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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..5fc37db --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #67410 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/67410) diff --git a/old/67410-0.txt b/old/67410-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 36882c2..0000000 --- a/old/67410-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,4992 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Our Winnie and The Little Match Girl, -by Evelyn Everett-Green - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: Our Winnie and The Little Match Girl - -Author: Evelyn Everett-Green - -Release Date: February 15, 2022 [eBook #67410] - -Language: English - -Produced by: MWS and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at - https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images - generously made available by The Internet Archive/American - Libraries.) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK OUR WINNIE AND THE LITTLE -MATCH GIRL *** - - - - - - [Illustration: The child watched them with an increasing sense of - fascination, for she knew that it would not be very long before she - lost her friends, who would fly far, far away.--_Page 8._] - - - - - Our Winnie - - and - - The Little Match-Girl - - BY - - EVELYN EVERETT-GREEN - - AUTHOR OF - ‘THE MASTER OF FERNHURST,’ ‘IN CLOISTER AND COURT,’ ‘IN SHADOWLAND,’ - ‘ODEYNE’S MARRIAGE,’ ETC. - - John F. Shaw & Co., Ltd., - - _Publishers_, - - 3, Pilgrim Street, London, E.C. - - - - - CONTENTS. - - - CHAP. PAGE - - I. WATCHING THE SWALLOWS 7 - - II. WINIFRED’S TROUBLE 18 - - III. A STRANGE JOURNEY 31 - - IV. THE FIRST ATTEMPT 50 - - V. LITTLE PHIL 61 - - VI. WINIFRED’S BROTHERS 72 - - VII. WINIFRED’S PARTY 89 - - VIII. SUNDAY 107 - - IX. THE LAST FLIGHT 119 - - - - - THE LITTLE MATCH-GIRL. - - - - - CONTENTS. - - - CHAPTER I. PAGE - - A LITTLE MATCH-SELLER 127 - - CHAPTER II. - - IN THE STUDIO 138 - - CHAPTER III. - - WONDERFUL DAYS 149 - - CHAPTER IV. - - AT BROOKLANDS 160 - - CHAPTER V. - - DARK DAYS 171 - - CHAPTER VI. - - CONCLUSION 182 - - - - - OUR WINNIE, - - OR - - “WHEN THE SWALLOWS GO.” - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -WATCHING THE SWALLOWS. - - -Winifred sat by the nursery window, upon the wide cushioned seat, -leaning her little pale face against the glass and gazing with big blue -eyes towards the rosy sky, where the sun was setting in a blaze of -golden glory. - -It was a pretty view the great oriel window commanded--garden and -shrubbery just below, and beyond the close laurel hedge, low-lying -pasture lands dotted with pine trees, and a large piece of water, which -lay shining like molten gold in the glow of sunset radiance. - -The swallows were enjoying the beauty of the evening as much as living -things could do. They were darting this way and that in the bright, -soft sunshine; now flying high, now low, and ever seeming drawn by -irresistible attraction towards the shining surface of the water, which -lay smiling and placid, without even a ripple to break its glassy -smoothness. - -Winifred was very much interested in the swallows. In the springtime -she had watched them with the utmost absorption as they built their -nests and hatched their chattering broods amid the many eaves and -jutting lead-pipes of the old-fashioned manor-house in which she lived. - -When the summer came, and the young birds had left the nests, she -still fancied she knew “her swallows” from all the rest, and was -always interested in their movements; fond of foretelling the weather -according as to whether they flew high or low, and making stories -about them and their cleverness which would rather have astonished an -ornithologist. - -And now that autumn was drawing on, the child watched them with an -increasing sense of fascination, for she knew that it would not be -very long before she lost her friends and playmates (for in her eyes -they were friends and playmates), who would fly far, far away from -England with the first approach of winter. - -“I wonder why they want to go?” the child sometimes said. “I shall so -miss them. I wish they would stay here always.” - -Winifred was nine years old, but she was so small and thin that she -hardly seemed so much; and yet her little face, with its large, -thoughtful eyes, and grave, serious lips, looked almost older than a -nine-year-old child’s should do. - -She had been very, very ill last winter, so ill that nobody had thought -she could get better; and even now, although the summer had brought a -little strength to her limbs, and a little colour to her face, she was -still very delicate, and her father and mother often looked anxiously -into the deep eyes of their only little daughter, and wondered how long -they would keep her with them, and if she would ever grow up strong and -hearty like Charley and Ronald, her two big brothers. - -Winifred did not know this; she only knew that she could not run about -and play like other children, that she soon grew tired, and that it was -much more pleasure to her to sit on the nursery window-seat and read a -favourite story-book, or watch the swallows, than it was to romp and -race about the garden and fields as the boys so loved to do. The little -girl was not discontented; she was very happy in her own way, and was -fond of being quiet, and indulging in her own dreams and fancies. She -saw no reason why she was to be pitied. - -A door opened softly, and without turning her head to look, Winifred -knew that her mother had come in. - -Nobody but mamma had such a soft, gentle step; nobody else seemed -to bring into the room that kind of brightness and sweetness which -Winifred always felt accompanied her mother’s presence. Sometimes the -child would think to herself that it was like music and moonlight just -to feel that mamma was near. - -Mrs. Digby was a tall, graceful, sweet-faced mother--an ideal woman -for a child’s love and worship, so gentle, so firm, so loving and -sympathising. - -Winifred’s little face smiled all over, a slow smile of satisfaction, -although she never turned her head until her mother had seated herself -in the great rocking-chair that stood beside the window. Then she left -her seat and crept into her mother’s arms, laying her head against that -comfortable shoulder, and looking alternately out of the window and -into her mother’s face. - -“What was my darling doing all alone? What was my little girl thinking -of?” - -“I was watching the swallows, mamma dear.” - -“You are fond of the swallows, Winnie.” - -“Yes; so many of them are my swallows--and soon they will go away.” - -“Yes, darling.” - -“Mamma,” asked the child, with a serious, wistful look in her eyes, -“how is it that the things we love best and care most for always seem -to go away soonest?” - -It seemed to Winifred that the warm, loving arms closed more tenderly -and closely round her as the mother answered gently: - -“Does it seem so to you, darling?” - -“Yes, mamma. It was my favourite rose-tree that died last winter, and -my favourite oak-tree that was blown down in the storm. Ronald lost his -best puppy, and papa’s favourite horse went lame. I like all the birds -very much, but the swallows much, much the best, and it is the swallows -who go, and the robins and chaffinches that stay behind. I wonder why -it is.” - -“But the swallows come back again, darling,” said the mother, kissing -her child’s broad brow. “I remember how sorry my little girl was when -they had all gone last year; but here they are again, and it was such -pleasure to watch them build that you told me it made up for the long -time of waiting. It will be the same again this year, Winnie.” - -“Will it, mamma? It seems as if it would be winter for such a long, -long while. I cannot fancy that the spring will ever come again.” - -Mrs. Digby made no reply, and by-and-by Winifred went on. - -“And last year I was so disappointed, for I never said good-bye; I -never saw them go. I had watched them gather, and gather, and gather, -and I did so want to see them start, and I never did. Do you think -they will gather here again this year, mamma?” - -“I think it is very likely. They very often do.” - -“If they do, I will be _sure_ not to miss them; I do so want to see -them go, and say good-bye.” - -“What is it you are not going to miss, my little girl?” asked a kind, -cheery voice from the other side of the room. - -Winifred and her mother looked round, and saw that Dr. Howard had -entered unobserved. He was never very many days without paying the -child a visit, and she had grown fond of the old man, and was not -afraid to talk to him freely. - -He came and sat in her vacated seat--the wide window-ledge--and looked -into her face, and took the thin little hand in his, and patted it in a -friendly fashion. - -“Well, Winnie, what is it you are so anxious not to miss? Do you want -my leave to go to a children’s party, or to do something else bold and -daring?” - -“Oh no!” answered Winnie, smiling; “we were only talking about the -swallows. We think they will gather here before they fly, as they did -last year, and I do so want to see them go. Last year I missed them -somehow.” - -Dr. Howard smiled and shook his head. - -“I never saw the swallows go yet, little maid, though I am an old man -now; and what is more, I never knew anybody who had, either.” - -Winifred’s eyes opened wide. - -“Does nobody ever see them go? Somebody must. They do not turn into -fairies and vanish away, do they?” - -The old doctor smiled and answered in a fanciful way for a little -while, until seeing the child was growing puzzled, he said at last: - -“No, no, my little girl, it is nothing so strange after all; you need -not open your big eyes, and look as if I were telling you mystic -fables. The swallows always start in the night, that is all; and in the -morning we wake up and find them gone, but we do not see them go.” - -“In the night?” echoes Winifred, with a cloud passing over her face. -“Then sha’n’t I be able to see them go this year, either?” - -“I’m afraid not, little one.” - -“Oh I am _so_ sorry!” said the child with a deep sigh; “so very, very -sorry. I did so want to see them go.” - -“Dr. Howard,” said her mother’s voice in the pause that followed these -words, “do you think this little bird had better follow the swallows -and the sunshine, and leave the cold and the rain behind? Sometimes I -fancy we ought to run after the swallows and catch them up where they -have caught the summer. What do you think?” - -“I think,” answered the kind old man with a look in his eye which the -child did not understand, “that this little bird is best in its own -warm nest, under its mother’s wing. It does not suit all little birds -to fly away.” - -And then the doctor rose, and Mrs. Digby too; and Winifred was left -alone to rock herself in the vacated chair and think about the swallows. - -She was lying in her little bed that night, cosy and warm, when she -became vaguely conscious that her father and mother had come in, and -were talking together softly, and as it seemed, sadly. Unless it was a -dream (and Winifred did not feel quite sure which it was), papa had his -arm round mamma, and seemed to be comforting her. She almost looked as -if she had been crying, and her voice shook when she said: - -“There is nothing that we can do. It is God who gives, and God who -takes away, but it is very, very hard to lose her. You must help me, -Ronald, sometimes I fear my faith will give way.” - -“God will give His strength with the trial if He sends it. Perhaps in -His mercy He will spare it us.” - -“Yes, we may still hope and pray; but I must struggle for resignation -to His Holy Will. I fear--I fear--” - -“I know what you fear, my sweet wife. Did Dr. Howard hold out no hope?” - -“He would not--or could not--say anything definite; but he thought--he -thought our darling would not be long after the swallows.” - -There was a deep sob, and the sound of tender caresses, then came Mr. -Digby’s voice. - -“Our precious little daughter. It is hard to spare her; but think, -dearest, to what a happy place she is going.” - -“I know--I know. I try not to be selfish. It is her gain, her -happiness. Oh yes, I know what a happy, happy thing it is for children -to be taken in all their innocence. But oh, I shall miss her so sorely.” - -“I know, I know. But we believe that trials are sent us in love and not -in anger; and we must think of our Winifred’s gain and not of our loss.” - -Some soft kisses and warm tears were dropped upon the child’s sleepy -face. She had moved, and the voices ceased, but both parents were -bending over her little bed. She opened her eyes drowsily, smiled and -kissed them, and then she sank off to sleep again holding her mother’s -hand in hers. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -WINIFRED’S TROUBLE. - - -Winifred awoke early the following morning, to find the sunshine -playing over the window-blind and the swallows twittering in the eaves. - -She fancied that something unusual had happened in the night; but she -could not, all in a moment, recollect what it was. - -Gradually some of the sense of what had passed between her parents in -her night-nursery came back to her as she lay in bed puzzling things -over, and she began to talk softly to herself as she had a way of doing. - -“I think they said I was going away somewhere, to some nice place -where I should be very happy. I can’t quite remember, and I thought -Dr. Howard meant I was to stay at home; but I don’t always understand -what people mean. I’m almost sure papa and mamma said I was to go--I -suppose it’s to some nice place where little children get strong and -well again. I should like to be able to run about again and play with -the boys. I should like to do what other children can.” - -But a little more thinking brought other considerations. - -“Mamma was sorry--I think she cried. I’m afraid she isn’t coming with -me, because she talked about losing me. I suppose nurse will take -me--that will be next best; and mamma could not be spared. Papa wants -her and the boys, and there are the servants and the house. Oh no, -they could not possibly spare her. I must try to be brave, and not to -cry and make her more sorry. I won’t seem to mind leaving her, if I -can help it, though it will be very, very hard; and I will try to get -better as fast as ever I can, so as to come back soon strong and well -as Charley did when he had measles, and nurse took him to the seaside. - -“I wonder where I am going--a good way off, I think, because I don’t -think mamma would have cried if it had been only a little way or for -a little while. Perhaps I am going where the swallows go--perhaps I -shall see them again. I should like to do that. I think I am going when -they go--I will try to get well to come back when they come. That would -be very nice, for I think they would miss me when they began to build -their nests; and I don’t think I _could_ do without mamma longer than -that--Oh no, I must come back when the swallows come.” - -Winifred was smiling now; but by-and-by her face grew grave. - -“I wonder if people will miss me when I am gone. I wonder if they will -be sorry. Mamma will, I know, but is there any one else? I should -like to think some of them would miss me and want me to come back; -but--but--I’m not sure that they would!” and here the child’s face grew -rather red. - -Children all have their faults, and Winifred was no exception to this -rule. Perhaps there were excuses to be made for this little girl, -because her bad health had made it needful for her to be very quiet -and rather idle, and because, with all her faults, she was always -gentle and docile; but at the same time Winifred was selfish, and she -was more idle than she need have been; and when she began to think -whether people would miss her, she could not help remembering many -little things which she did not quite like to think about. - -Charley and Ronald were very fond of their little sister, and would -have liked to spend a good deal of their spare time in the nursery, -which they had once shared all together; but since Winnie’s illness -the nursery had been given up entirely to her service, and she had not -failed to assert her right as mistress of her domain. - -It was often quite true that the noise the boys made at play tried her -head and made it ache; but there were other days when she could have -borne the noise quite well, only she did not care to let the boys in -because she felt more inclined to be quiet. Then she never tried to -do any little services for them, or for any one else, thinking nobody -could expect it of her when she had so little strength. - -Winifred was a gentle, loveable child, in spite of her tendency to -selfishness, and everybody seemed fond of her. Indeed, it was not -every one who knew what her chief faults were. Charley and Ronald -never thought for a moment that she was selfish, and would have been -indignant if any one had called her so; but at the same time they knew -it was no good ever asking Winifred to do anything for them. - -Perhaps Mrs. Digby and nurse knew best where the gentle child’s -weakness lay; but it had not been very easy in her present state of -health and spirits to make her see her own faults in the proper light. - -But as Winifred lay in bed thinking, it dawned upon her slowly that -her going away would make very little difference to anybody in the -world--that only mamma would miss her, and that only because mamma was -mamma, not for anything her child had ever done for her. - -A resolution came into Winifred’s mind. - -“I will be different,” she said. “I will do something before I go to -show them I am fond of them, and then perhaps they will miss me more. -I should like to do something for a good many people. There are the -boys, and the servants--and--and--Oh, I must think about it. I have a -good deal of money: I will see what I can do.” - -Winnie turned over this idea very many times in her head, as she lay -waiting for nurse to dress her. She rose late, and breakfast was not -over till nearly half-past ten. - -“There doesn’t seem any time left to think this morning,” said Winnie, -after she had taken a little walk in the garden with her mamma. “I feel -tired now, I will watch the swallows a little, and think after dinner.” - -Presently nurse came in. - -“Miss Winifred, dear,” she said, “Mary wants to clean out the young -gentlemen’s play-room to-day; but it’s their half-holiday, and she -doesn’t like to begin unless they can come here when they come home. -You look pretty well to-day, I think. You won’t mind letting them into -the nursery?” - -“Oh, not to-day, nursey, I couldn’t do with them to-day,” answered -Winnie, looking distressed. “Indeed I would if I could, but I have so -much to think about to-day. I can’t think when they are here--and it’s -about them too. It can’t make any difference to Mary what day she -cleans the room. Please tell her I’m very sorry, but I really can’t -to-day. I don’t think she can mind.” - -Winifred’s pale little face looked pleading and earnest. Nurse said no -more to urge her. - -“Very well, dear, we will arrange something somehow. Mary does not want -to put you out. Have you anything you want to do to-day?” - -“I have a great deal to think about.” - -“Do you think with your fingers?” - -Winifred smiled. - -“No, of course not, nursey. What do you mean?” - -“Well, I was wondering if you could not do something with your fingers, -whilst you were doing all this thinking.” - -Winifred was not fond of employing her idle fingers, and her face was -not very responsive as she asked rather slowly: - -“What do you mean, nursey? I have not anything special to do.” - -“No, Miss Winnie; but I think there is something somebody would be very -much delighted if you did do,” and nurse nodded her head mysteriously. - -Still Winifred did not look eager, though she asked: - -“What do you mean? I think I’m rather too tired to work.” - -“Work rests as well as tires folks,” answered nurse, looking wise. - -“Tell me what you want me to do, please?” said the little girl, who -knew quite well whither all this was tending. - -“Well, dear, I thought you might like to finish the tail of Master -Charley’s big kite. It is all done but the tail, and if they had that -to fly, they would play in the fields with it all the while the room -was being done; but it’s a good hour’s work it wants at the tail, and -they would be so pleased to come in and find it done. Shall I bring you -the paper and the string?” - -Winifred’s face put on its little wearied, fretful look. She did not -speak crossly, only as if she felt it rather hard to be asked or -expected to do things for other people--“little silly things,” as she -said to herself, when her head was so full of the great things she -meant to do. - -“I don’t know how to make kite-tails, nursey.” - -“I could show you.” - -“I feel tired. The boys can do it themselves quite well. I don’t think -I could make a kite-tail and do my thinking too.” - -“Is your thinking very important, Miss Winnie?” - -“Yes, very.” - -So nurse went away, and Winnie was left alone; but somehow or other the -thinking did not seem to get on. A little puzzled frown began to pucker -the child’s forehead, and before long Winifred was talking slowly to -herself, rather as if she was arguing with somebody, who certainly was -not to be seen. - -“I don’t see why I should. It isn’t _that_ sort of thing I meant. -I want to do something big which the boys will understand and care -about--they would have forgotten all about the kite-tail by to-morrow. -Besides it would be so tiresome--like keeping their book-shelves and -toy cupboard tidy, as mamma sometimes wants me to. I don’t like doing -that sort of work. It’s not interesting, and it doesn’t seem worth the -trouble. If I could only think of it, I’m sure there must be some much -better way. I hope I shall be able to find it out soon.” - -Puzzling her head over the matter, however, did not seem to help -Winifred much, and she did not feel happy in herself, though she could -hardly have told the reason why. - -She looked pale during the early dinner, and it seemed to her that -mamma was more gentle and tender to her than ever. - -“Would you like a drive with me this afternoon, my darling?” asked Mrs. -Digby. - -“Where are you going, mamma?” - -“To see Mrs. Hedlam. You can go and play a little while with Violet -whilst I am there. She will be pleased to have you for a little visit.” - -“I should like to go, mamma; but I would rather stay in the carriage, -thank you. I don’t think I am very fond of Violet, and I don’t feel -inclined to play to-day.” - -“I can send her out to talk to you instead, then.” - -“No, thank you, mamma, I think I would rather be quiet, if you don’t -mind?” - -“I don’t mind, darling, but I think poor little Violet would be -disappointed. She has few playfellows, and it would give her pleasure -to see you, I am sure,” answered the mother gently. - -“She need not know I have come,” said Winifred. “I don’t want to talk -to-day, I want to think.” - -Just at this time Mrs. Digby did not feel as if she could urge the -child against her wishes, even though the wishes were a little selfish. -Her heart was sore and heavy that day, and very little talking was done -upon the drive. - -Winifred sat still in the carriage as she had wished, and yet she could -not feel happy or satisfied, and the trouble which had weighed upon her -all the day seemed to grow heavier and heavier. - -“I don’t believe any one will miss me. I don’t believe any one will be -sorry when I go. I must be quick and think what to do for people, for -I should like them to be a little sorry and to want me back. Oh dear, -I wish I was grown-up. Grown-up people can do such a lot of things. I -haven’t thought yet of a single one, and I’ve been thinking hard all -the day.” - -When Mrs. Digby came back she thought the child looked tired. - -“Not very, thank you,” answered Winifred, nestling up to her. “I have -only been thinking. Did you see Violet to-day?” - -“Yes, dear.” - -“She didn’t ask if I had come?” - -“Yes, Winnie, she asked, and I told her you were in the carriage, but I -did not let her go out. I explained that you were poorly to-day.” - -Winifred’s face grew red. - -“Did--did she seem sorry?” - -“I’m afraid so, a little sorry and a little vexed too; but she will not -think about it long.” - -Winifred was very silent on the way home. She seemed still thinking -very much, but thinking did not make her face look brighter. - -As they drove through the gates of the lodge, she saw a pale little -face looking out of the lattice-window, and her mother leaned out to -ask of the woman who opened the gate: - -“How is little Phil to-day?” - -“Much the same, thank you, ma’am.” - -“I will send him some more jelly soon.” - -“Thank you kindly, ma’am.” - -As Winifred climbed the stairs to her nursery her face was graver than -ever. - -“Why, I’ve never finished those mittens I promised little Phil months -and months ago. And I haven’t been to see him for ever so long. I -don’t believe even he will miss me when I go away, and he used so to -watch for me to come, and be so pleased. Oh dear, dear, he must go -on to the list of people now who are to have things given them--or -something. But I can’t think whatever I can do to make them sorry when -I go.” - -When Winifred went to bed that night she still had seen no way out of -the trouble. - -[Illustration: Decorative image] - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -A STRANGE JOURNEY. - - -That night Winifred could not sleep. Turn and settle herself as she -would she could not even fall into a doze; and all kinds of troublesome -thoughts kept flocking into her mind. - -Chief amongst these was the old fear about the swallows--the fear that -they would go when she was not watching them, and that she would not be -able to bid them good-bye and wish them a pleasant journey. - -Winnie’s head was tired and confused that night. She did not remember -that the swallows had hardly even begun to gather for flight as yet. -She fancied they were there in myriads in the water-meadows, and that -any time they might make their silent start. - -“Oh dear!” sighed the little child, “perhaps they will go to-night. -Didn’t somebody say they always went at night and nobody ever saw them? -I should so like to see them go. I don’t think they would be angry with -me. I am so fond of them--I think they are fond of me too. I must just -get up and look out of the window.” - -It was a mild night, and Winifred wrapped herself well up in her little -flannel gown, and folded the eider-down quilt about her shoulders. - -She stole to the window and drew up the blind and looked out into the -dusky night. There was a little moon, but not much, and enough wind -to stir the leaves of the trees and make them look almost like living -things, bending over, and whispering one to the other. - -Where were the swallows? - -Surely they were flying about the trees, chattering excitedly, whirling -from place to place, planning, discussing, and preparing for flight? -Winifred listened and looked, and felt convinced of this. She was sure -she could see in the uncertain light the darting black forms chasing -one another, hurrying through the air, and sometimes darkening it for -a moment, as a cloud of winged birds rose together from the trees, and -then as suddenly dispersed again. Yes, they were certainly going to fly -away that night, the child thought, and she must wait and watch to see -them go. - -She curled up her feet under her little gown, pulled the soft quilt -more comfortably about her, rested her head against an angle of the -window-frame, and prepared to stay for the flight. - -How long she waited she did not know. Gradually it seemed to her that -the moonlight grew brighter. It became almost as light as day, only -that there was a softness and beauty in the light which seemed hardly -like sunshine. - -Then all at once came a whirring of countless wings. It was a soft, -_feathery_ noise, as Winifred afterwards told herself, that made her -think of the angels flying through heaven. And this sound of wings came -nearer and nearer, and the air seemed dimmed by a dark, soft cloud of -flying birds. - -“The swallows!” said Winifred, softly; “they are going. I must open -the window and say good-bye.” - -The window was soon thrown wide, and the child leaned eagerly out and -called to the birds who were whirling past. - -“Oh swallows, dear swallows! Good-bye! good-bye! Where are you going?” - -And the swallows answered in a sort of musical chant: - - “We are going to the land of sunshine and flowers; - We are leaving behind the darkness and cloud; - We are going whither the great power leads; - We are going we know, yet know not where.” - -And as the child listened, a great longing came over her to fly with -the swallows to the bright unknown land whither they were bound. - -“Swallows, swallows, I want to go to the sunshine and flowers. Can’t -you take me with you?” - -And the swallows chanted again: - - “Can you trust the unseen power? - Dare you fly out into space? - Dare you leave the known behind you? - Have you faith to fly away?” - -Winifred clasped her hands and leaned out more and more, gazing at the -flying swallows. - -“Oh, please stop! Please one of you stop and tell me some more. I want -to fly with you. I have to go away one day, I don’t know where. I -should like to go with you, if you’ll take me. Do please tell me when -you are going, and please wait and take me too. I want to fly with you.” - -And then suddenly one of the swallows did stop, and perched upon the -ledge of the open window; and Winifred found that it was a beautiful -black, glossy bird, as big as herself, and yet she was not a bit -surprised or afraid. - -“Dear swallow,” she said, stroking the bird’s soft, feathery head, -“dear, pretty swallow, won’t you let me fly away with you?” - -“Why do you want to fly?” asked the swallow. - -“I want to know where you are going. I want to know why you go; I have -to go away too, very soon. I should like best to go with you.” - -“But I don’t know where we are going,” said the swallow; “how do you -know you would like to come?” - -“You said it was to a nice place, with sunshine and flowers,” said the -child. - -“Yes, so it is. I know that, but I don’t know where it is.” - -“Do none of you know?” - -“No; none of us know exactly.” - -“Then how can you find the way?” asked Winifred, with grave interest. - -The swallow looked at her with his bright eyes as he answered: - -“We cannot lose the way. Something always tells us how to go. It never -tells us wrong.” - -“And you are not afraid?” - -“Oh no!” - -The swallow looked at the child with grave, bright eyes, and asked: - -“Would not you be afraid, either?” - -“N--no. I think not,” answered Winifred, with just a little hesitation -in her voice. - -“Not afraid to leave your home and your parents, and brothers and -friends, and go somewhere right away, you don’t know where?” - -Winifred was silent. She did not know what to say. She was beginning to -feel a little fear, yet she hardly knew how or why. - -“You are not afraid, swallow?” - -“No; I know I shall be taken care of.” - -“Then why should I be afraid?” - -“I don’t know; but I think you are.” - -Winifred pondered again. - -“Do you know what makes you not afraid?” - -The swallow turned his head from side to side, and by-and-by answered: - -“I think it’s because I always do just as I’m meant to do--stay when -I ought to stay, and fly when I ought to fly, build when I ought to -build, and do just what I ought. If swallows always do that they need -never be afraid.” - -“And how do you know what you ought to do?” - -“Something inside me tells me.” - -“Does it never tell you wrong?” - -“No, never.” - -Winifred sighed, and shook her head. - -“But I never have anything inside me to tell me what I ought to do and -what I ought not,” she said. - -“Do you not?” said a soft voice quite close to her, and the child -started, for it did not seem as if it was the swallow who had spoken, -and looking round, Winifred saw a beautiful figure in white standing -beside her, and looking with grave, kind eyes into her face. He had -great white wings, and Winifred said half aloud, half to herself: - -“It is an angel.” - -“Winifred,” said the angel, softly and yet gravely, “have you nothing -inside you that tells you when you do right and when you do wrong?” - -Slowly Winnie’s eyes fell, and the rosy colour mounted to her cheeks. - -“I do try not to do wrong. I don’t think I am very naughty,” she said, -as if excusing herself. - -“Did I say you were?” asked the angel. - -“It seemed as if you did.” - -The angel smiled at her a sort of pitying smile. - -“Is it I that spoke, my child? or the _something_ in your heart to -which you do not always listen?” - -“I do what I can,” said Winifred, still seeming to answer a different -voice from the angel’s. “I am not strong. I can’t do like other people; -and besides, little girls can’t do things. I am going to try before I -go away, but I’ve never been able before.” - -“Never?” - -“No; there never seems anything for me to do for anybody else.” - -“Nothing?” - -“No; only such silly little things that it isn’t worth beginning.” - -The angel looked gravely down upon the child for some minutes, and -Winifred felt a strange sense of pain and humiliation falling upon -her. Then he turned to the swallow who was still sitting upon the -window-ledge, and said quietly: - -“Show her.” - -Then the angel disappeared, and Winifred and her friend were left -together. - -“Can you get on my back?” asked the swallow. - -“Oh yes!” cried Winnie, eagerly, glad to have something to distract her -thoughts. “Are you going to take me with you? I should like that.” - -“I am going to take you a little way, and show you some things,” -answered the swallow. “You will come back by-and-by.” - -Winifred had no difficulty in making herself comfortable and secure -upon the swallow’s back, and very soon they were flying quickly through -the dark night. - -“Are you going after the other swallows?” - -“Not just yet.” - -“Won’t you be afraid of getting lost if you are left behind?” - -“Oh no, we never get lost whilst we are doing our duty.” - -Winifred began to feel rather uncomfortable. She was half sorry she had -agreed to go with the swallow. - -“Is it your duty to do what the--the angel told you?” - -“Yes.” - -“I think he was vexed,” observed Winifred rather discontentedly. “I was -glad when he went away.” - -“Hush!” answered the swallow, “you ought not to talk like that.” - -Winnie was silent for awhile, and then she asked: - -“Where are you taking me, swallow? What are all those lights down -there?” - -“The lights of a great city. I am going to show you some pictures.” - -“I like pictures,” said the little girl, brightening up at the idea. “I -am glad now that I came with you, swallow.” - -All in a minute Winifred found herself looking into a pretty garden. -There were some little children at play there, one little girl sitting -by herself with a book, and two younger boys trying hard to mend -a broken toy. It would have been an easy task enough for any more -experienced hands, and by-and-by one little fellow looked up and said: - -“Please, sister, will you do it for us?” - -“Oh, I can’t; I’m busy. You can quite well do it for yourselves.” - -The two little fellows returned to their task, but their efforts -only made the damage worse, and soon they burst out crying in their -disappointment. - -“What babies you are!” said the little girl rising, going further away. -“You make my head ache with all that noise.” - -“What a horrid little girl!” cried warm-hearted Winnie. “Why couldn’t -she mend the toy? Anybody could have done it at first. Why doesn’t she -go and comfort them? Poor little boys!” - -“You see it was such a _little_ thing,” answered the swallow, “only -a toy, and only a few tears. It was not worth while troubling over a -little thing like that. It would be different if it were something -great.” - -Winnie was silent, and the swallow flew on again. - -Now they were in a room, and a little boy was lying on a sofa, and he -had no books or toys within reach. - -“I wish somebody would come--it is so dull,” Winifred heard him say. “I -wonder when the others will be coming in.” - -Just then there came a sound of children’s voices laughing and -shouting. They came nearer and nearer, and seemed to pass the door of -the room, but nobody came in. The little sick boy called; but in the -noise of laughing nobody heard, and the tears came into his eyes. - -“They have all gone up to play,” he said, “and nobody cares to see if I -want anything, and I did so want to have somebody to talk to!” - -“Oh, swallow!” cried Winnie indignantly, “what horrid children! That -poor little boy! How could they?” - -“It was such a _little_ thing, coming in to speak to him, I don’t -suppose anybody ever thought of it,” answered the swallow. “They are -not horrid children. They are fond of their little brother; but people -cannot always think of little things, you know.” - -Winifred said no more. She felt subdued and ashamed. How could the -swallow know what she had been thinking about that day? - -The next time the swallow paused it was again in a room. A lady was -half lying upon a sofa, and she did not look ill, only unhappy. She had -books and flowers and all sorts of nice things round her, but she was -not doing anything. - -“Who is that?” asked Winifred. “Why does she look unhappy?” - -“She is unhappy,” answered the swallow. - -“Why, is she ill?” - -“No, she is unhappy because she has nothing to do.” - -“What does she generally do?” - -“She has never done anything yet. She has been waiting all her life for -something, and it has never come.” - -“Why!” said Winifred in a puzzled way, “grown-up people can do such -lots of things. My mamma is always busy.” - -“What does she do?” - -“Oh, ever so many things. Sees after the servants, takes care of us -all, is kind to poor people, and works for the sick. I can’t think of -half the things, but she is always doing something or other.” - -“What little things those are though!” said the swallow almost, as -it seemed, contemptuously. “They would never suit that lady. She is -waiting and has always been waiting for some great thing to do. She -would never be satisfied with ‘little silly things’ like those.” - -“Why, swallow,” cried Winifred indignantly, “how can you talk so! Why -it’s little things that make big ones. If mamma never did all those -little things every day, I think everybody would be miserable and -everything would go wrong.” - -“Ah!” said the swallow, turning his head knowingly from side to side. -“So you have learnt your lesson at last. Now we will go back.” - -Again came that whirling flight through the dark air, and Winifred -found herself at her nursery window again. - -The angel was standing there, and it seemed to the child as if he -lifted her gently in his arms. - -“Little child,” he said tenderly, “tell me what you have seen.” - -Winifred felt in a very different mood from the one in which she had -set out. Looking into the angel’s face she answered humbly: - -“I think I see now.” - -“I think you do. You will not think things too little now to be worth -thinking of--little acts of self-denial, little words of love, little -deeds of kindness--you will not despise them now.” - -“No, angel, I will try not. I did not understand before.” - -“You did not; and yet, my child, you might have done.” - -“How?” - -“You might have read it in your Bible--in the life of Jesus Christ, our -Pattern.” - -“Please explain.” - -“He came down from Heaven to live for us--that was a great thing, was -it not? And He died on the Cross for our sins--that was a great thing -too. But He took little children up in His arms and blessed them, and -that _seemed_ a little thing to those who stood by; but has it proved -such a little thing?” - -“Tell me,” said Winifred earnestly. - -“I think it has made little children and loving parents very happy ever -since. I think it has made a great difference to the world, knowing -that He loved the children and did not think them _too little_ to be -blessed and noticed and loved. If nothing is too little for Him, need -we find it too little for us.” - -“Dear angel,” said Winifred, with tears in her eyes, “I will try never -to forget.” - -“Try, little child,” answered the angel tenderly; and looking down into -Winifred’s eyes, he added almost solemnly, “and when you have learnt -the lesson, will you be afraid to come with me?” - -“With you, where?” - -“To a bright, happy land, where no sorrow is--to a beautiful home where -you would live always in the light of your Saviour’s love. Would you be -afraid to go there, my child?” - -“I don’t know,” answered Winifred slowly. “Do you mean heaven?” - -“I mean a happy, holy place, where no sorrow or pain can ever come. -You were not afraid to go with the swallows over the sea to a land of -sunshine and flowers. You were not afraid of a long strange journey -with them, you knew not whither. Would you be afraid to trust to me? -Would you be afraid to let me carry you across a river, and into a new -land far more bright and beautiful than the one where the swallows go?” - -Winifred lay still and quiet in the angel’s arms. She did not quite -know what he meant. She felt languid and dreamy; but she was not -afraid. She could not feel afraid looking up into his face and seeing -his kind eyes bent upon her. - -“I am going away soon,” she said. - -“You are, my child, you are.” - -“Did you know?” - -“Yes, I knew.” - -“Will you come and take me when I go?” - -“Yes, if you would not be afraid to come with me.” - -“No, I should not be afraid, I think. I will be ready when you come.” - -And then it grew dark; the angel and the swallow both faded away and -Winifred knew no more. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -THE FIRST ATTEMPT. - - -The next thing of which Winifred was conscious, was the bright sunlight -streaming into the room, and her mother’s face bending anxiously over -her. - -She woke up wide with a smile and a start. - -“Mamma! Is it late?” - -“No, dearest; but I have brought you some breakfast, before you get up. -You may have to stay in bed a little while longer than usual to-day.” - -“Why, mamma?” - -“I am afraid you may have taken cold. Do you know where I found you -last night, when I came up for a last peep? Curled up in the nursery -window-seat, fast asleep.” - -Winifred began to smile. - -“Oh yes, I remember now; but I didn’t mean to go to sleep.” - -“Why did you go there at all, darling? You know you might have taken a -bad cold, though you do not look any the worse.” - -“I did not think of that--it was careless,” said the child quickly. “I -think I must have been rather silly, for I thought the swallows would -go last night, though I know it is not time yet; and I wanted so much -to see them fly away that I got up and sat by the nursery window to -watch, and then I suppose I went to sleep.” - -“You certainly did that, Winnie, and slept so soundly that you never -even woke when I carried you back to your little bed.” - -Winifred smiled, and looked up half-wistfully into her mother’s face. -She was thinking of her dream; but she did not feel as though she could -tell it to anybody yet, not until she had thought it all over in her -own head first. - -“May I get up soon, mamma?” - -“Not for another hour or two, I think, darling. Then you shall do so, -if you wish.” - -For a moment Winifred was disappointed. She wanted to go to the boys’ -play-room and tidy their cupboard, and do all the little things for -them which she had neglected so long. For one moment her face fell, and -the little frown appeared; but then a sudden thought struck her and she -smiled bravely. - -“Very well, mamma dear, I will do just as you like; only do you think I -might sit up a little while, so that I can _do_ things?” - -“Yes, Winnie, I think that would not harm you. What makes my little -girl so anxious to be busy this morning?” - -“Because I think I have been very idle for a long while--ever since I -have been ill,” answered Winifred gravely. “Idle and selfish too. I -want to be better now for two reasons, partly because I want to be good -and do what God would like to see me do, and partly because I should -not like people not to miss me, or to think I had been selfish, when I -am gone.” - -“Gone!” echoed Mrs. Digby, with a little falter in her voice. - -Winnie coloured quickly. She had not meant to say so much. She thought -she ought not to speak of the journey she was to take, until her -mother told her of it. Perhaps she ought not to have heard that -conversation--perhaps it was only a dream like the one she had just -awoke from. - -She looked into her mother’s face with a little laugh, and kissed the -soft hand she still held in her own small one. - -“I dreamt I was flying with the swallows, mamma. One of them took me on -his back and carried me; but he brought me back home again, you see.” - -Was mamma crying? Winifred wondered, for Mrs. Digby had turned quickly -away, and the child fancied she put her handkerchief to her eyes. - -Nurse, however, came in just then, and Winnie’s thoughts were directed -into a different channel. - -“Nursey,” she called eagerly, “did Charley and Ronald finish the -kite-tail yesterday?” - -“No, Miss Winnie, they went out to the Rectory instead, and never -touched it. I heard them this morning wishing it was done; and then -they’d have time to fly it before dark, when they came home in the -evening.” - -“Oh, I am so glad! now I can finish it for them!” cried Winnie -eagerly. “Please go and fetch it for me, Nursey--I mean when you have -time to spare.” - -“Won’t it tire you, dear?” - -“Oh no, not to-day.” - -“You haven’t got anything to do to-day then?” asked nurse with a smile, -and Winifred smiled too as she answered: - -“Oh, I can think and work to-day both; and I should so like to finish -the boys’ kite for them.” - -So in a very short while the child was hard at work, and before her -dinner-time came the long tail of the kite was quite finished. - -“Mamma,” she asked whilst she was taking her dinner, “can I go and -see little Phil to-day? I haven’t been for a long while. I thought he -looked as if he would like to see somebody, when we passed yesterday. -May I take him the jelly?” - -“The jelly will not be ready till to-morrow, Winnie; and I think I must -keep you indoors to-day; but if you have taken no cold, you shall go -out to-morrow if it is fine. Will that do as well, darling?” - -Mrs. Digby looked with an inquiring glance into her little daughter’s -face; for when Winifred had taken a fancy into her head, she was not -always ready to give up without a struggle. The gentle little girl had -a good deal of self-will in her composition. - -But to-day, after one little struggle, she looked up and smiled -cheerfully. - -“To-morrow will be just as nice; and then I can put the boys’ -toy-cupboard tidy for them this afternoon. It is in such a mess!” - -“Why, Winnie, I thought that toy-cupboard was your pet horror!” said -the mother with a smile. - -“I want to put it tidy to-day, mamma,” answered Winifred gravely. “I -know I shall find ever so many things that the boys have lost. You -see the boys have their lessons, and so much to do, and I have hardly -anything. I ought to do little things for them when I can.” - -So the little girl got a duster and went up to the play-room, and -opened the cupboard-door. It was rather a dreadful sight that met her -eyes--toys, books, papers, string, nails, pieces of wood, bottles, -baskets, battered pieces of metal, odds and ends of every description -all tumbled together in one heterogeneous mass of disorder. - -“Oh dear!” exclaimed Winnie, “what a mess!” - -But she would not be discouraged, and she set manfully to work at her -task. - -First she emptied all the contents of the cupboard on to the floor, -and dusted out all the shelves. Then out of the dreadful heap upon the -floor she selected all the books and carried them over to the book-case -where they should have been, and made room for them upon the shelves -there. - -This involved a good deal of time and labour, and arrangement of other -books; and little Winnie, whose stock of strength was but small, began -to feel tired already. - -Still she would not give up yet. She went down on her knees before the -heap, and picked out all the unbroken toys and the most useful and -respectable of the miscellaneous articles before her; and these she -dusted and arranged upon one shelf by themselves. Broken toys and odds -and ends which might come in useful, were placed in another; and a big -heap of “real rubbish” began to grow upon the floor behind her. - -Then the string was collected and wound into little knots and put into -a box; and by that time poor Winnie was so tired she felt almost ready -to cry, and still a vast heap of queer things lay before her, which -seemed as if it defied her to reduce to order. Her head began to ache -and her eyes to swim; she felt as if she never should make an end of -the task, yet she could not bear to give in. - -The door opened softly, and somebody looked in. - -“Well, Winnie, is the work done yet?” - -Winnie bent her head to hide the tears which stood in her eyes; but her -voice would shake a little as she answered: - -“Not quite, mamma. There were such lots of things; I don’t know what to -do with them all.” - -Mrs. Digby came nearer and looked at the heap and at the child. - -“I think, darling, you have done enough for one day. You are tired now. -We will get nurse or Mary to finish the rest now.” - -But tired as Winifred was, she could not bear to give up before she had -finished the work she had set herself to do. - -“Oh please, mamma, let me finish,” she cried, whilst a round tear -splashed down upon the paper in her hand. “If other people finish it -will spoil it all. I wanted to do it myself.” - -“But you are making yourself quite poorly, my darling. I cannot have -you do that. Let me do it for you, and you tell me how to put the -things.” - -“No, no. I want to do it all myself,” repeated Winnie with a little -sob. “I’ve been very selfish to the boys--I’ve never done anything for -them. Do please let me do this.” - -Mrs. Digby sat down near to the child, and answered very gently -and lovingly, yet with a tone in her voice which made Winnie feel -half-ashamed: - -“Well, darling, if you have set your heart upon it, you shall try a -little longer.” - -So Winnie went to work again; but with less and less success. She could -not see the things for tears, and a little voice in her heart, that -sounded like the swallow’s, kept saying: - -“You ought to please your mamma, not yourself. Self-will is only -selfishness in a new dress.” - -At last Winnie could stand it no longer. She burst into tears and ran -into her mother’s arms. - -“Oh mamma, I wanted to be good and kind, and I’ve only been naughty -and disobedient. Why is it so hard to be good?” - -“Because, darling, we sometimes set about it in not quite a right -spirit, or we let a wrong spirit creep in and master the right one, -with which we started. Even in little, little things we must ask Jesus -to help us with His Holy Spirit.” - -“I think I forgot to do that,” said the child. “It seemed too little to -ask Jesus about.” - -“Ah! darling, we all make that mistake only too often in our lives; yet -nothing is too little for Him to help us in.” - -Winifred looked up into her mother’s face, and said with a gravity -beyond her years: - -“Mamma, I sometimes think there aren’t such things as _little things_ -in the world. They seem little, but really they are quite big.” - -Mrs. Digby held her child closely in her arms, feeling that there -was something strange in hearing so advanced a thought fall from -such childish lips. Of late she had fancied that Winifred’s mind had -developed rapidly. - -After a little silence the little girl said: - -“May Mary come now and finish the cupboard? I should like everything -put straight before the boys come in.” - -With Mary’s energetic and willing help, the task was soon accomplished. -Winifred directed operations, and the maid with her strong hands soon -carried out all her wishes. Chaos resolved itself into order, and -the cupboard soon became a pattern of neatness. It was so tidy that -Winifred could hardly believe her eyes, and she could hardly believe, -too, that everything except actual rubbish had been replaced. - -She returned to her nursery in a much happier frame of mind; and the -delight of the boys on their return with their finished kite and tidy -cupboard more than repaid her for her trouble. - -They had all taken tea together in the nursery by Winnie’s special -request, after she had watched the flying of the kite from the window -with the greatest interest. And the boys had been so kind and so merry, -and had made so much of their little sister, and what she had done for -them, that she went to bed in a very happy frame of mind, wondering -how it was she had not thought more of being kind and useful to her -brothers. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -LITTLE PHIL. - - -It was not for several days after this that Winifred was able to pay -her visit to the little sick boy at the lodge. - -It seemed as if the night-watch for the swallows, and the day of hard -work which followed, had tired the little girl more than at first -appeared, and for a good many days following she was very weak and -poorly, and could only just creep from the night to the day-nursery and -back again; and even reading story-books tired her head and made her -eyes ache. The utmost she could do was to work at the red mittens she -was knitting for little Phil, and it was not always that she could even -do this. - -“It’s almost like being ill again,” she said one day to her mother, -as she lay in her arms nestling her little curly head against the -supporting shoulder. “I was so much better in the summer. Am I always -going to get ill when the winter comes? I try to be good; but I do get -very tired.” - -“My darling, I know you do,” answered the mother tenderly. “But I think -my little girl will be better soon--not ill a very long while.” - -“I am glad,” said Winnie; but she could not quite understand why -mamma’s voice sounded sad when she told her this, nor why a great -bright tear rolled down from her dear eyes and fell down upon her own -curls. Why should mamma cry if she were soon going to get well? - -But Winifred was learning not to ask questions upon some subjects. She -still believed she was going away, and that it was the thought of the -parting that made her mother sad; but as yet no one had mentioned the -matter to her, and she had refrained herself from alluding to it in any -way. She never felt quite certain whether or not it had been a dream. - -[Illustration: He set her upon the stile where she could see -everything.