It was a fine summer"s day, almost too hot indeed, so the children had tea early and went out a walk afterwards, returning in time to spend half-an-hour with their mother, before she went to dress for dinner.
This half-hour was generally a very happy time for all the children. But to-day one little face was less bright than usual, and mamma"s eyes were not slow to notice it, though she said nothing.
When the three little ones had gone off to bed, their mother glanced at the two elder girls.
"You are quite ready, I see, for coming into the drawing-room before dinner," she said.
[Ill.u.s.tration: "No", said Belle, roughly"----]
"Yes, mamma," Lily replied, "all except washing our hands. They do get so quickly dirty in this hot weather, if we romp about at all."
"Then I think you might practise a little, papa likes to see one of you in the drawing-room when he comes in, and to-night Belle shall be with me while I"m dressing."
"Very well, mamma dear," said Lily, running off as cheerfully as usual.
Being with their mother when she was dressing was a great treat, it didn"t happen every night, and the little girls took it in turns. This evening I don"t think Lily was at all sorry to be without her sister"s company, for the little black dog, or at least his shadow, was still on Belle"s shoulders.
Belle sat quietly in a corner of the room, her mother said very little to her, not even when Collins, the maid, had gone.
"You must wash your hands, I think, before coming down to the drawing-room," she said at last, as she poured some nice warm water into a pretty little basin with rose-buds round the edge, which the children admired very much.
"Thank you, mamma," said Belle, brightening up a little, "and may I use your beautiful pink scented soap, please?"
"Certainly dear," said her mother, and Belle set to work to wash her little brown hands, which, it must be confessed, were decidedly in need of it.
Rather to her surprise, her mother stood beside her looking on.
"Are you watching to see if I wash them quite clean, mamma?" asked the little girl.
[Ill.u.s.tration: "Are you watching to see if I wash them quite clean, mamma?"]
"No, dear, I"m sure you will do that. I was wondering if it has ever struck you how prettily and kindly your little hands behave to each other. Right hand is the cleverest and quickest, of course, but left hand is always willing and ready too. They take care not to hurt or scratch each other, and if by chance one is ever hurt, the other is as tender as possible not to rub or touch the sore place."
Belle went on washing her hands, or rather bathing them in the water, for by this time they were quite clean. She looked at them as she did so, but she did not speak.
"And another thing," said her mother, "take one out of the water, and see how helpless the other is, even clever right hand can do very little without her sister, and it is the same in all the work you do, one hand would be very little use without the other."
Belle"s face grew rosy.
"Mamma dear," she said, as her hands wiped each other dry on the nice soft towel, "I know what you mean. You"re like a fairy, mamma, you can see into my heart. I didn"t like that lady thinking Lily was your right hand, and me no good to you. It made me feel as if I didn"t love Lily."
"But n.o.body said you were no good, Belle dear. You made that up in your own silly little head. For you know even though Lily is older, you can still help me a great deal, and even help her to help me," said her mother.
"Like as if you were the head, and we your two hands," answered Belle.
"Well, mamma, I won"t mind now even if you count me only your left hand, and I"ll always remember what you"ve said."
She kissed her mother, quite happy now, and when they were going to bed that night she told Lily all about it.
"I am afraid," said Lily, looking sorry, "that I was too proud of what mamma said of me. But if each of us is always as kind to the other as right hand is to left hand, and left hand to right hand, it will be all right, won"t it dear?"
[Ill.u.s.tration]
ASHILLING OF HALFPENCE
She was a lonely little old lady. She was one of those who had "seen better days," as it is called. I am afraid there are a great many people in the world of whom this can be said, and the saddest part of it is that they are very, very often, _old_ people.
It is sad to see anyone in want even of comforts, and still more of really needful things, but I think it is worst of all to see very old or very young folk deprived of what they should have. Middle-aged men and women seem more fit for the battle of life than those who are already tired by what they have come through, or those who have not yet got to their full strength and courage.
