Nelly Dean

“ Here, children, just drink this milk, and eat a piece of bread, and at tea-time, perhaps, we'll have better luck."
"I don't care," said Rob; "I ain't hungry a bit: it's all so horrid in here."
"Neither am I," said Nelly. "Can't we have a little room all to ourselves to-morrow, papa?"
"No, Nell," said her father: "no more little room for us on this journey; this car goes through to Denver. We can't change. But it is only one night and one day: we can stand it."
"I'm glad part of it is night," said Nelly; "we'll be by ourselves when we're in bed."
"Yes," said Mrs. March. ”

“ March stooped over and kissed Nelly on her forehead.
"I know you are," he said: "you are papa's own little comfort always."
Mr. March loved both of his children very dearly; but Nelly gave him more pleasure than Rob did. He often said to his wife when they were alone: "Nelly never gives me a moment's anxiety. The child has all the traits which will make her a noble and a useful and a happy woman; but I am not so sure about Rob. I am afraid we shall have trouble with him." And Mrs. March always replied: "It is very true all you say about Nelly. She is a thoroughly good child ”

“ Cook likes Nelly best, and Mr. Cook likes Rob."
"Why, Sarah!" exclaimed Mr. March, "what do you mean? We love the children just alike."
"Yes, perhaps we love them equally," replied Mrs. March; "but we don't like them equally. I like Rob's ways best, and you like Nelly's. It's always been so, ever since they were born. You'll see Nelly will make a good, loving, lovable woman; but Rob will make a splendid man. Rob will do something in the world: you see if he does not!" ”

“ March looked all around the car and shook his head.
"No," he said; "every seat is taken, and at any moment the people may come back. It is nearly time now for the [Pg 67] train to start. We will make a hasty meal; perhaps we can do better at night."
Rob and Nelly were very quiet. They did not like the two strange boys who stood close to their seat staring at them, and at every thing which was on the table. Rob whispered to Nelly:—
"'Tain't half so nice as it was in the little room: is it, Nell?" ”

“ March laughed out loud. "Oh you droll Rob," she said. "No, it's nowhere near the Himalayas; but there are mountains there about as high as the Himalayas,—higher than any other mountains in America."
"Are there elephants?" said Rob. "I wouldn't mind about any thing if there are only elephants."
"Rob, how can you!" burst out Nelly, with a vehemence very unusual in her. "How can you! It's because papa's sick that we are going."
"Why, what's the matter with papa?" said Rob, wonderingly.
Mr. March had been a sufferer from asthma for so many years that no one any longer thought of him as an invalid. ”

“ March, cheerfully; "and I do not feel as you do about her selling things. I think it will never do her the least harm in any way. Some of the best and noblest people in the world have gone through just such struggles in their youth. I see no disgrace in it: not the least; and I have perfect faith in Nelly's good behavior under all circumstances."
"Yes," said Mr. March, "she can be trusted anywhere. I only wish Rob had half her steadiness of head."
"Rob will come out all right," said Mrs. March: "you don't do justice to him. His heart is in the right place." ”

“ CHAPTER XVI "GOOT-BY AND GOOT LUCK"
When Nelly heard that they were to set out in three days, she exclaimed:—
"Why, I didn't bid Ulrica good-by, or Mr. Kleesman, or Billy and Lucinda. I thought we weren't going for two weeks. Mayn't I go up to-morrow, mamma? I can sell some eggs, too, even if it isn't the regular day. Ever so many people ask me for them always. Hardly anybody keeps hens in Rosita."
Mrs. March said she might go. So, very early the next morning, Nelly set off on her last trip to Rosita. Billy was standing in his doorway as she passed.
"Hullo, Nelly! Where's Rob?" he said. ”

“ Promise mamma that you will try not to think about it either; and I promise you I will talk to papa and see what he thinks can be done. All we want in this world is to make you happy, and do what is best for you."
"Will you ask him to let me stay?" cried Arthur.
"I will tell him how you feel about being separated from Nelly and Rob," replied his mother; "and I think we can arrange in some way."
Mrs. Cook had already made up her mind what she would do. She would ask Mrs. March to let Nelly go back with them to New York for the winter. She knew that Mr. Cook would be willing ”

