Chapter 29

CONCLUSION.

On half-holidays Cleena had always the best dinner of the week. To its enjoyment were usually brought the best appetites of the week as well; for there was leisure and talk and laughter, and that interchange of experiences which kept their family life so united.

Archibald Wingate joined the party at this present half-holiday dinner; yet even with such cheerfulness about him could not but shiver now and then, as he recalled his narrow escape of the afternoon. To have taken his meal alone, on that day, would have been to suffer greatly.

But Amy had brought him in and placed him in the seat of honor, and amid the general rejoicing over Hallam's wonderful recovery and surprise, they had made him feel that he was a sharer. They had just drawn back from the table, and were going into the sitting room, when there came a tap at the door that Cleena answered. It was a small tap, very low down on the panel, but it was given due importance; for wasn't the visitor Master "Willyum Gladstone Jones," and wasn't Cleena just making fine progress in teaching him his "manners"?

So they all paused to wait the child's important entrance, and to smile over Goodsoul's greeting:--

"The top o' the evenin' to you, Mister Jones. An' what may be givin' us the pleasure of a visit from your lordship the now? A what? Speak up; a box is it? Miss Amy's box. Never a doubt I doubt you've made messes of its insides, by the way. No? Then your improvin', to that extent I must even be givin' ye a bite o' this fine apple pie. Hmm; exactly. Well, give the young lady her bit property, again' I slips on a plate an' teaches ye how to eat decent, as ye should."

So the little fellow, who had just been promoted to his first trousers and felt as all boys do in such a case, walked proudly across the room and offered Amy a japanned casket.

"Why, Sir William, how came you by that? I haven't seen it for ever so long. I used to keep my few letters in it. I wonder if they're here now."

"Ev'y one. My mamma seen 'em all. She said the top one--I don't know. Somefin."

"Arrah musha! but I remember one day, long syne, he was aye botherin' an' I set him to orderin' the box neat an' nice. He must ha' took it away with him an' me not payin' no attention. Well, a box o' such truck's neither here no more there, I forecast."

Amy had stopped to admire the new garment, fashioned from an old one of Hallam's, and having thus satisfied the little one's innocent pride, now opened her recovered keepsake. She lifted the letters idly, dropped them, and again catching one that had, indeed, lain upon the top, sprang up and waved it overhead.

"The letter! the letter! The lost one of Adam!"

"No; is it really? To come in such a way--"

"On such a day--oh, Hal!"

She caught her brother's hands and wrung them in delight, then ran to her father and placed the letter before him.

He looked at it critically.

"Yes; that is Adam Burn's handwriting. His own familiar seal. These people who have had it in keeping--"

"I hided it. Zen I dugged it out. Same like Fayetty," explained Sir William, between mouthfuls.

"The blessed baby! that explains."

"Let us go into the parlor and read it. It is yours, daughter; you must yourself break the seal."

"Oh, I'll break it fast enough."

"Hmm. Young lady, I thought you were the girl who didn't want to be an heiress," commented Uncle Fred, teasingly.

Amy's face sobered.

"You are right. I didn't so wish then, when the shock and sorrow were fresh; but now I do. Just think of all the comfort for all you folks in that lovely home."

"Then I must lose my tenants, eh?" asked Mr. Wingate, smiling.

"Thee'll lose nothing! Wait. If thee has plans to tell, so have I."

The letter was a simple one, plain, and leaving no room for any sort of legal difficulty. Amy could enter upon her heritage that day, if she wished. The place where the will was stored was designated, and they knew it would there be found. But after the reading a little silence fell upon them all.

The old mill owner was the first to break this. He did it almost reverently.

"Speaking of wills, and after the events of the day, I've been thinking of mine. By the way, Amy, I suppose thee'll cease to work for me now."

"I don't see why I should, unless my father needs me at home. We will see about that afterward. Tell us thy plans, please. I'd like to hear them."

"And I'd like to have thee make them for me."

"Make them? I?"

