Eleanora H. Stooke

“ Angel said, smiling at the thought; "he seemed to be watching us with his sharp dark eyes—the dear thing!"
"Yes, so he did," Dinah replied. "Robins are my favourite birds, because they sing in the winter when all the others are silent. Let me see, what was it we were talking about? Oh, I know! Yes, it must have been about a year ago when we first met you, Angel; I remember so well father calling me downstairs and introducing me to you."
"Yes. And he told you to amuse me, and give me some tea," Angel broke in eagerly; "and, oh, how shy I felt when you led me upstairs, and into the dining-room!" ”

“ Willis' opinion," said Dinah. "Do you know, Angel, father has promised to let Gilbert be an artist if he really wants to be one. Isn't it good of father? He wished Gilbert to be a lawyer; but mother thinks if Gilbert has a talent for painting, he ought to use it; and if he's an artist, his lameness won't matter! I don't know if it would matter much if he was a lawyer," she added, "because he's not nearly so sensitive about it as he was. He says since that night when his crutch was the means of saving Dora's life he's never regretted being lame." ”

“ Angel pleaded, for she was conscious that her father was deeply annoyed. "I know he ought not to—"
"Pray don't try to make excuses for him!" Mr. Willis broke in, with unusual sharpness in his tone. "I see one thing very plainly, that he stands a great chance of being ruined by his sister."
"Oh, father!" she exclaimed distressfully.
"I am aware it is your affection for him that makes you so foolishly give in to his wishes," Mr. Willis proceeded, "but it's a great pity. Why cannot you stand up for your own rights? You are older than Gerald, and yet—there, child, don't look so hurt! ”

“ Gerald had been the mother's favourite of the two children; but that knowledge had not caused Angel one jealous pang. She was too fond of her brother herself to begrudge him the first share of any one's affection; and now when the dear, indulgent mother was no longer there to wait upon him, she faithfully tried to fill her place, and was his willing slave, darning his socks, mending his clothes, helping him with his lessons evenings—in fact, being generally employed either by or for him in one way or another. Angel regarded herself in the light of a failure. ”

“ Surely there are boys at the Grammar School more fitting to be your companions than Reginald Hope? I cannot imagine my son on a level with him. We should be careful in our choice of friends, remembering they are bound to influence us for good or evil. You need not avoid young Hope altogether, but I cannot allow you to be his constant companion."
Gerald made no response. He knew how difficult it would be for him to break off this friendship, and he foresaw much unpleasantness for himself if he did so. He shivered with apprehension as he remembered his indebtedness to Reginald Hope ”

“ Willis inquired.
"No, not much," was the reply. "The houses were smaller and the principal street narrower than I had pictured it; but still the view from the churchyard on Haresdown Hill is finer, to my mind, than any I ever saw."
"It is grand!" Angel cried. "Oh, father, you would like to see it!"
"You must see it one of these days, John," Mr. Bailey said impressively. "I'm making my home at Haresdown House. You must understand my doors will be always open to you and yours. Come when you will, and remain as long as you like. Why should you not all spend Easter with me next year?" ”

“ I would have liked him to join me in Australia, and he should then have had a partnership in my business."
"Father would not like to be anything but an artist," Angel replied. "He is a genius, and some day he will be famous!"
"Perhaps so, perhaps so! I am no judge of pictures myself, so I cannot say; but the road to fame is not an easy one, my dear."
"No, indeed!" the little girl agreed readily, with a mournful shake of her head. "We have always been poor," she proceeded with a sudden burst of confidence, "always! And it is not nice to be poor, and owe people money! ”

“ He knows best, that's certain. 'We walk by faith, and not by sight,' you know."
That night, when Angel pulled up her bedroom blind before getting into bed, she uttered an exclamation of delight. Her room was at the back of the house, overlooking the kitchen garden and orchard. The young May moon had arisen, and by its soft light the little girl could see the shadowy old grey church on the hill, and the stretch of green, flower-decked meadows which lay between it and Haresdown House. ”

“ Dora exclaimed, pointing to the horizon. "It looks like a storm, doesn't it? I wonder if it's coming this way!"
"Perhaps it is; but, if so, it won't reach Wreyford for some time yet."
"Oh, Gilbert, there are two boys fishing in that clay pit—the one nearest here, I mean. I wonder if we can make out who they are. Yes—no—yes —I know!"
"I don't!" Gilbert replied. "What sharp eyes you must have, Dora. I can see two figures, but I can't recognize either. Your sight is better than mine. Who are they?"
"Reginald Hope and Gerald Willis."
"Hope and Willis? Are you sure?" ”

