AN EXCHANGE.
Though the cold-water system had acted as a sedative with Master Fred,
during the afternoon and evening of May Day, and though every precaution
had been used to prevent any serious effects afterwards from the
wetting, yet the boy did take cold; and so feverish and restless did he
become, that the good Dr. Maddox, who had attended Mabel, was sent for
without delay. His prescription, however, was not a very alarming one:
namely, castor oil and some spirits of sweet nitre.
'Don't frighten yourself, dear madam,' said the doctor: '_this_ is not a
case of rheumatic fever; nothing but a slight influenza cold. But you
must take care to give him the medicine.' The doctor laid great stress
on this.
Of course the medicine was procured, but, alas! papa was not at home,
and no amount of persuasion or coaxing would induce the obstinate little
fellow to take it. It was in vain that mamma promised all sorts of toys,
and produced preserves and lumps of sugar to take the taste out of his
mouth, or threatened him with severe illness and more nauseous stuff, if
this were not taken. It was no use, poor Mrs. Ellis was obliged to give
it up; and heartily did she wish that her good sister Mary would call in
the course of the day, for she dreaded her husband's coming home, and
finding that the doctor's advice had not been followed. It was about
three o'clock in the afternoon when the anxiously-expected visitor
arrived at Camden Terrace. Of course she knew nothing about Fred being
poorly; she had merely come to make general inquiries, and to see that
Mrs. Ellis was no worse for the fatigue of May Day.
'Oh, I am better than usual, dear Mary,' she replied to the kind
inquiry; 'but I am troubled about Fred now. He is very poorly, in bed,
and the doctor has ordered medicine for him, which I cannot get him to
take. I have been longing for you to come; will you try if you can
induce him to take it?'
Aunt Mary smiled, as she said: 'Do you remember, dear, a former trial
that I had with this young tyrant of yours, when, being very determined
myself, I held him fast and pressed the glass to his mouth, whereupon he
actually bit a great piece out of it, at the same time kicking me so
violently that I was fain to let him go, with, I believe, a mental
promise that I would never again subject myself to such an indignity?'
Mrs. Ellis could not help laughing; she had not forgotten the
circumstance, but she pleaded now that Fred was two years older, and was
not likely to repeat his exploit.
'I know he is two years older,' said Aunt Mary, 'but I don't feel at all
certain that he is two years better than he was; though he may be so
much stronger as to increase my difficulty.'
'Oh, do try, Mary dear,' urged Mrs. Ellis; 'I must get him to take it
before his papa comes home.'
'Oh, Ada, Ada!' exclaimed her sister, 'how is it that you have allowed
this boy to gain the mastery over you, to your own great sorrow, and to
his great disadvantage? But, come,' added the kind friend, 'give me the
medicine, and I will try what I can do.'
'Now, Freddy,' said his aunt, as she came into the bedroom, cup in hand,
'I am come to see you, and to make you better if I can. I suppose you
are not fond of lying in bed this fine day,' she added.
'Oh no, aunt; I want to get up, but mamma won't let me.'
'Well, dear, you know, you must always try to do as mamma wishes you,
because she knows what is best for you; but I have brought something
from the doctor that is sure to do you good, and it is to be taken
immediately.'
'I can't take it, aunt, it is such nasty stuff,' said the boy, with
disgust.
'I know it is very nasty stuff, Freddy, and, like you, I can't bear to
take medicine; but when I know that it is to make me well, I am not so
foolish as to refuse it. So now sit up like a man, and take the cup in
one hand, and this little mint-drop in the other; drink off the nasty
stuff in a moment, and pop the mint-drop into your mouth at once; you
will never feel the taste of the medicine after that.'
Whether it was the decisive manner in which Aunt Mary spoke, or the
belief in the efficacy of the mint-drop, or the appeal to the manliness
of the patient, we cannot say, but a magical effect had been produced,
for the contents of the cup had been swallowed; and Fred, greatly
relieved in mind, if not yet in body, laid down his head on the pillow
and listened, evidently with much pleasure, to his aunt's commendations.
This short illness of Freddy's was followed by a much more serious one
of his mamma's. It had been a long time coming on, and it was the
doctor's opinion that it might be of some months' continuance; rest and
quiet were ordered, but they are not easily obtained where there are
refractory children at Freddy's age. It would be easy enough to keep the
little ones quiet, but Mrs. Ellis had permitted this turbulent boy of
hers to make appeals to her on every trifling occasion, and to stand and
whine and cry until he obtained what he wanted, because mamma was worn
out with his teasing. Now that she was really so ill as to be more than
usually affected by any disturbance, it became a question with Aunt Mary
(though it was to her a very painful one) whether it would not be
expedient, and the right thing to do, to make an exchange in favour of
the invalid, and to substitute Mabel for her brother Fred, taking the
responsibility of that rather notorious rebel upon herself, and giving
her dear sister the benefit of a tender nurse, who had grown wise beyond
her years, through much suffering and good teaching.
