POLLY--THE PEW AND THE PULPIT--THE FATE OF THE FLAT IRON
By the time that my father came to fetch us away, I was wonderfully
improved in health and strength. I even wanted to go back outside the
coach; but this was not allowed.
I did not forget the little lady in the white beaver, even after my
return to Dacrefield. I was fond of drawing, and I made what seemed to
me a rather striking portrait of her (at least as to colouring), and
wore it tied by a bit of string round my neck. It is unromantic to
have to confess that it fell at last into the washhand basin, and was
reduced to pulp.
I brought my farthing flat-iron home with me, and it was for long a
favourite plaything. I used to sprinkle corners of my pocket-handkerchief
with water, as I had seen Nurse Bundle "damp fine things" before ironing
them. But after all, "play" of this kind is dull work played alone. I was
very glad when Polly came.
It was a few weeks after our return that my father proposed to ask
Cousin Polly to pay us a visit. I think my aunt had said something in
a letter about her not being well, and the visit was supposed to be
for the benefit of her health.
She was not ill for long at Dacrefield. My "lessons" were of a very
slight description as yet, and we spent most of our time out of doors.
The fun of showing Polly about the farm and grounds was quite as
satisfactory as any that my dream of the flaxen-haired sister had
promised. I was quite prepared to yield to Cousin Polly in all things
as before; but she, no doubt in deference to my position as host, met
me halfway with unusual affability and graciousness. Country life
exactly suited her. I think she was profoundly happy exploring the
garden, making friends with the cows and horses, feeding the rabbits
and chickens, and "playing at haunted castles" in the barn.
Her vigour and daring when we climbed trees together were the objects
of my constant admiration. Tree-climbing was Polly's favourite
amusement, and the various fancies she "pretended" in connection with
it, did credit to her imaginative powers. Sometimes she "pretended" to
be Jack in the Beanstalk; sometimes she pretended to be at the
mast-head of a ship at sea; sometimes to be in an upper story of a
fairy-house; sometimes to be escaping from a bear; sometimes (with
recollections of London) to be the bear himself on a pole, or a monkey
in the Zoological Gardens; or to be on the top of the Monument or of
St. Paul's. Our most common game, however, was the time-honoured drama
of "houses." Each branch constituted a story, and we used to emulate
each other in our exploits of high climbing, with a formula that ran
thus:--
"Now I'm in the area" (the lowest branch). "Now I'm on the dining-room
floor" (the next), and so on, ending with, "And now I'm the very poor
person in the garret."
There were two trees which stood near each other, of about equal
difficulty.
We used each to climb one, and as we started together, the one who
first became the "very poor person in the garret" was held to be the
winner of the game.
We were not allowed to climb trees on Sunday, which was a severe
exercise of Polly's principles. One Sunday afternoon, however, much to
my amazement, she led me away down the shrubbery, saying,
"My dear Regie! I've found two trees which I'm sure we may climb on
Sundays." Much puzzled, I nevertheless yielded to her, being quite
accustomed to trust all her proceedings.
I was not enlightened by the appearance of the trees, which were very
much like others as to their ladder-like peculiarities. They were old
Portugal laurels which had been cut in a good deal at various times.
They looked very easy to climb, and did not seem to boast many
"stories." I did not see anything about them adapted for Sunday
amusement in particular.
But Polly soon explained herself.
"Look here, Regie," said she; "this tree has got three beautiful
branches, one for the clerk, one for the reading-desk, and one for the
pulpit. I'm going to get into the top one and preach you a sermon; and
you're to sit in that other tree--it makes a capital pew. I'm sure
it's quite a Sunday game," added Polly, mounting to the pulpit with
her accustomed energy.
I seated myself in the other tree; and Polly, after consuming some
time in "settling herself," appeared to be ready; but she still
hesitated, and finally burst out laughing.
"I beg your pardon," she added, rubbing her hands over her laughing
mouth, and composing herself. "Now I'm going to begin." But she still
giggled, which led me to say--
"Never mind the text, as you're laughing. Begin at once without."
"Very well," said Polly.
There was another break down, and then she seemed fairly grave.
"My dear brethren," she began.
"There's only one of us," I ventured to observe.
"Now, Regie, you mustn't speak. The congregation never speaks to the
clergyman when he's preaching."
"It's such a small congregation," I pleaded.
"Well, then, I won't preach at all, if you go on like that," said
Polly.
But, as I saw that she was getting cross, and as I had no intention of
offending her, I apologized, and begged her to proceed with her
sermon. So she began again accordingly--
"My dear brethren."
But here she paused; and after a few moments of expectation on my
part, and silence on Polly's, she said--
"Is your pew comfortable, Regie dear?"
"Very," said I. "How do you like the pulpit?"
"Very much indeed," said Polly; "but I don't think I can preach
without a cushion. Suppose we talk."
Thus the sermon was abandoned; and as Polly refused to let me try my
luck in the pulpit, she remained at a considerably higher level than I
was. At last I became impatient of this fact, and began to climb
higher.
[Illustration: Polly and Regie in the "Pulpit" and the "Pew".]
"Stop!" cried Polly; "you mustn't leave your pew."
"I'm going into the gallery," a happy thought enabled me to say.
Polly made no answer. She seemed to be meditating some step; and
presently I saw her scramble down to the ground in her own rapid
fashion.
"Regie dear, will you promise not to get into my pulpit till I come
back?" she begged.
I gave the promise; and, without answering my questions as to what she
was going to do, she sped off towards the house. In about five minutes
she returned with something held in the skirt of her frock, which
seemed greatly to incommode her in climbing. At last she reached the
pulpit, but she did not stay there. Up and on she went, much hindered
by her burden.
