The Girl Warriors: A Book for Girls

by Percy Keese Fitzhugh

  CHAPTER V.

  THE FIRST MEETING.

  As a consequence of the lost rubbers and wet feet, Miriam caught such acold that she was not able to leave the house for the remainder of theweek. Gretta Burger was still sulking, and Fannie Allen was, as shesaid, "reviewing odds and ends," so the meeting which was to have beenheld on Friday of that week was postponed.

  But fickleness and inconstancy of purpose were not among the faults ofWinnifred, and although she made many failures, and the words "by andby" and "in a minute" were frequently on her lips, she nevertheless madesome progress in conquering her great fault.

  Her greatest temptation, as is evident from what has already been seenof her, was to let everything else go and slip off into some nook andlose herself in what she called "a delicious read." And this habit wasall the harder for her to break because she had commenced it when shewas a very little girl, and it had then looked "so cunning" and studiousthat injudicious friends and acquaintances of the family, unableto distinguish between a love for study which costs hard work andself-denial, and a mere love for narrative which is easily gratified,had praised her when she was within hearing, and had told Mr. Burtonhow much they envied him the possession of so studious and intelligent achild. Not that all works of fiction are to be condemned, for they oftenhave a good and lasting influence, and become a decided factor inthe formation of a noble character. But like all things intended forrecreation, they should be used only at the proper time. Winnie was fastfinding out that the proper time was when her daily duties were over,and that was reducing her two or three snatched hours a day to fifteenor twenty minutes. She was also beginning to find out the closeconnection between various bad habits. She saw that procrastination ledto carelessness, disobedience, and, in some natures, to untruthfulnessand dishonesty.

  But by the following Friday, the long-anticipated examination was over.Our four little friends had reason to be well satisfied with the result,so far as they were personally concerned. A mutual content had restoredharmony between Gretta and the other three, and they had decided to holdtheir first meeting on that evening.

  Winnie was very anxious to have Ernestine come, too; but, although shelaughed at herself for her foolish pride, Fannie said: "Of course weknow Ernestine is a nice girl, but we don't know anything about herfamily, and you know she never speaks of her father, although nobodyever heard that he is dead. They may be very common people, for all weknow."

  Winnie was greatly troubled about this, for she did not like "commonpeople" very well herself. She had her own ideas about such things, andshe called Althea Browne "common." Althea wore brass jewelry, and wasalways boasting about the fine things they had at home, and the grandparties her aunt in Virginia gave. She was always willing to acceptfruits and sweetmeats from the other girls, but had been known, morethan once, to sneak off by herself and munch candies and apples whichshe had brought. Winnie thought that if Ernestine's people were likeAlthea, she did not want to have anything to do with them.

  As usual, she carried this perplexity to her mother, who said: "Let thematter rest for the present, dear. While Fannie feels as she does aboutit, it would not be pleasant for any of you to have her come, or forErnestine herself, and dissension will not help you to become better. Inthe meantime I will consider the matter, and, if I conclude that it willbe best for Ernestine to join you, I hope to be able to arrange it."

  Mrs. Burton had invited the three girls to take supper with Winnie,and, as school had closed early, and they had no lessons to prepare forMonday, they had a nice, long afternoon together. Miriam read aloud theaccount of the combat of Fides with the Giant Sloth, and when she wasthrough, said: "That is the giant Gretta pointed out to me; and a hardone he will be for me to overcome, I can tell you."

  "What is my worst one?" asked Fannie, taking up the book which Miriamhad laid down. As she glanced through the pages she said, with a slightblush, "Oh, yes; my father would tell me that I must conquer my pride,and he tries to have me see how disagreeable it makes me, by telling methat I will never be a perfect lady until I have done so. Here, Miriam,read this aloud, too; you make it so plain that I almost feel as if Iwere there."

  Gretta said very little, but she had a self-satisfied air about her, asif it were as needless for anyone to be proud or untidy as for anyone tosteal, and she felt herself far removed from faults such as these. Andindeed she was neither indolent nor untidy. She rose at six--that magichour in which Fides was to strike his first blow at Giant Sloth--andpracticed two hours before school; she was neatness itself, bothin person and in all her belongings. Besides, she was neither soconscientious as Winnie, so frank and outspoken as Fannie, nor so easilyinfluenced, either for right or wrong, as Miriam. So her conscience laydormant.

