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diff --git a/79070-h/79070-h.htm b/79070-h/79070-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..c1acaaf --- /dev/null +++ b/79070-h/79070-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,17106 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html> +<html lang="en"> + +<head> + +<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"> + +<link rel="icon" href="images/img-cover.jpg" type="image/x-cover"> + +<meta charset="utf-8"> + +<title> +The Project Gutenberg eBook of Meadow Brook, by Mary J. Holmes +</title> + +<style> +body { color: black; + background: white; + margin-right: 10%; + margin-left: 10%; + font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; + text-align: justify } + +p {text-indent: 1.5em } + +p.noindent {text-indent: 0% } + +p.t1 {text-indent: 0% ; + font-size: 200%; + text-align: center } + +p.t2 {text-indent: 0% ; + font-size: 150%; + text-align: center } + +p.t2b {text-indent: 0% ; + font-size: 150%; + font-weight: bold; + text-align: center } + +p.t3 {text-indent: 0% ; + font-size: 100%; + text-align: center } + +p.t3b {text-indent: 0% ; + font-size: 100%; + font-weight: bold; + text-align: center } + +p.t4 {text-indent: 0% ; + font-size: 80%; + text-align: center } + +p.t4b {text-indent: 0% ; + font-size: 80%; + font-weight: bold; + text-align: center } + +p.t5 {text-indent: 0% ; + font-size: 60%; + text-align: center } + +h1 { text-align: center } +h2 { text-align: center; font-size: 120% } +h3 { text-align: center } +h4 { text-align: center } +h5 { text-align: center } + +p.poem {text-indent: 0%; + margin-left: 10%; } + +p.thought {text-indent: 0% ; + letter-spacing: 2em ; + text-align: center } + +p.letter {text-indent: 0%; + margin-left: 10% ; + margin-right: 10% } + +p.footnote {text-indent: 0% ; + font-size: 80%; + margin-left: 10% ; + margin-right: 10% } + +.smcap { font-variant: small-caps } + +p.quote {text-indent: 4% ; + margin-left: 0% ; + margin-right: 0% } + +p.finis { font-size: larger ; + text-align: center ; + text-indent: 0% ; + margin-left: 0% ; + margin-right: 0% } + +</style> + +</head> + + +<body> +<div style='text-align:center'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 79070 ***</div> + + +<h1> +<br><br> + MEADOW BROOK<br> +</h1> + +<p><br><br></p> + +<p class="t3"> + BY<br> +</p> + +<p class="t2"> + MRS. MARY J. HOLMES<br> +</p> + +<p class="t4"> + AUTHOR OF THE "ENGLISH ORPHAN," "THE HOMESTEAD ON THE<br> + HILL SIDE," "LENA RIVERS," "TEMPEST AND SUNSHINE," ETC.<br> +</p> + +<p><br><br></p> + +<p class="t3"> + NEW YORK<br> + THE FEDERAL BOOK COMPANY<br> + PUBLISHERS<br> +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p class="t3"> + TO<br> +<br> + MY MOTHER,<br> +<br> + Who, more than any one else, will be interested in a story<br> + which has in it so much of my childhood and early home,<br> +<br> + THIS WORK<br> +<br> + is affectionately dedicated by her Daughter<br> +<br> + MARY.<br> +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p class="t3b"> +PREFACE. +</p> + +<p> +In this story of MEADOW BROOK there is, I am aware, +nothing very startling or wonderful; but it has the merit, +at least, of containing more truth than books of the same +character usually possess. From this, however, the reader +is not to infer that I have made myself the heroine; for +though the early home, the childhood, and childish +experience of "Rosa Lee" are mostly my own—while more +than one whiskered young man will recognize the little +girl of thirteen, at whom he once made faces from behind +his desk as the "schoolma'am"—the similarity extends +no further. +</p> + +<p> +The fickle Mr. Clayton and his haughty bride, the +unfortunate Herbert, the disappointed Ada, the proud +Southern planter, and the gentle, bright-haired Jessie, are +intended to represent different varieties of American +character, and are such as many of us have met in our +intercourse with the world. For my portrayals of Georgia +life, I am indebted to a friend, who recently spent two +years in that State, and whose graphic descriptions of +what she there saw have been to me of much service. +</p> + +<p> +Believing that the world loves better to read of the +probable than of the improbable, I have tried to be natural; +and if, by this means, but one friend is added to the number +I now possess, I shall feel that my labor has not been +in vain. +</p> + +<p class="noindent"> +M. J. H. +</p> + +<p class="noindent"> +ROCKPORT, N. Y., 1857. +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p class="t3b"> + CONTENTS.<br> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="noindent"> + CHAPTER.<br> +</p> + +<p class="noindent" style="line-height: 1.5"> + I. <a href="#chap01">Childhood</a><br> + II. <a href="#chap02">Thanksgiving</a><br> + III. <a href="#chap03">Cousin Will</a><br> + IV. <a href="#chap04">The Schoolmistress</a><br> + V. <a href="#chap05">Pine Hill</a><br> + VI. <a href="#chap06">Doctor Clayton's Visit</a><br> + VII. <a href="#chap07">Dell Thompson's Party</a><br> + VIII. <a href="#chap08">Close of School in Pine District</a><br> + IX. <a href="#chap09">Pro and Con</a><br> + X. <a href="#chap10">Mrs. Dr. Clayton</a><br> + XI. <a href="#chap11">Boston</a><br> + XII. <a href="#chap12">Ada Montrose</a><br> + XIII. <a href="#chap13">The Flight</a><br> + XIV. <a href="#chap14">Ten Thousand Dollars</a><br> + XV. <a href="#chap15">The Old Homestead</a><br> + XVI. <a href="#chap16">"Out West,"</a><br> + XVII. <a href="#chap17">The Dark Man</a><br> + XVIII. <a href="#chap18">The Death of the Drunkard</a><br> + XIX. <a href="#chap19">The Death of the Righteous</a><br> + XX. <a href="#chap20">Going South</a><br> + XXI. <a href="#chap21">Uncle Dick</a><br> + XXII. <a href="#chap22">Ada</a><br> + XXIII. <a href="#chap23">Dr. Clayton</a><br> + XXIV. <a href="#chap24">The Crisis</a><br> + XXV. <a href="#chap25">The Angel of the Pines</a><br> + XXVI. <a href="#chap26">Return</a><br> + XXVII. <a href="#chap27">Light</a><br> + XXVIII. <a href="#chap28">The Chase</a><br> + XXIV. <a href="#chap29">Human Nature</a><br> + XXX. <a href="#chap30">"The Southern Planter's Northern Bride"</a><br> + XXXI. <a href="#chap31">Sunny Bank</a><br> + XXXII. <a href="#chap32">November 25th</a><br> +</p> + +<p class="noindent"> +<a href="#chap33">The Criminal Witness</a> +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap01"></a></p> + +<p class="t2"> +MEADOW BROOK. +</p> + +<p><br><br></p> + +<h2> +CHAPTER I. +<br><br> +CHILDHOOD. +</h2> + +<p> +Far away among the New England hills stands a large, +old-fashioned farmhouse, around whose hearthstone not +many years agone, a band of merry, noisy children played, +myself the merriest, noisiest of them all. It stood upon +an eminence overlooking a broad strip of rolling meadowland, +at the extremity of which was the old gray rock, +where the golden rod and sassafras grew, where the green +ivy crept over the crumbling wall, and where, under the +shadow of the thorn-apple tree, we built our play-houses, +drinking our tea from the acorn saucers, and painting our +dolls' faces with the red juice of the poke berries, which +grew there in great abundance. +</p> + +<p> +Just opposite our house, and across the green meadow, +was a shady grove, where, in the spring-time, the singing +birds made their nests, and where, when the breath of +winter was on the snow-clad hills, Lizzie, Carrie, and I, +and our taller, stronger brothers dragged our sleds, +dashing swiftly down the steep hill, and away over the +ice-covered valley below. Truly, ours was a joyous +childhood, and ours a happy home; for never elsewhere fell +the summer's golden sunlight so softly, and never was +music sweeter than was the murmur of the dancing water-brook +which ran past our door, and down the long green +lane, losing itself at last in the dim old woods, which +stretched away to the westward, seeming to my childish +imagination the boundary line between this world and the +next. +</p> + +<p> +In the deep shadow of those woods I have sat alone for +many an hour, watching the white, feathery clouds as they +glimmered through the dense foliage which hung above +my head, and musing, I scarcely knew of what. Strange +fancies filled my brain and oftentimes, as I sat there in +the hazy light of an autumnal afternoon, there came and +talked with me myriads of little people, unseen, it is true, +but still real to me, who knew and called them all by name. +There, on a mossy bank, beneath the wide-spreading +grapevine, with the running brook at my feet, I felt the +first longings for fame, though I did not thus designate +it then. I only knew that I wanted a name which should +live when I was gone—a name of which my mother should +be proud. It had been to me a day of peculiar trial. At +school everything had gone wrong. Accidentally I had +discovered that I possessed a talent for rhyming; and so, +because I preferred filling my slate with verses, instead of +proving on it that four times twenty were eighty, and that +eighty, divided by twenty, equalled four, my teacher must +needs find fault with me, calling me "lazy," and compelling +me to sit between two hateful boys, with warty hands, +who for the remainder of the afternoon amused themselves +by sitting inconveniently near to me, and by telling me +how big my eyes and feet were. I hardly think I should +now mind that mode of punishment, provided I could +choose the boys, but I did then, and in the worst of +humors, I started for home, where other annoyances +awaited me. Sally, the housemaid, scolded me for +upsetting a pan of milk on her clean pantry shelf, calling +me "the carelessest young one she ever saw," and predicting +that "I'd one day come to the gallus if I didn't mend +my ways." +</p> + +<p> +Juliet, my oldest sister, scolded me for wearing without +her consent her shell side-comb, which, in climbing +through a hole in the plastering of the schoolhouse, I +accidentally broke. Grandmother scolded me for mounting +to the top of her high chest of drawers to see what was in +them; and to crown all, when, towards sunset, I came in +from a romp in the barn, with my yellow hair flying all +over my face, my dress burst open, my pantalet split from the +top downward, and my sunbonnet hanging down my back, +my mother reproved me severely, telling me I was "a sight +to behold." This was my usual style of dress, and I didn't +think any one need interfere; so, when she wondered if +there ever was another such child, and bade me look at +myself in the glass, asking if "I didn't think I was a +beautiful object," my heart came up in my throat, and with +the angry response that "I couldn't help my looks—I +didn't make myself," I started through the door, and +running down the long lane to the grapevine, my favorite +resort, I threw myself upon the ground, and burying my +face in the tall grass, wept bitterly, wishing I had never +been born, or, being born, that the ban of ugliness were +not upon me. +</p> + +<p> +Mother doesn't love me, I thought—nobody loves me; +and then I wished that I could die, for I had heard that the +first dead of a family, no matter how unprepossessing +they had been in life, were sure to be the best beloved in +the memory of the living. To die, then, that I might be +loved, was all I asked for, as I lay there weeping alone, and +thinking in my childish grief that never before was a girl, +nine summers old, so wretched as myself. And then, in +my imagination, I went through with a mental rehearsal +of my own obsequies, fancying that I was dead, but still +possessing the faculty of knowing all that passed around me. +</p> + +<p> +With an involuntary shudder, I crossed my hands upon +my bosom, stretched my feet upon the mossy bank, and +closed my eyes to the fading sunlight, which I was never +to see again. I knew they would lay me in the parlor, +and on my forehead I felt the gentle breeze as it came +through the open window, lifting the folds of the muslin +curtain which shaded it. Throughout the house was a +deep hush, and in my mother's voice there was a heart-broken +tone, which I had never heard before, and which +thrilled me with joy, for it said that I was loved at last. +Then I thought how lonely they would be as day by day +went and came, and I came no more among them. "They +will miss the little ugly face," I said, and on my cheek +my own hot tears fell as I thought how Lizzie would mourn +for me in the dark night time, weeping that I was not by +her side, but sleeping in a narrow coffin, which I hoped +would be a handsome one with satin hangings, as I had +seen at the funeral of a rich neighbor's fair young bride. +I did not want them to strew my pillow with roses as they +did hers—for I knew they would not accord with my thin, +plain face. In the distance I heard the sound of the +tolling bell, and I saw the subdued expression on the faces of +my school companions as they listened breathlessly, counting +at last the nine quick strokes, which would tell to a +stranger that 'twas only a child who was gone. +</p> + +<p> +Then came the funeral, the roll of wheels, the tread of +many feet, the hum of voices, the prayer, the hymn, in +which I longed to join, but dared not for appearances' +sake, and then, one by one, they stole up for a last +farewell, lifting my baby brother and bidding him look upon +the sister he would never know save by the grassy mound +where they would tell him she was buried. I knew when +Lizzie bent over me by the convulsive sob and burning +kiss which she pressed upon my lips, and divining her +inmost thoughts, I fancied she was wishing that no harsh +word had ever passed between us. In my heart I longed +to tell her how freely I forgave her, but ere I had time to +do so, she stepped aside, while an older, a wrinkled hand +was laid upon my forehead, and my aged grandmother +murmured, "Poor little Rosa, far better that I should die, +than that she, so young, should be laid in the lonesome +grave." +</p> + +<p> +Instantly the dark grave loomed up before me, so dark +and dreary that I shrank from being put there. I could +not die; I was afraid to sleep with the silent dead. I +would far rather live, even though I lived unloved forever. +And then, softly in my ear, a spirit friend whispered, +"Be <i>great</i> and <i>good</i>—get to yourself a name of which +they shall be proud—make them love you for your deeds, +rather than your looks, and when, in the future, strangers +shall ask concerning you, 'Who is she?' let it be their +pride to answer, 'My daughter,' or 'My sister.'" Older +and wiser heads than mine would have said it was +Ambition, which thus counseled with me, but I questioned +her not of her name. I only knew that her words were +sweet and soothing, and I treasured them in my heart, +pondering upon them until I fell asleep, unconscious that +the daylight was fast declining, and that the heavy dew +was falling upon my uncovered head. +</p> + +<p> +Meantime at home many inquiries were being made +concerning my whereabouts, and when, at last, night came +on, and I was still away, my oldest brother was sent in +quest of me down the long lane where I was last seen by +Lizzie, who had attempted to follow me, but had desisted +through fear of being called a <i>tag</i>. I was just dreaming +that the trumpet of fame was sounding forth my name, +when, alas! I awoke to find it was only brother Charlie, +making the woods resound with "Rosa Lee! Where are +you? Why don't you answer?" +</p> + +<p> +Of course I was disappointed,—who wouldn't be?—and +in a fit of obstinacy I determined not to reply, but to +make him think I was lost—then see how he'd feel! +But on this point I was not to be gratified, for failing of +finding me in the lane, he made straight for the grapevine, +where he stumbled over me as I lay, this time feigning +sleep, to see what he would do. Seizing me by the +shoulder, he exclaimed, "You are a pretty bird, scaring +us out of a year's growth. Mother'll scold you well for +this." +</p> + +<p> +But he was mistaken, for mother's manner towards me +was greatly changed. The torn pantalet and the chewed +bonnet-strings were all forgotten, and in the kindest tone +she asked, "If I were not cold, and why I went to sleep +on the grass." There were tears in my eyes, but I winked +hard and forced them back, until Lizzie brought me a +piece of custard pie (my special favorite) which, she said, +"she had saved for me, because she knew how much I +loved it." +</p> + +<p> +This was too much, and sitting down in Carrie's little +chair, I cried aloud, saying in reply to the oft-repeated +question as to what ailed me, that "I didn't know, only +I was so glad." +</p> + +<p> +"Hystericky as a witch," was Sally's characteristic +comment on my strange behavior, at the same time she +suggested that I be put to bed. +</p> + +<p> +To this I made no objection, and pushing aside the pie, +which, to Lizzie's disappointment, I could not eat, I went +to my room, a happier, and I believe, a better girl; so +much influence has a kind word or deed upon a desponding, +sensitive child. That night I was tired and restless, +turning uneasily upon my pillow, pushing Lizzie's arm +from my neck, because it kept me from breathing, and +lying awake until I heard the long clock in grandma's +room strike the hour of twelve. Then I slept, but dreamed +there was a heavy pain in my head, which made me moan +in my sleep, and that mother, attracted by the sound, +came to my side feeling my pulse, and saying, "What +ails you, Rosa?" "There was nothing ailed me," I +said; but in the morning when I awoke, the pain was still +there, though I would not acknowledge it, for scarcely +anything could tempt me to stay away from school; so at +the usual hour I started, but the road was long and +wearisome, and twice I sat down to rest, leaning my forehead +upon the handle of my dinner-basket, and wondering why +the smell of its contents made me so sick. Arrived at +school, everything seemed strange, and when Maria, the +girl who shared my desk, produced a love-letter from Tom +Jenkins, which she had found on my side of the desk, and +in which he made a formal offer of himself, frecks and +all, I did not even smile. Taking my book, I attempted +to study, but the words ran together, the objects in the +room chased each other in circles, the little Abecedarian, +shouting the alphabet at the top of his voice, sounded +like distant thunder, and when at last the teacher called +for our class in "Colburn," she seemed to be a great way +off, while between her and me was a gathering darkness +which soon shut out every object from my view. +</p> + +<p> +For a few moments all was confusion, and when at last +my faculties returned I was lying on the recitation bench, +my head resting in the teacher's lap, while my hair and +dress were so wet that I fancied I'd been out in a +drenching shower. Everybody was so kind and spoke so softly +to me that, with a vague impression that something had +happened, I began to cry. Just then, father, who had +been sent for, appeared, and taking me in his arms, started +for home, while Lizzie followed with the basket and my +sunbonnet, which looked sorry and drooping like its +owner. At the door father asked of mother, who met +us, "Where shall I put her?" but ere she could reply, +I said, "On grandmother's bed." +</p> + +<p> +And there, among the soft pillows and snowy linen on +which I had often looked with almost envious eyes, and +which now seemed so much to rest me, I was laid. Of the +weary weeks which followed, I have only a confused +recollection. I know that the room was darkened as far as +possible, and that before the window at the foot of the +bed, grandma's black shawl was hung, one corner being +occasionally pinned back when more light was needed. +After a while it seemed to me that it was Lizzie, instead +of myself who was sick, and the physician said she had +a fever, which had been long coming on, but was +undoubtedly hastened by her sleeping on the wet grass in +the night. And so we all trod softly about the house, +speaking in whispers, and lifting the door-latches +carefully, while Lizzie, with my cap and night dress on, lay +all day long in bed, never speaking, never moving, except +when the long clock in the corner struck off the hour; +then she would moan as if in pain, and once when +somebody, who looked like Lizzie, but was still I, Rosa, +stole on tiptoe to her side, with a bouquet of flowers, +which Maria had brought, she put her arms around my +neck, and pointing to the clock, whispered, "It keeps +saying 'She's dead'!—'She's dead'!—'She's dead'! +Won't you tell it to be still?" +</p> + +<p> +Then we knew that it disturbed her, and so the old +clock was stopped, a thing which grandma said "had not +been in fifty odd years," except the time when grandpa +died, and then, with the going out of his life, the clock +itself ran down. All the night through the lamp burned +upon the table where stood the vials, the Dover powders, +and the cups, while Lizzie, with her great blue eyes so +much like mine, wide open, lay watching the flickering +shadows on the wall, counting the flowers on the paper +bordering, wondering if there ever were blue roses, and +thinking if there were that they must smell as the dinner +did beneath the chestnut tree. +</p> + +<p> +At last, when the family were wearied out with watching, +the neighbors were called in, and among them our +school-teacher, who seemed to tread on air, so light and +noiseless were her footsteps; and Lizzie, when she saw +how kind she was, wondered she had not loved her better. +Then came other watchers equally kind with Miss +Phillips, but possessing far less tact for nursing; and even +now I have a vivid remembrance of their annoying +attempts "to fix me so I'd be more comfortable." Was I +lying in a position satisfactory to myself, I must be lifted +up, my pillows shaken, turned over, and my head placed +so high that my chin almost touched my chest. Did I +fall into a little doze, I must rouse up to tell whether I +were asleep or not, and did I get into a sound slumber +I must surely wake enough to say whether I wanted +anything. +</p> + +<p> +Again, I fancied that another beside Lizzie was sick, +for in mother's room, contiguous to mine, there was a low +hum of voices, a going in and out, a careful shutting of the +door, and gradually I got the impression that Jamie, my +beautiful baby brother, was connected with all this, for I +heard them talk of scarlet fever, and it's going hard with +him. But I had no desire or power to ask the why or +wherefore; and so time wore on, until there came a day +when it seemed that the reverie beneath the grapevine +was coming true. There was the same roll of wheels, the +tread of many feet, and through the closed doors I heard +a mournful strain, sung by trembling voices, while from +afar, I caught the notes of a tolling bell. I was much +alone that day, and once, for more than an hour, there +was no one with me excepting grandma, who frequently +removed her spectacles to wipe the moisture which +gathered upon them. +</p> + +<p> +From that day I grew worse, and they sent to Spencer +for Dr. Lamb, who, together with Dr. Griffin, held a +council over me, and said that I must die. I saw mother when +they told her. She was standing by the window, from +which the black shawl had been removed, for nothing +disturbed the little girl now, and the window was wide +open, so that the summer air might cool the burning head +from which the matted yellow hair had all been shorn. +She turned pale as death, and with a cry of anguish, +pressed her hand upon her side; but she did not weep. I +wondered at it then, and thought she cared less than +Lizzie, who sat at the foot of the bed, sobbing so loudly +that the fever burned more fiercely in my veins, and the +physician said it must not be; she must leave the room, +or keep quiet. +</p> + +<p> +It was Monday, and a few hours afterward, as Sally +was passing the door, grandma handed her my dirty, +crumpled sunbonnet, bidding her wash it and put it +away. Sally's voice trembled as she replied, "No, no, +leave it as it is, for when's she's gone, nothing will look +so much like her as that jammed bonnet with its chewed-up +strings." +</p> + +<p> +A gush of tears was grandma's only answer, and after +I got well, I found the bonnet carefully rolled up in a +sheet of clean white paper and laid away in Sally's drawer. +There were days and nights of entire unconsciousness, +and then with the vague, misty feeling of one awakening +from a long, disturbed sleep, I awoke again to life and +reason. The windows of my room were closed; but without, +I heard the patter of the September rain, and the +sound of the autumnal wind as it swept past the house. +Gathered at my side were my father, mother, brothers, +sisters, grandmother; and all, as my eye rested upon +their faces, I thought, were paler and more careworn than +when I last looked upon them. Something, too, in their +dress disturbed me; but, before I could speak, a voice +which I knew to be Dr. Griffin's said "She is better—she +will live." +</p> + +<p> +From my mother's lips there broke another cry—not +like that which I had heard when they told her I must +die—but a cry of joy, and then she fell fainting in my +father's arms. I never doubted her love for me again, +but in bitterness of spirit, I have many a time wept that +I ever distrusted her, my blessed mother. +</p> + +<p> +The fourth day after the crisis I was alone with +Lizzie, whom, for a long time, I importuned to give me +a mirror that I might see myself once more. Yielding at +length to my entreaties, she handed me a small looking-glass, +a wedding gift to my grandmother, and with the +consoling remark, that "I wouldn't always look so," +awaited the result. I am older than I was then, but even +now I cannot repress a smile as I bring before my mind +the shorn head, the wasted face with high cheek-bones, +and the big blue eyes, in which there was a look of +"crazy Sal," which met my view. With the angry +exclamation, "They'll hate me worse than ever, I'm so +ugly," I dashed the mirror upon the floor, breaking it in +a thousand pieces. Lizzie knew what I meant, and +twining her arms about my neck, she said, "Don't talk so, +Rosa; we love you dearly, and it almost killed us when +we thought you couldn't live. You know big men never +cry, and pa the least of all. Why, he didn't shed a tear +when lit-"—— +</p> + +<p> +Here she stopped suddenly, as if on a forbidden subject, +but soon resuming the conversation, she continued, +"But the day Dr. Lamb was here and told us you would +die, he was out under the cherry tree by our play-house, +and when Carrie asked him if you'd never play there any +more, he didn't answer, but turned his face towards the +barn, and cried so hard and so loud, that grandma came +out and pitied him, smoothing his hair just like he was a +little boy. Brother Charlie, too, lay right down in the +grass, and said he'd give everything he'd got if he'd never +called you 'bung-eyed,' nor made fun of you, for he +loved you best of all. Then there was poor Jamie kept +calling for 'Yosa'"—— +</p> + +<p> +Here Lizzie broke down entirely, saying, "I can't tell +you any more, don't ask me." +</p> + +<p> +Suddenly it occurred to me that I had neither seen nor +heard little Jamie, the youngest of us all, the pet and +darling of our household. Rapidly my thoughts +traversed the past, and in a moment I saw it all. "Jamie +was dead." I did not need that Lizzie should tell me so. +I knew it was true, and when the first great shock was +over, I questioned her of his death, how and when it +occurred. It seems that I was at first taken with +scarlet fever, which soon assumed another form, but not +until it had communicated itself to Jamie, who, after a +few days' suffering, had died. I had ever been his +favorite, and to the last he had called for me to come; my +grandmother, with the superstition natural to her age, +construing it into an omen that I was soon to follow him. +</p> + +<p> +Desolate and dreary seemed the house; and when I was +able to go from room to room, oh! how my heart ached +as I missed the prattle of our baby-boy. Away to the +garret, where no one could see it, they had carried his +empty cradle, but I sought it out; and as I thought of +the soft, brown curls I had so often seen resting there, +and would never see again, I sat down by its side and +wept most bitterly. The withered, yellow leaves of +autumn were falling upon his grave ere I was able to +visit it, and at its head stood a simple stone, on which +was inscribed, "Our Jamie." As I leaned against the +cold marble, and in fancy saw by its side—what had +well-nigh been—another mound, and another stone, bearing +upon it the name of "Rosa," I involuntarily shuddered; +while from my heart there went up a silent thanksgiving, +that God, in his wise Providence, had ordered it otherwise. +</p> + +<p> +From that sickness I date a more healthful state of +mind and feeling, and though I still shrunk from any +allusion to my personal appearance, I never again doubted +the love of those who had manifested so much solicitude +for me when ill, and who watched over me so tenderly +during the period of my convalescence, which was long +and wearisome, for the snows of an early winter lay upon +the frozen ground, ere I was well enough to take my +accustomed place in the old brown schoolhouse at the foot +of the long hill. +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap02"></a></p> + +<h2> +CHAPTER II. +<br><br> +THANKSGIVING. +</h2> + +<p> +Thanksgiving! How many reminiscences of the +olden time does that word call up, when sons and +daughters, they who had wandered far and wide, whose locks, +once brown and shining with the sunlight of youth, now +give tokens that the autumnal frosts of life are falling +slowly upon them, return once more to the old hearthstone, +and, for a brief space, grow young again amid the +festive scenes of Thanksgiving Day. To you, who, like +me, drew your first breath among the New England hills, +and who have strayed away from your early home, in the +busy world in which you are now mingling, comes there +not occasionally pleasant memories of the olden time, +when with eager haste you hied you back to the roof-tree +which sheltered your infancy? And though, perchance, +the snows of many a winter may have drifted across the +graves of the gray-haired man you called your father, and +the mild-eyed woman who bore the blessed name of +mother, can you not recall them to mind, as when with +tears of joy and words of love, they welcomed their +children home, thanking God that as yet not one of their +household treasures was missing? And if, after the +lapse of years, there came a time when the youngest +of you all was gone, when the childish prattle you +loved so well to hear was hushed, when through the +house was no more heard the patter of little, busy feet, +when there was naught left of the lost one, save a curl of +golden hair, or a tiny shoe, soiled and bent, but looking still +so much like him who wore it once, that you preserve it +as your choicest treasure: if, I say, there came to you a +time like this, do you not remember how, amid all the +social cheer, there was still an aching void, which +nothing around you could fill? +</p> + +<p> +But, lest I make this chapter too sad, I shall not speak of +our feelings as we missed our baby brother, for they who +have lost from their fireside an active, playful child +understand, far better than I can describe, the loneliness, the +longing for something gone, which becomes almost a part +of their being, although at times they may seem to forget. +Children's grief is seldom as lasting as that of mature +years; and hence it is not strange if I sometimes forgot +my sorrow in the joyous anticipation of Thanksgiving Day, +which was then to me but another name for plum puddings, +chicken pies, meeting dresses, morocco shoes, city +cousins, a fire in the parlor, and last, though not least, the +privilege of sitting at the first table, and using grandma's +six tiny silver spoons, with the initials of her maiden name, +"P.S." marked upon them. +</p> + +<p> +On such occasions my thoughts invariably took a leap +backward, and looking at grandma's wrinkled face and +white, shining hair, I would wonder if she ever were young +like me; and if, being young, she swung on gates or climbed +trees, and walked the great beams, as I did. Then, with +another bound, my thoughts would penetrate the future, +when I, a dignified grandmother, should recline in my +armchair, stately and stiff, in my heavy satin and silver gray, +while my oldest son, a man just my father's size, should +render me all the homage and respect due to one of my +age. By myself, too, I had several times tried on grandma's +clothes, spectacles, cap and all; and then, seated in +her chair, with the big Bible in my lap, I had expounded +scripture to the imaginary children around me, frequently +reprimanding <i>Rosa</i> for her inattention, asking her what +"she thought would become of her, if she didn't stop +wriggling so in her chair, and learn 'the chief end of +man.'" Once, in the midst of my performance, grandma +herself appeared, and as a natural consequence, I was +divested of my fixings in a much shorter space of time +than it had taken me to don them. From that day up to +the period of my illness, I verily believe grandma looked +upon me as "given over to hardness of heart and +blindness of mind." +</p> + +<p> +But I am wandering from my subject, which was, I believe, +the Thanksgiving succeeding Jamie's death and my +own recovery from sickness. For this occasion great +preparations were made, it being confidently expected that +my father's brother, who lived in Boston, would be with us +together with his wife, a lady whose reputation for +sociability and suavity of manners was, with us, rather below +par. She was my uncle's second wife, and rumor said that +neither himself nor his home were as comfortable as they +once had been. From the same reliable source, too, we +learned that she breakfasted in her own room at ten, dined +at three, made or received calls until six, went to parties, +soirées, or the theater in the evening, and seldom got to +bed until two o'clock in the morning; a mode of living +which was pronounced little better than heathenish by +grandma, who had long been anxious for an opportunity +of "giving Charlotte Ann a piece of her mind." +</p> + +<p> +Mother, who was more discreet, very wisely advised her +not to interfere with the arrangements of her daughter-in-law. +"It would do no good," she said, "and might possibly +make matters worse." Unlike most old people, grandma +was not very much set in her own way, and to mother's +suggestion, she replied that "Mebby she shouldn't say +anything—'twould depend on how many airs Charlotte put +on." +</p> + +<p> +To me the expected visit was a sore trial; for, +notwithstanding my cheeks and neck were rounder and fuller +than they had ever been, my head, with its young crop of +short, stiff hair, was a terrible annoyance, and more than +once I had cried as I saw in fancy the derisive smile with +which my dreaded Aunt Charlotte was sure to greet me. +At last sister Anna, who possessed a great deal of taste in +such matters, and who ought to have been a milliner, +contrived for the "picked chicken," as she called me, a +black lace cap, which fitted me so well, and was so vastly +becoming, that I lost all my fears, and childlike, began +to count the days which must elapse before I could wear it. +</p> + +<p> +Meantime, in the kitchen there was a loud rattling of +dishes, a beating of eggs, and calling for wood, with which +to heat the great brick oven, grandma having pronounced +the stove unfit for baking a Thanksgiving dinner. From +the cornfield, behind the barn, a golden pumpkin, four +times larger than my head and about the same color, was +gathered, and after being brought to the house, was pared, +cut open, scraped, and sliced into a little tin kettle with a +copper bottom, where for hours it stewed and sputtered, +filling the atmosphere with a faint, sickly odor, which I +think was the main cause of the severe headache I took +to bed with me. Mother, on the contrary, differed from +me, she associated it in some way with the rapid +disappearance of the raisins, cinnamon, sugar, and so forth, +which in sundry brown papers, lay open upon the table. +She was generally right when she made up her mind, so +I shall not dispute the point, for, let the cause have been +what it would, it was a very sick little girl which, the +night before Thanksgiving, was put early to bed by Sally, +who remarked as she undressed me, that "I was <i>slimpsy</i> +as a rag, and she wouldn't wonder if I had a <i>collapse</i>," +adding, as she tucked the clothes around me, that "if I +did, it would be mighty apt to go hard with me." +</p> + +<p> +The next morning, just as the first gray streaks of daylight +were appearing in the east, I awoke, finding, to my +great joy, that my headache was gone. Rising upon my +elbow and leaning far out of bed, I pushed aside the +striped curtain which shaded the window, and looking +out upon the ground below, saw, to my utter dismay, that +it was covered with snow. To me there is nothing pleasant +in a snow storm, a snow bank, or a snow cloud; and +when a child, I used to think that with the fall of the +first flake, there came over my spirits a chill, which was +not removed until the springtime, when, with its cause, it +melted away: and even now, when, with my rubber boots, +I dare brave any drift, not more than five feet four inches +high, I cannot say that I have any particular love for +snow; and as from my window I watch the descent of the +feathery flakes, I always feel an irresistible desire to make +at them wry faces, my favorite method of showing my +dislike. On the morning of which I have spoken, I vented +my displeasure in the usual way, and then I fell into a +deep sleep, from which I was at last awakened by the loud +shouts of my brothers, who, in the meadow across the +road, were pelting each other with balls, occasionally rolling +over in the pure, white snow, which they hailed as an +old and well loved friend. +</p> + +<p> +Not long after breakfast was over, Anna commenced +dressing Lizzie and Carrie, and as she had herself to +beautify before the arrival of the train which was to bring +my uncle and aunt, it is not surprising that she hurried +rather faster than was wholly agreeable to the little girls, +who could see no good cause for such haste, even if Herbert +Langley, my aunt's son and a youth of seventeen, +was to accompany her. I, however, who was older, read +things differently, and when Anna pulled Lizzie's curly +hair, and washed Carrie's nose up instead of down, until +they both cried, and when she herself stood before the +glass a whole half hour arranging just in front of her +ears two <i>spit curls</i>, sometimes called "<i>beau catchers</i>," I +shrugged my shoulders, wondering if she thought a city +boy would care for her. +</p> + +<p> +The morning train from Boston was due about ten +o'clock, and as Meadow Brook did not then boast a daily +omnibus, it was necessary that some one should be at the +dépôt in order to meet our expected guests. In New +England it is almost an unheard-of thing for an entire +family to remain away from church on Thanksgiving Day, +but considering all the circumstances, it was, on this +occasion, decided orthodox for us to do so, and accordingly +at nine o'clock father and old sorrel started for the dépôt, +which was distant about two and a half miles. Long and +wearisome to us children was that waiting for his return; +for stiff and prim, as starched white aprons, best gowns, +and hemstitched pantalets could make us, we sat in a row +like so many automatons, scarcely daring to move, lest we +should displace some article of dress. In the best +chamber, the room which Aunt Charlotte was to occupy, a +cheerful wood fire was burning, and at least a dozen times +did grandma go up there to see if all were right, now +smoothing the clean, linen pillow-case, now moving the +large easy-chair a little more to the center of the room, +and again wiping from the mirror some imaginary specks +of dust. +</p> + +<p> +As she was coming down the twelfth time, the sound +of sleigh-bells took us all to the window, where, instead +of the costly furs and rich velvet wrappings of Aunt +Charlotte, we saw the coarse plaid shawl and dark delaine +hood of Aunt Betsey, while at her side was the shaggy +overcoat and sealskin cap of her better half, Uncle Jason. +This worthy couple, good enough in their way, lived in +Union, about nine miles from Meadow Brook, where, for +the last ten years, they had been in the habit of spending +Thanksgiving, without ever seeming to think it possible +for them to return the compliment. Although we had +never seen Aunt Charlotte, we knew full well that there +was nothing in common between her and Aunt Betsey, +and after a long consultation it had been decided not to +invite the latter, who, as it proved, did not deem an +invitation necessary. +</p> + +<p> +Uncle Jason was my father's half-brother, and the +stepson of grandma, who, the moment she saw them was +actually guilty of the exclamation, "Good Lord! what +sent them here?" Before any of us could reply, the door +burst open, and the loud, boisterous laugh of Uncle Jason +greeted our ears, intermingled with the squeaky tones of +Aunt Betsey, who, addressing my mother, said, "How +d'ye dew, Fanny. You pretty well? I s'pose you're +lookin' for us, though you didn't send us no invite? +Jason kinder held off about comin', but I telled him 'twas +enough sight easier to eat dinner here than to cook it to +hum." +</p> + +<p> +With as good a grace as she could possibly assume, +mother returned her greeting, and then, taking her into +her own bedroom, asked her to remove her bonnet, at the +same time telling her she was expecting Uncle Joseph +and Aunt Charlotte from Boston. +</p> + +<p> +"Now, you don't 'say it," exclaimed Aunt Betsey, +stopping for a moment in the adjustment of her cap, the +fashion of which was wonderful, having been devised by +herself, as were all her articles of dress. "Now, dew tell +if that puckerin' thing is a comin'! How nipped up we +shall have to be! I'm so glad I wore this gown!" she +continued, looking complacently at her blue and white +plaid, the skirt of which was very short and scanty, +besides being trimmed at the bottom with two narrow +ruffles. +</p> + +<p> +With her other peculiarities Aunt Betsey united that of +jealousy, and after getting herself warm, and looking +round, as was her custom, she commenced with, "Now, if +I won't give up—a fire in the parlor chamber. I s'pose +Charlotte's too good to pull off her things in the bedroom, +as I do. Wall, it's the luck of some to be born with a +silver spoon in their mouth." +</p> + +<p> +Grandma, who was the only person present except myself, +made no answer, and after a moment Aunt Betsey +continued, "Now I think on't, Miss Lee (she never +addressed her as 'mother,' for, from the first, a mutual +dislike had existed between them), now I think on't, Miss +Lee, mebby Fanny meant to slight me." +</p> + +<p> +"Fanny never slighted anybody," was grandma's reply, +while her polished knitting-needles rattled with a vengeance. +</p> + +<p> +"Wall, I guess she thought Jo's wife and I wouldn't +hitch hosses exactly, but the land knows that I don't care +the snap of my finger for her. I'm as good as anybody, +if I don't keep a hired maid and have a carpet on every +floor." +</p> + +<p> +Here she was interrupted by the sound of horses' feet, +and rising up, grandma said, "I guess they've come. +Will you go and meet them?" +</p> + +<p> +"Not <i>I</i>; I'm the last one to creep, I can tell you," was +Aunt Betsey's reply, while grandma and I quitted the +room, leaving her sitting bolt upright, with her feet on +the fender and her lips pursed up as they always were +when she was indignant. +</p> + +<p> +Uncle Joseph, Aunt Charlotte, Herbert Langley, had +all come, and as the latter leaped upon the ground and I +caught a sight of his tall, slender figure, I involuntarily +exclaimed, "Long-legs," a cognomen, which he ever +after retained in our family. Shaking down his pants, he +went through with a kind of shuffle not wholly unlike +the Highland fling, ending his performance by kissing +his hand to the group of noses pressed close against the +window-pane. +</p> + +<p> +"I shall like him," was my mental comment, as I +turned from him towards the bundle of clothes which +Uncle Joseph lifted from the sleigh and deposited upon +the steps, and which we supposed to be our dreaded +aunt. +</p> + +<p> +"This is perfectly horrible," were the first words which +issued from under the folds of her veil; but to what she +referred I never knew. +</p> + +<p> +We all knew and loved Uncle Joseph, and for his sake +my mother conquered whatever of prejudice she felt +towards his wife, who returned her cordial welcome with +the extreme end of her forefinger, saying, when asked +to sit down, "I'll go to my room immediately, if you +please." +</p> + +<p> +"Speak to the children first," suggested my uncle, and +with a muttered, "It doesn't matter," the haughty lady +bowed coldly to us, as one by one we were presented. +</p> + +<p> +When it came my turn, her small, black eyes rested +longer upon me, and the faintest derisive smile imaginable +curled the corners of her mouth. I knew that either my +cap or my face had provoked that smile, and with tears +in my eyes I was turning away, when Herbert Langley +caught me in his long arms, exclaiming, "And so, this is +Rosa, the poetess. I mean to call you little 'Crop-head,' +may I?" +</p> + +<p> +He referred, I suppose, to a letter which I had once +written in rhyme to my Uncle Joseph, but before I could +frame any reply, his mother said scornfully, "Don't be +flattered, child—Herbert calls everything poetry that +rhymes. He'll learn to discriminate better as he grows +older," and with a stately sweep she left the room, saying +as she reached the rather steep and narrow staircase, +"Dear me—how funny—it's like mounting a ladder." +</p> + +<p> +While she was making her toilet we had an opportunity +of learning something of Herbert, who, whether he were +so or not, seemed much pleased with everything around +him. Occasionally, however, I doubted his sincerity, for +when Aunt Betsey was presented to him, he appeared quite +as much delighted with her as with anything else, drawing +his chair closely to her side, and asking her