soon after dinner, and before she had got acquainted with half hernew possessions, dr. alec proposed a drive, to carry round the firstinstalment of gifts to the aunts and cousins. rose was quite readyto go, being anxious to try a certain soft burnous from the box,which not only possessed a most engaging little hood, but hadfunny tassels bobbing in all directions.
the big carriage was full of parcels, and even ben's seat wasloaded with indian war clubs, a chinese kite of immense size, anda pair of polished ox-horns from africa. uncle alec, very blue asto his clothes, and very brown as to his face, sat bolt upright,surveying well known places with interest, while rose, feelingunusually elegant and comfortable, leaned back folded in her softmantle, and played she was an eastern princess making a royalprogress among her subjects.
at three of the places their calls were brief, for aunt myra'scatarrh was unusually bad; aunt clara had a room full ofcompany; and aunt jane showed such a tendency to discuss thepopulation, productions, and politics of europe, asia and africa,that even dr. alec was dismayed, and got away as soon aspossible.
"now we will have a good time! i do hope the boys will be athome," said rose, with a sigh of relief, as they wound yet higherup the hill to aunt jessie's.
"i left this for the last call, so that we might find the lads just infrom school. yes, there is jamie on the gate watching for us; nowyou'll see the clan gather; they are always swarming abouttogether."the instant jamie saw the approaching guests he gave a shrillwhistle, which was answered by echoes from meadow, house andbarn, as the cousins came running from all directions, shouting,"hooray for uncle alec!" they went at the carriage likehighwaymen, robbed it of every parcel, took the occupantsprisoners, and marched them into the house with great exultation.
"little mum! little mum! here they are with lots of goodies! comedown and see the fun right away! quick!" bawled will andgeordie amidst a general ripping off of papers and a recklesscutting of strings that soon turned the tidy room into a chaos.
down came aunt jessie with her pretty cap half on, but such abeaming face below it that one rather thought the fly-awayhead-gear an improvement than otherwise. she had hardly time togreet rose and the doctor before the boys were about her, eachclamouring for her to see his gift and rejoice over it with him, for"little mum" went halves in everything. the great hornsskirmished about her as if to toss her to the ceiling; the war clubshurtled over her head as if to annihilate her; an amazing medleyfrom the four quarters of the globe filled her lap, and seven excitedboys all talked to her at once.
but she liked it; oh dear, yes! and sat smiling, admiring, andexplaining, quite untroubled by the din, which made rose cover upher ears and dr. alec threaten instant flight if the riot was notquelled. that threat produced a lull, and while the uncle receivedthanks in one corner, the aunt had some little confidences made toher in the other.
"well, dear, and how are things going with you now? better, ihope, than they were a week ago.""aunt jessie, i think i'm going to be very happy, now uncle hascome. he does the queerest things, but he is so good to me i can'thelp loving him"; and, nestling closer to little mum, rose told allthat had happened, ending with a rapturous account of the splendidbox.
"i am very glad, dear. but, rose, i must warn you of one thing;don't let uncle spoil you.""but i like to be spoilt, auntie.""i don't doubt it; but if you turn out badly when the year is over hewill be blamed, and his experiment prove a failure. that would bea pity, wouldn't it? when he wants to do so much for you, and cando it if his kind heart does not get in the way of his goodjudgment.""i never thought of that, and i'll try not to be spoilt. but how can ihelp it?" asked rose anxiously.
"by not complaining of the wholesome things he wants you to do;by giving him cheerful obedience as well as love; and even makingsome small sacrifices for his sake.""i will, i truly will! and when i get in a worry about things may icome to you? uncle told me to, and i feel as if i shouldn't beafraid.""you may, darling; this is the place where little troubles are bestcured, and this is what mothers are for, i fancy"; and aunt jessiedrew the curly head to her shoulder with a tender look that provedhow well she knew what medicine the child most needed.
it was so sweet and comfortable that rose sat still enjoying it till alittle voice said"mamma, don't you think pokey would like some of my shells?
rose gave phebe some of her nice things, and it was very good ofher. can i?""who is pokey?" asked rose, popping up her head, attracted by theodd name.
"my dolly; do you want to see her?" asked jamie, who had beenmuch impressed by the tale of adoption he had overheard.
"yes; i'm fond of dollies, only don't tell the boys, or they will laughat me.""they don't laugh at me, and they play with my dolly a great deal;but she likes me best"; and jamie ran away to produce his pet.
