CHAPTER XIX
A PICNIC
"Aunt Alice," said Patty, the next morning after breakfast, "I want to havea little talk with you, and won't you come up to my Fairy Bower so we canbe by ourselves,--for it's a sort of secret?"
"I will, my child," said Aunt Alice, "as soon as I've attended to a fewhousehold duties. I'll meet you there, in about half an hour. Will yoursecret keep that long?"
"Oh, yes indeed; I'm in no hurry at all."
"I don't seem to be included in the secret," said Marian; "but come withme, Patty, won't you, until mamma is ready for you? I'm going to water thepalms and plants in the front veranda. That is always part of my morning'swork."
"Let me help you," said Patty, and the two girls went off together.
In a short time Aunt Alice reappeared, saying, "Now, Patty girl, I'm atyour disposal. Marian, dear, remember this is Thursday, and the BasketDrill is at ten."
"Yes, I know, mamma. I'll be ready for it."
When Mrs. Elliott was comfortably seated in a rocking-chair on the balcony,Patty drew up a small wicker stool and sat down in front of her.
"Aunt Alice," she began, "my secret is just this. I haven't any clothesthat are fit to wear, and I want you to help me get some. When I was atAunt Isabel's she bought me loads of dresses, but they were all winterones, and besides, I don't believe they're the kind you'd like. In Boston,at Aunt Hester's, nobody ever thought much about what they wore, and I gotalong all right, somehow, but this summer down at Aunt Grace's, my clothesseemed to go to pieces all at once."
"Like the 'One-Hoss-Shay,'" said Aunt Alice, laughing. "Well, this isindeed a sad state of affairs. But perhaps we can find a way out of thedifficulty."
"Yes, of course we can," said Patty, eagerly. "Papa sends me money wheneverI ask him for it; so if you'll buy me some clothes, he'll repay you atonce. I want everything. My things are no good at all."
"Wait, wait," said Aunt Alice, "don't dispose of your wardrobe in such asummary way. Suppose we look it over together, and see what's best to bedone."
"All right," said Patty, "but I'm really ashamed to show you the miserablelot."
"Why, Patty," said Aunt Alice, as she looked over the torn and crumpleddresses and under-clothing, "these do seem to be unwearable, but they arenot hopelessly so. You see, the trouble is, they've been neglected, andclothes, like plants or children, won't thrive under neglect."
"I know it, Aunt Alice, but we never thought of mending things down at theHurly-Burly, and there was no one to do it for us, as there was at AuntIsabel's."
"Never mind your other aunts, Patty; you have to deal now with your AuntAlice, and you will find her a regular tyrant."
But the loving smile which accompanied this speech robbed it of alltyrannical effect.
"Now," the "tyrant" went on, "we'll put in one pile all the things that aretoo faded or worn to be of use to you, and those we'll give away to someone who can use them. These heavy silk and velvet frocks and these gorgeousparty dresses we'll just lay away for the present, and now we'll put inthis place all that needs mending. It's a shame to see these dainty littlewhite petticoats and nightgowns with their buttons off, and their trimmingstorn."
"Yes, Aunt Isabel bought me those, and they were lovely when they werenew."
"And they'll be lovely again, for they only need a few stitches and somegood laundry-work to make them as pretty and fresh as ever. Do you know howto sew, Patty?"
"No, Aunt Alice, I don't. When I was at home, Mrs. Miller, our landlady,always looked after my things, and I never thought of sewing; and sinceI've been North, I haven't, either."
"Well, Patty, sewing is an old-fashioned accomplishment, I suppose, but Ithink it is something that every woman ought to know; and if you are goingto keep my brother's house for him, I am going to see to it that you arewell equipped for the task, and to that end I'm going to instruct you inboth sewing and housekeeping. There, Miss Patty Fairfield, how do you likethat?"
Patty ran to her aunt's arms, which were open to receive her, and kissedher lovingly.
"Oh, Aunt Alice, I'll be so glad if you will, for I do want to keep papa'shouse right. But Aunt Grace told me not to worry about it, and the housewould keep itself."
