Chapter 8
"My word! Listen to this," exclaimed Peggy; and then read--"'We should hesitate to say that Mr. Landless's name will stand higher than the second rank of poets. But so much praise he has fairly wrested from even the most captious reviewer. Indeed his "Lyrics" invite one to the dangerous pastime of prophecy; and prophecy of a bright future for this newest of our versifiers. Certainly, if the more serious work we are promised in "London: A Poem" (which is announced for the autumn) exceeds in dignity and restraint the best of his "Lyrics," we shall throw caution to the winds and predict great things for him. We observe two typographical errors on page--' Oh! who cares about the old typographical errors! Well, well, John. Isn't that splendid! What a happy girl Phil must be!"
"We are all very happy, Margaret," said Sir Peter. "And very proud to be related to him--even by marriage."
"And Phil tells me you have turned author, too," said Peggy to Sir Peter. "A young fellow like you to be writing your 'Recollections'! Think how much more you will have to recollect if you wait a few years."
Sir Peter shook his finger at her.
"If you are not careful, young woman, I will put you into them--as I first remember you, very red and wrinkled."
Mark's and Peggy's stay was short--all too short. Mark settled down behind the wheel. "London, next," said he. Peggy's face was buried in roses as they drove off.
When they were seated again, under the trees, Phyllis regarding the baby with rapt eyes, John's curiosity suggested a question.
"Phyllis, please tell us what you set Mark to talking about. We tried everything."
"Why, about Peggy, of course," said Phyllis. "Silly! Couldn't you think of that?"
Mrs. Farquharson had awaited the departure of the Holroyds, and now, in her best black silk, came out to see the baby, and remained to chat for a few minutes. Her great news was that the first-floor front was in stocks again--with a prospect of seeing better days.
"And how is Mr. Rowlandson?" asked Phyllis.
"Odder than ever," replied Mrs. Farquharson. "He is getting a little childish, I think. The other night he told me the greatest rigmarole about some collector or other in Birmingham. He collected weapons, of all things! He had Mr. Rowlandson buy him swords, and daggers, and spears, and even bows and arrows from America, until his house fairly rattled with them. Finally, says Mr. Rowlandson, he got him the stone that David flung at Goliath, and the jawbone that Samson smote the Philistines with. 'Now,' says he, 'I am looking for the club that Cain slew Abel with, and then he will be complete.' Did ever you hear such a farrago? And his eyes twinkling all the time as though he was as sensible as ever could be! Yesterday I told him I was coming down here to take tea with Mrs. Burbage. 'With Mrs. Burbage!' says he. 'Well, what next?' 'Now, heed my words,' says I. 'That woman is not as black as she's been painted.' And then he laughs. Childish, I say. But he's terrible down on you, Mr. Landless, because the baby's a boy. 'Mr. Landless has disappointed me,' says he. 'He knows her name should be Valentine.' 'But, Mrs. Landless wanted a boy,' says I, 'to call him Peter'; as she has, bless his darling little heart, that knows his old Farquharson! 'Well,' says he, 'Mr. Landless put her up to it.'"
When she had returned to Burbage, John and Sir Peter began work on the proofs of "Recollections of an Engineer." The publishers had wished to call it "Recollections of a Great Engineer." Sir Peter told them quietly there would be no recollections if they insisted on the word.
The story of the Natal bridge would have been the making of this twelfth chapter. But the Natal story has a chapter of its own in the "Recollections" (chapter XXII--p. 227), and as the copyright restrictions are in force you will have to look for it there. Mr. Rowlandson has the book for sale--if you don't find it elsewhere.
The work on the proofs was interrupted when the baby insisted on having the red rose from Sir Peter's buttonhole. Sir Peter cut the thorns from its stem before he gave it into the tiny fingers.
Burbage and Farquharson stood by the garden-gate, looking in. The golden glow of late afternoon was over all. The roses nodded their heavy heads all about them. The gentle murmur of the flowing river, lapping the old stairs at the end of the garden, could be faintly heard.
Sir Peter cut the thorns from the rose, and gave it to the baby, leaning forward in its young mother's arms.
"Isn't it a pretty sight?" whispered Burbage.
"The prettiest sight that ever was in the world," said Farquharson, fumbling for her handkerchief.
