tuneful apology was accepted with a forgiving smile, +and a frank,-- + +"I'm sorry I was cross; but you haven't forgotten how to tease, and +I'm rather out of sorts to-day. Late hours don't agree with me." + +"Then you won't feel like going to Mrs. Hope's to-morrow night, I'm +afraid," and Charlie took up the last note with an expression of +regret which was very flattering. + +"I must go, because it is made for me; but I can come away early, and +make up lost sleep. I do hate to be so fractious," and Rose rubbed the +forehead that ached with too much racketing. + +"But the German does not begin till late: I'm to lead, and depend upon +you. Just stay this once to oblige me," pleaded Charlie; for he had +set his heart on distinguishing himself. + +"No: I promised uncle to be temperate in my pleasures, and I must keep +my word. I'm so well now, it would be very foolish to get ill and make +him anxious: not to mention losing my beauty, as you are good enough +to call it; for that depends on health, you know." + +"But the fun doesn't begin till after supper. Every thing will be +delightful, I assure you; and we'll have a gay old time as we did last +week at Emma's." + +"Then I certainly will not; for I'm ashamed of myself when I remember +what a romp that was, and how sober uncle looked, as he let me in at +three in the morning, all fagged out; my dress in rags, my head +aching, my feet so tired I could hardly stand, and nothing to show for +five hours' hard work but a pocketful of bonbons, artificial flowers, +and tissue-paper fool's-caps. Uncle said I'd better put one on and go +to bed; for I looked as if I'd been to a French Bal Masqué. I never +want to hear him say so again, and I'll never let dawn catch me out in +such a plight any more." + +"You were all right enough; for mother didn't object, and I got you +both home before daylight. Uncle is notional about such things, so I +shouldn't mind; for we had a jolly time, and we were none the worse +for it." + +"Indeed we were, every one of us! Aunt Clara hasn't got over her cold +yet; I slept all the next day; and you looked like a ghost, for you'd +been out every night for weeks, I think." + +"Oh, nonsense! every one does it during the season, and you'll get +used to the pace very soon," began Charlie, bent on making her go; for +he was in his element in a ballroom, and never happier than when he +had his pretty cousin on his arm. + +"Ah! but I don't want to get used to it; for it costs too much in the +end. I don't wish to get used to being whisked about a hot room by men +who have taken too much wine; to turn day into night, wasting time +that might be better spent; and grow into a fashionable fast girl who +can't get on without excitement. I don't deny that much of it is +pleasant, but don't try to make me too fond of gayety. Help me to +resist what I know is hurtful, and please don't laugh me out of the +good habits uncle has tried so hard to give me." + +Rose was quite sincere in her appeal, and Charlie knew she was right: +but he always found it hard to give up any thing he had set his heart +upon, no matter how trivial; for the maternal indulgence which had +harmed the boy had fostered the habit of self-indulgence which was +ruining the man. So when Rose looked up at him, with a very honest +desire to save him as well as herself from being swept into the giddy +vortex which keeps so many young people revolving aimlessly, till they +go down or are cast upon the shore wrecks of what they might have +been, he gave a shrug and answered briefly,-- + +"As you please. I'll bring you home as early as you like, and Effie +Waring can take your place in the German. What flowers shall I send +you?" + +Now, that was an artful speech of Charlie's; for Miss Waring was a +fast and fashionable damsel, who openly admired Prince Charming, and +had given him the name. Rose disliked her, and was sure her influence +was bad; for youth made frivolity forgivable, wit hid want of +refinement, and beauty always covers a multitude of sins in a man's +eyes. At the sound of Effie's name, Rose wavered, and would have +yielded but for the memory of the "first mate's" last words. She did +desire to "keep a straight course;" so, though the current of impulse +set strongly in a southerly direction, principle, the only compass +worth having, pointed due north, and she tried to obey it like a wise +young navigator, saying steadily, while she directed to Annabel the +parcel containing a capacious pair of slippers intended for Uncle +Mac,-- + +"Don't trouble yourself about me. I can go with uncle, and slip away +without disturbing anybody." + +"I don't believe you'll have the heart to do it," said Charlie, +incredulously, as he sealed the last note. + +"Wait and see." + +"I will, but shall hope to the last," and, kissing his hand to her, he +departed to post her letters, quite sure that Miss Waring would not +lead the German. + +It certainly looked for a moment as if Miss Campbell _would_, because +she ran to the door with the words "I'll go" upon her lips. But she +did not open it till she had stood a minute staring hard at the old +glove on Psyche's head; then, like one who had suddenly got a bright +idea, she gave a decided nod and walked slowly out of the room. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +_POLISHING MAC._ + + +"Please could I say one word?" was the question three times repeated +before a rough head bobbed out from the grotto of books in which Mac +usually sat when he studied. + +"Did any one speak?" he asked, blinking in the flood of sunshine that +entered with Rose. + +"Only three times, thank you. Don't disturb yourself, I beg; for I +merely want to say a word," answered Rose, as she prevented him from +offering the easy-chair in which he sat. + +"I was rather deep in a compound fracture, and didn't hear. What can I +do for you, cousin?" and Mac shoved a stack of pamphlets off the chair +near him, with a hospitable wave of the hand that sent his papers +flying in all directions. + +Rose sat down, but did not seem to find her "word" an easy one to +utter; for she twisted her handkerchief about her fingers in +embarrassed silence, till Mac put on his glasses, and, after a keen +look, asked soberly,-- + +"Is it a splinter, a cut, or a whitlow, ma'am?" + +"It is neither; do forget your tiresome surgery for a minute, and be +the kindest cousin that ever was," answered Rose, beginning rather +sharply and ending with her most engaging smile. + +"Can't promise in the dark," said the wary youth. + +"It is a favor, a great favor, and one I don't choose to ask any of +the other boys," answered the artful damsel. + +Mac looked pleased, and leaned forward, saying more affably,-- + +"Name it, and be sure I'll grant it if I can." + +"Go with me to Mrs. Hope's party to-morrow night." + +"What!" and Mac recoiled as if she had put a pistol to his head. + +"I've left you in peace a long time: but it is your turn now; so do +your duty like a man and a cousin." + +"But I never go to parties!" cried the unhappy victim in great dismay. + +"High time you began, sir." + +"But I don't dance fit to be seen." + +"I'll teach you." + +"My dress-coat isn't decent, I know." + +"Archie will lend you one: he isn't going." + +"I'm afraid there's a lecture that I ought not to cut." + +"No, there isn't: I asked uncle." + +"I'm always so tired and dull in the evening." + +"This sort of thing is just what you want to rest and freshen up your +spirits." + +Mac gave a groan and fell back vanquished; for it was evident that +escape was impossible. + +"What put such a perfectly wild idea into your head?" he demanded, +rather roughly; for hitherto he _had_ been "left in peace," and this +sudden attack decidedly amazed him. + +"Sheer necessity; but don't do it if it is so very dreadful to you. I +must go to several more parties, because they are made for me; but +after that I'll refuse, and then no one need be troubled with me." + +Something in Rose's voice made Mac answer penitently, even while he +knit his brows in perplexity,-- + +"I didn't mean to be rude; and of course I'll go anywhere if I'm +really needed. But I don't understand where the sudden necessity is, +with three other fellows at command, all better dancers and beaux than +I am." + +"I don't want them, and I do want you; for I haven't the heart to drag +uncle out any more, and you know I never go with any gentleman but +those of my own family." + +"Now look here, Rose: if Steve has been doing any thing to tease you +just mention it, and I'll attend to him," cried Mac, plainly seeing +that something was amiss, and fancying that Dandy was at the bottom of +it, as he had done escort duty several times lately. + +"No, Steve has been very good: but I know he had rather be with Kitty +Van; so of course I feel like a marplot, though he is too polite to +hint it." + +"What a noodle that boy is! But there's Archie: he's as steady as a +church, and has no sweetheart to interfere," continued Mac, bound to +get at the truth, and half suspecting what it was. + +"He is on his feet all day, and Aunt Jessie wants him in the evening. +He does not care for dancing as he used, and I suppose he really does +prefer to rest and read." Rose might have added, "and hear Phebe +sing;" for Phebe did not go out as much as Rose did, and Aunt Jessie +often came in to sit with the old lady when the young folks were away; +and, of course, dutiful Archie came with her; so willingly of late! + +"What's amiss with Charlie? I thought _he_ was the prince of +cavaliers. Annabel says he dances 'like an angel,' and I know a dozen +mothers couldn't keep him at home of an evening. Have you had a tiff +with Adonis, and so fall back on poor me?" asked Mac, coming last to +the person of whom he thought first, but did not mention, feeling shy +about alluding to a subject often discussed behind her back. + +"Yes, we have; and I don't intend to go with him any more for some +time. His ways do not suit me, and mine do not suit him; so I want to +be quite independent, and you can help me if you will," said Rose, +rather nervously spinning the big globe close by. + +Mac gave a low whistle, looking wide awake all in a minute, as he +said with a gesture, as if he brushed a cobweb off his face,-- + +"Now, see here, cousin: I'm not good at mysteries, and shall only +blunder if you put me blindfold into any nice manoeuvre. Just tell me +straight out what you want, and I'll do it if I can. Play I'm uncle, +and free your mind; come now." + +He spoke so kindly, and the honest eyes were so full of merry +good-will, that Rose felt she might confide in him, and answered as +frankly as he could desire,-- + +"You are right, Mac; and I don't mind talking to you almost as freely +as to uncle, because you are such a reliable fellow, and won't think +me silly for trying to do what I believe to be right. Charlie does, +and so makes it hard for me to hold to my resolutions. I want to keep +early hours, dress simply, and behave properly; no matter what +fashionable people do. You will agree to that, I'm sure; and stand by +me through thick and thin for principle's sake." + +"I will; and begin by showing you that I understand the case. I don't +wonder you are not pleased; for Charlie is too presuming, and you do +need some one to help you head him off a bit. Hey, cousin?" + +"What a way to put it!" and Rose laughed in spite of herself, adding +with an air of relief, "That _is_ it; and I do want some one to help +me make him understand that I don't choose to be taken possession of +in that lordly way, as if I belonged to him more than to the rest of +the family. I don't like it; for people begin to talk, and Charlie +won't see how disagreeable it is to me." + +"Tell him so," was Mac's blunt advice. + +"I have; but he only laughs and promises to behave, and then he does +it again, when I am so placed that I can't say any thing. You will +never understand, and I cannot explain; for it is only a look, or a +word, or some little thing: but I won't have it, and the best way to +cure him is to put it out of his power to annoy me so." + +"He is a great flirt, and wants to teach you how, I suppose. I'll +speak to him if you like, and tell him you don't want to learn. Shall +I?" asked Mac, finding the case rather an interesting one. + +"No, thank you: that would only make trouble. If you will kindly play +escort a few times, it will show Charlie that I am in earnest without +more words, and put a stop to the gossip," said Rose, coloring like a +poppy at the recollection of what she heard one young man whisper to +another, as Charlie led her through a crowded supper-room with his +most devoted air, "Lucky dog! he is sure to get the heiress, and we +are nowhere." + +"There's no danger of people's gossiping about us, is there?" and Mac +looked up, with the oddest of all his odd expressions. + +"Of course not: you're only a boy." + +"I'm twenty-one, thank you; and Prince is but a couple of years +older," said Mac, promptly resenting the slight put upon his manhood. + +"Yes; but he is like other young men, while you are a dear old +bookworm. No one would ever mind what _you_ did; so you may go to +parties with me every night, and not a word would be said; or, if +there was, I shouldn't mind since it is 'only Mac,'" answered Rose, +smiling as she quoted a household word often used to excuse his +vagaries. + +"Then _I_ am nobody?" lifting his brows, as if the discovery surprised +and rather nettled him. + +"Nobody in society as yet; but my very best cousin in private, and +I've just proved my regard by making you my confidant, and choosing +you for my knight," said Rose, hastening to soothe the feelings her +careless words seemed to have ruffled slightly. + +"Much good _that_ is likely to do me," grumbled Mac. + +"You ungrateful boy, not to appreciate the honor I've conferred upon +you! I know a dozen who would be proud of the place: but you only care +for compound fractures; so I won't detain you any longer, except to +ask if I may consider myself provided with an escort for to-morrow +night?" said Rose, a trifle hurt at his indifference; for she was not +used to refusals. + +"If I may hope for the honor," and, rising, he made her a bow which +was such a capital imitation of Charlie's grand manner that she +forgave him at once, exclaiming with amused surprise,-- + +"Why, Mac! I didn't know you _could_ be so elegant!" + +"A fellow can be almost any thing he likes, if he tries hard enough," +he answered, standing very straight, and looking so tall and dignified +that Rose was quite impressed, and with a stately courtesy she +retired, saying graciously,-- + +"I accept with thanks. Good-morning, Doctor Alexander Mackenzie +Campbell." + +When Friday evening came, and word was sent up that her escort had +arrived, Rose ran down, devoutly hoping that he had not come in a +velveteen jacket, top-boots, black gloves, or made any trifling +mistake of that sort. A young gentleman was standing before the long +mirror, apparently intent on the arrangement of his hair; and Rose +paused suddenly as her eye went from the glossy broadcloth to the +white-gloved hands, busy with an unruly lock that would not stay in +place. + +"Why, Charlie, I thought--" she began with an accent of surprise in +her voice, but got no further; for the gentleman turned and she beheld +Mac in immaculate evening costume, with his hair parted sweetly on his +brow, a superior posy at his button-hole, and the expression of a +martyr upon his face. + +"Ah, don't you wish it was? No one but yourself to thank that it isn't +he. Am I right? Dandy got me up, and he ought to know what is what," +demanded Mac, folding his hands and standing as stiff as a ramrod. + +"You are so regularly splendid that I don't know you." + +"Neither do I." + +"I really had no idea you could look so like a gentleman," added Rose, +surveying him with great approval. + +"Nor I that I could feel so like a fool." + +"Poor boy! he does look rather miserable. What can I do to cheer him +up, in return for the sacrifice he is making?" + +"Stop calling me a boy. It will soothe my agony immensely, and give me +courage to appear in a low-necked coat and a curl on my forehead; for +I'm not used to such elegancies, and find them no end of a trial." + +Mac spoke in such a pathetic tone, and gave such a gloomy glare at the +aforesaid curl, that Rose laughed in his face, and added to his woe by +handing him her cloak. He surveyed it gravely for a minute, then +carefully put it on wrong side out, and gave the swan's-down hood a +good pull over her head, to the utter destruction of all smoothness to +the curls inside. + +Rose uttered a cry and cast off the cloak, bidding him learn to do it +properly, which he meekly did, and then led her down the hall without +walking on her skirts more than three times by the way. But at the +door she discovered that she had forgotten her furred overshoes, and +bade Mac get them. + +"Never mind: it's not wet," he said, pulling his cap over his eyes and +plunging into his coat, regardless of the "elegancies" that afflicted +him. + +"But I can't walk on cold stones with thin slippers, can I?" began +Rose, showing a little white foot. + +"You needn't, for--there you are, my lady;" and, unceremoniously +picking her up, Mac landed her in the carriage before she could say a +word. + +"What an escort!" she exclaimed in comic dismay, as she rescued her +delicate dress from the rug in which he was about to tuck her up like +a mummy. + +"It's 'only Mac,' so don't mind," and he cast himself into an opposite +corner, with the air of a man who had nerved himself to the +accomplishment of many painful duties, and was bound to do them or +die. + +"But gentlemen don't catch up ladies like bags of meal, and poke them +into carriages in this way. It is evident that you need looking after, +and it is high time I undertook your society manners. Now, do mind +what you are about, and don't get yourself or me into a scrape if you +can help it," besought Rose, feeling that on many accounts she had +gone farther and fared worse. + +"I'll behave like a Turveydrop: see if I don't." + +Mac's idea of the immortal Turveydrop's behavior seemed to be a +peculiar one; for, after dancing once with his cousin, he left her to +her own devices, and soon forgot all about her in a long conversation +with Professor Stumph, the learned geologist. Rose did not care; for +one dance proved to her that that branch of Mac's education _had_ been +sadly neglected, and she was glad to glide smoothly about with Steve, +though he was only an inch or two taller than herself. She had plenty +of partners, however, and plenty of chaperons; for all the young men +were her most devoted, and all the matrons beamed upon her with +maternal benignity. + +Charlie was not there; for when he found that Rose stood firm, and had +moreover engaged Mac as a permanency, he would not go at all, and +retired in high dudgeon to console himself with more dangerous +pastimes. Rose feared it would be so; and, even in the midst of the +gayety about her, an anxious mood came over her now and then, and made +her thoughtful for a moment. She felt her power, and wanted to use it +wisely; but did not know how to be kind to Charlie without being +untrue to herself and giving him false hopes. + +"I wish we were all children again, with no hearts to perplex us and +no great temptations to try us," she said to herself, as she rested a +moment in a quiet nook while her partner went to get a glass of water. +Right in the midst of this half-sad, half-sentimental reverie, she +heard a familiar voice behind her say earnestly,-- + +"And allophite is the new hydrous silicate of alumina and magnesia, +much resembling pseudophite, which Websky found in Silesia." + +"What _is_ Mac talking about!" she thought: and, peeping behind a +great azalea in full bloom, she saw her cousin in deep converse with +the professor, evidently having a capital time; for his face had lost +its melancholy expression and was all alive with interest, while the +elder man was listening as if his remarks were both intelligent and +agreeable. + +"What is it?" asked Steve, coming up with the water, and seeing a +smile on Rose's face. + +She pointed out the scientific _tête-à-tête_ going on behind the +azalea, and Steve grinned as he peeped, then grew sober and said in a +tone of despair,-- + +"If you had seen the pains I took with that fellow, the patience with +which I brushed his wig, the time I spent trying to convince him that +he must wear thin boots, and the fight I had to get him into that +coat; you'd understand my feelings when I see him now." + +"Why, what is the matter with him?" asked Rose. + +"Will you take a look, and see what a spectacle he has made of +himself. He'd better be sent home at once, or he will disgrace the +family by looking as if he'd been in a row." + +Steve spoke in such a tragic tone that Rose took another peep and did +sympathize with Dandy; for Mac's elegance was quite gone. His tie was +under one ear, his posy hung upside down, his gloves were rolled into +a ball, which he absently squeezed and pounded as he talked, and his +hair looked as if a whirlwind had passed over it; for his ten fingers +set it on end now and then, as they had a habit of doing when he +studied or talked earnestly. But he looked so happy and wide awake, in +spite of his dishevelment, that Rose gave an approving nod, and said +behind her fan,-- + +"It _is_ a trying spectacle, Steve: yet, on the whole, I think his own +odd ways suit him best; and I fancy we shall yet be proud of him, for +he knows more than all the rest of us put together. Hear that now," +and Rose paused, that they might listen to the following burst of +eloquence from Mac's lips:-- + +"You know Frenzel has shown that the globular forms of silicate of +bismuth at Schneeburg and Johanngeorgenstadt are not isometric, but +monoclinic in crystalline form; and consequently he separates them +from the old eulytite, and gives them the new name Agricolite." + +"Isn't it awful? Let us get out of this before there's another +avalanche, or we shall be globular silicates and isometric crystals in +spite of ourselves," whispered Steve with a panic-stricken air; and +they fled from the hail-storm of hard words that rattled about their +ears, leaving Mac to enjoy himself in his own way. + +But when Rose was ready to go home, and looked about for her escort, +he was nowhere to be seen; for the professor had departed, and Mac +with him, so absorbed in some new topic that he entirely forgot his +cousin, and went placidly home, still pondering on the charms of +geology. When this pleasing fact dawned upon Rose, her feelings may be +imagined. She was both angry and amused: it was so like Mac to go +mooning off and leave her to her fate. Not a hard one, however; for, +though Steve was gone with Kitty before her flight was discovered, +Mrs. Bliss was only too glad to take the deserted damsel under her +wing, and bear her safely home. + +Rose was warming her feet, and sipping the chocolate which Phebe +always had ready for her, as she never ate suppers; when a hurried tap +came at the long window whence the light streamed, and Mac's voice was +heard softly asking to be let in "just for one minute." + +Curious to know what had befallen him, Rose bade Phebe obey his call; +and the delinquent cavalier appeared, breathless, anxious, and more +dilapidated than ever: for he had forgotten his overcoat; his tie was +at the back of his neck now; and his hair as rampantly erect as if all +the winds of heaven had been blowing freely through it, as they had; +for he had been tearing to and fro the last half-hour trying to undo +the dreadful deed he had so innocently committed. + +"Don't take any notice of me; for I don't deserve it: I only came to +see that you were safe, cousin, and then go hang myself, as Steve +advised," he began, in a remorseful tone, that would have been very +effective, if he had not been obliged to catch his breath with a +comical gasp now and then. + +"I never thought _you_ would be the one to desert me," said Rose, with +a reproachful look; thinking it best not to relent too soon, though +she was quite ready to do it when she saw how sincerely distressed he +was. + +"It was that confounded man! He was a regular walking encyclopædia; +and, finding I could get a good deal out of him, I went in for general +information, as the time was short. You know I always forget every +thing else when I get hold of such a fellow." + +"That is evident. I wonder how you came to remember me at all," +answered Rose, on the brink of a laugh: it was so absurd. + +"I didn't till Steve said something that reminded me: then it burst +upon me, in one awful shock, that I'd gone and left you; and you might +have knocked me down with a feather," said honest Mac, hiding none of +his iniquity. + +"What did you do then?" + +"Do! I went off like a shot, and never stopped till I reached the +Hopes"-- + +"You didn't walk all that way?" cried Rose. + +"Bless you, no: I ran. But you were gone with Mrs. Bliss: so I pelted +back again to see with my own eyes that you were safe at home," +answered Mac, wiping his hot forehead, with a sigh of relief. + +"But it is three miles at least each way; and twelve o'clock, and dark +and cold. O Mac! how could you!" exclaimed Rose, suddenly realizing +what he had done, as she heard his labored breathing, saw the state of +the thin boots, and detected the absence of an overcoat. + +"Couldn't do less, could I?" asked Mac, leaning up against the door +and trying not to pant. + +"There was no need of half-killing yourself for such a trifle. You +might have known I could take care of myself for once, at least, with +so many friends about. Sit down this minute. Bring another cup, +please, Phebe: this boy isn't going home till he is rested and +refreshed after such a run as that," commanded Rose. + +"Don't be good to me: I'd rather take a scolding than a chair, and +drink hemlock instead of chocolate if you happen to have any ready," +answered Mac, with a pathetic puff, as he subsided on to the sofa, and +meekly took the draught Phebe brought him. + +"If you had any thing the matter with your heart, sir, a race of this +sort might be the death of you: so never do it again," said Rose, +offering her fan to cool his heated countenance. + +"Haven't got any heart." + +"Yes, you have, for I hear it beating like a trip-hammer, and it is my +fault: I ought to have stopped as we went by, and told you I was all +right." + +"It's the mortification, not the miles, that upsets me. I often take +that run for exercise, and think nothing of it; but to-night I was so +mad I made extra good time, I fancy. Now don't you worry, but compose +your mind, and 'sip your dish of tea,' as Evelina says," answered Mac, +artfully turning the conversation from himself. + +"What do you know about Evelina?" asked Rose, in great surprise. + +"All about her. Do you suppose I never read a novel?" + +"I thought you read nothing but Greek and Latin, with an occasional glance +at Websky's pseudophites and the monoclinics of Johanngeorgenstadt." + +Mac opened his eyes wide at this reply, then seemed to see the joke, +and joined in the laugh with such heartiness that Aunt Plenty's voice +was heard demanding from above, with sleepy anxiety,-- + +"_Is_ the house afire?" + +"No, ma'am, every thing is safe, and I'm only saying good-night," +answered Mac, diving for his cap. + +"Then go at once, and let that child have her sleep," added the old +lady, retiring to her bed. + +Rose ran into the hall, and, catching up her uncle's fur coat, met Mac +as he came out of the study, absently looking about for his own. + +"You haven't got any, you benighted boy! so take this, and have your +wits about you next time, or I won't let you off so easily," she said, +holding up the heavy garment, and peeping over it, with no sign of +displeasure in her laughing eyes. + +"Next time! Then you do forgive me? You will try me again, and give me +a chance to prove that I'm not a fool?" cried Mac, embracing the big +coat with emotion. + +"Of course I will; and, so far from thinking you a fool, I was much +impressed with your learning to-night, and told Steve that we ought to +be proud of our philosopher." + +"Learning be hanged! I'll show you that I'm _not_ a book-worm, but as +much a man as any of them; and then you may be proud or not, as you +like!" cried Mac, with a defiant nod, that caused the glasses to leap +wildly off his nose, as he caught up his hat and departed as he came. + +A day or two later, Rose went to call upon Aunt Jane, as she dutifully +did once or twice a week. On her way upstairs, she heard a singular +sound in the drawing-room, and involuntarily stopped to listen. + +"One, two, three, slide! One, two, three, turn! Now then, come on!" +said one voice, impatiently. + +"It's very easy to say 'come on;' but what the dickens do I do with my +left leg while I'm turning and sliding with my right?" demanded +another voice, in a breathless and mournful tone. + +Then the whistling and thumping went on more vigorously than before; +and Rose, recognizing the voices, peeped through the half-open door to +behold a sight which made her shake with suppressed laughter. Steve, +with a red table-cloth tied round his waist, languished upon Mac's +shoulder, dancing in perfect time to the air he whistled; for Dandy +was a proficient in the graceful art, and plumed himself upon his +skill. Mac, with a flushed face and dizzy eye, clutched his brother by +the small of his back, vainly endeavoring to steer him down the long +room without entangling his own legs in the table-cloth, treading on +his partner's toes, or colliding with the furniture. It was very +droll; and Rose enjoyed the spectacle, till Mac, in a frantic attempt +to swing round, dashed himself against the wall, and landed Steve upon +the floor. Then it was impossible to restrain her laughter any longer; +and she walked in upon them, saying merrily,-- + +"It was splendid! Do it again, and I'll play for you." + +Steve sprung up, and tore off the table-cloth in great confusion; +while Mac, still rubbing his head, dropped into a chair, trying to +look quite calm and cheerful as he gasped out,-- + +"How are you, cousin? When did you come? John should have told us." + +"I'm glad he didn't, for then I should have missed this touching +tableau of cousinly devotion and brotherly love. Getting ready for our +next party, I see." + +"Trying to; but there are so many things to remember all at +once,--keep time, steer straight, dodge the petticoats, and manage my +confounded legs,--that it isn't easy to get on at first," answered +Mac, wiping his hot forehead, with a sigh of exhaustion. + +"Hardest job _I_ ever undertook; and, as I'm not a battering-ram, I +decline to be knocked round any longer," growled Steve, dusting his +knees, and ruefully surveying the feet that had been trampled on till +they tingled; for his boots and broadcloth were dear to the heart of +the dapper youth. + +"Very good of you, and I'm much obliged. I've got the pace, I think, +and can practise with a chair to keep my hand in," said Mac, with +such a comic mixture of gratitude and resignation that Rose went off +again so irresistibly that her cousins joined her with a hearty roar. + +"As you are making a martyr of yourself in my service, the least I can +do is to lend a hand. Play for us, Steve, and I'll give Mac a lesson, +unless he prefers the chair." And, throwing off hat and cloak, Rose +beckoned so invitingly that the gravest philosopher would have +yielded. + +"A thousand thanks, but I'm afraid I shall hurt you," began Mac, much +gratified, but mindful of past mishaps. + +"I'm not. Steve didn't manage his train well, for good dancers always +loop theirs up. I have none at all: so that trouble is gone; and the +music will make it much easier to keep step. Just do as I tell you, +and you'll go beautifully after a few turns." + +"I will, I will! Pipe up, Steve! Now, Rose!" And, brushing his hair +out of his eyes with an air of stern determination, Mac grasped Rose, +and returned to the charge, bent on distinguishing himself if he died +in the attempt. + +The second lesson prospered: for Steve marked the time by a series of +emphatic bangs; Mac obeyed orders as promptly as if his life depended +on it; and, after several narrow escapes at exciting moments, Rose had +the satisfaction of being steered safely down the room, and landed +with a grand pirouette at the bottom. Steve applauded, and Mac, much +elated, exclaimed with artless candor,-- + +"There really is a sort of inspiration about you, Rose. I always +detested dancing before; but now, do you know, I rather like it." + +"I knew you would; only you mustn't stand with your arm round your +partner in this way when you are done. You must seat and fan her, if +she likes it," said Rose, anxious to perfect a pupil who seemed so +lamentably in need of a teacher. + +"Yes, of course, I know how they do it;" and, releasing his cousin, +Mac raised a small whirlwind round her with a folded newspaper, so +full of grateful zeal that she had not the heart to chide him again. + +"Well done, old fellow. I begin to have hopes of you, and will order +you a new dress-coat at once, since you are really going in for the +proprieties of life," said Steve from the music-stool, with the +approving nod of one who was a judge of said proprieties. "Now, Rose, +if you will just coach him a little in his small-talk, he won't make a +laughing-stock of himself as he did the other night," added Steve. "I +don't mean his geological gabble: that was bad enough, but his chat +with Emma Curtis was much worse. Tell her, Mac, and see if she doesn't +think poor Emma had a right to think you a first-class bore." + +"I don't see why, when I merely tried to have a little sensible +conversation," began Mac, with reluctance; for he had been +unmercifully chaffed by his cousins, to whom his brother had betrayed +him. + +"What did you say? I won't laugh if I can help it," said Rose, curious +to hear; for Steve's eyes were twinkling with fun. + +"Well, I knew she was fond of theatres; so I tried that first, and got +on pretty well till I began to tell her how they managed those things +in Greece. Most interesting subject, you know?" + +"Very. Did you give her one of the choruses or a bit of Agamemnon, as +you did when you described it to me?" asked Rose, keeping sober with +difficulty as she recalled that serio-comic scene. + +"Of course not; but I was advising her to read Prometheus, when she +gaped behind her fan, and began to talk about Phebe. What a 'nice +creature' she was, 'kept her place,' 'dressed according to her +station,' and that sort of twaddle. I suppose it _was_ rather rude, +but being pulled up so short confused me a bit, and I said the first +thing that came into my head, which was that I thought Phebe the +best-dressed woman in the room, because she wasn't all fuss and +feathers like most of the girls." + +"O Mac! that to Emma, who makes it the labor of her life to be always +in the height of the fashion, and was particularly splendid that +night. What _did_ she say?" cried Rose, full of sympathy for both +parties. + +"She bridled and looked daggers at me." + +"And what did you do?" + +"I bit my tongue, and tumbled out of one scrape into another. +Following her example, I changed the subject by talking about the +Charity Concert for the orphans; and, when she gushed about the +'little darlings,' I advised her to adopt one, and wondered why young +ladies didn't do that sort of thing, instead of cuddling cats and +lapdogs." + +"Unhappy boy! her pug is the idol of her life, and she hates babies," +said Rose. + +"More fool she! Well, she got my opinion on the subject, anyway, and +she's very welcome; for I went on to say that I thought it would not +only be a lovely charity, but excellent training for the time when +they had little darlings of their own. No end of poor things die +through the ignorance of mothers, you know," added Mac, so seriously +that Rose dared not smile at what went before. + +"Imagine Emma trotting round with a pauper baby under her arm instead +of her cherished Toto," said Steve, with an ecstatic twirl on the +stool. + +"Did she seem to like your advice, Monsieur Malapropos?" asked Rose, +wishing she had been there. + +"No, she gave a little shriek, and said, 'Good gracious, Mr. Campbell, +how droll you are! Take me to mamma, please,' which I did with a +thankful heart. Catch me setting her pug's leg again," ended Mac, with +a grim shake of the head. + +"Never mind. You were unfortunate in your listener that time. Don't +think all girls are so foolish. I can show you a dozen sensible ones, +who would discuss dress reform and charity with you, and enjoy Greek +tragedy if you did the chorus for them as you did for me," said Rose, +consolingly; for Steve would only jeer. + +"Give me a list of them, please; and I'll cultivate their +acquaintance. A fellow must have some reward for making a teetotum of +himself." + +"I will with pleasure; and if you dance well they will make it very +pleasant for you, and you'll enjoy parties in spite of yourself." + +"I cannot be a 'glass of fashion and a mould of form' like Dandy here, +but I'll do my best: only, if I had my choice, I'd much rather go +round the streets with an organ and a monkey," answered Mac, +despondently. + +"Thank you kindly for the compliment," and Rose made him a low +courtesy, while Steve cried,-- + +"Now you _have_ done it!" in a tone of reproach which reminded the +culprit, all too late, that he was Rose's chosen escort. + +"By the gods, so I have!" and, casting away the newspaper with a +gesture of comic despair, Mac strode from the room, chanting +tragically the words of Cassandra,-- + +"'Woe! woe! O Earth! O Apollo! I will dare to die; I will accost the +gates of Hades, and make my prayer that I may receive a mortal +blow!'" + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +_PHEBE._ + + +While Rose was making discoveries and having experiences, Phebe was +doing the same in a quieter way: but, though they usually compared +notes during the bedtime _tête-à-tête_ which always ended their day, +certain topics were never mentioned; so each had a little world of her +own into which even the eye of friendship did not peep. + +Rose's life just now was the gayest, but Phebe's the happiest. Both +went out a good deal; for the beautiful voice was welcomed everywhere, +and many were ready to patronize the singer who would have been slow +to recognize the woman. Phebe knew this, and made no attempt to assert +herself; content to know that those whose regard she valued felt her +worth, and hopeful of a time when she could gracefully take the place +she was meant to fill. + +Proud as a princess was Phebe about some things, though in most as +humble as a child; therefore, when each year lessened the service she +loved to give, and increased the obligations she would have refused +from any other source, dependence became a burden which even the most +fervent gratitude could not lighten. Hitherto the children had gone on +together, finding no obstacles to their companionship in the secluded +world in which they lived: now that they were women their paths +inevitably diverged, and both reluctantly felt that they must part +before long. + +It had been settled, when they went abroad, that on their return Phebe +should take her one gift in her hand, and try her fortunes. On no +other terms would she accept the teaching which was to fit her for the +independence she desired. Faithfully had she used the facilities so +generously afforded both at home and abroad, and now was ready to +prove that they had not been in vain. Much encouraged by the small +successes she won in drawing-rooms, and the praise bestowed by +interested friends, she began to feel that she might venture on a +larger field, and begin her career as a concert singer; for she aimed +no higher. + +Just at this time, much interest was felt in a new asylum for orphan +girls, which could not be completed for want of funds. The Campbells +"well had borne their part," and still labored to accomplish the +much-needed charity. Several fairs had been given for this purpose, +followed by a series of concerts. Rose had thrown herself into the +work with all her heart, and now proposed that Phebe should make her +_début_ at the last concert which was to be a peculiarly interesting +one, as all the orphans were to be present, and were expected to plead +their own cause by the sight of their innocent helplessness, as well +as touch hearts by the simple airs they were to sing. + +Some of the family thought Phebe would object to so humble a +beginning: but Rose knew her better, and was not disappointed; for, +when she made her proposal, Phebe answered readily,-- + +"Where could I find a fitter time and place to come before the public +than here among my little sisters in misfortune? I'll sing for them +with all my heart: only I must be one of them, and have no flourish +made about me." + +"You shall arrange it as you like; and, as there is to be little vocal +music but yours and the children's, I'll see that you have every thing +as you please," promised Rose. + +It was well she did; for the family got much excited over the prospect +of "our Phebe's _début_," and _would_ have made a flourish if the +girls had not resisted. Aunt Clara was in despair about the dress; +because Phebe decided to wear a plain claret-colored merino with +frills at neck and wrists, so that she might look as much as possible, +like the other orphans in their stuff gowns and white aprons. Aunt +Plenty wanted to have a little supper afterward in honor of the +occasion; but Phebe begged her to change it to a Christmas dinner for +the poor children. The boys planned to throw bushels of flowers, and +Charlie claimed the honor of leading the singer in. But Phebe, with +tears in her eyes, declined their kindly offers, saying earnestly,-- + +"I had better begin as I am to go on, and depend upon myself entirely. +Indeed, Mr. Charlie, I'd rather walk in alone; for you'd be out of +place among us, and spoil the pathetic effect we wish to produce," +and a smile sparkled through the tears, as Phebe looked at the piece +of elegance before her, and thought of the brown gowns and pinafores. + +So, after much discussion, it was decided that she should have her way +in all things, and the family content themselves with applauding from +the front. + +"We'll blister our hands every man of us, and carry you home in a +chariot and four: see if we don't, you perverse prima donna!" +threatened Steve, not at all satisfied with the simplicity of the +affair. + +"A chariot and two will be very acceptable as soon as I'm done. I +shall be quite steady till my part is all over, and then I may feel a +little upset; so I'd like to get away before the confusion begins. +Indeed I don't mean to be perverse: but you are all so kind to me, my +heart is full whenever I think of it; and that wouldn't do if I'm to +sing," said Phebe, dropping one of the tears on the little frill she +was making. + +No diamond could have adorned it better Archie thought, as he watched +it shine there for a moment; and felt like shaking Steve for daring to +pat the dark head with an encouraging,-- + +"All right. I'll be on hand, and whisk you away while the rest are +splitting their gloves. No fear of your breaking down. If you feel the +least bit like it, though, just look at me; and I'll glare at you and +shake my fist, since kindness upsets you." + +"I wish you would, because one of my ballads is rather touching, and +I always want to cry when I sing it. The sight of you trying to glare +will make me want to laugh, and that will steady me nicely: so sit in +front, please, ready to slip out when I come off the last time." + +"Depend upon me!" And the little man departed, taking great credit to +himself for his influence over tall, handsome Phebe. + +If he had known what was going on in the mind of the silent young +gentleman behind the newspaper, Steve would have been much astonished; +for Archie, though apparently engrossed by business, was fathoms deep +in love by this time. No one suspected this but Rose; for he did his +wooing with his eyes, and only Phebe knew how eloquent they could be. +He had discovered what the matter was long ago,--had made many +attempts to reason himself out of it; but, finding it a hopeless task, +had given up trying, and let himself drift deliciously. The knowledge +that the family would not approve only seemed to add ardor to his love +and strength to his purpose: for the same energy and persistence which +he brought to business went into every thing he did; and, having once +made up his mind to marry Phebe, nothing could change his plan except +a word from her. + +He watched and waited for three months, so that he might not be +accused of precipitation, though it did not take him one to decide +that this was the woman to make him happy. Her steadfast nature; +quiet, busy ways; and the reserved power and passion betrayed +sometimes by a flash of the black eyes, a quiver of the firm +lips,--suited Archie, who possessed many of the same attributes +himself: while the obscurity of her birth and isolation of her lot, +which would have deterred some lovers, not only appealed to his kindly +heart, but touched the hidden romance which ran like a vein of gold +through his strong common-sense, and made practical, steady-going +Archie a poet when he fell in love. If Uncle Mac had guessed what +dreams and fancies went on in the head bent over his ledgers, and what +emotions were fermenting in the bosom of his staid "right-hand man," +he would have tapped his forehead, and suggested a lunatic asylum. The +boys thought Archie had sobered down too soon. His mother began to +fear that the air of the counting-room did not suit him: and Dr. Alec +was deluded into the belief that the fellow really began to "think of +Rose;" he came so often in the evening, seeming quite contented to sit +beside her work-table, and snip tape, or draw patterns, while they +chatted. + +No one observed that, though he talked to Rose on these occasions, he +looked at Phebe, in her low chair close by, busy but silent; for she +always tried to efface herself when Rose was near, and often mourned +that she was too big to keep out of sight. No matter what he talked +about, Archie always saw the glossy black braids on the other side of +the table, the damask cheek curving down into the firm white throat, +and the dark lashes, lifted now and then, showing eyes so deep and +soft he dared not look into them long. Even the swift needle charmed +him, the little brooch which rose and fell with her quiet breath, the +plain work she did, and the tidy way she gathered her bits of thread +into a tiny bag. He seldom spoke to her; never touched her basket, +though he ravaged Rose's if he wanted string or scissors; very rarely +ventured to bring her some curious or pretty thing when ships came in +from China: only sat and thought of her; imagined that this was _his_ +parlor, this _her_ work-table, and they two sitting there alone a +happy man and wife. + +At this stage of the little evening drama, he would be conscious of +such a strong desire to do something rash that he took refuge in a new +form of intoxication, and proposed music, sometimes so abruptly that +Rose would pause in the middle of a sentence and look at him, +surprised to meet a curiously excited look in the usually cool, gray +eyes. + +Then Phebe, folding up her work, would go to the piano, as if glad to +find a vent for the inner life which she seemed to have no power of +expressing except in song. Rose would follow to accompany her; and +Archie, moving to a certain shady corner whence he could see Phebe's +face as she sang, would give himself up to unmitigated rapture for +half an hour. Phebe never sang so well as at such times: for the +kindly atmosphere was like sunshine to a bird, criticisms were few +and gentle, praises hearty and abundant; and she poured out her soul +as freely as a spring gushes up when its hidden source is full. + +Always comely, with a large and wholesome growth, in moments such as +these Phebe was beautiful with the beauty that makes a man's eye +brighten with honest admiration, and thrills his heart with a sense of +womanly nobility and