"Never mind Aunt Grace now, you are under Aunt Alice's orders, as I toldyou. And she was right in telling you not to worry about it; but as to ahouse keeping itself, I haven't heard that the autohome has been inventedyet, and until it is, we'll stand by the old methods of housekeeping. Andso, every morning, my dear Patty, unless something very important calls youelsewhere, you are to spend two hours with me, in studying what the wisepeople call Domestic Science, but I call Domestic Common-sense."
Patty's little face looked very bright and happy, for she was truly anxiousto learn these things, and there had been no opportunities during her othervisits.
"I treat Marion in the same way," said Aunt Alice. "Although we haveseveral servants, Marian has learned and practiced many branches ofhousework and she sews very nicely. But I don't think you will find Marian'worried' or even impatient at the irksome tasks."
"No, indeed, Aunt Alice, Marian is as bright and cheery as a sunbeam, andI'm sure no task could be irksome if you advised or assisted with it."
"Oh, you don't know me yet," laughed Aunt Alice; "didn't I tell you I was atyrant? But you do need some new things, child, and we'll buy them in a dayor two."
Aunt Alice counted over the dresses which could be made available for use,and then, selecting a number of garments only slightly out of repair, shesaid:
"This morning we'll attack these. Did you hear me tell Marian to rememberthe Basket Drill? Well, that means the sewing or mending basket; and ifyou'll bring yours with you, we'll attend a Ladies' Sewing Society in thesitting-room at once."
In the sitting-room they found Marian with her basket of work, and grandma,who was darning stockings.
With kindly care and patience Aunt Alice showed Patty how to mend neatly,and as the pupil was by no means stupid, she did great credit to herteacher.
After they had sewed for about an hour, Mrs. Elliott said:
"Now, children, put away your baskets and run out to play. You need freshair and sunshine quite as much as buttons and strings. Marian, why don'tyou take Patty down and show her the Falls? You'll have just about timeenough to go and get back to luncheon."
"We will," said Marian; "come along, Patty."
As Patty was by nature adaptable to her surroundings, she followed Marian'sexample and arranged her work-basket tidily and then put it away in itsplace, though down at the Hurly-Burly it would never have occurred to herto do so, and nobody would have set her such an example.
Patty thought to herself, "Well, these people have the right proportion ofsystem and order, anyhow; I wonder if they're lacking in some otherproportion. I haven't seen it yet, if they are."
And she didn't discover it later, either; for though not perfect people, byany means, the Elliotts had a true sense of proportion, and no duty orpleasure was pursued to excess, and so allowed to crowd out other duties orpleasures.
"Mother," said Frank, as they sat on the veranda, one evening, soon afterPatty's arrival, "I think we might have a picnic in Patty's honor. I wanther to get acquainted with the boys and girls, and that's as good a way asany. And if we could have it on Saturday afternoon, perhaps father couldtake a half-holiday and go with us."
"That's a fine idea," said Aunt Alice; "do you agree, Charlie?"
"Yes," said Mr. Elliott, "I'd like it of all things. Shall we go toFoster's Woods?"
"Yes," said Marian, "that's the nicest place for a picnic. There's a lovelylake there, Patty, and boats to row about in, and tables for the feast andeverything."
"How many shall you invite?" said Uncle Charlie. "I'll engage stages totake us all over."
"I want to go," said Edith. "Mayn't I, mamma?"
"Of course you may," said Mrs. Elliott; "we'll take the whole family, fromgrandma down to little Gilbert."
"Oh, I can'
t go," said grandma; "I'm too old for picnics."
"Not a bit," said her son; "if you don't care for staging, I'll send youand Alice and the baby over in the carriage."
And then they all fell to planning the details of the picnic, and Pattysecretly contrasted the occasion with similar ones at her other aunts'.
There was no quarreling about arrangements as at Villa Rosa; each deferredpolitely to the others' opinions, and yet each frankly expressed his or hermind on any subject.
And there was no inattention or forgetfulness as at the Hurly-Burly. Eachwas appointed to attend to several different things, and Patty felt surethat their promises would all be fulfilled.
"Let's have lots of sandwiches," said Frank; "the last picnic I went to, Ididn't have half enough. And can't we have jam in some of them, as well aschicken and ham?"
"Certainly, my boy," said his mother; "I'll see that you have jamsandwiches and ham sandwiches and chicken sandwiches, and plenty of them."
