CHAPTER XXVIII

CHAPTER XXVIII“WHEN BUDS AND BLOSSOMS BURST”

The planning of the toilets took considerable time, and Miss Howard felt that she had made no mistake when she asked the girl’s advice. Like her father’s, Toinette’s taste was unerring, and when she said:

“Wouldn’t it be pretty to have the girls represent flowers?” Miss Howard was delighted with the idea.

“What flowers would you suggest, dear?” she asked.

“Let me think just a moment, please,” said Toinette, and she rested her chin upon her hands, a favorite attitude of hers when thinking seriously of anything. “How would a lily, a violet, apansy, a daffodil, a narcissus, and a snowdrop do?”

“How pretty!” exclaimed Miss Howard. “What put such a picturesque idea in your head? It is beautiful, and can be carried out admirably. You must be my fair and lovely lily; then shall come my violet and daffodil; then my narcissus and lilac; then my pansy and modest little snowdrop. That will exactly suit Helen.”

“Who are to be the bridesmaids?”

“Edith, May, Ruth, Marie, Natala and Helen.”

“How nice of you to choose all the younger girls; it makes us feel so important. Now, let’s plan just what the dresses are to be,” said Toinette, becoming quite excited, and looking at Miss Howard as though all must be completed ere they left the summer-house.

“I am waiting for your suggestions,” said she.

“Wouldn’t it be pretty to have all the dresses made of white chiffon, or something soft likethat, and have white, violet and yellow slips under them? Then have the hats trimmed with the flowers they represent. Would you like that, Miss Howard?”

“Yes, immensely; but now I want to think about Helen. You know she has very limited means, and what might seem a small outlay for the others would probably be a large one for her, and I do not want to tax her resources, much as I wish to have her for one of my bonny maids.”

“Yes,” said Toinette, meditatively, “I suppose the dresses will be rather expensive, but it would be too bad not to have Helen; she is so sweet and is so fond of you, Miss Howard.”

“Yes, she is a dear child, and I have felt a great interest in her from the moment she entered the school. I wish I knew of some way of bettering her circumstances. Mr. Burgess is a most estimable man, but not one liable to advance rapidly through his own efforts, I fear. He is most reliable and capable, but seems tolack the push so essential in this bustling day and age. He would prove invaluable in any position of trust, but would never secure such if it depended upon his own efforts to do so.”

Toinette had listened very attentively while Miss Howard was talking, and when she finished said:

“When papa was out here for the dance I spoke to him about Helen, and we had such a nice little talk. The next day he spoke with Miss Preston about those very things, but I do not know what came of it. I wish I did. His business affairs bring him into contact with so many large firms of different kinds that I am almost sure he could secure something for Mr. Burgess. Do you know what I am going to do?” said Toinette, eagerly, “I am going to write to him right off, tell him all about our plans; may I? About the wedding, the bridesmaids, and everything; then I am going to ask him if he has heard of anything that he thinks would help Mr. Burgess, and, who knows,maybe, by the first of June all will be fixed up so nicely that Helen can have things as nice as the other girls—and, oh, Miss Howard!—wouldn’t it belovelyif she could go abroad with Miss Preston?” and Toinette clasped her hands in rapture at the very thought.

Miss Howard laughed a happy little laugh, and, taking Toinette’s face in both her hands, kissed her cheeks very tenderly, saying as she did so:

“I see that I made no mistake in my estimate of your character, dear, although I did not bargain for quite such a wise, resourceful little head and efficient helper as you have proved. How did you manage to think out so much in so short a time?”

“I suppose it is because my brains have never been overburdened with thoughts for other people,” said Toinette, with an odd expression overspreading her face, “and so the part of them devoted to that sort of thing has had time to develop to an astonishing degree. But I guess I’dbetter begin to use the power before it becomes abnormal; Miss Preston says that abnormal development of any sort is dangerous,” and she gave a funny little laugh as she glanced slyly into Miss Howard’s eyes.

Miss Howard understood the quaint remark, and, rising from her seat, said: “I shall not soon forget our little talk, but must leave you now for the ‘school ma’am’s’ duties. One of them will be to endeavor to persuade Pauline that it wasnotHenry VIII. who sought to reduce the American Colonies to submission, nor Lafayette who won the battle of Waterloo. Good-bye,” and away tripped Miss Howard over the soft green lawn.

Toinette sat for a few moments, and then, springing up, said to herself: “I might as well go and write that letter this very minute, and I do hope papa will know of something right off. How lovely it would be!”

