CHAPTER VIII.
READY.
Ruby thoroughly enjoyed all the preparations that were being made forher departure. Every day, and a great many times a day, the littletrunk would be opened and something more put into its hungry mouth, andit was soon quite full of the things which Ruby was to take with her.Of course she did not get into mischief during these busy days,--therewas no time for it. It was only when Ruby had nothing else to thinkabout that she devised plans for mischief. At last everything wasready the evening before she was to start. Miss Abigail had finishedall that she had to do; she had bidden Ruby good-by, with a longlecture upon how she ought to behave when she was at school, so as toset a good example to her school-mates, and reflect credit upon herfather and mother and the training they had given her, and then she hadconcluded by giving Ruby something that I am afraid she valued muchmore than the advice,--a pretty little house-wife, of red silk, whichshe had made for her, with everything in it that Ruby would need if shewanted to take any stitches.
When Ruby saw it she was sorry that she had twisted about so much, andshowed so plainly how impatient she was growing of the long talk whichpreceded it.
Then Miss Abigail had tied on her large black bonnet, and Ruby hadwatched her going down the road with a sense of relief that there wouldbe no more fitting of dresses, with cold fingers and still colderscissors, and no more lectures upon good behavior. However, she was sopleased and surprised by the pretty gift that she felt more kindlytowards Miss Abigail than she would have believed it possible.
Ruby's old dresses had been made over until they looked just like newones, and the last stitches had been taken in her new ones, and littlewhite ruffles were basted in the necks, so that they were all ready toput on. Everything had been carefully folded up and packed in hertrunk,--not only her clothes, but the little farewell gifts that herfriends had brought her.
She had a nice pencil-box, filled with pencils and pen-holders, twopenwipers, as well as a box of the dearest little note-paper, just theright size for her to write upon, with her initial "R" at the top ofthe paper.
Orpah had brought her a mysterious box, carefully tied up in paper,which she had made Ruby promise that she would not open until sheunpacked her trunk at school; so that gave Ruby something nice to lookforward to when she should reach her journey's end.
Ruby had fully intended to take her kitten with her, and she was verymuch disappointed when Aunt Emma told her that that was one of thethings she would have to leave behind her.
Ann promised to take the very best care of Tipsey, and that promisecomforted Ruby somewhat, although she still wished that she might takeher pet with her.
It was not until the last evening came that Ruby fully realized thatshe was going away to leave her papa and mamma the next day. Then shefelt as if she would gladly give up her trunk and all her new clothesand everything that she had been enjoying so much, if she might onlystay at home.
For the first time her promise to her father to be brave about goingaway cost her a great effort. Her mother had not been nearly so wellsince the night she had been so anxious about her little girl, and Rubyknew that she must not worry her by crying or fretting about going away.
But she climbed up on her father's lap after she had eaten her supper,and put her head down upon his broad shoulder, with the feeling thatnothing in all the wide world could make up to her for being away fromhim and from her dear mother.
She wished with all her heart that she had tried to be a good girlduring her mother's illness, for then it would not have been necessaryto send her away to school. But now it was too late, for everythingwas all ready for her going, and Ruby was quite sure that coax andtease as hard as she might, her father would not change his plans.
"I don't want to go away, papa," she said, with a little sob in hervoice, as Tipsey scrambled up in her lap, and curling herself into alittle round ball of fur began to purr a soft little tune.
"Don't you want to leave Tipsey?" asked her father, playfully.
"It is n't only Tipsey," said Ruby, while a big tear splashed down uponher father's hand. "It is you and mamma, most of all, and Ruthy, andeverybody. I know I shall not be one single bit happy at school when Ican't come home and see you when I want to, and I shall just most die,I am sure I shall."
"Little daughter, we both love mother, don't we?" asked her father,stroking Ruby's dark hair gently.
"Yes, sir," answered Ruby, with a tremulous voice.
"And we would do anything to help her get well again?"
"Why, of course," Ruby answered again.
"Then we must do some things that are hard, if we really want to helpher. You know how sick she has been the last few days. I don't wantyou to feel as if I was sending you away only as a punishment forrunning away that night. Perhaps if you had not done that particularthing, I might not have given my consent to this plan, but I am sureyou are enough of a little woman to see what a help it will be tomother. If she is to get well again, she needs to have her mind keptperfectly free from worry; and when you are running about with no oneto take care of you except Ann, who is too busy to do much for you, sheis worrying all the time for fear something may happen to you, or thatyou may get into some mischief. Now if she knows you are safe atschool with Aunt Emma, where you will be well taken care of, and willstudy your lessons, and try to be good and obedient, then she will feelso much happier about you that it will do more toward helping her toget well than all the medicine in the world. There are some thingsthat I can do for her. I can take care of her, and give her medicine,and see that nothing troubles her in the house, but there is somethingfor you to do that I cannot do. This is to be your share of helpingdear mother get well. If you go away bravely, and try to study and bea good girl, so that Aunt Emma can write home in each letter that youare doing just as mother would wish you to do, you will be helping hereven more than I will. If you think only about yourself, you will cryabout going, and fret to come home, until mother will be troubled aboutyou, and perhaps think it best for you to come home again; but if youthink about mother, you will be my own brave little daughter, and thenmother will soon be well again, and we will send for our little Ruby,and she will come home wiser and better-behaved than when she wentaway, and we will all be so happy. I am sure I know which you aregoing to do."
