Mildred Keith

by Martha Finley

  Chapter Twentieth.

  "I marked the Spring as she pass'd along, With her eye of light and her lip of song; While she stole in peace o'er the green earth's breast, While the streams sprang out from their icy rest. The buds bent low to the breeze's sigh, And their breath went forth in the scented sky; When the fields look'd fresh in their sweet repose, And the young dews slept on the new-born rose." --WILLIS GAYLORD CLARK.

  "WELL, I'm both glad and sorry Horace is gone," Mrs. Keith remarked witha smile, a sigh and a dewy look about her eyes, as the stage passed outof sight. "I'm fond of the lad, but was troubled lest the ague shouldget hold of him. Besides, the dearest of guests is something of a burdenwith sickness in the house and a scarcity of help."

  "Yes, that is very true, mother," Mildred answered, "and so thoroughlydo I realize it that I am wholly and heartily glad he's gone; albeit Iliked him much better this time than I did before."

  Celestia Ann had left months ago, and they had had very indifferenthelp during Mr. Dinsmore's visit, though fortunately such as they couldkeep away from the table when their guest was present at it.

  Mildred went on now to express her satisfaction that such had been thecase, adding, "What would he have done if Miss Hunsinger had been here,and in her usual fashion asserted her right to show that she feltherself as good as he or anybody else?"

  "He'd have annihilated her with a look," laughed Rupert.

  "He would have acted like the perfect gentleman he is," said Mrs. Keith,"but it would have been exceedingly mortifying to me to have him soinsulted at my table; for as he has been brought up, he could not avoidfeeling it an insult to be put on a social equality with one so rude andvulgar."

  "The house feels lonely," said Zillah, "it seems 'most as if AuntWealthy had just gone away."

  "We'll get our sewing and a book," said her mother, "Come all into thesitting-room. Rupert may be the reader this time.

  "Mildred, you and I will have to be very busy now with the fall sewing."

  "Yes mother dear; it's a blessing to have plenty of employment. But doyou think I shall need to give up my studies for a time?"

  "No, daughter, I hope not. I want you to go on with them; Mr. Lord saysyou are doing so nicely. Your cousin, too, told me he thought you weregetting a better--more thorough--education with him, than you would belikely to in any school for girls that he knows of."

  Mildred's eyes sparkled, and cousin Horace took a warmer place in heraffections than he had held before. It was well, for it needed all thatto keep her from disliking him for his indifference toward hismotherless little one, when, a few days later, she heard his story fromher mother's lips.

  They had a very busy fall and winter, missing sorely Miss Stanhope'sloved companionship and her help in the family sewing, the putting up offruit--the pickling and preserving, indeed in every department ofhousehold work; and in nothing more than in the care of the sick.

  Letters came from her at rare intervals--for mails were infrequent inthose days and postage was very high--were read and re-read, then putcarefully by to be enjoyed again when time and opportunity could befound for another perusal. They were not the brief statements of factsthat letters of the present day generally are, but long chatty epistles,giving in pleasing detail, her own doings and those of old friends andacquaintances, and all that had happened in Lansdale since they left;telling of her pets, of the books she read and what she thought of them.

  Then there were kind inquiries, conjectures as to what they were doingand thinking; answers to their questions, and words of counsel and oftender sympathy in their joys and sorrows.

  Many a laugh did they give their readers, and many a tear was droppedupon their pages. They so loved the dear old lady and could almost hearthe sweet tones of her voice as they read or repeated to each other, herquaint sayings.

  Fall and winter passed, bringing with them no marked changes in thefamily, but very much the same round of work, study and diversion as inthe former year.

  The children grew, mentally and physically, now mother, and now sisterMildred, "teaching the young ideas how to shoot;" for they could notendure the thought of resigning the precious darlings to the tendermercies of Damaris Drybread, whose school was still the only one intown.

  The old intimacy was kept up in just the old way among the coterie ofsix, and the gossips vainly puzzled their brains with the question whichgirl was the admired and admirer of which young man.

  Mildred was happily freed from the visits of Ransquattle--of which LuGrange had become the impatient and disgusted recipient--and saw littleof Gotobed Lightcap, who, upon one excuse, or another, absented himselffrom most of the merry-makings of the young people.

