THE CLEVER WOMAN OF THE FAMILY  by the  author of " the heirs of redclyffe "  in two volumes  London and Cambridge :  Macmillan and co.  1865  CHAPTER I .  IN SEARCH OF A MISSION  “ Thou didst refuse the daily round Of useful , patient love , And longedst for some great emprise Thy spirit high to prove . ” — C . M . N .  “ Che mi sedea con l’antica Rachele . ” — DANTE .  “ It is very kind in the dear mother .  ”  “ But — what , Rachel ?  Don’t you like it !  She so enjoyed choosing it for you .  ”  “ Oh yes , it is a perfect thing in its way .  Don’t say a word to her ; but if you are consulted for my next birthday present , Grace , couldn’t you suggest that one does cease to be a girl .  ”  “ Only try it on , Rachel dear , she will be pleased to see you in it .  ”  “ Oh yes , I will bedizen myself to oblige her .  I do assure you I am not ungrateful .  It is beautiful in itself , and shows how well nature can be imitated ; but it is meant for a mere girl , and this is the very day I had fixed for hauling down the flag of youth .  ”  “ Oh , Rachel .  ”  “ Ah , ha !  If Rachel be an old maid , what is Grace ?  Come , my dear , resign yourself !  There is nothing more unbecoming than want of perception of the close of young-ladyhood .  ”  “ Of course I know we are not quite young girls now , ” said Grace , half perplexed , half annoyed .  “ Exactly , from this moment we are established as the maiden sisters of Avonmouth , husband and wife to one another , as maiden pairs always are .  ”  “ Then thus let me crown , our bridal , ” quoth Grace , placing on her sister’s head the wreath of white roses .  “ Treacherous child !  ” cried Rachel , putting up her hands and tossing her head , but her sister held her still .  “ You know brides always take liberties .  Please , dear , let it stay till the mother has been in , and pray don’t talk , before her of being so very old .  ”  “ No , I’ll not be a shock to her .  We will silently assume our immunities , and she will acquiesce if they come upon her gradually .  ”  Grace looked somewhat alarmed , being perhaps in some dread of immunities , and aware that Rachel’s silence would in any one else have been talkativeness .  “ Ah , mother dear , good morning , ” as a pleasant placid-looking lady entered , dressed in black , with an air of feeble health , but of comely middle age .  Birthday greetings , congratulations , and thanks followed , and the mother looked critically at the position of the wreath , and Rachel for the first time turned to the glass and met a set of features of an irregular , characteristic cast , brow low and broad , nose retrousse , with large , singularly sensitive nostrils quivering like those of a high-bred horse at any emotion , full pouting lips , round cheeks glowing with the freshest red , eyes widely opened , dark deep grey and decidedly prominent , though curtained with thick black lashes .  The glossy chestnut hair partook of the redundance and vigour of the whole being , and the roses hung on it gracefully though not in congruity with the thick winter dress of blue and black tartan , still looped up over the dark petticoat and hose , and stout high-heeled boots , that like the grey cloak and felt hat bore witness to the early walk .  Grace’s countenance and figure were in the same style , though without so much of mark or animation ; and her dress was of like description , but less severely plain .  “ Yes , my dear , it looks very well ; and now you will oblige me by not wearing that black lace thing , that looks fit for your grandmother .  ”  “ Poor Lovedy Kelland’s aunt made it , mother , and it was very expensive , and wouldn’t sell .  ”  “ No wonder , I am sure , and it was very kind in you to take it off their hands ; but now it is paid for , it can’t make much difference whether you disfigure yourself with it or not .  ”  “ Oh yes , dear mother , I’ll bind my hair when you bid me do it and really these buds do credit to the makers .  I wonder whether they cost them as dear in health as lace does , ” she added , taking off the flowers and examining them with a grave sad look .  “ I chose white roses , ” proceeded the well-pleased mother , “ because I thought they would suit either of the silks you have now , though I own I should like to see you in another white muslin .  ”  “ I have done with white muslin , ” said Rachel , rousing from her reverie .  “ It is an affectation of girlish simplicity not becoming at our age .  ”  “ Oh Rachel !  ” thought Grace in despair ; but to her great relief in at that moment filed the five maids , the coachman , and butler , and the mother began to read prayers .  Breakfast over , Rachel gathered up her various gifts , and betook herself to a room on the ground floor with all the appliances of an ancient schoolroom .  Rather dreamily she took out a number of copy-books , and began to write copies in them in large text hand .  “ And this is all I am doing for my fellow-creatures , ” she muttered half aloud .  “ One class of half-grown lads , and those grudged to me !  Here is the world around one mass of misery and evil !  Not a paper do I take up but I see something about wretchedness and crime , and here I sit with health , strength , and knowledge , and able to do nothing , nothing — at the risk of breaking my mother’s heart !  I have pottered about cottages and taught at schools in the dilettante way of the young lady who thinks it her duty to be charitable ; and I am told that it is my duty , and that I may be satisfied .  Satisfied , when I see children cramped in soul , destroyed in body , that fine ladies may wear lace trimmings !  Satisfied with the blight of the most promising buds !  Satisfied , when I know that every alley and lane of town or country reeks with vice and corruption , and that there is one cry for workers with brains and with purses !  And here am I , able and willing , only longing to task myself to the uttermost , yet tethered down to the merest mockery of usefulness by conventionalities .  I am a young lady forsooth !  — I must not be out late , I must not put forth my views ; I must not choose my acquaintance , I must be a mere helpless , useless being , growing old in a ridiculous fiction of prolonged childhood , affecting those graces of so-called sweet seventeen that I never had — because , because why ?  Is it for any better reason than because no mother can bear to believe her daughter no longer on the lists for matrimony ?  Our dear mother does not tell herself that this is the reason , but she is unconsciously actuated by it .  And I have hitherto given way to her wish .  I mean to give way still in a measure ; but I am five and twenty , and I will no longer be withheld from some path of usefulness !  I will judge for myself , and when my mission has declared itself , I will not be withheld from it by any scruple that does not approve itself to my reason and conscience .  If it be only a domestic mission — say the care of Fanny , poor dear helpless Fanny , I would that I knew she was safe , — I would not despise it , I would throw myself into it , and regard the training her and forming her boys as a most sacred office .  It would not be too homely for me .  But I had far rather become the founder of some establishment that might relieve women from the oppressive task-work thrown on them in all their branches of labour .  Oh , what a worthy ambition !  ”  “ Rachel !  ” called Grace .  “ Come , there’s a letter , a letter from Fanny herself for you .  Make haste , mamma is so nervous till you read it .  ”  No exhortation was needed to make Rachel hurry to the drawing-room , and tear open the black-edged letter with the Australian stamp .  “ All is right , mamma .  She has been very ill , but is fast recovering , and was to sail by the Voluta .  Why , she may be here any day .  ”  “ Any day !  My dear Grace , see that the nurseries are well aired .  ”  “ No , mother , she says her party is too large , and wants us to take a furnished house for her to come into at once — Myrtlewood if possible .  Is it let , Grace ?  ”  “ I think I saw the notice in the window yesterday .  ”  “ Then , I’ll go and see about it at once .  ”  “ But , my dear , you don’t really mean that poor dear Fanny thinks of coming anywhere but to us ?  ” said her mother , anxiously .  “ It is very considerate of her , ” said Grace , “ with so many little children .  You would find them too much for you , dear mother .  It is just like Fanny to have thought of it .  How many are there , Rachel ?  ”  “ Oh !  I can’t tell .  They got past my reckoning long ago .  I only know they are all boys , and that this baby is a girl .  ”  “ Baby !  Ah , poor Fanny , I feared that was the reason the did not come sooner .  ”  “ Yes , and she has been very ill ; she always is , I believe , but there is very little about it .  Fanny never could write letters ; she only just says : ‘I have not been able to attempt a letter sooner , though my dear little girl is five weeks old to-day .  Think of the daughter coming at last , too late for her dear father , who had so wished for one .  She is very healthy , I am thankful to say ; and I am now so much better , that the doctor says I may sail next week .  Major Keith has taken our cabins , in the Voluta , and soon after you receive this , I hope to be showing you my dear boys .  They are such good , affectionate fellows ; but I am afraid they would be too much for my dear aunt , and our party is so large , so the Major and I both think it will be the best way for you to take a house for me for six months .  I should like Myrtlewood best , if it is to be had .  I have told Conrade all about it , and how pretty it is , and it is so near you that I think there I can be happy as ever I can be again in this world , and have your advice for the dear children.’ ”  “ Poor darling !  she seems but a child herself .  ”  “ My age — five and twenty , ” returned Rachel .  “ Well I shall go and ask about the house .  Remember , mother , this influx is to bring no trouble or care on you ; Fanny Temple is my charge from henceforth .  My mission has come to seek me , ” she added as she quitted the room , in eager excitement of affection , emotion , and importance , for Fanny had been more like a sister than a cousin .  Grace and Rachel Curtis were the daughters of the squire of the Homestead ; Fanny , of his brother , an officer in the army .  Left at home for education , the little girl had spent her life , from her seventh to her sixteenth year , as absolutely one with her cousins , until she was summoned to meet her father at the Cape , under the escort of his old friend , General Sir Stephen Temple .  She found Colonel Curtis sinking under fatal disease , and while his relations were preparing to receive , almost to maintain , his widow and daughter , they were electrified by the tidings that the gentle little Fanny , at sixteen , had become the wife of Sir Stephen Temple , at sixty .  From that time little had been known about her ; her mother had continued with her , but the two Mrs. Curtises had never been congenial or intimate ; and Fanny was never a full nor willing correspondent , feeling perhaps the difficulty of writing under changed circumstances .  Her husband had been in various commands in the colonies , without returning to England ; and all that was known of her was a general impression that she had much ill-health and numerous children , and was tended like an infant by her bustling mother and doting husband .  