CHAPTER VI.—THE PRINCELY CHILDREN.
Spite of his views of freedom and equality, Fritz walked somewhat more timidly with Mina in the garden the following day.
"You may go without any fear," Mrs. Dote had said encouragingly; "only you must keep rather in the side walks than in the broad alleys. You can go and gather me a beautiful nosegay and fresh green for the little hall where the family will dine. And if you should meet the young grandees and they should speak, you must answer prettily and politely; only mind, don't you speak first."
"He is, however, nothing but a boy, like me, only somewhat younger," Fritz was again ready to reply, but he checked himself and remained silent.
They had not been long in the garden before they saw the two handsome children coming hand in hand down the broad alley.
"Oh, how charming it is!" exclaimed the little girl, delighted. "I never saw anything so charming!"
"And is it not charming," said the boy, "that your governess is still poorly, and that my tutor is gone a journey, and so we have a holiday?"
At this moment they saw Fritz and Mina, who stepped somewhat embarrassed aside.
"Do you live in the garden?" inquired the little girl.
"No, young gentry," returned Mina, to whom no other title suggested itself, and she curtseyed.
"My name is Meta," said the little girl with frank simplicity; "and his name is Hugo," added she, pointing to her brother, "but where, then, do you live?"
"At Steinheim, fifteen miles from here," said Fritz, in his straightforward manner, and perfectly self-possessed. "We are now on a visit to my godmother, Mrs. Dote, the castle housekeeper, during our holidays."
"Indeed! we also have holiday," said Hugo. "Do you know of any bird nests? I have never seen a bird's nest."
"I know of one," returned Fritz, somewhat hesitatingly, "but——"
"Well, where is it?" inquired Hugo, with a little impetuosity.
I'll show it you, but—you must promise——
"What must I promise?" interrupted the young prince, reddening with anger and impatience.
"That you will only look at it, and not touch it, even with your little finger," returned Fritz, now speaking firmly, "else the old birds will never come back again, and the young ones will die."
"Yes, I know that," said the fair-haired Meta. "Mamma once told me that the young birds would die if the old ones did not attend to them," and she looked very sorrowful; "but you will not touch it, will you, Hugo?"
"Upon my honour. I will not!" declared the young cavalier so earnestly that Fritz was ready to venture, and led him to a low fir-tree which stood in some thick plantations, where lay between the boughs a little nest, in which were five lovely greenish-speckled eggs. He lifted up Meta, so that she could peep in, and both children were delighted at the sight.
"But the next time we must not come so near," said Fritz, "the little hen-bird is sitting; but we may come every day and see it from a distance, till the young birds are hatched."
In this joyful hope the four children became good friends, although Hugo had a something of princely pride in his bearing which did not quite harmonize with the liberal turn of Fritz's mind. The boys rambled together from the garden into the deer-park, visited the old keeper who lived there, and learned to shoot under his instructions; nay, they even one day brought home a hare which had been shot, though it could not exactly be ascertained by whom. Still more delightful was the entertainment which the two girls found together. Meta had a very wonderful doll, beautiful beyond anything which Mina had conceived possible. It had a lovely waxen face, and could shut its eyes; it slept upon a cushion trimmed with lace, and had a little bassinet lined with blue silk; it wore the daintiest little cap and a little knitted jacket. Mina, it is true, had quite grown out of dolls, and at home only brought out hers, which had a shining face of papier-maché, and wore a plain pink cotton frock, when her little friend Matilda came to see her; but she would not have been a girl if she had not been delighted with this miracle of a baby. It had, however, no name, and Mina assisted in the choice of one, which, after long deliberation, it was decided should be Rosalinde, because it was so beautiful. Meta was regarded as the mother of the little Rosalinde, and Mina acted as nurse-maid, but was called the Bonne, and she fondled, and carried, and rocked, and fed the darling baby to her heart's delight. The little Rosalinde was a very quick-growing child, however, and already on the second day wore her short frocks, and on the fourth a little dress and socks of Mina's making from some splendid material which Mrs. Dote produced from her wonderful old stores, and which had, once upon a time, been a part of a grand court dress. Now and then, however, again the little one became a baby, and was laid upon its cushion, and as such carried about. Many lovely little nooks, too, there were in the garden, on the green sward, and amongst the bushes, which were exactly suitable for nurseries; then, too, Meta took many great journeys with her little daughter through the gardens, Mina, in the meantime, decorating the green nursery with flowers, and setting out a pretty little feast of summer fruit in little baskets which she wove of rushes; whilst Meta, on her return, brought, from her mother, in fact, a pretty ribbon or a nice little bag as a present to her faithful Bonne.
Lightly and softly, as a sunbeam, the Princess Clotilde glided in her grey silk dresses here and there through the garden, appearing to the country children almost like a being from some higher world. She had kept a much stricter supervision over them than they had any idea of, in order that she might ascertain whether they were fitting companions for her children. Her children had hitherto lived in such deep retirement and seclusion, that now, finding these young strangers so admirable in every respect, she rejoiced that her children should become acquainted through them with other relationships and other classes in life, and happy in the thought that they could thus thoroughly enjoy their golden freedom before the return of the governess and tutor. The castle housekeeper, Mrs. Dote, was therefore on the very pinnacle of bliss because of the honour which was done to her young guests.