Norman Vallery Part 29

"Good morning, f.a.n.n.y," he said, jumping up. "I won't keep you long, for I want to get downstairs as soon as possible to see the things papa has brought us. I wonder what they are."

"I am sure they are what we shall like," said f.a.n.n.y, "though I did not know that he had brought anything."

"He has brought me something at all events," said Norman, "for he told me so, and I hope that he will bring them, when he comes downstairs, or perhaps he would give them to me if I went to his room."

"Pray, don't do that," said f.a.n.n.y. "It will appear as if you were more eager to learn what he has brought than to see him, and he may not have time before breakfast to unpack his large portmanteau."

Norman felt vexed that his sister should give him this advice, and somewhat unwillingly accompanied her downstairs.

Mrs Maclean, who was in the breakfast-room, received f.a.n.n.y in her usually affectionate way.

"Good-morrow to you, young gentleman; I hope you have slept yourself into a pleasanter humour than you went to bed with," she said, as she held out her hand, and made him a formal curtsey.

Norman did not like her salutation, but the awe he felt for her, prevented him from making a rude answer which rose to his lips.

"I hope Norman will be a good boy to-day, Mrs Maclean," said f.a.n.n.y, wishing to apologise for him. "He was tired last night, and did not know exactly what he was about."

"But little boys should know what they are about," observed the lady.

"However, we will hope for the best, and I shall be glad to see him eat his porridge with an appet.i.te."

"Are you prepared, f.a.n.n.y, for an excursion to-day? We have been asked to join some friends in a picnic at Glen Corpach, and as there are several young people among the families who have promised to come, you will have companions of your own age."

"I shall be delighted. What a lovely day for it too," exclaimed f.a.n.n.y, "and I am sure Norman will like it very much."

Norman wondered what a picnic could mean.

"Is there to be fun of any sort? What are we to do?" he asked.

"My idea of a picnic," answered f.a.n.n.y, "is, that people collect at a beautiful spot, and bring pies and chickens and all sorts of things to eat, and spread them out on a table-cloth on the gra.s.s; and sit round it on the ground, and talk merrily, and laugh; and that some facetious old gentleman makes a funny speech; and songs are sung; and that here in Scotland there is a bag-piper; and that people get up and dance, and the young ladies have their sketch-books, and when tired of dancing make sketches and ramble about among the rocks. That then a gipsy-fire is lighted, and tea is made, and that after that, perhaps there is more dancing. At last the time comes for people to start, and they all drive home again. I went with granny to a picnic like that last year, and she enjoyed it very much, and I am sure I did."

"You have given a very good description of what, I daresay, our proposed picnic will be like," said Mrs Maclean; "and I hope you will enjoy it as much as you did yours last year. I have no doubt there will be a piper, and, perhaps, two or three, and that they will do their best to make the hills resound with their music."

"I think it will be very stupid if we do nothing else than that," said Norman. "It might be better if we could shoot or fish, or if there is a boat in which the other boys and I can row about."

"I daresay our friends will try to find amus.e.m.e.nt for you little boys as well as for the older persons of the party, though, if you wish it, we might possibly make arrangements to leave you behind," observed Mrs Maclean.

"No, no, I should not like that," answered Norman, shaking his head. "I will go to see what is done."

Mrs Maclean smiled at the young gentleman's answer.

The rest of the party soon entered the breakfast-room. Captain Vallery came last. f.a.n.n.y jumped up to throw her arms round his neck and kiss him; but Norman did not leave his seat; he had been looking out for the presents of which his papa had spoken. He was much disappointed when he saw him deposit two small parcels on the sideboard.

"We will look at them after prayers," he observed.

Mr Maclean kept to the good custom of having all the servants in to morning prayers, and reading to them from G.o.d's Word. Norman attended very little to what was said, as he was wondering all the time what could be in the parcels.

"I wish they had been bigger," he thought, "for I am afraid papa has, after all, brought some stupid little things which I shall not care about, and perhaps f.a.n.n.y's will be better than mine."

The patience of Norman was still further to be tried, for his papa, who was hungry, forgot all about the presents, and took his seat with the rest of the party at the breakfast table.

"Come, my boy, eat your porridge, or it will begetting cold," said Mr Maclean, lifting Norman into the air, and placing him down in the chair as if he had been a little baby.

