II
There was never a more amazed little boy than Cedric during the weekthat followed; there was never so strange or so unreal a week. In thefirst place, the story his mamma told him was a very curious one. He wasobliged to hear it two or three times before he could understand it. Hecould not imagine what Mr. Hobbs would think of it. It began with earls:his grandpapa, whom he had never seen, was an earl; and his eldestuncle, if he had not been killed by a fall from his horse, would havebeen an earl, too, in time; and after his death, his other uncle wouldhave been an earl, if he had not died suddenly, in Rome, of a fever.After that, his own papa, if he had lived, would have been an earl, but,since they all had died and only Cedric was left, it appeared that HEwas to be an earl after his grandpapa's death--and for the present hewas Lord Fauntleroy.
He turned quite pale when he was first told of it.
"Oh! Dearest!" he said, "I should rather not be an earl. None of theboys are earls. Can't I NOT be one?"
But it seemed to be unavoidable. And when, that evening, they sattogether by the open window looking out into the shabby street, heand his mother had a long talk about it. Cedric sat on his footstool,clasping one knee in his favorite attitude and wearing a bewilderedlittle face rather red from the exertion of thinking. His grandfatherhad sent for him to come to England, and his mamma thought he must go.
"Because," she said, looking out of the window with sorrowful eyes, "Iknow your papa would wish it to be so, Ceddie. He loved his home verymuch; and there are many things to be thought of that a little boy can'tquite understand. I should be a selfish little mother if I did not sendyou. When you are a man, you will see why."
Ceddie shook his head mournfully.
"I shall be very sorry to leave Mr. Hobbs," he said. "I'm afraid he'llmiss me, and I shall miss him. And I shall miss them all."
When Mr. Havisham--who was the family lawyer of the Earl of Dorincourt,and who had been sent by him to bring Lord Fauntleroy to England--camethe next day, Cedric heard many things. But, somehow, it did not consolehim to hear that he was to be a very rich man when he grew up, and thathe would have castles here and castles there, and great parks and deepmines and grand estates and tenantry. He was troubled about his friend,Mr. Hobbs, and he went to see him at the store soon after breakfast, ingreat anxiety of mind.
He found him reading the morning paper, and he approached him with agrave demeanor. He really felt it would be a great shock to Mr. Hobbsto hear what had befallen him, and on his way to the store he had beenthinking how it would be best to break the news.
"Hello!" said Mr. Hobbs. "Mornin'!"
"Good-morning," said Cedric.
He did not climb up on the high stool as usual, but sat down on acracker-box and clasped his knee, and was so silent for a few momentsthat Mr. Hobbs finally looked up inquiringly over the top of hisnewspaper.
"Hello!" he said again.
Cedric gathered all his strength of mind together.
"Mr. Hobbs," he said, "do you remember what we were talking aboutyesterday morning?"
"Well," replied Mr. Hobbs,--"seems to me it was England."
"Yes," said Cedric; "but just when Mary came for me, you know?"
Mr. Hobbs rubbed the back of his head.
"We WAS mentioning Queen Victoria and the aristocracy."
"Yes," said Cedric, rather hesitatingly, "and--and earls; don't youknow?"
"Why, yes," returned Mr. Hobbs; "we DID touch 'em up a little; that'sso!"
Cedric flushed up to the curly bang on his forehead. Nothing soembarrassing as this had ever happened to him in his life. He was alittle afraid that it might be a trifle embarrassing to Mr. Hobbs, too.
"You said," he proceeded, "that you wouldn't have them sitting 'round onyour cracker-barrels."
"So I did!" returned Mr. Hobbs, stoutly. "And I meant it. Let 'em tryit--that's all!"
"Mr. Hobbs," said Cedric, "one is sitting on this box now!"
Mr. Hobbs almost jumped out of his chair.
"What!" he exclaimed.
"Yes," Cedric announced, with due modesty; "_I_ am one--or I am going tobe. I won't deceive you."
Mr. Hobbs looked agitated. He rose up suddenly and went to look at thethermometer.
"The mercury's got into your head!" he exclaimed, turning back toexamine his young friend's countenance. "It IS a hot day! How do youfeel? Got any pain? When did you begin to feel that way?"
He put his big hand on the little boy's hair. This was more embarrassingthan ever.
"Thank you," said Ceddie; "I'm all right. There is nothing the matterwith my head. I'm sorry to say it's true, Mr. Hobbs. That was what Marycame to take me home for. Mr. Havisham was telling my mamma, and he is alawyer."
Mr. Hobbs sank into his chair and mopped his forehead with hishandkerchief.
"ONE of us has got a sunstroke!" he exclaimed.
"No," returned Cedric, "we haven't. We shall have to make the best ofit, Mr. Hobbs. Mr. Havisham came all the way from England to tell usabout it. My grandpapa sent him."
Mr. Hobbs stared wildly at the innocent, serious little face before him.
"Who is your grandfather?" he asked.
