We generally performed the church service on an elevated, but small platform above the dining place, looking down upon the great chestnut tree, and indeed upon all our possessions. Thus endeavouring to realize the scenes so often seen in England, where the pretty simple church, with its graceful spire, is seen on an elevated place, while the humble cottages, and rose-covered houses clustered round its base.
To make the resemblance more perfect, one singlelarge cocoa-nut tree, with its tall stem and fan-like head, was the only tree growing near the spot, and the children were wont to call this tree when its solitary condition caught their eye, the church spire.
The cliff shelved over some feet, making a natural shade and cover, and here we placed the proper seats, two only being at the foot of the tree whose occupants read and responded to the church service.
Sometimes a sermon was read after the prayers, but more often it was my habit to give each of the young ones a text from the Holy Bible, and from that they made small sermons, or rather remarks of their own which were meant only for the Mother's eye, and sacredly respected by her in that particular.
On this Sunday, the prayers being over, the psalm sung, they waited a short space for me to give them their texts as usual, but seeing how sorrowful and weak I was, and so slow in finding them out, they asked to choose their own texts for this time, which I willingly granted.
They separated to perform their own tasks until dinner time, after which Schillie and I intended between us to enter into a full discussion of our present state, and future lot, assisted by Madame, before them all. "In the multitude of councillors there is knowledge," and tho' many of our party were so young, yet Ihave often noticed happy thoughts, and very sage ideas rise in little heads, and amongst so many might not some brilliant conception arise, some fresh thought be promulgated which had escaped the harassed minds, and jaded spirits of the older heads. My readers shall judge of this in the next chapter.
The meal was finished, everything was cleared away, the two maids were bid come and form part of the conclave, we were all equal now, and every one was to have a voice in this council.
Madame began by saying that she thought I was unnaturally hasty in concluding that we were really left on this island for life. "So many things, dear Madam, may have occurred to prevent their coming, of which we know nothing. Besides, Captain MacNab knew that we had provisions for six months, and he might not like to trust the vessel to the hurricanes that often precede the rainy season."
Mother.—"That is very true, Madame, but I don't think the Captain would willingly put us to such anxiety; besides, he knows that we have no shelter to screen us from the violent effects of the rain."
Madame.—"But I think, Madam, we should not so immediately conclude that he is not coming at all, and that we are inevitably left alone here."
Mother.—"I do not conclude so inevitably, but it is better to come to some decision than to spend our timeas we have done the last six weeks. Had we not spent our days in hoping instead of doing we should not be in such an uncomfortable situation as we are now. Two children have certainly got symptoms of ague, and you have a wretched cold and cough, half our worldly possessions are more or less damaged by the rain, and should it return, where are we to look for shelter, what can we do to preserve the goods left us?"
Madame.—"I have no doubt that the storm of the other night was only the precursor of the rainy season, which lasts from fifteen to twenty-five days in the climate to which I have been accustomed."
Mother.—"Then there is the more necessity for our exerting ourselves. Tell me, Schillie, what do you think?"
Schillie.—"I think nothing. If we are to be drowned, it's the same to me whether it is by rain or sea."
Mother.—"Nay, you are unkind. It is at moments like these when clear heads and quick wits are most invaluable. You surely don't intend to burden me with the sole arrangement of this painful and arduous undertaking."
Schillie.—"I don't see what you have got to bother yourself about. You would build a hut spite of all I could say, and the first shower drove it down on your ears."
Several voices exclaimed, "Oh, cousin Schillie, a shower! did you call that dreadful storm a shower!" while Madame lifted up her hands and eyes, and said, "it was a fearful deluge."
Schillie.—"Yes, yes, I dare say it was rather heavy; but it is nothing to what we shall have."
"Heaven forbid," again exclaimed Madame, while the little ones seemed equally aghast at the idea.
Mother.—"I grant that building more huts is out of the question, and, besides, we have not time, I suppose, but we must do something to save what we have left of our property. Come, girls, what can you suggest?"
Sybil.—"I can only think of covering everything with those great big plantain leaves."
Serena.—"And we can put stones on them to keep them down; and by putting a great many layers, I don't think it is possible the rain can get through."
Mother.—"And you, Gatty."
"Oh," said Gatty, getting very red, and twisting her pocket handkerchief into a series of knots, "I don't know much about such things, but," seeing she must speak out, "perhaps stowing them away under a big tree would do."
Zoë.—"I think the same as Gatty, Mother, for it must be impossible for the heaviest rain to get through some of the thick trees out there."
Winny.—"I am not certain which plan I think best; but I will wait and hear what Mother thinks before I quite decide."
Lilly.—"I think digging a deep hole, and burying them in the sand would be the best."
Oscar.—"Just as if the rain would not go through the sand. You always think of such out-of-the-way things, Lilly."
Mother.—"But I do not think hers's such a bad idea, I think it a very good one for such a little girl; but what do you think best yourself?"
Oscar.—"I think we had much better put them all safe in the cavern in which we sleep, especially the powder and shot, because if that gets wet it is done for, and we can dry ourselves by a fire, and yet not be hurt."
Madame.—"Oh, my dear boy, you do not know how dangerous it is to get wet in this climate, and as for sleeping out all night, you would not be alive for one week."
Oscar.—"But it is of very great consequence, Madame, that we should preserve the guns, and powder, and shot. Supposing your friends, the savages, should come, how are we to kill them if I have no powder and shot, I should like to know."
Felix warmly supported Oscar, merely saying, "If Mama's plan is a better one, I will choose that, but I suppose you won't mind, Oscar!" Oscar set him at rest on this subject.
Hargrave vehemently protested against the powder and shot being placed any where near, what she considered her property, namely all our clothes, trinkets, bonnets, and caps, and bitterly bewailed the mischief the storm had done amongst various silk dresses, and pretty smart caps. Nearly all the young ladies' bonnets were more or less hurt, and not finding her witscapable of discussing any other subject, we released her from the obligation placed on every one else, namely to give their opinion on what we should do.
