XI.
_THE HAPPY CIRCUMSTANCE._
The next morning, when Bessie woke up, it was very quiet in thenursery. She lay still a moment, wondering what it was that hadtroubled her last night; and just as she remembered about the baby,she heard a little discontented sound at her side. She turned herhead and looked around, and there sat Maggie on the floor beside thetrundle-bed, with one sock and one shoe on, and the other shoe in herhand. She looked rather cross.
"Maggie," said Bessie, "has the baby gone to heaven?"
"No," said Maggie, "and I don't believe she's going just yet. Our owndoctor came in the night, and she's a great deal better; and now she'sfast asleep."
"And don't you feel glad then?"
"Oh, yes! I am real glad of _that_," said Maggie.
"Then why don't you look glad? What is the matter?"
"I can't find my clo'," said Maggie, in a fretful tone.
"What clo'?"
"Why, my sock."
"Why don't nurse or Jane find it for you?" asked Bessie.
"I can't wait," said Maggie; "I want it now; nurse is holding babybecause mamma has gone to sleep too, and Jane has taken Franky toHarry's room to dress him, because she was afraid he would make anoise; and she said if I put on my shoes and socks, and all the rest ofmy under-clo's before she came back, I might put on yours, if you wakedup. And that's a great 'sponsibility, Bessie; and I want to do it, andnow I can't."
"Look some more," said Bessie, who was very well pleased at the thoughtof having her sister dress her.
"I have looked all over," said Maggie. "I just expect a robber came inthe night and stole it."
"Why, it would not fit him!" said Bessie.
"Well, I guess he has a bad little robber girl of his own that he hastaken it to," said Maggie. "Anyhow, she'll be bare one foot, and I'mglad of it."
Bessie sat up in the bed and looked around the room. "I see a pair ofclean socks over there on your petticoats," she said.
"So there is," said Maggie; and quite good-natured again, she began todress as fast as she could.
"Maggie," said Bessie, as she lay down again to wait till her sisterwas ready, "what was the name of that word you said?"
"What,--'sponsibility?"
"Yes, that's it; say it again."
"Spons-er-bil-er-ty," said Maggie, slowly.
"Oh!" said Bessie, with a long breath, as if that word was almost toomuch for her, "what does it mean?"
"It means something to do or to take care of."
"Then when mamma put baby on the bed the other day, and told me to takecare of her, was that a great spons-er-bil-er-ty?"
"Yes," said Maggie.
"It's a nice word; isn't it, Maggie?"
"Yes, but it is not so nice as happy circumstance."
"Oh, that is very nice? What does that mean, Maggie?"
"It means something very nice and pleasant. I'm going to say happycircumstance to some one to-day, if I get a chance."
"Whom are you going to say it to?"
"I don't know yet; but I shall not say it to the boys, for they laughat us when we say grown-up words. You may say it, Bessie, if you wantto."
"Oh, no," said Bessie, "I would not say your new words before you saythem yourself; that would not be fair, and I would not do it for ahundred dollars."
"Well," said Maggie, "I would not let any one else do it, but you maysay any of my words you want to, Bessie."
While they were talking away, Maggie was putting on her clothes, andthen Bessie got up; and by the time Jane came back, Maggie had nearlydressed her sister too. Jane called Maggie a good, helpful little girl,which pleased her very much, for she liked praise.
After breakfast, as the children were standing on the porch waiting forJane to take them for their walk, Harry came along and told them, ifthey would come out to the barn, he would give them a swing. They neversaid no to the offer of a swing, and, much pleased, followed him to thebarn, where they found Mr. Jones sitting outside of the door mendinghis nets. He took down the swing for them, lifted Bessie in, and thenwent back to his work. Maggie had said that Bessie should take her turnfirst, and that, while Harry was swinging her, she would go out andtalk to Mr. Jones. They were very good friends now, and Maggie was notat all afraid of him, but sat watching him with great interest as hefilled up the broken places in his nets.
