*CHAPTER XIV.*
*"SUNDAY AGAIN ALREADY!"*
"Oh, isn't it simply glorious?"
"How beautiful the sea looks!"
Sundry exclamations such as these escaped the lips of most of thepassengers in the heavily laden train bound for Sandyshore, as itemerged from a tunnel with a shrill whistle, and rounded the last cornerprior to slowing down. A beautiful panorama stretched out before them;in the foreground lay the quaint old town, beyond that an expanse ofdeep, blue sea, and in the distance the white, rocky peaks of somepromontory seemed almost dazzling in the brilliance of an August sun.
Two out of three young people in a reserved second-class compartmentwere in ecstasies of delight; and the third was contemplating a month atSandyshore, with very different feelings from those she had expressed acouple of months ago. For Monica had obtained her wish, and she wouldhave Olive as her companion and friend during all that holiday month.
It had not been quite easy to gain Mrs. Franklyn's consent to let Oliveaccompany the Beauchamp party; especially after the trouble about thenovel-reading, but eventually she had consented, upon both Monica andOlive promising her faithfully not to cause her distress in that wayagain. And when Mrs. Beauchamp insisted upon Elsa going with them too,she and the doctor very gladly availed themselves of the kindness andgenerosity which would enable their twin-daughters to have such athorough holiday and change, free of expense.
Monica had, at first, demurred a little over having Elsa, saying "two'scompany, and three's none," but her grandmother was firm. For onething, Mrs. Beauchamp thought it would be just as well to have Elsa, onaccount of her trustworthiness, and the old lady was a trifle afraid ofOlive getting into mischief without her more sensible sister being nearby. Also she had a desire to know more of the gentle-mannered girl, andquite looked forward to enjoying her bright young society, when theother two girls were bent on following their own devices. So Monicahad, perforce, to fall in with her grandmother's wishes, and when it wasknown that Mr. Drury was acting as locum-tenens of the quaint old churchof St. Mary, Sandyshore, everything seemed to fit in splendidly.
As it happened, the Drurys preceded their friends by a couple of days.So Amethyst was at the station to meet the girls when they arrived. Shehad never been to Sandyshore before, and was captivated with the dearlittle old-fashioned town, as all its summer visitors were. Her merrytongue rattled away about all its charms and wonders while Barnescounted up the huge dress-baskets, trunks, and other articles of luggagebelonging to the party, and engaged a couple of cabs to convey them totheir destination.
At length, all was satisfactorily accomplished, and, with arrangementsfor an early meeting, Amethyst saw them drive off into the town, andthen ran home to the quaint, rambling old vicarage, next to the church,which the Drurys were occupying.
Meanwhile, after a few minutes' drive through the narrow-streeted town,and up a very steep hill, "Mrs. Beauchamp and party" (according to the"Sandyshore Visitors' List") arrived at "Rocklands," a large house,standing in its own grounds, overlooking the entire bay.
Mrs. Beauchamp always engaged rooms at that particular house, owing tothe magnificent view which she could enjoy, simply by sittingcomfortably ensconced in one or other of the bay windows; for, in onedirection, Rocklands overlooked the pier, to and from which pleasuresteamers were continually passing; and when one tired of these, thesands, thickly sprinkled with bathing machines and private tents, amusedand interested the onlooker with their varied phases of holiday life.
Comfort being of more importance than expense to Mrs. Beauchamp, she hadmade every arrangement for convenience during their month's stay atRocklands by engaging a whole suite of rooms. Thus Elsa and Olive werecharmed to find themselves the proud possessors of a delightful bedroom,while Monica occupied the one next to theirs. Seldom were their doorsshut; it was such a new experience for Monica to have young companionsto live with. Then the dining-room in which they had all their meals wasentirely at the girls' disposal, between times, when they could do justas they pleased, and "need not be so much on their best behaviour," asMonica termed it, as in the drawing-room. But the weather was sodelightful, and so seldom did it rain, that the trio were not often tobe found indoors except in the evenings.
The next morning, the whole party were early on the small strip ofshore, which extended for fully half a mile round the bay, and on whichthe visitors made themselves thoroughly at home. The short season wasat its height, and at first sight there seemed no chance of securing acomfortable position; but as they walked along the Shore Road, lookingdown upon the gay throng of holiday-makers, Elsa descried a well-knownfigure, and saw Amethyst frantically signalling to them.
"There seems room there, Mrs. Beauchamp," she suggested, "where theDrurys are. Shall we go down?"
And in a few minutes, after mutual greetings, Mrs. Beauchamp wascomfortably settled in her deck chair, while the girls, spreading a rugon the sand, threw themselves down upon it in careless attitudes.
