THE JUVENILE PARTY.
The morning after the visit to the Gardens was temptingly fine; and at
breakfast-time, Harry Maitland proposed a trip to the Kew Gardens,
where, he said, there would be no fear of monkey tricks, and they would
have the satisfaction of seeing specimens of the famous blue gum tree.
'But you have forgotten, I think,' said his cousin Dora, 'that we are
expecting two of your school-fellows and their two sisters; Mabel and
Julia Ellis, and the vicar's son and daughter, Robert and Edith
Newland.'
'Oh yes, I had quite forgotten the party,' replied Harry; 'I beg
everybody's pardon for being so careless. I will do as you suggest,
aunt, and help Dora and Annie to prepare for the guests.'
'Thank you, my dear,' said Mrs. Maitland; 'I shall be glad to avail
myself of your services, especially as I hear your cousins wish to have
tea on the lawn, where there will be plenty of room for you to display
your taste. I am only sorry that our good neighbour Miss Livesay, and
her niece Clara, have not yet come home; so that we shall not have the
pleasure of their company.'
'O, we are all very sorry on that account,' said Dora, 'for there is no
one like Aunt Mary, as we call her, for making everybody feel happy and
joyful. We call her the _sunbeam_,' added Dora; 'and Clara Beaumont we
call the _evening star_, she is so gentle and quiet, though she is
quicker at her lessons than we are, a great deal.'
'I remember Clara,' said Harry Maitland; 'poor girl, I think she was in
mourning for her father when I was here in the winter. I thought she was
a very nice girl, and I too am sorry that she won't be here this
afternoon.'
'I believe Miss Livesay is expected home to-morrow,' said Mrs. Maitland,
'so you will have an opportunity of meeting with both her and her niece,
Harry; but now, young people, you must set yourself to work, for I have
many things to arrange in household matters, and can have nothing to do
with decoration. Fruits and flowers, festoons and garlands, I leave
entirely in your hands; I have the fullest confidence in your taste,'
added the lady, laughing, and bidding them good-morning, and wishing
them all success in their delightful occupation.
The Laurels, or Laurel Villa, as it was sometimes called, was a most
desirable residence. Exactly like Oak Villa, its next-door neighbour,
in size and appearance, so far as the house was concerned; but the
gardens differed very materially, Mr. Maitland's being so well stocked,
or so over-stocked with laurels, that they had actually given a name to
the pleasant abode.
We won't complain of them, for they formed a delightful shade to many a
rustic seat in the large back garden, and kept quite secluded the front
of the house. The breakfast-room, which was at the back part of the
house, opened on to the lawn with large folding glass doors; over which
the balcony of the drawing-room formed a pleasant and very convenient
shade in the summer season, at which time it rejoiced in a profusion of
sweet-scented clematis, whose delicate tendrils hung luxuriantly over
the balustrade, and in some places even swept the gravel walk.
The balcony itself was filled with choice flowers, and was attended to
with great care, by the lady of the villa herself. The wall surrounding
the garden was almost hidden by the profusion of laurels, and half a
dozen rather tall trees at the bottom of the garden formed a picturesque
background to the whole. The smooth-shaven lawn must not be unmentioned;
it made a delightful promenade; it had been the scene of many a joyous
party, and it was to be the arena on which the young invited guests of
to-day were to bear witness to the artistic taste, as well as to do
justice to the profusion of good things provided by their kind
entertainers.
'I hope Maurice Firman won't play any of his foolish pranks to-day,'
said Harry. 'He is always getting into trouble at school, yet the boys
like him because he is so good-natured, and so ready to help them with
their lessons; he seems as if he could not keep out of mischief. Edward
is quite a different fellow, and his sisters, Ella and Lucy, are very
nice girls; but they always seem afraid of Maurice, he is so fond of
practical jokes.'
'I hope he won't play any while he is here,' said Dora. 'I was going to
ask mamma to let us have her gold and purple cups and saucers, but if
Maurice Firman is so mischievous, they might be broken.'
'Oh, as to that,' said Harry, 'I don't suppose he would attack the tea
equipage, though he is a very good hand at clearing bread-and-butter
plates,' he added, laughing; 'and I expect if that Miss Mabel Ellis
comes, that we shall have a scene, for he is sure to turn her into
ridicule.'
'Oh, I hope he wouldn't be so rude,' said Annie Maitland; 'surely he
knows better how to behave himself when he is in company, and where
there are young ladies?'
'I am not at all sure of him, Cousin Annie,' said Harry; 'but I do hope
that silly conceited girl will not be here, to put Maurice to the
test.'
'I really don't think that she will come,' said Dora; 'her papa appeared
to be so angry about her going with us yesterday, that she told me that
he perhaps would not give his consent to her being of our party to-day.'