sweetness. Little wonder, then, that the chief +spectator of this agreeable tableau grew nightly more enamoured; and, +while the elders were deep in whist, the young people were playing +that still more absorbing game in which hearts are always trumps. + +Rose, having Dummy for a partner, soon discovered the fact, and lately +had begun to feel as she fancied Wall must have done when Pyramus +wooed Thisbe through its chinks. She was a little startled at first, +then amused, then anxious, then heartily interested, as every woman is +in such affairs, and willingly continued to be a medium, though +sometimes she quite tingled with the electricity which seemed to +pervade the air. She said nothing, waiting for Phebe to speak; but +Phebe was silent, seeming to doubt the truth, till doubt became +impossible, then to shrink as if suddenly conscious of wrong-doing, +and seize every possible pretext for absenting herself from the +"girls' corner," as the pretty recess was called. + +The concert plan afforded excellent opportunities for doing this; and +evening after evening she slipped away to practise her songs +upstairs, while Archie sat staring disconsolately at the neglected +work-basket and mute piano. Rose pitied him, and longed to say a word +of comfort, but felt shy,--he was such a reserved fellow,--so left him +to conduct his quiet wooing in his own way, feeling that the crisis +would soon arrive. + +She was sure of this, as she sat beside him on the evening of the +concert; for while the rest of the family nodded and smiled, chatted +and laughed in great spirits, Archie was as mute as a fish, and sat +with his arms tightly folded, as if to keep in any unruly emotions +which might attempt to escape. He never looked at the programme; but +Rose knew when Phebe's turn came by the quick breath he drew, and the +intent look that came into his eyes so absent before. + +But her own excitement prevented much notice of his; for Rose was in a +flutter of hope and fear, sympathy and delight, about Phebe and her +success. The house was crowded; the audience sufficiently mixed to +make the general opinion impartial; and the stage full of little +orphans with shining faces, a most effective reminder of the object in +view. + +"Little dears, how nice they look!" "Poor things, so young to be +fatherless and motherless." "It will be a disgrace to the city, if +those girls are not taken proper care of." "Subscriptions are always +in order, you know; and pretty Miss Campbell will give you her +sweetest smile if you hand her a handsome check." "I've heard this +Phebe Moore, and she really has a delicious voice: such a pity she +won't fit herself for opera!" "Only sings three times to-night; that's +modest I'm sure, when she is the chief attraction; so we must give her +an encore after the Italian piece." "The orphans lead off, I see: stop +your ears if you like; but don't fail to applaud, or the ladies will +never forgive you." + +Chat of this sort went on briskly, while fans waved, programmes +rustled, and ushers flew about distractedly; till an important +gentleman appeared, made his bow, skipped upon the leader's stand, and +with a wave of his bâton caused a general uprising of white pinafores, +as the orphans led off with that much-enduring melody, "America," in +shrill small voices, but with creditable attention to time and tune. +Pity and patriotism produced a generous round of applause; and the +little girls sat down, beaming with innocent satisfaction. + +An instrumental piece followed, and then a youthful gentleman, with +his hair in picturesque confusion, and what his friends called a +"musical brow," bounded up the steps, and, clutching a roll of music +with a pair of tightly gloved hands, proceeded to inform the audience, +in a husky tenor voice, that + + "It was a lovely violet." + +What else the song contained in the way of sense or sentiment it was +impossible to discover; as the three pages of music appeared to +consist of variations upon that one line, ending with a prolonged +quaver, which flushed the musical brow, and left the youth quite +breathless when he made his bow. + +"Now she's coming! O uncle, my heart beats as if it was myself!" +whispered Rose, clutching Dr. Alec's arm with a little gasp, as the +piano was rolled forward, the leader's stand pushed back, and all eyes +turned toward the anteroom door. + +She forgot to glance at Archie, and it was as well perhaps; for his +heart was thumping almost audibly, as he waited for his Phebe. Not +from the anteroom, but out from among the children, where she had sat +unseen in the shadow of the organ, came stately Phebe in her +wine-colored dress, with no ornament but her fine hair and a white +flower at her throat. Very pale, but quite composed, apparently; for +she stepped slowly through the narrow lane of upturned faces, holding +back her skirts, lest they should rudely brush against some little +head. Straight to the front she went, bowed hastily, and, with a +gesture to the accompanist, stood waiting to begin, her eyes fixed on +the great gilt clock at the opposite end of the hall. + +They never wandered from that point while she sung; but, as she ended, +they dropped for an instant on an eager, girlish countenance, bending +from a front seat; then, with her hasty little bow, she went quickly +back among the children, who clapped and nodded as she passed, well +pleased with the ballad she had sung. + +Every one courteously followed their example; but there was no +enthusiasm, and it was evident that Phebe had not produced a +particularly favorable impression. + +"Never sang so badly in her life," muttered Charlie, irefully. + +"She was frightened, poor thing. Give her time, give her time," said +Uncle Mac, kindly. + +"I saw she was, and I glared like a gorgon, but she never looked at +me," added Steve, smoothing his gloves and his brows at the same time. + +"That first song was the hardest, and she got through much better than +I expected," put in Dr. Alec, bound not to show the disappointment he +felt. + +"Don't be troubled. Phebe has courage enough for any thing, and she'll +astonish you before the evening's over," prophesied Mac, with unabated +confidence; for he knew something that the rest did not. + +Rose said nothing, but, under cover of her burnous, gave Archie's hand +a sympathetic squeeze; for his arms were unfolded now, as if the +strain was over, and one lay on his knee, while with the other he +wiped his hot forehead with an air of relief. + +Friends about them murmured complimentary fibs, and affected great +delight and surprise at Miss Moore's "charming style," "exquisite +simplicity," and "undoubted talent." But strangers freely criticised, +and Rose was so indignant at some of their remarks she could not +listen to any thing upon the stage, though a fine overture was played, +a man with a remarkable bass voice growled and roared melodiously, +and the orphans sang a lively air with a chorus of "Tra, la, la," +which was a great relief to little tongues unused to long silence. + +"I've often heard that women's tongues were hung in the middle and +went at both ends: now I'm sure of it," whispered Charlie, trying to +cheer her up by pointing out the comical effect of some seventy-five +open mouths, in each of which the unruly member was wagging briskly. + +Rose laughed and let him fan her, leaning from his seat behind with +the devoted air he always assumed in public; but her wounded feelings +were not soothed, and she continued to frown at the stout man on the +left, who had dared to say with a shrug and a glance at Phebe's next +piece, "That young woman can no more sing this Italian thing than she +can fly, and they ought not to let her attempt it." + +Phebe did, however; and suddenly changed the stout man's opinion by +singing it grandly; for the consciousness of her first failure pricked +her pride and spurred her to do her best with the calm sort of +determination which conquers fear, fires ambition, and changes defeat +to success. She looked steadily at Rose now, or the flushed, intent +face beside her; and throwing all her soul into the task let her voice +ring out like a silver clarion, filling the great hall and setting the +hearers' blood a-tingle with the exulting strain. + +That settled Phebe's fate as cantatrice; for the applause was genuine +and spontaneous this time, and broke out again and again with the +generous desire to atone for former coldness. But she would not +return, and the shadow of the great organ seemed to have swallowed her +up; for no eye could find her, no pleasant clamor win her back. + +"Now I can die content," said Rose, beaming with heart-felt +satisfaction; while Archie looked steadfastly at his programme, trying +to keep his face in order, and the rest of the family assumed a +triumphant air, as if _they_ had never doubted from the first. + +"Very well, indeed," said the stout man, with an approving nod. "Quite +promising for a beginner. Shouldn't wonder if in time they made a +second Cary or Kellogg of her." + +"Now you'll forgive him, won't you?" murmured Charlie, in his cousin's +ear. + +"Yes; and I'd like to pat him on the head. But take warning and never +judge by first appearances again," whispered Rose, at peace now with +all mankind. + +Phebe's last song was another ballad; for she meant to devote her +talent to that much neglected but always attractive branch of her art. +It was a great surprise, therefore, to all but one person in the hall, +when, instead of singing "Auld Robin Grey," she placed herself at the +piano, and, with a smiling glance over her shoulder at the children, +broke out in the old bird-song which first won Rose. But the +chirping, twittering, and cooing were now the burden to three verses +of a charming little song, full of spring-time and the awakening life +that makes it lovely. A rippling accompaniment flowed through it all, +and a burst of delighted laughter from the children filled up the +first pause with a fitting answer to the voices that seemed calling to +them from the vernal woods. + +It was very beautiful, and novelty lent its charm to the surprise; for +art and nature worked a pretty miracle, and the clever imitation, +first heard from a kitchen hearth, now became the favorite in a +crowded concert room. Phebe was quite herself again; color in the +cheeks now; eyes that wandered smiling to and fro; and lips that sang +as gaily and far more sweetly than when she kept time to her blithe +music with a scrubbing brush. + +This song was evidently intended for the children, and they +appreciated the kindly thought; for, as Phebe went back among them, +they clapped ecstatically, flapped their pinafores, and some caught +her by the skirts with audible requests to "do it again, please; do it +again." + +But Phebe shook her head and vanished; for it was getting late for +such small people, several of whom "lay sweetly slumbering there," +till roused by the clamor round them. The elders, however, were not to +be denied, and applauded persistently, especially Aunt Plenty, who +seized Uncle Mac's cane and pounded with it as vigorously as "Mrs. +Nubbles" at the play. + +"Never mind your gloves, Steve; keep it up till she comes," cried +Charlie, enjoying the fun like a boy; while Jamie lost his head with +excitement, and standing up called "Phebe! Phebe!" in spite of his +mother's attempts to silence him. + +Even the stout man clapped, and Rose could only laugh delightedly as +she turned to look at Archie, who seemed to have let himself loose at +last, and was stamping with a dogged energy funny to see. + +So Phebe had to come, and stood there meekly bowing, with a moved look +on her face, that showed how glad and grateful she was, till a sudden +hush came; then, as if inspired by the memory of the cause that +brought her there, she looked down into the sea of friendly faces +before her, with no trace of fear in her own, and sung the song that +never will grow old. + +That went straight to the hearts of those who heard her: for there was +something inexpressibly touching in the sight of this sweet-voiced +woman singing of home for the little creatures who were homeless; and +Phebe made her tuneful plea irresistible by an almost involuntary +gesture of the hands which had hung loosely clasped before her; till, +with the last echo of the beloved word, they fell apart and were +half-out-stretched as if pleading to be filled. + +It was the touch of nature that works wonders; for it made full purses +suddenly weigh heavily in pockets slow to open, brought tears to eyes +unused to weep, and caused that group of red-gowned girls to grow +very pathetic in the sight of fathers and mothers who had left little +daughters safe asleep at home. This was evident from the stillness +that remained unbroken for an instant after Phebe ended; and before +people could get rid of their handkerchiefs she would have been gone, +if the sudden appearance of a mite in a pinafore, climbing up the +stairs from the anteroom, with a great bouquet grasped in both hands, +had not arrested her. + +Up came the little creature, intent on performing the mission for +which rich bribes of sugar-plums had been promised, and trotting +bravely across the stage, she held up the lovely nosegay, saying in +her baby voice, "Dis for you, ma'am;" then, startled by the sudden +outburst of applause, she hid her face in Phebe's gown, and began to +sob with fright. + +An awkward minute for poor Phebe; but she showed unexpected presence +of mind, and left behind her a pretty picture of the oldest and the +youngest orphan, as she went quickly down the step, smiling over the +great bouquet with the baby on her arm. + +Nobody minded the closing piece; for people began to go, sleepy +children to be carried off, and whispers grew into a buzz of +conversation. In the general confusion, Rose looked to see if Steve +had remembered his promise to help Phebe slip away before the rush +began. No, there he was putting on Kitty's cloak, quite oblivious of +any other duty; and, fuming to ask Archie to hurry out, Rose found +that he had already vanished, leaving his gloves behind him. + +"Have you lost any thing?" asked Dr. Alec, catching a glimpse of her +face. + +"No, sir, I've found something," she whispered back, giving him the +gloves to pocket along with her fan and glass, adding hastily as the +concert ended, "Please, uncle, tell them all not to come with us. +Phebe has had enough excitement, and ought to rest." + +Rose's word was law to the family in all things concerning Phebe. So +word was passed that there were to be no congratulations till +to-morrow, and Dr. Alec got his party off as soon as possible. But all +the way home, while he and Aunt Plenty were prophesying a brilliant +future for the singer, Rose sat rejoicing over the happy present of +the woman. She was sure that Archie had spoken, and imagined the whole +scene with feminine delight,--how tenderly he had asked the momentous +question, how gratefully Phebe had given the desired reply, and now +how both were enjoying that delicious hour which Rose had been given +to understand never came but once. Such a pity to shorten it, she +thought; and begged her uncle to go home the longest way: the night +was so mild, the moonlight so clear, and herself so in need of fresh +air after the excitement of the evening. + +"I thought you would want to rush into Phebe's arms the instant she +got done," said Aunt Plenty, innocently wondering at the whims girls +took into their heads. + +"So I should if I consulted my own wishes; but as Phebe asked to be +let alone I want to gratify her," answered Rose, making the best +excuse she could. + +"A little piqued," thought the doctor, fancying he understood the +case. + +As the old lady's rheumatism forbade their driving about till +midnight, home was reached much too soon, Rose thought, and tripped +away to warn the lovers the instant she entered the house. But study, +parlor, and boudoir were empty; and, when Jane appeared with cake and +wine, she reported that "Miss Phebe went right upstairs, and wished to +be excused, please, being very tired." + +"That isn't at all like Phebe: I hope she isn't ill," began Aunt +Plenty, sitting down to toast her feet. + +"She may be a little hysterical; for she is a proud thing, and +represses her emotions as long as she can. I'll step up and see if she +doesn't need a soothing draught of some sort," and Dr. Alec threw off +his coat as he spoke. + +"No, no, she's only tired. I'll run up to her: she won't mind me; and +I'll report if any thing is amiss." + +Away went Rose, quite trembling with suspense; but Phebe's door was +shut, no light shone underneath, and no sound came from the room +within. She tapped, and, receiving no answer, went on to her own +chamber, thinking to herself,-- + +"Love always makes people queer, I've heard; so I suppose they settled +it all in the carriage, and the dear thing ran away to think about her +happiness alone. I'll not disturb her. Why, Phebe!" added Rose, +surprised; for, entering her room, there was the cantatrice, busy +about the nightly services she always rendered her little mistress. + +"I'm waiting for you, dear. Where have you been so long?" asked Phebe, +poking the fire as if anxious to get some color into cheeks that were +unnaturally pale. + +The instant she spoke, Rose knew that something was wrong, and a +glance at her face confirmed the fear. It was like a dash of cold +water, and quenched her happy fancies in a moment; but being a +delicate-minded girl she respected Phebe's mood, and asked no +questions, made no comments, and left her friend to speak or be silent +as she chose. + +"I was so excited I would take a turn in the moonlight to calm my +nerves. O dearest Phebe, I am _so_ glad, so proud, so full of wonder +at your courage and skill and sweet ways altogether, that I cannot +half tell you how I love and honor you!" she cried, kissing the white +cheeks with such tender warmth they could not help glowing faintly, as +Phebe held her little mistress close, sure that nothing could disturb +this innocent affection. + +"It is all your work, dear; because but for you I might still be +scrubbing floors, and hardly dare to dream of any thing like this," +she said, in her old grateful way; but in her voice there was a thrill +of something deeper than gratitude, and at the last two words her +head went up with a gesture of soft pride as if it had been newly +crowned. + +Rose heard and saw and guessed the meaning of both tone and gesture; +feeling that her Phebe deserved both the singer's laurel and the +bride's myrtle wreath. But she only looked up, saying very +wistfully,-- + +"Then it _has_ been a happy night for you as well as for us." + +"The happiest of my life, and the hardest," answered Phebe briefly, as +she looked away from the questioning eyes. + +"You should have let us come nearer and help you through. I'm afraid +you are very proud, my Jenny Lind." + +"I have to be; for sometimes I feel as if I had nothing else to keep +me up." She stopped short there, fearing that her voice would prove +traitorous if she went on. In a moment, she asked in a tone that was +almost hard,-- + +"You think I did well to-night?" + +"They all think so, and were so delighted they wanted to come in a +body and tell you so; but I sent them home, because I knew you'd be +tired out. Perhaps I ought not to have done it, and you'd rather have +had a crowd about you than just me?" + +"It was the kindest thing you ever did, and what could I like better +than 'just you,' my darling?" + +Phebe seldom called her that, and when she did her heart was in the +little word, making it so tender that Rose thought it the sweetest in +the world, next to Uncle Alec's "my little girl." Now it was almost +passionate, and Phebe's face grew rather tragical as she looked down +at Rose. It was impossible to seem unconscious any longer, and Rose +said, caressing Phebe's cheek, which burned with a feverish color +now,-- + +"Then don't shut me out if you have a trouble; but let me share it as +I let you share all mine." + +"I will! Little mistress, I've got to go away, sooner even than we +planned." + +"Why, Phebe?" + +"Because--Archie loves me." + +"That's the very reason you should stay and make him happy." + +"Not if it caused dissension in the family, and you know it would." + +Rose opened her lips to deny this impetuously, but checked herself and +answered honestly,-- + +"Uncle and I would be heartily glad; and I'm sure Aunt Jessie never +could object, if you loved Archie as he does you." + +"She has other hopes, I think; and kind as she is it _would_ be a +disappointment if he brought me home. She is right; they all are, and +I alone am to blame. I should have gone long ago: I knew I should; but +it was so pleasant I couldn't bear to go away alone." + +"I kept you, and I am to blame if any one; but indeed, dear Phebe, I +cannot see why you should care even if Aunt Myra croaks, and Aunt +Clara exclaims, or Aunt Jane makes disagreeable remarks. Be happy, +and never mind them," cried Rose; so much excited by all this that she +felt the spirit of revolt rise up within her, and was ready to defy +even that awe-inspiring institution "the family" for her friend's +sake. + +But Phebe shook her head with a sad smile; and answered, still with +the hard tone in her voice as if forcing back all emotion that she +might see her duty clearly,-- + +"_You_ could do that, but _I_ never can. Answer me this, Rose, and +answer truly as you love me. If you had been taken into a house, a +friendless, penniless, forlorn girl, and for years been heaped with +benefits, trusted, taught, loved, and made, oh, so happy! could you +think it right to steal away something that these good people valued +very much? To have them feel that you had been ungrateful, had +deceived them, and meant to thrust yourself into a high place not fit +for you; when they had been generously helping you in other ways, far +more than you deserved. Could you then say as you do now, 'Be happy +and never mind them'?" + +Phebe held Rose by the shoulders now, and searched her face so keenly +that the other shrunk a little; for the black eyes were full of fire, +and there was something almost grand about this girl who seemed +suddenly to have become a woman. There was no need of words to answer +the questions so swiftly asked; for Rose put herself in Phebe's place +in the drawing of a breath, and her own pride made her truthfully +reply,-- + +"No: I could not!" + +"I knew you'd say that, and help me do my duty;" and all the coldness +melted out of Phebe's manner, as she hugged her little mistress close, +feeling the comfort of sympathy even through the blunt sincerity of +Rose's words. + +"I will if I know how. Now come and tell me all about it;" and, +seating herself in the great chair which had often held them both, +Rose stretched out her hands as if glad and ready to give help of any +sort. + +But Phebe would not take her accustomed place; for, as if coming to +confession, she knelt down upon the rug, and, leaning on the arm of +the chair, told her love-story in the simplest words. + +"I never thought he cared for me until a little while ago. I fancied +it was you, and even when I knew he liked to hear me sing I supposed +it was because you helped; and so I did my best, and was glad you were +to be a happy girl. But his eyes told the truth; then I saw what I had +been doing, and was frightened. He did not speak; so I believed, what +is quite true, that he felt I was not a fit wife for him, and would +never ask me. It was right: I was glad of it, yet I _was_ proud; and, +though I did not ask or hope for any thing, I did want him to see that +I respected myself, remembered my duty, and could do right as well as +he. I kept away; I planned to go as soon as possible, and resolved +that at this concert I would do so well he should not be ashamed of +poor Phebe and her one gift." + +"It was this that made you so strange, then; preferring to go alone, +and refusing every little favor at our hands?" asked Rose, feeling +very sure now about the state of Phebe's heart. + +"Yes; I wanted to do every thing myself, and not owe one jot of my +success, if I had any, to even the dearest friend I've got. It was bad +and foolish of me, and I was punished by that first dreadful failure. +I was so frightened, Rose! My breath was all gone, my eyes so dizzy I +could hardly see, and that great crowd of faces seemed so near I dared +not look. If it had not been for the clock, I never should have got +through; and when I did, not knowing in the least how I'd sung, one +look at your distressed face told me that I'd failed." + +"But I smiled, Phebe,--indeed I did,--as sweetly as I could; for I was +sure it was only fright," protested Rose, eagerly. + +"So you did: but the smile was full of pity, not of pride, as I wanted +it to be; and I rushed into a dark place behind the organ, feeling +ready to kill myself. How angry and miserable I was! I set my teeth, +clenched my hands, and vowed that I would do well next time, or never +sing another note. I was quite desperate when my turn came, and felt +as if I could do almost any thing; for I remembered that _he_ was +there. I'm not sure how it was, but it seemed as if I was all voice; +for I let myself go, trying to forget every thing except that two +people must _not_ be disappointed, though I died when the song was +done." + +"O Phebe, it was splendid! I nearly cried, I was so proud and glad to +see you do yourself justice at last." + +"And he?" whispered Phebe, with her face half hidden on the arm of the +chair. + +"Said not a word: but I saw his lips tremble and his eyes shine; and I +knew he was the happiest creature there, because _I_ was sure he did +think you fit to be his wife, and did mean to speak very soon." + +Phebe made no answer for a moment, seeming to forget the small success +in the greater one which followed, and to comfort her sore heart with +the knowledge that Rose was right. + +"_He_ sent the flowers; _he_ came for me, and, on the way home, showed +me how wrong I had been to doubt him for an hour. Don't ask me to tell +that part, but be sure _I_ was the happiest creature in the world +then." And Phebe hid her face again, all wet with tender tears, that +fell soft and sudden as a summer shower. + +Rose let them flow undisturbed, while she silently caressed the bent +head; wondering, with a wistful look in her own wet eyes, what this +mysterious passion was, which could so move, ennoble, and beautify the +beings whom it blessed. + +An impertinent little clock upon the chimney-piece striking eleven +broke the silence, and reminded Phebe that she could not indulge in +love-dreams there. She started up, brushed off her tears, and said +resolutely,-- + +"That is enough for to-night. Go happily to bed, and leave the +troubles for to-morrow." + +"But, Phebe, I must know what you said," cried Rose, like a child +defrauded of half its bedtime story. + +"I said 'No.'" + +"Ah! but it will change to 'Yes' by and by; I'm sure of that: so I'll +let you go to dream of 'him.' The Campbells _are_ rather proud of +being descendants of Robert Bruce; but they have common-sense and love +you dearly, as you'll see to-morrow." + +"Perhaps." And, with a good-night kiss, poor Phebe went away, to lie +awake till dawn. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +_BREAKERS AHEAD._ + + +Anxious to smooth the way for Phebe, Rose was up betimes, and slipped +into Aunt Plenty's room before the old lady had got her cap on. + +"Aunty, I've something pleasant to tell you; and, while you listen, +I'll brush your hair, as you like to have me," she began, well aware +that the proposed process was a very soothing one. + +"Yes, dear: only don't be too particular, because I'm late and must +hurry down, or Jane won't get things straight; and it does fidget me +to have the salt-cellars uneven, the tea-strainer forgotten, and your +uncle's paper not aired," returned Miss Plenty, briskly unrolling the +two gray curls she wore at her temples. + +Then Rose, brushing away at the scanty back-hair, led skilfully up to +the crisis of her tale by describing Phebe's panic and brave efforts +to conquer it; all about the flowers Archie sent her; and how Steve +forgot, and dear, thoughtful Archie took his place. So far it went +well, and Aunt Plenty was full of interest, sympathy, and approbation; +but when Rose added, as if it was quite a matter of course, "So, on +the way home, he told her he loved her," a great start twitched the +gray locks out of her hands as the old lady turned round, with the +little curls standing erect, exclaiming, in undisguised dismay,-- + +"Not seriously, Rose?" + +"Yes, Aunty, very seriously. He never jokes about such things." + +"Mercy on us! what _shall_ we do about it?" + +"Nothing, ma'am, but be as glad as we ought, and congratulate him as +soon as she says 'Yes.'" + +"Do you mean to say she didn't accept at once?" + +"She never will if we don't welcome her as kindly as if she belonged +to one of our best families, and I don't blame her." + +"I'm glad the girl has so much sense. Of course we can't do any thing +of the sort; and I'm surprised at Archie's forgetting what he owes to +the family in this rash manner. Give me my cap, child: I must speak to +Alec at once." And Aunt Plenty twisted her hair into a button at the +back of her head with one energetic twirl. + +"Do speak kindly, Aunty, and remember that it was not Phebe's fault. +She never thought of this till very lately, and began at once to +prepare for going away," said Rose, pleadingly. + +"She ought to have gone long ago. I told Myra we should have trouble +somewhere as soon as I saw what a good-looking creature she was; and +here it is as bad as can be. Dear, dear! why can't young people have a +little prudence?" + +"I don't see that any one need object if Uncle Jem and Aunt Jessie +approve; and I do think it will be very, very unkind to scold poor +Phebe for being well-bred, pretty, and good, after doing all we could +to make her so." + +"Child, you don't understand these things yet; but you ought to feel +your duty toward your family, and do all you can to keep the name as +honorable as it always has been. What do you suppose our blessed +ancestress, Lady Marget, would say to our oldest boy taking a wife +from the poor-house?" + +As she spoke, Miss Plenty looked up, almost apprehensively, at one of +the wooden-faced old portraits with which her room was hung, as if +asking pardon of the severe-nosed matron, who stared back at her from +under the sort of blue dish-cover which formed her head-gear. + +"As Lady Marget died about two hundred years ago, I don't care a pin +what she would say; especially as she looks like a very narrow-minded, +haughty woman. But I do care very much what Miss Plenty Campbell says; +for _she_ is a very sensible, generous, discreet, and dear old lady, +who wouldn't hurt a fly, much less a good and faithful girl who has +been a sister to me. Would she?" entreated Rose, knowing well that the +elder aunt led all the rest more or less. + +But Miss Plenty had her cap on now, and consequently felt herself +twice the woman she was without it; so she not only gave it a somewhat +belligerent air by setting it well up, but she shook her head +decidedly, smoothed down her stiff white apron, and stood up as if +ready for battle. + +"I shall do my duty, Rose, and expect the same of others. Don't say +any more now: I must turn the matter over in my mind; for it has come +upon me suddenly, and needs serious consideration." + +With which unusually solemn address, she took up her keys and trotted +away, leaving her niece to follow with an anxious countenance, +uncertain whether her championship had done good or ill to the cause +she had at heart. + +She was much cheered by the sound of Phebe's voice in the study; for +Rose was sure that if Uncle Alec was on their side all would be well. +But the clouds lowered again when they came in to breakfast: for +Phebe's heavy eyes and pale cheeks did not look encouraging; while Dr. +Alec was as sober as a judge, and sent an inquiring glance toward Rose +now and then as if curious to discover how she bore the news. + +An uncomfortable meal, though all tried to seem as usual, and talked +over last night's events with all the interest they could. But the old +peace was disturbed by a word, as a pebble thrown into a quiet pool +sends tell-tale circles rippling its surface far and wide. Aunt +Plenty, while "turning the subject over in her mind," also seemed +intent on upsetting every thing she touched, and made sad havoc in her +tea-tray; Dr. Alec unsociably read his paper; Rose, having salted +instead of sugared her oatmeal, absently ate it feeling that the +sweetness had gone out of every thing; and Phebe, after choking down a +cup of tea and crumbling a roll, excused herself, and went away, +sternly resolving not to be a bone of contention to this beloved +family. + +As soon as the door was shut, Rose pushed away her plate, and going to +Dr. Alec peeped over the paper with such an anxious face that he put +it down at once. + +"Uncle, this is a serious matter, and _we_ must take our stand at +once; for you are Phebe's guardian and I am her sister," began Rose, +with pretty solemnity. "You have often been disappointed in me," she +continued, "but I know I never shall be in you; because you are too +wise and good to let any worldly pride or prudence spoil your sympathy +with Archie and our Phebe. You won't desert them, will you?" + +"Never!" answered Dr. Alec, with gratifying energy. + +"Thank you! thank you!" cried Rose. "Now, if I have you and aunty on +my side, I'm not afraid of anybody." + +"Gently, gently, child. I don't intend to desert the lovers; but I +certainly shall advise them to consider well what they are about. I'll +own I _am_ rather disappointed; because Archie is young to decide his +life in this way, and Phebe's career seemed settled in another +fashion. Old people don't like to have their plans upset, you know," +he added, more lightly; for Rose's face fell as he went on. + +"Old people shouldn't plan too much for the young ones then. We are +very grateful, I'm sure; but we cannot always be disposed of in the +most prudent and sensible way; so don't set your hearts on little +arrangements of that sort, I beg," and Rose looked wondrous wise; for +she could not help suspecting even her best uncle of "plans" in her +behalf. + +"You are quite right: we shouldn't; yet it is very hard to help it," +confessed Dr. Alec, with a conscious air; and, returning hastily to +the lovers, he added kindly,-- + +"I was much pleased with the straightforward way in which Phebe came +to me this morning, and told me all about it, as if I really was her +guardian. She did not own it in words: but it was perfectly evident +that she loves Archie with all her heart; yet, knowing the objections +which will be made, very sensibly and bravely proposes to go away at +once, and end the matter,--as if that were possible, poor child," and +the tender-hearted man gave a sigh of sympathy that did Rose good to +hear, and mollified her rising indignation at the bare idea of ending +Phebe's love affairs in such a summary way. + +"You don't think she ought to go, I hope?" + +"I think she will go." + +"We must not let her." + +"We have no right to keep her." + +"O uncle! surely we have! Our Phebe, whom we all love so much." + +"You forget that she is a woman now, and we have no claim upon her. +Because we've befriended her for years is the very reason we should +not make our benefits a burden, but leave her free; and, if she +chooses to do this in spite of Archie, we must let her with a +God-speed." + +Before Rose could answer, Aunt Plenty spoke out like one having +authority; for old-fashioned ways were dear to her soul, and she +thought even love affairs should be conducted with a proper regard to +the powers that be. + +"The family must talk the matter over and decide what is best for the +children, who of course will listen to reason and do nothing +ill-advised. For my part, I am quite upset by the news, but shall not +commit myself till I've seen Jessie and the boy. Jane, clear away, and +bring me the hot water." + +That ended the morning conference; and, leaving the old lady to soothe +her mind by polishing spoons and washing cups, Rose went away to find +Phebe, while the doctor retired to laugh over the downfall of brother +Mac's match-making schemes. + +The Campbells did not gossip about their concerns in public; but, +being a very united family, it had long been the custom to "talk over" +any interesting event which occurred to any member thereof, and every +one gave his or her opinion, advice, or censure with the utmost +candor. Therefore the first engagement, if such it could be called, +created a great sensation, among the aunts especially; and they were +in as much of a flutter as a flock of maternal birds when their young +begin to hop out of the nest. So at all hours the excellent ladies +were seen excitedly nodding their caps together, as they discussed the +affair in all its bearings, without ever arriving at any unanimous +decision. + +The boys took it much more calmly. Mac was the only one who came out +strongly in Archie's favor. Charlie thought the Chief ought to do +better, and called Phebe "a siren, who had bewitched the sage youth." +Steve was scandalized, and delivered long orations upon one's duty to +society, keeping the old name up, and the danger of _mésalliances_; +while all the time he secretly sympathized with Archie, being much +smitten with Kitty Van himself. Will and Geordie, unfortunately home +for the holidays, considered it "a jolly lark;" and little Jamie +nearly drove his elder brother distracted by curious inquiries as to +"how folks felt when they were in love." + +Uncle Mac's dismay was so comical that it kept Dr. Alec in good +spirits; for he alone knew how deep was the deluded man's chagrin at +the failure of the little plot which he fancied was prospering finely. + +"I'll never set my heart on any thing of the sort again; and the young +rascals may marry whom they like. I'm prepared for any thing now: so +if Steve brings home the washerwoman's daughter, and Mac runs away +with our pretty chamber-maid, I shall say, 'Bless you my children,' +with mournful resignation; for, upon my soul, that is all that's left +for a modern parent to do." + +With which tragic burst, poor Uncle Mac washed his hands of the whole +affair, and buried himself in the counting-house while the storm +raged. + +About this time, Archie might have echoed Rose's childish wish, that +she had not _quite_ so many aunts; for the tongues of those interested +relatives made sad havoc with his little romance, and caused him to +long fervently for a desert island, where he could woo and win his +love in delicious peace. That nothing of the sort was possible soon +became evident; since every word uttered only confirmed Phebe's +resolution to go away, and proved to Rose how mistaken she had been in +believing that she could bring every one to her way of thinking. + +Prejudices are unmanageable things; and the good aunts, like most +women, possessed a plentiful supply: so Rose found it like beating her +head against a wall to try and convince them that Archie was wise in +loving poor Phebe. His mother, who had hoped to have Rose for her +daughter,--not because of her fortune, but the tender affection she +felt for her,--put away her disappointment without a word, and +welcomed Phebe as kindly as she could for her boy's sake. But the girl +felt the truth with the quickness of a nature made sensitive by love, +and clung to her resolve all the more tenaciously, though grateful for +the motherly words that would have been so sweet if genuine happiness +had prompted them. + +Aunt Jane called it romantic nonsense, and advised strong +measures,--"kind, but firm, Jessie." Aunt Clara was sadly distressed +about "what people would say" if one of "our boys" married a nobody's +daughter. And Aunt Myra not only seconded her views by painting +portraits of Phebe's unknown relations in the darkest colors, but +uttered direful prophecies regarding the disreputable beings who would +start up in swarms the moment the girl made a good match. + +These suggestions so wrought upon Aunt Plenty that she turned a deaf +ear to the benevolent emotions native to her breast, and taking +refuge behind "our blessed ancestress, Lady Marget," refused to +sanction any engagement which could bring discredit upon the stainless +name which was her pride. + +So it all ended where it began; for Archie steadily refused to listen +to any one but Phebe, and she as steadily reiterated her bitter "No;" +fortifying herself half unconsciously with the hope that, by and by, +when she had won a name, fate might be kinder. + +While the rest talked, she had been working; for every hour showed her +that her instinct had been a true one, and pride would not let her +stay, though love pleaded eloquently. So, after a Christmas any thing +but merry, Phebe packed her trunks, rich in gifts from those who +generously gave her all but the one thing she desired; and, with a +pocketful of letters to people who could further her plans, she went +away to seek her fortune, with a brave face and a very heavy heart. + +"Write often, and let me know all you do, my Phebe; and remember I +shall never be contented till you come back again," whispered Rose, +clinging to her till the last. + +"She _will_ come back; for in a year I'm going to bring her home, +please God," said Archie, pale with the pain of parting, but as +resolute as she. + +"I'll earn my welcome: then perhaps it will be easier for them to give +and me to receive it," answered Phebe, with a backward glance at the +group of caps in the hall, as she went down the steps on Dr. Alec's +arm. + +"You earned it long ago, and it is always waiting for you while I am +here. Remember that, and God bless you, my good girl," he said, with a +paternal kiss that warmed her heart. + +"I never shall forget it!" and Phebe never did. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +_NEW-YEAR'S CALLS._ + + +"Now I'm going to turn over a new leaf, as I promised. I wonder what I +shall find on the next page?" said Rose, coming down on New-Year's +morning, with a serious face, and a thick letter in her hand. + +"Tired of frivolity, my dear?" asked her uncle, pausing, in his walk +up and down the hall, to glance at her with the quick, bright look she +liked to bring into his eyes. + +"No, sir, and that's the sad part of it; but I've made up my mind to +stop while I can, because I'm sure it is not good for me. I've had +some very sober thoughts lately; for, since my Phebe went away, I've +had no heart for gayety: so it is a good place to stop and make a +fresh start," answered Rose, taking his arm, and walking on with him. + +"An excellent time! Now, how are you going to fill the aching void?" +he asked, well pleased. + +"By trying to be as unselfish, brave, and good as she is." And Rose +held the letter against her bosom with a tender touch, for Phebe's +strength had inspired her with a desire to be as self-reliant. "I'm +going to set about living in earnest, as she has; though I think it +will be harder for me than for her, because she stands alone, and has +a career marked out for her. I'm nothing but a common-place sort of +girl, with no end of relations to be consulted every time I wink, and +a dreadful fortune hanging like a millstone round my neck, to weigh me +down if I try to fly. It is a hard case, uncle, and I get low in my +mind when I think about it," sighed Rose, oppressed with her +blessings. + +"Afflicted child! how can I relieve you?" And there was amusement as +well as sympathy in Dr. Alec's face, as he patted the hand upon his +arm. + +"Please don't laugh, for I really _am_ trying to be good. In the first +place, help me to wean myself from foolish pleasures, and show me how +to occupy my thoughts and time so that I may not idle about and dream, +instead of doing great things." + +"Good! we'll begin at once. Come to town with me this morning, and see +your houses. They are all ready, and Mrs. Gardener has half a dozen +poor souls waiting to go in as soon as you give the word," answered +the doctor, promptly, glad to get his girl back again, though not +surprised that she still looked with regretful eyes at the Vanity +Fair, always so enticing when we are young. + +"I'll give it to-day, and make the new year a happy one to those poor +souls at least. I'm so sorry that it's impossible for me to go with +you, but you know I must help Aunty Plen receive. We haven't been here +for so long that she has set her heart on having a grand time to-day; +and I particularly want to please her, because I have not been as +amiable as I ought lately. I really couldn't forgive her for siding +against Phebe." + +"She did what she thought was right: so we must not blame her. I am +going to make my New-Year's calls to-day; and, as my friends live down +that way, I'll get the list of names from Mrs. G., and tell the poor +ladies, with Miss Campbell's compliments, that their new home is +ready. Shall I?" + +"Yes, uncle, but take all the credit to yourself; for I never should +have thought of it if you had not proposed the plan." + +"Bless your heart! I'm only your agent, and suggest now and then. I've +nothing to offer but advice: so I lavish that on all occasions." + +"You have nothing because you've given your substance all away as +generously as you do your advice. Never mind: you shall never come to +want while I live. I'll save enough for us two, though I do make +'ducks and drakes of my fortune.'" + +Dr. Alec laughed at the toss of the head with which she quoted +Charlie's offensive words, then offered to take the letter, saying, as +he looked at his watch,-- + +"I'll post that for you in time for the early mail. I like a run +before breakfast." + +But Rose held her letter fast, dimpling with sudden smiles, half merry +and half shy. + +"No, thank you, sir: Archie likes to do that, and never fails to call +for all I write. He gets a peep at Phebe's in return, and I cheer him +up a bit; for, though he says nothing, he has a hard time of it, poor +fellow." + +"How many letters in five days?" + +"Four, sir, to me: she doesn't write to him, uncle." + +"As yet. Well, you show hers: so it's all right; and you are a set of +sentimental youngsters." And the doctor walked away, looking as if he +enjoyed the sentiment as much as any of them. + +Old Miss Campbell was nearly as great a favorite as young Miss +Campbell; so a succession of black coats and white gloves flowed in +and out of the hospitable mansion pretty steadily all day. The clan +were out in great force, and came by instalments to pay their duty to +Aunt Plenty, and wish the compliments of the season to "our cousin." +Archie appeared first, looking sad but steadfast, and went away with +Phebe's letter in his left breast-pocket; feeling that life was still +endurable, though his love was torn from him: for Rose had many +comfortable things to say, and read him delicious bits from the +voluminous correspondence lately begun. + +Hardly was he gone, when Will and Geordie came marching in, looking as +fine as gray uniforms with much scarlet piping could make them, and +feeling peculiarly important, as this was their first essay in +New-Year's call-making. Brief was their stay, for they planned to +visit every friend they had; and Rose could not help laughing at the +droll mixture of manly dignity and boyish delight with which they +drove off in their own carriage, both as erect as ramrods, arms +folded, and caps stuck at exactly the same angle on each blonde head. + +"Here comes the other couple,--Steve, in full feather, with a big +bouquet for Kitty; and poor Mac, looking like a gentleman and feeling +like a martyr, I'm sure," said Rose, watching one carriage turn in as +the other turned out of the great gate, with its arch of holly, ivy, +and evergreen. + +"Here he is: I've got him in tow for the day, and want you to cheer +him up with a word of praise; for he came without a struggle, though +planning to bolt somewhere with uncle," cried Steve, falling back to +display his brother, who came in, looking remarkably well in his state +and festival array; for polishing began to tell. + +"A happy New Year, aunty; same to you, cousin, and best wishes for as +many more as you deserve," said Mac, heeding Steve no more than if he +had been a fly, as he gave the old lady a hearty kiss, and offered +Rose a quaint little nosegay of pansies. + +"Heart's-ease: do you think I need it?" she asked, looking up with +sudden sobriety. + +"We all do. Could I give you any thing better on a day like this?" + +"No: thank you very much," and a sudden dew came to Rose's eyes; for, +though often blunt in speech, when Mac did do a tender thing, it +always touched her; because he seemed to understand her moods so well. + +"Has Archie been here? He said he shouldn't go anywhere else; but I +hope you talked that nonsense out of his head," said Steve, settling +his tie before the mirror. + +"Yes, dear, he came; but looked so out of spirits, I really felt +reproached. Rose cheered him up a little: but I don't believe he will +feel equal to making calls, and I hope he won't; for his face tells +the whole story much too plainly," answered Aunt Plenty, rustling +about her bountiful table in her richest black silk, with all her old +lace on. + +"Oh, he'll get over it in a month or two, and Phebe will soon find +another lover; so don't be worried about him, aunty," said Steve, with +the air of a man who knew all about that sort of thing. + +"If Archie does forget, I shall despise him; and I know Phebe won't +try to find another lover, though she'll probably have them: she is +so sweet and good!" cried Rose, indignantly; for, having taken the +pair under her protection, she defended them valiantly. + +"Then you'd have Arch hope against hope, and never give up, would +you?" asked Mac, putting on his glasses to survey the thin boots which +were his especial abomination. + +"Yes, I would! for a lover is not worth having if he's not in +earnest." + +"Exactly: so you'd like them to wait and work and keep on loving till +they made you relent, or plainly proved that it was no use." + +"If they were good as well as constant, I think I should relent in +time." + +"I'll mention that to Pemberton; for he seemed to be hit the hardest, +and a ray of hope will do him good, whether he is equal to the ten +years' wait or not," put in Steve, who liked to rally Rose about her +lovers. + +"I'll never forgive you if you say a word to any one. It is only Mac's +odd way of asking questions, and I ought not to answer them. You +_will_ talk about such things, and I can't stop you; but I don't like +it," said Rose, much annoyed. + +"Poor little Penelope! she shall not be teased about her suitors, but +left in peace till her Ulysses comes home," said Mac, sitting down to +read the mottoes sticking out of certain fanciful bonbons on the +table. + +"It is this fuss about Archie which has demoralized us all. Even the +owl waked up, and hasn't got over the excitement yet, you see. He's +had no experience, poor fellow; so he doesn't know how to behave," +observed Steve, regarding his bouquet with tender interest. + +"That's true; and I asked for information, because I may be in love +myself some day, and all this will be useful, don't you see?" + +"You in love!" and Steve could not restrain a laugh at the idea of the +bookworm a slave to the tender passion. + +Quite unruffled, Mac leaned his chin in both hands, regarding them +with a meditative eye, and he answered in his whimsical way,-- + +"Why not? I intend to study love as well as medicine; for it is one of +the most mysterious and remarkable diseases that afflict mankind, and +the best way to understand it is to have it. I may catch it some day, +and then I should like to know how to treat and cure it." + +"If you take it as badly as you did measles and hooping-cough, it will +go hard with you, old fellow," said Steve, much amused with the fancy. + +"I want it to: no great experience comes or goes easily; and this is +the greatest we can know, I believe, except death." + +Something in Mac's quiet tone and thoughtful eyes made Rose look at +him in surprise; for she had never heard him speak in that way before. +Steve also stared for an instant, equally amazed; then said below his +breath, with an air of mock anxiety,-- + +"He's been catching something at the hospital, typhoid probably, and +is beginning to wander. I'll take him quietly away before he gets any +wilder. Come, old lunatic, we must be off." + +"Don't be alarmed: I'm all right and much obliged for your advice; for +I fancy I shall be a desperate lover when my time comes, if it ever +does. You don't think it impossible, do you?" and Mac put the question +so soberly that there was a general smile. + +"Certainly not: you'll be a regular Douglas, tender and true," +answered Rose, wondering what queer question would come next. + +"Thank you. The fact is, I've been with Archie so much in his trouble +lately that I've got interested in this matter, and very naturally +want to investigate the subject as every rational man must, sooner or +later: that's all. Now, Steve, I'm ready," and Mac got up as if the +lesson was over. + +"My dear, that boy is either a fool or a genius, and I'm sure I should +be glad to know which," said Aunt Plenty, putting her bonbons to +rights with a puzzled shake of her best cap. + +"Time will show; but I incline to think that he is not a fool by any +means," answered the girl, pulling a cluster of white roses out of her +bosom to make room for the pansies, though they did not suit the blue +gown half so well. + +Just then Aunt Jessie came in to help them receive, with Jamie to make +himself generally useful; which he proceeded to do by hovering round +the table like a fly about a honey-pot, when not flattening his nose +against the window-panes, to announce excitedly, "Here's another man +coming up the drive!" + +Charlie arrived next, in his most sunshiny humor; for any thing social +and festive was his delight, and when in this mood the Prince was +quite irresistible. He brought a pretty bracelet for Rose, and was +graciously allowed to put it on, while she chid him gently for his +extravagance. + +"I am only following your example; for, you know, 'nothing is too good +for those we love, and giving away is the best thing one can do,'" he +retorted, quoting words of her own. + +"I wish you would follow my example in some other things as well as +you do in this," said Rose, soberly, as Aunt Plenty called him to come +and see if the punch was right. + +"Must conform to the customs of society. Aunty's heart would be +broken, if we did not drink her health in the good old fashion. But +don't be alarmed: I've a strong head of my own, and that's lucky; for +I shall need it before I get through," laughed Charlie, showing a long +list, as he turned away to gratify the old lady with all sorts of +merry and affectionate compliments as the glasses touched. + +Rose did feel rather alarmed; for, if he drank the health of all the +owners of those names, she felt sure that Charlie would need a very +strong head indeed. It was hard to say any thing, then and there, +without seeming disrespect to Aunt Plenty: yet she longed to remind +her cousin of the example she tried to set him in this respect; for +Rose never touched wine, and the boys knew it. She was thoughtfully +turning the bracelet with its pretty device of turquoise +forget-me-nots, when the giver came back to her, still bubbling over +with good spirits. + +"Dear little saint, you look as if you'd like to smash all the +punch-bowls in the city, and save us jolly young fellows from +to-morrow's headache." + +"I should; for such headaches sometimes end in heartaches, I'm afraid. +Dear Charlie, don't be angry; but you know better than I that this is +a dangerous day for such as you: so do be careful for my sake," she +added, with an unwonted touch of tenderness in her voice; for, looking +at the gallant figure before her, it was impossible to repress the +womanly longing to keep it always as brave and blithe as now. + +Charlie saw that new softness in the eyes that never looked unkindly +on him, fancied that it meant more than it did, and, with a sudden +fervor in his own voice, answered quickly,-- + +"My darling, I will!" + +The glow which had risen to his face was reflected in hers; for at +that moment it seemed as if it would be possible to love this cousin, +who was so willing to be led by her, and so much needed some helpful +influence to make a noble man of him. The thought came and went like +a flash; but gave her a quick heart-throb, as if the old affection was +trembling on the verge of some warmer sentiment, and left her with a +sense of responsibility never felt before. Obeying the impulse, she +said, with a pretty blending of earnestness and playfulness,-- + +"If I wear the bracelet to remember you by, you must wear this to +remind you of your promise." + +"And you," whispered Charlie, bending his head to kiss the hands that +put a little white rose in his button-hole. + +Just at that most interesting moment, they became aware of an arrival +in the front drawing-room, whither Aunt Plenty had discreetly retired. +Rose felt grateful for the interruption; because, not being at all +sure of the state of her heart as yet, she was afraid of letting a +sudden impulse lead her too far. But Charlie, conscious that a very +propitious instant had been spoilt, regarded the newcomer with any +thing but a benignant expression of countenance; and whispering, +"Good-by, my Rose, I shall look in this evening to see how you are +after the fatigues of the day," he went away, with such a cool nod to +poor Fun See that the amiable Asiatic thought he must have mortally +offended him. + +Rose had little leisure to analyze the new emotions of which she was +conscious: for Mr. Tokio came up at once to make his compliments with +a comical mingling of Chinese courtesy and American awkwardness; and +before he had got his hat on Jamie shouted with admiring energy,-- + +"Here's another! Oh, such a swell!" + +They now came thick and fast for many hours; and the ladies stood +bravely at their posts till late into the evening. Then Aunt Jessie +went home, escorted by a very sleepy little son, and Aunt Plenty +retired to bed used up. Dr. Alec had returned in good season; for +_his_ friends were not fashionable ones: but Aunt Myra had sent up for +him in hot haste, and he had good-naturedly obeyed the summons. In +fact, he was quite used to them now; for Mrs. Myra, having tried a +variety of dangerous diseases, had finally decided upon +heart-complaint as the one most likely to keep her friends in a +chronic state of anxiety, and was continually sending word that she +was dying. One gets used to palpitations as well as every thing else; +so the doctor felt no alarm, but always went, and prescribed some +harmless remedy with the most amiable sobriety and patience. + +Rose was tired, but not sleepy, and wanted to think over several +things; so instead of going to bed she sat down before the open fire +in the study to wait for her uncle, and perhaps Charlie, though she +did not expect him so late. + +Aunt Myra's palpitations must have been unusually severe; for the +clock struck twelve before Dr. Alec came, and Rose was preparing to +end her reverie, when the sound of some one fumbling at the hall-door +made her jump up, saying to herself,-- + +"Poor man! his hands are so cold he can't get his latch-key in. Is +that you, uncle?" she added, running to admit him; for Jane was slow, +and the night as bitter as it was brilliant. + +A voice answered "Yes," and as the door swung open in walked,--not Dr. +Alec, but Charlie, who immediately took one of the hall chairs, and +sat there with his hat on, rubbing his gloveless hands, and blinking +as if the light dazzled him, as he said in a rapid, abrupt sort of +tone,-- + +"I told you I'd come--left the fellows keeping it up gloriously--going +to see the old year out, you know. But I promised--never break my +word--and here I am. Angel in blue, did you slay your thousands?" + +"Hush! the waiters are still about: come to the study fire and warm +yourself; you must be frozen," said Rose, going before to roll up the +easy-chair. + +"Not at all--never warmer--looks very comfortable, though. Where's +uncle?" asked Charlie, following with his hat still on, his hands in +his pockets, and his eye fixed steadily on the bright head in front of +him. + +"Aunt Myra sent for him, and I was waiting up to see how she was," +answered Rose, busily mending the fire. + +Charlie laughed, and sat down upon a corner of the library table. +"Poor old soul! what a pity she doesn't die before he is quite worn +out. A little too much ether some of these times would send her off +quite comfortably, you know." + +"Don't speak in that way. Uncle says imaginary troubles are often as +hard to bear as real ones," said Rose, turning round displeased. + +Till now she had not fairly looked at him; for recollections of the +morning made her a little shy. His attitude and appearance surprised +her as much as his words, and the quick change in her face seemed to +remind him of his manners. Getting up, he hastily took off his hat, +and stood looking at her with a curiously fixed yet absent look, as he +said in the same rapid, abrupt way, as if, when once started, he found +it hard to stop,-- + +"I beg pardon--only joking--very bad taste I know, and won't do it +again. The heat of the room makes me a little dizzy, and I think I got +a chill coming out. It _is_ cold--I _am_ frozen, I dare say--though I +drove like the devil." + +"Not that bad horse of yours, I hope? I know it is dangerous, so late +and alone," said Rose, shrinking behind the big chair, as Charlie +approached the fire, carefully avoiding a footstool in his way. + +"Danger is exciting--that's why I like it. No man ever called me a +coward--let him try it once. I never give in--and that horse shall +_not_ conquer me. I'll break his neck, if he breaks my spirit doing +it. No--I don't mean that--never mind--it's all right," and Charlie +laughed in a way that troubled her, because there was no mirth in it. + +"Have you had a pleasant day?" asked Rose, looking at him intently, as +he stood pondering over the cigar and match which he held, as if +doubtful which to strike and which to smoke. + +"Day? oh, yes, capital. About two thousand calls, and a nice little +supper at the Club. Randal can't sing any more than a crow; but I left +him with a glass of champagne upside-down trying to give them my old +favorite,-- + + "''Tis better to laugh than be sighing;'" + +and Charlie burst forth in that bacchanalian melody at the top of his +voice, waving an allumette-holder over his head to represent Randal's +inverted wine-glass. + +"Hush! you'll wake aunty," cried Rose, in a tone so commanding that he +broke off in the middle of a _roulade_ to stare at her with a blank +look, as he said apologetically,-- + +"I was merely showing how it should be done. Don't be angry, +dearest--look at me as you did this morning, and I'll swear never to +sing another note if you say so. I'm only a little gay--we drank your +health handsomely, and they all congratulated me. Told 'em it wasn't +out yet. Stop, though--I didn't mean to mention that. No matter--I'm +always in a scrape; but you always forgive me in the sweetest way. Do +it now, and don't be angry, little darling;" and, dropping the vase, +he went toward her with a sudden excitement that made her shrink +behind the chair. + +She was not angry, but shocked and frightened; for she knew now what +the matter was, and grew so pale he saw it, and asked pardon before +she could utter a rebuke. + +"We'll talk of that to-morrow: it is very late; go home, now, please, +before uncle comes," she said, trying to speak naturally; yet +betraying her distress by the tremor of her voice, and the sad anxiety +in her eyes. + +"Yes, yes, I will go--you are tired--I'll make it all right +to-morrow;" and, as if the sound of his uncle's name steadied him for +an instant, Charlie made for the door with an unevenness of gait which +would have told the shameful truth, if his words had not already done +so. Before he reached it, however, the sound of wheels arrested him; +and, leaning against the wall, he listened with a look of dismay +mingled with amusement creeping over his face. "Brutus has bolted--now +I _am_ in a fix. Can't walk home with this horrid dizziness in my +head. It's the cold, Rose, nothing else, I do assure you; and a +chill--yes, a chill. See here! let one of those fellows there lend me +an arm--no use to go after that brute. Won't mother be frightened +though, when he gets home?" and with that empty laugh again, he +fumbled for the door-handle. + +"No, no: don't let them see you! don't let any one know! Stay here +till uncle comes, and he'll take care of you. O Charlie! how could you +do it! how could you when you promised?" and, forgetting fear in the +sudden sense of shame and anguish that came over her, Rose ran to him, +caught his hand from the lock, and turned the key; then, as if she +could not bear to see him standing there with that vacant smile upon +his lips, she dropped into a chair and covered up her face. + +The cry, the act, and more than all, the sight of the bowed head would +have sobered poor Charlie, if it had not been too late. He looked +about the room, with a vague, despairing look, as if to find the +reason fast slipping from his control: but heat and cold, excitement +and reckless pledging of many healths, had done their work too well to +make instant sobriety possible; and owning his defeat with a groan, he +turned away and threw himself face-downward on the sofa; one of the +saddest sights the new year looked upon as it came in. + +As she sat there with hidden eyes, Rose felt that something dear to +her was dead for ever. The ideal, which all women cherish, look for, +and too often think they have found when love glorifies a mortal man, +is hard to give up, especially when it comes in the likeness of the +first lover who touches a young girl's heart. Rose had just begun to +feel that perhaps this cousin, despite his faults, might yet become +the hero that he sometimes looked; and the thought that she might be +his inspiration was growing sweet to her, although she had not +entertained it until very lately. Alas, how short the tender dream had +been, how rude the awakening! how impossible it would be ever again +to surround that fallen figure with all the romance of an innocent +fancy, or gift it with the high attributes beloved by a noble nature! + +Breathing heavily in the sudden sleep that kindly brought a brief +oblivion of himself, he lay with flushed cheeks, disordered hair, and +at his feet the little rose, that never would be fresh and fair +again,--a pitiful contrast now to the brave, blithe young man who went +so gayly out that morning to be so ignominiously overthrown at night. + +Many girls would have made light of a trespass so readily forgiven by +the world; but Rose had not yet learned to offer temptation with a +smile, and shut her eyes to the weakness that makes a man a brute. It +always grieved or disgusted her to see it in others, and now it was +very terrible to have it brought so near,--not in its worst form, by +any means, but bad enough to wring her heart with shame and sorrow, +and fill her mind with dark forebodings for the future. So she could +only sit mourning for the Charlie that might have been, while watching +the Charlie that was, with an ache at her heart which found no relief +till, putting her hands there as if to ease the pain, they touched the +pansies, faded, but still showing gold among the sombre purple; and +then two great tears dropped on them as she sighed,-- + +"Ah me! I do need heart's-ease sooner than I thought!" + +Her uncle's step made her spring up and unlock the door, showing him +such an altered face that he stopped short, ejaculating in dismay,-- + +"Good heavens, child! what's the matter?" adding, as she pointed to +the sofa in pathetic silence, "Is he hurt?--ill?--dead?" + +"No, uncle: he is--" She could not utter the ugly word, but whispered, +with a sob in her throat, "Be kind to him," and fled away to her own +room, feeling as if a great disgrace had fallen on the house. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +_THE SAD AND SOBER PART._ + + +"How will he look? what will he say? can any thing make us forget and +be happy again?" were the first questions Rose asked herself as soon +as she woke from the brief sleep which followed a long, sad vigil. It +seemed as if the whole world must be changed, because a trouble +darkened it for her. She was too young yet to know how possible it is +to forgive much greater sins than this, forget far heavier +disappointments, outlive higher hopes, and bury loves compared to +which hers was but a girlish fancy. She wished it had not been so +bright a day, wondered how her birds could sing with such shrill +gayety, put no ribbon in her hair, and said, as she looked at the +reflection of her own tired face in the glass,-- + +"Poor thing! you thought the new leaf would have something pleasant on +it. The story has been very sweet and easy to read so far, but the sad +and sober part is coming now." + +A tap at the door reminded her that, in spite of her afflictions, +breakfast must be eaten; and the sudden thought that Charlie might +still be in the house made her hurry to the door, to find Dr. Alec +waiting for her with his morning smile. She drew him in, and whispered +anxiously, as if some one lay dangerously ill near by,-- + +"Is he better, uncle? Tell me all about it: I can bear it now." + +Some men would have smiled at her innocent distress, and told her this +was only what was to be expected and endured; but Dr. Alec believed in +the pure instincts that make youth beautiful, desired to keep them +true, and hoped his girl would never learn to look unmoved by pain and +pity upon any human being vanquished by a vice, no matter how trivial +it seemed, how venial it was held. So his face grew grave, though his +voice was cheerful as he answered,-- + +"All right, I dare say, by this time; for sleep is the best medicine +in such cases. I took him home last night, and no one knows he came +but you and I." + +"No one ever shall. How did you do it, uncle?" + +"Just slipped out of the long study-window, and got him cannily off; +for the air and motion, after a dash of cold water, brought him round, +and he was glad to be safely landed at home. His rooms are below, you +know: so no one was disturbed, and I left him sleeping nicely." + +"Thank you so much," sighed Rose. "And Brutus? weren't they frightened +when he got back alone?" + +"Not at all: the sagacious beast went quietly to the stable, and the +sleepy groom asked no questions; for Charlie often sends the horse +round by himself when it is late or stormy. Rest easy, dear: no eye +but ours saw the poor lad come and go, and we'll forgive it for love's +sake." + +"Yes, but not forget it. _I_ never can; and he will never be again to +me the Charlie I've been so proud and fond of all these years. O +uncle, such a pity! such a pity!" + +"Don't break your tender heart about it, child; for it is not +incurable, thank God! I don't make light of it; but I am sure that +under better influences Charlie will redeem himself, because his +impulses are good, and this his only vice. I can hardly blame him for +what he is, because his mother did the harm. I declare to you, Rose, I +sometimes feel as if I must break out against that woman, and thunder +in her ears that she is ruining the immortal soul for which she is +responsible to heaven." + +Dr. Alec seldom spoke in this way, and when he did it was rather +awful; for his indignation was of the righteous sort, and much thunder +often rouses up a drowsy soul when sunshine has no effect. Rose liked +it, and sincerely wished Aunt Clara had been there to get the benefit +of the outbreak; for she needed just such an awakening from the +self-indulgent dream in which she lived. + +"Do it, and save Charlie before it is too late!" she cried, kindling +herself as she watched him; for he looked like a roused lion, as he +walked about the room, with his hand clenched and a spark in his eye, +evidently in desperate earnest, and ready to do almost any thing. + +"Will you help?" he asked, stopping suddenly, with a look that made +her stand up straight and strong as she answered with an eager +voice,-- + +"I will." + +"Then don't love him--yet." + +That startled her; but she asked steadily, though her heart began to +beat and her color to come,-- + +"Why not?" + +"Firstly, because no woman should give her happiness into the keeping +of a man without fixed principles; secondly, because the hope of being +worthy of you will help him more than any prayers or preaching of +mine. Thirdly, because it will need all our wit and patience to undo +the work of nearly four and twenty years. You understand what I mean?" + +"Yes, sir." + +"Can you say 'No' when he asks you to say 'Yes,' and wait a little for +your happiness?" + +"I can." + +"And will you?" + +"I will." + +"Then I'm satisfied, and a great weight taken off my heart. I can't +help seeing what goes on, or trembling when I think of you setting +sail with no better pilot than poor Charlie. Now you answer as I hoped +you would, and I am proud of my girl!" + +They had been standing with the width of the room between them, Dr. +Alec looking very much like a commander issuing orders, Rose like a +well-drilled private obediently receiving them; and both wore the air +of soldiers getting ready for a battle, with the bracing of nerves and +quickening of the blood brave souls feel as they put on their armor. +At the last words he went to her, brushed back the hair, and kissed +her on the forehead with a tender sort of gravity, and a look that +made her feel as if he had endowed her with the Victoria cross for +courage on the field. + +No more was said then; for Aunt Plenty called them down, and the day's +duties began. But that brief talk showed Rose what to do, and fitted +her to do it; for it set her to thinking of the duty one owes one's +self in loving as in all the other great passions or experiences which +make or mar a life. + +She had plenty of time for quiet meditation that day, because every +one was resting after yesterday's festivity; and she sat in her +little room planning out a new year, so full of good works, grand +successes, and beautiful romances, that if it could have been realized +the Millennium would have begun. It was a great comfort to her, +however, and lightened the long hours haunted by a secret desire to +know when Charlie would come, and a secret fear of the first meeting. +She was sure he would be bowed down with humiliation and repentance, +and a struggle took place in her mind between the pity she could not +help feeling, and the disapprobation she ought to show. She decided to +be gentle, but very frank; to reprove, but also to console, and try to +improve the softened moment by inspiring the culprit with a wish for +all the virtues which make a perfect man. + +This fond delusion grew quite absorbing, and her mind was full of it +as she sat watching the sun set from her western window, and admiring +with dreamy eyes the fine effect of the distant hills clear and dark +against a daffodil sky, when the bang of a door made her sit suddenly +erect in her low chair, and say with a catch in her breath,-- + +"He is coming! I must remember what I promised uncle, and be very +firm." + +Usually Charlie announced his approach with music of some sort: now he +neither whistled, hummed, nor sung, but came so quietly Rose was sure +that he dreaded the meeting as much as she did, and, compassionating +his natural confusion, did not look round as the steps drew near. She +thought perhaps he would go down upon his knees, as he used to after a +boyish offence, but hoped not; for too much humility distressed her: +so she waited for the first demonstration anxiously. + +It was rather a shock when it came, however; for a great nosegay +dropped into her lap, and a voice, bold and gay as usual, said +lightly,-- + +"Here she is, as pretty and pensive as you please. Is the world +hollow, our doll stuffed with sawdust, and do we want to go into a +nunnery to-day, cousin?" + +Rose was so taken aback by this unexpected coolness that the flowers +lay unnoticed, as she looked up with a face so full of surprise, +reproach, and something like shame, that it was impossible to mistake +its meaning. Charlie did not; and had the grace to redden deeply, and +his eyes fell, as he said quickly, though in the same light tone,-- + +"I humbly apologize for--coming so late last night. Don't be hard upon +me, cousin: you know America expects every man to do his duty on +New-Year's day." + +"I am tired of forgiving! You make and break promises as easily as you +did years ago, and I shall never ask you for another," answered Rose, +putting the bouquet away; for the apology did not satisfy her, and she +would not be bribed to silence. + +"But, my dear girl, you are so very exacting, so peculiar in your +notions, and so angry about trifles, that a poor fellow can't please +you, try as he will," began Charlie, ill at ease, but too proud to +show half the penitence he felt, not so much for the fault as for her +discovery of it. + +"I am not angry: I am grieved and disappointed; for _I_ expect every +man to do his duty in another way, and keep his word to the uttermost, +as I try to do. If that is exacting, I'm sorry, and won't trouble you +with my old-fashioned notions any more." + +"Bless my soul! what a rout about nothing! I own that I forgot: I know +I acted like a fool, and I beg pardon; what more _can_ I do?" + +"Act like a man, and never let me be so terribly ashamed of you again +as I was last night," and Rose gave a little shiver as she thought of +it. + +That involuntary act hurt Charlie more than her words, and it was his +turn now to feel "terribly ashamed;" for the events of the previous +evening were very hazy in his mind, and fear magnified them greatly. +Turning sharply away, he went and stood by the fire, quite at a loss +how to make his peace this time, because Rose was so unlike herself. +Usually a word of excuse sufficed, and she seemed glad to pardon and +forget; now, though very quiet, there was something almost stern about +her that surprised and daunted him; for how could he know that all the +while her pitiful heart was pleading for him, and the very effort to +control it made her seem a little hard and cold? As he stood there, +restlessly fingering the little ornaments upon the chimney-piece, his +eye brightened suddenly; and, taking up the pretty bracelet lying +there, he went slowly back to her, saying in a tone that was humble +and serious enough now,-- + +"I _will_ act like a man, and you shall never be ashamed again. Only +be kind to me: let me put this on, and promise afresh; this time I +swear I'll keep it. Won't you trust me, Rose?" + +It was very hard to resist the pleading voice and eyes: for this +humility was dangerous; and, but for Uncle Alec, Rose would have +answered "Yes." The blue forget-me-nots reminded her of her own +promise; and she kept it with difficulty now, to be glad always +afterward. Putting back the offered trinket with a gentle touch, she +said firmly, though she dared not look up into the anxious face +bending toward her,-- + +"No, Charlie: I can't wear it yet. My hands must be free if I'm to +help you as I ought. I will be kind; I will trust you: but don't swear +any thing, only try to resist temptation, and we'll all stand by you." + +Charlie did not like that, and lost the ground he had gained by saying +impetuously,-- + +"I don't want any one but you to stand by me, and I must be sure you +won't desert me, else, while I'm mortifying soul and body to please +you, some stranger will come and steal your heart away from me. I +couldn't bear that; so I give you fair warning, in such a case I'll +break the bargain, and go straight to the devil." + +The last sentence spoilt it all; for it was both masterful and +defiant. Rose had the Campbell spirit in her, though it seldom +showed; as yet she valued her liberty more than any love offered her, +and she resented the authority he assumed too soon,--resented it all +the more warmly, because of the effort she was making to reinstate her +hero, who would insist on being a very faulty and ungrateful man. She +rose straight out of her chair, saying with a look and tone which +rather startled her hearer, and convinced him that she was no longer a +tender-hearted child, but a woman with a will of her own, and a spirit +as proud and fiery as any of her race,-- + +"My heart is my own, to dispose of as I please. Don't shut yourself +out of it by presuming too much; for you have no claim on me but that +of cousinship, and you never will have unless you earn it. Remember +that, and neither threaten nor defy me any more." + +For a minute it was doubtful whether Charlie would answer this flash +with another, and a general explosion ensue; or wisely quench the +flame with the mild answer which turneth away wrath. He chose the +latter course, and made it very effective by throwing himself down +before his offended goddess, as he had often done in jest; this time +it was not acting, but serious earnest, and there was real passion in +his voice, as he caught Rose's dress in both hands, saying eagerly,-- + +"No, no! don't shut your heart against me, or I shall turn desperate. +I'm not half good enough for such a saint as you, but you can do what +you will with me. I only need a motive to make a man of me, and where +can I find a stronger one than in trying to keep your love?" + +"It is not yours yet," began Rose, much moved, though all the while +she felt as if she was on a stage, and had a part to play; for Charlie +had made life so like a melodrama that it was hard for him to be quite +simple even when most sincere. + +"Let me earn it, then. Show me how, and I'll do any thing: for you are +my good angel, Rose; and, if you cast me off, I feel as if I shouldn't +care how soon there was an end of me," cried Charlie, getting tragic +in his earnestness, and putting both arms round her, as if his only +safety lay in clinging to this beloved fellow-creature. + +Behind footlights it would have been irresistible; but somehow it did +not touch the one spectator, though she had neither time nor skill to +discover why. For all their ardor the words did not ring quite true: +despite the grace of the attitude, she would have liked him better +manfully erect upon his feet; and, though the gesture was full of +tenderness, a subtle instinct made her shrink away, as she said with a +composure that surprised herself, even more than it did him,-- + +"Please don't. No, I will promise nothing yet; for I must respect the +man I love." + +That brought Charlie to his feet, pale with something deeper than +anger; for the recoil told him more plainly than the words how much he +had fallen in her regard since yesterday. The memory of the happy +moment when she gave the rose with that new softness in her eyes, the +shy color, the sweet "for my sake," came back with sudden vividness, +contrasting sharply with the now averted face, the hand out-stretched +to put him back, the shrinking figure: and in that instant's silence +poor Charlie realized what he had lost; for a girl's first thought of +love is as delicate a thing as the rosy morning-glory, that a breath +of air can shatter. Only a hint of evil, only an hour's debasement for +him, a moment's glimpse for her of the coarser pleasures men know, and +the innocent heart, just opening to bless and to be blessed, closed +again like a sensitive plant, and shut him out perhaps for ever. + +The consciousness of this turned him pale with fear: for his love was +deeper than she knew; and he proved this when he said in a tone so +full of mingled pain and patience that it touched her to the heart,-- + +"You _shall_ respect me if I can make you; and when I've earned it may +I hope for something more?" + +She looked up then, saw in his face the noble shame, the humble sort +of courage, that shows repentance to be genuine, and gives promise of +success, and, with a hopeful smile that was a cordial to him, answered +heartily,-- + +"You may." + +"Bless you for that! I'll make no promises, I'll ask for none: only +trust me, Rose; and, while you treat me like a cousin, remember that +no matter how many lovers you may have, you'll never be to any of +them as dear as you are to me." + +A traitorous break in his voice warned Charlie to stop there: and, +with no other good-by, he very wisely went away, leaving Rose to put +the neglected flowers into water with remorseful care, and lay away +the bracelet, saying to herself,-- + +"I'll never wear it till I feel as I did before; then he shall put it +on, and I'll say 'Yes.'" + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +_SMALL TEMPTATIONS._ + + +"O Rose, I've got something so exciting to tell you!" cried Kitty Van +Tassel, skipping into the carriage next morning when her friend called +for her to go shopping. + +Kitty always did have some "perfectly thrilling" communication to +make, and Rose had learned to take them quietly: but the next +demonstration was a new one; for, regardless alike of curious +observers outside and disordered hats within, Kitty caught Rose round +the neck, exclaiming in a rapturous whisper,-- + +"My dearest creature, I'm engaged!" + +"I'm so glad! Of course it is Steve?" + +"Dear fellow, he did it last night in the nicest way, and mamma is +_so_ delighted. Now what _shall_ I be married in?" and Kitty composed +herself with a face full of the deepest anxiety. + +"How can you talk of that so soon? Why, Kit, you unromantic girl, you +ought to be thinking of your lover and not your clothes," said Rose, +amused, yet rather scandalized at such want of sentiment. + +"I _am_ thinking of my lover; for he says he will _not_ have a long +engagement, so I _must_ begin to think about the most important things +at once, mustn't I?" + +"Ah, he wants to be sure of you; for you are such a slippery creature +he is afraid you'll treat him as you did poor Jackson and the rest," +interrupted Rose, shaking her finger at her prospective cousin, who +had tried this pastime twice before, and was rather proud than +otherwise of her brief engagements. + +"You needn't scold, for I know I'm right; and, when you've been in +society as long as I have, you'll find that the only way to really +know a man is to be engaged to him. While they want you, they are all +devotion; but when they think they've got you, then you find out what +wretches they are," answered Kitty, with an air of worldly wisdom +which contrasted oddly with her youthful face and giddy manners. + +"A sad prospect for poor Steve, unless I give him a hint to look well +to his ways." + +"O my dear child, I'm sure of him; for my experience has made me very +sharp, and I'm convinced I can manage him without a bit of trouble. +We've known each other for ages" (Steve was twenty and Kitty +eighteen), "and always been the best of friends. Besides he is quite +my ideal man: I never _could_ bear big hands and feet, and his are +simply adorable. Then he's the best dancer I know, and dresses in +perfect taste. I really do believe I fell in love with his +pocket-handkerchiefs first; they were so enchanting I couldn't +resist," laughed Kitty, pulling a large one out of her pocket, and +burying her little nose in the folds, which shed a delicious fragrance +upon the air. + +"Now that looks promising, and I begin to think you _have_ got a +little sentiment after all," said Rose, well pleased; for the merry +brown eyes had softened suddenly, and a quick color came up in Kitty's +cheek, as she answered, still half hiding her face in the beloved +handkerchief,-- + +"Of course I have, lots of it; only I'm ashamed to show it to most +people, because it's the style to take every thing in the most +nonchalant way. My gracious, Rose, you'd have thought me a romantic +goose last night while Steve proposed in the back parlor: for I +actually cried; he was so dreadfully in earnest when I pretended that +I didn't care for him, and so very dear and nice when I told the +truth. I didn't know he had it in him; but he came out delightfully, +and never cared a particle, though I dropped tears all over his lovely +shirt-front. Wasn't that good of him? for you know he hates his things +to be mussed." + +"He's a true Campbell, and has got a good warm heart of his own under +those fine fronts of his. Aunt Jane doesn't believe in sentiment, so +he has been trained never to show any: but it is there, and you must +encourage him to let it out; not foolishly, but in a way to make him +more manly and serious." + +"I will if I can; for, though I wouldn't own this to everybody, I like +it in him very much, and feel as if Steve and I should get on +beautifully. Here we are: now be sure not to breathe a word if we meet +any one; I want it to be a profound secret for a week at least," added +Kitty, whisking the handkerchief out of sight, as the carriage stopped +before the fashionable store they were about to visit. + +Rose promised with a smile; for Kitty's face betrayed her without +words, so full was it of the happiness which few eyes fail to +understand wherever they see it. + +"Just a glance at the silks. You ask my opinion about white ones, and +I'll look at the colors. Mamma says satin; but that is out now, and +I've set my heart on the heaviest corded thing I can find," whispered +Kitty, as they went rustling by the long counters strewn with all that +could delight the feminine eye, and tempt the feminine pocket. + +"Isn't that opal the loveliest thing you ever saw? I'm afraid I'm too +dark to wear it, but it would just suit you. You'll need a variety you +know," added Kitty in a significant aside, as Rose stood among the +white silks, while her companion affected great interest in the +delicate hues laid before her. + +"But I have a variety now, and don't need a new dress of any sort." + +"No matter, get it; else it will be gone: you've worn all yours +several times already, and _must_ have a new one whether you need it +or not. Dear me! if I had as much pocket-money as you have, I'd come +out in a fresh toilet at every party I went to," answered Kitty, +casting an envious eye upon the rainbow piles before her. + +The quick-witted shopman saw that a wedding was afoot; for when two +pretty girls whisper, smile, and blush over their shopping, clerks +scent bridal finery, and a transient gleam of interest brightens their +imperturbable countenances, and lends a brief energy to languid voices +weary with crying "Cash!" Gathering both silks with a practised turn +of the hand, he held them up for inspection, detecting at a glance +which was the bride-elect and which the friend; for Kitty fell back to +study the effect of the silvery white folds with an absorbing interest +impossible to mistake, while Rose sat looking at the opal as if she +scarcely heard a bland voice saying, with the rustle of silk so dear +to girlish ears,-- + +"A superb thing; just opened; all the rage in Paris; very rare shade; +trying to most, as the lady says, but quite perfect for a blonde." + +Rose was not listening to those words, but to others which Aunt Clara +had lately uttered; laughed at then, but thought over more than once +since. + +"I'm tired of hearing people wonder why Miss Campbell does not dress +more. Simplicity is all very well for school-girls and women who can't +afford any thing better, but _you_ can, and you really ought. Your +things are pretty enough in their way, and I rather like you to have a +style of your own; but it looks odd, and people will think you are +mean if you don't make more show. Besides, you don't do justice to +your beauty, which would be both peculiar and striking, if you'd +devote your mind to getting up ravishing costumes." + +Much more to the same effect did her aunt say, discussing the subject +quite artistically, and unconsciously appealing to several of Rose's +ruling passions. One was a love for the delicate fabrics, colors, and +ornaments which refined tastes enjoy, and whose costliness keeps them +from ever growing common; another, her strong desire to please the +eyes of those she cared for, and gratify their wishes in the smallest +matter if she could. And last, but not least, the natural desire of a +young and pretty woman to enhance the beauty which she so soon +discovers to be her most potent charm for the other sex, her passport +to a high place among her maiden peers. + +She had thought seriously of surprising and delighting every one, by +appearing in a costume which should do justice to the loveliness which +was so modest that it was apt to forget itself in admiring +others,--what girls call a "ravishing" dress, such as she could +imagine and easily procure by the magic of the Fortunatus' purse in +her pocket. She had planned it all; the shimmer of pale silk through +lace like woven frost-work, ornaments of some classic pattern, and all +the dainty accessaries as perfect as time, taste, and money could make +them. + +She knew that Uncle Alec's healthful training had given her a figure +that could venture on any fashion, and Nature blessed her with a +complexion that defied all hues. So it was little wonder that she felt +a strong desire to use these gifts, not for the pleasure of display, +but to seem fair in the eyes that seldom looked at her without a +tender sort of admiration, all the more winning when no words marred +the involuntary homage women love. + +These thoughts were busy in Rose's mind, as she sat looking at the +lovely silk, and wondering what Charlie would say if she should some +night burst upon him in a pale, rosy cloud, like the Aurora to whom he +often likened her. She knew it would please him very much, and she +longed to do all she honestly could to gratify the poor fellow; for +her tender heart already felt some remorseful pangs, remembering how +severe she had been the night before. She could not revoke her words, +because she meant them every one; but she might be kind, and show that +she did not wholly shut him out from her regard, by asking him to go +with her to Kitty's ball, and gratify his artistic taste by a lovely +costume. A very girlish but kindly plan; for that ball was to be the +last of her frivolities, so she wanted it to be a pleasant one, and +felt that "being friends" with Charlie would add much to her +enjoyment. This idea made her fingers tighten on the gleaming fabric +so temptingly upheld, and she was about to take it when, "If ye +please, sir, would ye kindly tell me where I'd be finding the flannel +place?" said a voice behind her; and, glancing up, she saw a meek +little Irish-woman looking quite lost and out of place among the +luxuries around her. + +"Downstairs, turn to the left," was the clerk's hasty reply, with a +vague wave of the hand which left the inquirer more in the dark than +ever. + +Rose saw the woman's perplexity, and said kindly, "I'll show you: this +way." + +"I'm ashamed to be throublin' ye, miss; but it's strange I am in it, +and wouldn't be comin' here at all, at all, barrin' they tould me I'd +get the bit I'm wantin' chaper in this big shop than the little ones +more becomin' the like o' me," explained the little woman humbly. + +Rose looked again, as she led the way through a well-dressed crowd of +busy shoppers: and something in the anxious, tired face under the old +woollen hood; the bare, purple hands, holding fast a meagre wallet and +a faded scrap of the dotted flannel little children's frocks are so +often made of,--touched the generous heart, that never could see want +without an impulse to relieve it. She had meant only to point the way; +but, following a new impulse, she went on, listening to the poor +soul's motherly prattle about "me baby," and the "throuble" it was to +"find clothes for the growin' childer, when me man is out av work, and +the bit and sup inconvaynient these hard times," as they descended to +that darksome lower world, where necessities take refuge when luxuries +crowd them out from the gayer place above. + +The presence of a lady made Mrs. Sullivan's shopping very easy now; +and her one poor "bit" of flannel grew miraculously into yards of +several colors, since the shabby purse was no lighter when she went +away, wiping