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diff --git a/5066-h/5066-h.htm b/5066-h/5066-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..11b588f --- /dev/null +++ b/5066-h/5066-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,8791 @@ +<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> + +<!DOCTYPE html + PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd" > + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en"> + <head> + <title> + The Whole Family, by William Dean Howells, et al. + </title> + <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve"> + + body { margin:5%; background:#faebd7; text-align:justify} + P { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: .25em; margin-bottom: .25em; } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; } + hr { width: 50%; text-align: center;} + .foot { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -3em; font-size: 90%; } + blockquote {font-size: 97%; font-style: italic; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} + .mynote {background-color: #DDE; color: #000; padding: .5em; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 95%;} + .toc { margin-left: 10%; margin-bottom: .75em;} + .toc2 { margin-left: 20%;} + div.fig { display:block; margin:0 auto; text-align:center; } + .figleft {float: left; margin-left: 0%; margin-right: 1%;} + .figright {float: right; margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 1%;} + pre { font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;} + +</style> + </head> + <body> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Whole Family, by William Dean +Howells, Mary E. Wilkins Freeman, Mary Heaton Vorse, Mary Stewart +Cutting, Elizabeth Jordan, John Kendrick Bangs, Henry James, Elizabeth +Stuart Phelps, Edith Wyatt, Mary Raymond Shipman Andrews, Alice Brown, +Henry Van Dyke + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Whole Family + A Novel by Twelve Authors + +Author: William Dean Howells, Mary E. Wilkins Freeman, Mary Heaton +Vorse, Mary Stewart Cutting, Elizabeth Jordan, John Kendrick Bangs, +Henry James, Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, Edith Wyatt, Mary Raymond Shipman +Andrews, Alice Brown, Henry Van Dyke + +Release Date: June 13, 2009 [EBook #5066] +Last Updated: February 25, 2018 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE WHOLE FAMILY *** + + + + +Produced by Dianne Bean, and David Widger + + + + + + +</pre> + + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <h1> + THE WHOLE FAMILY, + </h1> + <h3> + A NOVEL BY TWELVE AUTHORS + </h3> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <h3> +By William Dean Howells, Mary E. Wilkins Freeman, <br /> Mary Heaton +Vorse, Mary Stewart Cutting, Elizabeth Jordan, <br /> John Kendrick +Bangs, Henry James, Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, <br /> Edith Wyatt, Mary +Raymond Shipman Andrews, Alice Brown, Henry Van Dyke + </h3> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + +<div class="fig" style="width:50%;"> <img src="images/{0001}.jpg" alt="{0001}" width="100%" /><br /> </div> <h5> <a href="images/{0001}.jpg"> <img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a> </h5> +<div class="fig" style="width:50%;"> <img src="images/{0006}.jpg" alt="{0006}" width="100%" /><br /> </div> <h5> <a href="images/{0006}.jpg"> <img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a> </h5> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <blockquote> + <p class="toc"> + <big><b>CONTENTS</b></big> + </p> + <p> + <br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0001"> I. </a>THE FATHER, by William Dean + Howells <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0002"> II. </a>THE OLD-MAID AUNT, + by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0003"> III. + </a>THE GRANDMOTHER, by Mary Heaton Vorse <br /><br /> <a + href="#link2H_4_0004"> IV. </a>THE DAUGHTER-IN-LAW, by Mary Stewart + Cutting <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0005"> V. </a>THE SCHOOL-GIRL, by + Elizabeth Jordan <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0006"> VI. </a>THE + SON-IN-LAW, by John Kendrick Bangs <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0007"> + VII. </a>THE MARRIED SON, by Henry James <br /><br /> <a + href="#link2H_4_0008"> VIII. </a>THE MARRIED DAUGHTER, + By Elizabeth Stuart Phelps <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0009"> IX. </a>THE + MOTHER, by Edith Wyatt <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0010"> X. </a>THE + SCHOOL-BOY, By Mary Raymond Shipman Andrews <br /><br /> <a + href="#link2H_4_0011"> XI. </a>PEGGY, by Alice Brown <br /><br /> <a + href="#link2H_4_0012"> XII. </a>THE FRIEND OF THE FAMILY, by Henry Van + Dyke <br /><br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h1> + THE WHOLE FAMILY + </h1> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0001" id="link2H_4_0001"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + I. THE FATHER, by William Dean Howells + </h2> + <p> + As soon as we heard the pleasant news—I suppose the news of an + engagement ought always to be called pleasant—it was decided that I + ought to speak first about it, and speak to the father. We had not been a + great while in the neighborhood, and it would look less like a bid for the + familiar acquaintance of people living on a larger scale than ourselves, + and less of an opening for our own intimacy if they turned out to be not + quite so desirable in other ways as they were in the worldly way. For the + ladies of the respective families first to offer and receive + congratulations would be very much more committing on both sides; at the + same time, to avoid the appearance of stiffness, some one ought to speak, + and speak promptly. The news had not come to us directly from our + neighbors, but authoritatively from a friend of theirs, who was also a + friend of ours, and we could not very well hold back. So, in the cool of + the early evening, when I had quite finished rasping my lawn with the new + mower, I left it at the end of the swath, which had brought me near the + fence, and said across it, + </p> + <p> + “Good-evening!” + </p> + <p> + My neighbor turned from making his man pour a pail of water on the earth + round a freshly planted tree, and said, “Oh, good-evening! How d'ye do? + Glad to see you!” and offered his hand over the low coping so cordially + that I felt warranted in holding it a moment. + </p> + <p> + “I hope it's in order for me to say how very much my wife and I are + interested in the news we've heard about one of your daughters? May I + offer our best wishes for her happiness?” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, thank you,” my neighbor said. “You're very good indeed. Yes, it's + rather exciting—for us. I guess that's all for to-night, Al,” he + said, in dismissal of his man, before turning to lay his arms comfortably + on the fence top. Then he laughed, before he added, to me, “And rather + surprising, too.” + </p> + <p> + “Those things are always rather surprising, aren't they?” I suggested. + </p> + <p> + “Well, yes, I suppose they are. It oughtn't be so in our case, though, as + we've been through it twice before: once with my son—he oughtn't to + have counted, but he did—and once with my eldest daughter. Yes, you + might say you never do quite expect it, though everybody else does. Then, + in this case, she was the baby so long, that we always thought of her as a + little girl. Yes, she's kept on being the pet, I guess, and we couldn't + realize what was in the air.” + </p> + <p> + I had thought, from the first sight of him, that there was something very + charming in my neighbor's looks. He had a large, round head, which had + once been red, but was now a russet silvered, and was not too large for + his manly frame, swaying amply outward, but not too amply, at the girth. + He had blue, kind eyes, and a face fully freckled, and the girl he was + speaking of with a tenderness in his tones rather than his words, was a + young feminine copy of him; only, her head was little, under its load of + red hair, and her figure, which we had lately noticed flitting in and out, + as with a shy consciousness of being stared at on account of her + engagement, was as light as his was heavy on its feet. + </p> + <p> + I said, “Naturally,” and he seemed glad of the chance to laugh again. + </p> + <p> + “Well, of course! And her being away at school made it all the more so. If + we'd had her under our eye, here—Well, we shouldn't have had her + under our eye if she had BEEN here; or if we had, we shouldn't have seen + what was going on; at least <i>I</i> shouldn't; maybe her mother would. So + it's just as well it happened as it did happen, I guess. We shouldn't have + been any the wiser if we'd known all about it.” I joined him in his laugh + at his paradox, and he began again. “What's that about being the + unexpected that happens? I guess what happens is what ought to have been + expected. We might have known when we let her go to a coeducational + college that we were taking a risk of losing her; but we lost our other + daughter that way, and SHE never went to ANY kind of college. I guess we + counted the chances before we let her go. What's the use? Of course we + did, and I remember saying to my wife, who's more anxious than I am about + most things—women are, I guess—that if the worst came to the + worst, it might not be such a bad thing. I always thought it wasn't such + an objectionable feature, in the coeducational system, if the young people + did get acquainted under it, and maybe so well acquainted that they didn't + want to part enemies in the end. I said to my wife that I didn't see how, + if a girl was going to get married, she could have a better basis than + knowing the fellow through three or four years' hard work together. When + you think of the sort of hit-or-miss affairs most marriages are that young + people make after a few parties and picnics, coeducation as a preliminary + to domestic happiness doesn't seem a bad notion.” + </p> + <p> + “There's something in what you say,” I assented. + </p> + <p> + “Of course there is,” my neighbor insisted. “I couldn't help laughing, + though,” and he laughed, as if to show how helpless he had been, “at what + my wife said. She said she guessed if it came to that they would get to + know more of each other's looks than they did of their minds. She had me + there, but I don't think my girl has made out so very poorly even as far + as books are concerned.” + </p> + <p> + Upon this invitation to praise her, I ventured to say, “A young lady of + Miss Talbert's looks doesn't need much help from books.” + </p> + <p> + I could see that what I had said pleased him to the core, though he put on + a frown of disclaimer in replying, “I don't know about her looks. She's a + GOOD girl, though, and that's the main thing, I guess.” + </p> + <p> + “For her father, yes, but other people don't mind her being pretty,” I + persisted. “My wife says when Miss Talbert comes out into the garden, the + other flowers have no chance.” + </p> + <p> + “Good for Mrs. Temple!” my neighbor shouted, joyously giving himself away. + </p> + <p> + I have always noticed that when you praise a girl's beauty to her father, + though he makes a point of turning it off in the direction of her + goodness, he likes so well to believe she is pretty that he cannot hold + out against any persistence in the admirer of her beauty. My neighbor now + said with the effect of tasting a peculiar sweetness in my words, “I guess + I shall have to tell my wife, that.” Then he added, with a rush of + hospitality, “Won't you come in and tell her yourself?” + </p> + <p> + “Not now, thank you. It's about our tea-time.” + </p> + <p> + “Glad it isn't your DINNER-time!” he said, heartily. + </p> + <p> + “Well, yes. We don't see the sense of dining late in a place like this. + The fact is, we're both village-bred, and we like the mid-day dinner. We + make rather a high tea, though.” + </p> + <p> + “So do we. I always want a dish of something hot. My wife thinks cake is + light, but I think meat is.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, cake is the New England superstition,” I observed. “And I suppose + York State, too.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, more than pie is,” he agreed. “For supper, anyway. You may have pie + at any or all of the three meals, but you have GOT to have cake at tea, if + you are anybody at all. In the place where my wife lived, a woman's social + standing was measured by the number of kinds of cake she had.” + </p> + <p> + We laughed at that, too, and then there came a little interval and I said, + “Your place is looking fine.” + </p> + <p> + He turned his head and gave it a comprehensive stare. “Yes, it is,” he + admitted. “They tell me it's an ugly old house, and I guess if my girls, + counting my daughter-in-law, had their way, they would have that French + roof off, and something Georgian—that's what they call it—on, + about as quick as the carpenter could do it. They want a kind of classic + front, with pillars and a pediment; or more the Mount Vernon style, body + yellow, with white trim. They call it Georgian after Washington?” This was + obviously a joke. + </p> + <p> + “No, I believe it was another George, or four others. But I don't wonder + you want to keep your house as it is. It expresses something + characteristic.” I saved myself by forbearing to say it was handsome. It + was, in fact, a vast, gray-green wooden edifice, with a mansard-roof cut + up into many angles, tipped at the gables with rockets and finials, and + with a square tower in front, ending in a sort of lookout at the top, with + a fence of iron filigree round it. The taste of 1875 could not go further; + it must have cost a heap of money in the depreciated paper of the day. + </p> + <p> + I suggested something of the kind to my neighbor, and he laughed. “I guess + it cost all we had at the time. We had been saving along up, and in those + days it used to be thought that the best investment you could make was to + put your money in a house of your own. That's what we did, anyway. I had + just got to be superintendent of the Works, and I don't say but what we + felt my position a little. Well, we felt it more than we did when I got to + be owner.” He laughed in good-humored self-satire. “My wife used to say we + wanted a large house so as to have it big enough to hold me, when I was + feeling my best, and we built the largest we could for all the money we + had. She had a plan of her own, which she took partly from the house of a + girl friend of hers where she had been visiting, and we got a builder to + carry out her idea. We did have some talk about an architect, but the + builder said he didn't want any architect bothering around HIM, and I + don't know as SHE did, either. Her idea was plenty of chambers and plenty + of room in them, and two big parlors one side of the front door, and a + library and dining-room on the other; kitchen in the L part, and girl's + room over that; wide front hall, and black-walnut finish all through the + first floor. It was considered the best house at the time in Eastridge, + and I guess it was. But now, I don't say but what it's old-fashioned. I + have to own up to that with the girls, but I tell them so are we, and that + seems to make it all right for a while. I guess we sha'n't change.” + </p> + <p> + He continued to stare at the simple-hearted edifice, so simple-hearted in + its out-dated pretentiousness, and then he turned and leaned over the top + of the fence where he had left his arms lying, while contemplating the + early monument of his success. In making my journalistic study, more or + less involuntary, of Eastridge, I had put him down as materially the first + man of the place; I might have gone farther and put him down as the first + man intellectually. We folk who have to do more constantly with reading + and writing are apt to think that the other folk who have more to do with + making and marketing have not so much mind, but I fancy we make a mistake + in that now and then. It is only another kind of mind which they have + quite as much of as we have of ours. It was intellectual force that built + up the Plated-Ware Works of Eastridge, where there was no other reason for + their being, and it was mental grip that held constantly to the + management, and finally grasped the ownership. Nobody ever said that + Talbert had come unfairly into that, or that he had misused his money in + buying men after he began to come into it in quantity. He was felt in a + great many ways, though he made something of a point of not being + prominent in politics, after being president of the village two terms. The + minister of his church was certainly such a preacher as he liked; and + nothing was done in the church society without him; he gave the town a + library building, and a soldier's monument; he was foremost in getting the + water brought in, which was natural enough since he needed it the most; he + took a great interest in school matters, and had a fight to keep himself + off the board of education; he went into his pocket for village + improvements whenever he was asked, and he was the chief contributor to + the public fountain under the big elm. If he carefully, or even jealously + guarded his own interests, and held the leading law firm in the hollow of + his hand, he was not oppressive, to the general knowledge. He was a + despot, perhaps, but he was Blackstone's ideal of the head of a state, a + good despot. In all his family relations he was of the exemplary + perfection which most other men attain only on their tombstones, and I had + found him the best of neighbors. There were some shadows of diffidence + between the ladies of our families, mainly on the part of my wife, but + none between Talbert and me. He showed me, as a newspaper man with ideals + if not abilities rather above the average, a deference which pleased my + wife, even more than me. + </p> + <p> + It was the married daughter whom she most feared might, if occasion + offered, give herself more consequence than her due. She had tried to rule + her own family while in her father's house, and now though she had a house + of her own, my wife believed that she had not wholly relinquished her + dominion there. Her husband was the junior member of the law firm which + Talbert kept in his pay, to the exclusion of most other clients, and he + was a very good fellow, so far as I knew, with the modern conception of + his profession which, in our smaller towns and cities, has resulted in + corporation lawyers and criminal lawyers, and has left to a few aging + attorneys the faded traditions and the scanty affairs of the profession. + My wife does not mind his standing somewhat in awe of his father-in-law, + but she thinks poorly of his spirit in relation to that managing girl he + has married. Talbert's son is in the business with him, and will probably + succeed him in it; but it is well known in the place that he will never be + the man his father is, not merely on account of his college education, but + also on account of the easy temperament, which if he had indulged it to + the full would have left him no better than some kind of artist. As it is, + he seems to leave all the push to his father; he still does some sketching + outside, and putters over the aesthetic details in the business, the new + designs for the plated ware, and the illustrated catalogues which the + house publishes every year; I am in hopes that we shall get the printing, + after we have got the facilities. It would be all right with the young man + in the opinion of his censors if he had married a different kind of woman, + but young Mrs. Talbert is popularly held just such another as her husband, + and easy-going to the last degree. She was two or three years at the Art + Students' League, and it was there that her husband met her before they + both decided to give up painting and get married. + </p> + <p> + The two youngest children, or the fall chickens as they are called in + recognition of the wide interval between their ages and those of the other + children, are probably of the indeterminate character proper to their + years. We think the girl rather inclines to a hauteur based upon the + general neglect of that quality in the family, where even the eldest + sister is too much engaged in ruling to have much force left for snubbing. + The child carries herself with a vague loftiness, which has apparently not + awaited the moment of long skirts for keeping pretenders to her favor at a + distance. In the default of other impertinents to keep in abeyance we + fancy that she exercises her gift upon her younger brother, who, so far as + we have been able to note, is of a disposition which would be entirely + sweet if it were not for the exasperations he suffers from her. I like to + put myself in his place, and to hold that he believes himself a better + judge than she of the sort of companions he chooses, she being disabled by + the mental constitution of her sex, and the defects of a girl's training, + from knowing the rare quality of boys who present themselves even to my + friendly eyes as dirty, and, when not patched, ragged. I please myself in + my guesses at her character with the conjecture that she is not satisfied + with her sister's engagement to a fellow-student in a co-educational + college, who is looking forward to a professorship. + </p> + <p> + In spite of her injustice in regard to his own companions, this imaginable + attitude of hers impresses the boy, if I understand boys. I have no doubt + he reasons that she must be right about something, and as she is never + right about boys, she must be right about brothers-in-law, potential if + not actual. This one may be, for all the boy knows, a sissy; he inclines + to believe, from what he understands of the matter, that he is indeed a + sissy, or he would never have gone to a college where half the students + are girls. He himself, as I have heard, intends to go to a college, but + whether Harvard, or Bryant's Business College, he has not yet decided. One + thing he does know, though, and that is there are not going to be any + girls in it. We have not allowed our invention so great play in regard to + the elder members of our neighbor's family perhaps because we really know + something more about them. Mrs. Talbert duly called after We came to + Eastridge, and when my wife had self-respectfully waited a proper time, + which she made a little more than a week lest she should feel that she had + been too eager for the acquaintance, she returned the call. Then she met + not only Mrs. Talbert, but Mrs. Talbert's mother, who lives with them, in + an anxiety for their health which would impair her own if she were not of + a constitution such as you do not find in these days of unladylike + athletics. She was inclined to be rather strict with my wife about her own + health, and mine too, and told her she must be careful not to let me work + too hard, or overeat, or leave off my flannels before the weather was + settled in the spring. She said she had heard that I had left a very good + position on a Buffalo paper when I bought the Eastridge Banner, and that + the town ought to feel very much honored. My wife suppressed her + conviction that this was the correct view of the case, in a deprecatory + expression of our happiness in finding ourselves in Eastridge, and our + entire satisfaction with our prospects and surroundings. Then Mrs. + Talbert's mother inquired, as delicately as possible, what denominations, + religious and medical, we were of, how many children we had, and whether + mostly boys or girls, and where and how long we had been married. She was + glad, she said, that we had taken the place next them, after our brief + sojourn in the furnished house where we had first lived, and said that + there was only one objection to the locality, which was the prevalence of + moths; they obliged you to put away your things in naphtha-balls almost + the moment the spring opened. She wished to know what books my wife was + presently reading, and whether she approved of women's clubs to the extent + that they were carried to in some places. She believed in book clubs, but + to her mind it was very questionable whether the time that ladies gave to + writing papers on so many different subjects was well spent. She thought + it a pity that so many things were canned, nowadays, and so well canned + that the old arts of pickling and preserving were almost entirely lost. In + the conversation, where she bore a leading part as long as she remained in + the room, her mind took a wide range, and visited more human interests + than my wife was at first able to mention, though afterward she remembered + so many that I formed the notion of something encyclopedic in its compass. + When she reached the letter Z, she rose and took leave of my wife, saying + that now she must go and lie down, as it appeared to be her invariable + custom to do (in behalf of the robust health which she had inherited + unimpaired from a New England ancestry), at exactly half-past four every + afternoon. It was this, she said, more than any one thing that enabled her + to go through so much as she did; but through the door which she left open + behind her my wife heard Talbert's voice saying, in mixed mockery and + tenderness, “Don't forget your tonic, mother,” and hers saying, “No, I + won't, Cyrus. I never forget it, and it's a great pity you don't take it, + too.” + </p> + <p> + It was our conclusion from all the facts of this call, when we came to + discuss them in the light of some friendly gossip which we had previously + heard, that the eldest daughter of the Talberts came honestly by her love + of ruling if she got it from her grandmother, but that she was able to + indulge it oftener, and yet not so often as might have been supposed from + the mild reticence of her mother. Older if not shrewder observers than + ourselves declared that what went in that house was what Mrs. Talbert + said, and that it went all the more effectively because what she said + Talbert said too. + </p> + <p> + That might have been because she said so little. When her mother left the + room she let a silence follow in which she seemed too embarrassed to speak + for a while on finding herself alone with my wife, and my wife decided + that the shyness of the girl whose engagement was soon afterward reported, + as well as the easy-goingness of the eldest son, had come from their + mother. As soon as Mrs. Talbert could command herself, she began to talk, + and every word she said was full of sense, with a little gust of humor in + the sense which was perfectly charming. Absolutely unworldly as she was, + she had very good manners; in her evasive way she was certainly qualified + to be the leader of society in Eastridge, and socially Eastridge thought + fairly well of itself. She did not obviously pretend to so much literature + as her mother, but she showed an even nicer intelligence of our own + situation in Eastridge. She spoke with a quiet appreciation of the + improvement in the Banner, which, although she quoted Mr. Talbert, seemed + to be the result of her personal acquaintance with the paper in the past + as well as the present. My wife pronounced her the ideal mother of a + family, and just what the wife of such a man as Cyrus Talbert ought to be, + but no doubt because Mrs. Talbert's characteristics were not so salient as + her mother's, my wife was less definitely descriptive of her. + </p> + <p> + From time to time, it seemed that there was a sister of Mr. Talbert's who + visited in the family, but was now away on one of the many other visits in + which she passed her life. She was always going or coming somewhere, but + at the moment she was gone. My wife inferred from the generation to which + her brother belonged that she had long been a lady of that age when ladies + begin to be spoken of as maiden. Mrs. Talbert spoke of her as if they were + better friends than sisters-in-law are apt to be, and said that she was to + be with them soon, and she would bring her with her when she returned my + wife's call. From the general impression in Eastridge we gathered that + Miss Talbert was not without the disappointment which endears maiden + ladies to the imagination, but the disappointment was of a date so remote + that it was only matter of pathetic hearsay, now. Miss Talbert, in her + much going and coming, had not failed of being several times in Europe. + She especially affected Florence, where she was believed to have studied + the Tuscan School to unusual purpose, though this was not apparent in any + work of her own. We formed the notion that she might be uncomfortably + cultured, but when she came to call with Mrs. Talbert afterward, my wife + reported that you would not have thought, except for a remark she dropped + now and then, that she had ever been out of her central New York village, + and so far from putting on airs of art, she did not speak of any gallery + abroad, or of the pensions in which she stayed in Florence, or the hotels + in other cities of Italy where she had stopped to visit the local schools + of painting. + </p> + <p> + In this somewhat protracted excursion I have not forgotten that I left Mr. + Talbert leaning against our party fence, with his arms resting on the top, + after a keen if not critical survey of his dwelling. He did not take up + our talk at just the point where we had been in it, but after a reflective + moment, he said, “I don't remember just whether Mrs. Temple told my + mother-in-law you were homoeopaths or allopaths.” + </p> + <p> + “Well,” I said, “that depends. I rather think we are homoeopaths of a + low-potency type.” My neighbor's face confessed a certain disappointment. + “But we are not bigoted, even in the article of appreciable doses. Our own + family doctor in our old place always advised us, in stress of absence + from him, to get the best doctor wherever we happened to be, so far as we + could make him out, and not mind what school he was of. I suppose we have + been treated by as many allopaths as homoeopaths, but we're rather a + healthy family, and put it all together we have not been treated a great + deal by either.” + </p> + <p> + Mr. Talbert looked relieved. “Oh, then you will have Dr. Denbigh. He puts + your rule the other way, and gets the best patient he can, no matter + whether he is a homoeopath or an allopath. We have him, in all our + branches; he is the best doctor in Eastridge, and he is the best man. I + want you to know him, and you can't know a doctor the way you ought to, + unless he's your family physician.” + </p> + <p> + “You're quite right, I think, but that's a matter I should have to leave + two-thirds of to my wife: women are two-thirds of the patients in every + healthy family, and they ought to have the ruling voice about the doctor.” + We had formed the habit already of laughing at any appearance of joke in + each other, and my neighbor now rolled his large head in mirth, and said: + </p> + <p> + “That's so, I guess. But I guess there won't be any trouble about Mrs. + Temple's vote when she sees Denbigh. His specialty is the capture of + sensible women. They all swear by him. You met him, didn't you, at my + office, the other day?” + </p> + <p> + “Oh yes, and I liked him so much that I wished I was sick on the spot!” + </p> + <p> + “That's good!” my neighbor said, joyfully. + </p> + <p> + “Well, you could meet the doctor there almost any afternoon of the week, + toward closing-up hours, and almost any evening at our house here, when he + isn't off on duty. It's a generally understood thing that if he isn't at + home, or making a professional visit, he's at one place or the other. The + farmers round stop for him with their buggies, when they're in a hurry, + and half our calls over the 'phone are for Dr. Denbigh. The fact is he + likes to talk, and if there's any sort of man that <i>I</i> like to talk + with better than another, it's a doctor. I never knew one yet that didn't + say something worth while within five minutes' time. Then, you know that + you can be free with them, be yourself, and that's always worth while, + whether you're worth while yourself or not. You can say just what you + think about anybody or anything, and you know it won't go farther. You may + not be a patient, but they've always got their Hippocratic oath with them, + and they're safe. That so?” + </p> + <p> + My neighbor wished the pleasure of my explicit assent; my tacit assent he + must have read in my smile. “Yes,” I said, “and they're always so tolerant + and compassionate. I don't want to say anything against the reverend + clergy; they're oftener saints upon earth than we allow; but a doctor is + more solid comfort; he seems to understand you exponentially.” + </p> + <p> + “That's it! You've hit it! He's seen lots of other cases like yours, and + next to a man's feeling that he's a peculiar sufferer, he likes to know + that there are other fellows in the same box.” + </p> + <p> + We both laughed at this; it was, in fact, a joke we were the joint authors + of. + </p> + <p> + “Well, we don't often talk about my ailments; I haven't got a great many; + and generally we get on some abstract topic. Just now we're running the + question of female education, perhaps because it's impersonal, and we can + both treat of it without prejudice.” + </p> + <p> + “The doctor isn't married, I believe?” + </p> + <p> + “He's a widower of long standing, and that's the best kind of doctor to + have: then he's a kind of a bachelor with practical wisdom added. You see, + I've always had the idea that women, beginning with little girls and + ending with grandmothers, ought to be brought up as nearly like their + brothers as can be—that is, if they are to be the wives of other + women's brothers. It don't so much matter how an old maid is brought up, + but you can't have her destiny in view, though I believe if an old maid + could be brought up more like an old bachelor she would be more + comfortable to herself, anyway.” + </p> + <p> + “And what does Dr. Denbigh say?” + </p> + <p> + “Well, you must hear him talk. I guess he rather wants to draw me out, for + the most part.” + </p> + <p> + “I don't wonder at that. I wish you'd draw yourself out. I've thought + something in the direction of your opinion myself.” + </p> + <p> + “Have you? That's good! We'll tackle the doctor together sometime. The + difficulty about putting a thing like that in practice is that you have to + co-operate in it with women who have been brought up in the old way. A + man's wife is a woman—” + </p> + <p> + “Generally,” I assented, as if for argument's sake. + </p> + <p> + He gave himself time to laugh. “And she has the charge of the children as + long as they're young, and she's a good deal more likely to bring up the + boys like girls than the girls like boys. But the boys take themselves out + of her hands pretty soon, while the girls have to stay under her thumb + till they come out just the kind of women we've always had.” + </p> + <p> + “We've managed to worry along with them.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, we have. And I don't say but what we fancy them as they are when we + first begin to 'take notice.' One trouble is that children are sick so + much, and their mothers scare you with that, and you haven't the courage + to put your theories into practice. I can't say that any of my girls have + inherited my constitution but this one.” I knew he meant the one whose + engagement was the origin of our conversation. “If you've heard my + mother-in-law talk about her constitution you would think she belonged to + the healthiest family that ever got out of New England alive, but the fact + is there's always something the matter with her, or she thinks there is, + and she's taking medicine for it, anyway. I can't say but what my wife has + always been strong enough, and I've been satisfied to have the children + take after her; but when I saw this one's sorrel-top as we used to call it + before we admired red hair, I knew she was a Talbert, and I made up my + mind to begin my system with her.” He laughed as with a sense of agreeable + discomfiture. “I can't say it worked very well, or rather that it had a + chance. You see, her mother had to apply it; I was always too busy. And a + curious thing was that though the girl looked like me, she was a good deal + more like her mother in temperament and character.” + </p> + <p> + “Perhaps,” I ventured, “that's the reason why she was your favorite.” + </p> + <p> + He dropped his head in rather a shamefaced way, but lifted it with another + laugh. “Well, there may be something in that. Not,” he gravely retrieved + himself, “that we have ever distinguished between our children.” + </p> + <p> + “No, neither have we. But one can't help liking the ways of one child + better than another; one will rather take the fancy more than the rest.” + </p> + <p> + “Well,” my neighbor owned, “I don't know but it's that kind of shyness in + them both. I suppose one likes to think his girl looks like him, but + doesn't mind her being like her mother. I'm glad she's got my + constitution, though. My eldest daughter is more like her grandmother in + looks, and I guess she's got her disposition too, more. I don't know,” he + said, vaguely, “what the last one is going to be like. She seems to be + more worldly. But,” he resumed, strenuously, as if the remembrance of old + opposition remained in his nerves, “when it came to this going off to + school, or college, or whatever, I put my foot down, and kept it down. I + guess her mother was willing enough to do my way, but her sister was all + for some of those colleges where girls are educated with other girls and + not with young men. She said they were more ladylike, and a lot more stuff + and nonsense, and were more likely to be fit for society. She said this + one would meet a lot of jays, and very likely fall in love with one; and + when we first heard of this affair of Peggy's I don't believe but what her + sister got more satisfaction out of it than I did. She's quick enough! And + a woman likes to feel that she's a prophetess at any time of her life. + That's about all that seems to keep some of them going when they get old.” + I knew that here he had his mother-in-law rather than his daughter in + mind, and I didn't interrupt the sarcastic silence into which he fell. + “You've never met the young man, I believe?” he asked, at quite another + point, and to the negation of my look he added, “To be sure! We've hardly + met him ourselves; he's only been here once; but you'll see him—you + and Mrs. Temple. Well!” He lifted his head, as if he were going away, but + he did not lift his arms from the fence, and so I knew that he had not + emptied the bag of his unexpected confidences; I did not know why he was + making them to me, but I liked him the better for them, and tried to feel + that I was worthy of them. He began with a laugh, “They both paid it into + me so,” and now I knew that he meant his eldest daughter as well as her + grandmother, “that my wife turned round and took my part, and said it was + the very best thing that could happen; and she used all the arguments that + I had used with her, when she had her misgivings about it, and she didn't + leave them a word to say. A curious thing about it was, that though my + arguments seemed to convince them, they didn't convince me. Ever notice, + how when another person repeats what you've said, it sounds kind of weak + and foolish?” I owned that my reasons had at times some such way of + turning against me from the mouths of others, and he went on: “But they + seemed to silence her own misgivings, and she's been enthusiastic for the + engagement ever since. What's the reason,” he asked, “why a man, if he's + any way impetuous, wants to back out of a situation just about the time a + woman has got set in it like the everlasting hills? Is it because she + feels the need of holding fast for both, or is it because she knows she + hasn't the strength to keep to her conclusion, if she wavers at all, while + a man can let himself play back and forth, and still stay put.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, in a question like that,” I said, and I won my neighbor's easy + laugh, “I always like to give my own sex the benefit of the doubt, and I + haven't any question but man's inconsistency is always attributable to his + magnanimity.” + </p> +<div class="fig" style="width:50%;"> <img src="images/{0006}.jpg" alt="{0006}" width="100%" /><br /> </div> <h5> <a href="images/{0006}.jpg"> <img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a> </h5> + + <p> + “I guess I shall have to put that up on the doctor,” my neighbor said, as + he lifted his arms from the fence at last, and backed away from it. I knew + that he was really going in-doors now, and that I must come out with what + was in my mind, if I meant to say it at all, and so I said, “By-the-way, + there's something. You know I don't go in much for what's called society + journalism, especially in the country press, where it mostly takes the + form of 'Miss Sadie Myers is visiting with Miss Mamie Peters,' but I + realize that a country paper nowadays must be a kind of open letter to the + neighborhood, and I suppose you have no objection to my mentioning the + engagement?” + </p> + <p> + This made Mr. Talbert look serious; and I fancy my proposition made him + realize the affair as he had not before, perhaps. After a moment's pause, + he said, “Well! That's something I should like to talk with my wife + about.” + </p> + <p> + “Do so!” I applauded. “I only suggest it—or chiefly, or partly—because + you can have it reach our public in just the form you want, and the + Rochester and Syracuse papers will copy my paragraph; but if you leave it + to their Eastridge correspondents—” + </p> + <p> + “That's true,” he assented. “I'll speak to Mrs. Talbert—” He walked + so inconclusively away that I was not surprised to have him turn and come + back before I left my place. “Why, certainly! Make the announcement! It's + got to come out. It's a kind of a wrench, thinking of it as a public + affair; because a man's daughter is always a little girl to him, and he + can't realize—And this one—But of course!” + </p> + <p> + “Would you like to suggest any particular form of words?” I hesitated. + </p> + <p> + “Oh no! Leave that to you entirely. I know we can trust you not to make + any blare about it. Just say that they were fellow-students—I should + like that to be known, so that people sha'n't think I don't like to have + it known—and that he's looking forward to a professorship in the + same college—How queer it all seems!” + </p> + <p> + “Very well, then, I'll announce it in our next. There's time to send me + word if Mrs. Talbert has any suggestions.” + </p> + <p> + “All right. But she won't have any. Well, good-evening.” + </p> + <p> + “Good-evening,” I said from my side of the fence; and when I had watched + him definitively in-doors, I turned and walked into my own house. + </p> + <p> + The first thing my wife said was, “You haven't asked him to let you + announce it in the Banner?” + </p> + <p> + “But I have, though!” + </p> + <p> + “Well!” she gasped. + </p> + <p> + “What is the matter?” I demanded. “It's a public affair, isn't it?” + </p> + <p> + “It's a family affair—” + </p> + <p> + “Well, I consider the readers of the Banner a part of the family.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0002" id="link2H_4_0002"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + II. THE OLD-MAID AUNT, by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman + </h2> + <p> + I am relegated here in Eastridge to the position in which I suppose I + properly belong, and I dare say it is for my best spiritual and temporal + good. Here I am the old-maid aunt. Not a day, not an hour, not a minute, + when I am with other people, passes that I do not see myself in their + estimation playing that role as plainly as if I saw myself in a + looking-glass. It is a moral lesson which I presume I need. I have just + returned from my visit at the Pollards' country-house in Lancaster, where + I most assuredly did not have it. I do not think I deceive myself. I know + it is the popular opinion that old maids are exceedingly prone to deceive + themselves concerning the endurance of their youth and charms, and the + views of other people with regard to them. But I am willing, even anxious, + to be quite frank with myself. Since—well, never mind since what + time—I have not cared an iota whether I was considered an old maid + or not. The situation has seemed to me rather amusing, inasmuch as it has + involved a secret willingness to be what everybody has considered me as + very unwilling to be. I have regarded it as a sort of joke upon other + people. + </p> + <p> + But I think I am honest—I really mean to be, and I think I am—when + I say that outside Eastridge the role of an old-maid aunt is the very last + one which I can take to any advantage. Here I am estimated according to + what people think I am, rather than what I actually am. In the first + place, I am only fifteen years older than Peggy, who has just become + engaged, but those fifteen years seem countless aeons to the child herself + and the other members of the family. I am ten years younger than my + brother's wife, but she and my brother regard me as old enough to be her + mother. As for Grandmother Evarts, she fairly looks up to me as her + superior in age, although she DOES patronize me. She would patronize the + prophets of old. I don't believe she ever says her prayers without + infusing a little patronage into her petitions. The other day Grandmother + Evarts actually inquired of me, of ME! concerning a knitting-stitch. I had + half a mind to retort, “Would you like a lesson in bridge, dear old soul?” + She never heard of bridge, and I suppose she would have thought I meant + bridge-building. I sometimes wonder why it is that all my brother's family + are so singularly unsophisticated, even Cyrus himself, able as he is and + dear as he is. + </p> + <p> + Sometimes I speculate as to whether it can be due to the mansard-roof of + their house. I have always had a theory that inanimate things exerted more + of an influence over people than they dreamed, and a mansard-roof, to my + mind, belongs to a period which was most unsophisticated and fatuous, not + merely concerning aesthetics, but simple comfort. Those bedrooms under the + mansard-roof are miracles not only of ugliness, but discomfort, and there + is no attic. I think that a house without a good roomy attic is like a man + without brains. Possibly living in a brainless house has affected the + mental outlook of my relatives, although their brains are well enough. + Peggy is not exactly remarkable for hers, but she is charmingly pretty, + and has a wonderful knack at putting on her clothes, which might be + esteemed a purely feminine brain, in her fingers. Charles Edward really + has brains, although he is a round peg in a square hole, and as for Alice, + her brains are above the normal, although she unfortunately knows it, and + Billy, if he ever gets away from Alice, will show what he is made of. + Maria's intellect is all right, although cast in a petty mould. She + repeats Grandmother Evarts, which is a pity, because there are types not + worth repeating. Maria if she had not her husband Tom to manage, would + simply fall on her face. It goes hard with a purely patronizing soul when + there is nobody to manage; there is apt to be an explosion. However, Maria + HAS Tom. But none of my brother's family, not even my dear sister-in-law, + Cyrus's wife, have the right point of view with regard to the present, + possibly on account of the mansard-roof which has overshadowed them. They + do not know that today an old-maid aunt is as much of an anomaly as a + spinning-wheel, that she has ceased to exist, that she is prehistoric, + that even grandmothers have almost disappeared from off the face of the + earth. In short, they do not know that I am not an old-maid aunt except + under this blessed mansard-roof, and some other roofs of Eastridge, many + of which are also mansard, where the influence of their fixed belief + prevails. For instance, they told the people next door, who have moved + here recently, that the old-maid aunt was coming, and so, when I went to + call with my sister-in-law, Mrs. Temple saw her quite distinctly. To think + of Ned Temple being married to a woman like that, who takes things on + trust and does not use her own eyes! Her two little girls are exactly like + her. I wonder what Ned himself will think. I wonder if he will see that my + hair is as red-gold as Peggy's, that I am quite as slim, that there is not + a line on my face, that I still keep my girl color with no aid, that I + wear frills of the latest fashion, and look no older than when he first + saw me. I really do not know myself how I have managed to remain so + intact; possibly because I have always grasped all the minor sweets of + life, even if I could not have the really big worth-while ones. I honestly + do not think that I have had the latter. But I have not taken the position + of some people, that if I cannot have what I want most I will have + nothing. I have taken whatever Providence chose to give me in the way of + small sweets, and made the most of them. Then I have had much womanly + pride, and that is a powerful tonic. + </p> + <p> + For instance, years ago, when my best lamp of life went out, so to speak, + I lit all my candles and kept my path. I took just as much pains with my + hair and my dress, and if I was unhappy I kept it out of evidence on my + face. I let my heart ache and bleed, but I would have died before I + wrinkled my forehead and dimmed my eyes with tears and let everybody else + know. That was about the time when I met Ned Temple, and he fell so madly + in love with me, and threatened to shoot himself if I would not marry him. + He did not. Most men do not. I wonder if he placed me when he heard of my + anticipated coming. Probably he did not. They have probably alluded to me + as dear old Aunt Elizabeth, and when he met me (I was staying at Harriet + Munroe's before she was married) nobody called me Elizabeth, but Lily. + Miss Elizabeth Talbert, instead of Lily Talbert, might naturally set him + wrong. Everybody here calls me Elizabeth. Outside Eastridge I am Lily. I + dare say Ned Temple has not dreamed who I am. I hear that he is quite + brilliant, although the poor fellow must be limited as to his income. + However, in some respects it must be just as well. It would be a great + trial to a man with a large income to have a wife like Mrs. Temple, who + could make no good use of it. You might load that poor soul with crown + jewels and she would make them look as if she had bought them at a + department store for ninety-eight cents. And the way she keeps her house + must be maddening, I should think, to a brilliant man. Fancy the books on + the table being all arranged with the large ones under the small ones in + perfectly even piles! I am sure that he has his meals on time, and I am + equally sure that the principal dishes are preserves and hot biscuits and + cake. That sort of diet simply shows forth in Mrs. Temple and her + children. I am sure that his socks are always mended, but I know that he + always wipes his feet before he enters the house, that it has become a + matter of conscience with him; and those exactions are to me pathetic. + These reflections are uncommonly like the popular conception as to how an + old-maid aunt should reflect, had she not ceased to exist. Sometimes I + wish she were still existing and that I carried out her character to the + full. I am not at all sure but she, as she once was, coming here, would + not have brought more happiness than I have. I must say I thought so when + I saw poor Harry Goward turn so pale when he first saw me after my + arrival. Why, in the name of common-sense, Ada, my sister-in-law, when she + wrote to me at the Pollards', announcing Peggy's engagement, could not + have mentioned who the man was, I cannot see. + </p> + <p> + Sometimes it seems to me that only the girl and the engagement figure at + all in such matters. I suppose Peggy always alluded to me as “dear Aunt + Elizabeth,” when that poor young fellow knew me at the Abercrombies', + where we were staying a year ago, as Miss Lily Talbert. The situation with + regard to him and Peggy fairly puzzles me. I simply do not know what to + do. Goodness knows I never lifted my finger to attract him. Flirtations + between older women and boys always have seemed to me contemptible. I + never particularly noticed him, although he is a charming young fellow, + and there is not as much difference in our ages as in those of Harriet + Munroe and her husband, and if I am not mistaken there is more difference + between the ages of Ned Temple and his wife. Poor soul! she looks old + enough to be his mother, as I remember him, but that may be partly due to + the way she arranges her hair. However, Ned himself may have changed; + there must be considerable wear and tear about matrimony, taken in + connection with editing a country newspaper. If I had married Ned I might + have looked as old as Mrs. Temple does. I wonder what Ned will do when he + sees me. I know he will not turn white, as poor Harry Goward did. That + really worries me. I am fond of little Peggy, and the situation is really + rather awful. She is engaged to a man who is fond of her aunt and cannot + conceal it. Still, the affection of most male things is curable. If Peggy + has sense enough to retain her love for frills and bows, and puts on her + clothes as well, and arranges her hair as prettily, after she has been + married a year—no, ten years (it will take at least ten years to + make a proper old-maid aunt of me)—she may have the innings. But + Peggy has no brains, and it really takes a woman with brains to keep her + looks after matrimony. + </p> + <p> + Of course, the poor little soul has no danger to fear from me; it is lucky + for her that her fiance fell in love with me; but it is the principle of + the thing which worries me. Harry Goward must be as fickle as a honey-bee. + There is no assurance whatever for Peggy that he will not fall headlong in + love—and headlong is just the word for it—with any other woman + after he has married her. I did not want the poor fellow to stick to me, + but when I come to think of it that is the trouble. How short-sighted I + am! It is his perverted fickleness rather than his actual fickleness which + worries me. He has proposed to Peggy when he was in love with another + woman, probably because he was in love with another woman. Now Peggy, + although she is not brilliant, in spite of her co-education (perhaps + because of it), is a darling, and she deserves a good husband. She loves + this man with her whole heart, poor little thing! that is easy enough to + be seen, and he does not care for her, at least not when I am around or + when I am in his mind. The question is, is this marriage going to make the + child happy? My first impulse, when I saw Harry Goward and knew that he + was poor Peggy's lover, was immediately to pack up and leave. Then I + really wondered if that was the wisest thing to do. I wanted to see