VI.
_JEALOUSY._
Days went by, and all was progressing famously for the fair; at leastso thought the little workers. New offers of help came in; new articleswere promised, and some even sent, early as it was, and these werecommitted to Miss Ashton's keeping until the appointed day--the firstof June--should arrive. Mrs. Bradford promised all the ice-creamthat should be needed for the refreshment table; Mrs. Howard thestrawberries; another mamma offered jelly; two or three cake; Mr.Powers promised a quantity of French bonbons; and from all sides cameoffers of flowers. Mr. Stanton, the little Bradfords' "Uncle Ruthven,"said he would furnish flags and banners enough to deck the piazza; andmammas, grandmammas, aunts, and cousins were coaxed and wheedled outof so many bright ribbons for the same purpose, that it might havebeen supposed that they were expected to go in grave colors for theremainder of their days.
And if you had seen the doll that Miss Annie Stanton and hersister-in-law were dressing as a baby!
If you had but seen that doll!
With a face so sweet, and so like a "real live baby" that it almoststartled one to come upon it unawares in some place where the reallive baby could not have been found! such hands and feet! and oh, sucha fitting out! Day by day the progress of that doll's wardrobe waswatched with eager, delighted eyes by Maggie, Bessie, Belle, and Lily,who had more opportunities for this than the rest of the children.These last were, however, invited in every now and then, to see thewonder as it grew; and that doll became the great object of interest,in comparison with which the remainder of the fair arrangements wereas nothing. Every thing that was dainty and pretty and cunning wasfurnished for the baby doll; not only clothes without number, but alsoa tasteful cradle lined and trimmed with blue silk, white muslin, andlace; and a baby basket, furnished completely with all that the mostexacting infant could require. In short, this was plainly to be thegrand attraction of the fair, at least in the eyes of the youngerportion of its patrons, for the fame of the doll spread far and wide,and great was the curiosity of those who had never had the opportunityof witnessing its beauties.
And the question arose and was eagerly discussed, who was to be themunificent purchaser? who, oh! who, the fortunate possessor? Papas andmammas were besieged with petitions and coaxings, but wisely declinedmaking positive promises till the price of the wonderful prize shouldbe fixed, and the doll herself put up for sale. Money-jugs were broken,and "savings banks" emptied, that the contents might be counted overand over to ascertain if there was any possibility that they mightreach the sum which would probably be required; allowances were savedup in the same hope.
The only trouble about it was, that as Maggie Bradford said, "only onecould have the doll, and so all the rest were doomed to disappointment,which made it a case in which it would be well if one man's meat wereevery other man's poison."
Jessie and her grandfather were cared for in the meanwhile. Miss Ashtonhad interested several of her friends in them; the children had donethe same with their parents; and Mr. Bradford, Mr. Norris, and one ortwo other gentlemen had been to see old Malcolm, and finding that therewas little or no probability of his cure while he remained in the cold,damp shanty, where he had been living for the last few months, hadfurnished him with more comfortable lodging.
Jessie's wares were also finding a good market, and every week shecame down into the city with a number. Some of these she sold to suchpurchasers as came in her way, and whatever were left over she carriedto Miss Ashton, and put in her hands for the fair.
She was also making some particularly choice articles which she keptback for exhibition and sale on that occasion; and among them were halfa dozen boxes of straw and bright-colored ribbons, with an initialletter woven in beads upon the top of each. There had been but four ofthem at first, bearing respectively an M, a B, a G, and a D, standingfor Maggie, Bessie, Gracie, and Dora; for Jessie looked upon these asher first friends, because they had first become interested in herstory. But Bessie having mentioned that Belle and Lily were "justlike ourselves, and my sister and I would be pleased to buy boxes forthem at the fair," Jessie completed two more with an L for Lily, anda B for Belle. There was a delightful amount of mystery respectingthese boxes, for each one of the six knew what had been done for theother five; Jessie telling her in confidence, and leaving her withthe suspicion that the same pleasure was in store for her. Not on anyaccount would any one of them have spoken of this suspicion; oh dear,no! but was quite prepared to be very much surprised if a box bearingher initial should turn up at the fair.
Maggie and Bessie owned a pretty little pony, the gift of their UncleRuthven; at least Fred said it was "Uncle Ruthven's present," but Mr.Stanton said it was Fred's. For, having offered Fred the choice of apresent for himself as a reward for the pains he had taken to breakhimself of some troublesome faults, the generous brother asked for apony for his little sisters. He and his brother Harry each owned one,and he wished Maggie and Bessie to enjoy the same pleasure. So UncleRuthven had bought the pony and equipped him, but he declared it wasFred's gift to the little girls, and I think he was about right.
However that was, the pony had given no small amount of pleasure, andthis was still farther increased when Belle's papa gave her one.
