Mrs. George Cupples

“ He had been carried on a stretcher by some of the fishermen; and they had borne him along so gently that Patrick declared he had never felt the least motion, and thought he had been lying on his bed all the time.
"'I should like to get some flowers so much,' said Vea, after I had arrived. 'Patrick is so fond of flowers; but he likes the wild ones best. He says the hot-house ones smell oppressively, but the wild ones make him comfortable.'
"'Then why can't we get him some?' I inquired.
"'Aunt doesn't like us to go to the wood by ourselves; and Natilie is engaged to-day,' replied Vea. ”

“ Something he said about a boy he once knew made Vea think of Patrick, for she exclaimed, quite suddenly,—'Oh! do you know, sir, we have found Patrick out at last! When he was lying at the cottage, there were so many poor people came to ask for him, that even aunt became interested; and she made inquiries, and we found that Patrick was in the habit of helping them in some way or other. One old woman told us he actually drew all the stock of drift-wood she has at her cottage, and piled it up there for her.'
"'But how did he manage to do it without you finding him out?' said Uncle John. ”

“ When these were ready, he turned to look at his patient, and bidding every one leave the hut but the two fishermen and Natilie, he shut the door against them himself, and secured it firmly.
"'Oh, please, doctor, let me stay,' Vea had said pitifully. 'I'm sure Patrick would like me to stay.'
"'I'm sure of that too,' said the doctor kindly; 'but you shall have plenty of nursing by-and-by: don't be afraid, I mean to engage you as my chief assistant. Meanwhile, my dear, trust me for knowing what is best for you and for your brother, and take yourself off to the beach there. ”

“ I told him. And when he heard it, he called my step-mother some hard names; and then says he, "Are you the little girl young Dick helps when he has any spare time?" And when I answered "Yes," he says, "Well, then, give me the ropes and I'll help you, for Dick is away to-day." I couldn't help saying that dragging drift-wood wasn't fit work for a gentleman; but he just laughed, and said there were lots of people would be glad to know Patrick Berkley was so usefully employed.'
"'And did he drag the wood for you?' said Vea, the tears standing in her eyes. ”

“ Of all the things I had thought of, it never came into my head to expect a new baby-sister; but so it was. When I entered the parlour, and was rushing up to fling myself into my mother's arms, what was my surprise to find a lovely baby—the very thing I had been wishing for—yes, actually a baby-sister. ”

“ If you went away, who would take care of Willie? Do you know, I have a brother I am very anxious about too, Polly?' said Vea. 'He is lying in Dick's cottage, with his leg broken, and the doctor is setting it while we are waiting out here.'
"'Oh, I am very sorry indeed, miss,' said Polly, forgetting her own troubles in turn. 'Is that the young gentleman who is living with Mrs. Berkley?' [Pg 44]
"'Yes, Polly,' said Vea. 'Mrs. Berkley is my aunt.'
"'He's a very kind young gentleman, miss. Is there anything I could do for him, miss? ”

“ The young lady and her brother have gone to stay with another aunt at some distance off; but Master Patrick is to remain with Mrs. Berkley all the winter. I'm sure there's more than my son and Polly were glad indeed to hear this, for he is a good friend to the poor, and does many a good action to help them when he thinks as they are frail.'
"After resting for some time by the kitchen-fire, Polly's grandmother went away, not without promising to come in again if ever she was passing that way when going to see her son. ”

“ He has the power of mimicry, and is also able to keep a grave face when others are forced to laugh—a thing poor Patrick is not able to do, and the consequence is he gets into sad disgrace for laughing, and, to save his brother, won't tell what he is laughing at. Alfred is a mean boy, for twice I have seen him allow his brother to be punished, when, by simply telling he was the cause of it, the punishment might have been avoided. ”

“ And whenever he sees me carrying a heavy load along the beach, he just slips up to me, and, without saying a word, takes it out of my hand. And then if he sees any of the boys frightening me, he won't let them. I was so sorry, miss, for the cut he got on his eye; that was from wild Joe throwing a stone at him when he was carrying my basket for me round the Bluff Crag.'
"'You have no idea how happy you have made me, Polly,' said Vea. 'Aunt Mary always says there is a great deal of good in Patrick, only his love of mischief sometimes chokes the good seed. ”