Cedric put his hand in his pocket and carefully drew out a piece ofpaper, on which something was written in his own round, irregular hand.
"I couldn't easily remember it, so I wrote it down on this," hesaid. And he read aloud slowly: "'John Arthur Molyneux Errol, Earl ofDorincourt.' That is his name, and he lives in a castle--in two or threecastles, I think. And my papa, who died, was his youngest son; and Ishouldn't have been a lord or an earl if my papa hadn't died; and mypapa wouldn't have been an earl if his two brothers hadn't died. Butthey all died, and there is no one but me,--no boy,--and so I have to beone; and my grandpapa has sent for me to come to England."
Mr. Hobbs seemed to grow hotter and hotter. He mopped his forehead andhis bald spot and breathed hard. He began to see that something veryremarkable had happened; but when he looked at the little boy sitting onthe cracker-box, with the innocent, anxious expression in his childisheyes, and saw that he was not changed at all, but was simply as he hadbeen the day before, just a handsome, cheerful, brave little fellow ina blue suit and red neck-ribbon, all this information about the nobilitybewildered him. He was all the more bewildered because Cedric gave itwith such ingenuous simplicity, and plainly without realizing himselfhow stupendous it was.
"Wha--what did you say your name was?" Mr. Hobbs inquired.
"It's Cedric Errol, Lord Fauntleroy," answered Cedric. "That was whatMr. Havisham called me. He said when I went into the room: 'And so thisis little Lord Fauntleroy!'"
"Well," said Mr. Hobbs, "I'll be--jiggered!"
This was an exclamation he always used when he was very much astonishedor excited. He could think of nothing else to say just at that puzzlingmoment.
Cedric felt it to be quite a proper and suitable ejaculation. Hisrespect and affection for Mr. Hobbs were so great that he admired andapproved of all his remarks. He had not seen enough of society as yet tomake him realize that sometimes Mr. Hobbs was not quite conventional.He knew, of course, that he was different from his mamma, but, then, hismamma was a lady, and he had an idea that ladies were always differentfrom gentlemen.
He looked at Mr. Hobbs wistfully.
"England is a long way off, isn't it?" he asked.
"It's across the Atlantic Ocean," Mr. Hobbs answered.
"That's the worst of it," said Cedric. "Perhaps I shall not see youagain for a long time. I don't like to think of that, Mr. Hobbs."
"The best of friends must part," said Mr. Hobbs.
"Well," said Cedric, "we have been friends for a great many years,haven't we?"
"Ever since you was born," Mr. Hobbs answered. "You was about six weeksold when you was first walked out on this street."
"Ah," remarked Cedric, with a sigh, "I never thought I should have to bean earl then!"
"You think," said Mr. Hobbs, "there's no getting out of it?"
"I'm afr
aid not," answered Cedric. "My mamma says that my papa wouldwish me to do it. But if I have to be an earl, there's one thing I cando: I can try to be a good one. I'm not going to be a tyrant. And ifthere is ever to be another war with America, I shall try to stop it."
His conversation with Mr. Hobbs was a long and serious one. Once havinggot over the first shock, Mr. Hobbs was not so rancorous as might havebeen expected; he endeavored to resign himself to the situation, andbefore the interview was at an end he had asked a great many questions.As Cedric could answer but few of them, he endeavored to answerthem himself, and, being fairly launched on the subject of earls andmarquises and lordly estates, explained many things in a way which wouldprobably have astonished Mr. Havisham, could that gentleman have heardit.
But then there were many things which astonished Mr. Havisham. He hadspent all his life in England, and was not accustomed to American peopleand American habits. He had been connected professionally with thefamily of the Earl of Dorincourt for nearly forty years, and he knew allabout its grand estates and its great wealth and importance; and, in acold, business-like way, he felt an interest in this little boy, who, inthe future, was to be the master and owner of them all,--the future Earlof Dorincourt. He had known all about the old Earl's disappointmentin his elder sons and all about his fierce rage at Captain Cedric'sAmerican marriage, and he knew how he still hated the gentle littlewidow and would not speak of her except with bitter and cruel words. Heinsisted that she was only a common American girl, who had entrappedhis son into marrying her because she knew he was an earl's son. Theold lawyer himself had more than half believed this was all true. He hadseen a great many selfish, mercenary people in his life, and he hadnot a good opinion of Americans. When he had been driven into the cheapstreet, and his coupe had stopped before the cheap, small house, he hadfelt actually shocked. It seemed really quite dreadful to think that thefuture owner of Dorincourt Castle and Wyndham Towers and Chorlworth, andall the other stately splendors, should have been born and brought up inan insignificant house in a street with a sort of green-grocery at thecorner. He wondered what kind of a child he would be, and what kind of amother he had. He rather shrank from seeing them both. He had a sort ofpride in the noble family whose legal affairs he had conducted so long,and it would have annoyed him very much to have found himself obliged tomanage a woman who would seem to him a vulgar, money-loving person, withno respect for her dead husband's country and the dignity of his name.It was a very old name and a very splendid one, and Mr. Havisham hada great respect for it himself, though he was only a cold, keen,business-like old lawyer.
