CHAPTER II.
ALECK'S WELCOME.
It is almost unnecessary to remark that the fortnight preceding mycousin's arrival was one of the longest I had ever spent--even longerthan those preceding birth-days or Christmas. However, the longlooked-for Thursday came at last.
I pleaded hard for a whole holiday, but my mother would not bepersuaded; so I had to do my morning lessons as usual, and confessed,after they were over, that the hours had passed much faster than I atall expected.
In consideration of the travellers having, in all probability, had butlittle time for refreshment, dinner was to be rather earlier than usual;and Aleck and I were to have it, for once, with the elders of theparty. Luncheon was also early; and not having the time to go down tothe lodge before it, I went out into the garden with my mother to helpin gathering a nosegay for my aunt's room.
How fresh and beautiful everything looked that morning, as we stoodthere amongst the flowers, my mother selecting the materials for thenosegay, and I holding the basket, and handing her the scissors as shewanted them, or executing at intervals little by-plays with Frisk. Iremember feeling a kind of intense thrill of happiness, which to thisday is vividly recalled by the scent of those particular roses andgeraniums; and also a sort of dim wonder about the unhappiness which Ihad heard and read of as the fate of some--pondering in my own mind howit felt to be so very unhappy, and whether people couldn't help it ifthey would only go out into the fresh air and warm sunshine, and enjoythemselves as I did. From which speculations I was recalled by my mothersaying,--
"I think we have enough flowers, Willie; perhaps just one creeper forthe outside of the vase. There--we shall do now."
Then we went in by the school-room window, and I fetched the large vasefrom the east bed-room, and stood by my mother whilst tastefully anddaintily she arranged the flowers as I thought none but she couldarrange them. She had nearly completed her task when my father came intothe school-room.
"I am sending the carriage early, dear," he said to her; "for although Ithink they cannot arrive until the 4.50 train, there is just the chanceof their catching the one before. Have you any messages for Rickson?"
"None, dear," answered my mother. "But you must stay for a moment andlook at my flowers. Are they not sweet and pretty?"
"Very sweet and very pretty," replied my father. But I thought he lookedat her more than at the flowers when he said so; and she laughed,although, after all, there was nothing to laugh at.
"Willie and I have been gathering them," she said; "and now we are goingto put them in Bessie's room."
"I know who remembers everything that can give pleasure to others,"observed my father, whose hand was on my shoulder by this time. "Willie,I hope you will grow up like your mamma."
Not quite seeing the force of this observation, I replied that, being aboy, I thought I had better grow up like him. And both my parentslaughed; but my mother said she quite agreed with me, it would be farbetter.
Then we carried the vase up, and placed it on the table in the window ofthe east bed-room; and my mother flitted about, putting little finishingtouches here and there to complete the arrangements for the comfort ofher visitors, whilst I received a commission to inspect portfolios,envelope-cases, and ink-bottles, and to see that all were freshlyreplenished.
These matters being finally disposed of, I persuaded my mother to ascendto the more remote part of the house, where a room next to my own had,at my earnest request, been prepared for my cousin, and in thedecoration of which I felt peculiar interest. There was a twin bedsteadto my own, and various other pieces of furniture corresponding;moreover, in an impulse of generosity I had transferred certain of myown possessions into Aleck's apartment, with a noble determination to beextremely liberal.
My mother noticed these at once, but I was a little disappointed thatshe did not commend my liberality.
"You see, mamma," I explained, "there's my own green boat with theunion-jack, and the bat I liked best before papa gave me my last newone, and the dissected map of the queens of England."
"Yes, I see, Willie," replied my mother; proceeding in the meantime tocertain readjustments urgently called for, by the critical position ofthe bat standing on the drawers against the wall, and the boat nearlyfalling from the mantelpiece.
"There, my child," she said; "the bat will do better in the comer, andthe ship upon the drawers. And now the puzzle: why, Willie, this is thevery one of which I heard you say there were three pieces missing; andthen Mrs. Barbauld you think childish for yourself!"
My countenance fell, for I had been indulging in the cheap generosity ofgiving away second-bests, and I could see my mother did not admire suchliberality. Indeed, after a moment's consideration, I was ashamed of itmyself, and hastened with alacrity to hide Mrs. Barbauld, and the Queensof England, and one or two other trifles, in the obscurity of my ownroom; whilst my mother decided upon the best position for a couple ofprettily-framed pictures which she had had brought up, and fastened anilluminated text, similar to one in my own room, opposite the bed--"_Thethings which are seen are temporal; the things which are unseen areeternal_"--and placed a little statuette of a guardian angel, with thescroll underneath, "_He shall give His angels charge over thee_," overthe bed-head.