Jenny sided with her dear Miss Lilly, partly because she had been snubbed by Oscar, and partly because she had a great opinion of her sense and quickness.
Having gone the round of the family, nothing remained but to sum up the whole, and make the most of it. That most was so little, we were soon all in high discussion again. Madame and Oscar being the principal talkers, and carrying on their dispute to some length, she declaring the cavern must not be given up, he vociferating that the powder and shot must be saved. They at length arrived at a pitch, so as to extract an observation from Schillie, which was one reason why I had allowed the boy to argue so much.
Schillie.—"Madame, it is too hot to get into such a stew. Do you imagine there is only one cavern in the island?"
Oscar.—"And so I wanted to tell Madame, but she would not hear me out. I did not want your old cavern, Madame, I only wanted to put all the things safe in some cavern."
Schillie.—"I think, instead of making all this noise, we had better go and search for some more caverns."
Madame.—"But it is Sunday."
Schillie.—"Necessity has no law, Madame, besides the heavens are at work, see!"
As she spoke, the lightning played before us, and the heavy thunder broke over our heads. We crouched beneath the rock, but the cloud passed away, the sun came out again, brilliantly lighting up the rain-drops which fell sharply and heavily for ten minutes.
"Now then," said Schillie, "we will all go and search for caverns. You had better lie down, as you look done up. We will be absent an hour, or you may sound the conch-shell to bring us home in time for evening church. And, Hargrave, have something ready to drink when we return. I shall be dying of thirst, I know."
Every one followed her, Madame and Hargrave only making short searchings near at hand. In the meantime, I lay down and looked at all the texts the young ones had brought to me, as was their custom before the Sunday dinner, and which on this day they had chosen for themselves. How profoundly was I affected at the selection they had made, and the simple trustful observations accompanying each, while the wish to comfort pervaded them all, mixed with hopeful anticipations that all would end well, and earnest protestations that they would be very good, and I had only to speak to be obeyed. But I think their own papers will better show the comfort and consolation they gave me than all I can say on the subject, and I will therefore give them verbatim:—
Psalm107, verses 4, 5, 6.—"They went astray in the wilderness out of the way, and found no city to dwell in. Their soul fainted within them. So they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and He delivered them out of their distress."
How good is our great Father in giving such consolation to us. We cannot believe He will forsake us, when in almost every page of His Holy Book we find promises of help and deliverance to those who trust in Him; and how happy should we feel in believing that the greater our sorrow and desolation the nearer we are to Him who afflicts those whom he loveth. Let us think also what comfort he has left us still—that we are not solitary in this lonely island—that our Mothers and dear companions are with us; and let us show our gratitude for such mercies left us by becoming more obedient, loving, and dutiful to those whose sorrow for our forlorn state is so deep. May we be a comfort to our Mother, and always think that in this small island, as in the great world, our thoughts and actions are known, our prayers are listened to by One who has promised never to leave or forsake us. How happy it is to think that on this Holy day numbers of our fellow creatures are in our own dear country praying "for all those in danger, necessity, and tribulation," and whose voices in earnest prayer meet ours, and join with those of the choir of angels above. We may hope that He who supports and sends us comfort in our despair may console oursorrowing ones at home, and give them hopes, as He does us, of meeting them again in this world. For our Saviour, Jesus Christ's sake, whose loving words "It is I, be not afraid," follow us and comfort us far from home. We will ask him to look down and guard our little island, which He brought from the depths of the sea, to be our refuge from storms and winds. To Him whose care is over us we commit ourselves, and those near and dear to us, and we will believe "that those who cry unto the Lord in their trouble He delivereth them from their distress."
"Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another, and the Lord hearkened."—Malachiiii. 16.
We beseech Thee, O Lord, to hear us, for we fear Thee and love Thee. We are separated from those we love; we cannot speak to them, or they to us; we have little prospect before us of ever seeing them again; but we have the gracious Lord to speak to, and we have His gracious promise that He will hear us. Through our Father in Heaven we can hold intercourse with our Father on earth. We pray for him, and we know God heareth the prayer that goeth not out of feigned lips. He prays for us, and God heareth him, as we see daily, hourly, in the lovely place allotted to us, in the fruits that rise before us, in the flowers that spring up to our hands, in the love we bear each other, and, oh, more than all, in the privilege that we may speak to eachother of the Lord's mercies and loving kindnesses, and know that he heareth us, for Jesus Christ's sake. Then let us remember, should despondency overwhelm us, or sorrow cast her gloomy mantle upon us, that this land is not our "abiding place," that here we have no "continuing city," but that beyond the tomb we have an house prepared, not made with hands, where we shall not only meet those from whom we have been torn in this life, but such things "as eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man to conceive."
"But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; and they shall walk and not faint."—Isaiahxl. 31.
It is a very happy thing for us that the great God has mercifully promised in such numerous places in the Bible health and strength in our hour of need, for, indeed, we require it now more than ever I remember before; for, though we have everything we could want in this wretched little island, we seem doomed to pass our days here, never more to see everything we loved at home. But there is a heaven above, where there is to be no sorrow, where "tears shall be wiped away from every eye," and to this we must raise our hearts, trusting that God will renew our strength and make us strong to fulfil our duties until the time comes forus to meet them. We must pray to Him that we be not weary or faint in doing the work He has set before us, that we may be worthy of going to that place where "the wicked cease from troubling, and the weary are at rest."
"Oh! what great troubles and adversities hast Thou showed me, and yet didst Thou turn and refresh me."—Psalmlxxi. 8.
Ever since we left our happy home we have been troubled and tossed about. Many adversities have fallen upon us that we never thought could have happened. But God has willed it so, and for wise purposes. Perhaps He thought us too happy; perhaps it was necessary to do us good that we should be thus afflicted. Let us then not grieve, but look into our hearts to see our faults, and then we shall have so much to do that time will pass quickly, and we shall have peace and comfort in our minds beyond all other pleasure, the peace that our Heavenly Father gives to those who strive to please Him. This will make our little island like a paradise, preparing us for the happy and beautiful paradise where we shall meet all those we love so much.
