ALECK'S WELCOME.
It is almost unnecessary to remark that the fortnight preceding my
cousin's arrival was one of the longest I had ever spent--even longer
than those preceding birth-days or Christmas. However, the long
looked-for Thursday came at last.
I pleaded hard for a whole holiday, but my mother would not be
persuaded; so I had to do my morning lessons as usual, and confessed,
after they were over, that the hours had passed much faster than I at
all expected.
In consideration of the travellers having, in all probability, had but
little time for refreshment, dinner was to be rather earlier than usual;
and Aleck and I were to have it, for once, with the elders of the
party. Luncheon was also early; and not having the time to go down to
the lodge before it, I went out into the garden with my mother to help
in gathering a nosegay for my aunt's room.
How fresh and beautiful everything looked that morning, as we stood
there amongst the flowers, my mother selecting the materials for the
nosegay, and I holding the basket, and handing her the scissors as she
wanted them, or executing at intervals little by-plays with Frisk. I
remember feeling a kind of intense thrill of happiness, which to this
day is vividly recalled by the scent of those particular roses and
geraniums; and also a sort of dim wonder about the unhappiness which I
had heard and read of as the fate of some--pondering in my own mind how
it felt to be so very unhappy, and whether people couldn't help it if
they would only go out into the fresh air and warm sunshine, and enjoy
themselves as I did. From which speculations I was recalled by my mother
saying,--
"I think we have enough flowers, Willie; perhaps just one creeper for
the outside of the vase. There--we shall do now."
Then we went in by the school-room window, and I fetched the large vase
from the east bed-room, and stood by my mother whilst tastefully and
daintily she arranged the flowers as I thought none but she could
arrange them. She had nearly completed her task when my father came into
the school-room.
"I am sending the carriage early, dear," he said to her; "for although I
think they cannot arrive until the 4.50 train, there is just the chance
of their catching the one before. Have you any messages for Rickson?"
"None, dear," answered my mother. "But you must stay for a moment and
look at my flowers. Are they not sweet and pretty?"
"Very sweet and very pretty," replied my father. But I thought he looked
at her more than at the flowers when he said so; and she laughed,
although, after all, there was nothing to laugh at.
"Willie and I have been gathering them," she said; "and now we are going
to put them in Bessie's room."
"I know who remembers everything that can give pleasure to others,"
observed my father, whose hand was on my shoulder by this time. "Willie,
I hope you will grow up like your mamma."
Not quite seeing the force of this observation, I replied that, being a
boy, I thought I had better grow up like him. And both my parents
laughed; but my mother said she quite agreed with me, it would be far
better.
Then we carried the vase up, and placed it on the table in the window of
the east bed-room; and my mother flitted about, putting little finishing
touches here and there to complete the arrangements for the comfort of
her visitors, whilst I received a commission to inspect portfolios,
envelope-cases, and ink-bottles, and to see that all were freshly
replenished.
These matters being finally disposed of, I persuaded my mother to ascend
to the more remote part of the house, where a room next to my own had,
at my earnest request, been prepared for my cousin, and in the
decoration of which I felt peculiar interest. There was a twin bedstead
to my own, and various other pieces of furniture corresponding;
moreover, in an impulse of generosity I had transferred certain of my
own possessions into Aleck's apartment, with a noble determination to be
extremely liberal.
My mother noticed these at once, but I was a little disappointed that
she did not commend my liberality.
"You see, mamma," I explained, "there's my own green boat with the
union-jack, and the bat I liked best before papa gave me my last new
one, and the dissected map of the queens of England."
"Yes, I see, Willie," replied my mother; proceeding in the meantime to
certain readjustments urgently called for, by the critical position of
the bat standing on the drawers against the wall, and the boat nearly
falling from the mantelpiece.
"There, my child," she said; "the bat will do better in the comer, and
the ship upon the drawers. And now the puzzle: why, Willie, this is the
very one of which I heard you say there were three pieces missing; and
then Mrs. Barbauld you think childish for yourself!"
My countenance fell, for I had been indulging in the cheap generosity of
giving away second-bests, and I could see my mother did not admire such
liberality. Indeed, after a moment's consideration, I was ashamed of it
myself, and hastened with alacrity to hide Mrs. Barbauld, and the Queens
of England, and one or two other trifles, in the obscurity of my own
room; whilst my mother decided upon the best position for a couple of
prettily-framed pictures which she had had brought up, and fastened an
illuminated text, similar to one in my own room, opposite the bed--"_The
things which are seen are temporal; the things which are unseen are
eternal_"--and placed a little statuette of a guardian angel, with the
scroll underneath, "_He shall give His angels charge over thee_," over
the bed-head.
