"come, little girl, i've got another dose for you. i fancy you won'ttake it as well as you did the last, but you will like it better after awhile," said dr. alec, about a week after the grand surprise.
rose was sitting in her pretty room, where she would gladly havespent all her time if it had been allowed; but she looked up with asmile, for she had ceased to fear her uncle's remedies, and wasalways ready to try a new one. the last had been a set of lightgardening tools, with which she had helped him put theflower-beds in order, learning all sorts of new and pleasant thingsabout the plants as she worked, for, though she had studied botanyat school, it seemed very dry stuff compared with uncle alec'slively lesson.
"what is it now?" she asked, shutting her work-box without amurmur.
"salt-water.""how must i take it?""put on the new suit miss hemming sent home yesterday, andcome down to the beach; then i'll show you.""yes, sir," answered rose obediently, adding to herself, with ashiver, as he went off: "it is too early for bathing, so i know it issomething to do with a dreadful boat."putting on the new suit of blue flannel, prettily trimmed withwhite, and the little sailor-hat with long streamers, diverted hermind from the approaching trial, till a shrill whistle reminded herthat her uncle was waiting. away she ran through the garden,down the sandy path, out upon the strip of beach that belonged tothe house, and here she found dr. alec busy with a slender red andwhite boat that lay rocking on the rising tide.
"that is a dear little boat; and 'bonnie belle' is a pretty name," shesaid, trying not to show how nervous she felt.
"it is for you; so sit in the stern and learn to steer, till you are readyto learn to row.""do all boats wiggle about in that way?" she asked, lingering as ifto tie her hat more firmly.
"oh, yes, pitch about like nutshells when the sea is a bit rough,"answered her sailor uncle, never guessing her secret woe.
"is it rough to-day?""not very; it looks a trifle squally to the eastward, but we are allright till the wind changes. come.""can you swim, uncle?" asked rose, clutching at his arm as hetook her hand.
"like a fish. now then.""oh, please hold me very tight till i get there! why do you have thestern so far away?" and, stifling several squeaks of alarm in herpassage, rose crept to the distant seat, and sat there holding onwith both hands and looking as if she expected every wave to bringa sudden shipwreck.
uncle alec took no notice of her fear, but patiently instructed herin the art of steering, till she was so absorbed in rememberingwhich was starboard and which larboard, that she forgot to say"ow!" every time a big wave slapped against the boat.
"now where shall we go?" she asked, as the wind blew freshly inher face, and a few, long swift strokes sent them half across thelittle bay.
"suppose we go to china?""isn't that rather a long voyage?""not as i go. steer round the point into the harbour, and i'll giveyou a glimpse of china in twenty minutes or so.""i should like that!" and rose sat wondering what he meant, whileshe enjoyed the new sights all about her.
behind them the green aunt-hill sloped gently upward to the groveat the top, and all along the seaward side stood familiar houses,stately, cosy, or picturesque. as they rounded the point, the greatbay opened before them full of shipping, and the city lay beyond,its spires rising above the tall masts with their gay streamers.
"are we going there?" she asked, for she had never seen this aspectof the rich and busy old city before.
"yes. uncle mac has a ship just in from hong kong, and i thoughtyou would like to go and see it.""oh, i should. i love dearly to go poking about in the warehouseswith uncle mac; everything is so curious and new to me; and i'mspecially interested in china because you have been there.""i'll show you two genuine chinamen who have just arrived. youwill like to welcome whang lo and fun see, i'm sure.""don't ask me to speak to them, uncle; i shall be sure to laugh atthe odd names and the pig-tails and the slanting eyes. please let mejust trot round after you; i like that best.""very well; now steer toward the wharf where the big ship with thequeer flag is. that's the 'rajah,' and we will go aboard if we can."in among the ships they went, by the wharves where the water wasgreen and still, and queer barnacles grew on the slippery piles. oddsmells saluted her nose, and odd sights met her eyes, but roseliked it all, and played she was really landing in hong kong whenthey glided up to the steps in the shadow of the tall "rajah." boxesand bales were rising out of the hold and being carried into thewarehouse by stout porters, who tugged and bawled and clatteredabout with small trucks, or worked cranes with iron claws thatcame down and clutched heavy weights, whisking them aloft towhere wide doors like mouths swallowed them up.
dr. alec took her aboard the ship, and she had the satisfaction ofpoking her inquisitive little nose into every available corner, at therisk of being crushed, lost, or drowned.
