Janet McLaren Part 2

CHAPTER THREE.

MRS. GALBRAITH PROMISES TO BEFRIEND MARGARET.--ALEC'S FIRST VISIT TO JANET'S ATTIC.--HER SCHEMES FOR CLOTHING AND SUPPORTING THE BOYS.-- a.s.sISTED BY A KIND BANKER AND OTHERS.--THE BOYS MAKE GOOD PROGRESS AT SCHOOL.--JANET'S HUMBLE FAITH REWARDED.

The children had a great deal to tell of all they had seen at Mistress Galbraith's when Janet came to take them home.

"She is, indeed, a very kind lady," said Margaret. "She told me that once she had a little daughter just like _me_, but G.o.d had taken her to Himself, and asked me if I would like to come and see her very often; but I said that I couldna leave you, Janet, all alone, when the boys were at school, with no one to talk to you."

"I can talk to myself, Margaret, ye ken," answered Janet. "I would na hae ye say nae to the good lady, for I like her looks and her way of speaking, and she may be a true friend to ye. And if she asks you again ye will just say ye will do what she pleases, and that ye are obliged to her. And what do you think of the big house and the great people?" she asked, turning to Donald.

"It's all very braw and fine; but I would rather hae a house of my ain, and you in it, Janet," answered Donald.

"May be you will get that, laddie, some day."

"I hope I may; and then I'll ask Alec to come and stay with me, since you will na let him come here," said Donald.

"I could na deny him onything--so, if he wishes to come, he must come,"

said Janet.

"Then I will tell him," said Donald, "and I am sure he will not carry tales to the other boys."

The next morning Alec found out the house on his road to school, and made his way up to Janet's attic. He tapped gently at the door. Donald went out to meet him.

"I told you we did not live in a fine house, and so you see," he observed, pointing round the room. "But I am sure you do not think the worse of us, or our good nurse. We should have been starving if it was not for her--that's what I have got to tell you."

"No, indeed, I do not think the worse of you or her," answered Alec.

"If I thought it would vex you I would not have come; and I promise you that I will not say a word to others which you would not wish me to say.

But my mother desired me to call and invite your sister Margaret to spend the day with her, if Mistress Janet will give her leave."

"She will go, and gladly, as soon as the boys are off to school," said Janet, answering at once for Margaret.

"Come along then," exclaimed Alec to his companions. "My mother is longing to see Miss Margaret again, and we will not delay her."

As soon as the boys were away Janet set off with her charge. Mrs Galbraith received her with the greatest kindness, and would have had Janet to stay with her also.

"Thank ye, Mistress Galbraith," answered Janet. "But I ha' my household affairs to attend to, and they will na get on very weel unless I am present."

From that day forward Janet escorted Margaret to the house of her new friend every morning at the same hour.

Janet greatly missed her young companion, but she sat on in her solitude rejoicing in the thought that Margaret was gaining the instruction she so much desired her to obtain. As she span and span she turned in her mind various plans for supporting the children and for ultimately establishing them in life.

"Their claithes will soon be worn out. Donald is already too big for his, and though they may do for David for a few months longer, with patching and mending, I would na' like to ha' the poor boys pointed out by their school-mates as young gaberlunzies; and the siller I get for the yarn will only just pay the rent and find porridge for the bairns,"

she thought to herself. "The Bible says that it is the duty of Christians to support the fatherless and widows. I would na' beg for mysel' while I ha' got fingers to spin wee, but I maun nay let my pride stand in the way o' the bairns. They maun be clothed and fed, so I need find out those who ha' got the means, and gi'e them the privilege of helping the young orphans. The good lady, Mistress Galbraith, will look after Margaret, I ha' little fear o' that, but I canna let her ha' the charge of the boys."

Janet having made up her mind to act never lost time in setting about it. As yet she was unacquainted with the names of any of the people in the place, with the exception of Margaret's new friend. This knowledge she had to gain; but, as she said to herself, "wi' a tongue in her mouth, and lugs to listen wee, that was na' a difficult matter."

She first visited the few shops at which she dealt, and getting into conversation with the masters or mistresses, quickly gleaned from them some of the desired information. Having, with much acuteness, made up her mind as to those most likely to respond to her appeal, she went forth the next morning, having deposited Margaret with Mrs Galbraith, to commence the series of visits she proposed making.

