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Page 63
"No chariot wheels invade her stony roads;
Priestless her temples, lone her vast abodes,
Deserted,--forum, palace, everywhere!
Yet are her chambers for the master fit,
Her shops are ready for the oil and wine,
Ploughed are her streets with many a chariot line,
And on her walls to-morrow's play is writ,--
Of that to-morrow which might never be!"
The spell was not broken until Mr. Sumner, looking at his watch,
declared it was quite time they should return to the little hotel, take
an afternoon lunch, and so be ready when the carriages should await
them.
The beauty of the drive from Naples to the Bay of Salerno has been set
forth, by many writers, in prose and song and poem, and remembering
this, Barbara's and Bettina's faces were radiant with expectation as
they started upon it. Malcom and Margery were in the carriage with them;
the atmosphere was perfection; the sun shone with just the right degree
of heat; the waters of the beautiful Bay of Naples were just rippling
beneath the soft breeze, and seventeen miles of incomparable loveliness
lay between them and Sorrento, where they were to spend the night. What
wonder they were happy!
Just as they were entering the town of Castellammare (the ancient
Stabi�, where the elder Pliny perished) the carriage containing Mrs.
Douglas, Miss Sherman, and Mr. Sumner, which had thus far followed them,
dashed past, and its occupants were greeted with a merry peal of
laughter from the four young voices.
"How joyous they are!" exclaimed Mrs. Douglas, her own face reflecting
their happiness. "You look envious, Robert."
Then, turning to Miss Sherman, she added: "I never tire of watching
Barbara and Bettina these days. I believe they are two of the rarest
girls in the world. Nothing has yet spoiled them, and I think nothing
ever will. It has been one of the sweetest things possible to see their
little everyday charities since they have had money in abundance.
Before, they felt that every dollar their parents spared them was a
sacred trust to be used just for their positive needs. Now, their
evident delight in giving to the flower-girls, to the street-gamins, to
the beggars, to everything miserable that offers, is delightful."
"Do you think Barbara will know how to be wise in the spending of her
money?" asked Miss Sherman, with a constrained smile.
"As to the wise ways of spending money," answered Mrs. Douglas, stealing
a glance at her brother's imperturbable face opposite, "everybody has
his own individual opinion. I, myself, feel sure of Barbara. Before her
money came, she had received the greater and far more important heritage
of a noble-minded ancestry and a childhood devoted to unselfish living
and the seeking of the highest things. During these eighteen years her
character has been formed, and it is so grounded that the mere
possession of money will not alter it. To my mind it is a happy thing
that Howard's money will be used in such a personal way as I think it
will be."
"Personal a way?" queried Miss Sherman.
"I mean personal as distinguished from institutional--you know his first
intention was to endow institutions. For instance, within a week after
Barbara received the lawyer's announcement, she consulted me as to how
she could best make provision for an old lady who has been for years
more or less of a pensioner of her father's family. The dear old woman
with a little aid has supported herself for many years, but lately it
has seemed as if she would have to give up the wee bit of a home she
loves so much and become an inmate of some great Institution, and this
would almost break her heart. Barbara was in haste to put enough money
at her disposal so that a good woman may be hired to come and care for
her so long as she shall live, and to provide for all her wants. Also
she remembered a poor young girl, once her and Betty's schoolmate, who
has always longed for further study, whose one ambition has been to go
to college. This was simply impossible, not even the strictest economy,
even the going without necessities, has gathered together sufficient
money for the expenses of a single year. Before we left Rome, Barbara
arranged for the deposit in the bank at home of enough money to permit
this struggling girl to look forward with certainty to a college course,
and wrote the letter which will bring her so much joy.
"Dear child!" she continued tenderly, after a pause; "the only bit of
money she has yet spent for herself was to get the spring outfits that
she and Betty have really needed for some time, but for which they did
not like to use their father's money.
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