"Well, and so the little sister is better this morning?" said Mr. Jones.
"Yes," said Maggie; "and we are very much obliged to you, Mr. Jones."
"What for?" asked Jones.
"Because you went so quick to send for our own doctor."
"Deary me, that wasn't nothing," said Mr. Jones. "I'd ha' been aheathen if I hadn't."
Maggie stood silent for a few moments, watching him, and then said,slowly, but very earnestly, "Mr. Jones, do you think Mrs. Jones is avery happy circumstance?"
Mr. Jones looked at her for a moment as if he did not quite understandher, and then he smiled as he said, "Well, yes, I reckon I do; don'tyou?"
"No, I _don't_," said Maggie. "What did make you marry her, Mr. Jones?"
"Because I thought she would make me a good wife."
Bessie at Sea Side. p. 152.]
"And does she?"
"First-rate; don't you think she does?"
"I don't know," said Maggie, "I don't like her very much; I like you agreat deal better than I do her; I think you are a very nice man, Mr.Jones."
"I guess I'm about of the same opinion about you," said Mr. Jones; "butwhat is the reason you don't like Mrs. Jones?"
"Oh," said Maggie, "because she--she--does things. She makes me just asmad as a hop."
"What things?"
"She goes and has trundle-beds," said Maggie.
Mr. Jones laughed out now as he said, "Oh, you haven't got over thattrouble yet, eh? Well, what else does she do?"
"She said we could spare our baby, and we couldn't," said Maggie,angrily; "and she didn't want you to go send the message for our owndoctor. I think she ought to be ashamed."
"She didn't mean it," said Mr. Jones, coaxingly.
"People ought not to say things they don't mean," said Maggie.
"No more they oughtn't, but yet you see they do sometimes."
"And she said mamma took on," said Maggie, "and mamma would not do sucha thing; mamma is a lady, and ladies do not take on."
This seemed to amuse Mr. Jones more than anything else, and he laughedso loud and so long that Mrs. Jones came out to the kitchen door."Sam'l," she called, "what are you making all that noise about?"
"Oh, don't tell her!" said Maggie; while Mr. Jones laughed harder thanever, and she saw that Mrs. Jones was coming towards them.
"Don't you be afraid," said Mr. Jones, "I aint goin' to tell her."
"Now aint you just ashamed of yourself, Sam'l," said Mrs. Jones as shecame up, "to be making all that hee-hawing, and poor Miss Bradford andthat little sick lamb lying asleep? Do you want to wake 'em up? Is helaughing at you, Maggie?"
Maggie hung her head, and looked as if she would like to run away.
"I s'pose he's just tickled to death about some of your long words,that he thinks so funny," said Mrs. Jones. "It does not take much toset him going. Never you mind him, come along with me to the kitchen,and see the nice ginger cakes I am makin' for your supper. I'll makeyou and Bessie a gingerbread man apiece. Such good children you wasyesterday, keeping so quiet when the baby was sick, and trying to helpyourselves when your poor 'ma and your nurse was busy. If it had beenthem young ones that was here last summer, they'd have kept the housein a riot from night till morning when they was left to themselves.Jane was tellin' me how nicely you dressed yourself and Bessie thismorning. Now, Sam'l, you stop bein' such a goose."
Poor Maggie did not know which way to look. Here was Mrs. Jones, whomshe had just been saying she did not like, praising and petting her andpromising gingerbread men; and oh, Mr. Jones was laughing so! He wasnot laughing out loud now, but he was shaking all over, and when Maggiepeeped at
him from under her eyelashes, he twinkled his eyes at her,as much as to say, "Now, what do you think of her?" Right glad was shewhen Harry called her to take her turn at the swing, and she could runaway out of sight of Mr. and Mrs. Jones.
In a few days the dear baby was quite well and bright again, while herlittle sisters thought they loved her more than ever, now that she hadbeen spared to them when they had so much feared they were to lose her.