her eyes on the corner of a big, brown bundle. A very +little thing, and no one saw it but a wooden-faced clerk, who never +told; yet it did Rose good, and sent her up into the light again with +a sober face, thinking self-reproachfully,-- + +"What right have I to more gay gowns, when some poor babies have none; +or to spend time making myself fine, while there is so much bitter +want in the world?" + +Nevertheless the pretty things were just as tempting as ever, and she +yearned for the opal silk with a renewed yearning when she got back. I +am not sure that it would not have been bought in spite of her better +self, if a good angel in the likeness of a stout lady with silvery +curls about the benevolent face, enshrined in a plain bonnet, had not +accosted her as she joined Kitty, still brooding over the wedding +gowns. + +"I waited a moment for you, my dear, because I'm in haste, and very +glad to save myself a journey or a note," began the newcomer in a low +tone, as Rose shook hands with the most affectionate respect. "You +know the great box factory was burned a day or two ago, and over a +hundred girls thrown out of work. Some were hurt and are in the +hospital, many have no homes to go to, and nearly all need temporary +help of some sort. We've had so many calls this winter I hardly know +which way to turn; for the want is pressing, and I've had my finger in +so many purses I'm almost ashamed to ask again. Any little +contribution--ah, thank you; I was sure you wouldn't fail me, my good +child," and Mrs. Gardener warmly pressed the hand that went so quickly +into the little portemonnaie, and came out so generously filled. + +"Let me know how else I can help, and thank you very much for allowing +me to have a share in your good works," said Rose, forgetting all +about gay gowns, as she watched the black bonnet go briskly away, with +an approving smile on the fine old face inside it. + +"You extravagant thing! how could you give so much?" whispered Kitty, +whose curious eye had seen three figures on the single bill which had +so rapidly changed hands. + +"I believe if Mrs. Gardener asked me for my head I should give it to +her," answered Rose lightly; then turning to the silks she asked, +"Which have you decided upon; the yellow white or the blue, the corded +or the striped?" + +"I've decided nothing, except that _you_ are to have the pink, and +wear it at my--ahem! ball," said Kitty, who _had_ made up her mind, +but could not give her orders till mamma had been consulted. + +"No, I can't afford it just yet. I never overstep my allowance, and I +shall have to if I get any more finery. Come, we ought not to waste +time here, if you have all the patterns you want," and Rose walked +quickly away, glad that it was out of her power to break through two +resolutions which hitherto had been faithfully kept,--one to dress +simply for example's sake, the other not to be extravagant for +charity's sake. + +As Rosamond had her day of misfortunes, so this seemed to be one of +small temptations to Rose. After she had set Kitty down at home and +been to see her new houses, she drove about doing various errands for +the aunts; and, while waiting in the carriage for the execution of an +order, young Pemberton came by. + +As Steve said, this gentleman had been "hard hit," and still hovered +moth-like about the forbidden light. Being the most eligible _parti_ +of the season, his regard was considered a distinction to be proud of; +and Rose had been well scolded by Aunt Clara for refusing so honorable +a mate. The girl liked him; and he was the suitor of whom she had +spoken so respectfully to Dr. Alec, because he had no need of the +heiress, and had sincerely loved the woman. He had been away, and she +hoped had got over his disappointment as happily as the rest; but now +when he saw her, and came hurrying up so hungry for a word, she felt +that he had not forgotten, and was too kind to chill him with the bow +which plainly says, "Don't stop." + +A personable youth was Pemberton, and had brought with him from the +wilds of Canada a sable-lined overcoat, which was the envy of every +masculine and the admiration of every feminine friend he had; and, as +he stood at her carriage window, Rose knew that this luxurious garment +and its stalwart wearer were objects of interest to the passers-by. It +chanced that the tide of shoppers flowed in that direction; and, as +she chatted, familiar faces often passed with glances, smiles, and +nods of varying curiosity, significance, and wonder. + +She could not help feeling a certain satisfaction in giving him a +moment's pleasure, since she could do no more; but it was not that +amiable desire alone which made her ignore the neat white parcels +which the druggist's boy deposited on the front seat, and kept her +lingering a little longer to enjoy one of the small triumphs which +girls often risk more than a cold in the head to display. The sight of +several snow-flakes on the broad shoulders which partially obstructed +her view, as well as the rapidly increasing animation of Pemberton's +chat, reminded her that it was high time to go. + +"I mustn't keep you: it is beginning to storm," she said, taking up +her muff, much to old Jacob's satisfaction; for small talk is not +exciting to a hungry man whose nose feels like an icicle. + +"Is it? I thought the sun was shining." And the absorbed gentleman +turned to the outer world with visible reluctance, for it looked very +warm and cosey in the red-lined carriage. + +"Wise people say we must carry our sunshine with us," answered Rose, +taking refuge in commonplaces; for the face at the window grew pensive +suddenly, as he answered, with a longing look,-- + +"I wish I could:" then, smiling gratefully, he added, "Thank you for +giving me a little of yours." + +"You are very welcome." And Rose offered him her hand, while her eyes +mutely asked pardon for withholding her leave to keep it. + +He pressed it silently, and, shouldering the umbrella which he forgot +to open, turned away, with an "up-again-and-take-another" expression, +which caused the soft eyes to follow him admiringly. + +"I ought not to have kept him a minute longer than I could help: for +it wasn't all pity; it was my foolish wish to show off and do as I +liked for a minute, to pay for being good about the gown. Oh me! how +weak and silly I am in spite of all my trying!" And Miss Campbell fell +into a remorseful reverie, which lasted till she got home. + +"Now, young man, what brought you out in this driving storm?" asked +Rose, as Jamie came stamping in that same afternoon. + +"Mamma sent you a new book,--thought you'd like it: _I_ don't mind +your old storms!" replied the boy, wrestling his way out of his coat, +and presenting a face as round and red and shiny as a well-polished +Baldwin apple. + +"Much obliged: it is just the day to enjoy it, and I was longing for +something nice to read," said Rose, as Jamie sat down upon the lower +stair for a protracted struggle with his rubber boots. + +"Here you are, then--no--yes--I do believe I've forgotten it, after +all!" cried Jamie, slapping his pockets one after the other, with a +dismayed expression of countenance. + +"Never mind: I'll hunt up something else. Let me help with those: your +hands are so cold." And Rose, good-naturedly gave a tug at the boots, +while Jamie clutched the banisters; murmuring somewhat incoherently, +as his legs flew up and down,-- + +"I'll go back if you want me to. I'm so sorry! It's very good of you, +I'm sure. Getting these horrid things on made me forget. Mother would +make me wear 'em, though I told her they'd stick like--like gumdrops," +he added, inspired by recollections of certain dire disappointments +when the above-mentioned sweetmeat melted in his pockets, and refused +to come out. + +"Now what shall we do?" asked Rose, when he was finally extricated. +"Since I've nothing to read, I may as well play." + +"I'll teach you to pitch and toss. You catch very well for a girl, but +you can't throw worth a cent," replied Jamie, gambading down the hall +in his slippers, and producing a ball from some of the mysterious +receptacles in which boys have the art of storing rubbish enough to +fill a peck measure. + +Of course Rose agreed, and cheerfully risked getting her eyes +blackened and her fingers bruised, till her young preceptor gratefully +observed that "it was no fun playing where you had to look out for +windows and jars and things; so I'd like that jolly book about Captain +Nemo and the 'Nautilus,' please." + +Being gratified, he spread himself upon the couch, crossed his legs in +the air, and without another word dived "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under +the Sea," where he remained for two mortal hours, to the general +satisfaction of his relatives. + +Bereft both of her unexpected playfellow and the much-desired book, +Rose went into the parlor, there to discover a French novel, which +Kitty had taken from a library and left in the carriage among the +bundles. Settling herself in her favorite lounging-chair, she read as +diligently as Jamie, while the wind howled and snow fell fast without. + +For an hour, nothing disturbed the cosey quiet of the house; for Aunt +Plenty was napping upstairs, and Dr. Alec writing in his own sanctum; +at least, Rose thought so, till his step made her hastily drop the +book, and look up with very much the expression she used to wear when +caught in mischief years ago. + +"Did I startle you? Have a screen: you are burning your face before +this hot fire." And Dr. Alec pulled one forward. + +"Thank you, uncle; I didn't feel it." And the color seemed to deepen +in spite of the screen, while the uneasy eyes fell upon the book in +her lap. + +"Have you got the 'Quarterly' there? I want to glance at an article in +it, if you can spare it for a moment," he said, leaning toward her +with an inquiring glance. + +"No, sir: I am reading--" And, without mentioning the name, Rose put +the book into his hand. + +The instant his eye fell on the title, he understood the look she +wore, and knew what "mischief" she had been in. He knit his brows: +then smiled, because it was impossible to help it; Rose looked so +conscience-stricken in spite of her twenty years. + +"How do you find it?--interesting?" + +"Oh, very! I felt as if I was in another world, and forgot all about +this." + +"Not a very good world, I fancy, if you were afraid or ashamed to be +found in it. Where did this come from?" asked Dr. Alec, surveying the +book with great disfavor. + +Rose told him, and added slowly,-- + +"I particularly wanted to read it, and fancied I might, because you +did when it was so much talked about the winter we were in Rome." + +"I did read it to see if it was fit for you." + +"And decided that it was not, I suppose; since you never gave it to +me?" + +"Yes." + +"Then I won't finish it. But, uncle, I don't see why I should not," +added Rose, wistfully; for she had reached the heart of the romance +and found it wonderfully fascinating. + +"You may not _see_, but don't you _feel_ why not?" asked Dr. Alec, +gravely. + +Rose leaned her flushed cheek on her hand and thought a minute; then +looked up, and answered honestly,-- + +"Yes, I do: but can't explain it; except that I know something _must_ +be wrong, because I blushed and started when you came in." + +"Exactly," and the doctor gave an emphatic nod, as if the symptoms +pleased him. + +"But I really don't see any harm in the book so far. It is by a famous +author, wonderfully well written as you know, and the characters so +life-like that I feel as if I should really meet them somewhere." + +"I hope not!" ejaculated the doctor, shutting the book quickly, as if +to keep the objectionable beings from escaping. + +Rose laughed, but persisted in her defence; for she did want to +finish the absorbing story, yet would not without leave. + +"I have read French novels before, and you gave them to me. Not many +to be sure, but the best; so I think I know what is good, and +shouldn't like this if it was harmful." + +Her uncle's answer was to reopen the volume and turn the leaves an +instant as if to find a particular place; then he put it into her +hand, saying quietly,-- + +"Read a page or two aloud, translating as you go. You used to like +that: try it again." + +Rose obeyed, and went glibly down a page, doing her best to give the +sense in her purest English. Presently she went more slowly, then +skipped a sentence here and there, and finally stopped short, looking +as if she needed a screen again. + +"What's the matter?" asked her uncle, who had been watching her with a +serious eye. + +"Some phrases are untranslatable, and it only spoils them to try. They +are not amiss in French, but sound coarse and bad in our blunt +English," she said a little pettishly; for she felt annoyed by her +failure to prove the contested point. + +"Ah, my dear! if the fine phrases won't bear putting into honest +English, the thoughts they express won't bear putting into your +innocent mind. That chapter is the key to the whole book; and if you +had been led up, or rather down, to it artfully and artistically, you +might have read it to yourself without seeing how bad it is. All the +worse for the undeniable talent which hides the evil so subtly and +makes the danger so delightful." + +He paused a moment, then added with an anxious glance at the book, +over which she was still bending,-- + +"Finish it if you choose: only remember, my girl, that one may read at +forty what is unsafe at twenty, and that we never can be too careful +what food we give that precious yet perilous thing called +imagination." + +And taking his "Review" he went away to look over a learned article +which interested him much less than the workings of a young mind near +by. + +Another long silence, broken only by an occasional excited bounce from +Jamie, when the sociable cuttle-fish looked in at the windows, or the +"Nautilus" scuttled a ship or two in its terrific course. A bell rang, +and the doctor popped his head out to see if he was wanted. It was +only a message for Aunt Plenty, and he was about to pop in again when +his eye was caught by a square parcel on the slab. + +"What's this?" he asked, taking it up. + +"Rose wants me to leave it at Kitty Van's when I go. I forgot to bring +her book from mamma; so I shall go and get it as soon as ever I've +done this," replied Jamie, from his nest. + +As the volume in his hands was a corpulent one, and Jamie only a third +of the way through, Dr. Alec thought Rose's prospect rather doubtful; +and, slipping the parcel into his pocket, he walked away, saying with +a satisfied air,-- + +"Virtue doesn't always get rewarded; but it shall be this time, if I +can do it." + +More than half an hour afterward, Rose woke from a little nap, and +found the various old favorites, with which she had tried to solace +herself, replaced by the simple, wholesome story promised by Aunt +Jessie. + +"Good boy! I'll go and thank him," she said, half-aloud; jumping up, +wide awake and much pleased. + +But she did not go; for, just then, she espied her uncle standing on +the rug warming his hands with a generally fresh and breezy look about +him, which suggested a recent struggle with the elements. + +"How did this come?" she asked suspiciously. + +"A man brought it." + +"This man? O uncle! why did you take so much trouble just to gratify a +wish of mine?" she cried, taking both the cold hands in hers, with a +tenderly reproachful glance from the storm without to the ruddy face +above her. + +"Because, having taken away your French bonbons with the poisonous +color on them, I wanted to get you something better. Here it is, all +pure sugar; the sort that sweetens the heart as well as the tongue, +and leaves no bad taste behind." + +"How good you are to me! I don't deserve it; for I didn't resist +temptation, though I tried. Uncle, after I'd put the book away, I +thought I _must_ just see how it ended, and I'm afraid I should have +read it all if it had not been gone," said Rose, laying her face down +on the hands she held, as humbly as a repentant child. + +But Uncle Alec lifted up the bent head, and looking into the eyes that +met his frankly, though either held a tear, he said, with the energy +that always made his words remembered,-- + +"My little girl, I would face a dozen storms far worse than this to +keep your soul as stainless as snow; for it is the small temptations +which undermine integrity, unless we watch and pray, and never think +them too trivial to be resisted." + +Some people would consider Dr. Alec an over-careful man: but Rose felt +that he was right; and, when she said her prayers that night, added a +meek petition to be kept from yielding to three of the small temptations +which beset a rich, pretty, and romantic girl,--extravagance, coquetry, +and novel-reading. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +_AT KITTY'S BALL._ + + +Rose had no new gown to wear on this festive occasion, and gave one +little sigh of regret as she put on the pale blue silk, refreshed with +clouds of _gaze de Chambrey_. But a smile followed, very bright and +sweet, as she added the clusters of forget-me-not which Charlie had +conjured up through the agency of an old German florist: for one part +of her plan _had_ been carried out, and Prince was invited to be her +escort, much to his delight; though he wisely made no protestations of +any sort, and showed his gratitude by being a model gentleman. This +pleased Rose; for the late humiliation and a very sincere desire to +atone for it, gave him an air of pensive dignity which was very +effective. + +Aunt Clara could not go; for a certain new cosmetic, privately used to +improve the once fine complexion, which had been her pride till late +hours impaired it, had brought out an unsightly eruption, reducing her +to the depths of woe, and leaving her no solace for her disappointment +but the sight of the elegant velvet dress spread forth upon her bed in +melancholy state. + +So Aunt Jessie was chaperon, to Rose's great satisfaction, and looked +as "pretty as a pink," Archie thought, in her matronly pearl-colored +gown, with a dainty trifle of rich lace on her still abundant hair. He +was very proud of his little mamma, and as devoted as a lover, "to +keep his hand in against Phebe's return," she said laughingly, when he +brought her a nosegay of blush-roses to light up her quiet costume. + +A happier mother did not live than Mrs. Jessie, as she sat contentedly +beside Sister Jane (who graced the frivolous scene in a serious black +gown with a diadem of purple asters nodding above her severe brow), +both watching their boys with the maternal conviction that no other +parent could show such remarkable specimens as these. Each had done +her best according to her light; and years of faithful care were now +beginning to bear fruit in the promise of goodly men, so dear to the +hearts of true mothers. + +Mrs. Jessie watched her three tall sons with something like wonder; +for Archie was a fine fellow, grave and rather stately, but full of +the cordial courtesy and respect we see so little of now-a-days, and +which is the sure sign of good home-training. "The cadets," as Will +and Geordie called themselves, were there as gorgeous as you please; +and the agonies they suffered that night with tight boots and stiff +collars no pen can fitly tell. But only to one another did they +confide these sufferings, in the rare moments of repose when they +could stand on one aching foot with heads comfortably sunken inside +the excruciating collars, which rasped their ears and made the lobes +thereof a pleasing scarlet. Brief were these moments, however; and +the Spartan boys danced on with smiling faces, undaunted by the hidden +anguish which preyed upon them "fore and aft," as Will expressed it. + +Mrs. Jane's pair were an odd contrast, and even the stern +disciplinarian herself could not help smiling as she watched them. +Steve was superb, and might have been married on the spot, so +superfine was his broadcloth, glossy his linen, and perfect the fit of +his gloves; while pride and happiness so fermented in his youthful +bosom, that there would have been danger of spontaneous combustion if +dancing had not proved a safety-valve; for his strong sense of the +proprieties would not permit him to vent his emotions in any other +way. + +Kitty felt no such restraint, and looked like a blissful little gypsy, +with her brunette prettiness set off by a dashing costume of cardinal +and cream color, and every hair on her head curled in a Merry +Pecksniffian crop; for youth was her strong point, and she much +enjoyed the fact that she had been engaged three times before she was +nineteen. + +To see her and Steve spin round the room was a sight to bring a smile +to the lips of the crustiest bachelor or saddest spinster; for happy +lovers are always a pleasing spectacle, and two such merry little +grigs as these are seldom seen. + +Mac, meantime, with glasses astride of his nose, surveyed his +brother's performances "on the light fantastic" very much as a +benevolent Newfoundland would the gambols of a toy terrier, receiving +with thanks the hasty hints for his guidance which Steve breathed into +his ear as he passed, and forgetting all about them the next minute. +When not thus engaged, Mac stood about with his thumbs in his vest +pockets, regarding the lively crowd like a meditative philosopher of a +cheerful aspect, often smiling to himself at some whimsical fancy of +his own, knitting his brows as some bit of ill-natured gossip met his +ear, or staring with undisguised admiration as a beautiful face or +figure caught his eye. + +"I hope that girl knows what a treasure she has got. But I doubt if +she ever fully appreciates it," said Mrs. Jane, bringing her +spectacles to bear upon Kitty, as she whisked by, causing quite a gale +with her flying skirts. + +"I think she will: for Steve has been so well brought up, she cannot +but see and feel the worth of what she has never had; and being so +young she will profit by it," answered Mrs. Jessie, softly; thinking +of the days when she and her Jem danced together, just betrothed. + +"I've done my duty by both the boys, and done it _thoroughly_: or +their father would have spoilt them; for he's no more idea of +discipline than a child," and Aunt Jane gave her own palm a smart rap +with her closed fan, emphasizing the word "thoroughly" in a most +suggestive manner. + +"I've often wished I had your firmness, Jane: but, after all, I'm not +sure that I don't like my own way best, at least with my boys; for +plenty of love, and plenty of patience, seem to have succeeded pretty +well;" and Aunt Jessie lifted the nosegay from her lap, feeling as if +that unfailing love and patience were already blooming into her life, +as beautifully as the sweet-breathed roses given by her boy refreshed +and brightened these long hours of patient waiting in a corner. + +"I don't deny that you've done well, Jessie; but you've been let +alone, and had no one to hold your hand or interfere. If my Mac had +gone to sea as your Jem did, I never should have been as severe as I +am. Men are so perverse and short-sighted, they don't trouble about +the future as long as things are quiet and comfortable in the +present," continued Mrs. Jane, quite forgetting that the short-sighted +partner of the firm, physically speaking at least, was herself. + +"Ah, yes! we mothers love to foresee and foretell our children's lives +even before they are born, and are very apt to be disappointed if they +do not turn out as we planned. I know I am: yet I really have no cause +to complain, and am learning to see that all we can do is to give the +dear boys good principles, and the best training we may, then leave +them to finish what we have begun;" and Mrs. Jessie's eye wandered +away to Archie, dancing with Rose, quite unconscious what a pretty +little castle in the air tumbled down when he fell in love with +Phebe. + +"Right, quite right: on that point we agree exactly. I have spared +nothing to give my boys good principles and good habits, and I am +willing to trust them anywhere. Nine times did I whip my Steve to cure +him of fibbing, and over and over again did Mac go without his dinner +rather than wash his hands. But I whipped and starved them both into +obedience, and _now_ I have my reward," concluded the "stern parent," +with a proud wave of the fan, which looked very like a ferule, being +as big, hard, and uncompromising as such an article could be. + +Mrs. Jessie gave a mild murmur of assent, but could not help thinking, +with a smile, that, in spite of their early tribulations, the sins for +which the boys suffered had got a little mixed in their results; for +fibbing Steve was now the tidy one, and careless Mac the truth-teller. +But such small contradictions will happen in the best-regulated +families, and all perplexed parents can do is to keep up a steadfast +preaching and practising, in the hope that it will bear fruit +sometime; for according to the old proverb,-- + + "'Children pick up words as pigeons pease, + To utter them again as God shall please.'" + +"I hope they won't dance the child to death among them; for each one +seems bound to have his turn, even your sober Mac," said Mrs. Jessie, +a few minutes later, as she saw Archie hand Rose over to his cousin, +who carried her off with an air of triumph from several other +claimants. + +"She's very good to him, and her influence is excellent; for he is of +an age now when a young woman's opinion has more weight than an old +one's. Though he is always good to his mother, and I feel as if I +should take great comfort in him. He's one of the sort who will not +marry till late, if ever, being fond of books and a quiet life," +responded Mrs. Jane, remembering how often her son had expressed his +belief that philosophers should not marry, and brought up Plato as an +example of the serene wisdom only to be attained by a single man, +while her husband sided with Socrates, for whom he felt a profound +sympathy, though he didn't dare to own it. + +"Well, I don't know about that. Since my Archie surprised me by losing +his heart as he did, I'm prepared for any thing, and advise you to do +likewise. I really shouldn't wonder if Mac did something remarkable in +that line, though he shows no signs of it yet, I confess," answered +Mrs. Jessie, laughing. + +"It won't be in that direction, you may be sure; for _her_ fate is +sealed. Dear me, how sad it is to see a superior girl, like that, +about to throw herself away on a handsome scapegrace. I won't mention +names, but you understand me;" and Mrs. Jane shook her head, as if she +_could_ mention the name of one superior girl who had thrown herself +away, and now saw the folly of it. + +"I'm very anxious, of course, and so is Alec: but it may be the saving +of one party, and the happiness of the other; for some women love to +give more than they receive," said Mrs. Jessie, privately wondering, +for the thousandth time, why brother Mac ever married the learned Miss +Humphries. + +"You'll see that it won't prosper; and I shall always maintain that a +wife cannot entirely undo a mother's work. Rose will have her hands +full if she tries to set all Clara's mistakes right," answered Aunt +Jane, grimly; then began to fan violently as their hostess approached +to have a dish of chat about "our dear young people." + +Rose was in a merry mood that night, and found Mac quite ready for +fun, which was fortunate, since her first remark set them off on a +droll subject. + +"O Mac! Annabel has just confided to me that she is engaged to Fun +See! Think of her going to housekeeping in Canton some day, and having +to order rats, puppies, and birds'-nest soup for dinner," whispered +Rose, too much amused to keep the news to herself. + +"By Confucius! isn't that a sweet prospect?" and Mac burst out +laughing, to the great surprise of his neighbors, who wondered what +there was amusing about the Chinese sage. "It is rather alarming, +though, to have these infants going on at this rate. Seems to be +catching; a new sort of scarlet-fever, to judge by Annabel's cheeks +and Kitty's gown," he added, regarding the aforesaid ladies with eyes +still twinkling with merriment. + +"Don't be ungallant, but go and do likewise; for it is all the +fashion. I heard Mrs. Van tell old Mrs. Joy that it was going to be a +marrying year; so you'll be sure to catch it," answered Rose, reefing +her skirts; for, with all his training, Mac still found it difficult +to keep his long legs out of the man-traps. + +"It doesn't look like a painful disease; but I must be careful, for +I've no time to be ill now. What are the symptoms?" asked Mac, trying +to combine business with pleasure, and improve his mind while doing +his duty. + +"If you ever come back I'll tell you," laughed Rose, as he danced away +into the wrong corner, bumped smartly against another gentleman, and +returned as soberly as if that was the proper figure. + +"Well, tell me 'how not to do it,'" he said, subsiding for a moment's +talk when Rose had floated to and fro in her turn. + +"Oh! you see some young girl who strikes you as particularly +charming,--whether she really is or not doesn't matter a bit,--and you +begin to think about her a great deal, to want to see her, and to get +generally sentimental and absurd," began Rose, finding it difficult to +give a diagnosis of the most mysterious disease under the sun. + +"Don't think it sounds enticing. Can't I find an antidote somewhere; +for if it is in the air this year I'm sure to get it, and it may be +fatal," said Mac, who felt pretty lively and liked to make Rose merry; +for he suspected that she had a little trouble from a hint Dr. Alec +had given him. + +"I hope you will catch it, because you'll be so funny." + +"Will you take care of me as you did before, or have you got your +hands full?" + +"I'll help; but really with Archie and Steve and--Charlie, I shall +have enough to do. You'd better take it lightly the first time, and so +won't need much care." + +"Very well, how shall I begin? Enlighten my ignorance and start me +right, I beg." + +"Go about and see people; make yourself agreeable, and not sit in +corners observing other people as if they were puppets dancing for +your amusement. I heard Mrs. Van once say that propinquity works +wonders; and she ought to know, having married off two daughters, and +just engaged a third to 'a most charming young man.'" + +"Good lack! the cure sounds worse than the disease. Propinquity, hey? +Why, I may be in danger this identical moment, and can't flee for my +life," said Mac, gently catching her round the waist for a general +waltz. + +"Don't be alarmed, but mind your steps; for Charlie is looking at us, +and I want you to do your best. That's perfect: take me quite round; +for I love to waltz, and seldom get a good turn except with you boys," +said Rose, smiling up at him approvingly, as his strong arm guided her +among the revolving couples, and his feet kept time without a fault. + +"This certainly is a great improvement on the chair business, to +which I have devoted myself with such energy that I've broken the +backs of two partners and dislocated the arm of the old rocker. I took +an occasional turn with that heavy party, thinking it good practice in +case I ever happen to dance with stout ladies," and Mac nodded toward +Annabel, pounding gaily away with Mr. Tokio, whose yellow countenance +beamed as his beady eyes rested on his plump _fiancée_. + +Pausing in the midst of her merriment at the image of Mac and the old +rocking-chair, Rose said reprovingly,-- + +"Though a heathen Chinee, Fun puts you to shame; for _he_ did not ask +foolish questions, but went a wooing like a sensible little man; and +I've no doubt Annabel will be very happy." + +"Choose me a suitable divinity, and I will try to adore. Can I do more +than that to retrieve my character?" answered Mac, safely landing his +partner, and plying the fan according to instructions. + +"How would Emma do?" inquired Rose, whose sense of the ludicrous was +strong, and who could not resist the temptation of horrifying Mac by +the suggestion. + +"Never! It sets my teeth on edge to look at her to-night. I suppose +that dress is 'a sweet thing just out;' but, upon my word, she reminds +me of nothing but a harlequin ice," and Mac turned his back on her +with a shudder; for he was sensitive to discords of all kinds. + +"She certainly does; and that mixture of chocolate, pea green, and +pink is simply detestable, though many people would consider it +decidedly 'chic,' to use her favorite word. I suppose you will dress +your wife like a Spartan matron of the time of Lycurgus," added Rose, +much tickled by his new conceit. + +"I'll wait till I get her before I decide. But one thing I'm sure +of,--she shall _not_ dress like a Greek dancer of the time of +Pericles," answered Mac, regarding with great disfavor a young lady +who, having a statuesque figure, affected drapery of the scanty and +clinging description. + +"Then it is of no use to suggest that classic creature; so, as you +reject my first attempts, I won't go on, but look about me quietly, +and you had better do the same. Seriously, Mac, more gayety and less +study would do you good; for you will grow old before your time, if +you shut yourself up and pore over books so much." + +"I don't believe there is a younger or a jollier feeling fellow in the +room than I am, though I may not conduct myself like a dancing +dervish. But I own you may be right about the books; for there are +many sorts of intemperance, and a library is as irresistible to me as +a bar-room to a toper. I shall have to sign a pledge, and cork up the +only bottle that tempts me,--my inkstand." + +"I'll tell you how to make it easier to abstain. Stop studying, and +write a novel into which you can put all your wise things, and so +clear your brains for a new start by and by. Do: I should _so_ like +to read it," cried Rose, delighted with the project; for she was sure +Mac could do any thing he liked in that line. + +"First live, then write. How can I go to romancing till I know what +romance means?" he asked soberly, feeling that so far he had had very +little in his life. + +"Then you must find out, and nothing will help you more than to love +some one very much. Do as I've advised, and be a modern Diogenes going +about with spectacles, instead of a lantern, in search, not of an +honest man, but a perfect woman. I do hope you will be successful," +and Rose made her courtesy as the dance ended. + +"I don't expect perfection, but I _should_ like one as good as they +ever make them now-a-days. If you are looking for the honest man, I +wish you success in return," said Mac, relinquishing her fan with a +glance of such sympathetic significance that a quick flush of feeling +rose to the girl's face, as she answered very low,-- + +"If honesty was all I wanted, I certainly have found it in you." + +Then she went away with Charlie, who was waiting for his turn, and Mac +roamed about, wondering if anywhere in all that crowd his future wife +was hidden, saying to himself, as he glanced from face to face, quite +unresponsive to the various allurements displayed,-- + + "What care I how fair she be, + If she be not fair for me?" + +Just before supper, several young ladies met in the dressing-room to +repair damages; and, being friends, they fell into discourse, as they +smoothed their locks, and had their tattered furbelows sewed or pinned +up by the neat-handed Phillis in waiting. + +When each had asked the other, "How do I look to-night, dear?" and +been answered with reciprocal enthusiasm, "Perfectly lovely, darling!" +Kitty said to Rose, who was helping her to restore order out of the +chaos to which much exercise had reduced her curls,-- + +"By the way, young Randal is dying to be presented to you. May I after +supper?" + +"No, thank you," answered Rose, very decidedly. + +"Well, I'm sure I don't see why not," began Kitty, looking displeased, +but not surprised. + +"I think you do, else why didn't you present him when he asked? You +seldom stop to think of etiquette: why did you now?" + +"I didn't like to do it till I had--you are so particular--I thought +you'd say 'No;' but I couldn't tell him so," stammered Kitty, feeling +that she had better have settled the matter herself; for Rose _was_ +very particular, and had especial reason to dislike this person, +because he was not only a dissipated young reprobate himself, but +seemed possessed of Satan to lead others astray likewise. + +"I don't wish to be rude, dear: but I really must decline; for I +cannot know such people, even though I meet them here," said Rose, +remembering Charlie's revelations on New-Year's night, and hardening +her heart against the man who had been his undoing on that as well as +on other occasions, she had reason to believe. + +"I couldn't help it! Old Mr. Randal and papa are friends; and, though +I spoke of it, brother Alf wouldn't hear of passing that bad boy +over," explained Kitty, eagerly. + +"Yet Alf forbade your driving or skating with him; for he knows better +than we how unfit he is to come among us." + +"I'd drop him to-morrow if I could; but I must be civil in my own +house. His mother brought him, and he won't dare to behave here as he +does at their bachelor parties." + +"She ought not to have brought him till he had shown some desire to +mend his ways. It is none of my business, I know; but I do wish people +wouldn't be so inconsistent, letting boys go to destruction, and then +expecting us girls to receive them like decent people." Rose spoke in +an energetic whisper, but Annabel heard her, and exclaimed, as she +turned round with a powder-puff in her hand,-- + +"My goodness, Rose! what is all that about going to destruction?" + +"She is being strong-minded; and I don't very much blame her in this +case. But it leaves me in a dreadful scrape," said Kitty, supporting +her spirits with a sniff of aromatic vinegar. + +"I appeal to you, since you heard me, and there's no one here but +ourselves: do you consider young Randal a nice person to know?" and +Rose turned to Annabel and Emma with an anxious eye; for she did not +find it easy to abide by her principles when so doing annoyed friends. + +"No, indeed: he's perfectly horrid! Papa says he and Gorham are the +wildest young men he knows, and enough to spoil the whole set. I'm so +glad I've got no brothers," responded Annabel, placidly powdering her +pink arms, quite undeterred by the memory of sundry white streaks left +on sundry coat-sleeves. + +"_I_ think that sort of scrupulousness is very ill-bred, if you'll +excuse my saying so, Rose. _We_ are not supposed to know any thing +about fastness, and wildness, and so on; but to treat every man alike, +and not be fussy and prudish," said Emma, settling her many-colored +streamers with the superior air of a woman of the world, aged twenty. + +"Ah! but we do know; and, if our silence and civility have no effect, +we ought to try something else, and not encourage wickedness of any +kind. We needn't scold and preach, but we _can_ refuse to know such +people; and that will do some good, for they don't like to be shunned +and shut out from respectable society. Uncle Alec told me not to know +that man, and I won't." Rose spoke with unusual warmth, forgetting +that she could not tell the real reason for her strong prejudice +against "that man." + +"Well, _I_ know him: _I_ think him very jolly, and I'm engaged to +dance the German with him after supper. He leads quite as well as your +cousin Charlie, and is quite as fascinating, some people think," +returned Emma, tossing her head disdainfully; for Prince Charming did +not worship at her shrine, and it piqued her vanity. + +In spite of her quandary, Rose could not help smiling as she recalled +Mac's comparison; for Emma turned so red with spiteful chagrin, she +seemed to have added strawberry-ice to the other varieties composing +the Harlequin. + +"Each must judge for herself. I shall follow Aunt Jessie's advice, and +try to keep my atmosphere as pure as I can; for she says every woman +has her own little circle, and in it can use her influence for good, +if she will. I do will heartily; and I'll prove that I'm neither proud +nor fussy by receiving, here or at home, any respectable man you like +to present to me, no matter how poor or plain or insignificant he may +be." + +With which declaration Rose ended her protest, and the four damsels +streamed downstairs together like a wandering rainbow. But Kitty laid +to heart what she had said; Annabel took credit to herself for siding +with her; and Emma owned that _she_ was not trying to keep her +atmosphere pure when she came to dance with the objectionable Randal. +So Rose's "little circle" was the better for the influence she tried +to exert, although she never knew it. + +All supper-time, Charlie kept near her, and she was quite content with +him; for he drank only coffee, and she saw him shake his head with a +frown when young Van beckoned him toward an anteroom, from whence the +sound of popping corks had issued with increasing frequency as the +evening wore on. + +"Dear fellow, he does try," thought Rose, longing to show how she +admired his self-denial; but she could only say, as they left the +supper-room with the aunts, who were going early,-- + +"If I had not promised uncle to get home as soon after midnight as +possible, I'd stay and dance the German with you; for you deserve a +reward to-night." + +"A thousand thanks! but I am going when you do," answered Charlie, +understanding both her look and words, and very grateful for them. + +"Really?" cried Rose, delighted. + +"Really. I'll be in the hall when you come down." And Charlie thought +the Fra Angelico angel was not half so bright and beautiful as the one +who looked back at him out of a pale-blue cloud, as Rose went upstairs +as if on wings. + +When she came down again, Charlie was not in the hall, however; and, +after waiting a few minutes, Mac offered to go and find him, for Aunt +Jane was still hunting a lost rubber above. + +"Please say I'm ready, but he needn't come if he doesn't want to," +said Rose, not wishing to demand too much of her promising penitent. + +"If he has gone into that bar-room, I'll have him out, no matter who +is there!" growled Mac to himself, as he made his way to the small +apartment whither the gentlemen retired for a little private +refreshment when the spirit moved, as it often did. + +The door was ajar, and Charlie seemed to have just entered; for Mac +heard a familiar voice call out, in a jovial tone,-- + +"Come, Prince! you're just in time to help us drink Steve's health +with all the honors." + +"Can't stop; only ran in to say good-night, Van. Had a capital time; +but I'm on duty, and must go." + +"That's a new dodge. Take a stirrup-cup anyway, and come back in time +for a merry-go-rounder when you've disposed of the ladies," answered +the young host, diving into the wine-cooler for another bottle. + +"Charlie's going in for sanctity, and it doesn't seem to agree with +him," laughed one of the two other young men, who occupied several +chairs apiece, resting their soles in every sense of the word. + +"Apron-strings are coming into fashion,--the bluer the better: hey, +Prince?" added the other, trying to be witty, with the usual success. + +"You'd better go home early yourself, Barrow, or that tongue of yours +will get you into trouble," retorted Charlie, conscious that he ought +to take his own advice, yet lingering, nervously putting on his +gloves, while the glasses were being filled. + +"Now, brother-in-law, fire away! Here you are, Prince." And Steve +handed a glass across the table to his cousin, feeling too much elated +with various pleasurable emotions to think what he was doing; for the +boys all knew Charlie's weakness, and usually tried to defend him from +it. + +Before the glass could be taken, however, Mac entered in a great +hurry, delivering his message in an abbreviated and rather peremptory +form,-- + +"Rose is waiting for you. Hurry up!" + +"All right. Good-night, old fellows!" And Charlie was off, as if the +name had power to stop him in the very act of breaking the promise +made to himself. + +"Come, Solon, take a social drop, and give us an epithalamium in your +best Greek. Here's to you!" And Steve was lifting the wine to his own +lips, when Mac knocked the glass out of his hand, with a flash of the +eye that caused his brother to stare at him, with his mouth open, in +an imbecile sort of way, which seemed to excite Mac still more; for, +turning to his young host, he said, in a low voice, and with a look +that made the gentlemen on the chairs sit up suddenly,-- + +"I beg pardon, Van, for making a mess; but I can't stand by and see my +own brother tempt another man beyond his strength, or make a brute of +himself. That's plain English: but I can't help speaking out; for I +know not one of you would willingly hurt Charlie, and you will if you +don't let him alone." + +"What do you pitch into me for? I've done nothing. A fellow must be +civil in his own house, mustn't he?" asked Van, good-humoredly, as he +faced about, corkscrew in hand. + +"Yes, but it is not civil to urge or joke a guest into doing what you +know and he knows is bad for him. That's only a glass of wine to you, +but it is perdition to Charlie; and, if Steve knew what he was about, +he'd cut his right hand off before he'd offer it." + +"Do you mean to say I'm tipsy?" demanded Steve, ruffling up like a +little game-cock; for, though he saw now what he had done and was +ashamed of it, he hated to have Mac air his peculiar notions before +other people. + +"With excitement, not champagne, I hope; for I wouldn't own you if you +were," answered Mac, in whom indignation was effervescing like the +wine in the forgotten bottle; for the men were all young, friends of +Steve's and admirers of Charlie's. "Look here, boys," he went on more +quietly: "I know I ought not to explode in this violent sort of way, +but upon my life I couldn't help it, when I heard what you were saying +and saw what Steve was doing. Since I _have_ begun I may as well +finish, and tell you straight out that Prince can't stand this sort of +thing. He is trying to flee temptation, and whoever leads him into it +does a cowardly and sinful act; for the loss of one's own self-respect +is bad enough, without losing the more precious things that make life +worth having. Don't tell him I've said this, but lend a hand if you +can, and never have to reproach yourselves with the knowledge that you +helped to ruin a fellow-creature, soul and body." + +It was well for the success of Mac's first crusade, that his hearers +were gentlemen and sober: so his outburst was not received with jeers +or laughter, but listened to in silence, while the expression of the +faces changed from one of surprise to regret and respect; for +earnestness is always effective, and championship of this sort seldom +fails to touch hearts as yet unspoiled. As he paused with an eloquent +little quiver in his eager voice, Van corked the bottle at a blow, +threw down the corkscrew, and offered Mac his hand, saying heartily, +in spite of his slang,-- + +"You are a first-class old brick! I'll lend a hand for one, and do my +best to back up Charlie; for he's the finest fellow I know, and shan't +go to the devil like poor Randal if _I_ can help it." + +Murmurs of applause from the others seemed to express a general assent +to this vigorous statement; and, giving the hand a grateful shake, Mac +retreated to the door, anxious to be off now that he had freed his +mind with such unusual impetuosity. + +"Count on me for any thing I can do in return for this, Van. I'm sorry +to be such a marplot, but you can take it out in quizzing me after I'm +gone. I'm fair game, and Steve can set you going." + +With that, Mac departed as abruptly as he came, feeling that he _had_ +"made a mess" of it; but comforting himself with the thought that +perhaps he had secured help for Charlie at his own expense, and +thinking with a droll smile as he went back to his mother,-- + +"My romance begins by looking after other girls' lovers instead of +finding a sweetheart for myself; but I can't tell Rose, so _she_ won't +laugh at me." + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +_BOTH