"This is the third or fourth time you have been late, my boy. One of
the worst of faults is to be habitually late. Suppose we apply a little
birch, to strengthen your memory of this fact?"
So Herr Schuler went to a little closet in one corner of the room, and
took down a long, smooth birch switch, from a nail upon which it was
hanging.
Rick's eyes glistened with anticipation, and he began to pull off his
jacket.
"Oh! you needn't take off your jacket," said Herr Schuler.
"Yes," answered Rick: "that's the way Peter makes his boy do, when he
whips him."
Herr Schuler whizzed the rod through the air with a great flourish and
noise, but brought it down as lightly as possible upon Rick's back.
"You are only making believe!" exclaimed Rick, with a sort of
indignation at the sham. "Such a whipping as that will never make a man
of me."
Upon this, Herr Schuler laid on with a will, determined to give Rick so
much of the stick that he would never again plead for a whipping. But
the little hero never winced.
"Will that do?" asked the master at last, in almost a tone of entreaty.
"Perhaps it will do for this time," replied Rick; "but it's no more than
a respectable whipping. Now I'm ready for my lessons, and I'll try
never to be late again."
"Bravo!" cried Herr Schuler: "at this rate, I will soon put you in a way
to become such a man as your country will be proud of."
But Herr Schuler's resolution failed him. Although he had whipped many a
rough and heedless scholar into better manners by his long stick, his
kind heart and his just soul recoiled from the thought of punishing so
steady and earnest a boy as Rick had become, for trivial faults of which
the boy himself was unconscious. It was Rick himself who next referred
to the rod.
"It is two weeks since I have had a birch lesson," he said.
"Ah! h'm!" replied Herr Schuler, getting up and going to the closet very
reluctantly. "So you want another birch lesson, so soon?"
He took down the stick, and then resumed his seat in front of Rick.
"What was that you were telling little Jean Pettis, when you first came
this morning? Did you not say that you had seen an elephant as high as
my barn, and that you rode upon his back with about a hundred other
children?"
"Well, he was a very large elephant."
"Was he as high as my barn?"
"Why, he was almost as high, I think."
"Look out of the window at the barn, and tell me, truly as you can,
about how high you really think the elephant would reach."
Rick looked out, and, after a careful examination, said, with rather an
ashamed look, that he thought he would reach about to the top of the
barn-door.
"Very good," said Herr Schuler; "and now think, and tell me truly, about
how many children you really suppose there were on the elephant's back."
After thinking a while, Rick said, with a deep blush, that he was not
sure that there were more than twenty-five.
"Very well," said Herr Schuler: "if you go on at this rate, do you
expect to grow up a reliable man, whose word can be depended upon? Take
off your jacket!"
"There!" he continued, after he had given Rick a number of sharp blows,
"will that make you remember to be more truthful in your statements?"
"I guess it will help," replied Rick; "but if I find myself talking so
carelessly again, I will tell you, and take another whipping to help my
memory."
He was as good as his word: he came to Herr Schuler several times after
that, with the information that he had not told the exact truth, and
took a whipping for it.
Only once, however, did Herr Schuler whip him with a right good will of
his own; and that was after he had paid a visit at the castle, and heard
Rick, several times, speak disrespectfully to his mother.
For instance, when his mother said she thought she should have a branch
cut from one of the trees near the castle, because it shaded Rick's
window too much, Rick said,--
"A branch! I guess I'll have that whole tree down, or nothing; it's
only a bother, anyway; it not only darkens the window, but it spoils the
view out of the window. I'll have the tree cut down to the ground!"
Herr Schuler was so polite a man that he appeared to take no notice of
Rick's independent remarks; but the next day, he said to him,--
"If you want a good whipping now, young man, you can have it, and I can
put it on with a good will."
"All right," replied Rick very cheerfully: "what is it for?"
Herr Schuler then told him how sorry he had been to find that he was in
the habit of speaking disrespectfully to his mother, and to other elders
at home.
"Why, I didn't know there was any harm in that," replied Rick, in
unfeigned surprise. Thereupon Herr Schuler gave him a very decided
little lecture upon the danger of growing up without habits of respect
and politeness for others in word and action. At the end of the
lecture, he gave Rick so smart a whipping, that he was fully satisfied
for that time.
By the end of the summer, Rick had made such progress, that his father,
who had been away from home for several months on important business,
was completely astonished at the change in his son, when he came to take
his family back to the city.
One of the best changes in Rick was the improvement in his manners.