'Well done, Mr. Ellis!' said Harry. 'Keep the young lady at home; we can
do much better without than with her.'
'But Julia, I am sure, will not like to come without her sister,' said
Annie. 'I don't think she would enjoy herself, if Mabel were not here.'
'Ah, you judge other people's feelings by your own, my kind cousin,'
said the patronising Harry; 'you mustn't always do that, though I
believe there is some truth in what you say about Julia Ellis.'
A silvery laugh ringing from the balcony just then made the young party
look up, when they saw Mrs. Maitland, who was busy watering and
rearranging her flowers, and who had been amused at her nephew's
sententious speech.
'Doesn't Harry lay down the law well, mamma?' inquired Dora. 'I think,'
she added, 'he will make a good barrister; he is beginning to practise
so early.'
'I hope he will _practise_, as well as preach,' replied his aunt,
laughing; 'example, you know, my dear boy, is better than precept,' she
added, addressing herself to Harry.
'But we boys and girls require both, aunt; and I and my cousins ought to
be very good, for I am sure we have both,' said the polite young
gentleman, with a bow.
'At present you are all that I could wish you, my dears,' replied Mrs.
Maitland; 'and I can only say now, "Go on and prosper."'
'Mamma, mamma dear, don't go just this minute,' cried Dora, as Mrs.
Maitland was retreating through the drawing-room window; 'Harry has a
favour to ask of you.'
'Well, what is it, Mr. Special Pleader?' inquired the lady, resuming her
place on the balcony.
'Now, aunt,' said Harry, laughing, 'I don't think it is quite fair of my
cousins to _engage_ me in such a trifling matter, especially as I am not
likely to get anything for my _brief_, except perhaps a rebuke from
you.'
'Well, go on, my good sir,' said his aunt; 'I have some curiosity to
learn what you have to do in the Court of Request to-day.'
'It is simply this,' replied Harry; 'my instructions are to plead for
the loan of the purple and gold tea equipage, in order to make a
magnificent display before the astonished eyes of a parcel of school
girls and boys. That's my case, madam,' added the juvenile pleader, with
a bow. 'I beg to say,' he added, after a moment's pause, 'that _I_ am
no advocate in this cause; I leave it entirely in the judge's hands.'
'Yes, we leave it in your hands, mamma,' said both the girls; 'we think
we have confided our case to a very one-sided lawyer, and that one side
is certainly against his clients.'
'I am sorry to say "no" to any petition you make, my dears,' said the
kind lady; 'but prudence forbids my granting your request to-day, as
misfortunes will happen, and are very likely to happen, where such a
young gentleman as you describe Master Maurice Firman to be is of the
party. Besides, I really think myself,' added prudent mamma, 'that the
white and green tea service, though not so gorgeous as purple and gold,
will be much more suitable for your present entertainment.'
'All right, aunt,' 'All right, dear mamma,' was the response to this
decision.
Fortunately, in Mrs. Maitland's family, what mamma said was always right
with her daughters, and this saved a world of trouble.
The happy trio went on with their preparations, and when the table was
brought out on to the lawn, and had received not only the pure white and
green tea-service, but the very elegant floral decorations invented by
the cousins, it really had a most imposing appearance, and was
pronounced by the highest authority to be perfect.
'Well, now we have prepared the feast, or at least adorned it,' said
Harry, 'I think we had better look after our own adornment, for we don't
appear to be in a very fit state to receive visitors--at least I can
answer for myself that I am not;' and he held up his hands in proof of
this affirmation, though it was evident that Dora and Annie needed no
such proof, as they were pretty much in the same condition.
The young people had performed their ablutions, and were together again
on the grass plot admiring their own handiwork, or rearranging here and
there leaf or fern-wreath, when a ringing at the bell sounded an
arrival, and Harry and his cousins met and saluted their young friends,
the Firmans, in the hall: two very nice-looking girls and their two
brothers, Maurice and Edward, of whom my readers have heard before.
'You will take the young gentlemen into the garden with you, dear
Harry,' said Mrs. Maitland, who had come out of the dining-room to
salute the guests, 'and Dora and Annie will go with the young ladies to
the bedroom.'
'Mamma thinks, Mrs. Maitland,' said the eldest Miss Firman, whose name
was Lucy, 'that we are too large a party to come of one family; she is
afraid of giving you trouble.'
'Not in the least, my dear Lucy,' replied the kind lady. 'I wonder,'
she added, 'what your mamma would say if she knew that we turned you
out of doors as soon as you came.'
Lucy looked up inquiringly, and Dora explained laughingly:
'Mamma means, Lucy, that we are all going to drink tea out of doors.'
