I am delighted to make your acquaintance,
Lord Fauntleroy,
" said the rector.
You made a long journey to come to us.
A great many people will be glad to know you made it safely.
It was a long way,
Answered Fauntleroy.
But dearest,
My mother was with me and I wasn't lonely.
Of course,
You're never lonely if your mother's with you.
And the ship was beautiful.
Take a chair,
Mordaunt,
" said the Earl.
Mr.
Mordaunt sat down.
He glanced from Fauntleroy to the Earl.
Your lordship is greatly to be congratulated,
" he said warmly.
But the Earl plainly had no intention of showing his feelings on the subject.
He is like his father,
He said rather gruffly.
Let us hope he'll conduct himself more credibly.
And then he added,
What is it this morning,
Mordaunt?
Who's in trouble now?
This was not as bad as Mr.
Mordaut had expected,
But he hesitated a second before he began.
It is Higgins,
He said.
Higgins of Edge Farm.
He has been very unfortunate.
He was ill himself last autumn,
And his children had scarlet fever.
I can't say that he is a very good manager.
But he has had ill luck.
And of course he is behind Han in many ways.
He's in trouble about his rent now.
Now it tells him if he doesn't pay,
He must leave the place.
And of course,
That would be a very serious matter.
His wife is ill,
And he came to me yesterday to beg me to seek about it,
And to ask you for time.
He thinks.
If you would give him time.
He could catch up again.
They all think that,
Said the Earl,
Looking rather black.
Fauntly Roy made a movement forward.
He'd been standing between his grandfather and the visitor,
Listening with all his might.
He'd begun to be interested in Higgins at once.
He wondered how many children there were,
And if the scarlet fever had hurt them very much.
His eyes were wide open,
And were fixed upon Mr.
Mordaunt with intent interest as the gentleman went on with the conversation.
Higgins is a well-meaning man,
Said the rector,
Making an effort to strengthen his plea.
He is a bad enough tenant,
Replied his lordship,
And he is always behind hand,
Nowick tells me.
He is in great trouble now,
Said the rector.
He is very fond of his wife and children.
And if the farm is taken from him,
They may literally starve.
He cannot give them the nourishing things they need.
Two of the children were left very low after the fever,
And the doctor orders for them wine and luxuries that Higgins cannot afford.
At this,
Fauntly Roy moved a step nearer.
This was the way with Michael,
He said.
The Earl slightly started.
I forgot you,
He said.
I forgot we had a philanthropist in the room.
Who was Michael?
And the gleam of queer amusement came back into the old man's deep-set eyes.
He was Bridget's husband,
Who had the fever,
Answered Lord Fauntleroy,
And he couldn't pay the rent or buy wine and things.
And you gave me the money to help him.
The Earl drew his brows together into a curious frown,
Which somehow was scarcely grim at all.
He glanced across at Mr.
Mordaunt.
I don't know what sort of landed proprietor he will make,
" he said.
I told Havisham the boy was to have what he wanted.
Anything you wanted.
And what he wanted,
It seems.
Was money to give to beggars.
Oh,
But they weren't beggars,
" said Fauntleroy eagerly.
Michael was a splendid bricklayer.
They all worked.
Oh,
Said the Earl,
They were not beggars,
They were splendid bricklayers,
And bootblacks,
And apple women.
He bent his gaze on the boy for a few seconds in silence.
The fact was that a new thought was coming to him,
And though perhaps it was not prompted by the noblest emotions,
It was not a bad thought.
Come here,
He said at last.
Fauntleroy went and stood as near to him as possible without encroaching on the gouty foot.
What would you do in this case?
" his lordship asked.
It must be confessed that Mr.
Mordaunt experienced for the moment a curious sensation.
Being a man of great thoughtfulness,
And having spent so many years on the estate of Dorincourt,
Knowing the tenetry,
Rich and poor,
The people of the village,
Honest and industrious,
Dishonest and lazy.
He realized very strongly what power for good or evil would be given in the future to this one small boy standing there.
His brown eyes wide open.
His hands deep in his pockets.
