The nest day Palma had a final and decisive talk with Mrs. Pole.
In such high esteem was this good woman held by the young Stuarts that they regarded her almost as a mother.
When the question of going to England that summer was first mooted, the alternative was placed before Mrs. Pole, and the choice given, her to accompany the young pair on their voyage and foreign tour or to remain at Wolfscliff in charge of the house.
And the woman, on her part, had entreated Mr. and Mrs. Stuart to tell her which they would prefer to have her do.
To which they replied that they wished her to do just as she pleased.
This morning Palma came into the nursery, where Mrs. Pole sat beside the cradle, watching the sleeping babies, while she sewed on some plain needlework.
How for the last fortnight Mrs. Pole had been halting between two opinions, divided between the affections for Cleve and Palma and their children, that drew to go with them, and her dread of the long voyage and love of quiet that bound her to her home. Therefore, she wished them to make the decision for her that she was incapable of making for herself. And they would not.
But within a day or two it had been “borne in” upon the mind of Poley that, although Mr. and Mrs. Stuart really wished her to do as she pleased in this matter of going or staying, yet that they would be better satisfied that she should please to stay at Wolfscliff to take care of the house than to go to Europe with them. Mrs. Pole and her young friends were really secretly of one mind in this matter.
So when Palma sat down beside her she was prepared to meet the question.
Palma said:
“Poley, dear, it is really time now that you should make up your mind as to what you are going to do about going to Europe with us or staying here. Because, if you should decide to go with us, Poley, dear, we must begin at once 343to look out for some good and reliable woman to come and take care of the house while we are away.”
“Oh, my dear child, you needn’t trouble yourself to look out for nobody. If it is all the same to you, I will my own self stay here and look after the place while you are gone. Will that suit you, ma’am?”
“Perfectly, Poley, dear. We would rather leave you in charge of our home than any one else, if you are satisfied to stay.”
“Yes, I am, dearie. I’m over elderly to be sailing on the high seas, and nothing but my love for you all would ever a-made me think of such a thing. And now, as I find I can serve you better by staying here than going ’long o’ you, why, ’deed, I’d heap liefer stay here.”
“Then it is all right, Poley. And now tell me, when did you hear from your niece?”
“Jane Morgan, you mean, ma’am?”
“Of course, Jane Morgan. I did not know you had any other niece.”
“No more I hadn’t, ma’am. Well, I heard from her ’bout two weeks ago. He have been out of work near all the latter part o’ the winter, and they’ve been a-having of a very hard time, ma’am, and that is a fact, with all the mouves they’ve got to feed, too.”
“How many children have they, Poley?”
“Six, ma’am. The oldest nine years old, and the youngest nine months. And he out of work so long, poor fellow!”
“You should have told me, Poley.”
“What for, ma’am? You couldn’t have helped it. I sent ’em a good part of my wages, and that kept ’em a-going.”
“Poley, do you remember that I told you your niece should come here and bring all her babies this summer to see you and to get the benefit of this pure mountain air?”
“Oh, yes, ma’am, indeed I do remember!” exclaimed Mrs. Pole, brightening up.
“And have you written to your niece about it?”
“Oh, no, ma’am. As you never mentioned the subject again after that first time, I didn’t know but what you had forgotten it or changed your mind.”
“Oh, Poley! How could you? Well, now, look here. Write to your niece and tell her to come and bring all her children down here to spend the summer with you while we 344are gone to Europe. And I hope they will come, Poley. It would do the little children so much good. And, oh! is Mr. Morgan out of work now, Poley?”
“He was two weeks ago, ma’am, with no prospect of getting any.”
“What is his trade?”
“He is a carpenter and builder, ma’am?”
“Oh, then I do think we shall be able to do a good thing for him. Such a good thing for him!” exclaimed Palma.
Mrs. Pole looked up in mute surprise and inquiry.
“Why, this is it. You know there is ever so much carpenter’s work wanting to be done on the place. I have heard Cleve talking about it. The barn is to be almost rebuilt, and the house here wants repairs. Cleve thought of getting a carpenter down from Staunton. But now, you see, I shall just ask him to send for Mr. Morgan. And then they can all come down here—husband, wife and children! Won’t that be glorious, Poley? And he will not lose his time, and they will not be under expenses!” cried Palma in delight.