SIDES._ + + +Steve's engagement made a great stir in the family: a pleasant one +this time; for nobody objected, every thing seemed felicitous, and the +course of true love ran very smoothly for the young couple, who +promised to remove the only obstacle to their union by growing old and +wise as soon as possible. If he had not been so genuinely happy, the +little lover's airs would have been unbearable; for he patronized all +mankind in general, his brother and elder cousins in particular. + +"Now that is the way to manage matters," he declared, standing before +the fire in Aunt Clara's billiard room a day or two after the ball, +with his hands behind his back,--"no nonsense, no delay, no domestic +rows or tragic separations. Just choose with taste and judgment, make +yourself agreeable through thick and thin; and, when it is perfectly +evident that the dear creature adores the ground you walk on, say the +word like a man, and there you are." + +"All very easy to do that with a girl like Kitty, who has no +confounded notions to spoil her and trip you up every time you don't +exactly toe the mark," muttered Charlie, knocking the balls about as +if it were a relief to hit something; for he was in a gloriously bad +humor that evening, because time hung heavy on his hands since he had +forsworn the company he could not keep without danger to himself. + +"You should humor those little notions; for all women have them, and +it needs tact to steer clear of them. Kitty's got dozens; but I treat +them with respect, have my own way when I can, give in without +growling when I can't, and we get on like a couple of--" + +"Spoons," put in Charlie, who felt that he had _not_ steered clear, +and so suffered shipwreck in sight of land. + +Steve meant to have said "doves," but his cousin's levity caused him +to add with calm dignity, "reasonable beings," and then revenged +himself by making a good shot which won him the game. + +"You always were a lucky little dog, Steve. I don't begrudge you a +particle of your happiness, but it does seem as if things weren't +quite fair sometimes," said Archie, suppressing an envious sigh; for, +though he seldom complained, it was impossible to contrast his own and +his cousin's prospects with perfect equanimity. + + "'His worth shines forth the brightest who in hope + Always confides: the abject soul despairs,'" + +observed Mac, quoting Euripides in a conversational tone, as he lay +upon a divan reposing after a hard day's work. + +"Thank you," said Archie, brightening a little; for a hopeful word +from any source was very comfortable. + +"That's your favorite Rip, isn't it? He was a wise old boy, but you +could find advice as good as that nearer home," put in Steve, who just +then felt equal to slapping Plato on the shoulder; so elated was he at +being engaged "first of all the lot," as he gracefully expressed it. + +"Don't halloo till you are out of the wood, Dandy: Mrs. Kit has jilted +two men, and may a third; so you'd better not brag of your wisdom too +soon; for she may make a fool of you yet," said Charlie, cynically, +his views of life being very gloomy about this time. + +"No, she won't, Steve, if you do your part honestly. There's the +making of a good little woman in Kitty, and she has proved it by +taking you instead of those other fellows. You are not a Solomon, but +you're not spoilt yet; and she had the sense to see it," said Mac, +encouragingly from his corner; for he and his brother were better +friends than ever since the little scene at the Van Tassels. + +"Hear! hear!" cried Steve, looking more than ever like a cheerful +young cockerel trying to crow, as he stood upon the hearth-rug with +his hands under his coat-tails, rising and falling alternately upon +the toes and heels of his neat little boots. + +"Come, you've given them each a pat on the head: haven't you got one +for me? I need it enough; for if ever there was a poor devil born +under an evil star, it is C. C. Campbell," exclaimed Charlie, leaning +his chin on his cue with a discontented expression of countenance; for +trying to be good is often very hard work till one gets used to it. + +"Oh, yes! I can accommodate you;" and, as if his words suggested the +selection, Mac, still lying flat upon his back, repeated one of his +favorite bits from Beaumont and Fletcher; for he had a wonderful +memory, and could reel off poetry by the hour together. + + "'Man is his own star: and the soul that can + Render an honest and a perfect man + Commands all light, all influence, all fate; + Nothing to him falls early or too late. + Our acts our angels are; or good or ill, + Our fatal shadows that walk by us still.'" + +"Confoundedly bad angels they are too," muttered Charlie, ruefully; +remembering the one that undid him. + +His cousins never knew exactly what occurred on New-Year's night, but +suspected that something was amiss; for Charlie had the blues, and +Rose, though as kind as ever, expressed no surprise at his long +absences. They had all observed and wondered at this state of things, +yet discreetly made no remark, till Steve, who was as inquisitive as a +magpie, seized this opportunity to say in a friendly tone, which +showed that he bore no malice for the dark prophecy regarding his +Kitty's faithfulness,-- + +"What's the trouble, Prince? You are so seldom in a bad humor that we +don't know what to make of it, and all feel out of spirits when you +have the blues. Had a tiff with Rose?" + +"Never you mind, little boy; but this I will say,--the better women +are, the more unreasonable they are. They don't require us to be +saints like themselves, which is lucky; but they do expect us to +render 'an honest and a perfect man' sometimes, and that is asking +rather too much in a fallen world like this," said Charlie, glad to +get a little sympathy, though he had no intention of confessing his +transgressions. + +"No, it isn't," said Mac, decidedly. + +"Much you know about it," began Charlie, ill pleased to be so flatly +contradicted. + +"Well, I know this much," added Mac, suddenly sitting up with his hair +in a highly dishevelled condition. "It is very unreasonable in us to +ask women to be saints, and then expect them to feel honored when we +offer them our damaged hearts, or, at best, ones not half as good as +theirs. If they weren't blinded by love, they'd see what a mean +advantage we take of them, and not make such bad bargains." + +"Upon my word, the philosopher is coming out strong upon the subject! +We shall have him preaching 'Women's Rights' directly," cried Steve, +much amazed at this outburst. + +"I've begun you see, and much good may it do you," answered Mac, +laying himself placidly down again. + +"Well, but look here, man: you are arguing on the wrong side," put in +Archie, quite agreeing with him, but feeling that he must stand by his +order at all costs. + +"Never mind sides, uphold the right wherever you find it. You needn't +stare, Steve: I told you I was going to look into this matter, and I +am. You think I'm wrapt up in books: but I see a great deal more of +what is going on round me than you imagine; and I'm getting on in this +new branch, let me tell you; quite as fast as is good for me, I dare +say." + +"Going in for perfection, are you?" asked Charlie, both amused and +interested; for he respected Mac more than he owned even to himself, +and though he had never alluded to the timely warning, neither forgot. + +"Yes, I think of it." + +"How will you begin?" + +"Do my best all round: keep good company, read good books, love good +things, and cultivate soul and body as faithfully and wisely as I +can." + +"And you expect to succeed, do you?" + +"Please God, I will." + +The quiet energy of Mac's last words produced a momentary silence. +Charlie thoughtfully studied the carpet; Archie, who had been absently +poking the fire, looked over at Mac as if he thanked him again; and +Steve, forgetting his self-conceit, began to wonder if it was not +possible to improve himself a little for Kitty's sake. Only a minute; +for young men do not give much time to thoughts of this kind, even +when love stirs up the noblest impulses within them. To act rather +than to talk is more natural to most of them, as Charlie's next +question showed; for, having the matter much at heart, he ventured to +ask in an offhand way, as he laughed and twirled his cue,-- + +"Do you intend to reach the highest point of perfection before you +address one of the fair saints, or shall you ask her to lend a hand +somewhere short of that?" + +"As it takes a long lifetime to do what I plan, I think I shall ask +some good woman 'to lend a hand' when I've got any thing worth +offering her. Not a saint, for I never shall be one myself, but a +gentle creature who will help me, as I shall try to help her; so that +we can go on together, and finish our work hereafter, if we haven't +time to do it here." + +If Mac had been a lover, he would not have discussed the subject in +this simple and sincere fashion, though he might have felt it far more +deeply; but being quite heart-free he frankly showed his interest, +and, curiously enough, out of his wise young head unconsciously gave +the three lovers before him counsel which they valued, because he +practised what he preached. + +"Well, I hope you'll find her!" said Charlie, heartily, as he went +back to his game. + +"I think I shall," and, while the others played, Mac lay staring at +the window-curtain, as contentedly as if, through it, he beheld "a +dream of fair women," from which to choose his future mate. + +A few days after this talk in the billiard-room, Kitty went to call +upon Rose; for, as she was about to enter the family, she felt it her +duty to become acquainted with all its branches. This branch, however, +she cultivated more assiduously than any other, and was continually +running in to confer with "Cousin Rose," whom she considered the +wisest, dearest, kindest girl ever created. And Rose, finding that, in +spite of her flighty head, Kitty had a good heart of her own, did her +best to encourage all the new hopes and aspirations springing up in it +under the warmth of the first genuine affection she had ever known. + +"My dear, I want to have some serious conversation with you upon a +subject in which I take an interest for the first time in my life," +began Miss Kitty, seating herself and pulling off her gloves, as if +the subject was one which needed a firm grasp. + +"Tell away, and don't mind if I go on working, as I want to finish +this job to-day," answered Rose, with a long-handled paint-brush in +her hand, and a great pair of shears at her side. + +"You are always so busy! What is it now? Let me help: I can talk +faster when I'm doing something," which seemed hardly possible; for +Kitty's tongue went like a mill-clapper at all hours. + +"Making picture-books for my sick babies at the hospital. Pretty work, +isn't it? You cut out, and I'll paste them on these squares of gay +cambric: then we just tie up a few pages with a ribbon; and there is a +nice, light, durable book for the poor dears to look at as they lie in +their little beds." + +"A capital idea. Do you go there often? How ever do you find the time +for such things?" asked Kitty, busily cutting from a big sheet the +touching picture of a parent bird with a red head and a blue tail, +offering what looked like a small boa-constrictor to one of its +nestlings; a fat young squab with a green head, yellow body, and no +tail at all. + +"I have plenty of time now I don't go out so much; for a party uses up +two days generally,--one to prepare for it, and one to get over it, +you know." + +"People think it is so odd of you to give up society all of a sudden. +They say you have 'turned pious,' and it is owing to your peculiar +bringing up. I always take your part, and say it is a pity other girls +haven't as sensible an education; for I don't know one who is as +satisfactory on the whole as you are." + +"Much obliged. You may also tell people I gave up gayety because I +valued health more. But I haven't forsworn every thing of the kind, +Kit. I go to concerts and lectures, and all sorts of early things, and +have nice times at home, as you know. I like fun as well as ever: but +I'm getting on, you see, and must be preparing a little for the +serious part of life; one never knows when it may come," said Rose, +thoughtfully, as she pasted a squirrel upside-down on the pink cotton +page before her. + +"That reminds me of what I wanted to say. If you'll believe me, my +dear, Steve has got that very idea into his head! Did you or Mac put +it there?" asked Kitty, industriously clashing her shears. + +"No, I've given up lecturing the boys lately: they are so big now they +don't like it, and I fancy I'd got into a way that was rather +tiresome." + +"Well, then, _he_ is 'turning pious' too. And what is very singular, I +like it. Now don't smile: I really do; and I want to be getting ready +for the 'serious part of life,' as you call it. That is, I want to +grow better as fast as I can; for Steve says he isn't half good enough +for me. Just think of that!" + +Kitty looked so surprised and pleased and proud, that Rose felt no +desire to laugh at her sudden fancy for sobriety, but said in her most +sympathetic tone,-- + +"I'm very glad to hear it; for it shows that he loves you in the right +way." + +"Is there more than one way?" + +"Yes, I fancy so; because some people improve so much after they fall +in love, and others do not at all. Have you never observed that?" + +"I never learned how to observe. Of course, I know that some matches +turn out well and some don't; but I never thought much about it." + +"Well, I have; for I was rather interested in the subject lately, and +had a talk with Aunt Jessie and uncle about it." + +"Gracious! you don't talk to them about such things, do you?" + +"Yes, indeed; I ask any question I like, and always get a good answer. +It is such a nice way to learn, Kitty; for you don't have to poke over +books, but as things come along you talk about them, and remember; and +when they are spoken of afterward you understand and are interested, +though you don't say a word," explained Rose. + +"It must be nice; but I haven't any one to do so for me. Papa is too +busy, and mamma always says when I ask questions, 'Don't trouble your +head with such things, child;' so I don't. What did you learn about +matches turning out well? I'm interested in that, because I want mine +to be quite perfect in all respects." + +"After thinking it over, I came to the conclusion that uncle _was_ +right, and it is _not_ always safe to marry a person just because you +love him," began Rose, trying to enlighten Kitty without betraying +herself. + +"Of course not: if they haven't money or are bad. But otherwise I +don't see what more is needed," said Kitty, wonderingly. + +"One should stop and see if it is a wise love, likely to help both +parties, and wear well; for you know it ought to last all one's +lifetime, and it is very sad if it doesn't." + +"I declare it quite scares me to think of it; for I don't usually go +beyond my wedding-day in making plans. I remember, though, that when I +was engaged the first time (you don't know the man: it was just after +you went away, and I was only sixteen), some one very ill-naturedly +said I should 'marry in haste and repent at leisure;' and that made me +try to imagine how it would seem to go on year after year with +Gustavus (who had a dreadful temper, by the way), and it worried me so +to think of it that I broke the engagement, and was so glad ever +afterward." + +"You were a wise girl; and I hope you'll do it again, if you find, +after a time, that you and Steve do not truly trust and respect as +well as love one another. If you don't, you'll be miserable when it is +too late, as so many people are who do marry in haste and have a +lifetime to repent in. Aunt Jessie says so, and she knows." + +"Don't be solemn, Rose. It fidgets me to think about lifetimes, and +respecting, and all those responsible things. I'm not used to it, and +I don't know how to do it." + +"But you _must_ think, and you must learn how before you take the +responsibility upon yourself. That is what your life is for; and you +mustn't spoil it by doing a very solemn thing without seeing if you +are ready for it." + +"Do you think about all this?" asked Kitty, shrugging up her shoulders +as if responsibility of any sort did not sit comfortably on them. + +"One has to sometimes, you know. But is that all you wanted to tell +me?" added Rose, anxious to turn the conversation from herself. + +"Oh, dear, no! The most serious thing of all is this. Steve is putting +himself in order generally, and so I want to do my part; and I must +begin right away before my thoughts get distracted with clothes, and +all sorts of dear, delightful, frivolous things that I can't help +liking. Now I wish you'd tell me where to begin. Shouldn't I improve +my mind by reading something solid?" and Kitty looked over at the +well-filled book-case, as if to see if it contained any thing large +and dry enough to be considered "solid." + +"It would be an excellent plan, and we'll look up something. What do +you feel as if you needed most?" + +"A little of every thing I should say; for when I look into my mind +there really doesn't seem to be much there but odds and ends, and yet +I'm sure I've read a great deal more than some girls do. I suppose +novels don't count, though, and are of no use; for, goodness knows, +the people and things they describe aren't a bit like the real ones." + +"Some novels are very useful and do as much good as sermons, I've +heard uncle say; because they not only describe truly, but teach so +pleasantly that people like to learn in that way," said Rose, who knew +the sort of books Kitty had read, and did not wonder that she felt +rather astray when she tried to guide herself by their teaching. + +"You pick me out some of the right kind, and I'll apply my mind to +them. Then I ought to have some 'serious views' and 'methods' and +'principles;' Steve said 'principles,' good firm ones, you know," and +Kitty gave a little pull at the bit of cambric she was cutting, as +housewives pull cotton or calico when they want "a good firm article." + +Rose could not help laughing now, though much pleased; for Kitty was +so prettily in earnest, and yet so perfectly ignorant how to begin on +the self-improvement she very much needed, that it was pathetic as +well as comical to see and hear her. + +"You certainly want some of those, and must begin at once to get them: +but Aunt Jessie can help you there better than I can; or Aunt Jane, +for she has very 'firm' ones, I assure you," said Rose, sobering down +as quickly as possible. + +"Mercy on us! I should never dare to say a word about it to Mrs. Mac: +for I'm dreadfully afraid of her, she is so stern; and how I'm ever to +get on when she is my mother-in-law I don't know!" cried Kitty, +clasping her hands in dismay at the idea. + +"She isn't half as stern as she looks; and if you go to her without +fear, you've no idea how sensible and helpful she is. I used to be +frightened out of my wits with her, but now I'm not a bit, and we get +on nicely: indeed I'm fond of her, she is so reliable and upright in +all things." + +"She certainly is the straightest woman I ever saw, and the most +precise. I never shall forget how scared I was when Steve took me up +to see her that first time. I put on all my plainest things, did my +hair in a meek knob, and tried to act like a sober, sedate young +woman. Steve would laugh at me, and say I looked like a pretty nun, so +I couldn't be as proper as I wished. Mrs. Mac was very kind, of +course; but her eye was so sharp I felt as if she saw right through +me, and knew that I'd pinned on my bonnet-strings, lost a button off +my boot, and didn't brush my hair for ten minutes every night," said +Kitty, in an awe-stricken tone. + +"She likes you, though, and so does uncle, and he's set his heart on +having you live with them by and by; so don't mind her eyes, but look +straight up at her, and you'll see how kind they can grow." + +"Mac likes me too, and that did please me; for he doesn't like girls +generally. Steve told me he said I had the 'making of a capital little +woman in me.' Wasn't it nice of him? Steve was _so_ proud, though he +does laugh at Mac sometimes." + +"Don't disappoint them, dear. Encourage Steve in all the good things +he likes or wants, make friends with Mac, love Aunt Jane, and be a +daughter to uncle, and you'll find yourself a very happy girl." + +"I truly will, and thank you very much for not making fun of me. I +know I'm a little goose; but lately I've felt as if I might come to +something if I had the right sort of help. I'll go up and see Aunt +Jessie to-morrow; I'm not a bit afraid of her: and then if you'll just +quietly find out from Uncle Doctor what I must read, I'll work as hard +as I can. Don't tell any one, please; they'll think it odd and +affected, and I can't bear to be laughed at, though I dare say it is +good discipline." + +Rose promised, and both worked in silence for a moment; then Kitty +asked rather timidly,-- + +"Are you and Charlie trying this plan too? Since you've left off going +out so much, he keeps away also; and we don't know what to make of +it." + +"He has had what he calls an 'artistic fit' lately, set up a studio, +and is doing some crayon sketches of us all. If he'd only finish his +things, they would be excellent; but he likes to try a great variety +at once. I'll take you in sometime, and perhaps he will do a portrait +of you for Steve. He likes girls' faces, and gets the likenesses +wonderfully well." + +"People say you are engaged: but I contradict it; because, of course, +_I_ should know if you were." + +"We are not." + +"I'm glad of it; for really, Rose, I'm afraid Charlie hasn't got 'firm +principles,' though he is a fascinating fellow and one can't scold +him. You don't mind my saying so, do you, dear?" added Kitty; for Rose +did not answer at once. + +"Not in the least: for you are one of us now, and I can speak frankly, +and I will; for I think in one way you _can_ help Steve very much. You +are right about Charlie, both as to the principles and the +fascination: Steve admires him exceedingly, and always from a boy +liked to imitate his pleasant ways. Some of them are very harmless and +do Steve good, but some are not. I needn't talk about it, only you +must show your boy that you depend on him to keep out of harm, and +help him do it." + +"I will, I will! and then perhaps, when he is a perfect model, Charlie +will imitate him. I really begin to feel as if I had a great deal to +do," and Kitty looked as if she was beginning to like it also. + +"We all have; and the sooner we go to work the better for us and those +we love. You wouldn't think now that Phebe was doing any thing for +Archie, but she is; and writes such splendid letters, they stir him up +wonderfully, and make us all love and admire her more than ever." + +"How is she getting on?" asked Kitty, who, though she called herself a +"little goose," had tact enough to see that Rose did not care to talk +about Charlie. + +"Nicely; for you know she used to sing in our choir, so that was a +good recommendation for another. She got a fine place in the new +church at L----; and that gives her a comfortable salary, though she +has something put away. She was always a saving creature and kept her +wages carefully; uncle invested them, and she begins to feel quite +independent already. No fear but my Phebe will get on: she has such +energy, and manages so well. I sometimes wish I could run away and +work with her." + +"Ah, my dear! we rich girls have our trials as well as poor ones, +though we don't get as much pity as they do," sighed Kitty. "Nobody +knows what I suffer sometimes from worries that I can't talk about, +and I shouldn't get much sympathy if I did; just because I live in a +big house, wear good gowns, and have lots of lovers. Annabel used to +say she envied me above all created beings; but she doesn't now, and +is perfectly absorbed in her dear little Chinaman. Do you see how she +ever could like him?" + +So they began to gossip, and the sober talk was over for that time; +but when Kitty departed, after criticising all her dear friends and +their respective sweethearts, she had a helpful little book in her +muff, a resolute expression on her bright face, and so many excellent +plans for self-improvement in her busy brain, that she and Steve bid +fair to turn out the model couple of the century. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +_AUNT CLARA'S PLAN._ + + +Being seriously alarmed by the fear of losing the desire of his heart, +Charlie had gone resolutely to work, and, like many another young +reformer, he rather overdid the matter; for, in trying to keep out of +the way of temptation, he denied himself much innocent enjoyment. The +artistic fit was a good excuse for the seclusion which he fancied +would be a proper penance; and he sat listlessly plying crayon or +paint-brush, with daily wild rides on black Brutus, which seemed to do +him good; for danger of that sort was his delight. + +People were used to his whims, and made light of what they considered +a new one; but, when it lasted week after week and all attempts to +draw him out were vain, his jolly comrades gave him up, and the family +began to say approvingly,--"Now he really _is_ going to settle down +and do something." Fortunately, his mother let him alone; for though +Dr. Alec had not "thundered in her ear," as he threatened, he _had_ +talked with her in a way which first made her very angry, then +anxious, and, lastly, quite submissive; for her heart was set on her +boy's winning Rose, and she would have had him put on sackcloth and +ashes if that would have secured the prize. She made light of the +cause of Rose's displeasure, considering her extremely foolish and +straitlaced; "for all young men of any spirit had their little vices, +and came out well enough when the wild oats were sowed." So she +indulged Charlie in his new vagary, as she had in all his others, and +treated him like an ill-used being, which was neither an inspiring nor +helpful course on her part. Poor soul! she saw her mistake by and by, +and when too late repented of it bitterly. + +Rose wanted to be kind, and tried in various ways to help her cousin, +feeling very sure she should succeed as many another hopeful woman has +done, quite unconscious how much stronger an undisciplined will is +than the truest love; and what a difficult task the wisest find it to +undo the mistakes of a bad education. But it was a hard thing to do: +for, at the least hint of commendation or encouragement, he looked so +hopeful that she was afraid of seeming to promise too much; and, of +all things, she desired to escape the accusation of having trifled +with him. + +So life was not very comfortable to either just then; and, while +Charlie was "mortifying soul and body" to please her, she was studying +how to serve him best. Aunt Jessie helped her very much, and no one +guessed, when they saw pretty Miss Campbell going up and down the hill +with such a serious face, that she was intent on any thing except +taking, with praiseworthy regularity, the constitutionals which gave +her such a charming color. + +Matters were in this state, when one day a note came to Rose from Mrs. +Clara. + + "MY SWEET CHILD,--Do take pity on my poor boy, and cheer him + up with a sight of you; for he is so _triste_ it breaks my + heart to see him. He has a new plan in his head, which + strikes me as an excellent one, if you will only favor it. + Let him come and take you for a drive this fine afternoon, + and talk things over. It will do him a world of good and + deeply oblige + + "Your ever loving + + "AUNT CLARA." + +Rose read the note twice, and stood a moment pondering, with her eyes +absently fixed on the little bay before her window. The sight of +several black figures moving briskly to and fro across its frozen +surface seemed to suggest a mode of escape from the drive she dreaded +in more ways than one. "That will be safer and pleasanter," she said, +and going to her desk wrote her answer. + + "DEAR AUNTY,--I'm afraid of Brutus; but, if Charlie will go + skating with me, I should enjoy it very much, and it would + do us both good. I can listen to the new plan with an + undivided mind there; so give him my love, please, and say I + shall expect him at three. + + "Affectionately, + + "ROSE." + +Punctually at three, Charlie appeared with his skates over his arm, +and a very contented face, which brightened wonderfully as Rose came +downstairs in a seal-skin suit and scarlet skirt, so like the one she +wore years ago that he involuntarily exclaimed as he took her +skates,-- + +"You look so like little Rose I hardly know you; and it seems so like +old times I feel sixteen again." + +"That is just the way one ought to feel such a day as this. Now let us +be off and have a good spin before any one comes. There are only a few +children there now; but it is Saturday, you know, and everybody will +be out before long," answered Rose, carefully putting on her mittens +as she talked: for her heart was not as light as the one little Rose +carried under the brown jacket; and the boy of sixteen never looked at +her with the love and longing she read in the eyes of the young man +before her. + +Away they went, and were soon almost as merry and warm as the children +round them; for the ice was in good condition, the February sunshine +brilliant, and the keen wind set their blood a-tingle with a healthful +glow. + +"Now tell me the plan your mother spoke of," began Rose, as they went +gliding across the wide expanse before them; for Charlie seemed to +have forgotten every thing but the bliss of having her all to himself +for a little while. + +"Plan? Oh, yes! it is simply this. I'm going out to father next +month." + +"Really?" and Rose looked both surprised and incredulous; for this +plan was not a new one. + +"Really. You don't believe it, but I am; and mother means to go with +me. We've had another letter from the governor, and he says if she +can't part from her big baby to come along too, and all be happy +together. What do you think of that?" he asked, eying her intently; +for they were face to face, as she went backward and he held both her +hands to steer and steady her. + +"I like it immensely, and I do believe it now: only it rather takes my +breath away to think of aunty's going, when she never would hear of it +before." + +"She doesn't like the plan very well now, and consents to go only on +one condition." + +"What is that?" asked Rose, trying to free her hands; for a look at +Charlie made her suspect what was coming. + +"That you go with us;" and, holding the hands fast, he added rapidly, +"Let me finish before you speak. I don't mean that any thing is to be +changed till you are ready; but if _you_ go I'm willing to give up +every thing else, and live anywhere as long as you like. Why shouldn't +you come to us for a year or two? We've never had our share. Father +would be delighted, mother contented, and I the happiest man alive." + +"Who made this plan?" asked Rose, as soon as she got the breath which +certainly _had_ been rather taken away by this entirely new and by no +means agreeable scheme. + +"Mother suggested it: I shouldn't have dared to even dream of such +richness. I'd made up my mind to go alone; and when I told her she was +in despair, till this superb idea came into her head. After that, of +course it was easy enough for me to stick to the resolution I'd made." + +"Why did _you_ decide to go, Charlie?" and Rose looked up into the +eyes that were fixed beseechingly on hers. + +They wavered and glanced aside; then met hers honestly, yet full of a +humility which made her own fall as he answered very low,-- + +"Because I don't _dare_ to stay." + +"Is it so hard?" she said pitifully. + +"Very hard. I haven't the moral courage to own up and face ridicule, +and it seems so mean to hide for fear of breaking my word. I _will_ +keep it this time, Rose, if I go to the ends of the earth to do it." + +"It is not cowardly to flee temptation; and nobody whose opinion is +worth having will ridicule any brave attempt to conquer one's self. +Don't mind it, Charlie, but stand fast; and I am sure you will +succeed." + +"You don't know what it is, and I can't tell you; for till I tried to +give it up I never guessed what a grip it had on me. I thought it was +only a habit, easy to drop when I liked: but it is stronger than I; +and sometimes I feel as if possessed of a devil that _will_ get the +better of me, try as I may." + +He dropped her hands abruptly as he said that, with the energy of +despair; and, as if afraid of saying too much, he left her for a +minute, striking away at full speed, as if in truth he would "go to +the ends of the earth" to escape the enemy within himself. + +Rose stood still, appalled by this sudden knowledge of how much +greater the evil was than she had dreamed. What ought she to do? Go +with her cousin, and by so doing tacitly pledge herself as his +companion on that longer journey for which he was as yet so poorly +equipped? Both heart and conscience protested against this so strongly +that she put the thought away. But compassion pleaded for him +tenderly; and the spirit of self-sacrifice, which makes women love to +give more than they receive, caused her to feel as if in a measure +this man's fate lay in her hands, to be decided for good or ill +through her. How should she be true both to him and to herself? + +Before this question could be answered, he was back again, looking as +if he had left his care behind him; for his moods varied like the +wind. Her attitude, as she stood motionless and alone with downcast +face, was so unlike the cheerful creature who came to meet him an hour +ago, it filled him with self-reproach; and, coming up, he drew one +hand through his arm, saying, as she involuntarily followed him,-- + +"You must not stand still. Forget my heroics, and answer my question. +Will you go with us, Rose?" + +"Not now: that is asking too much, Charlie, and I will promise +nothing, because I cannot do it honestly," she answered, so firmly +that he knew appeal was useless. + +"Am I to go alone, then, leaving all I care for behind me?" + +"No, take your mother with you, and do your best to reunite your +parents. You could not give yourself to a better task." + +"She won't go without you." + +"I think she will if you hold fast to your resolution. You won't give +that up, I hope?" + +"No: I must go somewhere, for I can't stay here; and it may as well be +India, since that pleases father," answered Charlie, doggedly. + +"It will more than you can imagine. Tell him all the truth, and see +how glad he will be to help you, and how sincerely he will respect you +for what you've done." + +"If you respect me, I don't care much about the opinion of any one +else," answered Charlie, clinging with a lover's pertinacity to the +hope that was dearest. + +"I shall, if you go manfully away, and do the duty you owe your father +and yourself." + +"And, when I've done it, may I come back to be rewarded, Rose?" he +asked, taking possession of the hand on his arm, as if it was already +his. + +"I wish I could say what you want me to. But how can I promise when I +am not sure of any thing? I don't love you as I ought, and perhaps I +never shall: so why persist in making me bind myself in this way? Be +generous, Charlie, and don't ask it," implored Rose, much afflicted by +his persistence. + +"I thought you did love me: it looked very like it a month ago, unless +you have turned coquette, and I can't quite believe that," he answered +bitterly. + +"I _was_ beginning to love you, but you made me afraid to go on," +murmured Rose, trying to tell the truth kindly. + +"That cursed custom! What _can_ a man do when his hostess asks him to +drink wine with her?" And Charlie looked as if he could have cursed +himself even more heartily. + +"He can say 'No.'" + +"I can't." + +"Ah, that's the trouble! You never learned to say it even to yourself; +and now it is so hard you want me to help you." + +"And you won't." + +"Yes, I will, by showing you that I _can_ say it to myself, for your +sake." And Rose looked up with a face so full of tender sorrow he +could not doubt the words which both reproached and comforted him. + +"My little saint! I don't deserve one half your goodness to me; but I +will, and go away without one complaint to do my best, for your sake," +he cried, touched by her grief, and stirred to emulation by the +example of courage and integrity she tried to set him. + +Here Steve and Kitty bore down upon them; and, obeying the impulse to +put care behind them which makes it possible for young hearts to ache +one minute and dance the next, Rose and Charlie banished their +troubles, joined in the sport that soon turned the lonely little bay +into a ballroom, and enjoyed the splendors of a winter sunset, +forgetful of separation and Calcutta. + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + +_ALAS FOR CHARLIE!_ + + +In spite of much internal rebellion, Charlie held fast to his +resolution; and Aunt Clara, finding all persuasions vain, gave in, and +prepared to accompany him, in a state of chronic indignation against +the world in general and Rose in particular. The poor girl had a hard +time of it, and, but for her uncle, would have fared still worse. He +was a sort of shield, upon which Mrs. Clara's lamentations, +reproaches, and irate glances fell unavailingly, instead of wounding +the heart against which they were aimed. + +The days passed very quickly now; for every one seemed anxious to have +the parting over, and preparations went on rapidly. The big house was +made ready to shut up for a year at least, comforts for the long +voyage laid in, and farewell visits paid. The general activity and +excitement rendered it impossible for Charlie to lead the life of an +artistic hermit any longer: and he fell into a restless condition, +which caused Rose to long for the departure of the "Rajah," when she +felt that he would be safe; for these farewell festivities were +dangerous to one who was just learning to say "No." + +"Half the month safely gone. If we can only get well over these last +weeks, a great weight will be off my mind," thought Rose, as she went +down one wild, wet morning toward the end of February. + +Opening the study-door to greet her uncle, she exclaimed, "Why, +Archie!" then paused upon the threshold, transfixed by fear; for in +her cousin's white face she read the tidings of some great affliction. + +"Hush! don't be frightened. Come in and I'll tell you," he whispered, +putting down the bottle he had just taken from the doctor's +medicine-closet. + +Rose understood and obeyed; for Aunt Plenty was poorly with her +rheumatism, and depended on her morning doze. + +"What is it?" she said, looking about the room with a shiver, as if +expecting to see again what she saw there New-Year's night. Archie was +alone, however, and, drawing her toward the closet, answered, with an +evident effort to be quite calm and steady,-- + +"Charlie is hurt! Uncle wants more ether, and the wide bandages in +some drawer or other. He told me, but I forget. You keep this place in +order: find them for me. Quick!" + +Before he had done, Rose was at the drawer, turning over the bandages +with hands that trembled as they searched. + +"All narrow! I must make some. Can you wait?" And, catching up a piece +of old linen, she tore it into wide strips, adding, in the same quick +tone, as she began to roll them,-- + +"Now tell me." + +"I can wait: those are not needed just yet. I didn't mean any one +should know, you least of all," began Archie, smoothing out the strips +as they lay across the table, and evidently surprised at the girl's +nerve and skill. + +"I can bear it: make haste! Is he much hurt?" + +"I'm afraid he is. Uncle looks sober, and the poor boy suffers so I +couldn't stay," answered Archie, turning still whiter about the lips +that never had so hard a tale to tell before. + +"You see, he went to town last evening to meet the man who is going to +buy Brutus--" + +"And Brutus did it? I knew he would!" cried Rose, dropping her work to +wring her hands, as if she guessed the ending of the story now. + +"Yes, and if he wasn't shot already I'd do it myself with pleasure; +for he's done his best to kill Charlie," muttered Charlie's mate with +a grim look; then gave a great sigh, and added with averted face,-- + +"I shouldn't blame the brute; it wasn't his fault: he needed a firm +hand, and--" he stopped there, but Rose said quickly,--"Go on. I +_must_ know." + +"Charlie met some of his old cronies, quite by accident; there was a +dinner-party, and they made him go, just for a good-by they said. He +couldn't refuse, and it was too much for him. He would come home alone +in the storm, though they tried to keep him as he wasn't fit. Down by +the new bridge,--that high embankment you know,--the wind had put the +lantern out--he forgot--or something scared Brutus, and all went down +together." + +Archie had spoken fast and brokenly; but Rose understood, and at the +last word hid her face with a little moan, as if she saw it all. + +"Drink this and never mind the rest," he said, dashing into the next +room and coming back with a glass of water, longing to be done and +away; for this sort of pain seemed almost as bad as that he had left. + +Rose drank, but held his arm tightly as he would have turned away, +saying in a tone of command he could not disobey,-- + +"Don't keep any thing back: tell me the worst at once." + +"We knew nothing of it," he went on obediently. "Aunt Clara thought he +was with me, and no one found him till early this morning. A workman +recognized him; and he was brought home, dead they thought. I came for +uncle an hour ago. Charlie is conscious now, but awfully hurt; and I'm +afraid from the way Mac and uncle look at one another that--Oh! Oh! +think of it, Rose! crushed and helpless, alone in the rain all night, +and I never knew, I never knew!" + +With that poor Archie broke down entirely; and, flinging himself into +a chair, laid his face on the table, sobbing like a girl. Rose had +never seen a man cry before, and it was so unlike a woman's gentler +grief that it moved her very much. Putting by her own anguish, she +tried to comfort his, and going to him lifted up his head and made him +lean on her; for in such hours as this women are the stronger. It was +a very little to do, but it did comfort Archie; for the poor fellow +felt as if fate was very hard upon him just then, and into this +faithful bosom he could pour his brief but pathetic plaint. + +"Phebe's gone, and now if Charlie's taken I don't see how I _can_ bear +it!" + +"Phebe will come back, dear, and let us hope poor Charlie isn't going +to be taken yet. Such things always seem worse at first, I've heard +people say; so cheer up and hope for the best," answered Rose, seeking +for some comfortable words to say, and finding very few. + +They took effect, however; for Archie did cheer up like a man. Wiping +away the tears which he so seldom shed that they did not know where to +go, he got up, gave himself a little shake, and said with a long +breath, as if he had been under water,-- + +"Now I'm all right, thank you. I couldn't help it: the shock of being +waked suddenly to find the dear old fellow in such a pitiful state +upset me. I ought to go: are these ready?" + +"In a minute. Tell uncle to send for me if I can be of any use. Oh, +poor Aunt Clara! how does she bear it?" + +"Almost distracted. I took mother to her, and she will do all that +anybody can. Heaven only knows what aunt will do if--" + +"And Heaven only can help her," added Rose, as Archie stopped at the +words he could not utter. "Now take them, and let me know often." + +"You brave little soul, I will," and Archie went away through the rain +with his sad burden, wondering how Rose could be so calm, when the +beloved Prince might be dying. + +A long dark day followed, with nothing to break its melancholy +monotony except the bulletins that came from hour to hour, reporting +little change either for better or for worse. Rose broke the news +gently to Aunt Plenty, and set herself to the task of keeping up the +old lady's spirits; for, being helpless, the good soul felt as if +every thing would go wrong without her. At dusk she fell asleep, and +Rose went down to order lights and fire in the parlor, with tea ready +to serve at any moment; for she felt sure some of the men would come, +and that a cheerful greeting and creature comforts would suit them +better than tears, darkness, and desolation. + +Presently Mac arrived, saying the instant he entered the room,-- + +"More comfortable, cousin." + +"Thank Heaven!" cried Rose, unclasping her hands. Then seeing how worn +out, wet, and weary Mac looked as he came into the light, she added in +a tone that was a cordial in itself, "Poor boy, how tired you are! +Come here, and let me make you comfortable." + +"I was going home to freshen up a bit; for I must be back in an hour. +Mother took my place so I could be spared, and came off, as uncle +refused to stir." + +"Don't go home; for if aunty isn't there it will be very dismal. Step +into uncle's room and refresh, then come back and I'll give you your +tea. Let me, let me! I can't help in any other way; and I _must_ do +something, this waiting is so dreadful." + +Her last words betrayed how much suspense was trying her; and Mac +yielded at once, glad to comfort and be comforted. When he came back, +looking much revived, a tempting little tea-table stood before the +fire; and Rose went to meet him, saying with a faint smile, as she +liberally bedewed him with the contents of a cologne flask,-- + +"I can't bear the smell of ether: it suggests such dreadful things." + +"What curious creatures women are! Archie told us you bore the news +like a hero, and now you turn pale at a whiff of bad air. I can't +explain it," mused Mac, as he meekly endured the fragrant shower-bath. + +"Neither can I; but I've been imagining horrors all day, and made +myself nervous. Don't let us talk about it; but come and have some +tea." + +"That's another queer thing. Tea is your panacea for all human ills; +yet there isn't any nourishment in it. I'd rather have a glass of +milk, thank you," said Mac, taking an easy-chair and stretching his +feet to the fire. + +She brought it to him and made him eat something; then, as he shut his +eyes wearily, she went away to the piano, and having no heart to sing, +played softly till he seemed asleep. But, at the stroke of six, he was +up and ready to be off again. + +"He gave me that: take it with you and put some on his hair; he likes +it, and I do so want to help a little," she said, slipping the pretty +flagon into his pocket, with such a wistful look, Mac never thought of +smiling at this very feminine request. + +"I'll tell him. Is there any thing else I can do for you, cousin?" he +asked, holding the cold hand that had been serving him so helpfully. + +"Only this: if there is any sudden change, promise to send for me, no +matter at what hour it is: I _must_ say 'Good-by.'" + +"I will come for you. But, Rose, I am sure you may sleep in peace +to-night; and I hope to have good news for you in the morning." + +"Bless you for that! Come early, and let me see him soon. I will be +very good, and I know it will not do him any harm." + +"No fear of that: the first thing he said when he could speak was, +'Tell Rose carefully;' and, as I came away, he guessed where I was +going, and tried to kiss his hand in the old way, you know." + +Mac thought it would cheer her to hear that Charlie remembered her; +but the sudden thought that she might never see that familiar little +gesture any more was the last drop that made her full heart overflow, +and Mac saw the "hero" of the morning sink down at his feet in a +passion of tears that frightened him. He took her to the sofa, and +tried to comfort her; but, as soon as the bitter sobbing quieted, she +looked up and said quite steadily, great drops rolling down her cheeks +the while,-- + +"Let me cry: it is what I need, and I shall be all the better for it +by and by. Go to Charlie now, and tell him I said