More than half a year back , tidings had come of the almost sudden death of her mother ; and about three months subsequently , one of the officers of Sir Stephen’s staff had written to announce that the good old general had been killed by a fall from his horse , while on a round of inspection at a distance from home .  The widow was then completely prostrated by the shock , but promised to write as soon as she was able , and this was the fulfilment of that promise , bringing the assurance that Fanny was coming back with her little ones to the home of her childhood .  Of that home , Grace and Rachel were the joint-heiresses , though it was owned by the mother for her life .  It was an estate of farm and moorland , worth some three or four thousand a year , and the house was perched on a beautiful promontory , running out into the sea , and inclosing one side of a bay , where a small fishing-village had recently expanded into a quiet watering-place , esteemed by some for its remoteness from railways , and for the calm and simplicity that were yearly diminished by its increasing popularity .  It was the family fashion to look down from their crag at the new esplanade with pity and contempt for the ruined loneliness of the pebbly beach ; and as Mrs. Curtis had not health to go often into society , she had been the more careful where she trusted her daughters .  They belonged to the county by birth and tradition , and were not to be mixed up with the fleeting residents of the watering-place , on whom they never called , unless by special recommendation from a mutual friend ; and the few permanent inhabitants chanced to be such , that a visit to them was in some degree a condescension .  Perhaps there was more of timidity and caution than of pride in the mother’s exclusiveness , and Grace had always acquiesced in it as the natural and established state of affairs , without any sense of superiority , but rather of being protected .  She had a few alarms as to the results of Rachel’s new immunities of age , and though never questioning the wisdom of her clever sister’s conclusions , dreaded the effect on the mother , whom she had been forbidden to call mamma .  “ At their age it was affecting an interesting childishness .  ”  Rachel had had the palm of cleverness conceded to her ever since she could recollect , when she read better at three years old than her sister at five , and ever after , through the days of education , had enjoyed , and excelled in , the studies that were a toil to Grace .  Subsequently , while Grace had contented herself with the ordinary course of unambitious feminine life , Rachel had thrown herself into the process of self-education with all her natural energy , and carried on her favourite studies by every means within her reach , until she considerably surpassed in acquirements and reflection all the persons with whom she came in frequent contact .  It was a homely neighbourhood , a society well born , but of circumscribed interests and habits , and little connected with the great progressive world , where , however , Rachel’s sympathies all lay , necessarily fed , however , by periodical literature , instead of by conversation or commerce with living minds .  She began by being stranded on the ignorance of those who surrounded her , and found herself isolated as a sort of pedant ; and as time went on , the narrowness of interests chafed her , and in like manner left her alone .  As she grew past girlhood , the cui bono question had come to interfere with her ardour in study for its own sake , and she felt the influence of an age eminently practical and sifting , but with small powers of acting .  The quiet Lady Bountiful duties that had sufficed her mother and sister were too small and easy to satisfy a soul burning at the report of the great cry going up to heaven from a world of sin and woe .  The examples of successful workers stimulated her longings to be up and doing , and yet the ever difficult question between charitable works and filial deference necessarily detained her , and perhaps all the more because it was not so much the fear of her mother’s authority as of her horror and despair , that withheld her from the decisive and eccentric steps that she was always feeling impelled to take .  Gentle Mrs. Curtis had never been a visible power in her house , and it was through their desire to avoid paining her that her government had been exercised over her two daughters ever since their father’s death , which had taken place in Grace’s seventeenth year .  Both she and Grace implicitly accepted Rachel’s superiority as an unquestionable fact , and the mother , when traversing any of her clever daughter’s schemes , never disputed either her opinions or principles , only entreated that these particular developments might be conceded to her own weakness ; and Rachel generally did concede .  She could not act ; but she could talk uncontradicted , and she hated herself for the enforced submission to a state of things that she despised .  This twenty-fifth birthday had long been anticipated as the turning-point when this submissive girlhood ought to close , and the privileges of acting as well as thinking for herself ought to be assumed .  Something to do was her cry , and on this very day that something seemed to be cast in her way .  It was not ameliorating the condition of the masses , but it was educating those who might ameliorate them ; and Rachel gladly hailed the prospect of a vocation that might be conducted without pain to her mother .  Young children of her own class were not exactly what her dream of usefulness had devised ; but she had already a decided theory of education , and began to read up with all her might , whilst taking the lead in all the details of house taking , servant hiring , etc. , to which her regular occupations of night school in the evening and reading to the lacemakers by day , became almost secondary .  In due time the arrival of the ship was telegraphed , a hurried and affectionate note followed , and , on a bright east-windy afternoon , Rachel Curtis set forth to take up her mission .  A telegram had announced the arrival of the Voluta , and the train which would bring the travellers to Avonchester .  The Homestead carriage was sent to meet them , and Rachel in it , to give her helpless cousin assistance in this beginning of English habits .  A roomy fly had been engaged for nurses and children , and Mrs. Curtis had put under the coachman’s charge a parcel of sandwiches , and instructed him to offer all the appliances for making her own into an invalid carriage .  Full of warm tenderness to those who were to be dependent on her exertions , led by her good sense , Rachel paced the platform till the engine rushed up , and she looked along the line of windows , suddenly bewildered .  Doors opened , but gentlemen alone met her disappointed eye , until close to her a soft voice said , “ Rachel !  ” and she saw a figure in deep black close to her ; but her hand had been hardly clasped before the face was turned eagerly to a tall , bearded man , who was lifting out little boy after little boy , apparently in an endless stream , till at last a sleeping baby was brought out in the arms of a nurse .  “ Good-bye .  Thank you , oh , thank you .  You will come soon .  Oh , do come on now .  ”  “ Do come on now , ” was echoed by many voices .  “ I leave you in good hands .  Good-bye .  ”  “ Good-bye .  Conrade dear , see what Cyril is doing ; never mind , Wilfred , the Major will come and see us ; run on with Coombe .  ” This last was a respectable military-looking servant , who picked up a small child in one hand and a dressing-case in the other , and awaited orders .  There was a clinging to the Major by all the children , only ended by his finally precipitating himself into the carriage , and being borne off .  Then came a chorus — “ Mamma , let me go with you ; ” “ I’ll go with mamma ; ” “ Me go with mamma ; ” according to the gradations of age .  While Coombe and mamma decided the question by lifting the lesser ones into the fly , Rachel counted heads .  Her mission exceeded her expectations .  Here was a pair of boys in knickerbockers , a pair in petticoats , a pair in pelisses , besides the thing in arms .  When the fly had been nearly crammed , the two knickerbockers and one pelisse remained for the carriage , quite against Rachel’s opinion , but “ Little Wilfred can sit on my lap , he has not been well , poor little man , ” was quite conclusive ; and when Rachel suggested lying back to rest , there was a sweet , low laugh , and , “ Oh , no thank you , Wilfred never tires me .  ”  Rachel’s first satisfaction was in seeing the veil disclose the face of eight years back , the same soft , clear , olive skin , delicate , oval face , and pretty deep-brown eyes , with the same imploring , earnest sweetness ; no signs of having grown older , no sign of wear and tear , climate , or exertion , only the widow’s dress and the presence of the great boys enhancing her soft youthfulness .  The smile was certainly changed ; it was graver , sadder , tenderer , and only conjured up by maternal affection or in grateful reply , and the blitheness of the young brow had changed to quiet pensiveness , but more than ever there was an air of dependence almost beseeching protection , and Rachel’s heart throbbed with Britomart’s devotion to her Amoret .  “ Why wouldn’t the Major come , mamma ?  ”  “ He will soon come , I hope , my dear .  ”  Those few words gave Rachel a strong antipathy to the Major .  Then began a conversation under difficulties , Fanny trying to inquire after her aunt , and Rachel to detail the arrangements made for her at Myrtlewood , while the two boys were each accommodated with a window ; but each moment they were claiming their mother’s attention , or rushing across the ladies’ feet to each other’s window , treating Rachel’s knees as a pivot , and vouchsafing not the slightest heed to her attempts at intelligent pointing out of the new scenes .  And Fanny made no apology , but seemed pleased , ready with answers and with eyes , apparently ignorant that Rachel’s toes were less insensible than her own , and her heavy three-years-old Wilfred asleep on her lap all the time .  “ She feeble , helpless , sickly !  ” thought Rachel , “ I should have been less tired had I walked the twenty miles !  ”  She gave up talking in despair , and by the time the young gentlemen had tired themselves into quiescence , and began to eat the provisions , both ladies were glad to be allowed a little silence .  Coming over the last hill , Conrade roused at his mother’s summons to look out at “ home , ” and every word between them showed how fondly Avonmouth had been remembered far away .  “ The sea !  ” said Fanny , leaning forwards to catch sight of the long grey line ; “ it is hard to believe we have been on it so long , this seems so much more my own .  ”  “ Yes , ” cried Rachel , “ you are come to your own home , for us to take care of you .  ”  “ I take care of mamma !  Major Keith said so , ” indignantly exclaimed Conrade .  “ There’s plenty of care for you both to take , ” said Fanny , half-smiling , half-sobbing .  “ The Major says I need not be a poor creature , and I will try .  But I am afraid I shall be on all your hands .  ”  Both boys drummed on her knee in wrath at her presuming to call herself a poor creature — Conrade glaring at Rachel as if to accuse her of the calumny .  “ See the church , ” said Lady Temple , glad to divert the storm , and eagerly looking at the slender spire surmounting the bell-turret of a small building in early-decorated style , new , but somewhat stained by sea-wind , without having as yet acquired the tender tints of time .  “ How beautiful !  ” was her cry .  “ You were beginning the collection for it when I went away !  