They certainly were a happy group in that lowly cottage room that evening. Mabel"s proud bearing had given place, as if by magic, to a blushing shyness; which she tried to shield from observation by every possible attempt at ease. She talked to Mr. Goulding, and found a thousand uses for the old furniture she had once so heartily despised.
"She would sit in the great high chair at the end of that table, with her feet on the stool, and the china vase in the midst, filled with humble cottage flowers--meadow-sweet and wild roses, and sweet-williams, sea-pinks, woodbine, and wild convolvulus! Did Mr.
Goulding like cottage flowers best?" No; the clergyman said he did not, but he thought Mr. Lycight did, and the young man a.s.sured her that it was so; and then gazed on the only love his heart, his deep, unworn, earnest heart, had throbbed to, with an admiration which is always accompanied by fear, lest something should prevent the realization of the one great earthly hope. And Mabel was more fitful than her aunt had ever seen her. Fearful lest her secret, as she thought it, should be discovered, she made as many turns and windings as a hare; and yet, unskilled in disguising her feelings, after spending many words in arranging and re-arranging, she suddenly wished that the spinnet could be opened, "If," she exclaimed, "_that_ could be opened, I should be able to teach Mary G.o.dwin music; and her mother seemed to wish it so much: surely we can open the instrument?"
"It has not been opened for years," replied Miss Bond; "and I remember, once before, Mabel wished it opened, and I refused, lest forcing the lock might harm the marquetre, of which my poor mother was so fond. It has never been opened since her death." But Mabel"s desire was of too much consequence, in her lover"s eyes, to be pa.s.sed over, although all seemed agreed that if it were opened it could not be played upon; so in a few minutes he procured a smith, who said he would remove the hinges, and then unscrew the lock from the inside, which would not injure the cover. This was done; but greatly to poor Mabel"s dismay, the cavity, where strings once had been, was filled with old papers.
"Now, is not this provoking?" said Mabel, flinging out first one and then another bundle of letters. "Is not this provoking?"
"No, no," exclaimed Sarah Bond, grasping a lean, long, parchment, round which an abundance of tape was wound. "No. Who knows what may be found here?" At once the idea was caught, Mabel thought no more of the strings. "I cannot," said Sarah Bond to Mr. Goulding, "untie this; can you?" Her fingers trembled, and she sank on her knees by the clergyman"s side. The eyes of the little group were fixed upon him; not a word was spoken; every breath was hushed; slowly he unfastened knot after knot; at last the parchment was unfolded; still, neither Sarah Bond nor Mabel spoke; the latter gasped for breath--her lips apart, her cheeks flushed; while Sarah"s hands were clasped together, locked upon her bosom, and every vestige of colour had deserted her face.
"Be calm, my dear friend," he said, after glancing his eyes over the parchment; "be calm. You have experienced enough of the changes and chances of this world not to build too quickly upon any foundation but the one--the goodness of G.o.d; I do believe this is an especial proof of His Providence, for I do think this is Cornelius Bond Hobart"s original will in your uncle"s favour."
It would be useless to attempt a description of the scene that followed; but the joy at the _reality_ of the discovery was a heartful temperate joy--the joy of chastened hearts. Sarah Bond, blessing G.o.d, above all things, that, go the law as it would, her father"s memory would now be held as the memory of an honest man; that he had, as she had said, copied, not forged the will. Mr. Goulding declared he should find it difficult to forgive himself for having so long prevented the old furniture from being sent, a.s.suring her, the dread that Mabel was unfit to contend with the privations to which the lives of humble men are doomed, made him tremble for the happiness of the young friend who had been consigned to his care by a dying mother; he feared to renew the intercourse, until her character was developed; while poor Mabel had little thought how closely she was watched along the humble and th.o.r.n.y paths she had to traverse.
Sarah Bond"s spirit was so chastened, that she regretted nothing save the shadow cast upon her father"s grave; and now that was removed, she was indeed happy. She a.s.sured the rector how useful adversity had been to them--how healthful it had rendered Mabel"s mind--and how much better, if they recovered what had been lost, they should know how to employ their means of usefulness. Mr. Lycight"s congratulations were not so hearty as Mr. Goulding"s; he felt that _now_ he was the curate and Mabel the heiress; and he heard the kind good night which Mabel spoke with a tingling ear. _He_, was proud in his own way; and pride, as well as his affection, had been gratified by the idea of elevating her he loved. Mabel saw this, and she wept during the sleepless night, that he should believe her so unworthy and so ungrateful.
There was much to think of and to do; the witnesses were to be found, and lawyers consulted, and proceedings taken, and much of the turmoil and bitterness of the law to be endured, which it pains every honest heart to think upon; and Mr. Cramp was seized with a sudden fit of virtuous indignation against Mr. Alfred Bond, after Sarah Bond"s new "man of business" had succeeded in producing the only one of the witnesses in existence, who, he also discovered, had been purposely kept out of the way, on a former occasion, by some one or other. The delays were vexatious, and the quirks and turns, and foldings, and doubles innumerable; but they came to an end at last, and Mr. Alfred Bond was obliged in his turn to vacate the old mansion, in which he had revelled--a miser in selfish pleasures.