“ He is not one to let his talents rust: God bless the lad!" Miss Goodwin exclaimed fervently. "Now, I will tell you a secret, and it is this. Of all my young friends, Gilbert is my favourite. Tom is a dear boy, and I'm very fond of him, but I confess I do not always understand him. He is continually laughing, and joking, and making fun. But Gilbert is different; he talks so sensibly, and knows so much about flowers and gardening, and he never laughs at me." ”

“ Gerald uttered a wrathful ejaculation, and turning on his heel walked off with his head held very high, and his heart full of feelings of resentment and anger. How he hated Gilbert Mickle for his interference. No thought of his sin in wilfully deceiving his sister entered his mind; no sense of the wickedness of disobedience troubled him. His conscience had pricked him when he had first begun to deviate from the straight path of truth; but by slow degrees it had been successfully silenced, and now it only troubled him occasionally. ”

“ I know!" the boy cried distressfully; and, overcome afresh with grief and remorse, he rushed out of the studio, and ran upstairs to his own room.
Flinging himself on his knees by the bedside, he gave way to his sorrow. If his father had not been so kind, if he had reproached him and refused him forgiveness, he would not have been so brokenhearted as he was now. How good his father had been to him!
By-and-by he tried to pray. He remembered how Angel had once said to him, "When we do anything wrong, it's really against God we sin," and he prayed earnestly. ”

“ There is no necessity for you to worry, or even think about the packing of your belongings, for I will superintend everything myself."
By that time Mr. Willis was able to go into the sitting-room every day; his nurses had left him; and he was slowly but surely gaining strength. He had been sitting by the fire listening to his uncle's remarks, and there was deep feeling in his voice as he replied—
"You are our good angel, Uncle Edward; it seems as though God sent you home to be with us in our time of need. I dare not imagine what would have become of us but for you! ”

“ Mickle gently. "don't worry about it. Time only affects the things which perish; love is for eternity. I am sure you love your brother now as much as you ever did."
"Yes!" Miss Goodwin cried, the cloud from her face suddenly clearing. "When I see Angel and Gerald, I always think of my brother and me. Circumstances parted us in life, but his last message to me was one of love. Yes, love is for eternity."
She fell into a train of happy thought, and a few minutes later Angel and Gerald took their departure. ”

“ Bailey returned, and Mr. Willis at once told him Angel had decided to remain in her London home.
"It is not that I don't love you," Angel said, as she saw the disappointment in her uncle's countenance, "because I do. But I can't leave father and Gerald; I can't indeed. Oh, please don't think I don't understand how kind you are, and how good—"
"Kind! Good! Nonsense!" Mr. Bailey cried. "I am nothing of the kind. I'm a selfish old man, my dear, that's what I am. ”

“ Gerald cried excitedly, whilst Angel flung herself, half laughing, half-crying, into her father's arms, quite unmindful of the fact that they were in a public road, where an outsider might come upon them at any moment.
Afterwards it was explained that "Righteousness and Peace" had been purchased by a rich man, who had already a fine collection of pictures, and who had willingly paid the amount of money at which Mr. Willis had priced his work.
"Why, father, we shall be rich!" Angel said, her face full of wonderment at the thought. ”

“ I can help Gerald quite well."
"But I would rather you did not, my dear."
Angel said no more, but she was distressed for her brother's sake. Gerald sulkily turned his attention to his work, a scowl upon his brow; when he had finished his lessons he put away his books, said good-night in an injured tone, and marched off to bed.
"Do not trouble about Gerald," Mr. Willis said, as Angel rose to follow her brother; "you do too much for him, and it is not right you should. He must learn to be more self-reliant. Are you going to bed too? ”

“ Dinah said severely, for though several years her brother's junior, she never scrupled to speak out to him.
"Never mind, Angel," whispered Dora consolingly; "Gilbert is always like that; you mustn't take any notice of him; we never do."
"What are you whispering about?" he asked suspiciously. He took no notice of Dinah's reproof; perhaps he knew he deserved it. "When girls get together they're always whispering."
Angel thought him a most disagreeable, ill-mannered boy; nevertheless, her kind heart was very sympathetic; she picked up his crutches from the floor, and put them within his reach. ”

