Mildred's New Daughter.

by Martha Finley.

CHAPTER I.

The clock on the mantel, striking six, woke Ethel and Blanche Eldon, two little sisters lying side by side in their pretty bed.

"Ah, it is morning, Blanche, and time for you and me to be up," said Ethel, smiling pleasantly into her younger sister's eyes.

"Yes; in a minute, Ethel," replied Blanche, turning toward her sister and patting her cheek affectionately.

At the same moment the door into the hall opened softly and the mother came in, her dark eyes shining, her thin, pale face wreathed in smiles.

"Good-morning, my darlings," she said, speaking softly, for fear of waking the two younger children in the nursery beyond. "Have you slept well?" she asked, bending over to kiss first one, then the other.

"Yes, mamma, dear," they answered, speaking together. "And so have Harry and Nannette," added Ethel, "and they are sound asleep yet, I think."

"And we will not wake them," responded the mother.

"Did you sleep well, mamma? and is dear papa better?" asked the little girls with eager, anxious looks up into her face, Ethel adding, "Oh, I am sure of it, because you look so happy!"

"Yes, dears, I am very glad and happy, very thankful to our kind Heavenly Father, that your papa slept unusually well and seems easier and brighter this morning than I have seen him for weeks," Mrs. Eldon replied, with tears of joy shining in her eyes. "He has asked to see his children, and when you are dressed and have eaten your breakfast, you shall come to him for a few minutes."

"Oh, we are so glad we may see him, mamma," they cried in a breath, Ethel adding, "I hope papa will soon be so well that we can go back to our own dear home again and see our own dear grandma and grandpa."

"Yes, I hope so, darling. And now you two may get up and when dressed help Harry and Nannette with their toilet."

"Then have our breakfast and after that go in to see papa?" exclaimed Blanche joyously. "And may we kiss him, mamma?"

"I think he will be able to kiss his children all around," the mother answered the little questioner, with a loving smile. "But I must go back to him now, dears," she added; and with another tender kiss she turned and went quickly from the room.

The two little girls were already out of bed and dressing as fast as they could; but that was not so very rapidly, for Ethel, the eldest, was only eight years old, Blanche nearly two years younger.

Their father had been ill for a long while, and it was now some days since they had seen him; their mother was his devoted nurse, with him almost constantly, so that of late the children had been left very much to themselves and the companionship of the young girl, Myra, who combined in her person the calling of both child's-nurse and housemaid.

Ethel was scarcely dressed when the little brother and sister woke and were heard demanding a.s.sistance with their dressing.

"Oh, hush, hush! do hush, children!" cried Ethel, running to them, "don't make such a noise. You forget that our dear papa is very sick and your noise may make him worse. I don't know where Myra is, but you may get up and I will help you to dress; then we will have breakfast, and after that we will go into dear papa's room; for mamma says we may."

"Oh! oh! can we, Ethel?" they asked in delight. "We're so glad! 'cause we haven't seen our dear papa for ever so long."

"And Nanny wants mamma to tum and dress her," whimpered Nannette.

"Oh, no, Nan, dear; mamma is too busy taking care of our poor sick papa, so I'll dress you and we'll have our breakfast, and then we are to go in to see him," returned Ethel. "Now be a dear, good girl and don't cry,"

she added coaxingly; "because if dear papa should hear you it might make him worse. Now let me wash you and put on your clothes and brush your hair and then we'll have our breakfast."

The little maid worked away while she talked, dressing the baby sister, and little Blanche helped Harry with his toilet.

Before they had finished Myra came to their a.s.sistance.

"Your papa is better this morning, Miss Ethel," she said, "and your breakfast's ready now. Your mamma says you may go in to see the captain when you are done eatin', and then you are to have your morning walk."

"Oh, yes, we know," said Blanche; "mamma told us papa was better, and we're just as glad as can be."

"We hope he'll soon be quite, quite well," added Ethel, taking the hand of Nannette and leading the way to the breakfast room.

The four were quite merry over their porridge, feeling in excellent spirits because of the good news about their father, whom they dearly loved.

When all had finished their meal and been made tidy again, they were taken to him. He greeted them with a loving smile and a few low spoken words of endearment. Alas! he was still so ill as to be scarce able to lift his head from the pillow, and when each had had a few loving words and a tender kiss of fatherly affection, mamma bade them run away to their play, promising that they should come in again for a few minutes when papa felt able to see them.