Herr Schuler's little lectures, and the way in which Rick had insisted
upon having them impressed upon his mind with the long stick, according
to the hints given by the fairy, had worked a complete transformation:
he had, even in this short time, become a very gentlemanly boy, careful
to do right for the sake of doing right, and thoughtful of others'
comfort.
During the following winter, he made great progress at the grand school
at the capital, to which he was recommended by Herr Schuler; and the
carefulness, both in lessons and deportment, which he had already
learned, helped him even more than his natural brightness. He was so
conscious of this himself, that, whenever he was asked how he came to be
so good a scholar, and why he was always so polite and thoughtful, he
answered,--
"Herr Schuler taught me how to study and to be mannerly."
As his mother's health was poor, the next summer, it was decided that
she should go to the seaside instead of the castle; and Rick spent the
summer there with her and Nanette, and was a great comfort to them.
The following summer, however, his mother's health being fully restored,
they went back to the castle; and, soon after their arrival, Herr
Schuler was invited to pay them a visit with his wife and daughter.
Rick had now become a tall, manly youth, and would have smiled
incredulously at one of Nanette's fairy-stories. He knew that there
were not, and never had been, any fairies; but he had, for a good while,
been greatly perplexed about the woman in red and yellow whom he met in
the forest, and who had so cunningly induced him to go to school to Herr
Schuler.
In the evening, he said that, if they liked, he would tell them a
curious story, which, although it would convince his mother and Nanette
and Herr Schuler that he had been no such wonderful boy as they had
thought him, was well worth hearing.
He then told them all about his losing his way among the mountains; his
meeting with the woman in red and yellow clothing, whom he had believed
to be a fairy; the wonderful appearance of the bright and airy giant who
had advanced towards him with a whip in his hand, saying, "Ho! ho! ho!
ho!" the supposed fairy's terrible warnings and good advice, and how
singularly the way out of the mountains had opened before him.
Herr Schuler laughed loud and long.
"So that was the secret of your wonderful docility!" he exclaimed. "As
for the giant figure, it was nothing but the mirage which is frequently
seen in these mountains: it was a magnified reflection of Rick Lordelle
upon the vapor in front of him."
"But how came the figure to have a long whip in his hand?" inquired
Rick.
"You must have had a stick in your own hand."
"Oh, yes! I carried my riding-whip in my left hand, and the giant
appeared to have a whip in his right hand. But how came the giant to
say 'Ho! ho! ho! ho!'?"
"It was, without doubt, the echo of your sobs, from the ledge near you."
"And as for the fairy," said Herr Schiller's daughter, "she was one of
the band of gypsies who passed through here about that time; and the
smoke you saw in the woods, came from their camp. I remember this woman
very well. I saw her the day before you met her, and she had that yellow
satin skirt and red waist in a bundle of old clothes she carried: I gave
her the old red silk handkerchief myself, for one of her baskets; and
she opened the bundle, to put it in with the rest of the clothes."
"And I saw her too!" exclaimed Rick's mother. "She was here at the
castle, and begged me to give her some old clothes in exchange for some
of her pretty baskets. She showed me an old embroidered yellow satin
skirt, which a lady had given her, and asked me if I could give her a
waist to go with it. Knowing how much the gypsies like bright colors, I
gave her an old red satin waist, which pleased her greatly."
"Oh, yes!" said Rick; "and now I remember her myself. When I first saw
her, she was dressed in an old faded calico: she was about the castle
some time, and finally went out of the yard carrying her bundle of old
clothes with her. I scarcely looked at her at the time, she appeared to
be so uninteresting. Nanette was having great trouble with me that
morning, trying to get me to read a lesson; and I told her, that, if she
did not stop her noise, or tell me a fairy-story, I would slap her in
the face, to which she replied, 'Rick Lordelle, you will surely grow up
a disgrace to every one who belongs to you!' I remember this
distinctly; because, after Zenia foretold what would happen to me if I
kept on in my ways, I recollected Nanette had said something like that
to me, when she was so vexed with me in the morning."
"As for the paths opening, that is plain enough," added Herr Schuler.
"These little woodland paths seldom appear until you are close to them,
and the road that opened between the mountains was in one of those
narrow defiles which are quite invisible in the distance. Across that
marshy district, there are a great many moss-grown stones, which serve
for footing, if any one can tell them from the rest of the bog."
"It does not make any difference now," said Rick, "that Zenia turns out
to be only a gypsy; for her warnings were just as true, and her advice
just as good, as a real fairy's could have been: but I should not have
thought so two years ago, and so I am very glad that I took her for one
of Nanette's fairies."
After Pierre had finished reading, they all expressed themselves as much
pleased with the story: Johnny was especially enthusiastic.