--_p. 63._] - -Winifred had thought a great deal during these past days. She was not -unhappy, and yet a sort of weight seemed to hang upon her. She could -not get rid of the idea that some great change was drawing near, and -the idea made her feel serious and thoughtful. She read her little -Bible as she had never read it before, and especially any parts where -it told about birds or angels, and about Jesus Christ noticing or -blessing little children. - -Winifred wished so much that Jesus was living on earth now, that she -could go to Him and ask Him to take her in His arms and bless her. She -could love the dear Lord Jesus very much, she knew, if only she could -go to Him like that. It was so different from saying prayers at her -bedside. - -She did not speak of these thoughts and fancies even to her mother; -they were hardly clear enough to her own self to be uttered in words -to a grown-up person. And she never told her dream, either, about the -swallows and the angel, although she thought very much about it. She -fancied perhaps it would make mamma sad, though why she should have -this fancy she could not tell. - -When she began to feel better again these fancies still haunted her, -although she had expected them to go away; and even when she was so -far well that she was able to drive out with her mother one sunny -afternoon, and be put down at the lodge to talk to Phil till the -carriage returned, she still felt grave and serious--not merry and -gay as she had done on former occasions when she was first allowed out -after a few days’ detention in the house after any little attacks of -illness. - -Little Phil’s face was very bright when he saw his visitor enter. The -sick boy led a lonely life, for there were very few people who ever -passed that way, and a visitor was a rare treat to one who could never -leave his couch to run about, but always had to wait for somebody to -come and see him. - -“Miss Winnie!” he cried joyously, “how kind of you to come! I was -afraid I’d not see you again all the winter when I heard how poorly -you’d been. I am so glad!” - -Phil was twelve years old, although he was so small that he was always -spoken of as “little Phil.” His spine was diseased, and he had not -grown since he was seven years old; but he had thought a great deal -whilst lying on his bed or couch, and his mind was of a thoughtful, -devotional bent, which sometimes led people to say that he was “too -good to live.” - -Winnie had known him all her life, and a sort of intimacy had grown -up between the two children. At one time the little girl had been a -constant visitor at the lodge, but since her long illness this habit -had been broken through; and little Phil had sadly missed the visits to -which he had grown used--missed them more than Winnie had ever imagined. - -“I am better to-day, Phil, and mamma said she would drive me to see -you. Are you any better?” - -“No, Miss Winnie, I don’t suppose I’ll ever be better; but I’m used to -it, and it don’t make me fret--leastways not often.” - -“Only when the pain is very bad?” suggested Winifred compassionately, -contrasting in her own mind, as she had never done before, the -difference between this boy’s lot and her own. - -“Well, Miss Winnie, I don’t think it’s the pain as I mind most; I’m -kind of used even to that; ’tis the lonesomeness as makes me fret -sometimes.” - -“Lonesomeness!” - -“Why yes, you see, there ain’t hardly any folks to come in and chat a -bit, and I can’t get to school; and I’ve read all my books till I know -them by heart; and since you’ve been so weak like and poorly there -hasn’t seemed anything to make the time pass.” - -Winnie’s heart smote her sorely, and her face flushed suddenly with -pain and shame. She knew it had more often been idleness than weakness -which had kept her during the past months from visiting Phil as before; -and certainly there could be no excuse for forgetting to lend him -books, as she had always done before, from her well-filled shelves. -When she thought of the piles of brightly-bound story-books which had -been showered upon her during her tardy convalescence, she hardly knew -how to look Phil in the face, so ashamed did she feel of her neglect. - -“I am so sorry, Phil,” she faltered, blushing and looking down. - -“Oh, don’t you trouble about it, Miss Winnie. Folks didn’t ought to -fret for little troubles like that. Besides, I think sometimes it’s -done me good, all that thinking I had time for then.” - -Winifred drew a little nearer, interested by the look on Phil’s face. - -“What did you think about?” - -“Oh, ever such a lot of things; and by-and-by it seemed quite clear.” - -“What seemed clear?” - -“Why, that it was wrong to fret as I’d been doing--wrong to feel so -lonesome.” - -“But why was it wrong?” - -“Because it seemed kind of not trusting the Lord Jesus. He said He’d -always be with us to take care of us and comfort us; and sure enough He -is, if only we’ll just look up and find Him.” - -Winifred looked awed and reverent. - -“Did you look up and find Him, Phil?” - -“I did after a bit; but it was a good while before I seemed able to see -Him.” - -Winifred sighed, and looked wistful. - -“I wish I could do that. I do so wish Jesus lived down here, so that -we could just go and see Him and talk to Him, then it would be all so -nice. Heaven seems such a long way off; it doesn’t seem as if He could -see us or hear us right away there.” - -“Well, just at first perhaps it doesn’t,” answered Phil, with a -far-away look in his eyes, “but that feeling goes off by-and-by, and He -seems quite near--at least he does to me; and I _know_, just as well as -if I could see Him, that He’s listening to me, and that He loves me, -just as He loved those little children as He blessed when He did live -down here.” - -“Do you feel like that, Phil?” said Winifred. “I wish I could too.” - -“I think you will, Miss Winnie, if you think much about Him, and ask -Him to help you to see Him. It seems as if He likes folks to ask Him -things, so as He can give them what they want; leastways, it has always -seemed so to me.” - -“Do you like thinking about Jesus?” asked Winnie, after a few minutes’ -silence. - -“Why, yes, to be sure I do. You see--you see--” and there Phil paused. - -“What, Phil?” - -“You see, Miss Winnie, I can’t help thinking as I shall go to Him -before so very long. Folks don’t tell me so, but I can kind of see it -in their faces, and it sets me thinking.” - -Winifred looked grave and awed. She hesitated a little before she could -bring herself to ask the next question, and when she did so it was in a -very low voice. - -“Do you mean that you think you will die soon, Phil?” - -“Why, yes, Miss Winnie; I know the doctor doesn’t think I can live very -much longer.” - -Winifred’s face was very grave and rather pale; she drew a little -nearer the boy’s couch. - -“Doesn’t it make you frightened to think about dying, Phil?” she said. - -“Not now, Miss Winnie; it did once. I was ever so much afraid at first, -and couldn’t bear to believe it. But I couldn’t help thinking about it, -do what I would, and now I don’t feel a bit afraid.” - -“I think I should be afraid,” said Winnie. - -“Not if you loved Jesus,” answered the boy, with a sudden smile like -sunshine lighting all his face. - -“I think now I am glad to go, if it is His will to take me.” - -“Glad!” - -“Why, you see, Miss Winnie, I’m not like other lads. I can’t do no work -in the world, I can only lie here and bear the pain. I’d be ashamed to -fret and make a fuss over it, when the Lord bore such a deal more for -us; but it do make me glad to think as it won’t last always, and that -He will call me soon to come to Him, where there won’t be any more pain -to bear or any sorrow either.” - -Something in the words struck a chord of memory in Winifred’s heart. - -“That’s just what the angel said to me--no pain, and no sorrow,” she -said in a dreamy way. “Will He send an angel for you, Phil?” - -“Sometimes I fancy He will, Miss Winnie; but we don’t know His ways, we -can only guess.” - -“I wonder if He will send my angel,” said the child, still intent on -her own thought. - -“Your angel, Miss Winnie?” - -“Yes, the one that came the other night to teach me how naughty I had -been. Oh, I forgot, you don’t know, I had _such_ a dream a few nights -ago, Phil, I think I should like to tell it to you.” - -So Winifred told her strange dream, and Phil listened with absorbed -attention. - -“That was a nice dream, Miss Winnie,” he said at the close. “You -wouldn’t be afraid to go away with the angel, would you?” - -“Oh no. I don’t think I should be afraid to go with the angel--only I -should be afraid, I think, to die.” - -“But,” said Phil in a slow, thoughtful way, “I think dying just means -going away with God’s angel. I don’t think there’s any difference.” - -Winifred was silent awhile, and then said slowly: - -“If that’s it, Phil, perhaps I shouldn’t be afraid, for I do love -Jesus, and I should like to see Him. Phil, do you think the angel will -come for me soon?” - -Phil looked at the child, his great hollow eyes full of thought, and -answered gravely; - -“I don’t know, Miss Winnie.” - -“I am not ill like you, am I?” - -“No, not like me.” - -“Do you think I am ill?” - -“Some folks think so, Miss Winnie, by all I hear; but nobody can tell -when we shall die except God, and it can’t much matter so long as He -knows, can it?” - -Winnie sat grave and pensive for a long while; but there was no fear in -her face, hardly any surprise. Both children were too much in earnest -to feel that anything strange had passed between them. - -“I wonder if that is what they meant. I wonder if I am going _there_ -when the swallows go.” - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -WINIFRED’S BROTHERS. - - -Winifred went away from little Phil’s home in a grave and quiet mood; -but she did not feel unhappy, and she did not feel afraid. - -This serious mood lasted for many days, during which the child did a -great deal of thinking, although, with the invariable reticence of -childhood, she did not speak of her thoughts to those about her. - -She did not leave Phil’s couch under any distinct impression of -approaching death. What had passed between the two children was not -sufficient to make Winnie think she was going to die; but the talk -with the sick boy had put new thoughts into her head, made plain some -puzzling questions which had troubled her before, and given her food -for much meditation. - -The sense of approaching change seemed to overshadow her more and more -as days passed on. - -Nobody spoke to her of any journey, and yet something in Winnie’s heart -seemed to tell her every day that she was going away--that a time would -soon come when she would have to say good-bye to those around her, and -go, she knew not whither. - -She watched the swallows with an ever-increasing interest, for were -they not going too before very long? They, too, were feeling as she was -feeling, that some power stronger than themselves was working within -them, and would in time urge them to the last flight. They would have -to go when they were bidden, and they would obey the voiceless call -without a murmur and without a fear, and why should she not do the same? - -“They don’t know where they are going, and I don’t know where I am -going,” mused the child sometimes. “They don’t know the way, and I -don’t know the way. But they aren’t afraid to go. They know that -something will show them the way, and will take them to a nice place -where they can be happy. I don’t see why I need be afraid either. -Mamma knows where I am going, I think. She will take care of me; and -God knows too, and He will take care of me. I think it must be God who -takes care of the swallows and shows them where to go. If He is so kind -to the birds, He is sure not to forget me. I don’t see why we need ever -be afraid of anything, because He can always take care of us.” - -But in the midst of new thoughts Winifred did not forget the old wish, -to do things for other people, and make herself of use. - -She took the boys’ play-room under her special care. She looked after -their toys, their books, and all those nameless treasures which a -housemaid despises, and destroys, but which she could appreciate and -care for. - -She let them come to her now with all their stories, either of sorrow -or joy, and was always ready with sympathy or congratulation. She -mended their gloves, and sewed on refractory buttons, and never sent -them out of the nursery because their noise made her head ache. - -Charley and Ronald were affectionate boys, and very fond of their -little sister. Now that she had begun to be interested in their -affairs, and to encourage their attentions, it seemed as if they could -not make enough of her, and a very happy nursery party was always to -be found round the fire each evening, the brothers chattering away -to Winnie of all the day’s adventures, she listening with unfeigned -interest, and more often than not working with her active little -fingers at some light task in their service. - -She liked to hear about the other boys who shared her brothers’ studies -with the tutor in the nearest town. She soon learnt to know their -names, their characters, and dispositions, and to take an interest in -every one; and by-and-by she revealed a little plan which had long been -working in her head. - -“Charley,” she said one evening, “do you think it would be nice to give -a tea-party?” - -“A tea-party, Winnie?” - -“Yes, a sort of a tea-party on a Saturday afternoon, and ask all the -boys. Do you think they would care to come?” asked the little girl. - -“Come here!” - -Charley and Ronald looked pleased and interested; and both fastened -their eyes eagerly upon Winifred, as if to make sure of her meaning. - -“Yes, I feel as if I should like to see them, before--I mean I have -heard about them and I think it would be nice to know them a little. Do -you think they would come?” - -“I’m sure they would!” cried Ronald, “they’d like it awfully.” - -“Would you like it too?” - -“Of course we should. You’re a brick, Winnie, for thinking of it,” -cried Charley. “What could have put it into your head?” - -Winifred smiled in the quiet way which had grown upon her of late. - -“I don’t quite know. I seem to think of a lot of things now.” - -“You do,” assented Charley with an emphasis that brought a flush of -pleasure to Winifred’s pale face. “You think of everything now. I can’t -think what we did before you were well enough to look after our things. -I knew they were always in a horrid muddle.” - -Winnie smiled and sighed too. - -“I wish I’d begun before,” she said, “when I had more time. I wish I -hadn’t been so lazy before.” - -“You weren’t lazy, you were ill,” said Charley stoutly. “But you’re -getting better now--you’ll soon be well, won’t you, Winnie?” - -Charley spoke with a certain earnestness of manner which made his -sister look at him to see what made him ask the question. - -“Oh yes, I think so, Charley,” she answered. “I think I’m going to get -well quite soon.” - -Ronald’s thoughts were busy with the proposed plan of the tea-party. - -“It would be jolly,” he said, “awfully jolly. Do you think mamma will -let us have it?” - -“Oh yes, I am almost sure she will,” answered Winnie. “I will ask her -to-night. I was waiting till I had asked you, because I wanted to know -first if you thought it would be nice.” - -“Will it be soon?” Ronald asked eagerly. - -“I should like it to be soon,” answered Winnie, “just as soon as we can -have it. Next Saturday, perhaps. That is three days off.” - -“Oh, jolly!” cried Ronald. “I like things to come soon. I can’t bear to -wait.” - -“No, I don’t think it would do to wait,” answered the little girl, her -eyes turning towards the window, which overlooked the water-meadows -where the swallows were beginning to gather. - -Charley’s eyes followed the direction of her glance, and then returned -to her face. - -“Why wouldn’t it do to wait?” he asked with a touch of uneasiness in -his voice. “What are you thinking of, Winnie?” - -“Of the swallows,” she answered still absently; “we must have it before -they go, you know!” - -“Why?” and Charley opened his eyes wide, not seeing the connection. - -Winifred awoke from her daydream with a little start, and smiled. - -“Oh, I don’t quite know. Perhaps it is all fancy. Only it seems -sometimes as if everything would be different when the swallows go.” - -Charley looked still half-uneasy and half-puzzled; but Ronald had so -many questions to ask about the tea-party that there was no time to -wonder more about Winifred’s thoughts. - -“Will anybody else come beside our fellows?” - -“I shall ask Violet,” answered Winifred. “She will be pleased to come, -and can stay with me whilst you and the boys are playing in the garden -before tea. We will get it all ready for you. Violet will like that; -I don’t think I have been quite kind lately. I have forgotten her -sometimes; and poor little Vi has no brothers, and not half so many -nice things as I have. I wish I hadn’t been so selfish.” - -Winifred sighed a little, and Charley stood up and put his arm about -her neck. - -“You’re not selfish, Winnie. You’re just as nice as you can be. -Everybody says so. Everybody loves you--I know it, if you don’t.” - -“Of course they do, Win,” added Ronald, waking up to what was passing. -“All the fellows ask about you. They all want to know how you are -when you’re ill. They don’t know you hardly at all; but they all like -you--everybody does.” - -Winifred was pleased to hear this, although she hardly felt to deserve -praise. - -“People are very nice and kind,” she said smiling. “I shall like to see -the boys. I know mamma will let us have a very nice tea-party. Cook -will be pleased too; she will like to make us nice things.” - -“Jolly!” cried Ronald again, whilst Charley said more gravely: - -“People like doing what you want them to, I think, Winnie.” - -Winifred was silent a moment, thinking, then she said half-shyly: - -“Should you like to do something that I wanted you to, Charley?” - -“Yes, to be sure I should.” - -“So should I,” added Ronald. - -It was a little while before Winifred spoke: but the boys waited -eagerly to hear her commands. They had been wishing one to another that -they could do something to please their little sister. - -“I should like very much, if you didn’t mind, if you would go every -week to see little Phil at the lodge. He is so lonely.” - -“Oh yes, I’ll go!” answered Charley. “I like poor Phil, but I’m afraid -I’ve forgotten him often; but he likes you best, Winnie.” - -“I shall go to see him as long as I can,” answered Winnie. “But--but--” - -“Why, Winnie!” cried Ronald, “you’re not going to be ill again this -winter, are you?” - -“Oh no, I hope not--I don’t think so. Only--I--I fancy perhaps I shan’t -be able to go and see poor little Phil very much longer. I should like -to think you would go instead, and talk to him and lend him books, so -that he will not miss me very much. Sometimes I think he’ll die before -very long.” - -Charley’s face was grave and troubled; but all he said was: - -“We’ll take care of him, Winnie. He shan’t be dull if we can help it. -I’ll never forget him any more, I promise you.” - -“Thank you,” said Winnie gratefully, and her heart felt the lighter for -this promise. She knew Charley would not fail when he had once pledged -himself. - -Mrs. Digby gave a willing consent to Winifred’s plan for the proposed -tea-party; and entered into an animated discussion of its every detail. -It was arranged for the following Saturday. The guests were to be -invited for three o’clock, to have games in the garden, tea in the -nursery, charades in the play-room, and fireworks after supper just -before going home. - -Everything sounded delightful, and the boys went off in high spirits to -prepare their lessons. - -“Mamma,” said Winnie, after she was in bed, her mother still remaining -beside her, “may I give away some of my books and toys to Violet when -she comes?” - -“What makes you wish to do so, dear?” - -“I have so many, you know, mamma, and Violet has so few, and she would -be so pleased. Besides, I feel sometimes as if I was growing older. I -don’t seem to care so much for toys and fairy tales. I like some of my -books better than ever; but I hardly ever read the stories I used to be -so fond of, and I haven’t played with my dolls--Oh, I don’t know when!” - -“And so you would like Violet to have them instead, would you?” asked -Mrs. Digby, caressing the child’s head. - -“Yes, mamma, if you don’t mind. I feel as if I’d not been quite kind -to Violet all this while. She would have liked to come here oftener to -play, and I haven’t asked her; and I haven’t been to see her when I -know she would have liked it. I didn’t think about things once; but I -do now, and I know it wasn’t quite right of me.” - -“And you think Violet would be pleased by having the dolls and fairy -tales?” - -“I think she would; and I should like to feel that she had them. You -don’t mind, do you, mamma?” - -“No, dearest. If you do not want your toys yourself, it is better to -give them to some one who will be pleased by having them.” - -“Yes; and it will be nice to have seen the boys’ friends, and to have -made Vi happy. I wonder I never thought about it before. Mamma, the -swallows won’t have gone by Saturday, will they?” - -“No, darling, no,” and it seemed as if Mrs. Digby’s voice shook. “They -will gather a long while yet. What makes my little girl think so much -of the swallows?” - -“I don’t quite know, mamma. Sometimes I can’t help fancying that -everything will be different when the swallows have gone.” - -The mother kissed her child very fervently and tenderly, and left the -room without another word. - -To her surprise she found Charley lingering about the door, as if -waiting for her. His face wore a troubled look, and he did not speak -at once, but followed his mother down the passage, and did not speak -until they reached the window at the end of the corridor near to the -staircase, which looked over the water-meadows. - -“Mamma,” he said then, looking up into her face, “have you been crying?” - -“Just a tear or two, my boy. What makes you ask?” - -Charley was nearly fifteen, and old enough to have been made anxious by -one or two things he had heard and seen of late. - -“Were you crying about Winnie? Mamma, is there anything the matter with -Winnie?” - -“Your little sister is in a very precarious state of health, Charley.” - -“I know, mamma, she is pale and thin and weak; but she was much worse -last winter.” - -“She _seemed_ to be worse, my boy.” - -“Mamma, mamma!” cried Charley anxiously, “you don’t mean--Oh, mamma, -she isn’t--” - -The boy could not say the words, but his eyes spoke his meaning -plainly enough. Mrs. Digby’s tears fell for a moment fast and freely; -but then they were checked, and she answered steadily: - -“We are in God’s hands, dear Charley, and our precious little child is -under His care. He may be willing to spare her to us a little longer. -We may all pray and even hope; God’s ways are not our ways, and He is -very merciful.” - -Charley’s face grew pale. He saw by his mother’s looks how little hope -she had. - -“Mamma!” he cried; “Oh, mamma!” - -“Dear Charley,” she said tenderly, “we must all be brave; we may still -pray to God to spare our darling, only we must pray first ‘Thy will be -done.’” - -The boy choked and a lump rose in his throat; then he commanded his -voice and asked: - -“What does Dr. Howard say?” - -“He says that--that--he thinks Winifred cannot get any better.” - -There was silence after this, and then the boy said more slowly and -calmly: - -“Does Winnie know?” - -“I do not know how much; but from what she says I feel sure she knows -something.” - -“It was her talk to-day made me begin to think,” said the boy with a -tearless sob. “Oh mamma, she is such a dear Winnie; and she talks just -as if she were going away.” - -“My poor Charley, we shall all miss our sweet little girl; but, dear -boy, we must remember where she has gone, and Who has taken her.” - -The boy sobbed on still. - -“She will never come back any more.” - -“No, Charley--could we really wish her back? She will not come to us; -but we may go to her. That must then be more than ever the aim of our -lives.” - -“Yes, yes,” said the boy; and by-and-by he asked in a whisper, “When?” - -“Ah, Charley, I ask that question every day. Sometimes I think it will -not be very long after the swallows go.” - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -WINIFRED’S PARTY. - - -Winifred’s tea-party was a great success. Preparations for it occupied -the child’s mind for the three days previous to the important Saturday, -and by the time the day had arrived nothing had been neglected which -she thought could add to the enjoyment of the expected guests. - -They had arrived punctual to the appointed hour, and had had fine games -in the garden and meadows, which Winifred and Violet had watched from -the nursery window. - -They had had a splendid tea in the nursery, and had fully appreciated -the good fare which their little hostess had pressed upon them. They -were all very gentle to Winifred, and seemed to wish to sit by her and -talk to her, and the little girl had been pleased to think that her -brothers’ friends liked her. - -Every one had enjoyed the tea very much, and although Charley had -looked a little grave, as he had done for three days past, he did not -seem unhappy; and he made so much of his little sister, that she could -not wish him other than he was. - -The boys had gone away to romp in the play-room now, and Winifred was -left alone in the nursery with Violet for her companion. - -She was rather tired with her exertions on behalf of her guests, and -was glad to curl herself up in a comfortable corner of the old sofa, -and rest herself after her labours. - -“It was a nice tea-party,” said Violet, coming and sitting beside her -friend; “I don’t think I ever was at a nicer one; I do so like boys!” -and the little girl sighed and wished she had some brothers. - -“They were nice boys,” said Winifred smiling. “I am glad I know them -now.” - -“Didn’t you know them before?” - -“No, hardly at all.” - -“How funny! If I had brothers I should always want to know all their -friends.” - -Violet was a merry little maiden, not at all given to grave moods, or -over-much meditation. Her parents were poor, and she had never had many -toys or books, or even as many friends as she would have liked. There -were very few people living near, and there was no carriage to take her -to other people’s houses; so the little girl had been dependent upon -her own happy temper and limited resources for most of the enjoyment of -life. - -Such a tea-party as the one in which she had just been joining was an -immense treat to her. She could not understand how it was that Winifred -had not cared before to cultivate the acquaintance of such nice boys. - -“I’m afraid it was because I was selfish,” said Winifred gravely. - -“You selfish!” cried Violet, opening her eyes wide; “Oh, Winnie, I’m -sure you’re not.” - -“I’m afraid I have been, Vi; I wish I hadn’t; but I don’t think I knew -it before. I didn’t see things that I see now.” - -“Why do you see them now?” asked Violet with interest; but Winifred -did not answer just at once, and the child, too excited to sit down, -strayed to the window and looked out. - -“What a lot of swallows!” - -“Yes. They are beginning to gather. Don’t you know that they will go -soon?” - -“Go!” - -“Yes, they fly away, you know, to other countries, and come back again -in the spring.” - -“Do they? How clever of them! How do they know when to go, and where to -go?” - -“I don’t exactly know. I think it must be God who teaches them.” - -“God! But God can’t care about the swallows!” - -“I think God cares about everything,” said Winifred dreamily. “If he -didn’t take care of the swallows, how could they find their way?” - -“But swallows are such little things; I don’t see how God can care for -them.” - -Winifred did not say anything at first, so Violet turned from the -window to look at her. - -“Violet,” she said presently; “I think if God didn’t care about little -things, He couldn’t care about big ones either.” - -“Why not?” - -“Because it is little things that make big ones. I don’t think anything -is really so very little.” - -“I don’t see,” said Violet, knitting her brow. - -Winifred pondered awhile. - -“Mamma once told me a story about it, when I was ill; I don’t think I -understood then--I mean I didn’t think what it meant; but I have been -thinking about it lately--I understand better now.” - -“A story!” repeated Violet, with more animation in her tone. “I like -listening to stories. Tell me the story, please, Winnie.” - -“I will soon, when it gets dark. I want you to look in that box there -in the corner, and see if you like the things in it.” - -Violet went eagerly to work, lifting the lid, and carefully examining -each of the parcels disclosed to view. As she did so, rapturous -exclamations of delight escaped her. - -Winifred had taken great pains with her selection of toys and books -and pretty trifles. Such a box as Violet was now examining would have -filled any child with delight. Poor little Violet, who had always -suffered from a lack of childish treasures, could not say enough, nor -admire enough; she was in a perfect ecstasy. - -“Oh, Winnie, how lovely! What perfectly sweet things! Oh, I never saw -such a lot of lovely toys! That doll is just a darling! Oh! whoever -did send you such a splendid box?” - -“Nobody sent it to me,” answered Winifred, with a little smile. “I am -going to send it to a little girl--a friend of mine.” - -Violet was replacing the things in the box with careful, gentle -fingers. She gave a little sigh as she wrapped up the beautiful doll in -its paper, and gave it one little kiss before she hid its pretty face. - -Winifred heard both the sigh and the kiss. - -“How pleased the little girl will be!” said Violet, as she closed the -box-lid lingeringly. - -“I hope she will. I don’t think she has a great many toys; and she is -fond of dolls and puzzles and fairy tales.” - -“Like me,” Violet was just going to say; but she checked herself, and -said instead, - -“Does she? How pleased she will be!” - -“I hope she will.” - -“Of course she will; she must be. Do I know her?” - -“Yes.” - -“Do you like her? Is she a nice little girl?” - -“I think so.” - -“What is her name?” - -“Her name is Violet.” - -Violet gave such a jump that Winifred could not help laughing. - -“Yes, Vi dear, the box is for you if you will have it, and you are to -take it home with you to-night. You see, I’m getting too old now to -care for dolls and toys, and then--and then--Well, I thought perhaps -you would like them, and I should like you to have them, because I have -been fond of them, and I know you will take care of them. And so the -box is yours now.” - -It was some time before Violet could really believe the wonderful news, -and then it seemed as if she could not thank Winifred enough. She -kissed her and hugged her, and showed in every way in her power how -delighted she was; and Winifred felt very glad she had thought of a way -to make her little friend so happy. - -“You are the dearest Winnie in the world,” said Violet, nestling close -up to her at last. “I love you a whole lot.” And by-and-by she added, -after a little pause, “You are not going away anywhere, are you, -Winnie?” - -“I don’t quite know,” answered Winifred slowly. “What makes you think -so?” - -“I thought I heard papa and mamma say something like it--something -about how you would be missed--how sorry people would be when you had -gone. I could not be quite sure, but I thought they were talking about -you, Winnie. When I asked mamma she would not tell me, but I thought -she _looked_ somehow as if it was true; is it, Winnie?” - -“I don’t know, Vi; nobody has said anything to me. Sometimes I fancy -perhaps I am going somewhere, but I don’t know.” - -“Would you like to go?” asked Vi with interest. “Will it make you quite -well again to go? Do you know where you are going?” - -Twilight had crept into the room, and the dancing firelight made -flickering lights and shadows upon the walls and low ceiling. Winifred -held Violet’s warm hand in hers, and spoke more plainly to her than she -had ever done before. - -“Vi,” she said gently, “you won’t cry if I tell you?” - -“No, Winnie; why should I?” but the tone was a little apprehensive, and -Violet crept closer to her little friend, and looked into her face. - -“I think, Vi, that I am going to heaven.” - -Violet started, and held Winifred’s hand closer and closer, in a -frightened way. - -“Oh no, no, Winnie! you can’t mean that! Oh no, it can’t be so -dreadful!” - -“It isn’t dreadful, Vi. Going to heaven couldn’t be dreadful, you know.” - -Violet made no answer. - -“I thought at first that I was only going away with nurse to a warmer -country to get well again, but now, I think--I am almost sure--that I -am going to heaven soon. Don’t cry, Vi.” - -“Why do you think so?” sobbed the child. - -“I don’t know if I can explain, quite. It seems as if something inside -told me--just as something tells the swallows when they are to go.” - -“The swallows come back,” said Violet, with another convulsive sob. - -“Yes,” answered Winifred dreamily; “but when we get to heaven, Vi, I do -not think we shall want to come back.” - -Violet checked her tears presently, and asked: “Aren’t you afraid, -Winnie?” - -“No; not now.” - -“I should be.” - -“I was once; but I’m so _sure_ now that God will take care of me. When -the swallows go they’re not afraid, and they don’t know where they are -going, and they don’t know the way. God takes care of them, so I can’t -help being quite sure that He will take care of me.” - -Violet sat silent, staring into the fire. By-and-by she heaved a great -sigh. - -“How sorry every one will be! How they will all miss you!” - -“Do you think they will?” - -“Oh yes. Why everybody loves you, Winnie. You are so good and kind to -every one.” - -“I’m afraid not,” answered Winnie gravely. “I used to think about -pleasing people, but since I’ve been ill I’ve got very selfish; I did -nothing for anybody, and did not try to be even kind or pleasant.” - -“You were ill,” answered Vi; “you couldn’t help it. You couldn’t come -to see people. It was very naughty of me to be cross with you.” - -Another childish conscience was pricking its owner, bringing to mind -sundry cross words and ungracious complaints which had fallen from her -lips during the past months. - -Winifred saw at once that her neglect had pained her little friend. - -“I could have asked you to come to me,” she said quickly. “It was very -naughty and selfish of me to think of nobody else. It makes me very -sorry now, that I was so lazy and so unkind.” - -“Don’t, Winnie; you weren’t,” interrupted Violet. “And now you’re just -as kind as you can be--everybody says so. What will they do----?” - -Violet stopped short, the tears in her eyes. - -Winifred knew what she meant, and answered it. - -“Mamma will miss me most,” she said. “Vi dear, I want you to do -something for me. Will you come to see mamma as often as you can, and -try to comfort her? She is fond of you, and she will like it. She -hasn’t another little girl; but if you would come in and talk to her, -and tell her things, and kiss her, and be fond of her, I am sure she -would like it. She is fond of you, Vi.” - -“I will, Winnie. I love your mamma a whole lot. I should like to come -and see her and tell her things. But oh, Winnie, I can’t bear to think -about it--it seems so sad and dreadful.” - -“We won’t think about it, then, nor talk about it, if you don’t like. I -haven’t talked to anybody else, Vi, and I don’t know--It is only what -I fancy. I may--perhaps--be wrong.” - -Violet took courage from this idea, which she eagerly seized upon. -Children soon turn their minds from a subject which seems sad or -painful. - -“You have not told me your story yet, Winnie; and it is quite dark -enough now.” - -“Yes, and almost time to go down to watch the boys’ charade; but I -will just tell you what it was, as I promised, because I think perhaps -it would be easier to be good if we could always remember that little -things matter just as much as big ones, and are really often harder to -think of, and to do.” - -Winifred paused a moment, whilst Violet settled herself to listen to -the story. - -“It isn’t a very long one, and I can’t tell it nicely like mamma; but -it was about a little boy whom she once knew quite well--a nice little -boy whom everybody was fond of, because he was so good-tempered and -merry. His name was Frank, and he lived in a nice little house with his -mother, and they were very happy. - -“One day a pane of glass was broken in the green-house. It was Frank -who had done it by accident, but he told a lie, and said he hadn’t. It -was the first time he had ever told a lie, and it seemed a very little -one, and he didn’t think much about it. But then after he had told one -story he told another, and then another, and at last his mother found -him out, and was so shocked and grieved about it that she sent him to -school. - -“For a little while he seemed to do better; but by-and-by he began to -tell little lies again to get out of trouble, and then he told big -ones, and a wicked big boy found him out once in a great lie, and said -he would tell of him if Frank would not help him in some wicked thing -he wanted to do. So Frank promised he would, and the big boy led him -into all sorts of dreadful mischief, and at last it got found out by -the schoolmaster, and Frank was expelled.” - -“Oh!” ejaculated Violet, opening her eyes wide. “What did his mother -say then?” - -“His mother never saw him,” answered Winifred gravely, “for he was -afraid to go home; and he ran away to sea, and led a miserable, wicked -life for a great many years, and never once wrote to tell his mother -that he was alive, or what had become of him.” - -“How wicked!” - -“Yes, it was wicked; and it broke his mother’s heart; and when she -could find out nothing about him, and months and years went by without -any news, she grew weaker and weaker, and sadder and sadder, and -by-and-by she died. Think, Vi, if he hadn’t told that little lie about -the pane of glass, or any other _little_ lie, perhaps he might have -grown up a good man.” - -“Is that the end of the story, Winnie?” - -“No, not quite; for by-and-by when he was a man he thought he would go -back and see his mother again. He was poor, and miserable, and wicked, -and he had been very ill, and he thought he would go back and try and -be a good son if only his mother would forgive him. Well, he came back -to England and went to his own village, and found that his mother was -dead, and that she had died through his wicked conduct. Nobody knew -Frank because he had changed so much, and nobody said a kind word to -him. They did not know him, though he knew some of them. He was so -desperate and miserable that he determined he would kill himself; and -in the evening he crept down the village street to get to the river, -and he meant to shoot himself there, and let his body fall into the -water and be carried away.” - -“And did he?” asked Vi, in an awe-struck tone. - -“No; for as he was passing down the street he passed the school-room, -and the door was open, and he saw that the room was full of people. -He just fancied he would like to see what was going on, so he crept -into the porch and listened. The clergyman was talking to the children -and people, telling them about the prodigal son coming home to his -father; and then he said that he would give them just one little text -to remember, three little words which would always be a help if ever -they had done wrong and were afraid whether they could be forgiven. The -little text was ‘God is Love’--just that; and he talked to them about -God and God’s love so earnestly, that poor Frank forgot all about the -wicked plan in his head, and listened for every word; and he could not -help crying as he thought how wicked he was and how good God was, and -he crept away to cry outside; and when the clergyman came out, he saw -him sitting on the ground, and he went and spoke to him and found out -who he was. And the clergyman had been a friend of Frank’s mother and -had known him when he was a boy; and he was taking care of some money -which the mother had left for him in case he ever came back. And so -he took Frank home with him, and talked to him and comforted him and -helped him to be a good man; and Frank tried very hard, and always -thought of the three little words, and by-and-by he did grow to love -God and to be a good man, and mamma knows him now, and says he is very -kind and good. And he is never tired of telling people how important -little things are; because it was just a little lie which began all -his wickedness, and it was one little text of three little words which -stopped him from killing himself, and made him try to be a good man -again.” - -“That is a nice story,” said Violet. “I am so glad he got good at last.” - -“I am so glad that ‘God is Love,’” said Winnie. - -“I will try never to do little naughty things again,” added Violet; -“I mean I will try never to call them little or think them little any -more.” - -They had not time to discuss the subject any longer, for the boys came -rushing up to tell them that the charade was just going to begin, and -that their presence was requested for the occasion. - -The acting was very funny and amusing, and the boys did it very well. -Winifred and Violet laughed heartily, and all grave thoughts seemed for -the time quite driven away. - -Then came the supper in the dining-room, and crackers were pulled and -jokes cracked, and everybody was very merry and gay. - -Winifred was quite the queen of the night; and so much attention was -heaped upon her that she hardly knew how to respond to it all. - -Mr. Digby and Charley let off the fireworks last thing, and the -exhibition gave great delight to the whole party. Everybody agreed that -it had been a splendid evening, and the guests drove away in the big -waggonette in the highest spirits, Violet at the far end with the big -box safe under her feet. - -Winifred, from her sheltered nook by the hall-window, watched the -carriage drive away, and kissed her hand in answer to the boys’ -farewell cheer; then she turned away with a grave smile on her little -pale face. - -“I think they were all pleased,” she said. “They are nice boys, -Charley. I wonder I never wanted them to come before.” - -“They can come often if you like them,” said Ronald, eagerly. “They -liked it awfully, and they all said you were a brick. They will come as -often as you like, I’m sure.” - -Winifred smiled a little. - -“I should like to think they would often come,” said she, slowly. “If -you like it and they like it, and mamma doesn’t mind. It would make it -nice for you, wouldn’t it, Ronald?” - -“Yes, jolly!” he answered, turning an agile somersault. “But you look -tired, Winnie. I’ll take you to mamma, and she’ll say you ought to be -in bed.” - -“Yes, I should like to go to bed,” said the child, rather wearily; “but -it has been a nice evening.” - -[Illustration: Decorative image] - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -SUNDAY. - - -The next day was Sunday, such a warm bright day, it seemed almost like -a little bit of summer come by mistake into September. - -Winifred had slept soundly and well after her exertions of the previous -evening, and she awoke refreshed and happy, feeling as every one else -felt, the joyousness of all around in nature’s beautiful world. - -“I feel so strong to-day, mamma,” she said, with one of her old, -bright, childlike smiles. “So strong and so well. It is so nice!” - -There was more colour than usual in the child’s face, more brightness -in her eyes, more strength in her voice and in her movements. The -mother folded her closely to her heart, and seemed almost to breathe a -prayer over her. - -“Mamma,” said Winifred earnestly, “may I go to church to-day? I should -so like to. I haven’t been for six Sundays, and I do so want to go just -once more, before--before the winter comes. I do feel so strong to-day.” - -“I will talk to papa, darling. We should like to please you if we can. -We will talk it over together, and see what can be done.” - -“Thank you, mamma,” answered Winnie brightly. She was standing by -the window now, and presently she added with a smile: “Mamma, if the -weather keeps warm like this, it will be a long while before the -swallows go, won’t it?” - -“It will make a little difference, no doubt, dear,” answered the mother. - -“I don’t feel as though I was quite ready for them to go yet,” -continued Winifred gravely. “It would be nice if they would stay just a -little longer.” - -Mrs. Digby went away, and returned by-and-by to say that Winifred might -be driven to church by Charley in the little pony-carriage, and then -she would be able to enjoy the service, and walk back without too much -fatigue. The child was very much pleased, and was ready in good time -for the promised drive. - -It was a lovely autumn day; the sun shone, the birds twittered, the air -seemed full of sweet sounds, and everything looked as bright and happy -as if such things as frost and cold and winter winds did not exist--as -if summer were perpetual. - -“Oh, Charley, isn’t it lovely?” cried Winifred with clasped hands -and flushed cheeks. “Isn’t it just a perfect Sunday morning? I think -it feels as if everything knew it was Sunday, birds and flowers and -everything. Do you think they do?” - -“I don’t know, Winnie,” answered Charley; but he did not laugh at her -fancy. - -Winifred thought a little, and by-and-by she said: - -“Do you think it is always Sunday in heaven Charley?” - -“I don’t know, Winnie; what makes you think about heaven?” - -“I often think about it now, and to-day it just seems as if everything -was like heaven. I wonder if it will always be Sunday there?” - -Charley made no answer. - -“I suppose it will, because, you see, Sunday is God’s day, and in -heaven all days will be God’s, won’t they?” - -“I suppose so.” - -Winifred pursued the thought a little farther, and then added -thoughtfully: - -“Every day ought to be God’s day here, too, Charley, I think, only we -don’t remember to make them so.” - -“We couldn’t do with Sundays all the week, Winnie,” answered the boy. -“The work would never get done at that rate.” - -“I don’t quite mean _that_,” said Winnie smiling. “It would not be -right to do no work. God would not like that at all; but it would be -nice if all days seemed to belong to Him alike--working Sundays and -resting Sundays. I’ve heard people say that lots of men and women never -think about God, or about being good all the week, and think it’s quite -enough to go to church on Sunday. I don’t think God can like that kind -of Sunday-keeping.” - -Charley was silent. He was conscious that he had been rather after -this way of thinking himself--keeping his few thoughts of God and of -heaven and holy things for Sunday use, and putting them quite out of -his head during the busy week with its many pleasures and occupations. -Was Winifred right in her theory? Ought every day to have its share of -serious thought and prayer? - -“It would not be very easy to work such a plan as that, Winnie.” - -“Why not?” - -“Why because--because. Oh, don’t you know, it’s so hard to remember -about God always. I suppose it’s wrong; but I don’t feel as if I could -keep it up, if I was to try and make every day a kind of Sunday. We -can’t always be thinking of one thing.” - -“No, I know we can’t, we can’t always be _thinking_ exactly; but we can -always be loving, you know,” answered Winnie earnestly. “We are not -always thinking about papa and mamma; but we always love them, and we -try every day to do as they wish, not to break rules, and not to vex -them.” - -“Ah yes, that is different.” - -“Is it?” - -“Well, it seems different to me.” - -“I don’t think it is really very different, Charley. I don’t see why it -should be, except that we ought to think even more about pleasing God -than pleasing papa and mamma, though it is not very easy.” - -“No, it isn’t; but I’ll think about what you’ve said, Winnie. I can’t -think where all your grown-up ideas come from. Ronald and I never -troubled our heads over such things when we were little--and we don’t -very much now for the matter of that. What is it has changed you -lately, Winnie?” - -The boy looked into her face with a half-troubled, half-playful look, -which Winnie answered by a very bright smile. She did not reply, for -they had reached the church by this time; but she held Charley’s hand -very fast as he led her to the pew. - -Winifred felt almost as if she were dreaming, as she sat in her -accustomed nook beside her mother, and looked round the grand old -church, whose every detail was as familiar to her eyes as were the -pictures and panelling of her nursery walls. - -It was only six weeks since she had sat there last--only six -weeks--but what a long, long time it seemed to the child! - -It was almost like heaven the little girl thought when the organ began -to play. The sunshine streaming through the coloured windows, seemed -like a halo of glory. Everything was very solemn, very beautiful, and -very peaceful. Winifred said again and again in her heart: - -“I am so glad God let me come once again.” - -Shadows of the darting swallows crossed the sunny windows now and -again. Yes, the swallows never forgot her, Winifred thought, and the -swallows were always fond of flying round the church. Dreamily the -child recalled some verse of Holy Writ, which told how the swallows had -made a nest in the sanctuary of the God of Hosts. - -“I know God loves the swallows. I know it is He who takes care of them -when they go, and shows them the way to go. He is sure--oh quite, quite -sure to take care of me too.” - -The clergyman’s text seemed to chime in peculiarly happily with the -little girl’s thoughts: - -“Suffer little children to come unto Me; for of such is the kingdom of -heaven.” - -Winifred looked up into her mother’s face and smiled. Mrs. Digby -pressed the little hand that was slipped into hers, and her eyes -sparkled through a mist of tears as she smiled back. - -Winifred walked home between her two brothers, who seemed very pleased -and proud of their charge. - -All three children were very merry and happy together, and Ronald built -fine castles in the air of all the things they would do in the future, -when Winnie should be strong and well again. - -Charley, with all the hopefulness of a boy’s nature, joined in eagerly, -and Winifred listened and smiled, and took her share in the talk, and -she felt herself so strong and well that she wondered dreamily to -herself whether she had made a mistake all this time, whether perhaps -she would see the swallows go and come back again after all, without -having herself to take an unknown journey into a far-off land. - -As they neared the park-gates, Winifred made a suggestion: - -“Let us go in and see little Phil. He will be so pleased; and then I -can rest a little while.” - -“Are you tired?” - -“No; at least only a very little; but I should like to go and see Phil.” - -“All right,” said Ronald; “come on.” - -Phil’s couch was in the little garden to-day. The summer brightness had -tempted him out. - -“It seemed a pity to miss the last of the summer,” he said in answer to -Charley’s question. “It could hardly last; but it was just lovely to -feel the sun and fancy the summer had come back again.” - -He was very pleased to see his visitors, and thanked Winifred over and -over again for the books she had sent him, and the mittens she had made. - -Winifred sat looking quietly about her, listening to the boys’ chatter. -Phil was a great referee in matters pertaining to birds, and beasts, -and fishes; and Charley and Ronald wanted to ask many questions about -the respective advantages of keeping pigeons or rabbits--a point upon -which their minds had been much exercised of late. - -The talk was carried on with animation, and Winnie became interested as -she listened. The talk had taken a wider range. - -“I think you’d like guinea-fowls, Mr. Charley,” Phil was saying. -“They’re pretty things, and more interesting, I think, than pigeons. -You say Mr. Digby’s given you the little house at the bottom of the -field; well, if you wired in a good run for them--he’d be sure to let -you do that--why that is all you’d want, and they’d do splendidly, I’m -almost sure; I kept a few once, and liked them a lot.” - -“Guinea-fowls are jolly things,” cried Ronald. “I like to hear them -call ‘go back!’ ‘go back!’ ‘go back!’ Let us have them, Charley. They’d -be much nicer than rabbits or pigeons.” - -“But,” said Charley, “it will cost so much more. We’ve got enough money -to repair the house and buy some animals; but I’m afraid we sha’n’t be -able to have a run wired in, and we couldn’t have them straying all -over the place; we should lose them, and it would never do.” - -Ronald’s face fell. - -“Would it cost much?” - -“Pretty much, I’m afraid. You see there would have to be the uprights, -and the wire, and a door to get in and out; and they would want a -good space or they wouldn’t do. I’m afraid it would cost two or three -pounds.” - -“Oh dear!” sighed Ronald, “then we can’t do it. I should have liked the -guinea-fowls.” - -“Oh yes,” cried Winnie, eagerly, “do get guinea-fowls; they are so -pretty and funny. I have got a lot of money in my box--more than three -pounds, I know. I will get the wire and wood, and make the run for -them. Oh please let me, Charley! I should so like it!” - -“But, Winnie, it doesn’t seem fair to take your money to spend over our -animals.” - -“Oh, but I want to do it, Charley, I should so like it; and I’m sure -you would so like them when you had them. Do please let me make them -their run. I don’t want my money--indeed I don’t.” - -Ronald clapped his hands ecstatically. - -“You _are_ a brick, Winnie, a real trump! Charley, they have splendid -guinea-fowls at Farmer Johnson’s. We could go and talk to him about it -to-morrow after school. Oh, won’t it be jolly? I am glad you thought of -it, Phil. You shall have some eggs by-and-by, and so shall Winnie. It’s -just first-rate!” - -The children rose to go; all the faces were very bright. - -“Shall you be able to come again, Miss Winnie?” asked Phil wistfully; -“it is so nice to see you sometimes.” - -“I’ll come if I can,” answered the child slowly; “only I’m not sure,--I -think sometimes--” - -“We’re afraid sometimes she won’t be able to get out much, now that -the summer is gone,” broke in Charley, with almost nervous haste; “but -we’ll come to see you, Phil, Ronald and I, so don’t look blue.” - -“Thank you, Mr. Charley, thank you kindly. Good-bye, Miss Winnie.” - -“Good-bye, Phil.” - -The two children smiled into each other’s eyes. It was the last look -they ever exchanged on earth. - -[Illustration: Decorative image] - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -THE LAST FLIGHT. - - -The summer weather lasted only three days longer, but those three days -were not wasted. - -Winifred was so anxious to get the guinea-fowls into their new home, -that everything else for a while gave way to that plan. - -The carpenter was called in to mend the little shed, and to wire in a -great square from the field to make a run for the expected tenants. The -thatcher came with his straw to fill up the holes in the roof, and the -blacksmith fixed an iron drinking-trough in one corner, and brought up -a padlock for the door of the shed. - -Winifred watched all these proceedings with the greatest interest. She -had not felt so strong again as she had done on Sunday; she could not -walk to the lodge or do anything which required much exertion; but -she could just manage to get down to the home field where the work was -going on, and sit upon a tree-stump near at hand to watch the men at -work, and to ask questions as to how and why they did this or that. -Winifred found it all very interesting, and was delighted when on the -evening of the second day the home was pronounced complete. - -“It’s done, Charley! it’s done!” she called to them gladly, as they -came rushing down the field from their day’s lessons. “Come and see how -nice it all looks. When can the fowls come?” - -“To-morrow,” answered Charley. “We can bring them back with us -to-morrow. We’ve arranged it all with Farmer Johnson, and we’re going -to start with ten. You’ll see them arrive to-morrow, Winnie.” - -“Oh jolly!” cried Ronald; “you will like them, Winnie, they are such -jolly birds. I’d sooner keep guinea-fowls than anything now.” - -Winifred was as much pleased and excited as anybody, and quite -impatient for the arrival of the new pets. - -“I do hope they will come to-morrow, and that it will keep hot!” she -said to herself that night. “For it can’t be summer always, and the -swallows are gathering so fast--so fast. It must be nearly time for -them to go.” - -The next day the sun still shone warm and bright, and the thousands of -swallows in the meadows seemed as full of life and happiness as though -there were no winter cold and frost to drive them away. - -“We shall be home early to-day, Winnie,” cried Ronald, putting his -head in at the nursery-door last thing. “Mr. Arnold has to go to town, -and we shall get off early. You’ll be down in the field to see the -guinea-fowls come!” - -“Oh yes!” cried Winnie, eagerly. “I do so want to see them. I hope they -will like their new home.” - -Winifred waited eagerly for the appointed time to come, and was down -at the new house in the field a good half-hour too soon. The boys, -however, were punctual to their time, and soon the sound of wheels -being driven over the grass became distinctly audible. - -Farmer Johnson’s light spring-cart was bringing its burden down to -the appointed place; and with a good deal of clucking and calling and -screaming, the pretty, softly-marked birds were transferred from the -cart to their new home. - -“Oh, nice things!” cried Winnie, “how pretty they are, and how funny! I -am glad they have come. I am glad I have seen them. I do hope they will -be happy!” - -“Not much doubt of that, little miss,” said the good-natured farmer, as -he mounted his cart and took the reins. “They’ll be well looked after, -I’ll be bound.” - -“That they will!” cried Ronald, eagerly. “Aren’t they jolly birds, -Winnie?” - -Mr. and Mrs. Digby came down to see and admire the new comers; and -after much talk about the many perfections of the guinea-fowl, they all -walked back together to the house, discussing as they did so the number -of chickens to be hatched in the spring. - -Winifred’s face looked rather grave and wistful whilst this point was -under discussion; but the smiles soon came back under the cheering -influence of Ronald’s delight at their new treasures. - -That night the weather changed suddenly. The wind shifted from -south-west to south-east, and brought with it cold, drenching rain, and -piercing blasts of wind, which rattled fiercely at door and window and -would not be denied an entrance. - -The leaves were whirled from the trees, the few flowers that remained -were battered and knocked to pieces. The water-meadows began to show -long furrows of glimmering silver, and the swallows gathered faster and -faster every day. It seemed as if winter had come with one bound. - -“It will come warmer again soon,” people said to one another. “This -cold cannot last. We shall have soft, mild days again before long.” - -And Winifred, when she heard them, said to herself: - -“But the swallows will be gone before that.” - -The child had failed all of a sudden, just as a flower sometimes does, -looking fresh and bright and full of life one hour, and then at a -single touch losing its leaves and dropping quietly out of existence. - -With the first breath of winter cold Winifred had drooped and failed, -and lost in a day all the little strength she had seemed to gain. - -By the end of the week she could not leave her little bed, and although -nobody told her so she knew she never should leave it again. - -“Mamma,” she said one day, “I can’t see the swallows now. May my bed go -into the day nursery? I like so much to look out of the window there. I -like to watch the swallows, and I like to watch the sunsets.” - -The child’s wish was granted. The little low bed was moved into the -west room, and as Winifred lay, she could watch her friends the -swallows, and see the sun go down. Even when the days were wet, the -evenings were generally bright, and the sky would grow gradually all -crimson and gold, like a sea of glory, and great soft clouds of every -colour of the rainbow would rise and float over the golden distance, -and to the little grave eyes that watched the beautiful dying day, it -seemed as if the gates of heaven opened night by night to take the -great sun in, and she wondered dreamily if the floating clouds were the -souls of the people who had died in the day, and who were finding their -way home as the evening drew on. - -A great many strange thoughts and fancies passed through the child’s -mind, as she lay day after day in her little bed, too weak and tired to -talk, not always quite able to put her thoughts into words, but always -able to think in a dreamy fashion of her own. She always knew the -people who came in and out to look at her, kiss her, or wait upon her, -and she had a smile for every one, even when she could not talk. - -She hardly knew how time passed. Sometimes she grew confused between -day and night; but it always seemed as though mamma were in the room, -whoever else shifted and changed, and Winifred always felt happiest -holding her hand and listening to her voice. - -Little Violet came sometimes with hushed steps and tearful voice; and -the boys stole in each morning and evening to kiss her and whisper -loving words. One day Winnie roused herself to ask after the new pets, -and ten minutes later Ronald appeared, carrying in his arms a scolding -struggling guinea-hen; and the little girl laughed a weak little laugh -to see how it pecked and kicked and called “go back!” “go back!” - -Dr. Howard came very often, as it seemed to the child, and papa was in -the room almost as constantly as mamma, although he did not stay quite -so long. The servants often stole in just to look at her, and Winnie -had a smile for every one, and a word of greeting when she was well -enough. - -“You will give them all something of mine by-and-by, when I am gone,” -said the child to her mother one day. “And nursey must have as many -as she wants--dear nursey, who has been so kind and good always! I’m -afraid they would cry if I gave them away now.” - -“I will do as you wish, darling.” - -“Thank you; and you will take care of little Phil?” - -“Yes, dear.” - -“Thank you; I know you will do everything right.” - -Winifred lay silent after that; it tired her now to talk even a little. -The sunset was very bright that evening, and the swallows were making -a great twittering; myriads there seemed of them now, gathered in the -water-meadows, and there seemed an unusual bustle amongst them on this -particular night. - -“They will soon be going now,” Winnie said half-aloud, and her mother -answered gently: - -“Very soon now, my darling.” - -Mother and child looked at one another, and Winnie smiled. These -two did not need to talk of what was in their inmost hearts, they -understood without words. Every morning when the blind first went up, -the child had said, “Have the swallows gone yet?” and when she heard -the answer she would say, “I am glad; I feel as if I should miss them.” - -A good many people came in to kiss Winnie that night, and she said -“good-bye” to them all, not “good-night,” though she could hardly have -told why. - -Papa and mamma stayed on, and nurse; and Dr. Howard seemed to come in -the middle of the night. - -“Mamma,” said Winifred once, “I am very happy, I haven’t any pain--I’m -so glad God takes care of little things--swallows, you know--and -children. He will take care of me, I know.” - -“My darling is not afraid to go to Him, then?” asked the mother very -gently. - -“Oh no--not now.” - -Talking was very hard, her tongue seemed heavy, and only whispers came -from between the parted lips. A strange singing filled the child’s ears. - -Father and mother bent over the little one and kissed her, oh, so -tenderly and so lovingly!--but they did not cry. Winnie was glad that -they did not cry. - -“Into Thy Hands, O most loving Father--” - -Was it her father’s voice speaking thus? The child thought so, but -could not tell, for a rushing sound as of many wings seemed to fill the -air drowning the voice that still spoke in solemn tones. - -“The swallows!” she tried to say--“the swallows--they are going--at -last--” but with that strange rushing of wings mingled another and a -sweeter sound, that made Winnie clasp her hands and look up with a -smile on her little white face. - -“It is my angel--come for me--I am not afraid to go--now. Did God send -you for me, angel?--I am ready.” - -In the morning there were no swallows in the water-meadows--they had -all flown away in the night; and one little blood washed soul had -flown in at Heaven’s wide gate to rest for evermore in the care of the -Heavenly Father, who watches over little helpless things, and thinks -no child that trusts His love too small or weak to be taken in to the -eternal Home at last. - - - THE END. - - - - - THE LITTLE MATCH-GIRL. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -A LITTLE MATCH-SELLER. - - -She was a pathetic little figure for those who had eyes to spare for -anybody so insignificant as a little street match-seller. She had -been shivering just before in the chill February blast; but a dancing -sunbeam had forced its way through the grey, hurrying clouds, and -an answering smile seemed to light up the face of the child, as she -watched it creeping nearer and nearer, till she could feel the warmth -touch her bare feet like a caress. - -Some boys not far off were playing marbles in the gutter, and the -little girl was watching the play with great interest. She had a -wholesome fear of boys, and seldom or never attempted to exchange -remarks with them, shrinking away if they seemed disposed to address -her; but she took a keen interest in their games for all that, and -was very ardently on the side of a curly-headed urchin with carroty, -unkempt locks, who was the happy possessor of a couple of very fine -coloured marbles that quite put all the others into the shade. - -Bright colour of any sort was the little girl’s delight. No matter -whether it was the glow of the sky, the sunshine upon red chimney -stacks, or the dresses of the passers-by, anything that was gaily -coloured was such a joy to her that her little face would smile all -over whilst the vision of colour flitted before her eyes. - -It was a pathetic little face, with singularly delicate features for a -child of the people; framed in a tangled mass of short, yellow hair, -which if properly dressed and cared for would have been a real beauty. -The blue eyes could sparkle with joy or swim in tears with equal -readiness, just as the varying mood of childhood prompted. For the -little one was singularly emotional for one of her hard bringing up, -and was quickly moved to sorrow or pleasure by the passing events of -daily life. - -Just as the game of marbles came to an end, and the boys scampered -away to their respective duties or amusements, a great church clock -somewhere high overhead boomed out the hour of two. The little girl’s -face instantly took upon it a rather eager expression, and seizing her -matches in a firmer grip, she ran a few steps to a certain corner, -and there stationing herself in a nook, to which she was evidently -no stranger, she began looking intently and expectantly in a certain -direction. - -Crowds of business men were hurrying along, some to the train, others -to the various omnibuses, which passed in endless succession at -this busy junction of streets. The child held out her matches, and -mechanically offered them for sale, but her eyes were always bent in -one direction; and had anybody been watching her face, he could not -have failed to note the sudden illumination which beamed out over it, -as though kindled by some light from within. - -Evidently somebody was coming for whom the little one was waiting with -eager expectancy. The lips parted in a smile, the eyes began to sparkle -and dance, a flush crept into the pale cheek. A moment or two later and -another expression swept over the sensitive face, and the child said -half aloud-- - -“Oh, he is not alone! He has a lady with him! Perhaps he will not -notice me to-day.” - -Evidently much hinged upon this vital point; for the colour came and -went in the child’s face, and her eyes were fixed immovably upon a -certain face belonging to somebody in that hurrying throng. Her lips -were parted in intense absorption, and perhaps there was something -magnetic in the fixed gaze, for the successful young barrister, -Bertram Clayton, who was walking with his sister through the crowded -thoroughfare, paused suddenly just as he drew near to the child, and -looking about him said in a pleasant voice-- - -“Ah, here is little Allumette! I must have a box of matches if they are -not too dear to-day!” - -The child’s face was rippling all over now. At first his grave -bargaining over her wares, and his way of shaking his head over their -costliness, had half frightened her, and she had sometimes abated their -price, thinking that she must be in the wrong. But now that she had -learned by experience that the gentleman always gave her in the end -double and treble their value, she was no longer abashed, and entered -with a shy spirit into the game of bargains. - -Almost always this tall, handsome gentleman was alone. Now and then -he had a black-coated, grave-faced friend with him, in which case he -seldom stopped to buy matches or speak to the child, but just gave her -a passing nod if he caught sight of her wistful face and appealing blue -eyes. Never before in her experiences had he been with a lady, and the -child’s eyes lighted eagerly as they rested upon the soft fur and -bright crimson cloth which composed the lady’s dress. - -“What a duck of a child!” she exclaimed to her brother, “I must really -give her something!” - -The gentleman had finished his bargain and got his matches by this -time, and the little girl was smiling over the pennies in her hand. Not -that it was the pennies so freely given which made this customer more -to her than all the rest put together: it was the kind smile beaming -from his eyes, the tones of his voice, the undefined feeling she always -had that he looked out for her, and sometimes thought of her when he -was elsewhere. For had he not brought her now and then a bag of sweets, -or some trifling toy, such as are hawked about in the streets? - -By this time the lady had opened her purse, and now held up before -the child’s astonished eyes a large piece of silver money that shone -brilliantly in the gleam of sunshine. - -“Little Allumette,” she said, using the name by which the gentleman -always called her--she never could guess why, “do you know what this -is?” - -“It is money, ma’am; beautiful new money!” - -“Have you ever had anything like it before?” - -“Only bright pennies sometimes, ma’am; not beautiful silver money like -that.” - -“And what would you do with a whole silver crown if you had one of your -very own?” - -The child’s eyes sparkled, but no words came. The idea of being -possessor of such fabulous wealth was too big a one to be grasped in a -moment. The lady laughed at the expression upon the upturned face, and -put the big silver coin into her hand. - -“There, little Allumette, there is a keepsake for you. You have such a -wise little face that I am sure you will make a good use of it. Come, -Bertram, we must not miss our train.” - -Before the child could find words in which to thank the lady the crowds -had swallowed up both brother and sister, and she was left alone at her -corner, grasping the wonderful piece of fairy silver (for such indeed -it seemed to her) tightly in her hand, her heart beating thick and fast -with the excitement of such a wonderful piece of fortune’s favour. - -It was Saturday afternoon, and trade was brisk. She had soon sold all -her matches, and was ready to turn her feet homewards, but first she -must think what to do with this wonderful treasure-trove. That was her -own--her very own. She scarcely dared to look at it as she walked the -streets; she was afraid lest some passer-by might get a glimpse at the -shining coin, and might set upon her and rob her of it. - -Where could she put it to keep it safe? At home there was no nook or -corner she could call her own. Poor little Allumette! Her life was a -sad and shadowed one now, and yet once nobody would ever have guessed -that she would come to selling matches in the streets. - -Her father had been a clever and respectable artisan, and her mother -a farmer’s daughter. But Allumette could not remember a mother’s -care, for her mother had died whilst she was but a baby, and her -father had married again a woman of a very different stamp. Moreover, -misfortunes had come upon him, and he had lost his health and then his -work. Three years before, when Allumette was only five, he had died, -and the stepmother had almost at once married a widower with three -children--she herself had four. - -So that Allumette had now neither father nor mother, and though she was -still permitted to live in the double attic where this heterogeneous -family party made their home, she was nobody’s child, and nobody wanted -her. She had to earn her own living in the streets, and though she met -with no ill-treatment at home, she received no love or tenderness, and -knew that her presence was felt to be a nuisance by the parents of the -other children. - -Moreover, some of the boys were of an age when teasing becomes a -delight, and Allumette was always reckoned as fair game, for she had -nobody to stand by her and take her part. - -It was before the days of School Boards, and Allumette had no chance -of learning except at a ragged school which she frequented as often as -she could in the evenings. But if she had been unlucky with her matches -by day, she was always sent out again to dispose of her stock later -on, and then she was too late and too tired ever to think of learning -anything. - -And yet the child was not altogether unhappy in her life. She made -interests for herself, and sometimes friends too. Had she not several -customers who showed her kindness in a fitful way? and was there not, -above all, “her gentleman,” as she called him, who was more to her than -all the rest put together? And was there not the old cobbler and his -wife at the end of the alley, who were always glad to see her when she -came? She did not like to go too often, because Mrs. Gregg would give -her bread and treacle, and she did not think they always had enough to -eat themselves; but it was always pleasant to sit by their little fire -and hear the old man’s stories; and to-day she bent her steps there -with great eagerness, for she meant to spend her own two pennies (given -by the gentleman) on some herrings for them, and then she would not -mind sharing the frugal meal, and could tell them about her wonderful -windfall, and ask their advice as to what she could do with her -treasure. - -Allumette’s home was up a number of rickety stairs in a narrow court, -and when she arrived there she found her stepmother in the midst of a -Saturday clean, and by no means prepared to welcome anybody. The child -only paused to hand in her money, and then disappeared down the stairs -with alacrity; for one of the most valued privileges which had been -accorded her was that her time was her own when she had disposed of her -stock of matches. - -Her bare feet went pattering up the alley, which grew darker and -narrower towards the end. At the end stood a tall, grim-looking -house, let out in rooms to a poor class of tenants, the lowest floor, -comprising two rooms and a tiny kitchen beyond, being rented to the -cobbler, whose front room was a sort of workshop where he was always to -be seen cobbling and patching old boots, many of which seemed almost -past the skill of even his dexterous fingers. - -Sometimes Allumette picked up old boots in rubbish heaps and brought -them to him, and often she found bits of leather which were useful to -him in patching. The little girl was fond of the old couple, and they -of her. It was always a treat to her to go and sit in the quiet of -their room. - -The herrings were bought at a shop in the alley, where they were to -be had cheaper than anywhere else; and with her odorous burden she -hastened to the little house at the end, where her old friends received -her with smiles and kind words. - -It was a slack afternoon with the cobbler, as he had taken home his -last batch of work, and had not much in hand until fresh orders -arrived. So he sat holding the child’s hand while she poured into his -ears her wonderful tale, and displayed before his astonished eyes her -wonderful shining coin. - -Mrs. Gregg came up to look and admire and wonder, and eager was the -discussion which followed. - -“No, I shan’t spend it--I shall keep it,” said Allumette. “The lady -said it was a sort of keepsake. I shall keep it and look at it -sometimes; only I don’t know where it will be safe.” - -“I’ll make you a little leather bag for it, ducky,” said the old man, -“and then I’ll make a little hole in the crown itself, if you like, and -you can hang it round your neck, bag and all. It’ll be safest so, as -you might lose it out of the bag if ’twasn’t bored through itself; but -we’ll make it all safe for you!” - -Allumette was delighted. She watched the whole process with eager -interest, and when the coin was wrapped in its covering and hung about -her neck, her little face beamed all over with joy. - -“It feels as if it would bring me good luck!” she cried, with dancing -eyes. - -“Perhaps it will for sure!” said the old couple fondly. - -A happy child was Allumette that night when she fell asleep, though she -little dreamt of the golden hours that were in store for her. - -[Illustration: Decorative image] - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -IN THE STUDIO. - - -“It is provoking!” exclaimed Cora Clayton. - -“What is the matter now?” asked bright-faced Madge, who had strolled -into her sister’s studio from the garden, her hands full of snowdrops -and aconites from the shrubbery borders. - -“Why, little Muriel Ellerton has just sickened with measles, and you -know I was depending upon her as a model for my Academy picture. It -is so difficult to get a really picturesque-looking child; and Muriel -would have done beautifully. I really haven’t any time to lose; and -here I am at a perfect deadlock!” - -“What a pity!” said Madge, who took great interest in her talented -sister’s drawing. Cora Clayton had achieved a rather considerable -success for an amateur, and for two years past had exhibited a small -picture in the Royal Academy. During the winter months just past she -had been away from home with her brother’s delicate wife, who had -been ordered to the south of France, so that she had not been able to -do much painting. Now that she was home again she was eager to get -forward, and it was provoking to be disappointed of her model just upon -the very morning when she had reckoned to start work. - -“Is there no other child who would do?” asked a voice from the couch -beside the fire. Young Mrs. Clayton, the barrister’s delicate wife, -had established herself in Cora’s studio, as she was fond of doing. -The sisters were greatly attached to their brother’s wife, and the -family lived happily together in perfect harmony in their old-fashioned -semi-country house at Hampstead. - -“I can’t think of one that just suits my ideas,” answered Cora. “Muriel -would just have done, with her cloud of fair curls and blue eyes with -a sort of pathetic wistfulness behind their brightness. It was just -the face for my subject. It is provoking! You know I am not like some -artists; I know what I want to paint, but imagination doesn’t do -everything for me. I must have the model, and the right model, and I’m -sure I don’t know where to turn to next!” - -“I wonder if little Allumette would do!” suddenly exclaimed Madge. “She -had the sweetest little face, and just such eyes and hair as Muriel; -only I think she is prettier.” - -“Allumette! What do you mean? I never heard such a name!” - -“Oh, that is Bertram’s nickname. She is a little match-seller in the -City. I saw her the other day when I was in town with him. Evidently -she is often on his beat, for he had given her that cognomen, and one -could see that she quite adored him. I daresay he has been kind to her -often.” - -Cora and Eva were both interested, and when Madge had described the -child, Cora declared she really had a good mind to go and have a look -at her. - -“It would really be easier in some ways than Muriel,” she said, “for if -I paid her I suppose her relations would be glad enough to let me have -her over here; and they would keep her for me at the gardener’s cottage -for a week or two, so that I could have her backwards and forwards as I -wanted, instead of being fettered by lesson hours and other things as I -should be with Muriel. One does see very pretty children often in the -streets; only, as a rule, it would not be practicable to get hold of -them.” - -“We will ask Bertram about little Allumette when he comes home,” said -Eva, “and if he thinks it a good plan we could have her over here -whilst your picture was being painted, Cora.” - -“Little Allumette,” said the young barrister when appealed to at -dinner that evening, “why, I should think you could get her, and that -she would think herself in the seventh heaven to come! Oh, yes, I -have asked her about herself sometimes. Her relationships are rather -complicated. Her own father and mother are dead, and she lives with -a stepmother who has married again. I like the little puss! She has -always a smile and a bit of arch fun. Sometimes she brings me a -button-hole when times are good. We are great friends in our way, -little Allumette and I.” - -“Then I will come into town with you to-morrow, Bertram, and see if she -will do for me, and what arrangements I can make.” - -“I’ll come too,” added Madge gaily; “I will give my valuable assistance -in the matter, since it was my idea to start with.” - -Brother and sisters went up to town together the following day, and -sure enough there was little Allumette with her tray of matches at the -accustomed corner, eagerly scanning the faces of the passing crowd, to -see if her gentleman was amongst them. - -Cora was delighted with the little bright, sensitive face, and when the -child caught sight not only of Bertram himself, but of the lady who had -made her that wonderful present, she was at once resolved to get the -little one for her model, and soon Allumette was overwhelmed with shy -delight, because the gentleman and two beautiful ladies had stopped in -front of her. - -“Allumette,” said her friend with a twinkle in his eye, “do you know -how to sit or stand very still?” - -“Please, sir, I think so. I sit still with baby very often.” - -“And what do you get for sitting still with baby?” - -“I don’t get anything, sir, unless baby wakes up, and then I sometimes -get a clout on the head.” - -Cora and Madge both laughed, whilst Bertram went on gravely-- - -“Then do you think that for sixpence an hour and your keep you could -stand very still for this lady to draw? Did you ever see anybody draw -pictures?” - -“Please, sir, they draw them on the blackboard at school; and there’s -a man comes ’long here sometimes that draws them beautifully on the -pavement, all red and blue and yellow. Ah! I could watch him all day, I -could! It’s real beautiful!” - -Bertram looked at his sisters smilingly. - -“Well, I must be getting on; you’d better finish settling the matter. -It’s a long way for her to go backwards and forwards. If you do have -her, I should put her up at the cottage for a week or so, and make -what use you want of her at the time. I don’t suppose she makes much by -her matches; but of course you must pay her people a fair equivalent.” - -He moved off, and then Cora and Madge tried to explain to the -bewildered and blushing Allumette what it was they wanted. - -It was all like part of a wonderful dream to the child. She showed the -ladies the way to her home; she heard them talk to her stepmother, and -vaguely knew that something very strange and wonderful was about to -happen; and then she was rather summarily hustled into the best clothes -she possessed, which was not saying much, and was bidden to run and -ask Mrs. Gregg if she could take her up to Hampstead at once, as the -overworked woman with a large number of children to look after could -not possibly do so. - -Mrs. Gregg came and took the directions from the ladies, and promised -to bring the little girl at once. She was given the railway fare, and -Allumette stood by, dancing from one foot to the other with keenest -excitement. She could not believe that this thing could really be true, -and kept asking Mrs. Gregg if she was sure she knew how to get to the -place, and whether she really thought the ladies meant it. - -“Bless the child, yes! Why should they have taken all that trouble -else?” was the reassuring answer. “I’ve heerd tell before of fine -folks getting others to come and sit for them. They call them models. -It may be a good thing for you, ducky. It’s poor work selling matches -in the street. Perhaps the ladies will find you something better to do -by-and-by.” - -It was all like a dream to Allumette. She had not to be at her -destination till the afternoon; but Mrs. Gregg took her a wonderful -walk upon the Heath first. The child had never seen such a place -before, and although the wind blew cold the sun shone, and the child -held her breath in awe and wonder at the great expanse of sky and the -green sweep of broken ground, the shining water, the budding trees. - -“Will heaven be like this, do you think, Mrs. Gregg?” she asked in a -low voice. - -Allumette was very hazy as to what heaven was, but she had an idea that -it was a very beautiful place where the sun always shone, and she had -never seen anything so beautiful before as the scene upon which her -eyes now rested. - -Later on, with a feeling of great awe, mingled with that of joy, she -stood at the back door of a big house within sheltering walls, holding -very fast to Mrs. Gregg’s hand, and almost disposed to cry and run away -when told that she must leave her friend, and follow the servant into -the house. - -“Don’t be frightened, ducky, they’ll be kind to you,” said Mrs. Gregg, -kissing her; “and I’m to have a cup of tea in the kitchen, they say; so -maybe I’ll see you again before I leave.” - -There was consolation in that thought, and Allumette rallied her -courage. The servant smiled kindly at her as she went on in front, -and although everything seemed to swim before the child’s eyes as she -walked, and she could not see clearly where she was going, she knew -that she was taken down a long passage, and then a door was opened at -the end, a curtain was drawn back, and she heard her guide say-- - -“Here is the little girl, ma’am!” - -Allumette stood just within the threshold of this most wonderful place. -She thought she had got into a fairy palace, and she rubbed her eyes -and gasped in her astonishment. - -It was a great square room with all the windows overhead; and wherever -she looked she saw beautiful things, rich colours, pictures, hangings, -ornaments--things of whose names and uses she had no idea, but the -very sight of which filled her soul with awe and rapture, they were so -wonderful and beautiful. - -“Come, little Allumette; come to the fire!” said a kind voice. “You -shall have a mug of hot tea and a piece of cake here, and we will see -how to dress you up as a little model!” - -It was the lady who spoke--the first lady--Miss Madge, as Allumette -came to call her later on, and she came forward dressed in that lovely -red dress with the soft grey fur upon it, in which the child had first -seen her. And when Allumette had timidly advanced a few steps, and -could see the room better, she saw that the other lady was there too, -standing before an easel which held a picture, whilst upon a sofa near -the fire a third lady lay, who had put down her book, and was now -looking straight at the little girl, with a kind smile in her eyes. - -“So you are little Allumette, are you? My husband has told me about -you. He says you sell very good matches. Come and sit on that little -stool here, and you shall tell me all about yourself. Madge, bring the -mite some tea and cake. I’m sure she looks as though she wanted it!” - -Allumette sat down where she was bidden, and soon a great wedge -of delicious cake was put into her hands. But although she was so -strangely happy in this beautiful place, she was almost too shy and -excited to feel hungry; and as she nibbled at the unwonted dainty, -she answered the questions of the ladies about herself and her life, -gradually losing her fear of them, and beginning to smile and even to -laugh at the funny remarks of Miss Madge, or the questions of young -Mrs. Clayton. - -Meantime the artist studied the face of the little one, and dashed -off a few little pencil sketches with great satisfaction to herself. -Yes, it was just such a face as she wanted--wistful without being sad, -bright and sunny, yet pathetic withal. Eva Clayton had a knack with -children which she was exercising now for Cora’s benefit, and before -half an hour had passed she was fully satisfied that she had got the -right model for her picture. - -It was a wonderful life that began for little Allumette. No more early -rising in the dark and cold to do her household tasks, and lay in her -store of matches for the day. No standing about at street corners in -the cold wind and driving rain; no more hunger and uncertainty of the -day’s earnings; no harsh words and unkind teasing from boys either at -home or in the streets. - -Here everything was beautiful and happy. She lived with a kind couple -who soon treated her almost as if she had been their child, and the -greater part of her day was spent in that wonderful studio, where all -that was asked of her was to stand still in a pretty frock whilst the -tall lady painted her; and Miss Madge generally came in and out or sat -still by the fire with a book, and often amused them by her play with -the dog, or with her merry chatter, or else by teaching Allumette out -of some simple primer. - -“She’s a dear little thing,” Madge said to her brother a day or two -after the commencement of the experiment. “I’ve often wanted an object -for my benevolence, and an object on which to expend my superfluous -energy in the matter of good works. I think I shall take up Allumette -and make her my special charge. You needn’t look so grave, sir! -Wouldn’t it be a very deserving object?” - -“Perhaps; but take care, Madge, take care. You know how often you -have failed from lack of perseverance. Don’t unfit the child for her -old life, or buoy her up with false hopes, only to forget her and -disappoint her later on. It is always a serious matter taking the -destinies of another human being as it were into our hands. Don’t do -anything rash; don’t give the child cause to regret in days to come -that she has ever known us!” - -“Gracious! what a lecture!” cried Madge gaily. “I thought you’d -be pleased at my desiring to do a good work; and, behold, I get a -scolding!” - -[Illustration: Decorative image] - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -WONDERFUL DAYS. - - -The growth of that picture was a source of endless wonder and delight -to little Allumette. Her naïve remarks amused the ladies vastly, and -the child became, perhaps, more of a pet with them all than was quite -advisable, considering the circumstances of the case. - -To live in an atmosphere of warmth and colour; to be spoken to kindly -and gently; to hear and see only pleasant things from morning till -night, all this was a perfect delight to the little one, and she throve -and blossomed out in the genial influence in a way that was wonderful -to watch. - -She was not admitted to the house itself, only to the studio by the -little garden door; and she had that sense of native refinement which -hindered her from taking liberties, or trading upon the kindness of the -ladies. - -To watch them with their books or needlework, to hear Miss Madge sing -and play upon the studio piano, or to sit on a little stool beside -one or the other, learning little lessons which they would teach her, -constituted such pleasure that she never desired anything more; and -even the sitting still for the picture was no trouble to the child. -There was always something pretty to look at, and Miss Madge was often -practising her music, and that always filled the child’s whole soul -with delight. - -Her horizon was widening every day. Madge had discovered that she was -very anxious to be able to read nicely, and thought she could not do -better than devote some of her leisure in teaching her. And she got -big-print fairy stories, which entranced Allumette and lured her along -the path of learning faster than her teacher had dared to hope; and -when left alone in the studio, the child would pore over one of these -charming volumes, till she began to read the letterpress quite easily. -Then young Mrs. Clayton had lessons to give her of a different sort. - -“The poor mite is almost a little heathen,” she had said to her husband -a few days after the experiment of the little model had begun. “She -seems to know nothing of religion, except what she has picked up -from an old cobbler and his wife, who read the Bible in her hearing -sometimes, and tell her a few elementary truths, which she has got -jumbled up in a very odd way. I must try and teach her a little better. -Don’t you think it would be a good plan, Bertram?” - -“Yes, I think that kind of knowledge never comes except as a blessing,” -answered her husband gravely; “but have a care, Eva, and keep an eye -over the sisters, that they do not spoil the poor little thing, making -her life harder to her when she goes back to it. I am not quite sure -that the experiment is not rather a dangerous one to Allumette. She -will be so happy here, and the life of the streets will come so hardly -afterwards!” - -“Perhaps we could think of something better for her afterwards,” said -Eva. - -“Possibly; but those things are more easily said than done. However, we -must see what turns up. Only be careful all of you with the child. Too -much petting and softness will not be really good for her. But teach -her all you can; learning will never come amiss to her wherever her -future lot may be cast.” - -And so Eva Clayton began giving the little waif of the streets simple -Bible lessons every day, in which the child came to apprehend the -mystery of Christ’s redeeming love, and to believe that He loved her -and was taking care of her, and wanted her to be a faithful little -follower of His, that some day she might live with Him in His beautiful -kingdom for ever and ever. - -It was easy for Allumette to believe in this love and care now. She -would look up at Mrs. Clayton with shining eyes and say-- - -“I think it must have been Jesus who sent me here. I shall always love -Him for that.” - -On Sundays she was taken to church by the gardener’s wife, who had made -her a neat little frock and had soon taught her to wear the shoes and -stockings provided by the ladies. Truth to tell, Allumette preferred -running barefoot, as she was used to in the streets, although she had -some old shoes and had put them on to come down here. But the footgear -provided for her was so much more comfortable than what she had been -used to that she soon grew reconciled to it, and she realised that it -would not be at all proper to go about barefoot here. - -She did not understand the services on Sunday, but she loved the sound -of the organ and the glow of light through the painted windows. Her -behaviour was irreproachable, and afterwards Mrs. Clayton would try and -explain to her the meaning of what she had heard and seen, so that the -child had food for much thought and reflection. - -On Sundays too she always saw her “gentleman,” as she always called Mr. -Clayton in her thoughts. He would come into the studio and ask her what -she had been learning in the week, and soon Allumette had a little bit -of poetry or a few verses from the Bible ready to repeat to him. He -generally had some little gift for her in return, and these were the -red-letter days in her calendar above all others. - -The picture was finished in due course; and when the tea-party was -given in the studio, and all the artist’s friends were asked to come -and see it, Allumette was permitted to be present, to hand round cakes -and bread and butter; and people patted her head and asked if she were -a little model, and one lady took a great deal of notice of her, and -presently got Cora into a corner and began eagerly talking to her. - -“If you would only do me some illustrations for the book I am writing, -and use that child as the model for my little heroine, I should -like it so much! I could easily arrange with the editor about the -illustrations; and she has exactly the face I want. Do you think you -could manage it for me, Cora?” - -The girl’s face lighted eagerly. - -“Oh, Mrs. Maberley--I should love it! I have often longed to do -illustrating; and to illustrate one of your books would be delightful! -I will keep the child a few more weeks, and you shall tell me just what -you would like each picture to be. She is a dear little model, and I -shall like keeping her. I have quite a number of studies I have taken -when she has been having lessons from Eva and Madge. I will get my -portfolio and show you.” - -The pencil sketches, dashed off impromptu, delighted Mrs. Maberley. -There was Allumette sitting beside Eva’s couch with her eyes fixed on -the lady’s face in eager attention; Allumette curled up in a corner -with a book, her curls falling over her face; Allumette standing beside -the piano, with a rapt expression of wonder and pleasure. - -“It will be charming!” cried Mrs. Maberley, delighted. “I shall bring -the story to read to you one day, and we will settle on the pictures. -Some of these would almost do as they stand. You have quite a gift for -drawing children, Cora.” - -Allumette heard nothing of all this, which was passing in one corner of -the studio; but she was deeply interested in another little scene going -on elsewhere. She had noticed a little while before that Mr. Clayton, -when he came in to show himself at his sister’s reception, brought -with him two gentlemen (there were not many gentlemen in the room as -compared with the number of the ladies), and the quick eyes of the -child observed that Miss Madge’s face flushed a rosy red at the sight -of them, and that almost at once one of the strangers came over towards -where she stood at the tea-table, and seemed disposed to remain there. - -She had made him useful, handing cups about for a time, after which he -had come back to her side, and they were talking eagerly together. - -Allumette had been dipping deep into fairy lore, and knew all about -what princes and princesses did; and how the prince came and told the -lady that he loved her, and that by-and-by they went off together -and lived happily ever afterwards. Miss Madge had told her that in -a different sort of way people did that still. Indeed Allumette had -watched with the keenest excitement a wedding party from the next -house, in which Miss Madge had played the part of bridesmaid. It had -given Allumette quite a different idea about marriage from any she had -had before, and she had heard the servants talking and saying that they -supposed soon they would lose one of their young ladies, and wondering -whether it would be Miss Cora or Miss Madge who would be first to go. - -Somehow all this came back to the child’s mind as she saw the gentleman -standing beside Miss Madge and talking to her. - -“You know you have promised, Madge,” he said, in a rather louder tone. -“You will not disappoint us?” - -And Madge laughed as she made answer-- - -“Oh, yes, we will be as good as our word; we will pay a visit to -Brooklands by-and-by. We shall all be glad of a change when the hot -weather comes; for Hampstead is after all only a make-believe at -country--and one likes the real thing sometimes.” - -“I hope the country is not all the attraction!” said the young man, -bending an intent look upon Madge’s blushing face. - -“Don’t fish for compliments, sir,” she replied, in her bright, saucy -way. “You won’t get change of that sort out of me!” - -“I don’t want compliments,” said the young man in a very low voice; -“you know very well what I do want, Madge.” - -Later on little Allumette heard from the gardener’s wife who the -gentleman was. - -“His name is Mr. Arthur Brook, and he’s the only son of a baronet, and -they have a beautiful place in the country, where the young ladies -sometimes stay. He and Mr. Clayton were at college together, and have -always been great friends; and we all think that he wants Miss Madge -for his wife. And a bonny one she will make him, if she ever decides -to have him; and I think he is worthy of her, which I wouldn’t say for -many!” - -It was all very interesting to little Allumette, who henceforth -regarded Madge even more as a fairy princess, who would one day be -carried off to live in a grand house or castle of her own. - -Mr. Brook came rather often to the house during the next weeks whilst -Allumette remained to serve as a model for the set of illustrations; -and one day Madge came into the studio half laughing and half crying, -and flinging herself on her knees beside Cora she cried out---- - -“Kiss me, darling, and tell me you don’t mind! I have given Arthur my -promise at last!” - -And then Cora threw down her brush, and the sisters clung rather close -together; for they were deeply attached, and though both had felt that -the separation would come, it seemed rather strange to both when the -thing had finally been settled. - -However, Miss Madge was very happy during the next days, Allumette -thought, though both the sisters were a little preoccupied; and the -drawings were relegated to a secondary place. - -Besides, there was commotion in the house of another sort, for young -Mrs. Clayton was taken ill, and the doctors advised that she should be -taken into the country as soon as possible; and so there was a great -deal of discussion and talk; and by-and-by Allumette heard that the -three ladies were going to stay near Brooklands, which was the home of -Mr. Arthur Brook, who was to marry Miss Madge some time during the year. - -“I must finish my drawings quickly, little Allumette,” said Cora, next -time the child was called in for a sitting, “for I shall be going away -very soon; and we have let the house to some friends, who want it very -much.” - -And then it suddenly came into the child’s mind that this beautiful -holiday was over. She would have to go back to her match-selling in the -streets; and for a time there would not be even her gentleman coming -and going, for Mr. Clayton had been called away on some important -business latterly, and though he had come home for a few days when his -wife was ill, he had gone away again, and might be detained some little -while. - -Great tears gathered slowly in the child’s eyes. She tried to keep -furtively brushing them away, but they would not be altogether hidden, -and when Madge came dancing in she saw them there and guessed their -source. - -“But we won’t forget you, little Allumette,” she said kindly, “I have -thought sometimes about you. I’ve got some plans in my head. Allumette, -have you ever seen the country--the real country, where the fields are -full of buttercups and daisies, and there are woods and birds and cows -and farms?”