The letter was soon written, and within two hours was speeding upon its way to New York.Toinette had reasoned well, and, as good luck would have it, the letter arrived at a most auspicious moment. As Mr. Reeve sat reading it, his face reflecting the happiness he felt at receiving it so close upon the one which came to him every Monday morning, a client was shown into his office.

It happened to be one who was about to embark upon a new line of business in which he was venturing large sums of money, and which required capable, trustworthy men to carry out his plans. He had consulted with Mr. Reeve many times before, and nearly all details were completed; the few that remained dealt with minor matters, so Mr. Reeve felt considerable satisfaction at the thought of having brought all arrangements through so successfully. But it was certainly anything but a contented face he saw before him when he glanced up from Toinette’s letter upon Mr. Fowler’s entrance, and his first words were: “Well, for a prosperous capitalist, you bear a woeful countenance, Ned.”

“If mine is woeful, yours certainly is not,” was the prompt answer. “You look as though you had been the recipient of some very pleasing news.”

“A pretty good sort,” said Mr. Reeve, smiling. “The sort that makes a man feel old and young at the same time. Ever get any of that?”

“Don’t know as I do; it must be a rare specimen,” said Mr. Fowler, dryly. “Better let me know the kind it is; perhaps it will counterbalance the kind I have for you this morning; confound it!”

Seeing that Mr. Fowler was really disturbed about something, Mr. Reeve dropped his bantering tone, and went to serious matters. He then learned that the bookkeeper whom Mr. Fowler had engaged for the new line of business, and who would also act as his confidential clerk and office manager, would be unable to accept the position, as he was called to England by the death of his father, and would in future make his home there. This was a serious loss to Mr.Fowler, for he had known this man for years, and felt deep satisfaction at the thought of having such an efficient assistant.

“And now,” he said, when he had told Mr. Reeve all the facts, “who under heavens am I to find to fill his place at such short notice, I’d like to know? Such men are not to be picked up at every corner.”

“Read that letter,” was all Mr. Reeve said, and handed him Toinette’s letter.

Mr. Fowler took the letter, and began reading with a very mystified expression, as though he could not for the life of him understand what a letter from Mr. Reeve’s daughter had to do with his private affairs. But, as he read, his expression changed, and when he came to the end he said: “Well, it may be Kismet; can’t say. Funnier things have happened. Look into it, will you, Clayton? I’m sick and tired of the thing, particularly when I thought all important details settled.”

And Clayton Reeve did “look into it” verythoroughly, leaving no stone unturned which would help him to learn all that it was necessary to know about Mr. Burgess, and nothing could possibly have been more gratifying than what he learned. As a result of it, Mr. Burgess was offered the position from June first, and the salary offered with it seemed a princely one to him as compared to the one he had received as clerk in the bank in Montcliff. It would be hard to understand the happiness which that schoolgirl letter brought to one family, or how the writing of it changed two lives very materially, and a third completely.

CHAPTER XXIXCOMMENCEMENT

Many a girl has asked: “Why do they call it commencement when it is really the end?” If they have not found out why, I am not going to tell the secret. But one thing I have found out is this: Never in after life do we ever feelquiteso important as we do when that day has been reached upon our life’s calendar.

It was no exception at Sunny Bank, and when the fifth of June dawned that year it found a busy, bustling household. No, I am not telling the exact truth: it was not when itdawned, but fully three hours later, and then began the hurry-scurry which continued till all were assembled in chapel to listen to the opening prayer of thegood man who had for many a year opened the Sunny Bank commencement exercises.

He had grown old in faithful service in Montcliff, and was beloved and revered by all.

It is of no use for me to tell you all about those exercises; to an outsider they were exactly like many others that had taken place before; to the girls themselves they were unique, and stood out pre-eminent above all others. Everybody was there who had the smallest excuse for being, and just how happy six bodies were I will leave you to learn from what follows.

The exercises were to take place in the evening, and all day long relatives and friends of the girls arrived thick and fast. Among the first was Toinette’s father. “Couldn’t wait till evening, you see,” he cried, as he met Toinette at the railway station. “Yes, it is all settled; I got them by a lucky chance at the very last moment.”

“Did you say anything to Mr. Burgess about it?” asked Toinette.

“No, I have not seen him; daresay he has had his hands full since the first. We’ll speak to Miss Preston first, and then call at the Burgess’ and tell them.”

“How perfectly splendid! Oh, daddy, you are a perfect wonder! How do you ever manage to fetch things about so successfully?”

“Because I have found a wonderful incentive to spur me on,” he answered as he handed her into the carriage which was waiting for them, and they whirled off up the hill.

“And you will stay here till after the wedding, won’t you?” asked Toinette, snuggling close to his side and slipping her arm through his.

“What! Five whole days? What will you do with me all that time?”