"I thought you didn't like fairy-stories, Johnny," said Sue.
"I never did like one very much before: but, you see, this fairy didn't
turn out to be a fairy after all, and every thing she said was true, and
really came to pass, so far as the person reading the story can know;
and then, there is a good deal of sense in it from beginning to end; and
that's the kind of story I like."
"It's just as good as a fairy-story, I think," said Felix; "because you
suppose there is a fairy in it, until the very end, and then when you
find it was a gypsy, you like the old gypsy just as well as you would a
fairy. The worst of it is, I think it is a very long story for me to
learn to read well very soon; and so I'm afraid it will be a good while
before I get to Boston."
"I don't think it will take you long to learn to read it well, if you
pay good attention to my directions," replied Pierre; "and if you want
to get on faster at any time, you have only to give more time to the
practice."
*CHAPTER VIII.*
*AT THE COTTAGE.*
Johnny found plenty of time for undisturbed possession of the sky-room,
for Felix was always off on his bicycle in the morning on pleasant days;
so that, when Johnny preferred to stay at home, he was sure of the time
until noon to himself. When he could not persuade "Prof." to accompany
him, Felix generally found Harrison Brown quite ready; and since
Harrison was a pleasant, well-disposed boy, Mr. Le Bras had given Felix
permission to go with him at any time in the morning. As bicycle-riding
was vetoed for the afternoon, Felix had various expedients for amusement
during that portion of the day, among which were lawn-tennis at a
neighbor's, base-ball with some boys on the park towards evening, and
other outdoor recreations. In fact, he was in the house so seldom that
Johnny experienced very little inconvenience after the first terror at
his coming had subsided. And Felix had never behaved well for so many
days in his life before, as since his residence with his uncle: his
parents would have been greatly pleased and astonished at his unusual
affability and tractableness, which were simply the result of the firm,
orderly government under which he found himself placed.
Felix had read to Pierre every morning for two weeks, and at the end of
that time accompanied his uncle to Boston, the latter having expressed
himself satisfied with the test-reading. Johnny had accompanied them,
and, as he was quite familiar with Boston, had shown his cousin the
principal sights while his father was transacting the business on which
he had come. As soon as Mr. Le Bras was at liberty, he took the boys
down the harbor, to Nantasket Beach, after which they returned home.
Felix had made so much improvement, during the two weeks, in reading,
that he was now quite ready to take part in the evening readings; and
this practice, with the standing instructions Pierre had given him,
caused him to make constant improvement.
The morning lessons in the fairy-story had been given by Pierre in his
own room, which was the spare chamber. The lesson always began by
Pierre's reading the portion of the story he wished Felix to read, while
Felix listened to him, with the purpose of imitating him as nearly as
possible when his turn came. As Pierre was a good elocutionist, he read
very finely, changing his voice admirably; so that, by the second or
third lesson, Felix had nearly given up the monotone which had helped to
make his own reading so painful to hear. By being made to read over any
words that sounded indistinct, Felix soon overcame the defects of his
enunciation. Pierre made him spell, by dividing into syllables, all the
words he could not pronounce. This discipline was kept up also during
the evening readings, for Felix's benefit. Of course, the drill rather
detracted from the interest of what Felix read; but no one was inclined
to complain, except Sue, who had been strictly charged to exhibit no
impatience, or say any thing that could discourage Felix or hurt his
feelings. He was certainly making a braver attempt to overcome his
deficiencies than any one could have expected of him, and his aunt was
certain that the example of Rick in the story helped him not a little.
"I think," said Sue one day, "that Rick Lordelle was exactly like Felix
in every way,--anyhow, as Felix used to be, whenever we went to see him
in New York; though I think he's an ever so much better boy now; and I
like him first-rate, when he isn't too rough, and don't get to teasing
me awful bad."
By the last of July, Mr. Le Bras was able to leave his business for a
while, and accompany the family to his brother's seaside cottage. They
started off one pleasant morning, with trunks and valises, a very merry
company. Mr. Le Bras himself was almost as light-hearted as a boy at
getting away from his office: and Pierre, who was a great lover of the
sea, by which he had lived when he was a little boy, was full of
anticipations of fishing and hunting excursions; he carried his gun in
his hand, and had a fishing basket and tackle in his trunk. As for
Johnny, Felix, and Sue, of course they were exceedingly happy: Felix and
Sue chattered incessantly.
It was a four hours' journey, with one change of cars. They reached the
village nearest the cottage about noon, and found Oliver waiting for
them with the carriage. As they were getting out of the cars, an
enormous dog jumped upon Felix, barking loudly, and then began to bound
about him and the rest of the party with every demonstration of joy
possible.