That first morning was but a sample of most of those which followed.
Mrs. Beauchamp read, or chatted with Mr. and Mrs. Drury, while the youngpeople enjoyed themselves in every way. A tent, next to the one used bythe Drurys, was hired, and the girls had great fun over bathing. Mrs.Beauchamp wished Monica to learn to swim, so an old bathing-machineproprietor, one of the chief features of Sandyshore, used to give herand Olive a lesson every morning. Elsa was too timid to really enjoymore of the sea than could be had where the water was comparativelyshallow, and Amethyst and she were quite content to look on at the moredaring exploits of the other two girls.
Such fun and merriment did they all have that first week at Sandyshore,that it did not seem possible that they _could_ enjoy themselves more,although Amethyst's one cry was: "Won't it be just too perfectly lovelywhen Marcus comes?"
Marcus Drury, Amethyst's brother and senior by four or five years, hadonly recently gone up to Cambridge upon leaving Trent College. He hadbeen spending a few weeks of the Long Vacation with anotherundergraduate at the latter's home in Scotland, but now he was expectedto arrive at Sandyshore any day, and his devoted and admiring littlesister was on the tiptoe of excitement about his coming. Of course, hewas well known to the Franklyn girls, with whose brothers he had beenfriendly since the Drurys had lived at Osmington, but Monica felt a gooddeal of interest in the young fellow of whom she had heard so much.
Therefore, one morning, some ten days after their arrival at Sandyshore,when Amethyst came flying along the Shore Road to meet them with thewords, "Marcus has come, and you'll never guess who is with him!" allthree girls were quite as mystified as she wished them to be.
"No one I know," said Monica, with decision.
"No, you don't; but the others do." And Amethyst bubbled over withexcitement. "Do be quick and guess: I can't keep it much longer."
"Not Dick?" hazarded Elsa, more to please her friend than because sheexpected to be right.
"No, not Dick," said Amethyst merrily. "Try again."
"Roger, then," said Olive.
"Yes, yes, yes! Isn't it splendid? He wanted to surprise you, and he'sgot a week's holiday from St. Adrian's, and Marcus met him in theStrand, or somewhere, and persuaded him to pack up and come down herewith him."
"Oh, how lovely!" cried the twins simultaneously; "do let us see him.Where is he?"
"There," and Amethyst triumphantly pointed out a couple of young fellowsnot very far away, who had evidently been enjoying, from a distance, thesurprise the news had caused.
Monica, feeling somewhat out of it, followed the others rather moreslowly, and thus secured a good look at the newcomers while they wereengaged in greeting Olive and Elsa.
There was no doubt as to which was which: the elder, of medium height,slightly built, dark, with brown eyes, was a Franklyn all over; whilehis companion, a tall, broad-shouldered youth, with merry blue eyes andcurly hair, although he was not in the least like his sister, bor
e anunmistakable resemblance to Mr. Drury.
Raising his panama hat, round which his college colours were twisted, hecame forward with outstretched hand, and Monica thought she had neverliked any one so well, at first sight, as this debonair undergraduate.She had previously somewhat sneered at Amethyst's praises of her paragonbrother, but she could understand her feelings now that she had metMarcus Drury.
She almost forgot his companion, until a quiet, manly voice, sodifferent from the other's boyish tones, said, "How do you do, MissBeauchamp? I am very glad to meet my sister's friend." And she foundherself shaking hands with Olive's eldest brother.
A very short time sufficed to put them all at their ease, and then, asthe tide was fast going out, they went in different directions for theirbathe. But an hour later found the young people all together again, andthe girls were charmed with the proposal that they should go for a row,there being just an hour left before dinner.
Mr. and Mrs. Drury, who had undertaken to keep Mrs. Beauchamp companyuntil their return, watched the boatful with interest, until Roger's andMarcus' even strokes had rowed it so far as to be scarcely more than aspeck.
"Dear boy," murmured Mrs. Drury, as she took up the knitting she hadneglected; and her husband smiled as he said, quizzically: "Do you meanRoger?"
"I meant Marcus, of course," replied his wife, with a smile, "but Rogeris a dear boy, too. I only wish----"
"What do you wish, Nora?" queried her husband, in a lower tone, as hetilted his black straw hat over his eyes, to protect them from the glareof the midday sun.
"Why, the same as I know you wish, Herbert," was the reply, "that inchoosing the medical profession Roger had been actuated by the onedesire to follow in the steps of the Good Physician."
"Yes, I would that he had, but I fear it was not so. But, Nora, motivesand hearts, too, can be changed. Why should not Roger Franklyn go backto St. Adrian's 'transformed'?"
