CHAPTER XXVI.

AN ACCOUNT AT THE BANK.

'Duchess,' said Rollo the next morning at breakfast, 'which cabinet

maker is to have the honour of your patronage?'

'I suppose it is not fair to do people good against their will,' said

Hazel. 'If Prim would like the common one—and the money—

best, she must have that. But I shall let her know _she_ chose it.'

'You would not like to be suspected of having practised economy?'

'Not unjustly.'

'How is that an unjust suspicion, which is founded on fact?'

'I am not practising economy a bit. Prim wants a secretary—and

you say she would like that best.'

'Excuse me! I said she would like that and the hundred and fifty

dollars best; and you will practise economy to give them to her.

Nicht?'

'Not at all. Only self-denial. I never did buy ugly things, and I don't

like it.'

'Self-denial is almost as good as economy, and one step towards it.

But I would remark, that economy and ugly things have no

necessary connection.'

'No,' said Hazel—'_my_ alternative would be destitution.'

'Economy has no connection whatever with destitution.'

'O there you are mistaken,' said the girl arching her brows. 'But for

destitution, it need not exist. But I wish I could think of the right

explosive materials to put in Prim's trunk! She wants waking up,

Olaf,—and you have just stroked her down for a nap.'

Dane's eyes snapped at the speaker across the table; and then he

asked in a quiet business tone, 'what sort of lethargy Prim had

fallen into?'

'I said nothing about lethargy. I must get a ream of paper initialed

in blue and gold, and another in crimson, to help line the secretary.

And three journal books in green bevelled antique, and fifty note-

books in yellow Turkey morocco. And—how many gold pens does

Prim wear out in a year?'

'You made a profound remark just now on the origin of economy; I

should like to have your definition of the thing. Would you favour

me?'

'Mind,' said Hazel, laughing a little, 'it is an unproved definition,

the word itself being but lately introduced; but at present it seems

to me, the doing without what you want yourself, to give it to

somebody who wants it more.'

A line of white made itself visible between Rollo's lips, and the

curves of his mouth were unsteady. When they were reduced to

order again, he asked,

'What more shall we do for New Year in the Hollow?'

Certain cloaks and dresses for women and children, it may be

remarked, had already been sent up. Wych Hazel considered.

'Would it be possible—but we shall not be at home to give them a

night Festival. There went no books nor pictures into the

Christmas work?'

'Books—I am afraid—they are not ready for. Pictures—pictures

are harmonizing; I am going to get you some; I would like to put a

picture in every house. What sort? I have thought about it and

failed to decide.'

'Do I want harmonizing in that sense?' Hazel asked with a laugh.

'You want all sorts of things. Go on.'

'Well—for the pictures—I would not get them all alike. It destroys

one's sense of possession.'

'True. But the more the variety, the greater the difficulty.'

'What are your nations?'

'Swedes and Germans, a few Irish, a sprinkling of Americans and

English.'

'Good pictures of animals, I should think,' said Hazel, going deep

into the matter; 'and of ships,—and of children. Englishmen would

like King Alfred burning the cakes, and Canute at the sea, and I

suppose the queen in her royal robes, and the battle of Trafalgar.

Then there are bits of the Rhine, and Cathedrals, and Martin

Luther, and a Madonna or two, for your Vaterland people,—and

mountains and ice and reindeer—' Hazel broke off with a blush.

'How I run on!'

'We will have them all, for future use,' said Rollo smiling. 'The

time will come, but I believe it is not yet. The people are hardly

ready. It wouldn't be good economy. You do not understand that

subject, I know, but you will excuse me for alluding to it. Now for

business.'

Drawing Wych Hazel away from the breakfast table to another

table which stood in the room, he opened a bank cheque book

which lay there.

'Do you know what this is?'

'I see.'

'This is for your use and behoof. And this other little book

contains—or will contain—your account with the bank. They will

keep the account, and all you have to do is to send it to the bank

every quarter to be written up. There, in your cheque book,

opposite each cheque, you register the amount drawn by that

cheque; so as to know where you are. Verstanden?'

'Yes,' said Wych Hazel, 'I have watched Mr. Falkirk often over

his.'

'The capital which is represented by ten thousand a year,' Dane

went on with business quietness, 'I have settled, absolutely and

without reserve, upon you. That amount will be yearly paid in to

your account, to be drawn out at your pleasure.'

'Why do you let me have more than I used to have?' she said

quickly.

Rollo's lips played a little as he answered,—'I think it is good for

your health to be duchess in your own right somewhere.'

'What makes you say that?'

'Conviction.'

'Ah hush!—I am talking business. Did Mr. Falkirk talk to you

about it?'

'No. But Mr. Falkirk did go to Dr. Maryland; and urged that he

should prevail with me, before I married you, to settle your

fortune—or as much of it as possible—upon yourself. Dr.