When Mary handed him into the small parlor, he looked around itcritically. It was plainly furnished, but it had a home-like look; therewere no cheap, common ornaments, and no cheap, gaudy pictures; the fewadornments on the walls were in good taste and about the room were manypretty things which a woman's hand might have made.
"Not at all bad so far," he had said to himself; "but perhaps theCaptain's taste predominated." But when Mrs. Errol came into the room,he began to think she herself might have had something to do with it. Ifhe had not been quite a self-contained and stiff old gentleman, he wouldprobably have started when he saw her. She looked, in the simple blackdress, fitting closely to her slender figure, more like a young girlthan the mother of a boy of seven. She had a pretty, sorrowful, youngface, and a very tender, innocent look in her large brown eyes,--thesorrowful look that had never quite left her face since her husband haddied. Cedric was used to seeing it there; the only times he had everseen it fade out had been when he was playing with her or talking toher, and had said some old-fashioned thing, or used some long word hehad picked up out of the newspapers or in his conversations with Mr.Hobbs. He was fond of using long words, and he was always pleasedwhen they made her laugh, though he could not understand why theywere laughable; they were quite serious matters with him. The lawyer'sexperience taught him to read people's characters very shrewdly, andas soon as he saw Cedric's mother he knew that the old Earl had made agreat mistake in thinking her a vulgar, mercenary woman. Mr. Havishamhad never been married, he had never even been in love, but he divinedthat this pretty young creature with the sweet voice and sad eyeshad married Captain Errol only because she loved him with all heraffectionate heart, and that she had never once thought it an advantagethat he was an earl's son. And he saw he should have no trouble withher, and he began to feel that perhaps little Lord Fauntleroy might notbe such a trial to his noble family, after all. The Captain had been ahandsome fellow, and the young mother was very pretty, and perhaps theboy might be well enough to look at.
When he first told Mrs. Errol what he had come for, she turned verypale.
"Oh!" she said; "will he have to be taken away from me? We love eachother so much! He is such a happiness to me! He is all I have. I havetried to be a good mother to him." And her sweet young voice trembled,and the tears rushed into her eyes. "You do not know what he has been tome!" she said.
The lawyer cleared his throat.
"I am obliged to tell you," he said, "that the Earl of Dorincourtis not--is not very friendly toward you. He is an old man, and hisprejudices are very strong. He has always especially disliked Americaand Americans, and was very much enraged by his son's marriage. I amsorry to be the bearer of so unpleasant a communication, but he isvery fixed in his determination not to see you. His plan is that LordFauntleroy shall be educated under his own supervision; that he shalllive with him. The Earl is attached to Dorincourt Castle, and spends agreat deal of time there. He is a victim to inflammatory gout, and isnot fond of London. Lord Fauntleroy will, therefore, be likely to livechiefly at Dorincourt. The Earl offers you as a home Court Lodge, whichis situated pleasantly, and is not very far from the castle. He alsooffers you a suitable income. Lord Fauntleroy will be permitted to visityou; the only stipulation is, that you shall not visit him or enter thepark gates. You see you will not be really separated from your son, andI assure you, madam, the terms are not so harsh as--as they mighthave been. The advantage of such surroundings and education as LordFauntleroy will have, I am sure you must see, will be very great."
He felt a little uneasy lest she should begin to cry or make a scene,as he knew some women would have done. It embarrassed and annoyed him tosee women cry.
But she did not. She went to the window and stood with her face turnedaway for a few moments, and he saw she was trying to steady herself.
"Captain Errol was very fond of Dorincourt," she said at last. "He lovedEngland, and everything English. It was always a grief to him that hewas parted from his home. He was proud of his home, and of his name. Hewould wish--I know he would wish that his son should know the beautifulold places, and be brought up in such a way as would be suitable to hisfuture position."
Then she came back to the table and stood looking up at Mr. Havishamvery gently.
"My husband would wish it," she said. "It will be best for my littleboy. I know--I am sure the Earl would not be so unkind as to try toteach him not to love me; and I know--even if he tried--that my littleboy is too much like his father to be harmed. He has a warm, faithfulnature, and a true heart. He would love me even if he did not see me;and so long as we may see each other, I ought not to suffer very much."
"She thinks very little of herself," the lawyer thought. "She does notmake any terms for herself."
"Madam," he said aloud, "I respect your consideration for your son. Hewill thank you for it when he is a man. I assure you Lord Fauntleroywill be most carefully guarded, and every effort will be used to insurehis happiness. The Earl of Dorincourt will be as anxious for his comfortand well-being as you yourself could be."
"I hope," said the tender little mother, in a rather broken voice, "thathis grandfather will love Ceddie. The little boy has a very affectionatenature; and he has always been loved."
