Elsie at the World's Fair

"Well, dear, I should like to see your plan carried out, and I must insist upon sharing the expense. But we will talk it over again in the morning. We are both weary now and ought to go at once to our beds."

"Then good-night, mamma, dear. May you sleep sweetly and peacefully and wake again fully rested," Violet said, giving her mother a fond embrace.

"And you also, daughter. May He who neither slumbers nor sleeps have you and yours in his safe keeping through the silent watches of the night," responded her mother, returning the embrace.

The captain had lingered on the deck as usual, to give his orders for the night, and Lucilla waited about for the bit of petting as she termed it, of which she was so fond.

"Ah, so you are still here, daughter!" he said in his usual kind, fatherly tones as he turned and found her at his side. "Have you something to say to your father?" putting his arm about her and holding her close as something precious.

"Only the usual story – that I love my father dearly, dearly, and don't like to go to bed without telling him so and getting a caress that nobody else will know anything about."

"A great secret that doubtless the whole world would be glad to discover!" he laughed, bestowing them without stint. "Is my little girl unhappy, about – anything? and wanting her father to comfort her?" he asked, looking keenly into her face.

"Unhappy, father? here in your arms and perfectly certain of your dear love?" she exclaimed, lifting to his eyes full of joy and love. "No, indeed! I don't believe there is a happier girl in the land or in the whole world for that matter. Oh, you are so good to me and all your children! How very generous you were to-day to Grace and me in letting us buy so many lovely presents to carry home with us! I am often afraid, papa, that you do without things yourself to give the more to us. Oh, I hope you don't!"

"You need not be at all troubled on that score" he said, patting her cheek and smiling down into her eyes. "I have abundance of means and can well allow my daughters such pleasures. 'It is more blessed to give than to receive,' and when I give to you, and you use my gift in procuring something for another, it gives us both a taste of that blessedness."

"So it does, papa, and oh, what a good place this is for making purchases! there are so many, many lovely things to be found in the various buildings."

"And we meet so many relatives and friends from various quarters. But that gives us the pain of a good many partings," and again he looked keenly at her as he spoke.

"Yes, sir," she said, "but one can always hope to meet again with those one cares particularly about; so I don't feel that I need to mourn while I have you, my dear father, and Mamma Vi and the little brother and sisters left; and I'm content and more than content, except that I miss dear Max and can't help wishing he were here to see and enjoy all that we do."

"Yes; dear boy! I wish he could be," sighed the captain. Then, with another caress, "Go now to your bed, daughter; it is high time you were there," he said.

"Just one minute more, please, papa, dear," she entreated, with her arm about his neck. "Oh, I can't understand how Rosie can think of leaving her mother for Mr. Croly or any other man. I could never, never want to leave you for anybody else in the wide world."

"I am glad and thankful to hear it, dear child," he said, with another tender caress and good-night.

CHAPTER XX

Circumstances seemed to favor the scheme of the captain, Violet, and Lucilla, for the family and their guests had scarcely left the breakfast table when there was a new arrival, a boat hailing the yacht and discharging several passengers, who proved to be Annis' sisters, Mildred and Zillah, and her brother, the Rev. Cyril Keith.

It was an unexpected arrival, but they were most cordially welcomed and urgently invited to spend as much of their time on the yacht as could be spared from sight-seeing on shore. They were of course soon introduced to Mr. Lilburn – already known to them by reputation – and presently informed of the state of affairs between him and their sister. They were decidedly pleased with the old gentleman, yet grieved at the thought of so wide a separation between their dear youngest sister and themselves.

Violet afterward, seizing a momentary opportunity when neither Mr. Lilburn nor Annis was near, told of her plans in regard to the wedding, adding that the subject had not yet been mentioned to Annis, but that she herself hoped no objection would be raised; and it seemed to her that Cyril's arrival, thus providing a minister to perform the ceremony, the very one Annis would have chosen of course, seemed providential.

At first both brother and sisters were decidedly opposed to it – they wanted Annis to be married at home where all the family could be gathered to witness the ceremony; it was bad enough to lose her without being deprived of that privilege; besides time and thought must be given to the preparation of a suitable trousseau. But in the course of a day or two they were won over to the plan.

Then the consent of those most particularly interested had to be gained. There was no difficulty so far as concerned Mr. Lilburn; he was really delighted with the idea, but Annis at first positively refused. She wished to be married at home and she must have a trousseau: not that she cared so much about it for herself, but Mr. Lilburn must not be disgraced by a bride not suitably adorned.

"Well, Annis dear," said Mildred, who was the one selected for the task of obtaining her consent to the proposed plan, "you shall have all that you desire in the way of dress. I would not have you do without a single thing you want or think would be suitable and becoming. You shall have abundance of money to make such purchases without applying to your husband for any one of them. You have some money of your own, you know, and it will be a great pleasure to your brothers and sisters to give to the dear girl who was such a help and comfort to our loved father and mother, anything and everything she wants, and will accept at our hands."