"But God shall deliver the island of the innocent."—Jobxxii. 30.
I think this is an island in which we now live, and I think that we who are in it are innocent people; therefore God will love us, and take care of us, for He tells us so in His Holy Book. Look at my text, and study it; there is a great promise, and nobody in the world, I am sure, wants such a promise so much as we poor lonely people do. Let us then be very innocent and good, and then we shall be certain that God means that holy promise, which I have written down as my text for us, and just as much as if He spoke it to us. And, though we are all alone here, we have our Bibles to teach us to be innocent people, and that's what no savages or heathen people have, and, therefore, we should rejoice and be glad, and sing a song of thankfulness. And now I think I have explained my text, and have only to say that we must often pray to our Heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, because without His help we cannot be innocent people.
"Comfort ye, comfort ye my people."
When we look into the Holy Book of God, at every page we read something that does us good; that is, if our hearts are rightly turned towards God, so that we wish to do His will and not our own. Lo I opened my Bible at this place, and found my text, and think it very proper for us, for we do comfort each other, and God comforts us, and we have nothing to wish for, and nothing to want, except to see our homes once more.And, if God wills that we should return home, how happy and grateful shall we be, and if He does not, we have much to do here, especially in comforting each other, and, if we work cheerfully, without sorrow and grief, great shall be our reward in heaven.
While I was thus thinking my dear companions returned from their search which had been very successful. I kissed and thanked them all for their pretty thoughts and comforting words, and told them how much good they had done me, and how, for this once I must show them all to Madame and Schillie, that they might derive the same pleasure from them that I did, to which Sybil, as spokeswoman for all, gave a smiling blushing consent, and, though they did not read them just then, yet I may as well say that Madame could not sufficiently express her admiration of these innocent Sermons, and got leave from me and them to copy them into a book of her own; and, whenever she was ill or out of spirits, we always saw the little marble-covered book, containing them, brought out and regularly studied.
Schillie, in a more characteristic manner, expressed her approbation, saying that they were all good worthy children, and they wrote much better Sermons than most she had heard, for, besides being greatly to the point, they were extremely short.
And, now to return to the caverns. They had found a perfect series of comfortable places, as they called them, some being connected with others, so that we could go from one to the other without being exposed to the wet.
We had another severe storm that night, but the next day we worked and stowed everything away as well as we could. The old original cavern, being to Oscar's great delight the receptacle for the gunpowder and ammunition, more because it was the furthest from the others than from any particular wish to oblige him. Every now and then in the midst of our arrangements we had a severe storm, generally accompanied with thunder and lightning. To be exposed to one for only a few minutes wetted us quite through, therefore not wishing to lose a moment of such precious time, it was not until late in the evening that we changed or rested. At the end of three days we had done wonders, but had nearly done ourselves up also. That morning there was no sun; nothing but continual pouring down of rain all day, and so it continued for a fortnight. During this time we made ourselves more comfortable in the three caverns, which communicated with each other; one of which was very dark and close. The lighter ones we used all day, but they smelt damp and unwholesome, and the children began to grow pale, and become restless. Besides our food was but indifferent; no fruit or vegetables, or fish. Eggs we had in abundance from the chickens and ducks we had broughtwith us, and which had scarcely ceased laying since we arrived, so much did they thrive in this luxuriant island. The evenings were very tedious, and we had to invent all sorts of games which would at once amuse them, and yet be exercise also.
Felix and Winny were both attacked with ague, and Madame had so bad a cough no lessons could be done. I wondered at first, on hearing Gatty's eager enquiries every morning after Madame, until I accidently heard in answer by Hargrave that Madame had not slept during the night, "All right, girls, the cough is delightfully bad." This put me and Schillie upon employing our spare time in teaching them ourselves, which announcement was at first received rather coldly; but they derived such infinite amusement from our inaptness to the business that they were quite impatient if anything prevented us performing this office. With the utmost gravity and demureness Gatty would bring me the same lesson to repeat every day; and though I must, in justice to myself, allow that I thought it must be the easiest book in the world, it seemed all the same thing, I was too innocent to imagine she was amusing herself at my expense. How long I should have gone on I know not, but her exquisite delight at my simplicity was too great to be kept in, she told her own secret amidst the laughter of all, her dupe being one of the most amused. Sybil and Serena took equal liberties, all more from the love of fun than real delinquency, so that during our reign lessons were at a premium.Schillie undertook writing and summing, and as she was always mending pens and cutting pencils, holding one or other between her lips, she was often not in a condition to reprimand by words, consequently a tap on the head, a blow on the cheek, a pinch on the arm, generally expressed her disapprobation. Moreover, she was very impatient if the sums were done wrong, and exclaiming, "Good lack, what young noodles," would do the sums again herself, instead of making the delinquents correct them. This plan I pronounced with great dignity as highly improper; she, in dudgeon, said I was a noodle too, and we came to high words, much to the delight and gratification of our pupils.
But Sybil and Serena delighted in drawing her out while they were all three reading aloud to her in turns their English History. Then warmed with her subject, delighting in all the political and historical details, she would take the book from their hands, and enter into long discussions, her strong whig principles startling the two bred and born tory girls into sufficient argument and opposition to give piquancy and eloquence to her words as they flowed rapidly from her lips. During these periods, Gatty, who only cared to get done as quick as possible what she was obliged to do, and thought all these digressions a great bore, employed her idle fingers in whatever mischief lay within her reach. If she had no pocket handkerchief to twist into holes, it took her but a few minutes to dog-ear a whole book; or, probably, the energetic discussion andthe attentive listeners would be interrupted by a sudden crash, proclaiming the tearing of something, and each would instinctively look round for their handkerchiefs; or she would collect little animals, like ants, spiders, or flies, and, having got a handful, would empty them over one of the three; in fact, she would do anything to put an end to the discussion, that they might finish their allotted task and get it over. Then in wrath Schillie would turn round and exclaim, "You idle young monkey, why don't you go on with your reading?"