Mr. Havisham cleared his throat again. He could not quite imagine thegouty, fiery-tempered old Earl loving any one very much; but he knew itwould be to his interest to be kind, i
n his irritable way, to the childwho was to be his heir. He knew, too, that if Ceddie were at all acredit to his name, his grandfather would be proud of him.
"Lord Fauntleroy will be comfortable, I am sure," he replied. "It waswith a view to his happiness that the Earl desired that you should benear enough to him to see him frequently."
He did not think it would be discreet to repeat the exact words the Earlhad used, which were in fact neither polite nor amiable.
Mr. Havisham preferred to express his noble patron's offer in smootherand more courteous language.
He had another slight shock when Mrs. Errol asked Mary to find herlittle boy and bring him to her, and Mary told her where he was.
"Sure I'll foind him aisy enough, ma'am," she said; "for it's wid Mr.Hobbs he is this minnit, settin' on his high shtool by the counther an'talkin' pollytics, most loikely, or enj'yin' hisself among the soap an'candles an' pertaties, as sinsible an' shwate as ye plase."
"Mr. Hobbs has known him all his life," Mrs. Errol said to the lawyer."He is very kind to Ceddie, and there is a great friendship betweenthem."
Remembering the glimpse he had caught of the store as he passed it,and having a recollection of the barrels of potatoes and apples andthe various odds and ends, Mr. Havisham felt his doubts arise again.In England, gentlemen's sons did not make friends of grocerymen, and itseemed to him a rather singular proceeding. It would be very awkward ifthe child had bad manners and a disposition to like low company. One ofthe bitterest humiliations of the old Earl's life had been that his twoelder sons had been fond of low company. Could it be, he thought,that this boy shared their bad qualities instead of his father's goodqualities?
He was thinking uneasily about this as he talked to Mrs. Errol until thechild came into the room. When the door opened, he actually hesitateda moment before looking at Cedric. It would, perhaps, have seemed veryqueer to a great many people who knew him, if they could have known thecurious sensations that passed through Mr. Havisham when he looked downat the boy, who ran into his mother's arms. He experienced a revulsionof feeling which was quite exciting. He recognized in an instant thathere was one of the finest and handsomest little fellows he had everseen.
His beauty was something unusual. He had a strong, lithe, gracefullittle body and a manly little face; he held his childish head up, andcarried himself with a brave air; he was so like his father that it wasreally startling; he had his father's golden hair and his mother'sbrown eyes, but there was nothing sorrowful or timid in them. They wereinnocently fearless eyes; he looked as if he had never feared or doubtedanything in his life.
"He is the best-bred-looking and handsomest little fellow I ever saw,"was what Mr. Havisham thought. What he said aloud was simply, "And sothis is little Lord Fauntleroy."
And, after this, the more he saw of little Lord Fauntleroy, the more ofa surprise he found him. He knew very little about children, though hehad seen plenty of them in England--fine, handsome, rosy girls and boys,who were strictly taken care of by their tutors and governesses, and whowere sometimes shy, and sometimes a trifle boisterous, but never veryinteresting to a ceremonious, rigid old lawyer. Perhaps his personalinterest in little Lord Fauntleroy's fortunes made him notice Ceddiemore than he had noticed other children; but, however that was, hecertainly found himself noticing him a great deal.
Cedric did not know he was being observed, and he only behaved himselfin his ordinary manner. He shook hands with Mr. Havisham in his friendlyway when they were introduced to each other, and he answered all hisquestions with the unhesitating readiness with which he answered Mr.Hobbs. He was neither shy nor bold, and when Mr. Havisham was talking tohis mother, the lawyer noticed that he listened to the conversation withas much interest as if he had been quite grown up.
"He seems to be a very mature little fellow," Mr. Havisham said to themother.
"I think he is, in some things," she answered. "He has always been veryquick to learn, and he has lived a great deal with grownup people. Hehas a funny little habit of using long words and expressions he has readin books, or has heard others use, but he is very fond of childishplay. I think he is rather clever, but he is a very boyish little boy,sometimes."
The next time Mr. Havisham met him, he saw that this last was quitetrue. As his coupe turned the corner, he caught sight of a group ofsmall boys, who were evidently much excited. Two of them were about torun a race, and one of them was his young lordship, and he was shoutingand making as much noise as the noisiest of his companions. He stoodside by side with another boy, one little red leg advanced a step.
"One, to make ready!" yelled the starter. "Two, to be steady. Three--andaway!"
Mr. Havisham found himself leaning out of the window of his coupe witha curious feeling of interest. He really never remembered having seenanything quite like the way in which his lordship's lordly little redlegs flew up behind his knickerbockers and tore over the ground as heshot out in the race at the signal word. He shut his small hands and sethis face against the wind; his bright hair streamed out behind.
"Hooray, Ced Errol!" all the boys shouted, dancing and shrieking withexcitement. "Hooray, Billy Williams! Hooray, Ceddie! Hooray, Billy!Hooray! 'Ray! 'Ray!"