And the thought came to him also that a great deal of power might perhaps,
Through the caprice of a proud,
Self-indulgent old man,
Be given to him now.
And that if his young nature were not a simple and generous one,
It might be the worst thing that could happen.
Not only for others.
But for himself.
And what would you do in such a case?
Demanded the Earl.
Fauntleroy drew a little nearer.
And laid one hand on his knee.
With the most confiding air of good comradeship.
If I were very rich,
He said,
And not just a little boy,
I should let him stay and give him the things for his children.
But then,
I am only a boy.
Then after a second's pause,
In which his face brightened visibly,
You can do anything,
Can't you?
He said.
Said the Lord staring at him.
That's your opinion,
Is it?
And he was not displeased either.
I mean,
You can give anyone anything,
" said Fauntleroy.
Who's Nowick?
He's my agent,
Answered the Earl.
And some of my tenants are not over-fond of him.
Are you going to write him a letter now?
" inquired Fauntleroy.
Shall I bring you the ink and the pen?
I can take the game off this table.
It plainly had not for an instant occurred to him that Nowick would be allowed to do his worst.
The Earl paused a moment,
Still looking at him.
Can you write?
He asked.
Yes,
Said Cedric,
But not very well.
Move the things from the table,
Commanded my lord,
And bring the pen and ink,
And a sheet of paper from my desk.
Mr.
Mordaunt's interest began to increase.
Fauntleroy did as he was told very deftly.
In a few moments,
The sheet of paper,
The big inkstand,
And the pen were ready.
There,
He said gaily.
Now you can rate it.
You are to write it,
" said the Earl.
I exclaimed fondly,
Roy,
And a flush overspread his forehead.
Will it do if I write it?
I don't always spell quite right when I have in a dictionary,
And nobody tells me.
It will do,
" said the Earl.
Higgins will not complain of the spelling.
I'm not the philanthropist you are.
Dip your pen in the ink.
Fauntleroy took up the pen and dipped in the ink bottle.
Then he arranged himself in position,
Leaning on the table.
Now,
He inquired,
What must I say?
You may say,
Higgins is not to be interfered with for the present.
And sign it,
Faunt Leroy,
" said the Earl.
Fauntleroy dipped his pen in the ink again and,
Resting his arm,
Began to write.
It was rather a slow process and a serious event,
But he gave his whole soul to it.
After a while,
However,
The manuscript was complete and he handed it to his grandfather with a smile slightly tinged with anxiety.
Do you think it will do,
He asked.
The earl looked at it,
And the corners of his mouth twitched a little.
Yes,
He answered.
Higgins will find it entirely satisfactory,
And he handed it to Mr.
Mordaunt.
What Mr.
Mordaunt found written was this.
Dear Mr.
Newick If you please,
Mr.
Higgins,
As not to be interfered with the present.
And oblige.
Yours respectfully,
Fauntleroy.
Mr.
Hobbs always signed his letters that way,
Said Fauntleroy,
And I thought I'd better say please.
Is that exactly the right way to spell interfered?
It's not exactly the way it is spelled in the dictionary,
Answered the url.
I was afraid of that,
Said Fauntleroy.
I ought to have asked.
You see,
That's the way with words of more than one syllable.
You have to look in the dictionary.
It's always safest.
I'll write it over again.
And write it over again he did,
Making quite an imposing copy,
And taking precautions in the matter of spelling by consulting the earl himself.
Spelling is a curious thing,
He said.
It's so often different from what you expect it to be.
I used to think please was spelled P-L-E-E-S,
But it isn't,
You know?
And you'd think dear was spelled D-E-R-E if you didn't inquire.
Sometimes it almost discourages you.
When Mr.
Mordaunt went away,
He took the letter with him,
And he took something else with him also.
Namely a pleasanter feeling and a more hopeful one than he had carried home with him.
Down the avenue on any previous visit he had made at Dorincourt Castle.
When he was gone,
Fauntly Roy,
Who had accompanied him to the door,
Went back to his grandfather.
May I go to Dearest now?
" he asked.
I think she'll be waiting for me.
