The weather the next morning proved all that could be desired, and the
shopping expedition a grand success--everybody being not only satisfied
but charmed with the results.
Mrs. Travilla and Rosie returned to Ion that evening, but scarcely a day
passed while the preparations for the wedding were going on, without
more or less interchange of visits among the young people of that place,
Woodburn, Fairview, and the Oaks and Pinegrove.
Naturally the deepest interest was felt and shown by the ladies and
young girls, but brothers and cousins were by no means indifferent.
Harold and Herbert, though well pleased with the idea of taking their
friend Croly into the family, were loath to part with Rosie, their
youngest and only single sister, the only one now left in the Ion
family. She had always been somewhat of a pet with them, and during
these last weeks of her life with them they treated her as one for whom
they could not do enough; while her manner toward them showed full
appreciation of their kindness and affection. Much of her time and
thoughts was necessarily taken up with the preparations for her
approaching marriage; but in leisure moments she had many sad thoughts
in regard to the coming separation from home and all there whom she so
loved; especially the tender mother who had been, until within a few
months, her dearest earthly friend.
"Mamma dear, dearest mamma, I can hardly endure the thought of leaving
you," she sighed one day with starting tears, as they sat together over
their needlework in Mrs. Travilla's dressing room.
They were quite alone at the moment, Zoe, who had been with them, having
just gone out with her little ones.
"No one can ever take your place in my heart or home," continued Rosie
with almost a sob, "and oh, how I shall miss you--your love, your sweet
motherly counsels, your tender sympathy in all my joys and sorrows--oh,
mamma, mamma! at times the very thought of it all is almost unendurable,
and I am tempted to say to Will that he may come to me if he likes, but
that I can never tear myself away from my dear home and the precious
mother who has been everything to me since I first drew the breath of
life!" and dropping her work she knelt at her mother's feet, lifting to
hers eyes full of tears.
"Dear child," her mother responded in tones tremulous with emotion, and
bending down to press a kiss on the quivering lips, "it gives me a sad
and sore heart to think of it. And yet, daughter dear, we may hope to
see each other very often--to spend weeks and months of every year in
each other's society, and when we are apart to exchange letters daily;
and best of all, to be in a few brief years together in the better land,
never to part again."
"Ah, mamma dear, that last seems a long look ahead. At least--oh, mamma,
I cannot bear the thought of--of death coming between us; and yet we can
hardly hope to go together."
"No, daughter dear, but time is short, as you will realize when you have
seen as many years in this world as I have; and after it will come the
never-ending ages of eternity--eternity, which we are hoping to spend
with our dear ones in the immediate presence of our Redeemer--united,
never to part again."
"Yes, mamma; oh, that is indeed a sweet thought. But," she added with a
heavy sigh, "sometimes I fear I may miss heaven; I seem so far, so very
far from fit for its employments and its joys--so often indulging in
wrong thoughts and feelings--so taken up with earthly cares and
interests."
"Dear daughter, look to God for help to fight against your sinful
nature," replied her mother in moved tones. "He says 'In me is thine
help'; 'He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he
increaseth strength.' 'They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their
strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and
not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.' 'Fear thou not; for I am
with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee;
yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my
righteousness.' These are some of his gracious promises."
"Ah, mamma, but the question with me is, is he really my God? am I
his?--truly one of his redeemed ones, his adopted children? How shall I
make sure of that?"
"By accepting his conditions and believing his word, 'Come unto me all
ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.' 'Him that
cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out.' Come now and accept his
offered salvation, whether you have done so before or not; come,
believing his word; 'I will in no wise cast out,' 'I have blotted out,
as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and as a cloud, thy sins: return
unto me; for I have redeemed thee.' 'Surely shall one say, In the Lord
have I righteousness and strength; even to him shall all men come.' 'In
the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory.'
'The just shall live by faith,' and faith is the gift of God, as we are
told again and again in his Holy Word; a gift that he will grant to all
who ask it of him."
There was a sound of approaching footsteps and Rosie resumed her seat,
taking up the work she had dropped. They recognised the step as
Harold's, and the next moment he stood in the open doorway.
"Mamma," he said, "I am going over to Roselands and should like to take
you along. You have not seen that youngest Conly yet, and Arthur
considers Marian now quite well enough for a call from you. I know, too,
that she is wanting to see you."
"And I to see her, the dear girl," responded his mother, laying aside
her work. "Come in and sit down while I don my bonnet and mantle."
"Let me get them out for you, mamma," said Rosie, dropping her
embroidery and hastening to do so.
"I should include you in the invitation, Rosie," said Harold, "but we
think it safer not to let Marian have the excitement of many callers
until she gains more strength."
"I thought she was doing finely," returned Rosie, bringing her mother's
mantle and putting it about her with loving care.
"So she is," replied Harold with a light laugh; "but we cannot be too
careful of her to satisfy her doting husband, and though eager to
exhibit her new treasure to all her friends and relatives, she is
entirely submissive to his will in the matter."