"I really believe he is going to win," said Mr. Havisham. The way inwhich the red legs flew and flashed up and down, the shrieks of theboys, the wild efforts of Billy Williams, whose brown legs were not tobe despised, as they followed closely in the rear of the red legs, madehim feel some excitement. "I really--I really can't help hoping he willwin!" he said, with an apologetic sort of cough. At that moment, thewildest yell of all went up from the dancing, hopping boys. Withone last frantic leap the future Earl of Dorincourt had reached thelamp-post at the end of the block and touched it, just two secondsbefore Billy Williams flung himself at it, panting.
"Three cheers for Ceddie Errol!" yelled the little boys. "Hooray forCeddie Errol!"
Mr. Havisham drew his head in at the window of his coupe and leaned backwith a dry smile.
"Bravo, Lord Fauntleroy!" he said.
As his carriage stopped before the door of Mrs. Errol's house, thevictor and the vanquished were coming toward it, attended by theclamoring crew. Cedric walked by Billy Williams and was speaking to him.His elated little face was very red, his curls clung to his hot, moistforehead, his hands were in his pockets.
"You see," he was saying, evidently with the intention of making defeateasy for his unsuccessful rival, "I guess I won because my legs are alittle longer than yours. I guess that was it. You see, I'm three daysolder than you, and that gives me a 'vantage. I'm three days older."
And this view of the case seemed to cheer Billy Williams so much thathe began to smile on the world again, and felt able to swagger a little,almost as if he had won the race instead of losing it. Somehow, CeddieErrol had a way of making people feel comfortable. Even in the firstflush of his triumphs, he remembered that the person who was beatenmight not feel so gay as he did, and might like to think that he MIGHThave been the winner under different circumstances.
That morning Mr. Havisham had quite a long conversation with the winnerof the race--a conversation which made him smile his dry smile, and rubhis chin with his bony hand several times.
Mrs. Errol had been called out of the parlor, and the lawyer and Cedricwere left together. At first Mr. Havisham wondered what he should say tohis small companion. He had an idea that perhaps it would be best to sayseveral things which might prepare Cedric for meeting his grandfather,and, perhaps, for the great change that was to come to him. He could seethat Cedric had not the least idea of the sort of thing he was to seewhen he reached England, or of the sort of home that waited for himthere. He did not even know yet that his mother was not to live in thesame house with him. They had thought it best to let him get over thefirst shock before telling him.
Mr. Havisham sat in an arm-chair on one side of the open window; on theother side was another still larger chair, and Cedric sat in that andlooked at Mr. Havisham. He sat well back in the de
pths of his big seat,his curly head against the cushioned back, his legs crossed, and hishands thrust deep into his pockets, in a quite Mr. Hobbs-like way. Hehad been watching Mr. Havisham very steadily when his mamma had been inthe room, and after she was gone he still looked at him in respectfulthoughtfulness. There was a short silence after Mrs. Errol went out,and Cedric seemed to be studying Mr. Havisham, and Mr. Havisham wascertainly studying Cedric. He could not make up his mind as to what anelderly gentleman should say to a little boy who won races, and woreshort knickerbockers and red stockings on legs which were not longenough to hang over a big chair when he sat well back in it.
But Cedric relieved him by suddenly beginning the conversation himself.
"Do you know," he said, "I don't know what an earl is?"
"Don't you?" said Mr. Havisham.
"No," replied Ceddie. "And I think when a boy is going to be one, heought to know. Don't you?"
"Well--yes," answered Mr. Havisham.
"Would you mind," said Ceddie respectfully--"would you mind 'splainingit to me?" (Sometimes when he used his long words he did not pronouncethem quite correctly.) "What made him an earl?"
"A king or queen, in the first place," said Mr. Havisham. "Generally,he is made an earl because he has done some service to his sovereign, orsome great deed."
"Oh!" said Cedric; "that's like the President."
"Is it?" said Mr. Havisham. "Is that why your presidents are elected?"
"Yes," answered Ceddie cheerfully. "When a man is very good and knows agreat deal, he is elected president. They have torch-light processionsand bands, and everybody makes speeches. I used to think I might perhapsbe a president, but I never thought of being an earl. I didn't knowabout earls," he said, rather hastily, lest Mr. Havisham might feel itimpolite in him not to have wished to be one,--"if I'd known about them,I dare say I should have thought I should like to be one."
"It is rather different from being a president," said Mr. Havisham.
"Is it?" asked Cedric. "How? Are there no torch-light processions?"
Mr. Havisham crossed his own legs and put the tips of his fingerscarefully together. He thought perhaps the time had come to explainmatters rather more clearly.
"An earl is--is a very important person," he began.
"So is a president!" put in Ceddie. "The torch-light processions arefive miles long, and they shoot up rockets, and the band plays! Mr.Hobbs took me to see them."
"An earl," Mr. Havisham went on, feeling rather uncertain of his ground,"is frequently of very ancient lineage----"
"What's that?" asked Ceddie.
"Of very old family--extremely old."