numberless +questions about the best modes of making cheese and +raising chickens, while all the time there was a peculiarly +quizzical expression in his eyes, which were dark and very +handsome, saving that the lids were too red to suit my +ideas of beauty. To Anna and her <i>spit-curls</i> he took +kindly, and ere his lady mother made her appearance a +second time he had put his arm around her twice, telling +her she should come to Boston sometime and go to +school. A rustle of silk upon the stairs announced the +descent of Aunt Charlotte, and with her nose slightly +elevated, ready for any emergency, she entered the +parlor, where she was introduced to Aunt Betsey, who, +courtesying straight down, "hoped to see her well," +adding, that she "s'posed she'd come to the country to see +how poor folks lived." +</p> + +<p> +Falling back into the rocking-chair which Anna brought +for her, Aunt Charlotte made no particular reply, save +an occasional attack upon her hartshorn. Aunt Betsey, +however, nothing daunted, endeavored to engage her in +conversation by asking if "she knew Liza Ann Willcott, +a tailoress girl, that boarded with a Miss Johnson, who +used to live in Union, but who now lived in Boston." +</p> + +<p> +Frowning majestically, Aunt Charlotte replied that she +had not the honor of Miss Willcott's acquaintance, +whereupon Aunt Betsey advised her to make it by all means, +assuring her that "Liza Ann was a first-rate girl, and +that Miss Johnson was the best kind of a neighbor, always +willin' to <i>lend</i>, or do a good turn"—— +</p> + +<p> +Here, with a haughty toss of her head, Aunt Charlotte +turned away and began talking in a low tone to Herbert, +he being the only one who, she seemed to think, was at +all worth noticing. It is strange how much constraint +one person can sometimes throw over a room full. On +this occasion, had an ogress suddenly alighted in our +midst, we could not have been more silent or less at ease +than we were with that Boston lady, sitting there so +starched and stiff, her fat hands folded one over the other, +and the tips of her satin gaiters just visible from beneath +the ample folds of her rich silk dress. Even Uncle +Joseph, whose genial nature usually shed so much sunlight +over our circle, was grave and reserved, rarely venturing +a remark, or, if he did, glancing at his wife to see +if she approved it. Uncle Jason, who painfully felt his +own awkwardness, sat tipped back in his chair against the +wall, with his feet on the rounds, while his fingers kept +time to a tune, which he was evidently whistling to +himself. Glad were we all when finally called to dinner, the +savory smell of which had long been whetting our appetites. +</p> + +<p> +"What! dinner so soon?" said Aunt Charlotte, consulting +her gold watch, which pointed to half-past two. +"I don't believe I can force down a mouthful." +</p> + +<p> +But, spite of her belief, she <i>did</i> manage to make way +with the contents of her well-filled plate, which was passed +back a second time to be replenished. So eager were we +all to serve her that we partially forgot Aunt Betsey, +who, after waiting a while for a potato, at last arose, and +reaching half-way across the table, secured one for +herself; saying by way of apology, that "she believed in +looking out for Number One, for if she didn't nobody +else would." +</p> + +<p> +So incensed was she with what she termed our neglect, +that the moment dinner was over she insisted upon +going home, saying, as she bade us good-by, that "when +she went again where she wasn't wanted, she guessed +she should know it;" and adding, while two big tears +dropped from the end of her nose, that "she never s'posed +she should be so misused by folks that she'd done so +much for." +</p> + +<p> +The sight of <i>her</i> tears brought forth answering ones +from me, for, with all her peculiarities, I loved Aunt +Betsey, and I remembered that when sickness and death +were among us, she had left her own home to stay with +us, ministering as far as she was able to our comfort. +Many a night had she watched with me, and though she +invariably placed the lamp so that its rays glared full in +my face, though she slept three-fourths of the time, +<i>snoring</i> so loudly as to keep me awake, and though at the +slightest change for the worse in my symptoms she always +routed the whole household, telling them, "Rosa was +lyin' now, if she ever was," thereby almost frightening +me to death, I knew that she meant well, and in my heart +I liked her far better than I did my Boston aunt, who, +after bidding her sister-in-law good-by, went back to +the parlor, saying to her husband in a tone loud enough +for us to hear, "What a vulgar creature! Did you notice +her hands? Why, they are as coarse and black as a servant +girl's." +</p> + +<p> +"And she's none the worse for that," interposed grandma, +warming up in the defense of her son's wife. "She +has now and then an odd streak, but on the whole she's +better than they'll average." +</p> + +<p> +After this, Aunt Charlotte relapsed into silence, which +she did not break until she overheard Herbert proposing +to Anna a ride on the morrow. Then she roused up, and +while her little black eyes snapped, she said, "I am going +home to-morrow afternoon, and so are you. Consequently, +there'll be no time for a ride." +</p> + +<p> +In a twinkling, Herbert's thumb and finger went up to +his nose, a gesture which I did not then understand, but +it struck me disagreeably, and had also the effect of +silencing Aunt Charlotte, who made no further remark on the +subject until they chanced to be alone, when I, who was +in the hall, heard her say, "What can induce you to talk +so much with that raw country girl? Your city friends +would laugh well if they knew it." +</p> + +<p> +Consigning his "city friends" to the care of the old +gentleman supposed to preside over the lower regions, +Herbert walked off in quest of the "raw country girl," +by whose side he sat the remainder of the evening, talking +to her so low that Lizzie whispered to me her private +opinion that "they were courting." +</p> + +<p> +The next morning Aunt Charlotte did not appear at +breakfast, it being so much earlier than her usual hour +of rising that she felt wholly unequal to the task. +Accordingly, though we did not wait, the table did until +ten o'clock, when, pale and languid, she came down, +seeming much disturbed to find that Herbert had coaxed +Anna into going with him to call on Aunt Betsey, to +whom he had taken quite a fancy, and who had asked him +to visit her "if he didn't feel too smart." +</p> + +<p> +Darting an angry glance at her husband, she said, +"How could you suffer it?" asking at the same time if +there was a hotel on the road. Being told that there was +one at Union and another half-way between that and +Meadow Brook, she seemed more disturbed than ever, +eating little or no breakfast, and announcing her +intention of staying over that day, or, at all events, until +Herbert returned. Seating herself at the window, she +watched and waited, while the hours crept on and the +clock in grandma's room struck four ere the head of +"old Sorrel" was visible far down the road. Then with +an eagerness wholly incomprehensible to me, she started +up, straining her eyes anxiously in the direction of the +fast approaching cutter. As it came nearer we all +observed something rather singular in the position of +Herbert, who seemed lying almost across Anna's lap, +while she was driving! +</p> + +<p> +"Merciful Heavens! it's as I feared!" was Aunt Charlotte's +exclamation, as she sank upon the lounge, moaning +bitterly, and covering her face with the cushion, that +she might not see the disgrace of her only son—for +Herbert was <i>drunk</i>! +</p> + +<p> +Lifting him out, my father and uncle laid him upon +the settee in the sitting-room, just where little Jamie had +been laid, and my mother, as she looked upon the senseless +inebriate resting where once had lain the beautiful, +inanimate form of her youngest born, thought how far +less bitter was her cup of sorrow than was that of the half +fainting woman, who would rather, far rather, her boy +had died with the dew of babyhood upon his brow than +to have seen him thus debased and fallen. +</p> + +<p> +The story was soon told, my uncle supplying all points +which Anna could not. It seems that early in life +Herbert had acquired a love for the wine and porter which +daily graced his mother's dinner-table. As he grew older +his taste increased for something stronger, until now +nothing save brandy could satisfy the cravings of his +appetite. More than once had he been brought home in a +state of entire unconsciousness, for he was easily +intoxicated, it usually taking but one glass to render him +perfectly foolish, while a second was generally sure to finish +the work. These drunken fits were always followed by +resolutions of amendment, and it was now so long since +he had drank that his mother began to have strong hopes +of his reform, but these, alas! were now dashed to the +ground. Unfortunately, Uncle Jason had offered the +young man a glass of cider, which immediately awoke in its +full vigor his old love for ardent spirits. Just across the +road, creaking in the November wind, hung the sign of +the "Golden Fleece," and in that direction, soon after +dinner, Herbert bent his steps, taking down at one time +a tumbler two thirds full of raw brandy. This made him +very talkative and very affectionate, insomuch that he +kissed Aunt Betsey, who, as soon as she could, started +him for home. When the half-way house, called in +opposition to its neighbor "Silver Skin," was reached, +Herbert insisted upon stopping and taking another glass, +which ere long rendered him so helpless that Anna was +obliged to take charge of Sorrel herself, while her +companion fell asleep, leaning his head upon her shoulder +and gradually sinking lower and lower until he rested in +her lap. +</p> + +<p> +All that night he remained in the sitting-room, which +in the morning presented so sorry and disgusting an +appearance that when Aunt Charlotte for the hundredth +time wished she had never come to Meadow Brook, our +whole family mentally responded a fervent Amen. Herbert, +when fully restored to consciousness, seemed heartily +ashamed of himself, crying like a girl, and winding his +arms around his mother's neck so affectionately that I did +not blame her when she forgave him and wiped away her +tears. +</p> + +<p> +She might not have had much faith in his sincerity +could she have heard his conversation with Anna, whom +he managed to withdraw from the family to the recess of +a distant window. Alone with her, his manner changed, +and with flashing eyes, he charged it to his mother, who, +he said, first taught him to love it by allowing him, when +a little boy, to drink the bottom of the wine glasses after +dinner. +</p> + +<p> +"And if I fill a drunkard's grave," said he, "she will +be to blame; but," he added, as he saw Anna involuntarily +shudder, "it shall not be. I can reform. I <i>will</i> +reform, and you must help me do it." +</p> + +<p> +Anna looked wonderingly at him, while he continued, +taking her hand and removing from it a plain gold ring, +which grandma had given her on her fifteenth birthday, +"You must let me wear this as a talisman to protect me +from evil. Whenever I am tempted I shall look at it and +be saved." +</p> + +<p> +Anna hesitated awhile, but the soft, handsome eyes of +Herbert Langley had woven around her a spell she could +not break, and at last she consented, receiving from him +in return a diamond ring, which he told her was worth +two hundred dollars. When this became known to mother +she very wisely insisted on Anna's returning it, and together +with the note explaining the why and the wherefore it went +back to its owner, who immediately replied by a letter, +the contents of which were carefully kept from us all. +The effect, however, was plainly visible; for, from the +time of its receipt we lost our merry, light-hearted sister, +and in her place there moved among us a sober, listless +girl, whom grandma called foolish, and whom Charlie +pronounced "lovesick." +</p> + +<p> +Herbert's letter was soon answered, but when Anna +requested my father to put it in the P.O. he refused, +telling her "she should not correspond with such a <i>drunken +dog</i>." Possibly it was wrong in him thus to address her, +for kind words and persuasive arguments might have won +her to reason, but now a spirit of opposition was +roused—"Herbert was wronged—misunderstood"—so Anna +thought, and the letter which father refused to take, was +conveyed by other hands, a postscript longer than the +letter itself being first added. +</p> + +<p> +After this there was no more trouble. Anna wrote +regularly to Herbert, who promptly responded; his missives +always being directed to one of Anna's schoolmates, who +was just romantic enough to think her companion +<i>persecuted</i>! Gradually I was let into the secret, and was +occasionally employed to carry Anna's notes to and from the +house of her friend. I did not then consider the great +wrong I was doing, but since I have shed many a bitter +tear to think that I in any way helped to work my sister's +ruin. +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap03"></a></p> + +<h2> +CHAPTER III. +<br><br> +COUSIN WILL. +</h2> + +<p> +If so far as the golden Californian land this book of +mine shall reach, it may, perchance, fall into the hands +of some who, from their number, can select the veritable +hero, the "Cousin Will" of my story. If so, I would +ask them to think as leniently as possible of his faults, +herein recorded, for the mustached Will of California, +whose generous conduct wins the love of all, is hardly the +same wild, mischievous boy, who once kept our home in a +perpetual state of excitement. +</p> + +<p> +The tears were scarcely yet dried, which he had shed +over his mother's coffin, when he came to us, and in one +corner of his green, oval trunk, there lay a tress of soft +brown hair, which he had severed from that mother's +head. He was the son of my mother's only sister, who, +on her death-bed, had committed him to the guardianship +of my father, asking him to deal gently with her wayward +boy, for beneath his faulty exterior there lay a mine of +excellence, which naught save words of love could +fathom. +</p> + +<p> +Without meaning to be so, perhaps, my father was a +stern, reserved man, never seeking the confidence of his +children, whose real characters he did not understand. +It is true he loved us—provided for all our wants, and, as +far as possible, strove to make us what the children of a +New England Presbyterian deacon ought to be; but he +seldom petted us, and if Carrie, with her sunny face and +chestnut curls, sometimes stole up behind him and +twined her chubby arms around his neck, he seemed +ashamed to return her caress unless they were alone. +Brother Charlie he looked upon as almost incorrigible, +but if he found it hard to cope with his bold, fun-loving +spirit, it was tenfold more difficult for him to tame the +mischievous Will, whom scarcely any one could manage, +but who, strange to say, was a general favorite. +</p> + +<p> +It was night when he reached Meadow Brook, and I +was in bed, but through the closed doors I caught the +sound of his voice, and in an instant I experienced a +sensation of delight, as if in him I should find a kindred +spirit. I could not wait until morning before I saw him, +and, rising softly, I groped my way down the dark +stairway to a knot-hole, which had more than once done me +service when sent from the room while my mother and +her company told something I was not to hear! He was +sitting so that the light of the lamp fell full upon his face, +which, with its high, white brow, hazel eyes, and mass of +wavy hair, seemed to me the most beautiful I had ever +seen. Involuntarily I thought of my own plain features, +and saying to myself, "He'll never like me, never," I +crept back to bed, wondering if it were true that homely +little girls made sometimes handsome women. +</p> + +<p> +The next morning, wishing to produce as favorable an +impression as possible, I was an unusually long time +making my toilet—trying on one dress after another, and +finally deciding upon a <i>white cambric</i>, which I never wore +except to church, or on some similar occasion. Giving +an extra brush to my hair, which had grown out darker +and so very curly that Charley called me "Snarly-pate," +I started for the breakfast-room, where the family were +already assembled. +</p> + +<p> +"What upon earth has the child got on?" was grandma's +exclamation as she looked at me, both over and under +her glasses, while mother bade me "go straight back and +change my dress," asking "why I had put on my very +best?" +</p> + +<p> +"Settin' her cap for <i>Bill</i>, I guess," suggested Charlie, +who, boylike, was already on terms of great intimacy +with his cousin. +</p> + +<p> +More angry than grieved, I went back to my room, +where I pouted for half an hour or more. Then, selecting +the worst looking dress I had, I again descended to +the dining-room where Charlie presented me to Will, +telling him at the same time "to spare all comments on my +appearance, as it made me madder than a March hare to +be called ugly." +</p> + +<p> +"I don't think she's ugly. Anyway <i>I</i> like her looks," +said Will, smiling down upon me with those eyes which +have since made many a heart beat as mine did then, for +'twas the first compliment of the kind I had ever received. +</p> + +<p> +Will had always lived in the city, and now, anxious to +see the lions of the country at once, he proposed to Charlie +a ramble over the farm, inviting me to accompany them, +which I did willingly, notwithstanding that Charlie +muttered something about "not wanting a gal stuck along." +</p> + +<p> +In the pasture we came across "old Sorrel," whom Will +said he would ride as they did in a circus, if Charlie would +only catch him. This was an easy task, for Sorrel, +suspecting no evil, came up to us quite readily, when Will, +leaping upon his back, commenced whooping and hallooing +so loudly that Sorrel's mettle was up, and for nearly +an hour he ran quite as fast as his rider could wish. But +circus riding was not Sorrel's forte, and he probably grew +dizzy, for he at length stumbled and fell, injuring his +fore foot in some way, so that, to our dismay, we found +he was unable to walk without a great effort. +</p> + +<p> +"<i>Je-mi-my</i>! Won't the old gentleman rare!" said +Charlie, who was never very choice of his language. +</p> + +<p> +Will, on the contrary, seemed more concerned for the +horse, bringing water in his hat, and bathing the +fast-swelling limb of the poor animal, who appeared to be +grateful for the kindness. Charlie proposed that we +should keep it a secret, but to this Will would not listen, +and in a plain, straightforward way he confessed what he +had done, and father, who saw that Sorrel was temporarily +injured, forgave him, for he could not resist the +pleading of Will's dark eyes. +</p> + +<p> +This was his first day's adventure—the next one was a +little different. Finding a cow in the lane, he tried the +experiment of milking, succeeding so well that when at +night Sally came in with her half-filled pail, she declared +that "Line-back was drying up, for she'd only given a +drop or so." For this and numerous other misdemeanors +Will also received absolution, but when on the second +Sabbath after his arrival he and Charlie both were missed +from church, whither they had started a full half-hour +before the rest of our family, father grew fidgety, +holding his hymn-book wrong side up, and sitting, instead of +standing, during the prayer, a thing he was never known +to do before. He was very strict in the observance of the +fourth commandment, as indeed were most of the citizens +of Meadow Brook, it being an almost State Prison offense +to stay away from church on the Sabbath, or speak above +a whisper until after sunset. +</p> + +<p> +By the way, I think it a mistake, this converting the +Sabbath into a day so much to be dreaded by the youthful, +fun-loving members of the family, who are not yet +old enough to see the propriety of having in reserve a +Sunday face, as well as a Sunday gown. I would not have +that sacred day profaned, but I would have it divested of +that gloom with which it is too often associated in the +child's mind. I would have everything connected with it +as cheerful and pleasant as possible, and in these days of +Sabbath schools and Sabbath school-books, it seems an +easy matter to make it "The day of all the week the +best." I well remember one rainy Sunday, when the +whole family were obliged to remain at home, the younger +ones reciting the Catechism to grandma, committing to +memory and repeating to mother ten verses of the fifth +chapter of Matthew, and then being compelled to sit up +stiff and straight while father read to us a long +metaphysical sermon, which he interspersed and lengthened +out with remarks of his own, among which was the +consoling one that "Heaven was one eternal Sabbath." +</p> + +<p> +This was too much for Charlie, whose mind, instead of +dwelling on the words of the good divine, was sadly +wandering towards a nest of young white <i>pigs</i>, only that +morning born. Turning towards me with a most rueful +face, he whispered, "Darned if I'll go there. I'll run +away first." +</p> + +<p> +Of course I laughed aloud—how could I help it; and +on my saying that "Charlie made me," we were both +ordered from the room in disgrace, which latter we bore +manfully—Charlie going straight to his pigs, while I stole +up garret to a big candle-box, where, on one of my old +dresses, lay sleeping six beautiful <i>kittens</i>. +</p> + +<p> +But I am wandering from my subject, which was the +time when Will and Charlie were missing from church, +and, when, to his utter astonishment, father learned that +they had gone to the consecration of a Roman Catholic +church, which had recently been erected a little out of +the village, on an eminence, where its white cross could +be seen from every point. +</p> + +<p> +Against the Catholics as a religious denomination my +father was prejudiced, and when he ascertained that his +son, born of orthodox parents and baptized in the orthodox +faith, had not only run away to their church, but had +also paid twenty-five cents, the price of admission, he was +a good deal excited, and for a deacon showed considerable +temper. It was, of course, Will's doings, he having +coaxed Charlie to go by telling him of the wonderful sights +there were to be seen. +</p> + +<p> +At a late hour they came home, loitering around the +barn a long time before they ventured into the presence +of my father, whom my grandmother had somewhat +appeased by telling him that "boys must sow their wild +oats sometime, and it wasn't best to be too strict with +'em, for it only made 'em act worse," adding that "the +Catholics were not the worst folks in the world, and they +had just as much right to their form of worship as we had to +ours." This in a measure mollified him, and consequently +the two boys only received a long lecture, and were +debarred the privilege of going to the village, except on +Sundays, for three weeks, a punishment which annoyed +Will exceedingly. But nothing could subdue him, and +the moment the three weeks had expired he was as ready +for mischief as ever. For a long time the coming of a +circus had been heralded by flaming handbills in red and +yellow, one of which Will plastered on to our great barn +door, from which conspicuous post it was removed by my +father, who conscientiously turned his back upon men and +women riding on their heads, declaring it an outrage +upon all rules of propriety, and denouncing circuses and +circus-going people as utterly low and vulgar. Thus +from my earliest remembrance had I been taught, and +still my heart would throb faster, whenever, with the +beat of the drum and the sound of the bugle, the long +procession swept past our door, and more than once had +I stolen to the top of the hill, whence could be seen the +floating banner and swaying canvas, watching from afar +the evil I dared not approach. +</p> + +<p> +Great, then, was my surprise, when, on the morning of +the eventful day, Will suggested that Charlie, John, +Lizzie, and I should run away in the evening and visit +the "doings," as he called it. I was shocked that he +should propose my going to such a place. "It was low +and vulgar," I told him, "and no one went there but +loafers and rowdies." +</p> + +<p> +But he assured me that I was mistaken, saying that +"some of our most respectable people attended;" and +then he wondered "how I was ever to know anything +unless I once in a while went to a circus, or a theater, or +something. It was perfectly ridiculous," he said, "for +father to keep us so cooped up at home. Nobody else did +so. There was Lawyer Smith's daughter, and Judge +Brown's niece in Albany, who always went, and if it didn't +hurt them, it wouldn't me." +</p> + +<p> +Thus Will reasoned, persuading me at last; and just +at dark, Lizzie and I, on pretense of going to bed early, +went to our room, dressed ourselves in our best, I +donning the white cambric, which I had worn on the first day +of Will's arrival, and then when we were ready, got out +upon the roof of the woodshed, which came up under +our window, descending thence by means of a ladder +which Will and Charlie brought from the barn. I had +the utmost confidence in Will, and yet as I drew near the +tent, and saw the rabble, whose appearance fully equaled +my father's description, I wished myself away. Just then +the band inside struck up, and giving my fears to the +winds, I pressed forward, once involuntarily turning my +head aside, as I heard a man near the door exclaim, +"Deacon Lee's children, as I live! Is the world coming +to an end?" +</p> + +<p> +Instantly my face flushed, for I felt that injustice was +done to my father, and my first impulse was to exonerate +him from all blame by explaining that we had run away; +but ere I could do so Will pulled me along, and in a +moment we were in the close, heated atmosphere of the +vast arena, where were congregated more than a thousand +people, of all ages and conditions. I was confounded, +for it seemed to me that each and every one was pointing +towards us the finger of scorn, and never since have I +felt so wholly degraded and ashamed as I did at the +moment of my first entrance to a circus! +</p> + +<p> +We had been but a short time seated, when Will, who +had divined my feelings, nudged my elbow, and pointing +towards a group just entering, said, "See, there's 'Squire +Talbot, his wife and daughter, Dr. Griffin, and lots more +of Meadow Brook aristocracy. Now, ain't you glad you +came?" +</p> + +<p> +It was as he said, and as I saw the above mentioned +individuals, some of them professors of religion, and all of +them people of the first standing in town, I can scarcely tell +how I felt. It was a sensation of mingled pleasure, +bewilderment, and perplexity. Could it be that, after all, +my father was wrong, that he was too strict with us, +debarring us from innocent amusements, for if it were +proper for members of the church to frequent such places, +why was it not for me? Now, I can answer promptly +that my father was right, wholly right, but I was puzzled +then, and gradually I began to care less for being there, +and to have less fear of what father would say when he +found it out. I was growing very brave, entrenching +myself behind the bad example of those who little suspected +the harm their presence was doing. Father did not know +the ways of the world, I thought, but after being +enlightened by me, I was sure he would become a convert +at once, and possibly at the next circus he would be in +attendance, but from this last idea I involuntarily shrank, +thinking I could never respect him again, were he guilty +of such a thing. +</p> + +<p> +I enjoyed it vastly, all except the riding of the girl, who +I fancied had on her little sister's dress, and when she +came out I looked for a place where to hide my head; but +hearing the spectators cheer louder than ever, I cast +furtive glances at those around me, discovering to my +amazement that they seemed more delighted with her than with +anything else; while, to crown all, I heard Will telling a +young man, that "she was a splendid rider, that he never +saw but one who could beat her, and that was a girl in +Albany." Then turning to Lizzie, he asked if she would +not like to ride in that way? +</p> + +<p> +With an involuntary shudder I threw my arm around +my sister, as if to protect her from what I felt would be +worse than a thousand deaths. Gradually there was dawning +upon my mind the suspicion that a circus after all was +not exactly the school for pure young girls, and I felt that +not all the wealth of the Indies could tempt me to fill the +post that that rider did. Towards the other actors I was +more lenient, thinking that if ever I joined the circus, I +should surely be the clown, whose witty speeches amused +me greatly, for I did not then know that they were all +made up beforehand, and that what he said to us to-day +he would say to others on the morrow. Mlle. Glaraine was +just finishing up her performance by riding around the +circle without other support than the poising of one foot on +a man's shoulder, when who should appear but <i>our father</i>! +</p> + +<p> +He had missed Will and Charlie from family prayers, +and had traced them as far as the pavilion, where the +fee-receiver demanded a quarter ere he would allow him to +enter. It was in vain that father tried to explain matters, +saying, "he never attended a circus in his life, and what +was more never should; he'd only come for two boys who +had run away." +</p> + +<p> +The doorkeeper was incorrigible; "he'd seen just as +honest looking men," he said, "who were the greatest +cheats in the world, and if father wanted to go in, he could +do so by paying the usual fee; if not, he must budge." +</p> + +<p> +Finding there was no alternative, father yielded, and +then made his way into the tent, scanning with his keen +gray eyes the sea of faces until he singled out Charlie, +who was so absorbed in stamping and hallooing at +Mlle. Glaraine's leaping through a hoop, that he never dreamed +of father's presence until a rough hand was laid upon his +shoulder, and a stern voice demanded of him why he was +there? +</p> + +<p> +Perfectly thunderstruck, Charlie started to his feet with +the exclamation of "<i>Je-ru-sa-lem!</i>" but before he could +make any explanation father discovered Lizzie and me. +'Twas the first suspicion he had of our being there, and +now, when he saw us, he turned pale, and reeled as if +smitten by a heavy blow. Had he felled me to the earth +it would have hurt me less than did the expression of his +face and the tones of his voice, as he said, "You, too, +Rosa! I never thought you would thus deceive me." +</p> + +<p> +I began to cry aloud; so did Lizzie, and in this way we +made our exit from the circus, followed by Charlie, John, +and Will, the latter of whom, the moment we were in the +open air, began to take the blame all to himself, saying, +as was very true, that we never would have thought of +going but for him, and suggesting that he alone should +be punished, as he was the one most in fault. I thought +this was very magnanimous in Will, and I looked up in +father's face to see how it affected him, but the moonlight +was obscure, and I could discover nothing, though the +hand that held mine trembled violently. I presume he +thought that in this case corporal punishment would be of +no avail, for we received none, but in various ways were we +made to feel that we had lost the confidence of the family. +For four long weeks we were each night locked into our +rooms, while for the same length of time we were kept from +school, Lizzie and I reciting our lessons to our mother, while +Will, Charlie, and John, to use their own words, "worked +from morning until night, like niggers." +</p> + +<p> +But the worst part of it all was the temporary disgrace +which our act of disobedience brought upon father. A +half-drunken fellow, who saw him enter the tent, and +who knew that we were there, hurried away to the village +with the startling intelligence that "Deacon Lee and all +his family were at the circus." +</p> + +<p> +The news spread like wildfire, gathering strength in its +progress, until by the time it reached us it was a current +report that not only was father at the circus, <i>grandma</i> +too! This was more than the old lady could bear. +Sixty-nine years had she lived without ever having had a word +breathed against her morals, and now, just as her life's +sun was setting, to have such a thing laid to her charge +was too much, and she actually worried herself into a +fever, which confined her to the house for several +weeks. +</p> + +<p> +After this adventure it became a serious question in +father's mind as to what he should do with Will, who +kept our heretofore quiet household in a state of perpetual +excitement. Nothing seemed to have the least effect +upon him save the mention of his mother, and that for +the time being would subdue him, but when temptation +came, he invariably yielded, and Charlie, who was an apt +scholar, was pretty sure to follow where his wild, dashing +cousin led. There was scarcely any boyish vice to which +Will was not more or less addicted, and "Deacon Lee's +sons," who had often been held up as patterns for their +companions, began soon to prove the old adage true, that +"evil communications corrupt good manners." +</p> + +<p> +John learned to handle an oath quite fluently, while +Charlie was one Sunday morning discovered playing euchre +with Will on the hayloft, where they kept their cards +hidden. But all this was nothing compared to the night +when both the boys were brought home so intoxicated +that neither of them was able to stand alone or speak! +They had been to a "raising," where the brandy bottle +circulated freely, Will, as a matter of course, drinking +from the beginning. Charlie, however, hesitated until +they taunted him with "being afraid of the old deacon," +daring him "to drink and be a <i>man</i>." Then he yielded, +and with fiendish pleasure the crowd gathered around, +urging him on, until he was undeniably drunk; after +which they chuckled with delight as they wondered what +the "blue Presbyterian" would say. We were sitting +down to supper when they brought him home, and the +moment mother saw him, she darted forward, exclaiming, +"Is he dead? Tell me, is my boy dead?" +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, <i>dead—drunk</i>," answered the man, with a cold, +ironical sneer at her distress. +</p> + +<p> +<i>He</i> was used to it, for of five noble sons who once called +him their father, four slept in a drunkard's grave, and +the fifth had far better have been there than the wreck +he was. My father had risen from his seat, but at the +words "he is drunk," he dropped upon the floor as if +scathed with the lightning's stroke. You who think it a +light matter—the holding of the wine-cup to the lips of +your neighbor's child—you should have seen my father +that night, as moan after moan of anguish came from his +pale lips, while the great drops of perspiration stood +thickly upon his forehead and about his mouth. The +effect it had upon him was terrible; crushing him to the +earth, and weaving in among his hitherto brown locks +more than one thread of silver. Once when Charlie was +with me, I heard him in the barn, praying that the +promise of a covenant God might be remembered towards +him, and that his son might yet be saved. Charlie's +feelings were touched, and dropping on his knees at my +side he made a solemn vow that never again should ardent +spirits of any kind pass his lips; and God, who heard that +vow mingled with my father's prayer, registered it in +Heaven, and from that day to this, amid all the temptations +which come to early manhood, it has been unbroken. +</p> + +<p> +Not thus easily could Will be reached. His was the +sorrow of a day, which passed away with the coming of +to-morrow's sun, and after a long consultation, it was +decided that he should go to sea, and the next merchantman +bound for the East Indies, which sailed from Boston, +bore on its deck, as a common sailor, our cousin Will, who +went from us reluctantly, for to him there was naught but +terror, toil, and fear in "a life on the ocean wave." But +there was no other way to save him, they said, and so +with bitter grief at our hearts, we bade adieu to the +wayward boy, praying that God would give the winds and +waves charge concerning him, and that no danger might +befall him when afar on the rolling billow. +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap04"></a></p> + +<h2> +CHAPTER IV. +<br><br> +THE SCHOOLMISTRESS. +</h2> + +<p> +Of the many thousand individuals destined to become +the purchasers of a copy of this work, a majority have +undoubtedly been, or are still teachers, and of these many +will remember the time when they fancied that to be +invested with the dignity of a teacher was to secure the +greatest amount of happiness which earth can bestow. +Almost from my earliest remembrance it had been the +one great subject which engrossed my thoughts, and +frequently, when strolling down the shady hillside which +led to our schoolhouse, have I fancied myself the teacher, +thinking that if such were really the case, my first act +should be the chastisement of half a score or more boys, +who were in the daily habit of annoying me in various +ways. Every word and action of my teacher, too, was +carefully noted and laid away against the time when I +should need them, and which came much sooner than +I anticipated; for one rainy morning when Lizzie and I +were playing in the garret, I overheard my father saying +there was a chance for Rosa to teach school. +</p> + +<p> +"What, that child!" was my mother's exclamation, +but ere he could reply, "the child" had bounded down +two pair of stairs, and stood at his elbow, asking, "Who +is it?—Where is it?—And do you suppose I can get a +certificate?" +</p> + +<p> +This last idea damped my ardor somewhat, for horrible +visions came up before me, of the "Abbreviations" and +"Sounds of the Vowels," in both of which I was rather +deficient. +</p> + +<p> +"<i>You</i> teach school! You look like it!" said my sister +Juliet. "Why, in less than three days you'd be <i>teetering</i> +with the girls, if indeed you didn't climb trees with the +boys." +</p> + +<p> +This <i>climbing</i> was undeniably a failing of mine, there +being scarcely a tree on the farm on whose topmost limbs +I hadn't at some time or other been perched; but I was +<i>older</i> now. I was <i>thirteen</i> two days before, and so I +reminded Juliet, at the same time begging of father to tell +me all about it. It appeared that he had that day met +with a Mr. Randall, the trustee of Pine District, who was +in quest of a teacher. After learning that the school was +small, father ventured to propose me, who, he said, +"was crazy to keep school." +</p> + +<p> +"A dollar a week is the most we can give her," +returned Mr. Randall, "and if you'll take up with that, +mebby we'll try her. New beginners sometimes do the +best." +</p> + +<p> +So it was arranged that I was to teach fifteen weeks for +four dollars per month and board round at that! Boarding +round! How many reminiscences do these two words +recall to those who, like myself, have tried it, and who +know that it has a variety of significations. That +sometimes it is only another name for sleeping with every child +in the family where your home for one week may chance +to be—for how can you be insensible to the oft-repeated +whisper, "<i>I</i> shall sleep with her to-night—ma said I +might;" and of "ma's" audible answer, "Perhaps, <i>sis</i>, +she don't want you to." +</p> + +<p> +If "sis" is a clean, chubby-looking little creature, you +<i>do</i> want her; but if, as it not unfrequently happens, she +is just the opposite,——I draw a blank which almost +every country teacher in the land can fill, merely saying +that there is no alternative. We have got the district to +please and we must do it some way or other. +</p> + +<p> +Again, "boarding round" means a quiet, cozy spot, +where everything is so pleasant and cheerful, where the +words are so kind and the smile of welcome so sweet, that +you feel at once at home, and wish, oh, how you do wish, +you could stay there all the summer long; but it cannot +be;—the time of your allotted sojourn passes away, and +then with a sigh, if indeed you can repress a tear, you +gather up your combs, brushes, and little piece of +embroidery, to which some spiteful woman has said "you +devote more time than to your school," and putting them +in your satchel, depart for another home, sometimes as +pleasant as the one you are leaving, sometimes not. +</p> + +<p> +But of these annoyances I knew nothing, and when +Mr. Randall came to see me, calling me <i>Miss Lee</i>, and when +I was really engaged, my happiness was complete. In a +country neighborhood every item of news, however slight, +spreads rapidly, and the fact that I was to teach soon +became generally known, creating quite a sensation, and +operating differently upon different natures. One old +gentleman, who, times innumerable, had held me on his +knee, feeding my vanity with flattery, and my stomach +with sweetmeats, was quite as much delighted as I, +declaring, "he always knew I was destined to make +something great." +</p> + +<p> +Dear old man! When the snows of last winter were +high piled upon the earth, they dug for him a grave in +the frozen ground, and in the world where now he lives, +he will not know, perhaps, that I shall never fulfil his +prophesy. +</p> + +<p> +Aunt Sally Wright, who, besides managing her own +affairs, kept an eye on her neighbors', and who looked +upon me as a "pert, forward piece," gave her opinion +freely. "What! That young one keep school! Is +Deacon Lee crazy? Ain't Rose stuck up enough now? +But never mind. You'll see she won't keep out more'n +half her time, if she does that." +</p> + +<p> +Aunt Sally was gifted with the power of telling fortunes +by means of tea-grounds, and I have always fancied she +read that prediction in the bottom of her big blue cup, for +how could she otherwise have known what actually +happened! Ere long the news cached Pine District, +creating quite an excitement, the older people declaring +"<i>they'd</i> never send to a little girl," while the juvenile +portion of the inhabitants gave a contemptuous whistle +or so in honor of the school ma'am elect. Mrs. Capt. Thompson, +who boasted the biggest house, handsomest +carpet and worst boy in Pine Hill, was wholly incredulous +until she one day chanced to meet with Aunt Sally, who +not only confirmed it, but also kindly gave her many little +items touching my character as a "wild, romping minx, +who was no more qualified for a teacher than for the +Queen of England," citing as a proof of what she said, +that only the year before she had seen me "trying to ride +on a cow." +</p> + +<p> +Mrs. Capt. Thompson, who was blessed with an overwhelming +sense of propriety, was greatly shocked, saying +"she'd always thought Mr. Randall knew just enough to +hire a child," and consoling herself with the remark that +"it was not at all probable I'd get a certificate." +</p> + +<p> +On this point I was myself a little fearful. True, I +had been "sent away" to school, and had been flattered +into the belief that I possessed far more book knowledge +than I did; but this, I knew, would avail me nothing +with the formidable committee who held my destiny in +their hands. <i>They</i> were unbiased in my favor, and had +probably never heard of me, as they lived in an adjoining +town. But "where there's a will there's a way," and +determining not to fail, I ransacked the cupboard, where our +school-books were kept, bringing thence Olney's +Geography, Colburn's Arithmetic, History of the United +States, Grammars, etc., all of which were for days my +constant companions, and I even slept with one or more +of them under my pillow, so that with the earliest dawn +I could study. Whole pages of Geography were +committed to memory, all the hardest problems in Colburn +were solved, a dozen or more of compound relatives were +parsed and disposed of to my satisfaction at least, and +I was just beginning to feel strong in my own abilities +when one Monday morning news was brought us that at +three o'clock that afternoon all who were intending to +teach in the town of S—— were to meet at the house of +the Rev. Mr. Parks, then and there to be questioned +of what they knew and what they didn't know. This last +referred to me, for now that the dreaded day had come, +I felt that every idea had suddenly left me, while, to +increase my embarrassment, I was further informed that as +there had the year previous been some trouble among the +School Inspectors, each of whom fancied that the other +did not take his share of the work, the town had this year +thought to obviate the difficulty by electing nine! +</p> + +<p> +One was bad enough, but at the thought of nine men +in spectacles my heart sank within me, and it was some +time ere I could be persuaded to make the trial. In the +midst of our trouble, Aunt Sally, whose clothes on +Monday mornings were always swinging on the line before +light, and who usually spent the afternoon of that day in +visiting, came in, and after learning what was the cause of +my flushed cheeks, said, by way of comforting me, that +"she didn't wonder an atom if I felt streaked, for 'twant +no ways likely I'd pass!" +</p> + +<p> +This roused my pride, and with the mental comment +that "I'd <i>pass</i> for all her," I got myself in readiness, Juliet +lending me her green veil, and Anna her fine +pocket-handkerchief, while mother's soft warm shawl was wrapped +lovingly about me, and Lizzie slipped into my pocket the +<i>Multiplication Table</i>, which she thought I might manage +to look at slily in case of an emergency. On our way +father commenced the examination by asking me the +length of the Mississippi, but I didn't know as it had a +length, and in despair he gave up his questioning. +</p> + +<p> +Oh, how somber and dreary seemed the little parlor into +which we were ushered by the servant, who, on learning +our business, looked rather doubtfully at me, as much +as to say, "<i>You</i> surely can't be one of them?" In a +short time the parlor was filled, the entire <i>nine</i> being +there. Not one was absent, and in a row directly opposite, +they sat, some tipped back in a lounging attitude, some +cutting their finger nails with their penknives, while +others sat up stiff and stern, the whole presenting a most +formidable appearance. There were eight or ten candidates +present, and unfortunately for me, I was seated at +what I called the foot of the class. It seemed that the +most of them were acquainted, and as I was almost the +only stranger present, it was but natural that they should +look at me rather more than I liked. My pantalets +evidently attracted their attention, but by dint of drawing +up my feet and pushing down my dress I hoped to hide +my <i>short</i>-comings. +</p> + +<p> +When, at last, the examination commenced, I found, to +my great delight, that Geography was the subject +introduced, and my heart beat high, for I thought of the +pages I could repeat and ardently longed for a chance to +display! Unfortunately for me they merely questioned +us from the map, and breathlessly I awaited my turn. +At length the young lady who sat next to me was asked +"What two rivers unite and form the Ohio?" I looked +at her sidewise. The bloom deepened on her cheek, +and I was sure she had forgotten. Involuntarily I felt +tempted to tell her, but did not, and Mr. Parks, looking +inquiringly at me, said, "Perhaps the next one can. +Ahem!" +</p> + +<p> +He caught sight of my offending pantalets, and +thinking me some child who had come with her sister, was +about to pass me by. But I was not to be slighted in +that way, particularly when I knew the answer; so, with +the air of one who, always at the foot, accidentally spells +a word right and starts for the head, I spoke out loud +and distinctly "Alleghany and Monongahela," glancing +at my father just in time to catch a nod of encouragement. +</p> + +<p> +"The Nine" were taken by surprise, and instantly +three pair of eyes with glasses and six pair without glasses +were brought to bear upon me. For reasons best known +to themselves, they asked me a great variety of questions, +all of which I answered correctly, I believe; at least they +made no comment, and were evidently vastly amused with +their new specimen, asking me how old I was, and +exchanging smiles at my reply, "Thirteen, four weeks ago +to-day." One of my fellow-teachers, who sat near me, +whispered to her next neighbor, "She's older than that, +I know;" for which remark I've never quite forgiven her. +Arithmetic was the last branch introduced, and as +mathematics was rather my forte, I had now no fears of +failing—but I did! A question in Decimals puzzled me, and +coloring to my temples, I replied "I don't know," while +two undeniable tears dropped into my lap. +</p> + +<p> +"Never mind, sis," said one of the nine. "You know +most everything else, and have done bravely." +</p> + +<p> +I was as sure of my certificate then as I was fifteen +minutes afterwards, when a little slip of paper was given +me, declaring me competent to teach a common school. +I thought it was all over, and was adjusting mother's +shawl and tying on Juliet's veil, when they asked me to +write something that they might see a specimen of my +penmanship. Taking the pen, I dashed off with a flourish +"Rosa Lee," at which I thought they peered more +curiously than need be—and one of them, Dr. Clayton, a +young man, and a handsome one, too, said something +about its being "very poetical." He hadn't seen the +<i>negro song</i> then. +</p> + +<p> +The shadows of evening had long since fallen when we +stopped at our door, where we found mother anxiously +waiting for us. Very wistfully she looked in my face ere +she asked the important question. +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, I've got one," said I, bounding from the buggy, +"and I'd like to be examined every day, it's such fun." +</p> + +<p> +"Didn't you miss a word?" asked Juliet. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, I'm so glad!" cried Lizzie. +</p> + +<p> +"Feel <i>big</i>, don't you?" suggested Charlie, while Anna +inquired "if I'd lost her pocket-handkerchief!" +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap05"></a></p> + +<h2> +CHAPTER V. +<br><br> +PINE HILL. +</h2> + +<p> +Ere long, exaggerated rumors reached Meadow Brook +of the very creditable manner in which I had acquitted +myself at the examination, whereupon Aunt Sally Wright +was quite taken aback. Soon rallying, however, she had +recourse to her second prediction, which was that "I +should not teach more than half the summer out." Perhaps +I wrong the old lady, but I cannot help thinking that +the ill-natured stories concerning myself, which she set +afloat at Pine Hill, were in a great measure the cause of +her prophecy being fulfilled. Never before, to my knowledge, +had she visited at Captain Thompson's, but now she +spent an entire day there, bringing back to us the +intelligence that John Thompson, a boy just one year my senior, +was going to stay at home that summer, as "Miss Cap'n +Thompson hadn't no idee I could teach him." +</p> + +<p> +Added to this was the comforting assurance, that +"Cap'n Thompson was hoppin' mad because Mr. Randall +had hired me in preference to his sister <i>Dell</i>, who had +herself applied for the school." This, as I afterwards learned, +was the secret of the dislike which, from the first, the +Thompsons entertained for me. They had no daughter, +but the captain's half sister Dell had lived with him ever +since his marriage, and between her and their hopeful son +John, the affections of himself and wife were nearly equally +divided. +</p> + +<p> +Dell Thompson was a proud, overbearing girl, about +eighteen years of age, who esteemed herself far better than +her neighbors, with whom she seldom associated, her +acquaintances living mostly at what was called "the Centre" +of the town. It seems that she had applied for the +summer school, but remembering that she had once called him +a "country clown and his wife ignorant and vulgar," +Mr. Randall had refused her and accepted me. Notwithstanding +that the people of Pine Hill generally disliked the +Thompsons, there was among them a feeling of +dissatisfaction when it became known that I was preferred to +Dell, who, they thought, would have given <i>tone</i> and <i>character</i> +to the school, for "it wasn't every <i>big bug</i> who would +stoop to teach." +</p> + +<p> +Of this state of affairs I was fortunately ignorant, and +never do I remember a happier morning than that on +which I first took upon myself the responsibilities of a +teacher. By sunrise, the little hair trunk, which +grandma lent me, was packed and stood waiting on the +doorstep, where I had carried it, thinking thus to accelerate +the movements of my father, who did not seem to be in +any particular hurry, telling me, "he'd no idea that school +would be commenced before we got there!" Grandma +had suggested the propriety of letting down my dresses, +a movement which I warmly seconded, but mother said +"No, she did not like to see little girls dressed like +grown-up women;" so, in my new plaid gingham and white +pantalets, I waited impatiently until the clock struck +seven, at which time father announced himself ready. +</p> + +<p> +"When will you come home?" asked mother, as she +followed me to the gate. +</p> + +<p> +"In three weeks," was my reply, as I bounded into the +buggy, which soon moved away. +</p> + +<p> +Pine Hill is not at all remarkable for its beautiful +scenery, and as old Sorrel trotted leisurely along, down +one steep hill and up another, through a <i>haunted</i> swamp, +where a man had once, to his great terror, seen his +departed wife, and over a piece of road, where the little +grassy ridges said, as plain as grassy ridges could say, that +the travelers there were few and far between, my spirits +lowered a little. But, anon, the prospect brightened, and +in the distance we saw the white walls of Captain Thompson's +residence gleaming through the mass of evergreens +which surrounded it. This, however, soon disappeared, +and for a mile or more my eye met with nothing save +white birches, gray rocks, green ferns, and blackberry +bushes, until suddenly turning a corner, we came to a +halt before one of those slanting-roofed houses so +common in New England. It was the home of Mr. Randall, +and it was there that I was to board the first week. In +the doorway, eating bread and molasses, were his three +children, who, the moment they saw us, set up a shout of +"somebody's come. I guess it's the schoolma'am!" +and straightway they took to their heels as if fleeing from +the presence of a tigress. +</p> + +<p> +After a moment, the largest of them ventured to return, +and his example was soon followed by the other two, the +younger of whom, after eying me askance, lisped out, +"Don Thompthon thays he ain't afraid of you; he can +lick you like <i>dunder</i>!" +</p> + +<p> +This was a pleasant commencement, but I smiled down +upon the little boy, patting his curly head, while father +inquired for Mrs. Randall, who, we learned, was sweeping +the schoolhouse. Leaving the hair trunk, which was used +by the children for a horse ere we left the yard, we again +set forward, and soon reached our place of destination, +which, without shade-tree or ornament of any kind, stood +half-way up a long, sunny hill, commanding a view of +nothing save the weathercock of Captain Thompson's barn, +which was visible across the orchard opposite. We found +Mrs. Randall enveloped in a cloud of dust, her sleeves +rolled up, and her head covered by a black silk handkerchief. +</p> + +<p> +"The room, wasn't fit for the pigs," she said, "and +ought to have been cleaned, but somehow nobody took +any interest in school this summer, and I'd have to make +it answer." +</p> + +<p> +I didn't care particularly for the room, which, in truth, +was dirty and disagreeable enough, but the words "nobody +took any interest this summer," affected me +unpleasantly, for in them I saw a dim foreshadowing of all +that ensued. Father, who was in a hurry, soon left me, +bidding me "be a good girl, and not get to <i>romping</i> with +the scholars." From the window I watched him until he +disappeared over the sandy hill, half wishing, though I +would not then confess it, that I and the little trunk were +with him. I was roused from my reverie by Mrs. Randall, +who, for some time, had been looking inquisitively at me, +and who now said, "Ain't you but thirteen?" +</p> + +<p> +"No, ma'am," I answered. +</p> + +<p> +"Wall," she returned, "it beats all how much older +you look. I should s'pose you was full sixteen, if not +more. But it's all in your favor, and I guess you'll be +more likely to suit the deestrict, though they're afraid +you haven't any government, and they're terrible hard to +suit. So, if I's you," she continued, "I'd hold a pretty +tight rein at first. I give you full liberty to whip my +young ones if they don't behave. They know better than +to complain at home." +</p> + +<p> +Involuntarily I glanced at the clump of alders which +grew near the house, and if they were somewhat diminished +ere my reign was over, the "Deestrict" owed it +to Mrs. Randall's suggestion. After sitting awhile, she +arose to go, telling me "she should expect me at night," +and then I was alone. I looked at my watch; it was +half-past eight, and not a scholar yet. This was widely +different from Meadow Brook, where, by seven, the house +was generally filled with children, hallooing, quarreling +over seats, and watching eagerly for the first sight of "the +new schoolma'am." Here the tables were turned, and +"the schoolma'am" was watching for her scholars! +</p> + +<p> +Suddenly a large bumble-bee came buzzing in, and +alighted on a window opposite. Like Sir Thomas the +Good, in the Ingoldsby Legends, I have a passion for +capturing insects, especially white-faced bumble-bees, and +now I felt strongly inclined to mount the desks in pursuit +of the intruder, but the thought "What if the scholars +should detect me?" prevented, and, to this day, I have +never known whether that bumble-bee had a <i>white</i> face, or +belonged to the class of colored brethren! Ten minutes +of nine, and I began to grow fidgety. I should have been +more so, had I known how much is sometimes said about +teachers not keeping their hours. Five minutes of nine, +and round the corner at the foot of the hill appeared a +group of children, while from another direction came +others, shouting for those in advance to "wait," which +they did, and the whole entered the house together. A +few of the girls made a slight obeisance, while the boys +laughed, and throwing down their books in a very +consequential manner, looked distrustfully at me. My age +had preceded me, and in many of these childish hearts +there was already a spirit of rebellion. +</p> + +<p> +Here I would speak against the impropriety of discussing +a teacher's faults in the presence of pupils, who will +discover them soon enough. Many a teacher starts +disadvantageously because of some idle tale, which may or +may not be true, but which, borne on the wings of gossip, +reaches its place of destination, and is there thoughtlessly +canvassed in the hearing of children, who thus become +prejudiced against a person they have never seen, and +whom they otherwise might have liked. In my case, the +fault was <i>my age</i>, which had evidently been discussed in +the neighborhood; for, on opening my desk, I found +inscribed upon the lid, in a bold schoolboy style, "Rosa +Lee, aged 13," to which was appended, in a more delicate +hand, "Ancient—very!" +</p> + +<p> +Taking my India-rubber, I erased it while my scholars +were settling the matter of seats, which, strange to say, +they did without disputing. Then there ensued a perfect +silence, and the eyes of all present turned inquiringly +upon me, while, with sundry flourishes with my silver +pencil, I proceeded to take down upon a big sheet of +foolscap the names, ages, and "what studies do you intend +to pursue?" of my pupils. After much talking and +arranging, the school was organized; but the first morning +dragged heavily, and when 12 o'clock came, and I drew +from my satchel the nice ginger snaps which mother had +made, the sight of them, or the taste, or something else, +choked me so much that I was obliged to wink hard, and +count the rows of trees in the orchard opposite twice, ere +I could answer the question addressed to me by one of the +little girls. +</p> + +<p> +In the rear of the house was a long strip of dense woods, +and wishing to be alone and out of sight of the sports in +which I felt I must not join, I took my bonnet and +wandered thither. Seating myself upon a mossy log, I tried +to fancy that I was at home beneath the dear old +grapevine, the faintest rustle of whose broad green leaves +would, at that moment, have been to me like the sweetest +music. But it could not be. I was a schoolmistress—<i>Miss +Lee</i>, they called me, and on my brow the shadows +of life were thus early making their impress. Slowly to +me dragged the hour which always before had been so +short, and when at last I took my way back to school, +it seemed that in that short space I had lived an age. +Often since, when I have looked upon young teachers +hastening to their task, I've pitied them, for I knew full +well how long and wearisome would be their first day's +labor. +</p> + +<p> +As I approached the schoolhouse I saw that something +was the matter, for the scholars were greatly excited, and +with voices raised to the highest pitch, were discussing +something of importance. Thinking that my presence +would perhaps restrain them from such noisy demonstrations, +I hastened forward, but the babel rather increased +than diminished, and it was with difficulty that I could +learn the cause of the commotion. George Randall was +crying, while a little apart from him stood two boys, one +of them apparently fourteen and the other twelve. They +were strangers to me, and instinctively I felt that they +were in some way connected with the disturbance; and +that the larger and more important looking was <i>John +Thompson</i>, a surmise which proved to be correct. +</p> + +<p> +It seemed that Isaac Ross, one of the newcomers, had +some weeks before selected for himself a corner seat, +which, as he was not present in the morning, had been +taken by George Randall, who knew nothing of Isaac's +intentions, and who now refused to give it up. A fight +was the result, the most of the scholars taking sides with +George, while Isaac was urged on and encouraged by +John Thompson, who, though not a pupil, had come up +"to see how he liked the schoolma'am." As a matter +of course an appeal was made to me, to know "if George +hadn't the best right to the seat." +</p> + +<p> +Perhaps I was wrong, but I decided that he had, at the +same time asking Isaac "if he were coming to school." +</p> + +<p> +"I ain't goin' to do anything else," said he, glancing +towards John, who, with a wicked leer at me, knocked +off one of the little boys' hats and then threw it up in the +air. +</p> + +<p> +What would have ensued next I do not know, for at +that moment Captain Thompson rode round the corner +and called to his son, who, with mock deference, bowed +politely to me and walked away. Disagreeable as Isaac +Ross appeared in the presence of John Thompson, I found +that when left to himself he was quite a different boy, +and though he at first manifested some reluctance to taking +another seat, he at last yielded the point, and for the +remainder of the day conducted himself with perfect +propriety. +</p> + +<p> +On the whole the afternoon passed away rather pleasantly, +and at night, when school was out, I started for +my boarding-place quite contented with teachers generally, +and myself in particular. In passing the different +houses which stood upon the roadside, I demeaned +myself with the utmost dignity, swinging my short dress +from side to side in imitation of a Boston lady who had +once taught in our district, and whose manner of walking +I greatly admired! From the window of Captain Thompson's +dwelling I caught a glimpse of two faces, which +were hastily withdrawn, but I felt sure that from behind +the curtains they were scanning my appearance, and I +remember lowering my parasol a little, just to tantalize +them! But when at last I was over the hill and out of sight, +oh, how glad I was to be "Rosa Lee" again, free to pluck +the sweet, wild flowers, to watch the little fishes in the +running brook, or even to chase a white-faced bumble-bee +if I liked. +</p> + +<p> +About fifty rods from Mr. Randall's stands one of those +old-fashioned, gable-roofed houses, so common in some +parts of New England, and here, at the time of which I +am speaking, lived Mrs. Ross, the mother of Isaac, or +<i>Ike</i>, as he was familiarly called. I had never met the lady, +but as I approached the house and saw a tall, +square-shouldered woman leaning on a gate, I naturally thought +that it might be she; and on this point I was not long +left in doubt, for the moment I came within speaking +distance, she called out, "How dy' do, Miss Lee—I +s'pose 'tis? You pretty well? I'm Miss Ross, Isick's +mother. He telled me that he had some fuss about a +seat that he picked out more'n a month ago, and thinks +he orto have. I don't never calkerlate to take sides with +my children, 'cause I've kept school myself, and I know +how bad 'tis, but I do hate to have Isick git a miff again +the schoolma'am on the first start, and if I's you I'd let +him have the seat instead of George Randall, for mebby +folks'll say you're partial to George, bein' that his father's +committee-man, and I've kept school enough to know +that <i>partiality</i> won't do." +</p> + +<p> +As well as I could, I explained the matter to her, +telling her I wished to do right, and meant to as far as I +knew how. +</p> + +<p> +"I presume you do," said she, "or I shouldn't a' taken +the liberty to speak to you. I knew you's young, and I +felt afeard you didn't know what an undertakin' it was to +teach the young idee how to <i>shute</i>. The schoolma'ams +have always thought a sight of me, and generally tell me +all their troubles, so I know jest how to take their part +when the rest of the folks are again 'em. Was Susan +Brown to school? But she wasn't though, I know she +wasn't." +</p> + +<p> +I replied that there was a little girl present of that +name, and my companion continued: "Now I'll give up, +if Miss Brown has come round enough to send, when she +was so dreadfully opposed to your teachin'; you've heerd +about it, I s'pose?" +</p> + +<p> +I answered that "I didn't know that any one had +opposed me except Mrs. Thompson." +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, yes," said she, assuming an injured look and +tone. "Everybody knows about that, and there's some +sense in their bein' mad, for 'twas plaguy mortifyin' to +Dell to offer to teach and be rejected by Mr. Randall, a +man that none of the Thompsons would wipe their old +shoes on, and then, 'tisn't every <i>big bug</i> that would stoop +to teach, for you know 'tain't considered fust cut." +</p> + +<p> +"No, I didn't know it," and so I said, but she assured +me of the fact, quoting as authority, both Mrs. Thompson +and Dell, who, I found, were her oracles in everything. +After a time I brought her back to Mrs. Brown, whose +husband, she said, was gone to sea, and who had herself +applied for the school. +</p> + +<p> +"But between you and me," she added, speaking in a +whisper, "it's a mighty good thing that she didn't get it, +for she ain't the likeliest person that ever was, and nobody +under the sun would have sent to her. Isick shouldn't a' +gone a single day, for her morals is very bad. She used +to belong to the Orthodox Church, but they turned her +out for dancin' at a party, and when she lived in Wooster +she jined the 'Piscopals, who, you know, let their members +cut up all sorts—but, land sakes! how I'm talkin'! +You must not breathe a word I say, for I make it a pint not +to slander my neighbors, and if everybody minded their +own business as well as I do, there wouldn't be so much +back-bitin' as there is. And that makes me think I've +half a mind to caution you—but no, I guess I won't—mebby +you'll tell on't." +</p> + +<p> +Of course my curiosity was roused, and of course I said +I wouldn't tell; whereupon she proceeded to inform me +that Mrs. Randall was a very talkin' woman, and I must +be pretty careful in her presence. "You can tell me +anything you wish to," said she, "for I'm a master hand to +keep a secret; but Miss Randall is forever in hot water. +She and Miss Brown are hand in glove, and both on 'em +turn up their noses at Miss Thompson and Dell, who never +pretend to make anything of 'em. I'm considerable +<i>intimate</i> at the Captain's, and I know all about it. Dell is +smart as a steel trap, and it's a pity she's took such a +dislike to you." +</p> + +<p> +"I don't think she ought to blame me," said I, "for I +didn't know as she wanted the school"—— +</p> + +<p> +"'Tain't that altogether," resumed Mrs. Ross, again +speaking in a whisper. "'Tain't that altogether, and it +you'll never lisp a word on't I'll tell you the hull story." +</p> + +<p> +I gave the required promise, and then Mrs. Ross +proceeded to inform me that Dell was jealous of me. +</p> + +<p> +"Jealous!" I exclaimed. "How can that be?" +</p> + +<p> +"You remember Dr. Clayton, don't you?" said she. +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, I remember him, but what has he to do with +Miss Thompson's being jealous of me!" +</p> + +<p> +"Why," returned Mrs. Ross, "Dell's kinder settin' her +cap for him, and I guess he's a snickerin' notion after +her. Any way he comes there pretty often. Well, he +was there the week after the examination, and told 'em +about you. He said you was bright as a new guinea, and +had better larnin' than half the teachers, and then you +had such u sweet name—<i>Rose</i>—he liked it. You orto have +seen how mad Dell was at you after he was gone. I don't +believe she'll ever git over it." +</p> + +<p> +Here Ike called out that "the Johnny-cake was burnt +blacker than his hat," and forth with Mrs. Ross started for +the house, first bidding me "keep dark," and telling me +she hoped "I wouldn't be partial to Mr. Randall's children, +for they needed lickin' if ever young ones did—they +warn't brought up like Isick, who was governed so well at +home that he didn't need it at school." +</p> + +<p> +I was learning to read the world's great book fast—very +fast—and with a slightly heavy heart I turned away, +pausing once while Mrs. Ross, from the doorstep, called to me, +saying, that "she guessed I'd better give Isick the seat +to-morrow, seein' his heart was set on't." +</p> + +<p> +I found Mrs. Randall waiting to receive me in a clean +gingham dress and apron, with her round, good-humored +face shining as if it had been through the same process +with the long line of snow-white linen, which was swinging +in the clothes-yard. The little hair trunk had been +removed to the "best room," which was to be mine. The +big rocking-chair was brought out for me, the round +tea-table, nicely spread, stood in the center of the floor, and +Mrs. Randall hoped I would make myself at home, and +put up with her own rough ways if I could. To be sure, +she didn't have things quite as nice as Mrs. Captain +Thompson, but she did as well as she knew how. Dear +Mrs. Randall! how my heart warmed towards her; and as +I took my seat at the table, and she helped me to a +larger slice of pure white honeycomb than I had ever +before been allowed to eat at one time, I felt that I would +not exchange her house for a home at Captain Thompson's. +</p> + +<p> +Without any intention of revealing what Mrs. Ross had +imparted to me, I still felt a great curiosity to know +Mrs. Randall's opinion of her; so, after a time, I ventured to +speak of my having seen her, and to ask when and where +she taught school. With a merry laugh, Mrs. Randall +replied, "I wonder, now, if she's made your acquaintance +so soon! She told you, I suppose, to come to her with all +your troubles, for she knew just how to pity you, as she'd +been a schoolma'am herself." +</p> + +<p> +My flushed cheeks betrayed the fact that Mrs. Randall +had guessed rightly, and after a moment she continued: +"Her keeping school amounts to this. When she was a +girl, a friend of hers who was teaching wanted to go away +for two days, and got Miss Ross, then Nancy Smedly, to +take her place, and that's the long and short of her +experience. She's a meddlesome woman, and makes more +trouble in the district than anybody else. She tried to +make Miss Brown think she was misused, because we +wouldn't hire her instead of you, who applied first, +and for a spell, I guess Miss Brown was a little sideways, +but she's a sensible woman and has got all over it." +</p> + +<p> +I was about to tell her of the trouble between George and +Ike, when she anticipated me by saying, "George says he +and Ike Ross <i>fit</i> about a seat, and I've hired him to give it +up peaceably, for if Miss Ross gets miffed in the beginning, +there's no knowing what kind of a row she'll raise, +and you are so young I feel kinder tender of you." +</p> + +<p> +If there were tears in my eyes, they were not tears of +grief, and if I was pleased with Mrs. Randall before, I +liked her ten times better now, for I saw in her a genuine +sincerity which convinced me she was my friend indeed. +To be sure, she was rather rough and unrefined, but her +heart was right, and in her treatment of me, she was +always kind and considerate, making ample allowance for +my errors and warmly defending me when she thought I +was misused. If in every District there were more like +Mrs. Randall, the teacher's lot would not be one-half so +hard to bear as oftentimes it is. +</p> + +<p> +When I awoke next morning I heard the large raindrops +pattering against the window, and on pushing aside +the curtain, I saw that the dark heavy clouds betokened a +dull, rainy day. Involuntarily, I thought of the old garret +at home, where on such occasions we always resorted, +"raising Cain generally," as Sally said, and when, with +umbrella, blanket-shawl, and overshoes, I started for +school, I looked and felt forlorn indeed. Raining as it +was, it did not prevent Mrs. Ross from coming out with +the table-spread over her head, to tell me that "though +she never warn't an atom particular, and never meant to +interfere with teachers, as she knew just what it was, she +<i>did</i> hope I'd give Isick the seat, and not be partial to +George Randall." +</p> + +<p> +I replied that "I'd see to it," and was hurrying along, +when she again stopped me to know "what I'd got in my +dinner basket that was good." +</p> + +<p> +Afterwards I found it to be one of her greatest +peculiarities, this desire to know what her neighbors had to +eat, and I seldom passed her door that she did not inquire +of me concerning the "kind of fare" I had at the different +places where I boarded. When I reached the schoolhouse, +I found George Randall transferring his books to +another part of the room, at the same time telling Isaac +"he could have the disputed seat if he wanted it." +</p> + +<p> +With the right kind of training and influence Isaac +Ross would have been a fine boy, for there were in his +disposition many noble traits of character, and when he saw +how readily George gave up the seat, he refused to take +it, saying, "he didn't care a <i>darn</i> where he sat—one +place was as good as another." +</p> + +<p> +That day was long and dreary enough. Not more than +half the children were there, and I found it exceedingly +tiresome and monotonous, sitting in that hard, +splint-bottomed chair, and telling Emma Fitch and Sophia +Brown, for the hundredth time, that the round letter +was "O" and the crooked one "S." The scholars, too, +began to grow noisy, and to ask me scores of useless +questions. Their lessons were half learned, and if I made a +suggestion, I was quickly informed that their former +teacher, Sally Damm, didn't do so. Even little Emma +Fitch, when I bade her keep her eyes on the book instead +of letting them wander about the room, lisped out that +"Thally Damm let her look off;" a fact I did not dispute +when I found that she had been to school all winter +without learning a single letter by sight, though she +could repeat the entire alphabet forward and back and be +all the while watching a squirrel on the branches of the +tree which grew near the window. +</p> + +<p> +Before night a peculiar kind of sickness, never dangerous, +but decidedly disagreeable, began to creep over me, +and had it not been for the mud, I should probably have +footed it to Meadow Brook, where alone could be found +the cure for my disease. Just before school was out a +little boy cried to go home, and this was the one straw +too many. Hastily dismissing the scholars, I turned +towards the window and my tears fell as fast as did the rain +in the early morning. +</p> + +<p> +"The schoolma'am's cryin',—she is. I saw her," +circulated rapidly among the children, who all rushed back +to ascertain the truth for themselves. +</p> + +<p> +"I should think she would cry," said one of the girls to +her brother. "You've acted ugly enough to make anybody +cry, and if you don't behave better to-morrow, Jim +Maxwell, I'll tell mother!" +</p> + +<p> +After the delivery of this speech, the entire group +moved away, leaving me alone; and sure am I there was +never a more homesick child than was the one, who, with +her head lying upon the desk, sat there weeping in that +low, dirty schoolroom, on that dark, rainy afternoon. +Where now was all the happiness I had promised myself +in teaching? Alas! it was rapidly disappearing, and I +was just making up my mind to brave the ridicule of +Meadow Brook, and give up my school at once, when a +hand was laid very gently on my shoulder, and a voice +partially familiar said, "What's the matter, <i>Rose</i>?" +</p> + +<p> +So absorbed was I in my grief, that I had not heard the +sound of footsteps, and with a start of surprise I looked +up and met the serene, handsome eyes of <i>Dr. Clayton</i>, +who stood at my side! He had been to visit a patient, +he said, and was on his way home, when, seeing the door +ajar, he had come in, hoping to find me there, "but I +did not expect this," he continued, pointing to the tears +on my cheeks. "What is the matter? Don't the +scholars behave well, or are you homesick?" +</p> + +<p> +At this question I began to cry so violently, that the +doctor, after exhausting all his powers of persuasion, +finally laid his hand soothingly on my rough, tangled curls, +ere I could be induced to stop. Then, when I told him +how disappointed I was, how I wished I had never tried +to teach, and how I meant to give it up, he talked to me +so kindly, so brotherlike, still keeping his hand on my +shoulder, where it had fallen when I lifted up my head, +that I grew very calm, thinking I could stay in that +gloomy room forever, if <i>he</i> were only there! He was, +as I have said before, very handsome, and his manner +was so very fascinating, and his treatment of me so much +like what I fancied Charlie's would be, were he a grownup +man and I a little girl, that I began to like him very, +very much, thinking then that my feeling for him was, +such as a child would entertain for a father, for I had +heard that he was twenty-seven, and between that and +thirteen there was, in my estimation, an impassable gulf. +</p> + +<p> +"I wish I had my buggy here," he said at last, after +consulting his watch, which pointed to half-past five, "I +wish I had my buggy here, for then I could carry you +home. You'll wet your feet, and you ought not to walk. +Suppose you ride in my lap; but no," he added, quickly, +"you'd better not, for Mrs. Thompson and Mother Ross +would make it a neighborhood talk." +</p> + +<p> +There was a wicked look in his eye as he said this, and +I secretly wondered if he entertained the same opinion +of <i>Dell</i>, that he evidently did of her sister. At length, +shaking my hand, he bade me good-by, telling me that +the Examining Committee had placed <i>me</i> and my school +in his charge, and that he should probably visit me +officially on Thursday of the following week. Like a very +foolish child, I watched him until a turn in the road hid +him from view, and then with a feeling I could not analyze, +I started for my boarding-place, thinking that if +I gave up my school I should wait until after Thursday. +</p> + +<p> +In the doorway, with her sleeves rolled up above her +elbows, and her hair, as she herself said, "at sixes and +sevens," was Mrs. Ross, who, after informing me that "it +had been a desput rainy day," asked, "if I knew whether +Dr. Clayton had been to Captain Thompson's?" +</p> + +<p> +There was no reason why I should blush at this question, +but I did, though my sunbonnet fortunately concealed +the fact from my interrogator, who, without waiting for +an answer, continued, "He drove past here about fifteen +minutes ago, and I guess he's been sparkin' Dell." +</p> + +<p> +It must have been an evil spirit surely which prompted +my reply that "he had been at the schoolhouse with me." +</p> + +<p> +"How you talk! Isick never said a word about it!" +was Mrs. Ross's exclamation, the blank expression of her +face growing still more blank when I told her that he +did not come until the scholars were gone. +</p> + +<p> +"You two been there all sole alone since four o'clock! +I'll give up now! I hope Dell Thompson won't find it +out, for she's awful slandersome; but," she added, coming +to the gate, and speaking in a whisper, "I'm glad on't, +and mebby she'll draw in her horns, if she finds that +some of the <i>under crust</i>, as she calls 'em, can be noticed +by Dr. Clayton as well as herself." +</p> + +<p> +Equivocal as this compliment was, it gratified me, and +from that moment I felt a spirit of rivalry towards Dell +Thompson. Still, I did not wish her to know of Dr. Clayton's +call, and so I said to Mrs. Ross, who replied, "You +needn't be an atom afeard of <i>my</i> tattlin'. I know too well +what 'tis to be a schoolmarm, and have the hull Deestrict +peekin' at you. So if you've anything you want kept, I'm +the one; for I can be still as the grave. Did the doctor +say anything about Dell, but he didn't, I know, and 'taint +likely he said anything about anybody." +</p> + +<p> +I replied, that he talked with me about my school, and +then as I heard the clock strike six I walked along. +Looking back, as I entered Mr. Randall's gate, I saw +Mrs. Ross's old plaid shawl and brown bonnet disappearing +over the hill as fast as her feet could take them, but I +had no suspicion that her destination was <i>Captain +Thompson's</i>! I did not know the world then as well as I do now, +and when the next morning I met Dell Thompson, who +stared at me insolently, while a haughty sneer curled her +lip, I had no idea that she was jealous of me, little Rosa +Lee, whose heart was lighter, and whose task seemed far +easier on account of Dr. Clayton's past and promised visit. +</p> + +<p> +Saturday night came at last, and very joyfully I started +home on foot, feeling not at all burdened with the +compliments of my patrons or the esteem of my pupils. Oh, +what a shout was raised at the shortness of my three +weeks, as I entered our sitting-room! All laughed at +me, except my mother. She was not disappointed, and +when I drew Carrie's little rocking-chair to her side, and +told her how hard my head was aching, she laid her soft +hand caressingly upon my brow, and gently smoothing +my short curls, bathed my forehead in camphor until the +pain was gone. Had there been no one present but our +own family, I should probably have cried; but owing to +some untoward circumstance, Aunt Sally Wright was +there visiting that afternoon, and as a teacher I felt +obliged to maintain my dignity before her prying eyes. +Almost her first salutation to me was, "Wall, Rosa, so +you've grown old since you left home?" +</p> + +<p> +"I do not understand what you mean," I answered. +</p> + +<p> +"Why, I mean," said she, "that somebody told me +that Mrs. Green told them, that Major Pond's wife told +her, that Mary Downes said, that Nancy Rice heard Miss +Cap'n Thompson say that you told Dr. Clayton you was +sixteen!" +</p> + +<p> +I knew that the subject of my age had not come up +between me and the doctor, but it was useless to deny a +story so well authenticated, so I said nothing, and Aunt +Sally continued: "They do say you thrash 'em round +about right," while mother asked "who Dr. Clayton +was?" +</p> + +<p> +"Why, he's a young pill-pedler, who's taken a shine to +Rosa, and stayed with her alone in the schoolhouse until +<i>pitch dark</i>," said Aunt Sally, her little green eyes +twinkling with the immense satisfaction she felt. +</p> + +<p> +Greatly I marveled as to the source whence she obtained +the information, which so greatly exceeded the +truth; and considering that no one knew of the doctor's +call but <i>Mrs. Ross</i>, it really was a wonder! She was +proceeding with her remarks, when we were summoned to +the supper table, where green tea had so good an effect +upon her, that by the time she was blowing her third cup, +she began to unbend, repeating to me several complimentary +remarks which she said came from Mrs. Ross. By +this I knew that she had Pine Hill as well as Meadow +Brook upon her hands, and, indeed, 'twas strange how +much Aunt Sally did manage to attend to at once; for, +besides keeping her son's wife continually fretted, and +her daughter constantly quarreling with her husband, by +her foolish interference; there was scarcely a thing +transpired in the neighborhood in which she did not have a +part. Not a marriage was in prospect, but she knew +something bad of both parties; not a family <i>jar</i> occurred +in which she did not have a finger. Not a man owed +more than he was worth, but she had foreseen it from the +first in the extravagance of his wife. But everybody in +Meadow Brook knew Aunt Sally, and it was a common +saying, that "her tongue was no slander;" so I did not +feel as much annoyed as I otherwise should at her +spiteful remarks, which continued with little intermission +until dark, when, gathering up her snuff-box, knitting, +and work-bag, she started for home. +</p> + +<p> +The next day was the Sabbath, and if at church, I <i>did</i> +now and then cast a furtive glance at the congregation, +to see if they were looking at me because <i>I</i> was a "school-ma'am," +it was a childish vanity, which <i>I</i> have long since +forgiven, as I trust my reader will do. Among the +audience was our minister's young bride, and when, after +church, he introduced her to me, saying to her, "This +is Rose, who, I told you, was only thirteen and teaching +school," I felt quite reconciled to my lot, and thought +that after all, it was an honor to be a teacher. +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap06"></a></p> + +<h2> +CHAPTER VI. +<br><br> +DR. CLAYTON'S VISIT. +</h2> + +<p> +Very slowly passed the days of my second week, for +my mind was constantly dwelling upon the important +<i>Thursday</i>, which came at last, and, with more than usual +care, I dressed myself for school, sporting a pale blue and +white muslin, which mother said I must wear only on +great occasions. And this, to me, was a great occasion; +and if, for want of a better mirror, I at noon went down +to a clear spring in the woods, and there gave a few +smoothing touches to my toilet, it was a weakness of which, in +a similar way, many an older female has been guilty. On +my return to the schoolhouse, I requested one of the +larger girls to sweep the floor as clean as she possibly +could, while two or three of the boys were sent after some +green boughs to hang over the windows. +</p> + +<p> +"I'll bet we are going to have company; I thought so +this morning when I see the schoolma'am all dressed up," +whispered one to another—and after a time, Jim +Maxwell's sister ventured to ask me, not who was coming, but +"how many." +</p> + +<p> +With a blush, I replied, "Nobody but Dr. Clayton," +wondering why his name should cleave so to the roof of +my mouth! In a few minutes, the fact that Dr. Clayton +was coming was known both indoors and out, and when +I saw how fast John Thompson took himself home, after +learning the news, I involuntarily felt as if some evil +were impending—a presentiment which proved correct, +for not long after school commenced, there came a gentle +rap at the outer door, which caused a great straightening +up among the scholars, and brought me instantly to my +feet, for I supposed, of course, he had come. What, then, +was my surprise when, instead of him, I met a haughty, +looking young lady, who, frowning majestically upon me, +introduced herself as "Miss Thompson," saying she had +come to visit the school. +</p> + +<p> +I had never before had so good a view of her, and now, +when I saw how dignified she appeared, and that there +really was in her manner something elegant and refined, +I not only felt myself greatly her inferior, but I fancied +that Dr. Clayton would also observe the difference between +us when he saw us together. After offering her the seat +of honor—my splint-bottomed chair—I proceeded with +my duties as composedly as possible, mentally hoping +that the doctor would come soon. She probably divined +my thoughts, for once, when I cast a wistful glance over +the long hill, she said, "You seem to be constantly on +the lookout. Are you expecting any one?" +</p> + +<p> +Involuntarily my eyes sought hers, but I quailed +beneath their quizzical expression, and scarcely knowing +what I said, replied, "No, ma'am," repenting the +falsehood the moment it was uttered, and half-resolving to +confess the truth, when she rejoined, "Oh, I thought +you were," while at the same moment a little girl, who +had been asleep, rolled from her seat, bumping her head, +and raising such an outcry that, for a time, I forgot what +I had said, and when it again recurred to me I thought +it was too late to rectify it. It was the second falsehood +I remembered telling, and it troubled me greatly. Turn +it which way I would it was a lie still, and it smote heavily +upon my conscience. Slowly the afternoon dragged on, +but it brought no Dr. Clayton; and when, at a quarter +of four, I called up my class of Abecedarians to read, what +with the lie and the disappointment, my heart was so full +that I could not force back all the tears which struggled +so fiercely for egress; and when it came Willie Randall's +turn to read, two or three large drops fell upon his chubby +hand, and, looking in my face, he called out in a loud, +distinct voice—"You're cryin', you be!" +</p> + +<p> +This, of course, brought a laugh from all the scholars, +in which I was fain to join, although I felt greatly +chagrined that I should have betrayed so much weakness +before Dell Thompson, who, in referring to it when school +was out, said, "she supposed I wanted to see my mother, +or somebody!" +</p> + +<p> +The sarcastic smile which dimpled the corners of her +mouth angered me, and when, at last, I was alone, my +long pent-up tears fell in copious showers. It is my +misfortune never to be able to cry without disfiguring +my face, so that it is sometimes almost hideous to look +upon; and now, as I slowly walked home, I carefully kept +my parasol lowered, so that no one should see me. But +I could not elude the vigilance of Mrs. Ross, who, as +usual, was at her post in the doorway. Although I knew +she was a dangerous woman, I rather liked her, for there +was, to me, something winning in her apparent friendliness, +and we had come to be quite intimate, so much +so that I usually called there on my way to or from school; +but now, when she bade me come in, I declined, which +act brought her at once to the gate, where she obtained +a full view of my swollen features. +</p> + +<p> +"Laws a mercy!" she exclaimed, "what's up now? +Why, you look like a toad. What's the matter?" +</p> + +<p> +"Nothing much," I said, and this was all she could +solicit from me. +</p> + +<p> +That night she called at Mr. Randall's, and after sitting +awhile, asked me "to walk a little piece with her." I +saw there was something on her mind, and conjecturing +that it might have some connection with me, I obeyed +willingly, notwithstanding Mrs. Randall's silent