The first was to Mr McTavish, the banker, an elder in the church, and a man much respected, she heard. He listened to her tale with his keen eyes fixed on her countenance. "You speak the truth," he said at length, putting his hand in his pocket and drawing out his purse.

"Na, na, sir, I dinna want the siller," said Janet. "If you ha' a mind, sir, to gie a jacket or a pair of breeks to the minister's son, or ony other article of dress ye think fit, I'll be grateful, but I dinna come to beg. It must be a free gift on your part. I dinna want any man's siller."

The banker, somewhat amused at the good woman's reply, promised to supply Donald with a new suit; and writing an order to his clothier, desired her to present it, and obtain what she wanted. Highly delighted with her success she took Donald in the evening to be measured for a suit, having first begged the master not to allow the boy to know how it was obtained.

"Its not that I would na' wish him to be thankful, but it would be bad for him to feel that he is supported by charity. And I will pray for blessings on the head of the good gentleman, and the day may come when he is able to show that he is sensible of his kindness," she observed.

The worthy clothier appreciated her motives. "You have another bairn, I understand, to look after," he observed. "When he is in want of a suit let me know, and I will try what I can do for him."

Janet thanked him for his kindness, and promised not to forget his offer.

She was not always so successful as in these first instances. Some people refused to believe her story, or declared that they had already more people looking to them for a.s.sistance than they could support; others again gave full credit to her tale, and admiring her faithfulness and honesty, were glad of an opportunity of helping the dest.i.tute orphans of whom she had n.o.bly taken charge. Frequently she brought home a supply of food, but not a particle of it would she touch herself. "It was given for the fatherless bairns, and they alone have the right to it," she would say, contenting herself with a bowl of brose, the usual coa.r.s.e fare on which she subsisted.

The sale of her yarn enabled her to pay her rent, and to find food for herself, and a portion for the children. Her own rough garments appeared never to wear out, while the roof of a neighbouring house below the window of her attic afforded her a drying ground on washing days.

Money she would never receive; but as the history of the orphans became known, she was amply supplied with clothing for them of all descriptions.

Donald and David continued to make excellent progress at school, obtaining the approbation of all their masters, and gaining, in addition to Alec Galbraith, several friends among their school-mates.

"Your boys, if they continue as they have began, are sure to do well, Mrs McLaren," said the head-master, when she went to pay their school fees.

"Weel, sir, I am sure too o' that, for the prayers of the minister and my dear mistress could na' have been offered in vain, and though I am but an humble woman, it is the chief thing I ask o' G.o.d, and I ken He will na' refuse my request."

Margaret went daily to Mrs Galbraith, but that lady did not offer to take her entirely under her charge. She had her reasons for this; her own health was failing, and she felt that should she be taken away, and the young girl be again thrown back on Janet's hands she would feel the change more than if she continued to reside with her kind nurse.

Although she had never visited Janet, she guessed the limited accommodation her attic must afford, and had, therefore, engaged, giving Janet the money to pay the rent, another small chamber on the same floor, which was devoted to the use of the two boys. Janet gladly accepted the offer. She felt that as the children were growing up such an arrangement was absolutely necessary for their comfort, though it might have been beyond her means to supply it.

When the days shortened the two boys might have been seen in their little room, seated on their three-legged stools, with a table, manufactured by themselves, between them, their heads bent down close together over their books, to obtain as much light as the farthing candle, placed in the most advantageous position, could afford. When the cold of winter came on they were compelled to seek Janet's fire-side, where she would sit silent as a mouse, watching them with fond eyes, as they conned their tasks, while Margaret, on the other side, actively plied her needle, either making her own clothes, or performing some work for her kind patroness. Margaret had lost the bloom of childhood, and though her features were not sufficiently regular to allow her to be considered decidedly pretty, she had grown into an interesting girl, with an amiable expression of countenance--a faithful index of her mind. Donald had become a strong active fine looking lad, with features which betokened firmness and decision of character, while David, though not so robust as his brother, was handsomer, and a stranger, seeing the two together, would at once have p.r.o.nounced him possessed of more mildness and gentleness than his elder brother, and less able to buffet with the rude world.