with all my heart, +'Good-night!'" + +"I will!" and Mac trudged away, marvelling in his turn at the +curiously blended strength and weakness of womankind. + +That was the longest night Rose ever spent; but joy came in the +morning with the early message, "He is better. You are to come by and +by." Then Aunt Plenty forgot her lumbago and arose; Aunt Myra, who had +come to have a social croak, took off her black bonnet as if it would +not be needed at present, and the girl made ready to go and say +"Welcome back," not the hard "Good-by." + +It seemed very long to wait; for no summons came till afternoon, then +her uncle arrived, and at the first sight of his face Rose began to +tremble. + +"I came for my little girl myself, because we must go back at once," +he said, as she hurried toward him hat in hand. + +"I'm ready, sir;" but her hands shook as she tried to tie the ribbons, +and her eyes never left the face that was so full of tender pity for +her. + +He took her quickly into the carriage, and, as they rolled away, said +with the quiet directness which soothes such agitation better than any +sympathetic demonstration,-- + +"Charlie is worse. I feared it when the pain went so suddenly this +morning; but the chief injuries are internal, and one can never tell +what the chances are. He insists that he is better, but will soon +begin to fail, I fear; become unconscious, and slip away without more +suffering. This is the time for you to see him; for he has set his +heart on it, and nothing can hurt him now. My child, it is very hard; +but we must help each other bear it." + +Rose tried to say, "Yes, uncle," bravely; but the words would not +come; and she could only slip her hand into his with a look of mute +submission. He laid her head on his shoulder, and went on talking so +quietly that any one who did not see how worn and haggard his face had +grown with two days and a night of sharp anxiety might have thought +him cold. + +"Jessie has gone home to rest, and Jane is with poor Clara, who has +dropped asleep at last. I've sent for Steve and the other boys. There +will be time for them later; but he so begged to see you now, I +thought it best to come while this temporary strength keeps him up. I +have told him how it is, but he will not believe me. If he asks you, +answer honestly; and try to fit him a little for this sudden ending of +so many hopes." + +"How soon, uncle?" + +"A few hours, probably. This tranquil moment is yours: make the most +of it; and, when we can do no more for him, we'll comfort one +another." + +Mac met them in the hall: but Rose hardly saw him; she was conscious +only of the task before her; and, when her uncle led her to the door, +she said quietly,-- + +"Let me go in alone, please." + +Archie, who had been hanging over the bed, slipped away into the inner +room as she appeared; and Rose found Charlie waiting for her with such +a happy face, she could not believe what she had heard, and found it +easy to say almost cheerfully, as she took his eager hand in both of +hers,-- + +"Dear Charlie, I'm so glad you sent for me. I longed to come, but +waited till you were better. You surely are?" she added, as a second +glance showed her the indescribable change which had come upon the +face which at first seemed to have both light and color in it. + +"Uncle says not: but I think he is mistaken, because the agony is all +gone; and, except for this odd sinking now and then, I don't feel so +much amiss," he answered feebly, but with something of the old +lightness in his voice. + +"You will hardly be able to sail in the 'Rajah,' I fear; but you won't +mind waiting a little, while we nurse you," said poor Rose, trying to +talk on quietly, with her heart growing heavier every minute. + +"I shall go if I'm carried! I'll keep that promise, though it costs me +my life. O Rose! you know? they've told you?" and, with a sudden +memory of what brought him there, he hid his face in the pillow. + +"You broke no promise; for I would not let you make one, you remember. +Forget all that, and let us talk about the better time that may be +coming for you." + +"Always so generous, so kind!" he murmured, with her hand against his +feverish cheek; then, looking up, he went on in a tone so humbly +contrite it made her eyes fill with slow, hot tears. + +"I tried to flee temptation: I tried to say 'No;' but I am so pitiably +weak, I couldn't. You must despise me. But don't give me up entirely: +for, if I live, I'll do better; I'll go away to father and begin +again." + +Rose tried to keep back the bitter drops; but they would fall, to hear +him still speak hopefully when there was no hope. Something in the +mute anguish of her face seemed to tell him what she could not speak; +and a quick change came over him as he grasped her hand tighter, +saying in a sharp whisper,-- + +"Have I really got to die, Rose?" + +Her only answer was to kneel down and put her arms about him, as if +she tried to keep death away a little longer. He believed it then, and +lay so still, she looked up in a moment, fearing she knew not what. + +But Charlie bore it manfully; for he had the courage which can face a +great danger bravely, though not the strength to fight a bosom-sin and +conquer it. His eyes were fixed, as if trying to look into the unseen +world whither he was going, and his lips firmly set that no word of +complaint should spoil the proof he meant to give that, though he had +not known how to live, he did know how to die. It seemed to Rose as if +for one brief instant she saw the man that might have been, if early +training had taught him how to rule himself; and the first words he +uttered with a long sigh, as his eye came back to her, showed that he +felt the failure and owned it with pathetic candor. + +"Better so, perhaps; better go before I bring any more sorrow to you, +and shame to myself. I'd like to stay a little longer, and try to +redeem the past; it seems so wasted now: but, if I can't, don't +grieve, Rose; I'm no loss to any one, and perhaps it _is_ too late to +mend." + +"Oh, don't say that! no one will fill your place among us: we never +can forget how much we loved you; and you must believe how freely we +forgive as we would be forgiven," cried Rose, steadied by the pale +despair that had fallen on Charlie's face with those bitter words. + +"'Forgive us our trespasses!' Yes, I should say that. Rose, I'm not +ready; it is so sudden: what can I do?" he whispered, clinging to her, +as if he had no anchor except the creature whom he loved so much. + +"Uncle will tell you: I am not good enough; I can only pray for you," +and she moved as if to call in the help so sorely needed. + +"No, no, not yet! stay by me, darling: read something; there, in +grandfather's old book, some prayer for such as I. It will do me more +good from you than any minister alive." + +She got the venerable book,--given to Charlie because he bore the good +man's name,--and, turning to the "Prayer for the Dying," read it +brokenly; while the voice beside her echoed now and then some word +that reproved or comforted. + +"The testimony of a good conscience." "By the sadness of his +countenance may his heart be made better." "Christian patience and +fortitude." "Leave the world in peace." "Amen." + +There was silence for a little; then Rose, seeing how wan he looked, +said softly, "Shall I call uncle now?" + +"If you will; but first--don't smile at my foolishness, dear--I want +my little heart. They took it off: please give it back, and let me +keep it always," he answered, with the old fondness strong as ever, +even when he could only show it by holding fast the childish trinket +which she found and gave him,--the old agate heart with the faded +ribbon. "Put it on, and never let them take it off," he said; and, +when she asked if there was any thing else she could do for him, he +tried to stretch out his arms to her with a look which asked for more. + +She kissed him very tenderly on lips and forehead; tried to say +"Good-by," but could not speak, and groped her way to the door. +Turning for a last look, Charlie's hopeful spirit rose for a moment, +as if anxious to send her away more cheerful, and he said with a +shadow of the old blithe smile, a feeble attempt at the familiar +farewell gesture,-- + +"Till to-morrow, Rose." + +Alas, for Charlie! his to-morrow never came: and, when she saw him +next, he lay there looking so serene and noble, it seemed as if it +must be well with him: for all the pain was past; temptation ended; +doubt and fear, hope and love, could no more stir his quiet heart, and +in solemn truth he _had_ gone to meet his Father, and begin again. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + +_GOOD WORKS._ + + +The "Rajah" was delayed awhile, and when it sailed poor Mrs. Clara was +on board; for every thing was ready, all thought she had better go to +comfort her husband, and since her boy died she seemed to care very +little what became of her. So, with friends to cheer the long voyage, +she sailed away, a heavy-hearted woman, yet not quite disconsolate; +for she knew her mourning was excessively becoming, and felt sure that +Stephen would not find her altered by her trials as much as might have +been expected. + +Then nothing was left of that gay household but the empty rooms, +silence never broken by a blithe voice any more, and pictures full of +promise, but all unfinished, like poor Charlie's life. + +There was much mourning for the bonny Prince, but no need to tell of +it except as it affected Rose; for it is with her we have most to do, +the other characters being of secondary importance. + +When time had soothed the first shock of sudden loss, she was +surprised to find that the memory of his faults and failings, short +life and piteous death, grew dim as if a kindly hand wiped out the +record, and gave him back to her in the likeness of the brave, bright +boy she had loved, not as the wayward, passionate young man who had +loved her. + +This comforted her very much; and, folding down the last blotted leaf +where his name was written, she gladly turned back to reopen and +reread the happier chapters which painted the youthful knight before +he went out to fall in his first battle. None of the bitterness of +love bereaved marred this memory for Rose, because she found that the +warmer sentiment, just budding in her heart, had died with Charlie, +and lay cold and quiet in his grave. She wondered, yet was glad; +though sometimes a remorseful pang smote her when she discovered how +possible it was to go on without him, feeling almost as if a burden +had been lifted off, since his happiness was taken out of her hands. +The time had not yet come when the knowledge that a man's heart was in +her keeping would make the pride and joy of her life; and while she +waited for that moment she enjoyed the liberty she seemed to have +recovered. + +Such being her inward state, it much annoyed her to be regarded as a +broken-hearted girl, and pitied for the loss of her young lover. She +could not explain to all the world, so let it pass, and occupied her +mind with the good works which always lie ready to be taken up and +carried on. Having chosen philanthropy as her profession, she felt +that it was high time to begin the task too long neglected. + +Her projects were excellent, but did not prosper as rapidly as she +hoped; for, having to deal with people, not things, unexpected +obstacles were constantly arising. The "Home for Decayed Gentlewomen," +as the boys insisted on calling her two newly repaired houses, +started finely; and it was a pleasant sight to see the comfortable +rooms filled with respectable women busy at their various tasks, +surrounded by the decencies and many of the comforts which make life +endurable. But, presently, Rose was disturbed to find that the good +people expected her to take care of them in a way she had not +bargained for. Buffum, her agent, was constantly reporting complaints, +new wants, and general discontent if they were not attended to. Things +were neglected, water-pipes froze and burst, drains got out of order, +yards were in a mess, and rents behindhand. Worst of all, outsiders, +instead of sympathizing, only laughed and said, "We told you so," +which is a most discouraging remark to older and wiser workers than +Rose. + +Uncle Alec, however, stood by her staunchly, and helped her out of +many of her woes by good advice, and an occasional visit of +inspection, which did much to impress upon the dwellers there the fact +that, if they did not do their part, their leases would be short ones. + +"I didn't expect to make any thing out of it, but I did think they +would be grateful," said Rose, on one occasion when several complaints +had come in at once, and Buffum had reported great difficulty in +collecting the low rents. + +"If you do this thing for the sake of the gratitude, then it _is_ a +failure: but if it is done for the love of helping those who need +help it is a success; for in spite of their worry every one of those +women feel what privileges they enjoy and value them highly," said Dr. +Alec, as they went home after one of these unsatisfactory calls. + +"Then the least they can do is to say 'Thank you.' I'm afraid I _have_ +thought more of the gratitude than the work; but if there isn't any I +must make up my mind to go without," answered Rose, feeling defrauded +of her due. + +"Favors often separate instead of attracting people nearer to one +another, and I've seen many a friendship spoilt by the obligation +being all on one side. Can't explain it, but it is so; and I've come +to the conclusion that it is as hard to give in the right spirit as it +is to receive. Puzzle it out, my dear, while you are learning to do +good for its own sake." + +"I know one sort of people who _are_ grateful, and I'm going to devote +my mind to them. They thank me in many ways, and helping them is all +pleasure and no worry. Come in to the hospital and see the dear +babies, or the Asylum and carry oranges to Phebe's orphans: _they_ +don't complain and fidget one's life out, bless their hearts!" cried +Rose, clearing up suddenly. + +After that she left Buffum to manage the "Retreat," and devoted her +energies to the little folks, always so ready to receive the smallest +gift, and repay the giver with their artless thanks. Here she found +plenty to do, and did it with such sweet good-will that she won her +way like sunshine, making many a little heart dance over splendid +dolls, gay picture-books, and pots of flowers, as well as food, fire, +and clothes for the small bodies pinched with want and pain. + +As spring came, new plans sprung up as naturally as dandelions. The +poor children longed for the country; and, as the green fields could +not come to them, Rose carried them to the green fields. Down on the +Point stood an old farmhouse, often used by the Campbell tribe for +summer holidays. That spring it was set to rights unusually early, +several women installed as housekeeper, cook, and nurses; and, when +the May days grew bright and warm, squads of pale children came to +toddle in the grass, run over the rocks, and play upon the smooth +sands of the beach. A pretty sight, and one that well repaid those who +brought it to pass. + +Every one took an interest in the "Rose Garden," as Mac named it; and +the women-folk were continually driving over to the Point with +something for the "poor dears." Aunt Plenty sowed gingerbread +broadcast; Aunt Jessie made pinafores by the dozen; while Aunt Jane +"kept her eye" on the nurses, and Aunt Myra supplied medicines so +liberally that the mortality would have been awful, if Dr. Alec had +not taken them in charge. To him this was the most delightful spot in +the world: and well it might be; for he suggested the idea, and gave +Rose all the credit of it. He was often there, and his appearance was +always greeted with shrieks of rapture, as the children gathered from +all quarters: creeping, running, hopping on crutches, or carried in +arms which they gladly left to sit on "Uncle Doctor's" knee; for that +was the title by which he went among them. + +He seemed as young as any of his comrades, though the curly head was +getting gray; and the frolics that went on when he arrived were better +than any medicine to children who had never learned to play. It was a +standing joke among the friends that the bachelor brother had the +largest family, and was the most domestic man of the remaining four; +though Uncle Mac did his part manfully, and kept Aunt Jane in a +constant fidget, by his rash propositions to adopt the heartiest boys +and prettiest girls to amuse him and employ her. + +On one occasion she had a very narrow escape; and the culprit being +her son, not her husband, she felt free to repay herself for many +scares of this sort by a good scolding; which, unlike many, produced +excellent results. + +One bright June day, as Rose came cantering home from the Point on her +pretty bay pony, she saw a man sitting on a fallen tree beside the +road, and something in his despondent attitude arrested her attention. +As she drew nearer, he turned his head, and she stopped short, +exclaiming in great surprise,-- + +"Why, Mac! what _are_ you doing here?" + +"Trying to solve a problem," he answered, looking up with a whimsical +expression of perplexity and amusement in his face, which made Rose +smile, till his next words turned her sober in a twinkling,-- + +"I've eloped with a young lady, and don't know what to do with her. I +took her home, of course; but mother turned her out of the house, and +I'm in a quandary." + +"Is that her baggage?" asked Rose, pointing with her whip to the large +bundle which he held; while the wild idea flashed through her head +that perhaps he really _had_ done some rash deed of this sort. + +"No, this is the young lady herself;" and, opening a corner of the +brown shawl, he displayed a child of three,--so pale, so thin, and +tiny, that she looked like a small scared bird just fallen from the +nest, as she shrunk away from the light with great frightened eyes, +and a hand like a little claw tightly clutching a button of Mac's +coat. + +"Poor baby! where did it come from?" cried Rose, leaning down to look. + +"I'll tell you the story, and then you shall advise me what to do. At +our hospital, we've had a poor woman who got hurt, and died two days +ago. I had nothing to do with her, only took her a bit of fruit once +or twice; for she had big, wistful sort of eyes that haunted me. The +day she died I stopped a minute, and the nurse said she'd been wanting +to speak to me, but didn't dare. So I asked if I could do any thing +for her; and, though she could hardly breathe for pain,--being almost +gone,--she implored me to take care of baby. I found out where the +child was, and promised I'd see after her; for the poor soul couldn't +seem to die till I'd given her that comfort. I never can forget the +look in her eyes, as I held her hand, and said, 'Baby shall be taken +care of.' She tried to thank me, and died soon after quite peacefully. +Well, I went to-day and hunted up the poor little wretch. Found her in +a miserable place, left in the care of an old hag, who had shut her up +alone to keep her out of the way, and there this mite was, huddled in +a corner crying, 'Marmar, marmar!' fit to touch a heart of stone. I +blew up the woman, and took baby straight away, for she had been +abused; and it was high time. Look there, will you?" + +Mac turned the little skinny arm, and showed a blue mark which made +Rose drop her reins, and stretch out both hands, crying with a tender +sort of indignation,-- + +"How dared they do it? Give her to me; poor, little, motherless +thing!" + +Mac laid the bundle in her arms, and Rose began to cuddle it in the +fond, foolish way women have,--a most comfortable and effective way, +nevertheless; and baby evidently felt that things were changing for +the better, when warm lips touched her cheeks, a soft hand smoothed +her tumbled hair, and a womanly face bent over her, with the +inarticulate cooings and purrings mothers make. The frightened eyes +went up to this gentle countenance, and rested there as if reassured; +the little claw crept to the girl's neck, and poor baby nestled to her +with a long sigh, and a plaintive murmur of "Marmar, marmar," that +certainly would have touched a stony heart. + +"Now, go on. No, Rosa, not you," said the new nurse, as the +intelligent animal looked round to see if things were all right before +she proceeded. + +"I took the child home to mother, not knowing what else to do; but she +wouldn't have it at any price, even for a night. She doesn't like +children, you know, and father has joked so much about the Pointers +that she is quite rampant at the mere idea of a child in the house. +She told me to take it to the Rose Garden. I said it was running over +now, and no room even for a mite like this. 'Go to the Hospital,' says +she. 'Baby isn't ill, ma'am,' says I. 'Orphan Asylum,' says she. 'Not +an orphan: got a father who can't take care of her,' says I. 'Take her +to the Foundling place, or Mrs. Gardener, or some one whose business +it is. I will _not_ have the creature here, sick and dirty and noisy. +Carry it back, and ask Rose to tell you what to do with it.' So my +cruel parent cast me forth; but relented as I shouldered baby, gave me +a shawl to put her in, a jumble to feed her with, and money to pay her +board in some good place. Mother's bark is always worse than her bite, +you know." + +"And you were trying to think of the 'good place' as you sat here?" +asked Rose, looking down at him with great approval, as he stood +patting Rosa's glossy neck. + +"Exactly. I didn't want to trouble you, for you have your house full +already; and I really couldn't lay my hand on any good soul who would +be bothered with this little forlornity. She has nothing to recommend +her, you see,--not pretty, feeble, and shy as a mouse; no end of care, +I dare say: yet she needs every bit she can get to keep soul and body +together, if I'm any judge." + +Rose opened her lips impulsively, but closed them without speaking, +and sat a minute looking straight between Rosa's ears, as if forcing +herself to think twice before she spoke. Mac watched her out of the +corner of his eye, as he said, in a musing tone, tucking the shawl +round a pair of shabby little feet the while,-- + +"This seems to be one of the charities that no one wants to undertake; +yet I can't help feeling that my promise to the mother binds me to +something more than merely handing baby over to some busy matron or +careless nurse in any of our over-crowded institutions. She is such a +frail creature she won't trouble any one long, perhaps; and I _should_ +like to give her just a taste of comfort, if not love, before she +finds her 'Marmar' again." + +"Lead Rosa: I'm going to take this child home; and, if uncle is +willing, I'll adopt her, and she _shall_ be happy!" cried Rose, with +the sudden glow of feeling that always made her lovely. And, +gathering poor baby close, she went on her way like a modern +Britomart, ready to redress the wrongs of any who had need of her. + +As he led the slowly stepping horse along the quiet road, Mac could +not help thinking that they looked a little like the Flight into +Egypt: but he did not say so, being a reverent youth,--only glanced +back now and then at the figure above him; for Rose had taken off her +hat to keep the light from baby's eyes, and sat with the sunshine +turning her uncovered hair to gold, as she looked down at the little +creature resting on the saddle before her, with the sweet +thoughtfulness one sees in some of Correggio's young Madonnas. + +No one else saw the picture, but Mac long remembered it; and ever +after there was a touch of reverence added to the warm affection he +had always borne his cousin Rose. + +"What is the child's name?" was the sudden question which disturbed a +brief silence, broken only by the sound of pacing hoofs, the rustle of +green boughs overhead, and the blithe carolling of birds. + +"I'm sure I don't know," answered Mac, suddenly aware that he had +fallen out of one quandary into another. + +"Didn't you ask?" + +"No: the mother called her 'Baby;' the old woman, 'Brat.' And that is +all I know of the first name: the last is Kennedy. You can Christen +her what you like." + +"Then I shall name her Dulcinea, as you are her knight, and call her +Dulce for short. That is a sweet diminutive, I'm sure," laughed Rose, +much amused at the idea. + +Don Quixote looked pleased, and vowed to defend his little lady +stoutly, beginning his services on the spot by filling the small hands +with buttercups, thereby winning for himself the first smile baby's +face had known for weeks. + +When they got home, Aunt Plenty received her new guest with her +accustomed hospitality, and, on learning the story, was as warmly +interested as even enthusiastic Rose could desire, bustling about to +make the child comfortable with an energy pleasant to see; for the +grandmotherly instincts were strong in the old lady, and of late had +been beautifully developed. + +In less than half an hour from the time baby went upstairs, she came +down again on Rose's arm, freshly washed and brushed, in a pink gown +much too large, and a white apron decidedly too small; an immaculate +pair of socks, but no shoes; a neat bandage on the bruised arm, and a +string of spools for a plaything hanging on the other. A resigned +expression sat upon her little face; but the frightened eyes were only +shy now, and the forlorn heart evidently much comforted. + +"There! how do you like your Dulce now?" said Rose, proudly displaying +the work of her hands, as she came in with her habit pinned up, and +carrying a silver porringer of bread and milk. + +Mac knelt down, took the small, reluctant hand, and kissed it as +devoutly as ever good Alonzo Quixada did that of the Duchess; while he +said, merrily quoting from the immortal story,-- + +"'High and Sovereign Lady, thine till death, the Knight of the Rueful +Countenance.'" + +But baby had no heart for play, and, withdrawing her hand, pointed to +the porringer, with the suggestive remark,-- + +"Din-din, _now_." + +So Rose sat down and fed the Duchess, while the Don stood by and +watched the feast with much satisfaction. + +"How nice she looks! Do you consider shoes unhealthy?" he asked, +surveying the socks with respectful interest. + +"No: her shoes are drying. You must have let her go in the mud." + +"I only put her down for a minute when she howled; and she made for a +puddle, like a duck. I'll buy her some new ones,--clothes too. Where +do I go, what do I ask for, and how much do I get?" he said, diving +for his pocket-book, amiably anxious, but pitiably ignorant. + +"I'll see to that. We always have things on hand for the Pointers as +they come along, and can soon fit Dulce out. You may make some +inquiries about the father if you will; for I don't want to have her +taken away just as I get fond of her. Do you know any thing about +him?" + +"Only that he is in State Prison for twenty-one years, and not likely +to trouble you." + +"How dreadful! I really think Phebe was better off to have none at +all. I'll go to work at once, then, and try to bring up the convict's +little daughter to be a good woman; so that she will have an honest +name of her own, since he has nothing but disgrace to give her." + +"Uncle can show you how to do that, if you need any help. He has been +so successful in his first attempt I fancy you won't require much," +said Mac, picking up the spools for the sixth time. + +"Yes, I shall; for it is a great responsibility, and I do not +undertake it lightly," answered Rose, soberly; though the +double-barrelled compliment pleased her very much. + +"I'm sure Phebe has turned out splendidly, and you began very early +with her." + +"So I did! that's encouraging. Dear thing, how bewildered she looked +when I proposed adopting her. I remember all about it; for uncle had +just come, and I was quite crazy over a box of presents, and rushed at +Phebe as she was cleaning brasses. How little I thought my childish +offer would end so well!" and Rose fell a musing with a happy smile on +her face, while baby picked the last morsels out of the porringer with +her own busy fingers. + +It certainly had ended well; for Phebe at the end of six months not +only had a good place as choir-singer, but several young pupils, and +excellent prospects for the next winter. + + "'Accept the blessing of a poor young man, + Whose lucky steps have led him to your door,' + +and let me help as much as I can. Good-by, my Dulcinea," and, with a +farewell stroke of the smooth head, Mac went away to report his +success to his mother, who, in spite of her seeming harshness, was +already planning how she could best befriend this inconvenient baby. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + +_AMONG THE HAY-COCKS._ + + +Uncle Alec did not object; and, finding that no one had any claim upon +the child, permitted Rose to keep it for a time at least. So little +Dulce, newly equipped even to a name, took her place among them and +slowly began to thrive. But she did not grow pretty, and never was a +gay, attractive child; for she seemed to have been born in sorrow and +brought up in misery. A pale, pensive little creature, always creeping +into corners and looking timidly out, as if asking leave to live, and, +when offered playthings, taking them with a meek surprise that was +very touching. + +Rose soon won her heart, and then almost wished she had not; for baby +clung to her with inconvenient fondness, changing her former wail of +"Marmar" into a lament for "Aunty Wose" if separated long. +Nevertheless, there was great satisfaction in cherishing the little +waif; for she learned more than she could teach, and felt a sense of +responsibility which was excellent ballast for her enthusiastic +nature. + +Kitty Van, who made Rose her model in all things, was immediately +inspired to go and do likewise, to the great amusement as well as +annoyance of her family. Selecting the prettiest, liveliest child in +the Asylum, she took it home on trial for a week. "A perfect cherub" +she pronounced it the first day, but an "_enfant terrible_" before the +week was over; for the young hero rioted by day, howled by night, +ravaged the house from top to bottom, and kept his guardians in a +series of panics by his hair-breadth escapes. So early on Saturday, +poor, exhausted Kitty restored the "cherub" with many thanks, and +decided to wait till her views of education were rather more advanced. + +As the warm weather came on, Rose announced that Dulce needed mountain +air; for she dutifully repeated as many of Dr. Alec's prescriptions as +possible, and, remembering how much good Cosy Corner did her long ago, +resolved to try it on her baby. Aunt Jessie and Jamie went with her, +and Mother Atkinson received them as cordially as ever. The pretty +daughters were all married and gone, but a stout damsel took their +place; and nothing seemed changed except that the old heads were +grayer and the young ones a good deal taller than six years ago. + +Jamie immediately fraternized with neighboring boys, and devoted +himself to fishing with an ardor which deserved greater success. Aunt +Jessie revelled in the reading, for which she had no time at home; and +lay in her hammock a happy woman, with no socks to darn, buttons to +sew, or housekeeping cares to vex her soul. + +Rose went about with Dulce like a very devoted hen with one rather +feeble chicken; for she was anxious to have this treatment work well, +and tended her little patient with daily increasing satisfaction. Dr. +Alec came up to pass a few days, and pronounced the child in a most +promising condition. But the grand event of the season was the +unexpected arrival of Phebe. + +Two of her pupils had invited her to join them in a trip to the +mountains, and she ran away from the great hotel to surprise her +little mistress with a sight of her, so well and happy that Rose had +no anxiety left on her account. + +Three delightful days they spent, roaming about together, talking as +only girls can talk after a long separation, and enjoying one another +like a pair of lovers. As if to make it quite perfect, by one of those +remarkable coincidences which sometimes occur, Archie happened to run +up for the Sunday; so Phebe had _her_ surprise, and Aunt Jessie and +the telegraph kept their secret so well, no one ever knew what +maternal machinations brought the happy accident to pass. + +Then Rose saw a very pretty, pastoral bit of love-making, and long +after it was over, and Phebe gone one way, Archie another, the echo of +sweet words seemed to linger in the air, tender ghosts to haunt the +pine-grove, and even the big coffee-pot had a halo of romance about +it; for its burnished sides reflected the soft glances the lovers +interchanged, as one filled the other's cup at that last breakfast. + +Rose found these reminiscences more interesting than any novel she had +read, and often beguiled her long leisure by planning a splendid +future for her Phebe, as she trotted about after her baby in the +lovely July weather. + +On one of the most perfect days, she sat under an old apple-tree on +the slope behind the house where they used to play. Before her opened +the wide intervale, dotted with hay-makers at their picturesque work. +On the left, flowed the swift river fringed with graceful elms in +their bravest greenery; on the right, rose the purple hills serene and +grand; and overhead glowed the midsummer sky which glorified it all. + +Little Dulce tired of play, lay fast asleep in the nest she had made +in one of the hay-cocks close by; and Rose leaned against the gnarled +old tree, dreaming day-dreams with her work at her feet. Happy and +absorbing fancies they seemed to be; for her face was beautifully +tranquil, and she took no heed of the train which suddenly went +speeding down the valley, leaving a white cloud behind. Its rumble +concealed the sound of approaching steps, and her eyes never turned +from the distant hills, till the abrupt appearance of a very sunburnt +but smiling young man made her jump up, exclaiming joyfully,-- + +"Why Mac! where did you drop from?" + +"The top of Mount Washington. How do you do?" + +"Never better. Won't you go in? You must be tired after such a fall." + +"No, thank you; I've seen the old lady. She told me Aunt Jessie and +the boy had gone to town, and that you were 'settin' round' in the old +place; so I came on at once, and will take a lounge here, if you don't +mind," answered Mac, unstrapping his knapsack, and taking a hay-cock +as if it were a chair. + +Rose subsided into her former seat, surveying her cousin with much +satisfaction, as she said,-- + +"This is the third surprise I've had since I came. Uncle popped in +upon us first, then Phebe, and now you. Have you had a pleasant tramp? +Uncle said you were off." + +"Delightful! I feel as if I'd been in heaven, or near it, for about +three weeks; and thought I'd break the shock of coming down to the +earth by calling here on my way home." + +"You look as if heaven suited you. Brown as a berry; but so fresh and +happy, I should never guess you had been scrambling down a mountain," +said Rose, trying to discover why he looked so well in spite of the +blue-flannel suit and dusty shoes; for there was a certain sylvan +freshness about him, as he sat there full of the reposeful strength +the hills seemed to have given, the wholesome cheerfulness days of air +and sunshine put into a man, and the clear, bright look of one who had +caught glimpses of a new world from the mountain-top. + +"Tramping agrees with me. I took a dip in the river as I came along, +and made my toilet in a place where Milton's Sabrina might have +lived," he said, shaking back his damp hair, and settling the knot of +scarlet bunch-berries stuck in his button-hole. + +"You look as if you found the nymph at home," said Rose, knowing how +much he liked the Comus. + +"I found her _here_," and he made a little bow. + +"That's very pretty; and I'll give you one in return. You grow more +like Uncle Alec every day, and I think I'll call you Alec, Jr." + +"Alexander the Great wouldn't thank you for that," and Mac did not +look as grateful as she had expected. + +"Very like, indeed, except the forehead. His is broad and benevolent; +yours high and arched. Do you know if you had no beard, and wore your +hair long, I really think you'd look like Milton," added Rose, sure +that would please him. + +It certainly did amuse him; for he lay back on the hay and laughed so +heartily that his merriment scared the squirrel on the wall and woke +Dulce. + +"You ungrateful boy! will nothing suit you? When I say you look like +the best man I know, you give a shrug; and, when I liken you to a +great poet, you shout: I'm afraid you are very conceited, Mac;" and +Rose laughed too, glad to see him so gay. + +"If I am, it is your fault. Nothing I can do will ever make a Milton +of me, unless I go blind some day," he said, sobering at the thought. + +"You once said a man could be what he liked if he tried hard enough; +so why shouldn't you be a poet?" asked Rose, liking to trip him up +with his own words, as he often did her. + +"I thought I was to be an M.D." + +"You might be both. There have been poetical doctors, you know." + +"Would you like me to be such an one?" asked Mac, looking at her as +seriously as if he really thought of trying it. + +"No: I'd rather have you one or the other. I don't care which, only +you must be famous in either you choose. I'm very ambitious for you; +because, I insist upon it, you are a genius of some sort. I think it +is beginning to simmer already, and I've a great curiosity to know +what it will turn out to be." + +Mac's eyes shone as she said that, but before he could speak a little +voice said, "Aunty Wose!" and he turned to find Dulce sitting up in +her nest, staring at the broad blue back before her with round eyes. + +"Do you know your Don?" he asked, offering his hand with respectful +gentleness; for she seemed a little doubtful whether he was friend or +stranger. + +"It is 'Mat,'" said Rose, and that familiar word seemed to reassure +the child at once; for, leaning forward, she kissed him as if quite +used to doing it. + +"I picked up some toys for her by the way, and she shall have them at +once to pay for that. I didn't expect to be so graciously received by +this shy mouse," said Mac, much gratified; for Dulce was very chary of +her favors. + +"She knew you; for I always carry my home-album with me and when she +comes to your picture she always kisses it, because I never want her +to forget her first friend," explained Rose, pleased with her pupil. + +"First, but not best," answered Mac, rummaging in his knapsack for the +promised toys, which he set forth upon the hay before delighted Dulce. + +Neither picture-books nor sweeties; but berries strung on long stems +of grass, acorns and pretty cones, bits of rock shining with mica, +several bluebirds' feathers, and a nest of moss with white pebbles for +eggs. + +"Dearest Nature, strong and kind," knows what children love, and has +plenty of such playthings ready for them all, if one only knows how to +find them. These were received with rapture; and, leaving the little +creature to enjoy them in her own quiet way, Mac began to tumble the +things back into his knapsack again. Two or three books lay near Rose, +and she took up one which opened at a place marked by a scribbled +paper. + +"Keats? I didn't know you condescended to read any thing so modern," +she said, moving the paper to see the page beneath. + +Mac looked up, snatched the book out of her hand, and shook down +several more scraps; then returned it with a curiously shame-faced +expression, saying, as he crammed the papers into his pocket,-- + +"I beg pardon, but it was full of rubbish. Oh, yes! I'm fond of Keats; +don't you know him?" + +"I used to read him a good deal; but uncle found me crying over the +'Pot of Basil,' and advised me to read less poetry for a while or I +should get too sentimental," answered Rose, turning the pages without +seeing them; for a new idea had just popped into her head. + +"'The Eve of St. Agnes' is the most perfect love-story in the world, I +think," said Mac, enthusiastically. + +"Read it to me. I feel just like hearing poetry, and you will do it +justice if you are fond of it," said Rose, handing him the book with +an innocent air. + +"Nothing I'd like better; but it is rather long." + +"I'll tell you to stop if I get tired. Baby won't interrupt; she will +be contented for an hour with those pretty things." + +As if well pleased with his task, Mac laid himself comfortably on the +grass, and leaning his head on his hand read the lovely story as only +one could who entered fully into the spirit of it. Rose watched him +closely, and saw how his face brightened over some quaint fancy, +delicate description, or delicious word; heard how smoothly the +melodious measures fell from his lips, and read something more than +admiration in his eyes, as he looked up now and then to mark if she +enjoyed it as much as he. + +She could not help enjoying it; for the poet's pen painted as well as +wrote, and the little romance lived before her: but she was not +thinking of John Keats as she listened; she was wondering if this +cousin was a kindred spirit, born to make such music and leave as +sweet an echo behind him. It seemed as if it might be; and, after +going through the rough caterpillar and the pent-up chrysalis changes, +the beautiful butterfly would appear to astonish and delight them all. +So full of this fancy was she that she never thanked him when the +story ended; but, leaning forward, asked in a tone that made him start +and look as if he had fallen from the clouds,-- + +"Mac, do you ever write poetry?" + +"Never." + +"What do you call the song Phebe sang with her bird chorus?" + +"That was nothing till she put the music to it. But she promised not +to tell." + +"She didn't; I suspected, and now I know," laughed Rose, delighted to +have caught him. + +Much discomfited, Mac gave poor Keats a fling, and leaning on both +elbows tried to hide his face; for it had reddened like that of a +modest girl when teased about her lover. + +"You needn't look so guilty; it is no sin to write poetry," said Rose, +amused at his confusion. + +"It's a sin to call that rubbish poetry," muttered Mac, with great +scorn. + +"It is a greater sin to tell a fib, and say you never write it." + +"Reading so much sets one thinking about such things, and every fellow +scribbles a little jingle when he is lazy or in love, you know," +explained Mac, looking very guilty. + +Rose could not quite understand the change she saw in him, till his +last words suggested a cause which she knew by experience was apt to +inspire young men. Leaning forward again, she asked solemnly, though +her eyes danced with fun,-- + +"Mac, are you in love?" + +"Do I look like it?" and he sat up with such an injured and indignant +face, that she apologized at once; for he certainly did not look +lover-like with hay-seed in his hair, several lively crickets playing +leap-frog over his back, and a pair of long legs stretching from tree +to hay-cock. + +"No, you don't; and I humbly beg your pardon for making such an +unwarrantable insinuation. It merely occurred to me that the general +upliftedness I observe in you might be owing to that, since it wasn't +poetry." + +"It is the good company I've been keeping, if any thing. A fellow +can't spend 'A Week' with Thoreau, and not be the better for it. I'm +glad I show it; because in the scramble life is to most of us, even an +hour with such a sane, simple, and sagacious soul as his must help +one," said Mac, taking a much worn book out of his pocket with the air +of introducing a dear and honored friend. + +"I've read bits, and liked them: they are so original and fresh and +sometimes droll," said Rose, smiling to see what natural and +appropriate marks of approbation the elements seemed to set upon the +pages Mac was turning eagerly; for one had evidently been rained on, a +crushed berry stained another, some appreciative field-mouse or +squirrel had nibbled one corner, and the cover was faded with the +sunshine, which seemed to have filtered through to the thoughts +within. + +"Here's a characteristic bit for you:-- + +"'I would rather sit on a pumpkin, and have it all to myself, than be +crowded on a velvet cushion. I would rather ride on earth in an +ox-cart, with free circulation, than go to heaven in the fancy car of +an excursion train, and breathe malaria all the way.' + +"I've tried both and quite agree with him," laughed Mac; and, skimming +down another page, gave her a paragraph here and there. + +"'Read the best books first, or you may not have a chance to read them +at all.' + +"'We do not learn much from learned books, but from sincere human +books: frank, honest biographies.' + +"'At least let us have healthy books. Let the poet be as vigorous as a +sugar-maple, with sap enough to maintain his own verdure, besides what +runs into the trough; and not like a vine which, being cut in the +spring, bears no fruit, but bleeds to death in the endeavor to heal +its wounds.'" + +"That will do for you," said Rose, still thinking of the new suspicion +which pleased her by its very improbability. + +Mac flashed a quick look at her and shut the book, saying quietly, +though his eyes shone, and a conscious smile lurked about his mouth,-- + +"We shall see, and no one need meddle; for, as my Thoreau says,-- + + "'Whate'er we leave to God, God does + And blesses us: + The work we choose should be our own + God lets alone.'" + +Rose sat silent, as if conscious that she deserved his poetical +reproof. + +"Come, you have catechised me pretty well; now I'll take my turn and +ask why _you_ look 'uplifted,' as you call it. What have you been +doing to make yourself more like your namesake than ever?" asked Mac, +carrying war into the enemy's camp with the sudden question. + +"Nothing but live, and enjoy doing it. I actually sit here, day after +day, as happy and contented with little things as Dulce is, and feel +as if I wasn't much older than she," answered the girl, feeling as if +some change was going on in that pleasant sort of pause, but unable to +describe it. + + "'As if a rose should shut and be a bud again,'" + +murmured Mac, borrowing from his beloved Keats. + +"Ah, but I can't do that! I must go on blooming whether I like it or +not, and the only trouble I have is to know what leaf I ought to +unfold next," said Rose, playfully smoothing out the white gown, in +which she looked very like a daisy among the green. + +"How far have you got?" asked Mac, continuing his catechism as if the +fancy suited him. + +"Let me see. Since I came home last year, I've been gay, then sad, +then busy, and now I am simply happy. I don't know why; but seem to be +waiting for what is to come next, and getting ready for it, perhaps +unconsciously," she said, looking dreamily away to the hills again, as +if the new experience was coming to her from afar. + +Mac watched her thoughtfully for a minute, wondering how many more +leaves must unfold, before the golden heart of this human flower would +lie open to the sun. He felt a curious desire to help in some way, and +could think of none better than to offer her what he had found most +helpful to himself. Picking up another book, he opened it at a place +where an oak-leaf lay, and, handing it to her, said, as if presenting +something very excellent and precious,-- + +"If you want to be ready to take whatever comes in a brave and noble +way, read that, and the one where the page is turned down." + +Rose took it, saw the words "Self-Reliance," and, turning the leaves, +read here and there a passage which was marked:-- + +"'My life is for itself, and not for a spectacle.' + +"'Insist on yourself: never imitate. That which each can do best, none +but his Maker can teach him.' + +"'Do that which is assigned to you, and you cannot hope or dare too +much.'" + +Then coming to the folded leaf, whose title was "Heroism," she read, +and brightened as she read,-- + +"'Let the maiden, with erect soul, walk serenely on her way; accept +the hint of each new experience; search in turn all the objects that +solicit her eye, that she may learn the power and the charm of her +newborn being.' + +"'The fair girl who repels interference by a decided and proud choice +of influences inspires every beholder with something of her own +nobleness; and the silent heart encourages her. O friend, never strike +sail to a fear! Come into port greatly, or sail with God the seas.'" + +"You understand that, don't you?" asked Mac, as she glanced up with +the look of one who had found something suited to her taste and need. + +"Yes, but I never dared to read these Essays, because I thought they +were too wise for me." + +"The wisest things are sometimes the simplest, I think. Every one +welcomes light and air, and cannot do without them; yet very few could +explain them truly. I don't ask you to read or understand all of +that,--don't myself,--but I do recommend the two essays I've marked, +as well as 'Love and Friendship.' Try them, and let me know how they +suit. I'll leave you the book." + +"Thanks. I wanted something fine to read up here; and, judging by what +I see, I fancy this _will_ suit. Only Aunt Jessie may think I'm +putting on airs, if I try Emerson." + +"Why should she? He has done more to set young men and women thinking, +than any man in this century at least. Don't you be afraid: if it is +what you want, take it, and go ahead as he tells you,-- + + "'Without halting, without rest, + Lifting Better up to Best.'" + +"I'll try," said Rose, meekly; feeling that Mac had been going ahead +himself much faster than she had any suspicion. + +Here a voice exclaimed "Hallo!" and, looking round, Jamie was +discovered surveying them critically, as he stood in an independent +attitude, like a small Colossus of Rhodes in brown linen, with a +bundle of molasses-candy in one hand, several new fish-hooks +cherished carefully in the other, and his hat well on the back of his +head, displaying as many freckles as one somewhat limited nose could +reasonably accommodate. + +"How are you, young one?" said Mac, nodding. + +"Tip-top. Glad it's you: thought Archie might have turned up again, +and he's no fun. Where did you come from? What did you come for? How +long are you going to stay? Want a bit? It's jolly good." + +With which varied remarks Jamie approached, shook hands in a manly +way, and, sitting down beside his long cousin, hospitably offered +sticks of candy all round. + +"Did you get any letters?" asked Rose, declining the sticky treat. + +"Lots: but mamma forgot to give 'em to me, and I was rather in a +hurry; for Mrs. Atkinson said somebody had come, and I couldn't wait," +explained Jamie, reposing luxuriously with his head on Mac's legs, and +his mouth full. + +"I'll step and get them. Aunty must be tired, and we should enjoy +reading the news together." + +"She is the most convenient girl that ever was," observed Jamie, as +Rose departed, thinking Mac might like some more substantial +refreshment than sweetmeats. + +"I should think so, if you let her run your errands, you lazy little +scamp," answered Mac, looking after her as she went up the green +slope; for there was something very attractive to him about the +slender figure in a plain white gown, with a black sash about the +waist, and all the wavy hair gathered to the top of the head with a +little black bow. + +"Sort of pre-Raphaelite, and quite refreshing after the furbelowed +creatures at the hotels," he said to himself, as she vanished under +the arch of scarlet-runners over the garden-gate. + +"Oh, well! she likes it. Rose is fond of me, and I'm very good to her +when I have time," continued Jamie, calmly explaining. "I let her cut +out a fish-hook, when it caught in my leg, with a sharp pen-knife; and +you'd better believe it hurt: but I never squirmed a bit, and she said +I was a brave boy. And then, one day I got left on my desert +island,--out in the pond, you know,--the boat floated off, and there I +was for as much as an hour before I could make any one hear. But Rose +thought I might be there; and down she came, and told me to swim +ashore. It wasn't far; but the water was horrid cold, and I didn't +like it. I started though, just as she said, and got on all right, +till about half way, then cramp or something made me shut up and howl, +and she came after me slapdash, and pulled me ashore. Yes, sir, as wet +as a turtle, and looked so funny, I laughed; and that cured the cramp. +Wasn't I good to mind when she said, 'Come on?'" + +"She was, to dive after such a scapegrace. I guess you lead her a life +of it, and I'd better take you home with me in the morning," suggested +Mac, rolling the boy over, and giving him a good-natured pummelling +on the hay-cock, while Dulce applauded from her nest. + +When Rose returned with ice-cold milk, gingerbread, and letters, she +found the reader of Emerson up in the tree, pelting and being pelted +with green apples, as Jamie vainly endeavored to get at him. The siege +ended when Aunt Jessie appeared; and the rest of the afternoon was +spent in chat about home affairs. + +Early the next morning Mac was off, and Rose went as far as the old +church with him. + +"Shall you walk all the way?" she asked, as he strode along beside +her, in the dewy freshness of the young day. + +"Only about twenty miles, then take car and whisk back to my work," he +answered, breaking a delicate fern for her. + +"Are you never lonely?" + +"Never: I take my best friends along, you know," and he gave a slap to +the pocket from which peeped the volume of Thoreau. + +"I'm afraid you leave your very best behind you," said Rose, alluding +to the book he had lent her yesterday. + +"I'm glad to share it with you. I have much of it here; and a little +goes a great way, as you will soon discover," he answered, tapping his +head. + +"I hope the reading will do as much for me as it seems to have done +for you. I'm happy; but you are wise and good: I want to be, also." + +"Read away, and digest it well; then write, and tell me what you think +of it. Will you?" he asked, as they paused where the four roads met. + +"If you will answer. Shall you have time with all your other work? +Poetry--I beg pardon--medicine is very absorbing, you know," answered +Rose, mischievously; for just then, as he stood bareheaded with the +shadows of the leaves playing over his fine forehead, she remembered +the chat among the hay-cocks, and he did not look at all like an M.D. + +"I'll make time." + +"Good-by, Milton." + +"Good-by, Sabrina." + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + +_WHICH WAS IT?