Aunt Kitty's Tales

by Madame Guizot

  CHAPTER VII.

  SORROW AND SYMPATHY.

  I could not easily forget poor Jessie's distress, and I found myselfoften thinking what could have made Mr. Graham sell so good a cow.Surely, I said to myself, it cannot be that he is poorer than he hasbeen, and in want of money which he could not get in any other way. Iknew that he had had rheumatism so badly during the past winter, that hehad not been able to get out to work till quite late in the spring; but,notwithstanding this, as the seasons had been favorable, his garden didnot seem to have suffered much. Besides, his family were so prudent andindustrious, that I thought they always spent less in the year than hemade, and so, that he was able every year to lay up some money againstworse times. Jessie came over every morning to see her friend Moolymilked, and to take a mug of milk to her grandmother, which Harriet tookcare should be large enough to give the children some milk with theirbreakfasts. In the evening she was always ready to give Mooly hersupper; and as I saw her, day after day, come skipping and singingalong, I felt comforted about her father's circumstances, for I was surethat Jessie at least had not heard of his being in any great distress ordifficulty. One morning a servant came to me to ask whether Jessieshould be waited for, as it was, she said, quite time the milking wasdone, and Jessie was not yet in sight.

  "Oh yes! pray, Aunt Kitty, wait," said Harriet, "she will be herepresently, I am sure she will--just wait five minutes."

  As she spoke, she ran to the window to watch for Jessie, and soon calledout, "Here's Jessie; but how slow she comes! Do, Aunt Kitty, look!--Yousaid, the other day, Jessie never walked, and I am sure she is walkingnow as slowly as her grandmother could. Why, now, she has stopped andturned around as if she was not coming at all. Why, I do believe she iscrying! What can be the matter?"

  She darted out of the room as she finished speaking, and when I reachedthe window through which she had been looking, she was already standingbeside Jessie with her arm around her, talking to her. For a long timeJessie did not speak, but when she did, she seemed very much in earnest,while Harriet listened with an expression of the most eager interest. Atlength Jessie's story, whatever it was, was ended, and Harriet seemed tohave comforted her, for she wiped her eyes, and looked more cheerful asthey passed the window where I stood, walking hand in hand to the yardwhere the cow and the dairywoman were waiting for them. In a littlewhile, Jessie passed by again on her way home. As she dropped a courtesyto me and wished me good-morning, I saw that her eyes were still red andher face swollen with weeping, though she had pushed her bonnet entirelyoff her head, that the cool breeze might take away the inflammation.Jessie was such a merry-hearted child that I felt it could be notrifling thing which had distressed her so much; yet I would not askHarriet any thing about it, because I was sure she would speak of itherself, if Jessie had not made her promise to keep it secret, and ifshe had, I would have been sorry that she should do any thing sodishonorable as to mention it. There was a servant in the room when shecame in, and I saw that Harriet was quite restless during the fewminutes that she stayed. As soon as she went out, Harriet closed thedoor after her and began, "Oh, Aunt Kitty! I am so sorry. Jessie isgoing away, and Mr. Graham and all--going to some far-off place in theWest. And Jessie says her father has lost a great deal of money, andthat he is so poor he cannot pay for his place, and so they are going totake it from him. Jessie heard Mr. Butler talking to him about it thismorning, and she says Mr. Butler--"

  "Stop, stop, Harriet, if Jessie only overheard a conversation betweenher father and Mr. Butler she was very wrong to repeat it to you, andthe wrong must not go any further--you must not tell it even to me."

  "Oh, but, Aunt Kitty, Mr. Graham told Jessie he did not mind her tellinganybody except her grandmother. He does not want old Mrs. Graham to knowit yet; I do not know why. It was Mr. Graham's talking about his motherthat made Mr. Butler tell him, Jessie says, that, if he thought he wouldbe able to pay him next year, he would wait for his money till then; butMr. Graham said something about a bank breaking down--I did not quiteunderstand that, Aunt Kitty,--but at any rate, all his money was in it,and he told Mr. Butler that he never expected to be able to pay him, andthat he must take the house back. Mr. Butler said that he would try toget some one to buy it who would not want it till next year, so that Mr.Graham need not go till then; but then, Aunt Kitty, they will have togo."

  "I am very sorry for it, Harriet, very sorry indeed."

  "I knew you would be, Aunt Kitty, and I told Jessie so, and that youwould try to think of something to help her father, and maybe they wouldnot have to go at all."