  She was, however, conscious that she, too, had a habit of not doingthings as soon as she ought, and to try to overcome that seemed to heralmost like a lesson to be learned, so she was willing to try to learnit with the others.

  After Miriam had finished the chapter, Winnie said, "Oh, girls, I mustshow you my autographs;" and, turning to Ralph, who sat by the window,gazing intently at a couple of puppies which were having a romptogether, she said, "Ralphie, bring Winnie that book by the window."

  Without moving a muscle of his chubby little body, or even turning hishead, the child answered: "You just s'pect me to do evvyfing; I tan't doevvyfing."

  "Oh, Ralph, my little partner in distress!" exclaimed Miriam, in hermost dramatic way, snatching him up and kissing him in spite of hisstruggles. "You'll have to have a suit of armor, too. Who would havethought that one so young could be so lazy!"

  The laugh was not yet over when Mrs. Burton came in, with her pleasantsmile, saying, "Girls, I've a short story to tell you--that is, if youwish to hear it; and there'll just be time before supper."

  Of course they were delighted, and, Fannie having coaxed Ralph to herlap, they all gathered around Mrs. Burton, making a pretty groupin their unconsciously graceful attitudes, as they listened to thefollowing narrative:

  "Constance van Orten was born in New York, a descendant of one of theold Knickerbocker families, but of a branch which had preserved more ofthe family pride than its estates. Money, however, was not altogetherlacking, and to many people their income would have seemed sumptuous;but to them, in comparison with their more wealthy friends andrelatives, it seemed the merest pittance that necessity could demand.

  "But this comparative lack of money never troubled little Constance, andfortune seemed to smile upon her. One might almost have believed thatall the beneficent fairies had presided at her birth, so many graces offace and form and disposition were hers, and so many of the conditionsnecessary to human happiness seemed fulfilled in her lot.

  "She was the youngest child and only daughter, and her four brothersfound her so charming a plaything, and later so agreeable a companion,that they took pleasure in making her life a succession of pleasantsurprises, and her every wish was gratified almost before expressed.Indeed, had she asked for the moon, it would have been a source ofgenuine grief to them that they could not get it for her.

  "Pain seemed as far removed from her as anxiety or grief, for, althoughshe had an odd faculty of catching all the diseases incident tochildhood, they touched her so lightly that it was seldom necessary tocall in a physician. If she received a cut or a wound of any kind, sopure was her blood and so perfect her physical condition that it healedas if by magic.

  "Her willfulness was extreme, as might have been expected from thealmost total lack of restraint under which she grew up; but so winningwere her ways, and so ready her repentance for her little misdeeds, thatfor the most part she escaped punishment and even reproof.

  "Almost without the power of application, she seemed to pick up externalevidences of education and culture without effort. She talked fluently,sang charmingly, and, having almost marvelous tact, never failed toplease.

  "Being, as I have said, the only daughter, she entered society earlierthan most girls, and, in spite of her comp
arative lack of means, soonbecame a reigning belle. During her first season she refused more thanone wealthy suitor, and that, too, to the intense satisfaction of herparents and brothers, for she was a veritable sunbeam in the family, andthey looked forward with dread to the thought of losing her.

  "At last, however, there came, furnished with letters of introductionto one of Constance's uncles, a young and wealthy cotton planter fromLouisiana. His seeming indifference to money and his prodigal use ofit, his pleasant speech and manner, his languid Southern movements,so different from those of the brisk Northerners to whom they wereaccustomed, and, above all, the very fact of his being a stranger, madehim most welcome to the girlish minds so fond of change and novelty. Butit was with the greatest regret that the Van Ortens began to notice hismarked attentions to Constance and the increasing pleasure she took inthem. It was not only that a marriage with him would separate her fromthem all, but her father and brothers, constantly meeting the youngstranger at clubs and places where there were no ladies present, andconsequently where he was off his guard, found him capricious andchangeable in his opinions and actions, extremely self-indulgent,selfishly indifferent to the comfort of others, and so fond ofintoxicating liquor that, on more than one occasion, he had beendirectly and shamefully under its influence.