Gatty(demurely).—"If you please, little Mother, we can't."
Schillie.—"Cannot! What stops you, I should like to know? Nothing but your own laziness, keeping me waiting here all day."
Gatty(still more meekly).—"If you please, little Mother, you have got the book."
Schillie.—"Got the book! Who wants to keep your book? I am sure I don't; I only wish to have done with you as soon as possible."
Gatty.—"If you please, little Mother, you stopped us to talk about those people."
Schillie.—"Those people indeed! You who ought to be more interested in such characters than the other girls, because your Father's name will be handed down to posterity in the same manner. I am quite done up with you being such an owlet, Gatty."
Gatty.—"If you please, little Mother, I don't care about them at all. They are all dead, and they arenothing to me, and I only wish they had not lived, and then we should not have had such a long History of England to read through."
Such speeches were too much for Schillie's fortitude, and Gatty's sparkling eyes showed how successful her manœuvres were in being dismissed at once, "as too stupid to be borne with."
Sometimes I handed over the little girls to her to say their lessons, and they were invariably dismissed before they could have said half of them. And when I enquired the reason thereof, "Poor little victims," she answered, "what is the use of addling their brains with such a cart load of lessons, one more silly than another. As if they could not order a much better dinner than is mentioned in this French phrase book, and all that trumpery poetry; and their geography book is the stupidest I ever saw, as if they did not all know what an island is. It's my opinion they will know too well what an island is, without learning it in a book."
With the boys she got on pretty well, except hurting Felix's feelings now and then by saying, "Now learn your book, and don't eat it this time," which allusion generally caused a tear or two, he having a well very near his eyes.
None of the young ones were anxious to give up their new governesses, but they, on the contrary, hailed the return of fine weather with great joy.
I fancied we all looked quite mouldy, when we emerged from our dusky dark caverns. But the weather was so delicious, so cool and refreshing; everything was so green and beautiful that we soon revived. I thought it necessary to take an inventory of all our possessions, that we might husband them as much as possible. We also attended greatly to our gardens, and the few remaining potatoes that we had were planted that we might not be totally bereft of such a useful vegetable. I never saw anything like the growth of the English vegetables we had brought with us. They were almost too luxuriant, approaching to rankness.
Day after day passed by and we were still alone. No ardently-desired vessel hove in sight, nothing met our longing gaze as we daily scanned the horizon. Fearing the inevitable lowness of spirits that such constant hoping and longing, followed by as constant disappointment, must end in, I, one evening, said that I should not at all like being cooped up in those caverns again the next rainy season.
Schillie.—"Now if you mention one word about building one of your old huts, you shall be whipt."
Mother.—"Oh no, no! I have had quite enough of the huts. I have not the smallest intention of building such another flimsy affair."
Schillie.—"Then if you are going to talk common sense, I am quite willing to listen. Those caverns certainly put one rather in mind of one's grave, and I cannot get the nasty dead smell of them out of my nose. Now then, June, be speedy, and let us hear your intentions. Shall we build a boat, and betake ourselves off or shall we liveal fresco, despite Madame's fears, or what? Come, speak up."
Mother.—"I don't fancy building a boat at all, much less trusting myself in it; but, agreeing with you in your horror of huts, I think we must now make a good substantial house."
"Your horror!" said Schillie. "Delightful," exclaimed all the others. "What splendid fun. How very charming. Where shall it be? Let us begin immediately."
Spite of all her opposition, Schillie knew very well we must have a house, and the more she grumbled I knew the harder she would work. So everybody was ordered to use their best wits, and give their opinions as to the kind, size, situation, and other things belonging to the intended mansion, and at tea-time the sense of the company was to be taken. In the meantime Icompared our list of goods, with what the captain had made out for us, and found that we had suffered considerably by the rain. Out of seven barrels of flour four were nearly spoilt; a cask of cheese and ship's biscuit was all that remained of those commodities; not a bit of the salted beef and pork could be touched, we had to throw it all away, but some bacon and hams were quite good. We had four or five cases of preserved meats, but, as Jenny observed, we could eat those up in a week, and then what were we to do for meat. I gave her clearly to understand that we must do without meat for the future, which caused her to drop one of our saucepans in surprise and dismay, while she exclaimed, "Whatever, Ma'am, shall we do about Master Felix if he has no meat, and he growing so fast?" "Whatever, Jenny, shall we do if you knock holes in the saucepans in such a careless way?" said I. Jenny apologised as best she could, but it was evident all the saucepans in the world might get punched into holes provided her little master had meat for his dinner every day; she comforted herself very much, however, thinking of the ducks and chickens, though she bewailed over his great affection for mutton chops and beef steaks, and now for the future that weakness of his would run no chance of being gratified.
The potatoes were nearly all gone, as before mentioned, but that was to be only a temporary deprivation. We had stores sufficient to last for six months of rice, sago, tapioca, tea, coffee, sugar, raisins, and allthose kind of things; but the ship's provisions, which had been mostly left behind to lighten the vessel (the Captain having only taken what was just necessary) were greatly damaged by the rain; they had not been in good tin cases like ours, and eventually were of little use. The packets of seeds became now our most valuable possessions. We had a great quantity of ropes, spars, sails, and other things belonging to the vessel, carpenters' tools, nails, screws, &c., all of which became invaluable to us, though we afterwards discovered a good substitute for nails in the thick sharp thorns of a species of Cactus. We had a great deal of furniture, sofas, bedding, hammocks, tables, chairs, bookcases, a great deal of pantry furniture, of which we were now most careful, knowing we could never replace the china or glass; also, we had a plate chest, in which we had silver to the value of £200. Of kitchen utensils we were greatly in want, almost everything having been lost in the caboose when it was washed away. We had two kettles and a small boiler. The men had constructed a sort of fire-place and oven for Jenny before they left, but it was so far from the dining place that we had everything generally cold. We had about six dozen bottles of various sorts of wine, a large cask of rum and another of brandy, which belonged to the ship's company, plenty of beer, ale, and porter, which, however, being in casks, spoilt long before we could drink it, from the heat of the climate. But such details must be tedious, as it can be easily imagined what our possessions would be out of a vessel victualled,furnished, and prepared for a twelve months' voyage. The result of the investigation, however, proved that of civilized food we had but little, and that we must soon set about preparing to live upon what the island would afford us. And when I looked round on the fertility and richness surrounding us, and the vast variety of food we could indulge in, I could not help thanking the Giver of all good for so much mercy showered upon us in the midst of such extraordinary events.
