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chapter xvi.diana is invited to tea with tragic results october was a beautiful month at greengables, when the birches in the hollow turned as golden as sunshine and the maplesbehind the orchard were royal crimson and the wild cherry trees along the lane put on the loveliest shades of dark red and bronzygreen, while the fields sunned themselves in aftermaths.anne reveled in the world of color about her. "oh, marilla," she exclaimed one saturdaymorning, coming dancing in with her arms full of gorgeous boughs, "i'm so glad ilive in a world where there are octobers.

it would be terrible if we just skippedfrom september to november, wouldn't it? look at these maple branches.don't they give you a thrill--several thrills? i'm going to decorate my room with them.""messy things," said marilla, whose aesthetic sense was not noticeablydeveloped. "you clutter up your room entirely too muchwith out-of-doors stuff, anne. bedrooms were made to sleep in.""oh, and dream in too, marilla. and you know one can dream so much betterin a room where there are pretty things. i'm going to put these boughs in the oldblue jug and set them on my table."

"mind you don't drop leaves all over thestairs then. i'm going on a meeting of the aid societyat carmody this afternoon, anne, and i won't likely be home before dark. you'll have to get matthew and jerry theirsupper, so mind you don't forget to put the tea to draw until you sit down at the tableas you did last time." "it was dreadful of me to forget," saidanne apologetically, "but that was the afternoon i was trying to think of a namefor violet vale and it crowded other things out. matthew was so good.he never scolded a bit.

he put the tea down himself and said wecould wait awhile as well as not. and i told him a lovely fairy story whilewe were waiting, so he didn't find the time long at all.it was a beautiful fairy story, marilla. i forgot the end of it, so i made up an endfor it myself and matthew said he couldn't tell where the join came in." "matthew would think it all right, anne, ifyou took a notion to get up and have dinner in the middle of the night.but you keep your wits about you this time. and--i don't really know if i'm doingright--it may make you more addlepated than ever--but you can ask diana to come overand spend the afternoon with you and have

tea here." "oh, marilla!"anne clasped her hands. "how perfectly lovely! you are able to imagine things after all orelse you'd never have understood how i've longed for that very thing.it will seem so nice and grown-uppish. no fear of my forgetting to put the tea todraw when i have company. oh, marilla, can i use the rosebud spraytea set?" "no, indeed! the rosebud tea set!well, what next?

you know i never use that except for theminister or the aids. you'll put down the old brown tea set. but you can open the little yellow crock ofcherry preserves. it's time it was being used anyhow--ibelieve it's beginning to work. and you can cut some fruit cake and havesome of the cookies and snaps." "i can just imagine myself sitting down atthe head of the table and pouring out the tea," said anne, shutting her eyesecstatically. "and asking diana if she takes sugar! i know she doesn't but of course i'll askher just as if i didn't know.

and then pressing her to take another pieceof fruit cake and another helping of preserves. oh, marilla, it's a wonderful sensationjust to think of it. can i take her into the spare room to layoff her hat when she comes? and then into the parlor to sit?" "no.the sitting room will do for you and your company. but there's a bottle half full of raspberrycordial that was left over from the church social the other night.

it's on the second shelf of the sitting-room closet and you and diana can have it if you like, and a cooky to eat with italong in the afternoon, for i daresay matthew'll be late coming in to tea sincehe's hauling potatoes to the vessel." anne flew down to the hollow, past thedryad's bubble and up the spruce path to orchard slope, to ask diana to tea. as a result just after marilla had drivenoff to carmody, diana came over, dressed in her second-best dress and looking exactlyas it is proper to look when asked out to tea. at other times she was wont to run into thekitchen without knocking; but now she

knocked primly at the front door. and when anne, dressed in her second best,as primly opened it, both little girls shook hands as gravely as if they had nevermet before. this unnatural solemnity lasted until afterdiana had been taken to the east gable to lay off her hat and then had sat for tenminutes in the sitting room, toes in position. "how is your mother?" inquired annepolitely, just as if she had not seen mrs. barry picking apples that morning inexcellent health and spirits. "she is very well, thank you.

i suppose mr. cuthbert is hauling potatoesto the lily sands this afternoon, is he?" said diana, who had ridden down to mr.harmon andrews's that morning in matthew's cart. "yes.our potato crop is very good this year. i hope your father's crop is good too.""it is fairly good, thank you. have you picked many of your apples yet?" "oh, ever so many," said anne forgetting tobe dignified and jumping up quickly. "let's go out to the orchard and get someof the red sweetings, diana. marilla says we can have all that are lefton the tree.