I have dwelt longer than was perhaps necessary on the _minutiae_ of this relation, the princ.i.p.al events of which are so strongly impressed upon my memory. But the more I have thought over the story, the more I have been struck with the phases and impulses of Sarah Bond"s un.o.btrusive, but deep feeling mind; her self-sacrificing spirit, her devotion to her father"s will, her dread, when first in possession of the property, that any _one_ act of liberality on her part might be considered a reproach to his memory; her habits struggling with her feelings, leading me to the conclusion that she would never have become, even with the expanding love of her niece to enlarge her views, thoroughly unmanacled from the parsimonious habits of her father, but for her lesson in adversity, which, instead of teaching as it does a worldly mind, the _value of money_, taught her higher nature _its proper uses_.
It was beautiful to see how Mabel grew into her aunt"s virtues; and even Mr. Goulding was startled by the energy and thoughtfulness of her character. She soon convinced Mr. Lycight that her prospects grew brighter in his love; and for a time he was romantic enough to wish she had continued, penniless, and he had been born a peer, to prove his disinterested affection. This, however, wore away, as man"s romance always does, and he absolutely became reconciled to his bride"s riches. Sarah Bond was living a very few years ago, beloved and honoured, the fountain of prosperity and blessing to all who needed. There was no useless expenditure, no show, no extravagance in "the establishment" at the old manor house; but it was pleasant to perceive the prosperity of the poor in the immediate neighbourhood; there was evidence of good heads and kind hearts, superintending all moral and intellectual improvements; there were flourishing schools, and benevolent societies, and the constant exercise of individual charities; and many said that Sarah Bond, and niece, and nephew, did more good with hundreds than others did with thousands. From having had practical experience of poverty, they understood how to remedy its wants, and minister to its sorrows. And to the last hour of her prolonged life, Sarah Bond remembered
THE USES OF ADVERSITY.
ALL IS NOT GOLD THAT GLITTERS.
CHAPTER I.
"There they go!" exclaimed old Mrs. Myles, looking after two exceedingly beautiful children, as they pa.s.sed hand in hand down the street of the small town of Abbeyweld, to the only school, that had "Seminary for Young Ladies," written in large hand, on a proportionably large card, and placed against the bow window of an ivied cottage. "There they go!" she repeated; "and though I"m their grandmother, I may say a sweeter pair of children than Helen Marsh and Rose Dillon never trod the main street of Abbeyweld--G.o.d bless them!"
She added earnestly, "G.o.d Almighty bless them!"
"Amen!" responded a kind voice; and turning round, Mrs. Myles saw the curate of the parish, the Reverend Mr. Stokes, standing just at the entry of her own house. To curtsey with the respect which in the "good old times" was customary towards those who "meekly taught, and led the way," and invite the minister in, was the work of a moment; the next beheld Mrs. Myles and her visiter tete-a-tete in the widow"s small parlour. It was a cheerful, pleasant room, such as is often met with in the clean villages of England. There were two or three pieces of embroidery, in frames of faded gilding; an old-fashioned semicircular card-table stood opposite the window, and upon it rested a filagree tea-caddy, based by a mark-a-tree work-box, flanked on one side by the Bible, on the other by a prayer-book; while on the s.p.a.ce in front was placed "The Whole Art of Cookery," by Mrs. Gla.s.se. High-backed chairs of black mahogany were ranged along the white-washed walls; a corner cupboard displayed upon its door the magnificence of King Solomon, and the liberality of the Queen of Sheba, while within glittered engraved gla.s.ses, and fairy-like cups and saucers, that would delight the hearts of the fashionables of the present day. Indeed, Mrs. Myles knew their value, and prided herself thereon, for whenever the squire or any great lady paid her a visit, she was sure, before they entered, to throw the cupboard door slyly open, so as to display its treasures; and then a little bit of family pride would creep out--"Yes, every one said they were pretty--and so she supposed they were--but they were nothing to her grandmother"s, where she remembered the servants eating off real India _chaney_." The room also contained a high-backed sofa, covered with chintz; very stately, hard, and uncomfortable it was to sit upon; indeed, no one except visiters ever did sit upon it, save on Sundays, when Helen and Rose were permitted so to do, "if they kept quiet," which in truth they seldom did for more than five minutes together. "Moonlight"--Mrs. Myles"s large cat--Moonlight would take a nap there sometimes; but as Mrs. Myles, while she _hushed_ him off, declared he was a "clean creature," it may be said that Moonlight was the only thing privileged to _enjoy_ the sofa to his heart"s content.
Why he liked it, I could not understand. Now she invited Mr. Stokes to sit upon it; but he knew better, and took the window seat in preference.
"They are fine children--are they not, sir?" inquired the good old lady, reverting in the pride of her heart to her young charges. "Rose, poor thing, will be obliged to shift for herself, for her father and mother left her almost without provision: but when Helen"s father returns, I do hope he will be able to introduce her in the way she seems born for. She has the heart of a princess--bless her!" added Mrs. Myles, triumphantly.