“ You see how much more thoughtful Nelly was for other people than for herself. All Rob was thinking of was what good times might come of this journey; but Nelly was thinking how hard it was for her papa and mamma to break up their pleasant home, and how sad it might be for all of them to go to live among strangers.
"No, dear," said Mrs. March. "Papa does not want to go at all. It is very hard for him to make up his mind to do it. And I do not want to go either, except on papa's account: but we would go anywhere in the world that would make papa well ”

“ He won't be any fun."
"Why, Rob March!" exclaimed Nelly: "you're a selfish thing. How'd you like to be lame like that and not have anybody sorry for you?"
"Why, Nell, I am real sorry for him: I mean I expect I should be if I knew him; but I did hope he'd go round some with me. I haven't had a boy since we came to Colorado."
Nelly looked hurt.
"I'm sure I go everywhere that you do," she said. "You don't ever have to be alone."
"I know it, Nell," replied Rob, meekly: "you're as good as any girl can be,—lots better than most girls; but a boy's different. ”

“ I want you to fill a different rank in life from Comfort’s, Nelly.”
Tears were in Nelly’s eyes as she answered gravely,
[116] “Yes, ma’am.”
“Comfort is a servant, and you are my little daughter. I want you to be diligent, and cultivate a love of books. If you grow up in ignorance, you can never be esteemed a lady, even if you were as rich as an empress. I will give you the credit to say that you have improved very much since you have been with me, both in your conduct and in the language you use.”
“Comfort told me I mustn’t say ‘br’iling fish,’ as she did, because you did not! ”

“ Doing good to Melindy is just of no account at all.”
“Did you ever try it?” asked Martin.
“Well, no-o. You see I could tell it was of no use. And Miss Harrow, she stands Melindy on a chair with a paper cap on her head, every day, at dinner-time.”
“Poor girl,” said Martin, [38] “I am sorry for her.”
"I’m not," said Nell, promptly, “it keeps her from mischief, you know.”
Martin was silent.
Comfort began to sing a tune over her fish, interrupting herself at times with a low, quaint laugh, as though particularly well pleased with some thought.
“What’s the matter, Comfort?” asked Nelly. ”

“ March; "her face is enough to make the roughest sort of a man good to her. You know how Billy worshipped her; and he's a pretty rough fellow on the surface. I think we might let her try it once, and see what happens."
And so it came to pass, that, early in the third summer of their stay in Wet Mountain Valley, Nelly set off one [Pg 193] morning at six o'clock with a basket on her arm, holding three dozen of eggs and two pounds of butter, which she was to carry up into Rosita to sell. Rob pleaded hard to go too, but his father would not consent.
"Nelly will do better by herself," he said. ”

“ He had made such fine plans for the future: how he would send Rob and Nelly to school at the East; build a pretty new house; have a nice, comfortable carriage; have Billy and Lucinda come back to live with them; buy all the books he wanted. Poor Mr. March! it was a very hard thing to have so many air-castles tumble down all in one minute!
Mrs. March did not mind it so much, because she had never from the beginning had very firm faith in the mine. [Pg 291] And for Rob and Nelly it was not nearly so hard, for they had not made any definite plans of what they would like to do ”

“ Deane had a cold supper ready, and Jud Deane had already taken off his shoes and fallen to on his fried chicken and pie. He was so proud of his pretty daughter that he must give her her Christmas presents then and there, and he went into the sleeping-chamber behind the dining-room and from the depths of his wife’s closet brought out a short sealskin jacket and a round cap and made Nelly put them on.
Mrs. Deane, who sat busy between a plate of spice cake and a tray piled with her famous whipped-cream tarts, laughed inordinately at his behavior.
“Ain’t he worse than any kid you ever see? ”

“ What’s that, Johnny, flopping about in the grass?”
She pointed to the rock-side, where, as Johnny soon saw, a decided “flopping” was indeed going on.
“A fish! a fish!” cried the boy, catching it and holding it up in both hands, so that Nell could look at it; “I’ll take it to Martin to put on the string with the rest. It must have floundered off.”
“Oh, let us put it back,” cried Nelly; “poor Mr. Fish! I think you would really like to try your hand at swimming again.”
“Fin, you mean,” laughed John; “fishes don’t have hands that ever I heard tell. Shall I let it go?” ”