“No danger of your suffering from ennui, I guess,” laughed Toinette. “I will guarantee to keep you occupied. And then, daddy, after all is over we’ll go off together, and won’t we have glorious times!” and she gave a rapturous littlebounce at the thought of the delightful days to come.

Miss Preston was to sail for Europe on the fifteenth of June, five days after Miss Howard’s wedding, and six girls were to go with her. When it became an understood thing that Mr. Burgess’ financial affairs were to be so improved, the possibility of Helen making one of the party was talked over, although Mrs. Burgess was filled with dismay at the thought of having her daughter take such a step upon such short notice; it seemed a tremendous thing to that quiet, home-staying body. Still, Miss Preston had long been anxious to have Helen go with her, and, now that there seemed no further obstacle to her doing so, could not make up her mind to go without her.

She had talked it over with both Mr. and Mrs. Burgess, but, it must be confessed, had met with only lukewarm enthusiasm. Furthermore, it was very late in the day to secure stateroom accommodation upon the steamer by which MissPreston would sail, her own and the girls having been engaged for weeks.

Helen herself said very little, but Miss Preston knew that the girl’s heart had long been set upon going, and this year the route planned took in the very points she had most wished to visit, and which would prove the most profitable for her to visit. In desperation, Miss Preston turned to Mr. Reeve once more, for she had found him a most resourceful man, and one not likely to be easily baffled.

The result was that he had succeeded in making a mutually agreeable exchange of staterooms with some other people, and was now primed and ready to carry the war into the enemy’s country.

Soon after luncheon they all drove to Stonybrook, a town about ten miles from Montcliff, and Helen’s home. Evidently their persuasive powers were strong, for ere the visit ended it was decided that Helen should make one of Miss Preston’s party to sail with her “over the oceanblue,” and some very happy people drove back to Montcliff that afternoon.

The house seemed very quiet after the girls’ departure for their homes on the day following commencement, for, excepting those who lived too far away to return for the wedding, and would remain as Miss Preston’s guests until after the tenth, all had left that morning, and when a house has been filled with twenty-five or thirty girls, and all but eight or ten suddenly depart from it, the quiet which ensues cannot be overlooked.

Mr. Reeve gave himself up to the enjoyment of his five days’ vacation as only a busy man can, and when I add that he was a very happy man, too, I need say no more.

The year had been one of many experiences both for him and for Toinette, and for both was ending far more happily than he had hoped it would. The future seemed to promise a great deal to them both, for they were growing to understand each other better every day, and Toinettewas developing into a very lovely, as well as a very lovable, companion. They had planned a delightful summer vacation, to be spent in travelling leisurely from place to place, as the fancy took them, and Toinette had suggested nearly all.

The five days at Montcliff were spent in driving about the beautiful country, playing tennis, rambling about the pretty woods, and doing an endless number of delightful nothings, as people can sometimes do when they fully make up their minds to put aside the cares of the world for a time.

They soon came to an end, and then came Miss Howard’s wedding day.

There has always seemed something inexpressibly sweet in Longfellow’s words in reference to the forming of new ties and establishing the new home. In Miss Howard’s case it was to be a home filled with all the sweetest hopes that can come into a woman’s life: hopes sanctified by love and founded upon respect. Couldthey have a firmer foundation? The future held great promise for her, although worldly-minded folk might say that the step she was about to take was not marked off by agoldenmile-stone, nor the path she would follow be paved with a golden pavement. She knew that quite well, and had wisely decided that a noble character and a brilliant mind were excellent substitutes, however agreeable it may be to have the former, and, also, that the former minus the latter are fairy gold.

CHAPTER XXX“O FORTUNATE, O HAPPY DAY”

“O fortunate, O happy day,

When a new household finds its place

Among the myriad homes of earth,

Like a new star just sprung to birth,

And rolled on its harmonious way

Into the boundless realms of space!”

As though all that was loveliest had united to do her honor, and make the boundary-line between the old and the new life one to be long remembered by all who stood beside her at it, the day set for Miss Howard’s wedding was all that Lowell has written about it. It was as “rare” and “perfect” as dear Mother Nature could make it for one of her loveliest children.

The girls had dressed the church, until it seemed a very bower of bloom, and at every turnMiss Howard would find the posies of which she was so fond. The three colors, if white may be called a color, chosen for the bridesmaids’ dresses were used in the decorations, and altar, chancel, transept and aisles were brilliant with daffodils, narcissuses and lilacs, which filled the church with their perfume.

The wedding was to take place at four o’clock, and when that hour arrived little space was left in the church for the tardy ones.