She led them to the door and kissed each in turn, saying low and tenderly, "Mamma's own dear, dear children! no words can tell how mamma loves you all." The baby she kissed several times, holding her close as if loth to let her go. Setting her down at last with a heavy sigh, "Go, my darlings," she said, "and try to be quiet while you are in the house lest you disturb poor, dear papa."

With that she stepped back into the room again and softly closed the door.

Nannette was beginning to cry, "Nanny wants to go back to dear mamma and stay wis her," but Ethel put her arms about her, saying cheerily, "There, there, little sister, don't cry; we are going to take a nice walk out in the green fields and gather flowers under the hedge-rows for our dear papa and mamma. Won't that be pleasant?"

"Oh yes, yes! I so glad!" cried the little one with sudden change of look and tone. "Put Nan's hat on dus now; dis minute."

"Yes, darling, we'll go and get it at once; and Blanche and Harry and I will put our hats on too, and oh, such a good time as we shall have!"

At that Nannette dried her eyes and began prattling delightedly about the flowers she hoped to gather, and the birds that would be singing in the tree-tops, or flying to and fro building their nests.

Harry and Blanche were scarcely less elated, and even staid little Ethel grew blithe and gay as they pa.s.sed down the village street and turned aside into the green lanes and meadows.

The house grew very quiet when the children had gone. Captain Eldon had fallen into a doze and his devoted wife sat close by his side, one thin hand fast clasped in hers, while she almost held her breath lest she should rouse him from that slumber which might prove the turning point in the long illness that had brought him to the very borders of the grave.

Mrs. Eldon was a West Indian from the island of Jamaica; and the captain, belonging to an English regiment stationed there, had won her heart, courted and married her. She was the only living child of a worthy couple, a wealthy planter and his wife, who had made no objection to their daughter's acceptance of the gallant British officer who had made himself agreeable to them as well as to her.

He proved a kind and indulgent husband. They were a devotedly attached couple and very happy during the first eight years of their married life; then Captain Eldon's health began to fail, the climate was p.r.o.nounced most unfavorable by his medical adviser, and obtaining a furlough, he returned to his native land, taking wife and children with him; but the change had little effect; he rallied somewhat for a time, then he grew weaker and now had scarcely left his bed for weeks.

He had no near relatives living except two brothers, who had, years before, emigrated to America; he was too ill to seek old friends and acquaintances, and taking possession of a cottage advertised for rent, on the outskirts of a village and near the seash.o.r.e, he, with his wife and little ones, had pa.s.sed a secluded life there, seeing few visitors besides the physician who was in attendance.

Mrs. Eldon insisted on being her husband's sole nurse and determinedly persisted in believing in his final recovery, often talking hopefully of the time when they might return to her island home on the other side of the ocean, and the fond parents who were wearying of the prolonged absence of their only child and her little ones. But to-day as she sat with her eyes riveted upon his sleeping face and noted its haggard look--so thin, wan and marked with lines of suffering--her heart misgave her as never before. Was he--the light and joy of her life--about to pa.s.s away to that bourn whence no traveller returns? Oh, the anguish of that thought! how could life ever be endured without him? Her heart almost stood still with terror and despair.

"Oh, my darling!" she moaned, as suddenly the sunken eyes opened and gazed mournfully into hers, "do not leave me! I cannot live without you," and as she spoke she pressed her hand upon her heart and gasped for breath.

His lips moved but no sound came from them, the fingers of the hand she held closed convulsively over hers, he drew a long sighing breath, and was gone.

The sound of a heavy fall brought the cook and housemaid running from the kitchen to find the captain dead and the new-made widow lying p.r.o.ne upon the floor by his bedside, apparently as lifeless as he.

"Dear, dear!" cried the cook, stooping over the prostrate form, "there don't seem to be a bit more life in her than in him. Take hold here with me, Myra, and we'll lift her to the couch yonder. Poor thing, poor thing! between nursin' and frettin' she's just about killed, and I shouldn't wonder if she wouldn't be long a-following o' him, if she hasn't done it already."

"Betty, I'm afraid she has!" sobbed the girl, "and what will the poor children do? She was just the sweetest lady I ever saw, so she was."

"There now, Myra, don't go on so, but run and bring somethin' to bring her to. Oh, there's the doctor's gig at the gate! Run and let him in, quick as you can go."

In another minute the doctor entered the room, followed by the sobbing Myra. He glanced first at the still form on the bed. "Yes, the poor gentleman has gone!" he said, sighing as he spoke; "but it is only what was to be expected."