OF MANY THINGS.
Madam Wetherill was much engrossed with visitors and overseeing the farm
work, ordering what of the produce was to be sold, what of the flax and
the wool sent away to be spun and woven, and the jars and boxes and
barrels set aside to be taken into the town later on. Patty was busy
sewing for the little girl and her mistress, and sometimes, when she was
bothered, she was apt to be rather sharp. At others she proved
entertaining.
Primrose learned to know her way about the great house and the garden
and orchard. Now she must go with a bonnet to protect her from the sun
and linen gloves to keep her hands white, or to get them that color. At
night she was anointed with cosmetics, and her hair was brushed and
scented, but needed no help from curling tongs or pins.
It was like a strange dream to her, and in the morning when she awoke
she wondered first if she had not overslept and missed the call of Aunt
Lois; then she would laugh, remembering. She was a very cheerful,
tractable child, and Madam Wetherill was much drawn to her. Sometimes
she went riding with her in the coach, which was a rather extravagant
luxury in those days.
And then they came into town and it was stranger still to the little
girl. But now she began to be busy.
There were some schools where boys and girls went together, but many of
the best people had their daughters educated at home. It seemed quite
desirable that they should learn French, as it was useful to have a
language servants could not understand. They began with Latin, as that
gave a better foundation for all else. Then there was enough of
arithmetic to keep household accounts and to compute interest. Madam
Wetherill had found her knowledge most useful, as she had a large estate
to manage and had no such objections as many of the women of that
period.
There was the spinet and singing of songs, dancing and doing fine
needlework. Anabella Morris was to come in for the accomplishments.
Her mother professed to hold the weightier knowledge in slight esteem.
"Anabella will no doubt have a husband to manage for her," her mother
said with a high sort of indifference. "Women make but a poor fist at
money affairs."
"Indeed, Niece Mary, I do not see but what I have managed my affairs as
well as most men could have done them for me. And look at Hester Morris,
left with a handsome patrimony by an easy husband, and now dependent on
relatives. I am glad there is talk of her second marriage."
"Mere talk, it may be." With her nose in the air, Mary Morris was not a
little jealous that her almost penniless sister-in-law should capture
the prize she had been angling for.
"Let us hope it will be something more. I hear Miss Morris hath promised
her a wedding gown, and I will add a brocade with a satin petticoat.
Hester is a pleasant body, if not overdowered with wisdom."
Mrs. Mary Morris was not poor, though it needed much contriving to get
along on her income. She was very fond of play, one of the vices of the
time, and though she was often successful, at others she lost heavily.
She was fond of being considered much richer than she really was, and
kept her pinches to herself. One of her dreams had been the possibility
of being asked to stay at Wetherill House for the winter, at least, but
this had not happened. She was not as near a connection as Bessy Wardour
had been, but she made the most of the relationship, and there were not
a great many near heirs; so all might reasonably count on having
something by and by.
She had received a goodly supply of provisions from the farm, and the
offer had been made for Anabella to share Primrose Henry's teachers with
no extra charge.
"You are very generous to the child," she said in a complaining tone. "I
thought Philemon Henry was in excellent circumstances."
"So he was."
"And is not her guardian, the other one, a well-to-do Quaker? Why must
you be so regardful of her?"
"Yes, she will have a nice sum, doubtless. I want her brought up to fit
her station, which the Henrys, being strict Friends, would not do. Her
mother appointed me her guardian, you know. I do nothing beside my duty.
But if you do not care----"
"Oh, 'tis a real charity to offer it for Anabella, and I am glad to
accept. She is well trained, I suppose, so no harm can come of the
association."
"Oh, no harm indeed," returned the elder dryly.
After the simplicity of life at the Henrys' there seemed such a
confusion of servants that Primrose was almost frightened. Mistress
Janice Kent kept them in order, and next to Madam Wetherill ruled the
house. Patty was a seamstress, a little higher than the maid who made
her mistress ready for all occasions, looked after her clothes, did up
her laces, and crimped her ruffles. But Patty wrote her invitations and
answered the ordinary notes; and she was appointed to look after and
care for Primrose, who was too old for a nurse and not old enough for a
maid.