"What a good thought, mamma," I said, when she had finished her
arrangements; "that looks exactly like mine."
"Just what I want it to look, Willie. You and Aleck are to be as like
brothers to each other as may be. You have never had brother or sister
of your own, Willie--not that you can remember [there _had_ been one
infant sister, whose death, when about a month old, had been my parents'
greatest sorrow]--but now that your cousin is likely to stay a long time
with us, I hope that you and he will be as much as possible like
brothers to each other."
Then my mother, who was sitting at the foot of the bed, drew me towards
her, and quietly talked to me about some of the new duties as well as
temptations which would come with new pleasures, bidding me remember
that I was to try never to think first of myself, but to be willing to
consider others before myself. We had been reading the 13th of First
Corinthians that morning together, and her observations seemed to me as
if drawn straight from that source; indeed, before long she reminded me
of it, bidding me remember it supplied the standard we ought to aim at,
and telling me that strength would be always given, _if I sought it_, to
help me to be what I wanted to be; it was only those who did not
heartily strive who got beaten in the conflict.
It is not to be supposed that this was all uttered in a set speech; I am
giving the substance only of a few minutes' quiet talk which we had up
there in the bed-room together that morning before luncheon, and which I
confess to having felt at the time rather superfluous, my delight in the
anticipation of my cousin's arrival convincing me that there would be no
fear of my finding anything but happiness in my intercourse with him.
My mother, on the contrary, as I afterwards had reason to know, was by
no means without anxiety. She knew that hitherto I had been completely
shielded from every possible trial. The darling of herself and my
father, and, as the only child, a favourite amongst the attached members
of our household, my wants had been all anticipated, and every pleasure
suited to my age had been planned for me so ingeniously, that I had
never had the chance of showing myself selfish or ill-tempered. She
feared that when for the first time I found myself not _first_
considered in all arrangements, I might fail in those particular points
of conduct in which she was most anxious I should triumph.
My mother's gentle admonitions, to which I at the time paid little heed,
were interrupted by the luncheon gong.
"When will the wonderful preparations at the gate be ready?" asked my
father whilst we were at table.
"Oh, there's nothing left to do but to fasten up the flowers. Old George
says it won't take an hour," I replied.
"Then if I come down at three o'clock the show will be ready?"
"Quite ready," I said. "And mamma will come too?"
"Of course mamma's coming too; unless, indeed, you mean to charge so
high a price for the exhibition," said my father comically, "that I
cannot afford it. But even then," he added, "mamma shall see it; I'll
give it up for her."
I was off from the luncheon-table as soon as possible, but found nurse
lying in wait to capture me and enforce upon my mind the first duty of
returning by four o'clock, to be dressed properly before the arrival of
our visitors, whose impression of me, she conceived, would be most
unfavourable were they to find me in what she was pleased to call "this
trumpery," referring to a little sailor's suit of white and blue in
which I was very generally attired, and which nurse chose to
disapprove. She wound up her admonition by a sort of lament over my
light-mindedness as to my best clothes; a spirit which, she remarked,
was apt to cling to people to their graves--sometimes afterwards; which
I scarcely thought possible.
Frisk and I darted down the Zig-zag at our usual pace, so soon as I was
released from nurse's kind offices, and joined old George, who was on
the look-out for us.
Very pleased we were with the result of our exertions when the really
pretty triumphal arch was completed; the letters of the word _Welcome_
in conspicuously gay flowers forming a pretty contrast to the leafy
background, and eliciting what we felt to be a well-merited admiration
from my parents and a select committee of servants, who came severally
to inspect our handiwork in the course of the afternoon.
"It's fit for Her Majesty," said my father in his playful way, "and far
too fine for a little stranger boy! In fact, it seems scarcely proper
that a humble individual like myself should pass under it!"
"You're not a humble individual, papa!" I exclaimed vehemently.
"Oh, dear! oh, dear!" sighed my father, "that it should come to such a
pass as this; my only son tells me I am wanting in humility--not a
humble person!"
"An _individual_!" I said, feeling that made a great difference. "But
now, papa, you're only in fun; you know I didn't mean that."
"One thing I do mean very distinctly, Willie, which is, that I must not
stay chattering here with you any longer, or my letters will never be
ready before post-time. You may stay a little longer with George if you
like."
I stayed accordingly, determining to be home by the Zig-zag at the
appointed hour.