"Oh, well, I can wait," laughed Rosie. "Give her my love, mamma, and
tell her I am not staying away from any indifference to her or the
little newcomer."
"No fear that she would ever suspect you of that, Rosie dear," her
mother said, with a slight smile; "but I will assure her of your
interest in both herself and baby boy. Now good-bye till my return,
which I presume will be in the course of an hour or two."
"Don't hurry home on my account, mamma dear," returned Rosie. "I shall
not be lonely. I have letters to write, and that will make the time pass
quickly."
"It is a lovely day and the short drive with my son will be very
enjoyable," Mrs. Travilla remarked, as Harold handed her into the
vehicle.
"To us both, I hope, mother," he returned, giving her an affectionate
look and smile. "Yours is to me the best company in the world. The roads
are in fine condition," he added as he took up the reins and they
started down the avenue, "the fields and gardens along the way also, and
the air full of the fragrance of flower and shrub. Oh, on such a morning
as this it seems a joy just to be alive and well!"
"Yes," she responded, "oh, what cause for gratitude to the Giver of all
good that you and I, and all our nearest and dearest in this world, are
alive and well."
"Yes, mother; attendance upon the sick and suffering has given me a
higher appreciation of the greatness of the blessing of sound health
than I had in earlier days. It is saddening to witness suffering from
accident and disease, but a great privilege to be able in many cases to
relieve it. That last makes me thankful that I was led to choose the
medical profession."
"And you have often an opportunity to minister to souls as well as
bodies; one which I hope you do not neglect."
"I am afraid I have sometimes neglected it, mother," he acknowledged
with a sigh, "and at others performed it in a very halting and imperfect
way. But as you know--for I could not keep from you such gladness as
the knowledge of that fact brought me--I have been privileged to win
some souls to Christ--smooth some dying pillows--and to lead some
recovering ones to devote their spared lives and restored health to the
service of the Master--the Physician of souls--in whose footsteps I
ardently desire to tread."
"I know it, my dear son, and it has filled me with joy and gratitude for
you, for them, and for myself--that I am the mother of one whom God has
so honoured and blessed."
Then she inquired about the condition and needs of some of his poorer
patients; for she made it her business to provide for their necessities
and to furnish many a little luxury that helped on convalescence or
smoothed the passage to the grave.
As they drove up the avenue at Roselands Dr. Conly came out upon the
veranda, his face beaming with smiles.
"Ah, Cousin Elsie," he said as he assisted her to alight, "this is kind.
Marian has been looking forward to your visit with longing, both to see
you and to exhibit to your appreciative eyes the little one who seems
to her the greatest and loveliest darling the world ever saw."
"Ah, I can understand that," she returned with a low, pleased laugh. "I
have not forgotten how lovely and what an inestimable treasure my first
baby seemed to me; though I am by no means sure that each one who
followed was not an equal joy and delight."
"Your second son among the rest, I hope, mother," laughed Harold.
She gave him a loving smile in response.
"Will you go up with us, Harold?" asked Arthur.
"No, thank you," he said. "I will busy myself here with the morning
paper while mother makes her little call."
It was a most inviting looking apartment into which the doctor conducted
his cousin, tastefully furnished and redolent of the breath of flowers;
in pretty vases set here and there on bureau, mantel, and table, and
blooming in the garden beneath the open windows whence the soft, warm
air came stealing in through the lace curtains. But the chief ornaments
of the room were its living occupants--the young mother lying amid her
snowy pillows and the little one sleeping in its dainty crib close at
her side.
"Dear Cousin Elsie, you have come at last, and I am, oh, so glad to see
you!" Marian exclaimed with a look of eager delight, and holding out her
hand in joyous welcome. "I have hardly known how to wait to show you our
treasure and receive your congratulations."
"Dear girl, I can quite understand that," Mrs. Travilla said with a
smile and a tender caress, "and I wanted to come sooner; should have
done so had your good husband deemed it entirely safe for you."
"Ah, he is very careful of me," returned Marian, giving him a glance of
ardent affection. "But, oh, look at our darling! His father and mother
think him the sweetest creature that ever was made," she added with a
happy laugh, laying a hand on the edge of the crib and gazing with eyes
full of mother love at the tiny pink face nestling among the pillows
there.
Elsie bent over it too in tender motherly fashion.
"He is a dear little fellow," she said softly. "I congratulate you both
on this good gift from our Heavenly Father, and wish for you that he may
grow up into a God-fearing man, a blessing to his parents, to the Church
and the world."
"I hope he may indeed, cousin, and I want you to join your prayers to
ours that we may have grace and wisdom to train him up aright, should it
please the Lord to spare him to us," said the doctor with emotion.
"I think his mother needs those prayers the most," said Marian low and
softly. "I am but a foolish young thing; scarcely fit for so great a
responsibility; but I am more glad and thankful than words can tell that
the darling has a good, wise, Christian father to both train him and set
him a good example."