Patty was a woman of some education, while Mistress Kent had been to
France and Holland, and could both write and speak French. Patty's
advantages had been rather limited, but she was quick and shrewd and
made the most of them, though the feeling between her and Janice Kent
rather amused Madam Wetherill. Janice was always trying to "set her down
in her proper place," but what that was exactly it would have been hard
to tell. Janice would not have had time to look after the child, and
this responsibility rather raised her. Then she had wonderful skill with
caps and gowns, and could imitate any imported garment, for even then
those who could sent abroad for garments made up in the latest style,
though it was London and not Paris style.
Primrose kept her bed in Patty's room. There were plain little gowns for
her daily wear, but white aprons instead of homespun ginghams. She came
to breakfast with Madam Wetherill when there were no guests, or only one
or two intimates. For the people of the town had much of the Southern
ways of hospitality, and when on their farms in summer often invited
their less fortunate friends. It was not always lack of money, but many
of the merchants in trade and commerce between the home ports had no
time to spend upon country places, and were not averse to having their
wives and daughters enjoy some of the more trying summer weeks in the
cooler suburban places.
So Primrose sat like a mouse unless someone spoke to her, and it was
considered not best to take too much notice of children, as it made them
forward. Then there were two hours devoted to studying, and sewing with
Patty until dinner, which was often taken upstairs in the sewing room.
Twice a week the tutor came for Latin and French, the former first; and
then Anabella came for French, and after that the little girls could
have a play or a walk, or a ride with Madam Wetherill. Then there was a
dancing lesson twice a week, on alternate days, and a young woman came
to teach the spinet, which was a rather unusual thing, as women were not
considered to know anything except housekeeping well enough to teach it.
But this was one of Madam Wetherill's whims. For the girl's family had
been unfortunate, and the elder woman saw in this scheme a way to assist
them without offering charity.
"Do you suppose the little girls I knew last winter will ever come
back?" she asked of Patty one day.
"Oh, la, no!" was the reply. "Five years of school lies before them--not
like Master Dove's school, where one goes every morning, but a great
boarding house where they are housed and fed and study, and have only
half of Saturday for a holiday. And they study from morning to night."
"It must be very hard," sighed Primrose. "And why do they learn so
much?"
"To be sure, that's the puzzle! And they say women don't need to know.
They can't be lawyers nor doctors nor ministers, nor officers in case of
war, nor hold offices."
"But they can be queens. There was Queen Elizabeth, and Queen Anne. I
read about them in a book downstairs one day. And if women can be
queens, why can't they be something else?"
Patty looked down, nonplused for a moment. "I suppose it was because the
kings died, and all the sons were dead, if they ever had any. Well--I
don't know why woman shouldn't be 'most anything; but she isn't, and
that's all about it. There's more than one man wanted to marry the
madam, but she's wise not to take a spendthrift--or one of the Friends,
who would be obstinate and set in his ways. She's good enough at
bargaining, and she has a great tobacco plantation at Annapolis, and is
as smart as any man. And she can beat half of them at piquet and ombre
and win their money, too."
"What is piquet?"
"Oh, Lord, child! I've always heard that little pitchers had big ears,
and many a rill runs to the sea. Don't you carry things, now, nor ask
questions. Little girls have no call to know such things. What were we
talking about when I made that slip? Oh, about those girls. They'll be
trained in fine manners. The English ladies go to court and see the King
and the Queen and the princesses, and have gay doings."
"Have we any court?"
"Oh, dear, no! England governs us. But there's a good deal of
talk--there, child, get some sewing--hemstitching or something--and
don't talk so much."
She was silent quite a while. Then she said gravely: "I think I liked
the other girls better than I do Anabella. Is she my real cousin? She
said so yesterday. And once, just before I came here, Andrew said I had
no cousin but him."
"That's true enough. Andrew is a real cousin, your father's brother's
son. And your mother had no brothers or sisters. But it's a fashion to
say cousin. It sounds more respectful. Mistress Morris is a great one to
scrape relationship with high-up folks."
Primrose suddenly wondered if anybody missed her at the farm. The little
chickens must have grown into quite large ones, and all the other things
she cared for so much. There was a sudden homesickness. She would like
to see them. But--yes, she _would_ rather be here. There were so many
things to learn. She didn't see any sense in the Latin, and she was sure
it didn't make the French any easier. But the spinet----
"Patty," she ventured timidly, "do you not think I ought to go at my
notes? I didn't play them very well yesterday, and the mistress rapped
me over the knuckles."
She spread her small hand out on her knee and inspected it.
