THE NOVELIST. MORE ABOUT - - - MISRULE

Otago Witness, Issue 2631, 17 September 1902, Page 59

THE NOVELIST. MORE ABOUT - - - - MISRULE

By ETHEL TURNER

(WVs B. R. Curleieis). Author of " Seven Little Australians," "Family at Misrule," etc. " They often take leave, yet seem loth to depart."— Old Play.

OH\PTER VIII.— THE OTHER SIDE OF THE FENCE.

DJOINING the Misrule grounds stood a gloomy, ugly house, where never a" tenant stayed longer than a year at a time, and the average one found three or six months sufficient occupancy. The same river aa at Misrule danced before it — the same air sweetened it, the same birds sang. But the architect had evidently conceived it in a saddened moment ; the chief living rooms looked out on the sunless, viewless side ; the verandah roofs sloped down as if their only object in life was to cut off light and sun from all windows ; the grey, porous stones of the walls, even in the summer, seemed saturated with the river's damps and mists. There were too many trees in the grounds — stiff, depressing pines for the most part — that, planted to make a girdle of privacy, grown now to maturity, made prison bars instead. This tenant left because his children had sore throats or bad chests from the moment of entering the place ; that one flung up his lease, after striving to relet, because rheumatism attacked him the hour the winter westerlies set in ; this one went off in a hurry because hie wife became morbid and nervous in the place. The rueful landlord, was just considering a scheme that included a wholesale chopping down of the pines and a general letting in of the sunshine when a lady came along, examined it very thoughtfully, and offered not only to occupy it, but — a thing the landlord's rosiest dreams never expected to realise — to buy it. Peter and Essie and Poppet were pleasurably excited, as they were with each fresh tenant, when movements of life began about the old house. Despite Esther's remonstrances they peeped through and over the fence, and fiom the staircase window, which alone gave a glimpse of the house, until they had gleaned all the information tkey wanted. Yes, there were some children. A girl and a boy, Peter and Essie said ; two girls and one boy, Poppet maintained. "Pooh, you only saw her twice," said Peter; "what was your otter girl like?" "About as old as me," said Poppet, "and she had the loveliest golden hair and a big white hat." "Why," said Peter, "that was the same one — wasn't it, Essie?" Essie upheld him. Of course it was the same girl ; she had buttoned boots on and grey gloves. " They both had,"* persisted Poppet. "When the carriage door opened and the tejQ t&4 9B£ ffid &ot outj 1 saw. quit*

{ilainly through my crack another girl, jusfl ike the other one, jump out and run iip the steps."

But they only jeered at her and said she saw double ; indeed, Poppet's "other girl" was a standing joke in the house afterwards for some time ; for when speeoh and language became established between the two houses and Peter demanded "wasn't there someone else to play with?" both boy and girl said no at once.

Poppet also reported that first day thati there was a lady with flashing eyes and a gentleman with a red face. Peter endorsed this statement; at least he agreed to there being a man and a woman, but he liadn't noticed the red face or the flashing eyes.

Then an excited statement that they all three tried to make at once. No women servants to do by that old stone house as Martha and Bridget diid by Misrule, but instead one, two, three inky black New Guinea boys — iwo of men's stature, one,;of Bunty's age perhaps. And in -the months that followed, and during which the intimacy between the two houses progressed chiefly through' or over the dividing fence, no other woman was ever seen about the place

, After giving the newcomers time .to settle comfortably down, Esther culled for neighbourliness, though' she mew nothing' of- them but that they w'ere^rom Queens^ " land, where they had owned a large station, and that their name was Saville. '.

Nellie went with her — laden with a commission from Poppet to be sure to find out the name of the sweet little- girl with golden hair, and how. far she was- in music, and did she play with dolls yet.