attempts to +keep me back. Twitching my sleeve when we were outside +the gate, Mrs. Ross asked if "it were true that I cried +because Dr. Clayton didn't come as he promised?" +</p> + +<p> +"Why, what do you mean?" I said. To which she +replied, by telling me that after I left her, she just ran in +to Cap'n Thompson's a minute or two, when, who should +she find there but Dr. Clayton, and when Dell told him +she'd been to visit the school, he said, "Ah, indeed, I +was intending to do so myself this afternoon, but I was +necessarily detained by a very sick patient." +</p> + +<p> +"'That explains why she cried so,' said Dell, and then," +continued Mrs. Ross, "she went on to tell him how you +looked out of the winder, and when she asked you if you +expected anybody, you said 'No,' and then at last you +cried right out in the school." +</p> + +<p> +"The mean thing!" I exclaimed. "Did she tell Dr. Clayton +all that?" +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, she did," answered Mrs. Ross; "and it made +my blood bile to hear her go on makin' fun of you, that +is, kinder makin' fun." +</p> + +<p> +"And the doctor, what did he say?" I asked. To which +she replied, "Oh, he laughed, and said it was too bad to +disappoint you, if it affected you like that, but he couldn't +help it." +</p> + +<p> +I hardly knew at which I was most indignant, Dr. Clayton +or Dell, and when I laid my aching head on my pillow, +my last thoughts were, that "if Dr. Clayton ever did come +to school I'd let him know I didn't care for him—he might +have Dell Thompson and welcome!" +</p> + +<p> +I changed my mind, however, when early the next afternoon, +the gentleman himself appeared to vindicate his +cause, saying he was sorry that he could not have kept +his appointment, adding, as he finally relinquished my +hand, "You had company, though, I believe, and so, on +the whole, I am glad I was detained, for I had rather visit +you alone." +</p> + +<p> +Much as I now esteem Dr. Clayton, I do not hesitate to +say that he was then a male flirt, a species of mankind +which I detest. He was the handsomest, most agreeable +man I had ever seen, and by some strange fascination, he +possessed the power of swaying me at his will. This he +well knew, and hence the wrong he committed by working +upon my feelings. Never passed hours more agreeably +to me than did those of that afternoon. And I even +forgot that I was to go home that night, and that in all +probability father would come for me as soon as school +was out, thus preventing the quiet talk alone with +Dr. Clayton, which I so much desired: so when, about four +o'clock, I saw the head of old Sorrel appearing over the +hill, my emotions were not particularly pleasant, and I +wished I had not been so foolish as to insist upon going +home every week. The driver, however, proved to be +Charlie, and this in a measure consoled me, for he, I +knew, was good at taking <i>hints</i>, and would wait for me +as long as I desired; so I welcomed him with a tolerably +good grace, introducing him to Dr. Clayton, who addressed +him as Mr. Lee, thereby winning his friendship at once +and forever! +</p> + +<p> +When school was out and the scholars gone, I commenced +making preparations for my departure, shutting +down the windows and piling away books, slowly and +deliberately, while Charlie, who seemed in no hurry, amused +himself by whipping at the thistle-tops which grew near +the door. At last Dr. Clayton, turning to him, said, +"And so you have come to carry your sister home, when +I was promising myself that pleasure?" +</p> + +<p> +Charlie glanced at my face, and its expression, doubtless, +prompted his answer, "You can do so now, if you +choose, for I like to ride alone." +</p> + +<p> +Of course I disclaimed against such an arrangement, +but my objections were overruled, and almost before I +knew what I was doing, I found myself seated in +Dr. Clayton's covered buggy, with him at my side. Telling +Charlie "not to be surprised if he did not see us until +sunset," he drove off in a different direction from Meadow +Brook, remarking to me that "it was a fine afternoon for +riding and he meant to enjoy it." +</p> + +<p> +I hardly know whether he had any object in passing +Captain Thompson's, but he certainly did so, bowing +graciously and showing his white teeth to Dell, who, from a +chamber window, looked haughtily down upon me, and +as I afterwards learned, made fun of my pink sunbonnet +and little yellow dotted shawl. The sight of her naturally +led him to speak of her, and much to my surprise, he +asked me how I liked her! I could not answer truthfully +and say, "very well;" so I replied that "I hardly knew +her. She was very fine-looking, and I presumed she was +very intelligent and accomplished." +</p> + +<p> +"You are a good-hearted little girl, Rose," said he, "to +speak thus of her. Do you suppose she would do the +same by you if asked a similar question?" +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, no," I answered eagerly, "she couldn't say I was +fine looking. Nobody ever said that." +</p> + +<p> +"If I should tell you that <i>I</i> think you better looking +than Dell Thompson, what would you say?" he asked, +looking under my bonnet, while, with glowing cheeks, I +turned my head away, and replied, "I am sure you would +not mean it. I know I am ugly, but I do not care so +much about it now as I used to." +</p> + +<p> +There was a silence for some minutes, and when he +spoke again, it was of faces, which, without regularity of +features or brilliancy of complexion, still had an expression +exceedingly pleasing and attractive. "I do not say +yours is such a face," said he, "for I never flatter; but I +do say, and I mean it, too, that I like your looks far better +than I do Miss Thompson's." +</p> + +<p> +If I had cried then, as I wished to, I should have done +a most foolish thing; but by a strong effort of the will, I +forced down my tears, and changing the conversation, +commenced talking on subjects quite foreign to Dell +Thompson, or good looks. I found Dr. Clayton a most +agreeable companion, and ere the close of that ride, he +was "all the world" to me. In short, I suppose I was as +much in love as a child of thirteen can well be, and when we +at last reached home and I introduced him to my mother +and sisters, I blushed like a guilty thing, stealing out of the +room as soon as possible, and staying out for a long time, +although I wanted so much to be back there with him. +</p> + +<p> +"Catched a beau, hain't you? and a handsome one +too!" said Sally, applying her eye to the keyhole and +thus obtaining a view of his face. +</p> + +<p> +Tommy Trimmer, a little boy, five years of age, who +lived near by, and who chanced to be there, overheard +her, and when Dr. Clayton, who was very fond of children, +coaxed him into his lap, he asked, pointing to me, "Be +you Rosa's beau? Sally said you was!" +</p> + +<p> +The doctor laughed aloud, referring Tommy to me for +an answer, and telling him "it was just as I said." +</p> + +<p> +"Rose is altogether too young to be riding round with +beaux. It will give her a bad name," said grandma, when +at last the doctor was gone. +</p> + +<p> +No one made any answer until Lizzie, who was more of +my way of thinking, said, "You must have had beaux +early, grandma, for you wasn't quite fifteen when you +were married; I saw it so in the Bible!" +</p> + +<p> +Of course, grandma had nothing to offer in her own +defense, save the very correct remark, that "girls +nowadays were not what they were when she was +young;"—and here the conversation ceased. +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap07"></a></p> + +<h2> +CHAPTER VII. +<br><br> +DELL THOMPSON'S PARTY. +</h2> + +<p> +One day, about three weeks after the commencement +of my school, I was surprised by a call from Dell Thompson, +who, after conversing awhile, very familiarly, astonished +me with an invitation to visit her the next afternoon. +"She was going to have a few of her friends from the +village," she said, "Dr. Clayton with the rest." +</p> + +<p> +Here she looked at me and I looked out of the window, +while she continued, "You'll come, I suppose." +</p> + +<p> +I replied that I would, after which she departed, leaving +me in a perfect state of bewilderment. <i>I</i> invited +to Captain Thompson's, with Dell's fashionable friends! +What could it mean, and what should I wear? This last +was by far the more important question; for I knew that +the people of the village were noted for their fine dress, +and I, of course, could not compete with them in point +of elegance. Dr. Clayton, too, I had heard, was rather +fastidious in his ideas of a lady's dress, and my heart sank +within me as I mentally enumerated the articles of my +scanty wardrobe, finding therein nothing which I deemed +fit for the occasion, save a white dotted muslin, which +was now lying soiled and wrinkled at the bottom of my +trunk. It is true, I had a blue and white lawn, neatly +made and quite becoming, but my heart was set upon the +muslin, and so when Mrs. Ross, with whom I was that +week boarding, offered to wash and iron it, I accepted +the proffered kindness. +</p> + +<p> +The next morning when I passed Captain Thompson's, +I observed a great commotion in and around the house. +The blinds were thrown back, and through the parlor +windows I caught sight of brooms and dusters, while at +intervals during the day, the scholars brought me tidings +of cake, jellies, and ice-cream, said to be in progress. +At precisely four o'clock I dismissed school, and taking +a short cut across the fields, soon reached my boarding-place, +where I found Mrs. Ross bending over the ironing-table +with a face flushed, and indicative of some anxiety. +</p> + +<p> +"I never see nothin' beat it," she began, holding down +her hot iron and thereby making a slightly yellow spot +on the dress. "I never see nothin' beat it, how this +gown pesters me. It must be poor stuff, or something—but +mebby it'll look better on you," she continued, as she +gave it a finishing touch, and then held it up to view. +</p> + +<p> +And, indeed, it was sorry-looking enough; some places +being wholly destitute of starch, while others were rough +and stiff as a piece of buckram. Common sense told me +to wear the blue, but I had heard Dr. Clayton say that +nothing became a young girl so well as white, and so I +determined to wear it. It would look better on me, I +thought, and with all the eagerness of a child I +commenced my toilet, discovering to my great dismay that I +had neither shoes nor stockings fit to wear with a muslin +dress. The week previous I had taken my best ones +home, where I had purposely left them, not thinking it +possible for me to need them. Here then was a dilemma, +out of which Mrs. Ross at last helped me, by offering to +lend the articles which I lacked; an offer which I gladly +accepted. Her stockings were rather coarse, having been +knit by herself, but they possessed the virtue of being +white, and clean, and would have answered my purpose +very well, had it not been for the slippers which were far +too long for me, and showed almost the whole of my foot. +Besides that, I found it rather difficult keeping them on, +until Mrs. Ross suggested the propriety of stuffing the +toes with cotton! This done, I donned the muslin dress, +which seemed to me much shorter than when I had last +worn it, inasmuch as I had the painful consciousness of +being all feet, whenever I glanced in that direction. +</p> + +<p> +But Mrs. Ross said "I looked mighty crank," at the +same time fastening on my low-necked waist her glass +breast-pin, which she pronounced, "just the checker." +</p> + +<p> +"You orto have some gloves to wear when you get +there," said she, as she saw me drawing on my brown +ones, "and I b'lieve I've got the very thing," she +continued, bringing from the depths of the bureau-drawer a +pair of white cotton mitts, fancifully embroidered on the +back with yellow and blue. These she bade me "tuck in +my bosom until I got there, and on no account to lose +'em, as she had 'em before she was married!" +</p> + +<p> +Thus equipped, I started for Captain Thompson's, +reaching there just as the clock was striking five, and +finding, to my surprise, that I was not only the first +arrival, but that neither Mrs. Thompson nor Dell had yet +commenced dressing! Fearing I had mistaken the day, +I questioned the servant-girl who answered my ring, and +who assured me that I was right, while at the same time +she conducted me to the chamber above, where, in the +long mirror, I obtained a full-length view of myself, feet +and all! My first impulse was to laugh, my second to +cry, and to the latter I finally yielded. No one came +near me—I heard no one—saw no one, until in light +flowing muslin, white silk hose, and the tiniest of all tiny +French slippers, Dell Thompson sailed into the room, +starting with well-feigned surprise when she saw me, +asking how long I had been there and what was the +matter. +</p> + +<p> +Without considering what I was doing, I told her +unreservedly about the shoes and stockings, pointing to my +peacock feet as proof of what I said. With all her faults, +there was enough of the woman about Dell to inspire her +with a feeling of pity for me, and after forcing back the +laugh she could not well help, she said kindly, "Your +shoes are rather large, but I think, perhaps, I can remedy +the difficulty." +</p> + +<p> +At the same time she started to leave the room. What +new impulse came over her, I never knew; but sure am I +that something changed her mind, for, when nearly at +the door, she suddenly paused, saying: "I know, though, +you can't wear my slippers, so it's of no use trying the +experiment:" adding, as she saw how my countenance +fell, "I wouldn't mind it if I were you. Nobody'll notice +it, unless it is Dr. Clayton, who, I believe, admires small +ankles and little feet; but you don't care for him, he's +old enough to be your father, and, besides that, he thinks +you perfect, any way." +</p> + +<p> +Her words and manner annoyed me, and for a moment +I debated in my own mind the propriety of leaving at +once, but I had not seen Dr. Clayton since he carried me +home, and so I finally concluded to remain, thinking that +I would keep my seat, and on no account stir when he was +looking at me. After coming to this conclusion, I ventured +to ask Dell where the rest of the company were, and +was told that they were not invited until evening. +</p> + +<p> +"Until evening," I repeated; "then I guess I'll go before +they come, for I shall be afraid to walk home alone." +</p> + +<p> +"There's a good moon," said she; adding, "You must +not leave, on any account, for that will spoil all +the—pleasure," she said—<i>fun</i> I now think she meant; but I +could not fathom her then, and I never dreamed that she +had invited me there merely to show me up before her +fashionable friends, and make light of me in the +estimation of Dr. Clayton. +</p> + +<p> +"Come down to the parlor," she said at last, after +arranging for the third time the heavy braids of her black, +beautiful hair; and following her, I soon stood in the +presence of Mrs. Thompson, a tall, dark, haughty looking +woman, who, half arising from the sofa, bowed stiffly, +muttering a few words of welcome as Dell introduced +me. +</p> + +<p> +Dropping into the first seat, a large willow chair near +the door, I tried to act natural, but I could not; for turn +which way I would, I felt that a pair of large black eyes +were upon me, scanning me from my head to my <i>feet</i>; +and when her linen cambric handkerchief went up to her +mouth, apparently to stifle a cough, I was certain that it +also smothered a laugh, which I suppose my rather singular +appearance called forth. Right glad was I when both +the ladies found an excuse for leaving the parlor, though +I did find it rather tiresome sitting there alone until the +shades of evening began to fall. +</p> + +<p> +At last, when it was nearly dark, I ventured out upon +the long piazza, where I had not been long, when a +gentleman on horseback galloped into the yard, and in a +moment I recognized Dr. Clayton's voice, as he gave his horse +to the keeping of Captain Thompson's hired man. Hastily +retreating to the parlor, I had just time to seat myself in +a corner where I thought I should attract the least +attention, when he entered the room with Dell, whose hand I +am sure he held until he saw me; then quickly dropping +it, he advanced to my side, greeting me kindly, and once, +when Dell's back was towards us, whispering softly: "I +am so glad to find you here. I was afraid the party +would prove a bore." +</p> + +<p> +Just then we heard the sound of fast coming wheels, +and in a moment there came round the corner a long open +omnibus, drawn by four horses, and densely crowded with +young people of both sexes, all seemingly shouting and +laughing with all their might. I was not much used to +the ways of the world then, and having been taught that +it was not ladylike to be either rude or boisterous, I +wondered greatly that well-bred people should conduct +themselves so badly: a species of wonder, by the way, in +which I now occasionally indulge. Bounding out, and +adjusting their light, flowing robes, the young ladies +went tripping up the stairs, still talking, laughing, and +screaming so loudly, that once I started up, exclaiming, +"Why, what is the matter!" +</p> + +<p> +With a peculiar smile, Dr. Clayton laid his hand on +my head in a very <i>fatherly</i> way, saying: "My little girl +hasn't yet learned that in order to be <i>refined</i>, she must be +rough and boisterous, and I hope she never will, for it is +refreshing to find occasionally something feminine and +natural." +</p> + +<p> +By this time the guests were assembled in the parlor, +and when I saw how tastefully they were dressed, and +how much at ease they appeared, I began to wish myself +anywhere but there. One by one they were presented +to me, I at first keeping my seat; but when Dr. Clayton +whispered to me to stand up, I did so, bending my knees +a little, so as to make my dress longer, and thus partially +hide my feet! But this could not be done, and like two +backgammon boards they set out at right angles, with the +wads of cotton lying up, round and hard. The young +ladies had undoubtedly received a description of me, for +they inspected me closely, glancing the while mischievously +at Dell, who seemed to be in her element; asking +me if I were not tired; telling me I looked so, and adding, +aside, but loud enough for Dr. Clayton and myself to +hear—"I should think she would be, for she's been here +ever since five o'clock. I hadn't even commenced dressing!" +</p> + +<p> +"Is it possible?" said one; while another exclaimed, +"How <i>green</i>! but I suppose it's her first introduction +into society, and she knows no better." +</p> + +<p> +This conversation was probably not intended for me, +but I heard it all, and with much bitterness at my heart +I turned away to hide my tears, involuntarily drawing +nearer to Dr. Clayton, as if for protection. But, for +some reason or other, he did not appear now as he did +when we were alone; then he was all kindness and attention, +while he now evidently avoided me; seeming slightly +annoyed when any of his acquaintance teased him about +me, as I more than once heard them doing. In his +nature, as in every other man's, there were both good +and bad qualities, and they now seemed warring with +each other; the former chiding him for deserting me +when I stood so much in need of his attention, and the +latter shrinking from anything which would incur the +ridicule of his companions. +</p> + +<p> +At last, as if his good genius had conquered, he suddenly +broke away from a group of girls, and crossing over +to where I was standing, offered me his arm, telling me +"I must stir round and be more sociable." +</p> + +<p> +I looked down at my feet, so did he, and for an instant +there was a flush on his face; but it passed off, and with +a word of encouragement, he led me towards the music-room, +where Dell Thompson was unmercifully pounding +a five hundred dollar piano, which groaned and shrieked +under the infliction, while the bystanders, who had +insisted upon her playing, were all talking together, +seemingly intent upon seeing which could make the +most noise, they or the instrument. +</p> + +<p> +"Do you play, Miss Lee?" was asked me by half a +dozen or more. +</p> + +<p> +I had taken lessons two quarters, and I could play a few +dancing tunes, marches, etc., and so I said, whereupon +they insisted upon my favoring them with Mony Musk, +as they wanted to dance, and none of them could perform +anything as <i>old-fashioned</i> as that. I looked at Dr. Clayton, +who, in a low tone, asked, "Are you sure you can +get through with it?" +</p> + +<p> +There was <i>doubt</i> in the tones of his voice which touched +my pride, and without deigning him an answer I took my +seat, resolving to do my best. The set was soon formed, +Dr. Clayton dancing with Dell Thompson, who remarked +as he led her away—"I suppose we shall have a rare +performance." +</p> + +<p> +Something, I am sure, must have inspired me, for never +before did I play so well; keeping perfect time, and +striking every note distinctly. My audience were evidently +both surprised and pleased, for they called for piece after +piece, until my list was exhausted, when one of the +gentlemen, more thoughtful than the ladies, suggested the +possibility of my being tired. +</p> + +<p> +"Perhaps she dances, too. Ask her, Bob," said a young +lady, while Dell eagerly rejoined, "Oh, yes, do;" but Bob +was forestalled by Dr. Clayton, who, for several minutes, +had stood by my side, complimenting my playing, and +who now asked me to be his partner in the next cotillon, +his cousin having volunteered to take my place at the +piano. +</p> + +<p> +In my excitement I forgot my <i>shoes</i>, forgot everything, +save that Dr. Clayton's eye was looking down upon me, +that my hand was resting in his, and ere I was aware of +it, I found myself upon the floor. I was perfectly +familiar with the changes of the cotillon, but at my right was +John Thompson; who, when it came his turn to swing +with me, refused to take my hand, treating me with such +marked insolence that I became confused, and made +several mistakes, at which he laughed contemptuously. +Besides this, my big shoes incommoded me; and at last, in +the midst of the promenade, one of them dropped off, the +<i>cotton-ball</i> rolled out, I tripped, lost my balance, and +after one or two headlong plunges, fell flat at the feet of +Dr. Clayton, who stood aghast with surprise and mortification. +It was ludicrous enough, I know; but I do not think +there was any necessity for the loud roar which was raised +over my mishap; and, burning with shame and vexation, +I gathered myself up, and fled from the room; but not +until I heard Dell Thompson say, as she picked up the +shoe and passed it to Dr. Clayton, "It is Mrs. Ross's; +she hadn't any of her own which she thought suitable, +and so she borrowed." +</p> + +<p> +"That accounts for the <i>cotton-wad</i>," said John, dealing +said wad a kick that sent it bounding past me. +</p> + +<p> +Rushing up the stairs, I found my shawl and bonnet; +and then, without a word to any one, started for home, +minus my shoe, which I entirely forgot in my excitement. +I had scarcely got outside the gate when the sound of a +footstep caused me to look round, and I saw Dr. Clayton, +his hat in one hand and Mrs. Ross's slipper in the other. +This last he passed to me, and then without a word drew +my arm within his, and for a time we walked on in silence, +while I cried as if my heart would break. Coming at last +to an old oak tree, under which a rude bench had been +constructed, he bade me sit down; and placing himself by +my side, asked me, "What was the matter?" +</p> + +<p> +"You know well enough what's the matter," I said +angrily, struggling to rise; but his arm was strong, and +he held me fast, while he tried to quiet me, and in this he +soon succeeded, for he possessed over me a power which +I could not resist. +</p> + +<p> +Gradually, as I grew calm, I told him all; how I +believed that Dell Thompson had invited me only to +ridicule me, how she had asked me to come in the +afternoon, and then made fun of me for doing so; while her +companions called me <i>green</i>; and that in the absence of +my own slippers I had worn those of Mrs. Ross; thereby +meeting with the worst catastrophe of all; to wit, the +falling flat in the dance! +</p> + +<p> +Here I broke down entirely, and cried out aloud; while +the doctor, after one or two hearty laughs at my distress, +tried again to comfort me, asking me what I cared for +Dell Thompson's ridicule. "She wasn't worth minding," +he said, "and no one who knows her would attach any +importance to her remarks." +</p> + +<p> +"But what makes her treat me so?" I asked; "I never +harmed her." +</p> + +<p> +For a time the doctor said nothing; but the arm, which +all the time had encircled my waist, drew me still closer +to his side, while he at last replied, "She is <i>jealous of +you</i>—jealous because she thinks I like <i>the little Rose</i> better +than I do her." +</p> + +<p> +"And it's very foolish in her to think so," I exclaimed. +</p> + +<p> +Again the doctor was silent, but by the light of the full +moon I saw that there was a curious train of thought +passing through his mind, but it did not manifest itself +in words; for when he again spoke, it was merely to +reply, "Yes, very foolish;" then, after another pause, +he added, "and still I know of no reason why I should +like her best—do you?" +</p> + +<p> +"Yes," I answered quickly, "there are many reasons. +She is handsome; I am homely. She is graceful; I am +awkward. She is rich; I am poor——" +</p> + +<p> +"She is artificial; you are truthful;" said he, +interrupting me, while, without paying any heed to this +remark, I continued, "she is a young lady, and I am a +little girl—only thirteen." +</p> + +<p> +"I wish you were older, Rose," said he, "and had seen +a little more of the world." +</p> + +<p> +Then followed a long conversation in which much was +said, which had far better been left unsaid; for I was a +warm-hearted, impulsive child, believing that I to him +was what he was to me. And still he did not once +commit himself, nor in what he said was there aught which +could possibly have been construed into an avowal of +anything save <i>friendship</i>, which was the theme upon which +he rang many a change. Alas, for such friendships! +They are dangerous to one's peace of mind, particularly +if told beneath an old oak tree, with the silvery +moonlight shining down upon you, and the soft summer air +gently moving the green leaves above your head. How +long we sat there I do not know; but I was the first to +propose going, telling him they would miss him at the +party, and wonder at his absence. +</p> + +<p> +"Let them wonder then," said he; "I have no intention +of returning to the house. It would be intolerable +after this pleasant chat with you, so I shall just get my +horse and go quietly home." +</p> + +<p> +I did not then know that he had not sufficient courage +to brave the jokes and jeers which he knew were sure to +greet him, should he return to Captain Thompson's. +Neither did I know that with his fashionable friends he +would scarcely dare defend me; nor that when John +Thompson, once in his presence, imitated the way in +which I stumbled and fell, <i>he</i> joined in the laugh which +followed; saying, though as if in apology, "that it was +too bad to make fun of me, for I was quite a nice little +girl." +</p> + +<p> +We found Mrs. Ross sitting up for me, sleeping in her +chair, while the tallow candle at her side had burned and +spluttered away, until the black, crisped wick was longer +than the candle itself. +</p> + +<p> +"Lordy massy! doctor, is that you?" she exclaimed, +rubbing open her eyes and hooking up her dress, which, +for comfort, she had loosened. "I thought, mebby, you'd +beau Rosa home. Come in and stay a spell. I'd as lief +you'd spark it awhile in t'other room as not!" +</p> + +<p> +But the doctor had no idea of doing anything so marked +as that; and with a whispered good night to me, and an +audible one to Mrs Ross, he departed; just as the good +lady asked me, loud enough for him to hear, "if I'd +dirtied her <i>stockings</i>, lost her <i>mitts</i>, or broken her +breast-pin?" +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap08"></a></p> + +<h2> +CHAPTER VIII. +<br><br> +CLOSE OF SCHOOL IN PINE DISTRICT. +</h2> + +<p> +Whether Dr. Clayton cared for me or not, he exerted +his influence in my behalf, plainly telling John Thompson +that he ought to be ashamed to annoy me as he did; +and dropping a few hints to Mrs. Thompson, who now +tried to restrain her son; so that after the party hostilities +in that quarter nearly ceased. But the ball was in motion, +and could not well be stopped; for what the Thompsons +now lacked, the rest of the District made up. It was the +general impression, I believe, that the scholars had learned +nothing save a few pieces of poetry; and that I had done +nothing but whip, scold, and cry. To all these accusations +I plead guilty, and when Mr. Randall, one day, +proposed to me to bring my labors to a close, I replied +that "nothing could please me better," though there +was a tremor in my voice as I thought how the people of +Meadow Brook would laugh. Mr. Randall, probably, +divined my thoughts, for he quickly rejoined, "The +weather is gettin' so hot that the youngsters need a vacation. +Mebby, in the fall, when it is cooler, we shall have +you back." +</p> + +<p> +And so it was settled that school should close the next +week on Saturday, and that on Friday I should have an +<i>examination</i>! This, to a teacher in Western New York, +may seem strange; but those who have taught in that +part of New England where I did, know that such a thing +cannot well be avoided. No matter how small the school, +or hew inefficient the teacher may be, an examination +must be held, or you at once lose <i>caste</i>; the people +unanimously declaring you to be ashamed of showing how little +your pupils have learned. In my case, I was rather +anxious than otherwise for an opportunity to show off; for I +was sure my scholars would acquit themselves creditably. +I well knew they could stand up and repeat "verses," the +multiplication table, the names of the fourteen counties of +Massachusetts, and tell who made them, and where the +sun rose, louder and faster than any other seventeen +children in town! I confidently expected all the parents +and friends to be there, and as my own wardrobe was +rather scanty, I coaxed my sister Anna, who, though +several years my senior, was still not much taller than +myself, to let me wear her new black silk! +</p> + +<p> +It was my first appearance in a long dress, and it +troubled me greatly; but by dint of holding it up, as +ladies do nowadays, I succeeded in getting to the +schoolhouse, where I found my pupils arrayed in their best; +Ike Ross having in his shirt bosom the selfsame glass +breastpin which I had sported at Dell Thompson's party. +Not wishing the spectators to lose any of the exercises, I +sat in grim silence, awaiting their arrival: but my waiting +was all in vain; for, with the exception of Mrs. Randall +and Dr. Clayton, the latter of whom came in the +capacity of Inspector, not a single individual was present! +Not a parent—not a friend, nor a foe—and still, if the +examination had not been held, those who stayed away +would have ridiculed me, and voted my school even a +worse failure than they did. So much for consistency. +Parents, I think, are not sufficiently aware of the great +good their occasional presence in the schoolroom will do, +both to teacher and scholar; the latter of whom will +almost invariably study harder and strive to have better +lessons, if there is a prospect of their father or mother's +hearing them recite; while the former, feeling that an +interest is taken in them, will also be incited to fresh +efforts for the improvement of those committed to their +charge. +</p> + +<p> +But not thus thought the people of Pine Hill. Satisfied +that an examination was going on, they stayed at +home, expressing their surprise when they heard that +nobody was there, wondering what it meant, and saying +"folks ought to be ashamed for not going!" As if to +make amends for their neglect, Dr. Clayton, in his +closing remarks, said some very complimentary things +concerning my school, which he bade the children repeat to +their parents; and such is human nature, that, when I +had received my <i>Eight Dollars</i>, and was gone, the District, +in speaking of me, said, "I wasn't the <i>worst</i> teacher, +after all." +</p> + +<p> +About four o'clock, there came up a thunder shower, +which caused both Mrs. Randall and the scholars to +hasten home. Dr. Clayton, on the contrary, was in no +hurry. "It was, perhaps, the last opportunity he would +have of seeing me," he said, "and he meant to improve it." +</p> + +<p> +It was not very far to Meadow Brook I thought, and +so I at last ventured to say. +</p> + +<p> +"I know that," he replied; "but people might talk +were I to call on you, and I do not wish to do anything +which will affect you unpleasantly." +</p> + +<p> +"I don't care what folks say," arose to my lips, but its +utterance was prevented by a flash of lightning and a +thunder crash, which made me shriek aloud, while I +covered my face with my hands. +</p> + +<p> +I shall not describe the way which Dr. Clayton took to +calm my fright, for all who have passed through a similar +experience can imagine it; but the remembrance of that +thunder-storm lingered in my memory long after I had +forgotten the night when I sat with him in the soft +light beneath the old oak tree. When the storm had +ceased and the sun was again shining on the tree-tops at +the west, he left me, placing on my hand at parting a +little gold ring, on which was inscribed, simply "Rose." +</p> + +<p> +"It was the gift of friendship," he said—"nothing +more;" and he wished me to wear it "for the sake of +the few pleasant hours we had spent together." +</p> + +<p> +I suppose it was wrong in me to accept it. I thought +so then, but I could not refuse it; and remembering the +fate of the one sent by Herbert Langley to Anna, I +resolved upon keeping it a secret, and only wearing it when +I was alone. For a long time I sat in the deserted +schoolroom, while the damp air, which came through the open +window, fell upon my uncovered neck and arms, nor was +I reminded of the lapse of time until it began to grow +dark around me; then hastily throwing on my things, I +started for Mr. Randall's, wetting my feet, for I had no +rubbers with me. As the result of this, when I awoke +next morning I was conscious of a pain in my head, a +soreness in my throat, and an aching of my back, quite +as unexpected as it was disagreeable. I had taken a +violent cold, and Mrs. Randall, when she saw how pale +I was and how faint I appeared, said I must not go to +school. George, she said, would go and tell the scholars, +and I must stay there until my father came for me at +night as had been arranged the week before. To this +plan I finally yielded, and all the day long I hovered over +the fire, which, in the little sitting-room, was kindled for +my comfort. +</p> + +<p> +At night, when my father came for me, I was almost +too weak to stand alone; but the excitement of riding +imparted to me an artificial strength, which wholly +deserted me the moment I reached home, and for many +days I kept my bed, attended by <i>Dr. Clayton</i>, who +accidentally heard of my illness, and who came daily to see +me. Grandma, who was something of a nurse, proposed +several times that he be dismissed, saying, he only made +me worse, for I was always more feverish and restless +after one of his visits! But the doctor, to whom she one +day made the suggestion, said he should not leave me +until I was well, and when she asked him how he +accounted for my rapid pulse and flushed cheeks, whenever +he was present, he very gravely replied, that "possibly +my <i>heart</i> might be <i>affected</i>—the symptoms seemed much +like it," adding, as he saw the look of concern on +grandma's face, "but I think I can cure that, don't you, +Rose?" turning to me, and taking my hand to see <i>how +fast my pulse did beat</i>! +</p> + +<p> +After this, grandma made no further objections to his +visits. "If Rose had the heart disease, and he could +cure it, he ought to do so!" +</p> + +<p> +But, alas! for the heart disease, which feeds upon the +smile of one who, when sure that he holds it in his grasp, +casts it from him, as children do a long coveted toy, of +which they have grown weary. +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap09"></a></p> + +<h2> +CHAPTER IX. +<br><br> +PRO AND CON. +</h2> + +<p> +On a pleasant May morning, in the spring succeeding +the events narrated in the last chapter, the door of +Dr. Clayton's office was locked against all intruders. The +shutters were closed; while within, with his feet upon a +table and his hands clasped over his head, the doctor +himself was revolving the all-important question—whether it +were better to offer himself at once to Dell Thompson +"and have it done with," or to wait a few years for a +<i>little girl</i>, who had recently crossed his pathway, +leaving on his memory footprints he could not easily efface. +For the benefit of any young man who may be similarly +situated, we give a portion of his reasoning, as follows: +</p> + +<p> +"Now, I am as positive as a man need be that I can +have either of them for the asking; therefore, in a case +which involves the happiness of one's whole life, it +behooves me to consider the matter well. To be sure, if I +follow the bent of my inclination, I am decided at once; +but then, marriages of convenience sometimes prove just +as pleasant as those of pure love; and so I'll go over with +the pros and cons of both, deciding upon the one which +has the most of the former! +</p> + +<p> +"First, then, there's <i>Rose</i>, a most beautiful name. +Only think how refreshing it would be after riding ten or +twelve miles, visiting farmer Stubbs or widow Grubbs, to +know there was a <i>Rose</i> watching for your return. Yes, +her name is in her favor." +</p> + +<p> +Here the hands came down from the head, and wrote +One <i>pro</i> against the name of Rose, after which they +resume their former position, and the doctor goes on with +his soliloquy: +</p> + +<p> +"She is frank, artless, unassuming, means what she +says—in short, she is perfectly natural, and I always feel +refreshed after a talk with her." (Makes <i>pro</i> No. 2.) +"Then she is so wholly unselfish in her affection for +me—loves me so devotedly—sees no fault in me +whatever—thinks me handsome, I dare say, and all that." +</p> + +<p> +Here glancing at himself in a little mirror opposite, +and smoothing his shining mustache, the doctor waxes +eloquent on said Rose's supposed admiration for him, +writing down, in the heat of his excitement two <i>pros</i>, +making in all <i>four</i>! Verily, Rosa Lee, your prospect of +becoming Mrs. Dr. Clayton is brightening fast. But to +proceed: +</p> + +<p> +"She is smart, intelligent, talented, writes poetry—and, +with proper training, would perhaps make a +distinguished writer. Were I sure on this point, I should +not hesitate; but you can't tell what these precocious +children will make; frequently they come to a standstill." +</p> + +<p> +And here, to make the matter sure, he writes against +her name one <i>pro</i> for what she possibly may be, and one +<i>con</i> for what she probably will not be! +</p> + +<p> +"Then I love her better than anything else in the +known world. I do, that's a fact; but she's young—only +fourteen—and before she's old enough to marry she may +change forty times, and that would kill me dead." +</p> + +<p> +Puts down one <i>pro</i> for his own love, and one <i>con</i> for +Rose's possible inconstancy. +</p> + +<p> +"But she is poor—or, her father, they say, is worth +only about $5,000! He already has nine children, and +there's time enough for three or four more:—<i>thirteen</i> +into <i>five thousand</i> makes—<i>Long Division</i>, a rule I never +fancied; too poor altogether!" +</p> + +<p> +And against Rose's name there is <i>con</i> No. 3, <i>long</i> and +<i>black</i>, with the shadow of her four unborn brothers, who, +by the way, never came in for a share of the $5,000. +</p> + +<p> +"Then her family connections, I do not suppose, are +such as would add anything to my influence. Good, +respectable people, no doubt, but not known in the world +like the Hungerfords, Dell Thompson's maternal relatives. +To be sure, I once heard Rose speak of an uncle who +resides in Boston, but I dare say he's some grocer or +mechanic, living on a back street; while Dell's uncle, from +the same city, must be a man of wealth and importance, +judging by the figure his wife cuts when she visits the +captain." +</p> + +<p> +Here Dell received a <i>pro</i> for the Hungerford blood +flowing in her veins, while Rose had a <i>con</i> for the want +of said Hungerford blood. +</p> + +<p> +"Dell, too, has $10,000 of her own, or rather will have, +when her grandmother dies; and there are not many +young men who can jump into that fortune every day. +Yes, $10,000 is a decided temptation." +</p> + +<p> +And lest Rose, who already numbered <i>six</i>, should come +out in the majority, three long marks were put down +against the $10,000 to be inherited at the death of a +grandmother, whose name Dell bore. +</p> + +<p> +"Then Dell has an <i>air</i>, which shows at once what she is, +and no man need be ashamed of her in any place." (Mark +No. 5.) "Then, again, she's handsome—decidedly +so—such beautiful eyes! such small feet! and curls!" +</p> + +<p> +Here a vague remembrance of certain long shoes, with +wads of cotton, <i>versus</i> French slippers and silken hose, +arose before the man of the world, resulting in a <i>pro</i> for +the slippers, and a <i>con</i> for the cotton! +</p> + +<p> +"But Dell is deceitful—high-tempered—artificial—selfish, +superficial—and all that! The other picture suits +me best, or would, were it not for the Hungerford blood, +and the $10,000. Let me see how it foots up:—Six <i>pros</i> +for Dell, and the same number for Rose." +</p> + +<p> +Here was a dilemma; but anon he remembered how +awkwardly the last mentioned young lady looked, when +she fell at his feet—and this decides the matter. He is +sensitive to ridicule, very, and he could not endure the +sneering remarks which an avowed attachment to her +might call forth from the world of fashion; so he crosses +one of the <i>pros</i> which he had written against her name, +when he thought how much she admired him—and then it +stands, Dell 6; Rose 5! +</p> + +<p> +Thus was the die cast. Alas! for the young girl, who, +that same spring morning, stole away to her accustomed +haunt, the old grape-vine, whose swelling buds were not an +unfit symbol of the bright hopes now springing in her glad +heart. As she sits there alone, with the running brook +at her feet, she thinks of him who has grown so strongly +into her love; and though, in words, he has never said +so, by ten thousand little acts he has told her that her +affection was returned, and for his sake she wishes she +was older. He has wished so too, in her presence, many +a time; but as that cannot be, she resolves to spend the +season of her childhood in making herself what she knows +he would wish her to be, were she to share his lot in life; +and then, when the lapse of years shall have, ripened her +into womanhood, she thinks how she can, without shame, +put her hand in his, and go forth into the world satisfied, +though it brought her naught but care, if he were only +with her. +</p> + +<p> +Alas, for thee, Rosa! A few miles to the southward, and +the same sun which now shines softly down on you, looks +in through a richly curtained window, and its golden rays +fall on the queenly form of your rival; who, with a look of +exultation on her finely cast features, listens to the words +she has long waited to hear, and which have now been +spoken; while he, of whom you dream, bends gently over +her, <i>his own—his betrothed</i>! And still, in the very +moment of his triumph, there comes up before him a pale, +childish face, which, with its dreamy eyes of blue, looks +reproachfully upon him. But pride and ambition weave +together a veil which hides the image from his view, +bidding him forget that any other save the peerless Dell, +e'er stirred the fountain of his love. +</p> + +<p class="thought"> +* * * * * * +</p> + +<p> +Would it be well for us always to know what is passing +in the minds of our friends, whether present or absent? +I think not; and still, could Rosa Lee have known what +had transpired, methinks she would not have darted away +so quickly as she did, when told that Dr. Clayton was +coming through the gate one afternoon, about six weeks +after his engagement with Dell. <i>Why</i> she ran, she could +not tell, except it were, as her brother Charlie said, that +"gals always run off and <i>spit on their hair</i>, when they saw +their beaux coming." +</p> + +<p> +Homely as this expression is, there was in this case some +truth in it; for, though Rose did not <i>spit</i> upon her hair, +she went to her room and brushed it, winding one or two +of the rougher curls about her finger, then taking from +its hiding-place the ring, his gift, she placed it upon her +finger, and with heightened color went down to greet the +doctor, who had come to make his farewell visit—for, four +weeks from that night, Dell Thompson would be his wife. +Long had he debated the propriety of seeing Rose again, +conscience bidding him leave her alone, while inclination +clamored loudly for one more quiet talk with her, one +more walk by moonlight, one more look into her childish +face, and then he would leave her forever; never again +suffering a thought of her to come between him and the +bride of his choice. +</p> + +<p> +And for this purpose he had come; but when he saw +how joyfully Rose met him, and how the bloom deepened +on her usually pale cheek, his heart misgave him, and for +the first time, he began to realize the wrong he had done +her. But it was now too late to remedy it, he thought; +and as if bent upon making matters still worse, he asked +her to accompany him in a walk down the green lane, to +the haunts he knew she loved the best, and where they had +more than once been before. Oh, that walk!