  Harriet was silent and looked earnestly in my face for a minute, thenfinding I did not answer her, she said, softly, "Will you not, AuntKitty, will you not help Mr. Graham?"

  "Most gladly, Harriet, if I can, but I do not yet see how. You know I amnot very rich just now myself."

  Harriet looked quite discouraged and thoughtful for a while, then said,"Could not Uncle Mackay help him?"

  "You know that your uncle is about to travel on account of your aunt'shealth, and you may have heard him complain of being kept here muchlonger than he wished, in consequence of the difficulty of getting themoney which is necessary for himself. Besides, Harriet," said I,interrupting her as she was about to speak, "I feel sure, from what Iknow of Mr. Graham, that he would not take the money he needs, as a_gift_ from anybody, while he is well and strong, and only to lend it tohim would be doing him little service, since it would be as difficult topay it back as to pay for his house."

  Harriet looked quite desponding, and said, "Poor Jessie, she will haveto go, then."

  "There is but one way, Harriet, which I now think of to prevent it. Ihave heard Mr. Graham say that he had more leisure than he liked, andthat he could very well attend to another garden besides his own andyour Uncle Mackay's. Now, if we could get more work and more wages forhim, he could, perhaps, hire a house for the present, and might in timeagain lay up money enough to buy."

  "That's it, Aunt Kitty--that's it--that is the very best plan," saidHarriet, eagerly; "do let me run over and tell Jessie about it."

  "Wait, Harriet, till we see some prospect of succeeding in it, before wesay any thing to Jessie. After breakfast we will go over to youruncle's, and see if we can learn any thing from him likely to profit Mr.Graham."

  Before I had left the breakfast table, Harriet called out, "Aunt Kitty,here are Uncle Mackay and Mr. Graham coming this way." When they reachedmy gate, however, Mr. Graham passed on towards his own house, and mybrother came in alone. He had just heard from Mr. Graham, that he wouldprobably be obliged to leave us soon, and seemed much grieved about it.Mr. Graham had told him that his father had leased his house and gardenfrom Mr. Butler for twenty-one years--that is, had engaged for that timeto pay a certain sum of money every year for them. When the twenty-oneyears were out, Mr. Graham had offered to buy them, on condition that heshould not be asked to pay the money for ten years. During this time, hehad every year put by something towards paying this debt in a savingsbank, and now, when the ten years wanted but a very few months of beingended, and he thought himself quite ready to pay for his house, hediscovered that the bank had failed, or, as Harriet said, broken--thatis, that it had nothing with which to pay him and others whom it owed.

  My brother thought my plan for helping Mr. Graham would be a very goodone, if we could only find the work and the wages; but this he fearedwould not be easy, as there were few persons in the neighborhood whoemployed a gardener.

  "There is my friend Dickinson," he said at length, "who told me, when Isaw him last, that he intended to dismiss his gardener, because he couldnot keep his children out of the garden, where they were foreverannoying him by trampling on his flower-beds and breaking his flowers.This would be an excellent place, for he gives his gardener a verypretty house and some ground for himself, besides a high salary, but--"

  "Oh!" said I, interrupting him, "do not put in a _but_, for that is thevery place we want."

  "Yes, Aunt Kitty," said Harriet, e
agerly, "that is the very place."

  "I fear," said my brother, smiling at her earnestness, "that it is aplace which even Aunt Kitty with all her influence cannot get, for Mr.Dickinson declared he was determined never again to employ a man who hadchildren, and you know his determination is not easily changed."

  Still, discouraging as the case seemed, I resolved to try, and orderingthe carriage, I asked Harriet if she would like to go with me. "No,thank you, Aunt Kitty. I would like the drive, but Mr. Dickinson looksso cross I am always afraid he is going to scold me."

  "Did you not tell me, when we were last there, that you would never beafraid of him again, after seeing him play so good-humoredly withWilliam Temple?"

  "Oh yes, Aunt Kitty; and now I remember that, I think I will go, if youwill ask Mrs. Temple, when we get there, to let me play with William inthe nursery."

  Harriet was soon ready, and as the day was bright and the road good, wehad a very pleasant drive of a mile and a half to Mr. Dickinson's.Before I tell you of our visit, however, you would perhaps like to hearsomething of Mr. Dickinson himself, of Mrs. Temple, and of littleWilliam.