"I hope, my good friend, she will have a Christian"s heart," said Mr.
Stokes.
"Oh, certainly, sir, certainly, we all have that, I hope."
"I hope so too; but I think you will act wisely in directing the proud spirit of Helen into an humbler channel, while you rouse and strengthen the modest and retiring one of Rose."
"They are very, very different, sir," said the old lady, looking particularly sagacious; "I don"t mean as to talent, for they are both very clever, nor as to goodness, for, thank G.o.d, they are both good; but Helen has such a _n.o.ble_ spirit--such an uplooking way with her."
"We should all look up to G.o.d." said the minister.
"Oh, of course we all do." Mrs. Myles paused. "She has such a lady-like, independent way with her, I"m sure she"ll turn out something _great_, sir. Well, there"s no harm in a little ambition now and then; we all, you know" want to be a little bit better off than we are."
"We are too apt to indulge in a desire for what is beyond our reach,"
said the minister, gravely; "if every one was to reside on the hills, who would cultivate the valleys? We should not forget that G.o.dliness, with contentment, is great gain. It would be far better, Mrs. Myles, if, instead of struggling to get _out _ of our sphere, we laboured to do the best we could in it."
"Ah, sir, and that"s true," replied Mrs. Myles; "just what I say to Mrs. Jones, who _will_ give bad sherry at her little tea-parties; good gooseberry, I say, is better than bad sherry. Will you taste mine, sir?"
"No, thank you," said the good man, who at the very moment was pondering over the art of self-deception, as practised by ourselves _upon_ ourselves. "No, thank you; but do, my dear madam, imbue those children with a contented spirit; there is nothing that keeps us so truly at peace with the world as contentment--or with ourselves, for it teaches peace--or with a Higher Power, for it is insulting to His wisdom and love to go on repining through this beautiful world, instead of enjoying what as Christians we can enjoy, and regarding without envy that which we have not."
"Exactly so, good sir. "Be content," I said to Helen only this very morning--"be content, my dear, with your pink gingham; _who knows but by and by you may have a silk dress for Sundays_?""
"Ah, my dear Mrs. Myles, you are sowing bad seed," said the clergyman.
"What, sir, when I told her to be content with the little pink gingham?"
"No; but when you told her she might have a silk one hereafter. Don"t you see, instead of uprooting you were fostering pride?--instead of directing her ambition to a n.o.ble object, and thereby elevating her mind, you were lowering it by drawing it down to an inferior one?"
"I did not see it," observed Mrs. Myles, simply; "but you know, sir, there"s no more harm in a silk than a cotton."
"I must go now, my good lady," said the minister; "only observing that there _is_ no more harm in one than in the other, except when the desire to possess anything beyond our means leads to discontent, if not to more actively dangerous faults. I must come and lecture the little maids myself."
"And welcome, sir, and thank you kindly besides; poor little dears, they have no one to look after them but me. I daresay I am wrong sometimes, but I do my best--I do my best."
The curate thought she did according to her knowledge, but he lamented that two such exquisitely beautiful children, possessed of such natural gifts, should be left to the management of a vain old woman--most vain--though kindly and good-hearted--giving kindness with pleasure, and receiving it with grat.i.tude--yet totally unfit to bring up a _pair of beauties_, who, of all the female s.e.x, require the most discretion in the management.
"I wonder," thought the Reverend Mr. Stokes--"I wonder when our legislature will contrive to establish a school for mothers. If girls are sent to school, the chances are that the contamination over which the teacher can have no control--the contamination of evil girls--renders them vicious; if, on the contrary, they are kept at home, the folly of their mothers makes them fools--a pretty choice!"
Mr. Stokes turned down a lane that ran parallel with the garden where the children went to school; and hearing Helen"s voice in loud dispute, he paused for a moment to ascertain the cause.
"I tell you," said the little maid, "Rose may be what she likes, but I"ll be queen."
"How unfit," quoth the curate to himself--"how utterly unfit is Mrs.
Myles to manage Helen!" The good man paused again; and to the no small confusion of the little group, who had been making holiday under the shadow of a spreading apple-tree, suddenly entered amongst them, and read her a lecture, gently, kindly, and judicious. Having thus performed what he conceived his duty, he walked on; but his progress was arrested by a little hand being thrust into his; and when he looked down, the beaming, innocent face of Rose Dillon was up-turned towards him.
"Do please, sir," she said, "let Helen Marsh be queen of the game; if she is not, she won"t play with a bit of heart--she won"t, indeed, sir. She will play to be sure, but not with any heart."
"I cannot unsay what I have said, little Rose," he answered; "I cannot; it is better for her to play without heart, as you call it, than to have that heart too highly uplifted by play."
Happy would it have been for Helen Marsh if she had always had a judicious friend to correct her dangerous ambition. The good curate admonished the one, and brought forward the other, of the cousins; but what availed his occasional admonishing when counteracted by the weak flattery of Mrs. Myles?
CHAPTER II.