"Why, Clyde!" exclaimed Felix. "Yes, it is Clyde! Of course it is!
But how did he ever come here? Where did you find him, Oliver?"
"He jumped off the cars one day, and came right over to the cottage,"
replied Oliver, with a smiling side-glance at Mr. Le Bras.
"Well, now! if that wasn't knowing of him!" said Felix. "But I wonder
how he knew which train to take, and how the conductor came to let him
stay on, and how he happened to know just what station to get off at?"
"But you've always heard tell, Felix, that dogs are mighty knowin'
creatures," returned Oliver, smiling from ear to ear.
"But they're not quite so knowing as that, after all," said Johnny:
"there's some other explanation, if we could only find out."
"I'll tell you just how it was, boys," said Mr. Le Bras, as soon as they
were all stowed in the roomy two-horse carriage, and Oliver had started
off, with Clyde following behind, wagging his tail joyously. "I think I
must confess, now"--
"Oh! you did it, did you?" interrupted Sue. "Before I'd have thought"--
"Hush, Sue!" said her mother: "you must not interrupt papa."
"Well, the long and short of it is, Felix, that it was unpleasant for us
to have such a great, warm-hearted dog as Clyde rushing into a
city-house, with his feet dusty or muddy, and jumping up on our clothes,
and on the furniture, to say nothing of his tracks on the carpets; and
so I concluded, after a little observation of his mischief, to send him
down to the cottage. But as I didn't know you as well as I do now, and
wrongly supposed, you might be vexed with me, and not get over it very
easily, if I told you Clyde must be banished from the city, I took him
down to my office one morning, wrote a note to Oliver, which I tied to
his collar, and then accompanied him to the depot, and put him in charge
of the conductor, who agreed to hand him over to the conductor of the
other road, with instructions to put him off at this station, where I
was certain, if he did not find his way to the cottage himself, some one
would carry him there; since I knew Oliver would be well known all about
here."
"So that's the trick you played on me!" replied Felix, looking at his
uncle with more of an expression of admiration than indignation. "You're
a pretty fellow, ain't you? Now, I'll bet I'll play you as good a trick
as that before you go home!"
"But I thought conductors would not allow dogs on board the cars," said
Johnny.
"The conductor said he would have him tied up in the baggage-car; but I
didn't stop to see what disposal he made of him, beyond the fact that he
gave him in charge to one of the baggage-men, who said he would see that
it was all right. I offered either to buy Clyde a half ticket, or pay
his way as freight; but the conductor, who is a friend of mine, said it
was unnecessary, and that the other conductor would be glad to oblige
him. So Clyde came as a deadhead."
"I'm mighty glad he wasn't lost," said Felix, "and that I didn't spend
any of my money advertising him. I don't care so much for the money;
but you see, if I'd advertised him, I should have been all the more
fooled. I didn't know how to get along without Clyde down here by the
water, and I was going to remind you of your promise that I should have
another dog, if he didn't turn up before we came to the cottage; but we
were all in such a hurry and excitement this morning, that I forgot all
about it."
After passing through the village, they came upon a very hard, handsome
road perfectly white.
"What makes this road so white?" asked Sue.
"It is a shell road," replied Felix: "it has been covered with clam and
oyster shells, and the carriage-wheels have powdered the shells."
"It is a very handsome road," remarked Johnny, "and will be fine for our
bicycles."
"Capital!" returned Felix; "for it is a very long road, and even as a
floor; it extends two miles at least, as far as two monstrous cottages
which are the only ones beyond ours, though ours is a mile this side of
them."
The shell road soon led along the beach, and in front of a row of small
but pretty cottages built quite closely together. Beyond these cottages
were larger summer residences, placed much farther apart. As they drove
on, there were no more houses to be seen.
"Why! Where is your cottage, Felix?" asked Johnny.
"Oh! you'll see it in a minute."
They soon came to a sharp turn in the beach, and just ahead was a
handsome house in the Queen Anne style.
"Oh! what a pretty house!" exclaimed Sue. "Is that your cottage?"
"No; but ours is just as handsome; I think ours is painted handsomer."
There was a little strip of woods beyond the Queen Anne cottage; but
when they were past this obstacle to the view, they came suddenly upon
another cottage, which was really a large wooden house, built in fancy
style, abounding in odd and pretty windows, balconies, and verandas.
Before Sue had time to ask if this was the cottage, Oliver entered a
driveway at the right, which led, with a broad sweep, up to the
front-door, and continued around the house.