the bright may sunshine shone upon the moat house with its ivy-clad walls, and peeped into the library where sir jasper amery was seated, pen in hand, before his writing-table. a short thin old man was sir jasper, with a pale, wrinkled countenance, and snow-white hair, which was brushed smoothly back from a somewhat massive forehead. presently, as a ray of sunshine flickered across his face, he glanced up quickly, revealing a pair of sharp grey eyes, deep-set beneath overhanging brows.
"dear me, i had nearly forgotten all about them!" he muttered, as he laid down his pen. "it's almost five o'clock. time for them to be here."
rising, he hobbled rather than walked to the door, for he was crippled with rheumatism, and went into the hall, where he encountered mrs. mallock, his housekeeper, who had been in his service many years.
"has the carriage gone to meet my niece and her children?" he inquired.
"yes, sir jasper," was the prompt reply; "your instructions have been carried out to the letter. the rooms in the east wing have been put in order, and very home-like and comfortable they look, i do assure you! mrs. wallis will be hard to please if she is not satisfied."
sir jasper nodded approvingly. taking his hat he went out-of-doors to wait for his visitors.
the moat house was indeed beautifully situated, and from the terrace which fronted the dining-room and drawing-room windows, the surrounding country was plainly visible for miles, pleasant meadow lands, and woods now decked in their freshest spring garb, stretching as far as the eye could see. the moat, which had originally been full of water, had been filled in, and had been prettily laid out as a rock garden, where shrubs of various kinds flourished, and flowers peeped between the rough boulders which looked as though nature and not man had placed them there in such picturesque confusion. sir jasper's eyes wandered from the tresses of golden laburnum flowers, and purple and white lilac now in full bloom, to the distant high road along which he expected to see the carriage pass which had been sent to the railway station, two miles distant, to meet his guests. he had not long to wait before it appeared in sight, and five minutes later it had passed up the wide carriage drive which cut through the rock garden in place of the bridge which had originally spanned the moat, and had drawn up before the front door.
sir jasper hastened to greet his visitors, doing so very cordially. he had not seen his niece since her girlhood, and he noticed she had greatly changed. trouble, and many small carking worries, had left their traces upon her countenance; and a look of patient resignation had taken the place of the bright, hopeful expression which had once been her chief charm in his eyes.
"welcome, dear margaret!" he said. "i am rejoiced that you have come. you will have patience with an old man who has lost all his happiness in life."
"do not say that, uncle jasper," she replied, gently, as she kissed his withered cheek. "i too have seen much sorrow, but it has been god's will."
"still the old faith!" he exclaimed, with a look of surprise.
"yes," she answered steadily, "still the old faith, that what god does is best." her face brightened as she spoke, and he recognized the expression he had missed at first, as she quoted with a smile:
"god's in his heaven— all's right with the world!"
he made no reply, but turned to the girls, who were regarding him with slightly veiled curiosity.
"this is my elder daughter," mrs. wallis told him, indicating celia, who smiled and blushed as sir jasper's eyes rested searchingly on her countenance.
"what is your name, my dear?" sir jasper asked, shaking hands with her cordially.
"celia," she answered.
"well, celia, you must call me uncle jasper. i am your great-uncle, you know. what a pretty child!" he added in an undertone to mrs. wallis, but celia heard the words and her blush deepened with pleasure.
"and this is joyce," mrs. wallis proceeded, hastily, "but we always call her joy."
"joy," he echoed. "joy. that means gladness—happiness! poor child, i hope the name will never appear in the light of a mockery to her."
"i hope not. i do not think it will," mrs. wallis responded, but she glanced uneasily at joy, who was regarding sir jasper with astonished grey eyes, wondering why he should speak of her in such a decidedly pitying tone.
"no doubt you are all tired after your long journey," he remarked, "so come into the house, and let mrs. mallock show you your rooms. you remember my housekeeper, margaret? yes, i still have the same. i have had her put the east wing in order for you, and i hope you will find everything to your taste. i am somewhat of a recluse myself, nowadays, and never go outside the grounds; my doctor enjoins quietude, yet he thinks i spend too much time over my books. i have been looking forward to your society with much pleasurable anticipation, but i fear you will find me not a very cheerful companion."
mrs. wallis cast a look of quick sympathy at the bent form of the little old man, as he preceded her into the hall, and her answer showed her compassion for his loneliness, and at the same time evinced her desire to be perfectly straightforward.
"when i accepted your invitation; it was with the hope that i might be a comfort to you, uncle jasper," she said, "though i thought of myself as well, and of my children, whom i believe will benefit by the change. you know," she added, candidly, "that i have had as much as i could do to make both ends meet."
he nodded comprehendingly; and then mrs. mallock came forward to escort the visitors to their rooms. she had known mrs. wallis in the old days, and, like sir jasper, was struck by the change in her appearance.
"ah, ma'am," she exclaimed, "i am glad to see you, indeed! i'm sure you'll benefit by a breath of devonshire air."
she led the way upstairs, talking volubly the while, and assuring celia that she was exactly in appearance like her mother had been at her age, a remark which celia received in dead silence, wondering if it could possibly be true; afterwards, when she heard the same from sir jasper's lips, she concluded that it was.
mrs. wallis expressed herself very pleased with all the arrangements the housekeeper had made for her comfort, whilst the little girls were delighted with the bedroom which was allotted to them.