"I am going to be just as brave as can be," Ruby answered, winking backthe tears which had been trying to roll down her cheeks, and rubbingout of sight the great shining one which had splashed down uponTipsey's soft fur. "Yes, papa, I am going to be just as brave asanything. I won't cry. I won't say one word about wanting to comehome in my letters, and I will study so hard that I shall stay up atthe head of the class just as I do here, and the teacher will think Iam ever so--"
"Be careful, darling," interrupted her father. "I don't want my littlegirl to think so much of herself. If you go to school thinking thatyou are going to be so much more clever than all the other littlegirls, I am afraid you will find out that you are sadly mistaken, andthen you will be very unhappy. Don't think of excelling the othergirls, but think of doing the very best you can because it is right,and because it will make mother and father happy. I would rather havemy little Ruby at the very foot of the class, and have her unselfishand gentle, than have her at the head, with a proud and unlovelyspirit. Of course I should be very glad to have my little daughterexcel in her lessons, for then I should know that she was studying andtrying to improve herself as much as possible, but I don't want to haveher as vain as a little peacock over it. And you know, Ruby, that itis generally when you are trusting in yourself that you do somethingthat you are the most sorry for. Pride goes before a fall, youremember."
"I will try not to be proud," said Ruby, penitently. "But you don'tknow how I like to be praised, papa. It scares Ruthy, and she does n'tlike it one bit, but I like it from my head down to my feet, I trulydo. I like to have people say I am ever so smart, and I don't see howI can help it."
"By trying
to forget yourself, dear, and keeping self in theback-ground as much as you can in everything that you do. When you aretrying to do anything well, remember that it is only just what youought to do. God has given you a good memory, and a readiness tolearn, and so you ought to do the very best with the powers he hasgiven you. You have no more reason to be vain of them than a peacockhas to be vain of his fine tail. And it is better to be lovable thanclever, and any one who is conceited never makes the friends that amodest child does. Now promise me that you will try, little daughter,to be gentle and modest, and not come back to us selfish and full ofconceit."
"I will truly try, papa," Ruby answered. "That is harder for me to trythan to try to learn my lessons or to keep the rules, but I will trulytry, and you shall see how brave I will be in the morning when I goaway. Why, papa, I am brave this very minute. I could just cry andcry, it makes me feel so full to think that this time to-morrow nightyou will be here just the same, and I will be ever so far away."
"We will think about the time when you will come home again," said herfather, quickly, for Ruby's voice sounded very much as if a word morewould bring the tears. "Some day I shall drive down to the station anda young lady with a trunk will get off the cars, and I shall hardlyknow who it is, you will have grown so fast. Little girls always growfast when they go to boarding-school, you know."
"Do they?" asked Ruby, eagerly. "Oh, papa, do you s'pose I can havelong dresses next year?"
"Why, then people would think you were a little baby again," said herpapa, pretending to misunderstand her. "They would say, 'Why, RubyHarper wore long dresses when she was six months old, and now she hasthem on again. She must have grown backwards.'"
"Now, papa Harper, you are making fun of me," exclaimed Ruby. "I meanlong dresses like young ladies wear. I want to be grown up. Will I bebig enough to wear dresses with a train next year if I grow fast."
"If you should grow fast enough," her father answered, pinching hercheek, "but I don't think you will do that, Ruby. You would have togrow like Jack's beanstalk, if you expect to spring up into a younglady in a year. Why, then I would not have any little girl, and whatwould I do for some one to hold in my lap?"
"Oh, I guess I don't want to grow too big to sit in lap," Rubyanswered, nestling closer to her father. "I forgot that part of it.I will wait for ever so many years for long dresses, if I must give upsitting in lap. Well, I will grow as fast as I can, but not so fastthat I won't be your little Ruby any longer."
"And now, dear, say good-night to mamma and go to bed," said herfather, as he heard the clock striking. "We will have to be up brightand early in the morning, and I want you to have a good sleep."
By the time the stars were looking down Ruby was sound asleep in herlittle trundle-bed for the last time for many weeks.
Ruby at School Page 8