—how long it +lingered in the memory of Rose, for never before had the +doctor's manner been so marked, or his words so kind as +when, together they sat upon the moss-grown bank, beneath +the spreading vine, while he talked to her of the past, +of the happiness he had experienced in her society, and +which he said would be one of the few green spots, to +which, in the years to come, he should look back with +pleasure. Then drawing her so closely to him that her +head almost rested upon his shoulder, he asked of her the +privilege of "once kissing her before they parted"——he +did not say <i>forever</i>, but the rustling leaves and the +murmuring brook whispered it in her ear as she granted his +request, shuddering the while, and wondering at the +strangeness of his manner. Possibly he had it in his +mind to tell her, but if so, he found himself unequal to +the task, and he left her without a word of the coming +event, of which she had not the slightest suspicion. +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap10"></a></p> + +<h2> +CHAPTER X. +<br><br> +MRS. DR. CLAYTON. +</h2> + +<p> +Although Meadow Brook and Pine District were distant +from each other only four or five miles, there was +between the two neighborhoods but little communication; +and this, added to the fact that Aunt Sally Wright was +confined to her bed, was undoubtedly the reason why the +news of the approaching nuptials did not reach us until +the week before the time appointed for them to take place. +It was a warm sultry day in July, that Aunt Sally, who +was now convalescent, sent us word that she would visit +us that afternoon, if it was perfectly convenient; the +little girl who brought the message, adding that "Miss +Wright said Miss Lee needn't put herself out an atom, as +she wan't a bit particular what she <i>ett</i>." +</p> + +<p> +Of course it was convenient, and about one o'clock she +came, talkative and full of news as ever. I was suffering +from a severe headache, which, during the morning, had +kept me confined to the bed; but knowing how much Aunt +Sally would have to tell, and feeling curious to hear it all, +I went down to the sitting-room, where her first exclamation +was, "Now do tell what makes you look so down in +the mouth?" +</p> + +<p> +I was about to tell her of my headache, when she +prevented me by continuing—"But law! it's no wonder, +seein' you've lost the doctor slick and clean." +</p> + +<p> +A dim foreshadowing of the truth came over me, but +with a strong effort, I controlled my feelings, and in a very +indifferent manner, asked her what she meant. +</p> + +<p> +"Now I'll give up," said she, "if you hain't heerd on't. +Why, it's in everybody's mouth. They are to be married +next Thursday night, at nine o'clock; and the dress is +white satin, with a veil that comes most to the floor." +</p> + +<p> +"Who is to be married?" asked Anna, eagerly, her +interest all awakened by the mention of white satin and +lace veils. +</p> + +<p> +"Why, Dr. Clayton and Dell Thompson;" returned +Aunt Sally. "They was published last Sunday; Andy +Slosson see it himself and told me. They are goin' first +out to York State, to see them great Falls, and then they +are goin' to live in Boston, boardin' at some of them big +taverns; and Dell has got six bran new gowns a-purpose +to wear to breakfast." +</p> + +<p> +Here Aunt Sally paused for breath, while Anna asked +who was invited, and if it was to be a large wedding. +</p> + +<p> +"I don't know how large," said Aunt Sally, "but it's +pretty likely all the upper crust'll be there. <i>I</i> hain't been +invited, 'cause they think I'm sick, I s'pose,—but goodness +alive! look at Rosa!" she continued, pointing towards +me, who, weary and faint, had laid my head upon +the window-stool. +</p> + +<p> +"She's got the sick headache," said Anna, while Lizzie, +with a delicate tact, for which in my heart I blessed her, +came up to me, saying, "I don't believe you are able to sit +up; I'd go to bed." +</p> + +<p> +Glad of any excuse to be alone, I left the room, going to +my chamber, where I wept myself to sleep. When I awoke +the sun had set, but I heard the voices of the family +below, and once when I thought I caught the sound of +Dr. Clayton's name, I involuntarily stopped my ears to shut +out the sound. A moment after, the door of my room +was softly opened, and Carrie came stealing in on tiptoe. +Learning that I was awake, she advanced towards me, holding +to view a note, which she said had been left there for +me by Captain Thompson's hired man, and was an invitation +to the wedding! It was still sufficiently light for me +to see, and leaning upon my elbow, I read on a card, that +Mrs. Thompson would be "at home" from eight to eleven +on the evening of the 25th, while in the corner were +the names of "Dr. Clayton and Dell Thompson." +</p> + +<p> +There was no longer a shadow of hope!—it was all +true, and he had insulted me with an invitation to +witness his marriage with another! I did not know then, as +I afterwards did, that the invitation was purposely sent +by Dell to annoy me! For a moment I forgot my headache +in my anger, but ere long it returned in all its force, +and if the next day my headache continued with unabated +severity, it was not without a sufficient cause, for +sleepless nights are seldom conducive to one's health. Of +course I did not attend the wedding, which was said to +have been a brilliant affair; the bride and the table +looking beautifully, while the bridegroom, it was rumored, +was pale and nervous, making the responses in a scarcely +audible tone of voice. +</p> + +<p> +The next morning, between eight and nine o'clock, as +I was on my way to school, I met the traveling carriage +of Capt. Thompson, which was taking the newly married +couple to the dépôt. John was driving, while on the back +seat, with his arm partly around his bride, was the doctor. +My first impulse was not to look at them, but this act +<i>pride</i> forbade, and very civilly I returned the nod of Dell, +and the polite bow of the doctor, whose face turned +crimson when he saw me. A moment more, and a turn of the +road hid them from my view; then seating myself upon a +large flat stone, beneath a tree, where were the remains of a +<i>play-house</i> built by my own hands only the autumn before, +I cried out loud, thinking myself the most wretched of +beings, and wondering if ever any one before had such +trouble as I! As nearly as I am able to judge, I was +taking my first lesson in <i>love-sickness</i>; a kind of disease +which is seldom dangerous, but, like the toothache, very +disagreeable while it lasts. At least I found it so, and for +weeks I pined away with a kind of sentimental melancholy, +which now appears to me wholly foolish and ridiculous; +for were I indeed the wife of Dr. Clayton, instead of +Rosa Lee, this book would undoubtedly never have been +written; while in place of bending over the inkstand this +stormy morning, as I am doing, I should probably have been +engaged in washing, dressing, scolding, and cuffing three +or four little Claytons, or in the still more laudable +employment of darning the socks and mending the <i>trousers</i> +(a thing, by the way, which I can't do) of said little +Claytons' sire; who, by this time, would, perhaps, have +ceased to call me "his Rose," bestowing upon me the less +euphonious title of "she," or "my woman?" +</p> + +<p> +But not thus did I reason then. I only knew that I had +lost him and was very unhappy. Many a long walk I took +alone in the shadowy woods, singing to myself snatches +of love-songs, particularly the one containing the following: +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + "I have not loved lightly—<br> + I'll think of thee yet,<br> + And I'll pray for thee nightly,<br> + Till life's sun is set."<br> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p> +Somehow, too, I got the impression that my heart was +all broken to pieces; and this fact satisfactorily settled, +I began to take a melancholy pleasure in brooding over +my <i>early death</i>, and thinking how Dr. Clayton would feel, +when he heard the sad news! Almost every week I was +<i>weighed</i>, feeling each time a good deal chagrined to find +that I was not losing flesh as fast as a person in a decline +would naturally do. In this state of affairs, I one day +came across a little sketch of Hannah More, in which her +early disappointment was described, and forthwith I +likened myself to <i>her</i>, and taking courage from her +example, I finally concluded that if I could not have the +doctor I could at least write for the newspapers, and some +day I might perhaps be able to make a <i>book</i>. This, I +thought, would amply atone for my loss—an opinion +which I hold still, for if ever I do see myself in a book, +and the <i>reviews</i> let me alone, which, in consideration of +all I have suffered, I am sure they will do, I shall consider +it a most fortunate circumstance that Dell's $10,000, in +prospect, proved a stronger temptation than my father's +$5,000 divided by thirteen! +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap11"></a></p> + +<h2> +CHAPTER XI. +<br><br> +BOSTON. +</h2> + +<p> +The bridal party had returned from the Falls, and +after spending a week or more at Capt. Thompson's the +doctor took down his sign, boxed up his books, pills, +powders, and <i>skeleton</i>, which some called his <i>'natomy</i>, while +Dell packed up her six morning gowns with hosts of other +finery, and then one day in August they started for +Boston; where the doctor hoped for a wider field of labor, +fully expecting to be aided by the powerful influence +of Mr. Marshall, his wife's uncle, whose high station in +the city he never once doubted. For this opinion he had, +as the world goes, some well-founded reasons; for not +only did Dell often quote "my Aunt Marshall of Boston," +but the lady herself also managed to impress the people +of Pine District with her superiority over them, and her +great importance at home. Notwithstanding that she +frequently spent several weeks at Capt. Thompson's she +still could not endure the country—"the people were so +vulgar—'twas so dull there, and no concerts, no operas, +no theaters, no star actors, no parties, and more than all, +no dear, delightful old Common, with its shaded walks +and velvet grass." +</p> + +<p> +Of course Dr. Clayton, in thinking of her city home, +fancied to himself a princely mansion on Beacon Street, +overlooking the "dear, delightful old Common," and it +is scarcely more than natural that his heart expanded +with some little degree of pride, as he saw in contemplation +the dinner parties, evening parties, soirées, etc., +which he confidently expected to attend at said princely +mansion. At first he had entertained a faint hope that he +might possibly board with his new uncle; but this idea was +instantly repelled by his wife, who did not seem so much +inclined to talk of her "city Aunt" as formerly. So it +was decided that they should for a time take rooms at the +Tremont. +</p> + +<p> +It was a dark, rainy night when they arrived, and as it +was cold for the season, their rooms seemed cheerless and +dreary, while, to crown all, the bride of six weeks was +undeniably and decidedly out of temper; finding fault with +everything, even to her handsome husband, who fidgeted +and fussed, brought her the bottle of hair oil instead of +cologne, stepped on her linen traveling dress with his +muddy boot, spit in the grate instead of the spit-box, +breathed in her face when he knew how she disliked +tobacco, thought of Rosa Lee, and wondered if she were +ever cross ("<i>nervous</i>" Dell called it), thought not, and +<i>almost wished</i>—no, didn't wish anything, but as an offset +thought of the $10,000, asked Dell how <i>old</i> her grandmother +was, received for an answer, "I don't know, and +I don't care;" after which he went down-stairs and +regaled himself with a cigar until informed that supper +was ready. Ate all alone, Dell refusing to go down—found +her in tears on returning to his room, was told +that she "was homesick, and wished she had never +come." <i>He</i> began to wish so too, but said "she'd feel +better by and by." Sat for an hour or more cross-legged +listening to the rain, and wondering if there <i>was</i> a cure +for <i>nervousness</i>; finally went to bed and dreamed of Rosa +Lee and the moonlight night, when they sat under the +old oak tree, and of the thunderstorm when he gave her +the little gold ring. +</p> + +<p> +The next morning Mrs. Doctor Clayton was all smiles, +and when, with her handsome eyes, shining hair, and +tasteful wrapper, she descended to the breakfast-room, +she attracted much attention, and more than one asked +who she was, as they turned for a second glance. Nothing +of this escaped the doctor, and with a glow of pride he +forgot the vexations of the night previous, and gave vent +to a mental <i>pshaw!</i> as he thought of his dream; for well +he knew that the little plain-faced Rosa could not +compare with the splendid woman at his side. Breakfast +being over, he ventured to suggest the possibility of their +soon receiving a call from her aunt; but Dell hastily +replied, that such a thing was hardly probable, as her Aunt +had her own affairs to attend to, and would not trouble +herself about them. The doctor's hands went into his +pockets, and his eyes went over inquiringly to his wife, +who continued speaking rapidly, as if it were a painful +duty which she felt compelled to perform. +</p> + +<p> +"I don't know where you got the idea that Uncle +Marshall is such a great man—not from me, certainly. +But got it you have, and it's time you knew the truth. +He is a good, honest man, I dare say, and respectable, +too; but he is not one of the <i>ton</i>, by any means. Why, +he's nothing more nor less than a <i>tailor</i>, and earns his +bread from day to day." +</p> + +<p> +"But his wife"—interrupted the doctor—"how happens +it that she supports so much style?" +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, that's easily accounted for," returned Dell. +"They have no children—she is fond of dress, and +spends all she can get for that purpose. She was an +apprentice girl and learned her trade in my uncle's shop, +and it is said, sometimes helps him now when he is +pressed hard." +</p> + +<p> +"Why did you never tell me this before?" asked the +doctor, his brow growing thoughtful. +</p> + +<p> +"And why should I tell you?" answered Dell. "What +did I suppose you cared whether he were a <i>prince</i> or a +<i>tailor</i>. You married me, I hope, for myself, and not for +my relations." +</p> + +<p> +The doctor thought of the ten thousand dollars just in +time to force down the answer which sprang to his lips, +and which was far better to be unuttered; so, in its +place, he asked, "Where do they live?" +</p> + +<p> +"On a back street, some distance from here," said +Dell; adding, that their house, though small, was +pleasant and neatly furnished. "It is well enough in the +country to have a <i>city Aunt</i> on which to plume one's self," +she continued, laughingly; "but here, where she is +known, I do not intend having much intercourse with +her, for a <i>physician</i> and <i>tailor will</i>, of course, occupy +entirely different positions. However, I must treat her, at +first, with a show of politeness, and if you are so disposed, +we'll go round there and call this morning." +</p> + +<p> +The doctor made no objections, and ere long they were +walking over the stony pavement towards R—— street, +which, as Dell had said, was rather out of the way. The +house, however, at which they stopped, was a pleasant +little cottage, with a nicely-kept yard in front, while the +parlor, into which they were shown, was quite tastefully +furnished. Mrs. Marshall herself answered their ring, +appearing greatly surprised when she saw them, but not +more so than Doctor Clayton, who would never have +recognized the dashing lady of Pine District in the +plain-looking woman, who, in a cheap calico wrapper, +unbrushed hair, and checked apron, now sat before +him—his Aunt. And yet he could not help thinking her far +more agreeable than he had ever seen her before. The +truth was, that Mrs. Marshall was one of those +weak-minded women who, being nothing at home, strove to make +amends by "making believe" abroad; assuming everything +in the latter and nothing in the former condition. +Consequently, she, who in the country was proud and +overbearing, affecting ignorance of the most trivial matters, +was, at home, a comparatively quiet, domestic woman; +doing her own work, and, aside from being a little jealous +and envious of her more fortunate neighbors, generally +minding her own business. +</p> + +<p> +After the first flutter of meeting the doctor was over, +she became herself again, and set about entertaining +them to the best of her ability, inviting them to stay with +her to dinner, and urging as an inducement, that she was +going to have "peaches and cream for dessert." But +Dell rather haughtily declined, whereupon her aunt +asked "when she would come round and spend the day?" +saying, "she must do so before long, or they might not +be in that house." +</p> + +<p> +"Not be in this house! Why not?" asked Dell; and +Mrs. Marshall replied, "Why, you know, we have always +rented it of <i>Mr. Lee</i>, and he talks of selling it." +</p> + +<p> +Instantly the doctor thought of Rosa, and involuntarily +repeated the name—"Lee—Lee"—— +</p> + +<p> +"Yes," said Mrs. Marshall. "He has a brother in +Meadow Brook, whom you may know.'" +</p> + +<p> +"Is he wealthy?" asked the doctor. +</p> + +<p> +"Why, ye-es, I s'pose so," said Mrs. Marshall, hesitatingly, +as if unwilling to admit what she could not deny. +"He lives in a big house on Beacon street—keeps his +carriage—and they say the curtains in the front parlor +cost a thousand dollars, and there are only two windows +either." +</p> + +<p> +Here she cast a deprecating glance towards her own +very prettily embroidered muslin curtains, which probably +cost about a hundredth part of that sum. Soon after, +the newly married pair arose to go, the doctor feeling, in +spite of himself, a little uncomfortable, though at what +he hardly knew; for he would not acknowledge to +himself that he was at all disappointed, because Dell's uncle +was a tailor instead of a millionaire, or because Rose's +uncle lived on Beacon street, and sported curtains which +cost a thousand dollars. This did not in the least affect +Dell. <i>She</i> was his wife, and as such he would love and +cherish her, ministering as far as possible to her wants, +and overlooking the faults which he knew she possessed. +Thus reasoned his better nature as he rode home, +unconscious that the object of his thoughts was at that very +moment misconstruing his silence into disappointment, +and writing against him bitter things in her heart. +</p> + +<p> +It was a peculiarity of Dell's to get angry when people +least expected it, and then to <i>sulk</i> until such time as she +saw fit to be gracious; so when they reached the Tremont, +the doctor was astonished to find her <i>past speaking</i>; +neither could he by any amount of coaxing elicit a word +from her for more than an hour. At the end of that +time, however, her pent-up wrath exploded; and, in +angry tones, she accused him of feeling sorry that he had +married her, because her uncle didn't prove to be a great +man as he had supposed. +</p> + +<p> +"I saw it all in your face when we were in the omnibus," +said she; "it is of no use for you to deny it," adding, as +she burst into tears, "but you cannot regret <i>your</i> +marriage more than I do mine, and you needn't feel so smart +either, for your father was a poor shoemaker in Maine, +and when you went to college you rang the bell in part +payment of your tuition." +</p> + +<p> +This was a phase of married life for which the doctor +was wholly unprepared, and during the first part of his +wife's speech he stood confounded, but by the time sha +had finished, his mind was pretty well made up to <i>box her +ears</i>! This, however, he did not do, though he bade her +"shut up her head," repenting the harsh words the +moment they were uttered, and having manliness enough +to tell her so. Winding his arm around her, he talked +to her calmly and rationally until she came out of her +pet, and agreed "to make up." This process we leave +to the imagination of the reader, only suggesting that no +one who saw the handsome, loving pair, which half an +hour after went down to dinner, would have dreamed of +the dark cloud which had so recently lowered on their +matrimonial horizon. +</p> + +<p class="thought"> +* * * * * * +</p> + +<p> +Here, wishing the doctor success in procuring patients, +we leave them for a time, while we go back to Meadow +Brook, where our house was one day thrown into a state +of unusual excitement by the arrival of a letter from +Aunt Charlotte, which contained an invitation for Anna +and myself to spend the remainder of the autumn and the +whole of the coming winter with her in the city. "Rosa," +she wrote, "could go to school, while Anna would be +introduced into society." +</p> + +<p> +Of course we were greatly surprised, wondering what +had come over our haughty aunt, who, as the reader will +recollect, once spent a Thanksgiving with us. She must +have changed, we thought, or else there was some mistake +about the invitation. But this could not be, for there +it was in black and white, written evidently in all sincerity, +while added to it was a postscript from Uncle Joseph, +who also joined in the request. That, if nothing more, +proved that the invitation was genuine, for there was no +mistaking my uncle's peculiar handwriting, and it only +remained for us to decide whether we would accept or not. +Anna and myself said "Yes," at once, and after a grave +deliberation in grandma's room, the same conclusion was +also reached by my parents, who, after giving us abundance +of good advice (not a word of which <i>I</i> heard, as +I was wondering if I should ever meet the doctor and +Dell), enjoined it upon Anna, first, never to dance at +the parties which she might sometimes attend; second, +never to wear her dresses indecently low, as some of the +city girls did; and third, not to flirt with Herbert +Langley. For this last injunction they probably fancied +there was little need, it being now five years since she +had seen him, and as they knew nothing of the perfumed, +gilt-edged notes which lay hidden in her work-box, they +very naturally supposed she had forgotten him. I thought +so, too, for hers was the last letter, which had been +unanswered for many months, and Anna, I knew, was far +too proud to care for one who had forgotten her. +</p> + +<p> +Occasionally we had heard of him through others, and +it was always the same story, viz., that he was going +down to a drunkard's grave, as fast as daily drams and +weekly sprees could carry him; but if these reports +produced any effect upon Anna, it was imperceptible. She +was now twenty years of age, and was a fair, delicate-looking +girl, whom some called <i>proud</i>, others <i>cold</i>, and a +few <i>selfish</i>; but this last I deny, for though she might +appear so to strangers, there was not in our whole family, +if I except brother Charlie, one who would sacrifice more +of their own comfort for that of another than would my +sister Anna; neither was there one whom I loved better, +for though she was six years my senior, she always treated +me as one nearer her own age, while I looked up to her +as my oracle, thinking that whatever she did must +necessarily be right. +</p> + +<p> +When it was decided that we were to go, the next +important, and to me, most delightful task, was the looking +over and fixing up of our wardrobes, which kept us busy +for some time. As Anna was to go into society, she of +course had nearly all the new things, and much as I loved +her, I must confess to a feeling of envy when I saw the +black silk, blue merino, crimson and brown delaine, etc., +which were purchased for her, while I was put off with +her old dresses, "made over as good as new," but when +I too, was presented with a blue merino by Charlie, who +was now a clerk in one of the Meadow Brook stores, all +my bad feelings left me, and with great alacrity I assisted +in the preparations: +</p> + +<p> +It was a lovely day late in October, that old Sorrel +stood at the door ready to convey us to the dépôt. This +was the first time I had really left home, and when I saw +the tears in my mother's eyes, and the trembling of +grandma's whole body; when Juliet held me so long to +her bosom; when Lizzie and Carrie stole from me a hasty +kiss, and then ran off to hide their grief; when Charlie +and John, who were both clerks, came down to the dépôt +to bid us good-by, affecting to be very manly, notwithstanding +that their chins quivered; and when, last of all, +my father's fervent "God bless you, my children," +resounded in my ears, I began to have a faint idea of the +bitterness there is in parting, be it but for a few months. +As we expected, we found our uncle's carriage at the +dépôt in Boston, and ere long we had reached his house +in Beacon street. +</p> + +<p> +I remember the thrill of delight which I experienced, +when first I entered my Aunt Charlotte's stylish house, +and felt that it was to be my home, at least for a time. +Everything was in perfect order, and for an instant I +looked around me in silent wonder, almost forgetting to +reply to the greeting of my aunt, who, in heavy brocade +and long blue streamers depending from her head, met +us kindly and hoped we were well. She had changed +since last I saw her, but it was more the work of care +than of time. She was much thinner, and the crow-tracks +around her eyes were now decidedly deep-cut wrinkles, +while her hair was here and there streaked with more +than one silver thread. +</p> + +<p> +My uncle was still the same good-humored, pleasant +man, a little afraid of his wife, it may be, but evidently +master of his own house. I glanced around for Herbert, +but he was not there, and when, on Anna's account more +than my own, I asked for him, I was told that he was +down street, but would soon be home. Ringing a bell, +my aunt bade the girl who appeared, "show the young +ladies to their rooms," which proved to be a large airy +chamber with a bedroom, dressing-room, and closet +adjoining. After a hasty toilet we again returned to the +parlor, where we found a tall, richly dressed young man, +whom I should never have recognized as Herbert Langley. +He was much altered from when I last saw him: there +was a deep flush on his cheeks, which had reached even +to his nose; while the eyes I had once thought so +handsome were watery and unsteady in their movement. On +the whole, however, he was still what some would call +good-looking. He was sitting with his back to the door, +but at the sound of our footsteps he turned around, and +coming towards us, welcomed us most cordially to Boston, +calling us "cousins," and claiming a cousin's privilege of +kissing us—me <i>once</i>, and Anna <i>three</i> times, if not four. +</p> + +<p> +She was a little piqued at his neglect in answering her +last letter, and wishing to show proper resentment, she +drew back rather haughtily, as if wondering how he dare +"take such liberties." This he readily perceived, and +instantly assuming an air quite as indifferent as her own, +he turned towards me, hardly noticing her again, though +it was easy to see that the reserve of both was merely +affectation. That evening he was gone until nine o'clock, +and when he entered the parlor, I noticed on the face of +my aunt the same anxious expression which I remembered +having seen there, when, from our sitting-room window, +she watched his return. But he was perfectly sober, and +with a sigh of relief she resumed her work; while he, +coming round to my side, startled me by saying that "he +had just met with a friend of mine—Dr. Clayton." +</p> + +<p> +"Where did you see him?" asked Anna, while I bent +lower over the book I was reading; for that name had +still a power to move me strongly. +</p> + +<p> +"Why," answered Herbert, "Tom Wilson, an old +schoolmate of mine, boards at the Tremont, where he is +now lying very sick. All the old physicians have given +him up, and so he has employed this Dr. Clayton, who, it +seems, has been at the same hotel for six weeks or more. +I called on Tom this evening, and while I was there +Dr. Clayton came in. In the course of our conversation he +spoke of Meadow Brook, and then, as a matter of course, +I said there were now in our family two young ladies +from that place. When I mentioned Rosa's name, he +turned almost as white as Tom himself, and if she were +not so young, I should be inclined to think there was +something between them. What do you say, coz?" +</p> + +<p> +Here Anna came to my aid, saying, "Why, he's a +<i>married man</i>, and his wife is with him at the Tremont." +</p> + +<p> +"The dickens he is!" said Herbert, looking a little +puzzled. Then turning to his mother, he added, "Mother, +you ought to call on this Mrs. Clayton, for if she is an +acquaintance of Anna and Rosa, they will very naturally +wish to see her occasionally." +</p> + +<p> +"She needn't call for me," said I, quickly. +</p> + +<p> +"Nor for me, for I don't know her," rejoined Anna, +while with a haughty toss of her head, Aunt Charlotte +replied, that "her circle of acquaintances was quite large +enough now, and she'd no idea of extending it by taking +in people about whom she knew nothing." +</p> + +<p> +I know it was very wrong in me, but I could not help +straightening up a little in my chair as I wondered what +the proud Dell Thompson would say if she knew that the +despised Rosa Lee was living as an equal in a family +which looked down upon her and her husband as nobodies. +I was roused from my reverie by my aunt's asking Herbert +in a low tone, "how <i>Ada</i> was to-night," and glancing +towards him, I fancied that said <i>Ada</i>, whoever she might +be, was to him not a very pleasant subject just then, for +his brow darkened visibly, while he replied, "I never +once thought to inquire, but I dare say she's no worse, +or she would have sent for you post haste." +</p> + +<p> +There was a moment's silence, and then my aunt again +spoke, "Herbert, I wish you'd do better. You know +how lonely she is, and how much she must necessarily +feel your neglect." +</p> + +<p> +"Fudge!" was his answer, as he folded his hands over +his head, and leaning back in his chair, looked straight +into the astral lamp. +</p> + +<p> +That night, when Anna and I were alone in our room, +the former sat for a time in deep thought, saying, when +I at last told her the clock was striking eleven, "I +wonder who <i>Ada</i> is!" +</p> + +<p> +<i>I</i> wondered so, too, and my interest was not at all +diminished when the next morning, at the breakfast-table, +Aunt Charlotte said to her son, "Herbert, I shall be busy +this morning making arrangements about a school for +Rosa, and I wish you'd go in and see Ada, will you?" +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, yes, I will," said he, rather impatiently, adding, +"and if I don't find her any better, I mean to assume +the responsibility of discharging that old superannuated +<i>greeny</i> who attends her, and install Dr. Clayton in his +place. I took quite a fancy to him, and I'm going to +give him my patronage!" +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, I wish you would!" I exclaimed involuntarily; +for in spite of the wrong he had done me, I cherished no +feeling of animosity towards him. +</p> + +<p> +Then again, I had heard that it was sometimes very +difficult for a young physician to obtain much practise in +a strange place with no one to help him, and I thought, +perhaps, Herbert's "patronage" might be of some avail. +</p> + +<p> +"I see," said Herbert laughingly, "there <i>has</i> been +something, and though he is a married man, you still +feel an interest in him, and want him to succeed; all +right, and I'll do what I can to help him; for I verily +believe he'll get Tom on his legs again in spite of what +the temperance folks say about his blood's being all turned +into whisky!" +</p> + +<p> +At these words a shadow passed over Aunt Charlotte's +face, but it was soon chased away by the next remark of +Herbert, which was, "Ain't you glad, mother, I reformed +before I got to be as bad as Tom? Why, girls (addressing +Anna and me), I haven't drank a drop since—since—how +long is it mother, since I left off"—<i>drinking</i> he could +not say, so he finally added, "left off imbibing occasionally?" +</p> + +<p> +There was a look of happiness on that mother's face, +as she replied, "Almost a year." +</p> + +<p> +Yes 'twas almost a year since her son had tasted ardent +spirits, and had she not good reasons for thinking he +would never fall again? Assured of this fact, how proud +she would have been of her only boy; for, aside from this +great error, he possessed many noble, generous qualities; +and during my stay in Boston, I found that, in spite of +his well-known habits, he was a pretty general favorite. +Oh, how lovingly my aunt looked after him when he went +out, and how earnestly she watched him when he came +in, and all the while she was tempting him beyond what +most men could bear; for regularly on her dinner-table +appeared either porter, champagne, or madeira, one taste +of which would set him all on fire. But, unfortunately, +she belonged to that class of fashionable people who deem +the wine-bottle a necessary appendage to the dinner table, +and if, in the sequel, her son should fill a drunkard's +grave, would there be any just cause why, in her anguish, +she should murmur at Providence for having dealt with +her thus harshly? Ought she not rather to blame herself +for having thus daily tempted him to sin by placing +before him what she well knew was sure to work his +ruin? +</p> + +<p> +But to our story. We were at dinner when Herbert +came in from his morning ramble, and taking his accustomed +seat at the table, he said to his mother, "I called +on Ada as you desired, and found her sitting up in a +rose-colored dressing-gown, which she thinks very becoming +to her, I know, for she sat directly opposite the mirror, +and I should not dare tell how many times I caught her +casting admiring glances at herself." +</p> + +<p> +Aunt Charlotte frowned, while Herbert, turning to me, +continued—"Miss Montrose is so much better that I +don't believe I can patronize your doctor in that quarter, +but I'll do something for him—break my leg, maybe—or +have the delirium tremens." +</p> + +<p> +This species of jesting seemed to be a kind of mania +with Herbert, for almost every day of his life he referred +to his former habit of drinking, greatly to the annoyance +of his mother, who, on the occasion just mentioned, +turned slightly pale, while Anna looked down upon the +carpet and sighed. Thinking this as favorable an +opportunity for making inquiries concerning Ada Montrose as +I should have, I asked Herbert who she was. His +mother's lips moved as if she would answer the question, +but ere she could speak, Herbert replied, "She's a +Georgia lady, a great coquette, who is spending the +winter here with a fortieth cousin. Some call her +handsome, and I believe mother thinks her beautiful, but if +Anna paid as much attention to her toilet and dressed as +elegantly as Ada Montrose, she would, in my opinion, +look far better." +</p> + +<p> +'Twas the first compliment he had paid Anna since +our arrival, and it brought a bright flush to her usually +marble cheek; for Herbert Langley possessed a strange +power over my sister, which she did not try to resist. I +fancied that my aunt was not quite pleased with Herbert's +comparing Miss Montrose to Anna, but ere she could +frame any answer, he asked us if we would like to attend +the theater that evening. Notwithstanding my father's +hostility to <i>circuses</i>, I did not remember having heard +him say much against <i>theaters</i>, and so I answered quickly, +"Oh, yes, Anna, let's go. I want to see what they do." +</p> + +<p> +And so, with my aunt's permission, it was settled that +we should go, and at the usual hour I found myself in the +National Theater, which was densely crowded, for a +celebrated actress appeared that night for the last time +in Boston. Perfectly bewildered, I followed Herbert and +Anna to my uncle's box, which commanded a fine view +of the stage, and then, when I became a little accustomed +to the glare of lights and the hum of voices, which in +some degree reminded me of that never-to-be-forgotten +circus of Cousin Will memory, I ventured to look over the +sea of faces, half starting from my seat as I recognized +among the crowd Dr. Clayton and his wife, the latter +appearing to be looking at us through what I thought +resembled the dice boxes of a backgammon board tied +together, but which I soon learned was an opera-glass. +The doctor was paler and thinner than when I last saw +him, and it was with more than one pang that I watched +him as, from time to time, he cast a glance of pride at +the splendid-looking woman at his side, who attracted +considerable attention, and at whom, in the course of the +evening, more than one glass was leveled. +</p> + +<p> +Ere long my attention was diverted from them to a tall, +dark, and rather peculiar-looking gentleman, who entered +the box at our right. Sinking into a seat, he abandoned +himself apparently, to his own thoughts, which could not +have been very pleasant; for his forehead, which was high +and white, seemed at times to be one mass of wrinkles, +while his eyes, large, black, and deepset in his head, +alternately flashed with anger and vexation. I am not +much of a physiognomist, but there was in the face of the +stranger something which at once attracted and riveted my +attention. He was not handsome, like Dr. Clayton—nay, +I am not sure but many would call him ugly, but I did +not; and, somehow, I felt certain that no girl of <i>fourteen</i> +had ever wept over his fickleness, for he looked the soul +of honor and integrity. Gradually, too, as the play +proceeded, the expression which I had at first observed passed +away; his dark eyes lighted up; and when, at last, a +bright smile broke over his face, I pronounced him far +better looking than the doctor, who was fast losing ground +in my good opinion. +</p> + +<p> +The play was the "Lady of Lyons," and though I was +familiar with the story, I seemed now to hear it for the +first time; so fully did I enter into the feelings of the +heroine, Pauline, whose distress I could not believe was +feigned. All was real to me; and I can now scarcely repress +a smile, as I recall to mind how I must have looked, standing +there with flushed cheeks, clasped hands, staring eyes, +and lips slightly apart, drinking in every word of the +actress. Once Anna pulled my dress, whispering to me, "Do +sit down, Rosa; they are all looking at you, and +Mrs. Clayton is laughing and pointing you out to her husband." +</p> + +<p> +"I didn't care for Dell Thompson, or the doctor either," +and so I said, while at the same time I glanced towards +the stranger, whose eyes were fixed upon me with an +expression I could not fathom. +</p> + +<p> +He was not making fun of me, I was sure of that; but +as if there were a magnetic influence in his look, which I +could not resist, I dropped into my seat, and remained +motionless until the closing scene, where, with a +piercing shriek, Pauline rushed into the arms of her +husband. Then there came over me the same sensation +which I had experienced years before in the old +school-house at Meadow Brook. Everything grew dark around +me, and with a faint cry I fell across Anna's lap. I was +not entirely unconscious, for I have a dim remembrance +of being led from the heated room, the close atmosphere +of which had probably helped to bring on my faintness. +The cool air outside revived me in a measure, but it was +the mesmeric touch of two large, warm hands which fully +restored to me my faculties, and, looking up, I saw bending +over me the gentleman in whom I had been so much +interested. Dr. Clayton, too, was there, looking worried +and anxious, but instinctively leaving me to the care of +the stranger, who seemed to know exactly what to do. +</p> + +<p> +"You are better now, I think," said he, gazing down +upon me with his deep black eyes, and adding, with the +same peculiar smile I had before observed, "Miss ——'s +acting seldom receives so genuine a compliment as this. +I imagine she ought to feel flattered." +</p> + +<p> +At this moment a loud stamping and hallooing came to +my ear, and, pulling Anna's shawl, Herbert exclaimed, +"Come, let's go in again; they are calling back the +dancing-girl, and I wouldn't miss it for anything. Come, +Rose, you want to see it all, and we'll stand right by the +door." +</p> + +<p> +I felt perfectly well, and started to follow him, when +something in the stranger's face arrested me, for it +seemed to say, "I wouldn't go." But he did not speak, +and bowing to me very politely, he walked away, while +I went after Herbert and Anna, reaching them just in +time to witness a part of Mlle. Lisette's dance, which +seemed to me a good deal like the performance of the +<i>Circus girl</i>, only "a little more so;" and I felt certain +that Cousin Will, had he been there, would have +pronounced her superior even to the boasted <i>Albany girl</i>! +</p> + +<p> +When at last it was over, and we were again leaving +the room, Dr. Clayton, as if seeing me for the first time, +offered me his hand, and in a low tone expressed to me +his pleasure that I was to be in the city during the winter; +adding, as he cast a furtive glance towards his wife, +"You'll come and see me often, won't you; for I am +very lonely?" +</p> + +<p> +For an instant I felt a thrill of pride, to know that +there was yet aught in me which could interest <i>him</i>, but +'twas only for a moment, and then there came up before +me thoughts of the stranger, and owing to some unknown +influence, which I shall not attempt to explain, the +doctor's power over me was from that moment at an end; +and though I still liked him, it was as I would like any +friend who evinced a regard for me. +</p> + +<p> +Of the stranger I often thought, wondering who he +was and whence he came; but no one knew, and all that +I could learn was, that Herbert saw him the next morning +standing on the steps of the Revere House, and chancing +the same afternoon to be at the Worcester dépôt, he saw +him enter the cars bound for Albany, and heard from one +of the bystanders that he was a Georgian, and had +probably come to Boston after "<i>a runaway nigger!