"It is a cause for great thankfulness," Elsie said, "but never forget,
dear girl, how very great and important is a mother's influence;
especially in the early years when the strongest and most lasting
impressions are apt to be made. No doubt you feel--as I often have,
often do--like crying out in the midst of it all, 'Alas, who is
sufficient for these things!' but what a blessing, what a comfort is
the promise, 'If any of you lack wisdom let him ask of God that giveth
to all men liberally and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.'"
"Oh, those are comforting texts!" Marian said with a look of relief. "I
wish I were as well acquainted with the Bible as you are, cousin."
"I know more of it now than I did at your age," Elsie returned in a
reassuring tone, "and you, as well as I, have it at hand to turn to in
every perplexity; and if you do so you will find the truth of the words
of the Psalmist, 'Thy word is a lamp to my feet and a light unto my
path.'"
"Ah, yes! an open Bible is an inestimable blessing," said Arthur, "and
my Marian and I will endeavour to make it the rule of our life, the man
of our counsel."
At that moment the babe stirred and opened its eyes.
"Ah, he is awake, the darling!" said Marian. "Don't you want to take him
up, papa, and let Cousin Elsie have a better look at him?"
"Yes, mamma; as you know, I am very proud to exhibit my son and heir,"
laughed the doctor, bending over the crib, gently lifting the babe and
placing it in Elsie's arms, smilingly outstretched to receive it.
"He is indeed a lovely little darling," she said, gazing on it with
admiring eyes, then softly pressing her lips to the velvet cheek. "There
is nothing sweeter to me than a little helpless babe. I hope he may live
to grow up if the will of God be so, and I think he is going to resemble
his father," she added with a most affectionate look up into the
doctor's face.
"If he equals his father in all respects, his mother will be fully
satisfied," Marian said with a happy little laugh.
"Ah, love is blind, dearest," was Arthur's smiling response.
"And well for me that it is in your case, as I have often thought," she
said in sportive tone, "for it seems to hide all my imperfections and
show you virtues that are wholly imaginary."
"Then it is a very good and desirable kind of blindness, I think,"
remarked Grandma Elsie with her pleasant smile.
"Now, Cousin Elsie, please tell me about Rosie," Marian requested with a
look of keen interest. "I suppose she is both very busy and very happy."
"Quite busy and happy too, I think, except when her thoughts turn upon
the approaching separation--partial at least--from home and its loved
ones."
"And doubtless that thought makes you sad too, cousin," sighed Marian.
"Ah, what a world of partings it is! and how sudden and unexpected many
of them are."
"Yes; but there are none in that happy land to which we are journeying.
Ah, what a blessed land it must be! no sin, no sorrow, pain or care, no
death, but eternal life at the foot of the dear Master whose love for
his redeemed ones is greater, tenderer than that of a mother for her own
little helpless child."
"How intense it must be!" said Marian musingly. "I can realise that now
as I never could before my little darling came. But now, about Rosie and
her betrothed. Do they not expect to settle somewhere in this region,
cousin?"
"I think that question remains yet to be fully discussed; it is
certainly still undecided. Probably they will not for some time settle
permanently in any one spot. Mrs. Croly is an invalid, almost constantly
being taken from place to place in search of health, and never satisfied
to be long separated from either husband or son--her only child."
"Ah, I'm afraid that will make it hard for Rosie," said Marian. "By the
way, I think they would better bring her here and put her in our
doctor's care," she added with a smiling and arch look up into her
husband's face.
"Ah, my dear!" he said with a slight smile and a warning shake of the
head, "don't allow yourself to take to the business of hunting up cases
for me; especially chronic and incurable ones."
"But is she so bad as that?" asked Marian, turning to her cousin Elsie
again.
"I suppose so," Elsie replied. "I have never been told that her case was
considered incurable, but I know that she has been an invalid for many
years."
"And with no daughter to nurse and care for her! She may well deem
herself fortunate in getting one so sweet and bright as Rosie."
"Rosie has had no experience as a nurse," said her mother, "but she is
kind-hearted and I hope will prove a pleasant and helpful daughter to
her husband's mother; as she has been to her own."
"I haven't a doubt of it. And is the wedding to come off soon, cousin?"
"The day has not yet been set," replied Mrs. Travilla, with a slight
sigh at thought of the parting that must follow, "but we expect to fix
upon one in the latter part of June; which I hope will give you time to
grow strong enough to make one of our party. But I fear I am keeping you
talking too long," she added, rising and laying the babe, who had fallen
asleep again, gently back among its pillows.
"I am sure your call has done me good, and I hope you will come again
soon, dear cousin," Marian said, receiving and returning a farewell
caress.
"Sometime when your doctor gives permission," was Elsie's smiling reply.
"Never mind coming down with me, Arthur," she added, "I know the way
and have a son waiting there on the veranda to hand me into the
carriage. So good-bye, and don't consider it necessary to wait for
sickness among us to call you to Ion."