by L. T. Meade
She entreated her brothers to catch some of them, that she mighthold them in her hand; and they soon collected several, and put them inher hair, so that she looked as if crowned with a wreath of stars.
It was now night, and, under the dim light of a half-moon, the children,weary with the previous day's exertion, lay down to rest. Nanny'sstarry crown soon disappeared; nightingales struck up their thrillingnotes, crickets chirped, soft airs whispered among the trees, littlebirds, with their heads under their wings, roosted in the boughsoverhead, and the children soon fell fast asleep, safe under theirHeavenly Father's protection.
It was bright daylight ere the little ones opened their eyes. They soonrecollected themselves, for at first they looked about, wondering wherethey were, and having risen and breakfasted on bread and honey, with adrink of milk, were not long in setting off again on their travels.
So far we have followed them. They had escaped without discovery, theirdaily wants had been supplied, and they trusted to be before long happywith their grandfather.
We shall not, however, be surprised to hear that, while they had beenpeacefully pursuing their way, there had been no small stir in theiruncle's house. When he found the children missing, he was almost besidehimself with rage. What now would become of all his fine dreams for thefuture? They had already helped to fill his purse with gold, and helooked forward greedily to more gains in time to come. Find them hemust. Inquiries were made in every direction, advertisements put in thepublic papers, bills pasted on the walls, police put on the search.What would he not do to get them back again? He himself drove out tothe country; fortunately, however, or rather God so ordered it, he tookthe opposite direction to that which the children had taken.
Three days had passed, and the boys were beginning to be very weary andfootsore.
In the evening they were wondering what to do, and where to go for thenight, when they saw a large number of gentlemen and servants onhorseback coming towards them. It was a hunting party returning home.
"Hallo! hallo!" cried one of them; "here's some fine game. Why, thesemust be the runaway children about whom there has been such a hue andcry in Vienna. Hold! stop! you are caught," he continued, addressinghimself to the terrified little ones. "Come away with us, and to-morrowwe will send you home."
Nanny clasped her hands, and bursting into a flood of tears, exclaimed,"Please, sir, oh, please not to send us back to uncle!" and Hans,trembling in every limb, begged them to have pity.
Toni was the only one of the three who remained calm, saying in acheerful voice to his sister, "Do not be frightened, Nanny; the good Godknows all."
By this time the rest of the party had come up, and among them a tall,elderly man with white hair, who smiled kindly on the children, anddirected one of his servants to take them to the castle. They wereaccordingly lifted on to a truck that was conveying the game, the resultof the day's sport; their own little cart was slung on behind; and sothey arrived at a beautiful house standing in a large park. Nanny andHans, sobbing bitterly, with their little arms round one another, wereseated on a roebuck. Toni, sitting opposite, looked so smiling, tryingin his own quiet way to comfort them, that they at length began to lookbrighter and dried their tears.
When they arrived the castle was brilliantly lighted. The children werelifted down and led into a large hall, where a number of ladies wereassembled, waiting to receive the party, who had been away since earlymorning.
As you may imagine, great was the astonishment when the little ones werebrought in, and many questions were put to them; but it was not till thearrival of the gentlemen that they understood what it all meant.
When they were at length joined by the lord of the castle, he went up tothe children, and, looking kindly at them, endeavoured to gain theirconfidence. He began by gently inquiring the cause of their leavingtheir uncle's house. "Was he unkind to you?" he asked.
"Not exactly, sir," quickly replied the little girl; "but I danced tillI could dance no longer. I felt as if I was going to die."
"It is all true, sir," said Hans. "Toni and I were afraid we shouldlose our little sister."
"I am sure it was God's will we should try and save her," interruptedToni.
"It was _God's will_? How did you know that, little one?"
"Why, sir, it must have been God who put a thought into my mind that Iought to get her away. When uncle would make her dance, dance till shefell down and did not know anything, and looked so pale, I thought shewas dead. Then I know He must have helped us to make the little cart,and to keep it hidden so that uncle did not see it; and He has led usthe right way, and given us food to eat when we were hungry."
"Who taught you all that, my boy?"
"Nobody, sir," answered Toni; "only father and mother used to talk aboutGod ordering everything, and told us to remember, and that perhaps someday we should see it for ourselves."
"Who were your parents?" asked the gentleman, much interested.
"I can hardly tell you; but they were God's children, for they calledHim Father."
"But what was your father? That was what I meant. What did he do?"
"Well, sir, in the morning he came and woke us and gave us a kiss, andwhen we were dressed, he read to us out of the big book; after breakfasthe went out to teach music, I think, and when he came home he taught usto read and write: that was what he did."
"Did your father not leave you anything?"
"Leave us anything?" said the boy thoughtfully. "I heard him say onceto mother when he was ill, `If we die we shall have nothing to leavethem, but God will be their friend.'"
"Was it your father's wish that you should live with your uncle?"
"I never heard him say so; but he was talking to mother one day, and hesaid grandfather was a good old man, and could teach us to be good, andthen he went on, `My brother is a wild fellow, but the Lord will be withthem and will do for them what is best.'"
"And do you think you will be able to reach your grandfather's homeafter all?"
"Yes, sir, indeed I do."
"But we must send you back to your uncle--at least, so the police say--and what then?"
"No one can send us back unless it is God's will we should go: fathersaid He is stronger than men."
"But how will God hinder it?"
"That I cannot tell. He has promised to help those who call upon Him,and what He promises He is sure to do; mother taught us that."
All who were standing round the children were touched by the simplefaith of this young boy, and the gentleman was silent for a moment,while a tear came into his eye. Then he said, "The Saviour's words comehome to me with fresh force, `Except ye become as little children, yeshall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.'"
The children were then put under the housekeeper's charge, who gave thema good supper, of which they were much in need. The pretty andcomfortable beds were not less welcome, where they slept soundly tilllong after the sun had risen.
At this house our little friends remained till matters were arrangedwith their uncle. Letters were dispatched telling him they had beenfound. He was very unwilling to give them up; but at last all obstacleswere removed, and their grandfather's address having been procured, theywere in due time sent to him under charge of a faithful servant.
No doubt the old man gave them a hearty welcome. We can tell you littlefarther about them, but we know they helped to cheer his old age. Theydid what they could to lighten his cares; Nanny learnt to play skilfullyon the harp, so that in course of time, when her grandfather's eyesightfailed, she was able to fill his place. When the young people were outat any time on errands or work, and their grandfather was left alone,the trusty Pomeranian they had named "Caesar" remained in the house ashis companion; and when the old man became feeble, and had to rest oftenin bed, the faithful creature slept at his feet, keeping kindly watchover his aged master.
Nor must I forget to add that twice every year, at Christmas and Easter,one of the servants was sent from the castle (though it was a
long waydistant) with a large basket of provisions. With what delight, you mayimagine, the hamper was opened and the contents, one by one, taken out!In autumn, too, when the fruit was ripe, some grapes and peachesoccasionally found their way to the humble cottage-home.
I think I cannot better conclude this story than by telling you thatwhen the good old man was dying, Nanny was found with her harp at hisbedside, playing one of the Tyrolese hymns about "the glories ofHeaven." The old man listened in rapture, with his hands clasped, tillhe entered its Golden Gates.--_Translated from the German_.
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The End.