_ + + +Rose did read and digest, and found her days much richer for the good +company she kept; for an introduction to so much that was wise, +beautiful, and true, could not but make that month a memorable one. It +is not strange that while the young man most admired "Heroism" and +"Self-Reliance," the girl preferred "Love" and "Friendship," reading +them over and over like prose poems, as they are, to the fitting +accompaniment of sunshine, solitude, and sympathy; for letters went to +and fro, with praiseworthy regularity. + +Rose much enjoyed this correspondence, and found herself regretting +that it was at an end when she went home in September; for Mac wrote +better than he talked, though he could do that remarkably well when he +chose. But she had no chance to express either pleasure or regret; +for, the first time she saw him after her return, the great change in +his appearance made her forget every thing else. Some whim had seized +him to be shaven and shorn, and when he presented himself to welcome +Rose she hardly knew him; for the shaggy hair was nicely trimmed and +brushed, the cherished brown beard entirely gone, showing a well cut +mouth and handsome chin, and giving a new expression to the whole +face. + +"Are you trying to look like Keats?" she asked after a critical +glance, which left her undecided whether the change was an improvement +or not. + +"I am trying not to look like uncle," answered Mac, coolly. + +"And why, if you please?" demanded Rose, in great surprise. + +"Because I prefer to look like myself, and not resemble any other man, +no matter how good or great he may be." + +"You haven't succeeded then; for you look now very much like the Young +Augustus," returned Rose, rather pleased, on the whole, to see what a +finely shaped head appeared after the rough thatch was off. + +"Trust a woman to find a comparison for every thing under the sun!" +laughed Mac, not at all flattered by the one just made. "What do you +think of me, on the whole?" he asked a minute later, as he found Rose +still scrutinizing him with a meditative air. + +"Haven't made up my mind. It is such an entire change I don't know +you, and feel as if I ought to be introduced. You certainly look much +more tidy; and I fancy I _shall_ like it, when I'm used to seeing a +somewhat distinguished-looking man about the house instead of my old +friend Orson," answered Rose, with her head on one side to get a +profile view. + +"Don't tell uncle why I did it, please: he thinks it was for the sake +of coolness, and likes it, so take no notice; they are all used to me +now, and don't mind," said Mac, roving about the room as if rather +ashamed of his whim after all. + +"No, I won't; but you mustn't mind if I'm not as sociable as usual for +a while. I never can be with strangers, and you really do seem like +one. That will be a punishment for your want of taste and love of +originality," returned Rose, resolved to punish him for the slight put +upon her beloved uncle. + +"As you like. I won't trouble you much anyway; for I'm going to be +very busy. May go to L. this winter, if uncle thinks best; and then my +'originality' can't annoy you." + +"I hope you won't go. Why, Mac, I'm just getting to know and enjoy +you, and thought we'd have a nice time this winter reading something +together. Must you go?" and Rose seemed to forget his strangeness, as +she held him still by one button while she talked. + +"That _would_ be nice. But I feel as if I must go: my plans are all +made, and I've set my heart on it," answered Mac, looking so eager +that Rose released him, saying sadly,-- + +"I suppose it is natural for you all to get restless, and push off; +but it is hard for me to let you go one after the other, and stay here +alone. Charlie is gone, Archie and Steve are wrapt up in their +sweethearts, the boys away, and only Jamie left to 'play with Rose.'" + +"But I'll come back, and you'll be glad I went if I bring you my--" +began Mac, with sudden animation; then stopped abruptly to bite his +lips, as if he had nearly said too much. + +"Your what?" asked Rose, curiously; for he neither looked nor acted +like himself. + +"I forgot how long it takes to get a diploma," he said, walking away +again. + +"There will be one comfort if you go: you'll see Phebe, and can tell +me all about her; for she is so modest she doesn't half do it. I shall +want to know how she gets on, if she is engaged to sing ballads in the +concerts they talk of for next winter. You will write, won't you?" + +"Oh, yes! no doubt of that," and Mac laughed low to himself, as he +stooped to look at the little Psyche on the mantel-piece. "What a +pretty thing it is!" he added soberly, as he took it up. + +"Be careful. Uncle gave it to me last New-Year, and I'm very fond of +it. She is just lifting her lamp to see what Cupid is like; for she +hasn't seen him yet," said Rose, busy putting her work-table in order. + +"You ought to have a Cupid for her to look at. She has been waiting +patiently a whole year, with nothing but a bronze lizard in sight," +said Mac, with the half-shy, half-daring look which was so new and +puzzling. + +"Cupid flew away as soon as she woke him, you know, and she had a bad +time of it. She must wait longer till she can find and keep him." + +"Do you know she looks like you? Hair tied up in a knot, and a +spiritual sort of face. Don't you see it?" asked Mac, turning the +graceful little figure toward her. + +"Not a bit of it. I wonder whom I shall resemble next! I've been +compared to a Fra Angelico angel, Saint Agnes, and now 'Syke,' as +Annabel once called her." + +"You'd see what I mean, if you'd ever watched your own face when you +were listening to music, talking earnestly, or much moved; then your +soul gets into your eyes and you are--like Psyche." + +"Tell me the next time you see me in a 'soulful' state, and I'll look +in the glass; for I'd like to see if it is becoming," said Rose, +merrily, as she sorted her gay worsteds. + + "'Your feet in the full-grown grasses, + Moved soft as a soft wind blows; + You passed me as April passes, + With a face made out of a rose,'" + +murmured Mac, under his breath, thinking of the white figure going up +a green slope one summer day; then, as if chiding himself for +sentimentality, he set Psyche down with great care, and began to talk +about a course of solid reading for the winter. + +After that, Rose saw very little of him for several weeks, as he +seemed to be making up for lost time, and was more odd and absent than +ever when he did appear. As she became accustomed to the change in his +external appearance, she discovered that he was altering fast in other +ways, and watched the "distinguished-looking gentleman" with much +interest; saying to herself, when she saw a new sort of dignity about +him alternating with an unusual restlessness of manner, and now and +then a touch of sentiment, "Genius is simmering, just as I predicted." + +As the family were in mourning, there were no festivities on Rose's +twenty-first birthday, though the boys had planned all sorts of +rejoicings. Every one felt particularly tender toward their girl on +that day, remembering how "poor Charlie" had loved her; and they tried +to show it in the gifts and good wishes they sent her. She found her +sanctum all aglow with autumn leaves, and on her table so many rare +and pretty things she quite forgot she was an heiress, and only felt +how rich she was in loving friends. + +One gift greatly pleased her, though she could not help smiling at the +source from whence it came; for Mac sent her a Cupid,--not the chubby +child with a face of naughty merriment, but a slender, winged youth, +leaning on his unstrung bow, with a broken arrow at his feet. A poem, +"To Psyche," came with it: and Rose was much surprised at the beauty +of the lines; for, instead of being witty, complimentary, or gay, +there was something nobler than mere sentiment in them, and the sweet +old fable lived again in language which fitly painted the maiden Soul +looking for a Love worthy to possess it. + +Rose read them over and over, as she sat among the gold and scarlet +leaves which glorified her little room, and each time found new depth +and beauty in them; looking from the words that made music in her ear +to the lovely shapes that spoke with their mute grace to her eye. The +whole thing suited her exactly, it was so delicate and perfect in its +way; for she was tired of costly gifts, and valued very much this +proof of her cousin's taste and talent, seeing nothing in it but an +affectionate desire to please her. + +All the rest dropped in at intervals through the day to say a loving +word, and last of all came Mac. Rose happened to be alone with Dulce, +enjoying a splendid sunset from her western window; for October gave +her child a beautiful good-night. + +Rose turned round as he entered, and, putting down the little girl, +went to him with the evening red shining on her happy face, as she +said gratefully,-- + +"Dear Mac, it was _so_ lovely! I don't know how to thank you for it in +any way but this." And, drawing down his tall head, she gave him the +birthday kiss she had given all the others. + +But this time it produced a singular effect: for Mac turned scarlet, +then grew pale; and when Rose added playfully, thinking to relieve the +shyness of so young a poet, "Never say again you don't write poetry, +or call your verses rubbish: I _knew_ you were a genius, and now I'm +sure of it," he broke out, as if against his will,-- + +"No. It isn't genius: it is--love!" Then, as she shrunk a little, +startled at his energy, he added, with an effort at self-control which +made his voice sound strange,-- + +"I didn't mean to speak, but I can't suffer you to deceive yourself +so. I _must_ tell the truth, and not let you kiss me like a cousin +when I love you with all my heart and soul!" + +"O Mac, don't joke!" cried Rose, bewildered by this sudden glimpse +into a heart she thought she knew so well. + +"I'm in solemn earnest," he answered, steadily, in such a quiet tone +that, but for the pale excitement of his face, she might have doubted +his words. "Be angry, if you will. I expect it, for I know it is too +soon to speak. I ought to wait for years, perhaps; but you seemed so +happy I dared to hope you had forgotten." + +"Forgotten what?" asked Rose, sharply. + +"Charlie." + +"Ah! you all will insist on believing that I loved him better than I +did!" she cried, with both pain and impatience in her voice; for the +family delusion tried her very much at times. + +"How could we help it, when he was every thing women most admire?" +said Mac, not bitterly, but as if he sometimes wondered at their want +of insight. + +"_I_ do not admire weakness of any sort: I could never love without +either confidence or respect. Do me the justice to believe that, for +I'm tired of being pitied." + +She spoke almost passionately, being more excited by Mac's repressed +emotion than she had ever been by Charlie's most touching +demonstration, though she did not know why. + +"But he loved you so!" began Mac; feeling as if a barrier had suddenly +gone down, but not daring to venture in as yet. + +"That was the hard part of it! That was why I tried to love him,--why +I hoped he would stand fast for my sake, if not for his own; and why I +found it so sad sometimes not to be able to help despising him for +his want of courage. I don't know how others feel, but, to me, love +isn't all. I must look up, not down, trust and honor with my whole +heart, and find strength and integrity to lean on. I have had it so +far, and I know I could not live without it." + +"Your ideal is a high one. Do you hope to find it, Rose?" Mac asked, +feeling, with the humility of a genuine love, that _he_ could not give +her all she desired. + +"Yes," she answered, with a face full of the beautiful confidence in +virtue, the instinctive desire for the best which so many of us lose +too soon, to find again after life's great lessons are well learned. +"I do hope to find it, because I try not to be unreasonable and expect +perfection. Smile if you will, but I won't give up my hero yet," and +she tried to speak lightly, hoping to lead him away from a more +dangerous topic. + +"You'll have to look a long while, I'm afraid," and all the glow was +gone out of Mac's face; for he understood her wish, and knew his +answer had been given. + +"I have uncle to help me; and I think my ideal grew out of my +knowledge of him. How can I fail to believe in goodness, when he shows +me what it can be and do?" + +"It is no use for me to say any more; for I have very little to offer. +I did not mean to say a word, till I'd earned a right to hope for +something in return. I cannot take it back; but I can wish you +success, and I do, because you deserve the very best," and Mac moved, +as if he was going away without more words, accepting the inevitable +as manfully as he could. + +"Thank you: that makes me feel very ungrateful and unkind. I wish I +could answer as you want me to; for, indeed, dear Mac, I'm very fond +of you in my own way," and Rose looked up with such tender pity and +frank affection in her face, it was no wonder the poor fellow caught +at a ray of hope, and, brightening suddenly, said in his own odd +way,-- + +"Couldn't you take me on trial, while you are waiting for the true +hero? It may be years before you find him; meantime, you could be +practising on me in ways that would be useful when you get him." + +"O Mac! what _shall_ I do with you?" exclaimed Rose, so curiously +affected by this very characteristic wooing, that she did not know +whether to laugh or cry; for he was looking at her with his heart in +his eyes, though his proposition was the queerest ever made at such a +time. + +"Just go on being fond of me in your own way, and let me love you as +much as I like in mine. I'll try to be satisfied with that," and he +took both her hands so beseechingly that she felt more ungrateful than +ever. + +"No, it would not be fair: for you would love the most; and, if the +hero did appear, what would become of you?" + +"I should resemble Uncle Alec in one thing at least,--fidelity; for my +first love would be my last." + +That went straight to Rose's heart; and for a minute she stood silent, +looking down at the two strong hands that held hers so firmly, yet so +gently; and the thought went through her mind, "Must he too be +solitary all his life? I have no dear lover as my mother had, why +cannot I make him happy and forget myself?" + +It did not seem very hard; and she owned that, even while she told +herself to remember that compassion was no equivalent for love. She +wanted to give all she could, and keep as much of Mac's affection as +she honestly might; because it seemed to grow more sweet and precious +when she thought of putting it away. + +"You will be like uncle in happier ways than that, I hope; for you, +too, must have a high ideal, and find her and be happy," she said, +resolving to be true to the voice of conscience, not be swayed by the +impulse of the moment. + +"I _have_ found her, but I don't see any prospect of happiness, do +you?" he asked, wistfully. + +"Dear Mac, I cannot give you the love you want, but I do trust and +respect you from the bottom of my heart, if that is any comfort," +began Rose, looking up with eyes full of contrition, for the pain her +reply must give. + +She got no further, however; for those last words wrought a +marvellous change in Mac. Dropping her hands, he stood erect, as if +inspired with sudden energy and hope, while over his face there came a +brave, bright look, which for the moment made him a nobler and a +comelier man than ever handsome Prince had been. + +"It _is_ a comfort!" he said, in a tone of gratitude, that touched her +very much. "You said your love must be founded on respect, and that +you have given me: why can I not earn the rest? I'm nothing now; but +every thing is possible when one loves with all his heart and soul and +strength. Rose, _I_ will be your hero if a mortal man can, even though +I have to work and wait for years. I'll _make_ you love me, and be +glad to do it. Don't be frightened. I've not lost my wits: I've just +found them. I don't ask any thing: I'll never speak of my hope, but it +is no use to stop me; I _must_ try it, and I _will_ succeed!" + +With the last words, uttered in a ringing voice, while his face +glowed, his eyes shone, and he looked as if carried out of himself by +the passion that possessed him, Mac abruptly left the room, like one +eager to change words to deeds and begin his task at once. + +Rose was so amazed by all this, that she sat down trembling a little, +not with fear or anger, but a feeling half pleasure, half pain; and a +sense of some new power--subtle, strong, and sweet--that had come into +her life. It seemed as if another Mac had taken the place of the one +she had known so long,--an ardent, ambitious man, ready for any work, +now that the magical moment had come, when every thing seems possible +to love. If hope could work such a marvellous change for a moment, +could not happiness do it for a lifetime? It would be an exciting +experiment to try, she thought, remembering the sudden illumination +which made that familiar face both beautiful and strange. + +She could not help wondering how long this unsuspected sentiment had +been growing in his heart, and felt perplexed by its peculiar +demonstration; for she had never had a lover like this before. It +touched and flattered her, nevertheless: and she could not but feel +honored by a love so genuine and generous; for it seemed to make a man +of Mac all at once, and a manly man too, who was not daunted by +disappointment, but could "hope against hope", and resolve to _make_ +her love him if it took years to do it. + +There was the charm of novelty about this sort of wooing, and she +tried to guess how he would set about it, felt curious to see how he +would behave when next they met, and was half angry with herself for +not being able to decide how she ought to act. The more she thought +the more bewildered she grew; for, having made up her mind that Mac +was a genius, it disturbed all her plans to find him a lover, and such +an ardent one. As it was impossible to predict what would come next, +she gave up trying to prepare for it; and, tired with vain +speculations, carried Dulce off to bed, wishing she could tuck away +her love-troubles as quietly and comfortably as she did her sleepy +little charge. + +Simple and sincere in all things, Mac gave Rose a new surprise by +keeping his promise to the letter,--asked nothing of her, said nothing +of his hope, and went on as if nothing had happened, quite in the old +friendly way. No, not quite; for now and then, when she least expected +it, she saw again that indescribable expression in his face, a look +that seemed to shed a sudden sunshine over her, making her eyes fall +involuntarily, her color rise, and her heart beat quicker for a +moment. Not a word did he say, but she felt that a new atmosphere +surrounded her when he was by; and, although he used none of the +little devices most lovers employ to keep the flame alight, it was +impossible to forget that underneath his quietude there was a hidden +world of fire and force, ready to appear at a touch, a word from her. + +This was rather dangerous knowledge for Rose, and she soon began to +feel that there were more subtle temptations than she had suspected; +for it was impossible to be unconscious of her power, or always to +resist the trials of it which daily came unsought. She had never felt +this desire before: for Charlie was the only one who had touched her +heart; and he was constantly asking as well as giving, and wearied her +by demanding too much, or oppressed by offering more than she could +accept. + +Mac did neither: he only loved her, silently, patiently, hopefully; +and this generous sort of fidelity was very eloquent to a nature like +hers. She could not refuse or chide, since nothing was asked or urged: +there was no need of coldness, for he never presumed; no call for +pity, since he never complained. All that could be done was to try and +be as just and true as he was, and to wait as trustfully for the end, +whatever it was to be. + +For a time she liked the new interest it put into her life, yet did +nothing to encourage it; and thought that if she gave this love no +food it would soon starve to death. But it seemed to thrive on air; +and presently she began to feel as if a very strong will was slowly +but steadily influencing her in many ways. If Mac had never told her +that he meant to "_make_ her love him", she might have yielded +unconsciously; but now she mistook the impulse to obey this +undercurrent for compassion, and resisted stoutly, not comprehending +yet the reason of the unrest which took possession of her about this +time. + +She had as many moods as an April day; and would have much surprised +Dr. Alec by her vagaries, had he known them all. He saw enough, +however, to guess what was the matter, but took no notice; for he knew +this fever must run its course, and much medicine only does harm. The +others were busy about their own affairs, and Aunt Plenty was too much +absorbed in her rheumatism to think of love; for the cold weather set +in early, and the poor lady kept her room for days at a time, with +Rose as nurse. + +Mac had spoken of going away in November, and Rose began to hope he +would; for she decided that this silent sort of adoration was bad for +her, as it prevented her from steadily pursuing the employments she +had marked out for that year. What was the use of trying to read +useful books, when her thoughts continually wandered to those charming +essays on "Love and Friendship"? to copy antique casts, when all the +masculine heads looked like Cupid, and the feminine ones like the +Psyche on her mantel-piece? to practise the best music, if it ended in +singing over and over the pretty spring-song without Phebe's +bird-chorus? Dulce's company was pleasantest now; for Dulce seldom +talked, so much meditation was possible. Even Aunt Plenty's red +flannel, camphor, and Pond's Extract were preferable to general +society; and long solitary rides on Rosa seemed the only thing to put +her in tune after one of her attempts to find out what she ought to do +or leave undone. + +She made up her mind at last; and arming herself with an unmade pen, +like Fanny Squeers, she boldly went into the study to confer with Dr. +Alec, at an hour when Mac was usually absent. + +"I want a pen for marking: can you make me one, uncle?" she asked, +popping in her head to be sure he was alone. + +"Yes, my dear," answered a voice so like the doctor's that she entered +without delay. + +But before she had taken three steps she stopped, looking rather +annoyed; for the head that rose from behind the tall desk was not +rough and gray, but brown and smooth, and Mac, not Uncle Alec, sat +there writing. Late experience had taught her that she had nothing to +fear from a _tête-à-tête_; and, having with difficulty taken a +resolution, she did not like to fail of carrying it out. + +"Don't get up: I won't trouble you if you are busy; there is no +hurry", she said, not quite sure whether it were wiser to stay or run +away. + +Mac settled the point, by taking the pen out of her hand and beginning +to cut it, as quietly as Nicholas did on that "thrilling" occasion. +Perhaps he was thinking of that; for he smiled as he asked,-- + +"Hard or soft?" + +Rose evidently had forgotten that the family of Squeers ever existed, +for she answered,-- + +"Hard, please," in a voice to match. "I'm glad to see you doing that", +she added, taking courage from his composure, and going as straight to +her point as could be expected of a woman. + +"And I am very glad to do it." + +"I don't mean making pens, but the romance I advised," and she touched +the closely written page before him, looking as if she would like to +read it. + +"That is my abstract of a lecture on the circulation of the blood," he +answered, kindly turning it so that she could see. "I don't write +romances: I'm living one," and he glanced up with the happy, hopeful +expression which always made her feel as if he was heaping coals of +fire on her head. + +"I wish you wouldn't look at me in that way: it fidgets me," she said +a little petulantly; for she had been out riding, and knew that she +did not present a "spiritual" appearance, after the frosty air had +reddened nose as well as cheeks. + +"I'll try to remember. It does itself before I know it. Perhaps this +may mend matters," and, taking out the blue glasses he sometimes wore +in the wind, he gravely put them on. + +Rose could not help laughing: but his obedience only aggravated her; +for she knew he could observe her all the better behind his ugly +screen. + +"No, it won't: they are not becoming; and I don't want to look blue +when I do not feel so," she said, finding it impossible to guess what +he would do next, or to help enjoying his peculiarities. + +"But you don't to me; for in spite of the goggles every thing is +rose-colored now," and he pocketed the glasses, without a murmur at +the charming inconsistency of his idol. + +"Really, Mac, I'm tired of this nonsense: it worries me and wastes +your time." + +"Never worked harder. But does it _really_ trouble you to know I love +you?" he asked anxiously. + +"Don't you see how cross it makes me?" and she walked away, feeling +that things were not going as she intended to have them at all. + +"I don't mind the thorns if I get the rose at last; and I still hope I +may, some ten years hence," said this persistent suitor, quite +undaunted by the prospect of a "long wait." + +"I think it is rather hard to be loved whether I like it or not," +objected Rose, at a loss how to make any headway against such +indomitable hopefulness. + +"But you can't help it, nor can I: so I must go on doing it with all +my heart till you marry; and then--well, then I'm afraid I may hate +somebody instead," and Mac spoilt the pen by an involuntary slash of +his knife. + +"Please don't, Mac!" + +"Don't which, love or hate?" + +"Don't do either: go and care for some one else; there are plenty of +nice girls who will be glad to make you happy," said Rose, intent upon +ending her disquiet in some way. + +"That is too easy. I enjoy working for my blessings; and the harder I +have to work the more I value them when they come." + +"Then if I suddenly grew very kind would you stop caring about me?" +asked Rose, wondering if that treatment would free her from a passion +which both touched and tormented her. + +"Try and see;" but there was a traitorous glimmer in Mac's eyes which +plainly showed what a failure it would be. + +"No, I'll get something to do, so absorbing I shall forget all about +you." + +"Don't think about me if it troubles you," he said tenderly. + +"I can't help it." Rose tried to catch back the words: but it was too +late; and she added hastily, "That is, I cannot help wishing you would +forget _me_. It is a great disappointment to find I was mistaken when +I hoped such fine things of you." + +"Yes, you were very sure that it was love when it was poetry; and now +you want poetry when I've nothing on hand but love. Will both together +please you?" + +"Try and see." + +"I'll do my best. Any thing else?" he asked, forgetting the small task +she had given him, in his eagerness to attempt the greater. + +"Tell me one thing. I've often wanted to know; and now you speak of it +I'll venture to ask. Did you care about me when you read Keats to me +last summer?" + +"No." + +"When _did_ you begin?" asked Rose, smiling in spite of herself at his +unflattering honesty. + +"How can I tell? Perhaps it did begin up there, though; for that talk +set us writing, and the letters showed me what a beautiful soul you +had. I loved that first: it was so quick to recognize good things, to +use them when they came, and give them out again as unconsciously as a +flower does its breath. I longed for you to come home, and wanted you +to find me altered for the better in some way as I had found you. And +when you came it was very easy to see why I needed you,--to love you +entirely, and to tell you so. That's all, Rose." + +A short story, but it was enough: the voice that told it with such +simple truth made the few words so eloquent Rose felt strongly tempted +to add the sequel Mac desired. But her eyes had fallen as he spoke; +for she knew his were fixed upon her, dark and dilated, with the same +repressed emotion that put such fervor into his quiet tones, and, just +as she was about to look up, they fell on a shabby little footstool. +Trifles affect women curiously, and often most irresistibly when some +agitation sways them: the sight of the old hassock vividly recalled +Charlie; for he had kicked it on the night she never liked to +remember; like a spark it fired a long train of recollections, and the +thought went through her mind,-- + +"I fancied I loved him, and let him see it; but I deceived myself, and +he reproached me for a single look that said too much. This feeling is +very different, but too new and sudden to be trusted. I'll neither +look nor speak till I am quite sure; for Mac's love is far deeper than +poor Charlie's, and I must be very true." + +Not in words did the resolve shape itself, but in a quick impulse, +which she obeyed,--certain that it was right, since it was hard to +yield to it. Only an instant's silence followed Mac's answer, as she +stood looking down with fingers intertwined, and color varying in her +cheeks. A foolish attitude; but Mac thought it a sweet picture of +maiden hesitation, and began to hope that a month's wooing was about +to end in winning for a lifetime. He deceived himself, however; and +cold water fell upon his flame, subduing but by no means quenching it, +when Rose looked up with an air of determination, which could not +escape eyes that were growing wonderfully far-sighted lately. + +"I came in here to beg uncle to advise you to go away soon. You are +very patient and forbearing, and I feel it more than I can tell. But +it is not good for you to depend on any one so much for your +happiness, I think; and I know it is bad for me to feel that I have so +much power over a fellow-creature. Go away, Mac, and see if this isn't +all a mistake. Don't let a fancy for me change or delay your work, +because it may end as suddenly as it began, and then we should both +reproach ourselves and each other. Please do! I respect and care for +you so much, I can't be happy to take all and give nothing. I try to, +but I'm not sure--I want to think--it is too soon to know yet--" + +Rose began bravely, but ended in a fluttered sort of way, as she moved +toward the door; for Mac's face, though it fell at first, brightened +as she went on, and at the last word, uttered almost involuntarily, he +actually laughed low to himself, as if this order into exile pleased +him much. + +"Don't say that you give nothing, when you've just shown me that I'm +getting on. I'll go; I'll go at once; and see if absence won't help +you 'to think, to know, and to be sure,' as it did me. I wish I could +do something more for you; as I can't, good-by." + +"Are you going _now_?" and Rose paused in her retreat, to look back +with a startled face, as he offered her a badly made pen, and opened +the door for her just as Dr. Alec always did; for, in spite of +himself, Mac did resemble the best of uncles. + +"Not yet; but you seem to be." + +Rose turned as red as a poppy, snatched the pen, and flew upstairs, to +call herself hard names, as she industriously spoiled all Aunt +Plenty's new pocket-handkerchiefs by marking them "A. M. C." + +Three days later Mac said "Good-by" in earnest; and no one was +surprised that he left somewhat abruptly, such being his way, and a +course of lectures by a famous physician the ostensible reason for a +trip to L. Uncle Alec deserted most shamefully at the last moment by +sending word that he would be at the station to see the traveller off: +Aunt Plenty was still in her room; so, when Mac came down from his +farewell to her, Rose met him in the hall, as if anxious not to delay +him. She was a little afraid of another _tête-à-tête_, as she fared so +badly at the last, and had assumed a calm and cousinly air, which she +flattered herself would plainly show on what terms she wished to +part. + +Mac apparently understood, and not only took the hint, but surpassed +her in cheerful composure; for, merely saying, "Good-by, cousin; write +when you feel like it," he shook hands, and walked out of the house as +tranquilly as if only a day instead of three months were to pass +before they met again. Rose felt as if a sudden shower-bath had +chilled her, and was about to retire, saying to herself with +disdainful decision,-- + +"There's no love about it after all; only one of the eccentricities of +genius," when a rush of cold air made her turn, to find herself in +what appeared to be the embrace of an impetuous overcoat, which wrapt +her close for an instant, then vanished as suddenly as it came, +leaving her to hide in the sanctum, and confide to Psyche with a +tender sort of triumph in her breathless voice,-- + +"No, no, it isn't genius: _that_ must be love!" + + + + +CHAPTER XIX. + +_BEHIND THE FOUNTAIN._ + + +Two days after Christmas, a young man of a serious aspect might have +been seen entering one of the large churches at L----. Being shown to +a seat, he joined in the services with praiseworthy devotion, +especially the music, to which he listened with such evident pleasure +that a gentleman who sat near by felt moved to address this +appreciative stranger after church. + +"Fine sermon to-day. Ever heard our minister before, sir?" he began, +as they went down the aisle together among the last; for the young man +had lingered as if admiring the ancient building. + +"Very fine. No, sir, I have never had that pleasure. I've often wished +to see this old place, and am not at all disappointed. Your choir, +too, is unusually good," answered the stranger, glancing up at several +bonnets bobbing about behind the half-drawn curtains above. + +"Finest in the city, sir. We pride ourselves on our music, and always +have the best. People often come for that alone," and the old +gentleman looked as satisfied as if a choir of cherubim and seraphim +"continually did cry" in his organ-loft. + +"Who is the contralto? That solo was beautifully sung," observed the +younger man, pausing to read a tablet in the wall. + +"That is Miss Moore. Been here about a year, and is universally +admired. Excellent young lady: couldn't do without her. Sings superbly +in oratorios. Ever heard her?" + +"Never. She came from X----, I believe?" + +"Yes; highly recommended. She was brought up by one of the first +families there. Campbell is the name. If you come from X----, you +doubtless know them." + +"I have met them. Good morning." And with bows the gentlemen parted; +for at that instant the young man caught sight of a tall lady going +down the church-steps, with a devout expression in her fine eyes, and +a prayer-book in her hand. + +Hastening after her, the serious-minded young man accosted her just as +she turned into a quiet street. + +"Phebe!" + +Only a word, but it wrought a marvellous change; for the devout +expression vanished in the drawing of a breath, and the quiet face +blossomed suddenly with color, warmth, and "the light that never was +on sea or land," as she turned to meet her lover, with an answering +word as eloquent as his,-- + +"Archie!" + +"The year is out to-day. I told you I should come. Have you +forgotten?" + +"No: I knew you'd come." + +"And you are glad?" + +"How can I help it?" + +"You can't: don't try. Come into this little park, and let us talk." +And, drawing her hand through his arm, Archie led her into what to +other eyes was a very dismal square, with a boarded-up fountain in the +middle, sodden grass-plots, and dead leaves dancing in the wintry +wind. + +But to them it was a summery Paradise; and they walked to and fro in +the pale sunshine, quite unconscious that they were objects of +interest to several ladies and gentlemen waiting anxiously for their +dinner, or yawning over the dull books kept for Sunday reading. + +"Are you ready to come home now, Phebe?" asked Archie, tenderly, as he +looked at the downcast face beside him, and wondered why all women did +not wear delightful little black velvet bonnets, with one deep-red +flower against their hair. + +"Not yet. I haven't done enough," began Phebe, finding it very hard to +keep the resolution made a year ago. + +"You have proved that you can support yourself, make friends, and earn +a name, if you choose. No one can deny that; and we are all getting +proud of you. What more can you ask, my dearest?" + +"I don't quite know, but I am very ambitious. I want to be famous, to +do something for you all, to make some sacrifice for Rose, and, if I +can, to have something to give up for your sake. Let me wait and work +longer: I know I haven't earned my welcome yet," pleaded Phebe, so +earnestly that her lover knew it would be vain to try and turn her; so +wisely contented himself with half, since he could not have the whole. + +"Such a proud woman! Yet I love you all the better for it, and +understand your feeling. Rose made me see how it seems to you; and I +don't wonder that you cannot forget the unkind things that were +looked, if not said, by some of my amiable aunts. I'll try to be +patient on one condition, Phebe." + +"And what is that?" + +"You are to let me come sometimes while I wait, and wear this lest you +should forget me," he said, pulling a ring from his pocket, and gently +drawing a warm, bare hand out of the muff where it lay hidden. + +"Yes, Archie, but not here,--not now!" cried Phebe, glancing about +her, as if suddenly aware that they were not alone. + +"No one can see us here: I thought of that. Give me one happy minute, +after this long, long year of waiting," answered Archie, pausing just +where the fountain hid them from all eyes, for there were houses only +on one side. + +Phebe submitted; and never did a plain gold ring slip more easily to +its place than the one he put on in such a hurry that cold December +day. Then one hand went back into the muff red with the grasp he gave +it, and the other to its old place on his arm, with a confiding +gesture, as if it had a right there. + +"Now I feel sure of you," said Archie, as they went on again, and no +one the wiser for that tender transaction behind the ugly pyramid of +boards. "Mac wrote me that you were much admired by your church +people, and that certain wealthy bachelors evidently had designs on +the retiring Miss Moore. I was horribly jealous, but now I defy every +man of them." + +Phebe smiled with the air of proud humility that was so becoming, and +answered briefly,-- + +"There was no danger: kings could not change me, whether you ever came +or not. But Mac should not have told you." + +"You shall be revenged on him, then; for, as he told secrets about +you, I'll tell you one about him. Phebe, he loves Rose!" And Archie +looked as if he expected to make a great sensation with his news. + +"I know it." And Phebe laughed at his sudden change of countenance, as +he added inquiringly,-- + +"She told you, then?" + +"Not a word. I guessed it from her letters: for lately she says +nothing about Mac, and before there was a good deal; so I suspected +what the silence meant, and asked no questions." + +"Wise girl! then you think she does care for the dear old fellow?" + +"Of course she does. Didn't he tell you so?" + +"No, he only said when he went away, 'Take care of my Rose, and I'll +take care of your Phebe,' and not another thing could I get out of +him; for _I_ did ask questions. He stood by me like a hero, and kept +Aunt Jane from driving me stark mad with her 'advice.' I don't forget +that, and burned to lend him a hand somewhere; but he begged me to let +him manage his wooing in his own way. And from what I see I should say +he knew how to do it," added Archie, finding it very delightful to +gossip about love affairs with his sweetheart. + +"Dear little mistress! how does she behave?" asked Phebe, longing for +news, but too grateful to ask at headquarters; remembering how +generously Rose had tried to help her, even by silence, the greatest +sacrifice a woman can make at such interesting periods. + +"Very sweet and shy and charming. I try not to watch: but upon my word +I cannot help it sometimes; she is so 'cunning,' as you girls say. +When I carry her a letter from Mac she tries so hard not to show how +glad she is, that I want to laugh, and tell her I know all about it. +But I look as sober as a judge, and as stupid as an owl by daylight; +and she enjoys her letter in peace, and thinks I'm so absorbed by my +own passion that I'm blind to hers." + +"But why did Mac come away? He says lectures brought him, and he goes; +but I am sure something else is in his mind, he looks so happy at +times. I don't see him very often, but when I do I'm conscious that he +isn't the Mac I left a year ago," said Phebe, leading Archie away: for +inexorable propriety forbade a longer stay, even if prudence and duty +had not given her a reminding nudge; as it was very cold, and +afternoon church came in an hour. + +"Well, you see Mac was always peculiar, and he cannot even grow up +like other fellows. I don't understand him yet, and am sure he's got +some plan in his head that no one suspects, unless it is Uncle Alec. +Love makes us all cut queer capers; and I've an idea that the Don will +distinguish himself in some uncommon way. So be prepared to applaud +whatever it is. We owe him that, you know." + +"Indeed we do! If Rose ever speaks of him to you, tell her I shall see +that he comes to no harm, and she must do the same for my Archie." + +That unusual demonstration of tenderness from