"Ah! why not?" And little Mrs. Drury's eyes grew earnest, as she lookedout at the tiny black speck dancing on the ocean in the distance, andshe prayed that God would answer that other mother's prayers, and giveto Roger a new purpose, a new ideal in life.
The days flew swiftly by, what with picnics, tennis, bathing, boating,and many other amusements and enjoyments, and Sunday dawned.
Monica and Olive, it must be confessed, did not appreciate that one dayin the week as much as they should, inasmuch as they were compelled, ofnecessity, to forego during its sacred hours all the secular amusementswith which they filled up every moment of the week, from Monday morninguntil Saturday evening. They awoke that brilliant August morning to theunwelcome remembrance that it was "Sunday again already!"
But Elsa, whose happiest hours were spent in God's house, with a tenderlittle smile hovering round her lips, drew up the blinds, and looked outupon the calm blue sea, and lifted her heart in thanksgiving to herHeavenly Father for making such a beautiful world. Even Olive'sceaseless chatter, as they dressed, did not disturb her; and when hersister had gone into Monica's room, as she invariably did, Elsa gentlyshut the door, and taking her little Bible, she knelt by the open windowand prayed long and earnestly. She did not know how to pray properly,she only knew how to talk to her dearest Friend, and she was accustomedto tell Him everything, and ask with the simplicity and directness of alittle child for what she needed.
That morning, after praying for help and strength for herself, to enableher to be a faithful follower of her Master, she remembered her darlingmother (whom it had been a very real sorrow to leave) and all those athome; and then her heart seemed overwhelmed with the thought of thoseabout her, who, as yet, did not know and serve her Saviour. "Oh! Lord,"she prayed, "do speak to-day, _somehow_, to Monica and Olive. I can'tbear to think of them going on living without Thee. And kind Mrs.Beauchamp wants something to satisfy her. O Lord, she wants _Thee_! andRoger needs Thee, too. Lord, show Thyself to them all to-day, and showthem they will never be happy until they have come to Thee."
Thus, in all earnestness, but with childish simplicity, Elsa poured outher heart unto the Lord, and "the Lord hearkened and heard."
The dear old-fashioned church, taxed to its utmost to provideaccommodation for the throngs of fashionably attired people who pouredceaselessly up the aisles, as the five-minute bell gave warning thatservice would soon commence, was eventually crammed with a hugecongregation, made up of many types. Perhaps it would be safe to saythat the majority of the people assembled within the sacred edifice hadgone there because "it was the proper thing to do"; they neitherexpected nor desired any spiritual help.
Among this class were several of our acquaintances. In one pew, aprominent one, because the verger had an eye to a substantial sum forthe offertory from such an imposing looking personage as Mrs. Beauchamp,in her trailing gown of black satin, and a Parisian bonnet, were seatedthe two Franklyn girls, Monica and her grandmother; Elsa being next tothe old lady.
At a little distance, and at right angles to them, at the end of thevicarage pew in the south transept, Marcus' tall form towered abovethose in the vicinity, and made his neighbour, Roger Franklyn, lookquite insignificant; also Mrs. Drury and Amethyst. It is to be fearedthat some of the occupants of the two pews were a trifle disposed tolook at each other, at first; but a glance from her mother subduedAmethyst, and she soon forgot the others in paying attention to theservice.
Marcus, who had a tenor voice, which promised to be of unusual quality,sang all the chants and hymns; but Roger, a slightly cynical expressiondisfiguring his clear-cut features, took no part in the service. Witharms folded, and head erect, he stood looking straight before him, hiseyes wandering, occasionally, to the pew in which his sisters sat; buthe did not look at them so much as at their friend.
Monica, her softly rounded cheeks already tanned by exposure to sun andsea, was looking really handsome that morning. Her hair, arranged in anew and becoming fashion, was tied back with a large cream bow, whichmatched her flop hat and daintily made dress. The only scrap of colourabout her was a couple of dark crimson roses, tucked carelessly into herwaistband; and altogether she made a very pretty picture, standing, asshe did, erect and tall, between the twins, who wore simple delainefrocks of a pale greenish hue.
Mr. Drury conducted the service, and a young clergyman, apparently acurate, read the lessons. Elsa, with a sinking heart, saw the latterascend the pulpit stairs; for it must be confessed she had hoped herfavourite, Mr. Drury, would be the preacher. But she need not havefeared; God had given Leslie Herschel a message to deliver to thecongregation assembled at St. Mary's Church that August Sunday morning,and as the young man looked down upon the throbbing mass of never-dyingsouls, his heart went up to God that many there that morning might beled to make the one great choice.
Monica's Choice Page 14
