At Home with the Jardines

t then Bee thought up so many things fo

, to soothe my fright at being asked to entertain such grand personages, that if I would invite other people and make a

guelin and his wife, Cary Farquhar, and Captain

or a house-party, but Jimmie in a house all by himself would seem

for a whole week in the same house with so famous a beauty as Lady Lomb

wn-stairs one morning

letter in

, Bee?"

you. I had

her brow in

at to do about i

ut w

ch, mother writes. She thinks I

t's only eight months s

her rathe

fted h

said. "You learned t

d pleasantly

mly. "I used to be quit

marr

little white te

you admit it," s

so much," said Aubrey, politel

illy! The lamb had never been in the country in his li

you like," Aubrey we

er was silen

ep in your room. I'll have Norah put up a cot in the alcove of the rose room. She

e sure he won't be in your way, and if Aubrey's cousin

ainly be worth while to see the child's eyes w

romise to arrange everything by telegraph. Norah loved children, and entered into my plans with delight. Then I flew out to interview

my guests, titled or otherwise, it was Billy-my Bill

u a long letter so soon ago, I would write more now. Tell mother to be sure to meet me at the statio

s effusion, and "so soon ago" pa

le Sunday afternoon at Coney Island or an evening in Chinatown. But fortunately the English are a sensible race, and Sir Wemyss and his bride, perhaps because of the reasonable way the duchess came around whe

ot on capitally from the start,

-when they come aboard of us, and

wife give you some tea,' and to Sir Wemyss say, 'Old man, how w

for over her third cup of tea I felt very friendly with the beautifu

hundred earls. He gave me many hints about my fine poultry, and wrote that first night for a pair of his very finest buff cochins to be sent over from his place in England, which he had just inherited from his uncle. He showed us where the apple-trees needed pruning, a

them, and had trained my poor servants almost to death, with instructions as to what they were to do during this w

e're wor-rkin' for t

now we ar-re?

all shtrip

failed to see anything in it but an excellent

, and had implored me to serve cold meats and joints and things as the English do, and to please her I had promise

ma's consent to our marriage, and I am correspondingly grateful. Now, won't you do me a favour? Won't you please leave off doing anything for us in the English manner, because of your desire to please us, and ma

he maids, I was afraid they were going to

ed. "I will do anyt

a queer American thing for you to learn after yo

d Lady Mary, in her deep, beautif

emoved his cigar, for we had gone into t

my of servants to run them, and the gardening and all that are done by one's men. But here with only yourselves you can do so much.

view of it, and Mrs. Jimmie a

nd of her life here,"

erfect pastoral w

ully, with a frown of perplexity

hand at farming, so to speak, while we are here? I never have, but I know I

season to prune trees,

the early spring, before

oked disa

o it couldn't possibly hurt to prune them or cut them down if

hould have supposed as good a husbandman as Sir Wemyss would refuse. But the joy of doing evidently led him

earest approach to enthusiasm I ever had seen

y. She superintends her house quite like an Englishwoman. Did you know that we make all our own butter here at Peach Orchard

mbards to such poor account, and at first I feared that this plan would quite spoil her pleasure, to say nothing of Bee's. But if you have noticed,

of the procession, for when once Lady Mary made farming fashionable by her personal interest, Bee, who always out-H

bout ten miles. I shall never forget that child's face as he saw his mother. It twitched with feeling, but he felt himself too great a boy to cry-es

at sufficed, for Amos had enriched my own childhood, and I kn

nstituted the men of the household. When I asked him why he did not include Mr

Beguelin has just been marrie

ladroit, hot-tempered Jimmie, always so completely at home in a business deal, and always so pathetically awkward and so conf

nder, that the British always find themselves dressed for the occasion? I believe, if an Englishman were wrecked in mid

r possible and faded all over. Jimmie, however, wore his ordinary business clothes, patent leather shoes, and a derby h

