CHAPTER XVI
A QUILTING PARTY
Miss Aurora Bender's quilting party was to begin at three o'clock in theafternoon, and the girls started early in order to see all the fun. Theywere to stay to supper, and the young men were to come over and escortthem home in the evening.
When they reached Miss Bender's, they found that many and wonderfulpreparations had been made.
Miss Aurora had two house servants, Emmeline and Nancy, but on thisoccasion she had called in two more to help. And indeed there was plentyto be done, for a quilting bee was to Miss Bender's mind a function ofgreat importance.
The last of a large family, Miss Bender was a woman of great wealth butof plain and old-fashioned tastes. Though amply able to gratify anyextravagant wish, she preferred to live as her parents had lived beforeher, and she had in no sense kept pace with the progress of the age.
When the three girls reached the old country house, they were met at thefront door by the elderly Nancy. She courtesied with old-time grace, andinvited them to step into the bedroom, and lay off their things.
This bedroom, which was on the ground floor, was a large apartment,containing a marvellously carved four-post bedstead, hung withold-fashioned chintz curtains and draperies.
The room also contained two massive bureaus, a dressing-table and variouschairs of carved mahogany, and in the open fireplace was an enormousbunch of feathery asparagus, flecked with red berries.
"Oh," cried Patty in delight, "if Nan could see this room she'd goperfectly crazy. Isn't this house great? Why, it's quite as full ofbeautiful old things as Washington's house at Mt. Vernon."
"I haven't seen that," said Bertha, "but it doesn't seem as if anythingcould be more complete or perfect in its way than this house is. Come on,girls, are you ready?"
The girls went to the parlour, and there found the quilt all prepared forworking on. Patty had never before seen a quilt stretched on aquilting-frame, and was extremely interested.
It was a very large quilt, and its innumerable small triangles, whichmade up the goose-chase pattern, were found to present a methodicalharmony of colouring, which had not been observable before the stripswere put together.
The large pieced portion was uppermost, and beneath it was the lining,with layers of cotton in between. Each edge was pinned at intervals to along strip of material which was wound round and round the frame. Thefour corners of the frame were held up by being tied to the backs of fourchairs, and on each of the four sides of the quilt were three more chairsfor the expected guests to occupy.
Almost on the stroke of three the visitors arrived, and though some ofthem were of a more modern type than Miss Bender, yet three or four werequite as old-fashioned and quaint-mannered as their hostess.
"They are native up here," Bertha explained to Patty. "There are only afew of the old New England settlers left. Most of the population here iscomposed of city people who have large country places. You won't oftenget an opportunity to see a gathering like this."
Patty realised the truth of this, and was both surprised and pleased tofind that these country ladies showed no trace of embarrassment orself-consciousness before the city girls.
It seemed not to occur to them that there was any difference in theireffects, and indeed Patty was greatly amused because one of the oldladies seemed to take it for granted that Patty was a country girl, andbrought up according to old-time customs.
This old lady, whose name was Mrs. Quimby, sat next to Patty at thequilt, and after she had peered through her glasses at the somewhatuneven stitches which poor Patty was trying her best to do as well aspossible, she remarked:
"You ain't got much knack, have you? You'll have to practise quite aspell longer before you can quilt your own house goods. How old be you?"
"Seventeen," said Patty, feeling that her work did not look very well,considering her age.
"Seventeen!" exclaimed Mrs. Quimby. "Laws' sake, I was married when I wassixteen, and I quilted as good then as I do now. I'm over eighty now, andI'd ruther quilt than do anything, 'most. You don't look to beseventeen."
"And you don't look to be eighty, either," said Patty, smiling, glad tobe able to turn the subject by complimenting the old lady.
The quilting lasted all the afternoon. Patty grew very tired of theunaccustomed work, and was glad when Miss Bender noticed it, and told herto run out into the garden with Bertha. Bertha was not allowed to touchthe quilt with her incompetent fingers, but Elise sewed away, thoroughlyenjoying it all, and with no desire to avail herself of Miss Bender'spermission to stop and rest. Patty and Bertha wandered through theold-fashioned garden, in great delight. The paths were bordered with tinybox hedges, which, though many years old, were kept clean and free fromdeadwood or blemish of any sort, and were perfectly trimmed in shape.