for + myself if Harry Goward were really in earnest about poor little Peggy and + had gotten over his mad infatuation for her aunt and would make her a good + husband. Perhaps I ought to leave, and yet I wonder if I ought. Harry + Goward may have turned pale simply from his memory of what an uncommon + fool he had been, and the consideration of the embarrassing position in + which his past folly has placed him, if I chose to make revelations. He + might have known that I would not; still, men know so little of women. I + think that possibly I am worrying myself needlessly, and that he is really + in love with Peggy. She is quite a little beauty, and she does know how to + put her clothes on so charmingly. The adjustments of her shirt-waists are + simply perfection. I may be very foolish to go away; I may be even + insufferably conceited in assuming that Harry's change of color signified + anything which could make it necessary. But, after all, he must be fickle + and ready to turn from one to another, or deceitful, and I must admit that + if Peggy were my daughter, and Harry had never been mad about me six weeks + ago, but about some other woman, I should still feel the same way. + </p> + <p> + Sometimes I wonder if I ought to tell Ada. She is the girl's mother. I + might shift the responsibility on to her. I almost think I will. She is + alone in her room now, I know. Peggy and Harry have gone for a drive, and + the rest have scattered. It is a good chance. I really don't feel as if I + ought to bear the whole responsibility alone. I will go this minute and + tell Ada. + </p> + <p> + Well, I have told Ada, and here I am back in my room, laughing over the + result. I might as well have told the flour-barrel. Anything like Ada's + ease of character and inability to worry or even face a disturbing + situation I have never seen. I laugh, although her method of receiving my + tale was not, so to speak, flattering to me. Ada was in her loose white + kimono, and she was sitting at her shady window darning stockings in very + much the same way that a cow chews her cud; and when I told her, under + promise of the strictest secrecy, she just laughed that placid little + laugh of hers and said, taking another stitch, “Oh, well, boys are always + falling in love with older women.” And when I asked if she thought + seriously that Peggy might not be running a risk, she said: “Oh dear, no; + Harry is devoted to the child. You can't be foolish enough. Aunt + Elizabeth, to think that he is in love with you NOW?” + </p> + <p> + I said, “Certainly not.” It was only the principle involved; that the + young man must be very changeable, and that Peggy might run a risk in the + future if Harry were thrown in much with other women. + </p> + <p> + Ada only laughed again, and kept on with her darning, and said she guessed + there was no need to worry. Harry seemed to her very much like Cyrus, and + she was sure that Cyrus had never thought of another woman besides herself + (Ada). + </p> + <p> + I wonder if another woman would have said what I might have said, + especially after that imputation of the idiocy of my thinking that a young + man could possibly fancy ME. I said nothing, but I wondered what Ada would + say if she knew what I knew, if she would continue to chew her cud, that + Cyrus had been simply mad over another girl, and only married her because + he could not get the other one, and when the other died, five years after + he was married to Ada, he sent flowers, and I should not to this day + venture to speak that girl's name to the man. She was a great beauty, and + she had a wonderful witchery about her. I was only a child, but I remember + how she looked. Why, I fell in love with her myself! Cyrus can never + forget a woman like that for a cud-chewing creature like Ada, even if she + does keep his house in order and make a good mother to his children. The + other would not have kept the house in order at all, but it would have + been a shrine. Cyrus worshipped that girl, and love may supplant love, but + not worship. Ada does not know, and she never will through me, but I + declare I was almost wicked enough to tell her when I saw her placidly + darning away, without the slightest conception, any more than a feather + pillow would have, of what this ridiculous affair with me might mean in + future consequences to poor, innocent little Peggy. But I can only hope + the boy has gotten over his feeling for me, that he has been really + changeable, for that would be infinitely better than the other thing. + </p> + <p> + Well, I shall not need to go away. Harry Goward has himself solved that + problem. He goes himself to-morrow. He has invented a telegram about a + sick uncle, all according to the very best melodrama. But what I feared is + true—he is still as mad as ever about me. I went down to the + post-office for the evening mail, and was coming home by moonlight, + unattended, as any undesirable maiden aunt may safely do, when the boy + overtook me. I had heard his hurried steps behind me for some time. Up he + rushed just as we reached the vacant lot before the Temple house, and + caught my arm and poured forth a volume of confessions and avowals, and, + in short, told me he did not love Peggy, but me, and he never would love + anybody but me. I actually felt faint for a second. Then I talked. I told + him what a dishonorable wretch he was, and said he might as well have + plunged a knife into an innocent, confiding girl at once as to have + treated Peggy so. I told him to go away and let me alone and write + friendly letters to Peggy, and see if he would not recover his senses, if + he had any to recover, which I thought doubtful; and then when he said he + would not budge a step, that he would remain in Eastridge, if only for the + sake of breathing the same air I did, that he would tell Peggy the whole + truth at once, and bear all the blame which he deserved for being so + dishonorable, I arose to the occasion. I said, “Very well, remain, but you + may have to breathe not only the same air that I do, but also the same air + that the man whom I am to marry does.” I declare that I had no man + whatever in mind. I said it in sheer desperation. Then the boy burst forth + with another torrent, and the secret was out. + </p> + <p> + My brother and my sister-in-law and Grandmother Evarts and the children, + for all I know, have all been match-making for me. I did not suspect it of + them. I supposed they esteemed my case as utterly hopeless, and then I + knew that Cyrus knew about—well, never mind; I don't often mention + him to myself. I certainly thought that they all would have as soon + endeavored to raise the dead as to marry me, but it seems that they have + been thinking that while there is life there is hope, or rather, while + there are widowers there is hope. And there is a widower in Eastridge—Dr. + Denbigh. He is the candle about which the mothlike dreams of ancient + maidens and widows have fluttered, to their futile singeing, for the last + twenty years. I really did not dream that they would think I would + flutter, even if I was an old-maid aunt. But Harry cried out that if I + were going to marry Dr. Denbigh he would go away. He never would stay and + be a witness to such sacrilege. “That OLD man!” he raved. And when I said + I was not a young girl myself he got all the madder. Well, I allowed him + to think I was going to marry Dr. Denbigh (I wonder what the doctor would + say), and as a consequence Harry will flit to-morrow, and he is with poor + little Peggy out in the grape-arbor, and she is crying her eyes out. If he + dares tell her what a fool he is I could kill him. I am horribly afraid + that he will let it out, for I never saw such an alarmingly impetuous + youth. Young Lochinvar out of the west was mere cambric tea to him. I am + really thankful that he has not a gallant steed, nor even an automobile, + for the old-maid aunt might yet be captured as the Sabine women were. + </p> + <p> + Well, thank fortune, Harry has left, and he cannot have told, for poor + little Peggy has been sitting with me for a solid hour, sniffing, and + sounding his praises. Somehow the child made me think of myself at her + age. I was about a year older when my tragedy came and was never righted. + Hers, I think, will be, since Harry was not such an ass as to confess + before he went away. But all the same, I am concerned for her happiness, + for Harry is either fickle or deceitful. Sometimes I wonder what my duty + is, but I can't tell the child. It would do no more good for me to consult + my brother Cyrus than it did to consult Ada. I know of no one whom I can + consult. Charles Edward and his wife, who is just like Ada, pretty, but + always with her shirt-waist hunching in the back, sitting wrong, and + standing lopsided, and not worrying enough to give her character salt and + pepper, are there. (I should think she would drive Charles Edward, who is + really an artist, only out of his proper sphere, mad.) Tom and Maria are + down there, too, on the piazza, and Ada at her everlasting darning, and + Alice bossing Billy as usual. I can hear her voice. I think I will put on + another gown and go for a walk. + </p> + <p> + I think I will put on my pink linen, and my hat lined with pink chiffon + and trimmed with shaded roses. That particular shade of pink is just right + for my hair. I know quite well how I look in that gown and hat, and I + know, also, quite well how I shall look to the members of my family + assembled below. They all unanimously consider that I should dress always + in black silk, and a bonnet with a neat little tuft of middle-aged + violets, and black ribbons tied under my chin. I know I am wicked to put + on that pink gown and hat, but I shall do it. I wonder why it amuses me to + be made fun of. Thank fortune, I have a sense of humor. If I did not have + that it might have come to the black silk and the bonnet with the tuft of + violets, for the Lord knows I have not, after all, so very much compared + with what some women have. It troubles me to think of that young fool + rushing away and poor, dear little Peggy; but what can I do? This pink + gown is fetching, and how they will stare when I go down! + </p> + <p> + Well, they did stare. How pretty this street is, with the elms arching + over it. I made quite a commotion, and they all saw me through their + eyeglasses of prejudice, except, possibly, Tom Price, Maria's husband. I + am certain I heard him say, as I marched away, “Well, I don't care; she + does look stunning, anyhow,” but Maria hushed him up. I heard her say, + “Pink at her age, and a pink hat, and a parasol lined with pink!” Ada + really looked more disturbed than I have ever seen her. If I had been + Godiva, going for my sacrificial ride through the town, it could not have + been much worse. She made her eyes round and big, and asked, in a voice + which was really agitated, “Are you going out in that dress. Aunt + Elizabeth?” And Aunt Elizabeth replied that she certainly was, and she + went after she had exchanged greetings with the family and kissed Peggy's + tear-stained little face. Charles Edward's wife actually straightened her + spinal column, she was so amazed at the sight of me in my rose-colored + array. Charles Edward, to do him justice, stared at me with a bewildered + air, as if he were trying to reconcile his senses with his traditions. He + is an artist, but he will always be hampered by thinking he sees what he + has been brought up to think he sees. That is the reason why he has + settled down uncomplainingly in Cyrus's “Works,” as he calls them, doing + the very slight aesthetics possible in such a connection. Now Charles + Edward would think that sunburned grass over in that field is green, when + it is pink, because he has been taught that grass is green. If poor + Charles Edward only knew that grass was green not of itself, but because + of occasional conditions, and knew that his aunt looked—well, as she + does look—he would flee for his life, and that which is better than + his life, from the “Works,” and be an artist, but he never will know or + know that he knows, which comes to the same thing. + </p> + <p> + Well, what does it matter to me? I have just met a woman who stared at me, + and spoke as if she thought I were a lunatic to be afield in this array. + What does anything matter? Sometimes, when I am with people who see + straight, I do take a certain pleasure in looking well, because I am a + woman, and nothing can quite take away that pleasure from me; but all the + time I know it does not matter, that nothing has really mattered since I + was about Peggy's age and Lyman Wilde quarrelled with me over nothing and + vanished into thin air, so far as I was concerned. I suppose he is + comfortably settled with a wife and family somewhere. It is rather odd, + though, that with all my wandering on this side of the water and the other + I have never once crossed his tracks. He may be in the Far East, with a + harem. I never have been in the Far East. Well, it does not matter to me + where he is. That is ancient history. On the whole, though, I like the + harem idea better than the single wife. I have what is left to me—the + little things of life, the pretty effects which go to make me pretty + (outside Eastridge); the comforts of civilization, travelling and seeing + beautiful things, also seeing ugly things to enhance the beautiful. I have + pleasant days in beautiful Florence. I have friends. I have everything + except—well, except everything. That I must do without. But I will + do without it gracefully, with never a whimper, or I don't know myself. + But now I AM worried over Peggy. I wish I could consult with somebody with + sense. What a woman I am! I mean, how feminine I am! I wish I could cure + myself of the habit of being feminine. It is a horrible nuisance; this + wishing to consult with somebody when I am worried is so disgustingly + feminine. + </p> + <p> + Well, I have consulted. I am back in my own room. It is after supper. We + had three kinds of cake, hot biscuits, and raspberries, and—a + concession to Cyrus—a platter of cold ham and an egg salad. He will + have something hearty, as he calls it (bless him! he is a good-fellow), + for supper. I am glad, for I should starve on Ada's New England menus. I + feel better, now that I have consulted, although, when I really consider + the matter, I can't see that I have arrived at any very definite issue. + But I have consulted, and, above all things, with Ned Temple! I was + walking down the street, and I reached his newspaper building. It is a + funny little affair; looks like a toy house. It is all given up to the + mighty affairs of the Eastridge Banner. In front there is a piazza, and on + this piazza sat Ned Temple. Changed? Well, yes, poor fellow! He is thin. I + am so glad he is thin instead of fat; thinness is not nearly so + disillusioning. His hair is iron-gray, but he is, after all, + distinguished-looking, and his manners are entirely sophisticated. He + shows at a glance, at a word, that he is a brilliant man, although he is + stranded upon such a petty little editorial island. And—and he saw + ME as I am. He did not change color. He is too self-poised; besides, he is + too honorable. But he saw ME. He rose immediately and came to speak to me. + He shook hands. He looked at my face under my pink-lined hat. He saw it as + it was; but bless him! that stupid wife of his holds him fast with his own + honor. Ned Temple is a good man. Sometimes I wonder if it would not have + been better if he, instead of Lyman—Well, that is idiotic. + </p> + <p> + He said he had to go to the post-office, and then it was time for him to + go home to supper (to the cake and sauce, I suppose), and with my + permission he would walk with me. So he did. I don't know how it happened + that I consulted with him. I think he spoke of Peggy's engagement, and + that led up to it. But I could speak to him, because I knew that he, + seeing me as I really am, would view the matter seriously. I told him + about the miserable affair, and he said that I had done exactly right. I + can't remember that he offered any actual solution, but it was something + to be told that I had done exactly right. And then he spoke of his wife, + and in such a faithful fashion, and so lovingly of his two commonplace + little girls. Ned Temple is as good as he is brilliant. It is really + rather astonishing that such a brilliant man can be so good. He told me + that I had not changed at all, but all the time that look of faithfulness + for his wife never left his handsome face, bless him! I believe I am + nearer loving him for his love for another woman than I ever was to loving + him for himself. + </p> + <p> + And then the inconceivable happened. I did what I never thought I should + be capable of doing, and did it easily, too, without, I am sure, a change + of color or any perturbation. I think I could do it, because faithfulness + had become so a matter of course with the man that I was not ashamed + should he have any suspicion of me also. He and Lyman used to be warm + friends. I asked if he knew anything about him. He met my question as if I + had asked what o'clock it was, just the way I knew he would meet it. He + knows no more than I do. But he said something which has comforted me, + although comfort at this stage of affairs is a dangerous indulgence. He + said, very much as if he had been speaking of the weather, “He worshipped + you, Lily, and wherever he is, in this world or the next, he worships you + now.” Then he added: “You know how I felt about you. Lily. If I had not + found out about him, that he had come first, I know how it would have been + with me, so I know how it is with him. We had the same views about matters + of that kind. After I did find out, why, of course, I felt different—although + always, as long as I live, I shall be a dear friend to you. Lily. But a + man is unfaithful to himself who is faithful to a woman whom another man + loves and whom she loves.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, that is true,” I agreed, and said something about the hours for the + mails in Eastridge. Lyman Wilde dropped out of Ned's life as he dropped + out of mine, it seems. I shall simply have to lean back upon the minor + joys of life for mental and physical support, as I did before. Nothing is + different, but I am glad that I have seen Ned Temple again, and realize + what a good man he is. + </p> + <p> + Well, it seems that even minor pleasures have dangers, and that I do not + always read characters rightly. The very evening after my little stroll + and renewal of friendship with Ned Temple I was sitting in my room, + reading a new book for which the author should have capital punishment, + when I heard excited voices, or rather an excited voice, below. I did not + pay much attention at first. I supposed the excited voice must belong to + either Maria or Alice, for no others of my brother's family ever seem in + the least excited, not to the extent of raising their voices to a + hysterical pitch. But after a few minutes Cyrus came to the foot of the + stairs and called. He called Aunt Elizabeth, and Aunt Elizabeth, in her + same pink frock, went down. Cyrus met me at the foot of the stairs, and he + looked fairly wild. “What on earth, Aunt Elizabeth!” said he, and I stared + at him in a daze. + </p> + <p> + “The deuce is to pay,” said he. “Aunt Elizabeth, did you ever know our + next-door neighbor before his marriage?” + </p> + <p> + “Certainly,” said I; “when we were both infants. I believe they had gotten + him out of petticoats and into trousers, but much as ever, and my skirts + were still abbreviated. It was at Harriet Munroe's before she was + married.” + </p> + <p> + “Have you been to walk with him?” gasped poor Cyrus. + </p> + <p> + “I met him on my way to the post-office last night, and he walked along + with me, and then as far as his house on the way home, if you call that + walking out,” said I. “You sound like the paragraphs in a daily paper. + Now, what on earth do you mean, if I may ask, Cyrus?” + </p> + <p> + “Nothing, except Mrs. Temple is in there raising a devil of a row,” said + Cyrus. He gazed at me in a bewildered fashion. “If it were Peggy I could + understand it,” he said, helplessly, and I knew how distinctly he saw the + old-maid aunt as he gazed at me. “She's jealous of you, Elizabeth,” he + went on in the same dazed fashion. “She's jealous of you because her + husband walked home with you. She's a dreadfully nervous woman, and, I + guess, none too well. She's fairly wild. It seems Temple let on how he + used to know you before he was married, and said something in praise of + your looks, and she made a regular header into conclusions. You have held + your own remarkably well, Elizabeth, but I declare—” And again poor + Cyrus gazed at me. + </p> + <p> + “Well, for goodness' sake, let me go in and see what I can do,” said I, + and with that I went into the parlor. + </p> + <p> + I was taken aback. Nobody, not even another woman, can tell what a woman + really is. I thought I had estimated Ned Temple's wife correctly. I had + taken her for a monotonous, orderly, dull sort of creature, quite + incapable of extremes; but in reality she has in her rather large, flabby + body the characteristics of a kitten, with the possibilities of a tigress. + The tigress was uppermost when I entered the room. The woman was as + irresponsible as a savage. I was disgusted and sorry and furious at the + same time. I cannot imagine myself making such a spectacle over any mortal + man. She was weeping frantically into a mussy little ball of handkerchief, + and when she saw me she rushed at me and gripped me by the arm like a mad + thing. + </p> + <p> + “If you can't get a husband for yourself,” said she, “you might at least + let other women's husbands alone!” + </p> + <p> + She was vulgar, but she was so wild with jealousy that I suppose vulgarity + ought to be forgiven her. I hardly know myself how I managed it, but, + somehow, I got the poor thing out of the room and the house and into the + cool night air, and then I talked to her, and fairly made her be quiet and + listen. I told her that Ned Temple had made love to me when he was just + out of petticoats and I was in short dresses. I stretched or shortened the + truth a little, but it was a case of necessity. Then I intimated that I + never would have married Ned Temple, anyway, and THAT worked beautifully. + She turned upon me in such a delightfully inconsequent fashion and + demanded to know what I expected, and declared her husband was good enough + for any woman. Then I said I did not doubt that, and hinted that other + women might have had their romances, even if they did not marry. That + immediately interested her. She stared at me, and said, with the most + innocent impertinence, that my brother's wife had intimated that I had had + an unhappy love-affair when I was a girl. I did not think that Cyrus had + told Ada, but I suppose a man HAS to tell his wife everything. + </p> + <p> + I hedged about the unhappy love-affair, but the first thing I knew the + poor, distracted woman was sobbing on my shoulder as we stood in front of + her gate, and saying that she was so sorry, but her whole life was bound + up in her husband, and I was so beautiful and had so much style, and she + knew what a dowdy she was, and she could not blame poor Ned if—But I + hushed her. + </p> + <p> + “Your husband has no more idea of caring for another woman besides you + than that moon has of travelling around another world,” said I; “and you + are a fool if you think so; and if you are dowdy it is your own fault. If + you have such a good husband you owe it to him not to be dowdy. I know you + keep his house beautifully, but any man would rather have his wife look + well than his house, if he is worth anything at all.” + </p> +<div class="fig" style="width:50%;"> <img src="images/{0067}.jpg" alt="{0067}" width="100%" /><br /> </div> <h5> <a href="images/{0067}.jpg"> <img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a> </h5> + + <p> + Then she gasped out that she wished she knew how to do up her hair like + mine. It was all highly ridiculous, but it actually ended in my going into + the Temple house and showing Ned's wife how to do up her hair like mine. + She looked like another woman when it was puffed softly over her forehead—she + has quite pretty brown hair. Then I taught her how to put on her corset + and pin her shirt-waist taut in front and her skirt behind. Ned was not to + be home until late, and there was plenty of time. It ended in her fairly + purring around me, and saying how sorry she was, and ashamed, that she had + been so foolish, and all the time casting little covert, conceited glances + at herself in the looking-glass. Finally I kissed her and she kissed me, + and I went home. I don't really see what more a woman could have done for + a rival who had supplanted her. But this revelation makes me more sorry + than ever for poor Ned. I don't know, though; she may be more interesting + than I thought. Anything is better than the dead level of small books on + large ones, and meals on time. It cannot be exactly monotonous never to + know whether you will find a sleek, purry cat, or an absurd kitten, or a + tigress, when you come home. Luckily, she did not tell Ned of her + jealousy, and I have cautioned all in my family to hold their tongues, and + I think they will. I infer that they suspect that I must have been guilty + of some unbecoming elderly prank to bring about such a state of affairs, + unless, possibly, Maria's husband and Billy are exceptions. I find that + Billy, when Alice lets him alone, is a boy who sees with his own eyes. He + told me yesterday that I was handsomer in my pink dress than any girl in + his school. + </p> + <p> + “Why, Billy Talbert!” I said, “talking that way to your old aunt!” + </p> + <p> + “I suppose you ARE awful old,” said Billy, bless him! “but you are + enough-sight prettier than a girl. I hate girls. I hope I can get away + from girls when I am a man.” + </p> + <p> + I wanted to tell the dear boy that was exactly the time when he would not + get away from girls, but I thought I would not frighten him, but let him + find it out for himself. + </p> + <p> + Well, now the deluge! It is a week since Harry Goward went away, and Peggy + has not had a letter, although she has haunted the post-office, poor + child! and this morning she brought home a letter for me from that crazy + boy. She was white as chalk when she handed it to me. + </p> + <p> + “It's Harry's writing,” said she, and she could barely whisper. “I have + not had a word from him since he went away, and now he has written to you + instead of me. What has he written to you for, Aunt Elizabeth?” + </p> + <p> + She looked at me so piteously, poor, dear little girl! that if I could + have gotten hold of Harry Goward that moment I would have shaken him. I + tried to speak, soothingly. I said: + </p> + <p> + “My dear Peggy, I know no more than you do why he has written to me. + Perhaps his uncle is dead and he thought I would break it to you.” + </p> + <p> + That was rank idiocy. Generally I can rise to the occasion with more + success. + </p> + <p> + “What do I care about his old uncle?” cried poor Peggy. “I never even saw + his uncle. I don't care if he is dead. Something has happened to Harry. + Oh, Aunt Elizabeth, what is it?” + </p> + <p> + I was never in such a strait in my life. There was that poor child staring + at the letter as if she could eat it, and then at me. I dared not open the + letter before her. We were out on the porch. I said: + </p> + <p> + “Now, Peggy Talbert, you keep quiet, and don't make a little fool of + yourself until you know you have some reason for it. I am going up to my + own room, and you sit in that chair, and when I have read this letter I + will come down and tell you about it.” + </p> + <p> + “I know he is dead!” gasped Peggy, but she sat down. + </p> + <p> + “Dead!” said I. “You just said yourself it was his handwriting. Do have a + little sense, Peggy.” With that I was off with my letter, and I locked my + door before I read it. + </p> + <p> + Of all the insane ravings! I put it on my hearth and struck a match, and + the thing went up in flame and smoke. Then I went down to poor little + Peggy and patched up a story. I have always been averse to lying, and I + did not lie then, although I must admit that what I said was open to + criticism when it comes to exact verity. I told Peggy that Harry thought + that he had done something to make her angry (that was undeniably true) + and did not dare write her. I refused utterly to tell her just what was in + the letter, but I did succeed in quieting her and making her think that + Harry had not broken faith with her, but was blaming himself for some + unknown and imaginary wrong he had done her. Peggy rushed immediately up + to her room to write reassuring pages to Harry, and her old-maid aunt had + the horse put in the runabout and was driven over to Whitman, where nobody + knows her—at least the telegraph operator does not. Then I sent a + telegram to Mr. Harry Goward to the effect that if he did not keep his + promise with regard to writing F. L. to P. her A. would never speak to him + again; that A. was about to send L., but he must keep his promise with + regard to P. by next M. + </p> + <p> + It looked like the most melodramatic Sunday personal ever invented. It + might have meant burglary or murder or a snare for innocence, but I sent + it. Now I have written. My letter went in the same mail as poor Peggy's, + but what will be the outcome of it all I cannot say. Sometimes I catch + Peggy looking at me with a curious awakened expression, and then I wonder + if she has begun to suspect. I cannot tell how it will end. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0003" id="link2H_4_0003"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + III. THE GRANDMOTHER, by Mary Heaton Vorse + </h2> + <p> + The position of an older woman in her daughter's house is often difficult. + It makes no difference to me that Ada is a mother herself; she might be + even a great-grandmother, and yet in my eyes she would still be Ada, my + little girl. I feel the need of guiding her and protecting her just as + much this minute as when she was a baby in the nursery; only now the task + is much more difficult. That is why I say that the position of women + placed as I am is often hard, harder than if I lived somewhere else, + because although I am with Ada I can no longer protect her from anything—not + even from myself, my illnesses and weaknesses. It sometimes seems to me, + so eagerly do I follow the lights and shadows of my daughter's life, as if + I were living a second existence together with my own. Only as I grow + older I am less fitted physically to bear things, even though I take them + philosophically. + </p> + <p> + When Ada and the rest of my children were little, I could guard against + the menaces to their happiness; I could keep them out of danger; if their + little friends didn't behave, I sent them home. When it was needed, I + didn't hesitate to administer a good wholesome spanking to my children. + There isn't one of these various things but needs doing now in Ada's + house. I can't, however, very well spank Cyrus, nor can I send Elizabeth + home. All I CAN do is to sit still and hold my tongue, though I don't + know, I'm sure, what the end of it all is to be. + </p> + <p> + Life brings new lessons at every turn in the road, and one of the hardest + of all is the one we older people have to learn—to sit still while + our children hurt themselves, or, what is worse, to sit still while other + people hurt our children. It is especially hard for me to bear, when life + is made difficult for my Ada, for if ever any one deserved happiness my + daughter does. I try to do justice to every one, and I hope I am not + unfair when I say that the best of men, and Cyrus is one of them, are + sometimes blind and obstinate. Of all my children, Ada gave me the least + trouble, and was always the most loving and tender and considerate. + Indeed, if Ada has a fault, it is being too considerate. I could, if she + only would let me, help her a great deal more around the house; although + Ada is a very good housekeeper, I am constantly seeing little things that + need doing. I do my best to prevent the awful waste of soap that goes on, + and there are a great many little ways Ada could let me save for her if + she would. When I suggest this to her she laughs and says, “Wait till we + need to save as badly as that, mother,” which doesn't seem to me good + reasoning at all. “Waste not, want not,” say I, and when it comes to + throwing out perfectly good glass jars, as the girls would do if I didn't + see to it they saved them, why, I put my foot down. If Ada doesn't want + them herself to put things up in, why, some poor woman will. I don't + believe in throwing things away that may come in handy sometime. When I + kept house nobody ever went lacking strings or a box of whatever size, to + send things away in, or paper in which to do it up, and I can remember in + mother's day there was never a time she hadn't pieces put by for a + handsome quilt. Machinery has put a stop to many of our old occupations, + and the result is a generation of nervous women who haven't a single thing + in life to occupy themselves with but their own feelings, while girls like + Peggy, who are active and useful, have nothing to do but to go to school + and keep on going to school. If one wanted to dig into the remote cause of + things, one might find the root of our present trouble in these changed + conditions, for Cyrus's sister, Elizabeth, is one of these unoccupied + women. Formerly in a family like ours there would have been so much to do + that, whether she liked it or not, and whether she had married or not, + Elizabeth would have had to be a useful woman—and now the less said + the better. + </p> + <p> + It is hard, I say, to see the causes for unhappiness set in action and yet + do nothing, or, if one speaks, to speak to deaf ears. Oh, it is very hard + to do this, and this has been the portion of older women always. Our + children sometimes won't even let us dry their tears for them, but cry by + themselves, as I know Ada has been doing lately—though in the end + she came to me, or rather I went to her, for, after all, I am living in + the same world with the rest of them. I have not passed over to the other + side yet, and while I stay I am not going to be treated as if I were a + disembodied spirit. I have eyes of my own, and ears too, and I can see as + well as the next man when things go wrong. + </p> + <p> + I have always known that no good would come of sending Peggy to a + coeducational college. I urged Ada to set her foot down, for Ada didn't + wish to send Peggy there, naturally enough, but she wouldn't. + </p> + <p> + “Well,” said I, “I'M not afraid to speak my mind to your husband.” Now I + very seldom open my mouth to Cyrus, or to any one else in this house, for + it is more than ever the fashion for people to disregard the advice of + others, and the older I get the more I find it wise to save my breath to + cool my porridge—there come times, however, when I feel it my duty + to speak. + </p> + <p> + “Mark my words, Cyrus,” I said. “You'll be sorry you sent Peggy off to a + boys' school. Girls at her age are impressionable, and if they aren't + under their mothers' roofs, where they can be protected and sheltered, + why, then send them to a seminary where they will see as few young men as + possible.” + </p> + <p> + Cyrus only laughed and said: + </p> + <p> + “Well, mother, you can say 'I told you so' if anything bad comes of it.” + </p> + <p> + “It's all very well to laugh, Cyrus,” I answered, “but <i>I</i> don't + believe in putting difficulties into life that aren't there already, and + that's what sending young men and young women off to the same college + seems to ME!” + </p> + <p> + When Peggy came home engaged, after her last year, everybody was + surprised. + </p> + <p> + “I'm sure I don't know what Cyrus expected,” I said to Ada. “You can't go + out in the rain without getting wet. Let us pray that this young man will + turn out to be all right, though we know so little about him.” For all we + knew was what Peggy told us, and you know the kind of things young girls + have to tell one about their sweethearts. Peggy didn't even know what + church his people went to! I couldn't bear the thought of that dear child + setting out on the long journey of marriage in such a fashion. I looked + forward with fear to what Ada might have to go through if it didn't turn + out all right. For one's daughter's sorrows are one's own; what she + suffers one must suffer, too. It is hard for a mother to see a care-free, + happy young girl turn into a woman before her eyes. Even if a woman is + very happy, marriage brings many responsibilities, and a woman who has + known the terror of watching beside a sick child can never be quite the + same, I think. We ourselves grew and deepened under such trials, and we + wouldn't wish our daughters to be less than ourselves; but, oh, how glad I + should be to have Peggy spared some things! How happy I should be to know + that she was to have for her lot only the trials we all must have! I do + not want to see my Ada having to bear the unhappiness of seeing Peggy + unhappy. Even if Peggy puts up a brave face, Ada will know—she will + know just as I have known things in my own children's lives; and I shall + know, too. This young man has it in his hands to trouble my old age. + </p> + <p> + No mother and daughter can live together as Ada and I have without what + affects one of us affecting the other. When her babies were born I was + with her; I helped her bring them up; as I have grown older, though she + comes to me less and less, wishing to spare me, I seem to need less + telling; for I know myself when anything ails her. + </p> + <p> + It amazed me to see how Ada took Peggy's engagement, and when young Henry + Goward came to visit, I made up my mind that he should not go away again + without our finding out a little, at any rate, of what his surroundings + had been, and what his own principles were. As we grow older we see more + and more that character is the main thing in life, and I would rather have + a child of mine marry a young man of sound principles whom she respected + than one of undisciplined character and lax ideas whom she loved. When I + said things like this to Ada, she replied: + </p> + <p> + “I'm afraid you're prejudiced against that poor boy because he and Peggy + happened to meet at college.” + </p> + <p> + I answered: “I am not prejudiced at all, Ada, but I feel that all of us, + you especially, should keep our eyes and ears open. Wait! is all I say.” + </p> + <p> + I know my own faults, for I have always believed that one is never too old + for character-building, and I know that being prejudiced is not one of + them. I realize too keenly that as women advance in years they are very + apt to get set in their ways unless they take care, and I am naturally too + fair-minded to judge a man before I have seen him. Maria and Alice were + prejudiced, if you like. Maria, indeed, had so much to say to Ada that I + interfered, though it is contrary to my custom. + </p> + <p> + “I should think, Maria,” I said, “that however old you are, you would + realize that your father and mother are EVEN better able to judge than you + as to their children's affairs.” I cannot imagine where Maria gets her + dominant disposition. It is very unlike the women of our family. + </p> + <p> + When he came, however, Mr. Goward's manners and appearance impressed me + favorably. Neither Ada nor Cyrus, as far as I could see, tried in the + least to draw him out. I sat quiet for a while, but at last for Peggy's + sake I felt I would do what I could to find out his views on important + things. I was considerably relieved to hear that his mother was a Van + Horn, a very good Troy family and distant connection of mother's. + </p> + <p> + When I asked him what he was, “My PEOPLE are Episcopalians,” he replied. + </p> + <p> + “I suppose that means YOU are something else?” I asked him. + </p> + <p> + “I'm afraid it means I'm nothing else,” he answered; and while I was glad + he was so honest, I couldn't help feeling anxious at having Peggy engaged + to a man so unformed in his beliefs. I do not care so much WHAT people + believe, for I am not bigoted, as that they should believe SOMETHING, and + that with their whole hearts. There are a great many young men like Henry + Goward, to-day, who have no fixed beliefs and no established principles + beyond a vague desire to be what they call “decent fellows.” One needs + more than that in this world. + </p> + <p> + However, I found the boy likable, and everything went smoothly for a time, + when all at once I felt something had gone wrong—what, I didn't + know. Mr. Goward received a telegram and left suddenly. Ada, I could see, + was anxious; Peggy, tearful; and, as if this wasn't enough, Mrs. Temple, + our new neighbor, who had seemed a sensible body to me, had some sort of a + falling-out with Aunt Elizabeth, who pretended that Mrs. Temple was + jealous of her! After Mrs. Temple had gone home, Elizabeth Talbert went + around pleased as Punch and swore us all to solemn secrecy never to tell + any one about “Mrs. Temple's absurd jealousy.” + </p> + <p> + “You needn't worry about me, Aunt Elizabeth,” I said. “I'm not likely to + go around proclaiming that ANOTHER woman has made a fool of herself.” + </p> + <p> + Elizabeth Talbert is one of those women who live on a false basis. She is + a case of arrested development. She enjoys the same amusements that she + did fifteen years ago. She is like a young fruit that has been put up in a + preserving fluid and gives the illusion of youth; the preserving fluid in + her case is the disappointment she suffered as a girl. I like useful women—women + who, whether married or unmarried, bring things to pass in this world, and + Elizabeth does not. Still, I can't help feeling sorry for her, poor thing; + in the end our own shortcomings and vanities hurt us more than they hurt + any one else. I heartily wish she would get married—I have known + women older than Elizabeth, and worse-looking, to find husbands—both + for her own sake and for Ada's, for her comings and goings complicate life + for my daughter. She diffuses around her an atmosphere of criticism—I + do not think she ever returns from a visit to the city without wishing + that we should have dinner at night, and Alice is beginning to prick up + her ears and listen to her. She spends a great deal of time over her + dress, and, if she has grown no older, neither have her clothes—not + a particle. She dresses in gowns suitable for Peggy, but which Maria, who + is years younger than her aunt, would not think of wearing. Elizabeth is + the kind of woman who is a changed being at the approach of a man; she is + even different when Cyrus or Billy is around; she brightens up and exerts + herself to please them; but when she is alone with Ada and me she is + frankly bored and looks out of the window in a sad, far-away manner. The + presence of men has a most rejuvenating effect on Aunt Elizabeth, although + she pretends she has never been interested in any man since her + disappointment years ago. When she got back and found Harry Goward here, + instead of relapsing into her lack-lustre ways, as she generally does, she + kept on her interested air. + </p> + <p> + I have always thought that houses have their atmosphere, like people, and + this house lately has seemed bewitched. After Mr. Goward left, although + every one tried to pretend things were as they should be, the situation + grew more and more uncomfortable. I felt it, though no one told me a + thing. I fancy that most older people have the same experience often that + I have had lately. All at once you are aware something is wrong. You can't + tell why you feel this; you only know that you are living in the cold + shadow of some invisible unhappiness. You see no tears in the eyes of the + people you love, but tears have been shed just the same. Why? You don't + know, and no one thinks of telling you. It is like seeing life from so far + off that you cannot make out what has happened. I have sometimes leaned + out of a window and have seen down the street a crowd of gesticulating + people, but I was too far off to know whether some one was hurt or whether + it was only people gathered around a man selling something. When I see + such things my heart beats, for I am always afraid it is an accident, and + so with the things I don't know in my own household. I always fancy them + worse than they are. There are so many things one can imagine when one + doesn't KNOW, and now I fancied everything. Such things, I think, tell on + older people more than on younger ones, and at last I went to my room and + kept there most of the time, reading William James's Varieties of + Religious Experience. It is an excellent work in many ways. I am told it + is given in sanitariums for nervous people to read, for the purpose of + getting their minds off themselves. I found it useful to get my mind off + others, for of late I have gotten to an almost morbid alertness, and I + know by the very way Peggy ran up the stairs that something ailed her even + before I caught a glimpse of her face, which showed me that she was going + straight to her room to cry. + </p> + <p> + This sort of thing had happened too often, and I made up my mind I would + not live in this moral fog another moment. So I went to Ada. + </p> + <p> + “Ada,” I said, “I am your mother, and I think I have a right to ask you a + question. I want to know this: what has that young man been doing?” + </p> + <p> + “I suppose you mean Harry,” Ada answered. “He hasn't been doing anything. + Peggy's a little upset because he isn't a good correspondent. You know how + girls feel—” + </p> + <p> + “Don't tell ME, Ada,” said I. “I know better. There's more in it than + that. Peggy's a sensible girl. There's something wrong, and I want you to + tell me what it is.” Younger people don't realize how bad it can be to be + left to worry alone in the dark. + </p> + <p> + Ada sat down with a discouraged air such as I have seldom seen her with. I + went over to her and took her hand in mine. + </p> + <p> + “Tell mother what's worrying you, dear,” I said, gently. + </p> +<div class="fig" style="width:50%;"> <img src="images/{0085}.jpg" alt="{0085}" width="100%" /><br /> </div> <h5> <a href="images/{0085}.jpg"> <img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a> </h5> + + <p> + “Why, it's all so absurd,” Ada answered. “I can't make head or tail of it. + Aunt Elizabeth came to me full of mystery soon after she came back, and + told me that Harry Goward had become infatuated with her when she was off + on one of her visits—” + </p> + <p> + I couldn't help exclaiming, “Well, of all things!” + </p> + <p> + “That's not the queerest part,” Ada went on. “She told me as confidently + as could be that he is still in love with her.” + </p> + <p> + “Ada,” said I, “Elizabeth Talbert must be daft! Does she think that all + the men in the world are in love with her—at her age? First Mrs. + Temple making such a rumpus, and now this—” + </p> + <p> + “At first I thought just as you do,” Ada said, helplessly. “Of course + there can't be anything in it—and yet—I'm sure I don't + understand the situation at all. You know Harry left quite unexpectedly—soon + after Elizabeth came; he didn't write for a week—and then to her, + and Peggy's only had one short note from him—” + </p> + <p> + I can see through a hole in a millstone as well as any one, and a light + dawned on me. + </p> + <p> + “You can depend upon it, Ada,” I said, “Aunt Elizabeth has been making + trouble! I don't know what she's been up to, but she's been up to + something! I wondered why she had been having such a contented look lately—and + now I know.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, mother, I can't believe that!” Ada protested. “I thought Elizabeth + was a little vain and silly, and, though everything is so + incomprehensible, I don't believe for a moment that Aunt Elizabeth would + do anything to hurt Peggy.” + </p> + <p> + My Ada is a truly good woman—so good that it is almost impossible + for her to believe ill of any one, and she was profoundly shocked at what + I suggested. + </p> + <p> + “I don't think in the beginning Elizabeth intended to hurt Peggy,” I + answered her, gently, “but when you've lived as long in the world as I + have you'll realize to what lengths a woman will go to show the world + she's still young. Just look at it for yourself. Everything was going + smoothly until Elizabeth came. Now it's not. Elizabeth has told you she's + had goings-on with Harry Goward. I don't see, Ada, how you can be so blind + as not to be willing to look the truth in the face. If it's not + Elizabeth's fault, whose is it? I don't suppose you believe Henry Goward's + dying for love of Aunt Elizabeth when he can look at Peggy! Oh, I'd like + to hear his side of the story! For you may be sure that there is one!” + </p> + <p> + “Mother,” said Ada, “if I believed Elizabeth had done anything to mar that + child's happiness—” + </p> + <p> + She stopped for fear, I suppose, of what she might be led to say. “We + mustn't judge before we know,” she finished. But I knew by the look on her + face that, if Aunt Elizabeth has made trouble, Ada will never forgive her. + </p> + <p> + “What does Cyrus say to all this?” I asked, by way of diversion. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, I haven't told Cyrus anything about it. I didn't intend to tell any + one—about Aunt Elizabeth's part in it. I think Cyrus is a little + uneasy himself, but he's been so busy lately—” + </p> + <p> + “Well,” I said, “<i>I</i> think Cyrus ought to be told! And you're the one + to do it. Don't let's judge, to be sure, before we know everything, but I + think Cyrus ought to know the mischief his sister is making! Elizabeth + simply makes a convenience of this house. It's her basis of departure to + pack her trunk from, that's all your home means to her. She's never lifted + a finger to be useful beyond rearranging the furniture in a different way + from what you'd arranged it. She acts exactly as if she were a young lady + boarder. She's nothing whatever to do in this world except make trouble + for others. I think Cyrus should know, and then if he prefers his sister's + convenience to his wife's happiness, well and good!” It's not often I + speak out, but now and then things happen which I can't very well keep + silent about. It did me good to ease my mind about Elizabeth Talbert for + once. + </p> + <p> + Ada only said, “Elizabeth and I have always been such good friends, and + she's so fond of Peggy.” + </p> + <p> + Ada doesn't realize that with some women vanity is stronger than loyalty. + She kissed me. “It's done me good to talk to you, mother,” she said, + “because now it doesn't seem, when I put it outside myself, that there's + very much of anything to worry about.” + </p> + <p> + Ada has always been like that—she seems to get rid of her troubles + just by telling them. Now she had passed her riddle on to me, and I could + not keep Peggy and her affairs from my mind. I tried to tell myself that + it would be better for every one to find out now than later if Henry + Goward was not worthy to be Peggy's husband. But, oh, for all their sakes, + how I hoped this cloud, whatever it was, would blow over! I have a very + good constitution and I know how to take care of it, but when several more + days passed without Peggy's hearing from Henry again I gave way, but I + tried to keep up on Ada's account. I began to see how much this young + man's honor and faithfulness meant to Peggy, and I took long excursions + back into the past to remember how I felt at her age. Mail-time was the + difficult time for all three of us. Before the postman came Peggy would + brighten up; not that she was drooping at any time, only I knew how + tensely she waited, because Ada and I waited with her. When the man came, + and again no letters, Peggy held up her head bravely as could be, but I + could see, all the same, how the light had gone out. The worst of it was, + everybody knew about it. It would have been twice as easy for the child if + she could have borne it alone, but Elizabeth Talbert watched the mail like + a cat, and even manoeuvred to try and get the letters before Peggy, while + Alice went around with her nose in the air, and I heard Maria saying to + Ada: + </p> + <p> + “What's all this about Harry Goward's not writing?” + </p> + <p> + To escape it all I took to my room, coming down only for meals. I couldn't + eat a thing, and Cyrus noticed it—it is queer how observant men are + about some things and how unobservant about others. He didn't tell me what + he was going to do, but in the afternoon Dr. Denbigh came to see me. + That's the way they do—I'm liable to have the doctor sent in to look + me over any time, whether I want him or not. Dr. Denbigh is an excellent + friend and a good doctor, but at my time of life I should be lacking in + intelligence if I didn't understand my constitution better than any doctor + can. They seem to think that there's more virtue in a pill or a powder + because a doctor gives it to one than because one's common-sense tells one + to take it. That afternoon I didn't need him any more than a squirrel + needs a pocket, and I told him so. He laughed, and then grew serious. + </p> + <p> + “You're not looking as well as you did, Mrs. Evarts,” he said, “and + Talbert told me that you had all the preliminary symptoms of one of your + attacks and wanted me to 'nip it in the bud,' he said.” + </p> + <p> + “Dr. Denbigh,” said I, “if the matter with me could be cured by the things + you know, there are other people in this house who need your attention + more than I.” I wanted to add that if Cyrus would always be as far-sighted + as he has been about me there wouldn't be anything the matter to-day, but + I held my tongue. + </p> + <p> + “I see you're worried about something,” the doctor said, very kindly. + “Mental anxiety pulls you down quicker than anything.” + </p> + <p> + Then as he sat chatting with me so kind and good—there's something + about Dr. Denbigh that makes me think of my own father, although he is + young enough to be my son—I told him the whole thing, all except + Aunt Elizabeth's share in it. I merely told him that Henry Goward had + written to her and not to Peggy. + </p> + <p> + I felt very much better. He took what I told him seriously, and yet not in + the tragic way we did. He has a way of listening that is very comforting. + </p> + <p> + “It seems absurd, I know, for an old woman like me to get upset just + because her grandchild does not get letters from her sweetheart,” I told + him. “But you see, doctor, no one suffers alone in a family like ours. An + event like this is like a wave that disturbs the whole surface of the + water. Every one of us feels anything that happens, each in his separate + way. Why, I can't be sick without its causing inconvenience to Billy.” And + it is true; people in this world are bound up together in an extraordinary + fashion; and I wondered if Henry Goward's mother was unhappy too, and was + wondering what it was Peggy had done to her boy, for she, of course, will + think whatever happens is Peggy's fault. The engagement of these two young + people has been like a stone thrown into a pond, and it takes only a very + little pebble to ruffle the water farther than one would believe it + possible. + </p> + <p> + After the doctor left, Ada came to sit with me. We were sewing quietly + when I heard voices in the hall. I heard Peggy say, “I want you to tell + mother.” Then Billy growled: + </p> + <p> + “I don't see what you're making such a kick for. I wouldn't have told you + if I'd known you'd be so silly.” + </p> + <p> + And I heard Peggy say again: + </p> + <p> + “I want you to tell mother.” Her tone was perfectly even, but it sounded + like Cyrus when he is angry. They both came in. Peggy was flushed, and her + lips were pressed firmly together. She looked older than I have ever seen + her. + </p> + <p> + “What's the matter?” Ada asked them. + </p> + <p> + “Tell her,” Peggy commanded. Billy didn't know what it all was about. + </p> + <p> + “Why, I just said I wondered what Aunt Elizabeth was telegraphing Harry + Goward about, and now she drags me in here and makes a fuss,” he said, in + an aggrieved tone. + </p> + <p> + “He was over at Whitman playing around the telegraph-office—he had + driven over on the express-wagon—and when Aunt Elizabeth drove up he + hid because he didn't want her to see him. Then he heard the operator read + the address aloud,” Peggy explained, evenly. + </p> + <p> + “Is this so?” Ada asked. + </p> + <p> + “Sure,” Billy answered, disgustedly, and made off as fast as he could. + </p> + <p> + “Now,” said Peggy, “I want to know why Harry wrote to Aunt Elizabeth, and + why she telegraphed him—over there where no one could see her!” She + stood up very straight. “I think I ought to know,” she said, gently. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, dear,” Ada answered, “I think you ought.” + </p> + <p> + I shall be sorry for Elizabeth Talbert if she has been making mischief. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0004" id="link2H_4_0004"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + IV. THE DAUGHTER-IN-LAW, by Mary Stewart Cutting + </h2> + <p> + I have never identified myself with my husband's family, and Charles + Edward, who is the best sort ever, doesn't expect me to. Of course, I want + to be decent to them, though I know they talk about me, but you can't make + oil and water mix, and I don't see the use of pretending that you can. I + know they never can understand how Charles Edward married me, and they + never can get used to my being such a different type from theirs. The + Talberts are all blue-eyed, fair-haired, and rosy, and I'm dark, thin, and + pale, and Grandmother Evarts always thinks I can't be well, and wants me + to take the medicine she takes. + </p> + <p> + But, really, I see very little of the family, except Alice and Billy, who + don't count. Billy comes in at any time he feels like it to get a book and + something to eat, though the others don't know it, and Alice has fits of + stopping in every afternoon on her way from school, and then perhaps + doesn't come near me for weeks. Alice is terribly discontented at home, + and I think it's a very good thing that she is; anything is better than + sinking to that dreadful dead level. She doesn't quite know whether to + take up the artistic life or be a society queen, and she feels that nobody + understands her at home. It makes her nearly wild when Aunt Elizabeth + comes back from one of her grand visits and acts as if SHE wasn't + anything. She came over right after the row, of course, and told me all + about it—she had on her new white China silk and her hat with the + feathers. She said she was so excited about everything that she couldn't + stop to think about what she put on; she looked terribly dressed up, but + she had come all through the village with her waist unfastened in the + middle of the back—she said she couldn't reach the hooks. Aunt + Elizabeth had gone away that morning for overnight, so nobody could get at + her to find out about her actions with Mr. Goward, and the telegram she + had sent to him, until the next day, and every one was nearly crazy. They + talked about it for two hours before Maria went home. Then Peggy had + locked herself in her room, and her mother had gone out, and her + grandmother was sitting now on the piazza, rocking and sighing, with her + eyes shut. Alice said each person had got dreadfully worked up, not only + about Aunt Elizabeth, but about all the ways every other member of the + family had hurt that person at some time. Maria said that Peggy never + would take HER advice, and Peggy returned that Maria had hurt her more + than any one by her attitude toward Harry Goward, that she was so + suspicious of him that it had made him act unnaturally from the first—that + nothing had hurt her so much since the time Maria took away Peggy's doll + on purpose when she was a little girl—the doll she used to sleep + with—and burned it; it was something she had NEVER got over. + </p> + <p> + Then her mother, who hadn't been talking very much, said that Peggy didn't + realize the depth of Maria's affection for her, and what a good sister she + had been, and how she had taken care of Peggy the winter that Peggy was + ill—and then she couldn't help saying that, bad as was this affair + about Harry Goward, it wasn't like the anxiety one felt about a sick + child; there were times when she felt that she could bear anything if + Charles Edward's health were only properly looked after. Of course + Lorraine was young and inexperienced, but if she would only use her + influence with him— + </p> + <p> + Alice broke off suddenly, and said she had to go—it was just as Dr. + Denbigh's little auto was coming down the street. She dashed out of the + door and bowed to him from the crossing, quite like a young lady, for all + her short skirts—she really did look fetching! Dr. Denbigh smiled at + her, but not the way he used to smile at Peggy. I really thought he cared + for Peggy once, though he's so much older that nobody else seemed to dream + of such a thing. + </p> + <p> + Of course, after Alice went, I just sat there in the chair all humped up, + thinking of her last words. + </p> + <p> + The family are always harping on “Lorraine's influence.” If they wanted + their dear Charles Edward made different from the way he is, why on earth + didn't they do it themselves, when they had the chance? That's what I want + to know! I know they mean to be nice to me, but they take it for granted + that every habit Charles Edward has or hasn't, and everything he does or + doesn't, is because I didn't do something that I ought to have done, or + condoned something that I ought not. They seem to think that a man is made + of soft, kindergarten clay, and all a wife has to do is to sit down and + mould him as she pleases. Well, some men may be like that, but Peter + isn't. The family never really have forgiven me for calling their darling + “Charles Edward” Peter. I perfectly loathe that long-winded Walter-Scotty + name, and I don't care how many grandfathers it's descended from. I'm + sorry, of course, if it hurts their feelings, but as long as <i>I</i> + don't object to their calling him what THEY like, I don't see why they + mind. And as for my managing Peter, they know perfectly well that, though + he's a darling, he's just mulishly obstinate. He's had his own way ever + since he was born; the whole family simply adore him. His mother has + always waited on him hand and foot, though she's sensible enough with the + other children. If he looks sulky she is perfectly miserable. I am really + very fond of my mother-in-law—that is, I am fond of her IN SPOTS. + There are times when she understands how I feel about Peter better than + any one else—like that dreadful spring when he had pneumonia and I + was nearly wild. I know she is dreadfully unselfish and kind, but she WILL + think—they all do—that they know what Peter needs better than + I do, and whenever they see me alone it's to hint that I ought to keep him + from smoking too much and being extravagant, and that I should make him + wear his overcoat and go to bed early and take medicine when he has a + cold. And through everything else they hark back to that everlasting, “If + you'd only exert your influence, Lorraine dear, to make Charles Edward + take more interest in the business—his father thinks so much of + that.” + </p> + <p> + If I were to tell them that Charles Edward perfectly detests the business, + and will NEVER be interested in it and never make anything out of it, + they'd all go straight off the handle; yet they all know it just as well + as I do. That's the trouble—you simply can't tell them the truth + about anything; they don't want to hear it. I never talk at all any more + when I go over to the big house, for I can't seem to without horrifying + somebody. + </p> + <p> + I thought I should die when I first came here; it was so different from + the way it is at home, where you can say or do anything you please without + caring what anybody thinks. Dad has always believed in not restricting + individuality, and that girls have just as much right to live their own + lives as boys—which is a fortunate thing, for, counting Momsey, + there are four of us. + </p> + <p> + We never had any system about anything at home, thank goodness! We just + had atmosphere. Dad was an artist, you know, and he does paint such lovely + pictures; but he gave it up as a profession when we were little, and went + into business, because, he said, he couldn't let his family starve—and + we all think it was so perfectly noble of him! I couldn't give up being an + artist for anybody, no matter WHO starved, and Peter feels that way, too. + Of course we both realize that we're not LIVING here in this hole, we're + simply existing, and nothing matters very much until we get out of it. In + six months, when Charles Edward is twenty-five, there's a little money + coming to him—three thousand dollars—and then we're going to + Paris to live our own lives; but nobody knows anything about that. One day + I said something, without thinking, to my mother-in-law about that money; + I've forgotten what it was, but she looked so horrified and actually + gasped: + </p> + <p> + “You wouldn't think of Charles Edward's using his PRINCIPAL, Lorraine?” + </p> + <p> + And I said: “Why not? It's his own principal.” + </p> + <p> + Well, I just made up my mind afterward that I'd never open my mouth again, + while I live here, about ANYTHING I was interested in, even about Peter! + </p> + <p> + His father might have let him go to Paris that year before we met, when he + was in New York at the Art League, just as well as not, but the family all + consulted about it, Peter says, and concluded it wasn't “necessary.” That + is the blight that is always put on everything we want to do—it + isn't necessary. Oh, how Alice hates that word! She says she supposes it's + never “necessary” to be happy. + </p> + <p> + Well, Peter heard that when the Paris scheme came up—he'd written + home that he couldn't work without the art atmosphere—Grandmother + Evarts said: + </p> + <p> + “Why, I'm sure he has the Metropolitan Museum to go to; and there's + Wanamaker's picture-gallery, too. Has he been to Wanamaker's?” + </p> + <p> + I thought I should throw a fit when Peter told me that! + </p> + <p> + I know, of course, that the family pity Peter for living in a house that's + all at sixes and sevens, and for not having everything the way he has been + used to having it; and I know they think I keep him from going to see them + all at home, when the truth is—although, as usual, I can't say it—sometimes + I absolutely have to HOUND him to go there; though, of course, he's + awfully fond of them all, and his mother especially; but he gets + dreadfully lazy, and says they're his own people, anyway, and he can do as + he pleases about it. It's their own fault, because they've always spoiled + him. And if they only knew how he hates just that way of living he's been + always used to, with its little, petty cast-iron rules and regulations, + and the stupid family meals, where everybody is expected to be on time to + the minute! My father-in-law pulls out his chair at the dinner-table + exactly as the clock is striking one, and if any member of the family is a + fraction late all the rest are solemn and strained and nervous until the + culprit appears. Peter says the way he used to suffer—he was NEVER + on time. + </p> + <p> + The menu for each day of the week is as fixed as fate, no matter what the + season of the year: hot roast beef, Sunday; cold roast beef, Monday; + beef-steak, Tuesday; roast mutton, Wednesday; mutton pot-pie, Thursday; + corned beef, Friday; and beef-steak again on Saturday. My father-in-law + never eats fish or poultry, so they only have either if there is state + company. There's one sacred apple pudding that's been made every Wednesday + for nineteen years, and if you can imagine anything more positively + dreadful than that, <i>I</i> can't. + </p> + <p> + Every time, as soon as we sit down to the table, Grandmother Evarts always + begins, officially: + </p> + <p> + “Well, Charles Edward, my dear boy, we don't have you here very often + nowadays. I said to your mother yesterday that it was two whole weeks + since you had been to see her. What have you been doing with yourself + lately?” + </p> + <p> + And when he says, as he always does, “Nothing, grandmother,” I know she's + disappointed, and then she starts in and tells what she has been doing, + and Maria—Maria always manages to be there when we are—Maria + tells what SHE has been doing, with little side digs at me because I + haven't been pickling or preserving or cleaning. Once, when I first went + there, Maria asked me at dinner what days I had for cleaning. And I said, + as innocently as possible, that I hadn't any; that I perfectly loathed + cleaning, and that we never cleaned at home! Of course it wasn't true, but + we never talk about it, anyway. Peter said he nearly shrieked with joy to + hear me come out like that. + </p> + <p> + It was almost as bad as the time I wore that sweet little yellow Empire + gown. It's a dear, and Lyman Wilde simply raved over it when he painted me + in it (not that he can really paint, but he has a TOUCH with everything he + does). I noticed that everybody seemed solemn and queer, but I never + dreamed that I was the cause until my mother-in-law came to me afterward, + blushing, and told me that Mr. Talbert never allowed any of the family to + wear Mother Hubbards around the house. MOTHER HUBBARDS! I could have + moaned. Well, when I go around there now I never care what I have on, and + I never pretend to talk at meals; I just sit and try and make my mind a + blank until it's over. You HAVE to make your mind a blank if you don't + want to be driven raving crazy by that dining-room. It has a hideous + black-walnut sideboard, an “oil-painting” of pale, bloated fruit on one + side, and pale, bloated fish on the other, and a strip of black-and-white + marbled oil-cloth below. + </p> + <p> + I feel sometimes as if I could hardly live until my father-in-law rises + from his chair and kisses his wife good-bye before going off to the + factory. She always blushes so prettily when he kisses her—as if it + were for the first time. Then everybody looks pained when Peter and I just + nod at each other as he goes out—I cannot be affectionate to him + before them—and then, thank Heaven! the rest of us escape from the + dining-room. + </p> + <p> + How Peggy, who has been away from home and seen and done things, can stand + it there now as it is, is a continual wonder to me. + </p> + <p> + Peggy is a dear little thing. Peter has always been awfully fond of her, + but she doesn't seem to have an idea in her head beyond her clothes and + Harry Goward, though she'll HAVE to have something more to her if she's + going to keep HIM. The moment I saw that boy, of course I knew that he had + the artistic temperament; I've seen so much of it. He's the kind that's + always awfully gloomy until eleven o'clock in the morning, and has to make + love intensely to somebody every evening. What it must have been to that + boy, after indulging in a romantic dream with poor little earnest, + downright Peggy, to wake up and find the engagement taken seriously not + only by her, but by all her relatives—find himself being welcomed + into the family, introduced to them all as a future member—what it + must have been to him I can't imagine! Peggy has no more temperament than + a cow—the combination of Maria and Tom, and Grandmother Evarts, and + Billy with his face washed clean, and Alice with three enormous bows on + her hair, all waiting to welcome him, standing by the pictorial lamp on + the brown worsted mat on the centre-table, made me fairly howl when I sat + at home and thought of it—and that was before I'd SEEN Harry. + </p> + <p> + The family were, of course, quite “hurt” that Peter and I wouldn't assist + at the celebration. I cannot see why people WILL want you to do things + when they KNOW you don't care to! + </p> + <p> + The next evening, however, we had to go, when Peggy herself came around + and asked us. Of course Mr. Goward was with Peggy most of the time. They + certainly looked charming together, but rather conscious and stiff. Every + member of the family was watching his every motion. Oh, I've been there! I + know what it is! + </p> + <p> + Some of the neighbors were there, too. Peter hardly ever plays on the big, + old-fashioned grand-piano, but that night he was so bored he had to. The + family always THINK they're very musical—you can know the style when + I tell you that after Peter has been rambling through bits from Schumann + and Richard Strauss they always ask him if he won't “play something.” + Well, after Peggy had gone into the other room with her mother to do the + polite to Mrs. Temple, Mr. Goward gravitated over to where I sat in the + big bay-window behind the piano; he had that “be-good-to-me,-won't-you?” + air that I know so well! Then we got to talking and listening in between + whiles—he knows lots of girls in the Art League—till Peter + began playing that heart-breaking “Im Herbst” from the Franz Songs, and + then he said: + </p> + <p> + “You're going to be my sister, aren't you? Won't you let me hold your hand + while your husband's playing that? It makes me feel so lonely!” + </p> + <p> + I answered, promptly, “Certainly; hold both hands if you like!” + </p> + <p> + And we laughed, and Peter turned around for a moment and smiled, too. Oh, + it WAS nice to meet somebody of one's own kind! You get so sick of having + everything taken seriously. + </p> + <p> + That night, after we'd left the house, Harry caught up with us at the + corner on his way to the hotel, and went home with us, and we all talked + until three o'clock in the morning. We simply ate all over the house—goodness! + how hungry we were! At Peter's home it's an unheard-of thing to eat + anything after half-past six—almost a crime, unless it's a wedding + or state reception. We began now with coffee in the dining-room, and jam + and cheese, and ended by gradual stages at hot lobster in the chafing-dish + in the studio—the darky was out all night, as usual. + </p> + <p> + Then Harry and Peter concluded that it was too late to go to bed at all—it + was really daylight—so they took bath-towels and went down to the + river and had a swim, and Harry slipped back to the house at six o'clock. + He said we'd repeat it all the next night, but of course we didn't. He's + the kind that, as soon as he's promised to do a thing, feels at once that + he doesn't really want to do it. + </p> + <p> + The next day Peter's Aunt Elizabeth came on the scene, and of course we + stayed away as much as we could. She loves Peter—they all do—but + she hasn't any use for me, and shows it. She thinks I'm perfectly dumb and + stupid. I simply don't exist, and I've never tried to undeceive her—it's + too much trouble. She always wants to tell people how to do their hair and + put on their clothes. + </p> + <p> + Miss Elizabeth Talbert is a howling swell; she only just endures it here. + I've heard lots of things about her from Bell Pickering, who knows the + Munroes—Lily Talbert, they call her there. She thinks she's fond of + Art, but she really doesn't know the first thing about it—she + doesn't like anything that isn't expensive and elegant and a la mode. + </p> + <p> + The only time she ever came to see me she actually PICKED her way around + the house when I was showing it to her—there's no other word to use—just + because there was a glass of jelly on the sofa, and the painting things + were all over the studio with Peter's clothes. I perfectly hated her that + day, yet I do love to look at her, and I can see how she might be terribly + nice if you were any one she thought worth caring for. There have been + times when I've seen a look on her face, like the clear ethereal light + beyond the sunset, that just PULLED at me. She is very fond of Peggy; I + know she would never do anything to injure Peggy. + </p> + <p> + Poor little Peggy! When I think of this affair about Harry Goward I don't + believe she ever felt sure of him; that is why she is so worked up over + this matter now. I know there was something that I felt from the first + through all her excitement, something that wasn't quite happy in her + happiness. I feel atmospheres at once; I just can't help it. And when I + get feeling other people's atmospheres too much I lose my own, and then I + can't paint. I began so well the other day with the picture of that + Armenian peddler, and now since Alice left I can't do a thing with it; his + bare yellow knees look just like ugly grape-fruit. I wish Sally was in. + She can't cook, but she can do a song-and-dance that's worth its weight in + gold when you're down in the mouth. + </p> + <p> + —Just then I looked out of the window and saw my mother-in-law + coming in. For a minute I was frightened. I'd never seen her look like + that before—so white and almost OLD; she seemed hardly able to walk, + and I ran to the door and helped her in, and put her in a chair and her + feet on a footstool, and got her my dear little Venetian bottle of + smelling-salts with the long silver chain; it's so beautiful it makes you + feel better just to look at it. I whisked Peter's shoes out into the hall, + and when I sat down by her she put her hand out to me and said, “Dear + child,” and I got all throaty, the way I do when any one speaks like that + to me, for, oh, I HAVE been lonesome for Dad and Momsey and my own dear + home! though no one ever seems to imagine it, and I said: + </p> +<div class="fig" style="width:50%;"> <img src="images/{0111}.jpg" alt="{0111}" width="100%" /><br /> </div> <h5> <a href="images/{0111}.jpg"> <img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a> </h5> + + <p> + “Oh, can't I do something for you, Madonna?” I usually just call her + “you,” but once in a great while, when there's nobody else around, I call + her Madonna, and I know she likes it, even if she does think it a little + Romish or sacrilegious or something queer. + </p> + <p> + But she said she didn't want anything, only to rest a few minutes, and + that there was something she wanted me to tell Peter. She couldn't come in + the evening to see him without every one wanting to know why she came. + There was some terrible trouble about Peggy's engagement. She flushed up + and hesitated, and when I broke in to say, “You needn't bother to explain, + I know all about the whole thing,” she didn't seem at all surprised or ask + how I knew—she only seemed relieved to find that she could go right + on. I never can be demonstrative to her before people, but I just put my + arms around her now when she said: + </p> + <p> + “It's a great comfort to be able to come to you, Lorraine, and speak out. + At home your dear grandmother considers me so much—she only thinks + of everything as it affects me, but it makes it so that I can't always + show what I feel, for if I do she gets ill. All <i>I</i> can think of is + Peggy. If you knew what it was to me just now when my little Peggy went + away from me and locked herself in her room—Peggy, who all her life + has always come to me for comfort—” + </p> + <p> + She stopped for a minute, and I patted her. It was so unlike my + mother-in-law to speak in this way; she's usually so self-contained that + it made me sort of awestruck. After a moment she went on in a different + voice: + </p> + <p> + “They all want me to tell Cyrus—your father—that Aunt + Elizabeth has been trying to take Mr. Goward's affections away from Peggy. + I'm afraid it's just what she has been doing, though it seems incredible + that she should have any attraction for a young man. I was glad Elizabeth + had gone away overnight, for Maria is in such a state I don't know what + might have happened.” + </p> + <p> + “And don't you want to tell—father?” I gulped, but I knew I must say + it. “Why not, Madonna?” + </p> + <p> + She shook her head, with that look that makes you feel sometimes that she + isn't just the gentle and placid person that she appears to be. I seemed + to catch a glimpse of something very clear and strong. If I could paint + her with an expression like that I'd make my fortune. + </p> + <p> + “No, Lorraine. If it was about anybody but your aunt Elizabeth I would, + but I can't speak against her. It's her home as well as mine; I've always + realized that. I made up my mind, when I married, that I never would come + between brother and sister, and I never have. Aunt Elizabeth doesn't know + how many times I have smoothed matters over for her, how many times Cyrus + has been provoked because he thought she didn't show enough consideration + for me. I have always loved Aunt Elizabeth, and I believed she loved us—but + when I saw my Peggy to-day, Lorraine, I couldn't go and tell your father + about Aunt Elizabeth while I feel as I do now! I couldn't be just. If I + made him angry with her—” + </p> + <p> + She stopped, and I didn't need to have her go on. My father-in-law is one + of those big, kind, sensible, good-natured men who, when they do get + angry, go clear off the handle, and are so absolutely furious and + unreasonable you can't do anything with them. He got that way at Peter + once—but it makes me so furious myself when I think of it that I + never do. + </p> + <p> + “And, Lorraine,” Madonna went on, quite simply, “bringing all this home to + Aunt Elizabeth and making her pay up for it really has nothing to do with + Peggy's happiness. It is my child's happiness that I want, Lorraine. There + may be a misunderstanding of some kind—misunderstandings are very + cruel things sometimes, Lorraine. I cannot believe that boy doesn't care + for her—why, he loved her dearly! It seems to me far the best and + most dignified thing to just write to Mr. Goward himself and find out the + truth.” + </p> + <p> + “I think so, too!” said I. “Oh, Madonna, you're a Jim Dandy!” + </p> + <p> + “And so,” she went on, “I want you to ask Charles Edward to write + to-night. I'll leave the address with you. As Peggy's brother, it will be + more suitable for him to attend to the matter.” + </p> + <p> + Charles Edward! I simply gasped. The idea of Peter's writing to Harry + Goward to ask him the state of his affections! If Peter's mother couldn't + realize how perfectly impossible it was for even ME to make Peter do a + thing that—Well—I was knocked silly. + </p> + <p> + Dear Madonna is the survival of a period when a woman always expected some + man to face any crisis for her. All I could do was to say, resignedly: + </p> + <p> + “I'll give him the address.” And when she got up I went to the gate with + her. She was as dear as she could be; I just loved her until she happened + to say: + </p> + <p> + “When I came in I thought you might be lying down, for I looked up and saw + the shades were pulled down in your room, as they are now.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh,” I said, “I don't suppose anybody has been back in the room since we + got up.” And I was downright scared, she looked at me so strangely and + began to tremble all over. “What IS the matter?” I cried. “Do come into + the house again!” But she only grasped my arm and said, tragically: + </p> + <p> + “Lorraine, it isn't POSSIBLE that you haven't made your bed at four + o'clock in the afternoon!” And I answered: + </p> + <p> + “Oh, I always make it up before I sleep in it.” And then I knew that I'd + said just the wrong thing. What difference it can make to ANYBODY what + time you make your OWN bed I can't see! She tried to make me promise I'd + always make it up before ten o'clock in the morning. Why, I wouldn't even + promise to always feel fond of Peter at ten o'clock in the morning! I + NEVER have anything to do with the family without always feeling on edge + afterward. Why, when she was so sweet and strong about Peggy and Aunt + Elizabeth and all the rest of it, WHY should she get upset about such a + trifle? + </p> + <p> + I stood there by the gate just glowering as she went off. I knew she + thought I was going to perdition. I was sick of “the engagement.” What + business was it of Peter's and mine, anyhow? It had nothing to do with us, + really. Then I thought of the time Peter and I quarrelled, and how DEAR + Lyman Wilde was about it, and how he brought Peter back to me—just + to say the name of Lyman Wilde always makes me feel better. I adore him, + and always shall, and Peter knows it. If I could only go back to the + Settlement and hear him say, “Little girl,” in that coaxing voice of his! + He is one of those men who are always working so hard for other people + that you forget he hasn't anything for himself. + </p> + <p> + Thinking of him made me quite chipper again, and I went in and got his + picture and stuck it up in the mantel-piece and put flowers in front of + it. When Peter came in I told him about everything, and of course he + refused to write to Harry Goward, as I knew he would. He said it was all + rot, anyway, and that Harry was a nice boy, but not worth making such a + fuss over. He didn't know that he was particularly stuck on Peggy's + marrying Harry Goward, anyway—but there was no use in any one's + interfering. Peggy was the person to write. Finally he said he'd telephone + to Harry the next day to come out and stay at our house over Sunday, and + then he and Peggy could have a chance to settle it. + </p> + <p> + But Peter didn't telephone. He was late at the Works the next day—though + not nearly so late as he often is; but Mr. Talbert has a perfect fad about + every one's getting there on time; it's one of the things there's always + been a tug about between him and Peter. I should think he'd have realized + long ago that Peter NEVER will be on time, and just make up his mind to + it, but he won't. Well, Peter came back again to the house a little after + nine, perfectly white; he said he'd never enter the factory again.... + </p> + <p> + His father was in a towering rage when Peter went in; he spoke to Peter so + that every one could hear him, and then—Oh, it was a dreadful + time!... + </p> + <p> + Alice told me afterward that Maria had found her father in the garden + before breakfast. She insinuated, in HER way, all kinds of dreadful things + about Harry Goward and Aunt Elizabeth, and there was a scene at the + breakfast-table—and Peggy was taken so ill that they had to send for + Dr. Denbigh. I don't know what will happen when Aunt Elizabeth comes home. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0005" id="link2H_4_0005"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + V. THE SCHOOL-GIRL, by Elizabeth Jordan + </h2> + <p> + Except for Billy, who is a boy and does not count, I am the youngest + person in our family; and when I tell you that there are eleven of us—well, + you can dimly imagine the kind of a time I have. Two or three days ago I + heard Grandma Evarts say something to the minister about “the down-trodden + and oppressed of foreign lands,” and after he had gone I asked her what + they were. For a wonder, she told me; usually when Billy and I ask + questions you would think the whole family had been struck dumb. But this + time she answered and I remember every word—for if ever anything + sounded like a description of Billy and me it was what Grandma Evarts said + that day. I told her so, too; but, of course, she only looked at me over + her spectacles and didn't understand what I meant. Nobody ever does except + Billy and Aunt Elizabeth, and they're not much comfort. Billy is always so + busy getting into trouble and having me get him out of it, and feeling + sorry for himself, that he hasn't time to sympathize with me. Besides, as + I've said before, he's only a boy, and you know what boys are and how they + lack the delicate feelings girls have, and how their minds never work when + you want them to. As for Aunt Elizabeth, she is lovely sometimes, and the + way she remembers things that happened when she was young is simply + wonderful. She knows how girls feel, too, and how they suffer when they + are like Dr. Denbigh says I am—very nervous and sensitive and + high-strung. But she admitted to me to-day that she had never before + really made up her mind whether I am the “sweet, unsophisticated child” + she calls me, or what Tom Price says I am, The Eastridge Animated and + Undaunted Daily Bugle and Clarion Call. He calls me that because I know so + much about what is going on; and he says if Mr. Temple could get me on his + paper as a regular contributor there wouldn't be a domestic hearth-stone + left in Eastridge. He says the things I drop will break every last one of + them, anyhow, beginning with the one at home. That's the way he talks, and + though I don't always know exactly what he means I can tell by his + expression that it is not very complimentary. + </p> + <p> + Aunt Elizabeth is different from the others, and she and I have inspiring + conversations sometimes—serious ones, you know, about life and + responsibility and careers; and then, at other times, just when I'm + revealing my young heart to her the way girls do in books, she gets + absent-minded or laughs at me, or stares and says, “You extraordinary + infant,” and changes the subject. At first it used to hurt me dreadfully, + but now I'm beginning to think she does it when she can't answer my + questions. I've asked her lots and lots of things that have made her sit + up and gasp, I can tell you, and I have more all ready as soon as I get + the chance. + </p> + <p> + There is another thing I will mention while I think of it. Grandma Evarts + is always talking about “rules of life,” but the only rule of life I'm + perfectly sure I have is to always mention things when I think of them. + Even that doesn't please the family, though, because sometimes I mention + things they thought I didn't know, and then they are annoyed and cross + instead of learning a lesson by it and realizing how silly it is to try to + keep secrets from me. If they'd TELL me, and put me on my honor, I could + keep their old secrets as well as anybody. I've kept Billy's for years and + years. But when they all stop talking the minute I come into a room, and + when mamma and Peggy go around with red eyes and won't say why, you'd + better believe I don't like it. It fills me with the “intelligent + discontent” Tom is always talking about. Then I don't rest until I know + what there is to know, and usually when I get through I know more than + anybody else does, because I've got all the different sides—Maria's + and Tom's and Lorraine's and Charles Edward's and mamma's and papa's and + grandma's and Peggy's and Aunt Elizabeth's. It isn't that they intend to + tell me things, either; they all try not to. Every one of them keeps her + own secrets beautifully, but she drops things about the others. Then all I + have to do is to put them together like a patch-work quilt. + </p> + <p> + You needn't think it's easy, though, for the very minute I get near any of + the family they waste most of the time we're together by trying to improve + me. You see, they are all so dreadfully old that they have had time to + find out their faults and youthful errors, and every single one of them + thinks she sees ALL her faults in me, and that she must help me to conquer + them ere it is too late. Aunt Elizabeth says they mean it kindly, and + perhaps they do. But if you have ever had ten men and women trying to + improve you, you will know what my life is. Tom Price, who married my + sister Maria, told Dr. Denbigh once that “every time a Talbert is + unoccupied he or she puts Alice or Billy, or both, on the family + moulding-board and kneads awhile.” I heard him say it and it's true. All + <i>I</i> can say is that if they keep on kneading and moulding me much + longer there won't be anything left but a kind of a pulpy mass. I can see + what they have done to Billy already; he's getting pulpier every day, and + I don't believe his brain would ever work if I didn't keep stirring it up. + </p> + <p> + However, the thing I want to say while I think of it is this. It is a + question, and I will ask it here because there is no use of asking it at + home: Why is it that grown-up men and women never have anything really + interesting to say to a girl fifteen years old? Then, if you can answer + that, I wish you would answer another: Why don't they ever listen or + understand what a girl means when she talks to them? Billy and I have one + rule now when we want to say something serious. We get right in front of + them and fix them with a glittering eye, the way the Ancient Mariner did, + you know, and speak as slowly as we can, in little bits of words, to show + them it's very important. Then, sometimes, they pay attention and answer + us, but usually they act as if we were babies gurgling in cunning little + cribs. And the rude way they interrupt us often and go on talking about + their own affairs—well, I will not say more, for dear mamma has + taught me not to criticise my elders, and I never do. But I watch them + pretty closely, just the same, and when I see them doing something that is + not right my brain works so hard it keeps me awake nights. If it's + anything very dreadful, like Peggy's going and getting engaged, I point + out the error, the way they're always pointing errors out to me. Of course + it doesn't do any good, but that isn't my fault. It's because they haven't + got what my teacher calls “receptive minds.” + </p> + <p> + I'm telling you all this before I tell you what has happened, so you will + be sorry for Billy and me. If you are sorry already, as well indeed you + may be, you will be a great deal more sorry before I get through. For if + ever any two persons were “downtrodden and oppressed” and “struggling in + darkness” and “feeling the chill waters of affliction,” it's Billy and me + to-night—all because we tried to help Peggy and Lorraine and Aunt + Elizabeth after they had got everything mixed up! I told them I was just + trying to help, and Tom Price said right off that there was only one thing + for Billy and me to do in future whenever the “philanthropic spirit began + to stir” in us, and that was to get on board the suburban trolley-car and + go as far away from home as our nickels would take us, and not hurry back. + So you see he is not a bit grateful for the interesting things I told + Maria. + </p> + <p> + I will now tell what happened. It began the day Billy heard the station + agent at Whitman read Aunt Elizabeth's telegram to Harry Goward. The + telegram had a lot of silly letters and words in it, so Billy didn't know + what it meant, and, of course, he didn't care. The careless child would + have forgotten all about it if I hadn't happened to meet him at Lorraine's + after he got back from Whitman. He is always going to Lorraine's for some + of Sallie's cookies—she makes perfectly delicious ones, round and + fat and crumbly, with currants on the top. Billy had taken so many that + his pockets bulged out on the sides, and his mouth was so full he only + nodded when he saw me. So, of course, I stopped to tell him how vulgar + that was, and piggish, and to see if he had left any for me, and he was so + anxious to divert my mind that as soon as he could speak he began to talk + about seeing Aunt Elizabeth over in Whitman. That interested me, so I got + the whole thing out of him, and the very minute he had finished telling it + I made him go straight and tell Peggy. I told him to do it delicately, and + not yell it out. I thought it would cheer and comfort Peggy to know that + some one was doing something, instead of standing around and looking + solemn, but, alas! it did not, and Billy told me with his own lips that it + was simply awful to see Peggy's face. Even he noticed it, so it must have + been pretty bad. He said her eyes got so big it made him think of the + times she used to imitate the wolf in Red Riding-Hood and scare us 'most + to death when we were young. + </p> +<div class="fig" style="width:50%;"> <img src="images/{0127}.jpg" alt="{0127}" width="100%" /><br /> </div> <h5> <a href="images/{0127}.jpg"> <img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a> </h5> + + <p> + When Billy told me that, I saw that perhaps we shouldn't have told Peggy, + so the next day I went over to Lorraine's again to ask her what she + thought about it. I stopped at noon on my way home from school, and I + didn't ring the bell, because I never do. I walked right in as usual, + falling over the books and teacups and magazines on the floor, and I found + Lorraine sitting at the tea-table with her head down among the little + cakes and bits of toast left over from the afternoon before. She didn't + look up, so I knew she hadn't heard me, and I saw her shoulders shake, and + then I knew that she was crying. I had never seen Lorraine cry before, and + I felt dreadfully, but I didn't know just what to do or what to say, and + while I stood staring at her I noticed that there was a photograph on the + table with a lot of faded flowers. The face of the photograph was up and I + saw that it was a picture of Mr. Wilde—the one that usually stands + on the mantel-piece. Lorraine is always talking about him, and she has + told me ever and ever so much about how nice and kind he was to her when + she was studying art in New York. But, of course, I didn't know she cared + enough for him to cry over his picture, and it gave me the queerest + feelings to see her do it—kind of wabbly ones in my legs, and + strange, sinking ones in my stomach. You see, I had just finished reading + Lady Hermione's Terrible Secret. A girl at school lent it to me. So when I + saw Lorraine crying over a photograph and faded flowers I knew it must + mean that she had learned to love Mr. Wilde with a love that was her doom, + or would be if she didn't hurry and get over it. Finally I crept out of + the house without saying a word to her or letting her know I was there, + and I leaned on the gate to think it over and try to imagine what a girl + in a book would do. In Lady Hermione her sister discovered the truth and + tried to save the rash woman from the sad consequences of her love, so I + knew that was what I must do, but I didn't know how to begin. While I was + standing there with my brain going round like one of Billy's paper + pinwheels some one stopped in front of me and said, “Hello, Alice,” in a + sick kind of a way, like a boy beginning to recite a piece at school. I + looked up. It was Harry Goward! + </p> + <p> + You'd better believe I was surprised, for, of course, when he went away + nobody expected he would come back so soon; and after all the fuss and the + red eyes and the mystery <i>I</i> hoped he wouldn't come back at all. But + here he was in three days, so I said, very coldly, “How do you do, Mr. + Goward,” and bowed in a distant way; and he took his hat off quickly and + held it in his hand, and I waited for him to say something else. All he + did for a minute was to look over my head. Then he said, in the same queer + voice: “Is Mrs. Peter in? I wanted to have a little talk with her,” and he + put his hand on the gate to open it. I suppose it was dreadfully rude, but + I stayed just where I was and said, very slowly, in icy tones, that he + must kindly excuse my sister-in-law, as I was sure she wouldn't be able to + receive him. Of course I knew she wouldn't want him or any one else to + come in and see her cry, and besides I never liked Harry Goward and I + never expect to. He looked very much surprised at first, and then his face + got as red as a baby's does when there's a pin in it somewhere, and he + asked if she was ill. I said, “No, she is not ill,” and then I sighed and + looked off down the street as if I would I were alone. He began to speak + very quickly, but stopped and bit his lip. Then he turned away and + hesitated, and finally he came back and took a thick letter from his + pocket and held it out to me. He was smiling now, and for a minute he + really looked nice and sweet and friendly. + </p> + <p> + “Say, Alice,” he said, in the most coaxing way, “don't YOU get down on me, + too. Do me a good turn—that's a dear. Take this letter home and + deliver it. Will you? And say I'm at the hotel waiting for an answer.” + </p> + <p> + Now, you can see yourself that this was thrilling. The whole family was + watching every mail for a letter from Harry Goward and here he was + offering me one! I didn't show how excited I was; I just took the letter + and turned it over so I couldn't see the address and slipped it into my + pocket, and said, coldly, that I would deliver it with pleasure. Harry + Goward was looking quite cheerful again, but he said, in a worried tone, + that he hoped I wouldn't forget, because it was very, very important. Then + I dismissed him with a haughty bow, the way they do on the stage, and this + time he put his hat on and really went. + </p> + <p> + Of course after that I wanted to go straight home with the letter, but I + knew it wouldn't do to leave Lorraine bearing her terrible burden without + some one to comfort her. While I was trying to decide what to do I saw + Billy a block away with Sidney Tracy, and I whistled to him to come, and + beckoned with both hands at the same time to show it was important. I had + a beautiful idea. In that very instant I “planned my course of action,” as + they say in books. I made up my mind that I would send the letter home by + Billy, and that would give me time to run over to Maria's and get + something to eat and ask Maria to go and comfort Lorraine. Maria and + Lorraine don't like each other very much, but I knew trouble might bring + them closer, for Grandma Evarts says it always does. Besides, Maria is + dreadfully old and knows everything and is the one the family always sends + for when things happen. If they don't send she comes anyhow and tells + everybody what to do. So I pinned the letter in Billy's pocket, so he + couldn't lose it, and I ordered him to go straight home with it. He said + he would. He looked queer and I thought I saw him drop something near a + fence before he came to me, but I was so excited I didn't pay close + attention. As soon as Billy started off I went to Maria's. + </p> + <p> + She was all alone, for Tom was lunching with some one at the hotel. When + we were at the table I told her about Lorraine, and if ever any one was + excited and really listened this time it was sister Maria. She pushed back + her chair, and spoke right out before she thought, I guess. “Charles + Edward's wife crying over another man's picture!” she said. “Well, I like + that! But I'm not surprised. I always said no good would come of THAT + match!” + </p> + <p> + Then she stopped and made herself quiet down, but I could see how hard it + was, and she added: “So THAT was the matter with Charles Edward when I met + him this morning rushing along the street like a cyclone.” + </p> + <p> + I got dreadfully worried then and begged her to go to Lorraine at once, + for I saw things were even more terrible than I had thought. But Maria + said: “Certainly not! I must consult with father and mother first. This is + something that affects us all. After I have seen them I will go to + Lorraine's.” Then she told me not to worry about it, and not to speak of + it to any one else. I didn't, either, except to Billy and Aunt Elizabeth; + and when I told Aunt Elizabeth the man's name I thought she would go up + into the air like one of Billy's skyrockets. But that part does not belong + here, and I'm afraid if I stop to talk about it I'll forget about Billy + and the letter. + </p> + <p> + After luncheon Maria put her hat on and went straight to our house to see + mother, and I went back to school. When I got home I asked, the first + thing, if Billy had delivered the letter from Harry Goward, and for the + next fifteen minutes you would have thought every one in our house had + gone crazy. That wretched boy had not delivered it at all! They had not + even seen him, and they didn't know anything about the letter. After they + had let me get enough breath to tell just how I had met Harry and exactly + what he had said and done, mother rushed off to telephone to father, and + Aunt Elizabeth came down-stairs with a wild, eager face, and Grandma + Evarts actually shook me when she found I didn't even know whom the letter + was for. I hadn't looked, because I had been so excited. Finally, after + everybody had talked at once for a while. Grandma Evans told me mamma had + said Billy could go fishing that afternoon, because the weather was so hot + and she thought he looked pale and overworked. The idea of Billy Talbert + being overworked! I could have told mamma something about THAT. + </p> + <p> + Well, I saw through the whole thing then. Billy hadn't told me, for fear I + would want to go along; so he had sneaked off with Sidney Tracy, and if he + hadn't forgotten all about the letter he had made up his mind it would do + as well to deliver it when he came home. That's the way Billy's mind works—like + Tom Price's stop-watch. It goes up to a certain instant and then it stops + short. You'd better believe I was angry. And it didn't make it any easier + for me to remember that while I was having this dreadful time at home, and + being reproached by everybody. Billy and Sidney Tracy were sitting + comfortably under the willows on the edge of the river pulling little + minnows out of the water. I knew exactly where they would be—I'd + been there with Billy often enough. Just as I thought of that I looked at + poor Peggy, sitting in her wrapper in papa's big easy-chair, leaning + against a pillow Grandma Evarts had put behind her back, and trying to be + calm. She looked so pale and worn and worried and sick that I made up my + mind I'd follow those boys to the river and get that letter and bring it + home to Peggy—for, of course, I was sure it was for her. I wish you + could have seen her face when I said I'd do it, and the way she jumped up + from the chair and then blushed and sank back and tried to look as if it + didn't matter—with her eyes shining all the time with excitement and + hope. + </p> + <p> + I got on my bicycle and rode off, and I made good time until I crossed the + bridge. Then I had to walk along the river, pushing the bicycle, and I + came to those two boys so quietly that they never saw me until I was right + behind them. They were fishing still, but they had both been swimming—I + could tell that by their wet hair and by the damp, mussy look of their + clothes. When Billy saw me he turned red and began to make a great fuss + over his line. He didn't say a word; he never does when he's surprised or + ashamed, so he doesn't speak very often, anyhow; but I broke the painful + silence by saying a few words myself. I told Billy how dreadful he had + made everybody feel and how they were all blaming me, and I said I'd thank + him for that letter to take home to his poor suffering sister. Billy put + down his rod, and all the time I talked he was going through his pockets + one after the other and getting redder and redder. I was so busy talking + that I didn't understand at first just what this meant, but when I stopped + and held out my hand and looked at him hard I saw in his guilty face the + terrible, terrible fear that he had lost that letter; and I was so + frightened that my legs gave way under me, and I sat down on the grass in + my fresh blue linen dress, just where they had dripped and made it wet. + </p> + <p> + All this time Sidney Tracy was going through HIS pockets, too, and just as + I was getting up again in a hurry he took off his cap and emptied his + pockets into it. I wish you could have seen what that cap held then—worms, + and sticky chewing-gum, and tops, and strings, and hooks, and marbles, and + two pieces of molasses candy all soft and messy, and a little bit of a + turtle, and a green toad, and a slice of bread-and-butter, and a dirty, + soaking, handkerchief that he and Billy had used for a towel. There was + something else there, too—a dark, wet, pulpy, soggy-looking thing + with pieces of gum and molasses candy and other things sticking to it. + Sidney took it out and held it toward me in a proud, light-hearted way: + </p> + <p> + “There's your letter, all right,” he said, and Billy gave a whoop of joy + and called out, “Good-bye, Alice,” as a hint for me to hurry home. I was + so anxious to get the letter that I almost took it, but I stopped in time. + I hadn't any gloves on, and it was just too dreadful. If you could have + seen it you would never have touched it in the world. I got near enough to + look at it, though, and then I saw that the address was so dirty and so + covered with gum and bait and candy that all I could read was a capital + “M” and a small “s” at the beginning and an “ert” at the end; the name + between was hidden. I covered my eyes with my hand and gasped out to the + boys that I wanted the things taken off it that didn't belong there, and + when I looked again Sidney had scraped off the worst of it and was + scrubbing the envelope with his wet handkerchief to make it look cleaner. + After that you couldn't tell what ANY letter was, so I just groaned and + snatched it from his hands and left those two boys in their disgusting + dirt and degradation and went home. + </p> + <p> + When I got back mamma and Grandma Evarts and Tom Price and Peggy and Aunt + Elizabeth were in the parlor, looking more excited than ever, because + Maria had been there telling the family about Lorraine. Then she had gone + on to Lorraine's and Tom had dropped in to call for her and was waiting to + hear about the letter. They were all watching the door when I came in, and + Peggy and Aunt Elizabeth started to get up, but sat down again. I stood + there hesitating because, of course, I didn't know who to give it to, and + Grandma Evarts shot out, “Well, Alice! Well, Well!” as if she was blowing + the words at me from a little peashooter. Then I began to explain about + the address, but before I could say more than two or three words mamma + motioned to me and I gave the letter to her. + </p> + <p> + You could have heard