, standing on his tiptoes, reached up and snipped at the lower branches. Sir Wemyss took a ladder and his pruning-knife, and disappear

ng off twigs. These are the things w

antly. "You are not trimming

rel-head gave way, letting him down most ungently into its middle, and rasping his shins in the

a tight fit, and as Jimmie endeavoured to climb out, the barrel climbed too, g

ricated him, and placed a strong board on

work, but it was tiresome, so he leaned his weight against the limb and industriously sawed his prop off, which sent him

of his Madonna-faced wife, while watching the Angel and Sir Wemyss reduce the r

ter had nettled him, however, and he was determined to r

e while watching me craftily to see if I suspected his design. But

ed it, but it gave her pleasure, and above all it gave her a home pleasure which she had missed. I asked her if she would train the roses every

eing one of the most energetic of guests, had developed a tendency to talk of nothing in the world except her husband, and, when no one would listen to her, of si

orking in my heart when the next afternoon I asked Jimmie's help i

f flowers growing on the porch railing, which only need what sunlight comes filtering through the honeysuckle. By cutting the blossoms ev

h, and all were painted green. Now in that particular box, shaded by the honeysuckle, I had, with infinite care, coaxed s

a glorious orange and crimson in the middle. Each plant was perfect of its kind and growing and blooming riotously before I to

of that box, for of course, while I am no carpenter, I drove my nails to cope with wind-

that slanting edge of my poor, frail little box, and in that instant the mischief was done. The box tilted and flung Jimmie forward against the curving trellis, which began to c

is giving way. Haul me back. Oh, my coat won't save me! Leggo my coat-tails. Put your arms around my

my feet and dragging him back

around the corner of the house just as Jimmie's convulsed clutch loosened from the trell

so bruised and their feelings so wounded by their undignified tumble that they did nothing but sulk all the remainder of the summer, never once blooming out handsomely as they shoul

and knew personally all the cows, the horses, the white bulldog, the cats, the chickens, the litt

e, bowing, with h

goats. Dat boy's investigated every nook an' cornder ob de pla

e launching of Mr. Beguelin's yacht, and we are going to take Billy. You can bri

ing. "I'll have 'em hya

, from Cary's uplifted face, you would have thought it was the christening

aking of the bottle of champagne, and

to see him receive his goats. His face fairly

ey! Miss Tats!

d his mother's neck-Bee's ne

s in all the world! What other little boys' relativ

iration at Bee's motherly attitude, on her knees beside her boy and his

always spoils things,

k threw us all int

y of launching the goats, and mayn't I bre

elled. Billy lo

bit. And you might give me one of those little bottles I saw Mr. Jimmie open-yo

immie remembers. (You'd be asham

ugh to smile at Jimmie's scarlet face and Mrs. Jimmie's anxious one. She moved quietly over to where Jimmie was standing with his hands in his pockets, and slipped

ntive voice

perhaps Apollinaris water would be better, it sparkles just the same, and if it

mingly ac

ir of importance, "and perhaps I'll have to ask Uncle Aubrey and Mr. Ji

'll think 'em up now, and have the launching this

, Billy with his hands in his trousers' pockets and striving to take ju

, and came in a mood of the utmost hilarity. At first Billy wanted to break the bottle himself, but upon being told that girls always did it, he invited a bewitching

le in the face, and pretending he was only going to sneeze. He walked around

ollinaris bottle into Kathleen's hands, and held her in his arms while

ldish treble

oosevelt and Congre

ing up in the goat carriage, h

itement, and away bounded the goats down the driveway, with Sir

n minutes back they came to recei

l right, Bil

let him alone. They go splendidly, except when Roosevelt butts.

for Jimmie deliberatel

could speak, "but if I had trained that child a month, he coul

to explain the j

a musicale, and had people out from town; we were invited about while automobiles snorted and chunked into Peach Orchard at all

st, and ceased to run at their approach. Youth is ever progressive and adaptable, while poor old Mitnick crouched in the fork of a high pine, and glared with h

ir glory and slimness, and we still basked in the refulgence of the c

ned to mar our pleas

p one blistering mornin

h worried about Jimmi

ntentioned brutality. "Does he alway

at me rep

when he is well,"

and hastily wiping my hands on my apron. "Can I do anyt

ver her soft creamy face.