"Yes. Dear me! you'll never get that kerchief done. But, then, run
along. There's no one downstairs. They are all invited to Mistress
Pean's to take tea, and pick everybody to pieces."
"But they have no feathers," said the little girl with a quaint smile,
as she folded up her work and ran her needle through it. Then she put it
in a large silken bag that hung on a nail, and remembered with a
half-guilty conscience that there were some stockings to darn, and she
almost expected to hear Patty ask about them and call her back.
Down over the wide steps she tripped. She was half minded to take a
plunge amid the down cushions on the settle. She had sometimes turned
somersaults in the grass when no one was by, being very careful not to
let Aunt Lois surprise her. She felt like that now, but she walked along
decorously. The great company room was always a marvel to her. It held
so many wonderful things.
There was, even then, a good deal of luxury for those who had the money
to buy it. England did not care how much her colonists spent so that it
passed through her hands. She brought treasures from the far East--there
were only a very few ports allowed to the Americans.
And here were Oriental rugs on the polished floor; furniture carved and
padded in brocade, tables with massive claw feet, and others in thin
spindles that seemed hardly stout enough to hold up the top. There was a
great carved chimney-piece with some tiles let in, and some curious
iridescent bulbs not unlike the "bullseyes" over the wide hall door, but
in different phases of light they gave out varied colors. There were
queer, beautiful, and grotesque ornaments, some ugly Chinese gods that
had been brought hither by sea captains, but if to convert the new
continent, the scheme certainly would prove a failure. Primrose always
looked at them with a shudder, and instinctively thought of the Friends'
meeting with the soft gray gowns and shawls with fine fringes, or in
summer just a plain white kerchief crossed over the bosom. Then there
was a great blue-and-white Chinese pagoda, ornamented with numerous
bells, every story growing smaller. It stood on a solid clawfoot table,
and beside it, also in china, a mandarin with flowing sleeves and a long
pigtail in dark-blue.
There were curious chairs as well, and no end of square ottomans covered
with brocade or tapestry, sadly faded now and some of the edges worn.
Everywhere about were candlesticks and snuffers, for sometimes the room
was brilliantly lighted.
Adjoining this, with a wide doorway between, was a room not quite so
long, but jutting out at the side. In a sort of alcove stood the spinet.
There were also two corner buffets, as they were called. One of them had
drawers at the bottom, and the shelves above held various heirlooms, and
quaint old silver, with the punch bowl over two hundred years old,
bearing the Crown mark.
The other contained a good many books, for the descendants of the
cavaliers were not averse to something lighter than the "Book of
Martyrs." An old brown leather-covered Shakspere, and some of his
compeers, and Bacon, Lord Verulam, reposing peacefully on the shelf
underneath. Mr. Benjamin Franklin had given an impetus to knowledge and
ventured upon the writing of books himself.
Primrose wandered among them now and then, not understanding, and having
a greater fondness for the versifying part than the prose. But she did
pore over "Rasselas," and an odd collection of adventures in Eastern
lands, very like the "Arabian Nights."
But now she went straight at her spinet. She was thrilled through and
through with the sound of the notes, and often before she was aware her
little fingers would wander off in some melody, recalling how a bird
sang or how a streamlet rippled over the stones. Then she would stop in
affright and go carefully over her lesson.
Anabella really succeeded better than she did. There was no singing bird
in her brain that tempted her to stray. But sometimes the music master
was quite angry with her, and said she "might as well be a boy driving
nails or facing stone."
But now she went over and over and would not be seduced by "wonderful
melodies." It was quite dark when Mistress Janice called her to supper
in the tea room, with Patty. The two women had a great deal of sparring,
it would seem. At the farm there was never any bickering. Once in a
while Uncle James scolded some of the laborers. Yet it seemed curious to
Primrose that they should talk so sharply to each other and the next
minute join in gay laughter.
The very next day she had a visitor. Uncle James had been in once and
had a long talk with Madam Wetherill. After he had given her a somewhat
serious scrutiny and asked a few questions she was dismissed. But Aunt
Wetherill was out now and Andrew Henry asked for her.
"Promise me you won't run off with him," exclaimed Patty. "I must finish
this gown, as madam goes to Mrs. Chew's this afternoon, and all these
furbelows have to be sewed on. Folks can't be content with a plain gown
any more, but must have it laced and ruffled and bows stuck on it as if
it was Fair time!"
