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HILDEGARDE'S HOLIDAY
THE
HILDEGARDE-MARGARET SERIES
By Laura E. Richards
Each large 12mo, cloth decorative, illustrated, per volume, $1.75
Queen Hildegarde
Hildegarde's Holiday
Hildegarde's Home
Hildegarde's Neighbors
Hildegarde's Harvest
Three Margarets
Margaret Montfort
Peggy
Rita
Fernley House
The Merryweathers
_The above eleven volumes boxed as a set, $19.25_
L. C. PAGE & COMPANY
53 Beacon Street, Boston, Mass.
[Illustration: "'DO TELL US ABOUT HER, PLEASE!'"]
THE HILDEGARDE SERIES
Hildegarde's Holiday
A STORY FOR GIRLS
BY
LAURA E. RICHARDS
Author of
"The Margaret Series," "The Hildegarde Series,"
"Captain January," "Melody," "Five
Minute Stories," etc.
ILLUSTRATED
[Illustration]
THE PAGE COMPANY
BOSTON PUBLISHERS
_Copyright, 1891_
BY ESTES AND LAURIAT
Made in U. S. A.
Twenty-fourth Impression, May, 1927
Twenty-fifth Impression, January, 1930
THE COLONIAL PRESS
C. H. SIMONDS CO., BOSTON, U. S. A.
_To H. R._
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER PAGE
I. INTRODUCTORY 11
II. MISS WEALTHY 20
III. THE ORCHARD 34
IV. THE DOCTORS 53
V. ON THE RIVER 74
VI. A MORNING DRIVE 94
VII. A "STORY EVENING" 126
VIII. FLOWER-DAY 151
IX. BROKEN FLOWERS 178
X. THE HOUSE IN THE WOOD 201
XI. "UP IN THE MORNING EARLY" 222
XII. BENNY 241
XIII. A SURPRISE 254
XIV. TELEMACHUS GOES A-FISHING 278
XV. THE GREAT SCHEME 300
XVI. THE WIDOW BRETT 314
XVII. OLD MR. COLT 337
XVIII. JOYOUS GARD 354
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
"'DO TELL US ABOUT HER, PLEASE!'" (p. 128) _Frontispiece_
"'AND EVERYTHING IS RIGHT FOR SUPPER, MARTHA?'" 23
"'DO SAY IT'S ALL RIGHT, JEREMIAH!'" 77
"THEN THEY HUGGED EACH OTHER A LITTLE" 111
"'DON'T YOU THINK WE HAVE ENOUGH FLOWERS, ROSY?'" 174
"SO DOWN PLUMPED HILDEGARDE" 194
"'OH, SUCH A DEE OLE KITTY!'" 247
"'NOT A THING IN THE HOUSE!'" 333
HILDEGARDE'S HOLIDAY.
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTORY.
In a small waiting-room at Blank Hospital a girl was walking up and
down, with quick, impatient steps. Every few minutes she stopped to
listen; then, hearing no sound, she resumed her walk, with hands clasped
and lips set firmly together. She was evidently in a state of high
nervous excitement, for the pupils of her eyes were so dilated that they
flashed black as night instead of gray; and a bright red spot burned in
either cheek. In the corner, in an attitude of anxious dejection, sat a
small dog. He had tried following his mistress at first, when she began
her walk, and finding that the promenade took them nowhere and was very
monotonous, had tried to vary the monotony by worrying her heels in a
playful manner; whereupon he had been severely reprimanded, and sent
into the corner, from which he dared not emerge. He was trying, with his
usual lack of success, to fathom the motives which prompted human beings
to such strange and undoglike actions, when suddenly a door opened, and
a lady and gentleman came in. The girl sprang forward. "Mamma!" she
cried. "Doctor!"
"It is all right, my dear," said the doctor, quickly; while the lady,
whose name was Mrs. Grahame, took the girl in her arms quietly, and
kissed her. "It is all right; everything has gone perfectly, and in a
few days your lovely friend will be better than she has ever been since
she was a baby."
Hildegarde Grahame sat down, and leaning her head on her mother's
shoulder, burst into tears.
"Exactly!" said the good doctor. "The best thing you could do, my child!
Do you want to hear the rest now, or shall I leave it for your mother to
tell?"
"Let her hear it all from you, Doctor," said Mrs. Grahame. "It will do
her more good than anything else."
Hildegarde looked up and nodded, and smiled through her tears.