Nearly all the girls had returned for the ceremony, and a bonnier lot it would have been difficult to find than that which filled the front pews of the church, for Miss Howard would have them all near her, insisting that none of the other guests could possibly have the same loving thoughts for her that her girls would have.

Promptly at the stroke of four the great organ rolled out its message to all, and, after her few distant relatives had been conducted to their seats, Miss Howard’s bonny bridesmaids appeared, following another fancy of hers by walkingtogether, with the ushers leading. First came Edith and Marie; Edith’s yellow golden hair a perfect background for the big white chip hat, with its masses of violets, and her fair, soft skin made softer and fairer by the fairy-like chiffon draped so artistically over the pale violet satin beneath it. A daintily gilded basket filled with violets told all the story.

Saucy and pert beside her walked the little brownie Marie, looking for all the world like the bobbing daffies in her white basket. One wanted to sing the old nursery rhyme: “Daffy-down-dilly has come to town,” for they were nodding a friendly greeting from her hat, and seemed to lend their golden sheen to the satin beneath the white chiffon gown.

Behind them followed May Foster and Natala King. May’s bronze-brown hair and brilliant coloring were a perfect foil for the creamy-white narcissus blossoms on her hat and the creamy-white of her gown. While Natala’s light-brownhair and hazel eyes needed just the lilac tints to show how pretty they were.

Then came Ruth and Helen. Could Miss Howard have chosen two who, placed beside each other, would have formed a more pronounced contrast? Not even the solemnity of the occasion could overcome Ruth’s ruling passion, curiosity: she was determined to see all to be seen if it rested with her to do so. Nor were the pert pansy blossoms upon her hat, nodding a welcome to all, more on the alert. Or could those which peeped from the folds of her pansy-yellow gown, with its white chiffon draperies, smile in a more friendly manner than did Ruth, as she walked slowly up that aisle, with shy, modest Helen at her side. Helen looked the snowdrop to perfection, for if the pansies needed Ruth’s gypsy coloring for a foil, the snowdrops needed Helen’s pale blonde daintiness for theirs. The only color which relieved its pure white was the deep green of the wax-like leaves, and the contrast was perfect. Thedress was of that soft silvery white only to be contrived by the combination of satin and chiffon, and Helen looked very lovely.

Behind them, a dream of fairness, walked Toinette. Through the chiffon of her gown ran fine golden threads, which caused it to glint and glisten as the sunbeams. The white satin underneath was of that peculiar ivory tint which combines so exquisitely with gold tints. Her hat was made of the chiffon, and trimmed with Easter lilies, which nestled in its soft folds and against the beautiful golden hair beneath them. Her basket was also white, and she was a fitting emblem of the pure soul she was leading to the altar.

Then came the bride, her hand resting lightly upon the arm of the friend who had led her along the greater part of her life’s pathway, for Miss Preston had been Miss Howard’s “guide, philosopher and friend” almost as long as she could remember. Very stately did she look, as she walked up that aisle to give away at the altarsomething which the years had rendered very precious to her, for sometimes “old maids’ children” are more dear to them than are the children who claim the love of parents.

Miss Preston was very proud of her honors.

But no words can describe the girl who walked at her side, her beautiful face made transcendently so by the tenderest, holiest thought that can fill a woman’s heart: that she is about to become the wife of the man she loves. She seemed to forget the church and all who were gathered there to witness her happiness, and the soft, dark eyes looked straight before her to the altar, where her husband to be awaited her, as though that altar was to her as the entrance to the holy of holies; as, indeed, it was.

How brief is a marriage ceremony! A few words are spoken and two lives are changed forever, never again to be the same as they were less than ten minutes before, but filled with new duties, new obligations, and the responsibilities we must all assume when we utter the words: “I will.” God meant that it should be so, and it is one of this world’s many blessings.

“THE BRIDE, HER HAND RESTING LIGHTLY ON THE ARM OF HER FRIEND.”

“THE BRIDE, HER HAND RESTING LIGHTLY ON THE ARM OF HER FRIEND.”

The reception Miss Preston gave for her “adopted daughter,” as she called Miss Howard, now Mrs. Chichester, was long talked over by the school, and quoted by the girls as “our reception” for months.

Mr. and Mrs. Chichester sailed for Europe on the same steamer which carried Miss Preston and her girls, and a happier, merrier party it would have been hard to find. Toinette and Mr. Reeve went to bid them farewell and a pleasant voyage, and the last faces those upon the great ship saw as they swung out into the stream were Toinette’s and her father’s.

And now we, too, must leave them—leave them to the happy summer vacation, when they learned how dear they were to each other, and what a dear old world this is, after all, when two people manage to look at it through little Dan Cupid’s spectacles.

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