"Yes; in truth and deed. If thee were me and had as much money as I have, and were just such a lonely, childless, forlorn old man, what would thee do, that would accomplish the most good? according to thy judgment, which I have found a fairly sound one."

The elder Kayes listened in astonishment. They had been prepared by various matters for a great change in their kinsman, though not for one so radical. But the father began to perceive how this change had been wrought, and his heart gave thanks for the devoted, sunshiny daughter who seemed to shed an influence for happiness and goodness on all whom she knew. It was due to her, he believed, that this new Archibald had replaced the old.

"Does thee mean it, truly?"

"Yes; I mean it. Let me hear. If it is possible, I will carry out the wishes thee expresses, knowing they will be all for the benefit of somebody deserving."

"Well, then, I'd help the unpractical Kaye family to get settled at Burnside Farm, on the condition that for my services I was given a big, delightful room in the old farmhouse, to live in and with them, forever and ever and ever, so long as the dear Lord permitted--that's if I were thee, Cousin Archibald."

"But would that ne'er-do-well Kaye family take in an old curmudgeon, does thee think?"

"Never. A curmudgeon is a thing they detest. They'd take in a nice, fat, old fellow, whose heart was so big it made his body grow to hold it, and who meant to do all the good with his money that his money would do, and not leave it for anybody to squabble over after he died."

"Excellent, Miss Wisdom; proceed."

"After I'd got a niche at Burnside, I'd take 'Charity House' and remodel it into a Modern Industrial School. I'd have 'designing' taught, in regular classes, by a well-known artist, named Cuthbert Kaye. I'd have agriculture under the instruction of another expert, Frederic Kaye. I'd have a school of scientific cookery--not by you, my Cleena, but by somebody who hates pies and adores oatmeal and _et cetera_. No, really, I do think the mill folks should understand more about foods and their uses. They'd save so much money and--dyspepsia."

"Hurry up. Where do I come in?"

"At the mercantile college end of the establishment, learned brother. There should be a splendid library, a gymnasium, a swimming pool--"

"A swimming pool on the top of Bareacre knoll!"

"Please don't interrupt, Hal. It's impolite. I'd have it--somewhere. I'd have a paddock full of burros--"

"They're already ordered," cried Archibald, forgetting everything in his enjoyment of her happy face.

"Am I to continue? May I let my fancy riot?"

"Yes, indeed; give thyself full freedom for once."

"Then I'd take beautiful Fairacres, that has been a happy home for generations, and I'd make it a Happy Home, with capital letters. I'd call to it all the tired and ailing mill folks in the country. I'd make its disused studio and book rooms into a hospital, and where father painted his picture of pain, that he destroyed, let all pain be soothed; and all the other big chambers into havens of rest for other girls who, unlike me, have no fathers, nor Uncle Freds, nor Hallams, nor Cousin Archibalds, nor anybody. I'd have Mary Reese trained to be its Little Mother; and Archibald Wingate should be full manager of all, beloved and venerated, reaping the happiness he has himself bestowed; and oh, cousin, if it might be true! and if I were not out of breath! There! have I 'rioted' enough?"

Mr. Wingate turned his head sidewise and looked admiringly upon the unselfish girl who had planned so much for others, and had not, apparently, remembered to plan anything for herself.

"Yes; thee has rioted enough. But, little one, if thee pleases, if my other kinsfolk here so please; if the dead past is indeed the dead past, and the future may be our happy own, there is no reason under the blue heaven why thee has not prophesied aright. What say, my friends? Shall Amy's word be that which the Spirit has moved her to say? Shall we make it real and tangible, this beautiful, helpful dream of hers? You are all interested alike. You are my next of kin. After me you will inherit--or these others whom she has named. Was Amy's word the true Word, Cuthbert? The word Salome would have spoken?"

"It was the true Word, Archibald. Let it be as Salome's child has spoken," said Cuthbert Kaye, grasping his kinsman's hand.

And all Ardsley now knows that as it was then agreed, so it is, and will remain.

