Back Aa

Brenda, Her School and Her Club

<h2>VIII</h2> <h3>PLANNING THE BAZAAR</h3> Brenda at the dinner-table that evening had much to say about the expedition of the afternoon. Or rather, she had much to tell about Manuel and his cunning little ways, about his mother and the poverty of the family and what she intended to do for them. Her mother smiled, her father looked interested and said, "Well, I'm glad that you have found a use for your pocket money. I won't begrudge it to you as long as it does not all go into Schuyler's candy." Julia cried, "Oh, Brenda, how I should love to have gone with you," when Brenda spoke of the old church and the old streets. "Do tell just what the church was like." But Brenda's ideas were less definite on these points. She wasn't exactly sure what Paul Revere had done—for history was not her strong point—and she was a little annoyed at Julia's surprise at her lack of interest. Julia did not mean to show any surprise, but it did seem strange to hear Brenda say rather impatiently in answer to a question about the church, "Oh, well, it was a brown church,—no, I think it was gray, with a steeple, but I didn't notice much. Nora quoted some poetry, but I was in a hurry to go on to see Manuel, and I think that it's very tiresome to have to dig up history and things like that out of school." Mr. Barlow frowned at this. "Before you go to the North End again I hope you will have your history and your Longfellow fresh in mind. It is rather a shame for a Boston girl to be ignorant of historic places in her own city." "Julia must go with you next time," said Mrs. Barlow, wishing to divert the conversation from Brenda's shortcomings. "You'll let me know, won't you," interposed Julia pleasantly, and Brenda gave a careless "Yes" as she turned to her father and said, "Oh, papa, I wish that you would let me buy a carpet and a lot of things for Manuel's mother. You have no idea how poor they seem. Do give me the money, that's a dear. You never will miss it in the world." "How much, Brenda, does your modesty lead you to think you need?" asked Mr. Barlow. "Oh, I don't know," answered Brenda, whose ideas of the value of money were very vague indeed. "You might let me buy the things and have them charged." "Dear me! that would be worse than giving you the money—worse for my pocket. I suppose you'd want to do your shopping in some really fashionable Boylston Street establishment?" "Now, papa, you're laughing at me!" "Perhaps I am," replied her father. "But really, Brenda, I don't believe that Manuel's mother would thank you for a carpet. Didn't you say they all lived in one room? A bare floor is easier to keep clean." "Oh, well, I must buy them something, and my pocket money won't go far. Besides, I've spent all you gave me this month." "Well, Manuel and his mother and all those brothers and sisters have lived in Boston very comfortably for several years without any help from you. If you should give them a carpet they might grow discontented. The next thing they would want might be a piano, and from what you say I hardly think that room would hold a piano as well as the whole family and the cook-stove." "Oh, papa, I believe that you are making fun of me." "No, indeed, I am not, but I wish you to be reasonable." "If there's anything in the world I hate it's that word reasonable. It always means that I'm not to have what I want." "There you are un-reasonable," answered Mr. Barlow. "We will talk no more about it now, but some day perhaps your mother will go down with you to see Manuel, and then you can both tell me whether the Rosas ought to have a piano as well as a carpet." With this Brenda had to be content, but the next afternoon when the Four Club had its regular weekly meeting she and Nora grew excited as they described the poverty of the Rosas to the other two. "At any rate we can do a lot of fancy-work this winter," said Brenda, "and I shouldn't wonder if we were to have a very successful Fair." "Oh, don't call it a 'Fair,'" said Belle, "that sounds so awfully common. Bazaar, or Sale—no, Bazaar is best. Let's always speak of it as a Bazaar." The others assented, for really they hardly ever dared dissent from Belle when she laid down the law in this way. "Well, what else shall we call it, The Busy Bees' Bazaar?" asked Nora. "Oh, no, that would be dreadful! We needn't decide about the rest of the name just yet." "No, I think that it would be better to wait until we have something ready," said Edith, at which the other three looked up somewhat surprised. They had never heard Edith make a remark that sounded so nearly sarcastic. "Now, Edith, you know very well that we shall have plenty to sell. Just think how much we'll do if we meet every week ourselves. Then every girl in school ought to make at least one thing, and we can get any amount from older people. Really it's the duty of older people to help us all they can. I should think we might have four large tables just loaded with fancy-work, besides refreshments and flowers—and—oh, dear me—I feel quite dizzy when I think of it," cried the sanguine Brenda. "Aren't you going to ask Julia to join the Four Club?" queried Edith, turning to Brenda. "How silly," said the latter. "Of course not. It wouldn't be a Four Club then." "But don't you think it must seem a little strange to Julia. We run upstairs past her room every Thursday, and no one asks her to come." "Oh, she doesn't care," interposed Belle. "I don't believe that she cares for anything but study and music." "Yes," added Brenda, "it drives me half crazy to hear her piano going half the time." "Ah, that's what drives you crazy," said Nora, mischievously. "I thought you had seemed a little queer lately." Brenda tossed her head, but before she had time to answer this, Edith returned to the question of Julia. "Really and honestly, Brenda, I feel very uncomfortable about Julia. We ought at least to invite her to join us. I dare say she wouldn't come