'Oh, that _will_ be delightful!' exclaimed both Lucy and Ella, as they
followed their young friends upstairs to remove their hats and jackets;
Harry having done as his aunt had suggested, taken Maurice and Edward
down the steps into the garden in the meantime. The young gentleman was
well aware that he had rather a rough customer to deal with in Master
Maurice, as he had more than once been the object of his school-fellow's
practical jokes; so he thought proper to give him a caution.
'Now, I say, Maurice,' began Harry Maitland, 'don't let's have any of
your school-boy tricks here, that's a good fellow; you know we have
young ladies to deal with this afternoon, and we must try to please
them.'
'Oh, I'm not going to do anything foolish; don't be afraid, old fellow,'
said his companion. 'Why, Harry, you look as solemn as though you
expected me to fly away with the tea-table and all the good things upon
it,' he remarked, as he glanced with a well-satisfied and complacent
look at the said tea-table; and added, 'I assure you that I don't mean
to do anything so shocking, but shall content myself with a moderate
share of the excellent provisions with which it is stocked.'
This speech was delivered with mock gravity, and our friend Harry was
fain to be satisfied with the promise, as the young ladies just then
made their appearance, and there was a very general exclamation of
pleasure and admiration at the really pretty and tasteful surroundings.
Another ring at the bell announced more visitors, and the good vicar's
children, Robert and Edith Newlove, made their appearance on the top of
the steps, and soon joined the rest in their admiration of what had been
effected by the artistic efforts of their young friends. Harry cordially
greeted his school companion and especial favourite, Robert Newlove,
while Dora and Annie welcomed with a kiss his gentle sister Edith; and
soon the happy party were seated round the table, where Dora was to
preside, though she had much wished that her mamma should take that
important office upon herself.
'I thought you told me that Mabel and Julia Ellis were to be here,
Dora,' said Edith Newlove, who was seated near her friend. 'Are they not
coming?' she inquired.
'I really don't know how it will be,' replied Dora, quietly, for she did
not wish to attract notice. 'Julia I hope will be here soon, but I fear
Mabel will not be permitted to come; her papa is very much displeased
with her.'
Another ring at the bell made the young party suspend operations for a
few minutes, and Julia Ellis received a cordial welcome, and soon found
a seat near Harry Maitland, who had risen to receive her.
Maurice Firman, not wishing to be less courteous than his friend Harry,
had also risen from his seat, but very unfortunately--or shall I say
clumsily?--in doing so, the contents of his cup went over on to his
trousers, and he was too much engaged in keeping off the hot beverage
from touching his skin, to deal in matters of courtesy.
'What a clumsy fellow you are, Maurice,' said his brother Edward;
'always getting into hot water.'
'Oh, don't bother!' exclaimed Maurice, petulantly, and still shaking his
trousers. 'I'd rather get into hot water than have the hot water poured
upon me;' and having said, as he thought, a witty thing, and made the
whole party laugh (which I must confess they had all been very much
inclined to do before at his expense), he seated himself again at the
table, cooling down as the hot beverage had done, and trying to make
himself agreeable to his young friends by his very lively remarks, of
which he had a good store.
'Why is your sister Mabel not with you, Julia?' inquired Lucy Firman.
'I hope she is not unwell?' she added, seeing the colour rise on the
cheeks of the poor girl.
'Mrs. Ellis is not very well,' replied Dora Maitland, answering for her
friend; while Harry, in order to check further inquiries, asked Maurice
Firman if he had ever been to the Zoological Gardens.
'I should just think I had,' replied Maurice, with a very significant
shake of the head; 'but you won't catch me there again in a hurry. Why,
I tumbled over into the bear's den, or cage, or whatever you call it;
and if Master Bruin had been at the bottom of the pole, instead of the
top, I can't tell you where my poll would have been now. Fortunately,
the keeper was there, and I was got out somehow or other, I can't tell
you how, for I was insensible when they picked me up; and that was no
wonder, for I think I could not have been very _sensible_ when I tumbled
over. When I came round I found myself lying on my own bed, and mamma,
and the doctor, and the girls all crying: no, the doctor wasn't
crying--doctors never do cry, I suppose, it is beneath their dignity;
but the others made fuss enough, and it was nearly a month before I was
able to go out again. And depend upon it, when I did go out, I didn't
walk to the Zoological Gardens, for I can't bear the name of the
place.' Maurice doubtless thought that he had made a good hit, but alas!
it only fell on one pair of ears.
Fortunately the tea passed over without any other mishap than the
upsetting of the cup. Maurice Firman was certainly the chief spokesman
of the party; and though I am compelled to admit that he displayed great
attachment for plates of cake and bread and butter, I am also bound in
justice to say that he was not at all wanting in courtesy to the young
ladies, by whom he was surrounded. Everything, indeed, was pleasant, and
as it should be, and the now antiquated game of croquet was proposed, as
soon as the table with its adjuncts could be removed.