an autumn leaf fall in that room. Mamma put on her + glasses and puzzled over the smear on the envelope, and Peggy drew a long + breath and jumped up and walked over to mamma and held out her hand. Mamma + didn't hesitate a minute. “Certainly it must be for you, my dear,” she + said, and then she added, in a very cold, positive way, “For whom else + could it possibly be intended?” No one spoke; but just as Peggy had put + her finger under the flap to tear it open, Aunt Elizabeth got up and + crossed the room to where mamma and Peggy stood. She spoke very softly and + quietly, but she looked queer and excited. + </p> + <p> + “Wait one moment, my dear,” she said to Peggy. “Very probably the letter + IS for you, but it is just possible that it may be for some one else. + Wouldn't it be safer—wiser—for ME to open it?” + </p> + <p> + Then Peggy cried out, “Oh, Aunt Elizabeth, how dreadful! How can you say + such a thing!” Mother had hesitated an instant when Aunt Elizabeth spoke, + but now she drew Peggy's head down to her dear, comfy shoulder, and Peggy + stayed right there and cried as hard as she could—with little gasps + and moans as if she felt dreadfully nervous. Then, for once in my life, I + saw my mother angry. She looked over Peggy's head at Aunt Elizabeth, and + her face was so dreadful it made me shiver. + </p> + <p> + “Elizabeth,” she said, and she brought her teeth right down hard on the + word, “this is the climax of your idiocy. Have you the audacity to claim + here, before me, that this letter from my child's affianced husband is + addressed to you?” + </p> + <p> + Aunt Elizabeth looked very pale now, but when she answered she spoke as + quietly as before. + </p> + <p> + “If it is, Ada,” she said, “it is against my wish and my command. But—it + may be.” Then her voice changed as if she were really begging for + something. + </p> + <p> + “Let me open it,” she said. “If it is for Peggy I can tell by the first + line or two, even if he does not use the name. Surely it will do no harm + if I glance at it.” + </p> + <p> + Mother looked even angrier than before. + </p> + <p> + “Well,” she said, “it could do no harm, you think, if you read a letter + intended for Peggy, but you don't dare to risk letting Peggy read a letter + addressed by Harry Goward to you. This is intolerable, Elizabeth Talbert. + You have passed the limit of my endurance—and of my husband's.” + </p> + <p> + She brought out the last words very slowly, looking Aunt Elizabeth + straight in the eyes, and Aunt Elizabeth looked back with her head very + high. She has a lovely way of using such expressions as “For the rest” and + “As to that,” and she did it now. + </p> + <p> + “As to that,” she said, “my brother must speak for himself. No one regrets + more bitterly than I do this whole most unpleasant affair. I can only say + that with all my heart I am trying to straighten it out.” + </p> + <p> + Grandma Evarts sniffed just then so loudly that we all looked at her, and + then, of course, mamma suddenly remembered that I was still there, + regarding the scene with wide, intelligent young eyes, and she nodded + toward the door, meaning for me to go out. My, but I hated to! I picked up + grandma's ball of wool and drew the footstool close to her feet, and + looked around to see if I couldn't show her some other delicate girlish + attention such as old ladies love, but there wasn't anything, especially + as grandma kept motioning for me to leave. So I walked toward the door + very slowly, and before I got there I heard Tom Price say: + </p> + <p> + “Oh, come now; we're making a lot of fuss about nothing. There's a very + simple way out of all this. Alice says Goward's still at the hotel. I'll + just run down there and explain, and ask him to whom that letter belongs.” + </p> + <p> + Then I was at the door, and I HAD to open it and go out. The voices went + on inside for a few minutes, but soon I saw Tom come out and I went to him + and slipped my arm inside of his and walked with him across the lawn and + out to the sidewalk. I don't very often like the things Tom says, but I + thought it was clever of him to think of going to ask Harry Goward about + the letter, and I told him so to encourage him. He thanked me very + politely, and then he stopped and braced his back against the lamp-post on + the corner and “fixed me with a stern gaze,” as writers say. + </p> + <p> + “Look here, Clarry,” he said (“Clarry” is short, he says, for Daily Bugle + and Clarion Call, which is “too lengthy for frequent use”), “you're doing + a lot of mischief to-day with your rural delivery system for Goward and + your news extras about Lorraine. What's this cock-and-bull story you've + got up about her, anyway?” + </p> + <p> + I told him just what I had seen. When I got through he said there was + “nothing in it.” + </p> + <p> + “That bit about her head being among the toast and cake,” he went on, + “would be convincing circumstantial evidence of a tragedy if it had been + any other woman's head, but it doesn't count with Lorraine—I mean it + doesn't represent the complete abandonment to grief which would be implied + if it happened in the case of any one else. You must remember that when + Lorraine wants to have a comfortable cry she's got to choose between + putting her head in the jam on the sofa, or among the wet paint and + brushes in the easy-chair, or among the crumbs on the tea-table. As for + that photograph, it probably fell off the mantel-piece to the tea-table, + instead of falling, as usual, into the coal-hod. To sum up, my dear + Clarry, if you had remembered the extreme emotionalism of your sister + Lorraine's temperament and the—er—eccentricity of her + housekeeping, you would not have permitted yourself to be so sadly misled. + Not remembering it, you've done a lot of mischief. All these things being + so, no one will believe them. And to-night, when you are safely tucked + into your little bed, if you hear the tramping of many feet on the asphalt + walks you may know what it will mean. It will mean that your mother and + father, and Elizabeth, and Grandma Evarts and Maria and Peggy will be + dropping in on Lorraine, each alone and quite casually, of course, to find + out what there really is in this terrible rumor. And some of them will + believe to their dying day that there was something in it.” + </p> + <p> + Well, that made me feel very unhappy. For I could see that under Tom's gay + exterior and funny way of saying things he really meant every word. Of + course I told him that I had wanted to help Lorraine and Peggy because + they were so wretched, and he made me promise on the spot that if ever I + wanted to help him I'd tell him about it first. Then he went off to the + hotel looking more cheerful, and I was left alone with my sad thoughts. + </p> + <p> + When I got into the house the first thing I saw was Billy sneaking out of + the back door. I had meant to have a long and earnest talk with Billy the + minute he got home, and point out some of his serious faults, but when I + looked at him I saw that mamma or grandma had just done it. He looked red + eyed and miserable, and the minute he saw me he began to whistle. Billy + never whistles except just before or just after a whipping, so my heart + sank, and I was dreadfully sorry for him. I started after him to tell him + so, but he made a face at me and ran; and just then Aunt Elizabeth came + along the hall and dragged me up to her room and began to ask me all over + again about Mr. Goward and all that he said—whether I was perfectly + SURE he didn't mention any name. She looked worried and unhappy. Then she + asked about Lorraine, but in an indifferent voice, as if she was really + thinking about something else. I told her all I knew, but she didn't say a + word or pay much attention until I mentioned that the man in the + photograph was Mr. Lyman Wilde. Then—well, I wish you had seen Aunt + Elizabeth! She made me promise afterwards that I'd never tell a single + soul what happened, and I won't. But I do wish sometimes that Billy and I + lived on a desert island, where there wasn't anybody else. I just can't + bear being home when everybody is so unhappy, and when not a single thing + I do helps the least little bit! + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0006" id="link2H_4_0006"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + VI. THE SON-IN-LAW, by John Kendrick Bangs + </h2> + <p> + On the whole I am glad our family is no larger than it is. It is a very + excellent family as families go, but the infinite capacity of each + individual in it for making trouble, and adding to complications already + sufficiently complex, surpasses anything that has ever before come into my + personal or professional experience. If I handle my end of this miserable + affair without making a break of some kind or other, I shall apply to the + Secretary of State for a high place in the diplomatic service, for mere + international complications are child's-play compared to this embroglio in + which Goward and Aunt Elizabeth have landed us all. I think I shall take + up politics and try to get myself elected to the legislature, anyhow, and + see if I can't get a bill through providing that when a man marries it is + distinctly understood that he marries his wife and not the whole of his + wife's family, from her grandmother down through her maiden aunts, + sisters, cousins, little brothers, et al., including the latest arrivals + in kittens. In my judgment it ought to be made a penal offence for any + member of a man's wife's family to live on the same continent with him, + and if I had to get married all over again to Maria—and I'd do it + with as much delighted happiness as ever—I should insist upon the + interpolation of a line in the marriage ceremony, “Do you promise to love, + honor, and obey your wife's relatives,” and when I came to it I'd turn and + face the congregation and answer “No,” through a megaphone, so loud that + there could be no possibility of a misunderstanding as to precisely where + I stood. + </p> + <p> + If anybody thinks I speak with an unusual degree of feeling, I beg to + inform him or her, as the case may be, that in the matter of wife's + relations I have an unusually full set, and, as my small brother-in-law + says when he orates about his postage-stamp collection, they're all + uncancelled. Into all lives a certain amount of mother-in-law must fall, + but I not only have that, but a grandmother-in-law as well, and + maiden-aunt-in-law, and the Lord knows what else-in-law besides. I must + say that as far as my mother-in-law is concerned I've had more luck than + most men, because Mrs. Talbert comes pretty close to the ideal in + mother-in-legal matters. She is gentle and unoffending. She prefers + minding her own business to assuming a trust control of other people's + affairs, but HER mother—well, I don't wish any ill to Mrs. Evarts, + but if anybody is ambitious to adopt an orphan lady, with advice on tap at + all hours in all matters from winter flannels to the conversion of the + Hottentots, I will cheerfully lead him to the goal of his desires, and + with alacrity surrender to him all my right, title, and interest in her. + At the same time I will give him a quit-claim deed to my + maiden-aunt-in-law—not that Aunt Elizabeth isn't good fun, for she + is, and I enjoy talking to her, and wondering what she will do next fills + my days with a living interest, but I'd like her better if she belonged in + some other fellow's family. + </p> + <p> + I don't suppose I can blame Maria under all the circumstances for standing + up for the various members of her family when they are attacked, which she + does with much vigorous and at times aggressive loyalty. We cannot always + help ourselves in the matter of our relations. Some are born relatives, + some achieve relatives, and others have relatives thrust upon them. Maria + was born to hers, and according to all the rules of the game she's got to + like them, nay, even cherish and protect them against the slings and + arrows of outrageous criticism. But, on the other hand, I think she ought + to remember that while I achieved some of them with my eyes open, the rest + were thrust upon me when I was defenceless, and when I find some + difficulty in adapting myself to circumstances, as is frequently the case, + she should be more lenient to my incapacity. The fact that I am a lawyer + makes it necessary for me to toe the mark of respect for the authority of + the courts all day, whether I am filled with contempt for the court or + not, and it is pretty hard to find, when I return home at night, that + another set of the judiciary in the form of Maria's family, a sort of + domestic supreme court, controls all my private life, so that except when + I am rambling through the fields alone, or am taking my bath in the + morning, I cannot give my feelings full and free expression without + disturbing the family entente; and there isn't much satisfaction in + skinning people to a lonesome cow, or whispering your indignant sentiments + into the ear of a sponge already soaked to the full with cold water. I + have tried all my married life to agree with every member of the family in + everything he, she, or it has said, but, now that this Goward business has + come up, I can't do that, because every time anybody says “Booh” to + anybody else in the family circle, regarding this duplex love-affair, a + family council is immediately called and “Booh” is discussed, not only + from every possible stand-point, but from several impossible ones as well. + </p> + <p> + When that letter of Goward's was rescued from the chewing-gum contingent, + with its address left behind upon the pulpy surface of Sidney Tracy's + daily portion of peptonized-paste, it was thought best that I should call + upon the writer at his hotel and find out to whom the letter was really + written. + </p> + <p> + My own first thought was to seek out Sidney Tracy and see if the + superscription still remained on the chewing-gum, and I had the + good-fortune to meet the boy on my way to the hotel, but on questioning + him I learned that in the excitement of catching a catfish, shortly after + Alice had left the lads, Sidney had incontinently swallowed the + rubber-like substance, and nothing short of an operation for appendicitis + was likely to put me in possession of the missing exhibit. So I went on to + the hotel, and ten minutes later found myself in the presence of an + interesting case of nervous prostration. Poor Goward! When I observed the + wrought-up condition of his nerves, I was immediately so filled with pity + for him that if it hadn't been for Maria I think I should at once have + assumed charge of his case, and, as his personal counsel, sued the family + for damages on his behalf. He did not strike me as being either old + enough, or sufficiently gifted in the arts of philandery, to be taken + seriously as a professional heart-breaker, and to tell the truth I had to + restrain myself several times from telling him that I thought the whole + affair a tempest in a teapot, because, in wanting consciously to marry two + members of the family, he had only attempted to do what I had done + unconsciously when I and the whole tribe of Talberts, remotely and + immediately connected, became one. Nevertheless, I addressed him coldly. + </p> + <p> + “Mr. Goward,” I said, when the first greetings were over, “this is a most + unfortunate affair.” + </p> + <p> + “It is terrible,” he groaned, pacing the thin-carpeted floor like a poor + caged beast in the narrow confines of the Zoo. “You don't need to tell me + how unfortunate it all is.” + </p> + <p> + “As a matter of fact,” I went on, “I don't exactly recall a similar case + in my experience. You will doubtless admit yourself that it is a bit + unusual for a man even of your age to flirt with the maiden aunt of his + fiancee, and possibly you realize that we would all be very much relieved + if you could give us some reasonable explanation of your conduct.” + </p> +<div class="fig" style="width:50%;"> <img src="images/{0151}.jpg" alt="{0151}" width="100%" /><br /> </div> <h5> <a href="images/{0151}.jpg"> <img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a> </h5> + + <p> + “I'll be only too glad to explain,” said Goward, “if you will only + listen.” + </p> + <p> + “In my own judgment the best solution of the tangle would be for you to + elope with a third party at your earliest convenience,” I continued, “but + inasmuch as you have come here it is evident that you mean to pursue some + course of action in respect to one of the two ladies—my sister or my + aunt. Now what IS that course? and which of the two ladies may we regard + as the real object of your vagrom affections? I tell you frankly, before + you begin, that I shall permit no trifling with Peggy. As to Aunt + Elizabeth, she is quite able to take care of herself.” + </p> + <p> + “It's—it's Peggy, of course,” said Goward. “I admire Miss Elizabeth + Talbert very much indeed, but I never really thought of—being + seriously engaged to her.” + </p> + <p> + “Ah!” said I, icily. “And did you think of being frivolously engaged to + her?” + </p> + <p> + “I not only thought of it,” said Goward, “but I was. It was at the + Abercrombies', Mr. Price. Lily—that is to say, Aunt Elizabeth—” + </p> + <p> + “Excuse me, Mr. Goward,” I interrupted. “As yet the lady is not your Aunt + Elizabeth, and the way things look now I have my doubts if she ever is + your Aunt Elizabeth.” + </p> + <p> + “Miss Talbert, then,” said Goward, with a heart-rending sigh. “Miss + Talbert and I were guests at the Abercrombies' last October—maybe + she's told you—and on Hallowe'en we had a party—apple-bobbing + and the mirror trick and all that, and somehow or other Miss Talbert and I + were thrown together a great deal, and before I really knew how, or why, + we—well, we became engaged for—for the week, anyhow.” + </p> + <p> + “I see,” said I, dryly. “You played the farce for a limited engagement.” + </p> + <p> + “We joked about it a great deal, and I—well, I got into the spirit + of it—one must at house-parties, you know,” said Goward, + deprecatingly. + </p> + <p> + “I suppose so,” said I. + </p> + <p> + “I got into the spirit of it, and Miss Talbert christened me Young + Lochinvar, Junior,” Goward went on, “and I did my best to live up to the + title. Then at the end of the week I was suddenly called home, and I + didn't have any chance to see Miss Talbert alone before leaving, and—well, + the engagement wasn't broken off. That's all. I never saw her again until + I came here to meet the family. I didn't know she was Peggy's aunt.” + </p> + <p> + “So that in reality you WERE engaged to both Peggy and Miss Talbert at the + same time,” I suggested. “That much seems to be admitted.” + </p> + <p> + “I suppose so,” groaned Goward. “But not seriously engaged, Mr. Price. I + didn't suppose she would think it was serious—just a lark—but + when she appeared that night and fixed me with her eye I suddenly realized + what had happened.” + </p> + <p> + “It was another case of 'the woman tempted me and I did eat,' was it, + Goward?” I asked. + </p> + <p> + Goward's pale face Hushed, and he turned angrily. + </p> + <p> + “I haven't said anything of the sort,” he retorted. “Of all the unmanly, + sneaking excuses that ever were offered for wrong-doing, that first of + Adam's has never been beaten.” + </p> + <p> + “You evidently don't think that Adam was a gentleman,” I put in, with a + feeling of relief at the boy's attitude toward my suggestion. + </p> + <p> + “Not according to my standards,” he said, with warmth. + </p> + <p> + “Well,” I ventured, “he hadn't had many opportunities, Adam hadn't. His + outlook was rather provincial, and his associations not broadening. You + wouldn't have been much better yourself brought up in a zoo. Nevertheless, + I don't think myself that he toed the mark as straight as he might have.” + </p> + <p> + “He was a coward,” said Goward, with a positiveness born of conviction. + And with that remark Goward took his place in my affections. Whatever the + degree of his seeming offence, he was at least a gentleman himself, and + his unwillingness to place any part of the blame for his conduct upon Aunt + Elizabeth showed me that he was not a cad, and I began to feel pretty + confident that some reasonable way out of our troubles was looming into + sight. + </p> + <p> + “How old are you, Goward?” I asked. + </p> + <p> + “Twenty-one,” he answered, “counting the years. If you count the last week + by the awful hours it has contained I am older than Methuselah.” + </p> + <p> + At last I thought I had it, and a feeling of wrath against Aunt Elizabeth + began to surge up within me. It was another case of that intolerable “only + a boy” habit that so many women of uncertain age and character, married + and single, seem nowadays to find so much pleasure in. We find it too + often in our complex modern society, and I am not sure that it is not + responsible for more deviations from the path of rectitude than even the + offenders themselves imagine. Callow youth just from college is + susceptible to many kinds of flattery, and at the age of adolescence the + appeal which lovely woman makes to inexperience is irresistible. + </p> + <p> + I know whereof I speak, for I have been there myself. I always tell Maria + everything that I conveniently can—it is not well for a man to have + secrets from his wife—and when I occasionally refer to my past + flames I find myself often growing more than pridefully loquacious over my + early affairs of the heart, but when I thought of the serious study that I + once made in my twentieth year of the dozen easiest, most painless methods + of committing suicide because Miss Mehitabel Flanders, aetat thirty-eight, + whom I had chosen for my life's companion, had announced her intention of + marrying old Colonel Barrington—one of the wisest matches ever as I + see it now—I drew the line at letting Maria into that particular + secret of my career. Miss Mehitabel was indeed a beautiful woman, and she + took a very deep and possibly maternal interest in callow youth. She + invited confidence and managed in many ways to make a strong appeal to + youthful affections, but I don't think she was always careful to draw the + line nicely between maternal love and that other which is neither + maternal, fraternal, paternal, nor even filial. To my eye she was no older + than I, and to my way of thinking nothing could have been more eminently + fitting than that we should walk the Primrose Way hand in hand forever. + </p> + <p> + While I will not say that the fair Mehitabel trifled with my young + affections, I will say that she let me believe—nay, induced me to + believe by her manner—that even as I regarded her she regarded me, + and when at the end she disclaimed any intention to smash my heart into + the myriad atoms into which it flew—which have since most happily + reunited upon Maria—and asserted that she had let me play in the + rose-garden of my exuberant fancy because I was “only a boy,” my bump upon + the hard world of fact was an atrociously hard one. Some women pour passer + le temps find pleasure in playing thus with young hopes and hearts as + carelessly as though they were mere tennis-balls, to be whacked about and + rallied, and volleyed hither and yon, without regard to their constituent + ingredients, and then when trouble comes, and a catastrophe is imminent, + the refuge of “only a boy” is sought as though it really afforded a + sufficient protection against “responsibility.” The most of us would + regard the hopeless infatuation of a young girl committed to our care, + either as parents or as guardians, for a middle-aged man of the world with + such horror that drastic steps would be taken to stop it, but we are not + so careful of the love-affairs of our sons, and view with complaisance + their devotion to some blessed damozel of uncertain age, comforting + ourselves with the reflection that he is “only a boy” and will outgrow it + all in good time. (There's another mem. for my legislative career—a + Bill for the Protection of Boys, and the Suppression of Old Maids Who + Don't Mean Anything By It.) + </p> + <p> + I don't mean, in saying all this, to reflect in any way upon the many + helpful friendships that exist between youngsters developing into manhood + and their elders among women who are not related to them. There have been + thousands of such friendships, no doubt, that have worked for the + upbuilding of character; for the inspiring in the unfolding consciousness + of what life means in the young boy's being of a deeper, more lasting, + respect for womanhood than would have been attained to under any other + circumstances, but that has been the result only when the woman has taken + care to maintain her own dignity always, and to regard her course as one + wherein she has accepted a degree of responsibility second only to a + mother's, and not a by-path leading merely to pleasure and for the idling + away of an unoccupied hour. Potential manhood is a difficult force to + handle, and none should embark upon the parlous enterprise of arousing it + without due regard for the consequences. We may not let loose a young lion + from its leash, and, when dire consequences follow, excuse ourselves on + the score that we thought the devastating feature was “only a cub.” + </p> + <p> + These things flashed across my mind as I sat in Goward's room watching the + poor youth in his nerve-distracting struggles, and, when I thought of the + tangible evidence in hand against Aunt Elizabeth, I must confess if I had + been juryman sitting in judgment of the case I should have convicted her + of kidnapping without leaving the box. To begin with, there was the case + of Ned Temple. I haven't quite been able to get away from the notion that + however short-sighted and gauche poor Mrs. Temple's performance was in + going over to the Talberts' to make a scene because of Aunt Elizabeth's + attentions to Temple, she thought she was justified in doing so, and + Elizabeth's entire innocence in the premises, in view of her record as a + man-snatcher, has not been proven to my satisfaction. Then there was that + Lyman Wilde business, which I never understood and haven't wanted to until + they tried to mix poor Lorraine up in it. Certain it is that Elizabeth and + Wilde were victims of an affair of the heart, but what Lorraine has had to + do with it I don't know, and I hope the whole matter will be dropped at + least until we have settled poor Peggy's affair. Then came Goward and this + complication, and through it all Elizabeth has had a weather-eye open for + Dr. Denbigh. A rather suggestive chain of evidence that, proving that + Elizabeth seems to regard all men as her own individual property. As Mrs. + Evarts says, she perks up even when Billie comes into the room—or + Mr. Talbert, either; and as for me—well, in the strictest + confidence, if Aunt Elizabeth hasn't tried to flirt even with me, then I + don't know what flirtation is, and there was a time—long before I + was married, of course—when I possessed certain well-developed gifts + in that line. I know this, that when I was first paying my addresses to + Maria, Aunt Elizabeth was staying at the Talberts' as usual, and Maria and + I had all we could do to get rid of her. She seemed to be possessed with + the idea that I came there every night to see her, and not a hint in the + whole category of polite intimations seemed capable of conveying any other + idea to her mind, although she showed at times that even a chance remark + fell upon heeding ears, for once when I observed that pink was my favorite + color, she blossomed out in it the next day and met me looking like a + peach-tree in full bloom, on Main Street as I walked from my office up + home. And while we are discussing other people's weaknesses I may as well + confess my own, and say that I was so pleased at this unexpected + revelation of interest in my tastes that when I called that evening I felt + vaguely disappointed to learn that Aunt Elizabeth was dining out—and + I was twenty-seven at the time, too, and loved Maria into the bargain! And + after the wedding, when we came to say good-bye, and I kissed Aunt + Elizabeth—I kissed everybody that day in the hurry to get away, even + the hired man at the door—and said, “Good-bye, Aunty,” she pouted + and said she didn't like the title “a little bit.” + </p> + <p> + Now, of course, I wouldn't have anybody think that I think Aunt Elizabeth + was ever in love with me, but I mention these things to show her general + attitude toward members of the so-called stronger sex. The chances are + that she does not realize what she is doing, and assumes this coy method + with the whole masculine contingent as a matter of thoughtless habit. What + she wants to be to man I couldn't for the life of me even guess—mother, + sister, daughter, or general manager. But that she does wish to grab every + male being in sight, and attach them to her train, is pretty evident to + me, and I have no doubt that this is what happened in poor Harry Goward's + case. She has a bright way of saying things, is unmistakably pretty, and + has an unhappy knack of making herself appear ten or fifteen years younger + than she is if she needs to. She is chameleonic as to age, and takes on + always something of the years of the particular man she is talking to. I + saw her talking to the dominie the other night, and a more + spiritual-looking bit of demure middle-aged piety you never saw in a + nunnery, and the very next day when she was conversing with young George + Harris, a Freshman at Yale, at the Barbers' reception, you'd have thought + she was herself a Vassar undergraduate. So there you are. With Goward she + had assumed that same youthful manner, and backed by all the power other + thirty-seven years of experience he was mere putty in her hands, and she + played with him and he lost, just as any other man, from St. Anthony down + to the boniest ossified man of to-day would have lost, and it wasn't until + he saw Peggy again and realized the difference between the real thing and + the spurious that he waked up. + </p> + <p> + With all these facts marshalled and flashing through my brain much more + rapidly than I can tell them, like the quick succession of pictures in the + cinematograph, I made up my mind to become Goward's friend in so far as + circumstances would permit. With Aunt Elizabeth out of the way it seemed + to me that we would find all plain sailing again, but how to get rid other + was the awful question. Poor Peggy could hardly be happy with such a + Richmond in the field, and nothing short of Elizabeth's engagement to some + other man would help matters any. She had been too long unmarried, anyhow. + Maiden aunthood is an unhappy estate, and grows worse with habit. If I + could only find Lyman Wilde and bring him back to her, or, perhaps, Dr. + Denbigh—that was the more immediate resource, and surely no + sacrifice should be too great for a family physician to make for the + welfare of his patients. Maria and I would invite Dr. Denbigh to dinner + and have Aunt Elizabeth as the only other guest. We could leave them alone + on some pretext or other after dinner, and leave the rest to fate—aided + and abetted by Elizabeth herself. + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile there was Goward still on my hands. + </p> + <p> + “Well, my boy,” I said, patting him kindly on the shoulder, “I hardly know + what to say to you about this thing. You've got yourself in the dickens of + a box, but I don't mind telling you I think your heart is in the right + place, and, whatever has happened, I don't believe you have intentionally + done wrong. Maybe at your age you do not realize that it is not safe to be + engaged to two people at the same time, especially when they belong to the + same family. Scientific heart-breakers, as a rule, take care that their + fiancees are not only not related, but live in different sections of the + country, and as I have no liking for preaching I shall not dwell further + upon the subject.” + </p> + <p> + “I think I realize my position keenly enough without putting you to the + trouble,” said Goward, gazing gloomily out of the window. + </p> + <p> + “What I will say, however,” said I, “is that I'll do all I can to help you + out of your trouble. As one son-in-law to another, eh?” + </p> + <p> + “You are very kind,” said he, gripping me by the hand. + </p> + <p> + “I will go to Mrs. Talbert—she is the best one to talk to—first, + and tell her just what you have told me, and it is just possible that she + can explain it to Peggy,” I went on. + </p> + <p> + “I—I think I could do that myself if I only had the chance,” he + said, ruefully. + </p> + <p> + “Well, then—I'll try to make the chance. I won't promise that I will + make it, because I can't answer for anybody but myself. Some day you will + find out that women are peculiar. But what I can do I will,” said I. “And, + furthermore, as the general attorney for the family I will cross-examine + Aunt Elizabeth—put her through the third degree, as it were, and try + to show her how foolish it is for her to make so serious a matter of a + trifling flirtation.” + </p> + <p> + “I wouldn't, if I were you,” said Goward, with a frown. “She needn't be + involved in the affair any more than she already is. She is not in the + least to blame.” + </p> + <p> + “Nevertheless,” said I, “she may be able to help us to an easy way out—” + </p> + <p> + “She can't,” said Goward, positively. + </p> + <p> + “Excuse me, Mr. Goward,” said I, chilling a trifle in my newly acquired + friendliness, “but is there any real reason why I should not question Miss + Talbert—” + </p> + <p> + “Oh no, none at all,” he hastened to reply. “Only I—I see no + particular object in vexing her further in a matter that must have already + annoyed her sufficiently. It is very good of you to take all this trouble + on my account, and I don't wish you to add further to your difficulties, + either,” he added. + </p> + <p> + I appreciated his consideration, with certain reservations. However, the + latter were not of such character as to make me doubt the advisability of + standing his friend, and when we parted a few minutes later I left him + with the intention of becoming his advocate with Peggy and her mother, and + at the same time of having it out with Aunt Elizabeth. + </p> + <p> + I was detained at my office by other matters, which our family troubles + had caused me to neglect, until supper-time, and then I returned to my own + home, expecting to have a little chat over the affair with Maria before + acquainting the rest of the family with my impressions of Goward and his + responsibility for our woe. Maria is always so full of good ideas, but at + half-past six she had not come in, and at six-forty-five she 'phoned me + that she was at her father's and would I not better go there for tea. In + the Talbert family a suggestion of that sort is the equivalent of a royal + command in Great Britain, and I at once proceeded to accept it. As I was + leaving the house, however, the thought flashed across my mind that in my + sympathy for Harry Goward I had neglected to ask him the question I had + sought him out to ask, “To whom was the letter addressed?” So I returned + to the 'phone, and ringing up the Eagle Hotel, inquired for Mr. Goward. + </p> + <p> + “Mr. Goward!” came the answer. + </p> + <p> + “Yes,” said I. “Mr. Henry Goward.” + </p> + <p> + “Mr. Goward left for New York on the 5.40 train this afternoon,” was the + reply. + </p> + <p> + The answer, so unexpected and unsettling to all my plans, stunned me first + and then angered me. + </p> + <p> + “Bah!” I cried, impatiently. “The little fool! An attack of cold feet, I + guess—he ought to spell his name with a C.” + </p> + <p> + I hung up the receiver with a cold chill, for frankly I hated to go to the + Talberts' with the news. Moreover, it would be a humiliating confession to + make that I had forgotten to ask Goward about the letter, when everybody + knew that that was what I had called upon him for, and when I thought of + all the various expressions in the very expressive Talbert eyes that would + fix themselves upon me as I mumbled out my confession, I would have given + much to be well out of it. Nevertheless, since there was no avoiding the + ordeal, I resolved to face the music, and five minutes later entered the + dining-room at my father-in-law's house with as stiff an upper lip as I + could summon to my aid in the brief time at my disposal. They were all + seated at the table already—supper is not a movable feast in that + well-regulated establishment—save Aunt Elizabeth. Her place was + vacant. + </p> + <p> + “Sorry to be late,” said I, after respectfully saluting my mother-in-law, + “but I couldn't help it. Things turned up at the last minute and they had + to be attended to. Where's Aunt Elizabeth?” + </p> + <p> + “She went to New York,” said my mother-in-law, “on the 5.40 train.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0007" id="link2H_4_0007"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + VII. THE MARRIED SON, by Henry James + </h2> + <p> + It's evidently a great thing in life to have got hold of a convenient + expression, and a sign of our inordinate habit of living by words. I have + sometimes flattered myself that I live less exclusively by them than the + people about me; paying with them, paying with them only, as the phrase is + (there I am at it, exactly, again!) rather less than my companions, who, + with the exception, perhaps, a little—sometimes!—of poor + Mother, succeed by their aid in keeping away from every truth, in ignoring + every reality, as comfortably as possible. Poor Mother, who is worth all + the rest of us put together, and is really worth two or three of poor + Father, deadly decent as I admit poor Father mainly to be, sometimes meets + me with a look, in some connection, suggesting that, deep within, she + dimly understands, and would really understand a little better if she + weren't afraid to: for, like all of us, she lives surrounded by the black + forest of the “facts of life” very much as the people in the heart of + Africa live in their dense wilderness of nocturnal terrors, the mysteries + and monstrosities that make them seal themselves up in the huts as soon as + it gets dark. She, quite exquisite little Mother, would often understand, + I believe, if she dared, if she knew how to dare; and the vague, dumb + interchange then taking place between us, and from the silence of which we + have never for an instant deviated, represents perhaps her wonder as to + whether I mayn't on some great occasion show her how. + </p> + <p> + The difficulty is that, alas, mere intelligent useless wretch as I am, + I've never hitherto been sure of knowing how myself; for am I too not as + steeped in fears as any of them? My fears, mostly, are different, and of + different dangers—also I hate having them, whereas they love them + and hug them to their hearts; but the fact remains that, save in this + private precinct of my overflow, which contains, under a strong little + brass lock, several bad words and many good resolutions, I have never + either said or done a bold thing in my life. What I seem always to feel, + doubtless cravenly enough, under her almost pathetic appeal, has been that + it isn't yet the occasion, the really good and right one, for breaking + out; than which nothing could more resemble of course the inveterate + argument of the helpless. ANY occasion is good enough for the helpful; + since there's never any that hasn't weak sides for their own strength to + make up. However, if there COULD be conceivably a good one, I'll be hanged + if I don't seem to see it gather now, and if I sha'n't write myself here + “poor” Charles Edward in all truth by failing to take advantage of it, + (They have in fact, I should note, one superiority of courage to my own: + this habit of their so constantly casting up my poverty at me—poverty + of character, of course I mean, for they don't, to do them justice, taunt + me with having “made” so little. They don't, I admit, take their lives in + their hands when they perform that act; the proposition itself being that + I haven't the spirit of a fished-out fly.) + </p> + <p> + My point is, at any rate, that I designate THEM as Poor only in the + abysmal confidence of these occult pages: into which I really believe even + my poor wife—for it's universal!—has never succeeded in + peeping. It will be a shock to me if I some day find she has so far + adventured—and this not on account of the curiosity felt or the + liberty taken, but on account of her having successfully disguised it. She + knows I keep an intermittent diary—I've confessed to her it's the + way in which I work things in general, my feelings and impatiences and + difficulties, off. It's the way I work off my nerves—that luxury in + which poor Charles Edward's natural narrow means—narrow so far as + ever acknowledged—don't permit him to indulge. No one for a moment + suspects I have any nerves, and least of all what they themselves do to + them; no one, that is, but poor little Mother again—who, however, + again, in her way, all timorously and tenderly, has never mentioned it: + any more than she has ever mentioned her own, which she would think quite + indecent. This is precisely one of the things that, while it passes + between us as a mute assurance, makes me feel myself more than the others + verily HER child: more even than poor little Peg at the present strained + juncture. + </p> + <p> + But what I was going to say above all is that I don't care that poor + Lorraine—since that's my wife's inimitable name, which I feel every + time I write it I must apologize even to myself for!—should quite + discover the moments at which, first and last, I've worked HER off. Yet + I've made no secret of my cultivating it as a resource that helps me to + hold out; this idea of our “holding out,” separately and together, having + become for us—and quite comically, as I see—the very basis of + life. What does it mean, and how and why and to what end are we holding? I + ask myself that even while I feel how much we achieve even by just hugging + each other over the general intensity of it. This is what I have in mind + as to our living to that extent by the vain phrase; as to our really from + time to time winding ourselves up by the use of it, and winding each + other. What should we do if we didn't hold out, and of what romantic, + dramatic, or simply perhaps quite prosaic, collapse would giving in, in + contradistinction, consist for us? We haven't in the least formulated that—though + it perhaps may but be one of the thousand things we are afraid of. + </p> + <p> + At any rate we don't, I think, ever so much as ask ourselves, and much + less each other: we're so quite sufficiently sustained and inflamed by the + sense that we're just doing it, and that in the sublime effort our union + is our strength. There must be something in it, for the more intense we + make the consciousness—and haven't we brought it to as fine a point + as our frequently triumphant partnership at bridge?—the more it + positively does support us. Poor Lorraine doesn't really at all need to + understand in order to believe; she believes that, failing our exquisite + and intimate combined effort of resistance, we should be capable together + of something—well, “desperate.” It's in fact in this beautiful + desperation that we spend our days, that we face the pretty grim prospect + of new ones, that we go and come and talk and pretend, that we consort, so + far as in our deep-dyed hypocrisy we do consort, with the rest of the + Family, that we have Sunday supper with the Parents and emerge, modestly + yet virtuously shining, from the ordeal; that we put in our daily + appearance at the Works—for a utility nowadays so vague that I'm + fully aware (Lorraine isn't so much) of the deep amusement I excite there, + though I also recognize how wonderfully, how quite charitably, they manage + not to break out with it: bless, for the most part, their dear simple + hearts! It is in this privately exalted way that we bear in short the + burden of our obloquy, our failure, our resignation, our sacrifice of what + we should have liked, even if it be a matter we scarce dare to so much as + name to each other; and above all of our insufferable reputation for an + abject meekness. We're really not meek a bit—we're secretly quite + ferocious; but we're held to be ashamed of ourselves not only for our + proved business incompetence, but for our lack of first-rate artistic + power as well: it being now definitely on record that we've never yet + designed a single type of ice-pitcher—since that's the damnable form + Father's production more and more runs to; his uncanny ideal is to turn + out more ice-pitchers than any firm in the world—that has “taken” + with their awful public. We've tried again and again to strike off + something hideous enough, but it has always in these cases appeared to us + quite beautiful compared to the object finally turned out, on their + improved lines, for the unspeakable market; so that we've only been able + to be publicly rueful and depressed about it, and to plead practically, in + extenuation of all the extra trouble we saddle them with, that such things + are, alas, the worst we can do. + </p> + <p> + We so far succeed in our plea that we're held at least to sit, as I say, + in contrition, and to understand how little, when it comes to a reckoning, + we really pay our way. This actually passes, I think for the main basis of + our humility, as it's certainly the basis of what I feel to be poor + Mother's unuttered yearning. It almost broke her heart that we SHOULD have + to live in such shame—she has only got so far as that yet. But it's + a beginning; and I seem to make out that if I don't spoil it by any wrong + word, if I don't in fact break the spell by any wrong breath, she'll + probably come on further. It will glimmer upon her—some day when she + looks at me in her uncomfortable bewildered tenderness, and I almost + hypnotize her by just smiling inscrutably back—that she isn't + getting all the moral benefit she somehow ought out of my being so + pathetically wrong; and then she'll begin to wonder and wonder, all to + herself, if there mayn't be something to be said for me. She has limped + along, in her more or less dissimulated pain, on this apparently firm + ground that I'm so wrong that nothing will do for either of us but a + sweet, solemn, tactful agreement between us never to mention it. It falls + in so richly with all the other things, all the “real” things, we never + mention. + </p> + <p> + Well, it's doubtless an odd fact to be setting down even here; but I SHALL + be sorry for her on the day when her glimmer, as I have called it, + broadens—when it breaks on her that if I'm as wrong as this comes + to, why the others must be actively and absolutely right. She has never + had to take it quite THAT way—so women, even mothers, wondrously get + on; and heaven help her, as I say, when she shall. She'll be immense—“tactfully” + immense, with Father about it—she'll manage that, for herself and + for him, all right; but where the iron will enter into her will be at the + thought of her having for so long given raison, as they say in Paris—or + as poor Lorraine at least says they say—to a couple like Maria and + Tom Price. It comes over her that she has taken it largely from THEM (and + she HAS) that we're living in immorality, Lorraine and I: ah THEN, poor + dear little Mother—! Upon my word I believe I'd go on lying low to + this positive pitch of grovelling—and Lorraine, charming, absurd + creature, would back me up in it too—in order precisely to save + Mother such a revulsion. It will be really more trouble than it will be + worth to her; since it isn't as if our relation weren't, of its kind, just + as we are, about as “dear” as it can be. + </p> + <p> + I'd literally much rather help her not to see than to see; I'd much rather + help her to get on with the others (yes, even including poor Father, the + fine damp plaster of whose composition, renewed from week to week, can't + be touched anywhere without letting your finger in, without peril of its + coming to pieces) in the way easiest for her—if not easiest TO her. + She couldn't live with the others an hour—no, not with one of them, + unless with poor little Peg—save by accepting all their premises, + save by making in other words all the concessions and having all the + imagination. I ask from her nothing of this—I do the whole thing + with her, as she has to do it with them; and of this, au fond, as Lorraine + again says, she is ever so subtly aware—just as, FOR it, she's ever + so dumbly grateful. Let these notes stand at any rate for my fond fancy of + that, and write it here to my credit in letters as big and black as the + tearful alphabet of my childhood; let them do this even if everything else + registers meaner things. I'm perfectly willing to recognize, as + grovellingly as any one likes, that, as grown-up and as married and as + preoccupied and as disillusioned, or at least as battered and seasoned (by + adversity) as possible, I'm in respect to HER as achingly filial and as + feelingly dependent, all the time, as when I used, in the far-off years, + to wake up, a small blubbering idiot, from frightening dreams, and refuse + to go to sleep again, in the dark, till I clutched her hands or her dress + and felt her bend over me. + </p> + <p> + She used to protect me then from domestic derision—for she somehow + kept such passages quiet; but she can't (it's where HER ache comes in!) + protect me now from a more insidious kind. Well, now I don't care! I feel + it in Maria and Tom, constantly, who offer themselves as the pattern of + success in comparison with which poor Lorraine and I are nowhere. I don't + say they do it with malice prepense, or that they plot against us to our + ruin; the thing operates rather as an extraordinary effect of their mere + successful blatancy. They're blatant, truly, in the superlative degree, + and I call them successfully so for just this reason, that poor Mother is + to all appearance perfectly unaware of it. Maria is the one member of all + her circle that has got her really, not only just ostensibly, into + training; and it's a part of the general irony of fate that neither she + nor my terrible sister herself recognizes the truth of this. The others, + even to poor Father, think they manage and manipulate her, and she can + afford to let them think it, ridiculously, since they don't come anywhere + near it. She knows they don't and is easy with them; playing over Father + in especial with finger-tips so lightly resting and yet so effectively + tickling, that he has never known at a given moment either where they were + or, in the least, what they were doing to him. That's enough for Mother, + who keeps by it the freedom other soul; yet whose fundamental humility + comes out in its being so hidden from her that her eldest daughter, to + whom she allows the benefit of every doubt, does damnably boss her. + </p> + <p> + This is the one case in which she's not lucid; and, to make it perfect, + Maria, whose humility is neither fundamental nor superficial, but whose + avidity is both, comfortably cherishes, as a ground of complaint—nurses + in fact, beatifically, as a wrong—the belief that she's the one + person without influence. Influence?