CHAPTER XXVIII
CONCLUSION
Aunt Dorothy Grumbit did _not_ die! Her gentle spirit had nearly fled;but Martin's return and Martin's tender nursing brought her round, andshe gradually regained all her former strength and vigour. Yes, to theunutterable joy of Martin, to the inexpressible delight of Mr. ArthurJollyboy and Barney, and to the surprise and complete discomfiture of theyoung doctor who shook his head and said "There is no hope," Aunt DorothyGrumbit recovered? and was brought back in health and in triumph to herold cottage at Ashford!
Moreover, she was arrayed again in the old bed-curtain chintz with theflowers as big as saucers, and the old high-crowned cap. A white kittenwas got, too, so like the one that used to be Martin's playmate, that noone could discover a hair of difference. So remarkable was this, thatMartin made inquiry, and found that it was actually the grand-daughter ofthe old kitten, which was still alive and well; so he brought it backtoo, and formally installed it in the cottage along with its grandchild.
There was a great house-warming on the night of the day in which AuntDorothy Grumbit was brought back. Mr. Arthur Jollyboy was there--ofcourse; and the vicar was there; and the pursy doctor who used to callMartin "a scamp;" and the school-master; and last, though not least,Barney O'Flannagan was there. And they all had tea, during which dearAunt Dorothy smiled sweetly on everybody and said nothing,--and, indeed,did nothing, except that once or twice she put additional sugar and creaminto Martin's cup when he was not looking, and stroked one of his handscontinually. After tea Martin related his adventures in Brazil, andBarney helped him; and these two talked more that night than any onecould have believed it possible for human beings to do, without the aidof steam lungs! And the doctor listened, and the vicar and school-masterquestioned, and old Mr. Jollyboy roared and laughed till he became purplein the face--particularly at the sallies of Barney. As for old AuntDorothy Grumbit, she listened when Martin spoke. When Martin was silentshe became stone deaf!
In the course of time Mr. Jollyboy made Martin his head clerk; and then,becoming impatient, he made him his partner off-hand. Then he made BarneyO'Flannagan an overseer in the warehouses; and when the duties of the daywere over, the versatile Irishman became his confidential servant, andwent to sup and sleep at the Old Hulk; which, he used to remark, wasquite a natural and proper and decidedly comfortable place to come to ananchor in.
Martin became the stay and comfort of his aunt in her old age; and thejoy which he was the means of giving to her heart was like a deep andplacid river which never ceases to flow. Ah! there is a rich blessing instore for those who tenderly nurse and comfort the aged, when called uponto do so; and assuredly there is a sharp thorn prepared for those whoneglect this sacred duty. Martin read the Bible to her night and morning;and she did nothing but watch for him at the window while he was out. AsMartin afterwards became an active member of the benevolent societieswith which his partner was connected, he learned from sweet experiencethat "it is more blessed to give than to receive," and that "it is_better_ to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house offeasting." Dear young reader, do not imagine that we plead in favour ofmoroseness or gloom. Laugh if you will, and feast if you will, andremember, too, that "a merry heart is a continual feast;" but we pray younot to forget that God himself has said that a visit to the house ofmourning is _better_ than a visit to the house of feasting: and, strangeto say, it is productive of greater joy; for to do good is better than toget good, as surely as sympathy is better than selfishness.
Martin visited the poor and read the Bible to them; and in wateringothers he was himself watered, for he found the "Pearl of Great Price,"even Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world.
Business prospered in the hands of Martin Rattler, too, and he became aman of substance. Naturally, too, he became a man of great importance inthe town of Bilton. The quantity of work that Martin and Mr. Jollyboy andBarney used to get through was quite marvellous; and the number ofengagements they had during the course of a day was quite bewildering.
In the existence of all men, who are not born to unmitigated misery,there are times and seasons of peculiar enjoyment. The happiest hour ofall the twenty-four to Martin Rattler was the hour of seven in theevening; for then it was that he found himself seated before the blazingfire in the parlour of the Old Hulk, to which Aunt Dorothy Grumbit hadconsented to be removed, and in which she _was_ now a fixture. Then itwas that old Mr. Jollyboy beamed with benevolence, until the old ladysometimes thought the fire was going to melt him; then it was that thetea-kettle sang on the hob like a canary; and then it was that Barneybustled about the room preparing the evening meal, and talking all thetime with the most perfect freedom to any one who chose to listen to him.Yes, seven p.m. was Martin's great hour, and Aunt Dorothy's great hour,and old Mr. Jollyboy's great hour, and Barney's too; for each knew thatthe labours of the day were done, and that the front door was locked forthe night, and that a great talk was brewing. They had a tremendous talkevery night, sometimes on one subject, sometimes on another; but thesubject of all others that they talked oftenest about was their travels.And many a time and oft, when the winter storms howled round the OldHulk, Barney was invited to draw in his chair, and Martin and he plungedagain vigorously into the great old forests of South America, and spokeso feelingly about them that Aunt Dorothy and Mr. Jollyboy almost fanciedthemselves transported into the midst of tropical scenes, and felt as ifthey were surrounded by parrots, and monkeys, and jaguars, andalligators, and anacondas, and all the wonderful birds, beasts, reptiles,and fishes, that inhabit the woods and waters of Brazil.
THE END
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