“That will be very fine indeed, ma’am, if so be it can be managed,” replied Mrs. Pole.
And then she began to compute how much it would cost to bring Joseph and Jane Morgan and their family from New York to West Virginia, and to count up her own savings from her wages.
“I can do it,” she said to herself. “I can do it! And they can pay me afterward as they get on, and if they don’t they needn’t bother about it.”
Palma went straight to Cleve and unfolded her views.
“You see, dear,” she said, after she had duly introduced the subject, “I did give Poley leave to ask her niece and the children to come down here and stay with her while we should be away in Europe; for, oh! only think how much good it will do those poor little children! And now since the husband and father is a carpenter and a skilled workman, as Poley says he is, what could happen better for all parties? You can engage him to do the work here that is so much wanted. And it will be such a good thing for him and his family as well as for us.”
“My dear quixotic Palma, your benevolence carries you into wild extravagance, I fear,” said Stuart, with a smile.
“I was only thinking of the poor man—a skilled mechanic, 345too, out of employment—and of his poor, overtasked wife and their poor little children. I know it is an unusual thing to do to bring down a whole family when one only wants a carpenter. But then, you see, the circumstances are also unusual, and——”
“And the little woman who plans the arrangements is not only unusual, but—phenomenal!” Stuart said, interrupting her, with a smile.
“Oh, Cleve, listen to me, dear, and be serious, for I am. I said the circumstances were unusual, and so they are. We are going to Europe, and this old house among the hills would be nearly empty while we are gone, and Mrs. Pole would be alone except for the negro servants on the place unless we should let her have some one to stay with her. Now these people are her nearest relations. I promised her that they should come and visit her. They are in bitter want of all that the change would bring them—and, oh, dear me, Cleve!” she suddenly broke off, “we are not living in this world all for ourselves! And don’t you think it would be a sin, and we should be worse than the dog in the manger to leave this big old house among the hills almost empty when we go away instead of opening it to that poor, half-starved and half-stifled tenement family whose children would here have fresh air, pure water and good food, and who would get health and strength and delight in this beautiful place?”
“Why, Palma, dear, you talk to me as if I had to be argued into consenting to this arrangement. It is enough, love, that you wish to have it made,” said Stuart.
“That is very kind of you, Cleve; but I wished to convince, not to coax you.”
“A distinction without a difference in this case, dear. Well, I will see to this.”
The only hesitation Stuart felt was as to the character of the man Morgan, of whom neither Palma nor himself knew anything. But Mrs. Pole did know, and Stuart resolved to have a talk with the woman, in whose honesty and judgment he had equal and entire confidence.
Later in the day he questioned Mrs. Pole, and when she assured Mr. Stuart that “he”—she always referred to her nephew-in-law by the pronoun instead of his name—“he” was honest, temperate and industrious as a man could be, 346and his only fault was carelessness about saving money when he had it, though he never wasted it on himself, but on the young ones, even to the extravagance of an excursion sometimes. But for that, “he” was as good and trusty a man as ever wore shoe leather.
Upon this information Stuart acted, and wrote a letter to Mr. Morgan offering him work for the summer, with good wages and his expenses paid to West Virginia if he should accept the terms. This business letter inclosed two others, one from Palma to Mrs. Morgan, explaining circumstances and asking her as a favor to come with Mr. Morgan and bring all their children and stay at Wolfscliff with Mrs. Pole for the whole summer and part of the autumn, while Mr. Stuart and she (the writer) should be in Europe. The last letter was from Mrs. Pole to her niece, imploring her not to be “backward” in accepting the lady’s invitation, which was made in good faith and in the earnest desire to do them service.
These letters, inclosed in one envelope, were sent off by that day’s mail.
Within seven days the answer came. One from Morgan to Mr. Stuart, gratefully accepting the liberal terms offered him; one from Jane Morgan to Mrs. Stuart, overflowing with delight and thankfulness, and telling the lady, what Palma appreciated best of all, that her children were “fairly standing on their heads in delight at the thought of their going into the country,” and one from the niece to her aunt, breathing of gratitude to the Giver of all good gifts for this blessing.
Stuart sent on his check to Morgan.
Mrs. Pole began active preparations for the reception of her niece and the children.