The Earl was silent a moment.
There is something in the stable for you to see first,
He said.
Ring the bell.
If you please,
" said Fauntly Roy with his quick little flush.
I'm very much obliged,
But I think I'd better see it tomorrow.
She will be expecting me all the time.
Very well,
Answered the Earl.
We will order the carriage.
Then he added dryly,
It's a pony.
Fauntleroy drew a long breath.
A pony?
" he exclaimed.
Whose pony is it?
"'Yours,
' replied the Earl.
" Mine?
Cried the little fellow.
Mine,
Like the things upstairs?
Yes,
Said the grandfather.
Would you like to see it?
Shall I order it to be brought around?
Fauntleroy's cheeks grew redder and redder.
I never thought I should have a pony,
" he said.
I never thought that.
How glad dearest we'll be!
You give me everything,
Don't you?
Do you wish to see it?
Inquired the earl.
Fauntleroy drew a long breath.
I want to see it,
He said.
I want to see it so much I can hardly wait.
But I'm afraid there isn't time.
You must go and see your mother this afternoon,
As the Earl.
You think you can't put it off?
Why?
" said Fauntleroy.
She's been thinking about me all morning,
And I've been thinking about her.
Oh,
Said the Earl.
You have,
Have you?
Ring the bell.
As they drove down the avenue under the arching trees,
He was rather silent,
But Fauntleroy was not.
He talked about the pony.
What color was it?
How big was it?
What was its name?
What did it like to eat best?
How old was it?
How early in the morning might he get up and see it?
Dearest will be so glad,
He kept saying.
She will be so obliged to you for being so kind to me.
She knows I always liked ponies so much,
But we never thought I could get one.
There was a little boy on Fifth Avenue who had one and used to ride out every morning and we used to take a walk past his house to see him.
He leaned back against the cushions and regarded the earl with rapt interest for a few minutes and an entire silence.
I think you must be the best person in the world,
He burst forth at last.
You're always doing good,
Aren't you?
And thinking about other people.
Dearest says that is the best kind of goodness,
Not to think about yourself,
But to think about other people.
That is just the way you are,
Isn't it?
His lordship was so dumbfounded to find himself presented in such an agreeable color that he did not know exactly what to say.
He felt that he needed time for reflection.
To see each of his ugly,
Selfish motives changed into a good and generous one by the simplicity of a child was a singular experience.
Fauntleroy went on,
Still regarding him with admiring eyes.
Those great clear innocent eyes.
You make so many people happy,
He said.
There's Michael and Bridget and their ten children.
And the Apple woman in dick.
And Mr.
Hobbs and Mr.
Higgins and Miss Higgins and their children and Mr.
Mordaunt.
Because of course he was glad.
And dearest in me.
About the pony and all the other things?
Do you know I've counted it up on my fingers and in my mind,
And it's 27 people you've been kind to.
That's a good many.
Twenty-seven.
And I was the person who was kind to them,
Was I?
" said the Earl.
Why,
Yes,
You know,
" answered Fauntleroy.
You made them all happy.
Do you know?
With some delicate hesitation,
He said,
That people are sometimes mistaken about earls when they don't know them.
Mr.
Hobbs was.
I was going to write him and tell him about it.
What was Mr.
Hobbs' opinion of Earls?
Asked his lordship.
Well,
You see the difficulty was,
Replied his young companion,
That he didn't know any,
And he'd only read about them in books.
He thought,
And you mustn't mind it.
That they were gory tyrants.
And he said he wouldn't have them hanging around his store.
But if he'd known you,
I'm sure he would have felt quite different.
I shall tell him about you.
What shall you tell him?
I shall tell him,
" said Fauntleroy,
Glowing with enthusiasm.
That you're the kindest man I ever heard of and you're always thinking of other people and making them happy and and I hope when I grow up.
I shall be just like you.
Just like me,
" repeated his lordship,
Looking at the little kindling face.
And a dull red crept up under his withered skin,
And he suddenly turned his eyes away and looked out of the carriage window at the great beech trees,
With the sun shining on their glossy,
Red-brown leaves.
