Just then, Mary asked Rollo to go into the house and get a sheet of paper for the secretary; and when he came back, Lucy asked her what she should write. Mary gave her the necessary directions, and then Lucy went to the bench, and standing there, near the president's chair, she went on writing the record, while the rest of the society proceeded with their business. The next thing was to choose a cabinet keeper.
"You may prepare your votes for cabinet keeper."
"I think Jonas would be the best cabinet keeper," said Henry; "he made the cabinet."
"O, Jonas does not belong to the society," said Rollo.
"But we can let him in," said Lucy.
"No, he can't belong to the society," said Rollo; "he has too much work to do."
The fact was, that Rollo wanted to be cabinet keeper himself, and so he was opposed to any arrangement which would be likely to result in the election of Jonas. But Mary said that it was not necessary that any one should be a member of the society, in order to be chosen cabinet keeper. She said he might be chosen, if the children thought best, even if he was not a member. "But then," said she, "you must consider all the circumstances, and vote for the one who, you honestly think, will take the best care of the curiosities, and arrange them best."
The children then wrote their ballots, and brought them to Mary. Mary asked Lucy to count them. Lucy said she had not written her vote herself yet.
"Well, write it quick then," said Mary.
"But I can't think," said Lucy, "whether I had better vote for Jonas or Rollo."
"Well," said Mary, "you have only to consider whether it will be best for the museum to be in Jonas's hands, or in Rollo's."
"But I have been thinking," said Lucy, "that it is all Rollo's plan, and his museum; and that he ought to be cabinet keeper, if he wants to be."
"There is something in that," said Mary; "though generally, in choosing officers, we ought to act for the good of the society, not for the good of the officers."
"But it is my cabinet," said Rollo; "Jonas made it for me."
"That may be," said Mary; "that is, it may have been yours at the beginning; but when you invite us all to come and form a society, you give up your claim to it, and it comes to belong to the society; at any rate, the right to manage it belongs to the society, and we must do what will be best for the whole."
Rollo did not look very much pleased at these remarks of his sister's; but Lucy immediately wrote her vote, and put it with the others. She then examined and counted them, and immediately afterwards, she said there were three votes for Jonas, and one for Rollo. So Jonas was chosen. The children did not know who wrote the vote which was given for Rollo; but the fact was, he wrote it himself. He wanted to be cabinet keeper very much indeed.
CAUGHT,-AND GONE AGAIN.
Rollo was sadly disappointed at not being chosen cabinet keeper. Older and wiser persons than he have often been greatly vexed from similar causes. When the society meeting was ended, Mary told Lucy that she must tell Jonas that they had chosen him cabinet keeper, for she was secretary, and it was the secretary's duty to do that. Mary then went into the house. The children gathered around the cabinet, and began to look at the things which had been put in the day before. Rollo undertook to arrange one of the shelves differently from what it had been; but Henry told him he must not touch the things, for Jonas was cabinet keeper, and nobody but the cabinet keeper had any right to touch the things.
"O, I am only going to change them a little," said Rollo.
"But you have no right to touch them at all," said Henry, pushing Rollo back a little.
"Yes, I have," said Rollo, standing stiffly, and resisting Henry's push. "It's my cabinet, and I have a right to do what I please with it."
"No, it is not your cabinet," said Henry; "it belongs to the society."
"No, it doesn't," said Rollo.
"It does," said Henry.
Rollo was wrong-and, in fact, Henry was wrong. In disputes, it almost always happens that both boys are wrong. Lucy stood by, looking distressed. She was very sorry to have any disputing about the cabinet.
"O, never mind, Henry," said she; "let him move them. Jonas will put them all right afterwards."
"No," said Rollo, "I am going to keep the cabinet myself."
This was not at all like Rollo, to be so unreasonable and angry. But Henry's roughness had irritated and vexed him, and that, in connection with his own determination to keep the charge of his cabinet, had got him into a very wrong state of mind.
Lucy did not know what to do. She walked slowly along to the door, and after standing there a moment, while Rollo was at work upon the cabinet, she said,
"O, here comes Jonas, now."
James and Henry ran to the door, and, as they saw Jonas walking up the lane, they ran towards him, followed by Lucy, and they all began eagerly to tell him about the society, and about his having been chosen cabinet keeper. Lucy came up to them before they had finished their account; and as they had all turned round when they met Jonas, they came walking along together towards the house. James and Henry talked very fast and eagerly. They told Jonas about the society, and about their having chosen Mary president, and Lucy secretary, and him cabinet keeper. When they had finished their account, Lucy added, in a desponding tone,
"Only Rollo says he means to be cabinet keeper."
"Does he?" said Jonas.
"Yes," replied Henry. "He says you made the cabinet for him, and he will have it."
"O, well," said Jonas, "let him be cabinet keeper; he will make a very good cabinet keeper."
"No," said James, "we want you to be cabinet keeper. We chose you."
They saw Rollo at the door of the barn, looking at them, but not very good-naturedly. When they came up, Lucy said,
"Come, Rollo, let Jonas be cabinet keeper; that's a good boy."
"No," said Rollo, "it's my cabinet, and I mean to keep it myself."
"Then we won't help you get the curiosities," said Henry.
"I don't care," said Rollo.
"And we won't have any society," added James,-thinking that that threat would compel Rollo to give up.
But Rollo only said,
"I don't care; I don't want any society. I can make a museum myself."
There is no doubt, but that many of the readers of this book will wonder that Rollo should have acted in this manner. And yet they themselves act in just such a way when they allow themselves to get out of temper. It is very dangerous to allow ourselves to become vexed and angry. We then do and say the most unreasonable things, without being aware, ourselves, of their unreasonableness and folly. Rollo himself did not know how his conduct appeared to the other children, and how it sunk him in their good opinion.
Rollo would have had a miserable time in attempting to make a collection of curiosities alone. He would very soon have got tired of it, and have abandoned the plan altogether. It happened, however, that some circumstances occurred to prevent the consequences that his ill humor and obstinacy came so near occasioning.
Henry and James, finding that Rollo would not give up the cabinet to Jonas's care, considered the plan of the society abandoned, and went to play in the yard. Lucy went into the house to find her cousin Mary. Rollo remained at the cabinet for some time, but he found it very dull amusement to work there alone; besides, he heard the other boys' voices out in the yard, and before long he began to feel a strong desire to go and see what they were doing. He accordingly went to the door of the barn. He saw that Henry and James had got a log of wood out, and had placed a board across it, for a see-saw. Rollo slowly walked along towards them.
Henry saw him gradually approaching, and so he whispered, or rather spoke in a low tone to James, saying,
"Here comes Rollo, James; don't let's let him get on our see-saw."