--and Madge plunged into a description of the sights and -sounds of rural country life, whilst Allumette listened with a rapt -expression that was instantly caught and transferred to paper by the -delighted Cora. - -“Well, Allumette, if you have not seen such things, you shall some day. -I shall look out for a nice farmhouse or cottage, where the woman will -take you in for a few weeks, and some day I shall send for you, and you -shall come down in the train and have a real good holiday, and go on -cultivating those roses in your cheeks which we are teaching to bloom -there now. Will that make up to you for going back to the streets for a -little while?” - -The child’s face was answer enough. With such a prospect in view she -dreaded nothing, could bear with courage and equanimity the life of -the dusty streets. So through the last days she kept a brave face, and -when she saw the beautiful picture-books and the clothes she had had -given her made up into a parcel for her to take home, it seemed like an -earnest of those joys that were to come. - -Tears swam in her eyes as she said good-bye, and was led away by the -gardener’s wife who was to take her back; but she held them bravely in -check, saying to herself-- - -“I shall see them again, I shall see them again. Miss Madge said she -would not forget.” - -[Illustration: Decorative image] - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -AT BROOKLANDS. - - -“And you like your future home, my dear one? You think you can be happy -here?” - -“Oh, Arthur! it is beautiful, beautiful! I think I never knew before -quite how exquisite everything was! I am only afraid of being too -happy!” - -“That is an ailment we do not often suffer from in this world, Madge,” -he answered smilingly; “but I intend my wife to be the happiest woman -in the country. She shall not know an ungratified wish if I can help -it.” - -“What a selfish creature she will become!” cried Madge with a soft -laugh, and an arch upward glance into her lover’s face; “I wonder how -soon you will grow tired of your bargain!” - -“Try me,” he replied, taking her two hands in his; “I am ready to be -put to the proof as quickly as you will.” - -The colour flooded her face, for she knew that he meant he wanted her -as soon as she could be persuaded to come to him, and so far she had -not actually fixed the date of the wedding, although she had said it -should be “soon.” - -She had been a month in the neighbourhood of Brooklands now, and -Eva Clayton was much better, and was to be taken by Cora to the sea -to complete her restoration. Madge had intended to be one of the -party, but Lady Brook had persuaded her to come and be her guest at -the fine old baronial hall, as she was anxious to make more intimate -acquaintance with the betrothed wife of her idolised son. She had known -Madge for several years, but not very intimately. Now she was anxious -to become the friend and mother of the bright, loving girl. She did not -grudge the love her son lavished upon the woman of his choice; she only -desired that Madge should learn to love her too, and be willing to be a -daughter to her and her husband. - -Madge was a warm-hearted girl, and was ready to love and be loved. She -had consented to the proposed arrangement, after a little hesitation -about leaving Cora before the time. But Cora said it would be right for -her to accept the invitation, and had said that she must learn to do -without her sister’s constant presence, and the matter was now settled -to Arthur’s satisfaction. - -“We shall have so much to think of and to plan,” continued Arthur, -“for you know what they have set their hearts upon--my father and -mother? That we shall live at Brooklands, using the great west wing as -our very own, having our own servants and establishment, but being all -under one roof. My mother spoke of it to you, did she not, Madge? You -will not think that a difficult arrangement?” - -“Oh, no,” answered the girl eagerly; “I think Brooklands is charming, -and the west wing has lovely rooms, and I have never cared for being -shut up alone. People said that when Bertram was married Cora and I -would find it so difficult to go on living with him, but we never did. -If your father and mother will let me, I want to be a daughter to them; -and your mother will tell me how to do everything, for I never lived in -a grand house before, and I don’t know the ways of country people,” and -Madge made a little whimsical grimace. - -“My Madge’s ways will be good enough for me,” answered Arthur with a -smile, as he took her willing hands in his; “only tell me how soon you -will come to me, Madge. I don’t want to wait long. What have we to wait -for?” - -“There is the trousseau,” said Madge, blushing and laughing; but her -lover swept away all such trivial objections with masculine logic. -In the end Madge promised that early in September she would come to -him for good and all. As May was now well advanced, and another week -would see June upon them, the young man could not complain that she was -keeping him over long. - -But the idea that the thing was definitely settled turned Madge’s mood -into something graver. The lovers were walking through a shady woodland -glade, carpeted with wild flowers, and full of sweet sounds and scents. -Madge suddenly paused and exclaimed-- - -“But we must not be selfish, Arthur, we must not be selfish! We must -try and do some good in the world. If we are happy ourselves, we must -make other people happy too.” - -“With all my heart,” he answered gaily: “you shall be as philanthropic -as you like, Madge, and I will learn of you.” - -“I wonder what we could do,” mused Madge, looking round her. “Arthur, -shall we be rich?” - -“Well, sweetheart, that depends upon what you call riches. We shall not -be millionaires, but I have an income sufficient for all our needs, and -a margin over. I suppose that will do?” - -“Oh, yes; I am not thinking about ourselves. Arthur, you know I have -a little money myself. I have three hundred a year of my own. Do you -think we shall want that when we are living at Brooklands?” - -He smiled an amused, indulgent smile. - -“I think we can do without it. Do you want to keep your private -fortune to yourself? You know married women have no property. I shall -be able to despoil you of your fortune, unless you tie it up very -tightly!” - -“Don’t tease, Arthur,” she answered; “do be serious, for I am really -in earnest. I don’t want the money for myself. I would rather take -everything from you. But I want to do some good with it. I should like -to use it for some special purpose.” - -“What sort of purpose, dearest?” - -“Oh, I don’t know. I must think. I want to make people happy. Some have -such sad lives always. It hardly seems fair. Oh, I know what I should -like best!--to take a dear little cottage, and have a nice woman there -to look after things, and to bring poor children down from London for -a month at a time, to give them a real holiday and outing. Oh, yes, -that would be lovely! and little Allumette should be the first. Do you -remember that pretty little model Cora had for her picture? She was a -dear little thing, and I told her she should come into the country one -day. I would have her for the first of the children. Don’t you think it -would be a delightful plan?” - -“It might; but some of those delightful plans sound better than they -work out. No, no, don’t look so crestfallen, my Madge; I am not -throwing cold water. On the contrary, I will help you all I can. -And, by-the-by, not far from here is a very pleasant and roomy old -farmhouse, which is going to be empty at Michaelmas. It is only a small -one for a farm, but it might serve your purpose, and I daresay you -could coax my father to let you have it rent free. He wants to take the -land and throw it into the home farm which it adjoins, as small farms -don’t pay now, and the tenant is giving up. The house might do very -well for some purpose of that sort. Would you like to go and see it?” - -Madge was eager to do so, and was delighted with the place when she -got there. It was a small farmstead, picturesque and overgrown with -creepers, with a tumble-down old barn that would make an ideal playroom -for children on wet days, and a tangled orchard full of gnarled old -apple trees just going out of bloom, a duck pond, a nut walk, and -fields and copses all round. - -The house was quaint and fairly roomy, and Madge was enchanted with the -flagged kitchen, the dormer windows, and the little odd stairs up and -down at every turn. - -“Oh, Arthur!--it would be a sweet place for them to come to--poor -little darlings! I should like to see little Allumette’s face when she -was set down at the gate. Michaelmas, did you say? That will be after -we are married, and if I had arranged about a woman, we could have a -few little things down in October, could we not? The nuts would be -ripe then, and you know how lovely the trees are through October. And -on wet days there would be the old barn. It would be delightful, would -it not, Arthur? And for little children from London no doing up of the -house would be needed. It would be better not too spick and span. Just -a few beds and chairs and tables. Oh, I could see to everything like -that, and tell little Allumette that she should be the first visitor. -Perhaps I would let her introduce me to some friends of hers, and bring -them all down together.” - -Madge was so full of delight with her new scheme that she could talk of -nothing else all the evening with Eva and Cora. - -They were both quite pleased and interested in the plan. - -“But I thought you half promised little Allumette a country holiday -this summer,” said Cora. “Won’t she get rather tired of waiting if you -put it off till the autumn?” - -“Oh, but this will be worth waiting for; and I haven’t had time to -think about the other. I did speak to one or two women in the cottages, -but they had children of their own, and didn’t seem to like the idea -of a strange London child. One can’t wonder at it. People fancy London -children bring dirt and disease and other unpleasantnesses. It will be -far better to work it oneself on a regular footing.” - -“Yes, in some ways it will be better. I was only thinking that the -child might be disappointed.” - -“Ah, well, she shall have it made up to her if she is; and she had a -nice long happy time at Hampstead which seemed to her quite like a -country holiday. I didn’t forget her, but things aren’t just as easy to -arrange as one thinks they will be. Besides, I shouldn’t have time here -to look after her as I should like. Arthur wants so much of me, and he -might not quite care for me to be running off to see little Allumette -in a cottage. Men don’t understand that sort of thing!” - -So Madge dismissed the thought of any immediate summons of the little -match-seller, and busied herself with eager plans as to the management -of her little institution when it should be organised. Sir John and -Lady Brook were quite ready to interest themselves in it. The house -was to be given rent free for the purpose, and Lady Brook said that -she should pay the salary of a capable matron. Madge’s little fortune -could go to the working of the scheme, paying the fares to and fro, and -the keep of the little inmates. The girl made numerous calculations, -and amused her lover not a little by the results thereof at different -times. But in spite of blunders, Madge had plenty of shrewdness, and -Lady Brook was pleased to note her interest in domestic details, as -well as her desire after a sphere of usefulness. - -“You are quite right, my dear, to resolve not to live too much for -yourself alone, or even for that joint life which you will lead with -Arthur. We are not put here in the world just to pass our lives as -pleasantly as we can. We shall have one day to give an account, and it -often seems to me that to us, to whom God’s gifts have been lavishly -furnished, He will look to give a good account of the use we have made -of them.” - -Madge’s face was full of eager assent. - -“That is just how I feel about it. I have had such a happy life! Except -the death of our parents, Cora and I have had no troubles, and we lost -our father before we were either of us old enough to feel it very -keenly. I think I should not really enjoy my happiness if I could not -do things for other people. At home I often felt that I wanted to do -more, but I seemed to have no work there. I did try one or two things, -but somehow they did not succeed. I daresay it was my fault, but I -do like the idea of a thing like this. It will be always there, and -even if I have not quite as much time myself as I should like, it will -always be going on.” - -Madge had plenty to think of just now besides her scheme of -benevolence. She had innumerable preparations to make for her coming -marriage, involving a great deal of correspondence with dressmaker and -milliner, the selection and discussion of patterns, and a great deal -of correspondence with private friends, whose congratulations still -continued to arrive, and whose presents began to follow. - -Cora and Eva betook themselves off to the sea, but Madge remained at -Brooklands week after week. The house at Hampstead was let, the tenant -wanted to keep it on. Bertram was well off, in comfortable rooms, -running down each week to spend Sunday with his wife. London was said -to be unbearably hot and stuffy, and none too healthy this season. The -Brooks urged Madge to stay on with them, and she was nothing loth. It -was most interesting to see how her new home was being transmogrified -to receive her. It seemed to her that she had only to express a wish to -see it instantly gratified. Again and again she had to remonstrate with -Arthur for “spoiling her so dreadfully.” But it was a very delightful -experience and she was as happy as the day was long. - -Her brother wrote to her from time to time, sometimes on business -matters, sometimes just a little brotherly note. There was a letter -from him one morning which contained a sentence which puzzled Madge a -good deal. - -“I am glad you have remembered your promise to little Allumette at -last. The poor little child has been looking very white and thin of -late, but the country air will pull her up again. How happy she will be -when she sees all the beautiful things about her. I have been sometimes -afraid that those weeks at Hampstead rather unfitted her for the -sharper battle of life she has to fight at home.” - -“What can he mean?” said Madge, half aloud. And when she read the -passage in the letter aloud, Lady Brook said-- - -“I suppose somebody else has given the child an outing, and your -brother thinks it is you.” - -“Oh, I suppose that is it,” answered Madge; “but I will ask Bertram -when I write.” - -Nevertheless, the letter was never written. For a moment Madge’s -conscience had been uneasy, but the press of things crowding into her -life quickly drove all thoughts of little Allumette out of it. - -[Illustration: Decorative image] - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -DARK DAYS. - - -“Why, little Allumette! Where have all your roses gone? I thought you -had learnt to grow them in Hampstead! What have you done with them now?” - -The child’s face had been pinched and wan the moment before, but at the -sound of that well-remembered voice the blood came rushing back, and -the light sprang into the wistful eyes. - -“Oh, sir, you have come back!” she exclaimed, as though the sunshine -itself had returned with him. - -“Yes, I have come back. Did you think I had gone for good? I shall be -going away again by-and-by; but I am here for a few weeks. What have -you been doing with yourself since I saw you last? Sitting for any more -pictures?” - -“No, sir, I’ve only been selling matches.” - -“Which do you like best?” - -Bertram was almost sorry he had put the question, for sudden tears -sprang to the child’s eyes, and he saw that she could not reply. Some -chord of memory had been struck. Plainly she could not think of those -happy days at Hampstead without suffering the pangs of longing and -regret. - -“There, there,” he said kindly, “perhaps there will be some more -sitting for pictures to do by-and-by, but the ladies are in the country -still. We are not living at Hampstead just now.” - -“No, sir, I know. And are the ladies quite well?” - -“Yes, quite. I hear from them often. They are in a very pretty place.” - -The child’s face lighted and beamed all over. - -“Yes, sir, Miss Madge told me so, and I am going there soon!” - -“Are you? That is right! You look as if you would be the better for a -holiday.” - -“I didn’t ought to want it; I had such a beautiful one up at your -house. But the streets do get so hot, and I just think and think and -think about what Miss Madge told me of the place I was to go to. Mother -says I’m a lucky girl, and I think I am too! I can think about it all -day, and then when it’s night I often dream about it too. I wonder if -it’ll be like the dreams when it comes? They’re so beautiful, they are!” - -“Miss Madge will keep her promise--you needn’t be afraid!” said -Bertram, as he put a shilling into the child’s hand and passed on. -He was very busy just then, but he found time to feel a real sense of -pleasure that his sister should remember their little protégée, and -arrange a country outing for her. He had been a little afraid that -the experiment of transplanting her for a time had not been entirely -successful. And the child’s appearance when first he saw her had been a -shock to him, she had looked so frail and white. - -“But I will tell Madge to keep her for a really good outing when she -does get her,” he said to himself as he went on his way. “The child -looks as though she needed it. She is not of the stuff of the average -street waif. I will bear the expense of some extra weeks. Perhaps when -Madge settles at Brooklands she might find a nook for the little one -somewhere.” - -Bertram was exceedingly busy just at this juncture, having been away on -professional business for some time, and having his own holiday in view -not far ahead. Moreover, his daily road did not now lead by Allumette’s -corner, and he only saw her by chance once or twice during the week -that followed. - -Each time he thought she looked more white and wan than the last, and -it was with real relief he observed one day that she was missing from -her corner at the very hour she was always there to look out for him -coming from the Law Courts. - -“Ah, then Madge has got her!” he thought with a sense of satisfaction. -“She is revelling in the joys of the country. I should like to see -her little face light up as she gets out of the smoke of town. I will -take care that she does not come back too soon. I will run down to -Brooklands one of these days, when I can make time, and see Madge and -the Brooks and little Allumette.” - -Yet at the very time when Bertram was picturing the child happy in the -midst of wild flowers, scented hay, and the glories of summertide in -the country, and Madge was busy with her preparations for receiving her -later on when the woods should be scarlet and the nuts hanging ripe -from the bough, little Allumette was sitting, languid and suffering, -pent up in a close and reeking attic with three sick children, all -prostrated by a sort of low fever which had broken out in the locality, -and which was carrying off little victims by the dozen. - -It was not a regularly infectious fever, and it was practically -impossible to isolate or remove the sick. Many children recovered after -a few days’ prostration, and seemed little the worse, but some died, -and others lay helpless and weak for a considerable time, and though -the overworked doctor did his best to cope with it, he was able to do -but little except offer a few hints as to feeding and treatment, which -too often could not be carried out. - -The children in Allumette’s home had sickened rather early. One little -boy had died, whilst the rest were struggling back to convalescence, -their recovery greatly retarded by the heat of the attic, and the bad -air they constantly breathed. - -Allumette had gone to her match-selling as usual for some considerable -time. It was a relief to get out of the unwholesome place, and even the -hot streets seemed almost fresh by comparison. - -Yet never had the life of the streets seemed so hard or so uncongenial -to little Allumette as they did upon her return from the gardener’s -cottage at Hampstead. - -She shrank from the rough words and rough ways of the boys and girls -plying a like calling with herself as she had never shrunk from it -before. They jeered at her, too, in her neater clothes, and made game -of her when she spoke of what she had been doing in her absence. Her -gentleman was not in London, and the days seemed so long and dreary. -She could not eat the coarse food with the old relish, and the -uncleanly odours of the court and of the attics where she lived, which -before she had taken as a matter of course, now turned her sick. - -She still snatched a few happy minutes when she could go and pay a -visit to the old cobbler and his wife. Here she was doubly happy in -being away from all that was foul and disagreeable, and in being able -to talk freely to the old people of all the joys of those wonderful -weeks in the studio. - -She was never tired of telling, and they were never tired of hearing -about them; and Allumette had left in their charge the picture-books -Miss Madge had given her, and the Bible which had been young Mrs. -Clayton’s parting gift. Allumette shared with her old friends all the -knowledge she had come by during her stay in that wonderful house, and -it comforted her to talk of Jesus and His love, and to try and believe -that He saw and cared for her, just as much as He had done when she -had been so happy and cared for. Moreover, old Gregg and his wife were -always cheering her up by telling her that very soon she would be sent -for into the country for a beautiful holiday. - -“It’s not till the middle of July as folks begins to think much about -holidays for children,” they would say. “August is the real month for -it, but it begins before that sometimes. The young lady won’t forget, -don’t you be afraid, little one. You’ll get a letter or a message one -of these days, and then you’ll have fine times!” - -So Allumette lived on in hope, and in spite of increasing languor and -weakness kept a brave heart, and never forgot morning and night to -say the little prayer taught her by Mrs. Clayton, always adding, “and -please let Miss Madge remember about me!” - -The sight of her gentleman’s face in the streets again had come like a -ray of sunlight, and his kindness had warmed her heart. She thought, -perhaps, he would say something to Miss Madge to remind her if she had -forgotten. But Allumette did not believe Miss Madge would forget, only -she did hope she would remember soon, for every day life seemed harder -and work more burdensome, and at last she hardly knew how to drag her -weary limbs over the hot pavements to her accustomed corner. - -Then came the day when she dropped down in a giddy fit, just as she -was going out as usual, and her stepmother said with a sort of kindly -impatience-- - -“There, child, just you stop at home and mind the little ones. You’re -not fit for the streets. You’ve got a touch of the fever yourself. I’ve -got a day’s charing, and I’ll be glad to leave you at home with the -children. Keep them as quiet as you can, and I’ll ask Mrs. Gregg to -look in upon you whilst I’m away. I daresay she’ll cheer you up a bit.” - -For tears of weakness and depression were running down little -Allumette’s face. It had come into her mind that if she really had the -fever the summons to the country would arrive too late. They would -not let a sick child go lest she should do harm to the others. She -had been fighting and fighting against the fear that she too was -sickening--fighting against it for a whole long week. Now she could -not fight any longer, and whilst Bertram Clayton was picturing her -revelling in the delights of rural life she lay upon the wretched bed -with the other sick children, parched with thirst, wasted by fever, -talking in low, soft tones of happy days which seemed present to her -again in a dream, but by no means always conscious of her surroundings, -or certain who was with her. - -At the beginning of August the tenant of the Hampstead house gave -it up, and the Claytons came back to make preparations for Madge’s -wedding, which was now little more than a month distant. - -Blooming and radiant was Madge after her happy time at her future -home, Eva was almost strong again from her visit to foreign baths, -and Bertram and Cora looked quite brown after their climbs amid the -surrounding hills. - -They had so much to say that first evening that it was only just last -thing before they parted at night that Bertram suddenly exclaimed-- - -“Ah, by-the-by! did you get my letter, about little Allumette? I can’t -remember when or how I posted it; but I daresay it reached you all -right.” - -“What letter?” asked Madge, and seemed about to say more, only he spoke -again quickly-- - -“Oh, the one telling you to keep her longer--to let her have August -too down there. But I daresay you would not want prompting about that.” - -“I don’t know what you mean,” said Madge. “I never got that letter at -all. The only time you mentioned Allumette to me was once when you said -you were glad she had got away into the country. I meant to ask you who -had taken her. I am going to have her down to my new home (I’ll tell -you all about that some other time) as soon as it’s ready, but that -won’t be before October. But we’ll make up to her for the waiting when -we get her.” - -Bertram looked a little puzzled. - -“I thought she had gone to you when she disappeared. She told me you -had promised, and I said that if you had promised you would not forget, -and a day or two afterwards she disappeared from her corner. I made -sure you had sent for her, and that is what I meant in my letter.” - -Madge’s face was rather hot. This was not the first time in her -life that Bertram had had occasion to show her how she had let fall -the chance of doing some small kindness through her eagerness to do -something bigger by-and-by. - -“Did you promise the poor child a country holiday, Madge?” asked Eva -half-reproachfully. “I wish I had known. I would have taken care that -she was not disappointed.” - -“It wasn’t exactly a promise--at least I don’t think so, Cora, was it? -I said something, I know, and I meant to be better than my word, only -it wasn’t convenient just then, and I thought this would be so much -better.” - -Madge’s face was glowing, and her heart was beating rather fast. She -felt as though whilst planning an act of rather munificent charity -(which after all would cost her no self-denial) she had shirked the -little present trouble of seeking an asylum for one little waif, half -afraid that Arthur would think her absurd over the child, and that -the cottagers might not like it. She knew it was little half-formed -thoughts like these which had hindered her, and she felt a qualm of -shame and self-contempt. - -“I did not hear exactly,” answered Cora. “I was drawing at the time, -but I certainly thought you had spoken of the summer, and I was -surprised when you put it off till October.” - -“And you might have written and told her,” said Bertram. “It would -have cheered her to know herself remembered, and she would have had -a definite hope to look forward to, instead of suffering the pain of -feeling herself forgotten.” - -“I was so busy, and I didn’t know how to write to a street child, and I -had forgotten the address,” said Madge. “Oh, don’t all scold me! I have -been very selfish. But I hope somebody else has taken her away, and -to-morrow I’ll go and see about it!” - -“Do,” said Bertram rather gravely, “for I begin to be afraid that -instead of a country holiday it is illness which is keeping the child -from her post. She was looking very white and thin when I saw her last. -You know what the saying is about hope deferred, and it is especially -hard for children.” - -“Oh, I will go to-morrow! I will go to-morrow!” cried Madge, springing -up. “I will make up to her for everything that has gone before!” - -[Illustration: Decorative image] - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -CONCLUSION. - - -“I shall go with you, Madge,” said Bertram; “I do not like your -visiting such places alone. My work is quite slack now, since the -vacation has commenced. It matters little enough whether I appear at -chambers or not.” - -So brother and sister went into town together, and soon found the -steamy, airless court which was the home of little Allumette. Madge -gave a little shudder as she passed into it. - -“Oh, Bertram,” she exclaimed suddenly, “I shall never forgive myself if -harm has come to her from my neglect! I had been here before. I ought -to have remembered what it would be like after taking her out of it for -so many weeks.” - -“It made her very happy; but perhaps it was a mistake. It is difficult -to judge in some cases. One of the lessons we have to learn in life is -that there is an element of danger in intermeddling too much with the -lives of others, unless we can do something permanent and substantial. -We must not rush into responsibilities which are not given us to bear -without due thought and consideration; but then we must not, on the -other hand, hold back from any effort, lest we should not be quite -successful.” - -“I rushed my attempt at benevolence!” cried Madge. “When Allumette was -with us I was always teaching her and making much of her, and I was -quick to promise another holiday, without thinking whether I could be -as good as my word. And when I was down there so busy and happy I let -it go out of my mind, and could not take any trouble over it. I always -put it off till I could carry out my big scheme. Oh, Bertram, I feel as -though I were not worthy to attempt anything!” - -“Cheer up, Madge! though perhaps that is a better frame of mind than -to feel able to attempt anything and everything. There is a worthy old -soul signalling to you over there. She seems to know you.” - -“It is Mrs. Gregg!” cried Madge eagerly; “she will tell us about little -Allumette!” - -“Oh, thank God you have come, missie!” cried the woman, hastening up. -“I was just saying to Gregg that I would go off to try to find you. -Though he did say as fine folks was never at home this time of year. -The poor lamb keeps calling and calling for Miss Madge, till it’s -pitiful to hear. It don’t seem as though she could go quiet till she’s -seen you again!” - -“Do you mean little Allumette?” cried Madge breathlessly. “Is she ill?” - -“I’m afeard she’s dying, miss. She’s had the fever on her a long while -now, but she wouldn’t give way. She kept saying as Miss Madge was -a-goin’ to send for her into the country, and she fought and fought -against it, till she could fight no more. If she could only ha’ bin got -away a week or two earlier--ah! that would ha’ made all the difference. -But maybe the Lord knows best. ’Tis a hard world we live in. The tender -lambs are best in His keeping maybe!” - -Madge felt as though a cold hand were clutching at her heart. - -“Can I see the child?” she asked in a low voice. - -“Yes, miss, for sure; the fever ain’t one of the catching kind--not to -folks as don’t live down about here. The children get it, but grown-up -folks take no harm from them. There’s abin a many little one die down -here this summer, and the poor lambie up there will be the next!” - -They went into that wretched attic, and stood beside the child’s bed. -She was the only sick one there now, the other children having either -died or recovered. - -Madge felt the hot tears rising in her eyes as she saw the white, -wasted face, and saw the restless, fever-stricken tossings of the -child she had always seen before with a laugh in her eyes and a bright -responsive smile upon her lips. She would have spoken her name as -she bent over her, but no voice came. The dim eyes were roving round -and round in the listlessness of fever. Words began to form upon the -parched lips. - -“Please, dear Lord Jesus, let Miss Madge remember! Please let her -remember. I do try to be patient; but I am so tired! If I could go -where she said I should be able to rest. Please help her to remember!” - -“Allumette! Allumette!” cried Madge, with a note of almost passionate -entreaty in her voice. “Little Allumette, don’t you know me?” - -The voice seemed to penetrate the child’s dimmed understanding. -Something like the shadow of the old smile crept over the pinched face; -the little transparent hands made a groping movement as though trying -to stretch themselves out. - -“Miss Madge! Miss Madge!” she gasped feebly. “Miss Madge has come! -Oh, Mrs. Gregg, are you there? You see you were right. You said Jesus -always heard, and that He would answer by-and-by!” - -She spoke the words in feeble gasps, trying to raise herself up; but -the excitement and exertion were too much, and she fell back in a -state of unconsciousness. - -“Ah, poor lamb! she’s going! But she’s got her wish. She is happy now!” -breathed Mrs. Gregg, drawing Madge away from the bedside. The girl -turned to her brother, and caught his arm almost fiercely. - -“Bertram, we must save her! we must save her!” she cried. “Don’t tell -me she is dying! I won’t--I can’t believe it!” - -“Not actually dying, I think,” he answered gravely, “but in a very -critical condition. If she remains here she will certainly die. We must -bestir ourselves if we are to save her.” - -“Oh, tell me what to do! What can be done? Bertram, you will help me! -You will not let me have this burden to carry about with me!” - -She was growing painfully excited. He led her away, promising Mrs. -Gregg that they would make speedy arrangements for the removal of the -little patient to some better place, and asking the good woman to have -her ready for the bearers when they should come. - -“You must not give way, Madge,” he said, when they were in the street. -“It has been rather a sad experience for you; but we will still hope -for a happy ending. I trust and hope we may save this little life, and -make it a happier one in the future. But think of the thousands of -children who are growing up in dens like that! It almost crushes the -life out of one to think of it!” - -“I won’t think of it!” cried Madge, clenching her teeth to choke back -the wave of emotion which threatened to overcome her. “I will think of -the individual little ones whom I shall be able to help and cheer and -make happy for a little while in their small lives. I must be careful, -I see. I must not unfit them for the battle of life. I must not promise -or attempt more than I can perform, or make pets and playthings of -the little ones. All their surroundings must be plain and homely. But -they shall have their fill of fresh air and sunshine and liberty. Oh, -Bertram, my heart bleeds for them! You will not think that I ought to -give up my scheme because I have been so foolish once. I have had such -a lesson. And there I shall have wiser heads to counsel me.” - -“I would never give up anything planned for the help and benefit of -our suffering brethren--least of all of suffering children,” answered -Bertram gravely, “and I think you are building on a better foundation -now, Madge! The less we trust in ourselves, the more we ask help where -it is to be found, the firmer our building will be, and more abiding -will be the results.” - -Madge nipped her brother’s arm fast. She understood much that was -implied in that speech. He was not a man to speak readily of his -deeper feelings; but Madge knew that they were there, and that they -had been deeply stirred to-day. - -“Now for some hospital where they will take the child,” he said in a -different tone after a long silence. “I think I know one place where -they will take a case in which I am specially interested, and make a -nook for the little one somewhere, whether they are full or not.” - - * * * * * - -“St. Luke’s summer, my lamb! Just the day for Miss Madge to come home! -But we mustn’t call her Miss Madge any longer. We must learn to say -Mrs. Brook; and one day it will be Lady Brook, when the old gentleman -is gone; but he’s wonderful hale and hearty still!” - -Mrs. Gregg was bustling about the cheerful kitchen of the old-fashioned -farmhouse, of which mention has been made before, and Allumette was -sitting curled up on an antique oak settle in the ingle-nook, with -a book open beside her. She was still a little white, frail bit of -humanity--“a bag of bones,” Mrs. Gregg had called her when first -she appeared at the farm, just after her own installation there as -caretaker of the infant experiment. She had picked up a little flesh -since then, but was still very weak and wan; only the light was coming -back into the wistful eyes, and the lips were ready to smile with pure -happiness and joy of life. - -Life had indeed become a very wonderful thing for little Allumette -since her awakening to the consciousness of her surroundings in the -cheerful hospital ward. Everything since then had been so beautiful--so -wonderful! Nothing but kindness had been her portion; and to crown all -had come Miss Madge’s visits, upon the last of which she had heard that -the cobbler and his wife--her best friends--had been sent down to live -in a farmhouse close to the lady’s future home, and that Allumette -herself was to go there as soon as she was well enough to leave the -hospital, to live in the country always with her old friends, and -by-and-by to be trained for service in Miss Madge’s own house, with the -prospect of becoming her little maid in the future. - -Miss Madge had told her all this just before she was to be married; -and since then the child had not seen her. For, when she reached this -delightful place, Mr. and Mrs. Brook were away upon their wedding trip, -and only to-day were they to return. - -“Hark to the bells!” cried Mrs. Gregg suddenly. “That means that the -carriage is in sight of the village. Run, ducky! It will pass the place -I showed you this morning. Take your posy and run and see them go by!” - -A huge and very tasteful arrangement in brightly-tinted autumn leaves -and flowers, tied with a white riband, lay upon the table. Little -Allumette started up, tied on her hat, seized her bouquet, and started -off like an arrow from a bow. She was strong enough to run a short -distance now, and she knew just where the carriage would pass. - -“They be a-coomin’, ducky!” cried the old cobbler, who was now working -busily in the garden, rejoicing in the sort of toil to which he had -been brought up, and which seemed to infuse new vigour into his bent -frame. He and his wife both appeared to have taken a new lease of -life since coming down into the country. It had been one of their -unfulfilled dreams to save enough to leave the cruel city and make -a little home in some quiet country place such as both remembered -in their youth. But they had long given up hoping for it, when the -unexpected offer from Miss Madge brought about its realisation. - -The child ran swiftly down the sloping meadow to the stile at the end. -The road ran along just below, and from that vantage ground she would -see the carriage pass, and be able to throw her posy into Miss Madge’s -lap. She could not yet think of her as anything but Miss Madge, though -she practised the new name conscientiously with Mrs. Gregg. - -But hardly had she reached the stile before she uttered a little -exclamation of rapture, for there was a tall familiar figure standing -beside it, his face turned away, watching for the arrival of the -carriage. - -At the sound of the pattering feet he turned and smiled. - -“Little Allumette!” he exclaimed; and, lifting her up, he set her upon -the stile, where she could see everything to the greatest advantage. - -“Oh, sir!” she exclaimed in a sort of ecstacy; and he laughed as he -said-- - -“I had to come down on business. I was in the down train, and walked -up. I thought I should get to Brooklands before the bridal party -arrived. But I heard the bells begin, and decided to let them pass me. -So you are down here for good, are you, little Allumette? But we shall -have to find a new name for you now. Matches don’t belong to you any -longer.” - -“No, sir,” she answered shyly; “but I shall always like the name you -gave me better than any other!” - -The roll of the carriage wheels began to be heard. - -“They are coming!” said Bertram Clayton, and stood the child up on the -broad ledge of the stile, holding her with one strong arm. Two or three -mounted tenants trotted past on horseback, and then the carriage dashed -into sight round the bend. - -Allumette was quivering all over with excitement and a sort of vague -fear lest Mrs. Brook might not be quite the same person as Miss Madge -had been; but when she saw the smiling face in the carriage all fear -left her, and, holding up her posy, she waved it in the air and threw -it deftly into the lady’s lap. - -But Madge had already seen the pair, and was signalling to the coachman -to stop. - -“Bertram, this is too delightful! Get into the carriage, and tell me -all the news at home!” - -But though she spoke first to her brother her eyes were on the child -too, and when he led her up to the carriage she held out her hands, and -bending down, kissed the little quivering upturned face. - -“Little Allumette!” she said softly, and there was a sparkle of tears -of thankfulness in her eyes. - -The carriage drove off; the child stood looking after it. Happiness was -written on every line of her face. Her lady had seen her, had spoken to -her, had kissed her. It was more than enough for little Allumette. - - - THE END. - - - - -Transcriber’s Notes - -Page 16: “resignation to His Holy Will” changed to “resignation to His -Holy Will.” - -Page 102: “end of the story, Winnie!” changed to “end of the story, -Winnie?” - -Page 111: “as that, Winnie?” changed to “as that, Winnie.” - -Page 175: “when she could to go” changed to “when she could go” - -Page 183: “be as good as my word” changed to “be as good as my word.” - -The original has several pages of text that are skipped in the page -numbering. 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You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online -at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: Our Winnie and The Little Match Girl</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Evelyn Everett-Green</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: February 15, 2022 [eBook #67410]</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</p> - <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left'>Produced by: MWS and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)</p> -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK OUR WINNIE AND THE LITTLE MATCH GIRL ***</div> - - - - - -<p class="center p0 p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img000"> - <img src="images/000.jpg" class="w50" alt="The child watched them with an increasing sense of fascination" /> -</span></p> -<p class="center p0 caption">The child watched them with an increasing sense of fascination, for -she knew that it would not be very long before she lost her friends, -who would fly far, far away.—<em><a href="#Page_8">Page 8</a>.</em><br /></p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -</div> -<h1> Our Winnie<br /> -<small>and</small><br /> -The Little Match-Girl</h1> - -<p class="center p0 p2">BY</p> - -<p class="center p0"><big>EVELYN EVERETT-GREEN</big></p> - -<p class="center p0"><small>AUTHOR OF<br /> - ‘THE MASTER OF FERNHURST,’ ‘IN CLOISTER AND COURT,’ ‘IN SHADOWLAND,’<br /> - ‘ODEYNE’S MARRIAGE,’ ETC.</small></p> - -<p class="center p2 p0"><big>John F. Shaw & Co., Ltd.,</big></p> - -<p class="center p0"> <em><small>Publishers</small></em>,</p> - -<p class="center p0"> 3, Pilgrim Street, London, E.C. -</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CONTENTS">CONTENTS.</h2> -</div> - -<hr class="r5" /> - -<table class="autotable"> -<tr> -<th colspan="2" class="tdl"> -CHAP. -</th> -<th class="tdr"> -PAGE -</th> -</tr> -<tr> -<td> -<a href="#CHAPTER_I">I.</a> -</td> -<td> -WATCHING THE SWALLOWS -</td> -<td class="tdr"> -<a href="#Page_7">7</a> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td> -<a href="#CHAPTER_II">II.</a> -</td> -<td> -WINIFRED’S TROUBLE -</td> -<td class="tdr"> -<a href="#Page_18">18</a> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td> -<a href="#CHAPTER_III">III.</a> -</td> -<td> -A STRANGE JOURNEY -</td> -<td class="tdr"> -<a href="#Page_31">31</a> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td> -<a href="#CHAPTER_IV">IV.</a> -</td> -<td> -THE FIRST ATTEMPT -</td> -<td class="tdr"> -<a href="#Page_50">50</a> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td> -<a href="#CHAPTER_V">V.</a> -</td> -<td> -LITTLE PHIL -</td> -<td class="tdr"> -<a href="#Page_61">61</a> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td> -<a href="#CHAPTER_VI">VI.</a> -</td> -<td> -WINIFRED’S BROTHERS -</td> -<td class="tdr"> -<a href="#Page_72">72</a> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td> -<a href="#CHAPTER_VII">VII.</a> -</td> -<td> -WINIFRED’S PARTY -</td> -<td class="tdr"> -<a href="#Page_89">89</a> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td> -<a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">VIII.</a> -</td> -<td> -SUNDAY -</td> -<td class="tdr"> -<a href="#Page_107">107</a> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td> -<a href="#CHAPTER_IX">IX.</a> -</td> -<td> -THE LAST FLIGHT -</td> -<td class="tdr"> -<a href="#Page_119">119</a> -</td> -</tr> -</table> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="THE_LITTLE_MATCH-GIRL">THE LITTLE MATCH-GIRL. <br /> -CONTENTS. -</h2> -</div> - -<table class="autotable"> -<tr> -<th class="tdr" colspan="2"> -PAGE -</th> -</tr> -<tr> -<td colspan="2" class="tdc"> -<a href="#MGCHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I.</a> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td> -A LITTLE MATCH-SELLER -</td> -<td class="tdr"> -<a href="#Page_127">127</a> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td colspan="2" class="tdc"> -<a href="#MGCHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II.</a> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td> -IN THE STUDIO -</td> -<td class="tdr"> -<a href="#Page_138">138</a> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td colspan="2" class="tdc"> -<a href="#MGCHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III.</a> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td> -WONDERFUL DAYS -</td> -<td class="tdr"> -<a href="#Page_149">149</a> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td colspan="2" class="tdc"> -<a href="#MGCHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV.</a> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td> -AT BROOKLANDS -</td> -<td class="tdr"> -<a href="#Page_160">160</a> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td colspan="2" class="tdc"> -<a href="#MGCHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V.</a> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td> -DARK DAYS -</td> -<td class="tdr"> -<a href="#Page_171">171</a> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td colspan="2" class="tdc"> -<a href="#MGCHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI.</a> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td> -CONCLUSION -</td> -<td class="tdr"> -<a href="#Page_182">182</a><span class="pagenum" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</span> -</td> -</tr> -</table> - - - - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="OUR_WINNIE"><big>OUR WINNIE,</big><br /><small>OR</small><br /> -“WHEN THE SWALLOWS GO.”</h2> -</div> - - - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h3 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I.<br /> -WATCHING THE SWALLOWS.</h3> -</div> - - - -<div> - <img class="drop-cap" src="images/dc001.jpg" width="100" alt=""/> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="upper-case">Winifred</span> sat by the nursery window, upon the wide cushioned seat, -leaning her little pale face against the glass and gazing with big blue -eyes towards the rosy sky, where the sun was setting in a blaze of -golden glory.</p> - -<p>It was a pretty view the great oriel window commanded—garden and -shrubbery just below, and beyond the close laurel hedge, low-lying -pasture lands dotted with pine trees, and a large piece of water, which -lay shining like molten gold in the glow of sunset radiance.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</span></p> - -<p>The swallows were enjoying the beauty of the evening as much as living -things could do. They were darting this way and that in the bright, -soft sunshine; now flying high, now low, and ever seeming drawn by -irresistible attraction towards the shining surface of the water, which -lay smiling and placid, without even a ripple to break its glassy -smoothness.</p> - -<p>Winifred was very much interested in the swallows. In the springtime -she had watched them with the utmost absorption as they built their -nests and hatched their chattering broods amid the many eaves and -jutting lead-pipes of the old-fashioned manor-house in which she lived.</p> - -<p>When the summer came, and the young birds had left the nests, she -still fancied she knew “her swallows” from all the rest, and was -always interested in their movements; fond of foretelling the weather -according as to whether they flew high or low, and making stories -about them and their cleverness which would rather have astonished an -ornithologist.</p> - -<p>And now that autumn was drawing on, the child watched them with an -increasing sense of fascination,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</span> for she knew that it would not be -very long before she lost her friends and playmates (for in her eyes -they were friends and playmates), who would fly far, far away from -England with the first approach of winter.</p> - -<p>“I wonder why they want to go?” the child sometimes said. “I shall so -miss them. I wish they would stay here always.”</p> - -<p>Winifred was nine years old, but she was so small and thin that she -hardly seemed so much; and yet her little face, with its large, -thoughtful eyes, and grave, serious lips, looked almost older than a -nine-year-old child’s should do.</p> - -<p>She had been very, very ill last winter, so ill that nobody had thought -she could get better; and even now, although the summer had brought a -little strength to her limbs, and a little colour to her face, she was -still very delicate, and her father and mother often looked anxiously -into the deep eyes of their only little daughter, and wondered how long -they would keep her with them, and if she would ever grow up strong and -hearty like Charley and Ronald, her two big brothers.</p> - -<p>Winifred did not know this; she only knew<span class="pagenum" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</span> that she could not run about -and play like other children, that she soon grew tired, and that it was -much more pleasure to her to sit on the nursery window-seat and read a -favourite story-book, or watch the swallows, than it was to romp and -race about the garden and fields as the boys so loved to do. The little -girl was not discontented; she was very happy in her own way, and was -fond of being quiet, and indulging in her own dreams and fancies. She -saw no reason why she was to be pitied.</p> - -<p>A door opened softly, and without turning her head to look, Winifred -knew that her mother had come in.</p> - -<p>Nobody but mamma had such a soft, gentle step; nobody else seemed -to bring into the room that kind of brightness and sweetness which -Winifred always felt accompanied her mother’s presence. Sometimes the -child would think to herself that it was like music and moonlight just -to feel that mamma was near.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Digby was a tall, graceful, sweet-faced mother—an ideal woman -for a child’s love and worship, so gentle, so firm, so loving and -sympathising.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</span></p> - -<p>Winifred’s little face smiled all over, a slow smile of satisfaction, -although she never turned her head until her mother had seated herself -in the great rocking-chair that stood beside the window. Then she left -her seat and crept into her mother’s arms, laying her head against that -comfortable shoulder, and looking alternately out of the window and -into her mother’s face.</p> - -<p>“What was my darling doing all alone? What was my little girl thinking -of?”</p> - -<p>“I was watching the swallows, mamma dear.”</p> - -<p>“You are fond of the swallows, Winnie.”</p> - -<p>“Yes; so many of them are my swallows—and soon they will go away.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, darling.”</p> - -<p>“Mamma,” asked the child, with a serious, wistful look in her eyes, -“how is it that the things we love best and care most for always seem -to go away soonest?”</p> - -<p>It seemed to Winifred that the warm, loving arms closed more tenderly -and closely round her as the mother answered gently:</p> - -<p>“Does it seem so to you, darling?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, mamma. It was my favourite rose-tree<span class="pagenum" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</span> that died last winter, and -my favourite oak-tree that was blown down in the storm. Ronald lost his -best puppy, and papa’s favourite horse went lame. I like all the birds -very much, but the swallows much, much the best, and it is the swallows -who go, and the robins and chaffinches that stay behind. I wonder why -it is.”</p> - -<p>“But the swallows come back again, darling,” said the mother, kissing -her child’s broad brow. “I remember how sorry my little girl was when -they had all gone last year; but here they are again, and it was such -pleasure to watch them build that you told me it made up for the long -time of waiting. It will be the same again this year, Winnie.”</p> - -<p>“Will it, mamma? It seems as if it would be winter for such a long, -long while. I cannot fancy that the spring will ever come again.”</p> - -<p>Mrs. Digby made no reply, and by-and-by Winifred went on.</p> - -<p>“And last year I was so disappointed, for I never said good-bye; I -never saw them go. I had watched them gather, and gather, and gather, -and I did so want to see them start, and I never<span class="pagenum" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</span> did. Do you think -they will gather here again this year, mamma?”</p> - -<p>“I think it is very likely. They very often do.”</p> - -<p>“If they do, I will be <em>sure</em> not to miss them; I do so want to -see them go, and say good-bye.”</p> - -<p>“What is it you are not going to miss, my little girl?” asked a kind, -cheery voice from the other side of the room.</p> - -<p>Winifred and her mother looked round, and saw that Dr. Howard had -entered unobserved. He was never very many days without paying the -child a visit, and she had grown fond of the old man, and was not -afraid to talk to him freely.</p> - -<p>He came and sat in her vacated seat—the wide window-ledge—and looked -into her face, and took the thin little hand in his, and patted it in a -friendly fashion.</p> - -<p>“Well, Winnie, what is it you are so anxious not to miss? Do you want -my leave to go to a children’s party, or to do something else bold and -daring?”</p> - -<p>“Oh no!” answered Winnie, smiling; “we were only talking about the -swallows. We think they will gather here before they fly, as they did -last<span class="pagenum" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</span> year, and I do so want to see them go. Last year I missed them -somehow.”</p> - -<p>Dr. Howard smiled and shook his head.</p> - -<p>“I never saw the swallows go yet, little maid, though I am an old man -now; and what is more, I never knew anybody who had, either.”</p> - -<p>Winifred’s eyes opened wide.</p> - -<p>“Does nobody ever see them go? Somebody must. They do not turn into -fairies and vanish away, do they?”</p> - -<p>The old doctor smiled and answered in a fanciful way for a little -while, until seeing the child was growing puzzled, he said at last:</p> - -<p>“No, no, my little girl, it is nothing so strange after all; you need -not open your big eyes, and look as if I were telling you mystic -fables. The swallows always start in the night, that is all; and in the -morning we wake up and find them gone, but we do not see them go.”</p> - -<p>“In the night?” echoes Winifred, with a cloud passing over her face. -“Then sha’n’t I be able to see them go this year, either?”</p> - -<p>“I’m afraid not, little one.”</p> - -<p>“Oh I am <em>so</em> sorry!” said the child with a deep<span class="pagenum" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</span> sigh; “so very, -very sorry. I did so want to see them go.”