reserved Phebe very +naturally turned the conversation into a more personal channel; and +Archie devoted himself to building castles in the air so successfully +that they passed the material mansion without either being aware of +it. + +"Will you come in?" asked Phebe, when the mistake was rectified, and +she stood on her own steps looking down at her escort, who had +discreetly released her before a pull at the bell caused five heads to +pop up at five different windows. + +"No, thanks. I shall be at church this afternoon, and the Oratorio +this evening. I must be off early in the morning, so let me make the +most of precious time, and come home with you to-night as I did +before," answered Archie, making his best bow, and quite sure of +consent. + +"You may," and Phebe vanished, closing the door softly, as if she +found it hard to shut out so much love and happiness as that in the +heart of the sedate young gentleman, who went briskly down the street, +humming a verse of old "Clyde" like a tuneful bass viol. + + "'Oh, let our mingling voices rise + In grateful rapture to the skies, + Where love has had its birth. + + Let songs of joy this day declare + That spirits come their bliss to share + With all the sons of earth.'" + +That afternoon Miss Moore sang remarkably well, and that evening quite +electrified even her best friends by the skill and power with which +she rendered "Inflammatus" in the oratorio. + +"If that is not genius, I should like to know what it is?" said one +young man to another, as they went out just before the general crush +at the end. + +"Some genius and a great deal of love. They are a grand team, and, +when well driven, astonish the world by the time they make in the +great race," answered the second young man, with the look of one +inclined to try his hand at driving that immortal span. + +"Dare say you are right. Can't stop now: she's waiting for me. Don't +sit up, Mac." + +"The gods go with you, Archie." + +And the cousins separated: one to write till midnight, the other to +bid his Phebe good-by, little dreaming how unexpectedly and +successfully she was to earn her welcome home. + + + + +CHAPTER XX. + +_WHAT MAC DID._ + + +Rose, meantime, was trying to find out what the sentiment was with +which she regarded her cousin Mac. She could not seem to reconcile the +character she had known so long with the new one lately shown her; and +the idea of loving the droll, bookish, absent-minded Mac of former +times appeared quite impossible and absurd: but the new Mac, wide +awake, full of talent, ardent and high-minded, was such a surprise to +her she felt as if her heart was being won by a stranger, and it +became her to study him well before yielding to a charm which she +could not deny. + +Affection came naturally, and had always been strong for the boy; +regard for the studious youth easily deepened to respect for the +integrity of the young man: and now something warmer was growing up +within her; but at first she could not decide whether it was +admiration for the rapid unfolding of talent of some sort, or love +answering to love. + +As if to settle that point, Mac sent her on New-Year's day a little +book plainly bound and modestly entitled "Songs and Sonnets." After +reading this with ever-growing surprise and delight, Rose never had +another doubt about the writer's being a poet; for, though she was no +critic, she had read the best authors and knew what was good. +Unpretending as it was, this had the true ring, and its very +simplicity showed conscious power; for, unlike so many first attempts, +the book was not full of "My Lady," neither did it indulge in +Swinburnian convulsions about + + "The lilies and languors of peace, + The roses and raptures of love;" + +or contain any of the highly colored mediæval word-pictures so much in +vogue. "My book should smell of pines, and resound with the hum of +insects," might have been its motto: so sweet and wholesome was it +with a spring-like sort of freshness, which plainly betrayed that the +author had learned some of Nature's deepest secrets, and possessed the +skill to tell them in tuneful words. The songs went ringing through +one's memory long after they were read; and the sonnets were full of +the subtle beauty, insight, and half-unconscious wisdom, which seem to +prove that "genius is divine when young." + +Many faults it had, but was so full of promise that it was evident Mac +had not "kept good company, read good books, loved good things, and +cultivated soul and body as faithfully as he could," in vain. It all +told now; for truth and virtue had blossomed into character, and had a +language of their own more eloquent than the poetry to which they were +what the fragrance is to the flower. Wiser critics than Rose felt and +admired this; less partial ones could not deny their praise to a +first effort, which seemed as spontaneous and aspiring as a lark's +song; and, when one or two of these Jupiters had given a nod of +approval, Mac found himself, not exactly famous, but much talked +about. One set abused, the other set praised, and the little book was +sadly mauled among them: for it was too original to be ignored, and +too robust to be killed by hard usage; so it came out of the fray none +the worse, but rather brighter, if any thing, for the friction which +proved the gold genuine. + +This took time, however, and Rose could only sit at home reading all +the notices she could get, as well as the literary gossip Phebe sent +her: for Mac seldom wrote, and never a word about himself; so Phebe +skilfully extracted from him in their occasional meetings all the +personal news her feminine wit could collect, and faithfully reported +it. + +It was a little singular that without a word of inquiry on either +side, the letters of the girls were principally filled with tidings of +their respective lovers. Phebe wrote about Mac; Rose answered with +minute particulars about Archie; and both added hasty items concerning +their own affairs, as if these were of little consequence. + +Phebe got the most satisfaction out of the correspondence; for, soon +after the book appeared, Rose began to want Mac home again, and to be +rather jealous of the new duties and delights that kept him. She was +immensely proud of her poet, and had little jubilees over the +beautiful fulfilment of her prophecies; for even Aunt Plenty owned now +with contrition that "the boy was not a fool." Every word of praise +was read aloud on the house-tops, so to speak, by happy Rose; every +adverse criticism was hotly disputed; and the whole family were in a +great state of pleasant excitement over this unexpectedly successful +first flight of the Ugly Duckling, now generally considered by his +relatives as the most promising young swan of the flock. + +Aunt Jane was particularly funny in her new position of mother to a +callow poet, and conducted herself like a proud but bewildered hen +when one of her brood takes to the water. She pored over the poems +trying to appreciate them, but quite failing to do so; for life was +all prose to her, and she vainly tried to discover where Mac got his +talent from. It was pretty to see the new respect with which she +treated his possessions now; the old books were dusted with a sort of +reverence; scraps of paper laid carefully by lest some immortal verse +be lost; and a certain shabby velvet jacket fondly smoothed, when no +one was by to smile at the maternal pride which filled her heart, and +caused her once severe countenance to shine with unwonted benignity. + +Uncle Mac talked about "my son" with ill-concealed satisfaction, and +evidently began to feel as if his boy was going to confer distinction +upon the whole race of Campbell, which had already possessed one +poet. Steve exulted with irrepressible delight, and went about +quoting "Songs and Sonnets," till he bored his friends dreadfully by +his fraternal raptures. + +Archie took it more quietly, and even suggested that it was too soon +to crow yet; for the dear old fellow's first burst might be his last, +since it was impossible to predict what he would do next. Having +proved that he _could_ write poetry, he might drop it for some new +world to conquer, quoting his favorite Thoreau, who, having made a +perfect pencil, gave up the business, and took to writing books with +the sort of indelible ink which grows clearer with time. + +The aunts of course had their "views," and enjoyed much prophetic +gossip, as they wagged their caps over many social cups of tea. The +younger boys thought it "very jolly, and hoped the Don would go ahead +and come to glory as soon as possible," which was all that could be +expected of "Young America," with whom poetry is not usually a +passion. + +But Dr. Alec was a sight for "sair een:" so full of concentrated +contentment was he. No one but Rose, perhaps, knew how proud and +pleased the good man felt at this first small success of his godson; +for he had always had high hopes of the boy, because in spite of his +oddities he had such an upright nature, and promising little did much, +with the quiet persistence which foretells a manly character. All the +romance of the doctor's heart was stirred by this poetic bud of +promise, and the love that made it bloom so early; for Mac had +confided his hopes to uncle, finding great consolation and support in +his sympathy and advice. Like a wise man, Dr. Alec left the young +people to learn the great lesson in their own way, counselling Mac to +work, and Rose to wait, till both were quite certain that their love +was built on a surer foundation than admiration or youthful romance. + +Meantime he went about with a well-worn little book in his pocket, +humming bits from a new set of songs, and repeating with great fervor +certain sonnets which seemed to him quite equal, if not superior, to +any that Shakspeare ever wrote. As Rose was doing the same thing, they +often met for a private "read and warble," as they called it; and, +while discussing the safe subject of Mac's poetry, both arrived at a +pretty clear idea of what Mac's reward was to be when he came home. + +He seemed in no hurry to do this, however, and continued to astonish +his family by going into society, and coming out brilliantly in that +line. It takes very little to make a lion, as every one knows who has +seen what poor specimens are patted and petted every year, in spite of +their bad manners, foolish vagaries, and very feeble roaring. Mac did +not want to be lionized, and took it rather scornfully, which only +added to the charm that people suddenly discovered about the +nineteenth cousin of Thomas Campbell, the poet. He desired to be +distinguished in the best sense of the word, as well as to look so, +and thought a little of the polish society gives would not be amiss, +remembering Rose's efforts in that line. For her sake he came out of +his shell, and went about seeing and testing all sorts of people with +those observing eyes of his, which saw so much in spite of their +near-sightedness. What use he meant to make of these new experiences +no one knew; for he wrote short letters, and, when questioned, +answered with imperturbable patience,-- + +"Wait till I get through; then I'll come home and talk about it." + +So every one waited for the poet, till something happened which +produced a greater sensation in the family than if all the boys had +simultaneously taken to rhyming. + +Dr. Alec got very impatient, and suddenly announced that he was going +to L. to see after those young people; for Phebe was rapidly singing +herself into public favor, with the sweet old ballads which she +rendered so beautifully that hearts were touched as well as ears +delighted, and her prospects brightening every month. + +"Will you come with me, Rose, and surprise this ambitious pair, who +are getting famous so fast they'll forget their home-keeping friends +if we don't remind them of us now and then?" he said, when he proposed +the trip one wild March morning. + +"No, thank you, sir; I'll stay with auntie: that is all I'm fit for; +and I should only be in the way among those fine people," answered +Rose, snipping away at the plants blooming in the study window. + +There was a slight bitterness in her voice and a cloud on her face, +which her uncle heard and saw at once, half-guessed the meaning of, +and could not rest till he had found out. + +"Do you think Phebe and Mac would not care to see you?" he asked, +putting down a letter in which Mac gave a glowing account of a concert +at which Phebe surpassed herself. + +"No, but they must be very busy," began Rose, wishing she had held her +tongue. + +"Then what is the matter?" persisted Dr. Alec. + +Rose did not speak for a moment, and decapitated two fine geraniums +with a reckless slash of her scissors, as if pent-up vexation of some +kind must find a vent. It did in words also; for, as if quite against +her will, she exclaimed impetuously,-- + +"The truth is, I'm jealous of them both!" + +"Bless my soul! what now?" ejaculated the doctor, in great surprise. + +Rose put down her watering-pot and shears, came and stood before him +with her hands nervously twisted together, and said, just as she used +to do when she was a little girl confessing some misdeed,-- + +"Uncle, I must tell you; for I've been getting very envious, +discontented, and bad lately. No, don't be good to me yet; for you +don't know how little I deserve it. Scold me well, and make me see how +wicked I am." + +"I will as soon as I know what I am to scold about. Unburden yourself, +child, and let me see all your iniquity; for, if you begin by being +jealous of Mac and Phebe, I'm prepared for any thing," said Dr. Alec, +leaning back as if nothing could surprise him now. + +"But I am not jealous in that way, sir. I mean I want to be or do +something splendid as well as they. I can't write poetry or sing like +a bird; but I _should_ think I might have my share of glory in some +way. I thought perhaps I could paint, and I've tried, but I can only +copy: I've no power to invent lovely things, and I'm so discouraged; +for that is my one accomplishment. Do you think I have _any_ gift that +could be cultivated, and do me credit like theirs?" she asked so +wistfully that her uncle felt for a moment as if he never could +forgive the fairies, who endow babies in their cradles, for being so +niggardly to his girl. But one look into the sweet, open face before +him, reminded him that the good elves _had_ been very generous, and he +answered cheerfully,-- + +"Yes, I do; for you have one of the best and noblest gifts a woman can +possess. Music and poetry are fine things; and I don't wonder you want +them, or that you envy the pleasant fame they bring. I've felt just +so, and been ready to ask why it didn't please heaven to be more +generous to some people; so you needn't be ashamed to tell me all +about it." + +"I know I ought to be contented, but I'm not. My life is very +comfortable, but so quiet and uneventful I get tired of it, and want +to launch out as the others have, and do something, or at least try. +I'm glad you think it isn't very bad of me, and I'd like to know what +my gift is," said Rose, looking less despondent already. + +"The art of living for others so patiently and sweetly that we enjoy +it as we do the sunshine, and are not half grateful enough for the +great blessing." + +"It is very kind of you to say so, but I think I'd like a little fun +and fame, nevertheless," and Rose did not look as thankful as she +ought. + +"Very natural, dear; but the fun and the fame do not last; while the +memory of a real helper is kept green long after poetry is forgotten +and music silent. Can't you believe that, and be happy?" + +"But I do so little, nobody sees or cares, and I don't feel as if I +was really of any use," sighed Rose, thinking of the long, dull +winter, full of efforts that seemed fruitless. + +"Sit here, and let us see if you really do very little, and if no one +cares," and, drawing her to his knee, Dr. Alec went on, telling off +each item on one of the fingers of the soft hand he held. + +"First, an infirm old aunt is kept very happy by the patient, cheerful +care of this good-for-nothing niece. Secondly, a crotchety uncle, for +whom she reads, runs, writes, and sews so willingly that he cannot get +on without her. Thirdly, various relations who are helped in various +ways. Fourthly, one dear friend never forgotten, and a certain cousin +cheered by the praise which is more to him than the loudest blast +Fame could blow. Fifthly, several young girls find her an example of +many good works and ways. Sixthly, a motherless baby is cared for as +tenderly as if she was a little sister. Seventhly, half a dozen poor +ladies made comfortable; and, lastly, some struggling boys and girls +with artistic longings are put into a pleasant room furnished with +casts, studies, easels, and all manner of helpful things, not to +mention free lessons given by this same idle girl, who now sits upon +my knee owning to herself that her gift _is_ worth having after all." + +"Indeed, I am! Uncle, I'd no idea I had done so many things to please +you, or that any one guessed how hard I try to fill my place usefully. +I've learned to do without gratitude: now I'll learn not to care for +praise, but to be contented to do my best, and have only God know." + +"He knows, and He rewards in His own good time. I think a quiet life +like this often makes itself felt in better ways than one that the +world sees and applauds; and some of the noblest are never known till +they end, leaving a void in many hearts. Yours may be one of these if +you choose to make it so, and no one will be prouder of this success +than I, unless it be--Mac." + +The clouds were quite gone now, and Rose was looking straight into her +uncle's face with a much happier expression, when that last word made +it color brightly, and the eyes glance away for a second. Then they +came back full of a tender sort of resolution, as she said,-- + +"That will be the reward I work for," and rose, as if ready to be up +and doing with renewed courage. + +But her uncle held her long enough to ask quite soberly, though his +eyes laughed,-- + +"Shall I tell him that?" + +"No, sir, please don't! When he is tired of other people's praise, he +will come home, and then--I'll see what I can do for him," answered +Rose, slipping away to her work with the shy, happy look that +sometimes came to give her face the charm it needed. + +"He is such a thorough fellow he never is in a hurry to go from one +thing to another. An excellent habit, but a trifle trying to impatient +people like me," said the doctor, and picking up Dulce, who sat upon +the rug with her dolly, he composed his feelings by tossing her till +she crowed with delight. + +Rose heartily echoed that last remark, but said nothing aloud, only +helped her uncle off with dutiful alacrity, and, when he was gone, +began to count the days till his return, wishing she had decided to go +too. + +He wrote often, giving excellent accounts of the "great creatures," as +Steve called Phebe and Mac, and seemed to find so much to do in +various ways that the second week of absence was nearly over before he +set a day for his return, promising to astonish them with the account +of his adventures. + +Rose felt as if something splendid was going to happen, and set her +affairs in order, so that the approaching crisis might find her fully +prepared. She had "found out" now, was quite sure, and put away all +doubts and fears to be ready to welcome home the cousin whom she was +sure uncle would bring as her reward. She was thinking of this one +day, as she got out her paper to write a long letter to poor Aunt +Clara, who pined for news far away there in Calcutta. + +Something in the task reminded her of that other lover whose wooing +ended so tragically, and opening the little drawer of keepsakes, she +took out the blue bracelet, feeling that she owed Charlie a tender +thought in the midst of her new happiness; for of late she _had_ +forgotten him. + +She had worn the trinket hidden under her black sleeve for a long time +after his death, with the regretful constancy one sometimes shows in +doing some little kindness all too late. But her arm had grown too +round to hide the ornament, the forget-me-nots had fallen one by one, +the clasp had broken; and that autumn she laid the bracelet away, +acknowledging that she had outgrown the souvenir as well as the +sentiment that gave it. + +She looked at it in silence for a moment, then put it softly back, +and, shutting the drawer, took up the little gray book which was her +pride, thinking as she contrasted the two men and their influence on +her life,--the one sad and disturbing, the other sweet and +inspiring,--"Charlie's was passion: Mac's is love." + +"Rose! Rose!" called a shrill voice, rudely breaking the pensive +reverie, and with a start she shut the desk exclaiming as she ran to +the door,-- + +"They have come! They have come!" + + + + +CHAPTER XXI. + +_HOW PHEBE EARNED HER WELCOME._ + + +Dr. Alec had not arrived, but bad tidings had, as Rose guessed the +instant her eye fell upon Aunt Plenty, hobbling downstairs with her +cap awry, her face pale, and a letter flapping wildly in her hand, as +she cried distractedly,-- + +"Oh, my boy! my boy! sick, and I not there to nurse him! Malignant +fever, so far away. What can those children do? why did I let Alec +go?" + +Rose got her into the parlor; and, while the poor old lady lamented, +she read the letter which Phebe had sent to her that she might "break +the news carefully to Rose." + + "DEAR MISS PLENTY,--Please read this to yourself first, and + tell my little mistress as you think best. The dear doctor + is very ill; but I am with him, and shall not leave him day + or night till he is safe. So trust me, and do not be + anxious; for every thing shall be done that care and skill + and entire devotion can do. He would not let us tell you + before, fearing you would try to come at the risk of your + health. Indeed it would be useless; for only one nurse is + needed, and I came first, so do not let Rose or anybody else + rob me of my right to the danger and the duty. Mac has + written to his father; for Dr. Alec is now too ill to know + what we do, and we both felt that you ought to be told + without further delay. He has a bad malignant fever, caught + no one can tell how, unless among some poor emigrants whom + he met wandering about quite forlorn in a strange city. He + understood Portuguese, and sent them to a proper place when + they had told their story. But I fear he has suffered for + his kindness; for this fever came on rapidly, and before he + knew what it was I was there, and it was too late to send me + away. + + "_Now_ I can show you how grateful I am, and if need be give + my life so gladly for this friend who has been a father to + me. Tell Rose his last conscious word and thought were for + her. 'Don't let her come; keep my darling safe.' Oh, do obey + him! Stay safely at home; and, God helping me, I'll bring + Uncle Alec back in time. Mac does all I will let him. We + have the best physicians, and every thing is going as well + as can be hoped till the fever turns. + + "Dear Miss Plenty, pray for him and for me, that I may do + this one happy thing for those who have done so much for + + "Your ever dutiful and loving + "PHEBE." + +As Rose looked up from the letter, half stunned by the sudden news and +the great danger, she found that the old lady had already stopped +useless bewailing, and was praying heartily, like one who knew well +where help was to be found. Rose went and knelt down at her knee, +laying her face on the clasped hands in her lap, and for a few minutes +neither wept nor spoke. Then a stifled sob broke from the girl, and +Aunt Plenty gathered the young head in her arms, saying, with the slow +tears of age trickling down her own withered cheeks,-- + +"Bear up, my lamb, bear up. The good Lord won't take him from us I am +sure: and that brave child _will_ be allowed to pay her debt to him; I +feel she will." + +"But I want to help. I _must_ go, aunty, I must: no matter what the +danger is," cried Rose, full of a tender jealousy of Phebe for being +first to brave peril for the sake of him who had been a father to them +both. + +"You can't go, dear, it's no use now; and she is right to say 'Keep +away.' I know those fevers, and the ones who nurse often take it, and +fare worse for the strain they've been through. Good girl to stand by +so bravely, to be so sensible, and not let Mac go too near! She's a +grand nurse: Alec couldn't have a better, and she'll never leave him +till he's safe," said Miss Plenty, excitedly. + +"Ah, you begin to know her now, and value her as you ought. _I_ think +few would have done as she has; and if she does get ill and die it +will be our fault partly; because she'd go through fire and water to +make us do her justice, and receive her as we ought," cried Rose, +proud of an example which she longed to follow. + +"If she brings my boy home, I'll never say another word. She may marry +every nephew I've got, if she likes, and I'll give her my blessing," +exclaimed Aunt Plenty, feeling that no price would be too much to pay +for such a deed. + +Rose was going to clap her hands, but wrung them instead; remembering +with a sudden pang that the battle was not over yet, and it was much +too soon to award the honors. + +Before she could speak Uncle Mac and Aunt Jane hurried in; for Mac's +letter had come with the other, and dismay fell upon the family at the +thought of danger to the well-beloved Uncle Alec. His brother decided +to go at once, and Aunt Jane insisted on accompanying him: though all +agreed that nothing could be done but wait, and leave Phebe at her +post as long as she held out; since it was too late to save her from +danger now, and Mac reported her quite equal to the task. + +Great was the hurry and confusion till the relief party was off. Aunt +Plenty was heart-broken that she could not go with them, but felt that +she was too infirm to be useful; and, like a sensible old soul, tried +to content herself with preparing all sorts of comforts for the +invalid. Rose was less patient, and at first had wild ideas of setting +off alone, and forcing her way to the spot where all her thoughts now +centred. But, before she could carry out any rash project, Aunt Myra's +palpitations set in so alarmingly that they did good service for once, +and kept Rose busy taking her last directions, and trying to soothe +her dying-bed; for each attack was declared fatal, till the patient +demanded toast and tea, when hope was again allowable and the rally +began. + +The news flew fast, as such tidings always do: and Aunt Plenty was +constantly employed in answering inquiries; for her knocker kept up a +steady tattoo for several days. All sorts of people came; gentle-folk +and paupers, children with anxious little faces, old people full of +sympathy, pretty girls sobbing as they went away, and young men who +relieved their feelings by swearing at all emigrants in general and +Portuguese in particular. It was touching and comforting to see how +many loved the good man who was known only by his benefactions, and +now lay suffering far away, quite unconscious how many unsuspected +charities were brought to light by this grateful solicitude, as hidden +flowers spring up when warm rains fall. + +If Rose had ever felt that the gift of living for others was a poor +one, she saw now how beautiful and blest it was,--how rich the +returns, how wide the influence, how much more precious the tender tie +which knit so many hearts together, than any breath of fame, or +brilliant talent, that dazzled, but did not win and warm. In after +years she found how true her uncle's words had been; and, listening to +eulogies of great men, felt less moved and inspired by praises of +their splendid gifts than by the sight of some good man's patient +labor for the poorest of his kind. Her heroes ceased to be the world's +favorites; and became such as Garrison fighting for his chosen people; +Howe restoring lost senses to the deaf, the dumb, and blind; Sumner +unbribable, when other men were bought and sold: and many a +large-hearted woman working as quietly as Abby Gibbons, who for thirty +years has made Christmas merry for two hundred little paupers in a +city almshouse, beside saving Magdalens and teaching convicts. + +The lesson came to Rose when she was ready for it, and showed her what +a noble profession philanthropy is, made her glad of her choice, and +helped fit her for a long life full of the loving labor, and sweet +satisfaction unostentatious charity brings to those who ask no reward, +and are content if "only God knows." + +Several anxious weeks went by with wearing fluctuations of hope and +fear; for Life and Death fought over the prize each wanted, and more +than once Death seemed to have won. But Phebe stood at her post, +defying both danger and death with the courage and devotion women +often show. All her soul and strength were in her work; and, when it +seemed most hopeless, she cried out with the passionate energy which +seems to send such appeals straight up to Heaven,-- + +"Grant me this one boon, dear Lord, and I will never ask another for +myself!" + +Such prayers avail much, and such entire devotion often seems to work +miracles when other aids are vain. Phebe's cry was answered; her +self-forgetful task accomplished, and her long vigil rewarded with a +happy dawn. Dr. Alec always said that she kept him alive by the force +of her will; and that, during the hours when he seemed to lie +unconscious, he felt a strong, warm hand holding his, as if keeping +him from the swift current trying to sweep him away. The happiest hour +of all her life was that in which he knew her, looked up with the +shadow of a smile in his hollow eyes, and tried to say in his old +cheery way,-- + +"Tell Rose I've turned the corner, thanks to you, my child." + +She answered very quietly, smoothed the pillow, and saw him drop +asleep again, before she stole away into the other room, meaning to +write the good news; but could only throw herself down, and find +relief for a full heart in the first tears she had shed for weeks. Mac +found her there, and took such care of her that she was ready to go +back to her place,--now indeed a post of honor,--while he ran off to +send home a telegram which made many hearts sing for joy, and caused +Jamie, in his first burst of delight, to propose to ring all the city +bells and order out the cannon. + +"Saved: thanks to God and Phebe." + +That was all; but every one was satisfied, and every one fell +a-crying, as if hope needed much salt water to strengthen it. That was +soon over, however, and then people went about smiling and saying to +one another, with hand-shakes or embraces, "He is better: no doubt of +it now!" A general desire to rush away and assure themselves of the +truth pervaded the family for some days; and nothing but awful threats +from Mac, stern mandates from the doctor, and entreaties from Phebe +not to undo her work, kept Miss Plenty, Rose, and Aunt Jessie at home. + +As the only way in which they could ease their minds and bear the +delay, they set about spring cleaning, with an energy which scared the +spiders, and drove char-women distracted. If the old house had been +infected with small-pox, it could not have been more vigorously +scrubbed, aired, and refreshed. Early as it was, every carpet was +routed up, curtains pulled down, cushions banged, and glory-holes +turned out, till not a speck of dust, a last year's fly, or stray +straw could be found. Then they all sat down and rested in such an +immaculate mansion that one hardly dared to move for fear of +destroying the shining order everywhere visible. + +It was late in April before this was accomplished, and the necessary +quarantine of the absentees well over. The first mild days seemed to +come early, so that Dr. Alec might return with safety from the journey +which had so nearly been his last. It was perfectly impossible to keep +any member of the family away on that great occasion. They came from +all quarters in spite of express directions to the contrary; for the +invalid was still very feeble, and no excitement must be allowed. As +if the wind had carried the glad news, Uncle Jem came into port the +night before; Will and Geordie got a leave on their own +responsibility; Steve would have defied the entire Faculty, had it +been necessary; and Uncle Mac and Archie said simultaneously, +"Business be hanged to-day." + +Of course, the aunts arrived all in their best; all cautioning +everybody else to keep quiet, and all gabbling excitedly at the least +provocation. Jamie suffered most during that day, so divided was he +between the desire to behave well and the frantic impulse to shout at +the top of his voice, turn somersaults, and race all over the house. +Occasional bolts into the barn, where he let off steam by roaring and +dancing jigs, to the great dismay of the fat old horses and two sedate +cows, helped him to get through that trying period. + +But the heart that was fullest beat and fluttered in Rose's bosom, as +she went about putting spring flowers everywhere; very silent, but so +radiant with happiness that the aunts watched her, saying softly to +one another, "Could an angel look sweeter?" + +If angels ever wore pale-green gowns and snowdrops in their hair, had +countenances full of serenest joy, and large eyes shining with an +inward light that made them very lovely, then Rose did look like one. +But she felt like a woman: and well she might; for was not life very +rich that day, when uncle, friend, and lover were coming back to her +together? Could she ask any thing more, except the power to be to all +of them the creature they believed her, and to return the love they +gave her with one as faithful, pure, and deep? + +Among the portraits in the hall hung one of Dr. Alec, taken soon after +his return by Charlie, in one of his brief fits of inspiration. Only a +crayon, but wonderfully life-like and carefully finished, as few of +the others were. This had been handsomely framed, and now held the +place of honor, garlanded with green wreaths, while the great Indian +jar below blazed with a pyramid of hot-house flowers sent by Kitty. +Rose was giving these a last touch, with Dulce close by, cooing over a +handful of sweet "daffydowndillies," when the sound of wheels sent her +flying to the door. She meant to have spoken the first welcome and had +the first embrace; but when she saw the altered face in the carriage, +the feeble figure being borne up the steps by all the boys, she stood +motionless till Phebe caught her in her arms, whispering with a laugh +and a cry struggling in her voice,-- + +"I did it for you, my darling, all for you!" + +"O Phebe, never say again you owe me any thing! I never can repay you +for this," was all Rose had time to answer, as they stood one instant +cheek to cheek, heart to heart, both too full of happiness for many +words. + +Aunt Plenty had heard the wheels also, and, as everybody rose _en +masse_, had said as impressively as extreme agitation would allow, +while she put her glasses on upside-down, and seized a lace tidy +instead of her handkerchief,-- + +"Stop! all stay here, and let _me_ receive Alec. Remember his weak +state, and be calm, quite calm, as I am." + +"Yes, aunt, certainly," was the general murmur of assent: but it was +as impossible to obey as it would have been to keep feathers still in +a gale; and one irresistible impulse carried the whole roomful into +the hall, to behold Aunt Plenty beautifully illustrate her own theory +of composure by waving the tidy wildly, rushing into Dr. Alec's arms, +and laughing and crying with an hysterical abandonment which even Aunt +Myra could not have surpassed. + +The tearful jubilee was soon over, however; and no one seemed the +worse for it: for the instant his arms were at liberty Uncle Alec +forgot himself, and began to make other people happy, by saying +seriously, though his thin face beamed paternally, as he drew Phebe +forward,-- + +"Aunt Plenty, but for this good daughter I never should have come back +to be so welcomed. Love her for my sake." + +Then the old lady came out splendidly, and showed her mettle; for, +turning to Phebe, she bowed her gray head as if saluting an equal; +and, offering her hand, answered with repentance, admiration, and +tenderness trembling in her voice,-- + +"I'm proud to do it for her own sake. I ask pardon for my silly +prejudices, and I'll prove that I'm sincere by--where's that boy?" + +There were six boys present: but the right one was in exactly the +right place at the right moment; and, seizing Archie's hand, Aunt +Plenty put Phebe's into it, trying to say something appropriately +solemn, but could not; so hugged them both, and sobbed out,-- + +"If I had a dozen nephews, I'd give them _all_ to you, my dear, and +dance at the wedding, though I had rheumatism in every limb." + +That was better than any oration; for it set them all to laughing, and +Dr. Alec was floated to the sofa on a gentle wave of merriment. Once +there, every one but Rose and Aunt Plenty was ordered off by Mac, who +was in command now, and seemed to have sunk the poet in the physician. + +"The house must be perfectly quiet, and he must go to sleep as soon as +possible after the journey; so all say 'Good-by' now, and call again +to-morrow," he said, watching his uncle anxiously, as he leaned in the +sofa corner, with four women taking off his wraps, three boys +contending for his overshoes, two brothers shaking hands at short +intervals, and Aunt Myra holding a bottle of strong salts under his +devoted nose every time there was an opening anywhere. + +With difficulty the house was partially cleared: and then, while Aunt +Plenty mounted guard over her boy, Rose stole away to see if Mac had +gone with the rest; for as yet they had hardly spoken in the joyful +flurry, though eyes and hands had met. + + + + +CHAPTER XXII. + +_SHORT AND SWEET._ + + +In the hall she found Steve and Kitty; for he had hidden his little +sweetheart behind the big couch, feeling that she had a right there, +having supported his spirits during the late anxiety with great +constancy and courage. They seemed so cosey, billing and cooing in the +shadow of the gay vase, that Rose would have slipped silently away if +they had not seen and called to her. + +"He's not gone: I guess you'll find him in the parlor," said Steve, +divining with a lover's instinct the meaning of the quick look she +had cast at the hat-rack, as she shut the study-door behind her. + +"Mercy, no! Archie and Phebe are there, so he'd have the sense to pop +into the sanctum and wait; unless you'd like me to go and bring him +out?" added Kitty, smoothing Rose's ruffled hair, and settling the +flowers on the bosom where Uncle Alec's head had laid until he fell +asleep. + +"No, thank you, I'll go to him when I've seen my Phebe. She won't mind +me," answered Rose, moving on to the parlor. + +"Look here," called Steve, "do advise them to hurry up and all be +married at once. We were just ready when uncle fell ill, and now we +can _not_ wait a day later than the first of May." + +"Rather short notice," laughed Rose, looking back with the door-knob +in her hand. + +"We'll give up all our splendor, and do it as simply as you like, if +_you_ will only come too. Think how lovely! three weddings at once! Do +fly round and settle things: there's a dear," implored Kitty, whose +imagination was fired with this romantic idea. + +"How can I, when I have no bridegroom yet?" began Rose, with conscious +color in her tell-tale face. + +"Sly creature! you know you've only got to say a word and have a +famous one. Una and her lion will be nothing to it," cried Steve, bent +on hastening his brother's affair, which was much too dilatory and +peculiar for his taste. + +"He has been in no haste to come home, and I am in no haste to leave +it. Don't wait for me, 'Mr. and Mrs. Harry Walmers, Jr.;' I shall be a +year at least making up my mind: so you may lead off as splendidly as +you like, and I'll profit by your experience;" and Rose vanished into +the parlor, leaving Steve to groan over the perversity of superior +women, and Kitty to comfort him by promising to marry him on May-day +"all alone." + +A very different couple occupied the drawing-room, but a happier one; +for they had known the pain of separation, and were now enjoying the +bliss of a reunion which was to last unbroken for their lives. Phebe +sat in an easy-chair, resting from her labors, pale and thin and worn, +but lovelier in Archie's eyes than ever before. It was very evident +that he was adoring his divinity; for, after placing a footstool at +her feet, he had forgotten to get up, and knelt there, with his elbow +on the arm of her chair, looking like a thirsty man drinking long +draughts of the purest water. + +"Shall I disturb you if I pass through?" asked Rose, loth to spoil the +pretty tableau. + +"Not if you stop a minute on the way and congratulate me, cousin; for +she says 'Yes' at last!" cried Archie, springing up to go and bring +her to the arms Phebe opened as she appeared. + +"I knew she would reward your patience, and put away her pride when +both had been duly tried," said Rose, laying the tired head on her +bosom, with such tender admiration in her eyes that Phebe had to shake +some bright drops from her own before she could reply in a tone of +grateful humility, that showed how much her heart was touched,-- + +"How can I help it, when they all are so kind to me? Any pride would +melt away under such praise and thanks and loving wishes as I've had +to-day; for every member of the family has taken pains to welcome me, +to express far too much gratitude, and to beg me to be one of you. I +needed very little urging; but, when Archie's father and mother came +and called me 'daughter,' I would have promised any thing to show my +love for them." + +"And him," added Rose; but Archie seemed quite satisfied, and kissed +the hand he held as if it had been that of a beloved princess, while +he said with all the pride Phebe seemed to have lost,-- + +"Think what she gives up for me: fame and fortune and the admiration +of many a better man. You don't know what a splendid prospect she has +of becoming one of the sweet singers who are loved and honored +everywhere; and all this she puts away for my sake, content to sing +for me alone, with no reward but love." + +"I am so glad to make a little sacrifice for a great happiness: I +never shall regret it or think my music lost, if it makes home +cheerful for my mate. Birds sing sweetest in their own nests, you +know," and Phebe bent toward him with a look and gesture which plainly +showed how willingly she offered up all ambitious hopes upon the altar +of a woman's happy love. + +Both seemed to forget that they were not alone, and in a moment they +were; for a sudden impulse carried Rose to the door of her sanctum, as +if the south wind which seemed to have set in was wafting this little +ship also toward the Islands of the Blest, where the others were +safely anchored now. + +The room was a blaze of sunshine and a bower of spring freshness and +fragrance: for here Rose had let her fancy have free play; and each +garland, fern, and flower had its meaning. Mac seemed to have been +reading this sweet language of symbols, to have guessed why Charlie's +little picture was framed in white roses, why pansies hung about his +own, why Psyche was half hidden among feathery sprays of +maiden's-hair, and a purple passion-flower lay at Cupid's feet. The +last fancy evidently pleased him; for he was smiling over it, and +humming to himself, as if to beguile his patient waiting, the burden +of the air Rose so often sung to him,-- + + "Bonny lassie, will ye gang, will ye gang + To the birks of Aberfeldie?" + +"Yes, Mac, anywhere!" + +He had not heard her enter, and wheeling round looked at her with a +radiant face, as he said, drawing a long breath,-- + +"At last! you were so busy over the dear man, I got no word. But I can +wait: I'm used to it." + +Rose stood quite still, surveying him with a new sort of reverence in +her eyes, as she answered with a sweet solemnity, that made him laugh +and redden with the sensitive joy of one to whom praise from her lips +was very precious. + +"You forget that you are not the Mac who went away. I should have run +to meet my cousin, but I did not dare to be familiar with the poet +whom all begin to honor." + +"You like the mixture then? You know I said I'd try to give you love +and poetry together." + +"Like it! I'm so glad, so proud, I haven't any words strong and +beautiful enough to half express my wonder and my admiration. How +_could_ you do it, Mac?" and a whole face full of smiles broke loose, +as Rose clapped her hands, looking as if she could dance with sheer +delight at his success. + +"It did itself, up there among the hills, and here with you, or out +alone upon the sea. I could write a heavenly poem this very minute, +and put you in as Spring; you look like her in that green gown with +snowdrops in your bonny hair. Rose, am I getting on a little? Does a +hint of fame help me nearer to the prize I'm working for? Is your +heart more willing to be won?" + +He did not stir a step, but looked at her with such intense longing +that his glance seemed to draw her nearer like an irresistible appeal; +for she went and stood before him, holding out both hands, as if she +offered all her little store, as she said with simplest sincerity,-- + +"It is not worth so much beautiful endeavor; but, if you still want so +poor a thing, it is yours." + +He caught the hands in his, and seemed about to take the rest of her, +but hesitated for an instant, unable to believe that so much happiness +was true. + +"Are you sure, Rose,--very sure? Don't let a momentary admiration +blind you: I'm not a poet yet; and the best are but mortal men, you +know." + +"It is not admiration, Mac." + +"Nor gratitude for the small share I've taken in saving uncle? I had +my debt to pay, as well as Phebe, and was as glad to risk my life." + +"No: it is not gratitude." + +"Nor pity for my patience? I've only done a little yet, and am as far +as ever from being like your hero. I can work and wait still longer, +if you are not sure; for I must have all or nothing." + +"O Mac! why will you be so doubtful? You said you'd make me love you, +and you've done it. Will you believe me now?" And, with a sort of +desperation, she threw herself into his arms, clinging there in +eloquent silence, while he held her close; feeling, with a thrill of +tender triumph, that this was no longer little Rose, but a loving +woman, ready to live and die for him. + +"Now I'm satisfied!" he said presently, when she lifted up her face, +full of maidenly shame at the sudden passion which had carried her out +of herself for a moment. "No: don't slip away so soon; let me keep you +for one blessed minute, and feel that I have really found my Psyche." + +"And I my Cupid," answered Rose, laughing, in spite of her emotion, at +the idea of Mac in that sentimental character. + +He laughed too, as only a happy lover could; then said, with sudden +seriousness,-- + +"Sweet Soul! lift up your lamp, and look well before it is too late; +for I'm no god, only a very faulty man." + +"Dear Love! I will. But I have no fear, except that you will fly too +high for me to follow, because I have no wings." + +"You shall live the poetry, and I will write it; so my little gift +will celebrate your greater one." + +"No: you shall have all the fame, and I'll be content to be known only +as the poet's wife." + +"And I'll be proud to own that my best inspiration comes from the +beneficent life of a sweet and noble woman." + +"O Mac! we'll work together, and try to make the world better by the +music and the love we leave behind us when we go." + +"Please God, we will!" he answered fervently; and, looking at her as +she stood there in the spring sunshine, glowing with the tender +happiness, high hopes, and earnest purposes that make life beautiful +and sacred, he felt that now the last leaf had folded back, the golden +heart lay open to the light, and his Rose had bloomed. + + +Cambridge: Press of John Wilson & Son. + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 41127 *** |