We had one cock and eleven hens and about seven ducks, all of whom seemed to provide themselves with food, without any assistance from us.
Every one knows that in preparing for a sea voyage quantities of linen are necessary; we were therefore most fortunate in that particular. I had also pieces of muslin, white and coloured, which I brought to make frocks for the young ones in the hot climates, knowing how fast they would grow. I left the arrangement of the clothes to Hargrave, who grumbled and put away, and put away and grumbled to her heart's content. She arranged all the best dresses and also the fine things, laces and trinkets, in such a manner that she could constantly look at them, as she could not have the satisfaction of seeing us wear them, and to each person was given out a certain quantity of wearing apparel that was to last a given time. But these are such dry details, that I will proceed at once to tea, at which such an important subject as building a house was to be discussed.
While I and the two maids had been undergoing the dull labour mentioned in the preceding chapter, all the others had been attending to their gardens, and they all flocked to tea, laden with fruit and decorated with flowers, looking so pretty and happy that I could not but think, whatever our lot, we should retain our spirits and cheerfulness to the end. Schillie came last, dragging with her a heap of unknown lichens, creepers, and mosses, on all of which she wanted me to hold a consultation as to what they could be.
Having made some highly-satisfactory guesses, and also having discovered amongst our books one on Botany, and another on Natural History of all kinds, and also the Travels of a Gentleman in the West Indies, that gave a very accurate account of all the productions natural to the climate we were in, she was in an especial good humour.
Sybil begged earnestly that the house might be in the gothic style, which upset Schillie a little, but she pooh, poohed it off, until Serena came out with avehement hope that it might be a Swiss cottage. "Swiss fiddlestick," retorted Schillie, "my dear girls, if you think I shall break my back and spoil my hands ornamenting a house for you, you will find yourselves wonderfully deceived." She had very pretty small white hands. Gatty thought it would be delightful to cut down a tree, and muttered something about the impossibility of learning lessons and building a house at the same time. In this she was unanimously supported by several youthful voices, and Madame was already appealing to me by looks of a most pathetic kind (she had the most extraordinary horror of a holiday that I ever saw), and Schillie, on seeing her look, exclaimed, "Well, Madame, you are certainly not of the same species as I am. I should be only too willing to give them holidays every day if I were their governess." "Yes, Madame," said Sybil, "and she acts up to it; for when you were ill, I heard her say to the little girls that she would give them a whole holiday that day because they had had only half a one the day before." Madame looked horror-stricken, and mournfully shook her head at Schillie.
Mother.—"Come, come, now, about this house. Where shall we put it up!"
Many places were suggested, and at last, partly because there were so many trees there, partly because we fancied it more sheltered, and partly because it was such a lovely spot, we fixed upon the little valley or glade which was sheltered by the cliffs on one side and by a thick wood on the other. In the centre was thegreat tree which had bewildered us so by its strange movements while under the influence of the great Anaconda. Inland, beyond the tree, was the pretty peaceful lake, and a sloping terrace took us down to it.
Great impatience was now manifested on all sides to begin; Madame alone was in low spirits. It had been decreed by the higher powers that, until we could see how we got on in this new and unusual work for feminine fingers, it was as well to employ the whole force of the island; besides, after being screwed up in the caverns, where lessons and Madame were met at every corner, and there was no escape, a little holiday would be a great boon. The piano had been sadly damaged by the wet, so we begged her to set it right, that it might be ready for the new drawing room.
We all drew plans of the house first, and, to the surprise of everybody, Schillie's was undoubtedly the best. So the little Mother was well bullied for being so disgusted at having to build a house, and yet taking the trouble of making such a good plan. She was made clerk of the works on the spot. Gatty's plan had consisted of merely one square. "On one side we can sleep," she said, "and on the other sit and do all we have to do." "But where are we to eat?" said Sybil. "Oh, I think nothing so stupid as having regular meals," said Gatty. "When I have a house of my own, I never intend to order anything, but I shall go to the cupboard and eat when I am hungry." "But," saidWinny, "I don't see a cupboard in your plan, Gatty." "Oh, we will stick one up somewhere, little one," returned Gatty.