The large bedroom on the ground floor which had once been the private apartment of old Mr. Cleve, and two smaller rooms in the rear of that were fitted up for the family.
“Because,” said Palma, “these rooms all open upon the back porch and the end porch, and will be so convenient for the little children to run in and out without danger of falling from any height or hurting themselves.”
Mrs. Pole was ready to cry with the feeling of the young woman’s tender, thoughtful kindness.
347Palma was busy also with her own preparations. It was no very easy matter to pack trunks for her husband, her children and herself for a voyage to Europe. It would have been a much harder task but that Cleve continually reminded her that she really needed to take no more than they might require on their voyage.
“To carry clothes to Europe is to ‘carry coals to Newcastle,’” he said, quoting an old proverb.
Hatty, to her great delight, was selected from all the other servants to go with them as lady’s maid and children’s nurse.
The last week of their stay at Wolfscliff came. And the program for that week was all laid out.
On Sunday they all went to church together.
On Monday Mr. and Mrs. Cleve Stuart gave a dinner party at Wolfscliff in honor of their guest, The O’Melaghlin, and for which the invitations had been given out several days previous. This was a great success. All the family connections of the Stuarts and the Cleves were on hand, and The O’Melaghlin was in great force, notwithstanding, or perhaps just because, he had taken a great deal more wine than was good for him. But in this respect he was kept well in countenance by the elders of that dinner table; for up to this time the total abstinence movement had not reached that neighborhood, where the heads of old families kept up the convivial habits of their forefathers.
On Tuesday, by appointment, Mr. Stuart sent the large carryall and also the ox cart to Wolfswalk to meet the Morgans, who were expected to arrive that afternoon.
After their dispatch the whole household of Wolfscliff was in a state of expectancy much more delightful at the anticipation of meeting the poor workman’s family of small children who would be in such ecstasies at their visit than they would have been in looking forward to the arrival of the most distinguished party this country could afford.
But it was quite late at night when the two lumbering vehicles drew up before the door.
The O’Melaghlin had retired to rest.
Stuart had remained in the drawing-room under silent protest, until Palma entreated, exhorted and commanded, using all the forms of the potential mood in order to make 348him go to bed. Then he laughed and yielded, and Palma and Mrs. Pole “stayed up” to receive the travelers.
They had a nice supper, also, ready for them.
So when they heard the wheels grate on the pebbles before the house both rushed out of the room just in time to see old ’Sias, who alone of all the servants shared their watch, unbolt and unbar the great double front door.
Then the door was opened and the large party filed in.
Palma withdrew to the background to let Mrs. Pole offer the first greetings to her relatives. First came Joe, with one child fast asleep on his shoulder, and another, half asleep, holding his hand by his side.
Then came Jane, with the baby in her arms and two little girls clinging to her skirts, and the eldest boy close behind her.
Mrs. Pole received them one by one, kissing them in tears of joy, and with disconnected, inarticulate words of welcome.
In the midst of this little hubbub the carryall and ox cart were heard to start again and roll away in the direction of the barnyard.
Mrs. Pole presented them all, one by one, to Palma, who received each with great kindness, and took the baby to hold in her arms, while its mother, father and all the other children followed Mrs. Pole into the bedrooms to take off their wraps and wash for supper.
Then came the comfortable supper and the chat that accompanied it.
Palma felt fully compensated for her “quixotism.”
When they all bade her good-night and went to their rooms on the ground floor Palma felt too joyful to retire; so she stayed up talking to Mrs. Pole until midnight, and then—even then—when she retired to bed, she was too happy to sleep—too happy in the thought of the happiness she witnessed.
The next morning must have reconciled a more hard-headed man that Cleve Stuart to the quixotism of his wife.
The lawn resounded with the shouts and laughter of the little children, who might have thought, if young children ever think, that they had died in their tenement house and waked up in heaven.
Stuart was as much pleased with the frank, honest face 349and manner of Joseph Morgan as Palma was with the true, tender, motherly countenance and conversation of Jane Morgan.
On Thursday morning the Stuarts, with The O’Melaghlin and their servants, started for New York, en route for England.
They reached the city on Friday morning.
They spent the day in making calls on the Wallings and other friends.
On Saturday the whole party sailed for Liverpool.