How we used to wish for it .  ”  “ Yes , we did , ” said Rachel , with a significant sigh ; but her cousin had no time to attend , for they were turning in a pepper-box lodge .  The boys were told that they were arrived , and they were at the door of a sort of overgrown Swiss cottage , where Mrs. Curtis and Grace stood ready to receive them .  There was a confusion of embraces , fondlings , and tears , as Fanny clung to the aunt who had been a mother to her — perhaps a more tender one than the ruling , managing spirit , whom she had hardly known in her childhood ; but it was only for a moment , for Wilfred shrieked out in an access of shyness at Grace’s attempt to make acquaintance with him ; Francis was demanding , “ Where’s the orderly ?  ” and Conrade looking brimful of wrath at any one who made his mother cry .  Moreover , the fly had arrived , and the remainder had to be produced , named , and kissed — Conrade and Francis , Leoline and Hubert , Wilfred and Cyril , and little Stephana the baby .  Really the names were a study in themselves , and the cousins felt as if it would be hopeless to endeavour to apply them .  Servants had been engaged conditionally , and the house was fully ready , but the young mother could hardly listen to her aunt’s explanations in her anxiety that the little ones should be rested and fed , and she responded with semi-comprehending thanks , while moving on with her youngest in her arms , and as many hanging to her dress as could get hold of it .  Her thanks grew more emphatic at the sight of cribs in inviting order , and all things ready for a meal .  “ I don’t drink tea with nurse , ” was Conrade’s cry , the signal for another general outcry , untranquillized by soothings and persuasions , till the door was shut on the younger half of the family , and those who could not open it remained to be comforted by nurse , a soldier’s widow , who had been with them from the birth of Conrade .  The Temple form of shyness seemed to consist in ignoring strangers , but being neither abashed nor silenced , only resenting or avoiding all attempts at intercourse , and as the boys rushed in and out of the rooms , exploring , exclaiming , and calling mamma , to the interruption of all that was going on , only checked for a few minutes by her uplifted hand and gentle hush , Grace saw her mother so stunned and bewildered that she rejoiced in the fear of cold that had decided that Rachel alone should spend the evening there .  Fanny made some excuses ; she longed to see more of her aunt , but when they were a little more settled , — and as a fresh shout broke out , she was afraid they were rather unruly , — she must come and talk to her at the dear Homestead .  So kind of Rachel to stay — not that the boys seemed to think so , as they went racing in and out , stretching their ship-bound legs , and taking possession of the minute shrubbery , which they scorned for the want of gum-trees and parrots .  “ You won’t mind , Rachel dear , I must first see about baby ; ” and Rachel was left to reflect on her mission , while the boys’ feet cantered up and down the house , and one or other of them would look in , and burst away in search of mamma .  Little more satisfactory was the rest of the evening , for the boys took a great deal of waiting on at tea , and then some of the party would not go to sleep in strange beds without long persuasions and comfortings , till Fanny looked so weary that it was plain that no conversation could have been hoped from her , even if the baby had been less vociferous .  All that could be done for her was to wish her good-night , and promise to come down early .  Come early !  Yes , Rachel might come , but what was the use of that when Fanny was at the mercy of so many claimants ?  She looked much better than the day before , and her sweet , soft welcome was most cordial and clinging .  “ Dear Rachel , it is like a dream to have you so near .  I felt like the old life come back again to hear the surge of the sea all night , and know I should see you all so soon again .  ”  “ Yes , it is a great satisfaction to have you back in your old home , under our wing .  I have a great deal to tell you about the arrangements .  ”  “ Oh yes ; thank you — ”  “ Mamma !  ” roared two or three voices .  “ I wanted to explain to you — ” But Fanny’s eye was roaming , and just then in burst two boys .  “ Mamma , nurse won’t undo the tin box , and my ship is in it that the Major gave me .  ”  “ Yes , and my stuffed duck-bill , and I want it , mamma .  ”  “ My dear Con , the Major would not let you shout so loud about it , and you have not spoken to Aunt Rachel .  ”  The boys did present their hands , and then returned to the charge .  “ Please order nurse to unpack it , mamma , and then Coombe will help us to sail it .  ”  “ Excuse me , dear Rachel , ” said Fanny , “ I will first see about this .  ”  And a very long seeing it was , probably meaning that she unpacked the box herself , whilst Rachel was deciding on the terrible spoiling of the children , and preparing a remonstrance .  “ Dear Rachel , you have been left a long time .  ”  “ Oh , never mind that , but , Fanny , you must not give way to those children too much ; they will be always — Hark !  was that the door-bell ?  ”  It was , and the visitor was announced as “ Mr. Touchett ; ” a small , dark , thin young clergyman he was , of a nervous manner , which , growing more nervous as he shook hands with Rachel , became abrupt and hesitating .  “ My call is — is early , Lady Temple ; but I always pay my respects at once to any new parishioner — resident , I mean — in case I can be of any service .  ”  “ Thank you , I am very much obliged , ” said Fanny , with a sweet , gracious smile and manner that would have made him more at ease at once , if Rachel had not added , “ My cousin is quite at home here , Mr. Touchett .  ”  “ Oh yes , ” he said , “ so — so I understood .  ”  “ I know no place in England so well ; it is quite a home to me , so beautiful it is , ” continued Fanny .  “ And you see great changes here .  ”  “ Changes so much for the better , ” said Fanny , smiling her winning smile again .  “ One always expects more from improvements than they effect , ” put in Rachel , severely .  “ You have a large young party , ” said Mr. Touchett , looking uneasily towards Lady Temple .  “ Yes , I have half a dozen boys and one little girl .  ”  “ Seven !  ” Mr. Touchett looked up half incredulous at the girlish contour of the gentle face , then cast down his eyes as if afraid he had been rude .  “ Seven !  It is — it is a great charge .  ”  “ Yes , indeed it is , ” she said earnestly ; “ and I am sure you will be kind enough to give your influence to help me with them — poor boys .  ”  “ Oh !  oh !  ” he exclaimed , “ anything I can do — ” in such a transport of eager helpfulness that Rachel coldly said , “ We are all anxious to assist in the care of the children .  ” He coloured up , and with a sort of effort at self-assertion , blurted out , “ As the clergyman of the parish — , ” and there halted , and was beginning to look foolish , when Lady Temple took him up in her soft , persuasive way .  “ Of course we shall look to you so much , and you will be so kind as to let me know if there is any one I can send any broth to at anytime .  ”  “ Thank you ; you are very good ; ” and he was quite himself again .  “ I shall have the pleasure of sending you down a few names .  ”  “ I never did approve the broken victual system , ” began Rachel , “ it creates dependence .  ”  “ Come here , Hubert , ” said Fanny , beckoning a boy she saw at a distance , “ come and shake hands with Mr. Touchett .  ” It was from instinct rather than reason ; there was a fencing between Rachel and the curate that made her uncomfortable , and led her to break it off by any means in her power ; and though Mr. Touchett was not much at his ease with the little boy , this discussion was staged off .  But again Mr. Touchett made bold to say that in case Lady Temple wished for a daily governess , he knew of a very desirable young person , a most admirable pair of sisters , who had met with great reverses , but Rachel snapped him off shorter than ever .  “ We can decide nothing yet ; I have made up my mind to teach the little boys at present .  ”  “ Oh , indeed !  ”  “ It is very kind , ” said the perplexed Lady Temple .  “ I beg your pardon , I only thought , in case you were wishing for some one , that Miss Williams will be at liberty shortly .  ”  “ I do not imagine Miss Williams is the person to deal with little boys , ” said Rachel .  “ In fact , I think that home teaching is always better than hired .  ”  “ I am so much obliged , ” said Fanny , as Mr. Touchett , after this defeat , rose up to take leave , and she held out her hand , smiled , thanked , and sent him away so much sweetened and gratified , that Rachel would have instantly begun dissecting him , but that a whole rush of boys broke in , and again engrossed their mother , and in the next lull , the uppermost necessity was of explaining about the servants who had been hired for the time , one of whom was a young woman whose health had given way over her lace pillow , and Rachel was eloquent over the crying evils of the system ( everything was a system with Rachel ) that chained girls to an unhealthy occupation in their early childhood , and made an overstocked market and underpaid workers — holding Fanny fast to listen by a sort of fascination in her overpowering earnestness , and great fixed eyes , which , when once their grasp was taken , would not release the victim ; and this was a matter of daily occurrence on which Rachel felt keenly and spoke strongly .  “ It is very sad .  If you want to help the poor things , I will give anything I can .  ”  “ Oh , yes , thank you , but it is doleful merely to help them to linger out the remnant of a life consumed upon these cobwebs of vanity .  It is the fountainhead that must be reached — the root of the system !  ”  Fanny saw , or rather felt , a boy making signs at the window , but durst not withdraw her eyes from the fascination of those eager ones .  “ Lace and lacemakers are facts , ” continued Rachel ; “ but if the middle men were exploded , and the excess of workers drafted off by some wholesome outlet , the price would rise , so that the remainder would be at leisure to fulfil the domestic offices of womanhood .  ”  There was a great uproar above .  “ I beg your pardon , dear Rachel , ” and away went Fanny .  “ I do declare , ” cried Rachel , when Grace , having despatched her home-cares , entered the room a quarter of an hour after ; “ poor Fanny’s a perfect slave .  One can’t get in a word edgeways .  ”  Fanny at last returned , but with her baby ; and there was no chance for even Rachel to assert herself while this small queen was in presence .  Grace was devoted to infants , and there was a whole court of brothers vying with one another in picking up her constantly dropped toys , and in performing antics for her amusement .  Rachel , desirous to be gracious and resigned , attempted conversation with one of the eldest pair , but the baby had but to look towards him , and he was at her feet .  On her departure , Rachel resumed the needful details of the arrangements respecting the house and servants , and found Lady Temple as grateful and submissive as ever , except that , when advised to take Myrtlewood for a term of seven years , she replied , that the Major had advised her not to bind herself down at once .  “ Did you let him think we should quarrel ?  ”  “ Oh , no , my dear ; but it might not agree with the children .  ”  “ Avonmouth !  Grace , do you hear what heresy Fanny has been learning ?  Why , the proportion of ozone in the air here has been calculated to be five times that of even Aveton !  ”  “ Yes , dearest , ” said poor Fanny , very humbly , and rather scared , “ there is no place like Avonmouth , and I am sure the Major will think so when he has seen it .  ”  “ But what has he to do with your movements ?  ”  “ Sir Stephen wished — ” murmured Fanny .  “ The Major is military secretary , and always settles our head-quarters , and no one interferes with him , ” shouted Conrade .  Rachel , suspicious and jealous of her rival , was obliged to let Fanny pass on to the next item , where her eager acceptance of all that was prescribed to her was evidently meant as compensation for her refractoriness about the house .  Grace had meanwhile applied herself to keeping off the boys , and was making some progress in their good graces , and in distinguishing between their sallow faces , dark eyes , and crisp , black heads .  Conrade was individualized , not only by superior height , but by soldierly bearing , bright pride glancing in his eyes , his quick gestures , bold , decided words , and imperious tone towards all , save his mother — and whatever he was doing , his keen , black eye was always turning in search of her , he was ever ready to spring to her side to wait on her , to maintain her cause in rough championship , or to claim her attention to himself .  Francis was thick-set , round-shouldered , bullet-headed and dull-eyed , in comparison , not aggressive , but holding his own , and not very approachable ; Leoline , thin , white-cheeked , large-eyed and fretful-lipped , was ready to whine at Conrade’s tyranny and Francis’s appropriations , but was grateful for Grace’s protection , and more easy of access than his elders ; and Hubert was a handsome , placid child , the good boy , as well as the beauty of the family .  The pair in the nursery hardly came on the stage , and the two elders would be quite sufficient for Mrs. Curtis , with whom the afternoon was to be spent .  The mother , evidently , considered it a very long absence , but she was anxious to see both her aunt and her own home , and set out , leaning on Rachel’s arm , and smiling pleased though sad recognition of the esplanade , the pebbly beach , bathing machines and fishing boats , and pointing them out to her sons , who , on their side , would only talk of the much greater extent of Melbourne .  Within the gates of the Homestead , there was a steep , sharp bit of road , cut out in the red sandstone rock , and after a few paces she paused to rest with a sigh that brought Conrade to her side , when she put her arm round his neck , and leant on his shoulder ; but even her two supporters could not prevent her from looking pale and exhausted .  “ Never mind , ” she said , “ this salt wind is delightful .  How like old times it is !  ” and she stood gazing across the little steep lawn at the grey sea , the line of houses following the curve of the bay , and straggling up the valley in the rear , and the purple headlands projecting point beyond point , showing them to her boys , and telling their names .  “ It is all ugly and cold , ” said Francis , with an ungracious shiver .  “ I shall go home to Melbourne when I’m a man .  ”  “ And you will come , mamma ?  ” added Conrade .  He had no answer , for Fanny was in her aunt’s arms ; and , like mother and daughter , they clung to each other — more able to sympathize , more truly one together , than the young widow could be with either of the girls .  As soon as Fanny had rested and enjoyed the home atmosphere downstairs , she begged to visit the dear old rooms , and carried Conrade through a course of recognitions through the scarcely altered apartments .  Only one had been much changed , namely , the schoolroom , which had been stripped of the kindly old shabby furniture that Fanny tenderly recollected , and was decidedly bare ; but a mahogany box stood on a stand on one side ; there was a great accession of books , and writing implements occupied the plain deal table in the centre .  “ What have you done to the dear old room — do you not use it still ?  ” asked Fanny .  “ Yes , I work here , ” said Rachel .  Vainly did Lady Temple look for that which women call work .  “ I have hitherto ground on at after-education and self-improvement , ” said Rachel ; “ now I trust to make my preparation available for others .  I will undertake any of your boys if you wish it .  ”  “ Thank you ; but what is that box ?  ” — in obedience to a curious push and pull from Conrade .  “ It is her dispensary , ” said Grace .  “ Yes , ” said Rachel , “ you are weak and nervous , and I have just the thing for you .  ”  “ Is it homoeopathy ?  ”  “ Yes , here is my book .  I have done great things in my district , and should do more but for prejudice .  There , this globule is the very thing for your case ; I made it out last night in my book .  That is right , and I wanted to ask you some questions about little Wilfred .  ”  Fanny had obediently swallowed her own globule , but little Wilfred was a different matter , and she retreated from the large eyes and open book , saying that he was better , and that Mr. Frampton should look at him ; but Rachel was not to be eluded , and was in full career of elucidation to the meanest capacity , when a sharp skirmish between the boys ended the conversation , and it appeared that Conrade had caught Francis just commencing an onslaught on the globules , taking them for English sweetmeats of a minute description .  The afternoon passed with the strange heaviness well known to those who find it hard to resume broken threads after long parting .  There was much affection , but not full certainty what to talk about , and the presence of the boys would have hindered confidence , even had they not incessantly occupied their mother .  Conrade , indeed , betook himself to a book , but Francis was only kept out of mischief by his constantly turning over pictures with him ; however , at dark , Coombe came to convey them home , and the ladies of the Homestead experienced a sense of relief .  Rachel immediately began to talk of an excellent preparatory school .  “ I was thinking of asking you , ” said Fanny , “ if there is any one here who would come as a daily governess .  ”  “ Oh !  ” cried Rachel , “ these two would be much better at school , and I would form the little ones , who are still manageable .  ”  “ Conrade is not eight years old yet , ” said his mother in an imploring tone , “ and the Major said I need not part with him till he has grown a little more used to English ways .  ”  “ He can read , I see , ” said Grace , “ and he told me he had done some Latin with the Major .  ”  “ Yes , he has picked up a vast deal of information , and on the voyage the Major used to teach him out of a little pocket Virgil .  The Major said it would not be of much use at school , as there was no dictionary ; but that the discipline and occupation would be useful , and so they were .  Conrade , will do anything for the Major , and indeed so will they all .  ”  Three Majors in one speech , thought Rachel ; and by way of counteraction she enunciated , “ I could undertake the next pair of boys easily , but these two are evidently wanting school discipline .  ”  Lady Temple feathered up like a mother dove over her nest .  “ You do not know Conrade .  He is so trustworthy and affectionate , dear boy , and they are both always good with me .  The Major said it often hurts boys to send them too young .  ”  “ They are very young , poor little fellows , ” said Mrs. Curtis .  “ And if they are forward in some things they are backward in others , ” said Fanny .  “ What Major Keith recommended was a governess , who would know what is generally expected of little boys .  ”  “ I don’t like half measures , ” muttered Rachel .  “ I do not approve of encouraging young women to crowd the overstocked profession of governesses .  ”  Fanny opened her brown eyes , and awaited the words of wisdom .  “ Is it not a flagrant abuse , ” continued Rachel , “ that whether she have a vocation or not , every woman of a certain rank , who wishes to gain her own livelihood , must needs become a governess ?  A nursery maid must have a vocation , but an educated or half-educated woman has no choice ; and educator she must become , to her own detriment , and that of her victims .  ”  “ I always did think governesses often much to be pitied , ” said Fanny , finding something was expected of her .  “ What’s the use of pity if one runs on in the old groove ?  We must prevent the market from being drugged , by diverting the supply into new lines .  ”  “ Are there any new lines ?  ” asked Fanny , surprised at the progress of society in her absence .  “ Homoeopathic doctresses , ” whispered Grace ; who , dutiful as she was , sometimes indulged in a little fun , which Rachel would affably receive unless she took it in earnest , as in the present instance .  “ Why not — I ask why not ?  Some women have broken through prejudice , and why should not others ?  Do you not agree with me , Fanny , that female medical men — I mean medical women — would be an infinite boon ?  ”  “ It would be very nice if they would never be nervous .  ”  “ Nerves are merely a matter of training .  Think of the numbers that might be removed from the responsibility of incompetently educating !  I declare that to tempt a person into the office of governess , instead of opening a new field to her , is the most short-sighted indolence .  ”  “ I don’t want to tempt any one , ” said Fanny .  “ She ought to have been out before and be experienced , only she most be kind to the poor boys .  I wanted the Major to inquire in London , but he said perhaps I might hear of some one here .  ”  “ That was right , my dear , ” returned her aunt .  “ A gentleman , an officer , could not do much in such a matter .  ”  “ He always does manage whatever one wants .  ”  At which speech Rachel cast a glance towards her mother , and saw her look questioning and perplexed .  “ I was thinking , ” said Grace , “ that I believe the people at the Cliff Cottages are going away , and that Miss Williams might be at liberty .  ”  “ Didn’t I know that Grace would come out with Miss Williams ?  ” exclaimed Rachel .  “ A regular eruption of the Touchettomania .  We have had him already advertising her .  ”  “ Miss Williams !  ” said Mrs. Curtis .  “ Yes , she might suit you very well .  I believe they are very respectable young women , poor things !  I have always wished that we could do more for them .  ”  “ Who ?  ” asked Fanny .  “ Certain pets of Mr. Touchett’s , ” said Rachel ; “ some of the numerous ladies whose mission is that curatolatry into which Grace would lapse but for my strenuous efforts .  ”  “ I don’t quite know why you call them his pets , ” said Grace , “ except that he knew their antecedents , and told us about them .  ”  “ Exactly , that was enough , for me .  I perfectly understand the meaning of Mr. Touchett’s recommendations , and if what Fanny wants is a commonplace sort of upper nursemaid , I dare say it would do .  ” And Rachel leant back , applied herself to her wood carving , and virtually retired from the discussion .  “ One sister is a great invalid , ” said Grace , “ quite a cripple , and the other goes out as a daily governess .  They are a clergyman’s daughters , and once were very well off , but they lost everything through some speculation of their brother .  