"And you might ask the boy to come in. and have a game,"' said Peter ; "it's pretty sick for me only having Essie to play with always." Esther and Nellie went up the long- drive to the house, and stepped into the girdle of pine trees past_vhich the sun came not. They rang at the bell. "Missa SavUle— not at home," said the black boy who opened the, door; indeed, he began to say his speech, as if a lesson learned by rote, before they even asked him

Esther handed out cards; he looked at them doubtfully, then took them into ona great black Hand, and with the other Hosed the door before they had tiu-nfd their faces round.

Feeling a trifle snubbed, thty cU>CF::.]rci the .steps and crossed the path' ai;a', >,nd so noiselessly fell iheir footsteps i-.. the thick carpet of pine needles that the lady. of the house, walking bareheaded -among the trees with her boy and girl, did 1 not hear them approach.

Ifc wag an awkward moment ; Esther and Nellie would- have been grateful for jusfc one. more second to put a' space- between, them that would have exctisea exchange* of courtesies; but they were actually face to face.'

The lady looked afc them . haughtily ; Nellie was eve,r after able to attest Poppet's statement about Sashing &yes. Esther mentioned her' name,' and said something pleasant about being next-door neighbours, and so on. She even had her hand extended.

But Mrs Saville barely touched it. "I must ask you to excuse me," she said- "I never see visitors."

"Oh, mamma," said a choked little voice beside her, "they live next door — the dsar little girl with brown hair ; oh, mamma I* Esther and Nellie caught a glimpse of a little beseeching face with sensitive lips and eyes full of quick tears at their rebuff. They could have picked her up and kissed her, so small she looked ; so distressed, so lovely, with her filmy gold hair mating tender sunlight against those dark pines. Esther's colour was perhaps a shade warmer than usu.nl.

"You must excuse us,'' she said ; "it was unfortunate, but of course we had no means of knowing. Good-afternoon."

"Good-afternoon," said Mrs Saville. Thej turned and went down the drive again ai one*.

"Oh, mamma !" they heard the quivering little voice say again.

Past the curve that hid the house they began to recover themselves a little.

"I never felt so small in »11 my life," said -Nei;. "I feel crushed, trodden to earth. What a' horribly insulting, iK - bretl woman!"

"I'm not .sure if those are quite the right adjectives,' said Esther ; "but*it was not ;t pleasant experience, certainly. I feel"distinctly snubbed myself, still "

"I believe you would make excuses for the fiend himself, Esther," Nellie said hotly ,• "it was horribly ill-bred. And that sweet little girl— she" isn't fit to be her mother."

"A dear little child." said Esther, "but how fragile she looked. I should like to have whipped her up and carried her off for a romp."

Was ever such a chapter of accidents? They had been overheard ; a man was sitting, his back to a gum tree, -his coat so nearly the colour of the bark, he had been completely merged to them in the general colour scheme around. It was the one-time squatter himself, come to smoke his pipe where pines were not and the sun shone as it listed.

. He stood up and looked at them awkwardiy; his face showed them he had heard. As Esther said afterwards, all words deserted her; site never felt so inclined in all her life to pick up her dress and run straight out of an unpleasant situation.

She tried to pretend she did not see the man coming towards her; she began to hurry, talking very fast to Nell.

But he came right into their pathway* and held out his hand" with such an unhappy, anxious look on his kindly face they; were both touched. "You are our neighbours, aren't you?" 1 he said — "Mrs and Miss Woolcot? Mosft' kind of you to look us vp — most kind ; i thank you sincerely." Esther shook hands mechanically t she had an idea afterwards that she murmured something about it being g §as aftenwoffi ,

but Nellie opined she had said unsteadily it looked like rain.

The poor fellow agreed to whatever she said. "I'm afraid you did not find Mrs fiaville at home," he added.

"No," said Esther, her colour warming Bgain.

"I am sorry," he said ; "most sorry. She —she never is at home." He sighed heavily. Esther's self-consciousness began to fade. 6he said a warm word or two of his beautiful little girl; she laughed, and told him had a little step-daughter at home who the believed dreamed nightly about her. "Ah !" he said delightedly, "is that the little brown-haired thing? Lylie and I call iher the Elf ; we watch her playing from a window or the fence. I — forgive the question, Mrs Woolcot, but would you mind jtelling me her name? — my little girl spends half her time wondering what it is."