* * * * *

A DAUGHTER OF THE WEST

THE STORY OF AN AMERICAN PRINCESS

_By Evelyn Raymond_

_347 pp. Cloth. $1.50_

California ranch life is the setting of this bright story for young people. It will read like a fairy tale to those who know nothing of the wideness of life on a great ranch as compared with our overcrowded Eastern city existence. The story "moves." Incident follows incident with rapidity enough to maintain interest, and the teachings of the book tend to a sturdy wholesomeness throughout.--_Epworth Herald._

It is not often that a woman succeeds in writing an Indian story, exciting enough to commend itself to boys, yet with a girl for its principal character, and with the noblest of teachings throughout the tale; but in "A Daughter of the West" Evelyn Raymond has accomplished precisely that feat. The scene is laid among the broad valleys and lofty mountains of California, and every chapter is crowded full of incident.--_Christian Endeavor World._

This story of our western plains will appeal to many a youthful reader. The heroine, beloved by her people, the community, and even by the neighboring Indian tribes, carries the interest of the reader to the final page. Her courage in time of personal danger, her sweet disposition in her relations with those around her, are well depicted by the author. The book is well illustrated and attractively bound, and cannot fail to be a success.--_Journal of Education._

This "Daughter of the West" is one of the freshest, breeziest, most wholesome stories we have read in a long time. The scene has a California ranch for its setting. But the writer tells her story in such a natural and charming style, that we relish every word of it.--_Christian Observer._

"A Daughter of the West," by Evelyn Raymond, is a story of California ranch life, of which Patience Eliot is the heroine. By severe experience she comes to hold herself and all her large belongings of wealth as a sacred trust, to be spent in the service of others. The story is one which will tend to quicken the nobler aspirations of all young women.--_The Advance._

This story of Evelyn Raymond's is not lacking in exciting incident, at least, even though it is not a love tale. Patience Eliot, the heroine, a California girl born and bred, as much at home in the saddle as the wildest rider of the plains, exhibits her training in season and out, and though she startles certain more conventional people with her ways, she illustrates well the excellence of the training of Nature's child. The atmosphere of the greater part of the story is that of Southern California, with its mingled society of Mexicans, Indians and reckless frontiersmen, and among them the heroine lives and thrives. It is a healthful out-of-door story, wholesomely interesting and alive.--_Colorado School Journal._

"A Daughter of the West," by Evelyn Raymond, the story of an American princess, is a narrative of California ranch life. It affords a pleasant picture of that sort of life, and portrays effectively a certain type of training for the young. It also illustrates the striking changes that sometimes occur in personal careers in a country like our own. It is full of incident, and will promote patriotism and a high ideal of life.--_The Congregationalist._

* * * * *

A GIRL OF '76

_By Amy E. Blanchard_

_331 pp. Cloth. $1.50_

"A Girl of '76," by Amy E. Blanchard, is one of the best stories of old Boston and its vicinity ever written. The value of the book as real history, and as an incentive to further historical study can hardly be over-estimated.--_The Bookseller._

This is one of the season's books that deserves a wide reading among the girls. The events in which Elizabeth Hall, the heroine, took part occurred in those stirring times, beginning with the Boston Tea Party. The call to Lexington, Battle of Bunker Hill, and the burning of Charlestown follow, and in all these the little maid bears her share of the general anxiety and privation with a fortitude which makes wholesome reading.--_Watchman._

The manners and customs of that time are vividly pictured in this interesting and well written story, and while we joyfully reach the "peace" chapter with which it ends, we are truly sorry to part with this charming girl of '76.--_Journal._

The tale is told with sentiment and vivacity, giving bright pictures of a singing school, a quilting bee, and other old-time entertainments. It is just the book for the youngest of the D. A. R. societies, and is dedicated to "My Revolutionary Sires."--_Literary World._

It is a thoroughly well-told tale, and of so genuine a charm as to challenge the interest of readers other than the youngsters. Here too, the pictures are of actual merit, and demand a share in the well deserved praise bestowed upon the book as a whole.--_S. S. Times._

* * * * *

A REVOLUTIONARY MAID.