My little old lady was not what is commonly counted _very_ poor. She had enough to eat--certainly her appet.i.te was small--and enough to pay the rent of the two neat little rooms, furnished with what she had been able to keep of her own old furniture, which had once stood in a very different kind of house; and enough, with _great_ care, to dress herself nicely; and, what she considered quite as important as any of these things, she managed to have enough to give her mite of help to those still poorer and more closely pressed than herself.
[Ill.u.s.tration: Billy]
How I got to know her I am not at liberty to say. But I will tell you about the first time I ever saw her and _him_, the other person of this little story.
It was a cold, but for a wonder in London in the winter, a bright and dry morning. All the better, you will say--of course everybody must like nice clean streets and pavements much more than sloppy rain and mud. But no; not quite _everybody_. Think of the crossing-sweepers! Dirty, muddy days are their harvest-time, especially Sundays, when in the better parts of the town there are so many more rich and well-to-do foot pa.s.sengers than on other days. It was a real disappointment, and worse than a disappointment--a real serious trouble to little Billy Harding, when, after the best breakfast his poor mother could give him--and that isn"t saying very much--he hurried downstairs from the attic which was his home, brush in hand, to find the pavements dry as a bone, and the roads almost _clean_!
"I made sure it were going to rain beautiful," he said to himself, dolefully, "it looked so uncommon like it, last night."
But the wind had veered round to the east while Billy was fast asleep, and as everybody knows, the east wind, which "is neither good for man nor beast," hasn"t _even_ the good quality of bringing profitably dirty streets for the poor crossing-sweepers.
There was nothing for it but to go to his post, however, and there it was I saw him that same cold, dry, clean Sunday morning, when I myself was on my way to church. Very likely I should never have noticed _him_, nor _her_ either, if I had met them separately, but it was the seeing them standing together, talking earnestly, that caught my attention, and the anxious, rather troubled expression on the little old lady"s face, and the bright eager look on the boy"s, made me wonder what it was all about. A dreadful idea crossed my mind for an instant--could he be a naughty boy? had he possibly been trying to pick the old lady"s pocket, and was she talking to him in hopes of making him repentant, as is sometimes the way with tender-hearted old ladies, instead of giving him in charge to a policeman? (Not that there was any policeman in view!) But another instant made me feel ashamed of the thought--a second glance at the boy"s honest face was enough.
Now I will tell you what had happened; how I came to know it does not matter.
[Ill.u.s.tration: "Thank you, ma"am,"]
I told you my little old lady always managed to give away something to others. One of her habits was to put one shilling into the box in the church porch "for the poor of the parish," the first Sunday of every month, and if you knew how _very_ little she had to live on, you would agree with me that this shilling, which was not her only charity, was a _good deal_. The morning I am writing of was the first Sunday of the month, and as she set off for church she held in her thin old fingers inside her well-worn m.u.f.f two coins--a shilling and a halfpenny, the halfpenny being intended for the first crossing-sweeper she met on her way. This was another of her little customs. She had some way to go to church, and she did not always choose the same streets, so she had no special pet crossing-sweeper, and this morning it was Billy into whose hand she dropped the coin she was holding in her tremulous fingers.
"Thank you, ma"am," said Billy, tugging at his ragged cap with the same hand in which he had received the money, for he had his brush in the other, and he was anxious to show his grat.i.tude. It was his first receipt that morning!
"Poor boy," thought the old lady, "he does look cold. I wish I could have made it a penny."
But the kind wish had scarcely crossed her mind before she heard a voice beside her.
"Please ma"am," it said, "do you know what you give me just now?"
And Billy, red with running, held out a very unmistakeable _shilling_!
The old lady gasped, and drew out the coin she was firmly clasping in her m.u.f.f. It was a rather extra worn halfpenny!
[Ill.u.s.tration: "DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU GIVE ME JUST NOW?"]
"Oh, my good boy!" she began, but Billy interrupted her. He saw at once how it was. And if he gave a little sigh, can you wonder? It _would_ have been "jolly," if she had replied, "All right, my boy. I meant it for you," and as he had run after her he had thought it _might_ be so.
For Billy was wise in some things, as the poor learn to be. He knew that it is not by any means those who have most to give who give most.
But a glance at the troubled old face told him the truth.