It was a pretty sight to see two of the little girls on these ponies,escorted by Harry and Fred, and the whole party under the care ofone of the papas, or Uncle Ruthven, or sometimes of old James, thecoachman. Belle and Bessie rode as yet with a leading string to thepony's rein, but Maggie had grown to be a fearless little rider, andhad no idea of being led. Lily would have been welcome to a ride nowand then if she had chosen, but "the one thing in the world" which Lilyfeared was a horse, and she declined the most pressing offers of thisnature.
Now that the days were becoming so mild and pleasant, these rides tookplace quite frequently, and they were hardly looked forward to moreeagerly by the children than they were by old Malcolm and Jessie, whodelighted to see the little girls on horseback, and were always on thewatch to meet them and receive a kind word.
"I know who I think will have the best piece of work," said Lily,one day after school, when the little girls were discussing thearrangements for the fair as they prepared to go home.
"Who?" asked Gracie quickly. "Maggie, I s'pose. You always think Maggieand Bessie do every thing better than anybody else."
"Well, and so they do," answered Lily, unwilling to allow that herfavorite playmates could be outdone in any thing by another,--"so theydo; but it's not Maggie this time."
"Who then?" asked Dora.
"Nellie Ransom," said Lily. "Have you seen her mat?"
No: none of the others had seen Nellie's mat; but now curiosity was allon tiptoe, and a general desire to see her work took possession of theclass.
"Bring all your works to-morrow, and let's see which is the best," saidLily.
"Gracie's is, I know," said Hattie.
"If you have not seen the others you _don't_ know," said Lily.
Hattie whispered something to Gracie and laughed; but Gracie still worethe displeased look she had put on when Lily declared Nellie's workmust be the best.
For, during the whole of the last year, Gracie had been nourishing anintense and bitter jealousy of Nellie Ransom. As has been said before,Nellie was by no means as quick and brilliant a child as Gracie, butshe was more persevering and industrious, and so made up for the lackof natural talent. She was the only child in the school who could keepup with Gracie in several studies, such as composition and arithmetic;and in all they learned these two generally stood in advance of therest.
And to outstrip Nellie, to be always the _first_, the _very first_ wasGracie's great ambition. She believed herself to be by far the wiserand cleverer of the two, but she was anxious that every one elseshould acknowledge it also.
A year ago, when Miss Ashton's uncle had offered a prize for the bestcomposition,--the occasion to which Mrs. Howard had referred whenwarning her little daughter against jealousy of Maggie Bradford,--thechances had
seemed to lie between Maggie and herself; but to theastonishment of every one, Nellie's composition had proved the mostdeserving, and taken the much-coveted prize.
Since that time Gracie's wish to excel Nellie in all things had knownno bounds, and it is really to be feared that she was rejoiced at heartwhen her painstaking and industrious little schoolmate missed in herlessons, or failed in any work she undertook.
So now the fear that Nellie's mat should prove to be more neatly workedthan her own took complete possession of her, for it was not only thedesire to be first, but the desire to outstrip Nellie especially, thatfilled her heart and made her envious and jealous.
It was agreed that Nellie, Gracie, and Dora should each bring her matto school the next morning, so as to compare their work and see whichwas likely to bring the highest price.
Accordingly this was done, and the children all gathered early, anxiousto decide on the respective merits of the three pieces of embroidery.
All were well done, neatly and evenly worked; but there could be nodoubt of it, even to Gracie's unwilling eyes,--Nellie Ransom's wassomewhat the best. It was really astonishing for a child of her age.She was naturally handy with her needle, and had taken so much painswith this mat that it would have done credit to a much older person.The simple pattern was straight and even, and the stitches of thefilling in lay in neat, regular rows, the worsted smooth and unfrayed,and not a speck or spot of any description to be seen upon the wholepiece.
Gracie's was very nearly a match for it; indeed, had the two piecesbeen looked at separately it might have seemed that there was nothingto choose between them; but laid side by side and closely compared,Nellie's would certainly bear off the palm.
"Why, Nellie," said Dora, whose own work was by no means despicable,"how beautifully you have done it. I don't believe a grown-up ladycould have worked it better. I know Mrs. Howard will say it's the best."
Quiet Nellie colored and dimpled with pleasure. Praise was pleasant toher, as it is to all; but, although she would have been glad to haveher work pronounced the best, it was with no overwhelming desire tooutdo her companions. Nellie did her very best, but when another didbetter, she could be content with the feeling that it was not her ownfault that she was excelled, and was ready to sympathize with her morefortunate classmate.
"That will be priced ten dollars for certain and positive," said Lily,holding up the mat and regarding it with admiration. "It is lovely,Nellie. They are all very nice, 'specially Gracie's, but yours is thebest."
"It's not a bit better than Gracie's," said Hattie.
"Don't you encourage Gracie more than she deserves," said Lilyadmonishingly. "She's pretty nice, but don't you puff her up too much."
"I know something about you," said Hattie teasingly.