“ Now be careful; think well before you answer.'
"Uncle John could scarcely keep from smiling at the way Vea spoke, and the anxious manner shown towards her brother. 'O Patrick,' she exclaimed, 'if you did this, it is very wicked; you must go and tell aunt about it at once.'
"Instead of answering, however, Patrick set off at a gallop, and disappeared behind some bushes, leaving Vea standing looking after him with glistening eyes. 'What is to be done now?' she said, as if to herself; 'it is so difficult to get Patrick to own a fault, and I fear he will lead Alfred into more mischief. ”

“ Now, who do you think was the actual culprit who cut that nice table in the summer-house?'
"'It must have been Patrick, uncle; he never denied it,' I replied.
"'That is the strange thing, dear. Patrick is greatly to blame in this, that he will not tell upon [Pg 55] his brother, but is so easy-minded, that, rather than exert himself to make his friends think well of him, he allows every one to suppose that he is the offender; and, as I said before, Alfred is so mean, that, knowing this, he plays the tricks and lets his brother take the blame. A tale-teller is to be despised ”

“ A good story-teller should begin without delay, and we all know what a capital one you are."
"Very well, then," said Mrs. Lincoln. "You must know that when I was a little girl I had been ill, and your grandmamma sent me to live with her brother, my Uncle John, who was the [Pg 10] rector of the neighbouring parish. Uncle John had no children, and his wife had died just a few weeks before I went to pay him this visit. He had been very fond of my aunt, and he was still very sad about her death; so that it would have been rather a dull life but for Dolly, the housekeeper. ”

“ Nurse told me she is now clothed in white, and I knew Alice would weary to see me too; and [Pg 17] I used to think God, who is so good and kind, would perhaps let her hide in the white clouds.'
"Uncle John drew me closer to him, and instead of reproving me for my fancy, he kissed me, as he said, 'Poor child, poor little town-bred child, if you had had flowers, and birds, and butterflies to chase, it would have been better for you. I think we shall have to write and ask mamma to send us Willie here also.'
"'Oh, that would be so nice!' I exclaimed. 'Willie would enjoy it so much! ”

“ Natilie had by this time managed to get Patrick up out of the sort of hole he had fallen into, and by our united efforts we at last succeeded in getting him into the boat, where we all helped to support him, as he had fainted away again. It was considered advisable to row to Dick's grandfather's house for the present; and accordingly the boat was steered for a cove, up which the tide carried us. ”

“ After speaking to her for a minute or two, I discovered, to my great delight, that she was the mother of Will Dampier, and the grandmother of Polly. She had just come from the Bluff Crag that very day, where she had been to see her son; and she told me that the last thing she saw, in looking back from the bank above, before turning into the main road, was her son with his crab-basket on his back, and Master Patrick Berkley alongside of him.
"'Oh, I am so glad to hear this,' I replied; 'that shows Patrick's leg must be quite well [Pg 70] and strong again. And how are Miss Vea and Alfred? ”

“ The rectory was about a mile inland from it; but though I had been very anxious to go to the beach, Dolly had never been able to spare the time, and as for trusting Mary, the younger servant, to take me, that was quite out of the question.
"'I wonder if you could walk to Mrs. Berkley's,' said Uncle John. 'If so, we could go by the field-path, and so have a fine view of the sea. Do you think she could manage it, Dolly?' [Pg 14]
"'Oh yes, sir,' said Dolly, catching a glimpse of my delighted expression. 'Miss Lily has been wishing to take that walk ever since she came ”

“ Then he told how, when he came to himself, he found he was lying in a cottage, with a woman bending over him, and a man sitting smoking by the fire, stirring some stuff in a pan. It seemed that this man was a collector of birds' eggs, and, knowing about this cave, he had come down, with the help of a great strong rope tied round his waist, to gather eggs. Great was his surprise when he saw the body of a man floating in the water ”

“ She has lost her husband [Pg 64] and three sons; and then her only child, a little girl, was drowned one day looking for drift-wood on the sea-shore.'
GATHERING WILD FLOWERS.
"'That will be Widow Martin then, I suppose!' said my uncle. 'Her story was indeed a sad one.—I am very glad to hear such good accounts of my young friend Patrick.'
"'And I am glad about it too, sir,' said Vea. 'Aunt Mary will be so pleased; but do you know, I am afraid Alfred has been the bad boy all the time, for since Patrick has been ill he is never done falling into disgrace. Aunt was seriously angry with him ”

“ John; 'we must do our duty, however hard it may be; and though a good word in one sense costs nothing, still we all know it sometimes costs a good deal, and is a difficult matter, to a great many people.' ”