—why she has so much on ME that + she absolutely coerces me into making here these dark and dreadful remarks + about her! Let my record establish, in this fashion, that if I'm a + clinging son I'm, in that quarter, to make up for it, a detached brother. + Deadly virtuous and deadly hard and deadly charmless—also, more than + anything, deadly sure I—how does Maria fit on, by consanguinity, to + such amiable characters, such REAL social values, as Mother and me at all? + If that question ceases to matter, sometimes, during the week, it flares + up, on the other hand, at Sunday supper, down the street, where Tom and + his wife, overwhelmingly cheerful and facetious, contrast so favorably + with poor gentle sickly (as we doubtless appear) Lorraine and me. We can't + meet them—that is I can't meet Tom—on that ground, the furious + football-field to which he reduces conversation, making it echo as with + the roar of the arena—one little bit. + </p> + <p> + Of course, with such deep diversity of feeling, we simply loathe each + other, he and I; but the sad thing is that we get no good of it, none of + the TRUE joy of life, the joy of our passions and perceptions and desires, + by reason of our awful predetermined geniality and the strange abysmal + necessity of our having so eternally to put up with each other. If we + could intermit that vain superstition somehow, for about three minutes, I + often think the air might clear (as by the scramble of the game of General + Post, or whatever they call it) and we should all get out of our wrong + corners and find ourselves in our right, glaring from these positions a + happy and natural defiance. Then I shouldn't be thus nominally and + pretendedly (it's too ignoble!) on the same side or in the same air as my + brother-in-law; whose value is that he has thirty “business ideas” a day, + while I shall never have had the thirtieth fraction of one in my whole + life. He just hums, Tom Price, with business ideas, whereas I just gape + with the impossibility of them; he moves in the densest we carry our heads + here on August evenings, each with its own thick nimbus of mosquitoes. I'm + but too conscious of how, on the other hand, I'm desolately outlined to + all eyes, in an air as pure and empty as that of a fine Polar sunset. + </p> + <p> + It was Lorraine, dear quaint thing, who some time ago made the remark (on + our leaving one of those weekly banquets at which we figure positively as + a pair of social skeletons) that Tom's facetae multiply, evidently, in + direct proportion to his wealth of business ideas; so that whenever he's + enormously funny we may take it that he's “on” something tremendous. He's + sprightly in proportion as he's in earnest, and innocent in proportion as + he's going to be dangerous; dangerous, I mean, to the competitor and the + victim. Indeed when I reflect that his jokes are probably each going to + cost certain people, wretched helpless people like myself, hundreds and + thousands of dollars, their abundant flow affects me as one of the most + lurid of exhibitions. I've sometimes rather wondered that Father can stand + so much of him. Father who has after all a sharp nerve or two in him, like + a razor gone astray in a valise of thick Jager underclothing; though of + course Maria, pulling with Tom shoulder to shoulder, would like to see any + one NOT stand her husband. + </p> + <p> + The explanation has struck me as, mostly, that business genial and + cheerful and even obstreperous, without detriment to its BEING business, + has been poor Father's ideal for his own terrible kind. This ideal is, + further, that his home-life shall attest that prosperity. I think it has + even been his conception that our family tone shall by its sweet innocence + fairly register the pace at which the Works keep ahead: so that he has the + pleasure of feeling us as funny and slangy here as people can only be who + have had the best of the bargains other people are having occasion to rue. + We of course don't know—that is Mother and Grandmamma don't, in any + definite way (any more than I do, thanks to my careful stupidity) how + exceeding small some of the material is consciously ground in the great + grim, thrifty mill of industrial success; and indeed we grow about as many + cheap illusions and easy comforts in the faintly fenced garden of our + little life as could very well be crammed into the space. + </p> + <p> + Poor Grandmamma—since I've mentioned her—appears to me always + the aged wan Flora of our paradise; the presiding divinity, seated in the + centre, under whose pious traditions, REALLY quite dim and outlived, our + fond sacrifices are offered. Queer enough the superstition that Granny is + a very solid and strenuous and rather grim person, with a capacity for + facing the world, that we, a relaxed generation, have weakly lost. She + knows as much about the world as a tin jelly-mould knows about the dinner, + and is the oddest mixture of brooding anxieties over things that don't in + the least matter and of bland failure to suspect things that intensely do. + She lives in short in a weird little waste of words—over the moral + earnestness we none of us cultivate; yet hasn't a notion of any effective + earnestness herself except on the subject of empty bottles, which have, it + would appear, noble neglected uses. At this time of day it doesn't matter, + but if there could have been dropped into her empty bottles, at an earlier + stage, something to strengthen a little any wine of life they were likely + to contain, she wouldn't have figured so as the head and front of all our + sentimentality. + </p> + <p> + I judge it, for that matter, a proof of our flat “modernity” in this order + that the scant starch holding her together is felt to give her among us + this antique and austere consistency. I don't talk things over with + Lorraine for nothing, and she does keep for me the flashes of perception + we neither of us waste on the others. It's the “antiquity of the age of + crinoline,” she said the other day a propos of a little carte-de-visite + photograph of my ancestress as a young woman of the time of the War; + looking as if she had been violently inflated from below, but had + succeeded in resisting at any cost, and with a strange intensity of + expression, from her waist up. Mother, however, I must say, is as + wonderful about her as about everything else, and arranges herself, + exactly, to appear a mere contemporary illustration (being all the while + three times the true picture) in order that her parent shall have the + importance of the Family Portrait. I don't mean of course that she has + told me so; but she cannot see that if she hasn't that importance Granny + has none other; and it's therefore as if she pretended she had a ruff, a + stomacher, a farthingale and all the rest—grand old angles and + eccentricities and fine absurdities: the hard white face, if necessary, of + one who has seen witches burned. + </p> + <p> + She hasn't any more than any one else among us a gleam of fine absurdity: + that's a product that seems unable, for the life of it, and though so + indispensable (say) for literary material, to grow here; but, exquisitely + determined she shall have Character lest she perish—while it's + assumed we still need her—Mother makes it up for her, with a turn of + the hand, out of bits left over from her own, far from economically as her + own was originally planned; scraps of spiritual silk and velvet that no + one takes notice of missing. And Granny, as in the dignity of her legend, + imposes, ridiculous old woman, on every one—Granny passes for one of + the finest old figures in the place, while Mother is never discovered. So + is history always written, and so is truth mostly worshipped. There's + indeed one thing, I'll do her the justice to say, as to which she has a + glimmer of vision—as to which she had it a couple of years ago; I + was thoroughly with her in her deprecation of the idea that Peggy should + be sent, to crown her culture, to that horrid co-educative college from + which the poor child returned the other day so preposterously engaged to + be married; and, if she had only been a little more actively with me we + might perhaps between us have done something about it. But she has a way + of deprecating with her long, knobby, mittened hand over her mouth, and of + looking at the same time, in a mysterious manner, down into one of the + angles of the room—it reduces her protest to a feebleness: she's + incapable of seeing in it herself more than a fraction of what it has for + her, and really thinks it would be wicked and abandoned, would savor of + Criticism, which is the cardinal sin with her, to see all, or to follow + any premise to it in the right direction. + </p> + <p> + Still, there was the happy chance, at the time the question came up, that + she had retained, on the subject of promiscuous colleges, the mistrust of + the age of crinoline: as to which in fact that little old photograph, with + its balloon petticoat and its astonishingly flat, stiff “torso,” might + have imaged some failure of the attempt to blow the heresy into her. The + true inwardness of the history, at the crisis, was that our fell Maria had + made up her mind that Peg should go—and that, as I have noted, the + thing our fell Maria makes up her mind to among us is in nine cases out of + ten the thing that is done. Maria still takes, in spite of her partial + removal to a wider sphere, the most insidious interest in us, and the + beauty of her affectionate concern for the welfare of her younger sisters + is the theme of every tongue. She observed to Lorraine, in a moment of + rare expansion, more than a year ago, that she had got their two futures + perfectly fixed, and that as Peggy appeared to have “some mind,” though + how much she wasn't yet sure, it should be developed, what there was of + it, on the highest modern lines: Peggy would never be thought generally, + that is physically, attractive anyway. She would see about Alice, the + brat, later on, though meantime she had her idea—the idea that Alice + was really going to have the looks and would at a given moment break out + into beauty: in which event she should be run for that, and for all it + might be worth, and she, Maria, would be ready to take the contract. + </p> + <p> + This is the kind of patronage of us that passes, I believe, among her more + particular intimates, for “so sweet” of her; it being of course Maria all + over to think herself subtle for just reversing, with a “There—see + how original I am?” any benighted conviction usually entertained. I don't + know that any one has ever thought Alice, the brat, intellectual; but + certainly no one has ever judged her even potentially handsome, in the + light of no matter which of those staggering girl-processes that suddenly + produce features, in flat faces, and “figure,” in the void of space, as a + conjurer pulls rabbits out of a sheet of paper and yards of ribbon out of + nothing. Moreover, if any one SHOULD know, Lorraine and I, with our + trained sense for form and for “values,” certainly would. However, it + doesn't matter; the whole thing being but a bit of Maria's system of + bluffing in order to boss. Peggy hasn't more than the brain, in proportion + to the rest of her, of a small swelling dove on a window-sill; but she's + extremely pretty and absolutely nice, a little rounded pink-billed + presence that pecks up gratefully any grain of appreciation. + </p> + <p> + I said to Mother, I remember, at the time—I took that plunge: “I + hope to goodness you're not going to pitch that defenceless child into any + such bear garden!” and she replied that to make a bear-garden you first + had to have bears, and she didn't suppose the co-educative young men could + be so described. “Well then,” said I, “would you rather I should call them + donkeys, or even monkeys? What I mean is that the poor girl—a + perfect little DECORATIVE person, who ought to have iridescent-gray + plumage and pink-shod feet to match the rest of her—shouldn't be + thrust into any general menagerie-cage, but be kept for the dovecote and + the garden, kept where we may still hear her coo. That's what, at college, + they'll make her unlearn; she'll learn to roar and snarl with the other + animals. Think of the vocal sounds with which she may come back to us!” + Mother appeared to think, but asked me, after a moment, as a result of it, + in which of the cages of the New York Art League menagerie, and among what + sort of sounds, I had found Lorraine—who was a product of + co-education if there ever had been one, just as our marriage itself had + been such a product. + </p> + <p> + I replied to this—well, what I could easily reply; but I asked, I + recollect, in the very forefront, if she were sending Peg to college to + get married. She declared it was the last thing she was in a hurry about, + and that she believed there was no danger, but her great argument let the + cat out of the bag. “Maria feels the want of it—of a college + education; she feels it would have given her more confidence”; and I shall + in fact never forget the little look of strange supplication that she gave + me with these words. What it meant was: “Now don't ask me to go into the + question, for the moment, any further: it's in the acute stage—and + you know how soon Maria can BRING a question to a head. She has settled it + with your Father—in other words has settled it FOR him: settled it + in the sense that we didn't give HER, at the right time, the advantage she + ought to have had. It would have given her confidence—from the want + of which, acquired at that age, she feels she so suffers; and your Father + thinks it fine of her to urge that her little sister shall profit by her + warning. Nothing works on him, you know, so much as to hear it hinted that + we've failed of our duty to any of you; and you can see how it must work + when he can be persuaded that Maria—!” + </p> + <p> + “Hasn't colossal cheek?”—I took the words out of her mouth. “With + such colossal cheek what NEED have you of confidence, which is such an + inferior form—?” + </p> + <p> + The long and short was of course that Peggy went; believing on her side, + poor dear, that it might for future relations give her the pull of Maria. + This represents, really, I think, the one spark of guile in Peggy's + breast: the smart of a small grievance suffered at her sister's hands in + the dim long-ago. Maria slapped her face, or ate up her chocolates, or + smeared her copy-book, or something of that sort; and the sound of the + slap still reverberates in Peg's consciousness, the missed sweetness still + haunts her palate, the smutch of the fair page (Peg writes an immaculate + little hand and Maria a wretched one—the only thing she can't + swagger about) still affronts her sight. Maria also, to do her justice, + has a vague hankering, under which she has always been restive, to make up + for the outrage; and the form the compunction now takes is to get her + away. It's one of the facts of our situation all round, I may thus add, + that every one wants to get some one else away, and that there are indeed + one or two of us upon whom, to that end, could the conspiracy only be + occult enough—which it can never!—all the rest would + effectively concentrate. + </p> + <p> + Father would like to shunt Granny—it IS monstrous his having his + mother-in-law a fixture under his roof; though, after all, I'm not sure + this patience doesn't rank for him as one of those domestic genialities + that allow his conscience a bolder and tighter business hand; a curious + service, this sort of thing, I note, rendered to the business conscience + throughout our community. Mother, at any rate, and small blame to her, + would like to “shoo” off Eliza, as Lorraine and I, in our deepest privacy, + call Aunt Elizabeth; the Tom Prices would like to extirpate US, of course; + we would give our most immediate jewel to clear the sky of the Tom Prices; + und so weiter. And I think we should really all band together, for once in + our lives, in an unnatural alliance to get rid of Eliza. The beauty as to + THIS is, moreover, that I make out the rich if dim, dawn of that + last-named possibility (which I've been secretly invoking, all this year, + for poor Mother's sake); and as the act of mine own right hand, moreover, + without other human help. But of that anon; the IMMEDIATELY striking thing + being meanwhile again the strange stultification of the passions in us, + which prevents anything ever from coming to an admitted and avowed head. + </p> + <p> + Maria can be trusted, as I have said, to bring on the small crisis, every + time; but she's as afraid as any one else of the great one, and she's + moreover, I write it with rapture, afraid of Eliza. Eliza is the one + person in our whole community she does fear—and for reasons I + perfectly grasp; to which moreover, this extraordinary oddity attaches, + that I positively feel I don't fear Eliza in the least (and in fact + promise myself before long to show it) and yet don't at all avail by that + show of my indifference to danger to inspire my sister with the least + terror in respect to myself. It's very funny, the DEGREE of her dread of + Eliza, who affects her, evidently, as a person of lurid “worldly” + possibilities—the one innocent light in which poor Maria wears for + me what Lorraine calls a weird pathos; and perhaps, after all, on the day + I shall have justified my futile passage across this agitated scene, and + my questionable utility here below every way, by converting our aunt's + lively presence into a lively absence, it may come over her that I AM to + be recognized. I in fact dream at times, with high intensity, that I see + the Prices some day quite turn pale as they look at each other and find + themselves taking me in. + </p> + <p> + I've made up my mind at any rate that poor Mother shall within the year be + relieved in one way or another of her constant liability to her + sister-in-law's visitations. It isn't to be endured that her house should + be so little her own house as I've known Granny and Eliza, between them, + though after a different fashion, succeed in making it appear; and yet the + action to take will, I perfectly see, never by any possibility come from + poor Father. He accepts his sister's perpetual re-arrivals, under the law + of her own convenience, with a broad-backed serenity which I find + distinctly irritating (if I may use the impious expression) and which + makes me ask myself how he sees poor Mother's “position” at all. The truth + is poor Father never does “see” anything of that sort, in the sense of + conceiving it in its relations; he doesn't know, I guess, but what the + prowling Eliza HAS a position (since this is a superstition that I observe + even my acute little Lorraine can't quite shake off). He takes refuge + about it, as about everything, truly, in the cheerful vagueness of that + general consciousness on which I have already touched: he likes to come + home from the Works every day to see how good he really is, after all—and + it's what poor Mother thus has to demonstrate for him by translating his + benevolence, translating it to himself and to others, into “housekeeping.” + If he were only good to HER he mightn't be good enough; but the more we + pig together round about him the more blandly patriarchal we make him + feel. + </p> + <p> + Eliza meanwhile, at any rate, is spoiling for a dose—if ever a woman + required one; and I seem already to feel in the air the gathering elements + of the occasion that awaits me for administering it. All of which it is a + comfort somehow to maunder away on here. As I read over what I have + written the aspects of our situation multiply so in fact that I note again + how one has only to look at any human thing very straight (that is with + the minimum of intelligence) to see it shine out in as many aspects as the + hues of the prism; or place itself, in other words, in relations that + positively stop nowhere. I've often thought I should like some day to + write a novel; but what would become of me in that case—delivered + over, I mean, before my subject, to my extravagant sense that everything + is a part of something else? When you paint a picture with a brush and + pigments, that is on a single plane, it can stop at your gilt frame; but + when you paint one with a pen and words, that is in ALL the dimensions, + how are you to stop? Of course, as Lorraine says, “Stopping, that's art; + and what are we artists like, my dear, but those drivers of trolley-cars, + in New York, who, by some divine instinct, recognize in the forest of + pillars and posts the white-striped columns at which they may pull up? + Yes, we're drivers of trolley-cars charged with electric force and + prepared to go any distance from which the consideration of a probable + smash ahead doesn't deter us.” + </p> + <p> + That consideration deters me doubtless even a little here—in spite + of my seeing the track, to the next bend, so temptingly clear. I should + like to note for instance, for my own satisfaction (though no fellow, + thank God, was ever less a prey to the ignoble fear of inconsistency) that + poor Mother's impugnment of my acquisition of Lorraine didn't in the least + disconcert me. I did pick Lorraine—then a little bleating stray lamb + collared with a blue ribbon and a tinkling silver bell—out of our + New York bear-garden; but it interests me awfully to recognize that, + whereas the kind of association is one I hate for my small Philistine + sister, who probably has the makings of a nice, dull, dressed, amiable, + insignificant woman, I recognize it perfectly as Lorraine's native element + and my own; or at least don't at all mind her having been dipped in it. It + has tempered and plated us for the rest of life, and to an effect + different enough from the awful metallic wash of our Company's admired + ice-pitchers. We artists are at the best children of despair—a + certain divine despair, as Lorraine naturally says; and what jollier place + for laying it in abundantly than the Art League? As for Peg, however, I + won't hear of her having anything to do with this; she shall despair of + nothing worse than the “hang” of her skirt or the moderation other hat—and + not often, if I can help her, even of those. + </p> +<div class="fig" style="width:50%;"> <img src="images/{0191}.jpg" alt="{0191}" width="100%" /><br /> </div> <h5> <a href="images/{0191}.jpg"> <img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a> </h5> + + <p> + That small vow I'm glad to register here: it helps somehow, at the + juncture I seem to feel rapidly approaching, to do the indispensable thing + Lorraine is always talking about—to define my position. She's always + insisting that we've never sufficiently defined it—as if I've ever + for a moment pretended we have! We've REfined it, to the last intensity—and + of course, now, shall have to do so still more; which will leave them all + even more bewildered than the boldest definition would have done. But + that's quite a different thing. The furthest we have gone in the way of + definition—unless indeed this too belongs but to our invincible + tendency to refine—is by the happy rule we've made that Lorraine + shall walk with me every morning to the Works, and I shall find her there + when I come out to walk home with me. I see, on reading over, that this is + what I meant by “our” in speaking above of our little daily heroism in + that direction. The heroism is easier, and becomes quite sweet, I find, + when she comes so far on the way with me and when we linger outside for a + little more last talk before I go in. + </p> + <p> + It's the drollest thing in the world, and really the most precious note of + the mystic influence known in the place as “the force of public opinion”—which + is in other words but the incubus of small domestic conformity; I really + believe there's nothing we do, or don't do, that excites in the bosom of + our circle a subtler sense that we're “au fond” uncanny. And it's amusing + to think that this is our sole tiny touch of independence! That she should + come forth with me at those hours, that she should hang about with me, and + that we should have last (and, when she meets me again, first) small sweet + things to say to each other, as if we were figures in a chromo or a + tableau vwant keeping our tryst at a stile—no, this, quite + inexplicably, transcends their scheme and baffles their imagination. They + can't conceive how or why Lorraine gets out, or should wish to, at such + hours; there's a feeling that she must violate every domestic duty to do + it; yes, at bottom, really, the act wears for them, I discern, an + insidious immorality, and it wouldn't take much to bring “public opinion” + down on us in some scandalized way. + </p> + <p> + The funniest thing of all, moreover, is that that effect resides largely + in our being husband and wife—it would be absent, wholly, if we were + engaged or lovers; a publicly parading gentleman friend and lady friend. + What is it we CAN have to say to each other, in that exclusive manner, so + particularly, so frequently, so flagrantly, and as if we hadn't chances + enough at home? I see it's a thing Mother might accidentally do with + Father, or Maria with Tom Price; but I can imagine the shouts of hilarity, + the resounding public comedy, with which Tom and Maria would separate; and + also how scantly poor little Mother would permit herself with poor big + Father any appearance of a grave leave-taking. I've quite expected her—yes, + literally poor little Mother herself—to ask me, a bit anxiously, any + time these six months, what it is that at such extraordinary moments + passes between us. So much, at any rate, for the truth of this cluster of + documentary impressions, to which there may some day attach the value as + of a direct contemporary record of strange and remote things, so much I + here super-add; and verily with regret, as well, on behalf of my picture, + for two or three other touches from which I must forbear. + </p> + <p> + There has lately turned up, on our scene, one person with whom, doors and + windows closed, curtains drawn, secrecy sworn, the whole town asleep and + something amber-colored a-brewing—there has recently joined us one + person, I say, with whom we might really pass the time of day, to whom we + might, after due deliberation, tip the wink. I allude to the Parents' new + neighbor, the odd fellow Temple, who, for reasons mysterious and which his + ostensible undertaking of the native newspaper don't at all make + plausible, has elected, as they say, fondly to sojourn among us. A + journalist, a rolling stone, a man who has seen other life, how can one + not suspect him of some deeper game than he avows—some such + studious, surreptitious, “sociological” intent as alone, it would seem, + could sustain him through the practice of leaning on his fence at eventide + to converse for long periods with poor Father? Poor Father indeed, if a + real remorseless sociologist were once to get well hold of him! Lorraine + freely maintains that there's more in the Temples than meets the eye; that + they're up to something, at least that HE is, that he kind of feels us in + the air, just as we feel him, and that he would sort of reach out to us, + by the same token, if we would in any way give the first sign. This, + however, Lorraine contends, his wife won't let him do; his wife, according + to mine, is quite a different proposition (much more REALLY hatted and + gloved, she notes, than any one here, even than the belted and trinketed + Eliza) and with a conviction of her own as to what their stay is going to + amount to. On the basis of Lorraine's similar conviction about ours it + would seem then that we ought to meet for an esoteric revel; yet somehow + it doesn't come off. Sometimes I think I'm quite wrong and that he can't + really be a child of light: we should in this case either have seen him + collapse or have discovered what inwardly sustains him. We ARE ourselves + inwardly collapsing—there's no doubt of that: in spite of the + central fires, as Lorraine says somebody in Boston used to say somebody + said, from which we're fed. From what central fires is Temple nourished? I + give it up; for, on the point, again and again, of desperately stopping + him in the street to ask him, I recoil as often in terror. He may be only + plotting to MAKE me do it—so that he may give me away in his paper! + </p> + <p> + “Remember, he's a mere little frisking prize ass; stick to that, cling to + it, make it your answer to everything: it's all you now know and all you + need to know, and you'll be as firm on it as on a rock!” This is what I + said to poor Peg, on the subject of Harry Goward, before I started, in the + glorious impulse of the moment, five nights ago, for New York; and, with + no moment now to spare, yet wishing not to lose my small silver clue, I + just put it here for one of the white pebbles, or whatever they were, that + Hop o' my Thumb, carried off to the forest, dropped, as he went, to know + his way back. I was carried off the other evening in a whirlwind, which + has not even yet quite gone down, though I am now at home and recovering + my breath; and it will interest me vividly, when I have more freedom of + mind, to live over again these strange, these wild successions. But a few + rude notes, and only of the first few hours of my adventure, must for the + present suffice. The mot, of the whole thing, as Lorraine calls it, was + that at last, in a flash, we recognized what we had so long been wondering + about—what supreme advantage we've been, all this latter time in + particular, “holding out” for. + </p> + <p> + Lorraine had put it once again in her happy way only a few weeks previous; + we were “saving up,” she said—and not meaning at all our poor scant + dollars and cents, though we've also kept hold of some of THEM—for + an exercise of strength and a show of character that would make us of a + sudden some unmistakable sign. We should just meet it rounding a corner as + with the rush of an automobile—a chariot of fire that would stop but + long enough to take us in, when we should know it immediately for the + vehicle of our fate. That conviction had somehow been with us, and I had + really heard our hour begin to strike on Peg's coming back to us from her + co-educative adventure so preposterously “engaged.” I didn't believe in + it, in such a manner of becoming so, one little bit, and I took on myself + to hate the same; though that indeed seemed the last thing to trouble any + one else. Her turning up in such a fashion with the whole thing settled + before Father or Mother or Maria or any of us had so much as heard of the + young man, much less seen the tip of his nose, had too much in common, for + my taste, with the rude betrothals of the people, with some maid-servant's + announcement to her employer that she has exchanged vows with the + butcher-boy. + </p> + <p> + I was indignant, quite artlessly indignant I fear, with the college + authorities, barbarously irresponsible, as it struck me; for when I broke + out about them to poor Mother she surprised me (though I confess she had + sometimes surprised me before), by her deep fatalism. “Oh, I suppose they + don't pretend not to take their students at the young people's own risk: + they can scarcely pretend to control their affections!” she wonderfully + said; she seemed almost shocked, moreover, that I could impute either to + Father or to herself any disposition to control Peggy's. It was one of the + few occasions of my life on which I've suffered irritation from poor + Mother; and yet I'm now not sure, after all, that she wasn't again but at + her old game (even then, for she has certainly been so since) of + protecting poor Father, by feigning a like flaccidity, from the full + appearance, not to say the full dishonor, of his failure ever to meet a + domestic responsibility. It came over me that there would be absolutely + nobody to meet this one, and my own peculiar chance glimmered upon me + therefore on the spot. I can't retrace steps and stages; suffice it that + my opportunity developed and broadened, to my watching eyes, with each + precipitated consequence of the wretched youth's arrival. + </p> + <p> + He proved, without delay, an infant in arms; an infant, either, according + to circumstances, crowing and kicking and clamoring for sustenance, or + wailing and choking and refusing even the bottle, to the point even, as + I've just seen in New York, of imminent convulsions. The “arms” most + appropriate to his case suddenly announced themselves, in fine, to our + general consternation, as Eliza's: but it was at this unnatural vision + that my heart indeed leaped up. I was beforehand even with Lorraine; she + was still gaping while, in three bold strokes, I sketched to her our + campaign. “I take command—the others are flat on their backs. I save + little pathetic Peg, even in spite of herself; though her just resentment + is really much greater than she dares, poor mite, recognize (amazing + scruple!). By which I mean I guard her against a possible relapse. I save + poor Mother—that is I rid her of the deadly Eliza—forever and + a day! Despised, rejected, misunderstood, I nevertheless intervene, in its + hour of dire need, as the good genius of the family; and you, dear little + quaint thing, I take advantage of the precious psychological moment to + whisk YOU off to Europe. We'll take Peg with us for a year's true culture; + she wants a year's true culture pretty badly, but she doesn't, as it turns + out, want Mr. Goward a 'speck.' And I'll do it all in my own way, before + they can recover breath; they'll recover it—if we but give them time—to + bless our name; but by that moment we shall have struck for freedom!” + </p> + <p> + Well, then, my own way—it was “given me,” as Lorraine says—was, + taking the night express, without a word to any one but Peg, whom it was + charming, at the supreme hour, to feel glimmeringly, all-wonderingly, with + us: my own way, I say, was to go, the next morning, as soon as I had + breakfasted, to the address Lorraine had been able, by an immense piece of + luck, to suggest to me as a possible clue to Eliza's whereabouts. “She'll + either be with her friends the Chataways, in East Seventy-third Street—she's + always swaggering about the Chataways, who by her account are tremendous + 'smarts,' as she has told Lorraine the right term is in London, leading a + life that is a burden to them without her; or else they'll know where she + is. That's at least what I HOPE!” said my wife with infinite feminine + subtlety. The Chataways as a subject of swagger presented themselves, even + to my rustic vision, oddly; I may be mistaken about New York “values,” but + the grandeur of this connection was brought home to me neither by the high + lopsided stoop of its very, very East Side setting, nor by the appearance + of a terrible massive lady who came to the door while I was in quite + unproductive parley with an unmistakably, a hopelessly mystified menial, + an outlandish young woman with a face of dark despair and an intelligence + closed to any mere indigenous appeal. I was to learn later in the day that + she's a Macedonian Christian whom the Chataways harbor against the cruel + Turk in return for domestic service; a romantic item that Eliza named to + me in rueful correction of the absence of several indeed that are + apparently prosaic enough. + </p> + <p> + The powder on the massive lady's face indeed transcended, I rather + thought, the bounds of prose, did much to refer her to the realm of + fantasy, some fairy-land forlorn; an effect the more marked as the wrapper + she appeared hastily to have caught up, and which was somehow both + voluminous and tense (flowing like a cataract in some places, yet in + others exposing, or at least denning, the ample bed of the stream) + reminded me of the big cloth spread in a room when any mess is to be made. + She apologized when I said I had come to inquire for Miss Talbert—mentioned + (with play of a wonderfully fine fat hand) that she herself was “just + being manicured in the parlor”; but was evidently surprised at my asking + about Eliza, which plunged her into the question—it suffused her + extravagant blondness with a troubled light, struggling there like a + sunrise over snow—of whether she had better, confessing to + ignorance, relieve her curiosity or, pretending to knowledge, baffle mine. + But mine of course carried the day, for mine showed it could wait, while + hers couldn't; the final superiority of women to men being in fact, I + think, that we are more PATIENTLY curious. + </p> + <p> + “Why, is she in the city?” + </p> + <p> + “If she isn't, dear madam,” I replied, “she ought to be. She left + Eastridge last evening for parts unknown, and should have got here by + midnight.” Oh, how glad I was to let them both in as far as I possibly + could! And clearly now I had let Mrs. Chataway, if such she was, in very + far indeed. + </p> + <p> + She stared, but then airily considered. “Oh, well—I guess she's + somewheres.” + </p> + <p> + “I guess she is!” I replied. + </p> + <p> + “She hasn't got here yet—she has so many friends in the city. But + she always wants US, and when she does come—!” With which my friend, + now so far relieved and agreeably smiling, rubbed together conspicuously + the pair of plump subjects of her “cure.” + </p> + <p> + “You feel then,” I inquired, “that she will come?” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, I guess she'll be round this afternoon. We wouldn't forgive her—!” + </p> + <p> + “Ah, I'm afraid we MUST forgive her!” I was careful to declare. “But I'll + come back on the chance.” + </p> + <p> + “Any message then?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, please say her nephew from Eastridge—!” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, her nephew—!” + </p> + <p> + “Her nephew. She'll understand. I'll come back,” I repeated. “But I've got + to find her!” + </p> + <p> + And, as in the fever of my need, I turned and sped away. + </p> + <p> + I roamed, I quite careered about, in those uptown streets, but + instinctively and confidently westward. I felt, I don't know why, + miraculously sure of some favoring chance and as if I were floating in the + current of success. I was on the way to our reward, I was positively on + the way to Paris, and New York itself, vast and glittering and roaring, + much noisier even than the Works at their noisiest, but with its old rich + thrill of the Art League days again in the air, was already almost Paris + for me—so that when I at last fidgeted into the Park, where you get + so beautifully away from the town, it was surely the next thing to Europe, + and in fact HAD to be, since it's the very antithesis of Eastridge. I + regularly revelled in that sense that Eliza couldn't have done a better + thing for us than just not be, that morning, where it was supremely + advisable she should have been. If she had had two grains of sense she + would have put in an appearance at the Chataways' with the lark, or at + least with the manicure, who seems there almost as early stirring. Or + rather, really, she would have reported herself as soon as their train, + that of the “guilty couple,” got in; no matter how late in the evening. It + was at any rate actually uplifting to realize that I had got thus, in + three minutes, the pull of her in regard to her great New York friends. My + eye, as Lorraine says, how she HAS, on all this ground of those people, + been piling it on! If Maria, who has so bowed her head, gets any such + glimpse of what her aunt has been making her bow it to—well, I think + I shall then entertain something of the human pity for Eliza, that I found + myself, while I walked about, fairly entertaining for my sister. + </p> + <p> + What were they, what ARE they, the Chataways, anyhow? I don't even yet + know, I confess; but now I don't want to—I don't care a hang, having + no further use for them whatever. But on one of the Park benches, in the + golden morning, the wonderment added, I remember, to my joy, for we + hadn't, Lorraine and I, been the least bit overwhelmed about them: + Lorraine only pretending a little, with her charming elfish art, that she + occasionally was, in order to see how far Eliza would go. Well, that + brilliant woman HAD gone pretty far for us, truly, if, after all, they + were only in the manicure line. She was a-doing of it, as Lorraine says, + my massive lady was, in the “parlor” where I don't suppose it's usually + done; and aren't there such places, precisely, AS Manicure Parlors, where + they do nothing else, or at least are supposed to? Oh, I do hope, for the + perfection of it, that this may be what Eliza has kept from us! Otherwise, + by all the gods, it's just a boarding-house: there was exactly the smell + in the hall, THE boarding-house smell, that pervaded my old greasy haunt + of the League days: that boiled atmosphere that seems to belong at once, + confusedly, to a domestic “wash” and to inferior food—as if the + former were perhaps being prepared in the saucepan and the latter in the + tubs. + </p> + <p> + There also came back to me, I recollect, that note of Mrs. Chataway's + queer look at me on my saying I was Eliza's nephew—the droll effect + of her making on her side a discovery about ME. Yes, she made it, and as + against me, of course, against all of us, at sight of me; so that if Eliza + has bragged at Eastridge about New York, she has at least bragged in New + York about Eastridge. I didn't clearly, for Mrs. Chataway, come up to the + brag—or perhaps rather didn't come down to it: since I dare say the + poor lady's consternation meant simply that my aunt has confessed to me + but as an unconsidered trifle, a gifted child at the most; or as young and + handsome and dashing at the most, and not as—well, as what I am. + Whatever I am, in any case, and however awkward a document as nephew to a + girlish aunt, I believe I really tasted of the joy of life in its highest + intensity when, at the end of twenty minutes of the Park, I suddenly saw + my absurd presentiment of a miracle justified. + </p> + <p> + I could of course scarce believe my eyes when, at the turn of a quiet + alley, pulling up to gape, I recognized in a young man brooding on a bench + ten yards off the precious personality of Harry Goward! There he + languished alone, our feebler fugitive, handed over to me by a mysterious + fate and a well-nigh incredible hazard. There is certainly but one place + in all New York where the stricken deer may weep—or even, for that + matter, the hart ungalled play; the wonder of my coincidence shrank a + little, that is, before the fact that when young ardor or young despair + wishes to commune with immensity it can ONLY do so either in a hall + bedroom or in just this corner, practically, where I pounced on my prey. + To sit down, in short, you've GOT to sit there; there isn't another square + inch of the whole place over which you haven't got, as everything shrieks + at you, to step lively. Poor Goward, I could see at a glance, wanted very + much to sit down—looked indeed very much as if he wanted never, + NEVER again to get up. + </p> + <p> + I hovered there—I couldn't help it, a bit gloatingly—before I + pounced; and yet even when he became aware of me, as he did in a minute, + he didn't shift his position by an inch, but only took me and my dreadful + meaning, with his wan stare, as a part of the strange burden of his fate. + He didn't seem even surprised to speak of; he had waked up—premising + his brief, bewildered delirium—to the sense that something NATURAL + must happen, and even to the fond hope that something natural WOULD; and I + was simply the form in which it was happening. I came nearer, I stood + before him; and he kept up at me the oddest stare—which was plainly + but the dumb yearning that I would explain, explain! He wanted everything + told him—but every single thing; as if, after a tremendous fall, or + some wild parabola through the air, the effect of a violent explosion + under his feet, he had landed at a vast distance from his starting-point + and required to know where he was. Well, the charming thing was that this + affected me as giving the very sharpest point to the idea that, in asking + myself how I should deal with him, I had already so vividly entertained. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0008" id="link2H_4_0008"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + VIII. THE MARRIED DAUGHTER, By Elizabeth Stuart Phelps + </h2> + <p> + We start in life with the most preposterous of all human claims—that + one should be understood. We get bravely over that after awhile; but not + until the idea has been knocked out of us by the hardest. I used to worry + a good deal, myself, because nobody—distinctly not one person—in + our family understood me; that is, me in my relation to themselves; + nothing else, of course, mattered so much. But that was before I was + married. I think it was because Tom understood me from the very first + eye-beam, that I loved him enough to marry him and learn to understand + HIM. I always knew in my heart that he had the advantage of me in that + beautiful art: I suppose one might call it the soul-art. At all events, it + has been of the least possible consequence to me since I had Tom, whether + any one else in the world understood me or not. + </p> + <p> + I suppose—in fact, I know—that it is this unfortunate affair + of Peggy's which has brought up all that old soreness to the surface of + me. + </p> + <p> + Nobody knows better than I that I have not been a popular member of this + family. But nobody knows as well as I how hard I have tried to do my + conscientious best by the whole of them, collectively and individually + considered. An older sister, if she have any consciousness of + responsibility at all, is, to my mind, not in an easy position. Her extra + years give her an extra sense. One might call it a sixth sense of family + anxiety which the younger children cannot share. She has, in a way, the + intelligence and forethought of a mother without a mother's authority or + privilege. + </p> + <p> + When father had that typhoid and could not sleep—dear father! in his + normal condition he sleeps like a bag of corn-meal—who was there in + all the house to keep those boys quiet? Nobody but me. When they organized + a military company in our back yard directly under father's windows—two + drums, a fish-horn, a jews-harp, a fife, and three tin pans—was + there anybody but me to put a stop to it? It was on this occasion that the + pet name Moolymaria, afterward corrupted into Messymaria, and finally + evolved into Meddlymaria, became attached to me. To this day I do not like + to think how many cries I had over it. Then when Charles Edward got into + debt and nobody dared to tell father; and when Billy had the measles and + there wasn't a throat in the house to read to him four hours a day except + my unpopular throat; and when Charles Edward had that quarrel over a girl + with a squash-colored dress and cerise hair-ribbons; or when Alice fell in + love with an automobile, the chauffeur being incidentally thrown in, and + took to riding around the country with him—who put a stop to it? Who + was the only person in the family that COULD put a stop to it? + </p> + <p> + Then again—but what's the use? My very temperament I can see now (I + didn't see it when I lived at home) is in itself an unpopular one in a + family like ours. I forecast, I foresee, I provide, I plan—it is my + “natur' to.” I can't go sprawling through life. I must know where I am to + set my foot. Dear mother has no more sense of anxiety than a rice pudding, + and father is as cool as one of his own ice-pitchers. We all know what + Charles Edward is, and I didn't count grandmother and Aunt Elizabeth. + </p> + <p> + There has been my blunder. I ought to have counted Aunt Elizabeth. I ought + to have fathomed her. It never occurred to me that she was deep enough to + drop a plummet in. I, the burden-bearer, the caretaker, the worrier; I, + who am opprobriously called “the manager” in this family—I have + failed them at this critical point in their household history. I did not + foresee, I did not forecast, I did not worry, I did not manage. It did not + occur to me to manage after we had got Peggy safely graduated and engaged, + and now this dreadful thing has gaped beneath us like the fissures at San + Francisco or Kingston, and poor little Peggy has tumbled into it. A + teacupful of “management” might have prevented it; an ounce of worry would + have saved it all. I lacked that teacupful; I missed that ounce. The + veriest popular optimist could have done no worse. I am smothered with my + own stupidity. I have borne this humiliating condition of things as long + as I can. I propose to go over to that house and take the helm in this + emergency. I don't care whether I am popular or unpopular for it. But + something has got to be done for Peggy, and I am going to do it. + </p> + <p> + I have been over and I have done it. I have taken the “management” of the + whole thing—not even discouraged by this unfortunate word. I own I + am rather raw to it. But the time has come when, though I bled beneath it, + I must act as if I didn't. At all events I must ACT.... I have acted. I am + going to New York by the early morning express—the 7.20. I would go + to-night-in fact, I really ought to go to-night. But Tom has a supper “on” + with some visitors to the Works. He won't be home till late, and I can't + go without seeing Tom. It would hurt his feelings, and that is a thing no + wife ought to do, and my kind of wife can't do. + </p> + <p> + I found the house in its usual gelatinous condition. There wasn't a + back-bone in it, scarcely an ankle-joint to stand upon: plenty of crying, + but no thinking; a mush of talk, but no decision. To cap the situation, + Charles Edward has gone on to New York with a preposterous conviction that + HE can clear it up.... CHARLES EDWARD! If there is a living member of the + household—But never mind that. This circumstance was enough for me, + that's all. It brought out all the determination in me, all the manager, + if you choose to put it so. + </p> + <p> + I shall go to New York myself and take the whole thing in hand. If I + needed anything to padlock my purpose those dozen words with Peggy would + have turned the key upon it. When I found that she wasn't crying; when I + got face to face with that soft, fine excitement in the eyes which a girl + wears when she has a love-affair, not stagnant, but in action—I + concluded at once that Peggy had her reservations and was keeping + something from me. On pretence of wanting a doughnut I got her into the + pantry and shut both doors. + </p> + <p> + “Peggy,” I said, “what has Charles Edward gone to New York for? Do you + know?” + </p> +<div class="fig" style="width:50%;"> <img src="images/{0215}.jpg" alt="{0215}" width="100%" /><br /> </div> <h5> <a href="images/{0215}.jpg"> <img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a> </h5> + + <p> + Peggy wound a big doughnut spinning around her engagement finger and made + no reply. + </p> + <p> + “If it has anything to do with you and Harry Goward, you must tell me, + Peggy. You must tell me instantly.” + </p> + <p> + Peggy put a doughnut on her wedding finger and observed, with pained + perplexity, that it would not spin, but stuck. + </p> + <p> + “What is Charles Edward up to?” I persisted. + </p> + <p> + The opening rose-bud of Peggy's face took on a furtive expression, like + that of certain pansies, or some orchids I have seen. “He is going to take + me to Europe,” she admitted, removing both her doughnut rings. + </p> + <p> + “YOU! To EUROPE!” + </p> + <p> + “He and Lorraine. When this is blown by. They want to get me away.” + </p> + <p> + “Away from what? Away from Harry Goward?” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, I suppose so,” blubbered Peggy. + </p> + <p> + She now began, in a perfectly normal manner, to mop her eyes with her + handkerchief. + </p> + <p> + “Do you want to be got away from Harry Goward?” I demanded. + </p> + <p> + “I never said I did,” sobbed Peggy. “I never said so, not one little bit. + But oh, Maria! Moolymaria! You can't think how dreadful it is to be a + girl, an engaged girl, and not know what to do!” + </p> + <p> + Then and there an active idea—one with bones in it—raced and + overtook me, and I shot out: “Where is that letter?” + </p> + <p> + “Mother has it,” replied Peggy. + </p> + <p> + “Have you opened it?” + </p> + <p> + “No.” + </p> + <p> + “Has Aunt Elizabeth opened it?” + </p> + <p> + “Oh no!” + </p> + <p> + “Did Charlies Edward take it with him?” + </p> + <p> + “I don't think he did. I will go ask mother.” + </p> + <p> + “Go ask mother for that letter,” I commanded, “and bring it to me.” + </p> + <p> + Peggy gave me one mutinous look, but the instinct of a younger sister was + in her and she obeyed me. She brought the letter. I have this precious + document in my pocket. I asked her if she would trust me to find out to + whom that letter was addressed. After some hesitation she replied that she + would. I reminded her that she was the only person in the world who could + give me this authority—which pleased her. I told her that I should + accept it as a solemn trust, and do my highest and best with it for her + sake. + </p> + <p> + “Peggy,” I said, “this is not altogether a pleasant job for me, but you + are my little sister and I will take care of you. Kiss your old + Meddlymaria, Peggy.” She took down her sopping handkerchief and lifted her + warm, wet face. So I kissed Peggy. And I am going on the 7.20 morning + train. + </p> + <p> + It is now ten o'clock. My suit-case is packed, my ticket is bought, but + Tom has not come back, and the worst of it is he can't get back to-night. + He telephoned between courses at his dinner that he had accepted an + invitation to go home for the night with one of the men they are dining. + It seems he is a “person of importance”—there is a big order behind + the junket, and Tom has gone home with him to talk it over. The ridiculous + thing about it is that I forget where he was going. Of course I could + telephone to the hotel and find out, but men don't like telephoning wives—at + least, my man doesn't. It makes it rather hard, going on this trip without + kissing Tom good-bye. I had half made up my mind to throw the whole thing + over, but Peggy is pretty young; she has a long life before her; there is + a good deal at stake. So Tom and I kissed by electricity, and he said that + it was all right, and to go ahead, and the other absurd thing about that + is that Tom didn't ask me for my New York address, and I forgot to tell + him. We are like two asteroids spinning through space, neither knowing the + other's route or destination. In point of fact, I shall register at “The + Sphinx,” that nice ladies' hotel where mere man is never admitted. + </p> + <p> + I have always supposed that the Mrs. Chataway Aunt Elizabeth talks about + kept a boarding-house. I think Aunt Elizabeth rolls in upon her like a + spent wave between visits. I have no doubt that I shall be able to trace + Aunt Elizabeth by her weeds upon this beach. After that the rest is easy. + I must leave my address for Tom pinned up somewhere. Matilda's mind + wouldn't hold it if I stuck it through her brain with a hat-pin. I think I + will glue it to his library table, and I'll do it this minute to make + sure.... I have directed Matilda to give him chicken croquettes for his + luncheon, and I have written out the menu for every meal till I get home. + Poor Tom! He isn't used to eating alone. I wish I thought he would mind it + as much as I do. + </p> + <p> + Eleven o'clock.—I am obsessed with an idea, and I have yielded to + it; whether for good or ill, for wisdom or folly, remains to be proved. I + have telephoned Dr. Denbigh and suggested to him that he should go to New + York, too. Considered in any light but that of Peggy's welfare—But I + am not considering anything in any light but that of Peggy's welfare. Dr. + Denbigh used to have a little tendresse for Peggy—it was never + anything more, I am convinced. She is too young for him. A doctor sees so + many women; he grows critical, if not captious. Character goes for more + with him than with most men; looks go for less; and poor little Peggy—who + can deny?—up to this point in her development is chiefly looks. + </p> + <p> + I intimated to the doctor that my errand to New York was of an important + nature: that it concerned my younger sister; that my husband was, + unfortunately, out of town, and that I needed masculine advice. I am not + in the habit of flattering the doctor, and he swallowed this delicate + bait, as I thought he would. When I asked him if he didn't think he needed + a little vacation, if he didn't think he could get the old doctor from + Southwest Eastridge to take his practice for two days, he said he didn't + know but he could. The grippe epidemic had gone down, nothing more + strenuous than a few cases of measles stood in the way; in fact, Eastridge + at the present time, he averred, was lamentably healthy. When he had + committed himself so far as this, he hesitated, and very seriously said: + </p> + <p> + “Mrs. Price, you have never asked me to do a foolish thing, and I have + known you for a good many years. It is too late to come over and talk it + out with you. If you assure me that you consider your object in making + this request important I will go. We won't waste words about it. What + train do you take?” + </p> + <p> + I am not a person of divination or intuition. I think I have rather a + commonplace, careful, painstaking mind. But if ever I had an inspiration + in my life I think I have one now. Perhaps it is the novelty of it that + makes me confide in it with so little reflection. My inspiration, in a + word, is this: + </p> + <p> + Aunt Elizabeth has reached the point where she is ready for a new man. I + know I don't understand her kind of woman by experience. I don't suppose I + do by sympathy. I have to reason her out. + </p> + <p> + I have reasoned Aunt Elizabeth out to this conclusion: She always has had, + she always must have, she always will have, the admiration of some man or + men to engross her attention. She is an attractive woman; she knows it; + women admit it; and men feel it. I don't think Aunt Elizabeth is a + heartless person; not an irresponsible one, only an idle and unhappy one. + She lives on this intoxicant as other women might live on tea or gossip, + as a man would take his dram or his tobacco. She drinks this wine because + she is thirsty, and the plain, cool, spring-water of life has grown stale + to her. It is corked up in bottles like the water sold in towns where the + drinking-supply is low. It has ceased to be palatable to her. + </p> + <p> + My interpretation is, that there is no man on her horizon just now except + Harry Goward, and I won't do her the injustice to believe that she + wouldn't be thankful to be rid of him just for her own sake; to say + nothing of Peggy's. + </p> + <p> + Aunt Elizabeth, I repeat, needs a new man. If Dr. Denbigh is willing to + fill this role for a few days (of course I must be perfectly frank with + him about it) the effect upon Harry Goward will be instantaneous. His + disillusion will be complete; his return to Peggy in a state of abject + humiliation will be assured. I mean, assuming that the fellow is capable + of manly feeling, and that Peggy has aroused it. That, of course, remains + for me to find out. + </p> + <p> + How I am to fish Harry Goward out of the ocean of New York city doesn't + trouble me in the least. Given Aunt Elizabeth, he will complete the + equation. If Mrs. Chataway should fail me—But I won't suppose that + Mrs. Chataway will fail. I must be sure and explain to Tom about Dr. + Denbigh. + </p> + <p> + “The Sphinx,” New York, 10 P.M.