"well, child, how would you like to take a voyage round the worldwith me in a jolly old craft like this?" asked her uncle, as theyrested a minute in the captain's cabin.
"i should like to see the world, but not in such a small, untidy,smelly place as this. we would go in a yacht all clean andcomfortable; charlie says that is the proper way," answered rose,surveying the close quarters with little favour.
"you are not a true campbell if you don't like the smell of tar andsalt-water, nor charlie either, with his luxurious yacht. now comeashore and chin-chin with the celestials."after a delightful progress through the great warehouse, peepingand picking as they went, they found uncle mac and the yellowgentlemen in his private room, where samples, gifts, curiosities,and newly arrived treasures of all sorts were piled up in pleasingpro-fusion and con-fusion.
as soon as possible rose retired to a corner, with a porcelain godon one side, a green dragon on the other, and, what was still moreembarrassing, fun see sat on a tea-chest in front, and stared at herwith his beady black eyes till she did not know where to look.
mr. whang lo was an elderly gentleman in american costume,with his pig-tail neatly wound round his head. he spoke english,and was talking busily with uncle mac in the most commonplaceway so rose considered him a failure. but fun see wasdelightfully chinese from his junk-like shoes to the button on hispagoda hat; for he had got himself up in style, and was a mass ofsilk jackets and slouchy trousers. he was short and fat, andwaddled comically; his eyes were very "slanting," as rose said; hisqueue was long, so were his nails; his yellow face was plump andshiny, and he was altogether a highly satisfactory chinaman.
uncle alec told her that fun see had come out to be educated andcould only speak a little pigeon english; so she must be kind to thepoor fellow, for he was only a lad, though he looked nearly as oldas mr. whang lo. rose said she would be kind; but had not theleast idea how to entertain the queer guest, who looked as if he hadwalked out of one of the rice-paper landscapes on the wall, and satnodding at her so like a toy mandarin that she could hardly keepsober.
in the midst of her polite perplexity, uncle mac saw the two youngpeople gazing wistfully at one another, and seemed to enjoy thejoke of this making acquaintance under difficulties. taking a boxfrom his table, he gave it to fun see, with an order that seemed toplease him very much.
descending from his perch, he fell to unpacking it with greatneatness and despatch, while rose watched him, wondering whatwas going to happen. presently, out from the wrappings came ateapot, which caused her to clasp her hands with delight, for it wasmade in the likeness of a plump little chinaman. his hat was thecover, his queue the handle, and his pipe the nose. it stood uponfeet in shoes turned up at the toes, and the smile on the fat, sleepyface was so like that on fun's when he displayed the teapot, thatrose couldn't help laughing, which pleased him much.
two pretty cups with covers, and a fine scarlet tray completed theset, and made one long to have a "dish of tea," even in chinesestyle, without cream or sugar.
when he had arranged them on a little table before her, funsignified in pantomime that they were hers, from her uncle. shereturned her thanks in the same way, whereupon he returned to histea-chest, and, having no other means of communication, they satsmiling and nodding at one another in an absurd sort of way till anew idea seemed to strike fun. tumbling off his seat, he waddledaway as fast as his petticoats permitted, leaving rose hoping thathe had not gone to get a roasted rat, a stewed puppy, or any otherforeign mess which civility would oblige her to eat.
while she waited for her funny new friend, she improved her mindin a way that would have charmed aunt jane. the gentlemen weretalking over all sorts of things, and she listened attentively, storingup much of what she heard, for she had an excellent memory, andlonged to distinguish herself by being able to produce some usefulinformation when reproached with her ignorance.
she was just trying to impress upon her mind that amoy was twohundred and eighty miles from hong kong, when fun camescuffling back, bearing what she thought was a small sword, till heunfurled an immense fan, and presented it with a string of chinesecompliments, the meaning of which would have amused her evenmore than the sound, if she could have understood it.
she had never seen such an astonishing fan, and at once becameabsorbed in examining it. of course, there was no perspectivewhatever, which only gave it a peculiar charm to rose, for in oneplace a lovely lady, with blue knitting-needles in her hair, satdirectly upon the spire of a stately pagoda. in another charmingview a brook appeared to flow in at the front door of a stoutgentleman's house, and out at his chimney. in a third a zig-zag wallwent up into the sky like a flash of lightning, and a bird with twotails was apparently brooding over a fisherman whose boat wasjust going aground upon the moon.
it was altogether a fascinating thing, and she would have satwafting it to and fro all the afternoon, to fun's great satisfaction, ifdr. alec's attention had not suddenly been called to her by abreeze from the big fan that blew his hair into his eyes, andreminded him that they must go. so the pretty china was repacked,rose furled her fan, and with several parcels of choice teas for theold ladies stowed away in dr. alec's pockets, they took their leave,after fun had saluted them with "the three bendings and the nineknockings," as they salute the emperor, or "son of heaven," athome.