Just like you,
" said Fauntleroy,
Adding modestly.
If I can.
Perhaps I'm not good enough,
But I'm going to try.
The carriage rolled on down the stately avenue under the beautiful,
Broad-branched trees,
Through the spaces of green shade and lanes of golden sunlight.
Fauntleroy saw again the lovely places where the ferns grew high and the bluebells swayed in the breeze.
He saw the deer standing or lying in the deep grass.
They turned their large,
Settled eyes as the carriage passed and caught glimpses of the brown rabbits curried away.
He heard the whirr of the partridges and the calls and songs of the birds.
And it all seemed even more beautiful to him than before.
All his heart was filled with pleasure and happiness and the beauty that was on every side.
But the old Earl saw and heard very different things,
Though he apparently was looking out too.
He saw a long life in which there'd been neither generous deeds or kind thoughts.
He saw years in which a man who'd been young and strong and rich and powerful had used his youth and strength and wealth and power only to please himself and kill time as the days and years succeeded each other.
He saw this man when the time had been killed and the old age had come.
Solitary,
And without real friends in the midst of all his splendid wealth.
He saw people who disliked or feared him,
And people who would only flatter and cringe to him,
And no one who really cared whether he lived or died.
Unless they had something to gain or lose by it.
He looked out on the broad acres which belonged to him,
And he knew what Fauntleroy did not.
How far they extended,
What wealth they represented,
And how many people had homes on their soil.
And he knew too.
Another thing Fauntleroy did not.
That in all those homes,
Humble or well-to-do.
There was probably not one person.
However much he envied the wealth and stately name and power,
And however willing he would have been to possess them.
Who would for an instant have thought of calling the noble owner good.
Or wishing,
As this simple-souled little boy had,
To be like him.
And it was not exactly pleasant to reflect upon,
Even for a cynical,
Worldly old man.
Who had been sufficient unto himself for seventy years.
And who had never deigned to care what opinion the world held of him,
So long as it did not interfere with his comfort or entertainment.
And the fact was,
Indeed,
That he had never before condescended to reflect upon it all.
And he only did now because a child had believed him better than he was,
And by wishing to follow in his illustrious footsteps and imitate his example.
Had suggested to him the curious question.
Whether he was exactly the person to take as a model.
Fauntleroy thought the earl's foot must be hurting him.
His brows knitted himself together so,
As he looked out of the park.
And thinkingness.
The considerate little fellow tried not to disturb him.
And enjoyed the trees and the ferns and the deer in silence.
But at last the carriage,
Having passed the gates and bowled through the green lanes for a short distance,
Stopped.
They had reached Court Lodge.
And Fauntleroy was out upon the ground almost before the big footman had time to open the carriage door.
The Earl wakened from his reverie with a start.
What,
He said?
Are we here?
Yes,
Said fauntly Roy.
Let me give you your stick.
Just lean on me when you get out.
I'm not going to get out,
" replied his lordship brusquely.
Not to see Dearest?
" exclaimed Fauntleroy with an astonished face.
Dearest will excuse me,
Said the Earl dryly.
Go to her and tell her that not even a new pony would keep you away.
She will be disappointed,
Said Fauntleroy.
She will want to see you very much.
I am afraid not,
Was the answer.
The carriage will call for you as we come back.
Tell Jeffreys to drive on,
Thomas.
Thomas closed the carriage door.
And after a puzzled look,
Fauntleroy ran up the drive.
The earl had the opportunity.
As Mr.
Havisham once had.
Of seeing a pair of handsome,
Strong little legs flash over the ground with astonishing rapidity.
Evidently their owner had no intention of losing any time.
The carriage rolled slowly away,
But his lordship did not at once lean back.
He still looked out.
Through a space in the trees,
He could see the house door.
It was wide open.
The little figure dashed up the steps.
Another figure.
A little figure too,
Slender and young,
In its black gown,
Ran to meet it.
It seemed as if they flew together as Fauntleroy leaped into his mother's arms,
Hanging about her neck and covering her sweet young face with kisses.