—I arrived—that is to say, we + arrived in this town at ten minutes past one o'clock, almost ten hours + ago. Dr. Denbigh has gone somewhere—and that reminds me that I + forgot to ask him where. I never thought of it until this minute, but it + has just occurred to me that it may be quite as well from an ignorant + point of view that “The Sphinx” excludes mere man from its portals. + </p> + <p> + He was good to me on the train, very good indeed. I can't deny that he + flushed a little when I told him frankly what I wanted of him. At first I + thought that he was going to be angry. Then I saw the corners of his + mustache twitch. Then our sense of humor got the better of us, and then I + laughed, and then he laughed, and I felt that the crisis was passed. I + explained to him while we were in the Pullman car, as well as I could + without being overheard by a fat lady with three chins, and a girl with a + permit for a pet poodle, what it was that I wanted of him. I related the + story of Peggy's misfortune—in confidence, of course; and explained + the part he was expected to play—confidentially, of course; in fact, + I laid my plot before him from beginning to end. + </p> + <p> + “If the boy doesn't love her, you see,” I suggested, “the sooner we know + it the better. She must break it off, if her heart is broken in the + process. If he does love her—my private opinion is he thinks he does—I + won't have Peggy's whole future wrecked by one of Aunt Elizabeth's + flirtations. The reef is too small for the catastrophe. I shall find Aunt + Elizabeth. Oh yes, I shall find Aunt Elizabeth! I have no more doubt of + that than I have that Matilda is putting too much onion in the croquettes + for Tom this blessed minute. If I find her I shall find the boy; but what + good is that going to do me, if I find either of them or both of them, if + we can't disillusionize the boy?” + </p> + <p> + “In a word,” interrupted the doctor, rather tartly, “all you want of me is + to walk across the troubled stage—” + </p> + <p> + “For Peggy's sake,” I observed. + </p> + <p> + “Of course, yes, for Peggy's sake. I am to walk across this fantastic + stage in the inglorious capacity of a philanderer.” + </p> + <p> + “That is precisely it,” I admitted. “I want you to philander with Aunt + Elizabeth for two days, one day; two hours, one hour; just long enough, + only long enough to bring that fool boy to his senses.” + </p> + <p> + “If I had suspected the nature of the purpose I am to serve in this + complication”—began the doctor, without a smile. “I trusted your + judgment, Mrs. Price, and good sense—I have never known either to + fail before. However,” he added, manfully, “I am in for it now, and I + would do more disagreeable things than this for Peggy's sake. But + perhaps,” he suggested, grimly, “we sha'n't find either of them.” + </p> + <p> + He retired from the subject obviously, if gracefully, and began to play + with the poodle that had the Pullman permit. I happen to know that if + there is any species of dog the doctor does not love it is a poodle, with + or without a permit. The lady with three chins asked me if my husband were + fond of dogs—I think she said, so fond as THAT. She glanced at the + girl whom the poodle owned. + </p> + <p> + I don't know why it should be a surprise to me, but it was; that the chin + lady and the poodle girl have both registered at “The Sphinx.” + </p> + <p> + Directly after luncheon, for I could not afford to lose a minute, I went + to Mrs. Chataway's; the agreement being that the doctor should follow me + in an absent-minded way a little later. But there was a blockade on the + way, and I wasn't on time. What I took to be Mrs. Chataway herself + admitted me with undisguised hesitation. + </p> + <p> + Miss Talbert, she said, was not at home; that is—no, she was not + home. She explained that a great many people had been asking for Miss + Talbert; there were two in the parlor now. + </p> + <p> + When I demanded, “Two what?” she replied, in a breathless tone, “Two + gentlemen,” and ushered me into that old-fashioned architectural effort + known to early New York as a front and back parlor. + </p> + <p> + One of the gentlemen, as I expected, proved to be Dr. Denbigh. The other + was flatly and unmistakably Charles Edward. The doctor offered to excuse + himself, but I took Charles Edward into the back parlor, and I made so + bold as to draw the folding-doors. I felt that the occasion justified + worse than this. + </p> + <p> + The colloquy between myself and Charles Edward was brief and pointed. He + began by saying, “YOU here! What a mess!—” + </p> + <p> + My conviction is that he saved himself just in time from Messymaria. + </p> + <p> + “Have you found him?” I propounded. + </p> + <p> + “No.” + </p> + <p> + “Haven't seen him?” + </p> + <p> + “I didn't say I hadn't seen him.” + </p> + <p> + “What did he say?” I insisted. + </p> + <p> + “Not very much. It was in the Park.” + </p> + <p> + “In the PARK? Not very MUCH? How could you let him go?” + </p> + <p> + “I didn't let him go,” drawled Charles Edward. “He invited me to dinner. A + man can't ask a fellow what his intentions are to a man's sister in a + park. I hadn't said very much up to that point; he did most of the + talking. I thought I would put it off till we got round to the cigars.” + </p> + <p> + “Then?” I cried, impatiently, “and then?” + </p> + <p> + “You see,” reluctantly admitted Charles Edward, “there wasn't any then. I + didn't dine with him, after all. I couldn't find it—” + </p> + <p> + “Couldn't find what?” + </p> + <p> + “Couldn't find the hotel,” said Charles Edward, defiantly. “I lost the + address. Couldn't even say that it was a hotel. I believe it was a club. + He seems to be a sort of a swell—for a coeducational professor—anyhow, + I lost the address; and that is the long and short of it.” + </p> + <p> + “If it had been a studio or a Bohemian cafe—” I began. + </p> + <p> + “I should undoubtedly have remembered it,” admitted Charles Edward, in his + languid way. + </p> + <p> + “You have lost him,” I replied, frostily. “You have lost Harry Goward, and + you come here—” + </p> + <p> + “On the same errand, I presume, my distressed and distressing sister, that + has brought you. Have you seen her?” he demanded, with sudden, + uncharacteristic shrewdness. + </p> + <p> + At this moment a portiere opened at the side of my back parlor, and Mrs. + Chataway, voluminously appearing, mysteriously beckoned me. I followed her + into the dreariest hall I think I ever saw even in a New York + boarding-house. There the landlady frankly told me that Miss Talbert + wasn't out. She was in her room packing to make one of her visits. Miss + Talbert had given orders that she was to be denied to gentlemen friends. + </p> + <p> + No, she never said anything about ladies. (This I thought highly + probable.) But if I were anything to her and chose to take the + responsibility—I chose and I did. In five minutes I was in Aunt + Elizabeth's room, and had turned the key upon an interview which was + briefer but more startling than I could possibly have anticipated. + </p> + <p> + Elizabeth Talbert is one of those women whose attraction increases with + the negligee or the deshabille. She was so pretty in her pink kimono that + she half disarmed me. She had been crying, and had a gentle look. + </p> + <p> + When I said, “Where is he?” and when she said, “If you mean Harry Goward—I + don't know,” I was prepared to believe her without evidence. She looked + too pretty to doubt. Besides, I cannot say that I have ever caught Aunt + Elizabeth in a real fib. She may be a “charmian,” but I don't think she is + a liar. Yet I pushed my case severely. + </p> + <p> + “If you and he hadn't taken that 5.40 train to New York—” + </p> + <p> + “We didn't take the 5.40 train,” retorted Elizabeth Talbert, hotly. “It + took us. You don't suppose—but I suppose you do, and I suppose I + know what the whole family supposes—As if I would do such a + dastardly!—As if I didn't clear out on purpose to get away from him—to + get out of the whole mix—As if I knew that young one would be aboard + that train!” + </p> + <p> + “But he was aboard. You admit that.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh yes, he got aboard.” + </p> + <p> + “Made a pleasant travelling companion, Auntie?” + </p> + <p> + “I don't know,” said Aunt Elizabeth, shortly. “I didn't have ten words + with him. I told him he had put me in a position I should never forgive. + Then he told me I had put him in a worse. We quarrelled, and he went into + the smoker. At the Grand Central he checked my suitcase and lifted his + hat. He did ask if I were going to Mrs. Chataway's. I have never seen him + since.” + </p> + <p> + “Aunt Elizabeth,” I said, sadly, “I am younger than you—” + </p> + <p> + “Not so very much!” retorted Aunt Elizabeth. + </p> + <p> + “—and I must speak to you with the respect due my father's sister + when I say that the nobility of your conduct on this occasion—a + nobility which you will pardon me for suggesting that I didn't altogether + count on—is likely to prove the catastrophe of the situation.” + </p> + <p> + Aunt Elizabeth stared at me with her wet, coquettish eyes. “You're pretty + hard on me, Maria,” she said; “you always were.” + </p> + <p> + “Hurry and dress,” I suggested, soothingly; “there are two gentlemen to + see you downstairs.” + </p> + <p> + Aunt Elizabeth shook her head. She asserted with evident sincerity that + she didn't wish to see any gentlemen; she didn't care to see any gentlemen + under any circumstances; she never meant to have anything to do with + gentlemen again. She said something about becoming a deaconess in the + Episcopal Church; she spoke of the attractions in the life of a trained + nurse; mentioned settlement work; and asked me what I thought of Elizabeth + Frye, Dorothea Dix, and Clara Barton. + </p> + <p> + “This is one advantage that Catholics have over us,” she observed, + dreamily: “one could go into a nunnery; then one would be quite sure there + would be no men to let loose the consequences of their natures and conduct + upon a woman's whole existence.” + </p> + <p> + “These two downstairs have waited a good while,” I returned, carelessly. + “One of them is a married man and is used to it. But the other is not.” + </p> + <p> + “Very well,” said Aunt Elizabeth, with what (it occurred to me) was a + smile of forced dejection. “To please you, Maria, I will go down.” + </p> + <p> + If Aunt Elizabeth's dejection were assumed, mine was not. I have been in + the lowest possible spirits since my unlucky discovery. Anything and + everything had occurred to me except that she and that boy could quarrel. + I had fancied him shadowing Mrs. Chataway for the slightest sign of his + charmer. I don't know that I should have been surprised to see him curled + up, like a dog, asleep on the door-steps. At the present moment I have no + more means of finding the wetched lad than I had in Eastridge; not so + much, for doubtless Peggy has his prehistoric addresses. I am very + unhappy. I have not had the heart left in me to admire Dr. Denbigh, who + has filled his role brilliantly all the afternoon. In half an hour he and + Aunt Elizabeth had philandered as deep as a six months' flirtation; and I + must say that they have kept at it with an art amounting almost to + sincerity. Aunt Elizabeth did not once mention settlement work, and put no + inquiries to Dr. Denbigh about Elizabeth Frye, Dorothea Dix, or Clara + Barton. + </p> + <p> + I think he took her to the Metropolitan Museum; I know he invited her to + the theatre; and there is some sort of an appointment for to-morrow + morning, I forget what. But my marked success at this end of the stage + only adds poignancy to my sense of defeat at the other. + </p> + <p> + I am very homesick. I wish I could see Tom. I do hope Tom found my message + about Dr. Denbigh. + </p> + <p> + Twenty-four hours later.—The breeze of yesterday has spun into a + whirlwind to-day. I am half stunned by the possibilities of human + existence. One lives the simple life at Eastridge; and New York strikes me + on the head like some heavy thing blown down. If these are the results of + the very little love-affair of one very little girl—what must the + great emotion, the real experience, the vigorous crisis, bring? + </p> + <p> + At “The Sphinx,” as is well known, no male being is admitted on any + pretence. I believe the porter (for heavy trunks) is the only exception. + The bell-boys are bell-girls. The clerk is a matron, and the proprietress + a widow in half-mourning. + </p> + <p> + At nine o'clock this morning I was peremptorily summoned out of the + breakfast-room and ordered to the desk. Two frowning faces received me. + With cold politeness I was reminded of the leading clause in the + constitution of that house. + </p> + <p> + “Positively,” observed the clerk, “no gentlemen callers are permitted at + this hotel, and, madam, there are two on the door-steps who insist upon an + interview with you; they have been there half an hour. One of them refuses + to recognize the rule of the house. He insists upon an immediate + suspension of it. I regret to tell you that he went so far as to mention + that he would have a conversation with you if it took a search-warrant to + get it.” + </p> + <p> + “He says,” interrupted the proprietress in half-mourning, “that he is your + husband.” + </p> + <p> + She spoke quite distinctly, and as these dreadful words re-echoed through + the lobby, I saw that two ladies had come out from the reception-room and + were drinking the scene down. One of these was the fat lady with the three + chins; the other was the poodle girl. She held him, at that unpleasant + moment, by a lavender ribbon leash. It seems she gets a permit for him + everywhere. + </p> + <p> + And he is the wrong sex, I am sure, to obtain any privileges at “The + Sphinx.” + </p> + <p> + The mosaic of that beautiful lobby did not open and swallow me down as I + tottered across it to the vestibule. A strapping door-girl guarded the + entrance. Grouped upon the long flight of marble steps two men impatiently + awaited me. The one with the twitching mustache was Dr. Denbigh. But he, + oh, he with the lightning in his eyes, he was my husband, Thomas Price. + </p> + <p> + “Maria,” he began, with ominous composure, “if you have any explanations + to offer of these extraordinary circumstances—” Then the torrent + burst forth. Every expletive familiar to the wives of good North-American + husbands broke from Tom's unleashed lips. “I didn't hear of it till + afternoon. I took the midnight express. Billy told Matilda he saw you get + aboard the 7.20 train It's all over Eastridge. We have been married + thirteen years, Maria, and I have always had occasion to trust your + judgment and good sense till now.” + </p> + <p> + “That is precisely what I told her,” ventured Dr. Denbigh. + </p> + <p> + “As for you, sir!” Tom Price turned, towering. “It is fortunate for YOU + that I find my wife in this darned shebang.—Any female policeman + behind that door-girl? Doctor? Why, Doctor! Say, DOCTOR! Dr. Denbigh! What + in thunder are you laughing at?” + </p> + <p> + The doctor's sense of humor (a quality for which I must admit my dear + husband is not so distinguished as he is for some more important traits) + had got the better of him. He put his hands in his pockets, threw back his + handsome head, and then and there, in that sacred feminine vestibule, he + laughed as no woman could laugh if she tried. + </p> + <p> + In the teeth of the door-girl, the clerk, and the proprietress, in the + face of the chin lady and the poodle girl, I ran straight to Tom and put + my arms around his neck. At first I was afraid he was going to push me + off, but he thought better of it. Then I cried out upon him as a woman + will when she has had a good scare. “Oh, Tom! Tom! Tom! You dear old + precious Tom! I told you all about it. I wrote you a note about Dr. + Denbigh and—and everything. You don't mean to say you never found + it?” + </p> + <p> + “Where the deuce did you leave it?” demanded Thomas Price. + </p> + <p> + “Why, I stuck it on your pin-cushion! I pinned it there. I pinned it down + with two safety-pins. I was very particular to.” + </p> + <p> + “PIN-CUSHION!” exploded Tom. “A message—an important message—to + a MAN—on a PIN-cushion!” + </p> + <p> + Then, with that admirable self-possession which has been the secret of Tom + Price's success in life, he immediately recovered himself. “Next time, + Maria,” he observed, with pitying gentleness, “pin it on the hen-coop. Or, + paste it on the haymow with the mucilage-brush. Or, fasten it to the + watering-trough in the square—anywhere I might run across it.—Doctor! + I beg your pardon, old fellow.—Now madam, if you are allowed by law + to get out of this blasted house I can't get into, I will pay your bill, + Maria, and take you to a respectable hotel. What's that one we used to go + to when we ran down to see Irving? I can't think—-Oh yes—'The + Holy Family.'” + </p> + <p> + “Don't be blasphemous, Price, whatever else you are!” admonished the + doctor. He was choking with laughter. + </p> + <p> + “Perhaps it was 'The Whole Family,' Tom?” I suggested, meekly. + </p> + <p> + “Come to think of it,” admitted Tom, “it must have been 'The Happy + Family.' Get your things on, Mysie, and we'll get out of this inhuman + place.” + </p> + <p> + I held my head as high as I could when I came back through the lobby, with + a stout chambermaid carrying my suit-case. The clerk sniffed audibly; the + proprietress met me with a granite eye; the lady with the three chins + muttered something which I am convinced it would not have added to my + personal happiness to hear; but I thought the girl with the lavender + poodle watched me a little wistfully as I whirled away upon my husband's + big forgiving arm. + </p> + <p> + The doctor, who had really laughed until he cried, followed, wiping his + merry eyes. These glistened when on the sidewalk directly opposite the + hotel entrance we met Elizabeth Talbert, who had arranged, but in the + agitation of the morning I had entirely forgotten it, to come to see me at + that very hour. + </p> + <p> + So we fell into line, the doctor and Aunt Elizabeth, my husband and I, on + our way to take the cars for “The Happy Family,” when suddenly Tom clapped + his hands to his pockets and announced that he had forgotten—he must + send a telegram. Coming away in such a hurry, he must telegraph to the + Works. Tom is an incurable telegrapher (I have long cherished the + conviction that he is the main support of the Western Union Telegraph + Company), and we all followed him to the nearest office where he could get + a wire. + </p> + <p> + Some one was before him at the window, a person holding a hesitant pencil + above a yellow blank. I believe I am not without self-possession myself, + partly natural, and partly acquired by living so long with Tom; but it + took all I ever had not to utter a womanish cry when the young man turned + his face and I saw that it was Harry Goward. + </p> + <p> + The boy's glance swept us all in. When it reached Aunt Elizabeth and Dr. + Denbigh he paled, whether with relief or regret I had my doubts at that + moment, and I have them still. An emotion of some species possessed him so + that he could not for the moment speak. Aunt Elizabeth was the first to + recover herself. + </p> + <p> + “Ah?” she cooed. “What a happy accident! Mr. Goward, allow me to present + you to my friend Dr. Denbigh.” + </p> + <p> + The doctor bowed with a portentous gravity. It was almost the equal of + Harry's own. + </p> + <p> + After this satisfactory incident everybody fell back instinctively and + gave the command of the expedition to me. The boy anxiously yielded his + place at the telegraph window to Tom; in fact, I took the pains to notice + that Harry's telegram was not sent, or was deferred to a more convenient + season. I invited him to run over to “The Happy Family” with us, and we + all fell into rank again on the sidewalk, the boy not without + embarrassment. Of this I made it my first duty to relieve him. We chatted + of the weather and the theatre and hotels. When we had walked a short + distance, we met Charles Edward dawdling along over to “The Sphinx” + (however reluctantly) to call upon his precious elder sister. So we paired + off naturally: Aunt Elizabeth and the doctor in front, Goward and I behind + them, and Tom and Charles Edward bringing up the rear. + </p> + <p> + My heart dropped when I saw what a family party air we had. I felt it to + my finger-tips, and I could see that the lad writhed under it. His + expression changed from misery to mutiny. I should not have been surprised + if he had made one plunge into the roaring current of Broadway and sunk + from sight forever. The thing that troubled me most was the poor taste of + it: as if the whole family had congregated in the metropolis to capture + that unhappy boy. For the first time I began to feel some sympathy for + him. + </p> + <p> + “Mr. Goward,” I said, abruptly, in a voice too low even for Aunt Elizabeth + to hear, “nobody wishes to make you uncomfortable. We are not here for any + such purpose. I have something in my pocket to show you; that is all. It + will interest you, I am sure. As soon as we get to the hotel, if you don't + mind, I will tell you about it—or, in fact, will give it to you. + Count the rest out. They are not in the secret.” + </p> + <p> + “I feel like a convict arrested by plainclothes men,” complained Harry, + glancing before and behind. + </p> + <p> + “You won't,” I said, “when you have talked to me five minutes.” + </p> + <p> + “Sha'n't I?” he asked, dully. He said nothing more, and we pursued our way + to the hotel in silence. Elizabeth Talbert and Dr. Denbigh talked enough + to make up for us. + </p> + <p> + Aunt Elizabeth made herself so charming, so acutely charming, that I heard + the boy draw one quick, sharp breath. But his eyes followed her more + sullenly than tenderly, and when she clung to the doctor's arm upon a + muddy crossing the young man turned to me with a sad, whimsical smile. + </p> + <p> + “It doesn't seem to make much difference—does it, Mrs. Price? She + treats us all alike.” + </p> + <p> + There is the prettiest little writing-room in “The Happy Family,” all blue + and mahogany and quiet. This place was deserted, and thither I betook + myself with Harry Goward, and there he began as soon as we were alone: + </p> + <p> + “Well, what is it, Mrs. Price?” + </p> + <p> + “Nothing but this,” I said, gently enough. “I have taken it upon myself to + solve a mystery that has caused a good deal of confusion in our family.” + </p> + <p> + Without warning I took the muddy letter from my pocket, and slid it under + his eyes upon the big blue blotter. + </p> + <p> + “I don't wish to be intrusive or strenuous,” I pleaded, “none of us wishes + to be that. Nobody is here to call you to account, Mr. Goward, but you see + this letter. It was received at our house in the condition in which you + find it. Would you be so kind as to supply the missing address? That is + all I want of you.” + </p> + <p> + The boy's complexion ran through the palette, and subsided from a dull + Indian-red to a sickly Nile-green. “Hasn't she ever read it?” he demanded. + </p> + <p> + “Nobody has ever read it,” I said. “Naturally—since it is not + addressed. This letter went fishing with Billy.” + </p> + <p> + The young man took the letter and examined it in trembling silence. + </p> + <p> + Perhaps if Fate ever broke him on her wheel it was at that moment. His + destiny was still in his own hands, and so was the letter. Unaddressed, it + was his personal property. He could retain it if he chose, and the family + mystery would darken into deeper gloom than ever. I felt my comfortable, + commonplace heart beat rapidly. + </p> + <p> + Our silence had passed the point of discomfort, and was fast reaching that + of anguish, when the boy lifted his head manfully, dipped one of “The + Happy Family's” new pens into a stately ink-bottle, and rapidly filled in + the missing address upon the unfortunate letter. He handed it to me + without a word. My eyes blurred when I read: + </p> + <p> + “Personal. Miss Peggy Talbert, Eastridge. (Kindness of Miss Alice + Talbert.)” + </p> + <p> + “What shall I do with it?” I asked, controlling my agitation. + </p> + <p> + “Deliver it to her, if you please, as quickly as possible. I thought of + everything else. I never thought of this.” + </p> + <p> + “Never thought of—” + </p> + <p> + “That she might not have got it.” + </p> + <p> + “Now then, Mr. Goward,” I ventured, still speaking very gently, “do you + mind telling me what you took that 5.40 train for?” + </p> + <p> + “Why, because I didn't get an answer from the letter!” exclaimed Harry, + raising his voice for the first time. “A man doesn't write a letter such + as that more than once in a lifetime. It was a very important letter. I + told her everything. I explained everything. I felt I ought to have a + hearing. If she wanted to throw me over (I don't deny she had the right + to) I would rather she had taken some other way than—than to ignore + such a letter. I waited for an answer to that letter until quarter-past + five. I just caught the 5.40 train and went to my aunt's house, the one—you + know my uncle died the other day—I have been there ever since. + By-the-way, Mrs. Price, if anything else comes up, and if you have any + messages for me, I shall be greatly obliged if you will take my address.” + </p> + <p> + He handed me his card with an up-town street and number, and I snapped it + into the inner pocket of my wallet. + </p> + <p> + “Do you think,” demanded Harry Goward, outright, “that she will ever + forgive me, REALLY forgive me?” + </p> + <p> + “That is for you to find out,” I answered, smiling comfortably; for I + could not possibly have Harry think that any of us—even an unpopular + elder sister—could be there to fling Peggy at the young man's head. + “That is between you and Peggy.” + </p> + <p> + “When shall you get home with that letter?” demanded Harry. + </p> + <p> + “Ask my husband. At a guess, I should say tomorrow.” + </p> + <p> + “Perhaps I had better wait until she has read the letter,” mused the boy. + “Don't you think so, Mrs. Price?” + </p> + <p> + “I don't think anything about it. I will not take any responsibility about + it. I have got the letter officially addressed, and there my errand ends.” + </p> + <p> + “You see, I want to do the best thing,” urged Harry Goward. “And so much + has happened since I wrote that letter—and when you come to think + that she has never read it—” + </p> + <p> + “I will mail it to her,” I said, suddenly. “I will enclose it with a line + and get it off by special delivery this noon.” + </p> + <p> + “It might not reach her,” suggested Harry, pessimistically. “Everything + seems to go wrong in this affair.” + </p> + <p> + “Would you prefer to send it yourself?” I asked. + </p> + <p> + Harry Goward shook his head. + </p> + <p> + “I would rather wait till she has read it. I feel, under the + circumstances, that I owe that to her.” + </p> + <p> + Now, at that critical moment, a wide figure darkened the entrance of the + writing-room, and, plumping down solidly at another table, spread out a + fat, ring-laden hand and began to write a laborious letter. It was the + lady with the three chins. But the girl with the poodle did not put in an + appearance. I learned afterward that the dog rule of “The Happy Family” + admitted of no permits. + </p> + <p> + Harry Goward and I parted abruptly but pleasantly, and he earnestly + requested the privilege of being permitted to call upon me to-morrow + morning. + </p> + <p> + I mailed the letter to Peggy by special delivery, and just now I asked Tom + if he didn't think it was wise. + </p> + <p> + “I can tell you better, my dear, day after tomorrow,” he replied. And that + was all I could get out of him. + </p> + <p> + “The Happy Family.”—It is day after tomorrow, and Tom and I are + going to take the noon train home. Our purpose, or at least my purpose, to + this effect has been confirmed, if not created, by the following + circumstances: + </p> + <p> + Yesterday, a few hours after I had parted from Harry Goward in the blue + writing-room of “The Happy Family,” Tom received from father a telegram + which ran like this: + </p> + <p> + “Off for Washington—that Gooch business. Shall take Peggy. Child + needs change. Will stop over from Colonial Express and lunch Happy Family. + Explicitly request no outsider present. Can't have appearance of false + position. Shall take her directly out of New York, after luncheon. Cyrus + Talbert.” + </p> + <p> + Torn between filial duty and sisterly affection, I sat twirling this + telegram between my troubled fingers. Tom had dashed it there and blown + off somewhere, leaving me, as he usually does, to make my own decisions. + Should I tell Harry? Should I not tell Harry? Was it my right? Was it not + his due? I vibrated between these inexorable questions, but, like the + pendulum I was, I struck no answer anywhere. I had half made up my mind to + let matters take their own course. If Goward should happen to call on me + when Peggy, flying through New York beneath her father's stalwart wing, + alighted for the instant at “The Happy Family”—was I to blame? Could + <i>I</i> be held responsible? It struck me that I could not. On the other + hand, father could not be more determined than I that Peggy should not be + put into the apparent position of pursuing an irresolute, however + repentant, lover.... I was still debating the question as conscientiously + and philosophically as I knew how, when the bell-boy brought me a note + despatched by a district messenger, and therefore constitutionally delayed + upon the way. + </p> + <p> + The letter was from my little sister's fiance, and briefly said: + </p> + <p> + “My dear Mrs. Price,—I cannot tell you how I thank you for your + sisterly sympathy and womanly good sense. You have cleared away a lot of + fog out of my mind. I don't feel that I can wait an unnecessary hour + before I see Peggy. I should like to be with her as soon as the letter is. + If you will allow me to postpone my appointment with yourself, I shall + start for Eastridge by the first train I can catch to-day. + </p> + <p> + “Gratefully yours, + </p> + <p> + “Henry T. Goward.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0009" id="link2H_4_0009"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + IX. THE MOTHER, by Edith Wyatt + </h2> + <p> + I am sure that I shall surprise no mother of a large family when I say + that this hour is the first one I have spent alone for thirty years. I + count it, alone. For while I am driving back in the runabout along the six + miles of leafy road between the hospital and Eastridge with mother beside + me, she is sound asleep under the protection of her little hinged black + sunshade, still held upright. She will sleep until we are at home; and, + after our anxious morning at the hospital, I am most grateful to the + fortune sending me this lucid interval, not only for thinking over what + has occurred in the last three days, but also for trying to focus clearly + for myself what has happened in the last week, since Elizabeth went on the + 5.40 to New York; since Charles followed Elizabeth; since Maria, under Dr. + Denbigh's mysteriously required escort, followed Charles; since Tom + followed Maria; and since Cyrus, with my dear girl, followed Tom. + </p> + <p> + On the warm afternoon before Elizabeth left, as I walked past her open + door, with Lena, and carrying an egg-nog to Peggy, I could not avoid + hearing down the whole length of the hall a conversation carried on in + clear, absorbed tones, between my sister and Alice. + </p> + <p> + “Did I understand you to say,” said Elizabeth, in an assumption of + indifference too elaborate, I think, to deceive even her niece, “that this + Mr. Wilde you mention is now living in New York?” + </p> + <p> + “Oh yes. He conducts all the art-classes at the Crafts Settlement. He + encouraged Lorraine's sisters in their wonderful work. I would love to go + into it myself.” + </p> + <p> + Lorraine's sisters and her circle once entertained me at tea in their + establishment when I visited Charles before his marriage, in New York. + They are extremely kind young women, ladies in every respect, who have a + workshop called “At the Sign of the Three-legged Stool.” They seem to be + carpenters, as nearly as I can tell. They wear fillets and bright, loose + clothes; and they make very rough-hewn burnt-wood footstools and odd + settees with pieces of glass set about in them. It is all very puzzling. + When Charles showed me a candlestick one of the young ladies had made, and + talked to me about the decoration and the line, I could see that it was + very gracefully designed and nicely put together. But when he noticed that + in the wish to be perfectly open-minded to his point of view I was looking + very attentively at a queer, uneven wrought-iron brooch with two little + pendant polished granite rocks, he only laughed and put his hand on my + shawl a minute and brought me more tea. + </p> + <p> + So that I could understand something of what Alice was mentioning as she + went on: “You know Lorraine says that, though not the most PROMINENT, + Lyman Wilde is the most RADICAL and TEMPERAMENTAL leader in the great + handicraft development in this country. Even most of the persons in favor + of it consider that he goes too far. She says, for instance, he is so + opposed to machines of all sorts that he thinks it would be better to + abolish printing and return to script. He has started what they call a + little movement of the kind now, and is training two young scriveners.” + </p> + <p> + Elizabeth was shaking her head reflectively as I passed the door, and + saying: “Ah—no compromise. And always, ALWAYS the love of beauty.” + And I heard her advising Alice never, never to be one of the foolish women + and men who hurt themselves by dreaming of beauty or happiness in their + narrow little lives; repeating sagely that this dream was even worse for + the women than for the men; and asked whether Alice supposed the Crafts + Settlement address wouldn't probably be in the New York telephone-book. + Alice seemed to be spending a very gratifying afternoon. + </p> + <p> + My sister Elizabeth's strongest instinct from her early youth has been the + passion inspiring the famous Captain Parklebury Todd, so often quoted by + Alice and Billy: “I do not think I ever knew a character so given to + creating a sensation. Or p'r'aps I should in justice say, to what, in an + Adelphi play, is known as situation.” Never has she gratified her taste in + this respect more fully than she did—as I believe quite accidentally + and on the inspiration of these words with Alice—in taking the + evening train to New York with Mr. Goward. + </p> + <p> + Twenty or thirty people at the station saw them starting away together, + each attempting to avoid recognition, each in the pretence of avoiding the + other, each with excited manners. So that, as both Peggy and Elizabeth + have been born and brought up here; as, during Mr. Goward's conspicuous + absence and silence, during Peggy's illness, and all our trying + uncertainties and hers, in the last weeks, my sister had widely flung to + town talk many tacit insinuations concerning the character of Mr. Goward's + interest in herself; as none of the twenty or thirty people were mute + beyond their kind; and as Elizabeth's nature has never inspired high + neighborly confidence—before night a rumor had spread like the wind + that Margaret Talbert's lover had eloped with her aunt. + </p> + <p> + Billy heard the other children talking of this news and hushing themselves + when he came up. Tom learned of the occurrence by a telephone, and, after + supper, told Cyrus and myself; Maria was informed of it by telephone + through an old friend who thought Maria should know of what every one was + saying. Lorraine, walking to the office to meet Charles, was overtaken on + the street by Mrs. Temple, greatly concerned for us and for Peggy, and + learned the strange story from our sympathetic neighbor, to repeat it to + Charles. At ten o'clock there was only one person in the house, perhaps in + Eastridge, who was ignorant of our daughter's singular fortune. That + person was our dear girl herself. + </p> + <p> + Since my own intelligence of the report I had not left her alone with + anybody else for a moment; and now I was standing in the hall watching her + start safely up-stairs, when to our surprise the front-door latch clicked + suddenly; she turned on the stairs; the door opened, and we both faced + Charles. From the first still glances he and I gave each other he knew she + hadn't heard. Then he said quietly that he had wished to see Peggy for a + moment before she went to sleep. He bade me a very confiding and + responsible good-night, and went out with her to the garden where they + used to play constantly together when they were children. + </p> + <p> + Up-stairs, unable to lie down till she came back, I put on a little + cambric sack and sat by the window waiting till I should hear her foot on + the stairs again. “Charles is telling her,” I said to Cyrus. He was + walking up and down the room, dumb with impatience and disgust, too pained + for Peggy, too tried by his own helplessness to rest or even to sit still. + In a way it has all been harder for him than for any one else. His + impulses are stronger and deeper than my dear girl's, and far less cool. + She is very especially precious to him; and, whether because she looks so + like him, or because he thinks her ways like my own, her youth and her + fortune have always been at once a more anxious and a more lovely concern + with him than any one else's on earth. She is, somehow, our future to him. + </p> + <p> + While we waited here in this anxiety up-stairs, down in the garden I could + hear not the words, but the tones of our children as they spoke together. + Charles's voice sounded first for a long time, with an air of calmness and + directness; and Peggy answered him at intervals of listening, answered + apparently less with surprise at what he told her than in a quiet + acceptance, with a little throb of control, and then in accord with him. + Then it was as though they were planning together. + </p> + <p> + In the still village night their voices sounded very tranquil; after a + little while, even buoyant. Peggy laughed once or twice. Little by little + a breath of relief blew over both her father's solicitude and mine. It was + partly from the coolness and freshness of the out-door air, and the + half-unconscious sense it often brings, that beyond whatever care is close + beside you at the instant there is—and especially for the young—so + much else in all creation. Then, for me, there was a deep comfort in the + knowledge that in this time of need my children had each other; that they + could speak so together, in an intimate sympathy, and were, not only + superficially in name, but really and beautifully, a brother and sister. + </p> + <p> + At last, as they parted at the gate, Charles said, in a spirited, + downright tone: “Stick to that, cling to it, make it your answer to + everything. It's all you now know and all you need to know, and you'll be + as firm on it as on a rock.” + </p> + <p> + The lamplight from the street filtering through the elm leaves glimmered + on Peggy's bright hair as she looked up at him. Her eyelashes were wet, + but she was laughing as she said: “But, of course, I HAVE to cling to it. + It's the truth. Good-night! Good-night!” And her step on the stairs was + light and even skipping. + </p> + <p> + On the next morning, when I knocked at her door to find whether she would + rather breakfast up-stairs, I saw at once she had slept. She stood before + the mirror fastening her belt ribbon, and looking so lovely it seemed + impossible misfortune should ever touch her. + </p> + <p> + “Why, mother dear, you aren't dressed for the library-board meeting! Isn't + that this morning?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes.” + </p> + <p> + She looked at me with her little, sweet, quick smile, and we sat down for + a moment on her couch together, each with a sense that neither would say + one word too sharply pressing. + </p> + <p> + “Dear mother, why NOT go to the board meeting? You don't need to protect + me so. You CAN'T protect me every minute. You see, of course, last night + Charles—told me of what everybody thinks.” Her voice throbbed again. + She stopped for a minute. “But for weeks and weeks I had felt something + like this coming toward me. And now that it's come,” she went on, bravely, + “we can only just do as we always have done—and not make any + difference—can we?” + </p> + <p> + “Except that I feel I must be here, because we can't know from minute to + minute what may come up.” + </p> + <p> + “You feel you can't leave me, mother. But you can. I want to see whoever + comes, just as usual. I'd have to at some time, you know, at any rate. And + I mean to do it now—until I go away out of Eastridge. Charles is + going to arrange that so very wonderfully. He has gone to New York now to + see about it.” + </p> + <p> + “He has, my dear?” I said, in some surprise. + </p> + <p> + “Yes. And, mother, about—about what's over,” she whispered. + </p> + <p> + “Yes.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, just—just it couldn't all have happened in this way if”—she + spoke in quite a clear, soft voice, looking straight into my eyes, with + one of her quick turns—“he were a real MAN—anybody I could + think of as being my husband. It was just that I didn't truly know him. + That was all.” + </p> + <p> + We held each other's hands fast for one moment of perfect understanding + before we rose. + </p> + <p> + “Then I'll go, dear, this morning, just as you like,” I said. She came + into my room and fastened my cuff-pins for me. “Why, mother, I don't + believe you and your little duchesse cuffs and your little, fine, gold + watch-chain have ever been away from the chair of the library committee at + a board meeting for twenty years! Just think what a sensation you were + going to make if I hadn't interfered! There, how nice you look!” + </p> + <p> + The weather was so inclement during my absence that I felt quite secure + concerning all intrusion for her. At noon the storm rose high, with a + close-timed thunder and lightning; the Episcopal church spire was struck; + two trees were blown over in the square; and, instead of ordering Dan and + the horses out in this tumult, I dined with a board member living next the + library, and drove home at three o'clock when the violence of the gale had + abated. + </p> + <p> + The house was perfectly still when I reached it. The children were at + school; Cyrus, at the factory; mother, napping, with her door closed. In + her own room up-stairs, in the middle of the house, Peggy sat alone, in a + loose wrapper, with her hair flying over her shoulders. An open book lay + unnoticed in her lap. Her face was white and tear-stained, and her eyes + looked wild and ill. + </p> + <p> + As her glance fell on me I saw her need of me, and hurried in to close the + door. “Oh, mother; mother!” she moaned. “Such a morning! It's all come + back—all I fought against—all I was conquering. What does it + mean? What does it mean?” + </p> +<div class="fig" style="width:50%;"> <img src="images/{0255}.jpg" alt="{0255}" width="100%" /><br /> </div> <h5> <a href="images/{0255}.jpg"> <img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a> </h5> + + <p> + “What has happened? Who has been here?” + </p> + <p> + “Maria—sneering at Charles's ideas, asking me questions, petting me + and pitying me and making a baby of me, until I broke down at last and + wanted all the things she wanted to have done, and let her kiss me + good-bye for her kindness in doing them—” + </p> + <p> + In a passion of tears she walked up and down, up and down the room, as her + father does, except with that quick, nervous grace she always has, and in + a painful, sobbing excitement. + </p> + <p> + Every sense I had was for an instant's passage fused in one clear, + concentrated anger against a sister who could play so ruthlessly upon my + poor child's woman pulses and emotions, so disarm her of her self-control + and right free spirit. + </p> + <p> + “Why did she come?” I said, at last, with the best calmness I could + muster. Peggy stood still for a moment, startled by a coldness in my voice + I couldn't alter. + </p> + <p> + “She came to find out about things for herself. Then when she did find out + about Charles's way of helping us she simply hated it—and she sent + me after—after the letter you had. I got it from your desk, and + Maria took it to find out its real address.” + </p> + <p> + At that she sank again in a chair, and buried her face in her hands, + hardly knowing what she was saying. “Oh, what shall I do? What shall I + do?” she repeated, softly and wildly. “Yesterday I could behave so well by + what I knew was true about him. Then, when Maria came and spoke as though + I was three years old, and hadn't any understanding nor any dignity of my + own, and the best thing for any girl, at any rate, were to cling to the + man she loved as though she were his mother and he were her dear, erring + child” (she began to laugh a little), “the feebler he were the more credit + to her for her devotion—then I couldn't go on by what I knew was + true about him—only back, back again to all my—old mistake.” + She was laughing and crying now with little, quick gasps, in a sheer + hysteria which no doubt would have given her sister entire satisfaction as + a manifesto of her normal womanliness. + </p> + <p> + I brought her a glass of water, and, trying to conceal my own distress for + her as well as I could, sat down, silently, near her. Gradually she grew + quieter, until the room was so still that we could hear the raindrops from + the eaves plash down outside. Peggy pushed back her cloud of bright hair + and fastened it in the nape of her neck. At last she said, with + conviction: “Mother, Maria didn't say these things, but I know she thinks + them for me, thinks that a woman's love is just all forgiveness and + indulgence. By that she could—she did work on my nerves. But”—and + her gray eyes glanced so beautifully and so darkly with a girl's fine, + straight, native, healthy spirit as she said it—“I COULDN'T marry + any man but one that I admired.” + </p> + <p> + “I'm sure you couldn't,” I said, firmly. “And, my dear child, I must + confess I fail to understand why your sister should wish so patronizingly + for you a fortune she would never have accepted for herself. How can she + possibly like for you such a mawkish and a morbid thing as the prospect of + a marriage with a man in whom neither you nor any other person feels the + presence of one single absolute and manly quality?” + </p> + <p> + “Why, mother, I have never heard you speak so strongly before—” + </p> + <p> + At that moment Lena came searching through the hall, and knocking at the + door of my room, next Peggy's, to announce Lorraine. The kind-hearted girl + was with us constantly, and of the greatest unobtrusive solace to Peggy in + those three days after our travellers had all gone, one after the other, + like the fairy-tale family, at the chance word of Clever Alice. + </p> + <p> + It was on the fifth morning afterward, as I was sitting on the piazza + hemming an organdie ruffle for my big little girl—she does shoot up + so fast—that I heard on the gravel Charles's footstep. + </p> + <p> + For some time after his arrival, as he sat, with his hat thrown off, + talking lightly of his New York sojourn, I was so completely glad to see + him, and to see him looking so well and in such buoyant spirits, that I + could think of nothing else until he mentioned taking tea “At the Sign of + the Three-legged Stool” with Lorraine's sisters, with Lyman Wilde—and + with Aunt Elizabeth. + </p> + <p> + My work dropped out of my hands. + </p> + <p> + He laughed. “Yes. Dear mother, since you never have seen him, I don't know + that I can hope to convey any right conception of Wilde's truly remarkable + character. He is, to begin with, the best of men. Picture, if you can, a + nature with a soul completely beautiful and selfless, and a nervous + surface quite as pachydermatous and indiscriminating as that of an ox. + Wilde accepts everybody's estimate of himself. Not only the quality of his + mercy, but also of his admiration, is quite unstrained. So that he sees + the friend of his youth not at all as I or any humanized perception at the + Crafts Settlement would see her, but quite as she sees herself, as a + fascinating, gifted, capricious woman of the world, beating the wings of + her thwarted love of beauty against cruel circumstance. I noticed his + attitude as soon as I mentioned to him that Lorraine had by chance + discovered that he and my aunt were old acquaintances. He said that he + would be very much interested in seeing her again. As he happened at the + moment to be looking over a packet of postals announcing his series of + talks on 'Script,' he asked me her address, called his stenographer, and + had it added to his mailing-list. But before the postal reached her she + had called him up to tell him she had lately heard of his work and of him + for the first time after all these years, through Lorraine, and to ask him + to come to see her. His call, I am sure, they spent in a rich mutual + misunderstanding as thoroughly satisfactory to both as any one could wish. + For, as I say, on my last visit in the Crafts neighborhood she was taking + tea with all of them and Dr. Denbigh.” + </p> + <p> + “Dr. Denbigh!” I repeated, in surprise. “Oh, Charles, are any of them not + well?” + </p> + <p> + “No, no. I think he's been in New York”—he gave a groan—“on + account of some delicate finesse on Maria's part, some incomprehensible + plan of hers for bringing Goward back here. The worst of it is that, like + all her plans, I believe it's going to be perfectly successful.” + </p> + <p> + “What do you mean?” I asked, in consternation. + </p> + <p> + “From every natural portent, I think that horrid infant in arms was, when + I left New York, about to cast his handkerchief or rattle toward Peggy + again. I'm morally certain that he and all his odious emotional + disturbances will be presenting themselves for her consideration in + Eastridge before long; and, since they strike me as quite too odious for + the nicest girl in the world, I hope, before they reach here, she'll be + far away—absolutely out of reach.” + </p> + <p> + “I hope so, too.” But as I said it, for the first time there came around + me, like a blank, rising mist, the prospect of a journey farther and a + longer separation than any I had before imagined between us. + </p> + <p> + “I knew you'd think so. That was, partly, why I acted as I did, for her, + dear mother”—he leaned forward a little toward me and took up one + end of the ruffle I was stitching again to cover my excitement—“and + for Lorraine and for me, in engaging our passage abroad.” + </p> + <p> + He seemed not to expect me to speak at once, but after a little quiet + pause, while we both sat thinking, went on, with great gentleness: “You + know it's about our only way of really protecting her from any annoyance + here, even that of thoughts of her own she doesn't like. There will be so + very wonderfully much for her to see, and I believe she'll enjoy it. One + of Lorraine's younger sisters is coming to be with us, perhaps, for a + while in Switzerland—and the Elliots—animal sculptors. You + remember them, don't you, and Arlington—studying decorative design + that winter when you were in New York? They'll be abroad this summer. I + believe we'll all have a very charming, care-free time walking and + sketching and working—a time really so much more charming for a + lovely and sensible young woman than sitting in a talking town subject to + the incursions of a lover she doesn't truly like.” He stopped a moment + before he added, sincerely: “Then—it isn't simply for her that this + way would be better, mother, but for me, for every one.” + </p> + <p> + “For you and for every one?” I managed to make myself ask with + tranquillity. + </p> + <p> + “Yes. Why wouldn't this relieve immensely all the sufferers from my + commercial career at the factory? Don't you think that's somewhat unjust, + not simply to Maria's and Tom's requirements for the family standing and + fortunes”—he laughed a moment—“but to father's need there of a + right-hand business man?” That was his way of putting it. “For a long + time,” he pursued, more earnestly than I've ever heard him speak before in + his life, “I've been planning, mother, to go away to study and to sketch. + I'm doing nothing here. Maybe what I would do away from here might not + seem to you so wonderful. But it would have one dignity—whatever + else it were or were not, it would be my own.” + </p> + <p> + Perhaps it may seem strange, but in those few words and instants, when my + son spoke so simply and sincerely of his own work, I felt, more than in + his actual wedding with his wife, the cleaving pang of a marriage for him. + At the same time I was stricken beyond all possible speech by my rising + consciousness of the injustice of his sense of failure here in his own + father's house, in my house. How weakly I had been lost in the thousand + little anxieties and preoccupations of my every-day, to let myself be + unwittingly engulfed in his older sister's strange, blank prejudice, to + lose my own true understanding of the rights and the happiness of one of + the children—I can think it, all unspoken and in silence—somehow + most my own. + </p> + <p> + It seemed as though my heartstrings tightened. Everything blurred before + me. I never in my life have tried so hard before to hold my soul + absolutely still to see quite clearly, as though none of this were + happening to myself, what would be best for my boy's future, for Peggy's, + for their whole lives. It was in the midst of these close-pressing + thoughts that I heard him saying: “So that perhaps this would truly be the + right way for every one.” Only too inevitably I knew his words were true; + and now I could force myself at last to say, quietly: “Why—yes—if + that would make you happier, Charles.” He rose and came up to my chair + then so beautifully, and moved it to a shadier place, as Peggy, catching + sight of him from the garden, ran up with a cry of surprise to meet him, + to talk about it all. + </p> + <p> + I scarcely know whether her father's consciousness of the coming + separation for me, or my consciousness of the coming separation for him, + made things harder or easier for both of us. Cyrus was obliged to make a + business trip to Washington on the next day, and it was decided that as + Peggy especially wished to be with him now before her long absence, she + should accompany him in the morning. + </p> + <p> + On the midnight before we were all startled from sleep by the clang of the + door-bell. Good little Billy, always hoping for excitement, and besides + extremely sweet in doing errands, answered it. The rest of us absurdly + assembled in kimonos and bathrobes at the head of the stairs, dreading we + scarcely knew what, for the members of the family not in the house. Within + a few minutes Billy dashed up-stairs again, considerately holding high, so + that we all could see it, a special-delivery letter, the very same + illegible, bleared envelope which had before annoyed us so extremely. It + was addressed in washed-out characters to Miss — Talbert. The word + Peggy, very clear and black, had been lately inserted in the same + handwriting; and below, the street and number had been recently refreshed, + apparently by the hand of Maria. + </p> + <p> + As this familiar, wearisome object reappeared before us all, Peggy, with a + little quiver of mirth, looking out between her long braids, cried: “Call + back the boy!” By the time the messenger had returned she had readdressed + the envelope, unopened, to Mr. Goward. Billy took it back down-stairs + again; and every one trooped off to bed, Alice and mother with positive + snorts and flounces of impatience. + </p> + <p> + Needless to say, Tom and Maria returned in perfect safety on Saturday. + Before then, at twelve o'clock on the same morning, when Cyrus and Peggy + had gone, I was sitting on the piazza making a little money-bag for her, + with mother sitting rocking beside me, and complaining of every one in + peace, when Dr. Denbigh drove up to the horse-block, flung his weight out + of the buggy, and hurried up the steps. He shook hands with us hastily and + abstractedly, and asked if he might speak to me inside the house. + </p> + <p> + “Mrs. Talbert,” he said, closing the door of the library as soon as we + were inside it, “I am sure you will try not to feel alarmed at something I + must tell you of at once. The early morning train I came on from New York, + the one that ought to get in at Eastridge at eleven, was derailed two + hours ago on a misplaced switch between here and Whitman. No one was + killed, but many of the passengers were injured. Among the injured I took + care of was Mr. Goward. His arm has been broken. He's been badly shaken up—and + he's now in a state of shock at the Whitman Hospital. The boy has been + asking for Peggy, and then for you. I promised him that after my work was + done—all the injured were taken there by a special as soon as + possible after the wreck—I'd ask you to drive back to see him. Will + you come?” + </p> + <p> + Of course I went, then. And at Harry Goward's request I have gone twice + since. He is very ill, too ill to talk, and though Dr. Denbigh says he + will outlive a thousand stronger men, he has been rather worse this + morning. When I first saw him he asked for Peggy in one gasping word, and + when he learned she had gone to Washington turned even whiter than he had + been before. He is nervously quite wrecked and wretched; has no confidence + in Dr. Denbigh; and either Maria or I will go to the hospital every day + till the boy's mother comes from California. It is a very trying + situation. For his misfortune has, of course, not changed my knowledge of + his nature. I dread telling Cyrus and Peggy, when I meet their returning + noon train, after I have left mother at home, of everything that has + happened here. + </p> + <p> + As though these difficulties were not enough, this morning, just before we + started to Whitman, we were involved in another perplexity through the + unwilling agency of Mr. Temple. He called me up to read me a bewildering + telegram he had received an hour before from Elizabeth. It said: + </p> + <p> + “Please end Eastridge scandal by announcing my engagement in Banner.