"i brought my old doll, but i keep her hidden because i am too bigto play with her, and yet i can't bear to throw her away, i'm so fondof her," said rose, continuing her confidences in a whisper.
"you can come and play with jamie's whenever you like, for webelieve in dollies up here," began aunt jessie, smiling to herself asif something amused her.
just then jamie came back, and rose understood the smile, for hisdolly proved to be a pretty four-year-old little girl, who trotted inas fast as her fat legs would carry her, and making straight for theshells, scrambled up an armful, saying, with a laugh that showedher little white teeth"all for dimmy and me, for dimmy and me!""that's my dolly; isn't she a nice one?" asked jamie, proudlysurveying his pet with his hands behind him and his short legsrather far apart a manly attitude copied from his brothers.
"she is a dear dolly. but why call her pokey?" asked rose,charmed with the new plaything.
"she is such an inquisitive little body she is always poking thatmite of a nose into everything; and as paul pry did not suit, theboys fell to calling her pokey. not a pretty name, but veryexpressive."it certainly was, for, having examined the shells, the busy tot laidhold of everything she could find, and continued her researches tillarchie caught her sucking his carved ivory chessmen to see if theywere not barley sugar. rice paper pictures were also discoveredcrumpled up in her tiny pocket, and she nearly smashed will'sostrich egg by trying to sit upon it.
"here, jim, take her away; she's worse than the puppies, and wecan't have her round," commanded the elder brother, picking herup and handing her over to the little fellow, who received her withopen arms and the warning remark"you'd better mind what you do, for i'm going to 'dopt pokey likerose did phebe, and then you'll have to be very good to her, youbig fellows.""'dopt away, baby, and i'll give you a cage to keep her in, or youwon't have her long, for she is getting worse than a monkey"; andarchie went back to his mates, while aunt jessie, foreseeing acrisis, proposed that jamie should take his dolly home, as she wasborrowed, and it was time her visit ended.
"my dolly is better than yours, isn't she? 'cause she can walk andtalk and sing and dance, and yours can't do anything, can she?"asked jamie with pride, as he regarded his pokey, who just thenhad been moved to execute a funny little jig and warble thewell-known couplet"'puss-tat, puss-tat, where you been?'
'i been lunnin, to saw a tween."'
after which superb display she retired, escorted by jamie, bothmaking a fearful din blowing on conch shells.
"we must tear ourselves away, rose, because i want to get youhome before sunset. will you come for a drive, jessie?" said dr.
alec, as the music died away in the distance.
"no, thank you; but i see the boys want a scamper, so, if you don'tmind, they may escort you home, but not go in. that is onlyallowed on holidays."the words were hardly out of aunt jessie's mouth when archiesaid, in a tone of command"pass the word, lads. boot and saddle, and be quick about it.""all right!" and in a moment not a vestige of boy remained but thelitter on the floor.
the cavalcade went down the hill at a pace that made rose clingto her uncle's arm, for the fat old horses got excited by the anticsof the ponies careering all about them, and went as fast as theycould pelt, with the gay dog-cart rattling in front, for archie andcharlie scorned shelties since this magnificent equipage had beenset up. ben enjoyed the fun, and the lads cut up capers till rosedeclared that "circus" was the proper name for them after all.
when they reached the house they dismounted, and stood, three oneach side the steps, in martial attitudes, while her ladyship washanded out with great elegance by uncle alec. then the clansaluted, mounted at word of command, and with a wild whoop toredown the avenue in what they considered the true arab style.
"that was splendid, now it is safely ended," said rose, skipping upthe steps with her head over her shoulder to watch the dear tasselsbob about.
"i shall get you a pony as soon as you are a little stronger," said dr.
alec, watching her with a smile.
"oh, i couldn't ride one of those horrid, frisky little beasts! theyroll their eyes and bounce about so, i should die of fright," criedrose, clasping her hands tragically.
"are you a coward?""about horses i am.""never mind, then; come and see my new room"; and he led theway upstairs without another word.
as rose followed she remembered her promise to aunt jessie, andwas sorry she had objected so decidedly. she was a great dealmore sorry five minutes later, and well she might be.