</p> - -<p>“Dr. Howard,” said her mother’s voice in the pause that followed these -words, “do you think this little bird had better follow the swallows -and the sunshine, and leave the cold and the rain behind? Sometimes I -fancy we ought to run after the swallows and catch them up where they -have caught the summer. What do you think?”</p> - -<p>“I think,” answered the kind old man with a look in his eye which the -child did not understand, “that this little bird is best in its own -warm nest, under its mother’s wing. It does not suit all little birds -to fly away.”</p> - -<p>And then the doctor rose, and Mrs. Digby too; and Winifred was left -alone to rock herself in the vacated chair and think about the swallows.</p> - -<p>She was lying in her little bed that night, cosy and warm, when she -became vaguely conscious that her father and mother had come in, and -were talking together softly, and as it seemed, sadly. Unless it was a -dream (and Winifred did not feel quite sure which it was), papa had his -arm round mamma, and seemed to be comforting her. She<span class="pagenum" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</span> almost looked as -if she had been crying, and her voice shook when she said:</p> - -<p>“There is nothing that we can do. It is God who gives, and God who -takes away, but it is very, very hard to lose her. You must help me, -Ronald, sometimes I fear my faith will give way.”</p> - -<p>“God will give His strength with the trial if He sends it. Perhaps in -His mercy He will spare it us.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, we may still hope and pray; but I must struggle for resignation -to His Holy Will. I fear—I fear—”</p> - -<p>“I know what you fear, my sweet wife. Did Dr. Howard hold out no hope?”</p> - -<p>“He would not—or could not—say anything definite; but he thought—he -thought our darling would not be long after the swallows.”</p> - -<p>There was a deep sob, and the sound of tender caresses, then came Mr. -Digby’s voice.</p> - -<p>“Our precious little daughter. It is hard to spare her; but think, -dearest, to what a happy place she is going.”</p> - -<p>“I know—I know. I try not to be selfish. It is her gain, her -happiness. Oh yes, I know what<span class="pagenum" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</span> a happy, happy thing it is for children -to be taken in all their innocence. But oh, I shall miss her so sorely.”</p> - -<p>“I know, I know. But we believe that trials are sent us in love and not -in anger; and we must think of our Winifred’s gain and not of our loss.”</p> - -<p>Some soft kisses and warm tears were dropped upon the child’s sleepy -face. She had moved, and the voices ceased, but both parents were -bending over her little bed. She opened her eyes drowsily, smiled and -kissed them, and then she sank off to sleep again holding her mother’s -hand in hers.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</span></p> - -<h3 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II.<br /> -WINIFRED’S TROUBLE.</h3> -</div> - - - -<div> - <img class="drop-cap" src="images/dc001.jpg" width="100" alt=""/> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="upper-case">Winifred</span> awoke early the following morning, to find the sunshine -playing over the window-blind and the swallows twittering in the eaves.</p> - -<p>She fancied that something unusual had happened in the night; but she -could not, all in a moment, recollect what it was.</p> - -<p>Gradually some of the sense of what had passed between her parents in -her night-nursery came back to her as she lay in bed puzzling things -over, and she began to talk softly to herself as she had a way of doing.</p> - -<p>“I think they said I was going away somewhere, to some nice place -where I should be very happy. I can’t quite remember, and I thought -Dr. Howard<span class="pagenum" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</span> meant I was to stay at home; but I don’t always understand -what people mean. I’m almost sure papa and mamma said I was to go—I -suppose it’s to some nice place where little children get strong and -well again. I should like to be able to run about again and play with -the boys. I should like to do what other children can.”</p> - -<p>But a little more thinking brought other considerations.</p> - -<p>“Mamma was sorry—I think she cried. I’m afraid she isn’t coming with -me, because she talked about losing me. I suppose nurse will take -me—that will be next best; and mamma could not be spared. Papa wants -her and the boys, and there are the servants and the house. Oh no, -they could not possibly spare her. I must try to be brave, and not to -cry and make her more sorry. I won’t seem to mind leaving her, if I -can help it, though it will be very, very hard; and I will try to get -better as fast as ever I can, so as to come back soon strong and well -as Charley did when he had measles, and nurse took him to the seaside.</p> - -<p>“I wonder where I am going—a good way off,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</span> I think, because I don’t -think mamma would have cried if it had been only a little way or for -a little while. Perhaps I am going where the swallows go—perhaps I -shall see them again. I should like to do that. I think I am going when -they go—I will try to get well to come back when they come. That would -be very nice, for I think they would miss me when they began to build -their nests; and I don’t think I <em>could</em> do without mamma longer -than that—Oh no, I must come back when the swallows come.”</p> - -<p>Winifred was smiling now; but by-and-by her face grew grave.</p> - -<p>“I wonder if people will miss me when I am gone. I wonder if they will -be sorry. Mamma will, I know, but is there any one else? I should -like to think some of them would miss me and want me to come back; -but—but—I’m not sure that they would!” and here the child’s face grew -rather red.</p> - -<p>Children all have their faults, and Winifred was no exception to this -rule. Perhaps there were excuses to be made for this little girl, -because her bad health had made it needful for her to be very<span class="pagenum" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</span> quiet -and rather idle, and because, with all her faults, she was always -gentle and docile; but at the same time Winifred was selfish, and she -was more idle than she need have been; and when she began to think -whether people would miss her, she could not help remembering many -little things which she did not quite like to think about.</p> - -<p>Charley and Ronald were very fond of their little sister, and would -have liked to spend a good deal of their spare time in the nursery, -which they had once shared all together; but since Winnie’s illness -the nursery had been given up entirely to her service, and she had not -failed to assert her right as mistress of her domain.</p> - -<p>It was often quite true that the noise the boys made at play tried her -head and made it ache; but there were other days when she could have -borne the noise quite well, only she did not care to let the boys in -because she felt more inclined to be quiet. Then she never tried to -do any little services for them, or for any one else, thinking nobody -could expect it of her when she had so little strength.</p> - -<p>Winifred was a gentle, loveable child, in spite of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</span> her tendency to -selfishness, and everybody seemed fond of her. Indeed, it was not -every one who knew what her chief faults were. Charley and Ronald -never thought for a moment that she was selfish, and would have been -indignant if any one had called her so; but at the same time they knew -it was no good ever asking Winifred to do anything for them.</p> - -<p>Perhaps Mrs. Digby and nurse knew best where the gentle child’s -weakness lay; but it had not been very easy in her present state of -health and spirits to make her see her own faults in the proper light.</p> - -<p>But as Winifred lay in bed thinking, it dawned upon her slowly that -her going away would make very little difference to anybody in the -world—that only mamma would miss her, and that only because mamma was -mamma, not for anything her child had ever done for her.</p> - -<p>A resolution came into Winifred’s mind.</p> - -<p>“I will be different,” she said. “I will do something before I go to -show them I am fond of them, and then perhaps they will miss me more. -I should like to do something for a good many<span class="pagenum" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</span> people. There are the -boys, and the servants—and—and—Oh, I must think about it. I have a -good deal of money: I will see what I can do.”</p> - -<p>Winnie turned over this idea very many times in her head, as she lay -waiting for nurse to dress her. She rose late, and breakfast was not -over till nearly half-past ten.</p> - -<p>“There doesn’t seem any time left to think this morning,” said Winnie, -after she had taken a little walk in the garden with her mamma. “I feel -tired now, I will watch the swallows a little, and think after dinner.”</p> - -<p>Presently nurse came in.</p> - -<p>“Miss Winifred, dear,” she said, “Mary wants to clean out the young -gentlemen’s play-room to-day; but it’s their half-holiday, and she -doesn’t like to begin unless they can come here when they come home. -You look pretty well to-day, I think. You won’t mind letting them into -the nursery?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, not to-day, nursey, I couldn’t do with them to-day,” answered -Winnie, looking distressed. “Indeed I would if I could, but I have so -much to think about to-day. I can’t think when they are here—and it’s -about them too. It can’t make<span class="pagenum" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</span> any difference to Mary what day she -cleans the room. Please tell her I’m very sorry, but I really can’t -to-day. I don’t think she can mind.”</p> - -<p>Winifred’s pale little face looked pleading and earnest. Nurse said no -more to urge her.</p> - -<p>“Very well, dear, we will arrange something somehow. Mary does not want -to put you out. Have you anything you want to do to-day?”</p> - -<p>“I have a great deal to think about.”</p> - -<p>“Do you think with your fingers?”</p> - -<p>Winifred smiled.</p> - -<p>“No, of course not, nursey. What do you mean?”</p> - -<p>“Well, I was wondering if you could not do something with your fingers, -whilst you were doing all this thinking.”</p> - -<p>Winifred was not fond of employing her idle fingers, and her face was -not very responsive as she asked rather slowly:</p> - -<p>“What do you mean, nursey? I have not anything special to do.”</p> - -<p>“No, Miss Winnie; but I think there is something somebody would be very -much delighted if you did do,” and nurse nodded her head mysteriously.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</span></p> - -<p>Still Winifred did not look eager, though she asked:</p> - -<p>“What do you mean? I think I’m rather too tired to work.”</p> - -<p>“Work rests as well as tires folks,” answered nurse, looking wise.</p> - -<p>“Tell me what you want me to do, please?” said the little girl, who -knew quite well whither all this was tending.</p> - -<p>“Well, dear, I thought you might like to finish the tail of Master -Charley’s big kite. It is all done but the tail, and if they had that -to fly, they would play in the fields with it all the while the room -was being done; but it’s a good hour’s work it wants at the tail, and -they would be so pleased to come in and find it done. Shall I bring you -the paper and the string?”</p> - -<p>Winifred’s face put on its little wearied, fretful look. She did not -speak crossly, only as if she felt it rather hard to be asked or -expected to do things for other people—“little silly things,” as she -said to herself, when her head was so full of the great things she -meant to do.</p> - -<p>“I don’t know how to make kite-tails, nursey.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</span></p> - -<p>“I could show you.”</p> - -<p>“I feel tired. The boys can do it themselves quite well. I don’t think -I could make a kite-tail and do my thinking too.”</p> - -<p>“Is your thinking very important, Miss Winnie?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, very.”</p> - -<p>So nurse went away, and Winnie was left alone; but somehow or other the -thinking did not seem to get on. A little puzzled frown began to pucker -the child’s forehead, and before long Winifred was talking slowly to -herself, rather as if she was arguing with somebody, who certainly was -not to be seen.</p> - -<p>“I don’t see why I should. It isn’t <em>that</em> sort of thing I meant. -I want to do something big which the boys will understand and care -about—they would have forgotten all about the kite-tail by to-morrow. -Besides it would be so tiresome—like keeping their book-shelves and -toy cupboard tidy, as mamma sometimes wants me to. I don’t like doing -that sort of work. It’s not interesting, and it doesn’t seem worth the -trouble. If I could only think of it, I’m sure there must be some much -better way. I hope I shall be able to find it out soon.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</span></p> - -<p>Puzzling her head over the matter, however, did not seem to help -Winifred much, and she did not feel happy in herself, though she could -hardly have told the reason why.</p> - -<p>She looked pale during the early dinner, and it seemed to her that -mamma was more gentle and tender to her than ever.</p> - -<p>“Would you like a drive with me this afternoon, my darling?” asked Mrs. -Digby.</p> - -<p>“Where are you going, mamma?”</p> - -<p>“To see Mrs. Hedlam. You can go and play a little while with Violet -whilst I am there. She will be pleased to have you for a little visit.”</p> - -<p>“I should like to go, mamma; but I would rather stay in the carriage, -thank you. I don’t think I am very fond of Violet, and I don’t feel -inclined to play to-day.”</p> - -<p>“I can send her out to talk to you instead, then.”</p> - -<p>“No, thank you, mamma, I think I would rather be quiet, if you don’t -mind?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t mind, darling, but I think poor little Violet would be -disappointed. She has few playfellows, and it would give her pleasure -to see you, I am sure,” answered the mother gently.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</span></p> - -<p>“She need not know I have come,” said Winifred. “I don’t want to talk -to-day, I want to think.”</p> - -<p>Just at this time Mrs. Digby did not feel as if she could urge the -child against her wishes, even though the wishes were a little selfish. -Her heart was sore and heavy that day, and very little talking was done -upon the drive.</p> - -<p>Winifred sat still in the carriage as she had wished, and yet she could -not feel happy or satisfied, and the trouble which had weighed upon her -all the day seemed to grow heavier and heavier.</p> - -<p>“I don’t believe any one will miss me. I don’t believe any one will be -sorry when I go. I must be quick and think what to do for people, for -I should like them to be a little sorry and to want me back. Oh dear, -I wish I was grown-up. Grown-up people can do such a lot of things. I -haven’t thought yet of a single one, and I’ve been thinking hard all -the day.”</p> - -<p>When Mrs. Digby came back she thought the child looked tired.</p> - -<p>“Not very, thank you,” answered Winifred, nestling up to her. “I have -only been thinking. Did you see Violet to-day?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</span></p> - -<p>“Yes, dear.”</p> - -<p>“She didn’t ask if I had come?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, Winnie, she asked, and I told her you were in the carriage, but I -did not let her go out. I explained that you were poorly to-day.”</p> - -<p>Winifred’s face grew red.</p> - -<p>“Did—did she seem sorry?”</p> - -<p>“I’m afraid so, a little sorry and a little vexed too; but she will not -think about it long.”</p> - -<p>Winifred was very silent on the way home. She seemed still thinking -very much, but thinking did not make her face look brighter.</p> - -<p>As they drove through the gates of the lodge, she saw a pale little -face looking out of the lattice-window, and her mother leaned out to -ask of the woman who opened the gate:</p> - -<p>“How is little Phil to-day?”</p> - -<p>“Much the same, thank you, ma’am.”</p> - -<p>“I will send him some more jelly soon.”</p> - -<p>“Thank you kindly, ma’am.”</p> - -<p>As Winifred climbed the stairs to her nursery her face was graver than -ever.</p> - -<p>“Why, I’ve never finished those mittens I promised little Phil months -and months ago. And<span class="pagenum" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</span> I haven’t been to see him for ever so long. I -don’t believe even he will miss me when I go away, and he used so to -watch for me to come, and be so pleased. Oh dear, dear, he must go -on to the list of people now who are to have things given them—or -something. But I can’t think whatever I can do to make them sorry when -I go.”</p> - -<p>When Winifred went to bed that night she still had seen no way out of -the trouble.</p> - -<p class="center p0 p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img002"> - <img src="images/002.jpg" class="w20" alt="Decorative image" /> -</span></p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</span></p> - -<h3 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III.<br /> -A STRANGE JOURNEY.</h3> -</div> - - - -<div> - <img class="drop-cap" src="images/dc002.jpg" width="100" alt=""/> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="upper-case">That</span> night Winifred could not sleep. Turn and settle herself as she -would she could not even fall into a doze; and all kinds of troublesome -thoughts kept flocking into her mind.</p> - -<p>Chief amongst these was the old fear about the swallows—the fear that -they would go when she was not watching them, and that she would not be -able to bid them good-bye and wish them a pleasant journey.</p> - -<p>Winnie’s head was tired and confused that night. She did not remember -that the swallows had hardly even begun to gather for flight as yet. -She fancied they were there in myriads in the water-meadows, and that -any time they might make their silent start.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</span></p> - -<p>“Oh dear!” sighed the little child, “perhaps they will go to-night. -Didn’t somebody say they always went at night and nobody ever saw them? -I should so like to see them go. I don’t think they would be angry with -me. I am so fond of them—I think they are fond of me too. I must just -get up and look out of the window.”</p> - -<p>It was a mild night, and Winifred wrapped herself well up in her little -flannel gown, and folded the eider-down quilt about her shoulders.</p> - -<p>She stole to the window and drew up the blind and looked out into the -dusky night. There was a little moon, but not much, and enough wind -to stir the leaves of the trees and make them look almost like living -things, bending over, and whispering one to the other.</p> - -<p>Where were the swallows?</p> - -<p>Surely they were flying about the trees, chattering excitedly, whirling -from place to place, planning, discussing, and preparing for flight? -Winifred listened and looked, and felt convinced of this. She was sure -she could see in the uncertain light the darting black forms chasing -one<span class="pagenum" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</span> another, hurrying through the air, and sometimes darkening it for -a moment, as a cloud of winged birds rose together from the trees, and -then as suddenly dispersed again. Yes, they were certainly going to fly -away that night, the child thought, and she must wait and watch to see -them go.</p> - -<p>She curled up her feet under her little gown, pulled the soft quilt -more comfortably about her, rested her head against an angle of the -window-frame, and prepared to stay for the flight.</p> - -<p>How long she waited she did not know. Gradually it seemed to her that -the moonlight grew brighter. It became almost as light as day, only -that there was a softness and beauty in the light which seemed hardly -like sunshine.</p> - -<p>Then all at once came a whirring of countless wings. It was a soft, -<em>feathery</em> noise, as Winifred afterwards told herself, that made -her think of the angels flying through heaven. And this sound of wings -came nearer and nearer, and the air seemed dimmed by a dark, soft cloud -of flying birds.</p> - -<p>“The swallows!” said Winifred, softly; “they<span class="pagenum" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</span> are going. I must open -the window and say good-bye.”</p> - -<p>The window was soon thrown wide, and the child leaned eagerly out and -called to the birds who were whirling past.</p> - -<p>“Oh swallows, dear swallows! Good-bye! good-bye! Where are you going?”</p> - -<p>And the swallows answered in a sort of musical chant:</p> - -<p class="p0 poetry"> -“We are going to the land of sunshine and flowers;<br /> -We are leaving behind the darkness and cloud;<br /> -We are going whither the great power leads;<br /> -We are going we know, yet know not where.”<br /> -</p> - -<p>And as the child listened, a great longing came over her to fly with -the swallows to the bright unknown land whither they were bound.</p> - -<p>“Swallows, swallows, I want to go to the sunshine and flowers. Can’t -you take me with you?”</p> - -<p>And the swallows chanted again:</p> - -<p class="p0 poetry"> -“Can you trust the unseen power?<br /> -Dare you fly out into space?<br /> -Dare you leave the known behind you?<br /> -Have you faith to fly away?”<br /> -</p> - -<p>Winifred clasped her hands and leaned out more and more, gazing at the -flying swallows.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</span></p> - -<p>“Oh, please stop! Please one of you stop and tell me some more. I want -to fly with you. I have to go away one day, I don’t know where. I -should like to go with you, if you’ll take me. Do please tell me when -you are going, and please wait and take me too. I want to fly with you.”</p> - -<p>And then suddenly one of the swallows did stop, and perched upon the -ledge of the open window; and Winifred found that it was a beautiful -black, glossy bird, as big as herself, and yet she was not a bit -surprised or afraid.</p> - -<p>“Dear swallow,” she said, stroking the bird’s soft, feathery head, -“dear, pretty swallow, won’t you let me fly away with you?”</p> - -<p>“Why do you want to fly?” asked the swallow.</p> - -<p>“I want to know where you are going. I want to know why you go; I have -to go away too, very soon. I should like best to go with you.”</p> - -<p>“But I don’t know where we are going,” said the swallow; “how do you -know you would like to come?”</p> - -<p>“You said it was to a nice place, with sunshine and flowers,” said the -child.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</span></p> - -<p>“Yes, so it is. I know that, but I don’t know where it is.”</p> - -<p>“Do none of you know?”</p> - -<p>“No; none of us know exactly.”</p> - -<p>“Then how can you find the way?” asked Winifred, with grave interest.</p> - -<p>The swallow looked at her with his bright eyes as he answered:</p> - -<p>“We cannot lose the way. Something always tells us how to go. It never -tells us wrong.”</p> - -<p>“And you are not afraid?”</p> - -<p>“Oh no!”</p> - -<p>The swallow looked at the child with grave, bright eyes, and asked:</p> - -<p>“Would not you be afraid, either?”</p> - -<p>“N—no. I think not,” answered Winifred, with just a little hesitation -in her voice.</p> - -<p>“Not afraid to leave your home and your parents, and brothers and -friends, and go somewhere right away, you don’t know where?”</p> - -<p>Winifred was silent. She did not know what to say. She was beginning to -feel a little fear, yet she hardly knew how or why.</p> - -<p>“You are not afraid, swallow?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</span></p> - -<p>“No; I know I shall be taken care of.”</p> - -<p>“Then why should I be afraid?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know; but I think you are.”</p> - -<p>Winifred pondered again.</p> - -<p>“Do you know what makes you not afraid?”</p> - -<p>The swallow turned his head from side to side, and by-and-by answered:</p> - -<p>“I think it’s because I always do just as I’m meant to do—stay when -I ought to stay, and fly when I ought to fly, build when I ought to -build, and do just what I ought. If swallows always do that they need -never be afraid.”</p> - -<p>“And how do you know what you ought to do?”</p> - -<p>“Something inside me tells me.”</p> - -<p>“Does it never tell you wrong?”</p> - -<p>“No, never.”</p> - -<p>Winifred sighed, and shook her head.</p> - -<p>“But I never have anything inside me to tell me what I ought to do and -what I ought not,” she said.</p> - -<p>“Do you not?” said a soft voice quite close to her, and the child -started, for it did not seem as if it was the swallow who had spoken, -and looking round, Winifred saw a beautiful figure in white standing -beside her, and looking with grave, kind<span class="pagenum" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</span> eyes into her face. He had -great white wings, and Winifred said half aloud, half to herself:</p> - -<p>“It is an angel.”</p> - -<p>“Winifred,” said the angel, softly and yet gravely, “have you nothing -inside you that tells you when you do right and when you do wrong?”</p> - -<p>Slowly Winnie’s eyes fell, and the rosy colour mounted to her cheeks.</p> - -<p>“I do try not to do wrong. I don’t think I am very naughty,” she said, -as if excusing herself.</p> - -<p>“Did I say you were?” asked the angel.</p> - -<p>“It seemed as if you did.”</p> - -<p>The angel smiled at her a sort of pitying smile.</p> - -<p>“Is it I that spoke, my child? or the <em>something</em> in your heart to -which you do not always listen?”</p> - -<p>“I do what I can,” said Winifred, still seeming to answer a different -voice from the angel’s. “I am not strong. I can’t do like other people; -and besides, little girls can’t do things. I am going to try before I -go away, but I’ve never been able before.”</p> - -<p>“Never?”</p> - -<p>“No; there never seems anything for me to do for anybody else.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</span></p> - -<p>“Nothing?”</p> - -<p>“No; only such silly little things that it isn’t worth beginning.”</p> - -<p>The angel looked gravely down upon the child for some minutes, and -Winifred felt a strange sense of pain and humiliation falling upon -her. Then he turned to the swallow who was still sitting upon the -window-ledge, and said quietly:</p> - -<p>“Show her.”</p> - -<p>Then the angel disappeared, and Winifred and her friend were left -together.</p> - -<p>“Can you get on my back?” asked the swallow.</p> - -<p>“Oh yes!” cried Winnie, eagerly, glad to have something to distract her -thoughts. “Are you going to take me with you? I should like that.”</p> - -<p>“I am going to take you a little way, and show you some things,” -answered the swallow. “You will come back by-and-by.”</p> - -<p>Winifred had no difficulty in making herself comfortable and secure -upon the swallow’s back, and very soon they were flying quickly through -the dark night.</p> - -<p>“Are you going after the other swallows?”</p> - -<p>“Not just yet.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</span></p> - -<p>“Won’t you be afraid of getting lost if you are left behind?”</p> - -<p>“Oh no, we never get lost whilst we are doing our duty.”</p> - -<p>Winifred began to feel rather uncomfortable. She was half sorry she had -agreed to go with the swallow.</p> - -<p>“Is it your duty to do what the—the angel told you?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“I think he was vexed,” observed Winifred rather discontentedly. “I was -glad when he went away.”</p> - -<p>“Hush!” answered the swallow, “you ought not to talk like that.”</p> - -<p>Winnie was silent for awhile, and then she asked:</p> - -<p>“Where are you taking me, swallow? What are all those lights down -there?”</p> - -<p>“The lights of a great city. I am going to show you some pictures.”</p> - -<p>“I like pictures,” said the little girl, brightening up at the idea. “I -am glad now that I came with you, swallow.”</p> - -<p>All in a minute Winifred found herself looking<span class="pagenum" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</span> into a pretty garden. -There were some little children at play there, one little girl sitting -by herself with a book, and two younger boys trying hard to mend -a broken toy. It would have been an easy task enough for any more -experienced hands, and by-and-by one little fellow looked up and said:</p> - -<p>“Please, sister, will you do it for us?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I can’t; I’m busy. You can quite well do it for yourselves.”</p> - -<p>The two little fellows returned to their task, but their efforts -only made the damage worse, and soon they burst out crying in their -disappointment.</p> - -<p>“What babies you are!” said the little girl rising, going further away. -“You make my head ache with all that noise.”</p> - -<p>“What a horrid little girl!” cried warm-hearted Winnie. “Why couldn’t -she mend the toy? Anybody could have done it at first. Why doesn’t she -go and comfort them? Poor little boys!”</p> - -<p>“You see it was such a <em>little</em> thing,” answered the swallow, -“only a toy, and only a few tears. It was not worth while troubling -over a little thing like that. It would be different if it were -something great.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</span></p> - -<p>Winnie was silent, and the swallow flew on again.</p> - -<p>Now they were in a room, and a little boy was lying on a sofa, and he -had no books or toys within reach.</p> - -<p>“I wish somebody would come—it is so dull,” Winifred heard him say. “I -wonder when the others will be coming in.”</p> - -<p>Just then there came a sound of children’s voices laughing and -shouting. They came nearer and nearer, and seemed to pass the door of -the room, but nobody came in. The little sick boy called; but in the -noise of laughing nobody heard, and the tears came into his eyes.</p> - -<p>“They have all gone up to play,” he said, “and nobody cares to see if I -want anything, and I did so want to have somebody to talk to!”</p> - -<p>“Oh, swallow!” cried Winnie indignantly, “what horrid children! That -poor little boy! How could they?”</p> - -<p>“It was such a <em>little</em> thing, coming in to speak to him, I don’t -suppose anybody ever thought of it,” answered the swallow. “They are -not horrid children. They are fond of their little brother;<span class="pagenum" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</span> but people -cannot always think of little things, you know.”</p> - -<p>Winifred said no more. She felt subdued and ashamed. How could the -swallow know what she had been thinking about that day?</p> - -<p>The next time the swallow paused it was again in a room. A lady was -half lying upon a sofa, and she did not look ill, only unhappy. She had -books and flowers and all sorts of nice things round her, but she was -not doing anything.</p> - -<p>“Who is that?” asked Winifred. “Why does she look unhappy?”</p> - -<p>“She is unhappy,” answered the swallow.</p> - -<p>“Why, is she ill?”</p> - -<p>“No, she is unhappy because she has nothing to do.”</p> - -<p>“What does she generally do?”</p> - -<p>“She has never done anything yet. She has been waiting all her life for -something, and it has never come.”</p> - -<p>“Why!” said Winifred in a puzzled way, “grown-up people can do such -lots of things. My mamma is always busy.”</p> - -<p>“What does she do?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</span></p> - -<p>“Oh, ever so many things. Sees after the servants, takes care of us -all, is kind to poor people, and works for the sick. I can’t think of -half the things, but she is always doing something or other.”</p> - -<p>“What little things those are though!” said the swallow almost, as -it seemed, contemptuously. “They would never suit that lady. She is -waiting and has always been waiting for some great thing to do. She -would never be satisfied with ‘little silly things’ like those.”</p> - -<p>“Why, swallow,” cried Winifred indignantly, “how can you talk so! Why -it’s little things that make big ones. If mamma never did all those -little things every day, I think everybody would be miserable and -everything would go wrong.”</p> - -<p>“Ah!” said the swallow, turning his head knowingly from side to side. -“So you have learnt your lesson at last. Now we will go back.”</p> - -<p>Again came that whirling flight through the dark air, and Winifred -found herself at her nursery window again.</p> - -<p>The angel was standing there, and it seemed to the child as if he -lifted her gently in his arms.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</span></p> - -<p>“Little child,” he said tenderly, “tell me what you have seen.”</p> - -<p>Winifred felt in a very different mood from the one in which she had -set out. Looking into the angel’s face she answered humbly:</p> - -<p>“I think I see now.”</p> - -<p>“I think you do. You will not think things too little now to be worth -thinking of—little acts of self-denial, little words of love, little -deeds of kindness—you will not despise them now.”</p> - -<p>“No, angel, I will try not. I did not understand before.”</p> - -<p>“You did not; and yet, my child, you might have done.”</p> - -<p>“How?”</p> - -<p>“You might have read it in your Bible—in the life of Jesus Christ, our -Pattern.”</p> - -<p>“Please explain.”</p> - -<p>“He came down from Heaven to live for us—that was a great thing, was -it not? And He died on the Cross for our sins—that was a great thing -too. But He took little children up in His arms and blessed them, and -that <em>seemed</em> a little thing to those who stood by; but has it -proved such a little thing?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</span></p> - -<p>“Tell me,” said Winifred earnestly.</p> - -<p>“I think it has made little children and loving parents very happy ever -since. I think it has made a great difference to the world, knowing -that He loved the children and did not think them <em>too little</em> to -be blessed and noticed and loved. If nothing is too little for Him, -need we find it too little for us.”</p> - -<p>“Dear angel,” said Winifred, with tears in her eyes, “I will try never -to forget.”</p> - -<p>“Try, little child,” answered the angel tenderly; and looking down into -Winifred’s eyes, he added almost solemnly, “and when you have learnt -the lesson, will you be afraid to come with me?”</p> - -<p>“With you, where?”</p> - -<p>“To a bright, happy land, where no sorrow is—to a beautiful home where -you would live always in the light of your Saviour’s love. Would you be -afraid to go there, my child?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know,” answered Winifred slowly. “Do you mean heaven?”</p> - -<p>“I mean a happy, holy place, where no sorrow or pain can ever come. -You were not afraid to go with the swallows over the sea to a land of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</span> -sunshine and flowers. You were not afraid of a long strange journey -with them, you knew not whither. Would you be afraid to trust to me? -Would you be afraid to let me carry you across a river, and into a new -land far more bright and beautiful than the one where the swallows go?”</p> - -<p>Winifred lay still and quiet in the angel’s arms. She did not quite -know what he meant. She felt languid and dreamy; but she was not -afraid. She could not feel afraid looking up into his face and seeing -his kind eyes bent upon her.</p> - -<p>“I am going away soon,” she said.</p> - -<p>“You are, my child, you are.”</p> - -<p>“Did you know?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, I knew.”</p> - -<p>“Will you come and take me when I go?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, if you would not be afraid to come with me.”</p> - -<p>“No, I should not be afraid, I think. I will be ready when you come.”</p> - -<p>And then it grew dark; the angel and the swallow both faded away and -Winifred knew no more.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</span></p> - -<h3 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV.<br /> -THE FIRST ATTEMPT.</h3> -</div> - - - -<div> - <img class="drop-cap" src="images/dc002.jpg" width="100" alt=""/> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="upper-case">The</span> next thing of which Winifred was conscious, was the bright sunlight -streaming into the room, and her mother’s face bending anxiously over -her.</p> - -<p>She woke up wide with a smile and a start.</p> - -<p>“Mamma! Is it late?”</p> - -<p>“No, dearest; but I have brought you some breakfast, before you get up. -You may have to stay in bed a little while longer than usual to-day.”</p> - -<p>“Why, mamma?”</p> - -<p>“I am afraid you may have taken cold. Do you know where I found you -last night, when I came up for a last peep? Curled up in the nursery -window-seat, fast asleep.”</p> - -<p>Winifred began to smile.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</span></p> - -<p>“Oh yes, I remember now; but I didn’t mean to go to sleep.”</p> - -<p>“Why did you go there at all, darling? You know you might have taken a -bad cold, though you do not look any the worse.”</p> - -<p>“I did not think of that—it was careless,” said the child quickly. “I -think I must have been rather silly, for I thought the swallows would -go last night, though I know it is not time yet; and I wanted so much -to see them fly away that I got up and sat by the nursery window to -watch, and then I suppose I went to sleep.”</p> - -<p>“You certainly did that, Winnie, and slept so soundly that you never -even woke when I carried you back to your little bed.”</p> - -<p>Winifred smiled, and looked up half-wistfully into her mother’s face. -She was thinking of her dream; but she did not feel as though she could -tell it to anybody yet, not until she had thought it all over in her -own head first.</p> - -<p>“May I get up soon, mamma?”</p> - -<p>“Not for another hour or two, I think, darling. Then you shall do so, -if you wish.”</p> - -<p>For a moment Winifred was disappointed. She<span class="pagenum" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</span> wanted to go to the boys’ -play-room and tidy their cupboard, and do all the little things for -them which she had neglected so long. For one moment her face fell, and -the little frown appeared; but then a sudden thought struck her and she -smiled bravely.</p> - -<p>“Very well, mamma dear, I will do just as you like; only do you think I -might sit up a little while, so that I can <em>do</em> things?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, Winnie, I think that would not harm you. What makes my little -girl so anxious to be busy this morning?”</p> - -<p>“Because I think I have been very idle for a long while—ever since I -have been ill,” answered Winifred gravely. “Idle and selfish too. I -want to be better now for two reasons, partly because I want to be good -and do what God would like to see me do, and partly because I should -not like people not to miss me, or to think I had been selfish, when I -am gone.”</p> - -<p>“Gone!” echoed Mrs. Digby, with a little falter in her voice.</p> - -<p>Winnie coloured quickly. She had not meant to say so much. She thought -she ought not to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</span> speak of the journey she was to take, until her -mother told her of it. Perhaps she ought not to have heard that -conversation—perhaps it was only a dream like the one she had just -awoke from.</p> - -<p>She looked into her mother’s face with a little laugh, and kissed the -soft hand she still held in her own small one.</p> - -<p>“I dreamt I was flying with the swallows, mamma. One of them took me on -his back and carried me; but he brought me back home again, you see.”</p> - -<p>Was mamma crying? Winifred wondered, for Mrs. Digby had turned quickly -away, and the child fancied she put her handkerchief to her eyes.</p> - -<p>Nurse, however, came in just then, and Winnie’s thoughts were directed -into a different channel.</p> - -<p>“Nursey,” she called eagerly, “did Charley and Ronald finish the -kite-tail yesterday?”</p> - -<p>“No, Miss Winnie, they went out to the Rectory instead, and never -touched it. I heard them this morning wishing it was done; and then -they’d have time to fly it before dark, when they came home in the -evening.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I am so glad! now I can finish it for<span class="pagenum" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</span> them!” cried Winnie -eagerly. “Please go and fetch it for me, Nursey—I mean when you have -time to spare.”</p> - -<p>“Won’t it tire you, dear?”</p> - -<p>“Oh no, not to-day.”</p> - -<p>“You haven’t got anything to do to-day then?” asked nurse with a smile, -and Winifred smiled too as she answered:</p> - -<p>“Oh, I can think and work to-day both; and I should so like to finish -the boys’ kite for them.”</p> - -<p>So in a very short while the child was hard at work, and before her -dinner-time came the long tail of the kite was quite finished.</p> - -<p>“Mamma,” she asked whilst she was taking her dinner, “can I go and -see little Phil to-day? I haven’t been for a long while. I thought he -looked as if he would like to see somebody, when we passed yesterday. -May I take him the jelly?”</p> - -<p>“The jelly will not be ready till to-morrow, Winnie; and I think I must -keep you indoors to-day; but if you have taken no cold, you shall go -out to-morrow if it is fine. Will that do as well, darling?”</p> - -<p>Mrs. Digby looked with an inquiring glance into<span class="pagenum" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</span> her little daughter’s -face; for when Winifred had taken a fancy into her head, she was not -always ready to give up without a struggle. The gentle little girl had -a good deal of self-will in her composition.</p> - -<p>But to-day, after one little struggle, she looked up and smiled -cheerfully.</p> - -<p>“To-morrow will be just as nice; and then I can put the boys’ -toy-cupboard tidy for them this afternoon. It is in such a mess!”</p> - -<p>“Why, Winnie, I thought that toy-cupboard was your pet horror!” said -the mother with a smile.</p> - -<p>“I want to put it tidy to-day, mamma,” answered Winifred gravely. “I -know I shall find ever so many things that the boys have lost. You -see the boys have their lessons, and so much to do, and I have hardly -anything. I ought to do little things for them when I can.”</p> - -<p>So the little girl got a duster and went up to the play-room, and -opened the cupboard-door. It was rather a dreadful sight that met her -eyes—toys, books, papers, string, nails, pieces of wood, bottles, -baskets, battered pieces of metal, odds and ends<span class="pagenum" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</span> of every description -all tumbled together in one heterogeneous mass of disorder.</p> - -<p>“Oh dear!” exclaimed Winnie, “what a mess!”</p> - -<p>But she would not be discouraged, and she set manfully to work at her -task.</p> - -<p>First she emptied all the contents of the cupboard on to the floor, -and dusted out all the shelves. Then out of the dreadful heap upon the -floor she selected all the books and carried them over to the book-case -where they should have been, and made room for them upon the shelves -there.</p> - -<p>This involved a good deal of time and labour, and arrangement of other -books; and little Winnie, whose stock of strength was but small, began -to feel tired already.</p> - -<p>Still she would not give up yet. She went down on her knees before the -heap, and picked out all the unbroken toys and the most useful and -respectable of the miscellaneous articles before her; and these she -dusted and arranged upon one shelf by themselves. Broken toys and odds -and ends which might come in useful, were placed in another; and a big -heap of “real rubbish” began to grow upon the floor behind her.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</span></p> - -<p>Then the string was collected and wound into little knots and put into -a box; and by that time poor Winnie was so tired she felt almost ready -to cry, and still a vast heap of queer things lay before her, which -seemed as if it defied her to reduce to order. Her head began to ache -and her eyes to swim; she felt as if she never should make an end of -the task, yet she could not bear to give in.</p> - -<p>The door opened softly, and somebody looked in.</p> - -<p>“Well, Winnie, is the work done yet?”</p> - -<p>Winnie bent her head to hide the tears which stood in her eyes; but her -voice would shake a little as she answered:</p> - -<p>“Not quite, mamma. There were such lots of things; I don’t know what to -do with them all.”</p> - -<p>Mrs. Digby came nearer and looked at the heap and at the child.</p> - -<p>“I think, darling, you have done enough for one day. You are tired now. -We will get nurse or Mary to finish the rest now.”</p> - -<p>But tired as Winifred was, she could not bear to give up before she had -finished the work she had set herself to do.</p> - -<p>“Oh please, mamma, let me finish,” she cried,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</span> whilst a round tear -splashed down upon the paper in her hand. “If other people finish it -will spoil it all. I wanted to do it myself.”</p> - -<p>“But you are making yourself quite poorly, my darling. I cannot have -you do that. Let me do it for you, and you tell me how to put the -things.”</p> - -<p>“No, no. I want to do it all myself,” repeated Winnie with a little -sob. “I’ve been very selfish to the boys—I’ve never done anything for -them. Do please let me do this.”</p> - -<p>Mrs. Digby sat down near to the child, and answered very gently -and lovingly, yet with a tone in her voice which made Winnie feel -half-ashamed:</p> - -<p>“Well, darling, if you have set your heart upon it, you shall try a -little longer.”</p> - -<p>So Winnie went to work again; but with less and less success. She could -not see the things for tears, and a little voice in her heart, that -sounded like the swallow’s, kept saying:</p> - -<p>“You ought to please your mamma, not yourself. Self-will is only -selfishness in a new dress.”</p> - -<p>At last Winnie could stand it no longer. She burst into tears and ran -into her mother’s arms.</p> - -<p>“Oh mamma, I wanted to be good and kind,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</span> and I’ve only been naughty -and disobedient. Why is it so hard to be good?”</p> - -<p>“Because, darling, we sometimes set about it in not quite a right -spirit, or we let a wrong spirit creep in and master the right one, -with which we started. Even in little, little things we must ask Jesus -to help us with His Holy Spirit.”</p> - -<p>“I think I forgot to do that,” said the child. “It seemed too little to -ask Jesus about.”</p> - -<p>“Ah! darling, we all make that mistake only too often in our lives; yet -nothing is too little for Him to help us in.”</p> - -<p>Winifred looked up into her mother’s face, and said with a gravity -beyond her years:</p> - -<p>“Mamma, I sometimes think there aren’t such things as <em>little -things</em> in the world. They seem little, but really they are quite -big.”</p> - -<p>Mrs. Digby held her child closely in her arms, feeling that there -was something strange in hearing so advanced a thought fall from -such childish lips. Of late she had fancied that Winifred’s mind had -developed rapidly.</p> - -<p>After a little silence the little girl said:</p> - -<p>“May Mary come now and finish the cupboard?<span class="pagenum" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</span> I should like everything -put straight before the boys come in.”</p> - -<p>With Mary’s energetic and willing help, the task was soon accomplished. -Winifred directed operations, and the maid with her strong hands soon -carried out all her wishes. Chaos resolved itself into order, and -the cupboard soon became a pattern of neatness. It was so tidy that -Winifred could hardly believe her eyes, and she could hardly believe, -too, that everything except actual rubbish had been replaced.</p> - -<p>She returned to her nursery in a much happier frame of mind; and the -delight of the boys on their return with their finished kite and tidy -cupboard more than repaid her for her trouble.</p> - -<p>They had all taken tea together in the nursery by Winnie’s special -request, after she had watched the flying of the kite from the window -with the greatest interest. And the boys had been so kind and so merry, -and had made so much of their little sister, and what she had done for -them, that she went to bed in a very happy frame of mind, wondering -how it was she had not thought more of being kind and useful to her -brothers.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</span></p> - -<h3 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V.<br /> -LITTLE PHIL.</h3> -</div> - - - -<div> - <img class="drop-cap" src="images/dc003.jpg" width="100" alt=""/> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="upper-case">It</span> was not for several days after this that Winifred was able to pay -her visit to the little sick boy at the lodge.</p> - -<p>It seemed as if the night-watch for the swallows, and the day of hard -work which followed, had tired the little girl more than at first -appeared, and for a good many days following she was very weak and -poorly, and could only just creep from the night to the day-nursery and -back again; and even reading story-books tired her head and made her -eyes ache. The utmost she could do was to work at the red mittens she -was knitting for little Phil, and it was not always that she could even -do this.</p> - -<p>“It’s almost like being ill again,” she said one day to her mother, -as she lay in her arms<span class="pagenum" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</span> nestling her little curly head against the -supporting shoulder. “I was so much better in the summer. Am I always -going to get ill when the winter comes? I try to be good; but I do get -very tired.”</p> - -<p>“My darling, I know you do,” answered the mother tenderly. “But I think -my little girl will be better soon—not ill a very long while.”</p> - -<p>“I am glad,” said Winnie; but she could not quite understand why -mamma’s voice sounded sad when she told her this, nor why a great -bright tear rolled down from her dear eyes and fell down upon her own -curls. Why should mamma cry if she were soon going to get well?</p> - -<p>But Winifred was learning not to ask questions upon some subjects. She -still believed she was going away, and that it was the thought of the -parting that made her mother sad; but as yet no one had mentioned the -matter to her, and she had refrained herself from alluding to it in any -way. She never felt quite certain whether or not it had been a dream.</p> - -<p class="center p0 p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img001"> - <img src="images/001.jpg" class="w50" alt="He set her upon the stile where she could see -everything" /> -</span></p><p class="center p0 caption">He set her upon the stile where she could see -everything.—<em><a href="#Page_63">p. 63.</a></em></p> - -<p>Winifred had thought a great deal during these past days. She was not -unhappy, and yet a sort of weight seemed to hang upon her. She could -not get rid of the idea that some great change was<span class="pagenum" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</span> drawing near, and -the idea made her feel serious and thoughtful. She read her little -Bible as she had never read it before, and especially any parts where -it told about birds or angels, and about Jesus Christ noticing or -blessing little children.</p> - -<p>Winifred wished so much that Jesus was living on earth now, that she -could go to Him and ask Him to take her in His arms and bless her. She -could love the dear Lord Jesus very much, she knew, if only she could -go to Him like that. It was so different from saying prayers at her -bedside.</p> - -<p>She did not speak of these thoughts and fancies even to her mother; -they were hardly clear enough to her own self to be uttered in words -to a grown-up person. And she never told her dream, either, about the -swallows and the angel, although she thought very much about it. She -fancied perhaps it would make mamma sad, though why she should have -this fancy she could not tell.</p> - -<p>When she began to feel better again these fancies still haunted her, -although she had expected them to go away; and even when she was so -far well that she was able to drive out with her mother one sunny -afternoon, and be put down at the lodge to talk to Phil till the -carriage returned, she still felt<span class="pagenum" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</span> grave and serious—not merry and -gay as she had done on former occasions when she was first allowed out -after a few days’ detention in the house after any little attacks of -illness.</p> - -<p>Little Phil’s face was very bright when he saw his visitor enter. The -sick boy led a lonely life, for there were very few people who ever -passed that way, and a visitor was a rare treat to one who could never -leave his couch to run about, but always had to wait for somebody to -come and see him.</p> - -<p>“Miss Winnie!” he cried joyously, “how kind of you to come! I was -afraid I’d not see you again all the winter when I heard how poorly -you’d been. I am so glad!”</p> - -<p>Phil was twelve years old, although he was so small that he was always -spoken of as “little Phil.” His spine was diseased, and he had not -grown since he was seven years old; but he had thought a great deal -whilst lying on his bed or couch, and his mind was of a thoughtful, -devotional bent, which sometimes led people to say that he was “too -good to live.”