Aunt Kitty's Tales

by Madame Guizot

  CHAPTER XII.

  NEW FRIENDS.

  Little can be told of Ellen's journey. In ten minutes after leavingColonel Melville's she found herself on board a steamboat, surrounded bya crowd of strangers. Unaccustomed to such scenes, she was bewildered bythe confusion and bustle around her, and clung to Mr. Wallace as if hehad been a friend of long years, instead of an acquaintance of a day.But so kind and good was Mr. Wallace, so thoughtful of Ellen's comfort,so considerate of her feelings, and so indulgent to her wishes, thatunder any circumstances he could not long have seemed a stranger to her.Ellen had travelled very little, and she soon began to feel an interestin what was passing around her. Mr. Wallace exerted himself to amuseher, pointing out to her the places they passed, or describing thosethrough which their route lay. Thus engaged, Ellen's griefs wereforgotten till she retired to her berth for the night, and then theremembrance of the sister, without whose good-night kiss she had neverbefore slept since she could remember, came so vividly upon her, thatbursting into tears, she sobbed herself to sleep. She was awakened earlythe next morning by the chambermaid, who came, at the request of Mr.Wallace, to assist her in dressing. From her Ellen learned that they hadarrived in New York. Here Mr. Wallace remained a day and a night, thathe might show Ellen something of the largest city in which she had everbeen, and give her one good night's rest before they set out on the mostfatiguing part of their journey. The next day they went by a steamboatto Albany, and from thence travelled on the railroad or the canal forthree or four days and nights, passing through several large towns, ofwhich Ellen saw nothing except the one street that formed part of theirroad. It was four o'clock in the afternoon when they entered the villageof G----, situated on a small but beautiful lake. There Mr. Wallaceresided, and here was the church in which he preached. He took her tohis own house and introduced her to his wife, a lady with manners askind and countenance as pleasing as his own. She placed some raspberryjam with bread and butter, both of her own making, on the table, andwhile Ellen partook of it, Mr. Wallace had his own little carriageprepared, and having placed her baggage in it, called to her to take herseat beside him. They were soon on the way to Mrs. Herbert's farm,which, though also on the borders of the lake, was three miles distantfrom G----. Ellen did not talk much on the way, for she could think ofno more questions to ask about her Aunt Herbert or her cousins, and shecould not talk of any thing else. It was a lovely afternoon. Thoughstill early in May, the season was unusually forward, and the air wassoft and balmy as June. As they approached Mrs. Herbert's place, theroad descended to the very edge of the lake. There was not a ripple onthe water, and its smooth surface glittered like gold beneath the beamsof the almost setting sun. Orchards and gardens were full of bloom, andthe long low farmhouse, which was so surrounded with trees that youscarce saw it till you had reached the very door, looked like the abodeof peace and gentleness. Two boys who were fishing in the lake from itsbank, about fifty yards from the house, were the only persons in sight.When they first saw the carriage, they stood looking steadily at it fora few minutes, as if to ascertain whose it was, then dropping theirfishing rods, ran towards the house.

  "There they go to give notice of our coming. Poor Charley, George hasleft him far behind. How hard he tries to get up with his brother!Suppose we stop and take him up," said the good-natured Mr. Wallace, atthe same time checking his horse and standing up in the carriage tobeckon to Charles.

  The tired boy gladly obeyed the summons, having only one narrow fieldand a fence between him and the road.

  "There, Charley," said Mr. Wallace as he helped him up the side of thecarriage and placed him by Ellen, "you have been the first to see cousinEllen, if George has carried the news of her coming to mamma."

  "Oh! cousin Ellen," said Charles, "how glad I am you have come, it willmake mamma so happy!"

  Ellen looked with surprise upon her cousin Charles, he was so muchyounger and more delicate than she had expected to see him. Mr. Wallacehad said that the eldest of Mrs. Herbert's sons was thirteen years old,and Ellen had forgotten to ask the age of the other, but she hadsupposed him to be nearly if not quite twelve. He had said too that theywere manly, and Ellen had concluded that they must be very large fortheir age, and very strong and robust. But Charles, though really tenyears old, looked scarcely eight, he was so small, fair, and delicate,having always had very feeble health. Yet he was manly in his feelings,and so ambitious to equal his brother George's exploits, that he woulddo many things that some older and stronger-looking boys would not haveattempted.

  Ellen had just recovered her surprise, and decided that she likedCharles better as he was, with his light brown curls, his fair childishface, and bright laughing blue eyes, than she would have done if he hadbeen a great, blustering boy, when the carriage stopped at the door ofthe house, where already stood George, flushed and panting with hisrace, and Mrs. Herbert. Ellen was never very slow in determining thefeelings with which she would regard any one, and she often afterwardssaid, that she loved her Aunt Herbert as soon as she looked upon her.Few faces were so well calculated to produce such an impression as wasMrs. Herbert's. She was in deep mourning, and wore one of those closeplain caps commonly called widow's caps, under which her brown hair,being parted in the middle of the forehead, was put smoothly back behindthe ears. The upper part of her face was serious in its expression, butthe mouth, if it did not actually smile always, looked so gentle andpleasant, that you thought it was going to smile. When Ellen first sawher, however, she was actually smiling, though tears were in her eyes,as again and again she pressed her niece to her heart, and kissing hertenderly, thanked her for coming to her, and called her her daughterEllen.

  "Cousin Ellen," said George, who looked just as Ellen had expected,tall, and stout, and sun-burned, "Cousin Ellen, we are very glad to seeyou."

  "Not cousin Ellen--sister Ellen, my son; you are all my children now,"said Mrs. Herbert, as again she folded Ellen in her arms.

  "You must always live with us then," said Charles; "we shall not let yougo away again."

  Ellen, half bewildered among so many new claimants of her affection, hadscarce spoken a word in reply to their greetings. She now looked aroundfor Mr. Wallace. He saw the look, and understood it.

  "Stay, stay, Charles, it takes two, you know, to make a bargain, and Ihave already promised that if Ellen wish it she shall go back in sixmonths to her sister Mary--from whom, I assure you, it was no easymatter to get her away. So if you would keep her, you must make her loveyou so much in six months that she will not choose to leave you."

  "So we will," said Charles, "so we will; and we'll bring sister Maryhere too, mamma--won't we?"

  "I hope so, my son; for Mary, too, I consider as my daughter, and wouldgladly have had her come now, if Mr. Villars had consented."

  Ellen looked gratefully at her aunt, and began to doubt whether she evershould wish to leave her.

  Ellen seemed so much fatigued after the first excitement of her arrivalwas over, that Mrs. Herbert had tea prepared immediately, and directlyafter it she led Ellen to her chamber. This was a small room openinginto her own. It was furnished very plainly, as was indeed every room inMrs. Herbert's house; but nothing could be more neat than itsappearance, with its clean white window-curtains and coverlet. Mrs.Herbert assisted Ellen to undress herself, and when she was ready to liedown she kissed her tenderly, saying, "Good-night, my love: you will notforget before you sleep to thank our kind heavenly Father for bringingyou in safety to us. We are early risers here, but I shall not wake youto-morrow, for you want rest."

  Ellen lay down with very pleasant thoughts of her new home, but allthoughts were soon forgotten in a sound sleep.