"When is Fair time?" asked Primrose, as she was putting on a clean
pinafore.
"How you take one up, child! There are fairs and fairs. They started in
England, where all things do. For all we put on such mighty independent
airs we do but follow like a flock of sheep. There, child, run and don't
stand gaping! And mind that you don't attempt to run off with friend
Broadbrim."
She was glad to be clasped in the strong arms and have the hearty kiss
on her forehead.
"It is like a different place without thee," he exclaimed. "I cannot
make the days go fast enough until spring opens and thou come back with
the birds. We are such quiet folk. And here all is gayety. Wilt thou
ever be content again?"
"Is gayety so very wrong, Andrew? It seems quite delightful to me," she
returned wistfully. "And when the ladies move about in their pretty
gowns it is like great flocks of birds, or the meadows with lilies and
daisies and red clover-heads. Why do they have all the bright colors?"
A hint of perplexity crossed her brow.
"Surely I cannot tell. And the woods have been robed in scarlet and
yellow, and such tints of red brown that one could study them by the
hour. And the corn has turned a russet yellow and looks like the tents
of an army. Yes, there are divers colors in the world."
"And sometimes I have wished to be a butterfly. They were so beautiful,
skimming along. God made them surely."
"Yes. But He put no soul in them. Perhaps that was to show His estimate
of fine gear."
Primrose sighed.
"They would make heaven more beautiful. And the singing birds! Oh,
surely, Cousin Andrew, they must be saved."
"Nay, child, such talk is not seemly. What should a thing without a soul
do in heaven where all is praise and worship?"
"And the worship at Christ Church is very nice, with the singing of
psalms and hymns and the people praying together. Why do we not sing,
Andrew?"
He hugged her closer. The soft "we" went to his heart. She had not
identified herself with these people of forms and ceremonies then, nor
quite accepted their "vain repetitions."
"Thou wilt understand better in the course of a few years. There is much
mummery in all of these things. They who worship God truly do it in
spirit and in truth. But tell me what else thou art doing on week-days?"
She told him of her studies. The Latin and French seemed quite useless
to him, although he knew it was taught at the Friends' school, and many
of the persuasion he knew did not disdain education. But his father was
quite as rigorous as the Church Catechism about the duties pertaining to
one's station in life, and as his son was to be a farmer and inherit
broad acres, he cared for him to know nothing outside of his business.
But the bits of history, of men and women, interested him very much.
"I hear them talk sometimes," she said. "And some of them do not want a
king. Why is he not content to govern England and let us alone?"
"I am not clear in my own mind about that," he answered thoughtfully.
"So many of us came over here to escape the rigors of a hard rule and to
worship God as we chose. And methinks we ought to have the right to live
and do business as we choose. I should like to hear able men talk on
both sides. I heard some things in the market place this morning that
startled me strangely."
"They will not have the tea," she said tentatively. "It is queer, bitter
stuff, so I do not wonder."
He laughed at that.
"Yes, I heard we were like to be as famous as Boston."
"Patty knows about Boston," she said. "She was a little girl there. But
she doesn't like it very much."
Mistress Kent came in with some cake and a home brew of beer, and asked
politely after Mrs. Henry. Then Andrew rose to go.
"I cannot take thee just yet," he said, twining the little fingers about
one of his. "But the time will soon pass. And I shall be likely to come
in on market day once in a while, if I do not make bad bargains!" with a
grave sort of smile. "Then I shall see thee, and take home a good
account."
"Thou mayst indeed do that," said Mistress Janice, with high dignity.
"She learns many things in this great house."
He stooped and kissed her, and she somehow felt sorry to say good-by.
"I suppose," exclaimed his father that evening, "that the child has been
tutored out of her simple ways, and is aping the great lady with fine
feathers and all that!"
"She is not much changed and plainly dressed, and seems not easily to
forget her old life, asking about many things."
"My brother Philemon's intentions will be sorely thwarted. He was called
upon to give up his son, but I am not sure I should have done it for
worldly gain. It was going back to the bondage we were glad to escape.
And he had counted on other sons to uphold the faith. But the mother was
only half-hearted, and the child will always be in peril."
Andrew Henry wondered a little about this question of faith. He had
heard strange talk in the market place to-day. The Puritans of Boston
had persecuted and banished the Friends, and the Friends here could
hardly tolerate the royalist proclivities of the Episcopalians. If war
should come, would one have to choose between his country and his
faith?