</p> - -<p>Winnie had known him all her life, and a sort of intimacy had grown -up between the two children. At one time the little girl had been a -constant<span class="pagenum" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</span> visitor at the lodge, but since her long illness this habit -had been broken through; and little Phil had sadly missed the visits to -which he had grown used—missed them more than Winnie had ever imagined.</p> - -<p>“I am better to-day, Phil, and mamma said she would drive me to see -you. Are you any better?”</p> - -<p>“No, Miss Winnie, I don’t suppose I’ll ever be better; but I’m used to -it, and it don’t make me fret—leastways not often.”</p> - -<p>“Only when the pain is very bad?” suggested Winifred compassionately, -contrasting in her own mind, as she had never done before, the -difference between this boy’s lot and her own.</p> - -<p>“Well, Miss Winnie, I don’t think it’s the pain as I mind most; I’m -kind of used even to that; ’tis the lonesomeness as makes me fret -sometimes.”</p> - -<p>“Lonesomeness!”</p> - -<p>“Why yes, you see, there ain’t hardly any folks to come in and chat a -bit, and I can’t get to school; and I’ve read all my books till I know -them by heart; and since you’ve been so weak like and poorly there -hasn’t seemed anything to make the time pass.”</p> - -<p>Winnie’s heart smote her sorely, and her face<span class="pagenum" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</span> flushed suddenly with -pain and shame. She knew it had more often been idleness than weakness -which had kept her during the past months from visiting Phil as before; -and certainly there could be no excuse for forgetting to lend him -books, as she had always done before, from her well-filled shelves. -When she thought of the piles of brightly-bound story-books which had -been showered upon her during her tardy convalescence, she hardly knew -how to look Phil in the face, so ashamed did she feel of her neglect.</p> - -<p>“I am so sorry, Phil,” she faltered, blushing and looking down.</p> - -<p>“Oh, don’t you trouble about it, Miss Winnie. Folks didn’t ought to -fret for little troubles like that. Besides, I think sometimes it’s -done me good, all that thinking I had time for then.”</p> - -<p>Winifred drew a little nearer, interested by the look on Phil’s face.</p> - -<p>“What did you think about?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, ever such a lot of things; and by-and-by it seemed quite clear.”</p> - -<p>“What seemed clear?”</p> - -<p>“Why, that it was wrong to fret as I’d been doing—wrong to feel so -lonesome.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</span></p> - -<p>“But why was it wrong?”</p> - -<p>“Because it seemed kind of not trusting the Lord Jesus. He said He’d -always be with us to take care of us and comfort us; and sure enough He -is, if only we’ll just look up and find Him.”</p> - -<p>Winifred looked awed and reverent.</p> - -<p>“Did you look up and find Him, Phil?”</p> - -<p>“I did after a bit; but it was a good while before I seemed able to see -Him.”</p> - -<p>Winifred sighed, and looked wistful.</p> - -<p>“I wish I could do that. I do so wish Jesus lived down here, so that -we could just go and see Him and talk to Him, then it would be all so -nice. Heaven seems such a long way off; it doesn’t seem as if He could -see us or hear us right away there.”</p> - -<p>“Well, just at first perhaps it doesn’t,” answered Phil, with a -far-away look in his eyes, “but that feeling goes off by-and-by, and -He seems quite near—at least he does to me; and I <em>know</em>, just -as well as if I could see Him, that He’s listening to me, and that He -loves me, just as He loved those little children as He blessed when He -did live down here.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</span></p> - -<p>“Do you feel like that, Phil?” said Winifred. “I wish I could too.”</p> - -<p>“I think you will, Miss Winnie, if you think much about Him, and ask -Him to help you to see Him. It seems as if He likes folks to ask Him -things, so as He can give them what they want; leastways, it has always -seemed so to me.”</p> - -<p>“Do you like thinking about Jesus?” asked Winnie, after a few minutes’ -silence.</p> - -<p>“Why, yes, to be sure I do. You see—you see—” and there Phil paused.</p> - -<p>“What, Phil?”</p> - -<p>“You see, Miss Winnie, I can’t help thinking as I shall go to Him -before so very long. Folks don’t tell me so, but I can kind of see it -in their faces, and it sets me thinking.”</p> - -<p>Winifred looked grave and awed. She hesitated a little before she could -bring herself to ask the next question, and when she did so it was in a -very low voice.</p> - -<p>“Do you mean that you think you will die soon, Phil?”</p> - -<p>“Why, yes, Miss Winnie; I know the doctor doesn’t think I can live very -much longer.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</span></p> - -<p>Winifred’s face was very grave and rather pale; she drew a little -nearer the boy’s couch.</p> - -<p>“Doesn’t it make you frightened to think about dying, Phil?” she said.</p> - -<p>“Not now, Miss Winnie; it did once. I was ever so much afraid at first, -and couldn’t bear to believe it. But I couldn’t help thinking about it, -do what I would, and now I don’t feel a bit afraid.”</p> - -<p>“I think I should be afraid,” said Winnie.</p> - -<p>“Not if you loved Jesus,” answered the boy, with a sudden smile like -sunshine lighting all his face.</p> - -<p>“I think now I am glad to go, if it is His will to take me.”</p> - -<p>“Glad!”</p> - -<p>“Why, you see, Miss Winnie, I’m not like other lads. I can’t do no work -in the world, I can only lie here and bear the pain. I’d be ashamed to -fret and make a fuss over it, when the Lord bore such a deal more for -us; but it do make me glad to think as it won’t last always, and that -He will call me soon to come to Him, where there won’t be any more pain -to bear or any sorrow either.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</span></p> - -<p>Something in the words struck a chord of memory in Winifred’s heart.</p> - -<p>“That’s just what the angel said to me—no pain, and no sorrow,” she -said in a dreamy way. “Will He send an angel for you, Phil?”</p> - -<p>“Sometimes I fancy He will, Miss Winnie; but we don’t know His ways, we -can only guess.”</p> - -<p>“I wonder if He will send my angel,” said the child, still intent on -her own thought.</p> - -<p>“Your angel, Miss Winnie?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, the one that came the other night to teach me how naughty I had -been. Oh, I forgot, you don’t know, I had <em>such</em> a dream a few -nights ago, Phil, I think I should like to tell it to you.”</p> - -<p>So Winifred told her strange dream, and Phil listened with absorbed -attention.</p> - -<p>“That was a nice dream, Miss Winnie,” he said at the close. “You -wouldn’t be afraid to go away with the angel, would you?”</p> - -<p>“Oh no. I don’t think I should be afraid to go with the angel—only I -should be afraid, I think, to die.”</p> - -<p>“But,” said Phil in a slow, thoughtful way, “I think dying just means -going away with God’s angel. I don’t think there’s any difference.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</span></p> - -<p>Winifred was silent awhile, and then said slowly:</p> - -<p>“If that’s it, Phil, perhaps I shouldn’t be afraid, for I do love -Jesus, and I should like to see Him. Phil, do you think the angel will -come for me soon?”</p> - -<p>Phil looked at the child, his great hollow eyes full of thought, and -answered gravely;</p> - -<p>“I don’t know, Miss Winnie.”</p> - -<p>“I am not ill like you, am I?”</p> - -<p>“No, not like me.”</p> - -<p>“Do you think I am ill?”</p> - -<p>“Some folks think so, Miss Winnie, by all I hear; but nobody can tell -when we shall die except God, and it can’t much matter so long as He -knows, can it?”</p> - -<p>Winnie sat grave and pensive for a long while; but there was no fear in -her face, hardly any surprise. Both children were too much in earnest -to feel that anything strange had passed between them.</p> - -<p>“I wonder if that is what they meant. I wonder if I am going -<em>there</em> when the swallows go.”</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</span></p> - -<h3 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI.<br /> -WINIFRED’S BROTHERS.</h3> -</div> - - -<div> - <img class="drop-cap" src="images/dc001.jpg" width="100" alt=""/> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="upper-case">Winifred</span> went away from little Phil’s home in a grave and quiet mood; -but she did not feel unhappy, and she did not feel afraid.</p> - -<p>This serious mood lasted for many days, during which the child did a -great deal of thinking, although, with the invariable reticence of -childhood, she did not speak of her thoughts to those about her.</p> - -<p>She did not leave Phil’s couch under any distinct impression of -approaching death. What had passed between the two children was not -sufficient to make Winnie think she was going to die; but the talk -with the sick boy had put new thoughts into her head, made plain some<span class="pagenum" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</span> -puzzling questions which had troubled her before, and given her food -for much meditation.</p> - -<p>The sense of approaching change seemed to overshadow her more and more -as days passed on.</p> - -<p>Nobody spoke to her of any journey, and yet something in Winnie’s heart -seemed to tell her every day that she was going away—that a time would -soon come when she would have to say good-bye to those around her, and -go, she knew not whither.</p> - -<p>She watched the swallows with an ever-increasing interest, for were -they not going too before very long? They, too, were feeling as she was -feeling, that some power stronger than themselves was working within -them, and would in time urge them to the last flight. They would have -to go when they were bidden, and they would obey the voiceless call -without a murmur and without a fear, and why should she not do the same?</p> - -<p>“They don’t know where they are going, and I don’t know where I am -going,” mused the child sometimes. “They don’t know the way, and I -don’t know the way. But they aren’t afraid to go. They know that -something will show them the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</span> way, and will take them to a nice place -where they can be happy. I don’t see why I need be afraid either. -Mamma knows where I am going, I think. She will take care of me; and -God knows too, and He will take care of me. I think it must be God who -takes care of the swallows and shows them where to go. If He is so kind -to the birds, He is sure not to forget me. I don’t see why we need ever -be afraid of anything, because He can always take care of us.”</p> - -<p>But in the midst of new thoughts Winifred did not forget the old wish, -to do things for other people, and make herself of use.</p> - -<p>She took the boys’ play-room under her special care. She looked after -their toys, their books, and all those nameless treasures which a -housemaid despises, and destroys, but which she could appreciate and -care for.</p> - -<p>She let them come to her now with all their stories, either of sorrow -or joy, and was always ready with sympathy or congratulation. She -mended their gloves, and sewed on refractory buttons, and never sent -them out of the nursery because their noise made her head ache.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</span></p> - -<p>Charley and Ronald were affectionate boys, and very fond of their -little sister. Now that she had begun to be interested in their -affairs, and to encourage their attentions, it seemed as if they could -not make enough of her, and a very happy nursery party was always to -be found round the fire each evening, the brothers chattering away -to Winnie of all the day’s adventures, she listening with unfeigned -interest, and more often than not working with her active little -fingers at some light task in their service.</p> - -<p>She liked to hear about the other boys who shared her brothers’ studies -with the tutor in the nearest town. She soon learnt to know their -names, their characters, and dispositions, and to take an interest in -every one; and by-and-by she revealed a little plan which had long been -working in her head.</p> - -<p>“Charley,” she said one evening, “do you think it would be nice to give -a tea-party?”</p> - -<p>“A tea-party, Winnie?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, a sort of a tea-party on a Saturday afternoon, and ask all the -boys. Do you think they would care to come?” asked the little girl.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</span></p> - -<p>“Come here!”</p> - -<p>Charley and Ronald looked pleased and interested; and both fastened -their eyes eagerly upon Winifred, as if to make sure of her meaning.</p> - -<p>“Yes, I feel as if I should like to see them, before—I mean I have -heard about them and I think it would be nice to know them a little. Do -you think they would come?”</p> - -<p>“I’m sure they would!” cried Ronald, “they’d like it awfully.”</p> - -<p>“Would you like it too?”</p> - -<p>“Of course we should. You’re a brick, Winnie, for thinking of it,” -cried Charley. “What could have put it into your head?”</p> - -<p>Winifred smiled in the quiet way which had grown upon her of late.</p> - -<p>“I don’t quite know. I seem to think of a lot of things now.”</p> - -<p>“You do,” assented Charley with an emphasis that brought a flush of -pleasure to Winifred’s pale face. “You think of everything now. I can’t -think what we did before you were well enough to look after our things. -I knew they were always in a horrid muddle.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</span></p> - -<p>Winnie smiled and sighed too.</p> - -<p>“I wish I’d begun before,” she said, “when I had more time. I wish I -hadn’t been so lazy before.”</p> - -<p>“You weren’t lazy, you were ill,” said Charley stoutly. “But you’re -getting better now—you’ll soon be well, won’t you, Winnie?”</p> - -<p>Charley spoke with a certain earnestness of manner which made his -sister look at him to see what made him ask the question.</p> - -<p>“Oh yes, I think so, Charley,” she answered. “I think I’m going to get -well quite soon.”</p> - -<p>Ronald’s thoughts were busy with the proposed plan of the tea-party.</p> - -<p>“It would be jolly,” he said, “awfully jolly. Do you think mamma will -let us have it?”</p> - -<p>“Oh yes, I am almost sure she will,” answered Winnie. “I will ask her -to-night. I was waiting till I had asked you, because I wanted to know -first if you thought it would be nice.”</p> - -<p>“Will it be soon?” Ronald asked eagerly.</p> - -<p>“I should like it to be soon,” answered Winnie, “just as soon as we can -have it. Next Saturday, perhaps. That is three days off.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</span></p> - -<p>“Oh, jolly!” cried Ronald. “I like things to come soon. I can’t bear to -wait.”</p> - -<p>“No, I don’t think it would do to wait,” answered the little girl, her -eyes turning towards the window, which overlooked the water-meadows -where the swallows were beginning to gather.</p> - -<p>Charley’s eyes followed the direction of her glance, and then returned -to her face.</p> - -<p>“Why wouldn’t it do to wait?” he asked with a touch of uneasiness in -his voice. “What are you thinking of, Winnie?”</p> - -<p>“Of the swallows,” she answered still absently; “we must have it before -they go, you know!”</p> - -<p>“Why?” and Charley opened his eyes wide, not seeing the connection.</p> - -<p>Winifred awoke from her daydream with a little start, and smiled.</p> - -<p>“Oh, I don’t quite know. Perhaps it is all fancy. Only it seems -sometimes as if everything would be different when the swallows go.”</p> - -<p>Charley looked still half-uneasy and half-puzzled; but Ronald had so -many questions to ask about the tea-party that there was no time to -wonder more about Winifred’s thoughts.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</span></p> - -<p>“Will anybody else come beside our fellows?”</p> - -<p>“I shall ask Violet,” answered Winifred. “She will be pleased to come, -and can stay with me whilst you and the boys are playing in the garden -before tea. We will get it all ready for you. Violet will like that; -I don’t think I have been quite kind lately. I have forgotten her -sometimes; and poor little Vi has no brothers, and not half so many -nice things as I have. I wish I hadn’t been so selfish.”</p> - -<p>Winifred sighed a little, and Charley stood up and put his arm about -her neck.</p> - -<p>“You’re not selfish, Winnie. You’re just as nice as you can be. -Everybody says so. Everybody loves you—I know it, if you don’t.”</p> - -<p>“Of course they do, Win,” added Ronald, waking up to what was passing. -“All the fellows ask about you. They all want to know how you are -when you’re ill. They don’t know you hardly at all; but they all like -you—everybody does.”</p> - -<p>Winifred was pleased to hear this, although she hardly felt to deserve -praise.</p> - -<p>“People are very nice and kind,” she said smiling. “I shall like to see -the boys. I know mamma will<span class="pagenum" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</span> let us have a very nice tea-party. Cook -will be pleased too; she will like to make us nice things.”</p> - -<p>“Jolly!” cried Ronald again, whilst Charley said more gravely:</p> - -<p>“People like doing what you want them to, I think, Winnie.”</p> - -<p>Winifred was silent a moment, thinking, then she said half-shyly:</p> - -<p>“Should you like to do something that I wanted you to, Charley?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, to be sure I should.”</p> - -<p>“So should I,” added Ronald.</p> - -<p>It was a little while before Winifred spoke: but the boys waited -eagerly to hear her commands. They had been wishing one to another that -they could do something to please their little sister.</p> - -<p>“I should like very much, if you didn’t mind, if you would go every -week to see little Phil at the lodge. He is so lonely.”</p> - -<p>“Oh yes, I’ll go!” answered Charley. “I like poor Phil, but I’m afraid -I’ve forgotten him often; but he likes you best, Winnie.”</p> - -<p>“I shall go to see him as long as I can,” answered Winnie. “But—but—”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</span></p> - -<p>“Why, Winnie!” cried Ronald, “you’re not going to be ill again this -winter, are you?”</p> - -<p>“Oh no, I hope not—I don’t think so. Only—I—I fancy perhaps I shan’t -be able to go and see poor little Phil very much longer. I should like -to think you would go instead, and talk to him and lend him books, so -that he will not miss me very much. Sometimes I think he’ll die before -very long.”</p> - -<p>Charley’s face was grave and troubled; but all he said was:</p> - -<p>“We’ll take care of him, Winnie. He shan’t be dull if we can help it. -I’ll never forget him any more, I promise you.”</p> - -<p>“Thank you,” said Winnie gratefully, and her heart felt the lighter for -this promise. She knew Charley would not fail when he had once pledged -himself.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Digby gave a willing consent to Winifred’s plan for the proposed -tea-party; and entered into an animated discussion of its every detail. -It was arranged for the following Saturday. The guests were to be -invited for three o’clock, to have games in the garden, tea in the -nursery, charades in the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</span> play-room, and fireworks after supper just -before going home.</p> - -<p>Everything sounded delightful, and the boys went off in high spirits to -prepare their lessons.</p> - -<p>“Mamma,” said Winnie, after she was in bed, her mother still remaining -beside her, “may I give away some of my books and toys to Violet when -she comes?”</p> - -<p>“What makes you wish to do so, dear?”</p> - -<p>“I have so many, you know, mamma, and Violet has so few, and she would -be so pleased. Besides, I feel sometimes as if I was growing older. I -don’t seem to care so much for toys and fairy tales. I like some of my -books better than ever; but I hardly ever read the stories I used to be -so fond of, and I haven’t played with my dolls—Oh, I don’t know when!”</p> - -<p>“And so you would like Violet to have them instead, would you?” asked -Mrs. Digby, caressing the child’s head.</p> - -<p>“Yes, mamma, if you don’t mind. I feel as if I’d not been quite kind -to Violet all this while. She would have liked to come here oftener to -play, and I haven’t asked her; and I haven’t<span class="pagenum" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</span> been to see her when I -know she would have liked it. I didn’t think about things once; but I -do now, and I know it wasn’t quite right of me.”</p> - -<p>“And you think Violet would be pleased by having the dolls and fairy -tales?”</p> - -<p>“I think she would; and I should like to feel that she had them. You -don’t mind, do you, mamma?”</p> - -<p>“No, dearest. If you do not want your toys yourself, it is better to -give them to some one who will be pleased by having them.”</p> - -<p>“Yes; and it will be nice to have seen the boys’ friends, and to have -made Vi happy. I wonder I never thought about it before. Mamma, the -swallows won’t have gone by Saturday, will they?”</p> - -<p>“No, darling, no,” and it seemed as if Mrs. Digby’s voice shook. “They -will gather a long while yet. What makes my little girl think so much -of the swallows?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t quite know, mamma. Sometimes I can’t help fancying that -everything will be different when the swallows have gone.”</p> - -<p>The mother kissed her child very fervently and tenderly, and left the -room without another word.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</span></p> - -<p>To her surprise she found Charley lingering about the door, as if -waiting for her. His face wore a troubled look, and he did not speak -at once, but followed his mother down the passage, and did not speak -until they reached the window at the end of the corridor near to the -staircase, which looked over the water-meadows.</p> - -<p>“Mamma,” he said then, looking up into her face, “have you been crying?”</p> - -<p>“Just a tear or two, my boy. What makes you ask?”</p> - -<p>Charley was nearly fifteen, and old enough to have been made anxious by -one or two things he had heard and seen of late.</p> - -<p>“Were you crying about Winnie? Mamma, is there anything the matter with -Winnie?”</p> - -<p>“Your little sister is in a very precarious state of health, Charley.”</p> - -<p>“I know, mamma, she is pale and thin and weak; but she was much worse -last winter.”</p> - -<p>“She <em>seemed</em> to be worse, my boy.”</p> - -<p>“Mamma, mamma!” cried Charley anxiously, “you don’t mean—Oh, mamma, -she isn’t—”</p> - -<p>The boy could not say the words, but his eyes<span class="pagenum" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</span> spoke his meaning -plainly enough. Mrs. Digby’s tears fell for a moment fast and freely; -but then they were checked, and she answered steadily:</p> - -<p>“We are in God’s hands, dear Charley, and our precious little child is -under His care. He may be willing to spare her to us a little longer. -We may all pray and even hope; God’s ways are not our ways, and He is -very merciful.”</p> - -<p>Charley’s face grew pale. He saw by his mother’s looks how little hope -she had.</p> - -<p>“Mamma!” he cried; “Oh, mamma!”</p> - -<p>“Dear Charley,” she said tenderly, “we must all be brave; we may still -pray to God to spare our darling, only we must pray first ‘Thy will be -done.’”</p> - -<p>The boy choked and a lump rose in his throat; then he commanded his -voice and asked:</p> - -<p>“What does Dr. Howard say?”</p> - -<p>“He says that—that—he thinks Winifred cannot get any better.”</p> - -<p>There was silence after this, and then the boy said more slowly and -calmly:</p> - -<p>“Does Winnie know?”</p> - -<p>“I do not know how much; but from what she says I feel sure she knows -something.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</span></p> - -<p>“It was her talk to-day made me begin to think,” said the boy with a -tearless sob. “Oh mamma, she is such a dear Winnie; and she talks just -as if she were going away.”</p> - -<p>“My poor Charley, we shall all miss our sweet little girl; but, dear -boy, we must remember where she has gone, and Who has taken her.”</p> - -<p>The boy sobbed on still.</p> - -<p>“She will never come back any more.”</p> - -<p>“No, Charley—could we really wish her back? She will not come to us; -but we may go to her. That must then be more than ever the aim of our -lives.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, yes,” said the boy; and by-and-by he asked in a whisper, “When?”</p> - -<p>“Ah, Charley, I ask that question every day. Sometimes I think it will -not be very long after the swallows go.”</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</span></p> - -<h3 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII.<br /> -WINIFRED’S PARTY.</h3> -</div> - - - -<div> - <img class="drop-cap" src="images/dc001.jpg" width="100" alt=""/> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="upper-case">Winifred’s</span> tea-party was a great success. Preparations for it occupied -the child’s mind for the three days previous to the important Saturday, -and by the time the day had arrived nothing had been neglected which -she thought could add to the enjoyment of the expected guests.</p> - -<p>They had arrived punctual to the appointed hour, and had had fine games -in the garden and meadows, which Winifred and Violet had watched from -the nursery window.</p> - -<p>They had had a splendid tea in the nursery, and had fully appreciated -the good fare which their little hostess had pressed upon them. They -were all very gentle to Winifred, and seemed to wish to sit by her and -talk to her, and the little girl had<span class="pagenum" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</span> been pleased to think that her -brothers’ friends liked her.</p> - -<p>Every one had enjoyed the tea very much, and although Charley had -looked a little grave, as he had done for three days past, he did not -seem unhappy; and he made so much of his little sister, that she could -not wish him other than he was.</p> - -<p>The boys had gone away to romp in the play-room now, and Winifred was -left alone in the nursery with Violet for her companion.</p> - -<p>She was rather tired with her exertions on behalf of her guests, and -was glad to curl herself up in a comfortable corner of the old sofa, -and rest herself after her labours.</p> - -<p>“It was a nice tea-party,” said Violet, coming and sitting beside her -friend; “I don’t think I ever was at a nicer one; I do so like boys!” -and the little girl sighed and wished she had some brothers.</p> - -<p>“They were nice boys,” said Winifred smiling. “I am glad I know them -now.”</p> - -<p>“Didn’t you know them before?”</p> - -<p>“No, hardly at all.”</p> - -<p>“How funny! If I had brothers I should always want to know all their -friends.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</span></p> - -<p>Violet was a merry little maiden, not at all given to grave moods, or -over-much meditation. Her parents were poor, and she had never had many -toys or books, or even as many friends as she would have liked. There -were very few people living near, and there was no carriage to take her -to other people’s houses; so the little girl had been dependent upon -her own happy temper and limited resources for most of the enjoyment of -life.</p> - -<p>Such a tea-party as the one in which she had just been joining was an -immense treat to her. She could not understand how it was that Winifred -had not cared before to cultivate the acquaintance of such nice boys.</p> - -<p>“I’m afraid it was because I was selfish,” said Winifred gravely.</p> - -<p>“You selfish!” cried Violet, opening her eyes wide; “Oh, Winnie, I’m -sure you’re not.”</p> - -<p>“I’m afraid I have been, Vi; I wish I hadn’t; but I don’t think I knew -it before. I didn’t see things that I see now.”</p> - -<p>“Why do you see them now?” asked Violet with interest; but Winifred -did not answer just at once, and the child, too excited to sit down, -strayed to the window and looked out.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</span></p> - -<p>“What a lot of swallows!”</p> - -<p>“Yes. They are beginning to gather. Don’t you know that they will go -soon?”</p> - -<p>“Go!”</p> - -<p>“Yes, they fly away, you know, to other countries, and come back again -in the spring.”</p> - -<p>“Do they? How clever of them! How do they know when to go, and where to -go?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t exactly know. I think it must be God who teaches them.”</p> - -<p>“God! But God can’t care about the swallows!”</p> - -<p>“I think God cares about everything,” said Winifred dreamily. “If he -didn’t take care of the swallows, how could they find their way?”</p> - -<p>“But swallows are such little things; I don’t see how God can care for -them.”</p> - -<p>Winifred did not say anything at first, so Violet turned from the -window to look at her.</p> - -<p>“Violet,” she said presently; “I think if God didn’t care about little -things, He couldn’t care about big ones either.”</p> - -<p>“Why not?”</p> - -<p>“Because it is little things that make big ones. I don’t think anything -is really so very little.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t see,” said Violet, knitting her brow.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</span></p> - -<p>Winifred pondered awhile.</p> - -<p>“Mamma once told me a story about it, when I was ill; I don’t think I -understood then—I mean I didn’t think what it meant; but I have been -thinking about it lately—I understand better now.”</p> - -<p>“A story!” repeated Violet, with more animation in her tone. “I like -listening to stories. Tell me the story, please, Winnie.”</p> - -<p>“I will soon, when it gets dark. I want you to look in that box there -in the corner, and see if you like the things in it.”</p> - -<p>Violet went eagerly to work, lifting the lid, and carefully examining -each of the parcels disclosed to view. As she did so, rapturous -exclamations of delight escaped her.</p> - -<p>Winifred had taken great pains with her selection of toys and books -and pretty trifles. Such a box as Violet was now examining would have -filled any child with delight. Poor little Violet, who had always -suffered from a lack of childish treasures, could not say enough, nor -admire enough; she was in a perfect ecstasy.</p> - -<p>“Oh, Winnie, how lovely! What perfectly sweet things! Oh, I never saw -such a lot of lovely<span class="pagenum" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</span> toys! That doll is just a darling! Oh! whoever -did send you such a splendid box?”</p> - -<p>“Nobody sent it to me,” answered Winifred, with a little smile. “I am -going to send it to a little girl—a friend of mine.”</p> - -<p>Violet was replacing the things in the box with careful, gentle -fingers. She gave a little sigh as she wrapped up the beautiful doll in -its paper, and gave it one little kiss before she hid its pretty face.</p> - -<p>Winifred heard both the sigh and the kiss.</p> - -<p>“How pleased the little girl will be!” said Violet, as she closed the -box-lid lingeringly.</p> - -<p>“I hope she will. I don’t think she has a great many toys; and she is -fond of dolls and puzzles and fairy tales.”</p> - -<p>“Like me,” Violet was just going to say; but she checked herself, and -said instead,</p> - -<p>“Does she? How pleased she will be!”</p> - -<p>“I hope she will.”</p> - -<p>“Of course she will; she must be. Do I know her?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“Do you like her? Is she a nice little girl?”</p> - -<p>“I think so.”</p> - -<p>“What is her name?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</span></p> - -<p>“Her name is Violet.”</p> - -<p>Violet gave such a jump that Winifred could not help laughing.</p> - -<p>“Yes, Vi dear, the box is for you if you will have it, and you are to -take it home with you to-night. You see, I’m getting too old now to -care for dolls and toys, and then—and then—Well, I thought perhaps -you would like them, and I should like you to have them, because I have -been fond of them, and I know you will take care of them. And so the -box is yours now.”</p> - -<p>It was some time before Violet could really believe the wonderful news, -and then it seemed as if she could not thank Winifred enough. She -kissed her and hugged her, and showed in every way in her power how -delighted she was; and Winifred felt very glad she had thought of a way -to make her little friend so happy.</p> - -<p>“You are the dearest Winnie in the world,” said Violet, nestling close -up to her at last. “I love you a whole lot.” And by-and-by she added, -after a little pause, “You are not going away anywhere, are you, -Winnie?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t quite know,” answered Winifred slowly. “What makes you think -so?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</span></p> - -<p>“I thought I heard papa and mamma say something like it—something -about how you would be missed—how sorry people would be when you had -gone. I could not be quite sure, but I thought they were talking about -you, Winnie. When I asked mamma she would not tell me, but I thought -she <em>looked</em> somehow as if it was true; is it, Winnie?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know, Vi; nobody has said anything to me. Sometimes I fancy -perhaps I am going somewhere, but I don’t know.”</p> - -<p>“Would you like to go?” asked Vi with interest. “Will it make you quite -well again to go? Do you know where you are going?”</p> - -<p>Twilight had crept into the room, and the dancing firelight made -flickering lights and shadows upon the walls and low ceiling. Winifred -held Violet’s warm hand in hers, and spoke more plainly to her than she -had ever done before.</p> - -<p>“Vi,” she said gently, “you won’t cry if I tell you?”</p> - -<p>“No, Winnie; why should I?” but the tone was a little apprehensive, and -Violet crept closer to her little friend, and looked into her face.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</span></p> - -<p>“I think, Vi, that I am going to heaven.”</p> - -<p>Violet started, and held Winifred’s hand closer and closer, in a -frightened way.</p> - -<p>“Oh no, no, Winnie! you can’t mean that! Oh no, it can’t be so -dreadful!”</p> - -<p>“It isn’t dreadful, Vi. Going to heaven couldn’t be dreadful, you know.”</p> - -<p>Violet made no answer.</p> - -<p>“I thought at first that I was only going away with nurse to a warmer -country to get well again, but now, I think—I am almost sure—that I -am going to heaven soon. Don’t cry, Vi.”</p> - -<p>“Why do you think so?” sobbed the child.</p> - -<p>“I don’t know if I can explain, quite. It seems as if something inside -told me—just as something tells the swallows when they are to go.”</p> - -<p>“The swallows come back,” said Violet, with another convulsive sob.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” answered Winifred dreamily; “but when we get to heaven, Vi, I do -not think we shall want to come back.”</p> - -<p>Violet checked her tears presently, and asked: “Aren’t you afraid, -Winnie?”</p> - -<p>“No; not now.”</p> - -<p>“I should be.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</span></p> - -<p>“I was once; but I’m so <em>sure</em> now that God will take care of me. -When the swallows go they’re not afraid, and they don’t know where they -are going, and they don’t know the way. God takes care of them, so I -can’t help being quite sure that He will take care of me.”</p> - -<p>Violet sat silent, staring into the fire. By-and-by she heaved a great -sigh.</p> - -<p>“How sorry every one will be! How they will all miss you!”</p> - -<p>“Do you think they will?”</p> - -<p>“Oh yes. Why everybody loves you, Winnie. You are so good and kind to -every one.”</p> - -<p>“I’m afraid not,” answered Winnie gravely. “I used to think about -pleasing people, but since I’ve been ill I’ve got very selfish; I did -nothing for anybody, and did not try to be even kind or pleasant.”</p> - -<p>“You were ill,” answered Vi; “you couldn’t help it. You couldn’t come -to see people. It was very naughty of me to be cross with you.”</p> - -<p>Another childish conscience was pricking its owner, bringing to mind -sundry cross words and ungracious complaints which had fallen from her -lips during the past months.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</span></p> - -<p>Winifred saw at once that her neglect had pained her little friend.</p> - -<p>“I could have asked you to come to me,” she said quickly. “It was very -naughty and selfish of me to think of nobody else. It makes me very -sorry now, that I was so lazy and so unkind.”</p> - -<p>“Don’t, Winnie; you weren’t,” interrupted Violet. “And now you’re just -as kind as you can be—everybody says so. What will they do——?”</p> - -<p>Violet stopped short, the tears in her eyes.</p> - -<p>Winifred knew what she meant, and answered it.</p> - -<p>“Mamma will miss me most,” she said. “Vi dear, I want you to do -something for me. Will you come to see mamma as often as you can, and -try to comfort her? She is fond of you, and she will like it. She -hasn’t another little girl; but if you would come in and talk to her, -and tell her things, and kiss her, and be fond of her, I am sure she -would like it. She is fond of you, Vi.”</p> - -<p>“I will, Winnie. I love your mamma a whole lot. I should like to come -and see her and tell her things. But oh, Winnie, I can’t bear to think -about it—it seems so sad and dreadful.”</p> - -<p>“We won’t think about it, then, nor talk about it, if you don’t like. I -haven’t talked to anybody<span class="pagenum" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</span> else, Vi, and I don’t know—It is only what -I fancy. I may—perhaps—be wrong.”</p> - -<p>Violet took courage from this idea, which she eagerly seized upon. -Children soon turn their minds from a subject which seems sad or -painful.</p> - -<p>“You have not told me your story yet, Winnie; and it is quite dark -enough now.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, and almost time to go down to watch the boys’ charade; but I -will just tell you what it was, as I promised, because I think perhaps -it would be easier to be good if we could always remember that little -things matter just as much as big ones, and are really often harder to -think of, and to do.”</p> - -<p>Winifred paused a moment, whilst Violet settled herself to listen to -the story.</p> - -<p>“It isn’t a very long one, and I can’t tell it nicely like mamma; but -it was about a little boy whom she once knew quite well—a nice little -boy whom everybody was fond of, because he was so good-tempered and -merry. His name was Frank, and he lived in a nice little house with his -mother, and they were very happy.</p> - -<p>“One day a pane of glass was broken in the green-house. It was Frank -who had done it by<span class="pagenum" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</span> accident, but he told a lie, and said he hadn’t. It -was the first time he had ever told a lie, and it seemed a very little -one, and he didn’t think much about it. But then after he had told one -story he told another, and then another, and at last his mother found -him out, and was so shocked and grieved about it that she sent him to -school.</p> - -<p>“For a little while he seemed to do better; but by-and-by he began to -tell little lies again to get out of trouble, and then he told big -ones, and a wicked big boy found him out once in a great lie, and said -he would tell of him if Frank would not help him in some wicked thing -he wanted to do. So Frank promised he would, and the big boy led him -into all sorts of dreadful mischief, and at last it got found out by -the schoolmaster, and Frank was expelled.”</p> - -<p>“Oh!” ejaculated Violet, opening her eyes wide. “What did his mother -say then?”</p> - -<p>“His mother never saw him,” answered Winifred gravely, “for he was -afraid to go home; and he ran away to sea, and led a miserable, wicked -life for a great many years, and never once wrote to tell his mother -that he was alive, or what had become of him.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</span></p> - -<p>“How wicked!”</p> - -<p>“Yes, it was wicked; and it broke his mother’s heart; and when she -could find out nothing about him, and months and years went by without -any news, she grew weaker and weaker, and sadder and sadder, and -by-and-by she died. Think, Vi, if he hadn’t told that little lie about -the pane of glass, or any other <em>little</em> lie, perhaps he might -have grown up a good man.”</p> - -<p>“Is that the end of the story, Winnie?”</p> - -<p>“No, not quite; for by-and-by when he was a man he thought he would go -back and see his mother again. He was poor, and miserable, and wicked, -and he had been very ill, and he thought he would go back and try and -be a good son if only his mother would forgive him. Well, he came back -to England and went to his own village, and found that his mother was -dead, and that she had died through his wicked conduct. Nobody knew -Frank because he had changed so much, and nobody said a kind word to -him. They did not know him, though he knew some of them. He was so -desperate and miserable that he determined he would kill himself; and -in the evening he crept down the village street to get to the river, -and he<span class="pagenum" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</span> meant to shoot himself there, and let his body fall into the -water and be carried away.”</p> - -<p>“And did he?” asked Vi, in an awe-struck tone.</p> - -<p>“No; for as he was passing down the street he passed the school-room, -and the door was open, and he saw that the room was full of people. -He just fancied he would like to see what was going on, so he crept -into the porch and listened. The clergyman was talking to the children -and people, telling them about the prodigal son coming home to his -father; and then he said that he would give them just one little text -to remember, three little words which would always be a help if ever -they had done wrong and were afraid whether they could be forgiven. The -little text was ‘God is Love’—just that; and he talked to them about -God and God’s love so earnestly, that poor Frank forgot all about the -wicked plan in his head, and listened for every word; and he could not -help crying as he thought how wicked he was and how good God was, and -he crept away to cry outside; and when the clergyman came out, he saw -him sitting on the ground, and he went and spoke to him and found out -who he was. And the clergyman<span class="pagenum" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</span> had been a friend of Frank’s mother and -had known him when he was a boy; and he was taking care of some money -which the mother had left for him in case he ever came back. And so -he took Frank home with him, and talked to him and comforted him and -helped him to be a good man; and Frank tried very hard, and always -thought of the three little words, and by-and-by he did grow to love -God and to be a good man, and mamma knows him now, and says he is very -kind and good. And he is never tired of telling people how important -little things are; because it was just a little lie which began all -his wickedness, and it was one little text of three little words which -stopped him from killing himself, and made him try to be a good man -again.”</p> - -<p>“That is a nice story,” said Violet. “I am so glad he got good at last.”</p> - -<p>“I am so glad that ‘God is Love,’” said Winnie.</p> - -<p>“I will try never to do little naughty things again,” added Violet; -“I mean I will try never to call them little or think them little any -more.”</p> - -<p>They had not time to discuss the subject any longer, for the boys came -rushing up to tell<span class="pagenum" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</span> them that the charade was just going to begin, and -that their presence was requested for the occasion.</p> - -<p>The acting was very funny and amusing, and the boys did it very well. -Winifred and Violet laughed heartily, and all grave thoughts seemed for -the time quite driven away.</p> - -<p>Then came the supper in the dining-room, and crackers were pulled and -jokes cracked, and everybody was very merry and gay.</p> - -<p>Winifred was quite the queen of the night; and so much attention was -heaped upon her that she hardly knew how to respond to it all.</p> - -<p>Mr. Digby and Charley let off the fireworks last thing, and the -exhibition gave great delight to the whole party. Everybody agreed that -it had been a splendid evening, and the guests drove away in the big -waggonette in the highest spirits, Violet at the far end with the big -box safe under her feet.</p> - -<p>Winifred, from her sheltered nook by the hall-window, watched the -carriage drive away, and kissed her hand in answer to the boys’ -farewell cheer; then she turned away with a grave smile on her little -pale face.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</span></p> - -<p>“I think they were all pleased,” she said. “They are nice boys, -Charley. I wonder I never wanted them to come before.”</p> - -<p>“They can come often if you like them,” said Ronald, eagerly. “They -liked it awfully, and they all said you were a brick. They will come as -often as you like, I’m sure.”</p> - -<p>Winifred smiled a little.</p> - -<p>“I should like to think they would often come,” said she, slowly. “If -you like it and they like it, and mamma doesn’t mind. It would make it -nice for you, wouldn’t it, Ronald?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, jolly!” he answered, turning an agile somersault. “But you look -tired, Winnie. I’ll take you to mamma, and she’ll say you ought to be -in bed.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, I should like to go to bed,” said the child, rather wearily; “but -it has been a nice evening.”</p> - -<p class="center p0 p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img003"> - <img src="images/003.jpg" class="w20" alt="Decorative image" /> -</span></p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</span></p> - -<h3 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII.<br /> -SUNDAY.</h3> -</div> -<div> - <img class="drop-cap" src="images/dc002.jpg" width="100" alt=""/> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="upper-case">The</span> next day was Sunday, such a warm bright day, it seemed almost like -a little bit of summer come by mistake into September.</p> - -<p>Winifred had slept soundly and well after her exertions of the previous -evening, and she awoke refreshed and happy, feeling as every one else -felt, the joyousness of all around in nature’s beautiful world.</p> - -<p>“I feel so strong to-day, mamma,” she said, with one of her old, -bright, childlike smiles. “So strong and so well. It is so nice!”</p> - -<p>There was more colour than usual in the child’s face, more brightness -in her eyes, more strength in her voice and in her movements. The -mother<span class="pagenum" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</span> folded her closely to her heart, and seemed almost to breathe a -prayer over her.</p> - -<p>“Mamma,” said Winifred earnestly, “may I go to church to-day? I should -so like to. I haven’t been for six Sundays, and I do so want to go just -once more, before—before the winter comes. I do feel so strong to-day.”</p> - -<p>“I will talk to papa, darling. We should like to please you if we can. -We will talk it over together, and see what can be done.”</p> - -<p>“Thank you, mamma,” answered Winnie brightly. She was standing by -the window now, and presently she added with a smile: “Mamma, if the -weather keeps warm like this, it will be a long while before the -swallows go, won’t it?”</p> - -<p>“It will make a little difference, no doubt, dear,” answered the mother.</p> - -<p>“I don’t feel as though I was quite ready for them to go yet,” -continued Winifred gravely. “It would be nice if they would stay just a -little longer.”</p> - -<p>Mrs. Digby went away, and returned by-and-by to say that Winifred might -be driven to church by Charley in the little pony-carriage, and then<span class="pagenum" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</span> -she would be able to enjoy the service, and walk back without too much -fatigue. The child was very much pleased, and was ready in good time -for the promised drive.</p> - -<p>It was a lovely autumn day; the sun shone, the birds twittered, the air -seemed full of sweet sounds, and everything looked as bright and happy -as if such things as frost and cold and winter winds did not exist—as -if summer were perpetual.</p> - -<p>“Oh, Charley, isn’t it lovely?” cried Winifred with clasped hands -and flushed cheeks. “Isn’t it just a perfect Sunday morning? I think -it feels as if everything knew it was Sunday, birds and flowers and -everything. Do you think they do?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know, Winnie,” answered Charley; but he did not laugh at her -fancy.</p> - -<p>Winifred thought a little, and by-and-by she said:</p> - -<p>“Do you think it is always Sunday in heaven Charley?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know, Winnie; what makes you think about heaven?”</p> - -<p>“I often think about it now, and to-day it just seems as if everything -was like heaven. I wonder if it will always be Sunday there?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</span></p> - -<p>Charley made no answer.</p> - -<p>“I suppose it will, because, you see, Sunday is God’s day, and in -heaven all days will be God’s, won’t they?”</p> - -<p>“I suppose so.”</p> - -<p>Winifred pursued the thought a little farther, and then added -thoughtfully:</p> - -<p>“Every day ought to be God’s day here, too, Charley, I think, only we -don’t remember to make them so.”</p> - -<p>“We couldn’t do with Sundays all the week, Winnie,” answered the boy. -“The work would never get done at that rate.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t quite mean <em>that</em>,” said Winnie smiling. “It would not -be right to do no work. God would not like that at all; but it would -be nice if all days seemed to belong to Him alike—working Sundays and -resting Sundays. I’ve heard people say that lots of men and women never -think about God, or about being good all the week, and think it’s quite -enough to go to church on Sunday. I don’t think God can like that kind -of Sunday-keeping.”</p> - -<p>Charley was silent. He was conscious that he<span class="pagenum" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</span> had been rather after -this way of thinking himself—keeping his few thoughts of God and of -heaven and holy things for Sunday use, and putting them quite out of -his head during the busy week with its many pleasures and occupations. -Was Winifred right in her theory? Ought every day to have its share of -serious thought and prayer?</p> - -<p>“It would not be very easy to work such a plan as that, Winnie.”</p> - -<p>“Why not?”</p> - -<p>“Why because—because. Oh, don’t you know, it’s so hard to remember -about God always. I suppose it’s wrong; but I don’t feel as if I could -keep it up, if I was to try and make every day a kind of Sunday. We -can’t always be thinking of one thing.”</p> - -<p>“No, I know we can’t, we can’t always be <em>thinking</em> exactly; but -we can always be loving, you know,” answered Winnie earnestly. “We are -not always thinking about papa and mamma; but we always love them, and -we try every day to do as they wish, not to break rules, and not to vex -them.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</span></p> - -<p>“Ah yes, that is different.”</p> - -<p>“Is it?”</p> - -<p>“Well, it seems different to me.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t think it is really very different, Charley. I don’t see why it -should be, except that we ought to think even more about pleasing God -than pleasing papa and mamma, though it is not very easy.”</p> - -<p>“No, it isn’t; but I’ll think about what you’ve said, Winnie. I can’t -think where all your grown-up ideas come from. Ronald and I never -troubled our heads over such things when we were little—and we don’t -very much now for the matter of that. What is it has changed you -lately, Winnie?”</p> - -<p>The boy looked into her face with a half-troubled, half-playful look, -which Winnie answered by a very bright smile. She did not reply, for -they had reached the church by this time; but she held Charley’s hand -very fast as he led her to the pew.</p> - -<p>Winifred felt almost as if she were dreaming, as she sat in her -accustomed nook beside her mother, and looked round the grand old -church, whose every detail was as familiar to her eyes as were the -pictures and panelling of her nursery walls.</p> - -<p>It was only six weeks since she had sat there<span class="pagenum" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</span> last—only six -weeks—but what a long, long time it seemed to the child!</p> - -<p>It was almost like heaven the little girl thought when the organ began -to play. The sunshine streaming through the coloured windows, seemed -like a halo of glory. Everything was very solemn, very beautiful, and -very peaceful. Winifred said again and again in her heart:</p> - -<p>“I am so glad God let me come once again.”</p> - -<p>Shadows of the darting swallows crossed the sunny windows now and -again. Yes, the swallows never forgot her, Winifred thought, and the -swallows were always fond of flying round the church. Dreamily the -child recalled some verse of Holy Writ, which told how the swallows had -made a nest in the sanctuary of the God of Hosts.