If there had been the shadow of a doubt on the kind lady's mind as to
what course she should pursue, her visit to Camden Terrace the day after
the doctor had given his opinion respecting Mrs. Ellis, would have
determined her; for on the front-door being opened, she heard a violent
screaming and kicking, sufficient to disturb the nerves of a much less
sensitive person than Mrs. Ellis.
'Oh, that is Fred making that noise,' said Mabel, who had come with her
aunt to visit mamma. 'Shall I go up to him?' she inquired.
'No, my dear; go to the sick-room. I will myself encounter the rebel;'
and Aunt Mary went straight upstairs, just as nurse opened the room-door
to remonstrate with the unruly boy, who was quickly and unceremoniously
caught up from the floor, and made to stand on his feet.
'Let me not hear another sound from you while I am here,' said his aunt.
'And, Jane,' she added, speaking to the nurse, 'please to put up in a
small basket this young gentleman's night-clothes. I intend to take him
home with me; he must not remain here to make his poor mamma worse than
she is.' So saying, Miss Livesay left the nursery, and proceeded to her
sister's bedroom, where she found Mabel arranging the pillows, and
making the bed rather more comfortable for her poor mamma.
Master Freddy had been completely taken by surprise, and he seemed at a
loss at first how to give vent to the suppressed passion that was
swelling within; but when nurse said, 'I am very glad indeed that your
aunt is going to take you away, for then we shall have some peace in the
house,' he jumped off the stool on which he had been sitting, and would
have struck her with a brush which he took from the table, had she not
forcibly held both his hands, and threatened to take him at once to the
room where Aunt Mary was.
'You needn't put up my night-shirt,' said passionate Fred, 'for I shan't
go with that nasty old thing!' This was, however, uttered in a subdued
tone, and elicited 'Shame, shame!' from nurse, and even from little
Gerty.
'I think,' added Jane, 'you are the very worst boy I ever did see, and I
wouldn't stop here if you was obliged to be kept in the nursery, which I
suppose you would be, now your mamma's so poorly, for it isn't to be
expected that you will be allowed to go teasing her about every little
thing. I _am_ glad, very glad, you are going away; and I hope Miss
Livesay will keep you a very long time,' added nurse, while Fred, not
daring to explode, on account of his aunt's being so near, vented his
passion on the poor kitten by kicking it violently from under the stool,
where he had again seated himself.
'Ada dear,' said Aunt Mary to her sister, 'I am going to propose a
transfer, which, though I must confess it will be a very painful one to
me, yet perhaps may in the end be good for all parties; and, I think,
will prove for your especial benefit now you are so unwell. It is my
intention--if you do not object,' continued Miss Livesay, 'to leave dear
Mabel with you, and to take that refractory young gentleman, whose
kicking and shouting, as I came to the door, must have disturbed you,
home with me to Oak Villa. I intend to remain with you this afternoon,
while Mabel goes to our house to tell Bridget to prepare a bed for Fred.
I dare say, before I want to leave, Mr. Ellis will be home, and then I
shall have no fear of a scene with Master Freddy: he will not venture on
opposition when his papa is here.'
'Oh, dear Mary!' said Mrs. Ellis, 'how kind it is of you to care for me
and mine so much! I can never thank you enough for what you have done
for dear Mabel; but she, poor girl, won't like to stay in a sick-room.'
'Mamma dear, don't say that!' exclaimed the now affectionate Mabel; 'I
will nurse you day and night. I shall only be doing for you what dear
aunt and Clara did for me, when I was so ill.'
'Well now, you must give me some work to do,' said Aunt Mary; 'I will
sit with your mamma while you go down and tell Bridget to prepare a bed
in my dressing-room for your brother. I shall take care to keep him near
me day and night.' This speech was addressed to Mabel, who was very
glad to find that it was her aunt's intention to remain till the
evening; she soon set off on her errand, though she feared she should be
the bearer of no very pleasant news to Bridget, who would certainly not
at all like the advent of such an unruly boy at their peaceful home.
'I'm sure our mistress will not let him have the lamp lighted in his
bedroom all night, as nurse says he has at home,' said Bridget; 'so most
likely that will be the first row he will make.'
'Oh, leave aunt to settle all that, Bridget,' said Mabel; 'you know how
well she manages these matters.'
''Deed I do, Miss Mabel; and who knows,' said the honest, plain-spoken
servant, 'but what she may make as great a change in Fred as she did in
you!'