every week, but I do think that she ought to be asked. It doesn't seem to me polite to leave her out—or kind." Again Belle spoke for Brenda. "Really, Edith, you're awfully Puritanic; that's what everybody says: you're always thinking about the wrong and right of things." "Well, why shouldn't I? I'm sure we all intend to do what is right." "Yes, of course, in a way. But you don't have to keep thinking about it always. People have to enjoy themselves sometimes, and if we can't enjoy ourselves in this Four Club we might as well give it up at once." "Do you mean that Julia would prevent our enjoying ourselves if she came?" Nora's voice sounded ominously severe. "I didn't say that, but—well what's the good of talking?" cried Belle, who saw that she was getting into deep water. "Yes," chimed in Brenda, "that's what I say too." But Edith continued in a rather grave voice, "Of course it's your house, Brenda, and you and Belle started the Club, and no one can compel you to invite any one you don't want. But I'm sure if I had my way Julia should be here this minute, and I'm not sure that I'll stay in the Club if she isn't asked." "Do you mean you won't work for the Bazaar?" exclaimed Nora in surprise, thinking of Manuel, and of the dainty needlework at which Edith was so skilful. "I haven't said exactly what I'll do," replied the quiet Edith, with more spirit than she generally displayed. "Only I can tell you that I'm not going to see Julia left out of things the way she has been." "Oh, Julia's all right," said Brenda scornfully. "She doesn't know how to do fancy-work, and she'd just feel bored if she came to the Club. If you want a 'cause' Edith, you'd better adopt a smaller orphan than Julia." "Like Manuel," said Edith, with a bright smile, for, determined though she was when she had made up her mind about a thing, she was also a peacemaker. Even when Brenda and Belle most annoyed her, she hesitated to say sharp things to them, remembering that "A soft answer turneth away wrath." "Yes, like Manuel," said Nora, taking up Edith's words. "I won't give Manuel up to you, for you know that I mean to adopt him myself, but he has a sister, or two of them for that matter, and I shouldn't wonder if either of them would give you enough to do." "Oh, yes," said Brenda, "they both looked as if they needed lots of clothes. But they have the sweetest black eyes." "Well, then, why shouldn't we make dresses or aprons or something like that, before we get started on our work for the Bazaar?" asked Edith. "Oh, how can you?" cried Belle. "Horrid calico dresses and things like that—I should just hate them." "There, don't get excited," said Nora. "I've thought of that myself. But my mother says there are plenty of Societies and Sewing Circles we can get clothes from, if the Rosas really need clothes. She says it would be bad to begin giving them things." "Well, then, what are we going to have a Bazaar for?" asked Brenda. "For fun," responded Belle, so promptly that Nora looked at her a little suspiciously. "No," replied Nora, "not for fun, but we've got to have an object in a Club of this kind, and besides there'll probably be other things we can do for the Rosas." "Send them to the country in the summer, perhaps," said Edith. "There are the Country Week people," cried Belle. "They always do things like that." "Let's wait until we get the money," said Brenda, grandly. "Perhaps we'll have enough to buy them a house—or——" "Or a horse and carriage," laughed Edith. "Oh, Brenda, you are so unpractical." "There, there," said Nora, who saw another cloud rising over the horizon of the Four Club. "Let's talk of something sensible." "What are you working at, Belle?" Belle held up a pretty piece of blue denim on which she had begun to outline a pattern in white silk. "This is to be a sofa cushion," she said in answer to Nora's question. "People always like to buy them, and this shade of blue goes with almost anything." "Oh, it's too sweet for anything," said Nora, enthusiastically. "Yes, indeed," added Edith, with perfect sincerity. "You do such perfect needlework that I really envy you." Both Nora and Edith were glad to praise Belle's skill, for although they knew that they themselves had been in the right, they realized that Belle would not feel very kindly toward them for not siding with her in the matter of Julia. Nora, like Edith, was a peacemaker, and both wished the afternoon to end as pleasantly as possible. Belle was by no means indifferent to the praise of her friends. She really could do very fine embroidery and she took considerable pride in her work. "I never could have patience to do anything like that," said Nora, whose specialty was crocheting. "I like to do something that I needn't look at all the time. I could crochet an afghan almost in the dark." "Yes, but an afghan is such an endless piece of work." "Well, I don't suppose I'll make many of them for the Bazaar." "I should say not," said Edith. "What are you going to do first, Brenda? You haven't had a needle in your hand this afternoon." "I know it, I know it," cried Brenda, the heedless. "But I can't think what to begin first," and she opened the bottom drawer of her bureau, where were displayed a tangled heap of linen and floss and gold thread and silk plush and other materials for fancy work which she had bought at different times. There were cushion covers and doilies in which a few stitches had been taken, only to be thrown aside for something else, and some of them were in so soiled a condition that they were not likely to be good for anything. "Oh, what a wicked waste of money, Brenda Barlow," exclaimed Nora, as she looked at the contents of the drawer. "Well, at any rate it shows that I have had good intentions," said Brenda. <hr style="width: 65%;" /> <div style="break-after:column;"></div>

1 of 2

2 of 2

Update Required To play the media you will need to either update your browser to a recent version or update your Flash plugin.