"Ah!" said Cedric, thrusting his hands deeper into his pockets. "Isuppose that is the way with the apple-woman near the park. I dare sayshe is of ancient lin-lenage. She is so old it would surprise you howshe can stand up. She's a hundred, I should think, and yet she is outthere when it rains, even. I'm sorry for her, and so are the other boys.Billy Williams once had nearly a dollar, and I asked him to buy fivecents' worth of apples from her every day until he had spent it all.That made twenty days, and he grew tired of apples after a week; butthen--it was quite fortunate--a gentleman gave me fifty cents and Ibought apples from her instead. You feel sorry for any one that's sopoor and has such ancient lin-lenage. She says hers has gone into herbones and the rain makes it worse."
Mr. Havisham felt rather at a loss as he looked at his companion'sinnocent, serious little face.
"I am afraid you did not quite understand me," he explained. "When Isaid 'ancient lineage' I did not mean old age; I meant that the nameof such a family has been known in the world a long time; perhaps forhundreds of years persons bearing that name have been known and spokenof in the history of their country."
"Like George Washington," said Ceddie. "I've heard of him ever since Iwas born, and he was known about, long before that. Mr. Hobbs sayshe will never be forgotten. That's because of the Declaration ofIndependence, you know, and the Fourth of July. You see, he was a verybrave man."
"The first Earl of Dorincourt," said Mr. Havisham solemnly, "was createdan earl four hundred years ago."
"Well, well!" said Ceddie. "That was a long time ago! Did you tellDearest that? It would int'rust her very much. We'll tell her when shecomes in. She always likes to hear cur'us things. What else does an earldo besides being created?"
"A great many of them have helped to govern England. Some of them havebeen brave men and have fought in great battles in the old days."
"I should like to do that myself," said Cedric. "My papa was a soldier,and he was a very brave man--as brave as George Washington. Perhapsthat was because he would have been an earl if he hadn't died. I am gladearls are brave. That's a great 'vantage--to be a brave man. Once I usedto be rather afraid of things--in the dark, you know; but when I thoughtabout the soldiers in the Revolution and George Washington--it curedme."
"There is another advantage in being an earl, sometimes," said Mr.Havisham slowly, and he fixed his shrewd eyes on the little boy with arather curious expression. "Some earls have a great deal of money."
He was curious because he wondered if his young friend knew what thepower of money was.
"That's a good thing to have," said Ceddie innocently. "I wish I had agreat deal of money."
"Do you?" said Mr. Havisham. "And why?"
"Well," explained Cedric, "there are so many things a person can do withmoney. You see, there's the apple-woman. If I were very rich I shouldbuy her a little tent to put her stall in, and a little stove, and thenI should give her a dollar every morning it rained, so that she couldafford to stay at home. And then--oh! I'd give her a shawl. And, yousee, her bones wouldn't feel so badly. Her bones are not like our bones;they hurt her when she moves. It's very painful when your bones hurtyou. If I were rich enough to do all those things for her, I guess herbones would be all right."
"Ahem!" said Mr. Havisham. "And what else would you do if you wererich?"
"Oh! I'd do a great many things. Of course I should buy Dearest allsorts of beautiful things, needle-books and fans and gold thimbles andrings, and an encyclopedia, and a carriage, so that she needn't have towait for the street-cars. If she liked pink silk dresses, I should buyher some, but she likes black best. But I'd, take her to the big stores,and tell her to look 'round and choose for herself. And then Dick----"
"Who is Dick?" asked Mr. Havisham.
"Dick is a boot-black," said his young lordship, quite warming up inhis interest in plans so exciting. "He is one of the nicest boot-blacksyou ever knew. He stands at the corner of a street down-town. I'veknown him for years. Once when I was very little, I was walking outwith Dearest, and she bought me a beautiful ball that bounced, and Iwas carrying it and it bounced into the middle of the street where thecarriages and horses were, and I was so disappointed, I began to cry--Iwas very little. I had kilts on. And Dick was blacking a man's shoes,and he said 'Hello!' and he ran in between the horses and caught theball for me and wiped it off with his coat and gave it to me and said,'It's all right, young un.' So Dearest admired him very much, and so didI, and ever since then, when we go down-town, we talk to him. He says'Hello!' and I say 'Hello!' and then we talk a little, and he tells mehow trade is. It's been bad lately."
"And what would you like to do for him?" inquired the lawyer, rubbinghis chin and smiling a queer smile.
"Well," said Lord Fauntleroy, settling himself in his chair with abusiness air, "I'd buy Jake out."
"And who is Jake?" Mr. Havisham asked.
"He's Dick's partner, and he is the worst partner a fellow could have!Dick says so. He isn't a credit to the business, and he isn't square. Hecheats, and that makes Dick mad. It would make you mad, you know, if youwere blacking boots as hard as you could, and being square all the time,and your partner wasn't square at all. People like Dick, but they don'tlike Jake, and so sometimes they don't come twice. So if I were rich,I'd buy Jake out and get Dick a 'boss' sign--he says a 'boss' sign goesa long way; and I'd get him s
ome new clothes and new brushes, and starthim out fair. He says all he wants is to start out fair."