"What a good thought, mamma," I said, when she had finished herarrangements; "that looks exactly like mine."
"Just what I want it to look, Willie. You and Aleck are to be as likebrothers to each other as may be. You have never had brother or sisterof your own, Willie--not that you can remember [there _had_ been oneinfant sister, whose death, when about a month old, had been my parents'greatest sorrow]--but now that your cousin is likely to stay a long timewith us, I hope that you and he will be as much as possible likebrothers to each other."
Then my mother, who was sitting at the foot of the bed, drew me towardsher, and quietly talked to me about some of the new duties as well astemptations which would come with new pleasures, bidding me rememberthat I was to try never to think first of myself, but to be willing toconsider others before myself. We had been reading the 13th of FirstCorinthians that morning together, and her observations seemed to me asif drawn straight from that source; indeed, before long she reminded meof it, bidding me remember it supplied the standard we ought to aim at,and telling me that strength would be always given, _if I sought it_, tohelp me to be what I wanted to be; it was only those who did notheartily strive who got beaten in the conflict.
It is not to be supposed that this was all uttered in a set speech; I amgiving the substance only of a few minutes' quiet talk which we had upthere in the bed-room together that morning before luncheon, and which Iconfess to having felt at the time rather superfluous, my delight in theanticipation of my cousin's arrival convincing me that there would be nofear of my finding anything but happiness in my intercourse with him.
My mother, on the contrary, as I afterwards had reason to know, was byno means without anxiety. She knew that hitherto I had been completelyshielded from every possible trial. The darling of herself and myfather, and, as the only child, a favourite amongst the attached membersof our household, my wants had been all anticipated, and every pleasuresuited to my age had been planned for me so ingeniously, that I hadnever had the chance of showing myself selfish or ill-tempered. Shefeared that when for the first time I found myself not _first_considered in all arrangements, I might fail in those particular pointsof conduct in which she was most anxious I should triumph.
My mother's gentle admonitions, to which I at the time paid little heed,were interrupted by the luncheon gong.
"When will the wonderful preparations at the gate be ready?" asked myfather whilst we were at table.
"Oh, there's nothing left to do but to fasten up the flowers. Old Georgesays it won't take an hour," I replied.
"Then if I come down at three o'clock the show will be ready?"
"Quite ready," I said. "And mamma will come too?"
"Of course mamma's coming too; unless, indeed, you mean
to charge sohigh a price for the exhibition," said my father comically, "that Icannot afford it. But even then," he added, "mamma shall see it; I'llgive it up for her."
I was off from the luncheon-table as soon as possible, but found nurselying in wait to capture me and enforce upon my mind the first duty ofreturning by four o'clock, to be dressed properly before the arrival ofour visitors, whose impression of me, she conceived, would be mostunfavourable were they to find me in what she was pleased to call "thistrumpery," referring to a little sailor's suit of white and blue inwhich I was very generally attired, and which nurse chose todisapprove. She wound up her admonition by a sort of lament over mylight-mindedness as to my best clothes; a spirit which, she remarked,was apt to cling to people to their graves--sometimes afterwards; whichI scarcely thought possible.
Frisk and I darted down the Zig-zag at our usual pace, so soon as I wasreleased from nurse's kind offices, and joined old George, who was onthe look-out for us.
Very pleased we were with the result of our exertions when the reallypretty triumphal arch was completed; the letters of the word _Welcome_in conspicuously gay flowers forming a pretty contrast to the leafybackground, and eliciting what we felt to be a well-merited admirationfrom my parents and a select committee of servants, who came severallyto inspect our handiwork in the course of the afternoon.
"It's fit for Her Majesty," said my father in his playful way, "and fartoo fine for a little stranger boy! In fact, it seems scarcely properthat a humble individual like myself should pass under it!"
"You're not a humble individual, papa!" I exclaimed vehemently.
"Oh, dear! oh, dear!" sighed my father, "that it should come to such apass as this; my only son tells me I am wanting in humility--not ahumble person!"
"An _individual_!" I said, feeling that made a great difference. "Butnow, papa, you're only in fun; you know I didn't mean that."
"One thing I do mean very distinctly, Willie, which is, that I must notstay chattering here with you any longer, or my letters will never beready before post-time. You may stay a little longer with George if youlike."
I stayed accordingly, determining to be home by the Zig-zag at theappointed hour.