'Now I'll toss this ball, and catch it ten times running, with one hand,
while you are waiting for your game,' cried the impatient Maurice; and
though there was a general exclamation of 'No, no, not until the table
is cleared!' away went the ball into the air, and returned safely into
the hand that sent it.
The next descent, however, was a disastrous one, for the ball fell
exactly in the middle of the table, smashing more than one of the
bread-and-butter plates, to the great distress and consternation of the
whole party.
'Oh, how fortunate it is that we had not the best china tea-things,'
said Dora; 'they are very expensive ones. It does not matter much about
these; we can easily get them matched.'
'Well, I am _very very_ sorry,' said the author of the mischief; 'but
I'll save up all my pocket-money, and buy some more plates,' he added.
'No, no, you won't,' said a kind voice from the balcony; and on Maurice
looking up, he saw Mrs. Maitland, who had come out of the drawing-room
to ascertain the cause of the commotion. 'Don't let this trifling
accident spoil your sport, dear Maurice,' said the lady, smiling on the
impetuous yet generous-hearted boy; 'only take care that you do not hurt
your young friends, the ladies, by too rough play.' Having given this
necessary caution, Mrs. Maitland left them to their sports, and as the
unfortunate breakage had been the means of checking somewhat of the
exuberant spirits of the youthful offender, everything went on very
satisfactorily, and game succeeded game, with great amiability, until an
unfortunate cat, belonging to Aunt Mary, which had accustomed itself to
take an evening's promenade along the garden wall, made her usual
appearance, and attracted the attention of the mischief-loving Maurice.
'Oh, I must have a fling at that cat,' cried that young gentleman,
taking up a rather thick piece of stick from the bushes. 'Now see if I
don't hit her right down from the wall,' he added; and he was just
going to suit the action to the word, when he felt his arms pinioned
from behind, and tried in vain to make his escape.
The cat, however, was more fortunate, for seeing that she had attracted
attention, and very likely having had some acquaintance with school-boy
tricks, she very prudently contented herself with a short walk this
evening, and quietly slipped down into her own domain before the
pinioned arms were set at liberty.
'There, now you may go, old fellow,' said Harry Maitland, releasing the
arms, which he had held so tightly that Maurice was fain to rub them
violently to restore the circulation, while the whole party laughed
heartily at his expense.
'I wish Harry was at home with you sometimes,' said Edward Firman, who
did not seem at all to relish his boisterous ways.
'I wish he was,' replied Maurice, who looked rather red and angry at
having been so ignominiously made captive. 'But you don't think,' he
added, 'that I would let him master me so easily as he has done now,
Ned; I was taken unawares, and that's not fair.'
'But that was the only way to save the poor cat,' said Dora Maitland:
'she might have been killed if you had struck her with that large piece
of wood; and I think Cousin Harry did quite right in holding your
arms.'
'Such a fuss about a cat!' cried Maurice, still smarting under the
supposed affront. 'You should see how I served one the other day, when
she came prowling about the house to steal anything she could lay hold
of.'
'Don't let him tell--don't let him tell it, 'cried both Lucy and Ethel
Firman; 'it is a great shame of you, Maurice, to boast of your own bad
deeds,' said both his sisters; and as the servants were just then again
setting out the table with refreshments, the young party were saved the
infliction of hearing an exploit boasted of, which would certainly have
lowered Maurice Firman considerably in the eyes of all present.
'I did not intend to hurt you, Maurice,' said Harry Maitland, as he
clapped his friend on the back, and held out his hand in token of amity.
'Oh, I know that,' replied the boy; 'I shouldn't play tricks with cats
where there are girls.'
'Nor at all, I think,' responded his friend; 'it is a cowardly thing to
hurt a dumb creature that cannot speak or fight for itself.'
'Can't they, though!' cried Maurice; 'I know, if they don't speak, they
can make a horrible outcry. And as to fighting, just look here, my boy,
what do you think of that for a scratch, which a wretch of a cat gave me
because I took up her kitten and made it squall? Why, she flew at me
like mad, and before I could put the kitten down, she gave me this
wound;' and Maurice uncovered his wrist, and showed a very red and
angry-looking scratch.
'It's your own fault; you should let the cats alone,' said his sisters.
'Mamma is always scolding you for teasing them.'
'Well, I think we have had enough of cats,' said Robert Newlove; 'I
don't like them myself, but I should be very sorry to hurt them;' and in
this charitable declaration he was seconded by the whole party, Maurice
excepted.
We must now bid good-night to our young friends, as they will soon do to
each other. Aunt Mary and Clara are expected home to-morrow, and that
careful domestic of hers, Bridget Morley, who has lived so many years at
Oak Villa, has got everything in apple-pie order for her much-esteemed
mistress, and a lovely brood of chickens, which have been hatched since
they went away, to present to the young lady who has the charge of all
the poultry.