marilla is a very generous woman.she said we could have fruit cake and cherry preserves for tea. but it isn't good manners to tell yourcompany what you are going to give them to eat, so i won't tell you what she said wecould have to drink. only it begins with an r and a c and it'sbright red color. i love bright red drinks, don't you?they taste twice as good as any other color." the orchard, with its great sweeping boughsthat bent to the ground with fruit, proved so delightful that the little girls spentmost of the afternoon in it, sitting in a

grassy corner where the frost had spared the green and the mellow autumn sunshinelingered warmly, eating apples and talking as hard as they could.diana had much to tell anne of what went on in school. she had to sit with gertie pye and shehated it; gertie squeaked her pencil all the time and it just made her--diana's--blood run cold; ruby gillis had charmed all her warts away, true's you live, with a magic pebble that old mary joe from thecreek gave her. you had to rub the warts with the pebbleand then throw it away over your left

shoulder at the time of the new moon andthe warts would all go. charlie sloane's name was written up withem white's on the porch wall and em white was awful mad about it; sam boulter had"sassed" mr. phillips in class and mr. phillips whipped him and sam's father came down to the school and dared mr. phillipsto lay a hand on one of his children again; and mattie andrews had a new red hood and ablue crossover with tassels on it and the airs she put on about it were perfectly sickening; and lizzie wright didn't speakto mamie wilson because mamie wilson's grown-up sister had cut out lizzie wright'sgrown-up sister with her beau; and

everybody missed anne so and wished she'scome to school again; and gilbert blythe-- but anne didn't want to hear about gilbertblythe. she jumped up hurriedly and said supposethey go in and have some raspberry cordial. anne looked on the second shelf of the roompantry but there was no bottle of raspberry cordial there. search revealed it away back on the topshelf. anne put it on a tray and set it on thetable with a tumbler. "now, please help yourself, diana," shesaid politely. "i don't believe i'll have any just now.i don't feel as if i wanted any after all

those apples." diana poured herself out a tumblerful,looked at its bright-red hue admiringly, and then sipped it daintily."that's awfully nice raspberry cordial, anne," she said. "i didn't know raspberry cordial was sonice." "i'm real glad you like it.take as much as you want. i'm going to run out and stir the fire up. there are so many responsibilities on aperson's mind when they're keeping house, isn't there?"

when anne came back from the kitchen dianawas drinking her second glassful of cordial; and, being entreated thereto byanne, she offered no particular objection to the drinking of a third. the tumblerfuls were generous ones and theraspberry cordial was certainly very nice. "the nicest i ever drank," said diana."it's ever so much nicer than mrs. lynde's, although she brags of hers so much. it doesn't taste a bit like hers.""i should think marilla's raspberry cordial would prob'ly be much nicer than mrs.lynde's," said anne loyally. "marilla is a famous cook.

she is trying to teach me to cook but iassure you, diana, it is uphill work. there's so little scope for imagination incookery. you just have to go by rules. the last time i made a cake i forgot to putthe flour in. i was thinking the loveliest story aboutyou and me, diana. i thought you were desperately ill withsmallpox and everybody deserted you, but i went boldly to your bedside and nursed youback to life; and then i took the smallpox and died and i was buried under those poplar trees in the graveyard and youplanted a rosebush by my grave and watered

it with your tears; and you never, neverforgot the friend of your youth who sacrificed her life for you. oh, it was such a pathetic tale, diana.the tears just rained down over my cheeks while i mixed the cake.but i forgot the flour and the cake was a dismal failure. flour is so essential to cakes, you know.marilla was very cross and i don't wonder. i'm a great trial to her.she was terribly mortified about the pudding sauce last week. we had a plum pudding for dinner on tuesdayand there was half the pudding and a

pitcherful of sauce left over. marilla said there was enough for anotherdinner and told me to set it on the pantry shelf and cover it. i meant to cover it just as much as couldbe, diana, but when i carried it in i was imagining i was a nun--of course i'm aprotestant but i imagined i was a catholic- -taking the veil to bury a broken heart in cloistered seclusion; and i forgot allabout covering the pudding sauce. i thought of it next morning and ran to thepantry. diana, fancy if you can my extreme horrorat finding a mouse drowned in that pudding

sauce! i lifted the mouse out with a spoon andthrew it out in the yard and then i washed the spoon in three waters. marilla was out milking and i fullyintended to ask her when she came in if i'd give the sauce to the pigs; but when shedid come in i was imagining that i was a frost fairy going through the woods turning the trees red and yellow, whichever theywanted to be, so i never thought about the pudding sauce again and marilla sent me outto pick apples. well, mr. and mrs. chester ross fromspencervale came here that morning.