—Lily.” + </p> + <p> + “Engagement to whom?” Mr. Temple had asked by telephone of Charles, who + said none of us could be responsible for any definite information in the + matter unless, perhaps, Maria. On consultation, Maria had said to Mr. + Temple that in New York Mr. Goward had imparted to her that Elizabeth had + told him many weeks ago that she was irrevocably betrothed to Dr. Denbigh. + Mr. Temple had finally referred unsuccessfully to me for Elizabeth's + address in order to ask her to send a complete announcement in the full + form she wished printed. + </p> + <p> + (“Whoa, Douglas. Well—mother, you had a nice little nap, didn't you. + No, no; I won't be late. It's not more than five minutes to the station. + Thanks, Lena. Yes, Billy dear, you can get in. Why, I don't know why you + shouldn't drive.”) + </p> + <p> + The train is just pulling in. Charles is there and Maria, each standing on + one side of the car-steps. Now I see them. That looks like Peggy's + suit-case the porter's carrying down. Yes, it is. There—there they + are, coming down the steps behind him, Cyrus and my dear girl—how + well they look! Oh, how I hope everything will come right for them! + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0010" id="link2H_4_0010"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + X. THE SCHOOL-BOY, By Mary Raymond Shipman Andrews + </h2> + <h3> + Rabbits. + </h3> + <p> + Automobile. (Painted red, with yellow lines.) + </p> + <p> + Automatic reel. (The 3-dollar kind.) + </p> + <p> + New stamp-book. (The puppy chewed my other.) + </p> + <p> + Golly, I forgot. I suppose I mustn't use this, but it's my birthday next + month, and I want 'steen things, and I thought I'd better make a list to + pin on the dining-room door, where the family could take their pick what + to give me. Lorraine gave me this blank-book, and told me that if I'd + write down everything that I knew about Peggy and Harry Goward and all + that stuff, she'd have Sally make me three pounds of crumbly cookies with + currants on top, in a box, to keep in my room just to eat myself, and she + wouldn't tell Alice, so I won't be selfish not to offer her any as she + won't know about it and so won't suffer. I'm going to keep them in the + extra bureau drawer where Peg puts her best party dress, so I guess + they'll be et up before anybody goes there. + </p> + <p> + Peggy's feeling pretty sick now to dress up for parties, but I know a + thing or two that the rest don't know. Wouldn't Alice be hopping! She + always thinks she's wise to everything, and to have a thick-headed + boy-person know a whacking secret that they'd all be excited about would + make her mad enough to burst. She thinks she can read my ingrown soul too—but + I rather think I have my own interior thoughts that Miss Alice doesn't + tumble to. For instance, Dr. Denbigh. + </p> + <p> + Golly, I forgot. Lorraine said she'd cut down the cookies if things + weren't told orderly the way they happened. So I've got to begin back. + First then, I've had the best time since Peggy got engaged that I've ever + had in my own home. Not quite as unbossed as when they sent me on the + Harris farm last summer, and I slept in the stable if I wanted to, and + nobody asked if I'd taken a bath. That was a sensible way to live, but yet + it's been unpecked at and pleasant even at home lately. You see, with such + a lot of fussing about Peggy and Harry Goward, nobody has noticed what I + did, and that, to a person with a taste for animals, is one of the best + states of living. I've gone to the table without brushing my hair, and the + puppy has slept in my bed, and I've kept a toad behind the wash-basin for + two weeks, and though Lena, the maid, knew about it, she shut up and was + decent because she didn't want to worry mother. A toad is such an unusual + creature to live with. I've got a string to his hind leg, but yet he gets + into places where you don't expect him, and it's very interesting. Lena + seemed to think it wasn't nice to have him in the towels in the wash-stand + drawer, but I didn't care. It doesn't hurt the towels and it's cosey for + the toad. + </p> + <p> + I had a little snake—a stunner—but Lena squealed when she + found him in my collars, so I had to take him away. He looked awfully + cunning inside the collars, but Lena wouldn't stand for him, so I let well + enough alone and tried to be contented with the toad and the puppy and + some June-bugs I've got in boxes in the closet, and my lizard—next + to mother, he's my best friend—I've had him six months. I'm not sure + I wouldn't rather lose mother than him, because you can get a step-mother, + but it's awfully difficult to replace a lizard like Diogenes. I wonder if + Lorraine will think I've written too much about my animals? They're more + fun than Peggy anyway, and as for Harry Goward—golly! The toad or + lizard that couldn't be livelier than he is would be a pretty sad animal. + </p> + <p> + A year ago I was fishing one day away up the river, squatting under a bush + on a bank, when Peggy and Dr. Denbigh came and plumped right over my head. + They didn't see me—but it wasn't up to me. They were looking the + other way, so they didn't notice my fish-line either. They weren't + noticing much of life as it appeared to me except their personal selves. I + thought if they wouldn't disturb me I wouldn't disturb them. At first I + didn't pay attention to what they were saying, because there was a chub + and a trout together after my bait, and I naturally was excited to see if + the trout would take it. But when I'd lost both of them I had time to + listen. + </p> + <p> + I wouldn't have believed it of Dr. Denbigh, to bother about a girl like + Peg, who can't do anything. And he's a whale, just a whale. He's six + feet-two, and strong as an ox. He went through West Point before he + degraded himself into a doctor, and he held the record there for + shot-putting, and was on the foot-ball team, and even now, when he's very + old and of course can't last long, he plays the best tennis in Eastridge. + He went to the Spanish War—quite awhile ago that was, but yet in + modern times—and he was at San Juan. You can see he's a Jim dandy—and + him to be wasting time on Peggy—it's sickening! Even for a girl + she's poor stuff. I don't mean, of course, that she's not all right in a + moral direction, and I wouldn't let anybody else abuse her. Everybody says + she's pretty, and I suppose she is, in a red-headed way, and she's awfully + kind, you know, but athletically—that's what I'm talking about—she + doesn't amount to a row of pins. She can't fish or play tennis or ride or + anything. + </p> + <p> + Yet all the same it's true, I distinctly heard him say he loved her better + than anything on earth. I don't think he could have meant better than + Rapscallion; he's awfully fond of that horse. Probably he forgot + Rapscallion for the moment. Anyhow, Peg was sniffling and saying how she + was going back to college—it was the Easter vacation—and how + she was only a stupid girl and he would forget her. And he said he'd never + forget her one minute all his life—which was silly, for I've often + forgotten really important things. Once I forgot to stop at Lorraine's for + a tin of hot gingerbread she'd had Sally make for me to entirely eat by + myself, and Alice got it and devoured it all up, the pig! Anyway, Dr. + Denbigh said that, and then Peggy sniffled some more, and I heard him ask + her: + </p> + <p> + “What is it, dear?” + </p> + <p> + “Dear,” your grandmother. She said, then, why wouldn't he let her be + engaged to him like anybody else, and it was hard on a girl to have to beg + a man to be engaged, and then he laughed a little and they didn't either + of them say anything for a while, but there were soft, rustling sounds—a + trout was after my bait, so I didn't listen carefully. When I noticed + again, Dr. Denbigh was saying how he was years and years older, and it was + his duty to take care of her and not allow her to make a mistake that + might ruin her life, and he wouldn't let her hurry into a thing she + couldn't get out of, and a lot more. Peg said that forty wasn't old, and + he was young enough for her, and she was certain, CERTAIN—I don't + know what she was certain of, but she was horribly obstinate about it. + </p> + <p> + And then Dr. Denbigh said: “If I only dared let you, dear—if I only + dared.” + </p> + <p> + And something about if she felt the same in two years, or a year, or + something—I can't remember all that truck—and they said the + same thing over a lot. I heard him murmur: + </p> + <p> + “Call me Jack, just once.” + </p> + <p> + And she murmured back, as if it was a stunt, “Jack”—and then + rustlings. I'd call him Jack all the afternoon if he liked. + </p> + <p> + Then, after another of those still games, Peggy said, “Ow!” as if + somebody'd pinched her, and that seemed such a queer remark that I stood + up to see what they were up to. Getting to my feet I swung the line around + and the bait flopped up the bank and hit Peg square in the mouth—I + give you my word I didn't mean to, but it was awfully funny! My! didn't + she squeal bloody murder? That's what makes a person despise Peggy. She's + no sort of sport. Another time I remember I had some worms in an envelope, + and I happened to feel them in my pocket, so I pulled out one and slid it + down the back of her neck, and you'd have thought I'd done something + awful. She yelped and wriggled and cried—she did—she actually + cried. And you wouldn't believe what she finished up by doing—she + went and took a bath! A whole bath—when she didn't have to! She + can't see a joke at all. Now Alice is a horrid meddler—she and + Maria. Yet Alice is a sport, and takes her medicine. I've seen that girl + with a beetle in her hair, which I put there, keep her teeth shut and not + make a sound—only a low gurgle—until she'd got him and slung + him out of the window. Then she lammed me, I tell you—I respected + her for it too—but she couldn't now, I'm stronger. + </p> + <p> + Oh, golly! Lorraine will cut down the cookies if I don't tell what + happened. I don't exactly know what was next, but Dr. Denbigh somehow had + me by the collar and gave me a yank, like a big dog does a little one. + </p> + <p> + “See here, you young limb,” he said, “I'm—I'm going to—” and + then he suddenly stopped and looked at Peggy and began to chuckle, and + Peggy laughed and turned lobster color, and put her face in her hands and + just howled. + </p> + <p> + Of course I grinned too, and then I glanced up at him lovingly and + murmured “Jack,” just like Peggy did. + </p> + <p> + That seemed to sober him, and he considered a minute. “Listen, Billy,” he + began, slowly; “we're in your power, but I'm going to trust you.” + </p> + <p> + I just hooted, because there wasn't much else he could do. But he didn't + smile, only his eyes sort of twinkled. + </p> + <p> + “Be calm, my son,” he said. “You're a gentleman, I believe, and all I need + do is to point out that what you've seen and heard is not your secret. I'm + sure you realize that it's unnecessary to ask you not to tell. Of course, + you'll never tell one word—NOT ONE WORD—” and he glared. + “That's understood, isn't it?” + </p> + <p> + I said, “Yep,” sort of scared. He's splendidly big and arrogant, and has + that man-eating look, but he's a peach all the same. + </p> + <p> + “Are we friends—and brothers?” he asked, and slid a look at Peg. + </p> + <p> + “Yep,” I said again, and I meant it. + </p> + <p> + “Shake,” said Dr. Denbigh, and we shook like two men. + </p> + <p> + That was about all that happened that day except about my fishing. There + was a very interesting—but I suppose Lorraine wouldn't care for + that. It was a good deal of a strain on my feelings not to tell Alice, but + of course I didn't. But once in awhile I would glance up at Dr. Denbigh + trustingly and murmur “Jack,” and he would be in a fit because I'd always + do it when the family just barely couldn't hear. As soon as Peg came home + from college we skipped to the mountains, and she went back from there to + college again, and I didn't have a fair show to get rises out of them + together, and in the urgency of 'steen things like pigeons and the new + puppy, I pretty nearly forgot their love's young dream. I didn't have a + surmise that I was going to be interwoven among it like I was. I saw Aunt + Elizabeth going out with Dr. Denbigh in his machine two or three times, + but she's a regular fusser with men, and he's got a kind heart, so I + wasn't wise to anything in that. The day Peg came home for Christmas she + was singing like the blue canaries down in the parlor, and I happened to + pass Aunt Elizabeth's door and she was lacing up her shoes. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, Billy, ask Peggy if she doesn't want to go for a walk, will you? + There's a lamb,” she called to me. + </p> + <p> + So I happened to have intelligence from pristine sources that they went + walking. And after that Peg had a grouch on and was off her feed the rest + of the vacation—nobody knew why—I didn't myself, even, and it + didn't occur to me that Aunt Elizabeth had probably been rubbing it in how + well she knew Dr. Denbigh. The last day Peggy was home, at the table, they + were chaffing Aunt Elizabeth about him, the way grown-ups do, instead of + talking about the facts of life and different kinds of horse-feed, which + is important in the winter. And I heard mother say in a “sort-of-vochy” + tone to Peggy: + </p> + <p> + “They really seem to be fond of each other. Perhaps there may be an + engagement to write you about, Peggy.” + </p> + <p> + I thought to myself that mother didn't know that Dr. Denbigh was + prejudiced to being engaged, but I didn't say anything—it's wise not + to say anything to your family beyond the necessary jargon of living. + Peggy seemed to think the same, for she didn't answer a syllabus, but + after dropping her glass of water into the fried potatoes which Lena was + kindly handing to her, she jumped and scooted. A few minutes later I + wanted her to sew a sail on a boat, so I tried her door and it was locked, + and then I knocked and she took an awfully long time simply to open that + door, and when she did her eyes were red and she was shivering as if she + was cold. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, Billy, Billy!” she said, and then, of all things, she grabbed me and + kissed me. + </p> +<div class="fig" style="width:50%;"> <img src="images/{0279}.jpg" alt="{0279}" width="100%" /><br /> </div> <h5> <a href="images/{0279}.jpg"> <img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a> </h5> + + <p> + I wriggled loose, and I said: “Sew up this sail for me, will you? Hustle!” + </p> + <p> + But she didn't pay attention. “Oh, Billy, be a little good to me!” she + said. “I'm so wretched, and nobody knows but you. Oh, Billy—he likes + somebody better than me!” + </p> + <p> + “Who does?” I asked. “Father?” + </p> + <p> + She half laughed, a sort of sickly laugh. “No, Billy. Not father—he—Jack—Dr. + Denbigh. Oh, you know. Billy! You heard what mother said.” + </p> + <p> + “O—o—oh!” I answered her, in a contemplating slowness. “Oh—that's + so! Do you mind if he gets engaged to Aunt Elizabeth?” + </p> + <p> + “Do—I—MIND?” said Peggy, as if she was astonished. “Mind? + Billy, I'll love him till I die. It would break my heart.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh no, it wouldn't,” I told her, because I thought I'd sort of comfort + her. “That's truck. You can't break muscles just by loving. But I know how + you feel, because that's the way I felt when father gave that Irish setter + to the Tracys.” + </p> + <p> + She went on chattering her teeth as if she was cold, so I put the + table-cover around her. “You dear Billy,” she said. But that was stuff. + </p> + <p> + “I wouldn't bother,” I said. “Likely he's forgotten about you. I often + forget things myself.” That didn't seem to comfort her, for she began to + sob out loud. “Oh, now. Peg, don't cry,” I observed to her. “He probably + likes Aunt Elizabeth better than you, don't you see? I think she's + prettier, myself. And, of course, she's a lot cleverer. She tells funny + stories and makes people laugh; you never do that—You're a good + sort, but quiet and not much fun, don't you see? Maybe he got plain tired + of you.” + </p> + <p> + But instead of being cheered up by my explaining things, she put her head + on the table and just yowled. Girls are a queer species. + </p> + <p> + “You're cruel, cruel!” she sobbed out, and you bet that surprised me—me + that was comforting her for all I was worth! I patted her on the back of + the neck, and thought hard what other soothings I could squeeze out. Then + I had an idea. “Tell you what, Peg,” I said, “it's too darned bad of Dr. + Denbigh, if he just did it for meanness, when you haven't done anything to + him. But maybe he got riled because you begged him so to let you be + engaged to him. Of course a man doesn't want to be bothered—if he + wants to get engaged he wants to, and if he doesn't want to he doesn't, + and that's all. I think probably Dr. Denbigh was afraid you'd be at him + again when you came home, so he hurried up and snatched Aunt Elizabeth.” + </p> + <p> + Peggy lifted her face and stared at me. She was a sight, with her eyes all + bunged up and her cheeks sloppy. “You think he IS engaged to her, do you, + Billy?” she asked me. + </p> + <p> + Her voice sort of shook, and I thought I'd better settle it for her one + way or the other, so I nodded and said, “Wouldn't be surprised,” and then, + if you'll believe it, that girl got angry—at ME. “Billy, you're + brutal—you're like any other man-thing—cold-blooded and + faithless—and—” And she began choking—choking again, and + I was disgusted and cleared out. + </p> + <p> + I was glad when she went off to college, because, though she's a + kind-hearted girl, she was so peevish and untalkative it made me tired. I + think people ought to be cheerful around their own homes. But the family + didn't seem to see it; there are such a lot of us that you have to blow a + trumpet before you get any special notice—except me, when I don't + wash my hands. Yet, what's the use of washing your hands when you're + certain to get them dirty again in five minutes? + </p> + <p> + Well, then, awhile ago Peggy wrote she was engaged to Harry Goward, and + there was great excitement in the happy home. My people are mobile in + their temperatures, anyway—a little thing stirs them up. I thought + it was queerish, but I didn't know but Peggy had changed her mind about + loving Dr. Denbigh till she died. I should think that was too long myself. + I was busy getting my saddle mended and a new bridle, so I didn't have + time for gossip. + </p> + <p> + Harry came to visit the family, and the minute I inspected him over I knew + he was a sissy. If you'll believe me, that grown-up man can't chin + himself. He sings and paints apple blossoms, but he fell three-cornered + over a fence that I vaulted. He may be fascinating, as Lorraine says, but + he isn't worth saving, in my judgments. I said so to Dr. Denbigh one day + when he picked me up in his machine and brought me home from school, and + he was sympathetic and asked intelligent questions—at least, some of + them were; some of them were just slow remarks about if Peggy seemed to be + very happy, and that sort of stuff that doesn't have any foundations. I + told him particularly that I like automobiles, and he thought a minute, + and then said: + </p> + <p> + “If you were going to be playing near the Whitman station to-morrow I'd + pick you up and take you on a twenty-mile spin. I'm lunching with some + people near Whitman, and going on to Elmville.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, pickles!” said I. “Will you, really? Of course, I'll be there. I'll + drive over with the expressman—he's a friend of mine—right + after lunch,” I said, “and I'll wait around the station for you.” + </p> + <p> + So I did that, and while I was waiting I saw Aunt Elizabeth coming—I + saw her first, so I hid—I was afraid if she saw me she'd find out I + was going with Dr. Denbigh and snatch him herself. I heard her sending a + crazy telegram to Harry Goward, and then I forgot all about it until I + wanted to distract Alice's mind off some cookies that I'd accumulated at + Lorraine's house. Alice is a pig. She never lets me stuff in peace. So I + told her about the telegram—I knew Alice would be perturbed with + that. She just loves to tell things, but she made me tell Peggy, and there + was a hullabaloo promptly. Nobody confided a word to me, and I didn't care + much, but I saw them all whispering in low tones and being very busy about + it, and Peg looking madder than a goat, and I guessed that Alice had made + me raise Cain. + </p> + <p> + Now, I've got to back up and start over. Golly! it's harder than you'd + think just to write down things the way they happened, like I promised + Lorraine. Let's see—Oh yes, of course—about Dr. Denbigh and + the bubble. I was in a fit for fear dear Aunt Elizabeth would linger + around till the doctor came, and then somehow I'd be minus one drive in a + machine. She didn't; she cleared out with solidity and despatch, and my + Aurora, as the school-teacher would say, came in his whirling car, and in + I popped, and we had a corking time. He let me drive a little. You see, + the machine is a—Oh, well, Lorraine said, specially, I was not to + describe automobiles. That seems such a stupid restrictiveness, but it's a + case of cookies, so I'll cut that out. + </p> + <p> + There really wasn't much else to tell, only that Dr. Denbigh started right + in and raked out the inmost linings of my soul about Peggy and Harry + Goward. It wasn't exactly cross-examination, because he wasn't cross, yet + he fired the questions at me like a cannon, and I answered quick, you bet. + Dr. Denbigh knows what he wants, and he means to get it. Just by accident + toward the last I let out about that day in the winter when they were + chaffing Aunt Elizabeth at the table about him, and how he'd taken her out + in the machine, and how mother had said there might be an engagement to + write Peggy about. + </p> + <p> + “Oh!” said Dr. Denbigh. “Oh!—oh!” + </p> + <p> + Funny, the way he went on saying, “Oh! Oh!” + </p> + <p> + I thought if that interested him he might like to hear about Peg throwing + a fit in her room after, so I told him that, and how I tried to comfort + her, and how unreasonable she was. And what do you suppose he said? He + looked at me a minute with his eyebrows away down, and his mouth jammed + together, and then he brought out: + </p> + <p> + “You little devil!” + </p> + <p> + That's not the worst he said, either. I guess mother wouldn't let me go + out with him if she knew he used profanity—Maria wouldn't, anyway. I + have decided I won't tell them. It's the only time I ever caught him. The + other thing is this. He said to himself—but out loud—I think + he had forgotten me: “So they made her believe I liked her aunt better.” + And then, in a minute: “She said it would break her heart—bless + her!” And two or three other interlocutory remarks like that, meaning + nothing in particular. And then all of a sudden he brought his fist down + on his knee with a bang and said, “Damn Aunt Elizabeth!”—not loud, + but compressed and explodingly, you know. I looked at him, and he said: + “Beg pardon. Billy. Your aunt's a very charming woman, but I mean it. I + only asked her to go out with me because she talked more about Peggy than + anybody else would,” he went on. + </p> + <p> + I thought a minute, and put two and two together pretty quick. “You mind + about Peggy's being engaged to Harry Goward, don't you?” I asked him; for + I saw right through him then. + </p> + <p> + He looked queer. “Yes, I mind,” he said. + </p> + <p> + “But you wouldn't be engaged to her yourself,” I propounded to him; and he + grinned, and said something about more things in heaven and earth, and + called me Horatio. I reckon he got struck crazy a minute. And then he made + me tell him further what Peggy said and what I said, and he laughed that + time about my comforting her, though I don't see why. It doesn't pay to + give up important things, to be kind and thoughtful in this world—nobody + appreciates it, and you are sure to be sorry you took the time. When I got + up-stairs, after comforting Peggy, my toad had jumped in the water-pitcher + and got about drowned—he never was the same toad after—and if + I hadn't stopped in Peg's room to do good it wouldn't have happened. And + Dr. Denbigh laughed at me besides. However, for an old chap of forty, he's + a peach. I'm not kicking at Dr. Denbigh. + </p> + <p> + Then let's see—(It makes me tired to go on writing this stuff—I + wish I was through. But the cookies! I see a vision of a mountain range of + cookies with currants on them—crumbly cookies. Up and at it again + for me!) + </p> + <p> + The next stunt I had a shy at was a letter that Harry Goward asked Alice + to give Peggy, and Alice gave it to me because she was up to something + else just that minute. She didn't look at the address, but you bet your + sweet life I did, when I heard it was from Harry Goward. I saw it was + addressed to Peg. Then I stuffed it in my pocket and plain forgot, because + I was in a hurry to go fishing with Sid Tracy. I put a chub on top of it + that I wanted to keep for bait, and when I pulled it out—the letter—the + chub hadn't helped much. The envelope was a little slimy. I said: “Gee!” + </p> + <p> + Sid said: “What's that?” + </p> + <p> + “A letter to my sister from that chump. Harry Goward,” said I. “I've got + to take it to her. Looks pretty sad now.” + </p> + <p> + Sid didn't like Harry Goward any more than I did, because he'd borrowed + Sid's best racket and left it out in the rain, and then just laughed. So + he said: “Not sad enough. Give it to me. I'll fix it.” + </p> + <p> + He had some molasses candy that he'd bit, and he rubbed that over it a + little, and then suddenly we heard Alice calling, and he crammed the + letter in his pocket, candy and all, and there were some other things in + there that stuck to it. We were so rattled when Alice appeared and + demanded that very letter in her lordly way that I forgot if I had it or + Sid, and I went all through my clothes looking for it, and then Sid found + it in his, and, oh, my! Miss Alice turned up her nose when she saw it. It + did look smudgy. + </p> + <p> + Sid hurriedly scrubbed it with his handkerchief, but even that didn't + really make it clean, and by that time you couldn't read the address. + Alice didn't ask me if I'd read it, or I'd have told her. + </p> + <p> + There was a fuss afterward in the family, but I kept clear of it. I + wouldn't have time to get through what I have to do if I attended to their + fusses, so all I knew was that it had something to do with that letter. + All the family were taking trains, like a procession, for two or three + days. I don't know why, so Lorraine can't expect me to write that down. + </p> + <p> + There's only one other event of great signification that I know about, and + nobody knows that except me and Dr. Denbigh and Peggy. It was this way. + The doctor saw me on the street one afternoon—I can't remember what + day it was—and stopped his machine and motioned to me to get in. You + bet I got. He shook hands with me just the way he would with father, and + not as if I were a contemptible puppy. + </p> + <p> + “Billy, my son, I want you to do something for me,” he said. + </p> + <p> + “All right,” said I. + </p> + <p> + “I've got to see Peggy,” he went on. “I've got to!” And he looked as + fierce as a circus tiger. “I can't sit still and not lift a finger and let + this wretched business go on. I won't lose her for any silly scruples.” + </p> + <p> + I didn't know what he was driving at, but I said, “I wouldn't, either,” in + a sympathetic manner. + </p> + <p> + “I've got to see her!” he fired at me again. + </p> + <p> + “Yep,” I said. “She's up at the house now. Come on.” But that didn't suit + him. He explained that she wouldn't look at him when the others were + around, and that she slid off and wormed out of his way, so he couldn't + get at her, anyhow. Just like a girl, wasn't it—not to face the + music? Well, anyway, he'd cooked up a plan that he wanted me to do, and I + promised I would. He wanted me to get Peggy to go up the river to their + former spooning-resort (only he put it differently), and he would be there + waiting and make Peggy talk to him, which he seemed to desire more than + honey in the honeycomb. + </p> + <p> + Lovers are a strange animal. I may be foolish, but I prefer toads. With + them you can tie a string around the hind leg, and you have got them. But + with lovers it's all this way one day and upside down the next, and + wondering what's hurt the feelings of her, and if he's got tired of you, + and polyandering around to get interviews up rivers when you could easier + sit on the piazza and talk—and all such. It seems to me that things + would go a lot simpler if everybody would cut out most of the feelings + department, and just eat their meals and look after their animals and play + all they get time for, and then go to sleep quietly. Fussing is such a + depravity. But they wouldn't do what I said, not if I told them, so I lie + low and think. + </p> + <p> + Next morning I harnessed the pony in the cart and said, “Peg—take a + drive with me—come on,” and Peg looked grattyfied, and mother said I + was a dear, thoughtful child, and grandma said it would do the girl good, + and I was a noble lad. So I got encombiums all round for once. Only Aunt + Elizabeth—she looked thoughtful. + </p> + <p> + I rattled Hotspur—that's the pony—out to the happy + hunting-ground by the river, till I saw Dr. Denbigh's gray cap behind a + bush, and I rightly argued that his manly form was hitched onto it, for he + arose up in his might as I stopped the cart. Peggy gasped and said, “Oh—oh! + We must go home. Oh, Billy, drive on!” Which Billy didn't do, not so you'd + notice it. Then the doctor said, in his I-am-the-Ten-Commandments manner, + “Get out, Peggy,” and held his hand. + </p> + <p> + And Peggy said, “I won't—I can't,” and immediately did, the goose. + </p> + <p> + Then he looked at me in a funny, fierce way he has, with his eyebrows away + down, only you know he's pleasant because his eyes jiggle. + </p> + <p> + “Billy, my son,” he said, “will you kindly deprive us of the light of your + presence for one hour by the clock? Here's my timepiece—one hour. + Go!” And he gave Hotspur a slap so he leaped. + </p> + <p> + Dr. Denbigh is the most different person from Harry Goward I know. + </p> + <p> + Well, I drove round by the Red Bridge, and was gone an hour and twelve + minutes, and I thought they'd be missing me and in a fit to get home, so I + just raced Hotspur the last mile. + </p> + <p> + “I'm awfully sorry I'm so late,” said I. “I got looking at some pigs, so I + forgot. I'm sorry,” said I. + </p> + <p> + Peg looked up at me as if she couldn't remember who I was, and inquired, + wonderingly: “Is it an hour yet?” + </p> + <p> + And Dr. Denbigh said, “Great Scott! boy, you needn't have hurried!” + </p> + <p> + That's lovers all over. + </p> + <p> + And they hadn't finished yet, if you'll believe me. Dr. Denbigh went on + talking as they stood up, just as if I wasn't living. “You won't promise + me?” he asked her. + </p> + <p> + And she said: “Oh, Jack, how can I? I don't know what to do—but I'm + engaged to him—that's a solemn thing.” + </p> + <p> + “Solemn nonsense,” said the doctor. “You don't love him—you never + did—you never could. Be a woman, dearest, and end this wretched + mess.” + </p> + <p> + “I never would have thought I loved him if I hadn't believed I'd lost + you,” Peggy ruminated to herself. “But I must think—” As if she + hadn't thunk for an hour! + </p> + <p> + “How long must you think?” the doctor fired at her. + </p> + <p> + “Don't be cross at me,” said she, like a baby, and that big capable man + picked up her hand and kissed it—shame on him! + </p> + <p> + “No, no, dear,” he said, as meek as pie. “I'll wait—only you MUST + decide the right way, and remember that I'm waiting, and that it's hard.” + </p> + <p> + Then he put her into the cart clingingly—I'd have chucked her—and + I leaned over toward him the last thing and threw my head lovingly on one + side and rolled my eyes up and murmured at him, “Good-bye, Jack,” and + started Hotspur before he could hit me. + </p> + <p> + Now, thank the stars, there's just one or two little items more that I've + got to write. One is what I heard mother tell father when they were on the + front piazza alone, and I was teaching the puppy to beg, right in sight of + them on the grass. They think I'm an earless freak, maybe. She told him + that dear Peggy was growing into such a strong, splendid woman; that she'd + been talking to her, and she thought the child would be able to give up + her weak, vacillating lover with hardly a pang, because she realized that + he was unworthy of her; that Peg had said she couldn't marry a man she + didn't admire—and wasn't that noble of her? Noble, your grandmother—to + give up a perfect lady like Harry Goward, when she's got a real man up her + sleeve! I'd have made them sit up and take notice if I hadn't promised not + to tell. Which reminds me that I ought to explain how I got Dr. Denbigh to + let me write this for Lorraine. I put it to him strongly, you see, about + the cookies, and at first he said. + </p> + <p> + “Not on your life! Not in a thousand years!” And then— + </p> + <p> + But what's the use of writing that? Lorraine is on to all that. But, my + pickles! won't there be a circus when Alice finds out that I've known + things she didn't! Won't Alice be hopping—gee! + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0011" id="link2H_4_0011"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XI. PEGGY, by Alice Brown + </h2> + <p> + “Remember,” said Charles Edward—he had run in for a minute on his + way home from the office where he has been clearing out his desk, “for + good and all,” he tells us—“remember, next week will see us out of + this land of the free and home of the talkative.” He meant our sailing. I + shall be glad to be with him and Lorraine. “And whatever you do. Peg, + don't talk, except to mother. Talk to her all you want to. Mother has the + making of a woman in her. If mother'd been a celibate, she'd have been, + also, a peach.” + </p> + <p> + “But I don't want to talk,” said I. “I don't want to talk to anybody.” + </p> + <p> + “Good for you,” said Charles Edward. “Now I'll run along.” + </p> + <p> + I sat there on the piazza watching him, thinking he'd been awfully good to + me, and feeling less bruised, somehow, than I do when the rest of the + family advise me—except mother! And I saw him stop, turn round as if + he were coming back, and then settle himself and plant his feet wide + apart, as he does when the family question him about business. Then I saw + somebody in light blue through the trees, and I knew it was Aunt + Elizabeth. Alice was down in the hammock reading and eating cookies, and + she saw her, too. Alice threw the book away and got her long legs out of + the hammock and ran. I thought she was coming into the house to hide from + Aunt Elizabeth. That's what we all do the first minute, and then we + recover ourselves and go down and meet her. But Alice dropped on her knees + by my chair and threw her arms round me. + </p> + <p> + “Forgive, Peggy,” she moaned. “Oh, forgive!” + </p> + <p> + I saw she had on my fraternity pin, and I thought she meant that. So I + said, “You can wear it today”; but she only hugged me the tighter and ran + on in a rigmarole I didn't understand. + </p> + <p> + “She's coming, and she'll get it out of Lorraine, and they'll all be down + on us.” + </p> + <p> + Charles Edward and Aunt Elizabeth stood talking together, and just then I + saw her put her hand on his shoulder. + </p> + <p> + “She's trying to come round him,” said Alice. + </p> + <p> + I began to see she was really in earnest now. “He's squirming. Oh, Peggy, + maybe she's found it out some way, and she's telling him, and they'll tell + you, and you'll think I am false as hell!” + </p> + <p> + I knew she didn't mean anything by that word, because whenever she says + such things they're always quotations. She began to cry real tears. + </p> + <p> + “It was Billy put it into my head,” said she, “and Lorraine put it into + his. Lorraine wanted him to write out exactly what he knew, and he didn't + know anything except about the telegram and how the letter got wuzzled, + and I told him I'd help him write it as it ought to be 'if life were a + banquet and beauty were wine'; but I told him we must make him say in it + how he'd got to conceal it from me, or they'd think we got it up together. + So I wrote it,” said Alice, “and Billy copied it.” + </p> + <p> + Perhaps I wasn't nice to the child, for I couldn't listen to her. I was + watching Charles Edward and Aunt Elizabeth, and saying to myself that + mother'd want me to sit still and meet Aunt Elizabeth when she came—“like + a good girl,” as she used to say to me when I was little and begged to get + out of hard things. Alice went on talking and gasping. + </p> + <p> + “Peg,” she said, “he's perfectly splendid—Dr. Denbigh is.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, dear,” said I, “he's very nice.” + </p> + <p> + “I've adored him for years,” said Alice. “I could trust him with my whole + future. I could trust him with yours.” + </p> + <p> + Then I laughed. I couldn't help it. And Alice was hurt, for some reason, + and got up and held her head high and went into the house. And Aunt + Elizabeth came up the drive, and that is how she found me laughing. She + had on a lovely light-blue linen. Nobody wears such delicate shades as + Aunt Elizabeth. I remember, one day, when she came in an embroidered + pongee over Nile-green, father groaned, and grandmother said: “What is it, + Cyrus? Have you got a pain?” “Yes,” said father, “the pain I always have + when I see sheep dressed lamb fashion.” Grandmother laughed, but mother + said: “Sh!” Mother's dear. + </p> + <p> + This time Aunt Elizabeth had on a great picture-hat with light-blue + ostrich plumes; it was almost the shape of her lavender one that Charles + Edward said made her look like a coster's bride. When she bent over me and + put both arms around me the plumes tickled my ear. I think that was why I + was so cross. I wriggled away from her and said: “Don't!” + </p> + <p> + Aunt Elizabeth spoke quite solemnly. “Dear child!” she said, “you are + broken, indeed.” + </p> + <p> + And I began to feel again just as I had been feeling, as if I were in a + show for everybody to look at, and I found I was shaking all over, and was + angry with myself because of it. She had drawn up a chair, and she held + both my hands. + </p> + <p> + “Peggy,” said she, “haven't you been to the hospital to see that poor dear + boy?” + </p> + <p> + I didn't have to answer, for there was a whirl on the gravel, and Billy, + on his bicycle, came riding up with the mail. He threw himself off his + wheel and plunged up the steps as he always does, pretended to tickle his + nose with Aunt Elizabeth's feathers as he passed behind her, and whispered + to me: “Shoot the hat!” But he had heard Aunt Elizabeth asking if I were + not going to see that poor dear boy, and he said, as if he couldn't help + it: + </p> + <p> + “Huh! I guess if she did she wouldn't get in. His mother's walking up and + down front of the hospital when she ain't with him, and she's got a hook + nose and white hair done up over a roll and an eye-glass on a stick, and I + guess there won't be no nimps and shepherdesses get by HER.” + </p> + <p> + Aunt Elizabeth stood and thought for a minute, and her eyes looked as they + do when she stares through you and doesn't see you at all. Alice asked + Charles Edward once if he thought she was sorrowing o'er the past when she + had that look, and he said: “Bless you, chile, no more than a gentle + industrious spider. She's spinning a web.” But in a minute mother had + stepped out on the piazza, and I felt as if she had come to my rescue. It + was the way she used to come when I broke my doll or tore my skirt. But we + didn't look at each other, mother and I. We didn't mean Aunt Elizabeth + should see there was anything to rescue me from. Aunt Elizabeth turned to + mother, and seemed to pounce upon her. + </p> + <p> + “Ada,” said she, “has my engagement been announced?” + </p> + <p> + “Not to my knowledge,” said mother. She spoke with a great deal of + dignity. “I understood that the name of the gentleman had been withheld.” + </p> + <p> + “Withheld!” repeated Aunt Elizabeth. “What do you mean by 'withheld'? + Billy, whom are those letters for?” + </p> + <p> + In spite of ourselves mother and I started. Letters have begun to seem + rather tragic to us. + </p> + <p> + “One's the gas-bill,” said Billy, “and one's for you.” Aunt Elizabeth took + the large, square envelope and tore it open. Then she looked at mother and + smiled a little and tossed her head. + </p> + <p> + “This is from Lyman Wilde,” said she. + </p> + <p> + I thought I had never seen Aunt Elizabeth look so young. It must have + meant something more to mother than it did to me, for she stared at her a + minute very seriously. + </p> + <p> + “I am truly glad for you, Elizabeth,” she said. Then she turned to me. + “Daughter,” said she, “I shall need you about the salad.” + </p> + <p> + She smiled at me and went in. I knew what that meant. She was giving me a + chance to follow her, if I needed to escape. But there was hardly time. I + was at the door when Aunt Elizabeth rustled after so quickly that it + sounded like a flight. There on the piazza she put her arms about me. + </p> + <p> + “Child!” she whispered. “Child! Verlassen! Verlassen!” + </p> + <p> + I drew away a little and looked at her. Then I thought: “Why, she is old!” + But I hadn't understood. I knew the word was German, and I hadn't taken + that in the elective course. + </p> + <p> + “What is it. Aunt Elizabeth?” I asked. I had a feeling I mustn't leave + her. She smiled a little—a queer, sad smile. + </p> + <p> + “Peggy,” said she, “I want you to read this letter.” She gave it to me. It + was written on very thick gray paper with rough edges, and there was a + margin of two inches at the left. The handwriting was beautiful, only not + very clear, and when I had puzzled over it for a minute she snatched it + back again. + </p> + <p> + “I'll read it to you,” said she. + </p> + <p> + Well, I thought it was a most beautiful letter. The gentleman said she had + always been the ideal of his life. He owed everything—and by + everything he meant chiefly his worship of beauty—to her. He asked + her to accept his undying devotion, and to believe that, however far + distance and time should part them, he was hers and hers only. He said he + looked back with ineffable contempt upon the days when he had hoped to + build a nest and see her beside him there. Now he had reached the true + empyrean, and he could only ask to know that she, too, was winging her + bright way into regions where he, in another life, might follow and sing + beside her in liquid, throbbing notes to pierce the stars. He ended by + saying that he was not very fit—the opera season had been a + monumental experience this year—and he was taking refuge with an + English brotherhood to lead, for a time, a cloistered life instinct with + beauty and its worship, but that there as everywhere he was hers + eternally. How glad I was of the verbal memory I have been so often + praised for! I knew almost every word of that lovely letter by heart after + the one reading. I shall never forget it. + </p> + <p> + “Well?” said Aunt Elizabeth. She was looking at me, and again I saw how + long it must have been since she was young. “Well, what do you think of + it?” + </p> + <p> + I told the truth. “Oh,” said I, “I think it's a beautiful letter!” + </p> + <p> + “You do!” said Aunt Elizabeth. “Does it strike you as being a + love-letter!” + </p> + <p> + I couldn't answer fast enough. “Why, Aunt Elizabeth,” I said, “he tells + you so. He says he loves you eternally. It's beautiful!” + </p> + <p> + “You fool!” said Aunt Elizabeth. “You pink-cheeked little fool! You + haven't opened the door yet—not any door, not one of them—oh, + you happy, happy fool!” She called through the window (mother was + arranging flowers there for tea): “Ada, you must telephone the Banner. My + engagement is not to be announced.” Then she turned to me. “Peggy'” said + she, in a low voice, as if mother was not to hear, “to-morrow you must + drive with me to Whitman.” + </p> + <p> + Something choked me in my throat: either fear of her or dread of what she + meant to make me do. But I looked into her face and answered with all the + strength I had: “Aunt Elizabeth, I sha'n't go near the hospital.” + </p> + <p> + “Don't you think it's decent for you to call on Mrs. Goward?” she asked. + </p> + <p> + She gave me a little shake. It made me angry. “It may be decent,” I said, + “but I sha'n't do it.” + </p> + <p> + “Very well,” said Aunt Elizabeth. Her voice was sweet again. “Then I must + do it for you. Nobody asks you to see Harry himself. I'll run in and have + a word with him—but, Peggy, you simply must pay your respects to + Mrs. Goward.” + </p> + <p> + “No! no! no!” I heard myself answering, as if I were in some strange + dream. Then I said: “Why, it would be dreadful! Mother wouldn't let me!” + </p> + <p> + Aunt Elizabeth came closer and put her hands on my shoulders. She has a + little fragrance about her, not like flowers, but old laces, perhaps, that + have been a long time in a drawer with orris and face-powder and things. + “Peggy,” said she, “never tell your mother I asked you.” + </p> + <p> + I felt myself stiffen. She was whispering, and I saw she meant it. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, Peggy! don't tell your mother. She is not—not simpatica. I + might lose my home here, my only home. Peggy, promise me.” + </p> + <p> + “Daughter!” mother was calling from the dining-room. + </p> + <p> + I slipped away from Aunt Elizabeth's hands. “I promise,” said I. “You sha'n't + lose your home.” + </p> + <p> + “Daughter!” mother called again, and I went in. + </p> + <p> + That night at supper nobody talked except father and mother, and they did + every minute, as if they wanted to keep the rest of us from speaking a + word. It was all about the Works. Father was describing some new designs + he had accepted, and telling how Charles Edward said they would do very + well for the trimmings of a hearse, and mother coughed and said Charles + Edward's ideas were always good, and father said not where the market was + concerned. Aunt Elizabeth had put on a white dress, and I thought she + looked sweet, because she was sad and had made her face quite pale; but I + was chiefly busy in thinking how to escape before anybody could talk to + me. It doesn't seem safe nowadays to speak a word, because we don't know + where it will lead us. Alice, too, looked pale, poor child! and kept + glancing at me in a way that made me so sorry. I wanted to tell her I + didn't care about her pranks and Billy's, whatever they were. And whatever + she had written, it was sure to be clever. The teacher says Alice has a + positive genius for writing, and before many years she'll be in all the + magazines. When supper was over I ran up-stairs to my room. I sat down by + the window in the dark and wondered when the moon would rise. I felt + excited—as if something were going to happen. And in spite of all + the dreadful things that had happened to us, and might keep on happening, + I felt as if I could die with joy. There were steps on the porch below my + window. I heard father's voice. + </p> + <p> + “That's ridiculous, Elizabeth,” he said—“ridiculous! If it's a good + thing for other girls to go to college, it's been a good thing for her.” + </p> + <p> + “Ah,” said Aunt Elizabeth, “but is it a good thing?” + </p> + <p> + Then I knew they were talking about me, and I put my fingers in my ears + and said the Latin prepositions. I have been talked about enough. They may + talk, but I won't hear. By-and-by I took my fingers out and listened. They + had gone in, and everything was still. Then I began to think it over. Was + it a bad thing for me to go to college? I'm different from what I was + three years ago, but I should have been different if I'd stayed at home. + For one thing, I'm not so shy. I remember the first day I came out of a + class-room and Stillman Dane walked up to me and said; “So you're Charlie + Ned's sister!” I couldn't look at him. I stood staring down at my + note-book, and now I should say, quite calmly: “Oh, you must be Mr. Dane? + I believe you teach psychology.” But I stood and stared. I believe I + looked at my hands for a while and wished I hadn't got ink on my + forefinger—and he had to say: “I'm the psychology man. Charlie Ned + and I were college friends. He wrote me about you.” But though I didn't + look at him that first time, I thought he had the kindest voice that ever + was—except mother's—and perhaps that was why I selected + psychology for my specialty. I was afraid I might be stupid, and I knew he + was kind. And then came that happy time when I was getting acquainted with + everybody, and Mr. Dane was always doing things for me. “I'm awfully fond + of Charlie Ned, you know,” he told me. “You must let me take his place.” + Then Mr. Goward told me all those things at the dance, how he had found + life a bitter waste, how he had been betrayed over and over by the vain + and worldly, and how his heart was dead and nobody could bring it to life + but me. He said I was his fate and his guiding-star, and since love was a + mutual flame that meant he was my fate, too. But it seemed as if that were + the beginning of all my bad luck, for about that time Stillman Dane was + different, and one day he stopped me in the yard when I was going to + chapel. + </p> + <p> + “Miss Peggy,” said he, “don't let's quarrel.” + </p> + <p> + He held out his hand, and I gave him mine quickly. + </p> + <p> + “No,” said I, “I'm not quarrelling.” + </p> + <p> + “I want to ask you something,” said he. “You must answer, truly. If I have + a friend and she's doing something foolish, should I tell her? Should I + write to her brother and tell him?” + </p> +<div class="fig" style="width:50%;"> <img src="images/{0315}.jpg" alt="{0315}" width="100%" /><br /> </div> <h5> <a href="images/{0315}.jpg"> <img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a> </h5> + + <p> + “Why,” said I, “do you mean me?” Then I understood. “You think I'm not + doing very well in my psychology,” I said. “You think I've made a wrong + choice.” I looked at him then. I never saw him look just so. He had my + hand, and now I took it away. But he wouldn't talk about the psychology. + </p> + <p> + “Peggy,” said he, “do your people know Goward?” + </p> + <p> + “They will in vacation,” I said. “He's going home with me. We're engaged, + you know.