A STORY OF THE MIDDLE PERIOD OF THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE.

_321 pp. Cloth. $1.50._

It is charmingly written, and the young reader will not only enjoy it as a story, but will also get a very clear knowledge of that part of history which relates to the war of the Revolution. The little "Revolutionary Maid," Kitty DeWitt, is a plucky little Whig, and full of courage; her presence of mind, on many occasions, saves her and others from the Red coats.--_Christian Observer._

Amy E. Blanchard's "A Revolutionary Maid" sets a charming heroine in the middle period of the Revolutionary War, and keeps her a stanch little patriot in spite of her Tory surroundings.--_Detroit Free Press._

The plot of the story before us, without being intricate, is ingenious and the interest in the characters is fully sustained throughout. The trying experiences of Kitty DeWitt were those of a multitude of girls and women, and their decision for patriotism was a power in shaping the great national events which followed. Such books are educational in patriotism. The more American girls are made to feel and know their power and influence in national affairs the better.--_The Inter-Ocean._

Among the large number of Revolutionary Books in the new literature, "A Revolutionary Maid" is not merely remarkably entertaining, but also unique.--_Boston Journal._

There could be no better material with which to give an historical flavoring to a story than the New Jersey campaign, the battle of Germantown, and the winter at Valley Forge. Miss Blanchard has made the most of a large opportunity, and produced a happy companion book to her "Girl of '76."--_The Christian Endeavor World._

* * * * *

AN HISTORICAL NOVEL

A SON OF THE REVOLUTION

IN THE DAYS OF BURR'S CONSPIRACY

_By Elbridge S. Brooks_

_301 pages. Cloth, $1.50_

Mr. Brooks knows how to catch and hold the attention of boys and girls. In this story of Aaron Burr's conspiracy he is very happy, choosing scenes and incidents of picturesque American history and weaving them into a patriotic and stirringly romantic narrative. The young hero is a fine character strongly presented, and from first page to last the interest is lively. We heartily recommend the book to our young readers as one sure to please and instruct them.--_The Independent._

Elbridge S. Brooks has written nothing better than "A Son of the Revolution." Designed for boys, it is so spirited and interesting, dealing as it does with little known episodes in our past history as a nation, that it will gain many readers in the ranks of the grown up. It is really as the sub-title says, "an historical novel" of the days of Aaron Burr, when he was conspiring to create a western empire. A young fellow full of enthusiasm and patriotism, named Tom Edwards, comes under the fascination of Burr, and works with him for quite a period before considering his true aims and real character. When the day of awakening comes, the fight with his conscience is thrilling. No better book for boys can be mentioned, nor one so rich in lessons of true patriotism.--_The Publisher's Weekly._

Elbridge S. Brooks has told in "A Son of the Revolution" a story which will stimulate the patriotism of all young Americans. He relates the adventures of an Ohio lad who was a relative of Aaron Burr and had implicit faith in that brilliant but unprincipled statesman. The story is remarkably well told and it is finely illustrated.--_The San Francisco Chronicle._

Mr. Brooks in this volume presents to his readers a new field of interest and importance. No one incident in the history of our country, as a nation, is so full of the picturesque as the wild scheme of treason which stirred the soul of Aaron Burr to plot against the country he had struggled to establish. Every boy ought to know the history of this arch traitor.--_The Awakener._

In this volume the author touches upon a field of interest but little known, and concerning which but slight attention has been given by historians and novelists.

Burr's conspiracy, although not now considered as an historical event of marked importance, yet, during the period of opening up the middle western states was a serious episode in the nation's career. With this period and the events connected therewith the author has interested himself, and has presented to the reader a novel of intense feeling of patriotism and loyalty to the government.

Coming at this time, when national affairs are strongest in the minds of the people, we predict for this story a widespread success.--_Journal of Education._

An historical of Aaron Burr's time, by Elbridge S. Brooks, presenting the story of the adventures of the "young son" as faithful facts of history, but in an interesting and inspiring way which will hold and help the young reader.--_The International Evangel._