</i>" Being +a true born daughter of freedom-loving Massachusetts, +this intelligence of course had the effect of cooling my +ardor somewhat, and wishing in my heart that every one +of his negroes would run away, I banished him for a time +from my mind. +</p> + +<p> +After many inquiries, and much consultation with her +particular friend Mrs. Ashley, my aunt at last decided +to send me to Madam ——'s school; while Anna, after +a two weeks' siege with dressmakers, was introduced +into society, where, if she was not a reigning belle, she +was at least a favorite; and more than once I heard the +most flattering compliments bestowed upon <i>her</i>, while it +was thought to be "a pity that her sister was so <i>plain</i> and +unpretending in her appearance!" +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap12"></a></p> + +<h2> +CHAPTER XII. +<br><br> +ADA MONTROSE +</h2> + +<p> +Aunt Charlotte, Anna, and myself were sitting in +the parlor one morning, about four weeks after our +arrival in Boston, when the door-bell rang, and the servant +ushered in a young lady, who I readily guessed was Ada +Montrose, for there was about her an air of languor, as if +she had just arisen from a sick-bed. All doubt on this +point was soon settled by my aunt's exclaiming, as she +hastened to greet her, "Why, Ada, my child, this is a +surprise. How do you do?" +</p> + +<p> +The voice which answered was, I thought, the sweetest +and most musical I had ever heard, and yet there was in +it something which made me involuntarily shudder. I +do not know that I believe in <i>presentiments</i>, but sure I am +that the moment I heard the tones of Ada Montrose's +voice, and looked upon her face, I experienced a most +disagreeable sensation, as if, in some way or other, she +would one day cross my path. She was beautiful—<i>she</i> +beautiful, that it seemed impossible to detect a single +fault either in her features or complexion, though there +was in the former an expression which made me feel, +when her eyes were fixed upon me, much as the bird must +when charmed by the rattlesnake. Do what I would, I +could not rid myself of the idea that she was my <i>evil</i> +genius, though how in any way she, a proud southern +belle, could ever affect me, a plain schoolgirl of fourteen, +was difficult to tell. She was, as I afterwards learned, +twenty-two years of age, but being rather diminutive in +size, and affecting a great deal of childish simplicity, she +passed for four or five years younger; and, indeed, she +herself gave her age as eighteen—looking up to Anna, +who was really two years her junior, as a very ancient, +matronly sort of person, who was supposed to remember +as far back as the flood. +</p> + +<p> +Divesting herself of her warm wrappings, which she +left upon the floor, and shaking out her long curls, she +informed my aunt that she had come to spend the day, +saying, by way of apologizing for not having sent her +word, that "she had ventured to come without an +invitation, she felt herself so perfectly at home." +</p> + +<p> +Of course Aunt Charlotte was delighted, and after +assuring her of the fact, she suddenly remembered our +presence, and introduced us to the lady as "Mr. Lee's +nieces from the country." Not an instant did the large +brownish black eyes rest on me, for I was of little +importance compared with Anna, who the Thursday night +previous had made her first appearance in society, where +her sweet face and fresh, unstudied manners had produced +something of a sensation, which had undoubtedly +reached the ear of the reigning belle. What her thoughts +were as she scanned my sister from head to foot, I do +not know; but as I watched her, I fancied I could detect +an expression of mingled scorn and surprise that one so +unassuming should awaken an interest in those who were +accustomed to pay her homage. When she had satisfied +herself with Anna's personal appearance, she gave me a +hasty glance, and then drawing from her reticule a +fanciful mat which she was crocheting, she leaned back +among the soft cushions of her chair, and commenced +talking to my aunt in a very artless, childish manner, +never noticing us in the least, except once when she +asked me to pull the bell rope, which was much nearer to +her than me. Several times I fancied she seemed to be +listening for something, and when at last I heard Herbert's +voice in the hall and saw the deepening flush on her +cheek, I was sure that she felt more than a common +interest in him. +</p> + +<p> +In his usual good-natured, off-hand way he entered the +room, tossing into my lap a letter from brother Charlie, +and telling Anna that her <i>beau</i> hadn't yet written; then, +as his eye fell upon Ada, he started back in evident +surprise. Soon recovering himself, however, he said, as he +took the little snowflake of a hand, which she offered +him— +</p> + +<p> +"Why, Ad, who knew you were here?" +</p> + +<p> +"Not you, or you would have come sooner, I reckon;" +said she, looking up in his face in a confiding kind of +way, which brought a frown to Anna's brow. +</p> + +<p> +"Maybe I shouldn't have come so soon," he replied +laughingly, at the same time stealing a sidelong glance +at Anna. +</p> + +<p> +"Here, sit right down by me," said Miss Montrose, as +she saw him looking for a seat. "I want to scold you for +not calling on me oftener when I was sick. You don't +know how neglected I felt. Why didn't you come, hey?" +</p> + +<p> +And she playfully pulled his hair, allowing her hand to +remain some time among his wavy locks. This was a +kind of coquetry entirely new to me, and I looked on in +amazement, while Anna, more disturbed than she was +willing to acknowledge, left the room. When she was +gone, Ada said, letting her hand fall from Herbert's +head to his arm, "Tell me, is that the <i>Lee girl</i>, who +attracted so much attention at Mrs. G——'s party?" +</p> + +<p> +There was a look of gratified pride on Herbert's face as +he answered, "Yes—the same—don't you think her +pretty?" +</p> + +<p> +They had probably forgotten my presence—Ada most +certainly had, or else she did not care; for she replied, +"Pretty enough for some tastes, I suppose, but she lacks +polish and refinement. Is she at all related to you?" +</p> + +<p> +"My stepfather's niece, that's all," replied Herbert, +while Ada quickly rejoined in a low tone, "Then, of +course, <i>I</i> shan't have to cousin her." +</p> + +<p> +"Probably not," was Herbert's answer, which I +interpreted one way and Ada another. +</p> + +<p> +Her next remark was a proposal that Herbert should +that afternoon take her out to ride; but to this he made +some objection; whereupon she pretended to be angry, +leaning back on the sofa and muttering that "she didn't +believe he cared a bit for her, and he might as well +confess it at once." +</p> + +<p> +Here the dinner bell rang, and offering his arm to the +pouting beauty, Herbert led her to the dining-room, +where she was soon restored to good humor by my aunt, +who lavished upon her the utmost attention, humoring +every whim, and going so far as to prepare for her <i>four</i> +different cups of black tea, which had been ordered +expressly for her, and to which she objected as being too +hot, or too cold—too weak or too strong. It took but a +short time to show that she was a <i>spoiled baby</i>, +good-natured only when all the attention was lavished upon +her, and when her wishes were paramount to all others. +</p> + +<p> +Dinner being over, Herbert did not, as was his usual +custom, return to the parlor; but taking his hat he went +out into the street, in spite of his mother's whispered +effort to keep him at home. This, of course, vexed the +little lady, and after thrumming a few notes upon the +piano, she announced her intention of returning home, +saying that "she wished she had not come." At this +moment the door-bell rang, and some young ladies came +in to call upon Anna. They seemed surprised at finding +Ada, there, and after inquiring for her health, one of +them said, "Do tell us, Ada, who that gentleman was +that came and went so slyly, without our ever seeing +him? Mrs. Cameron says he was from Georgia, and that +is all we know about him. Who was he?" +</p> + +<p> +Ada started, and turning slightly pale, replied, "What +do you mean? I've seen no gentleman from Georgia. +Where was he? and when was he here?" +</p> + +<p> +"As much as three weeks or more ago," returned Miss +Marvin. "He stopped at the Revere House, and +Mrs. Cameron, who boards there, got somewhat acquainted +with him." +</p> + +<p> +"Mrs. Cameron!" repeated Ada, turning alternately +red and white. "And pray what did she say?" +</p> + +<p> +I fancied there was a spice of malice in Miss Marvin's +nature; at least, she evidently wished to annoy Ada, for +she replied, "She said he was <i>ugly looking</i>, though quite +<i>distingué</i>; that he came in the afternoon, while she was +in the public parlor talking with a lady about <i>you</i> and +your engagement with Mr. Langley!" +</p> + +<p> +"The hateful old thing!" muttered Ada, while Anna +turned white as marble, and Miss Marvin continued—"When +the lady had gone he begged pardon for the +liberty, but asked her if she knew you. Of course, she told +him she did, and gave him any further information which +she thought would please him." +</p> + +<p> +"Of course she did—the meddling widow!" again +interrupted Ada; after which Miss Marvin +proceeded—"Mrs. Cameron didn't mean to do anything wrong, for +how could she guess that 'twould affect him in any way +to know you were engaged?" +</p> + +<p> +"And she told him I was engaged! It isn't so. I +ain't," exclaimed Ada, while the angry tears dropped from +her glittering eyes. +</p> + +<p> +"What does that mean then?" asked Miss Marvin, +laughingly, pointing at the ring on Ada's finger. +</p> + +<p> +Her first impulse was to wrench it from her hand and +cast it from her, but she remembered herself in time, and +growing quite calm, as if to attribute her recent agitation +to a different cause, she said: "I wish people would +attend to their own affairs, and let mine alone. Suppose I +am engaged—is that a reason why Mrs. Cameron should +discuss the matter with strangers? But what else did +she say? And where is the gentleman now?" +</p> + +<p> +"Gone home," answered Miss Marvin, glancing +mischievously at her companions. "He went the next +morning, and she said he looked very much disturbed, +either at your illness or your engagement, the former +probably, and that is why I think it strange that he +didn't stop to see you; though maybe he did." +</p> + +<p> +"No, he didn't," chimed in Miss Marvin's sister, "for +don't you know she said he went to the theater?" +</p> + +<p> +All this time my interest in the unknown Georgian had +been increasing, and at this last remark I forgot myself +entirely, and started forward, exclaiming, "Yes, he was +there, I saw him and spoke with him too." +</p> + +<p> +The next moment I sank back upon the ottoman, +abashed and mortified, while Ada gave me a withering +glance, and said scornfully, "<i>You</i> spoke to him! And +pray, what did you say?" +</p> + +<p> +An explanation of what I said, would, I knew, oblige +me to confess the fainting fit, of which I was somewhat +ashamed, and so I made no reply; nor was any expected, +I think, for without waiting for my answer, Ada said to +Miss Marvin, "Mrs. Cameron, of course, learned his +name, even if she had to ask it outright." +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, she made inquiries of the clerk, who wouldn't +take the trouble of looking on the book, but said he +believed it was <i>Field</i>, or something like that," returned +Miss Marvin. +</p> + +<p> +As if uncertainty were now made sure, Ada turned so +white that in some alarm her young friends asked what +they should do for her; but she refused their offers of +aid, saying, "it was only the heat of the room, and she +should soon feel better." +</p> + +<p> +"And is it the heat of the room which affects <i>you</i>, Miss +Lee?" asked one of the girls, observing for the first time +the extreme pallor of Anna's face. +</p> + +<p> +"Only a headache," was her answer, as she pressed her +hand upon her forehead. +</p> + +<p> +She was fearfully pale, and I knew it was no common +thing which had thus moved her, and when not long afterwards +the young ladies left us, I was glad, for I felt that +both she and Ada needed to be alone. The moment they +were gone Anna left the parlor, while I, frightened by +the agonized expression of her face, soon followed her; +but the door of our room was locked, and it was in vain +I called on her to admit me, for she only answered in a +voice choked with tears, "Go away, Rosa; I would rather +be alone." +</p> + +<p> +So I left her and returned to the parlor, where I found +Ada weeping passionately, while my aunt, who had not +been present during the conversation which had so affected +her, was trying in vain to learn the cause of her grief. +</p> + +<p> +"Nothing much," was all Ada would say, except that +"she wanted to go home." +</p> + +<p> +In the midst of our excitement, Herbert came in. He +had repented of his ungracious refusal to ride with Ada, +and now the carriage stood at the door, but she refused, +saying petulantly, when urged by my aunt to go, that +"if she couldn't ride when she wanted to, she wouldn't +ride at all." +</p> + +<p> +"Where's Anna? she'll go, I know," said Herbert, +glancing around the room, and adding in a low tone, +which reached my ear only, "and I'd far rather she +would." +</p> + +<p> +When I explained to him that she had a headache, and +did not wish to be disturbed, he exclaimed, "What ails +all the girls to-day? Anything the matter with you, +Rose? If there isn't, put on your bonnet and I'll show +you the city, for I'm resolved upon riding with somebody." +</p> + +<p> +As my aunt made no objection, I was soon ready and +seated by the side of Herbert, in the light vehicle, which +he drove himself. I think he exerted himself to be +agreeable, for I never saw him appear so well before, and in +my heart I did not blame my poor sister for liking him, +as I was sure she did, while at the same time I wondered +how he could fancy Ada Montrose. As if divining my +thoughts, he turned suddenly towards me and said, "Rosa, +how do you like Ada?" +</p> + +<p> +Without stopping to reflect, I replied promptly, "<i>Not +at all</i>." +</p> + +<p> +"Frankly spoken," said he, and then for several minutes +he was silent, while I was trying to decide in my own +mind whether or not he was offended, and I was about to +ask him, when he turned to me again, saying, "We are +engaged—did you know it?" +</p> + +<p> +I replied that I had inferred as much from the +conversation which I had heard between her and Miss Marvin, +saying further, for his manner emboldened me, that "I +was surprised, for I did not think her such an one as he +would fancy." +</p> + +<p> +"Neither is she," said he, again relapsing into silence. +At last, rousing up, he continued, "I must talk to somebody, +and as you seem to be a sensible girl, I may as well +make a clean breast, and tell you all about it. Ada came +up here from Georgia last spring, and the moment mother +saw her, she picked her out for her future daughter-in-law. +I don't know why it is, but mother has wanted me +to get married ever since I began to shave. I believe she +thinks it will make me steady; but I am steady enough +now, lor I haven't drank a drop in almost a year. I +should, though, if Ada Montrose was my wife. But that's +nothing to the point. Mother saw her and liked her. <i>I</i> +saw her and liked her well enough at first; for she is +beautiful, you know, and every man is more or less +attracted by that. They say, too, that she is wealthy, and +though I would as soon marry a poor girl as a rich one, +provided I liked her, I shall not deny but her money had +its influence with me, to a certain extent. And then, too, +it was fun to get her away from the other young men who +flocked around her, like bees round a honey jar. But, to +make a long story short, we got engaged—Heaven only +knows how; but engaged we were, and then"—— Here +he paused, as if nearing a painful subject, but soon +resuming the thread of his story, he continued: "And +then I stopped writing to Anna, for I would not be +dishonorable. Do you think she felt it?" +</p> + +<p> +The question was so unexpected, that I was thrown +quite off my guard, and replied, "Of course, she did; +who wouldn't feel mortified to have their letters +unanswered?" +</p> + +<p> +"'Twas wrong, I know," said he. "I ought to have +been man enough to tell her how it was, and I did begin +more than a dozen letters, but never finished them. Do +you think Anna likes me now, or could like me, if I was +not engaged, and she knew I'd never get drunk again?" +</p> + +<p> +Could he have seen her when first she learned that his +affections were given to another, he would have been +sufficiently answered, but he did not, and it was not for me, +I thought, to enlighten him; so I replied evasively, after +which he continued, "As soon as I was engaged to Ada, +she began to exact so much attention from me, acting so +silly, and appearing so ridiculous that I got sick of it, +and now my daily study is how to rid myself of her; but +I believe I've commenced right. Can I make a confidante +of you, and feel sure you'll not betray me to any one, +unless it is Anna?" +</p> + +<p> +I hardly knew how to answer, for if it was anything +wrong which he meditated, I did not wish to be in the +secret, and so I told him; but it made no difference, for +he proceeded to say, "I shall never marry Ada Montrose, +never; neither would it break her heart if I shouldn't for +she's more than half tired of me now." +</p> + +<p> +I thought of the dark stranger, and felt that he was +right, but I said nothing, and he went on: "Sometimes +I thought I'd go up to Meadow Brook, tell Anna all about +it, ask her to marry me, and so settle the matter at once; +but then I did not know but she might have grown up +raw, awkward, and disagreeable, so I devised a plan by +which I could find out. Mother would burn her right +hand off, I believe, to save me from a drunkard's grave, +and when I wish to win her consent to any particular +thing, all I have to do is to threaten her with the wine +cup." +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, Herbert! how can you?" I exclaimed, for I was +inexpressibly shocked. +</p> + +<p> +"It's a way I've got into," said he, laughing at my +rueful face. "And when I suggested that Anna should +spend the winter here, I hinted to the old lady that if +she didn't consent, I'd go off with a party of young men +on a hunting excursion. Of course she yielded at once, +for she well knew that if I joined my former boon +companions, I should fall." +</p> + +<p> +"And so we are indebted to you for our winter in +Boston," said I, beginning to see things in a new light. +</p> + +<p> +"Why no, not wholly," he answered; "mother consented +much easier than I supposed she would. The fact +is, she's changed some since she was at Meadow Brook. +She's joined the Episcopal Church, and though that in +my estimation don't amount to much, of course, she has +to do better, for it wouldn't answer for a professor to put +on so many airs." +</p> + +<p> +As the daughter of a deacon, I felt it incumbent upon +me to reprove the thoughtless young man, but it did no +good, for he proceeded to say, "It's all true, and there's +only one denomination who are sincere in what they profess, +and that's the Methodist. They carry their religion +into their whole life, while the Episcopalians, Presbyterians, +and Baptists sit on different sides of the fence, +and quarrel like fun about High Church and Low, Old +School and New, close communion and open communion, +and all that sort of thing. I tell you, Rose, if I am ever +converted—and mother thinks I will be—I shall be a +roaring Methodist, and ride the Circuit at once!" +</p> + +<p> +I was unused to the world, and had never heard any +one speak thus lightly of religion; but I knew not what +to say, so I kept silence, while he continued, "But I am +rambling from my subject. Mother <i>is</i> a different woman, +if she does <i>read</i> her prayers; and as she has never known +a word about my writing to Anna, she consented to her +coming, without much trouble, saying she would try to +make it pleasant for her, and proposing that you too +should accompany her, and go to school. You can't +imagine how delighted I was to find Anna what she is, +and from the moment I met her in the parlor, Ada +Montrose's destiny, so far as I am concerned, was decreed; +that is, if I can secure your sister; and I think I shall +have no difficulty in so doing, for notwithstanding her +affected coolness, it is easy to see that I am not indifferent +to her." +</p> + +<p> +It was in vain for me to argue that he was doing Ada +a great wrong, for he insisted upon saying that he was +not. "She hadn't soul enough," he said, "to really care +for any one, and even if she had, he would far rather +commit suicide at once, than be yoked to her for life; she +was so silly, so fawning, so flat!" +</p> + +<p> +It was nearly dark when we reached home, and as the +lamps were not yet lighted in the parlor, I went immediately +to my room, where I found Anna lying upon the sofa, +with her face buried in the cushions. I knew she was +not asleep, though she would not answer me, until I had +thrice repeated her name. Then lifting up her head, she +turned towards me a face as white as ashes, while she said, +motioning to a little stool near her, "Sit down by me, +Rosa, I must talk to some one, or my heart will break." +</p> + +<p> +Taking the seat, I listened while she told me how much +she had loved Herbert Langley—how she had struggled +to overcome that love when she thought he had slighted +her, and how when she saw him daily in his own home, +it had returned upon her with all its former strength, +until there came to her the startling news that he was +engaged to another. "I cannot stay here," said she. +"I am going home. I have written to mother—see," +and she pointed to a letter which lay upon the table, +and which she bade me read. It was a strange, rambling +thing, saying that "she should die if she stayed longer +in Boston, and that she was coming back to Meadow +Brook." +</p> + +<p> +"You can't send this, Anna," said I, at the same time +tossing it into the grate, where a bright coal fire was +burning. +</p> + +<p> +At this bold act of mine she expressed no emotion +whatever, but simply remarked, "I can write another or go +without writing." +</p> + +<p> +"And you indeed love Herbert so much?" I said. +</p> + +<p> +"Better than my life—and why shouldn't I?" she +replied. "He is all that is noble and good." +</p> + +<p> +"Suppose he proves to be a drunkard?" I queried, +looking her steadily in the face, while she answered +simply, "And what then? Would that be harder to +endure than a life without him?" +</p> + +<p> +I know not whether the spirit of prophecy was upon +me, or whether I felt a dim foreshadowing of my sister's +wretched future, but from some cause or other, I +proceeded to picture to her the sorrows of a drunkard's home +and the utter degradation of a drunkard's wife, while she +listened shudderingly, saying when I had finished, "God +save me from such a fate!" +</p> + +<p> +There was the sound of footsteps in the hall, and Herbert's +voice was heard at the door, asking for admittance. +He had often visited us in our room, and now, without +consulting Anna's wishes, I bade him enter, going out +myself and, leaving them alone. What passed between them +I never knew, but the supper table waited long for Herbert, +and was finally removed, my aunt thinking he had gone +out, "to see Ada, perhaps," she said, and then she asked +me how I liked her, telling me she was to be Herbert's +wife, and that she hoped they would be married early in +the spring. +</p> + +<p> +I made her no direct reply, for I felt I was acting a +double—nay, a treble part, in being thus confided in by +three, but I could not well help it, and I hoped, by +betraying neither party, to atone in a measure for any deceit +I might be practising. After that night there was a +great change in Anna, who became so lively and cheerful +that nearly all observed it, while Herbert's attentions to +her, both at home and abroad, were so marked as to +arouse the jealousy of Ada, who, while she affected to +scorn the idea of being supplanted by "that awkward +Lee girl," as she called her, could not wholly conceal her +anxiety lest "the Lee girl" should, after all, win from her +her betrothed husband. Something of this she told my +aunt, who, knowing nothing of the true state of affairs, +and having the utmost confidence in her son's honor, +laughed at her fears, telling her once in my hearing, +though she was unaware of my proximity, that, "however +much Herbert might flirt with Anna, he had been too +well brought up to think of marrying one so far beneath +him." +</p> + +<p> +"But he does think of it—I most know he does," +persisted Ada, beginning to cry; "and I wish you'd send +her home, won't you?" +</p> + +<p> +I did not hear my aunt's reply, but with Ada, my own +heart echoed, "send her home," for much as I liked +Herbert, I shrank from the thought of committing my gentle +sister's happiness to his keeping, and secretly I resolved +upon writing to my father and acquainting him with the +whole; but, alas! I deferred it from day to day, until it +was too late. +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap13"></a></p> + +<h2> +CHAPTER XIII. +<br><br> +THE FLIGHT. +</h2> + +<p> +One bright morning about the middle of January, Herbert +announced his intention of going to Worcester with +Anna, who, he said, wished to visit the Lunatic Asylum, +and as a young physician of his acquaintance had just +commenced practising there, it would be a good +opportunity for them to go over the building. To this my +aunt made no objection, merely proposing that Ada, too, +should go. Afterwards I remembered the peculiar look +in Herbert's eye, as he replied, "Oh fie! mother, Ada's +nerves are not strong enough to endure it. She can go +with me some other time." +</p> + +<p> +Accordingly, when breakfast was over, Anna went up +to her room to make the necessary preparations for her +ride, while I stood by and gave her whatever assistance +she needed. I observed that every article which belonged +to her was put in its proper place, but I gave it no +further heed, though I did wonder why she kissed me so +often, turning back even after she had reached the door +to bid me another good-by. Slowly the day passed away +and night came on, dark, cold, and stormy. Even now, +as I write, I can recall to mind the gloom which pervaded +my spirits, as I listened to the sound of the sleet and hail, +which drove past the window, where I had watched so +long for their return. Seven, eight, nine, ten, was rung +from more than one church dome, and then we gave +them up, for the shrill whistle of the last train on which +they would be likely to come, had long since sounded in +our ears. +</p> + +<p> +"They must have stayed somewhere; don't you think +so?" said my aunt, addressing her husband, who, man-like, +was not in the least alarmed, but sat conning his +evening paper, nearer asleep than awake. +</p> + +<p> +"Of course they have," said he, looking up at his wife's +inquiry. "I wouldn't come in this storm, if I were in +their places." +</p> + +<p> +That night I watered my pillow with tears, scarcely +knowing why I wept, save that I felt oppressed with a +sense of desolation, as if Anna was gone from me forever. +The next day came and went, but it brought no tidings +of the missing pair, and half unconscious of what she was +doing, my aunt went from room to room, sometimes +weeping and again brightening up, as she enumerated the +many things which might have prevented their return. +At evening, Ada came in, and my aunt immediately +began urging her to spend the night. This she did +willingly, seeming very anxious concerning the absence +of Herbert, and feeling, I was sure, a little suspicious +that I might know more of his whereabouts than I chose +to tell, for once, when we were alone, she turned towards +me and very haughtily asked, if "I had any idea where +they were!" +</p> + +<p> +"None, whatever," said I, and she continued— +</p> + +<p> +"Has it never occurred to you that this Anna Lee manifested +altogether too marked a preference for a gentleman +whom she knew to be engaged?" +</p> + +<p> +"The preference was mutual," I replied. "Herbert +liked Anna, and Anna liked Herbert." +</p> + +<p> +"And they have gone off to consummate that liking by +a marriage," interrupted Ada. +</p> + +<p> +"I do not know that they have," I returned; "but +such a termination of affairs would not surprise me." +</p> + +<p> +She was very pale, and there were tears in her eyes, but +I thought they arose more from a sense of mortification +than from any real love which she bore for Herbert +Langley, and so I did not pity her as I should otherwise +have done. The next morning at breakfast both she and +my aunt (particularly the latter) looked weary and worn, +as if neither had slept at all during the night. My uncle, +on the contrary, seemed to be unmoved. He probably +had an opinion of his own, but whatever it was he kept it +to himself, merely saying that if the eastern mail brought +no letter he would go in quest of them himself. I know +I could not study in my present excitement, and so I asked +permission to remain at home. Stationing myself at the +window, I watched anxiously for the return of Herod, who, +as usual, had been sent to the office. He came at last, +bringing his pocket full of letters, two of which were for +me, one postmarked Meadow Brook, and the other Albany! +With a trembling hand I tore open the latter, which was +in my sister's handwriting. Glancing at the signature, +my fears were confirmed, for there stood the name of +"Anna Langley" in Herbert's bold dashing hand! +</p> + +<p> +"<i>She</i> had refused to write it thus," he said, in a +postscript, "and so he had done it for her." +</p> + +<p> +The letter contained no apology from either for what +they had done, but merely informed me of the fact that +instead of stopping in "Worcester, they had gone straight +on to Albany, which they reached about six o'clock, going +to the Delevan House, where in less than an hour they +were husband and wife; Herbert's old comrade, Tom +Wilson, accompanying them, and being a witness of the +ceremony. What affected me more unpleasantly than all +the rest, was the derisive manner in which Herbert spoke +of Ada. +</p> + +<p> +"Give her my love," he said, "and tell her not to feel +too badly. I'd like well enough to marry her, too, but +under the present laws a man can't have two wives, unless +he joins the Mormons. Maybe I shall do that sometime, +and then I'll remember <i>her</i>!" +</p> + +<p> +Of his mother he wrote differently, and though there +was no cringing, no acknowledgment of wrong, he spoke +of her kindly and respectfully, saying, "he hoped she +would love his Anna for his sake." +</p> + +<p> +Of course I could not tell Ada what he said of her, +neither was it necessary, for guessing the truth from my face, +she came up softly behind me, and looking over my shoulder, +read every word until she came to the message intended +for her. Then stamping her little foot, she exclaimed +passionately, "The villain, to insult me thus! As if <i>I</i>, +sprung from the best blood in Georgia, would stoop to +become a rival of that low-born country girl. No! By this +act Herbert Langley has shown that he is all unworthy of +me, and I rejoice in my escape, while I give him much joy +with his highly refined and polished bride." +</p> + +<p> +All my Lee temper, which is considerable, was roused, +and turning towards the lady, I exclaimed, "My sister, +Miss Montrose, is as good as you, aye, or as Herbert +Langley either, and the news of her marriage with him will +carry sorrow to our home at Meadow Brook, where they +will say she has literally thrown herself away." +</p> + +<p> +"Very likely," returned Ada, sarcastically. "It is +quite probable that a <i>poor laborer</i> will object to his +daughter's marrying into one of the first families in Boston." +</p> + +<p> +"He isn't a poor laborer," I replied, "and even if he +were, he <i>would</i> object to his daughter's marrying a drunkard, +for such Herbert Langley has been and such he will +be again." +</p> + +<p> +A deep groan came from the white lips of my aunt, +and for the first time since Ada's outbreak, I remembered +that she was there. She did not reprove me angrily, but +in trembling tones she said, "Rose, Herbert is <i>my</i> child, +<i>my</i> boy, and it becomes not a girl of your age to speak +thus of him in the presence of his mother." +</p> + +<p> +I was humbled, and winding my arms about her neck, +I asked forgiveness for the harsh words I had spoken; +and she forgave me, for she meant to do right, and if +sometimes she erred, it was owing more to a weakness +of the flesh than an unwillingness of the spirit. In the +midst of our excitement <i>Tom Wilson</i> was ushered in. +He had returned in the same train which brought the +letter, and had come to give us any further information, +which we might be desirous of knowing. +</p> + +<p> +"When will Herbert come home?" was my aunt's +first question, her whole manner indicating how much +interest she felt in the answer. +</p> + +<p> +"Not very soon," returned Tom. "He is tired of the +city, he says, and besides that he wishes to avoid the +unpleasant remarks his elopement will necessarily +occasion." +</p> + +<p> +"More like he wishes to avoid introducing his bride +into society, which he knows has no wish to receive her," +muttered Ada. +</p> + +<p> +Tom paid no attention to this spiteful speech, but +continued, "He has drawn his money from the —— Bank, +and with it he intends purchasing a farm in the western +part of New York." +</p> + +<p> +"An admirable plan," again interrupted Ada. "That +Lee girl is just calculated for a farmer's wife." +</p> + +<p> +Taken alone there was nothing particularly disagreeable +in the three words "<i>that Lee girl</i>;" but spoken by +Ada Montrose they sounded insultingly, and every time +she uttered them, I felt my blood boil, for <i>I</i>, too, was a +<i>Lee girl</i>, and I was sure she included me in the same +contemptuous category. As Herbert had said, I did not think +the disappointment would break her heart. She was too +angry for that, and I believe now, as I did then, that +most of her feeling arose from the mortification of knowing +that a "poor country girl," as she called Anna, was +preferred to herself. For half an hour or more Tom +Wilson and my aunt conversed together, she asking him +at least a dozen times "if he did not think Herbert could +be induced to return." At last, with quivering lips and +flushed cheeks, as if it cost her pride a great effort, she +said, "Of course I mean <i>Anna</i>, too, when I speak of +Herbert's return. She is his wife, you say, and though +I might, perhaps, wish it otherwise, it cannot now be +helped, and if he only would come back to me, I should +love her for his sake." +</p> + +<p> +In my heart I blessed her for these words, and mentally +resolved to leave no argument untried, which might bring +the fugitives back. But it could not be. Herbert was +decided, he said. He meant to be a farmer and live in +the country, adding what he knew would silence his +mother sooner than aught else he could say, "that temptations +for him to drink were far greater in the city than +in the country, and it was for this reason partly that he +preferred living in the latter place." +</p> + +<p> +And so my aunt yielded the point; but from the day +of her son's desertion, there was in her a perceptible +change. Far oftener was she found in the house of +prayer, and less frequently was she seen in places of +amusement, while more than once I heard her in secret +asking that her wayward boy might be shielded from the +great temptation. Alas! for thee, poor Herbert Langley, +sleeping in thine early grave! There were prayers +enough, methinks, to save thee; for at the old Meadow +Brook home, thou wert remembered in the early morn, +and not forgotten when at eve, my father knelt him +down to pray. Why, then, didst thou fall ere thy sun +had reached the meridian of manhood? Was it because +in thine early training there was an error which no after +exertions could repair? We answer, Yes. The fault was +there, and little know they what they do, who set before +their sons the poisonous cup, and bid them, by their own +example, drink and die. How many young men, from +the higher walks of life, now sleeping in the dishonored +grave of a drunkard, might at this moment be filling +some honorable position, had it not been for the wine or +beer drinking habit acquired in childhood by their own +firesides, and at their father's table? Look to it, then, +you around whose hearthstones promising sons are gathered, +and if in the coming years you would escape the +sleepless nights, the bitter tears, and the broken hearts +of those whose children walk in the path, which, sooner +than all others, leadeth down to death, teach them, both +by precept and by practise, to "touch not, taste not, +handle not," for therein alone lieth safety. +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap14"></a></p> + +<h2> +CHAPTER XIV. +<br><br> +TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS. +</h2> + +<p> +Early in March, as I was one Saturday morning seated +with my aunt in her pleasant, cozy sewing-room, a little +boy brought me a note from Dell Clayton, in which she +requested me, if possible, to spend the afternoon with +her. She was sick, she wrote, unable to sit up, and what +was worse than all, she was homesick and unhappy! +Her aunt, she said, was out of the city, and as she had no +acquaintance, she thought the sight of a familiar face +would do her good. +</p> + +<p> +Aunt Charlotte, to whom I handed the note, consented +to my going, and immediately after dinner, which that +day was served at an earlier hour than usual, I started. +Long and daily walks have always been to me a luxury, +and so, though I had been but a few months in Boston, I +was tolerably well acquainted with most of its localities, +and had no trouble in finding the once stylish, but now +rather dilapidated and gloomy looking block, in one part +of which Dr. Clayton was keeping house. Since the +night when I met him at the theater, I had never seen +him, and all that I knew of him was that he had left the +Tremont. Subsequently, however, I heard the whole +history of their proceedings—partly from the doctor, +partly from Dell, and partly from other sources, and as a +recital of it may not be wholly uninteresting to my +readers, I will give it before proceeding with a +description of my call. +</p> + +<p> +It seems that boarding at the Tremont was rather too +expensive for a physician, whose patients were not so +numerous as to be troublesome, and several times had +the doctor proposed returning to his old place in +Sturbridge, where everything was cheaper; but to this Dell +objected, for she well knew it would be an admission that +they could not succeed in Boston, and against this her +pride revolted. "People at home," she reasoned, "would +never know how matters really were, and as long as she +could keep up an appearance of gentility and upper-ten-dom +with her former friends, she should do so," preferring, +like many others, almost absolute want in the city, +to plenty in the country. From this, the reader is not +to infer that the doctor was extremely poor; for when he +first went to Boston he was worth about fifteen hundred +dollars, which, in a country village, with a prudent wife, +would have surrounded him with all the comforts of life, +besides leaving him with something for that "rainy day," +about which everybody blessed with a careful grandmother +has heard more or less. +</p> + +<p> +In the city of course, it needed a great deal of money +to keep up the kind of style upon which Dell insisted, +and which, after all, was far from satisfying her—it was +so much inferior to the elegance she saw around her; +and as check after check of the doctor's little hoard was +drawn from the bank to meet their expenses, while but +few would get sick, or being so would send for him, his +heart sank within him, and without really meaning to do +so, he began to wonder "when that old grandmother +would die!" Finding that he could not much longer +pay the enormous bills, which were presented to him +weekly at the Tremont, he decided at last upon +housekeeping, and exercising in this case his own judgment, in +spite of the tears, sulks, and remonstrances of his wife, +he hired a house in an obscure street, where the rents +were much lower than in the more fashionable part of the +city. Very neatly he fitted it up, going rather beyond +his means, it is true, but depending a great deal upon +the fast failing health of Grandmother Barton, to set all +things right. +</p> + +<p> +Everything was at last arranged, and with that +comfortable feeling which other men have experienced in +similar circumstances, he took his seat for the first time at +his own table, forgetting in his happiness that the smiling, +handsome face of the lady opposite, in blue merino +morning gown and clean white linen collar, had ever +worn any look save that which now sat upon it. Breakfast +was hardly over, when the door-bell rang violently +and a man appeared telling the doctor that his services +were required immediately by the wealthy Mrs. Archer, +who lived in an adjoining street, and who owned the +entire block in which he lived. +</p> + +<p> +Mrs. Archer belonged to that class of people who are +always dying, first with one fancied disease and then with +another, in the end, however, living much longer than +those whose business it is to minister to their wants. +Being freakish and whimsical, she seldom employed +the same physician longer than a year, but during that +time a man with limited wants was sure of a livelihood, +for his services were required every day, and the +remuneration for the same was so prompt and liberal as to make +her patronage much sought after, particularly by new +practitioners. Having taken a violent fancy to Dr. Clayton +when he bargained with her for the house, she had +decided henceforth to employ him, if on trial he proved +to be all she wished. +</p> + +<p> +The doctor was well aware of her peculiarities, and for +several days past had indulged a faint hope that she might +favor him with a call. This she had now done, and very +eagerly he prepared to visit her. As he reached his gates +he was met by a boy who brought a telegraphic despatch +from Wilbraham, saying that <i>Grandma Barton was dead</i>! +Yes, the old lady was gone, and Dell was undoubtedly +the heiress of ten thousand dollars at least, and probably +more, for her grandmother bore the reputation of being +miserly, and rumor said that twice ten thousand was +nearer the actual sum of her possessions. To ascertain +the truth as soon as possible was the doctor's great desire, +and as the next train bound for the east started in about +two hours, he decided to go at once, though the funeral +was not to take place for two or three days. +</p> + +<p> +Suddenly Mrs. Archer's message occurred to him, but +matters were now changed—he was a rich man, and as +such Mrs. Archer's patronage was not of vital importance. +Still it would hardly do to slight her, and rather +unwillingly he bent his steps towards her dwelling. When there +he appeared so abrupt and absent-minded, telling her +there was nothing whatever the matter with her as he +could see, that the good lady was wholly disgusted, and +the moment he was gone, she despatched the servant for +another physician, who, possessing more tact, and not +having recently come into the possession of a fortune, +told her with a grave, concerned look, that "he never +saw anything like her case—it really baffled his skill, +though he thought he <i>could</i> cure her, and it would give +him pleasure to try." +</p> + +<p> +Of course he was employed, and just as Dr. Clayton +and Dell were stepping into the omnibus, which took +them to the dépôt, a note was handed to the former, +saying his services were no longer needed by Mrs. Archer. +Without giving it a thought, the doctor crushed the note +into his pocket, and then springing into the carriage, took +his seat by Dell, to whom he was unusually attentive, for +she had risen in his estimation full <i>ten thousand dollars' +worth</i>, and what man, for that sum of money, would not +occasionally endure a cross look, or a peevish word! Not +the doctor most certainly; and when on reaching the +dépôt, they found that the cars would not leave for half +an hour or more, he could not resist her entreaties to go +with her to a jeweler's, on —— street, where the day +before she had "seen such a beautiful set of cameos, +earrings, bracelet, and pin to match—then, too, they were +so cheap, only $50. She knew he would buy them!" +</p> + +<p> +'Twas in vain for him to say that he had not fifty +dollars for she replied, that "he could take it from the +bank and replace it when she got her fortune;" adding, +"I'll give you a hundred in place of it: so gratify me this +once, that's a dear, good man." +</p> + +<p> +Of course, the <i>dear good man</i> was persuaded as many +another dear good man has been, and will be again by a +coaxing woman. The cameos were bought, and in the +best of humor the young couple took their seats in the +cars which were soon bearing them swiftly towards the +house of death. Very pleasant were the doctor's reflections +as the train sped on over valley and plain: he was a +fortunate, happy man, and if when they paused at the +Meadow Brook station he thought for an instant of the +girl Rosa Lee, her memory was to him like an idle dream, +which had passed away in the <i>golden</i> beams of day. +Arrived at Wilbraham dépôt, they took a carriage for the +village, which is about two miles or more from the railroad. +</p> + +<p> +The old brown shutters of the large wooden building, +where Mrs. Barton had lived and died, were closed, and +about the house there was no sign of life. But this was +hardly different from what it had been during the old +lady's life, for she was one who lived mostly within +herself, seldom seeing company, though always sure to go +whenever she was invited. Exceedingly penurious, she +stinted her household to the last degree of endurance, and +denied herself even the comforts of life, while her last +request had been that her body might be suffered to +remain in her sleeping-room, so as not to litter up the +parlor, or wear the carpet! +</p> + +<p> +At the head of the family was Mabel Warrener, a poor +young girl, who for three years had lived with Mrs. Barton +in the capacity of half waiting-maid, half companion, +and to her the neighbors now looked for directions. +Anxious to pay all due deference to the wishes of her late +mistress, Mabel at first said, "Let the body remain where +it is;" but when she reflected that "the fashionable +Mrs. Clayton from Boston," with her proud husband (for +so were they considered), would probably be there, she +changed her mind, and the deceased was carried into the +dark, damp parlor, where a fire had not been kindled for +more than a year. The same was also true of the chamber +above, which was designed for the doctor and his lady, +the latter of whom shivered as she entered it, rather +haughtily bidding Mabel, who accompanied her, "to make +a fire there as soon as possible, for she was not +accustomed to cold rooms, and should freeze to death." +</p> + +<p> +Very meekly Mabel complied, not only with this +requisition, but with fifty others from the same source; for +Dell, thinking she was now mistress of the house, took +upon herself many airs, ordering this, that, and the other, +until the neighbors, quite disgusted, left poor Mabel alone, +with the exception of the deaf old woman, who ruled in +the kitchen as cook. The morning following the arrival of +the doctor, Capt. Thompson, wife, and son came out from +Sturbridge to attend the funeral; for though they were +in no way connected with Mrs. Barton, they knew her well, +and wished to pay her this last tribute of respect. Then, +too, Mrs. Thompson was very desirous of seeing Dell, +who was now an heiress, and as such entitled to attention. +Long they talked together concerning the future, Dell +telling how she meant "to fix up the old rookery for a +summer residence," and inviting her sister-in-law to spend +as much time with her as she possibly could. The cameos +were next duly inspected, admired, tried on, and then the +two went down to the room below, and turning back the +thin muslin which shaded the face of the dead, gazed upon +the pinched, stony features which seemed so much to +reproach them for their cold-hearted selfishness, in thus +planning ways and means by which to spend her hoarded +wealth even before she was buried from their sight. +</p> + +<p> +That afternoon there was heard a tolling bell, and along +procession moved slowly to the churchyard, where the +words "ashes to ashes—dust to dust," and the sound of +the hard frozen earth, rattling upon the coffin-lid, broke +the solemn stillness, but disturbed not the rest of those, +who, henceforth, would be the fellow-sleepers of her now +committed to the grave. When the party of mourners +had returned to the house, the doctor began to speak of +the necessity there was for his returning immediately to +the city, at the same time hinting to Capt. Thompson +that "if there was a <i>will</i>, he would like to see it." +</p> + +<p> +Mabel Warrener, who was supposed to know more than +any one else concerning Mrs. Barton's affairs, was called +in and questioned, she replying that "her mistress, one +day, about two weeks before her death, had said to her +that if, after her death, an inquiry should be made +concerning her will, it could be found in the private drawer +of her secretary, where was also a letter for Mrs. Clayton." Both +of these were brought out, and with her handkerchief +over her eyes, Dell listened while Capt. Thompson +read aloud the astounding fact that the entire possessions of +Mrs. Barton, amounting to $15,000, were given to MABEL +WARRENER, who, having had no suspicion whatever of the +fortune in store for her, fainted away, and was borne from +the room, as was also Dell; while the doctor, it was +confidently asserted, went out behind the woodshed and +actually <i>vomited</i>, so great was his disappointment! Soon +rallying, however, both he and his wife declared it a fraud, +accusing the still unconscious Mabel of treachery, and it +was not until the lawyer who had drawn the will was +produced, that they could be convinced. Suddenly remembering +her letter, Dell broke it open and found therein the +reasons for this most unaccountable freak. Always +peculiar and naturally jealous, Mrs. Barton had felt piqued +that she was not invited to Dell's wedding, which, +considering that she was spending the summer in Albany at +the time when it took place, was not very remarkable. +Then, too, she was not consulted, and she didn't believe +in doctors, they killed more than they cured; but the +head and front of the offense seemed to be that instead +of hiring two or three rooms and keeping house in a small, +economical way, they <i>boarded</i> at the Tremont, where Dell +had nothing to do but "to change her dress, eat, sleep, +and <i>laze</i>"—so the letter ran—"and she (Mrs. Barton) +would not suffer a penny of her money to go for the +support of such extravagance: she preferred giving it to +Mabel Warrener, who was a prudent, saving girl, and +would take care of it; while the paltry doctor would +spend it for cigars, fast horses, patent leather boots, and +all sorts of fooleries." +</p> + +<p> +The letter ended with an exhortation to Dell to "go to +work and earn her own living, as her grandmother had +done before her." +</p> + +<p> +The doctor's reflections, as he rode back to Boston, +were not of the most enviable nature; and who can wonder +if he was rather testy towards his wife, who retorted +so angrily as to bring on quite a sharp quarrel, which was +prevented from being heard by the roar of the machinery; +and if at <i>Meadow Brook</i> he <i>did</i> think again of Rosa Lee, +half fancying that 5,000 divided by 13, if shared with +<i>her</i>, might be preferable to <i>nothing</i> divided by <i>nothing</i>, +shared with Dell; who can blame him? Not <i>I</i>, most +certainly. Wasn't he terribly disappointed? Hadn't he +just lost $15,000, to say nothing of a patient, whose +patronage would have insured him a living for at least a year, +besides introducing him into a broader field of practise; +and if the cameo earrings <i>were</i> rather becoming to the +dark hair and black eyes of his wife, did that in any way +compensate him for the fifty dollars which stood on the +Cr. side of his bank-book? Still, I see no good reason +why, after their arrival home at a late hour of the night, +they should sit up for more than an hour in a cold, +cheerless room, telling each other—the one that she wished she +had never married him, for "he alone stood in the way of +her inheritance;" while the other replied, that "but for +her extravagance he should now have had $1,500 in the +bank instead of five hundred." +</p> + +<p> +Wretched couple! Their history is like that of many +others, who marry without a particle of love, or at most, +only a passing fancy. Had Dell chosen, she could in time +have won the affection of her husband, but being naturally +selfish and exacting, she expected from him every +attention; while in return she seldom gave him aught save +cross looks and peevish words, complaining that he did not +treat her now as he once had done. As long as the doctor +had a fortune in expectancy, he bore his wife's ill humor +tolerably well, but now that hope was gone, his whole being +seemed changed, and Dell was not often obliged to quarrel +alone. +</p> + +<p> +At last, broken in spirits, and being really sick, she had +sent for me, as I have before stated. I found her in bed, +propped up on pillows, her shining hair combed back, and +her large black eyes seeming blacker than ever, from +contrast with her colorless cheek. All her old haughtiness +was gone, and the moment she saw me she stretched her +arms towards me, and bursting into tears, exclaimed, +"Oh, Rose, I am so glad you have come. I was afraid you +wouldn't, for I knew your aunt was very aristocratic, and +I thought she might not be willing to have you visit poor, +obscure people like us." +</p> + +<p> +There was much of bitterness in the last part of this +speech, and it grated harshly upon my feelings; but it was +like her, I knew, and she had only judged my aunt by +what she well knew she should herself be in a similar +position; so I took no notice of it, save to assure her that +Aunt Charlotte was perfectly willing I should come, while +at the same time I expressed my sorrow at finding her so +unwell, and asked "what was the matter." +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, nothing much," said she. "I have no particular +disease, unless it be one of the mind, and that you know +is not easily cured." +</p> + +<p> +I made no answer to this; but after a moment's silence, +I ventured to inquire for her husband. Instantly there +came a bright glow to her cheek, as she replied, "Oh, he +is as well as could be expected, considering his terrible +disappointment." +</p> + +<p> +Of course I asked what disappointment, whereupon she +proceeded to narrate a part of what I have already told to +my readers, withholding nearly all the points wherein she +had been to blame, and dwelling with apparent delight +upon the faults of her husband, who, she protested, was +wholly selfish and avaricious. "I know," said she, "why +he married me; 'twas for the sake of the few dollars he +thought my grandmother would leave me, and now being +disappointed in that, he cares no more for me than he does +for you—no, nor half so much, for he always preferred you +to me, and I wish I had let you have him, for you liked +him, I know, better than I did." +</p> + +<p> +As she said this, she looked me steadily in the face, as if +to read my inmost soul. I felt provoked, for I now thought +of my former affection for the doctor as something of which +I was <i>a little ashamed</i>, and I did not much like to be +reminded of it by his wife. So I ventured to say that +"whatever I might once have felt for her husband, it was +all over now, and I could think of no greater misfortune +than that of being his wife!" +</p> + +<p> +Now, I should know better than to speak thus to any +woman concerning her husband, for however much she +may talk against him herself, she certainly has no desire +or expectation that her listener will agree with her. On +this occasion, Dell grew angry at once, telling me "I +needn't speak so lightly of her husband—he was good +enough for anybody," while at the same time she +muttered something about "sour grapes!" +</p> + +<p> +I was taken quite aback, and remained silent, until she +at last said, laughingly, "I don't wish to quarrel with +you, Rose. Pardon any ill humor I may have manifested. +I get nervous and fidgety staying here alone so much." +</p> + +<p> +"Is not the doctor with you sometimes?" I inquired. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, yes; once in a great while," said she; "but he +can bear the atmosphere of any other sick-room better +than mine. So he's off—hunting up patients, I suppose. +I tell him he gets his living that way, and a poor living it +bids fair to be. Between you and me, Rose," she continued, +growing excited, "he is <i>shiftless</i>, if you know +what that means, and we are worth to-day just as much +as we ever shall be." +</p> + +<p> +I felt that she wronged him, and told her so, at the +same time enumerating his many good qualities, while +she listened, evidently better pleased than when I had +spoken lightly of him. In the midst of our conversation +there was a familiar step in the hall, and a moment after +the doctor himself entered the room. He looked care-worn +and haggard; but at the sight of me, whose presence +surprised him, his face quickly lighted up, and there +was much of his olden manner as he took my hand and +expressed his pleasure at finding me there. 'Twas but +for a moment, however, for catching the eye of his wife, +he became almost instantly reserved, and seating himself +near a window, he pretended to be much occupied with a +book, which I accidentally discovered was wrong side up! +It was strange how much waiting-upon Dell suddenly +needed. Heretofore she had been very quiet, saying she +did not wish for anything, but now that he was there, +her pillows must be turned, her head must be bathed, the +window must be opened and then shut, while with every +other breath, she declared him to be "the awkwardest +man she ever saw," saying once, "she didn't wonder he +had no more practise if he handled all his patients as +roughly as he did her." +</p> + +<p> +After this unkind speech, the doctor made no farther +attempt to please her, but left her side and returned to +his seat by the window. Ere long the supper bell rang. +I had not supposed it was so late, and starting up +announced my intention of going home, but to this neither +the doctor nor Dell would listen, both of them insisting +upon my staying to tea; she, because she felt that common +civility required it, and he, because he really wished +it. Once out of her sight, he was himself again, and +playfully drawing my arm within his, he led me to the +dining-room, placing me at the head of the table, where +Dell was accustomed to sit, while he took the seat +opposite. As we sat there thus, I shall not say that there +came to my mind no thought of what might have been, +but I can say, and truthfully too, that such thoughts +brought with them naught of pain; for though Dr. Clayton +had once possessed the power of swaying me at his +will, that time had gone by, and he was to me now only a +friend, whom I both liked and pitied, for I knew he was +far from being happy. Once, when I handed him his +second cup of tea, he said, smiling upon me, "It makes +me very happy to see you there—in that seat." +</p> + +<p> +I made no answer; and, as if thinking he had said what +he ought not, he immediately changed the conversation, +and began to question me of my studies, etc., asking me +among other things, if I went to dancing-school. Instantly +I remembered Mrs. Ross's slippers with the little +wads of cotton, and I laughed aloud. It seems his +thoughts took the same direction, for he, too, laughed so +loudly that when we returned to Dell's room, she rather +pettishly inquired what we found to amuse us so much, +saying "she hadn't seen the doctor look so pleased +since—since, well, since grandma's death," she finally added, +at the same time glancing at him to witness the effect of +her words. +</p> + +<p> +He turned very white about the mouth, and I am quite +certain I heard the word "<i>thunder!</i>" At all events, his +eyes flashed angrily upon the provoking woman, who +again inquired at what we were laughing. When I told +her, she too laughed, saying, "Oh, yes, I remember it +well, and have sometimes thought that I owe my present +position to that awkward misstep of yours." +</p> + +<p> +"I am very glad I fell, then," said I, rather impatiently, +while I threw on my hood and shawl, preparatory to +going home. +</p> + +<p> +"Hadn't you better call an omnibus for her?" asked +Dell of her husband, who was putting on his overshoes. +</p> + +<p> +"I am going round with her myself," he answered. +"I have a patient on the way," and he hurried from the +room ere she could say anything further. +</p> + +<p> +It was a beautiful moonlight night, and as I took his +arm I recalled the time when once before we had walked +thus together. I think he remembered it too, for he +asked me "if I ever visited Pine District?" +</p> + +<p> +"Not often," I replied; and he continued to say, that +"notwithstanding that it was little more than a year and +a half since he first saw me there, it seemed to him an +age," adding; "and it is not strange either, for I have +passed through many trials since then." +</p> + +<p> +To this I made no reply, and ere long he proceeded to +speak further of himself, and of his disappointment, first +with regard to his business, and next with regard to his +domestic relations, which he gave me to understand were +not particularly happy. Very delicately and carefully +he handled the latter subject, speaking not one-half so +harshly of Dell as she had spoken of him. Still I felt +that he had no right thus to speak to me, and so I told +him. +</p> + +<p> +"I know it, Rose," he returned. "I know it all; but +for this once you must hear me, and I will never trouble +you again. I committed a great error in marrying one, +while my heart belonged to another—stay," he continued, +as I was about to interrupt him. "You must hear me +out. It is not of my love for <i>that other</i> that I would +speak; but, Rose, I would know how far I have wronged +you. <i>Did</i> you love me, and had I asked you to share my +home, when at a suitable age, would you have done so?" +</p> + +<p> +He was very pale, and the arm on which my hand was +resting, trembled violently, but grew still when he heard +my answer, which was, "I <i>did</i> love you, but 'twas a +childish love and quickly passed away. And were you +now free as you once were, I could be to you nothing +save a friend." +</p> + +<p> +There was a mixture of disappointment and pleasure on +his face; but he replied, "I am glad that it is so, and +shall now feel happier, for the hardest part of all was the +though that possibly <i>you, too</i>, might suffer." +</p> + +<p> +"Not at all," I answered, adding, "it would be foolish +to break my heart for one man, when there are so many +in the world." +</p> + +<p> +This I said with bitterness, for I remembered the time +when I had wept in the shadowy woods of Meadow Brook, +and if for a moment I experienced a feeling of satisfaction +in knowing that what <i>I</i> suffered then, <i>he</i> was suffering +now, I can only plead woman's nature as an apology. +'Twas but for a moment, however, and then, casting off +all such feelings, I spoke to him kindly of his wife, +telling him he could be happy with her if he tried, and +that if he were not, it was probably as much his fault as +hers. Brighter days, too, would come, I said, when his +practise would not be limited to <i>three</i> patients, one of +whom was too poor to pay, and another was already +convalescent, while the third was in the last stages of her +disease, and would need his services but a few days longer. +</p> + +<p> +"You are my good angel, Rose," said he, when at last +we reached my uncle's door, "and your words inspire me +with courage. Come and see us often, for the sight of +you does me good, and God knows how much I stand in +need of sympathy. Farewell." +</p> + +<p> +He pressed my hand, and hastily raising it to his lips, +turned away, dreading, as I well knew, a return to the +sick-room, where naught would greet him save reproachful +complaints, and where the dark eyes, which had first +won his admiration, would flash angrily upon him. In +the hall, I stood for a time, pondering in my mind some +way by which I could assist him, and I even thought of +feigning sickness myself for the sake of adding another +patient to his list! But this, I knew, he would easily +detect, and possibly he might misconstrue my motive for +so doing, and this project was abandoned, and I entered +the parlor in quest of my aunt, who, I learned from one +of the servants, was in her own room, suffering from a +severe headache. She had taken a violent cold, which, +by the next morning, had developed itself into a species +of influenza, at that time prevailing in the city. Added +to this was a general debility and prostration of the +nerves, brought on by her recent trouble and anxiety +concerning Herbert. +</p> + +<p> +My uncle, who was always alarmed when she was ill, +wished for medical advice; but to this she objected, as +Dr. Mott, the family physician, was absent, and she knew +of no other, whom she dare trust. Instantly I thought of +Dr. Clayton. If she could be prevailed upon to employ +him, I knew she would like him, for I could testify to his +extreme kindness in a sick-room, and good nursing was +what she most needed. When I suggested that he should +be called, she at first refused; but before night, being +much worse, she consented, and never had I experienced +a moment of greater happiness than when I hastened to +the kitchen with a message for John, who was to go +immediately for Dr. Clayton. Then taking my uncle aside, +I explained to him the straitened circumstances of the +young physician, hinting to him that prompt remuneration +for his services would undoubtedly be acceptable. +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, yes, I understand," said he; "you want me to +pay him to-day." +</p> + +<p> +Here we were interrupted by the ringing of the doorbell. +Dr. Clayton had come, and the result was as I had +hoped. My aunt was greatly pleased—he was so kind +and gentle, humoring all her fancies, and evincing withal +so much judgment and skill that she felt confidence in +his abilities; and when he was gone, expressed herself as +preferring him even to Dr. Mott, "who," she said, "was +getting old and cross." +</p> + +<p> +As he was leaving the house, my uncle placed in his +hand a five-dollar bill, whereupon the doctor turned very +red, and asked if he were not expected to call again. +</p> + +<p> +"Certainly, certainly," said my uncle, who, manlike, +hadn't the least bit of tact; "keep coming until Charlotte +is well. I only paid you for this call to please Rosa." +</p> + +<p> +Instead of the displeased, mortified look, which I +expected to see on the doctor's face, there was an expression +of deep gratitude, as he turned his eyes towards me; and +I thought there was a moisture in them, which surprised +me, for I did not then know how much that five dollars +was needed: it being the exact amount requisite for the +payment of the girl, who refused to remain with them +another day unless her wages were forthcoming. To such +straits are people, apparently in easy circumstances, +sometimes reduced. +</p> + +<p> +For more than a week my aunt was confined to her +room, while the doctor came regularly, always staying a +long time, and by his delicate attentions winning golden +laurels from his patient, who was far better pleased with +him than with the fussy old man, who, being always in a +hurry, only stopped for a moment, while he looked at +her <i>tongue</i>, felt her <i>pulse</i>, and recommended <i>blistering</i> +and <i>bleeding</i>, with a dose of <i>calomel</i>, neither of which +Dr. Clayton believed to be a <i>saving ordinance</i>, and +indispensable to the <i>comfort</i> and recovery of his patients. By +this, I do not mean anything derogatory to the good old +custom of tormenting folks to death before their time, +but having a faint remembrance of certain <i>blisters</i>, which, +together with <i>cabbage leaves</i> and the <i>tallowed rags</i>, once +kept me in a state of torture for nearly a week, to say +nothing of the <i>sore mouth</i>, the <i>loose teeth</i>, and the +tightly-bandaged arm, I cannot help experiencing a kind of +nervous tremor at the very mention of said prescriptions. +</p> + +<p> +Dr. Clayton's attendance upon my aunt was a great +benefit to him, as, through its means, he became known +to several of the higher circle, who began to employ him, +so that by the last of May, the time when I left Boston +for Meadow Brook, he had quite a large practise. For +some reason or other, Mrs. Archer, too, sent for him again; +and as he had now no ten thousand dollars in prospect, +he succeeded in pleasing the whimsical lady, thereby +securing her patronage for a year at least. Here, for a +time, I leave him, while I go back to the dear old home at +Meadow Brook, over which a shadow, dark and heavy, +was brooding. +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap15"></a></p> + +<h2> +CHAPTER XV. +<br><br> +THE OLD HOMESTEAD. +</h2> + +<p> +"Meadow Brook Station! Stop five minutes for +refreshments!" shouted the conductor, and alighting from +the noisy, crowded cars, I stood once more in my own +native town, gazing with a feeling of delight upon the +sunny hills, dotted over with the old-fashioned +gable-roofed houses, and upon the green, grassy meadow, +through which rolled the blue waters of the Chicopee. +I had not stood thus long, when a broad hand was laid +upon my shoulder, and the next instant my arms were +around the neck of my father, who, I thought, had +changed much since last I saw him; for his face was thin +and pale, while threads of silver were scattered through +his soft brown hair. +</p> + +<p> +It was the loss of Anna, I fancied; and when we at +last were seated in the buggy, and on our way home, I +hastened to speak of her, and to tell him of the favorable +report we heard of Herbert. But naught which I said +seemed to rouse him; and at last I, too, fell into the +same thoughtful mood, in which even old Sorrel shared, +for he moved with his head down, scarcely once leaving +the slow, measured walk he had first assumed. When, at +last, we reached the hill-top, from which could be seen +the Homestead, with its maple trees in front, and long +row of apple trees, now in full bloom, in the rear, I started +up, exclaiming, "Home, sweet home! It never looked +half so beautiful to me before." +</p> + +<p> +In a moment, however, I checked myself; for my father +groaned aloud, while his face grew whiter than before. +</p> + +<p> +"What is it, father," I asked; "are they sick or dead?" +</p> + +<p> +"Neither, neither," he replied, at the same time +chirruping to old Sorrel, who pricked up his ears and soon +carried us to the door of our house, where I was warmly +greeted by all. +</p> + +<p> +And still there was in what they said and did an air of +melancholy which puzzled me; and when I was alone +with Lizzie, I asked her the cause why they looked so +sad? Bursting into tears, she replied, "This is not our +home any longer. We must leave it, and go, we don't +know where—to the <i>poor-house</i>, pa sometimes says, when +he feels the worst, and then grandma cries so hard—oh, +it's dreadful!" +</p> + +<p> +"And why must we leave it?" I asked; and Lizzie +answered, "Pa has signed notes for Uncle Thomas, who +has failed, and now the homestead must be sold to pay +his debts—and they so proud, too!" +</p> + +<p> +It was as Lizzie had said. Uncle Thomas Harding was +my mother's brother, who lived in Providence, in far +greater style, it was said, than he was able to support. +Several times had Aunt Harding visited us, together with +her two daughters, Ellen and Theodosia. They were +proud, haughty girls, and evidently looked upon us, their +<i>country cousins</i>, with contempt; only tolerating us, +because it was pleasant to have some place in the country +where to while away a few weeks, which, in the heated, +dusty city, would otherwise hang heavily upon their +hands. On such occasions, they made themselves +perfectly at home, and somehow or other managed to have +my mother feel that she was really indebted to them for +the honor they conferred upon her, by calling her Aunty, +by appropriating to themselves the greater portion of the +house, by skimming the cream from the pans of milk, by +eating up the pie she had saved for us children when we +came hungry and cross from school, and by keeping old +Sorrel constantly in the harness, or under the saddle. +</p> + +<p> +In return for all this, they sometimes gave us an old +collar, a silk apron, a soiled ribbon, or broken parasol—and +once, when my parents visited them, they sent us a +trunk full of rubbish, among which was Fielding's "Tom +Jones!" This my grandmother cautiously took from +the trunk with the <i>tongs</i> and threw into the fire, thereby +creating in me so great a desire for a knowledge of its +contents, that, on the first occasion which presented +itself, I gratified my curiosity, feeling when I had done so, +that my grandmother was right in disposing of the volume +as she did. Dear old lady! her aversion to everything +savoring of fiction was remarkable, and when not long since +a certain <i>medium</i> informed me that she, my grandmother, +was greatly distressed to learn that I had so far +degenerated as to be <i>writing a book</i>, I thought seriously of +giving up my project at once, and should probably have +done so, had not another medium of still greater power +than the first received a communication, stating that, +after due reflection, my grandmother had concluded that +"I might continue the story called Meadow Brook, +provided I showed off my Aunt Harding and her two daughters +in their true character." So, as a dutiful child, it +becomes me to tell how my father, who was warmly +attached to my Uncle Thomas, lent him money from time +to time, and signed notes to the amount of several thousand +dollars, never once dreaming that in the end he would +be ruined, while my uncle, influenced by his more crafty +wife, managed in some unaccountable way to maintain +nearly the same style of living as formerly; and if his +proud daughters ever felt the ills of poverty, it was +certainly not apparent in the rich silks and costly furs which +they continued to sport. +</p> + +<p> +It was a terrible blow to us all, but upon no one did it +fall so heavily as upon my father, crushing him to the +earth, and rendering him nearly as powerless as is the giant +oak when torn from its parent bed by the wrathful storm. +The old homestead was endeared to him by a thousand +hallowed associations. It was the home of his boyhood, +and around the cheerful fires, which years ago were kindled +on its spacious hearthstone, he had played with those +who long since had passed from his side, some to mingle +in the great drama of life, and others to that world where +they number not by years. There, too, in his early +manhood had he brought his bride, my gentle mother, and on +the rough bark of the towering maples, by the side of his +own and his brother's names, were carved those of his +children, all save little Jamie, who died ere his tiny +fingers had learned the use of knife or hammer. No wonder, +then, that his head grew dizzy and his heart sick as he +thought of leaving it forever; and when at last the +trying moment came, when with trembling hand he signed +the deed which made him homeless, who shall deem him +weak, if he laid his weary head upon the lap of his aged +mother and wept like a little child? +</p> + +<p> +A small house in the village was hired, and after a few +weeks' preparation, one bright June morning, when the +flowers we had watched over and tended with care were in +bloom, when the robins which, year after year had returned +to their nests in the maple tree, were singing their +sweetest songs, and when the blue sky bent gently over us, we +bade adieu to the spot, looking back with wistful eye +until every trace of our home had disappeared. Farewell +forever to thee, dear old homestead, where now other +footsteps tread and other children play than those of "auld +lang syne." The lights and shadows of years have fallen +upon thee since that summer morn, and with them have +come changes to thee as well as to us. The maple, whose +branches swept the roof above my window, making oft sad +music when tuned by the autumn wind, has been cut away, +and the robins, who brought to us the first tidings of spring, +have died or flown to other haunts. "The moss-covered +bucket which hung in the well" has been removed; the +curb, whose edges were worn by childish hands, is gone; +while in place of the violets and daisies which once +blossomed on the grassy lawn, the thistle and the burdock +now are growing, and the white rose-bush by the door, +from whence they plucked the buds which strewed the +coffin-bed of our baby brother, is dead. Weeds choke the +garden walks, and the moss grows green and damp on the +old stone wall. Even the brook which ran so merrily past +our door has been stopped in its course, and its sparkling +waters, bereft of freedom, now turn the wheel of a huge +saw-mill, with a low and sullen roar. All is changed, and +though memory still turns fondly to the spot which gave +me birth, I have learned to love another home, for where +my blessed mother dwells, 'tis surely home to me. By her +side there is, I know, a vacant chair, and in her heart a +lonely void, which naught on earth can fill; but while +she lives, and I know that there is in the world for me a +mother and a mother's love, can I not feel that I have +indeed a home, though it be not the spot where first she +blessed me as her child? +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap16"></a></p> + +<h2> +CHAPTER XVI. +<br><br> +"OUT WEST." +</h2> + +<p> +What a train of conflicting ideas do those two words +oftentimes awaken, bringing up visions of <i>log-cabins</i>, +ladder stairs, <i>wooden latches</i>, fried hominy and maple sugar, +to say nothing of the hobgoblins in the shape of bears, +rattlesnakes, wolves, and "folks who don't know +anything;" the latter being universally considered the "staple +production" of every place bearing the name of "out +West." Even western New York, with her hundreds of +large and flourishing villages, her well cultivated farms, +her numerous schools, her educated, intelligent people, +and her vast wealth, is looked upon with distrust by some +of her eastern neighbors, because, forsooth, her boundaries +lie farther towards the setting sun, and because she +once bore the title of "way out west in the Genesees." +</p> + +<p> +Of course I speak only from observation and personal +experience; for at Meadow Brook, ten years ago, many +fears were expressed lest Anna should miss the society to +which she had been accustomed; and when after the sale +of the homestead, she wrote, asking me to come and live +with her, I hesitated, for to me it seemed much like +burying myself from the world, particularly as she chanced to +mention that the schoolhouse was a log one, and that there +were in the neighborhood several buildings of the same +material. Never having seen anything of the kind, I +could not then understand that there is often in a log +house far more comfort and genuine happiness than in the +stateliest mansion which graces Fifth Avenue or Beacon +Street; and that the owners of said dwellings are +frequently worth their thousands, and only wait for a +convenient opportunity to build a more commodious and +imposing residence. +</p> + +<p> +At last, after many consultations with my parents, I +concluded to go, and about the middle of November I +again bade adieu to Meadow Brook; and in company with +a friend of my father, who was going West, I started for +Rockland, N.Y., which is in the western part of Ontario +County, and about fourteen miles from Canandaigua, at +which place Herbert was to meet me. I had never before +been west of Springfield, and when about sunset I looked +out upon the delightful prospect around Albany, I felt a +thrill of delight mingled with a feeling of pain, for I +began to have a vague impression that possibly +Massachusetts, with all her boasted privileges, could not outrival the +Empire State. It was dark, and the night lamps were +already lighted when we entered the cars at Albany; for +we were to ride all night. In front of us was an +unoccupied seat, which I turned towards me for the better +accommodation of my band-box, which contained my new +bonnet; and I was about settling myself for a nap, when +a gentleman and lady came in, the latter of whom stopping +near us, said, "Here, Richard, is a vacant seat. These +folks can't of course expect to monopolize two;" at the +same time she commenced turning the seat back, to the +great peril of my bonnet, which, as it was made in Boston, +I confidently expected would be the envy and fashion +of all Rockland! +</p> + +<p> +I was sitting with my hand over my eyes, but at the +sound of that voice I started, and, looking up, saw before +me Ada Montrose, and with her the "dark gentleman" +who had so much interested me at the theater. Instantly +throwing my veil over my face, for I had no wish to be +recognized, I watched him with a feeling akin to jealousy, +while he attended to the comfort of his companion, who +demeaned herself towards him much as she had done +towards Herbert Langley. All thoughts of sleep had left +me, and throughout the entire night I was awake, +speculating upon the probable relation in which he stood to +her: and once when it suddenly occurred to me that +possibly they were married, the tears actually started to +my eyes. +</p> + +<p> +As the hours sped on, he said to her a few low spoken, +words, whereupon she laid her head upon his shoulder, as +if that were its natural resting-place, while he threw his arm +around her, bidding her "sleep if she could." Of course +she was his wife, I said, and with much of bitterness at +my heart, I turned away and watched the slowly-moving +lights of the canal-boats, discernible on the opposite side +of the Mohawk, along whose banks we were passing. +Whether Ada liked her pillow or not, she clung to it +pertinaciously until it seemed to me that her neck must snap +asunder, while with a martyr's patience he supported her, +dozing occasionally himself, and bending his head so low +that his glossy black hair occasionally touched the white +brow of the sleeping girl. +</p> + +<p> +"Bride and groom," I heard a rough-looking man +mutter, as he passed them in quest of a seat, and as this +confirmed my fears, I again turned towards the window, +which I opened, so that the night-air might cool my +burning cheeks. +</p> + +<p> +That night I made up my mind to be an "old maid." Nobody +would ever want me I knew, I was so homely; +and with calm resignation I thought how much good I +would do in the world, and how I would honor the +sisterhood! Very slowly the morning light came struggling in +through the dirty windows, rousing the weary passengers, +who, rubbing their red-rimmed eyes, looked around to sea +who their companions were. It was nearly noon when we +reached Canandaigua, and so carefully had I kept my face +hidden from view that Ada had no suspicion whatever of +my presence. At Canandaigua I took leave of my +companion, and stepping out upon the platform in front of +the dépôt, looked anxiously around for Herbert, but he +was not there. Thinking he would soon be there, I found +my way to the public parlor, which for a few moments I +occupied alone. I had just removed my dusty bonnet, +and was brushing my tangled hair, when the door opened, +and I stood face to face with Ada Montrose, who started +back, and for a moment evidently debated the propriety +of recognizing me. Thinking she might do just as she +pleased, I simply nodded, as I would to any stranger, and +went on with my toilet, while throwing herself upon the +sofa, she exclaimed, "Dear me, how tired I am! Do you +live here?" +</p> + +<p> +"Of course not," I answered; "I am on my way to +visit my sister Anna, whom you perhaps remember." +</p> + +<p> +She turned very red, and replied by asking if I were in +the train which had just passed. +</p> + +<p> +"Yes," I answered; "I occupied the seat directly +behind you and——your <i>husband</i>—is it not?" +</p> + +<p> +I felt that I must know the truth, and hence the rather +impertinent question, which, however, did not seem to +displease her in the least. Affecting to be a little +embarrassed, she said, "Not my husband—yet. He came +on to Boston to accompany me home, and wishing to see +a friend of his, who lives here, we have stopped over +one train." +</p> + +<p> +I know not why it was, but her words gave me comfort; +while at the same time the state of single-blessedness +appeared to me far less attractive than it had a few hours +before! I was on the point of asking her about my aunt, +when the door again opened and there stood before us a +slovenly-looking man, attired in a slouched hat, muddy +pantaloons, gray coat, and huge cow-hide boots. So +complete was the metamorphosis that neither of us +recognized him, until he had exclaimed, as his eye fell upon +Ada, "Good Heavens, Ade! How came you here?" +</p> + +<p> +Then we knew it was Herbert Langley! +</p> + +<p> +So astonished was I that it was some time ere I found +voice to return his rather noisy greeting. Try as he +would, he could not conceal the fact that he was rather +disconcerted at being seen by Ada in such a plight, and +after a little he stammered out an apology, saying he was +a farmer now, and lived in the country, and of course +could not be expected to dress as he used in the city. +This, I knew, was no excuse, and I trembled lest he +might be changed in more points than one. +</p> + +<p> +"How is your wife, Mrs. Langley?" asked Ada, in a +mocking, deferential tone. +</p> + +<p> +Instantly the whole expression of Herbert's face was +changed, and there was a look of tenderness and pride in +his eyes as he advanced towards Ada, and whispered in +her ear something which I did not understand. Whatever +it was, it made her blush, as she replied rather +sneeringly, "Of course I congratulate you." +</p> + +<p> +It has always been my misfortune to be rather stupid +in some matters, and I had not the least idea what either +of them meant, or why Herbert was to be congratulated. +Possibly I might have asked an explanation, but just +then the town clock struck the hour of one, and turning +towards me, he said it was time we were on our way, for +the fall rains had made the roads almost impassable, and +he was afraid we should not reach home before dark. +"So put on your things quick," he added. "The +<i>carriage</i> is all ready." +</p> + +<p> +This last he said laughingly, for the carriage proved to +be a long lumber wagon, such as is seldom found in +Massachusetts, or at least, <i>I</i> had never seen one like it +before, and it became a serious question in my mind as +to how I was expected to enter it, there being no possible +way of doing so, save by climbing over the <i>wheels</i> which +were reeking with mud. Herbert seemed to enjoy my +embarrassment, for he asked me if "I didn't think I +could step from the ground into the box," a distance of +several feet? I was soon relieved from my difficulty by +the porter, who placed before me some wooden steps, on +which I mounted safely, and seated myself in the large +armchair, which, with its warm buffalo-robes, was really +more comfortable than the old-fashioned one-horse +wagons of New England, though I did not think so +then; and when the spirited horses, at a crack from +Herbert's whip, sprang forward, while I, losing my balance, +pitched over backward, I began to cry, wishing in my +heart that I was back in Meadow Brook. +</p> + +<p> +It was a cold, raw, autumnal day. The roads, as Herbert +had said, were horrible; and as we plowed through +the thick mud, which, in some places was up to the +wheel hubs, I took, I believe, my first lesson in genuine +homesickness, which, in my opinion, is about as hard to +bear as love-sickness! Indeed, I think they <i>feel</i> much +alike—the latter being, perhaps, a very little the worse of +the two! It was in vain that Herbert pointed out to me +the many handsome farmhouses which we passed, expatiating +upon the richness and fertility of the soil, and +telling me how greatly superior in everything New York +was to New England. I scarcely heard him, for even +though in all Massachusetts there was naught save the +rocky hills, and sterile plains, it was <i>my home</i>, and from +that spot the heart cannot easily be weaned. +</p> + +<p> +Rockland is a large, wealthy town, embracing within +its limits more than the prescribed rule of six miles square, +while scattered through it are two or three little +villages; each bearing a distinct name, by which they are +known abroad. First, there was Laurel Hill, famed as +the residence of certain families who were styled <i>proud</i> +and <i>aristocratic</i>—to say nothing of their being <i>Episcopalians</i>, +which last fact was by some regarded as the main +cause of their haughtiness. Next came the "Center," +with its group of red houses, and its single spire, so tall, +so straight, and so square, that it scarce needed the +lettering over the entrance to tell to the stranger that +<i>Presbyterians</i> worshiped there. Lastly came Flattville, +by far the largest village in Rockland, and the home of +all the <i>isms</i> in the known world. To the south of Flattville +is a small lake, renowned for its quiet beauty, and +the picturesque wildness of its shores. Bounded on +three sides by high hills, its waters sleep calmly in the +sunlight of summer, or dash angrily upon the sandy +beach, when moved by the chill breath of winter. +</p> + +<p> +On the brow of one of the high hills which overlook +the Honeoye, and so near to it that the sweep of the +waves can be distinctly heard in a clear, still night, stood +the home of my sister. It was a huge, wooden building, +containing rooms innumerable, while even the basement +was large enough to accommodate one or more families. +Being the first frame house erected in the town, it was of +course looked upon with considerable interest, and as if +to make it still more notorious, it bore the reputation of +being <i>haunted</i>, and by some of the neighbors was called +the "Haunted Castle." +</p> + +<p> +Years before, when the country was new, it was a sort +of public-house, and a young girl was said to have been +murdered there, and buried in the cellar, from whence +she was afterwards removed and thrown into the lake. +For the truth of this story there was no proof, save the +fact, that in the dark cellar there was a slight excavation, +supposed to have been the grave of the ill-fated +lady. All this Herbert very kindly told me, as we rode +leisurely along, saying, when I asked if he believed it, +"Believe it! No! Of course not. To be sure, it's the +squeakiest old rattle-trap of a house that I ever saw; and +were I at all superstitious, I could readily believe it +haunted. But you are not frightened; are you?" he +asked, looking in my face, which was very pale. +</p> + +<p> +I hold that there is in every human breast a dread of +the supernatural, and though I do not by any means believe +in ghosts, I would certainly prefer not to live in a +house where they are supposed to dwell. Still, I dared +not tell Herbert so, and, consequently, I only laughed at +the idea of a haunted house, saying it was very romantic. +It was after sunset when we at last turned into the long +avenue, shaded on either side by forest maples, which the +first proprietor of the place had suffered to remain; and +as my eyes fell upon the large, dark building, which +Herbert said was his house, I involuntarily shuddered, for +to me it seemed the very spot of all others which goblins +would choose for their nightly revels. The wind was +blowing from the west, and as I followed Herbert up to +the door, my ear caught a dull, moaning sound, which +caused me to quicken my footsteps, while I asked, in +some trepidation, what it was. +</p> + +<p> +"That? Oh, that's the roar of the lake. Don't you +see how near it is to us, directly at the foot of the hill?" +and he pointed out to me the broad sheet of water, just +discernible in the gathering darkness. +</p> + +<p> +A sudden gust of wind swept past me, and again I +caught the low murmur. There was something human +in the tone, and though for three years I almost daily +heard that sound, I could never fully rid myself of the +impression that it was the spirit of the murdered maiden +which thus, to the swelling waves, complained of the +crime long unpunished. +</p> + +<p> +"Come this way, Rose," said Herbert, as I entered the +narrow "entry" so common in old-fashioned houses; +and following him, I was soon ushered into a large square +room, where a bright wood fire was blazing, casting a +somewhat cheerful aspect over the somber, wainscoted +walls of ancient make. +</p> + +<p> +In one corner of the room was a bed, and on it lay +Anna, who, the moment she saw me, uttered a cry of +joy. +</p> + +<p> +"Have you told her?" she asked of Herbert, when +the first pleasure of our meeting was over. +</p> + +<p> +He replied in the negative, whereupon she brought up +from under a pile of pillows, coverlets, blankets and +sheets, a little tiny, red-faced, wrinkled thing, to which she +said I was <i>Aunt</i>! I knew, then, why Ada congratulated +Herbert, and mentally chiding myself for my stupidity, +I took the bundle of cambric and flannel in my arms, +while Anna said, "We call him Jamie Lee, and we think +he looks like you. Isn't he a beauty?" +</p> + +<p> +He <i>did</i> look like me, and knowing that, I wondered at +Anna's question; but where is the young mother who +thinks her first born baby homely?