</p> - -<p>“I know God loves the swallows. I know it is He who takes care of them -when they go, and shows them the way to go. He is sure—oh quite, quite -sure to take care of me too.”</p> - -<p>The clergyman’s text seemed to chime in peculiarly happily with the -little girl’s thoughts:</p> - -<p>“Suffer little children to come unto Me; for of such is the kingdom of -heaven.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</span></p> - -<p>Winifred looked up into her mother’s face and smiled. Mrs. Digby -pressed the little hand that was slipped into hers, and her eyes -sparkled through a mist of tears as she smiled back.</p> - -<p>Winifred walked home between her two brothers, who seemed very pleased -and proud of their charge.</p> - -<p>All three children were very merry and happy together, and Ronald built -fine castles in the air of all the things they would do in the future, -when Winnie should be strong and well again.</p> - -<p>Charley, with all the hopefulness of a boy’s nature, joined in eagerly, -and Winifred listened and smiled, and took her share in the talk, and -she felt herself so strong and well that she wondered dreamily to -herself whether she had made a mistake all this time, whether perhaps -she would see the swallows go and come back again after all, without -having herself to take an unknown journey into a far-off land.</p> - -<p>As they neared the park-gates, Winifred made a suggestion:</p> - -<p>“Let us go in and see little Phil. He will be so pleased; and then I -can rest a little while.”</p> - -<p>“Are you tired?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</span></p> - -<p>“No; at least only a very little; but I should like to go and see Phil.”</p> - -<p>“All right,” said Ronald; “come on.”</p> - -<p>Phil’s couch was in the little garden to-day. The summer brightness had -tempted him out.</p> - -<p>“It seemed a pity to miss the last of the summer,” he said in answer to -Charley’s question. “It could hardly last; but it was just lovely to -feel the sun and fancy the summer had come back again.”</p> - -<p>He was very pleased to see his visitors, and thanked Winifred over and -over again for the books she had sent him, and the mittens she had made.</p> - -<p>Winifred sat looking quietly about her, listening to the boys’ chatter. -Phil was a great referee in matters pertaining to birds, and beasts, -and fishes; and Charley and Ronald wanted to ask many questions about -the respective advantages of keeping pigeons or rabbits—a point upon -which their minds had been much exercised of late.</p> - -<p>The talk was carried on with animation, and Winnie became interested as -she listened. The talk had taken a wider range.</p> - -<p>“I think you’d like guinea-fowls, Mr. Charley,”<span class="pagenum" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</span> Phil was saying. -“They’re pretty things, and more interesting, I think, than pigeons. -You say Mr. Digby’s given you the little house at the bottom of the -field; well, if you wired in a good run for them—he’d be sure to let -you do that—why that is all you’d want, and they’d do splendidly, I’m -almost sure; I kept a few once, and liked them a lot.”</p> - -<p>“Guinea-fowls are jolly things,” cried Ronald. “I like to hear them -call ‘go back!’ ‘go back!’ ‘go back!’ Let us have them, Charley. They’d -be much nicer than rabbits or pigeons.”</p> - -<p>“But,” said Charley, “it will cost so much more. We’ve got enough money -to repair the house and buy some animals; but I’m afraid we sha’n’t be -able to have a run wired in, and we couldn’t have them straying all -over the place; we should lose them, and it would never do.”</p> - -<p>Ronald’s face fell.</p> - -<p>“Would it cost much?”</p> - -<p>“Pretty much, I’m afraid. You see there would have to be the uprights, -and the wire, and a door to get in and out; and they would want a -good space or they wouldn’t do. I’m afraid it would cost two or three -pounds.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</span></p> - -<p>“Oh dear!” sighed Ronald, “then we can’t do it. I should have liked the -guinea-fowls.”</p> - -<p>“Oh yes,” cried Winnie, eagerly, “do get guinea-fowls; they are so -pretty and funny. I have got a lot of money in my box—more than three -pounds, I know. I will get the wire and wood, and make the run for -them. Oh please let me, Charley! I should so like it!”</p> - -<p>“But, Winnie, it doesn’t seem fair to take your money to spend over our -animals.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, but I want to do it, Charley, I should so like it; and I’m sure -you would so like them when you had them. Do please let me make them -their run. I don’t want my money—indeed I don’t.”</p> - -<p>Ronald clapped his hands ecstatically.</p> - -<p>“You <em>are</em> a brick, Winnie, a real trump! Charley, they have -splendid guinea-fowls at Farmer Johnson’s. We could go and talk to him -about it to-morrow after school. Oh, won’t it be jolly? I am glad you -thought of it, Phil. You shall have some eggs by-and-by, and so shall -Winnie. It’s just first-rate!”</p> - -<p>The children rose to go; all the faces were very bright.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</span></p> - -<p>“Shall you be able to come again, Miss Winnie?” asked Phil wistfully; -“it is so nice to see you sometimes.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll come if I can,” answered the child slowly; “only I’m not sure,—I -think sometimes—”</p> - -<p>“We’re afraid sometimes she won’t be able to get out much, now that -the summer is gone,” broke in Charley, with almost nervous haste; “but -we’ll come to see you, Phil, Ronald and I, so don’t look blue.”</p> - -<p>“Thank you, Mr. Charley, thank you kindly. Good-bye, Miss Winnie.”</p> - -<p>“Good-bye, Phil.”</p> - -<p>The two children smiled into each other’s eyes. It was the last look -they ever exchanged on earth.</p> - -<p class="center p0 p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img004"> - <img src="images/004.jpg" class="w20" alt="Decorative image" /> -</span></p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</span></p> - -<h3 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX.<br /> -THE LAST FLIGHT.</h3> -</div> - - -<div> - <img class="drop-cap" src="images/dc002.jpg" width="100" alt=""/> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="upper-case">The</span> summer weather lasted only three days longer, but those three days -were not wasted.</p> - -<p>Winifred was so anxious to get the guinea-fowls into their new home, -that everything else for a while gave way to that plan.</p> - -<p>The carpenter was called in to mend the little shed, and to wire in a -great square from the field to make a run for the expected tenants. The -thatcher came with his straw to fill up the holes in the roof, and the -blacksmith fixed an iron drinking-trough in one corner, and brought up -a padlock for the door of the shed.</p> - -<p>Winifred watched all these proceedings with the greatest interest. She -had not felt so strong again as she had done on Sunday; she could not -walk to the lodge or do anything which<span class="pagenum" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</span> required much exertion; but -she could just manage to get down to the home field where the work was -going on, and sit upon a tree-stump near at hand to watch the men at -work, and to ask questions as to how and why they did this or that. -Winifred found it all very interesting, and was delighted when on the -evening of the second day the home was pronounced complete.</p> - -<p>“It’s done, Charley! it’s done!” she called to them gladly, as they -came rushing down the field from their day’s lessons. “Come and see how -nice it all looks. When can the fowls come?”</p> - -<p>“To-morrow,” answered Charley. “We can bring them back with us -to-morrow. We’ve arranged it all with Farmer Johnson, and we’re going -to start with ten. You’ll see them arrive to-morrow, Winnie.”</p> - -<p>“Oh jolly!” cried Ronald; “you will like them, Winnie, they are such -jolly birds. I’d sooner keep guinea-fowls than anything now.”</p> - -<p>Winifred was as much pleased and excited as anybody, and quite -impatient for the arrival of the new pets.</p> - -<p>“I do hope they will come to-morrow, and that it will keep hot!” she -said to herself that night.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</span> “For it can’t be summer always, and the -swallows are gathering so fast—so fast. It must be nearly time for -them to go.”</p> - -<p>The next day the sun still shone warm and bright, and the thousands of -swallows in the meadows seemed as full of life and happiness as though -there were no winter cold and frost to drive them away.</p> - -<p>“We shall be home early to-day, Winnie,” cried Ronald, putting his -head in at the nursery-door last thing. “Mr. Arnold has to go to town, -and we shall get off early. You’ll be down in the field to see the -guinea-fowls come!”</p> - -<p>“Oh yes!” cried Winnie, eagerly. “I do so want to see them. I hope they -will like their new home.”</p> - -<p>Winifred waited eagerly for the appointed time to come, and was down -at the new house in the field a good half-hour too soon. The boys, -however, were punctual to their time, and soon the sound of wheels -being driven over the grass became distinctly audible.</p> - -<p>Farmer Johnson’s light spring-cart was bringing its burden down to -the appointed place; and with a good deal of clucking and calling and -screaming,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</span> the pretty, softly-marked birds were transferred from the -cart to their new home.</p> - -<p>“Oh, nice things!” cried Winnie, “how pretty they are, and how funny! I -am glad they have come. I am glad I have seen them. I do hope they will -be happy!”</p> - -<p>“Not much doubt of that, little miss,” said the good-natured farmer, as -he mounted his cart and took the reins. “They’ll be well looked after, -I’ll be bound.”</p> - -<p>“That they will!” cried Ronald, eagerly. “Aren’t they jolly birds, -Winnie?”</p> - -<p>Mr. and Mrs. Digby came down to see and admire the new comers; and -after much talk about the many perfections of the guinea-fowl, they all -walked back together to the house, discussing as they did so the number -of chickens to be hatched in the spring.</p> - -<p>Winifred’s face looked rather grave and wistful whilst this point was -under discussion; but the smiles soon came back under the cheering -influence of Ronald’s delight at their new treasures.</p> - -<p>That night the weather changed suddenly. The wind shifted from -south-west to south-east, and brought with it cold, drenching rain, and -piercing<span class="pagenum" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</span> blasts of wind, which rattled fiercely at door and window and -would not be denied an entrance.</p> - -<p>The leaves were whirled from the trees, the few flowers that remained -were battered and knocked to pieces. The water-meadows began to show -long furrows of glimmering silver, and the swallows gathered faster and -faster every day. It seemed as if winter had come with one bound.</p> - -<p>“It will come warmer again soon,” people said to one another. “This -cold cannot last. We shall have soft, mild days again before long.”</p> - -<p>And Winifred, when she heard them, said to herself:</p> - -<p>“But the swallows will be gone before that.”</p> - -<p>The child had failed all of a sudden, just as a flower sometimes does, -looking fresh and bright and full of life one hour, and then at a -single touch losing its leaves and dropping quietly out of existence.</p> - -<p>With the first breath of winter cold Winifred had drooped and failed, -and lost in a day all the little strength she had seemed to gain.</p> - -<p>By the end of the week she could not leave her little bed, and although -nobody told her so she knew she never should leave it again.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</span></p> - -<p>“Mamma,” she said one day, “I can’t see the swallows now. May my bed go -into the day nursery? I like so much to look out of the window there. I -like to watch the swallows, and I like to watch the sunsets.”</p> - -<p>The child’s wish was granted. The little low bed was moved into the -west room, and as Winifred lay, she could watch her friends the -swallows, and see the sun go down. Even when the days were wet, the -evenings were generally bright, and the sky would grow gradually all -crimson and gold, like a sea of glory, and great soft clouds of every -colour of the rainbow would rise and float over the golden distance, -and to the little grave eyes that watched the beautiful dying day, it -seemed as if the gates of heaven opened night by night to take the -great sun in, and she wondered dreamily if the floating clouds were the -souls of the people who had died in the day, and who were finding their -way home as the evening drew on.</p> - -<p>A great many strange thoughts and fancies passed through the child’s -mind, as she lay day after day in her little bed, too weak and tired to -talk, not always quite able to put her thoughts into words, but always -able to think in a dreamy<span class="pagenum" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</span> fashion of her own. She always knew the -people who came in and out to look at her, kiss her, or wait upon her, -and she had a smile for every one, even when she could not talk.</p> - -<p>She hardly knew how time passed. Sometimes she grew confused between -day and night; but it always seemed as though mamma were in the room, -whoever else shifted and changed, and Winifred always felt happiest -holding her hand and listening to her voice.</p> - -<p>Little Violet came sometimes with hushed steps and tearful voice; and -the boys stole in each morning and evening to kiss her and whisper -loving words. One day Winnie roused herself to ask after the new pets, -and ten minutes later Ronald appeared, carrying in his arms a scolding -struggling guinea-hen; and the little girl laughed a weak little laugh -to see how it pecked and kicked and called “go back!” “go back!”</p> - -<p>Dr. Howard came very often, as it seemed to the child, and papa was in -the room almost as constantly as mamma, although he did not stay quite -so long. The servants often stole in just to look at her, and Winnie -had a smile for every one, and a word of greeting when she was well -enough.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</span></p> - -<p>“You will give them all something of mine by-and-by, when I am gone,” -said the child to her mother one day. “And nursey must have as many -as she wants—dear nursey, who has been so kind and good always! I’m -afraid they would cry if I gave them away now.”</p> - -<p>“I will do as you wish, darling.”</p> - -<p>“Thank you; and you will take care of little Phil?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, dear.”</p> - -<p>“Thank you; I know you will do everything right.”</p> - -<p>Winifred lay silent after that; it tired her now to talk even a little. -The sunset was very bright that evening, and the swallows were making -a great twittering; myriads there seemed of them now, gathered in the -water-meadows, and there seemed an unusual bustle amongst them on this -particular night.</p> - -<p>“They will soon be going now,” Winnie said half-aloud, and her mother -answered gently:</p> - -<p>“Very soon now, my darling.”</p> - -<p>Mother and child looked at one another, and Winnie smiled. These -two did not need to talk of what was in their inmost hearts, they -understood<span class="pagenum" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</span> without words. Every morning when the blind first went up, -the child had said, “Have the swallows gone yet?” and when she heard -the answer she would say, “I am glad; I feel as if I should miss them.”</p> - -<p>A good many people came in to kiss Winnie that night, and she said -“good-bye” to them all, not “good-night,” though she could hardly have -told why.</p> - -<p>Papa and mamma stayed on, and nurse; and Dr. Howard seemed to come in -the middle of the night.</p> - -<p>“Mamma,” said Winifred once, “I am very happy, I haven’t any pain—I’m -so glad God takes care of little things—swallows, you know—and -children. He will take care of me, I know.”</p> - -<p>“My darling is not afraid to go to Him, then?” asked the mother very -gently.</p> - -<p>“Oh no—not now.”</p> - -<p>Talking was very hard, her tongue seemed heavy, and only whispers came -from between the parted lips. A strange singing filled the child’s ears.</p> - -<p>Father and mother bent over the little one and kissed her, oh, so -tenderly and so lovingly!—but they did not cry. Winnie was glad that -they did not cry.</p> - -<p>“Into Thy Hands, O most loving Father—”</p> - -<p>Was it her father’s voice speaking thus? The child thought so, but -could not tell, for a rushing sound as of many wings seemed to fill the -air drowning the voice that still spoke in solemn tones.</p> - -<p>“The swallows!” she tried to say—“the swallows—they are going—at -last—” but with that strange rushing of wings mingled another and a -sweeter sound, that made Winnie clasp her hands and look up with a -smile on her little white face.</p> - -<p>“It is my angel—come for me—I am not afraid to go—now. Did God send -you for me, angel?—I am ready.”</p> - -<p>In the morning there were no swallows in the water-meadows—they had -all flown away in the night; and one little blood washed soul had -flown in at Heaven’s wide gate to rest for evermore in the care of the -Heavenly Father, who watches over little helpless things, and thinks -no child that trusts His love too small or weak to be taken in to the -eternal Home at last.</p> - - -<p class="center p0">THE END.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="LITTLE_MATCH-GIRL">THE LITTLE MATCH-GIRL.</h2> -</div> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h3 class="nobreak" id="MGCHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I.<br /> -A LITTLE MATCH-SELLER.</h3> -</div> - - - -<div> - <img class="drop-cap" src="images/dc005.jpg" width="100" alt=""/> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="upper-case">She</span> was a pathetic little figure for those who had eyes to spare for -anybody so insignificant as a little street match-seller. She had -been shivering just before in the chill February blast; but a dancing -sunbeam had forced its way through the grey, hurrying clouds, and -an answering smile seemed to light up the face of the child, as she -watched it creeping nearer and nearer, till she could feel the warmth -touch her bare feet like a caress.</p> - -<p>Some boys not far off were playing marbles in the gutter, and the -little girl was watching the play with great interest. She had a -wholesome fear of boys, and seldom or never attempted to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</span> exchange -remarks with them, shrinking away if they seemed disposed to address -her; but she took a keen interest in their games for all that, and -was very ardently on the side of a curly-headed urchin with carroty, -unkempt locks, who was the happy possessor of a couple of very fine -coloured marbles that quite put all the others into the shade.</p> - -<p>Bright colour of any sort was the little girl’s delight. No matter -whether it was the glow of the sky, the sunshine upon red chimney -stacks, or the dresses of the passers-by, anything that was gaily -coloured was such a joy to her that her little face would smile all -over whilst the vision of colour flitted before her eyes.</p> - -<p>It was a pathetic little face, with singularly delicate features for a -child of the people; framed in a tangled mass of short, yellow hair, -which if properly dressed and cared for would have been a real beauty. -The blue eyes could sparkle with joy or swim in tears with equal -readiness, just as the varying mood of childhood prompted. For the -little one was singularly emotional for one of her hard bringing up, -and was quickly moved to sorrow or pleasure by the passing events of -daily life.</p> - -<p>Just as the game of marbles came to an end, and the boys scampered -away to their respective duties or amusements, a great church clock -somewhere<span class="pagenum" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</span> high overhead boomed out the hour of two. The little girl’s -face instantly took upon it a rather eager expression, and seizing her -matches in a firmer grip, she ran a few steps to a certain corner, -and there stationing herself in a nook, to which she was evidently -no stranger, she began looking intently and expectantly in a certain -direction.</p> - -<p>Crowds of business men were hurrying along, some to the train, others -to the various omnibuses, which passed in endless succession at -this busy junction of streets. The child held out her matches, and -mechanically offered them for sale, but her eyes were always bent in -one direction; and had anybody been watching her face, he could not -have failed to note the sudden illumination which beamed out over it, -as though kindled by some light from within.</p> - -<p>Evidently somebody was coming for whom the little one was waiting with -eager expectancy. The lips parted in a smile, the eyes began to sparkle -and dance, a flush crept into the pale cheek. A moment or two later and -another expression swept over the sensitive face, and the child said -half aloud—</p> - -<p>“Oh, he is not alone! He has a lady with him! Perhaps he will not -notice me to-day.”</p> - -<p>Evidently much hinged upon this vital point; for the colour came and -went in the child’s face,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</span> and her eyes were fixed immovably upon a -certain face belonging to somebody in that hurrying throng. Her lips -were parted in intense absorption, and perhaps there was something -magnetic in the fixed gaze, for the successful young barrister, -Bertram Clayton, who was walking with his sister through the crowded -thoroughfare, paused suddenly just as he drew near to the child, and -looking about him said in a pleasant voice—</p> - -<p>“Ah, here is little Allumette! I must have a box of matches if they are -not too dear to-day!”</p> - -<p>The child’s face was rippling all over now. At first his grave -bargaining over her wares, and his way of shaking his head over their -costliness, had half frightened her, and she had sometimes abated their -price, thinking that she must be in the wrong. But now that she had -learned by experience that the gentleman always gave her in the end -double and treble their value, she was no longer abashed, and entered -with a shy spirit into the game of bargains.</p> - -<p>Almost always this tall, handsome gentleman was alone. Now and then -he had a black-coated, grave-faced friend with him, in which case he -seldom stopped to buy matches or speak to the child, but just gave her -a passing nod if he caught sight of her wistful face and appealing blue -eyes. Never before in her experiences had he been with a lady, and the -child’s eyes lighted<span class="pagenum" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</span> eagerly as they rested upon the soft fur and -bright crimson cloth which composed the lady’s dress.</p> - -<p>“What a duck of a child!” she exclaimed to her brother, “I must really -give her something!”</p> - -<p>The gentleman had finished his bargain and got his matches by this -time, and the little girl was smiling over the pennies in her hand. Not -that it was the pennies so freely given which made this customer more -to her than all the rest put together: it was the kind smile beaming -from his eyes, the tones of his voice, the undefined feeling she always -had that he looked out for her, and sometimes thought of her when he -was elsewhere. For had he not brought her now and then a bag of sweets, -or some trifling toy, such as are hawked about in the streets?</p> - -<p>By this time the lady had opened her purse, and now held up before -the child’s astonished eyes a large piece of silver money that shone -brilliantly in the gleam of sunshine.</p> - -<p>“Little Allumette,” she said, using the name by which the gentleman -always called her—she never could guess why, “do you know what this -is?”</p> - -<p>“It is money, ma’am; beautiful new money!”</p> - -<p>“Have you ever had anything like it before?”</p> - -<p>“Only bright pennies sometimes, ma’am; not beautiful silver money like -that.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</span></p> - -<p>“And what would you do with a whole silver crown if you had one of your -very own?”</p> - -<p>The child’s eyes sparkled, but no words came. The idea of being -possessor of such fabulous wealth was too big a one to be grasped in a -moment. The lady laughed at the expression upon the upturned face, and -put the big silver coin into her hand.</p> - -<p>“There, little Allumette, there is a keepsake for you. You have such a -wise little face that I am sure you will make a good use of it. Come, -Bertram, we must not miss our train.”</p> - -<p>Before the child could find words in which to thank the lady the crowds -had swallowed up both brother and sister, and she was left alone at her -corner, grasping the wonderful piece of fairy silver (for such indeed -it seemed to her) tightly in her hand, her heart beating thick and fast -with the excitement of such a wonderful piece of fortune’s favour.</p> - -<p>It was Saturday afternoon, and trade was brisk. She had soon sold all -her matches, and was ready to turn her feet homewards, but first she -must think what to do with this wonderful treasure-trove. That was her -own—her very own. She scarcely dared to look at it as she walked the -streets; she was afraid lest some passer-by might get a glimpse at the -shining coin, and might set upon her and rob her of it.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</span></p> - -<p>Where could she put it to keep it safe? At home there was no nook or -corner she could call her own. Poor little Allumette! Her life was a -sad and shadowed one now, and yet once nobody would ever have guessed -that she would come to selling matches in the streets.</p> - -<p>Her father had been a clever and respectable artisan, and her mother -a farmer’s daughter. But Allumette could not remember a mother’s -care, for her mother had died whilst she was but a baby, and her -father had married again a woman of a very different stamp. Moreover, -misfortunes had come upon him, and he had lost his health and then his -work. Three years before, when Allumette was only five, he had died, -and the stepmother had almost at once married a widower with three -children—she herself had four.</p> - -<p>So that Allumette had now neither father nor mother, and though she was -still permitted to live in the double attic where this heterogeneous -family party made their home, she was nobody’s child, and nobody wanted -her. She had to earn her own living in the streets, and though she met -with no ill-treatment at home, she received no love or tenderness, and -knew that her presence was felt to be a nuisance by the parents of the -other children.</p> - -<p>Moreover, some of the boys were of an age when teasing becomes a -delight, and Allumette was<span class="pagenum" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</span> always reckoned as fair game, for she had -nobody to stand by her and take her part.</p> - -<p>It was before the days of School Boards, and Allumette had no chance -of learning except at a ragged school which she frequented as often as -she could in the evenings. But if she had been unlucky with her matches -by day, she was always sent out again to dispose of her stock later -on, and then she was too late and too tired ever to think of learning -anything.</p> - -<p>And yet the child was not altogether unhappy in her life. She made -interests for herself, and sometimes friends too. Had she not several -customers who showed her kindness in a fitful way? and was there not, -above all, “her gentleman,” as she called him, who was more to her than -all the rest put together? And was there not the old cobbler and his -wife at the end of the alley, who were always glad to see her when she -came? She did not like to go too often, because Mrs. Gregg would give -her bread and treacle, and she did not think they always had enough to -eat themselves; but it was always pleasant to sit by their little fire -and hear the old man’s stories; and to-day she bent her steps there -with great eagerness, for she meant to spend her own two pennies (given -by the gentleman) on some herrings for them, and then she would not -mind sharing the frugal meal, and could tell them about her wonderful<span class="pagenum" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</span> -windfall, and ask their advice as to what she could do with her -treasure.</p> - -<p>Allumette’s home was up a number of rickety stairs in a narrow court, -and when she arrived there she found her stepmother in the midst of a -Saturday clean, and by no means prepared to welcome anybody. The child -only paused to hand in her money, and then disappeared down the stairs -with alacrity; for one of the most valued privileges which had been -accorded her was that her time was her own when she had disposed of her -stock of matches.</p> - -<p>Her bare feet went pattering up the alley, which grew darker and -narrower towards the end. At the end stood a tall, grim-looking -house, let out in rooms to a poor class of tenants, the lowest floor, -comprising two rooms and a tiny kitchen beyond, being rented to the -cobbler, whose front room was a sort of workshop where he was always to -be seen cobbling and patching old boots, many of which seemed almost -past the skill of even his dexterous fingers.</p> - -<p>Sometimes Allumette picked up old boots in rubbish heaps and brought -them to him, and often she found bits of leather which were useful to -him in patching. The little girl was fond of the old couple, and they -of her. It was always a treat to her to go and sit in the quiet of -their room.</p> - -<p>The herrings were bought at a shop in the alley,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</span> where they were to -be had cheaper than anywhere else; and with her odorous burden she -hastened to the little house at the end, where her old friends received -her with smiles and kind words.</p> - -<p>It was a slack afternoon with the cobbler, as he had taken home his -last batch of work, and had not much in hand until fresh orders -arrived. So he sat holding the child’s hand while she poured into his -ears her wonderful tale, and displayed before his astonished eyes her -wonderful shining coin.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Gregg came up to look and admire and wonder, and eager was the -discussion which followed.</p> - -<p>“No, I shan’t spend it—I shall keep it,” said Allumette. “The lady -said it was a sort of keepsake. I shall keep it and look at it -sometimes; only I don’t know where it will be safe.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll make you a little leather bag for it, ducky,” said the old man, -“and then I’ll make a little hole in the crown itself, if you like, and -you can hang it round your neck, bag and all. It’ll be safest so, as -you might lose it out of the bag if ’twasn’t bored through itself; but -we’ll make it all safe for you!”</p> - -<p>Allumette was delighted. She watched the whole process with eager -interest, and when the coin was wrapped in its covering and hung about -her neck, her little face beamed all over with joy.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</span></p> - -<p>“It feels as if it would bring me good luck!” she cried, with dancing -eyes.</p> - -<p>“Perhaps it will for sure!” said the old couple fondly.</p> - -<p>A happy child was Allumette that night when she fell asleep, though she -little dreamt of the golden hours that were in store for her.</p> - -<p class="center p0 p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img005"> - <img src="images/005.jpg" class="w20" alt="Decorative image" /> -</span></p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</span></p> - -<h3 class="nobreak" id="MGCHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II.<br /> -IN THE STUDIO.</h3> -</div> - - - -<div> - <img class="drop-cap" src="images/dc003.jpg" width="100" alt=""/> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="upper-case">“It</span> is provoking!” exclaimed Cora Clayton.</p> - -<p>“What is the matter now?” asked bright-faced Madge, who had strolled -into her sister’s studio from the garden, her hands full of snowdrops -and aconites from the shrubbery borders.</p> - -<p>“Why, little Muriel Ellerton has just sickened with measles, and you -know I was depending upon her as a model for my Academy picture. It -is so difficult to get a really picturesque-looking child; and Muriel -would have done beautifully. I really haven’t any time to lose; and -here I am at a perfect deadlock!”</p> - -<p>“What a pity!” said Madge, who took great interest in her talented -sister’s drawing. Cora Clayton had achieved a rather considerable -success for an amateur, and for two years past had<span class="pagenum" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</span> exhibited a small -picture in the Royal Academy. During the winter months just past she -had been away from home with her brother’s delicate wife, who had -been ordered to the south of France, so that she had not been able to -do much painting. Now that she was home again she was eager to get -forward, and it was provoking to be disappointed of her model just upon -the very morning when she had reckoned to start work.</p> - -<p>“Is there no other child who would do?” asked a voice from the couch -beside the fire. Young Mrs. Clayton, the barrister’s delicate wife, -had established herself in Cora’s studio, as she was fond of doing. -The sisters were greatly attached to their brother’s wife, and the -family lived happily together in perfect harmony in their old-fashioned -semi-country house at Hampstead.</p> - -<p>“I can’t think of one that just suits my ideas,” answered Cora. “Muriel -would just have done, with her cloud of fair curls and blue eyes with -a sort of pathetic wistfulness behind their brightness. It was just -the face for my subject. It is provoking! You know I am not like some -artists; I know what I want to paint, but imagination doesn’t do -everything for me. I must have the model, and the right model, and I’m -sure I don’t know where to turn to next!”</p> - -<p>“I wonder if little Allumette would do!” suddenly exclaimed Madge. “She -had the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</span> sweetest little face, and just such eyes and hair as Muriel; -only I think she is prettier.”</p> - -<p>“Allumette! What do you mean? I never heard such a name!”</p> - -<p>“Oh, that is Bertram’s nickname. She is a little match-seller in the -City. I saw her the other day when I was in town with him. Evidently -she is often on his beat, for he had given her that cognomen, and one -could see that she quite adored him. I daresay he has been kind to her -often.”</p> - -<p>Cora and Eva were both interested, and when Madge had described the -child, Cora declared she really had a good mind to go and have a look -at her.</p> - -<p>“It would really be easier in some ways than Muriel,” she said, “for if -I paid her I suppose her relations would be glad enough to let me have -her over here; and they would keep her for me at the gardener’s cottage -for a week or two, so that I could have her backwards and forwards as I -wanted, instead of being fettered by lesson hours and other things as I -should be with Muriel. One does see very pretty children often in the -streets; only, as a rule, it would not be practicable to get hold of -them.”</p> - -<p>“We will ask Bertram about little Allumette when he comes home,” said -Eva, “and if he thinks it a good plan we could have her over here -whilst your picture was being painted, Cora.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</span></p> - -<p>“Little Allumette,” said the young barrister when appealed to at -dinner that evening, “why, I should think you could get her, and that -she would think herself in the seventh heaven to come! Oh, yes, I -have asked her about herself sometimes. Her relationships are rather -complicated. Her own father and mother are dead, and she lives with -a stepmother who has married again. I like the little puss! She has -always a smile and a bit of arch fun. Sometimes she brings me a -button-hole when times are good. We are great friends in our way, -little Allumette and I.”</p> - -<p>“Then I will come into town with you to-morrow, Bertram, and see if she -will do for me, and what arrangements I can make.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll come too,” added Madge gaily; “I will give my valuable assistance -in the matter, since it was my idea to start with.”</p> - -<p>Brother and sisters went up to town together the following day, and -sure enough there was little Allumette with her tray of matches at the -accustomed corner, eagerly scanning the faces of the passing crowd, to -see if her gentleman was amongst them.</p> - -<p>Cora was delighted with the little bright, sensitive face, and when the -child caught sight not only of Bertram himself, but of the lady who had -made her that wonderful present, she was at once resolved to get the -little one for her model, and soon<span class="pagenum" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</span> Allumette was overwhelmed with shy -delight, because the gentleman and two beautiful ladies had stopped in -front of her.</p> - -<p>“Allumette,” said her friend with a twinkle in his eye, “do you know -how to sit or stand very still?”</p> - -<p>“Please, sir, I think so. I sit still with baby very often.”</p> - -<p>“And what do you get for sitting still with baby?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t get anything, sir, unless baby wakes up, and then I sometimes -get a clout on the head.”</p> - -<p>Cora and Madge both laughed, whilst Bertram went on gravely—</p> - -<p>“Then do you think that for sixpence an hour and your keep you could -stand very still for this lady to draw? Did you ever see anybody draw -pictures?”</p> - -<p>“Please, sir, they draw them on the blackboard at school; and there’s -a man comes ’long here sometimes that draws them beautifully on the -pavement, all red and blue and yellow. Ah! I could watch him all day, I -could! It’s real beautiful!”</p> - -<p>Bertram looked at his sisters smilingly.</p> - -<p>“Well, I must be getting on; you’d better finish settling the matter. -It’s a long way for her to go backwards and forwards. If you do have -her, I should put her up at the cottage for a week<span class="pagenum" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</span> or so, and make -what use you want of her at the time. I don’t suppose she makes much by -her matches; but of course you must pay her people a fair equivalent.”</p> - -<p>He moved off, and then Cora and Madge tried to explain to the -bewildered and blushing Allumette what it was they wanted.</p> - -<p>It was all like part of a wonderful dream to the child. She showed the -ladies the way to her home; she heard them talk to her stepmother, and -vaguely knew that something very strange and wonderful was about to -happen; and then she was rather summarily hustled into the best clothes -she possessed, which was not saying much, and was bidden to run and -ask Mrs. Gregg if she could take her up to Hampstead at once, as the -overworked woman with a large number of children to look after could -not possibly do so.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Gregg came and took the directions from the ladies, and promised -to bring the little girl at once. She was given the railway fare, and -Allumette stood by, dancing from one foot to the other with keenest -excitement. She could not believe that this thing could really be true, -and kept asking Mrs. Gregg if she was sure she knew how to get to the -place, and whether she really thought the ladies meant it.</p> - -<p>“Bless the child, yes! Why should they have taken all that trouble -else?” was the reassuring<span class="pagenum" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</span> answer. “I’ve heerd tell before of fine -folks getting others to come and sit for them. They call them models. -It may be a good thing for you, ducky. It’s poor work selling matches -in the street. Perhaps the ladies will find you something better to do -by-and-by.”</p> - -<p>It was all like a dream to Allumette. She had not to be at her -destination till the afternoon; but Mrs. Gregg took her a wonderful -walk upon the Heath first. The child had never seen such a place -before, and although the wind blew cold the sun shone, and the child -held her breath in awe and wonder at the great expanse of sky and the -green sweep of broken ground, the shining water, the budding trees.</p> - -<p>“Will heaven be like this, do you think, Mrs. Gregg?” she asked in a -low voice.</p> - -<p>Allumette was very hazy as to what heaven was, but she had an idea that -it was a very beautiful place where the sun always shone, and she had -never seen anything so beautiful before as the scene upon which her -eyes now rested.</p> - -<p>Later on, with a feeling of great awe, mingled with that of joy, she -stood at the back door of a big house within sheltering walls, holding -very fast to Mrs. Gregg’s hand, and almost disposed to cry and run away -when told that she must leave her friend, and follow the servant into -the house.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</span></p> - -<p>“Don’t be frightened, ducky, they’ll be kind to you,” said Mrs. Gregg, -kissing her; “and I’m to have a cup of tea in the kitchen, they say; so -maybe I’ll see you again before I leave.”</p> - -<p>There was consolation in that thought, and Allumette rallied her -courage. The servant smiled kindly at her as she went on in front, -and although everything seemed to swim before the child’s eyes as she -walked, and she could not see clearly where she was going, she knew -that she was taken down a long passage, and then a door was opened at -the end, a curtain was drawn back, and she heard her guide say—</p> - -<p>“Here is the little girl, ma’am!”</p> - -<p>Allumette stood just within the threshold of this most wonderful place. -She thought she had got into a fairy palace, and she rubbed her eyes -and gasped in her astonishment.</p> - -<p>It was a great square room with all the windows overhead; and wherever -she looked she saw beautiful things, rich colours, pictures, hangings, -ornaments—things of whose names and uses she had no idea, but the -very sight of which filled her soul with awe and rapture, they were so -wonderful and beautiful.</p> - -<p>“Come, little Allumette; come to the fire!” said a kind voice. “You -shall have a mug of hot tea and a piece of cake here, and we will see -how to dress you up as a little model!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</span></p> - -<p>It was the lady who spoke—the first lady—Miss Madge, as Allumette -came to call her later on, and she came forward dressed in that lovely -red dress with the soft grey fur upon it, in which the child had first -seen her. And when Allumette had timidly advanced a few steps, and -could see the room better, she saw that the other lady was there too, -standing before an easel which held a picture, whilst upon a sofa near -the fire a third lady lay, who had put down her book, and was now -looking straight at the little girl, with a kind smile in her eyes.</p> - -<p>“So you are little Allumette, are you? My husband has told me about -you. He says you sell very good matches. Come and sit on that little -stool here, and you shall tell me all about yourself. Madge, bring the -mite some tea and cake. I’m sure she looks as though she wanted it!”</p> - -<p>Allumette sat down where she was bidden, and soon a great wedge -of delicious cake was put into her hands. But although she was so -strangely happy in this beautiful place, she was almost too shy and -excited to feel hungry; and as she nibbled at the unwonted dainty, -she answered the questions of the ladies about herself and her life, -gradually losing her fear of them, and beginning to smile and even to -laugh at the funny remarks of Miss Madge, or the questions of young -Mrs. Clayton.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</span></p> - -<p>Meantime the artist studied the face of the little one, and dashed -off a few little pencil sketches with great satisfaction to herself. -Yes, it was just such a face as she wanted—wistful without being sad, -bright and sunny, yet pathetic withal. Eva Clayton had a knack with -children which she was exercising now for Cora’s benefit, and before -half an hour had passed she was fully satisfied that she had got the -right model for her picture.</p> - -<p>It was a wonderful life that began for little Allumette. No more early -rising in the dark and cold to do her household tasks, and lay in her -store of matches for the day. No standing about at street corners in -the cold wind and driving rain; no more hunger and uncertainty of the -day’s earnings; no harsh words and unkind teasing from boys either at -home or in the streets.</p> - -<p>Here everything was beautiful and happy. She lived with a kind couple -who soon treated her almost as if she had been their child, and the -greater part of her day was spent in that wonderful studio, where all -that was asked of her was to stand still in a pretty frock whilst the -tall lady painted her; and Miss Madge generally came in and out or sat -still by the fire with a book, and often amused them by her play with -the dog, or with her merry chatter, or else by teaching Allumette out -of some simple primer.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</span></p> - -<p>“She’s a dear little thing,” Madge said to her brother a day or two -after the commencement of the experiment. “I’ve often wanted an object -for my benevolence, and an object on which to expend my superfluous -energy in the matter of good works. I think I shall take up Allumette -and make her my special charge. You needn’t look so grave, sir! -Wouldn’t it be a very deserving object?”</p> - -<p>“Perhaps; but take care, Madge, take care. You know how often you -have failed from lack of perseverance. Don’t unfit the child for her -old life, or buoy her up with false hopes, only to forget her and -disappoint her later on. It is always a serious matter taking the -destinies of another human being as it were into our hands. Don’t do -anything rash; don’t give the child cause to regret in days to come -that she has ever known us!”</p> - -<p>“Gracious! what a lecture!” cried Madge gaily. “I thought you’d -be pleased at my desiring to do a good work; and, behold, I get a -scolding!”</p> - -<p class="center p0 p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img006"> - <img src="images/006.jpg" class="w20" alt="Decorative image" /> -</span></p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</span></p> - -<h3 class="nobreak" id="MGCHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III.<br /> -WONDERFUL DAYS.</h3> -</div> - - -<div> - <img class="drop-cap" src="images/dc004.jpg" width="100" alt=""/> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="upper-case">The</span> growth of that picture was a source of endless wonder and delight -to little Allumette. Her naïve remarks amused the ladies vastly, and -the child became, perhaps, more of a pet with them all than was quite -advisable, considering the circumstances of the case.</p> - -<p>To live in an atmosphere of warmth and colour; to be spoken to kindly -and gently; to hear and see only pleasant things from morning till -night, all this was a perfect delight to the little one, and she throve -and blossomed out in the genial influence in a way that was wonderful -to watch.</p> - -<p>She was not admitted to the house itself, only to the studio by the -little garden door; and she had that sense of native refinement which -hindered her from taking liberties, or trading upon the kindness of the -ladies.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</span></p> - -<p>To watch them with their books or needlework, to hear Miss Madge sing -and play upon the studio piano, or to sit on a little stool beside -one or the other, learning little lessons which they would teach her, -constituted such pleasure that she never desired anything more; and -even the sitting still for the picture was no trouble to the child. -There was always something pretty to look at, and Miss Madge was often -practising her music, and that always filled the child’s whole soul -with delight.</p> - -<p>Her horizon was widening every day. Madge had discovered that she was -very anxious to be able to read nicely, and thought she could not do -better than devote some of her leisure in teaching her. And she got -big-print fairy stories, which entranced Allumette and lured her along -the path of learning faster than her teacher had dared to hope; and -when left alone in the studio, the child would pore over one of these -charming volumes, till she began to read the letterpress quite easily. -Then young Mrs. Clayton had lessons to give her of a different sort.</p> - -<p>“The poor mite is almost a little heathen,” she had said to her husband -a few days after the experiment of the little model had begun. “She -seems to know nothing of religion, except what she has picked up -from an old cobbler and his wife, who read the Bible in her hearing -sometimes, and tell her a few elementary truths, which she<span class="pagenum" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</span> has got -jumbled up in a very odd way. I must try and teach her a little better. -Don’t you think it would be a good plan, Bertram?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, I think that kind of knowledge never comes except as a blessing,” -answered her husband gravely; “but have a care, Eva, and keep an eye -over the sisters, that they do not spoil the poor little thing, making -her life harder to her when she goes back to it. I am not quite sure -that the experiment is not rather a dangerous one to Allumette. She -will be so happy here, and the life of the streets will come so hardly -afterwards!”</p> - -<p>“Perhaps we could think of something better for her afterwards,” said -Eva.</p> - -<p>“Possibly; but those things are more easily said than done. However, we -must see what turns up. Only be careful all of you with the child. Too -much petting and softness will not be really good for her. But teach -her all you can; learning will never come amiss to her wherever her -future lot may be cast.”</p> - -<p>And so Eva Clayton began giving the little waif of the streets simple -Bible lessons every day, in which the child came to apprehend the -mystery of Christ’s redeeming love, and to believe that He loved her -and was taking care of her, and wanted her to be a faithful little -follower of His, that some day she might live with Him in His beautiful -kingdom for ever and ever.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</span></p> - -<p>It was easy for Allumette to believe in this love and care now. She -would look up at Mrs. Clayton with shining eyes and say—</p> - -<p>“I think it must have been Jesus who sent me here. I shall always love -Him for that.”</p> - -<p>On Sundays she was taken to church by the gardener’s wife, who had made -her a neat little frock and had soon taught her to wear the shoes and -stockings provided by the ladies. Truth to tell, Allumette preferred -running barefoot, as she was used to in the streets, although she had -some old shoes and had put them on to come down here. But the footgear -provided for her was so much more comfortable than what she had been -used to that she soon grew reconciled to it, and she realised that it -would not be at all proper to go about barefoot here.</p> - -<p>She did not understand the services on Sunday, but she loved the sound -of the organ and the glow of light through the painted windows. Her -behaviour was irreproachable, and afterwards Mrs. Clayton would try and -explain to her the meaning of what she had heard and seen, so that the -child had food for much thought and reflection.</p> - -<p>On Sundays too she always saw her “gentleman,” as she always called Mr. -Clayton in her thoughts. He would come into the studio and ask her what -she had been learning in the week, and soon Allumette had a little bit -of poetry or a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</span> few verses from the Bible ready to repeat to him. He -generally had some little gift for her in return, and these were the -red-letter days in her calendar above all others.</p> - -<p>The picture was finished in due course; and when the tea-party was -given in the studio, and all the artist’s friends were asked to come -and see it, Allumette was permitted to be present, to hand round cakes -and bread and butter; and people patted her head and asked if she were -a little model, and one lady took a great deal of notice of her, and -presently got Cora into a corner and began eagerly talking to her.</p> - -<p>“If you would only do me some illustrations for the book I am writing, -and use that child as the model for my little heroine, I should -like it so much! I could easily arrange with the editor about the -illustrations; and she has exactly the face I want. Do you think you -could manage it for me, Cora?”</p> - -<p>The girl’s face lighted eagerly.</p> - -<p>“Oh, Mrs. Maberley—I should love it! I have often longed to do -illustrating; and to illustrate one of your books would be delightful! -I will keep the child a few more weeks, and you shall tell me just what -you would like each picture to be. She is a dear little model, and I -shall like keeping her. I have quite a number of studies I have taken -when she has been having lessons from<span class="pagenum" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</span> Eva and Madge. I will get my -portfolio and show you.”