Norman felt indignant, as he liked to be treated as a big boy. He was, however, in spite of his curiosity, glad to swallow his porridge, and to eat some bacon, with a slice or two of bread and preserves, which Mr Maclean placed in succession upon his plate.

At last he could no longer restrain his anxiety to know what his papa had brought. f.a.n.n.y also thought she should like to know, but had refrained from saying anything.

"What have you brought for us there?" he asked at length, pointing towards them.

"You may bring them and we will see," answered his papa.

Norman jumped up, and, seizing the parcels, began tearing them open.

"Stop, stop!" cried his grandmamma, who observed him. "You do not know which is for you; and your papa told you to bring them."

Norman paid but little attention to what Mrs Leslie said, and had almost torn one of them open before his papa took them.

"We must look at the one for f.a.n.n.y first, as she is a young lady,"

observed Captain Vallery, feeling the parcels, and undoing one, he presented f.a.n.n.y with a box which had a gla.s.s top, and inside of it was a white swan with three gaily-coloured fish.

"If we had a basin of water we should be able to make the swan and fish swim about," said Captain Vallery; "I never saw anything of the sort before, and was sure f.a.n.n.y would like it."

Now f.a.n.n.y had not only seen but possessed a magnetic toy similar to the one her papa had brought her. She had, however, given it away to a young friend who had expressed a wish to possess it; and f.a.n.n.y had a.s.sured her that she found no great amus.e.m.e.nt in it herself.

Mrs Leslie, too, knew this, and was pleased to see the affectionate way in which f.a.n.n.y thanked her papa. f.a.n.n.y, though she did not care for the gift herself, was grateful to him for having brought it to her, and she thought that it would, at all events, amuse Norman, who had never seen anything of the sort. She therefore gladly jumped down to ring the bell that the servant might bring a dish of water for the swan and fish to swim in, and to be attracted by the magnet, which she found carefully wrapped up at the bottom of the box. She looked forward with pleasure to the surprise her brother would exhibit at seeing the fish and swan come at her call.

Norman, who was in the meantime fumbling away at the other parcel, eyed her toy with a feeling very like that which had entered his heart when she had her beautiful doll given to her. His parcel felt soft, he feared that it was of very little value, and he wondered what it could possibly be. At last the paper was torn off.

"Why, it's only the skin of an old football without any wind in it!" he exclaimed in a disappointed tone.

"It is a new football, and we can soon put wind in it," observed his papa, laughing at what he thought his son's wit; and taking it from Norman, he put the part with the hole to his mouth and began to blow and blow till gradually the ball swelled out to its full size. Norman looked on wonderingly all the time. Then Captain Vallery fastened a piece of string round the neck of the bladder into which he had been blowing, and tightly laced up the leathern covering.

"There my boy," he exclaimed, "you have a brand new football which you may kick from John o' Groat's house to the Land's End without its being much the worse for its journey, only you must not treat it as you did the last."

Norman ran after the ball, which his papa rolled to the other end of the room. The pleasure he might have felt at obtaining it was taken away by his hearing Captain Vallery tell the laird how he had cut open his other ball to look for the wind in it, at which the laird laughed heartily, declaring that he was a true philosopher and would some day become the Princ.i.p.al of the University of Aberdeen or Saint Andrews.

The servant coming in with the dish, Norman left his ball to see the swan and fish come at f.a.n.n.y's call to be fed. She managed very cleverly, by holding a piece of bread over the magnet. Norman looked on, wondering what could make the creatures come when f.a.n.n.y called them, and half believing that they must be alive. Then he thought how much he should like to have them if they would come to him as readily as they did to f.a.n.n.y.

"Let me try them, f.a.n.n.y," he said eagerly; "I am sure if I call them they will swim across the dish to me. Mamma give me a piece of bread."

Norman held it to the side of the dish. Neither the swan nor the fish moved; then he threw some crumbs towards them, but they had no greater effect. He began to grow angry.

"I do not see why they should come more to you than to me," he said grumpily.

f.a.n.n.y then let him see that she held something in her hand.

"What is that?" he asked.

"That is my magic wand?" she answered laughing. "Perhaps if you take it you will find that the creatures come towards you."