There could have been nothing more confiding and innocent than the wayin which his small lordship told his little story, quoting his friendDick's bits of slang in the most candid good faith. He seemed to feelnot a shade of a doubt that his elderly companion would be just asinterested as he was himself. And in truth Mr. Havisham was beginningto be greatly interested; but perhaps not quite so much in Dick and theapple-woman as in this kind little lordling, whose curly head was sobusy, under its yellow thatch, with good-natured plans for his friends,and who seemed somehow to have forgotten himself altogether.
"Is there anything----" he began. "What would you get for yourself, ifyou were rich?"
"Lots of things!" answered Lord Fauntleroy briskly; "but first I'd giveMary some money for Bridget--that's her sister, with twelve children,and a husband out of work. She comes here and cries, and Dearest givesher things in a basket, and then she cries again, and says: 'Blessin'sbe on yez, for a beautiful lady.' And I think Mr. Hobbs would like agold watch and chain to remember me by, and a meerschaum pipe. And thenI'd like to get up a company."
"A company!" exclaimed Mr. Havisham.
"Like a Republican rally," explained Cedric, becoming quite excited."I'd have torches and uniforms and things for all the boys and myself,too. And we'd march, you know, and drill. That's what I should like formyself, if I were rich."
The door opened and Mrs. Errol came in.
"I am sorry to have been obliged to leave you so long," she said to Mr.Havisham; "but a poor woman, who is in great trouble, came to see me."
"This young gentleman," said Mr. Havisham, "has been telling me aboutsome of his friends, and what he would do for them if he were rich."
"Bridget is one of his friends," said Mrs. Errol; "and it is Bridgetto whom I have been talking in the kitchen. She is in great trouble nowbecause her husband has rheumatic fever."
Cedric slipped down out of his big chair.
"I think I'll go and see her," he said, "and ask her how he is. He's anice man when he is well. I'm obliged to him because he once made me asword out of wood. He's a very talented man."
He ran out of the room, and Mr. Havisham rose from his chair. He seemedto have something in his mind which he wished to speak of.
He hesitated a moment, and then said, looking down at Mrs. Errol:
"Before I left Dorincourt Castle, I had an interview with the Earl, inwhich he gave me some instructions. He is desirous that his grandsonshould look forward with some pleasure to his future life in England,and also to his acquaintance with himself. He said that I must let hislordship know that the change in his life would bring him money and thepleasures children enjoy; if he expressed any wishes, I was to gratifythem, and to tell him that his grand-father had given him what hewished. I am aware that the Earl did not expect anything quite likethis; but if it would give Lord Fauntleroy pleasure to assist this poorwoman, I should feel that the Earl would be displeased if he were notgratified."
For the second time, he did not repeat the Earl's exact words. Hislordship had, indeed, said:
"Make the lad understand that I can give him anything he wants. Let himknow what it is to be the grandson of the Earl of Dorincourt. Buy himeverything he takes a fancy to; let him have money in his pockets, andtell him his grandfather put it there."
His motives were far from being good, and if he had been dealing with anature less affectionate and warm-hearted than little Lord Fauntleroy's,great harm might have been done. And Cedric's mother was too gentle tosuspect any harm. She thought that perhaps this meant that a lonely,unhappy old man, whose children were dead, wished to be kind to herlittle boy, and win his love and confidence. And it pleased her verymuch to think that Ceddie would be able to help Bridget. It made herhappier to know that the very first result of the strange fortune whichhad befallen her little boy was that he could do kind things for thosewho needed kindness. Quite a warm color bloomed on her pretty youngface.
"Oh!" she said, "that was very kind of the Earl; Cedric will be soglad! He has always been fond of Bridget and Michael. They are quitedeserving. I have often wished I had been able to help them more.Michael is a hard-working man when he is well, but he has been ill along time and needs expensive medicines and warm clothing and nourishingfood. He and Bridget will not be wasteful of what is given them."
Mr. Havisham put his thin hand in his breast pocket and drew forth alarge pocket-book. There was a queer look in his keen face. The truthwas, he was wondering what the Earl of Dorincourt would say when he wastold what was the first wish of his grandson that had been granted. Hewondered what the cross, worldly, selfish old nobleman would think ofit.
"I do not know that you have realized," he said, "that the Earl ofDorincourt is an exceedingly rich man. He can afford to gratify anycaprice. I think it would please him to know that Lord Fauntleroy hadbeen indulged in any fancy. If you will call him back and allow me, Ishall give him five pounds for these people."
"That would be twenty-five dollars!" exclaimed Mrs. Errol. "It will seemlike wealth to them. I can scarcely believe that it is true."
"It is quite true," said Mr. Havisham, with his dry smile. "A greatchange has taken place in your son's life, a great deal of power willlie in his hands."