The high spirits with which every one began their allotted tasks rather gave way under the fatigue and hard work, so unusual to delicate fingers. Gatty had earnestly begged to cut down the tree, with Jenny, Oscar, and Schillie to help. Sybil's hands were too slight and small to hold the hatchet, so she had to collect grass and moss with the young ones. The first tree that was cut down, how often it was anathematized, it seemed determined not to come down. Hot and panting we sat down one after another to rest, and a sort of vague notion kept running in our heads, if one tree is such a trouble, what shall we do having to cut down so many. But Schillie was not to be daunted by a tree; taking a great glassful of porter, she called on us all to set to work again, partly laughing at us, partly praising us, and especially animating us by her energetic example; at length down came our first tree with a delightful crash. And happy were the boys, sitting astride on the branches, and sawing away as if they received wages for all they did. The next tree was more civil, and came down in half the time; the fact is, we grew more expert, and at last it was but one hour's task among us all to fell one. In a week we had cleared a good space, sawn and chopped a vast quantity of wood, and then the clerk of the works ordered me to get a great feast ready, as the next dayshe was going to lay, not the first stone, but the first tree of our house. So we went in great state to the ceremony, and we took a bottle of wine with us to drink success to the new house, and the clerk of the works made a very neat and appropriate speech, in which, however, she showed herself on rather too familiar terms with her workpeople; and I, in return, proposed, "health and long life to the clerk of the works," which was received with great cheering and applause. Madame became quite merry, and having settled the well-being of the piano, actually offered her services to assist in the building, and never mentioned lessons the whole day. We had a superb feast. A magnificent dish of fish, the last piece of beef in our possession, peas, bacon and beans, roasted yams, a glorious plum-pudding, with brandy blazing up in the middle, fruit, beautiful to behold and delicious to taste. Then, after dinner, we sang songs, and Madame told us some stories, and we went to bed extremely happy, but nearly as weary of our day's pleasure as we were of our daily work, we had laughed and talked so much. It was quite a month before the clerk of the works would allow us to consider our house fit to be looked at, and I cannot say it was ever quite finished, as we always found something to alter and arrange in it. It consisted of one hall in the middle, thirty feet long, twenty feet wide, the walls of which were composed of the trees we had cut down, a double row of them, the intermediate space being filled up with everything we could collect in the shape of grass and moss; the insidewas plastered with clay, which, after a while, we painted, as we had a good store of oils and turpentine and other things, which had been designed for the ship. On both sides of the hall, we had what we called lean-tos, the roofs of which began where the roof of the hall ended, and they sloped down to within four feet of the ground. The other side, or point of the hall, was the entrance. The sheds on each side opened into the hall, but had no other outlet. There were two on each side and one at the end opposite the entrance, which was a kitchen and scullery. Of the four little side rooms, Schillie and I occupied the one on the right hand of the door, Madame and the three little girls the next one, the two maids and two boys opposite us, and the three girls opposite Madame. The little girls used our room to dress and wash in, so that Madame's was not intruded upon except at night, and she could keep it quiet for herself when she wanted to lie down and rest. The bed places were put just where the roof was lowest, so that, in fact, when lying down, our faces were within two feet of the roof, but, by this means, we had more room in which to stand upright and move about. The kitchen had an outlet at the side. The reason we made our side roofs slope down so much was to allow the rain to fall off quicker, and to let hurricanes blow over us, if possible, without finding any resisting substance the wind could blow away. Then all round our house we planted the prickly pear, which grew like a weed, so that nothing could attack our dwelling from the outside, excepting by the door, and that makes meremember to remark that we had no door at all, and we often laughed at ourselves for taking such care to guard the sides of the house when we left open the only place where there was an entrance. However, then we were under no alarm regarding thieves and robbers. But we had a sail-cloth curtain, which at night we fastened with bars of wood across, as much to prevent the wind flapping it to and fro as to hinder anything getting in; also, each bed-room had a curtain before its door or entrance. We had a great deal of trouble with the roof it must be acknowledged, even the clerk of the works stamped her foot, and went so far as to say, "Hang the roof," to which Sybil demurely replied, "That's just what we want to do."
We took three spars, one for the middle and two each side, these latter being placed two feet lower; on these we nailed a strip of sail-cloth each side, which we tarred and painted very often, especially the inside, which, at the children's request, was painted in blue, to make our roof or ceiling look pretty; above the sail-cloth outside we laid a smooth layer of leaves, and then across we nailed shingles of wood lapped one over the other, which again were seamed by cross pieces very strongly fastened. Lucky it was that the walls were so thick, otherwise such an elaborate roof could never have been supported. When finished, we all had an argument as to whether it really would resist water, and Gatty offered, with Serena to help her, to go up and empty buckets of water on it to try. This handsomeoffer was declined, as we thought the rain would do that soon enough, and we were at present too much in love with our work to bear the shock of finding all our labour was thrown away. I am afraid of appearing tedious in describing our many mistakes, our frequent mishaps, and the many blundering contrivances we had. Certain it is that to the clerk of the works we owed most of our neatness, to the quick wits of the girls many of our ideas, and one and all worked with a will. Nevertheless, I have no doubt that the commonest carpenter in the smallest village would have laughed at the house we built, and how we rectified gaps with grass and moss, how things warped one way and others shrunk the contrary, how nails stuck out their points and their heads were utterly lost, how screws were such a time before they would ever screw for us, how, animated by the clerk of the works, few thought of chopped fingers and hammered hands, how others ceased to shriek at the monstrous spiders, centipedes, lizards and small snakes, appearing every minute in the grass and moss; and now one and all agreed, that, in spite of every impediment, we should have the housewarming dinner and the first usage of our new mansion on the first Christmas-day we had ever spent on this unknown but lonely island.
And so it was quite ready, and with what pride and satisfaction we viewed it. We took little private excursions around it; we made innumerable drives into it; we gave it affectionate little pattings, as if it was a child; we smoothed down little inequalities; we utterly denied the existence of a smell of paint, an idea hazarded by Madame. Schillie had a doubt it was rather on one side, which doubt was driven to the winds. Sybil suggested a wish that it had been made higher, for which she was scouted by the older ones, and nearly tickled to death by the younger ones. Not even the remembrance of our home put us out of conceit of our new, but certainly most clumsy mansion. Oh home! That lovely home? Are we to see it again, or is it only to be seen in a dream of the past; and our kith and kin, our kind good neighbours, all that we loved so much, were we to see them no more? But this was Christmas-day.
The young ones had swept and decorated our church, as well as they could in imitation of the churches at home. Certainly nothing could be more gorgeous thanthe long trailing creepers that hung suspended all round, some with scarlet flowers, some bright blue, the magnificent hibiscus, the beautiful bell-shaped datura, with innumerable others, to which we could give no names.
This was to be a complete holiday. We dressed in silks and satins, we exchanged gifts, we offered to each other the proper Christmas greeting. Can I say that no heart was sad, that no remembrance of past Christmases haunted the celebration of this day? It is but too true that sad thoughts arose, but they were not for ourselves.