r?" she begged, "but-Jimmie-you k

sed hel

ait

th it! What d

ifficult it would be to tell yo

she st

and ask him what he wants," I

pleaded Mrs. Jimmie. "That is just what he doesn't w

Evidently she expected

ked, pleasantly. "I

utiful face becam

ng, Faith," sh

I could do something. Aubrey alwa

e, he says, and a high feve

him! Then why does

rs it and it never hurt him before, and he'll be

away and

just see him lying there with all his hot clothes on and s

nade and ice and hot-water bags and every conceivable remedy to his

mie left him for a few mome

his feet in patent leather shoes,-even his coat and wais

heepishly wh

I know, but I never do as

at," growl

I said. "And those shoes are d

m off," said Jimmie, savagely,

ned o

f if you don't want to." (He sank back with a groan of pain.) "But I'm go

silk-stockinged feet into cool slippers. He couldn't restrain a sigh of comfort. I w

put this on,

!" he answe

y another ten minutes, I would have got him comfortable. But in sp

en he came it pleased Jimmie no end that he didn

at doctor knows his business. He do

wise enough to

u would feel better," she said. "So put on this

ly. Then he slowly sat up and

. But he was unable to come down to d

o bed that n

my shoes and coat. But I want you to tell Faith that I stuck it o

we were spared the grief of being

the last day of t

pted themselves to our way of living with such easy grace. No one would have believed, to see Lady Mary in her simple garden ha

Jimmie, and listened intently for his jokes, with the laudable inten

that-I blush to say it, but it is true-our imported Guernsey cow is responsible for Jimmie's invitat

how it h

quite shy and would allow no one to whom she was not accustomed to come near her. But on this occasion she lurched up near where we were st

witched her long tail and hung her tongue out a

the old girl doe

s ambled up, his

em in man er beas'! Dat cow's drunk. Dat's what she is. Jest plain drunk an' disorderly. She broke her

uch a thing," said

atched h

m dat army ossifers never hearn tell of-meaning no onrespect to

ed at her w

" I said. "How does be

en was a lady ob quality. Now look at her! She don' keer! She'd jes' as soon lean her head on de Boss's shoulder en ax him fer a drink er de loan ob his cee-gyar. She'

the rest were screaming at the imbecile expression

ough. Such a jag as dat Guernsey's got will dry up her milk for two

immie's op

ot afraid of what a drunken cow will do. L

Now den, Missus fool cow! Ef you can leab off chattin' wid de

gent and ladylike cow, but when Amos endeavoured to lead her aw

we were pleased by the Guernsey's antics, but his wrath at a cow's tak

s, "of a man who sinks to sleep with his arm affectionately around a lamp-post?

ing upon each other as if both were under the weather, he finally got her started toward the barn, she, e

on his arm, followed by Amos with the milking-stool in his ha

ach other, then rose, as if by

m under Mrs. Jimmie's,

each Orchard? If he is, I am sure mamma would just delight in him-only things are

his remark, flushed with pleasure at the middle o

ing always my

troub-I mean, has more adventures when he and Faith are together than when he and I are alo

plough her way through the sweet corn, and disappear gaily over the fence, he

had done, but at Mrs. Jimmie's agonized entreaty to know what had become of Jimmie, I called him, and he c

ountry Gentleman, ma'am. She has tram

hite, and leaned gas

"Oh, come! Come quickly, an

most hysterical over h

sweet corn-not Jimmie

dear

as without a brim, the milk-pail was jammed together like a folding lunch-box,

but our eager faces d

-terse as w

cow never switches her tai

iption of what had happene

ng, and lavished attentions upon Jimmie so flatteringly that he ceased to look furtively at me and became quite

immie clutched my arm, and, with eyes a

f it! To visit the Duchess of Strowther! Lady Ma

except dear Mrs. Jimm

g to invite

squeezed back, an

ad, dear Mr