</p> - -<p>The pencil sketches, dashed off impromptu, delighted Mrs. Maberley. -There was Allumette sitting beside Eva’s couch with her eyes fixed on -the lady’s face in eager attention; Allumette curled up in a corner -with a book, her curls falling over her face; Allumette standing beside -the piano, with a rapt expression of wonder and pleasure.</p> - -<p>“It will be charming!” cried Mrs. Maberley, delighted. “I shall bring -the story to read to you one day, and we will settle on the pictures. -Some of these would almost do as they stand. You have quite a gift for -drawing children, Cora.”</p> - -<p>Allumette heard nothing of all this, which was passing in one corner of -the studio; but she was deeply interested in another little scene going -on elsewhere. She had noticed a little while before that Mr. Clayton, -when he came in to show himself at his sister’s reception, brought -with him two gentlemen (there were not many gentlemen in the room as -compared with the number of the ladies), and the quick eyes of the -child observed that Miss Madge’s face flushed a rosy red at the sight -of them, and that almost at once one of the strangers came over towards -where she stood at the tea-table, and seemed disposed to remain there.</p> - -<p>She had made him useful, handing cups about<span class="pagenum" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</span> for a time, after which he -had come back to her side, and they were talking eagerly together.</p> - -<p>Allumette had been dipping deep into fairy lore, and knew all about -what princes and princesses did; and how the prince came and told the -lady that he loved her, and that by-and-by they went off together -and lived happily ever afterwards. Miss Madge had told her that in -a different sort of way people did that still. Indeed Allumette had -watched with the keenest excitement a wedding party from the next -house, in which Miss Madge had played the part of bridesmaid. It had -given Allumette quite a different idea about marriage from any she had -had before, and she had heard the servants talking and saying that they -supposed soon they would lose one of their young ladies, and wondering -whether it would be Miss Cora or Miss Madge who would be first to go.</p> - -<p>Somehow all this came back to the child’s mind as she saw the gentleman -standing beside Miss Madge and talking to her.</p> - -<p>“You know you have promised, Madge,” he said, in a rather louder tone. -“You will not disappoint us?”</p> - -<p>And Madge laughed as she made answer—</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes, we will be as good as our word; we will pay a visit to -Brooklands by-and-by. We shall all be glad of a change when the hot -weather comes; for Hampstead is after all only a make-believe<span class="pagenum" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</span> at -country—and one likes the real thing sometimes.”</p> - -<p>“I hope the country is not all the attraction!” said the young man, -bending an intent look upon Madge’s blushing face.</p> - -<p>“Don’t fish for compliments, sir,” she replied, in her bright, saucy -way. “You won’t get change of that sort out of me!”</p> - -<p>“I don’t want compliments,” said the young man in a very low voice; -“you know very well what I do want, Madge.”</p> - -<p>Later on little Allumette heard from the gardener’s wife who the -gentleman was.</p> - -<p>“His name is Mr. Arthur Brook, and he’s the only son of a baronet, and -they have a beautiful place in the country, where the young ladies -sometimes stay. He and Mr. Clayton were at college together, and have -always been great friends; and we all think that he wants Miss Madge -for his wife. And a bonny one she will make him, if she ever decides -to have him; and I think he is worthy of her, which I wouldn’t say for -many!”</p> - -<p>It was all very interesting to little Allumette, who henceforth -regarded Madge even more as a fairy princess, who would one day be -carried off to live in a grand house or castle of her own.</p> - -<p>Mr. Brook came rather often to the house during the next weeks whilst -Allumette remained to serve as a model for the set of illustrations; -and one day<span class="pagenum" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</span> Madge came into the studio half laughing and half crying, -and flinging herself on her knees beside Cora she cried out——</p> - -<p>“Kiss me, darling, and tell me you don’t mind! I have given Arthur my -promise at last!”</p> - -<p>And then Cora threw down her brush, and the sisters clung rather close -together; for they were deeply attached, and though both had felt that -the separation would come, it seemed rather strange to both when the -thing had finally been settled.</p> - -<p>However, Miss Madge was very happy during the next days, Allumette -thought, though both the sisters were a little preoccupied; and the -drawings were relegated to a secondary place.</p> - -<p>Besides, there was commotion in the house of another sort, for young -Mrs. Clayton was taken ill, and the doctors advised that she should be -taken into the country as soon as possible; and so there was a great -deal of discussion and talk; and by-and-by Allumette heard that the -three ladies were going to stay near Brooklands, which was the home of -Mr. Arthur Brook, who was to marry Miss Madge some time during the year.</p> - -<p>“I must finish my drawings quickly, little Allumette,” said Cora, next -time the child was called in for a sitting, “for I shall be going away -very soon; and we have let the house to some friends, who want it very -much.”</p> - -<p>And then it suddenly came into the child’s mind<span class="pagenum" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</span> that this beautiful -holiday was over. She would have to go back to her match-selling in the -streets; and for a time there would not be even her gentleman coming -and going, for Mr. Clayton had been called away on some important -business latterly, and though he had come home for a few days when his -wife was ill, he had gone away again, and might be detained some little -while.</p> - -<p>Great tears gathered slowly in the child’s eyes. She tried to keep -furtively brushing them away, but they would not be altogether hidden, -and when Madge came dancing in she saw them there and guessed their -source.</p> - -<p>“But we won’t forget you, little Allumette,” she said kindly, “I have -thought sometimes about you. I’ve got some plans in my head. Allumette, -have you ever seen the country—the real country, where the fields are -full of buttercups and daisies, and there are woods and birds and cows -and farms?”—and Madge plunged into a description of the sights and -sounds of rural country life, whilst Allumette listened with a rapt -expression that was instantly caught and transferred to paper by the -delighted Cora.</p> - -<p>“Well, Allumette, if you have not seen such things, you shall some day. -I shall look out for a nice farmhouse or cottage, where the woman will -take you in for a few weeks, and some day I shall send for you, and you -shall come down in the train<span class="pagenum" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</span> and have a real good holiday, and go on -cultivating those roses in your cheeks which we are teaching to bloom -there now. Will that make up to you for going back to the streets for a -little while?”</p> - -<p>The child’s face was answer enough. With such a prospect in view she -dreaded nothing, could bear with courage and equanimity the life of -the dusty streets. So through the last days she kept a brave face, and -when she saw the beautiful picture-books and the clothes she had had -given her made up into a parcel for her to take home, it seemed like an -earnest of those joys that were to come.</p> - -<p>Tears swam in her eyes as she said good-bye, and was led away by the -gardener’s wife who was to take her back; but she held them bravely in -check, saying to herself—</p> - -<p>“I shall see them again, I shall see them again. Miss Madge said she -would not forget.”</p> - -<p class="center p0 p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img007"> - <img src="images/007.jpg" class="w20" alt="Decorative image" /> -</span></p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</span></p> - -<h3 class="nobreak" id="MGCHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV.<br /> -AT BROOKLANDS.</h3> -</div> - - - -<div> - <img class="drop-cap" src="images/dc006.jpg" width="100" alt=""/> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="upper-case">“And</span> you like your future home, my dear one? You think you can be happy -here?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, Arthur! it is beautiful, beautiful! I think I never knew before -quite how exquisite everything was! I am only afraid of being too -happy!”</p> - -<p>“That is an ailment we do not often suffer from in this world, Madge,” -he answered smilingly; “but I intend my wife to be the happiest woman -in the country. She shall not know an ungratified wish if I can help -it.”</p> - -<p>“What a selfish creature she will become!” cried Madge with a soft -laugh, and an arch upward glance into her lover’s face; “I wonder how -soon you will grow tired of your bargain!”</p> - -<p>“Try me,” he replied, taking her two hands in his; “I am ready to be -put to the proof as quickly as you will.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</span></p> - -<p>The colour flooded her face, for she knew that he meant he wanted her -as soon as she could be persuaded to come to him, and so far she had -not actually fixed the date of the wedding, although she had said it -should be “soon.”</p> - -<p>She had been a month in the neighbourhood of Brooklands now, and -Eva Clayton was much better, and was to be taken by Cora to the sea -to complete her restoration. Madge had intended to be one of the -party, but Lady Brook had persuaded her to come and be her guest at -the fine old baronial hall, as she was anxious to make more intimate -acquaintance with the betrothed wife of her idolised son. She had known -Madge for several years, but not very intimately. Now she was anxious -to become the friend and mother of the bright, loving girl. She did not -grudge the love her son lavished upon the woman of his choice; she only -desired that Madge should learn to love her too, and be willing to be a -daughter to her and her husband.</p> - -<p>Madge was a warm-hearted girl, and was ready to love and be loved. She -had consented to the proposed arrangement, after a little hesitation -about leaving Cora before the time. But Cora said it would be right for -her to accept the invitation, and had said that she must learn to do -without her sister’s constant presence, and the matter was now settled -to Arthur’s satisfaction.</p> - -<p>“We shall have so much to think of and to plan,”<span class="pagenum" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</span> continued Arthur, -“for you know what they have set their hearts upon—my father and -mother? That we shall live at Brooklands, using the great west wing as -our very own, having our own servants and establishment, but being all -under one roof. My mother spoke of it to you, did she not, Madge? You -will not think that a difficult arrangement?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, no,” answered the girl eagerly; “I think Brooklands is charming, -and the west wing has lovely rooms, and I have never cared for being -shut up alone. People said that when Bertram was married Cora and I -would find it so difficult to go on living with him, but we never did. -If your father and mother will let me, I want to be a daughter to them; -and your mother will tell me how to do everything, for I never lived in -a grand house before, and I don’t know the ways of country people,” and -Madge made a little whimsical grimace.</p> - -<p>“My Madge’s ways will be good enough for me,” answered Arthur with a -smile, as he took her willing hands in his; “only tell me how soon you -will come to me, Madge. I don’t want to wait long. What have we to wait -for?”</p> - -<p>“There is the trousseau,” said Madge, blushing and laughing; but her -lover swept away all such trivial objections with masculine logic. -In the end Madge promised that early in September she would come to -him for good and all. As May was now<span class="pagenum" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</span> well advanced, and another week -would see June upon them, the young man could not complain that she was -keeping him over long.</p> - -<p>But the idea that the thing was definitely settled turned Madge’s mood -into something graver. The lovers were walking through a shady woodland -glade, carpeted with wild flowers, and full of sweet sounds and scents. -Madge suddenly paused and exclaimed—</p> - -<p>“But we must not be selfish, Arthur, we must not be selfish! We must -try and do some good in the world. If we are happy ourselves, we must -make other people happy too.”</p> - -<p>“With all my heart,” he answered gaily: “you shall be as philanthropic -as you like, Madge, and I will learn of you.”</p> - -<p>“I wonder what we could do,” mused Madge, looking round her. “Arthur, -shall we be rich?”</p> - -<p>“Well, sweetheart, that depends upon what you call riches. We shall not -be millionaires, but I have an income sufficient for all our needs, and -a margin over. I suppose that will do?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes; I am not thinking about ourselves. Arthur, you know I have -a little money myself. I have three hundred a year of my own. Do you -think we shall want that when we are living at Brooklands?”</p> - -<p>He smiled an amused, indulgent smile.</p> - -<p>“I think we can do without it. Do you want to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</span> keep your private -fortune to yourself? You know married women have no property. I shall -be able to despoil you of your fortune, unless you tie it up very -tightly!”</p> - -<p>“Don’t tease, Arthur,” she answered; “do be serious, for I am really -in earnest. I don’t want the money for myself. I would rather take -everything from you. But I want to do some good with it. I should like -to use it for some special purpose.”</p> - -<p>“What sort of purpose, dearest?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I don’t know. I must think. I want to make people happy. Some have -such sad lives always. It hardly seems fair. Oh, I know what I should -like best!—to take a dear little cottage, and have a nice woman there -to look after things, and to bring poor children down from London for -a month at a time, to give them a real holiday and outing. Oh, yes, -that would be lovely! and little Allumette should be the first. Do you -remember that pretty little model Cora had for her picture? She was a -dear little thing, and I told her she should come into the country one -day. I would have her for the first of the children. Don’t you think it -would be a delightful plan?”</p> - -<p>“It might; but some of those delightful plans sound better than they -work out. No, no, don’t look so crestfallen, my Madge; I am not -throwing cold water. On the contrary, I will help you all I<span class="pagenum" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</span> can. -And, by-the-by, not far from here is a very pleasant and roomy old -farmhouse, which is going to be empty at Michaelmas. It is only a small -one for a farm, but it might serve your purpose, and I daresay you -could coax my father to let you have it rent free. He wants to take the -land and throw it into the home farm which it adjoins, as small farms -don’t pay now, and the tenant is giving up. The house might do very -well for some purpose of that sort. Would you like to go and see it?”</p> - -<p>Madge was eager to do so, and was delighted with the place when she -got there. It was a small farmstead, picturesque and overgrown with -creepers, with a tumble-down old barn that would make an ideal playroom -for children on wet days, and a tangled orchard full of gnarled old -apple trees just going out of bloom, a duck pond, a nut walk, and -fields and copses all round.</p> - -<p>The house was quaint and fairly roomy, and Madge was enchanted with the -flagged kitchen, the dormer windows, and the little odd stairs up and -down at every turn.</p> - -<p>“Oh, Arthur!—it would be a sweet place for them to come to—poor -little darlings! I should like to see little Allumette’s face when she -was set down at the gate. Michaelmas, did you say? That will be after -we are married, and if I had arranged about a woman, we could have a -few little things<span class="pagenum" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</span> down in October, could we not? The nuts would be -ripe then, and you know how lovely the trees are through October. And -on wet days there would be the old barn. It would be delightful, would -it not, Arthur? And for little children from London no doing up of the -house would be needed. It would be better not too spick and span. Just -a few beds and chairs and tables. Oh, I could see to everything like -that, and tell little Allumette that she should be the first visitor. -Perhaps I would let her introduce me to some friends of hers, and bring -them all down together.”</p> - -<p>Madge was so full of delight with her new scheme that she could talk of -nothing else all the evening with Eva and Cora.</p> - -<p>They were both quite pleased and interested in the plan.</p> - -<p>“But I thought you half promised little Allumette a country holiday -this summer,” said Cora. “Won’t she get rather tired of waiting if you -put it off till the autumn?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, but this will be worth waiting for; and I haven’t had time to -think about the other. I did speak to one or two women in the cottages, -but they had children of their own, and didn’t seem to like the idea -of a strange London child. One can’t wonder at it. People fancy London -children bring dirt and disease and other unpleasantnesses. It<span class="pagenum" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</span> will be -far better to work it oneself on a regular footing.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, in some ways it will be better. I was only thinking that the -child might be disappointed.”</p> - -<p>“Ah, well, she shall have it made up to her if she is; and she had a -nice long happy time at Hampstead which seemed to her quite like a -country holiday. I didn’t forget her, but things aren’t just as easy to -arrange as one thinks they will be. Besides, I shouldn’t have time here -to look after her as I should like. Arthur wants so much of me, and he -might not quite care for me to be running off to see little Allumette -in a cottage. Men don’t understand that sort of thing!”</p> - -<p>So Madge dismissed the thought of any immediate summons of the little -match-seller, and busied herself with eager plans as to the management -of her little institution when it should be organised. Sir John and -Lady Brook were quite ready to interest themselves in it. The house -was to be given rent free for the purpose, and Lady Brook said that -she should pay the salary of a capable matron. Madge’s little fortune -could go to the working of the scheme, paying the fares to and fro, and -the keep of the little inmates. The girl made numerous calculations, -and amused her lover not a little by the results thereof at different -times. But in spite of blunders, Madge had plenty of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</span> shrewdness, and -Lady Brook was pleased to note her interest in domestic details, as -well as her desire after a sphere of usefulness.</p> - -<p>“You are quite right, my dear, to resolve not to live too much for -yourself alone, or even for that joint life which you will lead with -Arthur. We are not put here in the world just to pass our lives as -pleasantly as we can. We shall have one day to give an account, and it -often seems to me that to us, to whom God’s gifts have been lavishly -furnished, He will look to give a good account of the use we have made -of them.”</p> - -<p>Madge’s face was full of eager assent.</p> - -<p>“That is just how I feel about it. I have had such a happy life! Except -the death of our parents, Cora and I have had no troubles, and we lost -our father before we were either of us old enough to feel it very -keenly. I think I should not really enjoy my happiness if I could not -do things for other people. At home I often felt that I wanted to do -more, but I seemed to have no work there. I did try one or two things, -but somehow they did not succeed. I daresay it was my fault, but I -do like the idea of a thing like this. It will be always there, and -even if I have not quite as much time myself as I should like, it will -always be going on.”</p> - -<p>Madge had plenty to think of just now besides her scheme of -benevolence. She had innumerable<span class="pagenum" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</span> preparations to make for her coming -marriage, involving a great deal of correspondence with dressmaker and -milliner, the selection and discussion of patterns, and a great deal -of correspondence with private friends, whose congratulations still -continued to arrive, and whose presents began to follow.</p> - -<p>Cora and Eva betook themselves off to the sea, but Madge remained at -Brooklands week after week. The house at Hampstead was let, the tenant -wanted to keep it on. Bertram was well off, in comfortable rooms, -running down each week to spend Sunday with his wife. London was said -to be unbearably hot and stuffy, and none too healthy this season. The -Brooks urged Madge to stay on with them, and she was nothing loth. It -was most interesting to see how her new home was being transmogrified -to receive her. It seemed to her that she had only to express a wish to -see it instantly gratified. Again and again she had to remonstrate with -Arthur for “spoiling her so dreadfully.” But it was a very delightful -experience and she was as happy as the day was long.</p> - -<p>Her brother wrote to her from time to time, sometimes on business -matters, sometimes just a little brotherly note. There was a letter -from him one morning which contained a sentence which puzzled Madge a -good deal.</p> - -<p>“I am glad you have remembered your promise<span class="pagenum" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</span> to little Allumette at -last. The poor little child has been looking very white and thin of -late, but the country air will pull her up again. How happy she will be -when she sees all the beautiful things about her. I have been sometimes -afraid that those weeks at Hampstead rather unfitted her for the -sharper battle of life she has to fight at home.”</p> - -<p>“What can he mean?” said Madge, half aloud. And when she read the -passage in the letter aloud, Lady Brook said—</p> - -<p>“I suppose somebody else has given the child an outing, and your -brother thinks it is you.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I suppose that is it,” answered Madge; “but I will ask Bertram -when I write.”</p> - -<p>Nevertheless, the letter was never written. For a moment Madge’s -conscience had been uneasy, but the press of things crowding into her -life quickly drove all thoughts of little Allumette out of it.</p> - -<p class="center p0 p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img008"> - <img src="images/008.jpg" class="w20" alt="Decorative image" /> -</span></p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</span></p> - -<h3 class="nobreak" id="MGCHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V.<br /> -DARK DAYS.</h3> -</div> - - -<div> - <img class="drop-cap" src="images/dc007.jpg" width="100" alt=""/> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="upper-case">“Why</span>, little Allumette! Where have all your roses gone? I thought you -had learnt to grow them in Hampstead! What have you done with them now?”</p> - -<p>The child’s face had been pinched and wan the moment before, but at the -sound of that well-remembered voice the blood came rushing back, and -the light sprang into the wistful eyes.</p> - -<p>“Oh, sir, you have come back!” she exclaimed, as though the sunshine -itself had returned with him.</p> - -<p>“Yes, I have come back. Did you think I had gone for good? I shall be -going away again by-and-by; but I am here for a few weeks. What have -you been doing with yourself since I saw you last? Sitting for any more -pictures?”</p> - -<p>“No, sir, I’ve only been selling matches.”</p> - -<p>“Which do you like best?”</p> - -<p>Bertram was almost sorry he had put the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</span> question, for sudden tears -sprang to the child’s eyes, and he saw that she could not reply. Some -chord of memory had been struck. Plainly she could not think of those -happy days at Hampstead without suffering the pangs of longing and -regret.</p> - -<p>“There, there,” he said kindly, “perhaps there will be some more -sitting for pictures to do by-and-by, but the ladies are in the country -still. We are not living at Hampstead just now.”</p> - -<p>“No, sir, I know. And are the ladies quite well?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, quite. I hear from them often. They are in a very pretty place.”</p> - -<p>The child’s face lighted and beamed all over.</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir, Miss Madge told me so, and I am going there soon!”</p> - -<p>“Are you? That is right! You look as if you would be the better for a -holiday.”</p> - -<p>“I didn’t ought to want it; I had such a beautiful one up at your -house. But the streets do get so hot, and I just think and think and -think about what Miss Madge told me of the place I was to go to. Mother -says I’m a lucky girl, and I think I am too! I can think about it all -day, and then when it’s night I often dream about it too. I wonder if -it’ll be like the dreams when it comes? They’re so beautiful, they are!”</p> - -<p>“Miss Madge will keep her promise—you needn’t be afraid!” said -Bertram, as he put a shilling into<span class="pagenum" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</span> the child’s hand and passed on. -He was very busy just then, but he found time to feel a real sense of -pleasure that his sister should remember their little protégée, and -arrange a country outing for her. He had been a little afraid that -the experiment of transplanting her for a time had not been entirely -successful. And the child’s appearance when first he saw her had been a -shock to him, she had looked so frail and white.</p> - -<p>“But I will tell Madge to keep her for a really good outing when she -does get her,” he said to himself as he went on his way. “The child -looks as though she needed it. She is not of the stuff of the average -street waif. I will bear the expense of some extra weeks. Perhaps when -Madge settles at Brooklands she might find a nook for the little one -somewhere.”</p> - -<p>Bertram was exceedingly busy just at this juncture, having been away on -professional business for some time, and having his own holiday in view -not far ahead. Moreover, his daily road did not now lead by Allumette’s -corner, and he only saw her by chance once or twice during the week -that followed.</p> - -<p>Each time he thought she looked more white and wan than the last, and -it was with real relief he observed one day that she was missing from -her corner at the very hour she was always there to look out for him -coming from the Law Courts.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</span></p> - -<p>“Ah, then Madge has got her!” he thought with a sense of satisfaction. -“She is revelling in the joys of the country. I should like to see -her little face light up as she gets out of the smoke of town. I will -take care that she does not come back too soon. I will run down to -Brooklands one of these days, when I can make time, and see Madge and -the Brooks and little Allumette.”</p> - -<p>Yet at the very time when Bertram was picturing the child happy in the -midst of wild flowers, scented hay, and the glories of summertide in -the country, and Madge was busy with her preparations for receiving her -later on when the woods should be scarlet and the nuts hanging ripe -from the bough, little Allumette was sitting, languid and suffering, -pent up in a close and reeking attic with three sick children, all -prostrated by a sort of low fever which had broken out in the locality, -and which was carrying off little victims by the dozen.</p> - -<p>It was not a regularly infectious fever, and it was practically -impossible to isolate or remove the sick. Many children recovered after -a few days’ prostration, and seemed little the worse, but some died, -and others lay helpless and weak for a considerable time, and though -the overworked doctor did his best to cope with it, he was able to do -but little except offer a few hints as to feeding and treatment, which -too often could not be carried out.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</span></p> - -<p>The children in Allumette’s home had sickened rather early. One little -boy had died, whilst the rest were struggling back to convalescence, -their recovery greatly retarded by the heat of the attic, and the bad -air they constantly breathed.</p> - -<p>Allumette had gone to her match-selling as usual for some considerable -time. It was a relief to get out of the unwholesome place, and even the -hot streets seemed almost fresh by comparison.</p> - -<p>Yet never had the life of the streets seemed so hard or so uncongenial -to little Allumette as they did upon her return from the gardener’s -cottage at Hampstead.</p> - -<p>She shrank from the rough words and rough ways of the boys and girls -plying a like calling with herself as she had never shrunk from it -before. They jeered at her, too, in her neater clothes, and made game -of her when she spoke of what she had been doing in her absence. Her -gentleman was not in London, and the days seemed so long and dreary. -She could not eat the coarse food with the old relish, and the -uncleanly odours of the court and of the attics where she lived, which -before she had taken as a matter of course, now turned her sick.</p> - -<p>She still snatched a few happy minutes when she could go and pay a -visit to the old cobbler and his wife. Here she was doubly happy in -being away from all that was foul and disagreeable, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</span> in being able -to talk freely to the old people of all the joys of those wonderful -weeks in the studio.</p> - -<p>She was never tired of telling, and they were never tired of hearing -about them; and Allumette had left in their charge the picture-books -Miss Madge had given her, and the Bible which had been young Mrs. -Clayton’s parting gift. Allumette shared with her old friends all the -knowledge she had come by during her stay in that wonderful house, and -it comforted her to talk of Jesus and His love, and to try and believe -that He saw and cared for her, just as much as He had done when she -had been so happy and cared for. Moreover, old Gregg and his wife were -always cheering her up by telling her that very soon she would be sent -for into the country for a beautiful holiday.</p> - -<p>“It’s not till the middle of July as folks begins to think much about -holidays for children,” they would say. “August is the real month for -it, but it begins before that sometimes. The young lady won’t forget, -don’t you be afraid, little one. You’ll get a letter or a message one -of these days, and then you’ll have fine times!”</p> - -<p>So Allumette lived on in hope, and in spite of increasing languor and -weakness kept a brave heart, and never forgot morning and night to -say the little prayer taught her by Mrs. Clayton, always adding, “and -please let Miss Madge remember about me!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</span></p> - -<p>The sight of her gentleman’s face in the streets again had come like a -ray of sunlight, and his kindness had warmed her heart. She thought, -perhaps, he would say something to Miss Madge to remind her if she had -forgotten. But Allumette did not believe Miss Madge would forget, only -she did hope she would remember soon, for every day life seemed harder -and work more burdensome, and at last she hardly knew how to drag her -weary limbs over the hot pavements to her accustomed corner.</p> - -<p>Then came the day when she dropped down in a giddy fit, just as she -was going out as usual, and her stepmother said with a sort of kindly -impatience—</p> - -<p>“There, child, just you stop at home and mind the little ones. You’re -not fit for the streets. You’ve got a touch of the fever yourself. I’ve -got a day’s charing, and I’ll be glad to leave you at home with the -children. Keep them as quiet as you can, and I’ll ask Mrs. Gregg to -look in upon you whilst I’m away. I daresay she’ll cheer you up a bit.”</p> - -<p>For tears of weakness and depression were running down little -Allumette’s face. It had come into her mind that if she really had the -fever the summons to the country would arrive too late. They would -not let a sick child go lest she should do harm to the others. She -had been fighting and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</span> fighting against the fear that she too was -sickening—fighting against it for a whole long week. Now she could -not fight any longer, and whilst Bertram Clayton was picturing her -revelling in the delights of rural life she lay upon the wretched bed -with the other sick children, parched with thirst, wasted by fever, -talking in low, soft tones of happy days which seemed present to her -again in a dream, but by no means always conscious of her surroundings, -or certain who was with her.</p> - -<p>At the beginning of August the tenant of the Hampstead house gave -it up, and the Claytons came back to make preparations for Madge’s -wedding, which was now little more than a month distant.</p> - -<p>Blooming and radiant was Madge after her happy time at her future -home, Eva was almost strong again from her visit to foreign baths, -and Bertram and Cora looked quite brown after their climbs amid the -surrounding hills.</p> - -<p>They had so much to say that first evening that it was only just last -thing before they parted at night that Bertram suddenly exclaimed—</p> - -<p>“Ah, by-the-by! did you get my letter, about little Allumette? I can’t -remember when or how I posted it; but I daresay it reached you all -right.”</p> - -<p>“What letter?” asked Madge, and seemed about to say more, only he spoke -again quickly—</p> - -<p>“Oh, the one telling you to keep her longer—to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</span> let her have August -too down there. But I daresay you would not want prompting about that.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know what you mean,” said Madge. “I never got that letter at -all. The only time you mentioned Allumette to me was once when you said -you were glad she had got away into the country. I meant to ask you who -had taken her. I am going to have her down to my new home (I’ll tell -you all about that some other time) as soon as it’s ready, but that -won’t be before October. But we’ll make up to her for the waiting when -we get her.”</p> - -<p>Bertram looked a little puzzled.</p> - -<p>“I thought she had gone to you when she disappeared. She told me you -had promised, and I said that if you had promised you would not forget, -and a day or two afterwards she disappeared from her corner. I made -sure you had sent for her, and that is what I meant in my letter.”</p> - -<p>Madge’s face was rather hot. This was not the first time in her -life that Bertram had had occasion to show her how she had let fall -the chance of doing some small kindness through her eagerness to do -something bigger by-and-by.</p> - -<p>“Did you promise the poor child a country holiday, Madge?” asked Eva -half-reproachfully. “I wish I had known. I would have taken care that -she was not disappointed.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</span></p> - -<p>“It wasn’t exactly a promise—at least I don’t think so, Cora, was it? -I said something, I know, and I meant to be better than my word, only -it wasn’t convenient just then, and I thought this would be so much -better.”</p> - -<p>Madge’s face was glowing, and her heart was beating rather fast. She -felt as though whilst planning an act of rather munificent charity -(which after all would cost her no self-denial) she had shirked the -little present trouble of seeking an asylum for one little waif, half -afraid that Arthur would think her absurd over the child, and that -the cottagers might not like it. She knew it was little half-formed -thoughts like these which had hindered her, and she felt a qualm of -shame and self-contempt.</p> - -<p>“I did not hear exactly,” answered Cora. “I was drawing at the time, -but I certainly thought you had spoken of the summer, and I was -surprised when you put it off till October.”</p> - -<p>“And you might have written and told her,” said Bertram. “It would -have cheered her to know herself remembered, and she would have had -a definite hope to look forward to, instead of suffering the pain of -feeling herself forgotten.”</p> - -<p>“I was so busy, and I didn’t know how to write to a street child, and I -had forgotten the address,” said Madge. “Oh, don’t all scold me! I have -been very selfish. But I hope somebody else has<span class="pagenum" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</span> taken her away, and -to-morrow I’ll go and see about it!”</p> - -<p>“Do,” said Bertram rather gravely, “for I begin to be afraid that -instead of a country holiday it is illness which is keeping the child -from her post. She was looking very white and thin when I saw her last. -You know what the saying is about hope deferred, and it is especially -hard for children.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I will go to-morrow! I will go to-morrow!” cried Madge, springing -up. “I will make up to her for everything that has gone before!”</p> - -<p class="center p0 p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img009"> - <img src="images/009.jpg" class="w20" alt="Decorative image" /> -</span></p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</span></p> - -<h3 class="nobreak" id="MGCHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI.<br /> -CONCLUSION.</h3> -</div> - - -<div> - <img class="drop-cap" src="images/dc003.jpg" width="100" alt=""/> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="upper-case">“I</span> shall go with you, Madge,” said Bertram; “I do not like your -visiting such places alone. My work is quite slack now, since the -vacation has commenced. It matters little enough whether I appear at -chambers or not.”</p> - -<p>So brother and sister went into town together, and soon found the -steamy, airless court which was the home of little Allumette. Madge -gave a little shudder as she passed into it.</p> - -<p>“Oh, Bertram,” she exclaimed suddenly, “I shall never forgive myself if -harm has come to her from my neglect! I had been here before. I ought -to have remembered what it would be like after taking her out of it for -so many weeks.”</p> - -<p>“It made her very happy; but perhaps it was a mistake. It is difficult -to judge in some cases. One of the lessons we have to learn in life is -that there is an element of danger in intermeddling too<span class="pagenum" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</span> much with the -lives of others, unless we can do something permanent and substantial. -We must not rush into responsibilities which are not given us to bear -without due thought and consideration; but then we must not, on the -other hand, hold back from any effort, lest we should not be quite -successful.”</p> - -<p>“I rushed my attempt at benevolence!” cried Madge. “When Allumette was -with us I was always teaching her and making much of her, and I was -quick to promise another holiday, without thinking whether I could be -as good as my word. And when I was down there so busy and happy I let -it go out of my mind, and could not take any trouble over it. I always -put it off till I could carry out my big scheme. Oh, Bertram, I feel as -though I were not worthy to attempt anything!”</p> - -<p>“Cheer up, Madge! though perhaps that is a better frame of mind than -to feel able to attempt anything and everything. There is a worthy old -soul signalling to you over there. She seems to know you.”</p> - -<p>“It is Mrs. Gregg!” cried Madge eagerly; “she will tell us about little -Allumette!”</p> - -<p>“Oh, thank God you have come, missie!” cried the woman, hastening up. -“I was just saying to Gregg that I would go off to try to find you. -Though he did say as fine folks was never at home this time of year. -The poor<span class="pagenum" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</span> lamb keeps calling and calling for Miss Madge, till it’s -pitiful to hear. It don’t seem as though she could go quiet till she’s -seen you again!”</p> - -<p>“Do you mean little Allumette?” cried Madge breathlessly. “Is she ill?”</p> - -<p>“I’m afeard she’s dying, miss. She’s had the fever on her a long while -now, but she wouldn’t give way. She kept saying as Miss Madge was -a-goin’ to send for her into the country, and she fought and fought -against it, till she could fight no more. If she could only ha’ bin got -away a week or two earlier—ah! that would ha’ made all the difference. -But maybe the Lord knows best. ’Tis a hard world we live in. The tender -lambs are best in His keeping maybe!”</p> - -<p>Madge felt as though a cold hand were clutching at her heart.</p> - -<p>“Can I see the child?” she asked in a low voice.</p> - -<p>“Yes, miss, for sure; the fever ain’t one of the catching kind—not to -folks as don’t live down about here. The children get it, but grown-up -folks take no harm from them. There’s abin a many little one die down -here this summer, and the poor lambie up there will be the next!”</p> - -<p>They went into that wretched attic, and stood beside the child’s bed. -She was the only sick one there now, the other children having either -died or recovered.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</span></p> - -<p>Madge felt the hot tears rising in her eyes as she saw the white, -wasted face, and saw the restless, fever-stricken tossings of the -child she had always seen before with a laugh in her eyes and a bright -responsive smile upon her lips. She would have spoken her name as -she bent over her, but no voice came. The dim eyes were roving round -and round in the listlessness of fever. Words began to form upon the -parched lips.</p> - -<p>“Please, dear Lord Jesus, let Miss Madge remember! Please let her -remember. I do try to be patient; but I am so tired! If I could go -where she said I should be able to rest. Please help her to remember!”</p> - -<p>“Allumette! Allumette!” cried Madge, with a note of almost passionate -entreaty in her voice. “Little Allumette, don’t you know me?”</p> - -<p>The voice seemed to penetrate the child’s dimmed understanding. -Something like the shadow of the old smile crept over the pinched face; -the little transparent hands made a groping movement as though trying -to stretch themselves out.</p> - -<p>“Miss Madge! Miss Madge!” she gasped feebly. “Miss Madge has come! -Oh, Mrs. Gregg, are you there? You see you were right. You said Jesus -always heard, and that He would answer by-and-by!”</p> - -<p>She spoke the words in feeble gasps, trying to raise herself up; but -the excitement and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</span> exertion were too much, and she fell back in a -state of unconsciousness.</p> - -<p>“Ah, poor lamb! she’s going! But she’s got her wish. She is happy now!” -breathed Mrs. Gregg, drawing Madge away from the bedside. The girl -turned to her brother, and caught his arm almost fiercely.</p> - -<p>“Bertram, we must save her! we must save her!” she cried. “Don’t tell -me she is dying! I won’t—I can’t believe it!”</p> - -<p>“Not actually dying, I think,” he answered gravely, “but in a very -critical condition. If she remains here she will certainly die. We must -bestir ourselves if we are to save her.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, tell me what to do! What can be done? Bertram, you will help me! -You will not let me have this burden to carry about with me!”</p> - -<p>She was growing painfully excited. He led her away, promising Mrs. -Gregg that they would make speedy arrangements for the removal of the -little patient to some better place, and asking the good woman to have -her ready for the bearers when they should come.</p> - -<p>“You must not give way, Madge,” he said, when they were in the street. -“It has been rather a sad experience for you; but we will still hope -for a happy ending. I trust and hope we may save this little life, and -make it a happier one in the future. But think of the thousands of -children<span class="pagenum" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</span> who are growing up in dens like that! It almost crushes the -life out of one to think of it!”</p> - -<p>“I won’t think of it!” cried Madge, clenching her teeth to choke back -the wave of emotion which threatened to overcome her. “I will think of -the individual little ones whom I shall be able to help and cheer and -make happy for a little while in their small lives. I must be careful, -I see. I must not unfit them for the battle of life. I must not promise -or attempt more than I can perform, or make pets and playthings of -the little ones. All their surroundings must be plain and homely. But -they shall have their fill of fresh air and sunshine and liberty. Oh, -Bertram, my heart bleeds for them! You will not think that I ought to -give up my scheme because I have been so foolish once. I have had such -a lesson. And there I shall have wiser heads to counsel me.”</p> - -<p>“I would never give up anything planned for the help and benefit of -our suffering brethren—least of all of suffering children,” answered -Bertram gravely, “and I think you are building on a better foundation -now, Madge! The less we trust in ourselves, the more we ask help where -it is to be found, the firmer our building will be, and more abiding -will be the results.”</p> - -<p>Madge nipped her brother’s arm fast. She understood much that was -implied in that speech. He was not a man to speak readily of his -deeper<span class="pagenum" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</span> feelings; but Madge knew that they were there, and that they -had been deeply stirred to-day.</p> - -<p>“Now for some hospital where they will take the child,” he said in a -different tone after a long silence. “I think I know one place where -they will take a case in which I am specially interested, and make a -nook for the little one somewhere, whether they are full or not.”</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>“St. Luke’s summer, my lamb! Just the day for Miss Madge to come home! -But we mustn’t call her Miss Madge any longer. We must learn to say -Mrs. Brook; and one day it will be Lady Brook, when the old gentleman -is gone; but he’s wonderful hale and hearty still!”</p> - -<p>Mrs. Gregg was bustling about the cheerful kitchen of the old-fashioned -farmhouse, of which mention has been made before, and Allumette was -sitting curled up on an antique oak settle in the ingle-nook, with -a book open beside her. She was still a little white, frail bit of -humanity—“a bag of bones,” Mrs. Gregg had called her when first -she appeared at the farm, just after her own installation there as -caretaker of the infant experiment. She had picked up a little flesh -since then, but was still very weak and wan; only the light was coming -back into the wistful eyes, and the lips were ready to smile with pure -happiness and joy of life.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</span></p> - -<p>Life had indeed become a very wonderful thing for little Allumette -since her awakening to the consciousness of her surroundings in the -cheerful hospital ward. Everything since then had been so beautiful—so -wonderful! Nothing but kindness had been her portion; and to crown all -had come Miss Madge’s visits, upon the last of which she had heard that -the cobbler and his wife—her best friends—had been sent down to live -in a farmhouse close to the lady’s future home, and that Allumette -herself was to go there as soon as she was well enough to leave the -hospital, to live in the country always with her old friends, and -by-and-by to be trained for service in Miss Madge’s own house, with the -prospect of becoming her little maid in the future.</p> - -<p>Miss Madge had told her all this just before she was to be married; -and since then the child had not seen her. For, when she reached this -delightful place, Mr. and Mrs. Brook were away upon their wedding trip, -and only to-day were they to return.</p> - -<p>“Hark to the bells!” cried Mrs. Gregg suddenly. “That means that the -carriage is in sight of the village. Run, ducky! It will pass the place -I showed you this morning. Take your posy and run and see them go by!”</p> - -<p>A huge and very tasteful arrangement in brightly-tinted autumn leaves -and flowers, tied with a white<span class="pagenum" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</span> riband, lay upon the table. Little -Allumette started up, tied on her hat, seized her bouquet, and started -off like an arrow from a bow. She was strong enough to run a short -distance now, and she knew just where the carriage would pass.</p> - -<p>“They be a-coomin’, ducky!” cried the old cobbler, who was now working -busily in the garden, rejoicing in the sort of toil to which he had -been brought up, and which seemed to infuse new vigour into his bent -frame. He and his wife both appeared to have taken a new lease of -life since coming down into the country. It had been one of their -unfulfilled dreams to save enough to leave the cruel city and make -a little home in some quiet country place such as both remembered -in their youth. But they had long given up hoping for it, when the -unexpected offer from Miss Madge brought about its realisation.</p> - -<p>The child ran swiftly down the sloping meadow to the stile at the end. -The road ran along just below, and from that vantage ground she would -see the carriage pass, and be able to throw her posy into Miss Madge’s -lap. She could not yet think of her as anything but Miss Madge, though -she practised the new name conscientiously with Mrs. Gregg.</p> - -<p>But hardly had she reached the stile before she uttered a little -exclamation of rapture, for there was a tall familiar figure standing -beside it,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</span> his face turned away, watching for the arrival of the -carriage.</p> - -<p>At the sound of the pattering feet he turned and smiled.</p> - -<p>“Little Allumette!” he exclaimed; and, lifting her up, he set her upon -the stile, where she could see everything to the greatest advantage.</p> - -<p>“Oh, sir!” she exclaimed in a sort of ecstacy; and he laughed as he -said—</p> - -<p>“I had to come down on business. I was in the down train, and walked -up. I thought I should get to Brooklands before the bridal party -arrived. But I heard the bells begin, and decided to let them pass me. -So you are down here for good, are you, little Allumette? But we shall -have to find a new name for you now. Matches don’t belong to you any -longer.”</p> - -<p>“No, sir,” she answered shyly; “but I shall always like the name you -gave me better than any other!”</p> - -<p>The roll of the carriage wheels began to be heard.</p> - -<p>“They are coming!” said Bertram Clayton, and stood the child up on the -broad ledge of the stile, holding her with one strong arm. Two or three -mounted tenants trotted past on horseback, and then the carriage dashed -into sight round the bend.</p> - -<p>Allumette was quivering all over with excitement<span class="pagenum" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</span> and a sort of vague -fear lest Mrs. Brook might not be quite the same person as Miss Madge -had been; but when she saw the smiling face in the carriage all fear -left her, and, holding up her posy, she waved it in the air and threw -it deftly into the lady’s lap.</p> - -<p>But Madge had already seen the pair, and was signalling to the coachman -to stop.</p> - -<p>“Bertram, this is too delightful! Get into the carriage, and tell me -all the news at home!”</p> - -<p>But though she spoke first to her brother her eyes were on the child -too, and when he led her up to the carriage she held out her hands, and -bending down, kissed the little quivering upturned face.</p> - -<p>“Little Allumette!” she said softly, and there was a sparkle of tears -of thankfulness in her eyes.</p> - -<p>The carriage drove off; the child stood looking after it. Happiness was -written on every line of her face. Her lady had seen her, had spoken to -her, had kissed her. It was more than enough for little Allumette.</p> - - -<p class="p0 center">THE END.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter transnote"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="Transcribers_Notes">Transcriber’s Notes</h2> - - -<p><a href="#Page_16">Page 16</a>: “resignation to His Holy Will” changed to “resignation to His -Holy Will.”</p> - -<p><a href="#Page_102">Page 102</a>: “end of the story, Winnie!” changed to “end of the story, -Winnie?”</p> - -<p><a href="#Page_111">Page 111</a>: “as that, Winnie?” changed to “as that, Winnie.”</p> - -<p><a href="#Page_175">Page 175</a>: “when she could to go” changed to “when she could go”</p> - -<p><a href="#Page_183">Page 183</a>: “be as good as my word” changed to “be as good as my word.”</p> - -<p>The original has several pages of text that are skipped in the page -numbering. 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