I must, however, proceed with the opening of the new house, which was also to have a name given it. After church we all helped to get dinner ready. Schillie cooked with Jenny, being determined to have some superb turtle soup. I made by her orders some lime punch, Hargrave boiled vegetables of all kinds, the girls got fruit and flowers, Madame arranged them, and the boys were getting the fish. I went into the kitchen to ask Schillie some question relative to the punch, and was sent out with a word and a blow almost. Her face was blazing like a warming pan, the soup was at its most important crisis. Gatty hearing the explosion of wrath, came as was her usual custom to join in themêlée, also got a shower of invectives, but, knowing the soup-pot could not be left, she stood her ground, and occupied herself in various petty actsof mischief. For instance, the new cook had a perfect series of cloths and such like articles pinned to her when she made her appearance. Hargrave found all the gourds and pipkins into which she had put the vegetables changed, and, not being naturally sweet tempered, she declared, "Miss Gertrude was the most aggravatingest creature she ever met, and she would not serve her for a pound a day." But all ended well, and the dinner was served. We had boiled chickens at the top, and roast chickens at the bottom, and we had roast ducks on both sides, and the great bowl of turtle soup was in the middle, with two jugs of lime punch each side, and we had guava jelly in two places, and a pumpkin pie, and roasted yams, and rice and fruit mixed together of all kinds. In fact, it was a perfect Lord Mayor's feast. Schillie had insisted on dining like Christians, as she called it, with dinner napkins and finger glasses. The rest of the dinner table was covered with fruits and flowers, such as I am sure no Lord Mayor ever saw at his table. Grace was said. Schillie, with the dinner napkin spread out with an air, her face still glowing, but bland in the extreme knowing that she had achieved a triumph of cookery, proceeded to serve the soup. I being the first to taste it pronounced it delicious. Madame thought it the best she had ever tasted! when we heard an exclamation from Schillie, "In the name of all that's ridiculous what's in the soup?" said she, turning wrathfully to Jenny. "Indeed, Madam, you poured it out of the pan yourself, and I only brought it in." "What canit be, here is something hard at the bottom rolling about, and I declare everything was stewed to a sponge when I last stirred it," continued she in rising choler.
Gatty(rising with great alacrity).—"If you please, little Mother, shall I try to fish it out?"
Schillie.—"Fish fiddlesticks out, indeed, Miss Gatty. Ah you may look as demure as you like, I'll be bound you are at the bottom of this mischief. I remember now, when I was taking off these rags you pinned on me, my back was turned. Now, tell me this instant, you young crocodile, what have you been putting in the soup?"
Gatty.—"If you please, little Mother, don't be so angry, it's only a stone, and I washed it quite clean."
Schillie.—"Then take that stone for your dinner, Miss, and nothing else shall you have."
This threat of course went for nothing, and Gatty had as much dinner as any of us, and, perhaps, rather more, considering that she was nearly the biggest of us all, and also never being still, she required more nourishment to keep up the demand upon the constitution.
We made Jenny and Hargrave dine with us. Hargrave mincing her words, looking dignified, and eating next to nothing, because she thought it more ladylike; while Jenny sat between her two dear boys, and made nearly as much noise as they did, swallowing all they made her taste out of their own plates, though she was helped out of the same dishes they were. The chatteringon all sides could only equal the eating. I proposed the health of the new house with the first glass of lime punch. This was drank with great applause, and a discussion ensued as to what we should call it.
Schillie(with her mouth full of turtle).—"Pooh, pooh, use your brains for some other purpose. It's a house, is it not? Then why not call it a house!"
Sybil.—"But all houses have names to distinguish them."
Schillie.—"Alack, if you are not a young noodle. Pray, who has got a house here besides? A great boon it would be to have some neighbours to whom one could talk common sense."
Serena.—"Oh, we will talk as much common sense as you like, little Mother; and the first thing I shall say is, though there is but one house in the island, we may just as well make it as like home as we can, and call it the same name."
I nodded approvingly to the dear girl for her nice thought. Madame's pocket handkerchief was in requisition, while Schillie, who seemed to favour Serena's remarks with more attention than any of the others, said, "Call it any name you like, my dear child, if it gives you the smallest pleasure; only you will see house it is, and house it will be called, until a hurricane blows it down."
"Oh don't, my dear Madam," murmured Madame. "Hurricanes will come," repeated Schillie. "I wouldoblige you if I could, but in this particular I am not clerk of the works, and have no control."
"Then," said Sybil, "we will call it Maescelyn."
"No," said Oscar, "I won't have it called that. The real Maescelyn is a castle, very large, airy, and handsome to look at, and this is a dingy little house, with no windows in it."
What a start we all gave. It was too true. Even the clerk of the works looked quite silly. The house that had cost us such infinite labour, on which we looked with such pride and affection, had no windows of any kind or sort in its principal room. It is true the door was very wide, it is true that floods of light poured in through it, but, suppose we had to shut the door (that is when we had made one) what could we do then? It is true the little bed-rooms had each their little pigeon holes for light and ventilation, and that the back kitchen was very airy, but our hall, dining-room, drawing-room, school-room (the pride of our hearts and delight of our eyes) had no windows whatever. No wonder we all felt the remark was true. Felix spoke first, but only in a whisper, which whisper passed round among the young ones, and marvellously restored their equanimity. "There was no possibility of doing lessons in the dark." As Madame became aware of this telegraphic dispatch, and saw its effect, she grew quite nervous, which always caused her to lose her voice. In vain she attempted an expostulation, and, what between her efforts and the rising exultation,I began to apprehend she would have a fit, so I comforted her, and said, "Never mind, Madame, we will have a window without doubt somewhere, and at present you see we don't want one, for the door throws in so much light, that we never found out we ought to have windows." I don't think the clerk of the works spoke for the next half hour, she was so annoyed; but, what we thought a great misfortune proved afterwards a very desirable thing, for it was most refreshing in the glaring sunshine and hot baking air to come into the dark cool house, the walls of which being so thick, and filled up with clay, preventing the heat penetrating into it.