  Indeed there had been scarcely any intercourse between the two familiessince the removal of the Keiths from the immediate neighborhood of theLightcaps; for there was no similarity of taste, no common bond ofinterest to draw them together; nothing in truth, save a kind andfriendly feeling toward each other; and as regarded Rhoda Jane, eventhis was lacking.

  She had never yet forgiven Mildred's rejection of her brother and almosthated her for it, though she knew naught of her added offense in thematter of the criticism on his letter. That was a secret which Gotobedkept faithfully locked in his own breast.

  The spring opened early for that climate; with warm rains that broughtvegetation forward rapidly.

  The Keith children revelled in out door work and play; each of theyounger ones had a little garden to dig and plant as he or she pleased,and a pet hen or two in the chicken yard, and there was muchgood-natured rivalry as to who should have the earliest vegetables, thegreatest variety of flowers, the largest broods of young chicks, or themost newly laid eggs to present to father and mother, or the invalid ofthe hour; for the old enemy--ague--still visited them occasionally; nowone, now another, or it might be several at once, succumbing to itsattacks.

  However, the lion's share of both gardening and poultry-raising fell toRupert; who busied himself out of study hours, with these and manylittle odd jobs of repairing and adorning--such as mending fences,putting up trellises, training vines and trimming shrubbery and trees.

  The mother and Mildred found so much to do within doors, that someoversight and direction of these younger workers, and the partial careof a few flower-beds near the house, were all they could undertakeoutside.

  They had been without a domestic for some weeks, had passed through thetrying ordeal of the regular spring house-cleaning with only Mrs. Rood'sassistance, when one pleasant May morning, while dishing up breakfast,their hearts were gladdened by the sight of the sinewy form andenergetic countenance of Celestia Ann Hunsinger as she stepped in at thekitchen door with a characteristic salutation.

  "How d'ye, Mis' Keith? You don't want no help round here, do ye?"

  "We want just the sort of help we'll be sure of if you'll take off yourbonnet and stay," Mrs. Keith answered, giving her a hearty grip of thehand.

  "Then that's what I'll do and no mistake," returned the girl, settingdown a bundle on a chair, with the remark, "You see I've brought some o'my duds along," pulling off her sunbonnet and hanging it on a nail."Here, Miss Mildred, let me smash them 'taters."

  "So Mis' Keith, you've been buildin' since I was here last."

  "Yes; a new kitchen; so we could take the old for a dining-room and beless crowded."

  "It's awful nice; I always did like a good big kitching;--room to turnround and keep things straight."

  "It's going to be nicer still, Celestia Ann," said Rupert who had justcome in from his work in the garden, and was washing his handspreparatory to taking a seat at the table, "it wants a coat of paint onthe outside and I'm going to put it on myself, to-day."

  "Well, I never!" she ejaculated, "do ye think you're up to that?"

  "Of course I do; and so, I suppose, do father and mother; or theywouldn't have consented to let me try."

  "Well, there's nothin' like tryin'; as I've found out i
n my ownexperience," returned Miss Hunsinger, using her potato mashervigorously, "and I allers enjoy meetin' with folks that's willin' furit. But do you know, Mis' Keith, 'pears to me like 'I can't' comes theeasiest to most human critters' tongues of any two words in the Americanlanguage; and with more'n half on 'em they're lyin' words; yes, there'smore lies told in them two words than in any other ten. So there!" asshe laid down her masher to stir in the milk, butter and salt.

  "I'm afraid there is only too much truth in your remark," said Mrs.Keith, "but certainly no one can accuse you of a fondness for thatfavorite phrase of the indolent and ease-loving."

  "Thank you, Mis' Keith. I've lots of faults and failin's as well's therest o' the human family, but I'm certain sure there ain't no lazy bonein my body.

  "Here these taters is ready to set on the table, and I see you've gotyour steak and biscuits dished up. But I hain't inquired after thefam'ly. Anybody got the agur?"

  "No, I believe we are all well this morning thanks to a kind Providence.Rupert, call your father and the rest to breakfast."