But my parents had scarcely had the time necessary for walking up to the
house, when the sharp sound of horses' trot suddenly aroused my
attention, and in another moment our carriage, with the travellers
inside, was rounding the curve of the road, and had drawn up before the
gate.
My confusion and shyness at thus being surprised were indescribable;
and a latent desire to take to immediate flight and get home the short
way might probably have prevailed, had not my uncle's quick eye caught
sight of me as I drew back under the shelter of old George.
"Why, surely there must be Willie!" he exclaimed; and in another moment
Groves had hoisted my unwilling self on to the step of the carriage, and
was introducing me to my relations, regardless of my shy desire to stand
upon the ground, and make geological researches with my eyes under the
wheels.
"Yes, sir, this is Master Willie; he's been uncommon taken up with the
other young master coming, and it's his thought having a bit of
something [To think of old George designating our beautiful arch as a
bit of something!] put up at the gate to bid him welcome."
"There's for you, Aleck," said my uncle to a fair-haired boy sitting in
the furthest corner of the carriage opposite to my aunt, whom I just
mustered courage to look at. "You'll have to make your best bow and a
very grand speech, to return thanks for such an honour."
"Master didn't expect you so soon, sir," proceeded George; "he thought
you'd be coming by the next train; that's how it is that Master Willie
was down here."
"Then I think the best thing we can do with Master Willie is to carry
him up to the house with us," said my uncle. And accordingly I was
lifted over from my step into the midst of the party in the carriage,
and seated down between my uncle and aunt.
The coachman was compelled to rein in the horses a minute longer, whilst
they all looked at and admired the arch, and then we bowled off rapidly
up the avenue. I sometimes think we remember our life in pictures:
certainly the very frontispiece of my acquaintance with my cousin Aleck
always is, and will be, a distinct mind's eye picture of that party in
the carriage, with myself in their midst.
Uncle Gordon sitting in the right hand corner with his arm round me,
keeping me very close to himself, so that I might not crowd my aunt, who
was leaning back on the other side of me, as though weary with the long
journey. Opposite my uncle my aunt's maid, with a green bonnet decorated
with a bow of red velvet of angular construction in the centre of the
front, to which the parting of her hair seemed to lead up like a broad
white road; she was grasping, as though her life depended upon her
keeping them safely, a sort of family fagot of umbrellas in one hand,
whilst with the other she kept a leather-covered dressing-case steady on
her lap. In the fourth corner was my cousin, in full Highland kilt, such
as I had hitherto seen only in toy-books of the costumes of all nations
or other pictures, and which inspired me with a wonderful amount of
curiosity. Lastly, myself in blue and white sailor's dress, looking, no
doubt, as if I had been captured from a man-of-war; conscious of tumbled
hair, and doubtful hands, and retribution in store for me in the shape
of a talking-to from nurse, who had still unlimited jurisdiction over my
wardrobe, for having been surprised in a state she would designate as
"not fit to be seen."
Aleck and I found our eyes wandering to each other momentarily as we
drove along. When they met, we took them off again, and pretended to
look out at opposite sides of the carriage; but this happened so often,
that at last we both laughed, and--the ice broke. I was quite on chatty
terms before we reached the house.
"There are papa and mamma!" I exclaimed, as we came in sight of the
entrance. They had heard the carriage, and were at the door to welcome
their guests.
"See, I have brought you two boys instead of one," said my uncle,
lifting me out first, and then proceeding to help out my aunt, as if she
were a delicate piece of china, and "With care" labelled outside her.
When the greetings were over, my mother declared a rest on the sofa in
her room and a cup of tea indispensable for my aunt's refreshment. My
uncle took my father's arm and disappeared into the study; and we two
boys were left to take care of each other until dinner-time.
I proposed going round the garden, and Frisk being of the party,
proceeded to show off his accomplishments. This led to an animated
description of my cousin's dog, Caesar, and a comparison of the ways and
habits of Caesar the Big with those of Frisk the Little, on the strength
of which we became very intimate.
Afterwards we returned to the house, and having shown Aleck his room, I
took him into mine, where we were found seated on the floor surrounded
by "my things," which I had been exhibiting in detail to my cousin, when
nurse came, a little before six o'clock, to see that we were ready for
dinner.
"Aleck, tell me one thing," I had just said to my cousin; "are they
really your knees or leather?"
Aleck stared, "Leather! why, of course not; what made you think such an
odd question?"
"I didn't think they _could_ be leather after the first minute," I
replied, doubtfully; "but I couldn't know--"