"Oh!" cried his mother. "And he is such a little boy--a very little boy.How can I teach him to use it well? It makes me half afraid. My prettylittle Ceddie!"
The lawyer slightly cleared his throat. It touched his worldly, hard oldheart to see the tender, timid look in her brown eyes.
"I think, madam," he said, "that if I may judge from my interview withLord Fauntleroy this morning, the next Earl of Dorincourt will thinkfor others as well as for his noble self. He is only a child yet, but Ithink he may be trusted."
Then his mother went for Cedric and brought him back into the parlor.Mr. Havisham heard him talking before he entered the room.
"It's infam-natory rheumatism," he was saying, "and that's a kind ofrheumatism that's dreadful. And he thinks about the rent not being paid,and Bridget says that makes the inf'ammation worse. And Pat could get aplace in a store if he had some clothes."
His little face looked quite anxious when he came in. He was very sorryfor Bridget.
"Dearest said you wanted me," he said to Mr. Havisham. "I've beentalking to Bridget."
Mr. Havisham looked down at him a moment. He felt a little awkward andundecided. As Cedric's mother had said, he was a very little boy.
"The Earl of Dorincourt----" he began, and then he glanced involuntarilyat Mrs. Errol.
Little Lord Fauntleroy's mother suddenly kneeled down by him and putboth her tender arms around his childish body.
"Ceddie," she said, "the Earl is your grandpapa, your own papa's father.He is very, very kind, and he loves you and wishes you to love him,because the sons who were his little boys are dead. He wishes you to behappy and to make other people happy. He is very rich, and he wishes youto have everything you would like to have. He told Mr. Havisham so, andgave him a great deal of money for you. You can give some to Bridgetnow; enough to pay her rent and buy Michael everything. Isn't that fine,Ceddie? Isn't he good?" And she kissed the child on his round cheek,where the bright color suddenly flashed up in his excited amazement.
He looked from his mother to Mr. Havisham.
"Can I have it now?" he cried. "Can I give it to her this minute? She'sjust going."
Mr. Havisham handed him the money. It was in fresh, clean greenbacks andmade a neat roll.
Ceddie flew out of the room with it.
"Bridget!" they heard him shout, as he tore into the kitchen. "Bridget,wait a minute! Here's some money. It's for you, and you can pay therent. My grandpapa gave it to me. It's for you and Michael!"
"Oh, Master Ceddie!" cried Bridget, in an awe-stricken voice. "It'stwinty-foive dollars is here. Where be's the misthress?"
"I think I shall have to go and explain it to her," Mrs. Errol said.
/>
So she, too, went out of the room and Mr. Havisham was left alone fora while. He went to the window and stood looking out into the streetreflectively. He was thinking of the old Earl of Dorincourt, sittingin his great, splendid, gloomy library at the castle, gouty and lonely,surrounded by grandeur and luxury, but not really loved by any one,because in all his long life he had never really loved any one buthimself; he had been selfish and self-indulgent and arrogant andpassionate; he had cared so much for the Earl of Dorincourt and hispleasures that there had been no time for him to think of other people;all his wealth and power, all the benefits from his noble name and highrank, had seemed to him to be things only to be used to amuse and givepleasure to the Earl of Dorincourt; and now that he was an old man, allthis excitement and self-indulgence had only brought him ill health andirritability and a dislike of the world, which certainly disliked him.In spite of all his splendor, there was never a more unpopular oldnobleman than the Earl of Dorincourt, and there could scarcely have beena more lonely one. He could fill his castle with guests if he chose. Hecould give great dinners and splendid hunting parties; but he knew thatin secret the people who would accept his invitations were afraid of hisfrowning old face and sarcastic, biting speeches. He had a cruel tongueand a bitter nature, and he took pleasure in sneering at people andmaking them feel uncomfortable, when he had the power to do so, becausethey were sensitive or proud or timid.
Mr. Havisham knew his hard, fierce ways by heart, and he was thinkingof him as he looked out of the window into the narrow, quiet street. Andthere rose in his mind, in sharp contrast, the picture of the cheery,handsome little fellow sitting in the big chair and telling his story ofhis friends, Dick and the apple-woman, in his generous, innocent, honestway. And he thought of the immense income, the beautiful, majesticestates, the wealth, and power for good or evil, which in the course oftime would lie in the small, chubby hands little Lord Fauntleroy thrustso deep into his pockets.
"It will make a great difference," he said to himself. "It will make agreat difference."
Cedric and his mother came back soon after. Cedric was in high spirits.He sat down in his own chair, between his mother and the lawyer, andfell into one of his quaint attitudes, with his hands on his knees. Hewas glowing with enjoyment of Bridget's relief and rapture.
"She cried!" he said. "She said she was crying for joy! I never saw anyone cry for joy before. My grandpapa must be a very good man. I didn'tknow he was so good a man. It's more--more agreeabler to be an earl thanI thought it was. I'm almost glad--I'm almost QUITE glad I'm going to beone."