“ Tom broke in hastily. "Every one knows robins won't live in captivity."
Gerald had not known it, but he wisely held his peace, for he had had visions of rearing the young birds in a cage, and he now saw such a suggestion would not meet with the approval of his companions.
"I should so much like to see the nest," Angel said, "and I wouldn't touch it. Robins are such dear little birds! There was one that used to come to our sitting-room window in London, and pick up crumbs from the window-sill. He used to arrive regularly at breakfast-time—didn't he, Gerald?" ”

“ Gerald felt humiliated at the sight of the sarcastic smile on Gilbert's lips, but he could not resist the temptation of speaking to some one he knew, so he strolled up to the lame boy and commenced a conversation.
"I'm in the same form as Tom," he informed Gilbert.
"Are you?" Gilbert said, apparently not interested. "How do you like Rabjohns?" he asked, after a slight pause.
"I don't like him at all. I think he's an impertinent cad."
"Oh no! He's not a bad sort—one of the rough-and-ready kind, you know. He's all right, in his way—though it may not be your way or mine—and so's Higgs. ”

“ Gerald made no reply, and the old lady said no more; but he thought over all she had said after he had parted from her outside Myrtle Villa, and wished he could pluck up sufficient courage to tell his father of his indebtedness to Reginald Hope; but he shrank from the confession which he knew must follow.
"Father's so down on people who bet and gamble," he thought miserably; "he was angry enough when he found out I'd had Angel's money, and he'd be angrier still if he knew how I spent it. Hope will have to wait until I can save enough out of my pocket-money to pay him." ”

“ Father is an artist."
"I understand," Mrs. Mickle said, grasping the situation at once; "you will be an artist yourself, perhaps, when you grow up?"
"No," Angel replied, shaking her head regretfully, "I am afraid not! I am certain not! I cannot draw even a straight line. It is a great pity, but I have not the artistic temperament."
She spoke so seriously that Mrs. Mickle refrained from smiling; but Tom began to giggle, at which sound Angel shot a quick glance at him, and saw that he was making merry at her expense. ”

“ Their first questions were how Angel and Gerald had spent the time during their absence from home, and if all had gone well at Haresdown House. There was nothing to hide or be ashamed of now, so the young people gave a detailed account of their doings.
Not until they had passed Myrtle Villa on their way home, and were walking up Haresdown Hill, did Mr. Willis mention that he had a piece of good news to tell.
"Try and guess what it is," he said, looking from his uncle to the children with a smiling glance; "it is something that indirectly concerns us all."
"What can it be?" Angel cried. ”

“ The story of Ezekiel Hassal's fate always had a great attraction for little Dora, and she had insisted upon hearing it again from Dinah's lips, although she knew it quite well, and shuddered as she listened. She was a sensitive, imaginative child, and could easily picture Cromwell's fierce soldiery ascending the green slope of the hill, the figure of the old parish clerk stationed before the door of the church he loved so well, and the tragedy which had followed. ”

“ Gerald interrupted impatiently. "The picture may not sell for much, after all! I wish father was not an artist."
"Gerald!" the little girl exclaimed reproachfully, "how can you speak so? Mother used to say God had given father his wonderful talent for painting, and he must use it. Father is a genius. He will paint a beautiful picture which will be hung in the Royal Academy for every one to look at, and then some rich man will want to buy it, and offer father hundreds of pounds if he will sell it to him." ”

“ Look at those buttercups and cuckoo-flowers springing up side by side in the grass—yellow and pale lilac—there's nothing to offend one's taste there. Nature doesn't make a mistake."
"It is all so beautiful!" Angel exclaimed, her appreciative eyes wandering over the fair landscape. "Do you know what I overheard Miss Goodwin say to father the other day? They had been talking of the pretty places about Wreyford, and Miss Goodwin said: 'Beauty of any description always makes me understand God's love.' I think I know what she meant, don't you?" ”

“ Gerald cried. "I am sick of lies. Oh, father, I have been so wicked—so awfully, awfully wicked!"
Mr. Willis scanned the boy's pale countenance with some anxiety. It was true that Gerald had been much worried about Dora; but in addition to that trouble had been the fears he had suffered from having been unable to restore the sovereign he had stolen. The coin was still hidden in his bedroom chimney, for he had never had an opportunity of putting it back in the little tortoise-shell box, as Mrs. Vallance had not left the key in the lock of her desk again. ”

“ Bailey was tempted by the clearing atmosphere to go out. Angel was prepared to spend the afternoon alone, for she thought her father would desire to make the most of the short spell of daylight they were likely to have; but, much to her surprise and pleasure, he remained in the sitting-room, and, seating himself in the easy chair by the fireplace, called her to his side. ”