The garden included quaint old flowers such as marigolds, sweet Williams,bleeding hearts, bachelors' buttons, Jacob's ladder and many others ofwhich Patty did not even know the names. Tall hollyhocks, both single anddouble, grew against the wall, and a hop vine hung in green profusion.
Every flower bed was of exact shape, and looked as if not a leaf or astem would dare to grow otherwise than straight and true.
"What a lovely old garden," said Patty, sniffing at a sprig of lemonverbena which she had picked.
"Yes, it's wonderful," said Bertha. "I mean to ask Miss Bender if Imayn't bring my camera over, and get a picture of it, and if they'regood, I'll give you one."
"Do," said Patty, "and take some pictures inside the house too. I'd liketo show them to Nan."
"Tell me about Nan," said Bertha. "She's your stepmother, isn't she?"
"Yes," said Patty, "but she's only six years older than I am, so that thestepmother part of it seems ridiculous. We're more like sisters, andshe's perfectly crazy over old china and old furniture. She'd love MissBender's things."
"Perhaps she'll come up while you're here," said Bertha. "I'll ask motherto write for her."
"Thank you," said Patty, "but I'm afraid she won't. My father can't leavefor his vacation until July, and then we're all going away together, butI don't know where."
Just then Elise came flying out to them, with the announcement thatsupper was ready, and they were to come right in, quick.
The table was spread in the large room which Patty had thought was thekitchen.
It probably had been built for that purpose, but other kitchens had beenadded beyond it, and for the last half century it had been used as adining-room.
The table was drawn out to its full length, which made it very longindeed, and it was filled with what seemed to Patty viands enough to feedan army. At one end was a young pig roasted whole, with a lemon in hismouth, and a design in cloves stuck into his fat little side. At theother end was a baked ham whose crisp golden-brown crust could only beattained by the old cook who had been in the Bender family for manyyears.
Up and down the length of the table on either side was a succession ofvarious cold meats, alternating with pickles, jellies and savories ofvarious sorts.
After the guests were seated, Nancy brought in platters of smoking-hotbiscuits from the kitchen, and Miss Aurora herself made the tea.
The furnishings of the table were of old blue and white china of greatage and priceless value. The old family silver too was a marvel initself, and the tea service which Miss Bender manipulated with some pridewas over a hundred years old.
Patty was greatly impressed at this unusual scene, but when the plateswere removed after the first course, and the busy maid-servants preparedto serve the dessert, she was highly entertained.
For the next course, though consisting only of preserves and cake, wasserved in an unusual manner. The preserves included every variety knownto housewives and a few more. In addition to this, Miss Aurora announcedin a voice which was calm with repressed satisfaction, that she hadfourteen kinds of cake to put at the disposal of her guests. None ofthese sorts could be mixed with any other sort, and the result wasfourteen separate baskets
and platters of cake.
The table became crowded before they had all been brought in from thekitchen, and quite as a matter of course, the serving maids placed thelater supplies on chairs, which they stood behind the guests, and theladies amiably turned round in their seats, inspected the cake, partookof it if they desired, and gracefully pushed the chair along to the nextneighbour.
This seemed to the city girls a most amusing performance, but Pattyimmediately adapted herself to what was apparently the custom of thehouse, and gravely looked at the cake each time, selected such as pleasedher fancy and pushed the chair along.
Noticing Patty's gravity as she accomplished this performance, Elise verynearly lost her own, but Patty nudged her under the table, and shemanaged to behave with propriety.
The conversation at the table was without a trace of hilarity, andincluded only the most dignified subjects. The ladies ate mincingly, withtheir little fingers sticking out straight, or curved in what theyconsidered a most elegant fashion.
Miss Aurora was in her element. She was truly proud of her home and itsappointments, and she dearly loved to entertain company at tea. To hermind, and indeed to the minds of most of those present, the success of atea depended entirely upon the number of kinds of cake that were served,and Miss Bender felt that with fourteen she had broken any hitherto knownrecord.