CHAPTER FOUR.

DONALD HAVING RECEIVED AN OFFER FROM MR. TODD OF AN APPOINTMENT IN CANADA, ACCEPTS IT, AND PREPARES FOR HIS DEPARTURE.--MRS. GALBRAITH'S UNHAPPINESS ABOUT HER SON'S RELIGIOUS PRINCIPLES.--ALEC RECEIVING AN APPOINTMENT IN CANADA, SAILS WITHOUT RETURNING HOME, TO HIS MOTHER'S AND MARGARET'S GRIEF.--DONALD ALSO LEAVES HOME FOR HIS DESTINATION.

Janet and David were the sole occupants of the attic. The lad was seated at his little table with his hooks and papers before him, Janet looking on wondering at the strange figures he rapidly formed as he worked away at his mathematical studies. The weather was still cold, and she had pressed him to keep her company, and enjoy the warmth of her fire, which the early season rendered necessary. Not a word had she uttered lest it might interrupt him, when, as she drew forth the thread from her wheel, which had been idle but a few hours out of the twenty-four, Sabbath days excepted, since her arrival at her present abode, David looked up and inquired how many yards she could spin in a minute.

"I ne'er thought anent it," she answered. "But why do ye ask, my bairn?"

"Because I wish to calculate how many times the yarn you have spun since we came here would encircle the globe," answered David.

"Oh, but to be sure a puir body like o' me could na' do sic a thing as that," she exclaimed, rather aghast at the very idea of such a performance. David, however, marking the yarn with his pen, bade her spin away while he counted sixty.

He was engaged in his calculations when a quick eager step was heard on the stair, and Donald, his countenance glowing with health and animation, entered the room.

"Janet, I have had an offer, a magnificent offer," he exclaimed, breathless from some other cause beyond the mere effort of mounting the stairs. "I would consult no one, and would tell no one till I had seen you. I was playing at golf on the links, when, rushing along, I ran right against a gentleman who was standing watching the game. I stopped to beg his pardon, when, looking up in his face, I was sure he was Mr Todd, he who was grieve o' the laird of Glenvarlock, and used to come often to the manse and ha' a crack with our father. Many is the time he has carried me in front of him on his horse, and lent me a pony to ride.

I asked him--I was right--I told him my name, and that I was at the High School here, and Margaret and David and I were living with you. He shook me warmly by the hand, and said he was very glad to meet with me, inquiring what I thought of doing, and many other questions. He then begged, as soon as the game was over, that I would accompany him to his lodgings. 'I have been thinking of something for you, Donald,' he said, when I rejoined him. 'I am preparing to start, as soon as the spring commences, at the head of a party of emigrants to settle on a large tract of land in Upper Canada, and I want the a.s.sistance of one or two active young men, with heads on their shoulders, who have their way to make in the world. I have been out there for two years, and know the wants of the country. Active surveyors are especially required, and I can a.s.sure you that you will be able to obtain a sufficient knowledge of surveying, for all practical purposes, before we start. All your expenses will be paid, and you will receive a small salary to commence with. Say that you will accompany me, and I will not look elsewhere for an a.s.sistant.' I told him I could not say yes till I had asked you, Janet, and talked to Margaret and David. I do not like to leave you all, but you see I may make my fortune, and have a home for you all to come to some day; and if I stay in Scotland it may be long before I can obtain a situation, and longer still before I can have a house of my own."

Janet remained silent for some minutes, gazing fondly at Donald, revolving the matter in her mind, with her lips apart as if the announcement had taken away her breath. David, with his pen still on the paper, looked up eagerly at his brother, partic.i.p.ating in his feelings. A sigh which burst from Janet's bosom broke the silence.

"Ye maun go my bairn, as it seems to me that the Lord in His goodness points out the way. We will ask Him to guide and direct us. Ye should not go forth into the world without feeling sure that ye are under His protection, and that He will gie ye, my bairn, if ye ask Him with faith."

"I know He will, and may be it was He who sent Mr Todd on to the links this afternoon to meet with me," answered Donald, who, in his eagerness, was perfectly ready to agree with Janet.