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh!” said he. “Oh! Then it is true. Let him meet Charles Edward at once, + will you? Tell Charles Edward I particularly want him to know Goward.” His + voice sounded sharp and quick, and he turned away and left me. But I + didn't give his message to Charles Edward, and somehow, I don't know why, + I didn't talk about him after I came home. “Dane never wrote me whether he + looked you up,” said Charles Edward one day. “Not very civil of him.” But + even then I couldn't tell him. Mr. Dane is one of the people I never can + talk about as if they were like everybody else. Perhaps that is because he + is so kind in a sort of intimate, beautiful way. And when I went back + after vacation he had resigned, and they said he had inherited some money + and gone away, and after he went I never understood the psychology at all. + Mr. Goward used to laugh at me for taking it, only he said I could get + honors in anything, my verbal memory is so good. But I told him, and it is + true, that the last part of the book is very dull. While I was going over + all this, still with that strange excited feeling of happiness, I heard + Aunt Elizabeth's voice from below. She was calling, softly: “Peggy! Peggy! + Are you up there?” + </p> + <p> + I got on my feet just as quietly as I could, and slipped through mother's + room and down the back stairs. Mother was in the vegetable garden watering + the transplanted lettuce. I ran out to her. “Mother,” I said, “may I go + over to Lorraine's and spend the night?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, lamb,” said mother. That's a good deal for mother to say. + </p> + <p> + “I'll run over now,” I told her. “I won't stop to take anything. Lorraine + will give me a nightie.” + </p> + <p> + I went through the vegetable garden to the back gate and out into the + street. There I drew a long breath. I don't know what I thought Aunt + Elizabeth could do to me, but I felt safe. Then—I could laugh at it + all, because it seems as if I must have been sort of crazy that night—I + began to run as if I couldn't get there fast enough. But when I got to the + steps I heard Lorraine laughing, and I stopped to listen to see whether + any one was there. + </p> + <p> + “I tell Peter,” said she, “that it's his opportunity. Don't you remember + the Great Magician's story of the man who was always afraid he should miss + his opportunity? And the opportunity came, and, sure enough, the man + didn't know it, and it slipped by. Well, that mustn't be Peter.” + </p> + <p> + “It musn't be any of us,” said a voice. “Things are mighty critical, + though. It's as if everybody, the world and the flesh and the Whole + Family, had been blundering round and setting their feet down as near as + they could to a flower. But the flower isn't trampled yet. We'll build a + fence round it.” My heart beat so fast that I had to put my hand over it. + I wondered if I were going to have heart-failure, and I knew grandmother + would say, “Digitalis!” When I thought of that I laughed, and Lorraine + called out, “Who's there?” She came to the long window. “Why, Peggy, + child,” said she, “come in.” She had me by the hand and led me forward. + They got up as I stepped in, Charles Edward and Stillman Dane. Then I knew + why I was glad. If Stillman Dane had been here all these dreadful things + would not have happened, because he is a psychologist, and he would have + understood everybody at once and influenced them before they had time to + do wrong. + </p> + <p> + “Jove!” said Charles Edward. “Don't you look handsome, Peg!” + </p> + <p> + “Goose!” said Lorraine, as if she wanted him to be still. “A good neat + girl is always handsome. There's an epigram for you. And Peggy's hair is + loose in three places. Let me fix it for you, child.” + </p> + <p> + So we all laughed, and Lorraine pinned me up in a queer, tender way, as if + she were mother dress-me for something important, and we sat down, and + began to talk about college. I am afraid Stillman Dane and I did most of + the talking, for Lorraine and Charles Edward looked at each other and + smiled a little, in a fashion they have, as if they understood each other, + and Lorraine got up to show him the bag she had bought that day for the + steamer; and while she was holding it out to him and asking him if it cost + too much, she stopped short and called out, sharply, “Who's there?” I + laughed. “Lorraine has the sharpest ears,” I said. “Ears!” said Lorraine. + “It isn't ears. I smell orris. She's coming. Mr. Dane, will you take Peggy + out of that window into the garden? Don't yip, either of you, while you're + within gunshot, and don't appear till I tell you.” + </p> + <p> + “Lorraine!” came a voice, softly, from the front walk. It was Aunt + Elizabeth. She has a way of calling to announce herself in a sweet, cooing + tone. I said to Charles Edward once it was like a dove, and he said: “No, + my child, not doves, but woodcock.” Alice giggled and called out, quite + loudly, '“Springes to catch woodcock!'” And he shook his head at her and + said, “You all-knowing imp! isn't even Shakespeare hidden from you?” But + now the voice didn't sound sweet to me at all, because I wanted to get + away. We rose at the same minute, Mr. Dane and I, and Lorraine seemed to + waft us from the house on a kind little wind. At the foot of the steps we + stopped for fear the gravel should crunch, and while we waited for Aunt + Elizabeth to go in the other way I looked at Mr. Dane to see if he wanted + to laugh as much as I. He did. His eyes were full of fun and pleasure, and + he gave me a little nod, as if we were two children going to play a game + we knew all about. Then I heard Aunt Elizabeth's voice inside. It was low + and broken—what Charles Edward called once her “come-and-comfort-me” + voice. + </p> + <p> + “Dears,” said she, “you are going abroad?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes,” Charles Edward answered. “Yes, it looks that way now.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes,” said Lorraine, rather sharply, I thought, as if she meant to show + him he ought to be more decisive, “we are.” + </p> + <p> + “Dears,” Aunt Elizabeth went on, “will you take me with you?” + </p> + <p> + Mr. Dane started as if he meant to go back into the house. I must have + started, too, and my heart beat hard. There was a silence of a minute, two + minutes, three perhaps. Then I heard Charles Edward speak, in a voice I + didn't know he had. + </p> + <p> + “No, Aunt Elizabeth, no. Not so you'd notice it.” + </p> + <p> + Mr. Dane gave a nod as if he were relieved, and we both began tiptoeing + down the path in the dark. But it wasn't dark any more. The moon was + coming through the locust-trees, and I smelled the lindens by the wall. + “Oh,” I said, “it's summer, isn't it? I don't believe I've thought of + summer once this year.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes,” said he, “and there never was a summer such as this is going to + be.” + </p> + <p> + I knew he was very athletic, but I don't believe I'd thought how much he + cared for out-of-doors. “Come down here,” I said. “This is Lorraine's + jungle. There's a seat in it, and we can smell the ferns.” + </p> + <p> + Charles Edward had been watering the garden, and everything was sweet. + Thousands of odors came out such as I never smelled before. And all the + time the moon was rising. After we had sat there awhile, talking a little + about college, about my trip abroad, I suddenly found I could not go on. + There were tears in my eyes. I felt as if so good a friend ought to know + how I had behaved—for I must have been very weak and silly to make + such a mistake. He ought to hear the worst about me. “Oh,” I said, “do you + know what happened to me?” + </p> + <p> + He made a little movement toward me with both hands. Then he took them + back and sat quite still and said, in that kind voice: “I know you are + going abroad, and when you come back you will laugh at the dolls you + played with when you were a child.” But I cried, softly, though, because + it was just as if I were alone, thinking things out and being sorry, sorry + for myself—and ashamed. Until now I'd never known how ashamed I was. + “Don't cry, child,” he was saying. “For God's sake, don't cry!” I think it + came over me then, as it hadn't before, that all that part of my life was + spoiled. I'd been engaged and thought I liked somebody, and now it was all + over and done. “I don't know what I'm crying for,” I said, at last, when I + could stop. “I suppose it's because I'm different now, different from the + other girls, different from myself. I can't ever be happy any more.” + </p> + <p> + He spoke, very quickly. “Is it because you liked Goward so much?” + </p> + <p> + “Like him!” I said. “Like Harry Goward? Why, I—” There I stopped, + because I couldn't think of any word small enough, and I think he + understood, for he laughed out quickly. + </p> + <p> + “Now,” said he, “I'm a psychologist. You remember that, don't you? It used + to impress you a good deal.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh,” said I, “it does impress me. Nobody has ever seemed so wise as you. + Nobody!” + </p> + <p> + “Then it's understood that I'm a sage from the Orient. I know the workings + of the human mind. And I tell you a profound truth: that the only way to + stop thinking of a thing is to stop thinking of it. Now, you're not to + think of Goward and all this puppet-show again. Not a minute. Not an + instant. Do you hear?” He sounded quite stern, and I answered as if I had + been in class. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, sir.” + </p> + <p> + “You are to think of Italy, and how blue the sea is—and Germany, and + how good the beer is—and Charlie Ned and Lorraine, and what trumps + they are. Do you hear?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, sir,” said I, and because I knew we were going to part and there + would be nobody else to advise me in the same way, I went on in a great + hurry for fear there should not be time. “I can't live at home even after + we come back. I could never be pointed at, like Aunt Elizabeth, and have + people whisper and say I've had a disappointment. I must make my own life. + I must have a profession. Do you think I could teach? Do you think I could + learn to teach—psychology?” + </p> + <p> + He didn't answer for a long time, and I didn't dare look at him, though + the moon was so bright now that I could see how white his hand was, lying + on his knee, and the chasing of the ring on his little finger. It had been + his mother's engagement ring, he told me once. But he spoke, and very + gently and seriously. “I am sure you could teach some things. Whether + psychology—but we can talk of that later. There'll be lots of time. + It proves I am going over on the same steamer with Charlie Ned and + Lorraine and you.” + </p> + <p> + “You are!” I cried. “Why, I never heard of anything so—” I couldn't + find the word for it, but everything stopped being puzzling and unhappy + and looked clear and plain. + </p> + <p> + “Yes,” said he. “It's very convenient, isn't it? We can talk over your + future, and you could even take a lesson or two in psychology. But I fancy + we shall have a good deal to do looking for porpoises and asking what the + run is. People are terribly busy at sea.” + </p> + <p> + Then it occurred to me that he had never been here before, and why was he + here now? “How did you happen to come?” I asked. I suppose I really felt + as if God sent him. + </p> + <p> + “Why,” said he, “why—” Then he laughed. “Well,” said he, “to tell + the truth, I was going abroad if—if certain things happened, and I + needed to make sure. I didn't want to write, so I ran down to see Charlie + Ned.” + </p> + <p> + “But could he tell you?” said I. “And had they happened?” + </p> + <p> + He laughed, as if at something I needn't share. “No,” he said, “the things + weren't going to happen. But I decided to go abroad.” + </p> + <p> + I was “curiouser and curiouser,” as Lorraine says. + </p> + <p> + “But,” I insisted, “what had Charles Edward to do with it?” + </p> + <p> + There were a great many pauses that night as if, I think, he didn't know + what was wise to say. I should imagine it would always be so with + psychologists. They understand so well what effect every word will have. + </p> + <p> + “Well, to tell the truth,” he answered, at last, in a kind, darling way, + “I wanted to make sure all was well with my favorite pupil before I left + the country. I couldn't quite go without it.” + </p> + <p> + “Mr. Dane,” I said, “you don't mean me?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes,” he answered, “I mean you.” + </p> + <p> + I could have danced and sung with happiness. “Oh,” said I, “then I must + have been a better scholar than I thought. I feel as if I could teach + psychology—this minute.” + </p> + <p> + “You could,” said he, “this minute.” And we both laughed and didn't know, + after all, what we were laughing at—at least I didn't. But suddenly + I was cold with fear. + </p> + <p> + “Why,” I said, “if you've only really decided to go to-night, how do you + know you can get a passage on our ship?” + </p> + <p> + “Because, sweet Lady Reason,” said he, “I used Charlie Ned's telephone and + found out.” (That was a pretty name—sweet Lady Reason.) + </p> + <p> + We didn't talk any more then for a long time, because suddenly the moon + seemed so bright and the garden so sweet. But all at once I heard a step + on the gravel walk, and I knew who it was. “That's Charles Edward,” I + said. “He's been home with Aunt Elizabeth. We must go in.” + </p> + <p> + “No!” said he. “No, Peggy. There won't be such another night.” Then he + laughed quickly and got up. “Yes,” he said, “there will be such nights—over + and over again. Come, Peggy, little psychologist, we'll go in.” + </p> + <p> + We found Lorraine and Charles Edward standing in the middle of the room, + holding hands and looking at each other. “You're a hero,” Lorraine was + saying, “and a gentleman and a scholar and my own particular Peter.” + </p> + <p> + “Don't admire me,” said Charles Edward, “or you'll get me so bellicose I + shall have to challenge Lyman Wilde. Poor old chap! I believe to my soul + he's had the spirit to make off.” + </p> + <p> + “Speak gently of Lyman Wilde,” said Lorraine. “I never forget what we owe + him. Sometimes I burn a candle to his photograph. I've even dropped a tear + before it. Well, children?” She turned her bright eyes on us as if she + liked us very much, and we two stood facing them two, and it all seemed + quite solemn. Suddenly Charles Edward put out his hand and shook Mr. + Dane's, and they both looked very much moved, as grandmother would say. I + hadn't known they liked each other so well. + </p> + <p> + “Do you know what time it is?” said Lorraine. “Half-past eleven by + Shrewsbury clock. I'll bake the cakes and draw the ale.” + </p> + <p> + “Gee whiz!” said Mr. Dane. I'd never heard things like that. It sounded + like Billy, and I liked it. “I've got to catch that midnight train.” + </p> + <p> + For a minute it seemed as if we all stood shouting at one another, + Lorraine asking him to stay all night, Charles Edward giving him a cigar + to smoke on the way, I explaining to Lorraine that I'd sleep on the parlor + sofa and leave the guest-room free, and Mr. Dane declaring he'd got a + million things to do before sailing. Then he and Charles Edward dashed out + into the night, as Alice would say, and I should have thought it was a + dream that he'd been there at all except that I felt his touch on my hand. + And Lorraine put her arms round me and kissed me and said, “Now, you sweet + child, run up-stairs and look at the moonlight and dream—and dream—and + dream.” + </p> + <p> + I don't know whether I slept that night; but, if I did, I did not dream. + </p> + <p> + The next forenoon I waited until eleven o'clock before I went home. I + wanted to be sure Aunt Elizabeth was safely away at Whitman. Yet, after + all, I did not dread her now. I had been told what to do. Some one was + telling me of a song the other day, “Command me, dear.” I had been + commanded to stop thinking of all those things I hated. I had done it. + Mother met me at the steps. She seemed a little anxious, but when she had + put her hand on my shoulder and really looked at me she smiled the way I + love to see her smile. “That's a good girl!” said she. Then she added, + quickly, as if she thought I might not like it and ought to know at once, + “Aunt Elizabeth saw Dr. Denbigh going by to Whitman, and she asked him to + take her over.” + </p> + <p> + “Did she?” said I. “Oh, mother, the old white rose is out!” + </p> + <p> + “There they are, back again,” said mother. “He's leaving her at the gate.” + </p> + <p> + Well, we both waited for Aunt Elizabeth to come up the path. I picked the + first white rose and made mother smell it, and when I had smelled it + myself I began to sing under my breath, “Come into the garden, Maud,” + because I remembered last night. + </p> + <p> + “Hush, child,” said mother, quickly. “Elizabeth, you are tired. Come right + in.” + </p> + <p> + Aunt Elizabeth's lip trembled a little. I thought she was going to cry. I + had never known her to cry, though I had seen tears in her eyes, and I + remember once, when she was talking to Dr. Denbigh, Charles Edward noticed + them and laughed. “Those are not idle tears, Peg,” he said to me “They're + getting in their work.” + </p> + <p> + Now I was so sorry for her that I stopped thinking of last night and put + it all away. It seemed cruel to be so happy. Aunt Elizabeth sat down on + the step and mother brought her an eggnog. It had been all ready for + grandmother, and I could see mother thought Aunt Elizabeth needed it, if + she was willing to make grandmother wait. + </p> + <p> + “Ada,” said Aunt Elizabeth, suddenly, as she sipped it, “what was Dr. + Denbigh's wife like?” + </p> + <p> + “Why,” said mother, “I'd almost forgotten he had a wife, it was so long + ago. She died in the first year of their marriage.” + </p> + <p> + Aunt Elizabeth laughed a little, almost as if no one were there. “He began + to talk about her quite suddenly this morning,” she said. “It seems Peg + reminds him of her. He is devoted to her memory. That's what he said—devoted + to her memory.” + </p> + <p> + “That's good,” said mother, cheerfully, as if she didn't know quite what + to say. “More letters, Lily? Any for us?” I could see mother was very + tender of her for some reason, or she never would have called her Lily. + </p> + <p> + “For me,” said Aunt Elizabeth, as if she were tired. “From Mrs. Chataway. + A package, too. It looks like visiting-cards. That seems to be from her, + too.” She broke open the package. “Why!” said she, “of all things! Why!” + </p> + <p> + “That's pretty engraving,” said mother, looking over her shoulder. She + must have thought they were Aunt Elizabeth's cards. “Why! of all things!” + </p> + <p> + Aunt Elizabeth began to flush pink and then scarlet. She looked as pretty + as a rose, but a little angry, I thought. She put up her head rather + haughtily. “Mrs. Chataway is very eccentric,” she said. “A genius, quite a + genius in her own line. Ada, I won't come down to luncheon. This has been + sufficient. Let me have some tea in my own room at four, please.” She got + up, and her letter and one of the cards fell to the floor. I picked them + up for her, and I saw on the card: + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Mrs. Ronald Chataway + Magnetic Healer and Mediumistic Divulger + Lost Articles a Specialty +</pre> + <p> + I don't know why, but I thought, like mother and Aunt Elizabeth, “Well, of + all things!” + </p> + <p> + But the rest of that day mother and I were too busy to exchange a word + about Mrs. Chataway or even Aunt Elizabeth. We plunged into my + preparations to sail, and talked dresses and hats, and ran ribbons in + things, and I burned letters and one photograph (I burned that without + looking at it), and suddenly mother got up quickly and dropped her lapful + of work. “My stars!” said she, “I've forgotten Aunt Elizabeth's tea.” + </p> + <p> + “It's of no consequence, dear,” said Aunt Elizabeth's voice at the door. + “I asked Katie to bring it up.” + </p> + <p> + “Why,” said mother, “you're not going?” + </p> + <p> + I held my breath. Aunt Elizabeth looked so pretty. She was dressed, as I + never saw her before, a close-fitting black gown and a plain white collar + and a little close black hat. She looked almost like some sister of + charity. + </p> + <p> + “Ada,” said she, “and Peggy, I am going to tell you something, and it is + my particular desire that you keep it from the whole family. They would + not understand. I am going to ally myself with Mrs. Chataway in a + connection which will lead to the widest possible influence for her and + for me. In Mrs. Chataway's letter to-day she urges me to join her. She + says I have enormous magnetism and—and other qualifications.” + </p> + <p> + “Don't you want me to tell Cyrus?” said mother. She spoke quite faintly. + </p> + <p> + “You can simply tell Cyrus that I have gone to Mrs. Chataway's,” said Aunt + Elizabeth. “You can also tell him I shall be too occupied to return. + Good-bye, Ada. Good-bye, Peggy. Remember, it is the bruised herb that + gives out the sweetest odor.” + </p> + <p> + Before I could stop myself I had laughed, out of happiness, I think. For I + remembered how the spearmint had smelled in the garden when Stillman Dane + and I stepped on it in the dark and how bright the moon was, and I knew + nobody could be unhappy very long. + </p> + <p> + “I telephoned for a carriage,” said Aunt Elizabeth. “There it is.” She and + mother were going down the stairs, and suddenly I felt I couldn't have her + go like that. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, Aunt—Aunt Lily!” I called. “Stop! I want to speak to you.” I + ran after her. “I'm going to have a profession, too,” I said. “I'm going + to devote my life to it, and I am just as glad as I can be.” I put my arms + round her and kissed her on her soft, pink cheeks, and we both cried a + little. Then she went away. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0012" id="link2H_4_0012"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XII. THE FRIEND OF THE FAMILY, by Henry Van Dyke + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Eastridge, June 3, 1907. + + “To Gerrit Wendell, The Universe Club, New York: + + “Do you remember promise? Come now, if possible. Much needed. + + “Cyrus Talbert.” + </pre> + <p> + This was the telegram that Peter handed me as I came out of the coat-room + at the Universe and stood under the lofty gilded ceiling of the great + hall, trying to find myself at home again in the democratic simplicity of + the United States. For two years I had been travelling in the effete, + luxurious Orient as a peace correspondent for a famous newspaper; sleeping + under canvas in Syria, in mud houses in Persia, in paper cottages in + Japan; riding on camel-hump through Arabia, on horseback through + Afghanistan, in palankeen through China, and faring on such food as it + pleased Providence to send. The necessity of putting my next book through + the press (The Setting Splendors of the East) had recalled me to the land + of the free and the home of the brave. Two hours after I had landed from + the steamship, thirty seconds after I had entered the club, there was + Peter, in his green coat and brass buttons, standing in the vast, cool + hall among the immense columns of verd-antique, with my telegram on a + silver tray, which he presented to me with a discreet expression of + welcome in his well-trained face, as if he hesitated to inquire where I + had been, but ventured to hope that I had enjoyed my holiday and that + there was no bad news in my despatch. The perfection of the whole thing + brought me back with a mild surprise to my inheritance as an American, and + made me dimly conscious of the point to which New York has carried + republicanism and the simple life. + </p> + <p> + But the telegram—read hastily in the hall, and considered at leisure + while I took a late breakfast at my favorite table in the long, stately, + oak-panelled dining-room, high above the diminished roar of Fifth Avenue—the + telegram carried me out to Eastridge, that self-complacent overgrown + village among the New York hills, where people still lived in villas with + rubber-plants in the front windows, and had dinner in the middle of the + day, and attended church sociables, and listened to Fourth-of-July + orations. It was there that I had gone, green from college, to take the + assistant-editorship of that flapping sheet The Eastridge Banner; and + there I had found Cyrus Talbert beginning his work in the plated-ware + factory—the cleanest, warmest, biggest heart of a man that I have + known yet, with a good-nature that covered the bed-rock of his conscience + like an apple orchard on a limestone ridge. In the give-and-take of every + day he was easy-going, kindly, a lover of laughter; but when you struck + down to a question of right and wrong, or, rather, when he conceived that + he heard the divine voice of duty, he became absolutely immovable—firm, + you would call it if you agreed with him, obstinate if you differed. + </p> + <p> + After all, a conscience like that is a good thing to have at the bottom of + a friendship. I could be friends with a man of almost any religion, but + hardly with a man of none. Certainly the intimacy that sprang up between + Talbert and me was fruitful in all the good things that cheer life's + journey from day to day, and deep enough to stand the strain of life's + earthquakes and tornadoes. There was a love-affair that might have split + us apart; but it only put the rivets into our friendship. For both of us + in that affair—yes, all three of us, thank God—played a + straight game. There was a time of loss and sorrow for me when he proved + himself more true and helpful than any brother that I ever knew. I was + best man at his wedding; and because he married a girl that understood, + his house became more like a home to me than any other place that my + wandering life has found. + </p> + <p> + I saw its amazing architectural proportions erupt into the pride of + Eastridge. I saw Cyrus himself, with all his scroll-saw tastes and + mansard-roof opinions, by virtue of sheer honesty and thorough-going human + decency, develop into the unassuming “first citizen” of the town, trusted + even by those who laughed at him, and honored most by his opponents. I saw + his aggravating family of charming children grow around him—masterful + Maria, aesthetic Charles Edward, pretty Peggy, fairy-tale Alice, and + boisterous Billy—each at heart lovable and fairly good; but, taken + in combination, bewildering and perplexing to the last degree. + </p> + <p> + Cyrus had a late-Victorian theory in regard to the education of children, + that individuality should not be crushed—give them what they want—follow + the line of juvenile insistence—all the opportunities and no + fetters. This late-Victorian theory had resulted in the production of a + collection of early-Rooseveltian personalities around him, whose + simultaneous interaction sometimes made his good old head swim. As a + matter of fact, the whole family, including Talbert's preposterous + old-maid sister Elizabeth (the biggest child of the lot), absolutely + depended on the good sense of Cyrus and his wife, and would have been + helpless without them. But, as a matter of education, each child had a + secret illusion of superiority to the parental standard, and not only made + wild dashes at originality and independent action, but at the same time + cherished a perfect mania for regulating and running all the others. + Independence was a sacred tradition in the Talbert family; but + interference was a fixed nervous habit, and complication was a chronic + social state. The blessed mother understood them all, because she loved + them all. Cyrus loved them all, but the only one he thought he understood + was Peggy, and her he usually misunderstood, because she was so much like + him. But he was fair to them all—dangerously fair—except when + his subcutaneous conscience reproached him with not doing his duty; then + he would cut the knot of family interference with some tremendous stroke + of paternal decision unalterable as a law of the Medes and Persians. + </p> + <p> + All this was rolling through my memory as I breakfasted at the Universe + and considered the telegram from Eastridge. + </p> + <p> + “Do you remember promise?” Of course I remembered. Was it likely that + either of us would forget a thing like that? We were in the dingy little + room that he called his “den”; it was just after the birth of his third + child. I had told my plan of letting the staff of The Banner fall into + other hands and going out into the world to study the nations when they + were not excited by war, and write about people who were not disguised in + soldier-clothes. “That's a big plan,” he said, “and you'll go far, and be + long away at times.” I admitted that it was likely. “Well,” he continued, + laying down his pipe, “if you ever are in trouble and can't get back here, + send word, and I'll come.” I told him that there was little I could do for + him or his (except to give superfluous advice), but if they ever needed me + a word would bring me to them. Then I laid down my pipe, and we stood up + in front of the fire and shook hands. That was all the promise there was; + but it brought him down to Panama to get me, five years later, when I was + knocked out with the fever; and it would take me back to Eastridge now by + the first train. + </p> + <p> + But what wasteful brevity in that phrase, “much needed”! What did that + mean? (Why will a man try to put a forty-word meaning into a ten-word + telegram?) Sickness? Business troubles? One of those independent, + interfering children in a scrape? One thing I was blessedly sure of: it + did not mean any difficulty between Cyrus and his wife; they were of the + tribe who marry for love and love for life. But the need must be something + serious and urgent, else he never would have sent for me. With a family + like his almost anything might happen. Perhaps Aunt Elizabeth—I + never could feel any confidence in a red-haired female who habitually + dressed in pink. Or perhaps Charles Edward—if that young man's + artistic ability had been equal to his sense of it there would have been + less danger in taking him into the factory. Or probably Maria, with her + great head for business—oh, Maria, I grant you, is like what the + French critic said of the prophet Habakkuk, “capable de tout.” + </p> + <p> + But why puzzle any longer over that preposterous telegram? If my friend + Talbert was in any kind of trouble under the sun, there was just one thing + that I wanted—to get to him as quickly as possible. Find when the + first train started and arrived—send a lucid despatch—no + expensive parsimony in telegraphing: + </p> + <p> + '“To Cyrus Talbert, Eastridge, Massachusetts: + </p> + <p> + “I arrived this morning on the Dilatoria and found your telegram here. + Expect me on the noon train due at Eastridge five forty-three this + afternoon. I hope all will go well. Count on me always. Gerrit Wendell.” + </p> + <p> + It was a relief to find him on the railway platform when the train rolled + in, his broad shoulders as square as ever, his big head showing only a + shade more of gray, a shade less of red, in its strawberry roan, his face + shining with the welcome which he expressed, as usual, in humorous + disguise. + </p> + <p> + “Here you are,” he cried, “browner and thinner than ever! Give me that + bag. How did you leave my friend the Shah of Persia?” + </p> + <p> + “Better,” I said, stepping into the open carriage, “since he got on the + water-wagon—uses nothing but Eastridge silver-plated ice-pitchers + now.” + </p> + <p> + “And my dear friend the Empress of China?” he asked, as he got in beside + me. + </p> + <p> + “She has recovered her digestion,” I answered, “due entirely to the + abandonment of chop-sticks and the adoption of Eastridge knives and forks. + But now it's my turn to ask a question. How are YOU?” + </p> + <p> + “Well,” said he. “And the whole family is well, and we've all grown + tremendously, but we haven't changed a bit, and the best thing that has + happened to us for three years is seeing you again.” + </p> + <p> + “And the factory?” I asked. “How does the business of metallic humbug + thrive?” + </p> + <p> + “All right,” he answered. “There's a little slackening in chafing-dishes + just now, but ice-cream knives are going off like hot cakes. The factory + is on a solid basis; hard times won't hurt us.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, then,” said I, a little perplexed, “what in Heaven's name did you + mean by sending that—” + </p> + <p> + “Hold on,” said Talbert, gripping my knee and looking grave for a moment, + “just you wait. I need you badly enough or else the telegram never would + have gone to you. I'll tell you about it after supper. Till then, never + mind—or, rather, no matter; for it's nothing material, after all, + but there's a lot in it for the mind.” + </p> + <p> + I knew then that he was in one of his fundamental moods, imperviously + jolly on the surface, inflexibly Puritan underneath, and that the only + thing to do was to let the subject rest until he chose to take it up in + earnest. So we drove along, chaffing and laughing, until we came to the + dear, old, ugly house. The whole family were waiting on the veranda to bid + me welcome home. Mrs. Talbert took my hands with a look that said it all. + Her face had not grown a shade older, to me, since I first knew her; and + her eyes—the moment you look into them you feel that she + understands. Alice seemed to think that she had become too grown-up to be + kissed, even by the friend of the family; and I thought so, too. But + pretty Peggy was of a different mind. There is something about the way + that girl kisses an old gentleman that almost makes him wish himself young + again. + </p> + <p> + At supper we had the usual tokens of festivity: broiled chickens and + pop-overs and cool, sliced tomatoes and ice-cream with real strawberries + in it (how good and clean it tasted after Ispahan and Bagdad!) and the + usual family arguing and joking (how natural and wholesome it sounded + after Vienna and Paris!). I thought Maria looked rather strenuous and + severe, as if something important were on her mind, and Billy and Alice, + at moments, had a conscious air. But Charles Edward and Lorraine were + distinctly radiant, and Peggy was demurely jolly. She sounded like her + father played on a mandolin. + </p> + <p> + After supper Talbert took me to the summer-house at the foot of the garden + to smoke. Our first cigars were about half burned out when he began to + unbosom himself. + </p> + <p> + “I've been a fool,” he said, “an idiot, and, what is more, an unnatural + and neglectful father, cruel to my children when I meant to be kind, a + shirker of my duty, and a bringer of trouble on those that I love best.” + </p> + <p> + “As for example?” I asked. + </p> + <p> + “Well, it is Peggy!” he broke out. “You know, I like her best of them all, + next to Ada; can't help it. She is nearer to me, somehow. The finest, most + unselfish little girl! But I've been just selfish enough to let her get + into trouble, and be talked about, and have her heart broken, and now + they've put her into a position where she's absolutely helpless, a pawn in + their fool game, and the Lord only knows what's to come of it all unless + he makes me man enough to do my duty.” + </p> + <p> + From this, of course, I had to have the whole story, and I must say it + seemed to me most extraordinary—a flagrant case of idiotic + interference. Peggy had been sent away to one of those curious + institutions that they call a “coeducational college,” chiefly because + Maria had said that she ought to understand the duties of modern + womanhood; she had gone, without the slightest craving for “the higher + education,” but naturally with the idea of having a “good time”; and + apparently she had it, for she came home engaged to a handsome, amatory + boy, one of her fellow “students,” named Goward. At this point Aunt + Elizabeth, with her red hair and pink frock, had interfered and lured off + the Goward, who behaved in a manner which appeared to me to reduce him to + a negligible quantity. But the family evidently did not think so, for they + all promptly began to interfere, Maria and Charles Edward and Alice and + even Billy, each one with an independent plan, either to lure the Goward + back or to eliminate him. Alice had the most original idea, which was to + marry Peggy to Dr. Denbigh; but this clashed with Maria's idea, which was + to entangle the doctor with Aunt Elizabeth in order that the Goward might + be recaptured. It was all extremely complicated and unnecessary (from my + point of view), and of course it transpired and circulated through the + gossip of the town, and poor Peggy was much afflicted and ashamed. Now the + engagement was off; Aunt Elizabeth had gone into business with a + clairvoyant woman in New York; Goward was in the hospital with a broken + arm, and Peggy was booked to go to Europe on Saturday with Charles Edward + and Lorraine. + </p> + <p> + “Quite right,” I exclaimed at this point in the story. “Everything has + turned out just as it should, like a romance in an old-fashioned ladies' + magazine.” + </p> + <p> + “Not at all,” broke out Talbert; “you don't know the whole of it, Maria + has told me” (oh, my prophetic soul, Maria!) “that Charley and his wife + have asked a friend of theirs, a man named Dane, ten years older than + Peggy, a professor in that blank coeducational college, to go with them, + and that she is sure they mean to make her marry him.” + </p> + <p> + “What Dane is that?” I interrupted. “Is his first name Stillman—nephew + of my old friend Harvey Dane, the publisher? Because, if that's so, I know + him; about twenty-eight years old; good family, good head, good manners, + good principles; just the right age and the right kind for Peggy—a + very fine fellow indeed.” + </p> + <p> + “That makes no difference,” continued Cyrus, fiercely. “I don't care whose + nephew he is, nor how old he is, nor what his manners are. My point is + that Peggy positively shall not be pushed, or inveigled, or dragooned, or + personally conducted into marrying anybody at all! Billy and Alice were + wandering around Charley's garden last Friday night, and they report that + Professor Dane was there with Peggy. Alice says that she looked pale and + drooping, 'like the Bride of Lammermoor.' There has been enough of this + meddling with my little Peggy, I say, and I'm to blame for it. I don't + know whether her heart is broken or not. I don't know whether she still + cares for that fellow Goward or not. I don't know what she wants to do—but + whatever it is she shall do it, I swear. She sha'n't be cajoled off to + Europe with Charles Edward and Lorraine to be flung at the head of the + first professor who turns up. I'll do my duty by my little girl. She shall + stay at home and be free. There has been too much interference in this + family, and I'm damned if I stand any more; I'll interfere myself now.” + </p> + <p> + It was not the unusual violence of the language in the last sentence that + convinced me. I had often seen religious men affected in that way after an + over-indulgence in patience and mild behavior. It was that ominous word, + “my duty,” which made me sure that Talbert had settled down on the + bed-rock of his conscience and was not to be moved. Why, then, had he sent + for me, I asked, since he had made up his mind? + </p> + <p> + “Well,” said he, “in the first place, I hadn't quite made it up when I + sent the telegram. And in the second place, now that you have helped me to + see absolutely what is right to do, I want you to speak to my wife about + it. She doesn't agree with me, wants Peggy to go to Europe, thinks there + cannot be any risk in it. You know how she has always adored Charles + Edward. Will you talk to her?” + </p> + <p> + “I will,” said I, after a moment of reflection, “on one condition. You may + forbid Peggy's journey, to-morrow morning if you like. Break it off + peremptorily, if you think it's your duty. But don't give up her + state-room on the ship. And if you can be convinced between now and + Saturday that the danger of interference with her young affections is + removed, and that she really needs and wants to go, you let her go! Will + you?” + </p> + <p> + “I will,” said he. And with that we threw away the remainder of our second + cigars, and I went up to the side porch to talk with Mrs. Talbert. What we + said I leave you to imagine. I have always thought her the truest and + tenderest woman in the world, but I never knew till that night just how + clear-headed and brave she was. She agreed with me that Peggy's affair, up + to now more or less foolish, though distressing, had now reached a + dangerous stage, a breaking-point. The child was overwrought. A wrong + touch now might wreck her altogether. But the right touch? Or, rather, no + touch at all, but just an open door before her? Ah, that was another + matter. My plan was a daring one; it made her tremble a little, but + perhaps it was the best one; at all events, she could see no other. Then + she stood up and gave me both hands again. “I will trust you, my friend,” + said she. “I know that you love us and our children. You shall do what you + think best and I will be satisfied. Good-night.” + </p> + <p> + The difficulty with the situation, as I looked it over carefully while + indulging in a third cigar in my bedroom, was that the time was + desperately short. It was now one o'clock on Tuesday morning. About nine + Cyrus would perform his sacred duty of crushing his darling Peggy by + telling her that she must stay in Eastridge. At ten o'clock on Saturday + the Chromatic would sail with Charles Edward and Lorraine and Stillman + Dane. Yet there were two things that I was sure of: one was that Peggy + ought to go with them, and the other was that it would be good for her to—but + on second thought I prefer to keep the other thing for the end of my + story. My mind was fixed, positively and finally, that the habit of + interference in the Talbert family must be broken up. I never could + understand what it is that makes people so crazy to interfere, especially + in match-making. It is a lunacy. It is presuming, irreverent, immoral, + intolerable. So I worked out my little plan and went to sleep. + </p> + <p> + Peggy took her father's decree (which was administered to her privately + after breakfast on Tuesday) most loyally. Of course, he could not give her + his real reasons, and so she could not answer them. But when she appeared + at dinner it was clear, in spite of a slight rosy hue about her eyes, that + she had decided to accept the sudden change in the situation like a + well-bred angel—which, in fact, she is. + </p> + <p> + I had run down to Whitman in the morning train to make a call on young + Goward, and found him rather an amiable boy, under the guard of an adoring + mother, who thought him a genius and was convinced that he had been + entrapped by designing young women. I agreed with her so heartily that she + left me alone with him for a half-hour. His broken arm was doing well; his + amatoriness was evidently much reduced by hospital diet; he was in a + repentant frame of mind and assured me that he knew he had been an ass as + well as a brute (synonymes, dear boy), and that he was now going West to + do some honest work in the world before he thought any more about girls. I + commended his manly decision. He was rather rueful over the notion that he + might have hurt Miss Talbert by his bad conduct. I begged him not to + distress himself, his first duty now was to get well. I asked him if he + would do me the favor, with the doctor's permission, of taking the fresh + air with his mother on the terrace of the hospital about half-past five + that afternoon. He looked puzzled, but promised that he would do it; and + so we parted. + </p> + <p> + After dinner I requested Peggy to make me happy by going for a little + drive in the runabout with me. She came down looking as fresh as a wild + rose, in a soft, white dress with some kind of light greenery about it, + and a pale green sash around her waist, and her pretty, sunset hair + uncovered. If there is any pleasanter avocation for an old fellow than + driving in an open buggy with a girl like that, I don't know it. She + talked charmingly: about my travels; about her college friends; about + Eastridge; and at last about her disappointment in not going to Europe. By + this time we were nearing the Whitman hospital. + </p> + <p> + “I suppose you have heard,” said she, looking down at her bare hands and + blushing; “perhaps they have told you why I wanted especially to go away.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, my dear child,” I answered, “they have told me a lot of nonsense, + and I am heartily glad that it is all over. Are you?” + </p> + <p> + “More glad than I can tell you,” she answered, frankly, looking into my + face. + </p> + <p> + “See,” said I, “there is the hospital. I believe there is a boy in there + that knows you—name of Goward.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes,” she said, rather faintly, looking down again, but not changing + color. + </p> + <p> + “Peggy,” I asked, “do you still—think now, and answer truly—do + you still HATE him?” + </p> + <p> + She waited a moment, and then lifted her clear blue eyes to mine. “No, + Uncle Gerrit, I don't hate him half as much as I hate myself. Really, I + don't hate him at all. I'm sorry for him.” + </p> + <p> + “So am I, my dear,” said I, stretching my interest in the negligible youth + a little. “But he is getting well, and he is going West as soon as + possible. Look, is that the boy yonder, sitting on the terrace with a fat + lady, probably his mother? Do you feel that you could bow to him, just to + oblige me?” + </p> + <p> + She flashed a look at me. “I'll do it for that reason, and for another, + too,” she said. And then she nodded her red head, in the prettiest way, + and threw in an honest smile and a wave of her hand for good measure. I + was proud of her. The boy stood up and took off his hat. I could see him + blush a hundred feet away. Then his mother evidently asked him a question, + and he turned to answer her, and so EXIT Mr. Goward. + </p> + <p> + The end of our drive was even pleasanter than the beginning. Peggy was + much interested in a casual remark expressing my pleasure in hearing that + she had recently met the nephew of one of my very old friends, Stillman + Dane. + </p> + <p> + “Oh,” she cried, “do you know HIM? Isn't that lovely?” + </p> + <p> + I admitted that he was a very good person to know, though I had only seen + a little of him, about six years ago. But his uncle, the one who lately + died and left a snug fortune to his favorite nephew, was one of my old + bachelor cronies, in fact, a member of the firm that published my books. + If the young man resembled his uncle he was all right. Did Peggy like him? + </p> + <p> + “Why, yes,” she answered. “He was a professor at our college, and all the + girls thought him a perfect dandy!” + </p> + <p> + “Dandy!” I exclaimed. “There was no sign of an excessive devotion to dress + when I knew him. It's a great pity!” + </p> + <p> + “Oh!” she cried, laughing, “I don't mean THAT. It is only a word we girls + use; it means the same as when you say, 'A VERY FINE FELLOW INDEED.”' + </p> + <p> + From that point we played the Stillman Dane tune, with variations, until + we reached home, very late indeed for supper. The domestic convulsion + caused by the formal announcement of Talbert's sudden decision had passed, + leaving visible traces. Maria was flushed, but triumphant; Alice and Billy + had an air of conscience-stricken importance; Charles Edward and Lorraine + were sarcastically submissive; Cyrus was resolutely jovial; the only + really tranquil one was Mrs. Talbert. Everything had been arranged. The + whole family were to go down to New York on Thursday to stop at a hotel, + and see the travellers off on Saturday morning—all except Peggy, who + was to remain at home and keep house. + </p> + <p> + “That suits me exactly,” said I, “for business calls me to town to-morrow, + but I would like to come back here on Thursday and keep house with Peggy, + if she will let me.” + </p> + <p> + She thanked me with a little smile, and so it was settled. Cyrus wanted to + know, when we were sitting in the arbor that night, if I did not think he + had done right. “Wonderfully,” I said. He also wanted to know if he might + not give up that extra state-room and save a couple of hundred dollars. I + told him that he must stick to his bargain—I was still in the game—and + then I narrated the afternoon incident at the hospital. “Good little + Peggy!” he cried. “That clears up one of my troubles. But the great + objection to this European business still holds. She shall not be driven.” + I agreed with him—not a single step! + </p> + <p> + The business that called me to New York was Stillman Dane. A most + intelligent and quick-minded young gentleman—not at all a beauty man—not + even noticeably academic. He was about the middle height, but very well + set up, and evidently in good health of body and mind; a clean-cut and + energetic fellow, who had been matured by doing his work and had himself + well in hand. There was a look in his warm, brown eyes that spoke of a + heart unsullied and capable of the strongest and purest affection; and at + the same time certain lines about his chin and his mouth, mobile but not + loose lipped, promised that he would be able to take care of himself and + of the girl that he loved. His appearance and his manner were all that I + had hoped—even more, for they were not only pleasant but thoroughly + satisfactory. + </p> + <p> + He was courteous enough to conceal his slight surprise at my visit, but + not skilful enough to disguise his interest in hearing that I had just + come from the Talberts. I told him of the agreement with Cyrus Talbert, + the subsequent conversation with Mrs. Talbert, Peggy's drive with me to + Whitman, and her views upon dandies and other cognate subjects. + </p> + <p> + Then I explained to him quite clearly what I should conceive my duty to be + if I were in his place. He assented warmly to my view. I added that if + there were any difficulties in his mind I should advise him to lay the + case before my dear friend the Reverend George Alexanderson, of the Irving + Place Church, who was an extraordinarily sensible and human clergyman, and + to whom I would give him a personal letter stating the facts. Upon this we + shook hands heartily, and I went back to Peggy on Thursday morning. + </p> + <p> + The house was delightfully quiet, and she was perfection as a hostess. I + never passed a pleasanter afternoon. But the evening was interrupted by + the arrival of Stillman Dane, who said that he had run up to say good-bye. + That seemed quite polite and proper, so I begged them to excuse me, while + I went into the den to write some letters. They were long letters. + </p> + <p> + The next morning Peggy was evidently flustered, but divinely radiant. She + said that Mr. Dane had asked her to go driving with him—would that + be all right? I told her that I was sure it was perfectly right, but if + they went far they would find me gone when they returned, for I had + changed my mind and was going down to New York to see the voyagers off. At + this Peggy looked at me with tears sparkling in the edge of her smile. + Then she put her arms around my neck. “Good-bye,” she whispered, + “good-bye! YOU'RE A DANDY TOO! Give mother my love—and THAT—and + THAT—and THAT!” + </p> + <p> + “Well, my dear,” I answered, “I rather prefer to keep THOSE for myself. + But I'll give her your message. And mind this—don't you do anything + unless you really want to do it with all your heart. God bless you! + Promise?” + </p> + <p> + “I promise, WITH ALL MY HEART,” said she, and then her soft arms were + unloosed from my neck and she ran up-stairs. That was the last word I + heard from Peggy Talbert. + </p> + <p> + On Saturday morning all the rest of us were on the deck of the Chromatic + by half-past nine. The usual farewell performance was in progress. Charles + Edward was expressing some irritation and anxiety over the lateness of + Stillman Dane, when that young man quietly emerged from the music-room, + with Peggy beside him in the demurest little travelling suit with an + immense breast-plate of white violets. Tom Price was the first to recover + his voice. + </p> + <p> + “Peggy!” he cried; “Peggy, by all that's holy!” + </p> + <p> + “Excuse me,” I said, “Mr. and Mrs. Stillman Dane! And I must firmly + request every one except Mr. and Mrs. Talbert, senior, to come with me at + once to see the second steward about the seats in the dining-saloon.” + </p> +<div class="fig" style="width:50%;"> <img src="images/{0347}.jpg" alt="{0347}" width="100%" /><br /> </div> <h5> <a href="images/{0347}.jpg"> <img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a> </h5> + + <p> + We got a good place at the end of the pier to watch the big boat swing out + into the river. She went very slowly at first, then with astonishing + quickness. Charles Edward and Lorraine were standing on the + hurricane-deck, Peggy close beside them. Dane had given her his + walking-stick, and she had tied her handkerchief to the handle. She was + standing up on a chair, with one of his hands to steady her. Her hat had + slipped back on her head. The last thing that we could distinguish on the + ship was that brave little girl, her red hair like an aureole, waving her + flag of victory and peace. “And now,” said Maria, as we turned away, “I + have a lovely plan. We are all going together to our hotel to have lunch, + and after that to the matinee at—” + </p> + <p> + I knew it was rude to interrupt, but I could not help it. + </p> + <p> + “Pardon me, dear Maria,” I said, “but you have not got it quite right. You + and Tom are going to escort Alice and Billy to Eastridge, with such + diversions by the way as seem to you appropriate. Your father and mother + are going to lunch with me at Delmonico's—but we don't want the + whole family.” + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Whole Family, by +William Dean Howells, Mary E. Wilkins Freeman, Mary Heaton Vorse, +Mary Stewart Cutting, Elizabeth Jordan, John Kendrick Bangs, Henry James, +Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, Edith Wyatt, Mary Raymond Shipman Andrews, +Alice Brown, Henry Van Dyke + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE WHOLE FAMILY *** + +***** This file should be named 5066-h.htm or 5066-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/5/0/6/5066/ + +Produced by Dianne Bean, and David Widger + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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