"Those names might be shortened," said Uncle Charlie, meditatively. "The_sand_ is superfluous, anyway. There's no sand in them. Why don't we sayjamwiches, hamwiches and chickwiches?"
"Oh, that's much better," cried Marian. "I wonder we never thought of itbefore. I shall never mention a ham sandwich again. A hamwich is so muchnicer."
"And then there are tonguewiches and eggwiches," said Patty, delighted withthe new words.
"And jellywiches," said Aunt Alice, laughing. "And now what else do youngpeople eat? Cakes and fruit, I suppose."
"Yes, and little tarts," said Frank; "they're awfully good on a picnic."
"And ice cream," said Marian.
"I'll order the ice cream," said her father, "and I'll bring a big box ofcandies from New York. Frank, you must see to the hammocks and swings, andgames if you want them."
"Yes, sir," said Frank, "I'll take my shuffleboard and ring-toss. And we'llbuild a fire, and make coffee, shall we mother?"
"Yes, dear; Patty and I will make the coffee," said Aunt Alice with asidelong smile at her niece.
"Then I know it will be good," said Frank.
Saturday was a beautiful day, clear and bright and not too warm.
Immediately after luncheon four stages went around and gathered up aboutfifty young people, and a wagon full of provisions for feasting and funfollowed them to Foster's Woods.
Patty wore a pretty white frock, which, under Aunt Alice's instruction, shehad neatly mended, and Mrs. Elliott's skilful laundress had made clean andcrisp.
The Vernondale young people proved to be a merry, jolly crowd, and prettyPatty soon became a favorite.
Frank and Marian introduced her to everybody and took special care that sheshould never lack for companions or amusement.
And there was so much to do, and Patty enjoyed it all. She was clever atthe games, and owing to her practice at the Hurly-Burly, she could row aswell as any boy.
The lake was a beautiful bit of water, and in some parts of it pond-liliesgrew in abundance.
The young people gathered a quantity of these, both white and pink, todecorate the supper-table.
Then when the feast was ready, Uncle Charlie called the children together,and they came with a will, for their afternoon out of doors had given thema good appetite for the hamwiches and jamwiches.
After supper was over, it was about seven o'clock, and Uncle Charlie toldhis young guests that they could ramble round for half an hour, and thenthey would start on their homeward ride.
The path by the side of the lake was a very pretty one, and Mrs. Elliottand her husband walked along there with little Gilbert between them. Thechild was getting sleepy and a little wilful; and while Jane, his nurse,was eating her supper, his parents had him in charge.
Soon they heard Frank's voice calling, "Father, won't you please come herea minute and help us get this swing down?"
Mr. Elliott went to help the boys, and Mrs. Elliott and Gilbert sat down onthe grassy bank to await his return.
"Mamma," said the child, "shall I pick you some pretty flowers?"
"Yes, baby," said his mother, who was looking at the sunset, and only halflistening, "but don't go far away."
"No," said the little fellow, and how it happened, Mrs. Elliott never knew,but seemingly in a moment, Gilbert had climbed into a boat and was afloatalone on the lake. For an instant Mrs. Elliott was too frightened even toscream; and then, she dared not, for the boat was a little, round-bottomedaffair, and Gilbert was jumping about in it so excitedly, that if suddenlystartled he might upset the boat.
With great presence of mind his mother spoke to him gently.
"Gilbert, dear," she said, "sit down in the middle of the boat, and bequiet until I call papa, will you? There's a good boy."
"I am a good boy," Gilbert called back; "I'm going to get mamma pretty pinkpond-flowers."
The boat was drifting farther and farther out, and the child sitting in thebow, rocked it from one side to the other.
"Gilbert," said his mother, sternly, "sit right down in the bottom of theboat. Right in the middle, do you hear? Obey me at once!"
"Yes, mamma," said the boy, and he did as she told him to, but continued torock the boat, so though the danger was lessened, it was still a frightfulscene, and filled the poor mother's heart with terror.
"Charlie, Charlie," she called, and then "Frank," but they could not hearher as they were taking down some hammocks in another part of the grove.
The boat drifted nearer to the pond-lilies, and Mrs. Elliott saw Gilbertlean over the side of the boat.
"Now I'll get them for you, mamma," he called.
Mrs. Elliott could scarcely hear his words, but she saw,--the boat overturnand her darling child fall into the deep lake.