THE END
* * * * *
Published by HOUGHTON MIFFLIN AND COMPANY
THE INVADERS
By FRANCES N.S. ALLEN
"A warm, rich, human story, which takes its substance from the successful inroads of thrifty Irish and Polack and the whole whatnot of foreign newcomers upon the lean New England land, with the desperate resentments growing out of this usurpation and the futile attempts to stem the tide of encroachment."--_Washington Evening Star._
"A capital story, but also a fine piece of workmanship and a contribution to sociology."--_Congregationalist._
"A clean, wholesome, stimulating story pleasantly told."--_Detroit Free Press._
"Deals wisely and sympathetically with one of the big social problems which beset changing New England."--_Brooklyn Eagle._
V.V.'S EYES
By HENRY SYDNOR HARRISON
"'V.V.'s Eyes' is a novel of so elevated a spirit, yet of such strong interest, unartificial, and uncritical, that it is obviously a fulfillment of Mr. Harrison's intention to 'create real literature.'"--_Baltimore News._
"In our judgment it is one of the strongest and at the same time most delicately wrought American novels of recent years."--_The Outlook._
"'V.V.'s Eyes' is an almost perfect example of idealistic realism. It has the soft heart, the clear vision and the boundless faith in humanity that are typical of our American outlook on life."--_Chicago Record-Herald._
"A delicate and artistic study of striking power and literary quality which may well remain the high-water mark in American fiction for the year.... Mr. Harrison definitely takes his place as the one among our younger American novelists of whom the most enduring work may be hoped for."--_Springfield Republican._
STORIES OF CHARM
By WILLIAM JOHN HOPKINS
THE CLAMMER
"It is seldom that one comes upon a bit of fiction which combines so much clever fancy with so much delicacy, or which blends light comedy so skillfully with deep feeling."--_Brooklyn Eagle._
OLD HARBOR
"A tale to chuckle over.... It is not often that a reader has an opportunity in the pages of a book to come in touch with such a group of genial and lovable people."--_Minneapolis Journal._
THE MEDDLINGS OF EVE
"Brings us once again into touch with those delightful and very human people that we learned to know in 'The Clammer.'"--_The Bookman._
CONCERNING SALLY
"The story is at once so human and so unusual that it excites deep interest.... Sally is a real person, a person whose woes and joys the reader cannot choose but share."--_Boston Herald._
A SAFETY MATCH
By IAN HAY
"Delineates the progress of a marriage of convenience with an agreeably delicate touch." _New York Sun._
"The story is well written and of the variety which, once commenced, keeps the candle burning regardless of the hour until the end." _Boston Herald._
"The 'handsome rectory children' of the early chapters, their vague father, and their muddled but affectionate home life, are things of pure joy." _London Punch._
"Simple, yet strong, and strong because its simplicity is natural, the book will commend itself to all who love sane, wholesome and cheerful fiction." _San Francisco Chronicle._
"There is humor everywhere of the sparkling rather than the gleaming variety, and it makes the book delightful to read." _The Dial._
"Its homely, human humor, and its wonderful narrative of events, both commonplace and extraordinary, hold the interest of the reader unswervingly from the first chapter to the last." _St. Louis Post-Dispatch._
A COUNTRY LAWYER
By HENRY A. SHUTE
"Rarely do we find a book so full of wholesome sentiment.... Fairly bubbles with good humor.... A book well worth reading and then well worth remembering." _Boston Globe._
"Judge Shute has told a good story, at the same time incorporating into it the stir, bustle and ginger of a New Hampshire town." _Milwaukee Free Press._
"Humor and clever portrayal of country character prevail in this story." _Detroit Free Press._
"Judge Shute has told a thoroughly readable story, and one which has the added charms of freshness and spirit." _Minneapolis Journal._
MOTHER CAREY'S CHICKENS
By KATE DOUGLAS WIGGIN
"A fitting successor to the far-famed Rebecca." _Boston Transcript._
"Mother Carey is one of the sweetest and truest models of motherhood imaginable." _The Outlook._
"A book to enjoy, a book to love, and a book to be grateful for." _Westminster Gazette._
"A delightful book for girls, not to mention the boys and the mothers and fathers, is 'Mother Carey's Chickens,' one of the best of the many good stories that Mrs. Wiggin has written.... Mother Carey is a real human mother and her children are a lively flock of real youngsters, all different and all worth knowing." _Springfield Republican._
"A book to brighten and sweeten every home into which it enters." _British Weekly._
Important Historical Books for the Young
_Makers of England Series_
By EVA MARCH TAPPAN, Ph.D.
_In the Days of Alfred the Great_
_In the Days of William the Conqueror_
_In the Days of Queen Elizabeth_
_In the Days of Queen Victoria_
By CALVIN DILL WILSON
_The Story of the Cid for Young People_