  No frowns greeted Celestia Ann as she, with her accustomed nonchalance,took her place with the others. Everybody was glad to see her, becauseher arrival meant comparative rest for mother and Mildred, and more timeto be devoted by them to the loving care and entertainment of father andthe younger children.

  After breakfast, family worship. Then Mr. Keith went to his office andthe others scattered to their work or play. Sunbonnets and hats were inrequest among the little ones; for mother had given permission to go outif they would be careful to keep on the gravel walks till the dew wasoff the grass.

  Sister Mildred gave kind assistance, and away they ran, while she andZillah and Ada, old enough now to begin to be useful about the house,made beds, dusted and set things to rights in sleeping and dwellingrooms, and Rupert donned a suit of overalls and went to his chosentask.

  Celestia Ann needed but little direction or oversight, and in half anhour Mrs. Keith repaired to the sitting-room.

  What a pleasant place it seemed as she came in!--fresh and bright fromits recent cleaning, neat as a new pin, the open windows looking outupon the grassy side yard, with its shrubbery and trees clothed in vividgreen, and giving a charming view of the clear waters of the swiftlyflowing river sparkling in the sunlight.

  "Isn't it a lovely morning, mother?" cried Mildred, whose gracefulfigure was flitting about here and there, putting a few finishingtouches to the adornments of the room. "I think the sunshine was neverbrighter, the air never sweeter. It is a luxury just to live! Hark tothat robin's song and the sweet prattling of the little voices you and Ilove so well! And I feel as blithe and gay as a bird."

  "Yes, dear child," said the mother, happy tears springing to her eyes,"Oh, how great is His goodness to us unworthy creatures! so much ofmercy and blessing here and the certainty of endless joy and blissbeyond! Life has its dark and dreary days, but after all there is moreof brightness, to those who look for it, than of gloom."

  "I believe that is true, mother," responded Mildred, "though when thedark and dreary days are upon us, it is sometimes very difficult to holdfast to one's faith.

  "I do love this time of year," she added, leaning from the window towatch the ferryboat slowly crossing,

  "'Sweet spring, full of sweet days and roses, A box where sweets compacted lie.'"

  "Come, let us go out; I think we may spare an hour to the garden thismorning," Mrs. Keith said gayly, leading the way. "What a blessing,among others, it is to have a good reliable girl in the kitchen!"

  "Yes," laughed Mildred, "I could almost have hugged Celestia Ann; I wasso glad to see her. What do you suppose brought her just at this time,mother?"

  "Need of money for summer finery, I presume. See, our morning gloriesare coming up nicely."

  "Mother, mother, and Milly," cried Fan running to them in an ecstasy ofdelight, "my speckled hen has thirteen little chicks, the prettiest bitsof fuzzy things you ever saw. Do come and look!"

  She turned and sped back again toward the chicken yard, mother andsister following.

  The other three little ones were there watching "Speckle" and her broodwith intense interest.

  "See! see! mamma, Milly! see! see!" cried Baby Annis in a flutter ofdelight, holding her little skirts close to her chubby legs, as the"bits of fuzzy things" ran hither and thither about her feet, "pitty'ittle chickies, dust tum out of eggs."

  "Yes, dears, they are very pretty," Mrs. Keith said; "but they are verytender little things; so be careful not to hurt them. No, Cyril, don'tpick them up, and be sure you don't step on them. You may go to thehouse for some bread crumbs, Fan, and you and Annis may feed them."

  This permission gave great pleasure, and Fan's small feet went skippingand dancing through the garden in the direction of the kitchen door.

  Then mother must look at Annis's hen sitting on her nest, and notice howthe older broods, belonging to Cyril and Don, were growing in size andstrength; Zillah's and Ada's also; and hear how many eggs the othernests had furnished this morning.

  After that the gardens were submitted to her inspection, Mildred stillbearing her company, both making suggestions and giving assistance.

  And so a full hour had slipped by before they returned to the house, andRupert, they found, had made great progress with his work.

  "I've painted the whole end, mother; do you see?" he called to her; "andnow I'm beginning this side. I think I'll have the whole job doneto-day."

  "You have been very industrious," she said, "but don't make haste sofast that it will not be done well."