Maryland refused to urge me, and would do no more than

represent to me Mr. Falkirk's wishes. So then Mr. Falkirk wrote to

me himself, though as he said, with very little hope of doing any

good. And I don't think he did any good'—added Dane demurely.

'He did his best to vex me first.'

She stood looking down at the cheque book, her face a study of

changing colours. No,—this would have been done, though Mr.

Falkirk had held his peace. 'Thank you!' she said, suddenly and

softly.

'Thank me for what?' said Rollo gayly. 'For giving you back a little

piece of your power, after you had lodged it all with me? How did

Mr. Falkirk vex you?'

'I suppose really he wanted to vex you,' said Hazel. 'And he knew

how to choose his words. Olaf'—the soft intonation coming back

again—'you are very good! But what makes you think I want

power?'

'Habit is said to be second nature.'

'Are you afraid of my missing what I used to have?'

'How should you miss it?' said he laughing. 'Are you less of a

witch than you used to be?'

She shook her head thoughtfully. 'I do not quite know what I am.

Do you expect me to spend all this money wisely?'

'I shall never ask how you spend it, Wych. Only this I would

say,—_spend it_. We have far too much now to go on accumulating.'

'Ah,' she said with a breath of satisfaction, 'you are beginning to

understand me!'

'What new token have I given of such sagacity?'

'So long as you and Mr. Falkirk had a monopoly of the wisdom,

there was no use for my small supply,' said Wych Hazel. 'You

never gave me an inch of line. And how you dare suddenly let so

much out at once!'—she laughed a little, breaking off.

There was infinite grave fondness in the way Dane drew her up to

him and putting his hand under her chin, lifted the changeable face

to study it. Then kissing her and letting her go, he remarked,

'The rest we hold together, subject to your demands, whenever this

stock happens to be insufficient.'

'Yes,'—she said, not looking at him,—'the first demands, I think,

will be to make myself into a business woman. How much of the

time are you going to let me work with you in the Hollow?'

'Let you?—There is unlimited room for work. I have bought the

Charteris mills, Hazel.'

'Have you!—I thought he would not be willing.'

'He had stopped work, you know; the people were in terrible

distress; the times might not encourage him to go on for some

time; and he concluded to accept my offer. I got his answer only

last night. I shall telegraph Arthur to-day to let the mills run again.'

'They will keep New Year,' was Hazel's comment.

'One of my new mills is a small one, doing very fine work in

cottons, and employs only tow hundred and fifty hands; the

woollen mills have eight hundred more. So you see, we have the

whole community now to manage and nobody to interfere with us.'

'How many people?'

'Altogether—over two thousand five hundred. And everything to

be done for them.'

'Then I can go over every day and busy myself with small matters

while you attend to the great.'

'There is enough to do!' Rollo repeated with a smile, but a

thoughtful one. 'How do you propose to manage on Sundays?'

'I do not know. As you manage.'

'I must be in the Hollow.'

'All day?'

'All day. I shall hold a service in the morning for the children, in

the afternoon for the grown people. My schoolhouse is nearly

finished now, quite enough for use. By and by we will have a

church there, if all goes as I hope;—or two, perhaps; but the

people are not ready for that. They are half heathen, and will be

less prejudiced against my preaching than any other. So I must

give it to them for the present. I have sent up a load of Bibles and

hymnbooks.'

Hazel sat thinking.

'I could not preach,' she said. 'I do not know what I could do. Only

where there is so much—I suppose I could feel my way and do

something.'

'I would be glad of your help in the Sunday-school. Arthur will be

there; Prim has her own school at Crocus. Then we could lunch

with Gyda, and you could drive back in time for Dr. Maryland's

afternoon service. Hey?'

'Why should I drive back?' said Hazel.

'What a question! To go to church.'

'I can go to church in the Hollow.'

'Pardon me. There is no church there, visible or invisible.'

'There will be preaching—and you know you always did like to

preach to me,' said Hazel with a gleam.

'Dr. Maryland would like to preach to you too.'

'He will find other opportunities.'

'He would, I think, with reason, if you were absent from both

services on Sundays. Speaking of work to do—How would you

like to send one of the carriages several times a week to take Mrs.

Coles to drive?'

'Whenever you like—if she can drive without me. But are you in

earnest about Sunday afternoon?' said Hazel with a look that was

certainly earnest.

'I am in earnest at present,' said Rollo. 'But we will see. It is

something for you to sacrifice, and something for me! but whoever

would follow the Lord "fully," Hazel, will find himself called to

lay down his own will at every step.'

'So I must economize in you, first of all!' she said. The words

slipped out rather too quick, and were followed by a shy blush

which did not court notice.

Rollo half laughed and told her that 'economy always enhances

enjoyment.'