  "But Constance would not, perhaps could not, see him in the light inwhich he was portrayed to her, and, in spite of all their warnings andher mother's pleadings, she consented to become his wife. Immediatelyafter the marriage, they went to Louisiana, and for awhile all was toConstance as her most ardent fancy had painted it. Their home was inthe beautiful Claiborne Parish, which has been named "the Eden ofLouisiana." Her winning ways and delicate beauty endeared her to thenew acquaintances she formed, and made her the idol of the slaves on theplantation. Here two sons were born, and the mother felt her happinesscomplete. But presently she found her husband less attentive to her. Heabsented himself on long journeys, for which he scarcely had a pretext,and when at home was either sullen or irritable.

  "Then the Civil War broke out and he lost much of his property, andthere were almost ceaseless and taunting allusions on his part to the"plebeian Yankees" and the ruin they had brought him. After the close ofthe war, however, he seemed to make an effort to do the best with whatproperty remained. He became a little more considerate, and sometimesseemed to be almost what he had been in the early years of his marriedlife, and when Constance became the mother of a little girl, she beganto feel as if, after all, life might hold some good in store for her.

  "But alas! her husband's good behavior did not last long. He began todrink constantly, and at last he left one morning, without saying aword, and never returned. Then the two promising boys died of thatdreadful scourge, yellow fever, and Constance was almost heartbroken.

  "During the war, communication with her New York relatives hadbeen almost impossible, and since then, as is usual in interruptedcorrespondence, even among those who love each other best, ithad assumed a desultory character; and now that Constance feltoverwhelmingly disgraced by her husband's desertion, and knowing thatall this sorrow had come upon her in consequence of her opposition tothe wishes of her family, she was too proud to turn to them for helpor comfort. But to remain where she was was likewise almost animpossibility, for the scenes of sorrow through which she had passedmade the South a hated prison from which she felt that she must escape.Besides, her husband's creditors had seized upon everything that wasleft, and the once lovely, petted girl, destitute, bereaved, forsaken,raised what money she could from the sale of her laces and jewelry,and, taking passage in one of the Mississippi steamers, started forLouisville. There, however, she remained but a few days, and finallycame to Cincinnati, hoping here to find some way to support herself andher little daughter, without being obliged to appeal to her brothers forhelp.

  "But for a woman reared as she had been, what was there to do? Herslender means became still more slender, and it was only after havingbeen subjected to absolute privation, that she managed to obtain a placein a store as saleswoman, and now she and her child are able to liverespectably, if not always comfortably. Her one joy and source ofhappiness she finds in the companionship of her daughter Ernestine, agirl of character so fine and religious principles so high that theywould be a credit to one of twice her years."

  "Why, that sounds like a description of Ernestine Alroy!" said Fannie.

  "And it is Ernestine of whom I am speaking, although I hope it is notnecessary for me to suggest that she would not like her mother's historyto be made public property. In fact, I must earnestly request you not tomention it even in your own homes," said Mrs. Burton. "It was only bya mere accident that I heard this narrative yesterday afternoon. But Ihear Mr. Burton and Jack in the hall, and, as supper will be served ina very few minutes, I must leave you, with an apology for telling you asad story, and one which I would not have ventured upon had it not beenan 'o'er true tale.'"

  "How dreadful!" said Fannie. "And to think, girls, that her mother wasas happy and well reared--"

  Just then, however, supper was announced, and Fannie's sentence remainedunfinished.

  After supper, Jack brought out his violin, and he and Gretta played someduets together, Gretta reading the piano part at sight, and so well thatWinnie felt her own poor little talent cast quite in the shade.

  Then Gretta played some pretty sonatinas with fine taste and expression,and gave so much pleasure to her listeners that Fannie began to thinkthere might be worse things in the world than being a "music teacher'sdaughter."

  After that, to the great delight of the girls, Mr. Burton sang, in hisfine bass voice, and with the merry twinkle in his eyes in accord withhis extravagant gestures, a comic song, ending with a little refrainin which all the Burtons, not even excepting Ralph, joined, thelatter singing at the top of his voice, and clapping his hands foraccompaniment.

  They had hardly had time to feel weary of sitting still and listening,when Mrs. Burton had them all in the dining-room playing the goodold game of "Puss in the Corner." Here, too, Mr. Burton distinguishedhimself by his pathetic appeals for a "corner." The game left them allbreathless but happy, and they sat down for awhile to recover themselvesand "cool off," while Jack went to get on his overcoat preparatory toseeing the girls home.