you know they are very stylish people,especially mrs. chester ross. when marilla called me in dinner was allready and everybody was at the table. i tried to be as polite and dignified as icould be, for i wanted mrs. chester ross to think i was a ladylike little girl even ifi wasn't pretty. everything went right until i saw marillacoming with the plum pudding in one hand and the pitcher of pudding sauce warmed up,in the other. diana, that was a terrible moment. i remembered everything and i just stood upin my place and shrieked out 'marilla, you mustn't use that pudding sauce.there was a mouse drowned in it.

i forgot to tell you before.' oh, diana, i shall never forget that awfulmoment if i live to be a hundred. mrs. chester ross just looked at me and ithought i would sink through the floor with mortification. she is such a perfect housekeeper and fancywhat she must have thought of us. marilla turned red as fire but she neversaid a word--then. she just carried that sauce and pudding outand brought in some strawberry preserves. she even offered me some, but i couldn'tswallow a mouthful. it was like heaping coals of fire on myhead.

after mrs. chester ross went away, marillagave me a dreadful scolding. why, diana, what is the matter?" diana had stood up very unsteadily; thenshe sat down again, putting her hands to her head."i'm--i'm awful sick," she said, a little thickly. "i--i--must go right home.""oh, you mustn't dream of going home without your tea," cried anne in distress."i'll get it right off--i'll go and put the tea down this very minute." "i must go home," repeated diana, stupidlybut determinedly.

"let me get you a lunch anyhow," imploredanne. "let me give you a bit of fruit cake andsome of the cherry preserves. lie down on the sofa for a little while andyou'll be better. where do you feel bad?" "i must go home," said diana, and that wasall she would say. in vain anne pleaded."i never heard of company going home without tea," she mourned. "oh, diana, do you suppose that it'spossible you're really taking the smallpox? if you are i'll go and nurse you, you candepend on that.

i'll never forsake you. but i do wish you'd stay till after tea.where do you feel bad?" "i'm awful dizzy," said diana.and indeed, she walked very dizzily. anne, with tears of disappointment in hereyes, got diana's hat and went with her as far as the barry yard fence. then she wept all the way back to greengables, where she sorrowfully put the remainder of the raspberry cordial backinto the pantry and got tea ready for matthew and jerry, with all the zest goneout of the performance. the next day was sunday and as the rainpoured down in torrents from dawn till dusk

anne did not stir abroad from green gables. monday afternoon marilla sent her down tomrs. lynde's on an errand. in a very short space of time anne cameflying back up the lane with tears rolling down her cheeks. into the kitchen she dashed and flungherself face downward on the sofa in an agony."whatever has gone wrong now, anne?" queried marilla in doubt and dismay. "i do hope you haven't gone and been saucyto mrs. lynde again." no answer from anne save more tears andstormier sobs!

"anne shirley, when i ask you a question iwant to be answered. sit right up this very minute and tell mewhat you are crying about." anne sat up, tragedy personified. "mrs. lynde was up to see mrs. barry todayand mrs. barry was in an awful state," she wailed. "she says that i set diana drunk saturdayand sent her home in a disgraceful condition. and she says i must be a thoroughly bad,wicked little girl and she's never, never going to let diana play with me again.oh, marilla, i'm just overcome with woe."

marilla stared in blank amazement. "set diana drunk!" she said when she foundher voice. "anne are you or mrs. barry crazy?what on earth did you give her?" "not a thing but raspberry cordial," sobbedanne. "i never thought raspberry cordial wouldset people drunk, marilla--not even if they drank three big tumblerfuls as diana did. oh, it sounds so--so--like mrs. thomas'shusband! but i didn't mean to set her drunk.""drunk fiddlesticks!" said marilla, marching to the sitting room pantry.

there on the shelf was a bottle which sheat once recognized as one containing some of her three-year-old homemade currant winefor which she was celebrated in avonlea, although certain of the stricter sort, mrs. barry among them, disapproved strongly ofit. and at the same time marilla recollectedthat she had put the bottle of raspberry cordial down in the cellar instead of inthe pantry as she had told anne. she went back to the kitchen with the winebottle in her hand. her face was twitching in spite of herself."anne, you certainly have a genius for getting into trouble.

you went and gave diana currant wineinstead of raspberry cordial. didn't you know the difference yourself?""i never tasted it," said anne. "i thought it was the cordial. i meant to be so--so--hospitable.diana got awfully sick and had to go home. mrs. barry told mrs. lynde she was simplydead drunk. she just laughed silly-like when her motherasked her what was the matter and went to sleep and slept for hours.her mother smelled her breath and knew she was drunk. she had a fearful headache all dayyesterday.