"Poppet," said Esther. "She was christened Winifred, but we always call her Poppet."

"Poppst," said the old fellow ; '1 won't forget. And — and — you will smile at me for asking, but the answer would delight my poor little girl so much. Do you mind telling me what sums she does, and whether Bhe has given up playing, yet with dolls?"

' There was something pathetic here — some Bad shadow born of those dreadful pine trees. Esther's throat swelled a little as she looked at the quiet-faced man asking this simple question. She forgot her snub — everything but the fact that there was unhappiness somewhere. "Couldn't she come in and play with my little girl?" she said. "Poppet talks of her all day ; we would take great care of her." The man's face grew extremely unhappy again. " Very sorry,'' he said ; "most Borry ; her — her mother — thinks better' not —-never allows her — very sorry."

Esther was very gentle. ."Forgive me," ehe said ; "I did not know. Tell little Lylie that Poppet does compound multiplication — badly, and is just beginning reduction, and that she has at least 11 dolls that she loves passionately. Now we will say good-afternoon." "Good-afternoon," said Mr Saville sadly. . After "this episode, however, he constantly stopped Poppet when he met her walking up the River roadi or riding on her ramshackle bicycle, and quite a friendship grew up between them, though Lylie was rtill as unattainable as ever.

At first his questions seemed curious to Poppet, but after a time she grew quite accustomed to answering them, and used even to interrogate him herself. As, for instance, when he inquired "whether her dolls bad party dresses as well as day dresses, and if she put frills on their bonnets or only plain lace, and did she snake their shoes herself, she would reply, yes, -certainly, all of them ; yes to the irills.-yes to the shoes. And had Lylie a bojiloll at aO, and had she any with brown •yes, or were they all blue, and had she begun to make then* winter frocks, yet-?- * - One day Seville had a. delightful proposition to snake. It was that a .doll of Lylie'? should come on a vi&it to Poppet's, and ons pi Poppet's go m ■exchange to "Lylie. Poppet was charmed with the idea. Then she paused suddenly. "But will the flash-sng-ey«d lady allow her?" she "blurted out, ' and then grew red, and made a stumbling apology and said "Mrs Saville?" ' "Oh, that Trill be all right ; you needn't , think, of thati" fhe father said reassuringly. if the truth -were known, he was ' more than &- little nervous as to his success in -smuggling one waxen lady out of ' the house and introducing another into Ijylie's family without his wife's knowledge. Still, it was' his little girl's own idea,' and *he was so very eager about it. Poppet asked for two days' preparation. *'Cherry's clothes will all have to be crashed," she said frankly, "and some of them mended. But I will have her ready J>y Thursday. "

All Misrule .was interested in the exchange, and had a look at the departing Cherry. She was a rather attenuated doll, with a painful red smile, blue eyes (one cracked across), and hair so thin she habitually wore a close cap. But she was foravely dressed to-day, and' bore in a imndie beside her a complete change of underclothes, a party hock, a second bonnet, and another pair of shoes. The doll from the Pines came to hand, lio one knowing it had been forced to travel as far as the gate inside a large silk umbrella,. It came accompanied by a miniaIfcure tin trtmk, a wee Paris hat-Tbox, and a Jittle dressing-case containing comb, brush, ihairpins, and even powder-puff. And such sbeautiful clothes — fine Liberty silk exquisitely tucked and embroidered! The idoll itself was not painfully new ; you could «cc it had been kissed and carried and played with these many days. But Poppet stared at the work in the Clothes.

"Can Lylie really sew as well as that?" >he said, quite awed.

"Oh, no," said Saville ; "her mother makes those for her. She i.-. a wonderful Needlewoman ; there is nothing she can't io." He .spoke proudly.

It took Misrule a little time to readjust Its ideas and picture the insulting, "flasb*yed" lady sitting stitch, stitching at these patient .little clothes.

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