But my parents had scarcely had the time necessary for walking up to thehouse, when the sharp sound of horses' trot suddenly aroused myattention, and in another moment our carriage, with the travellersinside, was rounding the curve of the road, and had drawn up before thegate.
My confusion and shyness at thus being surprised were indescribable;and a latent desire to take to immediate flight and get home the shortway might probably have prevailed, had not my uncle's quick eye caughtsight of me as I drew back under the shelter of old George.
"Why, surely there must be Willie!" he exclaimed; and in another momentGroves had hoisted my unwilling self on to the step of the carriage, andwas introducing me to my relations, regardless of my shy desire to standupon the ground, and make geological researches with my eyes under thewheels.
"Yes, sir, this is Master Willie; he's been uncommon taken up with theother young master coming, and it's his thought having a bit ofsomething [To think of old George designating our beautiful arch as abit of something!] put up at the gate to bid him welcome."
"There's for you, Aleck," said my uncle to a fair-haired boy sitting inthe furthest corner of the carriage opposite to my aunt, whom I justmustered courage to look at. "You'll have to make your best bow and avery grand speech, to return thanks for such an honour."
"Master didn't expect you so soon, sir," proceeded George; "he thoughtyou'd be coming by the next train; that's how it is that Master Williewas down here."
"Then I think the best thing we can do with Master Willie is to carryhim up to the house with us," said my uncle. And accordingly I waslifted over from my step into the midst of the party in the carriage,and seated down between my uncle and aunt.
The coachman was compelled to rein in the horses a minute longer, whilstthey all looked at and admired the arch, and then we bowled off rapidlyup the avenue. I sometimes think we remember our life in pictures:certainly the very frontispiece of my acquaintance with my cousin Aleckalways is, and will be, a distinct mind's eye picture of that party inthe carriage, with myself in their midst.
Uncle Gordon sitting in the right hand corner with his arm round me,keeping me very close to himself, so that I might not crowd my aunt, whowas leaning back on the other side of me, as though weary with the longjourney. Opposite my uncle my aunt's maid, with a green bonnet decoratedwith a bow of red velvet of angular construction in the centre of thefront, to which the parting of her hair seemed to lead up like a broadwhite road; she was grasping, as though her life depended upon herkeeping them safely, a sort of family fagot of umbrellas in one hand,whilst with the other she kept a leather-covered dressing-case steady onher lap. In the fourth corner was my cousin, in full Highland kilt, suchas I had hitherto seen only in toy-books of the costumes of all nationsor other pictures, and which inspired me with a wonderful amount ofcuriosity. Lastly, myself in blue and white sailor's dress, looking, nodoubt, as if I had been captured from a man-of-war; conscious of tumbledhair, and doubtful hands, and retribution in store for me in the shapeof a talking-to from nurse, who had still unlimited jurisdiction over mywardrobe, for having been surprised in a state she would designate as"not fit to be seen."
Aleck and I found our eyes wandering to each other momentarily as wedrove along. When they met, we took them off again, and pretended tolook out at opposite sides of the carriage; but this happened so often,that at last we both laughed, and--the ice broke. I was quite on chattyterms before we reached the house.
"There are papa and mamma!" I exclaimed, as we came in sight of theentrance. They had heard the carriage, and were at the door to welcometheir guests.
"See, I have brought you two boys instead of one," said my uncle,lifting me out first, and then proceeding to help out my aunt, as if shewere a delicate piece of china, and "With care" labelled outside her.
When the greetings were over, my mother declared a rest on the sofa inher room and a cup of tea indispensable for my aunt's refreshment. Myuncle took my father's arm and disappeared into the study; and we twoboys were left to take care of each other until dinner-time.
I proposed going round the garden, and Frisk being of the party,proceeded to show off his accomplishments. This led to an animateddescription of my cousin's dog, Caesar, and a comparison of the ways andhabits of Caesar the Big with those of Frisk the Little, on the strengthof which we became very intimate.
Afterwards we returned to the house, and having shown Aleck his room, Itook him into mine, where we were found seated on the floor surroundedby "my things," which I had been exhibiting in detail to my cousin, whennurse came, a little before six o'clock, to see that we were ready fordinner.
"Aleck, tell me one thing," I had just said to my cousin; "are theyreally your knees or leather?"
Aleck stared, "Leather! why, of course not; what made you think such anodd question?"
"I didn't think they _could_ be leather after the first minute," Ireplied, doubtfully; "but I couldn't know--"