“ March and Nelly and Rob were standing still, looking at this, when a man who passed by, seeing they were strangers, called out:—
"That's Tim Bunker's Pulpit."
"Who's Tim Bunker?" cried Rob; but the man was riding so fast he did not hear him.
"Oh, Nell! if it isn't too far we'll climb up there some day: won't we?" said Rob. "Mamma, don't you suppose we're pretty near our house?"
"I think not, Rob," replied Mrs. March; "there cannot be any place for a house while the pass is so narrow."
"Oh, mamma! mamma! come here!" shouted Nelly. ”

“ I didn't know then we were going to sell things; but, if we are, I may as well sell trout; the creek's full of them."
"Well, we are going to sell things, I tell you," said Nelly: "I don't know what else there is for us to do. We haven't got any money; I think papa's real worried, and mamma too; and you and I've just got to help. It's too bad! I don't see what God made grasshoppers for."
"To catch trout with," said Rob, solemnly: "there isn't any thing else half so good."
Nelly laughed, and set off at a brisk pace on the road to Rosita. Her father stood in the barn door watching her. ”

“ Cook's carriage. Perhaps Rob'll go in the wagon with Ralph and Thomas. He wants to; but mamma wants to see all of him she can.
"That's just the difference between them two children, Luce," said Billy, after Nelly had walked on: "Rob he's all for himself, without meanin' to be, either; he jest don't think: but Nelly she's 's thoughtful 's a woman about everybody."
"I donno why you say 's thoughtful 's a woman, Billy," said Lucinda. "I've seen plenty of women that was as selfish as any men ever I see."
"Well, I expect that's so, Luce," said Billy. "You ought to know, bein' a woman." ”

“ Melinda, with a sigh, folded hers, and sat like a [79] picture of despair. The books were then collected, and examined carefully, while the scholars began to prepare to go home. Nelly was quite ready, when she was startled by hearing Miss Milly pronounce her name to the school as the winner of the prize.
“I find,” said Miss Harrow, [80] “that almost every child has taken unusual pains to-day, in writing; and I am pleased to see it, I can assure you. Where all have been so careful, it is very difficult to find one who stands highest; Nelly Box, however, I think deserves the reward. ”

“ I thought you were some new kind of animal, with horns growing out lengthwise from your shoulders."
"So we are! so we are!" shouted Rob, running up so fast that the pails on the rods of his yoke swung back and forth high up in the air. "We are the four-armed boy and girl of Rosita. They'll want us for a show. Four arms on a boy are as wonderful as two heads on a calf."
How Mr. March did laugh! The children's fun was contagious. He seized Rob's yoke, and tried to put it on his own shoulders; but it was as much too small for him as Nelly's had been for her mother. ”

“ He has twice Nelly's cleverness, though he is so backward about his books. You'll see."
"I'm glad too, papa," cried Rob, "just as glad as any thing. It will be splendid to live on a farm. Shall you wear blue overalls like Uncle Alonzo? And will you let me help milk? And can't I have a bull pup? I'm going to call him Caesar."
"Well, upon my word, young people," said Mr. March; and he looked at his wife when he spoke, "you seem to have got this thing pretty well settled between you. I don't know that we are going to Colorado at all: after dinner we will all sit down together and talk it over. ”

“ He said, drawing himself up to his splendid height, and using a tone of cold civility that somehow cut his mother to the quick as his fierce upbraidings had failed to do:
“No, ma’am, I thank you!”
She found herself urging, as Nelly opened and shut drawers and cupboards overhead, and was heard to drag a box across the floor:
“You have had a day’s journey, and started with but a dew-bit. You’d better take something to stay you. ’Twill be wise!” ”

“ Nelly was fumbling deep down in her pocket; presently she drew out her handkerchief all knotted in a wisp, and out of the last knot she took the little bit of ore which they had borrowed from the wagon for a sample. This she laid in her father's hand: "There, papa," she said, "that's the man's: we borrowed it to carry along to tell by."
"They don't look so much like it as they did," she added, turning sorrowfully back to the poor little pile of stones. Rob was gazing at them too, with a crest-fallen face.
"Why, they don't shine a bit now," he said; "up there they shone like every thing." ”