I believe he fled the country under some terrible suspicion of dishonesty ; and though no one thought they had anything to do with it , their friends dropped them because they would not give him up , nor believe him guilty , and a little girl of his lives with them .  ”  “ Poor things !  ” exclaimed Lady Temple .  “ I should very much like to employ this one .  How very sad .  ”  “ Mrs. Grey told me that her children had never done so well with any one , ” said Mrs. Curtis .  “ She wanted to engage Miss Williams permanently , but could not induce her to leave her sister , or even to remove her to London , on account of her health .  ”  “ Do you know her , Grace ?  ” asked Fanny .  “ I have called once or twice , and have been very much pleased with the sick sister ; but Rachel does not fancy that set , you see .  I meet the other at the Sunday school , I like her looks and manner very much , and she is always at the early service before her work .  ”  “ Just like a little mauve book !  ” muttered Rachel .  Fanny absolutely stared .  “ You go , don’t you , Rachel ?  How we used to wish for it !  ”  “ You have wished and we have tried , ” said Rachel , with a sigh .  “ Yes , Rachel , ” said Grace ; “ but with all drawbacks , all disappointments in ourselves , it is a great blessing .  We would not be without it .  ”  “ I could not be satisfied in relinquishing it voluntarily , ” said Rachel , “ but I am necessarily one of the idle .  Were I one of the occupied , laborare est orare would satisfy me , and that poor governess ought to feel the same .  Think of the physical reaction of body on mind , and tell me if you could have the barbarity of depriving that poor jaded thing of an hour’s sleep , giving her an additional walk , fasting , in all weathers , and preparing her to be savage with the children .  ”  “ Perhaps it refreshes her , and hinders her from being cross .  ”  “ Maybe she thinks so ; but if she have either sense or ear , nothing would so predispose her to be cross as the squeaking of Mr. Touchett’s penny-whistle choir .  ”  “ Poor Mr. Touchett , ” sighed Mrs. Curtis ; “ I wish he would not make such ambitious attempts .  ”  “ But you like the choral service , ” said Fanny , feeling as if everything had turned round .  “ When all the men of a regiment chant together you cannot think how grand it is , almost finer than the cathedral .  ”  “ Yes , where you can do it , ” said Rachel , “ but not where you can’t .  ”  “ I wish you would not talk about it , ” said Grace .  “ I must , or Fanny will not understand the state of parties at Avonmouth .  ”  “ Parties !  Oh , I hope not .  ”  “ My dear child , party spirit is another word for vitality .  So you thought the church we sighed for had made the place all we sighed to see it , and ourselves too .  Oh !  Fanny is this what you have been across the world for ?  ”  “ What is wrong ?  ” asked Fanny , alarmed .  “ Do you remember our axiom ?  Build your church , and the rest will take care of itself .  You remember our scraping and begging , and how that good Mr. Davison helped us out and brought the endowment up to the needful point for consecration , on condition the incumbency was given to him .  He held it just a year , and was rich , and could help out his bad health with a curate .  But first he went to Madeira , and then he died , and there we are , a perpetual curacy of £ 70 a year , no resident gentry but ourselves , a fluctuating population mostly sick , our poor demoralized by them , and either crazed by dissent , or heathenized by their former distance from church .  Who would take us ?  No more Mr. Davisons !  There was no more novelty , and too much smartness to invite self-devotion .  So we were driven from pillar to post till we settled down into this Mr. Touchett , as good a being as ever lived , working as hard as any two , and sparing neither himself nor any one else .  ”  Fanny looked up prepared to admire .  “ But he has two misfortunes .  He was not born a gentleman , and his mind does not measure an inch across .  ”  “ Rachel , my dear , it is not fair to prejudice Fanny ; I am sure the poor man is very well-behaved .  ”  “ Mother !  would you be calling the ideal Anglican priest , poor man ?  ”  “ I thought he was quite gentlemanlike , ” added Fanny .  “ Gentlemanlike !  ay , that’s it , ” said Rachel , “ just so like as to delight the born curatolatress , like Grace and Miss Williams .  ”  “ Would it hurt the children ?  ” asked Fanny , hardly comprehending the tremendous term .  “ Yes , if it infected you , ” said Rachel , intending some playfullness .  “ A mother of contracted mind forfeits the allegiance of her sons .  ”  “ Oh , Rachel , I know I am weak and silly , ” said the gentle young widow , terrified , “ but the Major said if I only tried to do my duty by them I should be helped .  ”  “ And I will help you , Fanny , ” said Rachel .  “ All that is requisite is good sense and firmness , and a thorough sense of responsibility .  ”  “ That is what is so dreadful .  The responsibility of all those dear fatherless boys , and if — if I should do wrong by them .  ”  Poor Fanny fell into an uncontrollable fit of weeping at the sense of her own desolation and helplessness , and Mrs. Curtis came to comfort her , and tell her affectionately of having gone through the like feelings , and of the repeated but most comfortable words of promise to the fatherless and the widow — words that had constantly come before the sufferer , but which had by no means lost their virtue by repetition , and Fanny was soothed with hearing instances of the special Providence over orphaned sons , and their love and deference for their mother .  Rachel , shocked and distressed at the effect of her sense , retired out of the conversation , till at the announcement of the carriage for Lady Temple , her gentle cousin cheered up , and feeling herself to blame for having grieved one who only meant aid and kindness , came to her and fondly kissed her forehead , saying , “ I am not vexed , dear Rachel , I know you are right .  I am not clever enough to bring them up properly , but if I try hard , and pray for them , it may be made up to them .  And you will help me , Rachel dear , ” she added , as her readiest woe-offering for her tears , and it was the most effectual , for Rachel was perfectly contented as long as Fanny was dependent on her , and allowed her to assume her mission , provided only that the counter influence could be averted , and this Major , this universal referee , be eradicated from her foolish clinging habits of reliance before her spirits were enough recovered to lay her heart open to danger .  But the more Rachel saw of her cousin , the more she realized this peril .  When she went down on Monday morning to complete the matters of business that had been slurred over on the Saturday , she found that Fanny had not the slightest notion what her own income was to be .  All she knew was that her General had left everything unreservedly to herself , except £ 100 and one of his swords to Major Keith , who was executor to the will , and had gone to London to “ see about it , ” by which word poor Fanny expressed all the business that her maintenance depended on .  If an old general wished to put a major in temptation , could he have found a better means of doing so ?  Rachel even thought that Fanny’s incapacity to understand business had made her mistake the terms of the bequest , and that Sir Stephen must have secured his property to his children ; but Fanny was absolutely certain that this was not the case , for she said the Major had made her at once sign a will dividing the property among them , and appointing himself and her Aunt Curtis their guardians .  “ I did not like putting such a charge on my dear aunt , ” said Fanny , “ but the Major said I ought to appoint a relation , and I had no one else !  And I knew you would all be good to them , if they had lost me too , when baby was born .  ”  “ We would have tried , ” said Rachel , a little humbly , “ but oh !  I am glad you are here , Fanny !  ”  Nothing could of course be fixed till the Major had “ seen about it .  ” After which he was to come to let Lady Temple know the result ; but she believed he would first go to Scotland to see his brother .  He and his brother were the only survivors of a large family , and he had been on foreign service for twelve years , so that it would be very selfish to wish him not to take full time at home .  “ Selfish , ” thought Rachel ; “ if he will only stay away long enough , you shall learn , my dear , how well you can do without him !  ”  The boys had interrupted the conversation less than the previous one , because the lesser ones were asleep , or walking out , and the elder ones having learnt that a new week was to be begun steadily with lessons , thought it advisable to bring themselves as little into notice as possible ; but fate was sure to pursue them sooner or later , for Rachel had come down resolved on testing their acquirements , and deciding on the method to be pursued with them ; and though their mamma , with a curtain instinctive shrinking both for them and for herself , had put off the ordeal to the utmost by listening to all the counsel about her affairs , it was not to be averted .  “ Now , Fanny , since it seems that more cannot be done at present , let us see about the children’s education .  Where are their books ?  ”  “ We have very few books , ” said Fanny , hesitating ; “ we had not much choice where we were .  ”  “ You should have written to me for a selection .  ”  “ Why — so we would , but there was always a talk of sending Conrade and Francis home .  I am afraid you will think them very backward , dear Rachel , especially Francie ; but it is not their fault , dear children , and they are not used to strangers , ” added Fanny , nervously .  “ I do not mean to be a stranger , ” said Rachel .  And while Fanny , in confusion , made loving protestations about not meaning that , Rachel stepped out upon the lawn , and in her clear voice called “ Conrade , Francis !  ” No answer .  She called “ Conrade ” again , and louder , then turned round with “ where can they be — not gone down on the beach ?  ”  “ Oh , dear no , I trust not , ” said the mother , flurried , and coming to the window with a call that seemed to Rachel’s ears like the roar of a sucking dove .  But from behind the bushes forth came the two young gentlemen , their black garments considerably streaked with the green marks of laurel climbing .  “ Oh , my dears , what figures you are !  Go to Coombe and get yourselves brushed , and wash your hands , and then come down , and bring your lesson books .  ”  Rachel prognosticated that these preparations would be made the occasion , of much waste of time ; but she was answered , and with rather surprised eyes , that they had never been allowed to come into the drawing-room without looking like little gentlemen .  “ But you are not living in state here , ” said Rachel ; “ I never could enter into the cult some people , mamma especially , pay to their drawing-room .  ”  “ The Major used to be very particular about their not coming to sit down untidy , ” said Fanny .  “ He said it was not good for anybody .  ”  Martinet !  thought Rachel , nearly ready to advocate the boys making no toilette at any time ; and the present was made to consume so much time that , urged by her , Fanny once more was obliged to summon her boys and their books .  It was not an extensive school library — a Latin grammar an extremely dilapidated spelling-book , and the fourth volume of Mrs. Marcet’s “ Little Willie .  ” The other three — one was unaccounted for , but Cyril had torn up the second , and Francis had thrown the first overboard in a passion .  Rachel looked in dismay .  “ I don’t know what can be done with these !  ” she said .  “ Oh , then we’ll have holidays till we have got books , mamma , ” said Conrade , putting his hands on the sofa , and imitating a kicking horse .  “ It is very necessary to see what kind of books you ought to have , ” returned Rachel .  “ How far have you gone in this ?  ”  “ I say , mamma , ” reiterated Conrade , “ we can’t do lessons without books .  ”  “ Attend to what your Aunt Rachel says , my dear ; she wants to find out what books you should have .  ”  “ Yes , let me examine you .  ”  Conrade came most inconveniently close to her ; she pushed her chair back ; he came after her .  His mother uttered a remonstrating , “ My dear !  ”  “ I thought she wanted to examine me , ” quoth Conrade .  “ When Dr. M’Vicar examines a thing , he puts it under a microscope .  ”  It was said gravely , and whether it were malice or simplicity , Rachel was perfectly unable to divine , but she thought anyway that Fanny had no business to laugh , and explaining the species of examination that she intended , she went to work .  In her younger days she had worked much at schools , and was really an able and spirited teacher , liking the occupation ; and laying hold of the first book in her way , she requested Conrade to read .  He obeyed , but in such a detestable gabble that she looked up appealingly to Fanny , who suggested , “ My dear , you can read better than that .  ” He read four lines , not badly , but then broke off , “ Mamma , are not we to have ponies ?  Coombe heard of a pony this morning ; it is to be seen at the ‘Jolly Mariner , ’ and he will take us to look at it .  ”  “ The ‘Jolly Mariner !  ’ It is a dreadful place , Fanny , you never will let them go there ?  ”  “ My dear , the Major will see about your ponies when he comes .  ”  “ We will send the coachman down to inquire , ” added Rachel .  “ He is only a civilian , and the Major always chooses our horses , ” said Conrade .  “ And I am to have one too , mamma , ” added Francis .  “ You know I have been out four times with the staff , and the Major said I could ride as well as Con !  ”  “ Reading is what is wanted now , my dear , go on .  ”  Five lines more ; but Francis and his mother were whispering together , and of course Conrade stopped to listen .  Rachel saw there was no hope but in getting him alone , and at his mother’s reluctant desire , he followed her to the dining-room ; but there he turned dogged and indifferent , made a sort of feint of doing what he was told , but whether she tried him in arithmetic , Latin , or dictation , he made such ludicrous blunders as to leave her in perplexity whether they arose from ignorance or impertinence .  His spelling was phonetic to the highest degree , and though he owned to having done sums , he would not , or did not answer the simplest question in mental arithmetic .  “ Five apples and eight apples , come , Conrade , what will they make ?  ”  “ A pie .  ”  That was the hopeful way in which the examination proceeded , and when Rachel attempted to say that his mother would be much displeased , he proceeded to tumble head over heels all round the room , as if he knew better ; which performance broke up the seance , with a resolve on her part that when she had the books she would not be so beaten .  She tried Francis , but he really did know next to nothing , and whenever he came to a word above five letters long stopped short , and when told to spell it , said , “ Mamma never made him spell ; ” also muttering something depreciating about civilians .  Rachel was a woman of perseverance .  She went to the bookseller’s , and obtained a fair amount of books , which she ordered to be sent to Lady Temple’s .  But when she came down the next morning , the parcel was nowhere to be found .  There was a grand interrogation , and at last it turned out to have been safely deposited in an empty dog-kennel in the back yard .  It was very hard on Rachel that Fanny giggled like a school-girl , and even though ashamed of herself and her sons , could not find voice to scold them respectably .  No wonder , after such encouragement , that Rachel found her mission no sinecure , and felt at the end of her morning’s work much as if she had been driving pigs to market , though the repetition was imposing on the boys a sort of sense of fate and obedience , and there was less active resistance , though learning it was not , only letting teaching be thrown at them .  All the rest of the day , except those two hours , they ran wild about the house , garden , and beach — the latter place under the inspection of Coombe , whom , since the “ Jolly Mariner ” proposal , Rachel did not in the least trust ; all the less when she heard that Major Keith , whose soldier-servant he had originally been , thought very highly of him .  A call at Myrtlewood was formidable from the bear-garden sounds , and delicate as Lady Temple was considered to be , unable to walk or bear fatigue , she never appeared to be incommoded by the uproar in which she lived , and had even been seen careering about the nursery , or running about the garden , in a way that Grace and Rachel thought would tire a strong woman .  As to a tete-a-tete with her , it was never secured by anything short of Rachel’s strong will , for the children were always with her , and she went to bed , or at any rate to her own room , when they did , and she was so perfectly able to play and laugh with them that her cousins scarcely thought her sufficiently depressed , and comparing her with what their own mother had been after ten months’ widowhood , agreed that after all “ she had been very young , and Sir Stephen very old , and perhaps too much must not be expected of her .  ”  “ The grand passion of her life is yet to come , ” said Rachel .  “ I hope not , ” said Grace .  “ You may be certain of that , ” said Rachel .  “ Feminine women always have it one time or other in their lives ; only superior ones are exempt .  But I hope I may have influence enough to carry her past it , and prevent her taking any step that might be injurious to the children .  ”  CHAPTER II .  RACHEL’S DISCIPLINE  “ Thought is free , as sages tells us — Free to rove , and free to soar ; But affection lives in bondage , That enthrals her more and more . ” JEAN INGELOW .  An old friend lived in the neighbourhood who remembered Fanny’s father , and was very anxious to see her again , though not able to leave the house .  So the first day that it was fine enough for Mrs. Curtis to venture out , she undertook to convey Fanny to call upon her , and was off with a wonderfully moderate allowance of children , only the two youngest boys outside with their maid .  This drive brought more to light about Fanny’s past way of life and feelings than had ever yet appeared .  Rachel had never elicited nearly so much as seemed to have come forth spontaneously to the aunt , who had never in old times been Fanny’s confidante .  Fanny’s life had been almost a prolonged childhood .  From the moment of her marriage with the kind old General , he and her mother had conspired to make much of her ; all the more that she was almost constantly disabled by her state of health , and was kept additionally languid and helpless by the effects of climate .  Her mother had managed her household , and she had absolutely had no care , no duty at all but to be affectionate and grateful , and to be pretty and gracious at the dinner parties .  Even in her mother’s short and sudden illness , the one thought of both the patient and the General had been to spare Fanny , and she had been scarcely made aware of the danger , and not allowed to witness the suffering .  The chivalrous old man who had taken on himself the charge of her , still regarded the young mother of his children as almost as much of a baby herself , and devoted himself all the more to sparing her trouble , and preventing her from feeling more thrown upon her by her mother’s death .  The notion of training her to act alone never even occurred to him , and when he was thrown from his horse , and carried into a wayside-hut to die , his first orders were that no hurried message might be sent to her , lest she might be startled and injured by the attempt to come to him .  All he could do for her was to leave her in the charge of his military secretary , who had long been as a son to him .  Fanny told her aunt with loving detail all that she had heard from Major Keith of the brave old man’s calm and resigned end — too full of trust even to be distressed with alarms for the helpless young wife and children , but committing them in full reliance to the care of their Father in heaven , and to the present kindness of the friend who stood by his pillow .  The will , which not only Rachel but her mother thought strangely unguarded , had been drawn up in haste , because Sir Stephen’s family had outgrown the provisions of a former one , which had besides designated her mother , and a friend since dead , as guardians .  Haste , and the conscious want of legal knowledge , had led to its being made as simple as possible , and as it was , Sir Stephen had scarcely had the power to sign it .  It was Major Keith who had borne the tidings to the poor little widow , and had taken the sole care of the boys during the sad weeks of care utter prostration and illness .  Female friends were with her , and tended her affectionately , but if exertion or thought were required of her , the Major had to be called to her sofa to awaken her faculties , and she always awoke to attend to his wishes , as though he were the channel of her husband’s .  This state of things ended with the birth of the little girl , the daughter that Sir Stephen had so much wished for , coming too late to be welcomed by him , but awakening her mother to tearful joy and renewed powers of life .  The nine months of little Stephana’s life had been a tone of continual change and variety , of new interests and occupations , and of the resumption of a feeling of health which had scarcely been tasted since the first plunge into warm climates .  Perhaps it was unreasonable to expect to find Fanny broken down ; and she talked in her own simple way with abundant overflowing affection of her husband ; but even Mrs. Curtis thought it was to her more like the loss of her own father than of the father of her children ; and though not in the least afraid of anything unbecoming in her gentle , retiring Fanny , still felt that it was more the charge of a girl than of a widow , dreaded the boys , dreaded their fate , and dreaded the Major more .  During this drive , Grace and Rachel had the care of the elder boys , whom Rachel thought safer in her keeping than in Coombe’s .  A walk along the cliffs was one resource for their amusement , but it resulted in Conrade’s climbing into the most break-neck places , by preference selecting those that Rachel called him out of , and as all the others thought it necessary to go after him , the jeopardy of Leoline and Hubert became greater than it was possible to permit ; so Grace took them by the hands , and lured them home with promises of an introduction to certain white rabbits at the lodge .  After their departure , their brothers became infinitely more obstreperous .  Whether it were that Conrade had some slight amount of consideration for the limbs of his lesser followers , or whether the fact were — what Rachel did not remotely imagine — that he was less utterly unmanageable with her sister than with herself , certain it is that the brothers went into still more intolerable places , and treated their guardian as ducklings treat an old hen .  