"Yes, I know I have the best and kindest of brothers and sisters, and oh, I can hardly keep the tears back when I think of the separation that awaits us," said Annis with a sob, putting her arms round Mildred's neck and clinging to her.

"Yes, dear, I know. I feel just the same, though I believe you will be very happy with the kind, genial old gentleman who is stealing you away from us; but I can see that he is in great haste to get full possession of his dear little lady-love – at which I do not wonder at all – and I really think it would be better to take the plunge into matrimony suddenly and have it over," she added, with a smile.

"Have what over?" asked Annis, smiling faintly.

"Not the matrimony," laughed her sister, "but the plunge into it."

"Oh, Milly dear, you wouldn't have liked to be hurried so!"

"Ah, but wasn't I?" laughed Mildred; "and that by this very brother of ours who expects to perform the ceremony for you."

"Ah, I don't remember about that," returned Annis, in a tone of enquiry.

"No, you were such a little girl then that I don't wonder it has slipped your memory. But Cyril was about starting for college and so determined to see me married, so fearful that he would miss the sight if he went off before-hand, that he coaxed, planned, and insisted till he actually gained his point – hurrying me into wedlock before I had even one wedding dress made up."

"Oh, yes! and you were married in mother's wedding dress, I remember now. But, Milly, I haven't a single handsome dress with me! I did not think they would be at all suitable to wear in tramping about the White City and its buildings, or needed in the hotel, where I spent but little time except at night. And so far, what I brought with me have answered every purpose."

"Never mind," said Mildred; "handsome ready-made dresses can be bought in Chicago, and it will not take long to procure one. You will of course want to select one that is well fitting and becoming in color; gray would, I think, be very becoming and altogether suitable for a – not very young bride."

"No, I do not want to be too youthfully dressed, or to look too bridelike on my wedding tour; so I think I will have a dark navy blue."

"So she has about consented to the desired arrangement," said Mildred, a little triumphantly to herself; then aloud: "Yes, that will be quite as becoming and a trifle more suitable; but let us go and talk it over with our cousins, Rose, Elsie, and Vi."

"There is no hurry," said Annis, blushing. "If I should give up to you enough to consent to have the ceremony performed here on the yacht, I shall put it off till the very last day of your stay, for I don't intend to miss seeing all that I possibly can of you, Cyril, and Zillah, and of the Fair."

"Very well," Mildred answered. "I incline to think myself that that would be the best plan; for really I want to see all I can of the dear sister who is going to leave us. O Annis, dear, whatever shall I do without you!" she exclaimed, putting an arm about her and kissing her with tears in her eyes. "Ah, it seems that in this world we cannot have any unalloyed good!"

"No, Milly, dear sister; but when we get home to the Father's house on high, there will be no more partings, no sorrow, no sin – nothing but everlasting joy and peace and love.

"'Tis there we'll meet
At Jesus' feet,
When we meet to part no more.

"Oh, doesn't it sometimes seem as if you could hardly wait for the time when you will be there with all the dear ones gone before? There at the Master's feet, seeing him and bearing his image – like him; for we shall see him as he is?"

"Yes, there are times when I do; and yet I am glad to stay a little longer in this world for the sake of husband and children; and to work for the Master too, doing what I can to bring others to him. I want some jewels in the crown I cast at his dear feet."

"Yes; and so do I." A moment of silence followed; – then Mildred said:

"Let us go now and have our talk with the cousins, for it will not be very long before we will be summoned to the supper table."

Annis made no objection, and they went up to the deck, where they found the three ladies they sought – Zillah with them too – sitting in a little group apart from the young girls and gentlemen.

They joined the group and Mildred quickly and briefly reported Annis' decision. All approved, saying they would be very glad to keep her to the last minute, and there was a good deal more well worth looking at in the Fair than she had already seen; also the delay would give plenty of time for the selection of a wedding dress and other needed articles of apparel.

"Now I am going to relieve the anxiety of the gentlemen, particularly the one belonging especially to me," said Violet, in a lively tone, rising with the last word and hurrying away in their direction. The others sat silently watching her and her auditors.

"Ah," laughed Mildred presently, "they are all well satisfied with the arrangement except Mr. Lilburn. He wears a dubious, disappointed look. Ah, Annis, how can you have the heart to disappoint him so?"

"Never mind, Annis, he will prize you all the more for not being able to get possession of you too quickly and easily," said Mrs. Dinsmore.

"So I think," returned Annis demurely; "also that it will be quite as well for him to have a little more time to learn about all my faults and failings."

"I do not believe he will be able to find them," said Mrs. Dinsmore, with an admiring look into the sweet face of the speaker, "since I have not succeeded in so doing."