"That won"t hold water," she said. "If a man must live like the Lord to be a gentleman, what is Uncle James? And if living like the Lord makes a man a gentleman, why don"t we call on old Job Fisher?"
Aunt Victoria began to fear that the task she had undertaken would prove too much for her. "It is hard, very hard," she muttered.
"Well, never mind," said Beth, resuming her work. "When I grow up I mean to write about things like that. But what were we talking about?
Oh, beating Sammy. I did feel bad after I beat him, and I vowed I"d never do it again however tiresome he was, and I never did. It makes it easier if you vow. It"s just as if your hands were tied then. I"d like to tell mamma to try it, only she"d be sure to get waxy. You tell her, Aunt Victoria."
Aunt Victoria made some reply which was lost in the noise of vehicles pa.s.sing in the street, followed by the tramp of many feet and a great chattering. An excursion train had just arrived, and the people were pouring into the place. Beth ran to the window and watched them.
"More confounded trippers," she e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed. "They spoil the summer, swarming everywhere."
"Beth, I wish, to please me, you would make another vow. Don"t say "confounded trippers.""
"All right, Aunt Victoria. Jim says it. But I know all the bad words in the language were made for the men. I suppose because they have all the bad thoughts, and do all the bad things. I shall say "objectionable excursionists" in future." She went to the door. "I"m just going to get something," she said. "You won"t go away now, will you? I shall be a minute or two, but I want you to be here when I come back. I shall be wild if you"re not."
She banged the door after her and ran downstairs.
Aunt Victoria looked round the room; it no longer seemed the same place to her. Beth"s cheerful chatter had already driven away the evil spirit of dejection, and taken the old lady out of herself. Untidy child! She had left her work on the floor, her scissors on the bed, disarranged the window-curtain, and upset a chair. If she would not do any more unpicking when she returned, she must be made to put things straight. There was one little easy-chair in the room. Aunt Victoria sat down in it, a great piece of self-indulgence for her at that time of day, folded her hands, and closed her weary old eyes just to give them a rest, while a nice little look of content came into her face, which it was good to see there.
When she opened her eyes again, Beth was setting a tray on a tiny table beside her.
"I think you"ve been having a nap, Miss Great-Aunt Victoria Bench,"
she said. "Now, have some tea! and b.u.t.tered toast!!"
"O Beth!" cried the old lady, beaming. "How could you--at this time of day? Well, to please you. It is quite delicious. So refreshing. What, another piece of toast! Must I take another?"
"You must take it all," said Beth. "I made it for you. I do like doing things for you, Aunt Victoria. It makes me feel nice all over. I"ll just unpick a little more. Then I"ll tidy up."
"You"re a good child to think of that," said Aunt Victoria. "I did not think you would."
"Didn"t you?" said Beth. "How funny! But I like things tidy. I often tidy up."
"I--I suppose Harriet says tidy up," the old lady observed gently, not liking to be censorious at this happy moment of relaxation, but still anxious to do her duty. Beth understood her perfectly and smiled.
"I like you to tell me when I say things wrong," she said; "and I like to know how Harriet talks too. You can"t write if you don"t know how every one talks."
"What are you going to write?" Aunt Victoria asked, taking up another piece of b.u.t.tered toast.
"Oh, books," Beth answered casually.
"Write something soul-sustaining then, Beth," said Aunt Victoria. "Try to make all you say soul-sustaining. And never use a word you would be ashamed to hear read aloud."
"You mean like those things they read in church?" said Beth. "I don"t think I ever could use such words. When Mr. Richardson comes close to them, I get hot all over and hate him. But I promise you, Aunt Victoria, I will never write anything worse than there is in the Bible. There"s a man called Ruskin who writes very well, they say, and he learnt how to do it from reading the Bible. His mother taught him when he was a little boy, just as you taught me. I always read the Bible--search the Scriptures--every day. You say it"s a sacred book, don"t you, Aunt Victoria? Harriet says it"s s.m.u.tty."
"Says _what_?" Aunt Victoria exclaimed, sitting bolt upright in her horror. "What does she mean by such an expression?"
"Oh, she just means stories like Joseph and Potiphar"s wife, David and Bathsheba, Susanna and the elders."
"My _dear_ child!" Aunt Victoria gasped.
"Well, Aunt Victoria, they"re all in the Bible, at least Susanna and the elders isn"t. That"s in the Apocrypha."
Aunt Victoria sat silent a considerable time. At last she said solemnly: "Beth, I want you to promise me one thing solemnly, and that is that all your life long, whatever may be before you, whatever it may be your lot to learn, you will pray to G.o.d to preserve your purity."
