One Saturday in March we walked over to Baywater, for a long-talked-of
visit to Cousin Mattie Dilke. By the road, Baywater was six miles away,
but there was a short cut across hills and fields and woods which was
scantly three. We did not look forward to our visit with any particular
delight, for there was nobody at Cousin Mattie’s except grown-ups who
had been grown up so long that it was rather hard for them to remember
they had ever been children. But, as Felicity told us, it was necessary
to visit Cousin Mattie at least once a year, or else she would be
“huffed,” so we concluded we might as well go and have it over.
“Anyhow, we’ll get a splendiferous dinner,” said Dan. “Cousin Mattie’s a
great cook and there’s nothing stingy about her.”
“You are always thinking of your stomach,” said Felicity pleasantly.
“Well, you know I couldn’t get along very well without it, darling,”
responded Dan who, since New Year’s, had adopted a new method of
dealing with Felicity--whether by way of keeping his resolution or
because he had discovered that it annoyed Felicity far more than angry
retorts, deponent sayeth not. He invariably met her criticisms with a
good-natured grin and a flippant remark with some tender epithet tagged
on to it. Poor Felicity used to get hopelessly furious over it.
Uncle Alec was dubious about our going that day. He looked abroad on
the general dourness of gray earth and gray air and gray sky, and said
a storm was brewing. But Cousin Mattie had been sent word that we were
coming, and she did not like to be disappointed, so he let us go,
warning us to stay with Cousin Mattie all night if the storm came on
while we were there.
We enjoyed our walk--even Felix enjoyed it, although he had been
appointed to write up the visit for Our Magazine and was rather weighed
down by the responsibility of it. What mattered it though the world
were gray and wintry? We walked the golden road and carried spring time
in our hearts, and we beguiled our way with laughter and jest, and the
tales the Story Girl told us--myths and legends of elder time.
The walking was good, for there had lately been a thaw and everything
was frozen. We went over fields, crossed by spidery trails of gray
fences, where the withered grasses stuck forlornly up through the
snow; we lingered for a time in a group of hill pines, great, majestic
tree-creatures, friends of evening stars; and finally struck into the
belt of fir and maple which intervened between Carlisle and Baywater.
It was in this locality that Peg Bowen lived, and our way lay near her
house though not directly in sight of it. We hoped we would not meet
her, for since the affair of the bewitchment of Paddy we did not know
quite what to think of Peg; the boldest of us held his breath as we
passed her haunts, and drew it again with a sigh of relief when they
were safely left behind.
The woods were full of the brooding stillness that often precedes a
storm, and the wind crept along their white, cone-sprinkled floors with
a low, wailing cry. Around us were solitudes of snow, arcades picked out
in pearl and silver, long avenues of untrodden marble whence sprang the
cathedral columns of the firs. We were all sorry when we were through
the woods and found ourselves looking down into the snug, commonplace,
farmstead-dotted settlement of Baywater.
“There’s Cousin Mattie’s house--that big white one at the turn of the
road,” said the Story Girl. “I hope she has that dinner ready, Dan. I’m
hungry as a wolf after our walk.”
“I wish Cousin Mattie’s husband was still alive,” said Dan. “He was an
awful nice old man. He always had his pockets full of nuts and apples.
I used to like going there better when he was alive. Too many old women
don’t suit me.”
“Oh, Dan, Cousin Mattie and her sisters-in-law are just as nice and kind
as they can be,” reproached Cecily.
“Oh, they’re kind enough, but they never seem to see that a fellow gets
over being five years old if he only lives long enough,” retorted Dan.
“I know a story about Cousin Mattie’s husband,” said the Story Girl.
“His name was Ebenezer, you know--”
“Is it any wonder he was thin and stunted looking?” said Dan.
“Ebenezer is just as nice a name as Daniel,” said Felicity.
“Do you REALLY think so, my angel?” inquired Dan, in honey-sweet tones.
“Go on. Remember your second resolution,” I whispered to the Story Girl,
who was stalking along with an outraged expression.
The Story Girl swallowed something and went on.
“Cousin Ebenezer had a horror of borrowing. He thought it was simply
a dreadful disgrace to borrow ANYTHING. Well, you know he and Cousin
Mattie used to live in Carlisle, where the Rays now live. This was when
Grandfather King was alive. One day Cousin Ebenezer came up the hill and
into the kitchen where all the family were. Uncle Roger said he looked
as if he had been stealing sheep. He sat for a whole hour in the kitchen
and hardly spoke a word, but just looked miserable. At last he got up
and said in a desperate sort of way, ‘Uncle Abraham, can I speak with
you in private for a minute?’ ‘Oh, certainly,’ said grandfather, and
took him into the parlour. Cousin Ebenezer shut the door, looked
all around him and then said imploringly, ‘MORE PRIVATE STILL.’ So
grandfather took him into the spare room and shut that door. He was
getting frightened. He thought something terrible must have happened
Cousin Ebenezer. Cousin Ebenezer came right up to grandfather, took
hold of the lapel of his coat, and said in a whisper, ‘Uncle Abraham,
CAN--YOU--LEND--ME--AN--AXE?’”
“He needn’t have made such a mystery about it,” said Cecily, who had
missed the point entirely, and couldn’t see why the rest of us were
laughing. But Cecily was such a darling that we did not mind her lack of
a sense of humour.
“It’s kind of mean to tell stories like that about people who are dead,”
said Felicity.
“Sometimes it’s safer than when they’re alive though, sweetheart,”
commented Dan.
We had our expected good dinner at Cousin Mattie’s--may it be counted
unto her for righteousness. She and her sisters-in-law, Miss Louisa
Jane and Miss Caroline, were very kind to us. We had quite a nice time,
although I understood why Dan objected to them when they patted us
all on the head and told us whom we resembled and gave us peppermint
lozenges.