At last they quite disappeared from the view round a projecting point of rock , and when she turned it , she found a battle royal going on over an old lobster-pot — Conrade hand to hand with a stout fisher-boy , and Francis and sundry amphibious creatures of both sexes exchanging a hail of stones , water-smoothed brick-bats , cockle-shells , fishes’ backbones , and other unsavoury missiles .  Abstractedly , Rachel had her theory that young gentlemen had better scramble their way among their poor neighbours , and become used to all ranks ; but when it came to witnessing an actual skirmish when she was responsible for Fanny’s sons , it was needful to interfere , and in equal dismay and indignation she came round the point .  The light artillery fled at her aspect , and she had to catch Francis’s arm in the act of discharging after them a cuttlefish’s white spine , with a sharp “ For shame , they are running away !  Conrade , Zack , have done !  ” Zack was one of her own scholars , and held her in respect .  He desisted at once , and with a touch of his rough forelock , looked sheepish , and said , “ Please ma’am , he was meddling with our lobster-pot .  ”  “ I wasn’t doing any harm , ” said Conrade .  “ I was just looking in , and they all came and shied stones at us .  ”  “ I don’t care how the quarrel began , ” said Rachel .  “ You would not have run into it if you had been behaving properly .  Zack was quite right to protect his father’s property , but he might have been more civil .  Now shake hands , and have done with it .  ”  “ Not shake hands with a low boy , ” growled Francis .  But happily Conrade was of a freer spirit , and in spite of Rachel’s interference , had sense enough to know himself in the wrong .  He held out his hand , and when the ceremony had been gone through , put his hands in his pockets , produced a shilling , and said , “ There , that’s in case I did the thing any harm .  ” Rachel would have preferred Zachary’s being above its acceptance , but he was not , and she was thankful that a wood path offend itself , leading through the Homestead plantations away from the temptations and perils of the shore .  That the two boys , instead of listening to her remonstrance , took to punching and kicking one another , was a mitigated form of evil for which she willingly compounded , having gone through so much useless interference already , that she felt as if she had no spirit left to keep the peace , and that they must settle their little affairs between themselves .  It was the most innocent diversion in which she could hope to see them indulge .  She only desired that it might last them past a thrush’s nest , in the hedge between the park and plantation , a somewhat treasured discovery of Grace’s .  No such good luck .  Either the thrush’s imprudence or Grace’s visits had made the nest dangerously visible , and it was proclaimed with a shout .  Rachel , in hot haste , warned them against taking birds’-nests in general , and that in particular .  “ Nests are made to be taken , ” said Francis .  “ I’ve got an egg of all the Australian birds the Major could get me , ” said Conrade , “ and I mean to have all the English ones .  ”  “ Oh , one egg ; there’s no harm in taking that ; but this nest has young birds .  ”  The young birds must of course be seen , and Rachel stood by with despairing frowns , commands , and assurances of their mother’s displeasure , while they peeped in , tantalized the gaping yellow throats , by holding up their fingers , and laid hands on the side of the nest , peeping at her with laughing , mischievous eyes , enjoying her distress .  She was glad at last to find them coming away without the nest , and after crossing the park , arrived at the house , tired out , but with two hours of the boys still on her hands .  They , however , were a little tired , too ; and , further , Grace had hunted out the old bowls , much to the delight of the younger ones .  This sport lasted a good while , but at last the sisters , who had relaxed their attention a little , perceived that Conrade and Hubert were both missing , and on Rachel’s inquiry where they were , she received from Francis that elegant stock answer , “ in their skins .  ” However , they came to light in process of time , the two mothers returned home , and Mrs. Curtis and Grace had the conversation almost in their own hands .  Rachel was too much tired to do anything but read the new number of her favourite “ Traveller’s Magazine , ” listening to her mother with one ear , and gathering additional impressions of Sir Stephen Temple’s imprudence , and the need of their own vigilance .  To make Fanny feel that she could lean upon some one besides the military secretary , seemed to be the great object , and she was so confiding and affectionate with her own kin , that there were great hopes .  Those boys were an infliction , no doubt , but , thought Rachel , “ there is always an ordeal at the beginning of one’s mission .  I am mastering them by degrees , and should do so sooner if I had them in my own hands , and no more worthy task can be done than training human beings for their work in this world , so I must be willing to go through a little while I bring them into order , and fit their mother for managing them .  ”  She spent the time before breakfast the next morning in a search among the back numbers of the “ Traveller’s Magazine ” for a paper upon “ Educational Laws , ” which she thought would be very good reading for Fanny .  Her search had been just completed when Grace returned home from church , looking a good deal distressed .  “ My poor thrushes have not escaped , Rachel , ” she said ; “ I came home that way to see how they were going on , and the nest is torn out , one poor little fellow lying dead below it .  ”  “ Well , that is much worse than I expected !  ” burst out Rachel .  “ I did think that boy Conrade would at least keep his promises .  ” And she detailed the adventure of the previous day , whence the conclusion was but too evident .  Grace , however , said in her own sweet manner that she believed boys could not resist a nest , and thought it mere womanhood to intercede for such lawful game .  She thought it would be best to take no notice , it would only distress Fanny and make “ the mother ” more afraid of the boys than she was already , and she doubted the possibility of bringing it home to the puerile conscience .  “ That is weak !  ” said Rachel .  “ I received the boy’s word , and it is my business to deal with the breach of promise .  ”  So down went Rachel , and finding the boys rushing about the garden , according to their practice , before her arrival , she summoned Conrade , and addressed him with , “ Well , Conrade , I knew that you were violent and disobedient , but I never expected you to fail in your honour as a gentleman .  ”  “ I’ll thrash any one who says I have , ” hotly exclaimed Conrade .  “ Then you must thrash me .  You gave your word to me not to take your Aunt Grace’s thrush’s nest .  ”  “ And I didn’t , ” said Conrade , boldly .  But Rachel , used to flat denials at the village-school , was not to be thus set aside .  “ I am shocked at you , Conrade , ” she said .  “ I know your mamma will be exceedingly grieved .  You must have fallen into very sad ways to be able to utter such a bold untruth .  You had better confess at once , and then I shall have something to tell her that will comfort he .  ”  Conrade’s dark face looked set as iron .  “ Come ; tell me you are sorry you took the nest , and have broken your word , and told a falsehood .  ”  Red colour flushed into the brown cheek , and the hands were clenched .  “ There is not the smallest use in denying it .  I know you took it when you and Hubert went away together .  Your Aunt Grace found it gone this morning , and one of the poor little birds dead below .  What have you done with the others ?  ”  Not a word .  “ Then I grieve to say I must tell all to your mother .  ”  There was a sort of smile of defiance , and he followed her .  For a moment she thought of preventing this , and preparing Fanny in private , but recollecting that this would give him the opportunity of preparing Hubert to support his falsehood , she let him enter with her , and sought Lady Temple in the nursery .  “ Dear Fanny , I am very sorry to bring you so much vexation .  I am afraid it will be a bitter grief to you , but it is only for Conrade’s own sake that I do it .  It was a cruel thing to take a bird’s-nest at all , but worse when he knew that his Aunt Grace was particularly fond of it ; and , besides , he had promised not to touch it , and now , saddest of all , he denies having done so .  ”  “ Oh , Conrade , Conrade !  ” cried Fanny , quite confounded , “ You can’t have done like this !  ”  “ So , I have not , ” said Conrade , coming up to her , as she held out her hand , positively encouraging him , as Rachel thought , to persist in the untruth .  “ Listen , Fanny , ” said Rachel .  “ I do not wonder that you are unwilling to believe anything so shocking , but I do not come without being only too certain .  ” And she gave the facts , to which Fanny listened with pale cheeks and tearful eyes , then turned to the boy , whose hand she had held all the time , and said , “ Dear Con , do pray tell me if you did it .  ”  “ I did not , ” said Conrade , wrenching his hand away , and putting it behind his back .  “ Where’s Hubert ?  ” asked Rachel , looking round , and much vexed when she perceived that Hubert had been within hearing all the time , though to be sure there was some little hope to be founded upon the simplicity of five years old .  “ Come here , Hubert dear , ” said his mother ; “ don’t be frightened , only come and tell me where you and Con went yesterday , when the others were playing at bowls .  ” Hubert hung his head , and looked at his brother .  “ Tell , ” quoth Conrade .  “ Never mind her , she’s only a civilian .  ”  “ Where did you go , Hubert ?  ”  “ Con showed me the little birds in their nest .  ”  “ That is right , Hubert , good little boy .  Did you or he touch the nest ?  ”  “ Yes .  ” Then , as Conrade started , and looked fiercely at him , “ Yes you did , Con , you touched the inside to see what it was made of .  ”  “ But what did you do with it ?  ” asked Rachel .  “ Left it there , up in the tree , ” said the little boy .  “ There , Rachel !  ” said the mother , triumphantly .  “ I don’t know what you mean , ” said Rachel , angrily , “ only that Conrade is a worse boy than I had thought him , end has been teaching his little brother falsehood .  ”  The angry voice set Hubert crying , and little Cyril , who was very soft-hearted , joined in chorus , followed by the baby , who was conscious of something very disagreeable going on in her nursery .  Thereupon , after the apparently most important business of comforting Miss Temple had been gone through , the court of justice adjourned , Rachel opening the door of Conrade’s little room , and recommending solitary imprisonment there till he should be brought to confession .  She did not at all reckon on his mother going in with him , and shutting the door after her .  It was not the popular notion of solitary confinement , and Rachel was obliged to retire , and wait in the drawing-room for a quarter of an hour before Fanny came down , and then it was to say —  “ Do you know , Rachel dear , I am convinced that it must be a mistake .  Conrade assures me he never touched the nest .  ”  “ So he persists in it ?  ”  “ And indeed , Rachel dear , I cannot help believing him .  If it had been Francie , now ; but I never knew Conrade tell an untruth in his life .  ”  “ You never knew , because you always believe him .  ”  “ And it is not only me , but I have often heard the Major say he could always depend on Conrade’s word .  ”  Rachel’s next endeavour was at gentle argument .  “ It must be dreadful to make such a discovery , but it was far worse to let deceit go on undetected ; and if only they were firm — ” At that moment she beheld two knickerbocker boys prancing on the lawn .  “ Didn’t you lock the door ?  Has he broken out ?  How audacious !  ”  “ I let him come out , ” said Fanny ; “ there was nothing to shut him up for .  I beg your pardon , dear Rachel ; I am very sony for the poor little birds and for Grace , but I am sure Conrade did not take it .  ”  “ How can you be so unreasonable , Fanny — the evidence , ” and Rachel went over it all again .  “ Don’t you think , ” said Fanny , “ that some boy may have got into the park ?  ”  “ My dear Fanny , I am sorry for you , it is quite out of the question to think so ; the place is not a stone’s-throw from Randall’s lodge .  It will be the most fatal thing in the world to let your weakness be imposed on in this way .  Now that the case is clear , the boy must be forced to confession , and severely punished .  ”  Fanny burst into tears .  “ I am very sorry for you , Fanny .  I know it is very painful ; I assure you it is so to me .  Perhaps it would be best if I were to lock him up , and go from time to time to see if he is come to a better mind .  ”  She rose up .  “ No , no , Rachel !  ” absolutely screamed Fanny , starting up , “ my boy hasn’t done anything wrong , and I won’t have him locked up !  Go away !  If anything is to be done to my boys , I’ll do it myself : they haven’t got any one but me .  Oh , I wish the Major would come !  ”  “ Fanny , how can you be so foolish ?  — as if I would hurt your boys !  ”  “ But you won’t believe Conrade — my Conrade , that never told a falsehood in his life !  ” cried the mother , with a flush in her cheeks and a bright glance in her soft eyes .  “ You want me to punish him for what he hasn’t done .  ”  “ How much alike mothers are in all classes of life , ” thought Rachel , and much in the way in which she would have brought Zack’s mother to reason by threats of expulsion from the shoe-club , she observed , “ Well Fanny , one thing is clear , while you are so weak as to let that boy go on in his deceit , unrepentant and unpunished , I can have no more to do with his education .  ”  “ Indeed , ” softly said Fanny , “ I am afraid so , Rachel .  You have taken a great deal of trouble , but Conrade declares he will never say a lesson to you again , and I don’t quite see how to make him after this .  ”  “ Oh , very well ; then there’s an end of it .  I am sorry for you , Fanny .  ”  And away walked Rachel , and as she went towards the gate two artificial jets d’eau , making a considerable curve in the air , alighted , the one just before her , the other , better aimed , in the back of her neck .  She had too much dignity to charge back upon the offenders , but she went home full of the story of Fanny’s lamentable weakness , and prognostications of the misery she was entailing on herself .  Her mother and sister were both much concerned , and thought Fanny extremely foolish ; Mrs. Curtis consoling herself with the hope that the boys would be cured and tamed at school , and begging that they might never be let loose in the park again .  Rachel could not dwell much longer on the matter , for she had to ride to Upper Avon Park to hold council on the books to be ordered for the book-club ; for if she did got go herself , whatever she wanted especially was always set aside as too something or other for the rest of the subscribers .  Mrs. Curtis was tired , and stayed at home ; and Grace spent the afternoon in investigations about the harrying of the thrushes , but , alas !  without coming a bit nearer the truth .  Nothing was seen or heard of Lady Temple till , at half-past nine , one of the midges , or diminutive flies used at Avonmonth , came to the door , and Fanny came into the drawing-room — wan , tearful , agitated .  “ Dear Rachel , I am so afraid I was hasty , I could not sleep without coming to tell you how sorry I am .  ”  “ Then you are convinced ?  I knew you would be .  ”  “ Oh , yes , I have just been sitting by him after he was gone to bed .  He never goes to sleep till I have done that , and he always tells me if anything is on his mind .  I could not ask him again , it would have been insulting him ; but he went over it all of himself , and owned he ought not to have put a finger on the edge of the nest , but he wanted so to see what it was lined with ; otherwise he never touched it .  He says , poor boy , that it was only your being a civilian that made you not able to believe him , I am sure you must believe him now .  ”  Mrs. Curtis began , in her gentle way , about the difficulty of believing one’s children in fault , but Lady Temple was entirely past accepting the possibility of Conrade’s being to blame in this particular instance .  It made her bristle up again , so that even Rachel saw the impossibility of pressing it , and trusted to some signal confutation to cure her of her infatuation .  But she was as affectionate as ever , only wanting to be forgiven for the morning’s warmth , and to assure dear Aunt Curtis , dear Grace , and dearest Rachel in particular , that there was no doing without them , and it was the greatest blessing to be near them .  “ Oh !  and the squirting , dear Rachel !  I was so sorry when I found it out , it was only Francie and Leo .  I was very angry with them for it , and I should like to make them ask pardon , only I don’t think Francie would .  I’m afraid they are very rude boys .  I must write to the Major to find me a governess that won’t be very strict with them , and if she could be an officer’s daughter , the boys would respect her so much more .  ”  CHAPTER III .  MACKAREL LANE  “ For I would lonely stand Uplifting my white hand , On a mission , on a mission , To declare the coming vision . ” ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING .  “ Well , Grace , all things considered , perhaps I had better walk down with you to Mackarel Lane , and then I can form a judgment on these Williamses without committing Fanny .  ”  “ Then you do not intend to go on teaching ?  ”  “ Not while Conrade continues to brave me , and is backed up by poor Fanny .  ”  “ I might speak to Miss Williams after church , and bring her in to Myrtlewood for Fanny to see .  ”  “ Yes , that might do in time ; but I shall make up my mind first .  Poor Fanny is so easily led that we must take care what influences fall in her way .  ”  “ I always wished you would call .  ”  “ Yes , and I would not by way of patronage to please Mr. Touchett , but this is for a purpose ; and I hope we shall find both sisters at home .  ”  Mackarel Lane was at right angles to the shore , running up the valley of the Avon ; but it soon ceased to be fishy , and became agricultural , owning a few cottages of very humble gentility , which were wont to hang out boards to attract lodgers of small means .  At one of these Grace rang , and obtained admittance to a parlour with crazy French windows opening on a little strip of garden .  In a large wheeled chair , between the fire and the window , surrounded by numerous little appliances for comfort and occupation , sat the invalid Miss Williams , holding out her hand in welcome to the guests .  “ A fine countenance !  what one calls a fine countenance !  ” thought Rachel .  “ Is it a delusion of insipidity as usual ?  The brow is good , massive , too much for the features , but perhaps they were fuller once ; eyes bright and vigorous , hazel , the colour for thought ; complexion meant to be brilliant brunette , a pleasant glow still ; hair with threads of grey .  I hope she does not affect youth ; she can’t be less than one or two and thirty !  Many people set up for beauties with far less claim .  What is the matter with her ?  It is not the countenance of deformity — accident , I should say .  Yes , it is all favourable except the dress .  What a material ; what a pattern !  Did she get it second-hand from a lady’s-maid ?  Will there be an incongruity in her conversation to match ?  Let us see .  Grace making inquiries — Quite at my best — Ah !  she is not one of the morbid sort , never thinking themselves better .  ”  “ I was afraid , I had not seen you out for some time .  ”  “ No ; going out is a troublesome business , and sitting in the garden answers the same purpose .  ”  “ Of air , perhaps , but hardly of change or of view .  ”  “ Oh !  I assure you there is a wonderful variety , ” she answered , with an eager and brilliant smile .  “ Clouds and sunsets ?  ” asked Rachel , beginning to be interested .  “ Yes , differing every day .  Then I have the tamarisk and its inhabitants .  There has been a tom-tit’s nest every year since we came , and that provides us with infinite amusement .  Besides the sea-gulls are often so good as to float high enough for me to see them .  There is a wonderful charm in a circumcribed view , because one is obliged to look well into it all .  ”  “ Yes ; eyes and no eyes apply there , ” said Rachel .  “ We found a great prize , too , the other day .  Rosie !  ”  At the call a brown-haired , brown-eyed child of seven , looking like a little fawn , sprang to the window from the outside .  “ My dear , will you show the sphynx to Miss Curtis ?  ”  The little girl daintily brought a box covered with net , in which a huge apple-green caterpillar , with dashes of bright colour on his sides , and a horny spike on his tail , was feasting upon tamarisk leaves .  Grace asked if she was going to keep it .  “ Yes , till it buries itself , ” said the child .  “ Aunt Ermine thinks it is the elephant sphynx .  ”  “ I cannot be sure , ” said the aunt , “ my sister tried to find a figure of it at Villars’ , but he had no book that gave the caterpillars .  Do you care for those creatures ?  ”  “ I like to watch them , ” said Grace , “ but I know nothing about them scientifically ; Rachel does that .  ”  “ Then can you help us to the history of our sphynx ?  ” asked Miss Williams , with her pleasant look .  “ I will see if I have his portrait , ” said Rachel , “ but I doubt it .  I prefer general principles to details .  ”  “ Don’t you find working out details the best way of entering into general principles ?  ”  It was new to Rachel to find the mention of a general principle received neither with a stare nor a laugh ; and she gathered herself up to answer , “ Naming and collecting is not science .  ”  “ And masonry is not architecture , but you can’t have architecture without it .  ”  “ One can have broad ideas without all the petty work of flower botanists and butterfly naturalists .  ”  “ Don’t you think the broad ideas would be rather of the hearsay order , at least to most people , unless their application were worked out in the trifle that came first to hand ?  ”  “ Experimental philosophy , ” said Rachel , in rather a considering tone , as if the notion , when presented to her in plain English , required translation into the language of her thoughts .  “ If you like to call it so , ” said Miss Williams , with a look of arch fun .  “ For instance , the great art of mud pie taught us the porous nature of clay , the expansive power of steam , etc. etc. ”  “ You had some one to improve it to you ?  ”  “ Oh dear no. Only afterwards , when we read of such things we remembered how our clay manufactures always burst in the baking unless they were well dried first .  ”  “ Then you had the rare power of elucidating a principle ?  ”  “ No , not I .