"now, take a good look, and tell me what you think of it," said dr.
alec, opening the door and letting her enter before him, whilephebe was seen whisking down the backstairs with a dust-pan.
rose walked to the middle of the room, stood still, and gazedabout her with eyes that brightened as they looked, for all waschanged.
this chamber had been built out over the library to suit somefancy, and had been unused for years, except at christmas times,when the old house overflowed. it had three windows one to theeast, that overlooked the bay; one to the south, where thehorse-chestnuts waved their green fans; and one to the west,towards the hill and the evening sky. a ruddy sunset burned therenow, filling the room with an enchanted glow; the soft murmur ofthe sea was heard, and a robin chirped "good-night!" among thebudding trees.
rose saw and heard these things first, and felt their beauty with achild's quick instinct; then her eye took in the altered aspect of theroom, once so shrouded, still and solitary, now so full of light andwarmth and simple luxury.
india matting covered the floor, with a gay rug here and there; theantique andirons shone on the wide hearth, where a cheery blazedispelled the dampness of the long-closed room. bamboo loungesand chairs stood about, and quaint little tables in cosy corners; onebearing a pretty basket, one a desk, and on a third lay severalfamiliar-looking books. in a recess stood a narrow white bed, witha lovely madonna hanging over it. the japanese screen half-foldedback showed a delicate toilet service of blue and white set forth ona marble slab, and near by was the great bath-pan, with turkishtowels and a sponge as big as rose's head.
"uncle must love cold water like a duck," she thought, with ashiver.
then her eye went on to the tall cabinet, where a half-open doorrevealed a tempting array of the drawers, shelves and "cubbyholes," which so delight the hearts of children.
"what a grand place for my new things," she thought, wonderingwhat her uncle kept in that cedar retreat.
"oh me, what a sweet toilet table!" was her next mentalexclamation, as she approached this inviting spot.
a round old-fashioned mirror hung over it, with a gilt eagle a-top,holding in his beak the knot of blue ribbon that tied up a curtain ofmuslin falling on either side of the table, where appeared littleivory-handled brushes, two slender silver candle-sticks, a porcelainmatch-box, several pretty trays for small matters, and, mostimposing of all, a plump blue silk cushion, coquettishly trimmedwith lace, and pink rose-buds at the corners.
that cushion rather astonished rose; in fact, the whole table did,and she was just thinking, with a sly smile"uncle is a dandy, but i never should have guessed it," when heopened the door of a large closet, saying, with a careless wave ofthe hand"men like plenty of room for their rattle-traps; don't you think thatought to satisfy me?"rose peeped in and gave a start, though all she saw was what oneusually finds in closets clothes and boots, boxes and bags. ah! butyou see these clothes were small black and white frocks; the rowof little boots that stood below had never been on dr. alec's feet;the green bandbox had a gray veil straying out of it, and yes! thebag hanging on the door was certainly her own piece-bag, with ahole in one corner. she gave a quick look round the room andunderstood now why it had seemed too dainty for a man, why hertestament and prayer book were on the table by the bed, and whatthose rose-buds meant on the blue cushion. it came upon her inone delicious burst that this little paradise was all for her, and, notknowing how else to express her gratitude, she caught dr. alecround the neck, saying impetuously"o uncle, you are too good to me! i'll do anything you ask me; ridewild horses and take freezing baths and eat bad-tasting messes, andlet my clothes hang on me, to show how much i thank you for thisdear, sweet, lovely room!""you like it, then? but why do you think it is yours, my lass?"asked dr. alec, as he sat down looking well pleased, and drew hisexcited little niece to his knee.
"i don't think, i know it is for me; i see it in your face, and i feel asif i didn't half deserve it. aunt jessie said you would spoil me, andi must not let you. i'm afraid this looks like it, and perhaps oh me!
perhaps i ought not to have this beautiful room after all!" and rosetried to look as if she could be heroic enough to give it up if it wasbest.
"i owe mrs. jessie one for that," said dr. alec, trying to frown,though in his secret soul he felt that she was quite right. then hesmiled that cordial smile, which was like sunshine on his brownface, as he said"this is part of the cure, rose, and i put you here that you mighttake my three great remedies in the best and easiest way. plenty ofsun, fresh air, and cold water; also cheerful surroundings, andsome work; for phebe is to show you how to take care of thisroom, and be your little maid as well as friend and teacher. doesthat sound hard and disagreeable to you, dear?""no, sir; very, very pleasant, and i'll do my best to be a goodpatient. but i really don't think anyone could be sick in thisdelightful room," she said, with a long sigh of happiness as her eyewent from one pleasant object to another.
"then you like my sort of medicine better than aunt myra's, anddon't want to throw it out of the window, hey?"