"What is purity?" said Beth.
Aunt Victoria hesitated: "It"s a condition of the mind which keeps us from ever doing or saying anything we should be ashamed of," she finally decided.
"But what kind of things?" Beth asked.
Unfortunately Aunt Victoria was not equal to the occasion. She blinked her eyes very hard, sipped some tea, and left Beth to find out for herself, according to custom.
"We must only talk about nice things," she said.
"Well, I shouldn"t care to talk nastily about people as Lady Benyon does sometimes," Beth rejoined.
"But, my dear child, that is not a nice thing to say about Lady Benyon."
"Isn"t it?" said Beth, then added: "Oh dear, how funny things are!"
meaning how complicated.
"Where did you get this tea, Beth?" said Aunt Victoria. "It is very good, and I feel so much the better for it."
"I thought you wanted something," said Beth. "Your face went all queer. That means people want something. I got the tea out of the store-cupboard. It has a rotten lock. If you shake it, it comes open."
"But what does your mamma say?"
"Oh, she never notices. Or, if she does, she thinks she left it open herself. Harriet has a little sometimes. She takes it because she says mamma should allow her a quarter of a pound of dry tea a week, so it isn"t stealing. And I took it for you because you pay to live here, so you"re ent.i.tled to the tea. I don"t take it for myself, of course. But I"m afraid I oughtn"t to have told you about Harriet. I"m so sorry. It slipped out. It wasn"t sneaking. But I trust to your honour, Aunt Victoria. If you sneaked on Harriet, I could never trust you again, now could I?" She got up as she spoke, folded her work, picked up the chair, arranged the window-curtain, moved the tray, and put the table back in its place, at the same time remarking: "I shall take these things downstairs now, and go for a run."
She left Aunt Victoria with much to reflect upon. The glimpse she had accidentally given the old lady of Harriet"s turpitude had startled her considerably. Mrs. Caldwell had always congratulated herself on having such a quiet respectable person in the house as Harriet to look after Beth, and now it appeared that the woman was disreputable both in her habits and her conversation, the very last person whom a girl, even of such strongly marked individuality as Beth, should have been allowed to a.s.sociate with intimately. But what ought Miss Victoria to do? If she spoke to Mrs. Caldwell, Beth would never forgive her, and the important thing was not to lose Beth"s confidence; but if she did not speak to Mrs. Caldwell, would she be doing right? Of course, if Mrs. Caldwell had been a different sort of person, her duty would have been clear and easy; but as it was, Aunt Victoria decided to wait.
The next day Beth returned of her own accord to finish the unpicking.
She wanted to know what "soul-sustaining" meant; and in ten minutes she had cross-questioned Aunt Victoria into such a state of confusion that the old lady could only sit silently praying to Heaven for guidance. At last she got up, and took a little packet out of one of her trunks. She had to live in her boxes because there was no closet or wardrobe or chest of drawers in the room.
"See, Beth," she said, "here is some tea and sugar. I don"t think it nice of you to go to your mother"s cupboard without her leave. That"s rather a servant"s trick, you know, and not honest; so give it up, like a dear child, and let us have tea together, you and I, up here, when we want it. I very much enjoy a good cup of tea, it is so refreshing, and you make it beautifully."
Beth changed colour and countenance while Aunt Victoria was speaking, and she sat for some time afterwards looking fixedly at the empty grate; then she said, "You always tell me things nicely, Aunt Victoria; that"s what I like about you. I"ll not touch the cupboard again, I vow; and if you catch me at any other "servant"s tricks" just you let me know."
The old lady"s heart glowed. The Lord was showing her how to help the child.
But the holidays were coming on; she would have to go away to make room for the boys; and she dreaded to leave Beth at this critical time, lest she should relapse, just as she was beginning to form nice feminine habits. For Beth had taken kindly to the sewing and tea-drinking and long quiet chats; it was a delight to her to have some one to wait on, and help, and talk to. "I"m so fond of you, Aunt Victoria," she said one day; "I even like you to snap at me; and if we lived quite alone together, you and I, I should do everything for you."
"Would you like to come away with me these holidays?" said Aunt Victoria, seized suddenly with a bright idea.
"Oh, wouldn"t I!" said Beth. "But then, the expense!"
"I think I can manage it, if your mamma has no objection," said Aunt Victoria, nodding and blinking, and nodding again, as she calculated.
"I should think mamma would be only too glad to get rid of me," said Beth hopefully.