mrs. barry is so indignant.she will never believe but what i did it on purpose." "i should think she would better punishdiana for being so greedy as to drink three glassfuls of anything," said marillashortly. "why, three of those big glasses would havemade her sick even if it had only been cordial. well, this story will be a nice handle forthose folks who are so down on me for making currant wine, although i haven'tmade any for three years ever since i found out that the minister didn't approve.

i just kept that bottle for sickness.there, there, child, don't cry. i can't see as you were to blame althoughi'm sorry it happened so." "i must cry," said anne. "my heart is broken.the stars in their courses fight against me, marilla.diana and i are parted forever. oh, marilla, i little dreamed of this whenfirst we swore our vows of friendship." "don't be foolish, anne.mrs. barry will think better of it when she finds you're not to blame. i suppose she thinks you've done it for asilly joke or something of that sort.

you'd best go up this evening and tell herhow it was." "my courage fails me at the thought offacing diana's injured mother," sighed anne."i wish you'd go, marilla. you're so much more dignified than i am. likely she'd listen to you quicker than tome." "well, i will," said marilla, reflectingthat it would probably be the wiser course. "don't cry any more, anne. it will be all right."marilla had changed her mind about it being all right by the time she got back fromorchard slope.

anne was watching for her coming and flewto the porch door to meet her. "oh, marilla, i know by your face that it'sbeen no use," she said sorrowfully. "mrs. barry won't forgive me?" "mrs. barry indeed!" snapped marilla."of all the unreasonable women i ever saw she's the worst. i told her it was all a mistake and youweren't to blame, but she just simply didn't believe me. and she rubbed it well in about my currantwine and how i'd always said it couldn't have the least effect on anybody.

i just told her plainly that currant winewasn't meant to be drunk three tumblerfuls at a time and that if a child i had to dowith was so greedy i'd sober her up with a right good spanking." marilla whisked into the kitchen,grievously disturbed, leaving a very much distracted little soul in the porch behindher. presently anne stepped out bareheaded intothe chill autumn dusk; very determinedly and steadily she took her way down throughthe sere clover field over the log bridge and up through the spruce grove, lighted by a pale little moon hanging low over thewestern woods.

mrs. barry, coming to the door in answer toa timid knock, found a white-lipped eager- eyed suppliant on the doorstep. her face hardened.mrs. barry was a woman of strong prejudices and dislikes, and her anger was of thecold, sullen sort which is always hardest to overcome. to do her justice, she really believed annehad made diana drunk out of sheer malice prepense, and she was honestly anxious topreserve her little daughter from the contamination of further intimacy with sucha child. "what do you want?" she said stiffly.anne clasped her hands.

"oh, mrs. barry, please forgive me. i did not mean to--to--intoxicate diana.how could i? just imagine if you were a poor littleorphan girl that kind people had adopted and you had just one bosom friend in allthe world. do you think you would intoxicate her onpurpose? i thought it was only raspberry cordial.i was firmly convinced it was raspberry oh, please don't say that you won't letdiana play with me any more. if you do you will cover my life with adark cloud of woe." this speech which would have softened goodmrs. lynde's heart in a twinkling, had no

effect on mrs. barry except to irritate herstill more. she was suspicious of anne's big words anddramatic gestures and imagined that the child was making fun of her.so she said, coldly and cruelly: "i don't think you are a fit little girlfor diana to associate with. you'd better go home and behave yourself."anne's lips quivered. "won't you let me see diana just once tosay farewell?" she implored. "diana has gone over to carmody with herfather," said mrs. barry, going in and shutting the door. anne went back to green gables calm withdespair.

"my last hope is gone," she told marilla."i went up and saw mrs. barry myself and she treated me very insultingly. marilla, i do not think she is a well-bredwoman. there is nothing more to do except to prayand i haven't much hope that that'll do much good because, marilla, i do notbelieve that god himself can do very much with such an obstinate person as mrs.barry." "anne, you shouldn't say such things"rebuked marilla, striving to overcome that unholy tendency to laughter which she wasdismayed to find growing upon her. and indeed, when she told the whole storyto matthew that night, she did laugh

heartily over anne's tribulations. but when she slipped into the east gablebefore going to bed and found that anne had cried herself to sleep an unaccustomedsoftness crept into her face. "poor little soul," she murmured, lifting aloose curl of hair from the child's tear- stained face.then she bent down and kissed the flushed cheek on the pillow.

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