So we carried on the discussion about the name; Madame, Sybil, Serena, and Winifred all for calling it Maescelyn. Oscar, Felix, Lilly, and Jenny all against it. The little Mother, not having recovered herself gave no name, Gatty was waiting for her opinion before she gave any, for, though in constant warfare, their similarity of tastes made them in reality sworn friends. Hargrave also would give no name, principally because she said, "It was a 'orrifying place, and very outrageous," by which we suppose she meant outlandish. Though urged by the little ones, whom she suspected were laughing at her, to explain, she would not, but went off into a discussion upon dress, and, bidding the young ladies to look at her Mistress dressed in Christmas robes, with her hair so beautifully plaited in a basket plait, and her curls so smooth andbright, and her black satin gown sitting and hanging so becomingly and well. "And then to think she could like such a 'ole of an hisland, where no one could see how she 'ad hattired her Mistress, and to give such a 'eathen place a name too, was more than she could bear." So the girls who loved to tease her, declared her Mistress did not look one bit better than the rest of the party, and that Madame's neat plain white cap was the prettiest thing at the dinner table, or Jenny's smart blue one, with bows and ends all over it. As she was too-matter-of-fact to see any joke in this, and as her Mistress's hair was her weak point, she waxed wrath, and began a splendid description, misplacing all the h's, and making such a sad havoc amongst her parts of speech, that it was difficult to make out what she wished us must to admire, whether her Mistress, or diamonds, or black velvet, herself or hair. I had the casting vote in giving a name to the house, but, previously, I thought it as well that we should give a name to our island. "Certainly, certainly," was said on all sides, and also most voices decided it should be a Welsh name; therefore, in a glass of lime punch, after a long discussion, we christened our island "Yr Ynys Unyg," the last word, Unyg, being pronounced as inig. This in English signified "The Lonely Island." Much as I wished all my dear companions to feel happy, and to be as much at home in our painful situation as circumstances would allow, and, much also as I liked the notion of our calling everything about us by home names, I yetshrunk from giving the name of our beloved home to the hut in which we now seemed doomed to pass our days. Several times I attempted to begin upon the subject, but it was too painful and I dared not trust my voice, lest its faltering should show my companions that this Christmas-day was not one of unmixed pleasure, and I was the more anxious to restrain my feelings as I could easily perceive that a little was only wanting to turn our day of feasting into one of mourning. It was not, therefore, until repeated entreaties had been urged, that, at last, I said somewhat shortly, and with an effort of hilarity, "I think we will call our house 'Cartref Pellenig,' or 'The Distant Home,' because—because—"
Schillie.—"Well, why, because."
"Oh hush, hush, cousin Schillie," said Lilly, who was always impetuous, and, throwing her arms round me, she continued, "Don't, dear Mama, my own Mother, don't cry, I cannot bear it. We shall see home again, we shall not always live here, we will be so good, we will do everything to please you. Oh Mother, my own darling Mother, don't cry so."
And so all my efforts were in vain, we were all upset, and the little house, so late the scene of merriment, now was filled with the voices of lamentation and woe. Each in their different way mourned and wept, but, as I said before, it was not so much for ourselves as for others.
We had been so busy, and had so much on ourminds that we had thought of little else than mending our own condition, and doing all we could to make ourselves comfortable. To the olden heads it had been a time of great anxiety and trouble, while the younger ones had been forced out of their proper sphere of dependance, into that of companions, helpers, and advisers. We had, therefore, but little time to think of those who, it now struck us, on this Christmas-day, for the first time, would be suffering under fear and anxiety for our fate.
The same feelings that were so forcibly striking us of the relations, friends, and neighbours with whom we had always exchanged the happy Christmas greetings, would, we now began to feel, also strike them. In our family what gaps would be seen in the heretofore merry Christmas party. I looked round, Schillie was separated from her children, Gatty, Zoë, Winifred, Madame, even the poor servants, how many mourning households would there be? Not because we were missing from the Christmas party, as that was expected, but because they must be aware that something had occurred. They must now be suffering under that worst of all fears, doubt and apprehension. Eight months had passed since we had seen them, and six must have gone by since they had heard from us. There could be no doubt that, painful as our feelings were, they were now most to be pitied. Oh how we longed for the wings of a bird to fly over, and set them at rest. How the more we wept and talked aboutthem, the more unbearable and painful grew this feeling. All that we had undergone; all that we seemed likely to undergo, appeared but as a drop on the ocean compared to the mourning and sorrow which we knew were filling the hearts of so many households, weeping, as they would be at the mysterious and unknown fate of those they loved so much. We were safe, we were well, we were comparatively happy, yet we could not tell this, and, perhaps at the time, the very time, we were celebrating our housewarming and Christmas dinner, they were lamenting us as dead.
Will it be wondered at that our Christmas-day ended in sorrow, and that we wept for those weeping for us. We talked over all they might be thinking and doing. Every speech, every sentence ending, "Oh if we could only tell them, if they could only peep into the rude hut, and see the healthy blooming faces contained therein, albeit each face was bedewed with tears, each voice was choking with sorrow." This picture would they see. The rustic rough house, with its wide open entrance, showing the table strewn with the wrecks of our feast, but brilliant with flowers and fruit. Lying on a rude grass cushion was the Mother, her hair all dishevelled with sorrow, her face lengthened with woe; close by her, with her face hidden from sight, was the little Mother; Madame leaning far back in her chair, with a handkerchief over her face, was weeping bitterly behind it; the six girls, in various groups, about the two Mothers, were each, though deeply sorrowful,trying in their own sweet ways, to speak of hope and comfort; the two boys, at a little distance, were sitting on the ground, Oscar grave and sorrowful, Felix weeping and crying while he fed his monkey to keep it quiet; the servants had retired. Beyond, through the door, was seen the deep blue quiet sea, over which we were so anxious to fly, while the rich dark foliage of the trees appeared cool and refreshing against the glowing sky. But this sadness could not last long in a party animated by christian hopes, sustained by christian faith; ere the hour for evening service arrived our sorrow grew lighter, each seemed to feel in the stored words an individual comfort, and we retired to rest committing the consolation of all near and dear to us to Him who had preservedusthrough so many and great dangers, for the sake of His Son Jesus Christ. Thus we sat for hours on this Christmas-day, but what was going on at home?