It was an unwritten law that each kind of cake must be really a separaterecipe. To take a portion of ordinary cup-cake batter, and stir in somechopped nuts, and another portion and mix in some raisins, by no meansmet the requirements of the case. This Patty learned from remarks made bythe visitors, and also from Miss Aurora's own delicately veiledintimations that each of her fourteen kinds was a totally different anddistinct recipe.
Patty couldn't help wondering what would become of all this cake, forafter all, the guests could eat but a small portion of it.
And it occurred to her also that the ways of the people in previousgenerations, as exemplified in Miss Bender's customs, seemed to showquite as great a lack of a sense of proportion as many of our so-calledmodern absurdities.
After supper the guests immediately departed for their homes. Carriagesarrived for the different ones, and they went away, after volublyexpressing to their hostess their thanks for her delightful entertainment.
The girls expected Winthrop and Roger to come for them in the motor-car,but they had not told them to come quite so early as now seemednecessary. In some embarrassment, they told Miss Bender that they wouldhave to trespass on her hospitality for perhaps an hour longer.
"My land o' goodness!" she exclaimed, looking at them in dismay, "whyI've got to set this house to rights, and I can't wait an hour to begin!"
"Don't mind us, Miss Bender," said Bertha. "Just shut us up in some roomby ourselves, and we'll stay there, and not bother you a bit; unlessperhaps we can help you?"
"Help me! No, indeed. There can't anybody help me when I'm clearin' upafter a quiltin', unless it's somebody that knows my ways. But I'd liketo amuse you children, somehow. I'll tell you what, you can go up in thefront bedroom, if you like, and there's a chest of old-fashioned clothesthere. Can't you play at dressin' up?"
"Yes, indeed," cried Bertha. "Just the thing! Give us some candles."
Provided with two candles apiece, the girls followed Miss Aurora to alarge bedroom on the second floor, which also boasted its carvedfour-poster and chintz draperies.
"There," said Miss Aurora, throwing open a great chest, "you ought to getsome fun out of trying on those fol-de-rols, and peacocking around; butdon't come downstairs to show off to me, for you'll only bother me out ofmy wits. I'll let you know when your folks come for you."
Miss Bender trotted away, and the girls, quite ready for a lark, tossedover the quaint old gowns.
Beautiful costumes were there, of the period of about a hundred yearsago. Lustrous silks and dainty dimities; embroidered muslins and heavyvelvets; Patty had never seen such a sight. After looking them over, thegirls picked out the ones they preferred, and taking off their own frocksproceeded to try them on.
Bertha had chosen a blue and white silk of a bayadere stripe, with laceruffles at the neck and wrists and a skirt of voluminous fulness. Elisewore a white Empire gown that made her look exactly like the EmpressJosephine, while Patty arrayed herself in a flowered silk of Dresdeneffect with a pointed bodice, square neck, and elbow sleeves with lacefrills.
In great glee, the girls pranced around, regretting there was no one towhom they might exhibit their masquerade costumes. But Miss Bender hadbeen so positive in her orders that they dared not go downstairs.
Suddenly they heard the toot of an automobile.
"Patty arrayed herself in a flowered silk of Dresdeneffect"]
"That's our car," cried Bertha. "I know the horn. Let's go down just aswe are, for the benefit of Winthrop and Roger."
In answer to Miss Bender's call from below, the girls trooped downstairs,and merrily presented themselves for inspection.
Mr. Phelps had come with the others, and if the young men were pleased atthe picture the three girls presented, Miss Aurora herself was no lessso.
"My," she said, "you do look fine, I declare! Now, I'll tell you whatI'll do; I'll make each of you young ladies a present of the gown youhave on, if you care to keep it. I'll never miss them, for I have trunksand chests full, besides those you saw, and I'm right down glad to givethem to you. You can wear them sometimes at your fancy dress parties."
The girls were overjoyed at Miss Bender's gift, and Bertha declared theywould wear them home, and she would send over for their other dresses thenext day.
So, donning their wraps, the merry modern maids in their antique garbmade their adieus to Miss Aurora, and were soon in the big motor-carspeeding for home.