"how big it is!" joy exclaimed. "and, oh, what a great, high bed! look at the curtains around it! i declare it's almost as large as our room at home!" then she ran to the window, and uttered a cry of admiration. "oh, celia, what a lovely view! isn't it simply magnificent?"
"it is very pretty," celia replied, composedly.
"pretty!" joy echoed. "why, it is grand!"
"yes, it's very nice, and so is the house. the furniture is rather old, but it's very handsome. i should think uncle jasper must be exceedingly rich. he's a funny old man, isn't he? did you ever see sharper eyes? they seemed to look me through and through."
"i don't think he is very happy," joy remarked, reflectively. "i wonder what he meant by saying he hoped my name would never appear in the light of a mockery to me. wasn't it an odd thing to say?"
"very," celia replied, carelessly.
joy saw her sister was not attending to her, so she sat down on the broad, cushioned window-seat, and allowed her gaze to wander over the fair landscape, whilst celia, after closely scrutinising each article of furniture the room contained, turned her attention to the dressing-table, and thoughtfully regarded her countenance in the looking-glass. then she untied the ribbon which fastened back her golden locks, and commenced to brush her hair.
"you had better put yourself tidy, joy," she advised her sister, presently; "didn't you hear mrs. mallock tell mother that tea would be served in the dining-room almost directly? i should have thought uncle jasper would have dined late, but it appears he does not."
"i'm glad he doesn't," joy replied. "i like a regular sit-down tea, because we're accustomed to it, and so does eric. oh, here's mother!" she cried, as mrs. wallis entered the room. "oh, mother, you're ready to go downstairs, i see! don't go before us."
"are you afraid you will lose your way?" mrs. wallis inquired, with a smile, as joy dashed to the wash-hand stand, and began hastily to bathe the traces of travel from her face. "it is a large house, certainly, but not so large as all that. uncle jasper was very thoughtful in giving us the east wing to ourselves, and i believe we shall be very comfortable here. you will soon see if he desires your society, children; if he does, i hope you will endeavour to make him more cheerful; and if he does not, you will have no difficulty in keeping out of his way. poor old man! he has had so many sorrows and disappointments in his life."
"what did he mean when he spoke of my name, mother?" joy questioned, eagerly. "how could it ever be a mockery to me?"
"it could only be a mockery if you lost your faith in god, my dear. joy means gladness and happiness, as uncle jasper said; but, i fear, he does not realise that its foundation is trust in jesus christ."
"isn't uncle jasper a christian?" celia asked quickly.
for a moment mrs. wallis hesitated as though she hardly knew what answer to make, then she replied: "i believe he is professedly a christian, but i fear he does not possess the child-like, unquestioning faith which alone brings peace. you know, my dears, it is very difficult at all times to say 'thy will be done.'"
joy ran to her mother, and throwing her arms around her neck, gave her an impulsive kiss. she rightly guessed that mrs. wallis thinking of the grave in the cemetery at a— where her husband lay. joy had been very fond of her father, and though she had been too young at the time of his death to be told more than that he had gone on a long journey, she had always remembered him vividly, and could recall the sound of his voice, and his hearty laugh. what his loss had meant to her mother she could dimly understand. celia had been deeply attached to her father too, and there were regretful tears in her bright eyes as she thought of him now.
ten minutes later mrs. wallis and her little daughters entered the dining-room, where sir jasper was awaiting them. they took their seats at the large, square table, upon which a substantial meal was laid, to which the travellers did full justice, for they were hungry after their long journey. sir jasper exerted himself to be agreeable, and he and mrs. wallis discussed bygone days, which appeared to interest him more than the present time; whilst the little girls sat quietly listening, each experiencing a dream-like sensation of unreality, and almost feeling as though the large room with its handsome furniture and shining silver on the side-board, with its oak-panelled walls and pictures of short-waisted ladies, and gentle-men with frilled shirts and high stocks, would give place to the shabby little sitting-room at home. joy touched celia with her foot under the table to assure herself that she was really not dreaming; and celia awoke from her reverie with a start and a smile as she met her sister's eyes.
by-and-by, sir jasper turned his attention to his younger guests, and inquired what they thought of the moat house, and if they considered they would be able to make themselves happy beneath his roof.
joy answered him rather shyly; but celia was perfectly composed, and expressed admiration of his home so enthusiastically that he was evidently very gratified, and looked at her with most decided approval. after the meal was over, he drew her to the window, and pointed out a distant orchard, white as snow with apple blossoms; and, afterwards, at her suggestion, accompanied his guests out-of-doors, and sat down on a garden seat with mrs. wallis for a companion, whilst the young people explored the grounds.
"you are a rich woman, margaret," he said impressively, his eyes following the children's forms as they continually disappeared and reappeared between the boulders in the rock garden. "that elder girl of yours is a beauty. is your boy good-looking, too?"
"people tell me he is a handsome lad," she replied, smiling. "celia is very pretty, i know. i hope you will not spoil her, uncle jasper."
"pooh!" he cried, "she does not take after her mother in disposition if she can be spoilt! how well and sensibly she talks! she appears very observant."
"in some ways she is older than her years, and i regret it," mrs. wallis remarked, a shade of uneasiness crossing her face. "joy is much more childish; but, of course, she is two years younger than her sister."
"i suppose you considered my invitation a strange one," sir jasper said, abruptly; "i know you did from what tillotson told me, and from your hesitation in agreeing to comply with my request. i am glad you decided to humour an old man's whim, my dear," he added, meaningly; "believe me, neither you nor yours will be the worse off eventually from the fact of your having done so."