"Well," said the cheerful physician, "Miss Angel (her own name is an
impossibility, and does not belong to her) has really borne the
operation wonderfully. Marvellously!" he repeated. "The constitution,
you see, was originally good. There was a foundation to work upon; that
means everything, in a case like this. Now all that she requires is to
be built up,--built up! Beef tea, chicken broth, wine jelly, and as
soon as practicable, fresh air and exercise,--there is your programme,
Miss Hildegarde; I think I can depend upon you to carry it out."
The girl stretched out her hand, which he grasped warmly. "Dear, good
doctor!" she said; whereupon the physician growled, and went and looked
out of the window.
"And how soon will she be able to walk?" asked the happy Hildegarde,
drying her eyes and smiling through the joyful tears. "And when may I
see her, Doctor? and how does she look, Mamma darling?"
"_Place aux dames!_" said the Doctor. "You may answer first, Mrs.
Grahame, though your question came last."
"Dear, she looks like a white rose!" replied Mrs. Grahame. "She is
sleeping quietly, with no trace of pain on her sweet face. Her breathing
is as regular as a baby's; all the nurses are coming on tiptoe to look
at her, and they all say, 'Bless her!' when they move away."
"My turn now," said Dr. Flower. "You may see her, Miss Hildegarde, the
day after to-morrow, if all goes well, as I am tolerably sure it will;
and she will be able to walk--well, say in a month."
"Oh! a month!" cried Hildegarde, dolefully. "Do you mean that she cannot
walk at all till then, Doctor?"
"Why, Hilda!" said Mrs. Grahame, in gentle protest. "Pink has not walked
for fourteen years, remember; surely a month is a very short time for
her to learn in."
"I suppose so," said the girl, still looking disappointed, however.
"Oh, she will _begin_ before that!" said Dr. Flower. "She will begin in
ten days, perhaps. Little by little, you know,--a step at a time. In a
fortnight she may go out to drive; in fact, carriage exercise will be a
very good thing for her. An easy carriage, a gentle horse, a careful
driver--"
"Oh, you best of doctors!" cried Hildegarde, her face glowing again with
delight. "Mamma, is not that exactly what we want? I do believe we can
do it, after all. You see, Doctor--Oh, tell him, Mammy dear! You will
tell him so much better."
"Hildegarde has had a very delightful plan for this summer, Doctor,"
said Mrs. Graham, "ever since you gave us the happy hope that this
operation, after the year of treatment, would restore our dear Rose to
complete health. A kinswoman of mine, a very lovely old lady, who lives
in Maine, spent a part of last winter with us, and became much
interested in Rose,--or Pink, as we used to call her."
"But we _don't_ call her so now, Mammy!" cried Hildegarde, impetuously.
"Rose is exactly as much her own name, and she likes it much better;
and even Bubble says it is prettier. But I _didn't_ mean to interrupt,
Mammy dear. Go on, please!"
"So," continued Mrs. Grahame, smiling, "Cousin Wealthy invited the two
girls to make her a long visit this summer, as soon as Rose should be
able to travel. I am sure it would be a good thing for the child, if you
think the journey would not be too much for her; for it is a lovely
place where Cousin Wealthy lives, and she would have the best of care."
"Capital!" cried Dr. Flower; "the very thing! She _shall_ be able to
travel, my dear madam. We will pack her in cotton wool if necessary; but
it will not be necessary. It is now--let me see--May 10th; yes, quite
so! By the 15th of June you may start on your travels, Miss Hildegarde.
There is a railway near your cousin's home, Mrs Grahame?"
"Oh, yes!" cried Hilda. "It goes quite near, doesn't it, Mamma?"
"Within two or three miles," said Mrs. Grahame; "and the carriage road
is very good."
"That is settled, then!" said Dr. Flower, rising; "and a very good thing
too. And now I must go at once and tell the good news to that bright
lad, Miss Rose's brother. He is at school, I think you said?"
"Yes," replied Hildegarde. "He said he would rather not know the exact
day, since he could not be allowed to help. Good Bubble! he has been so
patient and brave, though I know he has thought of nothing else day and
night. Thank you, Doctor, for being so kind as to let him know.
Good-by!"
But when Dr. Flower went out into the hall, he saw standing opposite the
door a boy, neatly dressed and very pale, with burning eyes, which met
his in an agony of inquiry.
"She is all right," said the physician, quickly. "She is doing extremely
well, and will soon be able to walk like other people. How upon earth
did you know?" he added, in some vexation, seeing that the sudden relief
from terrible anxiety was almost more than the lad could bear. "What
idiot told you?"
Bubble Chirk gave one great sob; but the next moment he controlled
himself. "Nobody told me," he said; "I knew. I can't tell you how, sir,
but--I knew!"