Bridget did not take into account the severe illness and mental
suffering that had helped, with Aunt Mary's wise efforts, to work this
reformation. She attributed all to her kind mistress. While Bridget
attended to the commands of her mistress, Mabel went into the garden to
gather some flowers for her mamma, as her aunt had requested her; and
after bidding good-morning to the faithful servant, she wended her way
quickly to her early home, thinking, as she went, what a blessing it was
to have so kind a friend as Aunt Mary. During the time that Mrs. Ellis
had been so unwell, the children had all dined together in the nursery
at two o'clock; and Aunt Mary insisted that there should be no departure
from this rule on her account, as she intended to make one of the party.
At the hour appointed, the bell rang for dinner, and soon all were
seated at the table but Fred; that young gentleman had chosen to make
himself scarce, and notwithstanding the ringing of the bell, out of
doors and in, a second time, he did not make his appearance.
Great was the consternation of nurse at not being able to find Freddy;
she began to fear that he had run away from home to avoid going to Oak
Villa. He had once played such a trick, and made everybody miserable
until he was found in the evening, and brought home by a woman who
washed for his mamma. Mabel and Julia did not feel at all comfortable,
though Aunt Mary would not let them leave the table to go in search of
the truant.
'Don't distress yourselves, my dears,' said Miss Livesay; 'depend upon
it, the culprit is not very far off. Nurse and cook will look after
him.'
And so the dinner proceeded, though Mabel would much rather have gone
without, had she been permitted. All at once a thought struck her, and
she exclaimed: 'I'll tell you where I think he is, aunt; where we once
found him before!' and Mabel rose up and went to the window which looked
on the side of the house where there was a large dog-kennel, and over
it a wooden shed with a window in it, to which shed access was gained by
a ladder. 'Yes!' exclaimed Mabel, 'I see the key is in the door where
the apples are kept. We once found Fred there asleep on the straw;
perhaps he is there now!' and the anxious girl was making her way out of
the room, when a loud scream brought her back to the window, from which
she beheld Freddy with his foot caught in the top step of the ladder,
and his head ignominiously resting on the hard step.
Mabel was off in an instant, but quick as she was, cook was there before
her, and Fred had been turned right side upwards, and his blubbered face
wiped with that towel of all work, Susan's apron; while his forehead
presented a lump sufficiently large to account for the explosion they
had been treated to.
No doubt it had been Master Freddy's intentions, when he went into this
hiding-place, to remain there all day, until Aunt Mary should take her
leave; he did not know of her intention to remain at Camden Terrace
until his papa came home, or perhaps he might have hit upon some other
expedient. His idea was, that they would all be so frightened at having
lost him, that when he did make his appearance, he would be received
joyfully.
Whether it was that the sound of the dinner-bell had created a
sensation of hunger not to be resisted, or the savoury smell of the
nicely cooked viands had stimulated the stomach to rebellion, we cannot
say; but Freddy roused himself from his recumbent position, and, as we
have seen, came (very unintentionally) head foremost down the steps.
Alas, there is no one to sympathise with him in his self-made trouble,
Aunt Mary won't permit it; and Master Frederick Ellis has to dine in the
kitchen, a most humiliating necessity which would not have been
submitted to, but for the inward cravings which would not be resisted.
It was with the greatest satisfaction that Mr. Ellis, when he came home,
heard of the kind proposal of his sister-in-law to take Freddy home with
her; he said that he could never sufficiently thank her for the good she
had done to Mabel, but he feared that Freddy would prove a more
troublesome inmate to Oak Villa than ever she had been. Aunt Mary
declared, however, to the great astonishment of Freddy, who was in the
room at the time, that Oak Villa would not hold naughty people, whether
they were men, women, or children; and that as soon as Fred had slept
there one night, he would find himself quite another boy, and be ready
to do anything that he was desired. Fred heard all this with
'wonder-working eyes;' we don't know whether he really believed it. But
as he trudged silently along by his aunt's side, with the little basket
in one hand, and her hand clasping his other, he thought what a strange
place Oak Villa must be to make people good, whether they liked it or
not.
Mr. Ellis wished very much to accompany his sister home, but she would
not permit this.
'How can you think that I want a protector when I have Fred with me,
papa?' she inquired. 'I know very well,' she added, 'that we shall soon
be the best friends in the world; and Freddy will take all the trouble
off my hands of feeding cousin Clara's chickens while she is away.'
I should have stated that Clara had gone on a short visit to her mamma.
The reference to the chickens was an excellent stroke of policy of
aunt's; she felt the small hand, which she held, tighten in hers, and an
inward feeling of satisfaction came over her spirit, as she said within
herself, 'Love is a constraining power.'