"i feel as if i had really been to china, and i'm sure i look so," saidrose, as they glided out of the shadow of the "rajah."she certainly did, for mr. whang lo had given her a chineseumbrella; uncle alec had got some lanterns to light up herbalcony; the great fan lay in her lap, and the tea-set reposed at herfeet.
"this is not a bad way to study geography, is it?" asked her uncle,who had observed her attention to the talk.
"it is a very pleasant way, and i really think i have learned moreabout china to-day than in all the lessons i had at school, though iused to rattle off the answers as fast as i could go. no oneexplained anything to us, so all i remember is that tea and silkcome from there, and the women have little bits of feet. i saw funlooking at mine, and he must have thought them perfectlyimmense," answered rose, surveying her stout boots with suddencontempt.
"we will have out the maps and the globe, and i'll show you someof my journeys, telling stories as we go. that will be next best todoing it actually.""you are so fond of travelling, i should think it would be very dullfor you here, uncle. do you know, aunt plenty says she is sure youwill be off in a year or two.""very likely.""oh, me! what shall i do then?" sighed rose, in a tone of despairthat made uncle alec's face brighten with a look of genuinepleasure as he said significantly"next time i go i shall take my little anchor with me. how will thatsuit?""really, uncle?""really, niece."rose gave a little bounce of rapture which caused the boat to"wiggle" in a way that speedily quieted her down. but she satbeaming joyfully and trying to think which of some hundredquestions she would ask first, when dr. alec said, pointing to aboat that was coming up behind them in great style"how well those fellows row! look at them, and take notes foryour own use by and by."the "stormy petrel" was manned by half a dozen jaunty lookingsailors, who made a fine display of blue shirts and shiny hats, withstars and anchors in every direction.
"how beautifully they go, and they are only boys. why, i dobelieve they are our boys! yes, i see charlie laughing over hisshoulder. row, uncle, row! oh, please do, and not let them catchup with us!" cried rose, in such a state of excitement that the newumbrella nearly went overboard.
"all right, here we go!" and away they did go with a long steadysweep of the oars that carried the "bonnie belle" through the waterwith a rush.
the lads pulled their prettiest, but dr. alec would have reachedthe point first, if rose, in her flurry, had not retarded him byjerking the rudder ropes in a most unseamanlike way, and just asshe got right again her hat blew off. that put an end to the race,and while they were still fishing for the hat the other boat camealongside, with all the oars in the air, and the jolly young tars readyfor a frolic.
"did you catch a crab, uncle?""no, a blue-fish," he answered, as the dripping hat was landed on aseat to dry.
"what have you been doing?""seeing fun.""good for you, rose! i know what you mean. we are going to havehim up to show us how to fly the big kite, for we can't get the hangof it. isn't he great fun, though?""no, little fun.""come, stop joking, and show us what you've got.""you'd better hoist that fan for a sail.""lend dandy your umbrella; he hates to burn his pretty nose.""i say, uncle, are you going to have a feast of lanterns?""no, i'm going to have a feast of bread and butter, for it's tea-time.
if that black cloud doesn't lie, we shall have a gust before long, soyou had better get home as soon as you can, or your mother will beanxious, archie.""ay, ay, skipper. good-night, rose; come out often, and we'llteach you all there is to know about rowing," was charlie's modestinvitation.
then the boats parted company, and across the water from the"petrel's" crew came a verse from one of the nonsense songs inwhich the boys delighted.
"oh, timballoo! how happy we are,we live in a sieve and a crockery jar!
and all night long, in the starlight pale,we sail away, with a pea-green sail,and whistle and warble a moony songto the echoing sound of a coppery gong.
far and few, far and feware the lands where the jumblies live;their heads are green, and their hands are blue,and they went to sea in a sieve."