"Polly! Polly!" I cried. "You mustn't go higher than the pulpit. You
know it isn't fair. The pulpit is the top one, and you must stay
there. The clergyman never goes into the gallery."
"I'm not going into the gallery," she gasped; and on she went to the
topmost of the large branches. There she paused, and from her lap she
drew forth the dinner-bell.
"I'm in the belfry," she shouted in tones of triumph, "and I'm going
to ring the bell for service."
Which she accordingly did, with such a hearty goodwill that Nurse
Bundle and several others of the household came out to see what was
the matter. My father laughed loudly, but Mrs. Bundle was seriously
displeased.
"Master Reginald would never have thought of no such thing on a Sunday
afternoon but for you, Miss Polly," she said, with a partiality for
her "own boy" which offended my sense of justice.
"I climbed a tree too, Nurse," I said, emphatically.
"And it was only a Sunday kind of climbing," Polly pleaded. But Nurse
Bundle refused to see the force of Polly's idea; we were ignominiously
dismissed to the nursery, and thenceforward were obliged, as before,
to confine our tree-climbing exploits to the six working days of the
week.
And these Portugal laurels bore the names of the Pulpit and the Pew
ever afterwards.
* * * * *
I showed my flat iron to Polly, and she was so much pleased with it
that I greatly regretted that I had only brought away this one from
Oakford. I should have given it to her, but for its connection with
the little white-beavered lady.
We both played with it; and at a suggestion of Polly's, we gave quite
a new character to our "wash" (or rather "ironing," for we omitted the
earlier processes of the laundry). We used to cut small models of
clothes out of white paper, and then iron them with the farthing iron.
How nobly that domestic implement did its duty till the luckless day
when Polly became uneasy because we did not "put it down to the fire
to get hot!"
"Nurse doesn't like us to play with fire," I conscientiously reminded
her.
"It's not playing with fire; it's only putting the iron on the hob,"
said Polly.
And to this unworthy evasion I yielded, and--my arm being longer than
Polly's--put the flat iron on the top bar of the nursery grate with my
own hand. Whilst the iron was heating we went back to our scissors and
paper.
"You cut out a few more white petticoats, Regie dear," said Polly,
"and I will make an iron-holder;" with which she calmly cut several
inches off the end of her sash, and began to fold it for the purpose.
Aunt Maria's nursery discipline was firm, but her own nature was
independent, almost to aggressiveness; and Polly inherited enough of
the latter to more than counteract the repression of the former. Thus
all Cousin Polly's proceedings were very direct, and, if necessary,
daring. When she cut her sash, I exclaimed--"My dear Polly!" just as
Uncle Ascott was wont at times to cry--"My dear Maria!"
"I'd nothing else to make it of," said Polly, calmly. "It's better
than cutting up my pocket-handkerchief, for it only shortens it a
little, and Mamma often cuts the ends a little when our sashes ravel.
How many petticoats have you done, dear?"
"Four," said I.
"Well, we've three skirts. Those long strips will do for Uncle
Reginald's neckties. You can cut that last sheet into two pieces, and
we'll pretend they're tablecloths. And then I think you'd better fetch
the iron. Here's the holder."
"Oh! Polly dear! It is such fun!" I cried; but as I drew near to the
fireplace the words died away on my lips. My flat iron was gone.
At first I thought it had fallen on to the hearth; but looking nearer
I saw a blob or button of lead upon the bar of the grate. There was no
resisting the conviction which forced itself upon me: my flat iron was
melted.
Polly was much distressed. Doubly so because she had been the cause of
the misfortune. As we were examining the shapeless lump of metal, she
said, "It's like a little lump of silver that Miss Blomfield has
hanging to her watch chain;" which determined me to have a hole made
through the remains of my flat iron, and do the same.
"Papa has promised me a watch next birthday," I added.
Polly and I were very happy and merry together; but her visit came to
an end at last. Aunt Maria came to fetch her. She had brought her down
when she came, but had only stayed one night. On this occasion she
stayed from Saturday to Monday. Aunt Maria never allowed any of the
girls to travel alone, and they were never allowed to visit without
her at any but relations' houses. One consequence of which was, that
when they grew up, and were large young women with large noses, they
were the most helpless creatures at a railway-station that I ever
beheld.
Whilst Aunt Maria was with us, she "spoke seriously," as it is called,
to my father about my education. I think she was shocked to discover
how thoroughly Polly and I had been "running wild" during Polly's
visit. Whether my father had given any rash assent to proposals for
our studying together, which Aunt Maria may have made at her last
visit, or not, I do not know. Anyway, my aunt seemed to be shocked,
and enlarged to my father on the waste of time involved in allowing me
to run wild so long. My father was apt to "take things easy," and I
fancy he made some vague promises as to my education, which satisfied
my aunt for the time. Polly and I parted with much grief on both
sides. Aunt Maria took her back to her lessons, and I was left to my
loneliness.
I felt Polly's loss very much, especially as my father happened to be
a good deal engaged just then, and Nurse Bundle busy superintending
some new arrangements in our nursery premises. I think she missed
Polly herself; we had not been so quiet for some weeks. We almost felt
it dull.
"Of course a country place _is_ very quiet," Mrs. Bundle said one
evening to the housekeeper, with whom we were having tea for a change.
"Anybody feels it that has ever lived in a town, where people is
always dropping in."
"What's 'dropping in,' Nurse?" I asked.
"Well, my dear, just calling in at anybody's house, and sitting down
in a friendly way, to exchange the weather and pass time like."
"That must be very nice," I said.
"Like as if we was in Oakford," Mrs. Bundle continued, "and I could
drop in, as it might be this afternoon, and take a seat in my sister's
and ask after their good healths."
"I wish we could," said I.
The idea fermented in my brain, as ideas were wont to do, in the large
share of solitary hours that fell to my lot. The result of it was the
following adventure.