  "Oh, no, ma'am, I don't intend to."

  He was at the top of his ladder and near the roof of the new one-storyaddition to their house.

  "Take care, my son," said Mrs. Keith; "it seems to me your ladderdoesn't stand very securely. Is there no danger of its slipping?"

  "Never a bit, mother," laughed the boy "why what should make it slip?"

  She and Mildred turned and walked on toward the front of the house, hadjust set foot upon the porch there, when a shout from Rupert startledthem and made them pause and look back at him.

  They saw the ladder slip, slip then slide rapidly to the ground, whilewith a cry of alarm they rushed toward him.

  But they were much too far off to reach him in time to be of the leastassistance. Down he came to the ground, falling with considerableimpetus and alighting upon his feet, his brush in one hand, his paintpot in the other, striking with a force that sent the paint all over hisperson.

  He reeled and dropped.

  "Are you hurt? oh, my boy, are you much hurt?" asked his mothertremulously, as she hurried to him, looking very pale and frightened.

  "My clothes have got the worst of it, I believe, mother," he said,laughing and staggering to his feet. "I'm afraid they've robbed thehouse of half its new coat."

  The others came running from chicken-yard and garden; Celestia Ann pokedher head out of the kitchen window, and a peal of laughter met him fromall sides.

  "I dare say I cut quite a comical figure," he said, taking it in goodpart, "but since I've broken no bones, I wouldn't care a red cent, if itwasn't for the loss of the paint and the damage to my illegant attire.

  "'O what a fall was there, my countrymen.'"

  "Since you are unhurt, no matter for the clothes; even if they were anelegant suit," said his mother, with a sigh of relief.

  "But half the paint's gone, mother--or at least put upon my person whereit's worse than useless," cried the lad, surveying himself with anexpression so comically lugubrious that there was a fresh explosion ofmirth.

  "Never mind; it will not cost a great deal to replace it," said Mrs.Keith. "But I think the job may wait now till we can get a regularhouse-painter to finish it up."

  "What! would you have me give up so easily, mother, and own myselfbeaten? I don't like to do it. Please let me try again, and I'll placethe ladder more carefully."

  "I don't know; we'll ask your father first. There's no special has
teand--how would you all like to go with me for a walk? a nice long strolldown to the bridge, and over the river, to look for wild flowers."

  The proposal was greeted with loud acclamations and clapping of hands."Oh, delightful!" "Oh goodie! goodie!" "May we mother?"

  "Yes; we've all been working hard this long time, and I think reallydeserve a holiday. Rupert, make yourself decent and we'll set out atonce, taking a lunch with us, so that we need not hurry home."

  "Tan I do, mamma? tan Annis do?" asked the baby girl eagerly, the rosyface all aglow with delight.

  "Yes, indeed, mother's darling; you shall go in your little coach;because your dear little feet couldn't travel fast enough to keep upwith the rest, and would get so tired."

  "Do we need to be dressed up, mother?" asked Fan, "me and Don and allthe children?"

  "No, dear; we don't go through town and are dressed quite enough for thewoods."

  They were soon on the way, strolling leisurely along, drinking in withkeen enjoyment the sweet sights and sounds.

  The sky over their heads was of a dark celestial blue with here andthere a floating cloud of snowy whiteness, whose shadow flitted over thelandscape, giving to it a charming variety of light and shade.

  Their road lay along the bank of the river and its soft murmur mingledwith the hum of insects and the song of birds. The grass beneath theirfeet was emerald green thickly studded with wild flowers of every hue,and the groves of saplings through which they passed were fast donningtheir summer robes.

  The bridge was a rough wooden structure half a mile below the town;quite out of danger of crowding the houses of the citizens or doing muchinjury to the custom of the ferry.

  The walk was a longer one than the younger children were accustomed totake, but there was no occasion for haste--they were in search of restand pleasure, and when little feet grew weary, mother let them stop andamuse themselves with making wreaths and bouquets of the flowers theyhad gathered, or by throwing stones into the river, till they were readyto go on again.

  They did not go far beyond the bridge; only climbed the bank, on theother side, picked a few flowers there, and were ready to return.