"Well, know away," answered Lily scornfully. "You're always knowingsomething about somebody; and you want me to ask you what you knowabout me; but I don't want to know, and I'm not going to have you saysome of the girls said hateful things of me. Besides--oh! I forgot; Ib'lieve I was rather _anti-politing_;" and Lily, who was about to saythat Hattie always made things seem worse than they were, put a checkupon her saucy little tongue and turned once more to Nellie.
One might have thought that Lily had worked the mat herself to see herpride and satisfaction in it.
"Dora has done more on hers than Nellie and Gracie," said Belle."Their two are pretty nearly the same. Let's see; Gracie has onlytwo more rows done than Nellie; no, Nellie has two more done thanGracie--oh!--why--this is Gracie's, isn't it? I can hardly tell themapart, they are both so very nice."
For, handing the mats about from one to another, the same mistakeoccurred more than once, Gracie's being taken for Nellie's or Nellie'sfor Gracie's, and they had to be held side by side before they couldbe distinguished. The children laughed and thought this rather funny;and it gave Gracie some hope that hers might be judged to be the best,after all. She would take more pains than ever.
The thought of the mats and of outdoing Nellie was so busy with herthat she did not give her usual attention to her lessons that morning;and, as the consequence, lost her place in the spelling-class, and wasin a peevish humor for the rest of the day.
Fresh cause of displeasure befell her at the close of school, whenMiss Ashton said she thought it as well that the May Queen should bechosen soon.
"Oh! we want Maggie, of course," said Lily.
"Maggie again?" said Miss Ashton, smiling.
"Yes'm," said Belle. "Maggie is used to it, and she makes the prettiestqueen, so we'd rather have her; wouldn't we, girls?"
There was a general murmur of assent, save from two voices.
"Why don't we make some one else May Queen this year?" asked Hattie."We might have Gracie."
"Hattie," said Lily, endeavoring to make her voice of reproof one ofextreme mildness, "as you have not been so very long in the school, itwould be better if you let the old inhabitants be the judges."
"Well, anyhow, I don't see why Maggie always has to be May Queen, andwhen she don't go to the school either," said Gracie pouting, andleaning back against her desk with a discontented air, till, catchingMiss Ashton's eye fixed sadly and reproachfully upon her, she hung herhead and looked ashamed.
"Be-cause," said Lily with emphasis, "she's the prettiest child of ouracquaintance. Not all the prettiness of all the rest of us make upone-half Maggie's prettiness, and she's not one bit vain or stuck-upabout it either; and if she and Bessie don't just belong to the school,they belong to us, and so it's just the same. Whoever wants Maggie,hold up their hand."
Up went every hand at once, save those of Gracie and Hattie, andpresently Gracie's followed the example of the others, though halfunwillingly.
"Now," said Lily triumphantly, "that's voted, and for ever after lethim hold his peace."
The last allusion was perhaps not exactly clear either to Lily or herhearers; but it was thought extremely fine, and as having clinched thematter without farther argument. Miss Ashton laughed, and asked if Lilyand Belle would undertake to let Maggie know that she was elected MayQueen, which they readily promised to do.
But the next morning these two little friends returned to school,and told their astonished and disappointed classmates that Maggiepositively refused to be May Queen. Why they could not say, butall their persuasions had proved of no avail. Maggie was not to be"coaxed," and would give no reason for her refusal, though she had"seemed to feel awfully about it," Lily said, and had "cried about it"before they left. Bessie had been as much mystified as they were, andeven Maggie's mamma, when appealed to, said that she knew of no reasonwhy Maggie should decline the offered honor. Maggie, however, had saidshe would "tell mamma and Bessie," but she could tell no one else.
Miss Ashton, when informed of Maggie's refusal, said that she wouldcall on her and see what could be done, and until then the matter mightrest.
"Hattie," said Gracie, drawing her "intimate friend" into a cornerduring recess, "did you tell Maggie Bradford what I said about herbeing Queen twice?"
"Well--no," said Hattie, hesitating at first, but then uttering herdenial boldly as she saw the frown gathering upon Gracie's brow.
Gracie looked at her as if she only half believed her, for she waslearning to doubt Hattie's word, and although she was greedy of herflattery, she could not help feeling that her chosen friend was notsincere.
"You know you've told a good many things I did not mean you to," saidGracie, "and I wouldn't like not to be friends with Maggie, or to lether think I'm hateful."
And Hattie declared over and over again that she had never said oneword to Maggie on the subject.
"I do feel badly about it," said Gracie remorsefully. "I wish I hadnever said I thought Maggie ought not to be May Queen. Maggie's been myfriend this ever so long, since I was quite little; and I believe Ihad rather the girls chose her. I've a good mind to write her a note,and tell her I wish she would be Queen."
All the other children had left the school-room to go down and play onthe pia
zza, and Gracie and Hattie were alone together.
"I wouldn't," said Hattie; "you are the one who ought to be May Queen,'cause you are the smartest child in the school."
Gracie believed this, and thought Hattie gave her no more than her due;still, although she liked to hear Hattie say it, the compliment did notturn her from her purpose.