—though his nose be +flat—his forehead low—and his mouth extend from ear +to ear! Not Anna, most certainly. He was <i>her</i> baby +and Herbert's, and to her partial eyes he was beautiful, +even though he did resemble me, whom but one person +had ever called pretty. As for myself, I hardly knew +whether to be pleased with my new relative or not. +Babies, particularly little tiny ones, had never been my +special delight, but on this occasion, feeling that some +demonstration was expected from me, I kissed my little +nephew, who returning my greeting with a wry face, and +an outcry so loud that Anna, in great alarm lest he was +"going into a fit," summoned from the kitchen, where +she was enjoying a <i>quiet smoke</i>, Aunty Matson, who +boasted of having washed and dressed two hundred and +fifty babies, and who confidently expected to do the same +service for two hundred and fifty more ere her life's sun +was set. +</p> + +<p> +Wearied with my ride, I asked permission to retire +early; whereupon Dame Matson volunteered to show me +the way to my room. Up the narrow stairs, which +creaked at every step, and on through one gloomy room +after another, she led me until, at last, we came to a +chamber, lighter and more airy, which, she said, my +sister had papered, painted, and fitted up for me; adding, +as she set the candle upon the table and closed the +window. "You ain't afraid of spooks nor nothin'?" +</p> + +<p> +"<i>Spooks</i>" was to me a new word, and in some surprise +I asked what she meant. +</p> + +<p> +"Now, du tell," she replied, seating herself upon the +foot of the bed. "Now, du tell a body where you was +brought up, that you don't know what a <i>spook</i> is! Why, +it's a <i>sperrit</i>—a ghost—and this house, they say, is full +on 'em. But I don't b'lieve a word on't. S'posin' a gal +was murdered near forty years ago, 'tain't likely she +haunts the place yet, and then, too, she warn't none of +the best of girls, I guess, from what I've heard my mother +say." +</p> + +<p> +The wind was blowing hard, and as Dame Matson +uttered these last words, the door, which she had left +ajar, came together with a bang, while from the lake I +heard again the wailing cry, which, this time, had in it +an angry tone, as if the maiden were indignant at the +wrong done her by the old dame, whose eyes seemed to +expand and grow blacker at the sound. Overcome as I +was with fatigue, I could not sleep; and for hours I lay +awake, listening to the rain as it fell upon the roof, and +to the howling wind, which, indeed, produced the most +unearthly noises I had ever heard. At last, however, +nature could no longer endure, and I fell into a deep +slumber, from which I did not awake until the sun was +high up in the heavens, and preparations were going +forward in the kitchen for dinner, which was served exactly +at twelve. Greatly refreshed, I was ready to laugh at +my fears of the night previous; and with childish joy, I +explored every nook and corner of the old castle; finding +many a rat-hole, which threw some light on the sounds over +my head, which I had likened to the trampling of horses. +</p> + +<p> +It took but a few days for me to discover that Herbert +was exceedingly popular at Breeze Hill, as the neighborhood +in which he lived was called. His free, social manners +had won for him many friends, and made him almost +too much of a favorite. At least, I used to think so, +during the long winter evenings, when Anna sat with her +baby upon her lap, listening for the footsteps of her +husband, who, at some neighbor's fireside, was cracking the +merry joke, and quaffing the sparkling cider; which, at +Breeze Hill, was considered essential to hospitality. +Gradually, too, as the winter wore on, my sister's eye +took the anxious expression I had so often seen in my +Aunt Charlotte; and sometimes, when he stayed from +her longer than usual, she would steal down to the foot of +the long Avenue, and there, alone, would wait and listen +for her husband's coming; while the spirit from the lake +would whisper sadly in her ear of the darkness and +desolation hovering near. And all this time Herbert professed +to be strictly temperate; and when, about the middle of +March, a traveling lecturer held forth in the old log +schoolhouse, thundering his anathemas against the use of +all spirituous liquors, Herbert was the most zealous of all +his listeners, and at the close of the lecture, arose +himself and addressed the assembly, pouring out such a tide +of eloquence as astonished the audience, who rent the air +with shouts of "Langley forever!" +</p> + +<p> +Knowing this, I was greatly surprised, after our return +home, to see the young orator go up to the sideboard and +drink off, at one draught, a goblet of the <i>porter</i> which +had been ordered for Anna! <i>She</i> saw it, too, and for an +instant her face was pressed against that of her sleeping +boy; and when next the lamplight fell upon it, I saw +there traces of tears, while a faint smile played around +her mouth, as she said, "I am afraid, Herbert, your +audience would hardly think your theory and practise +agree, could they see you now." +</p> + +<p> +The words were ill-timed; for they awoke the young +man's resentment, and with a flushed brow he retorted +angrily, that "if porter were good for her, it was for him; +he saw no difference between a drinking woman and a +drinking man; except, indeed, that the former was the +most despicable." +</p> + +<p> +The next morning, the bottles of porter were gone from +the sideboard; but out in the orchard, where the grass of +an early spring was just starting into life, they lay +shattered in a hundred pieces. Would, oh, would that she, +the wife of little more than a year, could thus easily have +broken the habits of him she loved better than her life. +But it could not be; and all through the bright spring +days she drooped, and faded, and struggled hard to keep +from me the fatal truth; and when the warm breath of +summer was over all the land; when the robins' song was +heard in the maple trees; and the roses blossomed by the +open door, they brought no gladness to her heart; no +love-light to her eye, save when she looked upon her baby; +now a playful, handsome child, the pet and idol of the +house. +</p> + +<p> +At last, Aunt Charlotte wrote to me, asking to be +assured of her son's safety; and then poor Anna begged +me not to tell that the wine-cup was his companion at +morn; his solace at noon, and his comfort at night. +Yielding to her entreaties, I answered evasively; and +thus the shock, when it came to that mother's heart, was +harder far to bear, from the perfect security she had felt. +At Meadow Brook, too, they little dreamed how their +absent daughter wept and prayed over her fallen +husband, who, day after day, made rapid strides down the +road to death; for, on her bended knees, Anna implored +me to keep her shame a secret yet a little longer; and +with this request I also complied, doing whatever I could +to smooth the thorny pathway she was treading. +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap17"></a></p> + +<h2> +CHAPTER XVII. +<br><br> +THE DARK MAN. +</h2> + +<p> +The long summer days had merged into autumn, +whose hazy breath floated like a misty veil over the +distant hills. Slowly and noiselessly the leaves were +dropping one by one from the maple trees, strewing the +withered grass with a carpet of gorgeous hue. The +birds had sung their farewell song to their summer nests, +and were off for a warmer clime; while here and there +busy hands and feet were seen gathering in the autumnal +stores. +</p> + +<p> +On Herbert's farm, however, there was a look of decay. +The yellow corn and golden pumpkins were yet in the +field; the apples lay in heaps upon the ground; the +gates swung loosely in the wind; while the horses, +uncared for and unfed, neighed piteously in their stalls as +if asking why they were thus neglected. Alas! their +master was a drunkard. Anna was a drunkard's wife; +and mine a drunkard's home! It was no longer a secret +there, and the old men shook their heads, while the +young men sighed to think how he had fallen. Night +after night we sat up for him, my sister and I lifting him +from the threshold across which he would fall, and +bearing him to his bed, where we would lay him beside his +innocent son, whose blue eyes often opened with wonder +at being thus disturbed. A night's debauch was always +followed by a day of weakness and debility, in which he +was incapable of exertion, and so everything seemed on +the verge of ruin, when he suddenly conceived the idea of +advertising for an efficient man, who would take the entire +charge of affairs and relieve him from all care. +</p> + +<p> +About this time I went back to Meadow Brook for a few +weeks to be present at the bridal of my oldest sister. +Anna, too, was urged to accompany me, but she declined, +extorting from me a promise that if it were possible I +would not divulge the real state of things. "Tell them +I am happy and do not regret what I have done," said she, +as she followed me down to the gate. +</p> + +<p> +"And would that be true?" I asked, looking her in +the face. +</p> + +<p> +For an instant she hesitated, while her pale cheeks +flushed and the tears started to her eyes; then glancing +at little Jamie, whom she held in her arms, she answered, +"Yes, it would be true. I do not regret it. I had rather +be Herbert's wife as he is, than not to have been his wife +at all." +</p> + +<p> +Ah, who can fathom the depths of woman's love, and +what punishment shall be sufficient for him who wantonly +tramples upon it. Thus I thought as I turned away from +my sister, pondering upon her words long after I reached +the cars, and wondering if I should ever love as she did. +Involuntarily the doctor rose up before me—a drunkard, +and I his wife, and from my inmost soul I answered, +"rather death than that!" Then, though I blushed as I +did so, I fancied myself the wife of "the dark man," and <i>he</i> +a drunkard. "Yes, I could bear that," I said, and as if +to make the old adage true, that a <i>certain individual</i> is +always near when we are talking about him, the car door +opened and the subject of my meditations stood before +me! There was no mistaking him. The same tall, manly +form, the piercing eyes, the coal black hair and the same +deep cut between the eyebrows. I knew him in a moment, +and an exclamation of surprise escaped my lips, which, +however, was lost by the rush of the cars. The seats were +nearly occupied, and as he passed down the aisle, my +readers, I trust, will pardon me, if I <i>did</i> gather up the +skirt of my dress and take my traveling bag upon my lap, +while I myself sat nearer to the window, looking out in +order to hide my face, which I thought possibly might +not attract him! +</p> + +<p> +"Is this seat occupied, miss?" said a heavy voice, which +seemed to come from some far-off region. +</p> + +<p> +"No, sir," I answered, timidly, without venturing to +turn my head, until I felt myself uncomfortably crowded; +then I looked around, and behold! the dark stranger was +sitting behind me near the door, while at my side was a +man of mammoth dimensions, with immense mustaches, +watery eyes, and a brandy breath flavored with tobacco! +</p> + +<p> +I wanted to cry, and should probably have done so, had +not my companion immediately commenced a conversation +by asking "if I had come very far, and where I was going?" +</p> + +<p> +He was exceedingly loquacious, and for several hours +plied me with questions as to my own name—my parents—my +grandparents—my brothers—my sisters—our standing +in the world—our religion—our politics, and our opinion +of spiritualism, of which last he was a zealous advocate. +At length just as it was growing dark, he gathered up his +huge proportions, and to my great joy bade me adieu, +expressing his regret at leaving me, and also assuring me +that I would one day be a medium, which assumption he +based upon the fact of my having admitted that sometimes +when falling away to sleep I started suddenly and +awoke. <i>This</i>, he said, was a <i>spirit shock</i>, and would in +the end lead to great results. +</p> + +<p> +About nine o'clock we stopped for refreshments, and +on reentering the cars, I found to my joy that the dark +stranger's seat was appropriated by a son of Erin, who +seemed nowise inclined to surrender it, inasmuch as he +had with him his wife, baby, and bundle. This time the +fates were propitious, for after looking around him awhile, +the stranger asked permission to sit by me, saying ha +should not discommode me more than two or three hours, +as by that time he hoped to reach his journey's end, a +remark which gave me more pain than pleasure, for every +nerve thrilled with joy at being thus near to one who, +though an entire stranger, possessed for me a particular +attraction. It was quite dark where we sat, and the night +lamp burned but dimly, so he did not once obtain a full +view of my face. He proved a most agreeable and attentive +companion, opening and shutting the window just +as often as I evinced an inclination to have him, holding +my satchel in his lap; placing his own traveling trunk +at my feet for a footstool, and offering me his fur-lined +overcoat for a pillow; besides expressing many fears that +I would take cold whenever the window was open. At +almost every station, too, he asked "if I wished for +anything," but I did not, expect indeed to know whether +he was yet the husband of Ada Montrose, and to obtain +that information I would have given almost anything. +At last I hit upon the following expedient. He made +some remark about the country through which we were +passing, and I replied by saying that "I believed it was not +the first time he had been over that road, as, if I mistook +not, I saw him in the cars with his <i>wife</i> the year before." +</p> + +<p> +The wrinkle in his forehead grew deeper, and his face +flushed as he said quickly, "I do not remember of meeting +you before, though I was here last fall, but not with +my <i>wife</i>, for I have none. It was my <i>ward</i>, Miss Montrose." +</p> + +<p> +Nothing could have given me more satisfaction than, +this announcement, for if Ada were his <i>ward</i>, it explained, +in a measure, his attentions to her; and as I cast stolen +glances at him, I felt more and more convinced that +there could be no affinity between him and the haughty, +imperious girl to whom he was guardian. It seemed to +me a very short time ere he arose, and offering me his +hand, said he must go, adding, "We shall undoubtedly +meet again, as I occasionally travel this way." +</p> + +<p> +Yes, we should meet again. I felt sure of that, though +how and where I could not tell. +</p> + +<p> +It was nearly noon of the next day when I reached +Meadow Brook, where I found my father at the dépôt, +waiting to receive me. Very kindly he greeted me, +inquiring eagerly after Anna and her boy, his grandson, +whom he expressed a strong desire to see. "But I never +shall," he said sadly, as he walked slowly beside me up +the long hill which led to the village. Of Herbert he +spoke not a word, though my mother and my sisters did, +asking me numberless questions, some of which I answered, +while the others I managed to evade, keeping them +ignorant of the existing state of things. +</p> + +<p> +I found them all busied with the preparations for Juliet's +wedding, which took place within a week after my return, +I officiating as bridesmaid, while the groomsman was none +other than my old enemy, JOHN THOMPSON, now a tall +young man of eighteen, and cousin to Juliet's husband. +When first the plan was suggested to me I refused, for I +bore him no good will; but my objections were overruled +by Juliet, who told me how much he had improved, and +that I would find him very agreeable, which was indeed +true. He was very polite and attentive, referring +laughingly to the "freaks of his <i>boyhood</i>," as he termed them, +while at the same time he laid his hand upon his <i>chin</i>, +caressing the beard which was there only in imagination, +and even apologizing to me in a kind of off-hand way for +his conduct of three years before. Of course I forgave +him, and we are now the best of friends. So much for +childish prejudices. +</p> + +<p> +In the course of the evening I asked him about the doctor, +and was told that he was still in Boston, and doing +remarkably well. "And do you know," said John, "he +imputes his success to <i>you</i>! I verily believe he thinks +you a perfect angel! Any way, I know he likes you +better than he does Dell, for he told me so in plain +English, and I don't blame him either; the way she cuts up +is enough to kill any man. Why, if I were in his place, +I'd get a divorce from her at once, and offer myself to you!" +</p> + +<p> +"I wouldn't have him," said I, quickly. +</p> + +<p> +"Nor me either? Wouldn't you have me?" asked +John, playfully. +</p> + +<p> +"No, I wouldn't," was my reply; whereupon he +laughed heartily, saying "he was glad he knew my +sentiments before he committed himself;" and there the +conversation ended. +</p> + +<p> +After Juliet had left us for her new home, in an adjoining +town, there ensued at our house a season of lonely +quiet, in which we scarcely knew whether to laugh or to +cry. There is always something sad in the giving up of +a daughter to the care of another, and so my parents +found it, particularly my father, who, broken in spirit +and feeble in health, was unusually cast down. He could +hardly suffer me to leave his sight for a moment, and +still he seemed to take special pleasure in finding fault +with whatever I did. Nothing pleased him, and gradually +there returned upon me with its full force the olden +fancy of my childhood, that <i>I</i> was not loved like the rest. +It was a most bitter thought, wringing my heart with a +keener anguish than it had ever done before; and once, +the very day before the one set for my return to Rockland, +my pent up feelings burst forth, and in angry tones I told +him "it was useless for me to try to please him—he +didn't love me and never had—and I was glad that the +morrow would find me away, where he would no longer +be troubled with my presence, which was evidently so +disagreeable to him." +</p> + +<p> +He made me no answer, but a fearful look of sorrow, +which will haunt me to my dying day, passed over his +thin, white face, and his hand, which was hard and brown +with toil for me, was raised beseechingly as if to stay the +angry torrent. Oh, how I repented of my harshness then, +but I did not tell him so; I would wait till morning, and +then, ere I left, I would seek the forgiveness, without +which I well knew I should be wretched, for something +told me that never in this world should wo meet again. +</p> + +<p> +Next, morning when I awoke, the sun was shining +brightly in at my window, and hurrying on my clothes, I +descended to the dining-room. In silence we gathered +around the breakfast table, and then I saw that my father +was absent. "Where was he?" I asked, and was told +that having business in Southbridge, a town several miles +distant, he had left early, telling my mother to bid me +good-by for him. All my good resolutions were forgotten, +and again I said hastily, "I think he might at least have +bidden me good-by himself, and you may tell him so." +</p> + +<p> +"Hush, Rose, hush," said my mother. "Your father +isn't the man he was before we left our old home. He is +broken down, and it may be you have seen him for the +last time." +</p> + +<p> +"It is hardly probable," I answered, and with a swelling +heart I bade my mother adieu; but I left no message +which would tell my father how much I repented of my +rashness. +</p> + +<p> +Upon his grave the tall grass is growing—howling +storms have swept across it—wintry snows have been piled +upon it—the summer's mellow sunlight has fallen around +it—flowers have blossomed and faded—changes have +come to us all—and still I have never ceased to regret +that last interview with my father, or to mourn over my +distrust of his love for me. +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap18"></a></p> + +<h2> +CHAPTER XVIII. +<br><br> +THE DEATH OF THE DRUNKARD. +</h2> + +<p> +During my journey back to Rockland, I did not again +meet with the stranger, although I looked for him at +every station, and when at last I stepped from the cars at +Canandaigua, I must confess to a feeling of disappointment. +I had expected Herbert to meet me, but he was +not there. I was just wondering what I should do in +case he failed to come, when my attention was attracted +towards a tall, athletic-looking young man, who was +inspecting my trunk, which stood upon the platform. +Fearful lest my best clothes should be carried off before +my very face, I started quickly forward, demanding what +he was doing with my baggage. +</p> + +<p> +The stranger stood up, and fixed upon me a pair of +singularly handsome, hazel eyes, which had in them an +expression so penetrating that I quailed beneath them; +while at the same time there swept over me a strange, +undefined feeling as if somewhere in a dream, perchance, +I had met that glance before. +</p> + +<p> +"Are you Miss Lee?" he asked, and the tones of his +voice thrilled me like an echo of the past. +</p> + +<p> +I replied in the affirmative; and without once taking +his eyes from my face, he said, "I am Henry Watson, +Mr. Langley's hired man. He sent me for you, and the +wagon is at the other door." +</p> + +<p> +Mechanically I followed him to the place designated, +and then, as if I had been a feather, he took me in his +arms and placed me in the wide chair, wrapping the +buffalo-robes around me, and in various ways seeing that +I was comfortable. He did not seem to me like a hireling, +for his language was good, his manner gentlemanly, +and ere we were half-way to Breeze Hill I was very much +prepossessed in his favor, except, indeed, that he would +look at me so much. He was quite talkative, asking me +of my parents, of my brothers, and appearing much +gratified when I told him how well Charlie was doing as +clerk in a dry goods store in Worcester. +</p> + +<p> +"And Mr. Langley is only your cousin by marriage?" +he said at last. "Have you any other male cousins?" +he asked. +</p> + +<p> +"I had a boy cousin once," I said, "but he is probably +dead, for we have not heard from him in six long +years." +</p> + +<p> +Forgetful that Mr. Watson was to me an entire stranger, +I very briefly told him the story of "Cousin Will," +who returned not with the vessel which bore him away, and +who had deserted the ship at Calcutta. For many days +they searched for him in vain, and at last left him alone +in that far-off land, where he had probably met an early +death. +</p> + +<p> +"He must have been a wild boy, and I dare say you +felt relieved to be rid of him," said Mr. Watson, who had +appeared deeply interested in my story. +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, he was wild," I replied, "but I liked him very, +very much, and cried myself sick when he went away." +</p> + +<p> +Again the stranger's eyes fell upon me with a look I +could not fathom. I grew uneasy, and was not sorry +when about sunset we turned into the long, shady avenue +which led up to the house. As if by magic, a wondrous +change had been wrought in my absence; for everything +around the building wore an air of neatness and thrift, +which betokened that there was now a head to manage +and direct. Herbert, too, was perfectly sober, while +Anna's face was far happier than when I last saw her. +The cause of this she explained to me the first moment +we were alone. Herbert had signed the pledge! Had +become a sober man, and all through the exertions of +Mr. Watson, whom she pronounced an angel in disguise. +And, truly, his influence over Herbert was wonderful; +for never did an anxious mother watch over her sickly +child more carefully than Mr. Watson watched over his +employer, shielding him from temptation, and gently +leading him in the path of rectitude; until the wine-flush +on his cheek gave way to a hue of health; the redness of +his eyes was gone, and conscious of the victory he had +achieved, he stood forth again in all the pride of his +manhood, sober, virtuous, and happy. +</p> + +<p> +Such was the state of things when, early in April, we +received invitations to attend a wedding party at the +house of Judge Perkins, whose broad acres and heavy +purse of gold had purchased for him a fair young girl, +just his eldest daughter's age! It was to be a splendid +affair, for all the <i>élite</i> of Rockland were bidden, +and, as a matter of course, <i>I</i> forthwith commenced +looking over my wardrobe, and declaring I had nothing to +wear! Anna, on the contrary, did not seem at all +interested, and when I questioned her for her indifference, +she replied, "What if they have <i>wine</i>, and Herbert +should drink?" +</p> + +<p> +"They wouldn't have wine," I told her, for Judge +Perkins was a staunch temperance man, and it was not +probable that he would do anything so inconsistent with +his profession. +</p> + +<p> +After a time she became convinced that her fears were +groundless, and began with me to anticipate the expected +pleasure. Henry Watson was not invited, but he carried +us to the door, going himself to the hotel to wait until we +were ready to return. Just as he was leaving us he +whispered a few words to Herbert, who replied, gaily, "Never +fear for me. Judge Perkins isn't the man to throw +temptation in my way." +</p> + +<p> +Ah, would it had been so! Would that the sparkling +champagne, the ruby wine, and the foaming ale had not +graced that marriage feast, for then, perchance, one grave +at least would not have been made so soon, nor the +widow's weeds worn by my sister ere the bloom of youth +had faded from her brow. +</p> + +<p> +I saw her cheek pale as we entered the supper-room, but +when amid the din and uproar which succeeded the drawing +of the corks, Herbert stood firm to his pledge, refusing +to drink, though urged to do so, the color came back +to her face, and her eye proudly followed her husband, +whose easy manners made him a favorite, and who, with +ready tact, moved among the guests, doing far more +towards their entertainment than the master of the house +himself. He was standing near the bride, a beautiful +young creature, with a sunny face and radiant smile. +Diamonds were wreathed in her shining curls, and shone +upon her snowy arms, while the costly veil almost swept +the floor, and enveloped her slight form like a misty cloud. +Very affable and polite had she been to Herbert, and now +as he approached her, she took from the table two goblets +of wine, and passing one to him, said, "Mr. Langley, I +am sure, will not refuse to drink with me, the bride?" +</p> + +<p> +To refuse would have seemed uncourteous; and so, +with a hasty glance at his wife, he drank the health of the +lovely woman, who, in an angel's guise, unconsciously +tempted him to ruin. Involuntarily, Anna gasped as if +for breath, while she started quickly forward to stay the +rash act; but she was too late, and with a faint moan of +anguish, she turned away to hide her tears. One taste +awoke the slumbering demon, and set his veins on fire; +and when at midnight Mr. Watson came for us, he took +the insensible man in his arms and placed him in the +wagon, beside the weeping wife, whose fond hopes were +now wrecked forever. +</p> + +<p> +From that time Herbert made no further attempt at reform, +but night after night, came reeling home, sometimes +singing a bacchanalian song, and again rending the air +with curses, until at last poor Anna learned to tremble at +the sound of his footsteps; for he daily grew more and +more violent and unmanageable, defying every one save +Mr. Watson, who possessed over him a singular power. +Thus the spring and summer passed away, and when the +autumn came few would have recognized the once handsome +Herbert Langley in the bloated creature, who, weak +and feeble, lay all day long in bed, begging for +"brandy—more brandy" to fan the flame which was feeding upon +his vitals. Sometimes in his fits of frenzy he would spring +upon the floor, and shriek for us to save him from the +crawling serpents, which, with forked tongues and little +green eyes, hissed at him from all parts of the room. +Again he would say that the spirit of the murdered maiden +was before him, whispering to him unutterable things +concerning the drunkard's home beyond the grave, while +goblins of every conceivable form beckoned him to come +and join their hideous dance. +</p> + +<p> +Once, when he was more quiet than usual, he said to +me, "Rose, do you remember what I once told you about +my mother's joining the church and reading her prayers?" +</p> + +<p> +I replied in the affirmative, and he continued—"Do +you know I'd give the world, were it mine, if I could hear +her pray for me once more. It would cool my scorching +brain, and if I dared pray for myself, I know I should +be healed; but I cannot, for the moment I attempt it, +there are legions of imps who flit and grin before my face, +while one, larger and more unseemly than the rest, shouts +in my ears, 'LOST, LOST, TO ALL ETERNITY!' there—look, +don't you hear it?" and shivering with fright, he covered +his head with the bedclothes. +</p> + +<p> +But I heard nothing save the heaving swell of the waves, +and the sullen roar of the lake, which came in through +the open window, seeming to his disordered imagination +an accusing spirit from another world. At last looking +up timidly and speaking low, as if fearful of being over, +heard, he said, "Is there a Prayer Book in the house?" +</p> + +<p> +I answered in the affirmative. Raising himself upon his +elbow, and glancing fearfully around, he continued, +"Bring it quick, while they are away, and put it under +my pillow. Who knows but it may operate like a spell!" +</p> + +<p> +I complied with his request, and brought the book, +which he placed under his head, saying, "There—now I +can pray, and God won't let them mock me, will he, +think?" +</p> + +<p> +I could only weep as he folded his long white hands one +over the other, and said reverently the prayer taught him +years and years before, commencing with— +</p> + +<p class="t3"> + "Now I lay me down to sleep," etc.<br> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p> +As if the words, indeed, had a soothing power, he almost +instantly fell into a deep sleep, from which he awoke +refreshed, and better than he had been for several days. +They said he could not live; and though it was a painful +task, Anna wrote to his mother apprising her of his +danger, and bidding her hasten, if she would see him again. +</p> + +<p> +During the few remaining weeks of his life he was subject +to strange fancies. For a time the Prayer Book beneath +his pillow had the effect of keeping him comparatively +quiet; but, anon, it lost its power, and one day he awoke +with a fearful shriek. The imps, as he called them, had +again returned, and were mockingly taunting him with +the victory he vainly imagined he had obtained. +</p> + +<p> +"Keep off, ye devils!" he shouted, drawing the volume +from beneath his pillow, and holding it to view. "Keep +off; for, see, this book is full of prayers, which my mother +has said. <i>My mother</i>! Do you hear? Ha! They laugh +at the idea, and well they may. Had she learned to pray +sooner, I might not have been the vile thing that I am. +But <i>she</i> taught me to <i>drink</i>. She set the example; so go +to <i>her</i> with those horrid faces, besmeared with the smoke +of the pit." +</p> + +<p> +There was a bitter groan, and then the wretched woman, +his mother, fell half fainting upon a chair. She had just +arrived, and eager to see her boy, had entered the room in +time to hear what he said. He knew her in a moment, +and starting upright in bed, exclaimed, "Woman, look—this +is your work—the result of your example. There +<i>was</i> a time, long ago—how long ago it seems—but there +was a time, I say, when I loathed the very smell of the +liquors, which daily graced our table. By little and by +little that loathing was overcome. <i>You</i> drank and called +it good; and what one's mother says is true. So I, too, +tasted and tasted again until here I am, Herbert Langley, +husband of Anna Lee, ruined body and soul—body and +soul! What do you say to that, mother?" +</p> + +<p> +He sank back upon the bed exhausted; while Aunt Charlotte, +who had swooned entirely away, was taken from the +room. The shock was too great for her, and for two days +she did not again venture into his presence. The next +time, however, that she saw him, his mood had changed, +and winding his feeble arms around her neck, he wept +like a child, asking her to take from his heart the worm +which was gnawing there. Oh, how I pitied the +heart-broken woman! for I well knew she would gladly have +lain down her life could that have saved her son. For +three days longer he lingered, and then there came the +closing scene, which haunted me for months. +</p> + +<p> +He had been restless during the night, muttering +incoherently, and occasionally striking at the fancied shapes +which surrounded him; but towards morning he grew +more violent, and at last with a shriek which chilled my +blood, he sprang from the bed, and pointing towards the +window, whispered, "Hark! Don't you hear it?—<i>music +from the infernal regions</i>! They are come, every demon +of them, for me. It's a grand turnout. There! Don't +you see them with their flaming eyes looking through +the windows, and that shriveled hag, whose hair is curling +snakes! See! She beckons me with her bony claws, +and says I am to be <i>her</i> son. Do you hear that, mother? +<i>Her son</i>! Go back!" he shouted, leaping towards the +window. "You don't get me this time. I won't die yet. +Give me the Prayer Book, and let me hurl it at her +head—that'll settle her, I reckon." +</p> + +<p> +He would have gone through the window, had not Mr. Watson +taken him in his arms and borne him back to the +bed, where he held him fast, soothing him as best he +could by assuring him there were no such unearthly +objects in the room as he supposed. +</p> + +<p> +"I know it," said Herbert, for a moment comparatively +rational. "I know what it is. It is DELIRIUM TREMENS, +and I know what causes it, too; shall I tell you?" +</p> + +<p> +Mr. Watson nodded, and Herbert continued: "<i>Cider, +beer, wine, brandy</i>—DEATH: that's the program which +keeps the fire of hell eternally burning. Where is my +boy—Anna's boy and mine?" he asked after a pause. +</p> + +<p> +"Do you wish to see him?" asked Mr. Watson. +</p> + +<p> +"See him? Yes. I want to do one good deed before +I die. <i>I would kill him</i>—murder my only child, and send +him to Heaven, where rumsellers never go—where women, +with witching eyes and luring words, never tempt men +to drink. Bring him in: why do you loiter?" turning +to Anna. "Is it that you would have him live to be the +wreck I am—to curse the mother who bore him and the +day he was born! Bring him quick, I tell you, for time +hastens, and in the distance I hear the clank of the hag's +footsteps." +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, Herbert, Herbert, my poor husband," was all +Anna could say, as she wound her arms around his neck +and laid her colorless cheek against his fevered brow. +</p> + +<p> +In a moment he grew calm, and drawing her to his +bosom, his tears fell like rain upon her face, while he +called her his "wounded dove," and asked her forgiveness +for all he had made her suffer. "You will live with +mother when I am gone," he said. "You and Jamie. +God forbid that I should harm our beautiful boy; but I +would see him once more. Don't be afraid," he added, +as he saw her hesitate. "I will not hurt him." +</p> + +<p> +Disengaging herself from her husband's embrace, Anna +glided from the room, to which she soon returned, +leading little Jamie, now two years of age. Very lovingly +the dying man looked upon his son, and then laying Lis +shaking hand upon the golden curls, he said, "God keep +you, my boy, from being what I am; and if a drunkard's +blessing can be of any avail, you have mine, my precious, +precious child." +</p> + +<p> +"Would you like to kiss him?" asked Aunt Charlotte; +to which he replied, "No, no; I am too polluted to +touch aught so pure. But take him away," he continued, +growing excited. "Take him away, for the demon on +my pillow is again whispering of murder." +</p> + +<p> +Hastily the wondering child was taken from the room, +and then Herbert fell into a disturbed slumber, in which +he seemed to be holding converse with beings of another +world, inquiring of them if they had enough to drink, +and chiding the rich man for asking <i>water</i>, when he +might as well call for <i>brandy</i>! +</p> + +<p> +About noon he awoke and inquired for me. With some +trepidation I approached him, for his eyes were those of +a madman; but he meditated no harm, and only asked +if I supposed that the Prayer Book laid upon the outside +of his pillow, where the hag could see it, would have the +effect of keeping her away. +</p> + +<p> +"Perhaps so," I said, at the same time placing it so +that his heavy brown hair fell partially on it. +</p> + +<p> +"Now, will some one pray—mother, you?" and his +eyes turned imploringly towards the half crazed woman, +who essayed to pray for the departing spirit. +</p> + +<p> +"That'll do—that'll do," he exclaimed, interrupting +her. "It's of no use spending your breath for me. It's +too late—too late—so the hag says, and she's coming +again, with myriads on myriads of fiends; but they can't +hurt me as long as this is here," and his hand clutched +convulsively for the book which lay beside him. +</p> + +<p> +"The hymn book—the hymn book—bring that too," +he gasped, while a cold perspiration stood thickly upon +his forehead. +</p> + +<p> +It was brought and placed on the opposite side of his +head. +</p> + +<p> +"'Twon't do—'twon't do," he sobbed. "All the +hymns Dr. Watts ever wrote can't help me, for they +come nearer and nearer, as wolves hover round their +prey. Is there no help, no escape?" he cried, with the +energy of despair; adding, as a sudden look of joy lit up +his ghastly features, "Yes—the BIBLE! Strange I have +not thought of that before. The Bible will keep them +at bay. Bring it, Anna, quick, for they are almost +here." +</p> + +<p> +She obeyed; and grasping the word of God eagerly in +his hands, he laughed aloud, saying, "Now, do your +worst, ye fiends incarnate. The Bible will save me." +</p> + +<p> +There was a moment of perfect silence; and then, with +a groan so full of anguish that I involuntarily stopped +my ears to shut out the fearful sound, the Bible was +loosed from the clammy hands, which for a brief instant +fought fiercely in the empty air, and then dropped +lifeless at his side. +</p> + +<p class="t3"> + HERBERT WAS DEAD!<br> +</p> + +<p class="thought"> +* * * * * * +</p> + +<p> +At the foot of the garden, near the long avenue where +the shadow of the maple trees would fall upon his grave, +and the moan of the lake be always heard, we buried +him; and then, the broken-hearted Anna, widowed thus +early, went back to her accustomed duties, performing +each one quietly, and gently, but without a smile upon +her white, stony face, or a tear in her large mournful +blue eyes. Aunt Charlotte, too, utterly crushed and +wretched, went back to her city home, having first won +a promise from Anna that in the autumn she would follow +her. And then we were left alone with our great sorrow, +wholly dependent, as it were, upon Mr. Watson, for +support and counsel. +</p> + +<p> +There had always been about him a mystery I could +not fathom, and greatly was I surprised when one evening, +a week after Herbert's death, he asked me to go with +him to his room, as there was something he wished to +tell me. I complied with his request, and was soon +seated in the large willow chair near the table on which +lay many works of our best authors, for he possessed a +taste for literature, and devoted all his leisure moments +to study. Drawing a seat to my side, he said, taking my +hand in his, "Rosa, what do you think I am going to +tell you?" +</p> + +<p> +I tried to wrest my hand from his grasp, for the unwonted +liberty angered me. But he held it fast, smiling +at my fruitless endeavors, and after a moment continued: +"Why do you try to remove your hand from mine? I +have held it many a time, and I have a right so to do—a +cousin's right. Look at me, Rosa, don't you know me?" +</p> + +<p> +Involuntarily I started to my feet, gazing earnestly +upon him, then with a cry of joy I threw my arms +around his neck, exclaiming, "<i>Cousin Will! Cousin +Will!</i>" +</p> + +<p> +It was indeed he, come back to us when we had thought +of him as dead. A few words will suffice to tell his story. +Perfectly disgusted with sea life, he had deserted at +Calcutta, where he kept himself secreted until the vessel +sailed. But it was not his wish to remain there long, and +the first time an English ship was in port he offered to +work his passage to Liverpool. The offer was accepted, +and while we were mourning over his supposed death he +was threading the smoky streets of London, doing +sometimes one thing and sometimes another, but always +earning an honest livelihood. +</p> + +<p> +"Never, for a moment," said he, "did I forget your +family, but I have fancied they were glad to be rid of me, +and hence my silence. When at last I returned again to +New York, I went one day to a reading-room, where I +accidentally came across Mr. Langley's advertisement, +and something prompted me to answer it in person. If +I had ever heard of him before, I had forgotten it; +consequently I neither recognized him nor his wife, who has +changed much since I saw her; but when I accidentally +heard them speak of 'Rosa,' and 'Meadow Brook,' my +curiosity was roused, and I became aware of the relationship +existing between us. Why I have kept it a secret so +long I can hardly tell, except that there was about it, to +me, a kind of pleasing excitement, and then, too, I fancied +that Mr. Langley would not so well hear restraint and +direction from me if he supposed me an interested party; +but he has gone, and concealment on that score is no +longer necessary. I have told you my story, Rosa, and +now it is for you to say whether I am again received and +loved as the 'Cousin Will' of olden time." +</p> + +<p> +He was a big, tall man, six feet two inches high, while +I was a young girl scarcely yet seventeen; but notwithstanding +all this, I threw my arms around his sunburnt +neck and kissed his sunburnt cheek as I had often done +before. This was my answer, and with it he was satisfied. +</p> + +<p> +After leaving his room I went directly to my sister, to +whom I repeated the strange story I had heard. She was +pleased and gratified, but her faculties were too much +benumbed for her to manifest any particular emotion, +though as time wore on I could see how much she leaned +upon him and confided in his judgment. It seemed +necessary for her to remain in Rockland through the +summer, and as she would not consent to my leaving her, +I was rather compelled to stay; although almost weekly +there came to us letters from home urging our return, +and at last, near the middle of September, we one day +received a letter from Charlie, which, owing to some +delay, had been on the road two whole weeks. In it he +wrote that our father had failed rapidly within a few days +and we must come quickly if we would again see him alive, +adding that he talked almost constantly of Rose, asking +if they thought she would come. +</p> + +<p> +Oh, how vividly I recalled the past, remembering with +anguish the harsh words I had uttered when last I saw +him. It was true I had once written, imploring pardon +for my fault, and Lizzie, who answered my letter, had +said, "Father bade me say that you were freely forgiven;" +but still I felt that I could not let him die until +I had heard my forgiveness from his own lips. It was +impossible for Anna to accompany me, and, as William +would not leave her, I started alone, my heart filled with +many dark forebodings, lest I should be too late. +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap19"></a></p> + +<h2> +CHAPTER XIX. +<br><br> +THE DEATH OF THE RIGHTEOUS. +</h2> + +<p> +All around the house was still; while within, the +children and the neighbors trod softly as they went from +room to room, and their faces wore an anxious, troubled +look, as if they already felt the presence of the shadow +hovering near. The heavy brass knocker was muffled, +and the deep-toned churchbell across the way no longer +told the hours of 12 and 9, for at each stroke the sick +man had turned upon his pillow, and moaned as if in +pain. So when the Sabbath came the people went up +unsummoned to the house of God, where they reverently +prayed for him, who was passing from their midst, and +who, ere another week rolled round, would be "where +congregations ne'er break up, and Sabbaths never end." +</p> + +<p> +For many days he had lain in a kind of stupor from +which nothing roused him save the rush of the engine as +it swept across the meadow at the foot of the hill. Then +he would start up, asking eagerly if "they had come, +Anna, Rose, and Jamie." Much he talked of the absent +ones, and as day by day went by and still they came not, +he wept like a little child, as he said to his wife, "I shall +never see them more." +</p> + +<p> +"And if you do not," she asked, "what shall I tell +them?" +</p> + +<p> +For a time he lay as if her question was unheard—then +opening his eyes he answered, "Tell Anna, my stricken +one, that there is for her a balm in Gilead; that whom +the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and though the waters +through which she is passing be deep and troubled, they +shall not overflow, for the everlasting arms are beneath +her." +</p> + +<p> +"And Rosa, have you no message for her?" asked my +mother as he ceased speaking. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, Rosa, Rosa," he answered quickly. "Tell her—tell +her everything—but not here—not in this room. +She thinks I do not love her, and when she comes and +finds me gone, go with her to my grave. She will +believe you if you tell her there how dear she was to me, +and how, through the long weary nights before I died, I +wept and prayed for her that she might one day meet me +in the better land. I never meant to love one child more +than another, but if I did—tell her she was my pride, the +one on whom I doted. She thought me cold and unfeeling, +because I stayed not to bid her adieu that morning. +Ah, she did not know that with the first dawn of day I +stole up to her chamber to look on her once more for the +last, last time. There were tears on her cheek, I kissed +them away; tell her that, and perchance her heart will +soften towards her poor old father." +</p> + +<p> +From that time he sank rapidly, and one bright September +day, near the hour of sunset, it was told in Meadow +Brook that he was dying. On such occasions, in a small +country village, the liveliest sympathy is felt; and now +those who knew and loved him spoke to each other softly +and low, while even the little children ceased their noisy +play upon the common, and with a timid, curious glance +towards the open windows of the sick room, hastened +home, where they kept closely at their mother's side, +wondering—asking of her what death was, and if she were +sure that he, the dying one, would go to Heaven. +</p> + +<p> +Meantime, the sun was almost set, and as its last golden +rays fell upon the face of the sufferer, a radiant smile lit +up his features, and he exclaimed aloud, "'Tis the +glorious light of the Eternal shining down upon me. Do +not weep, mother. We shall not be parted long," he +continued, as he felt upon his forehead a tear from the +gray-haired, wrinkled woman, on whose bosom his head was +pillowed, just as it had been, long, long ago, when first a +tender babe, he lay in that mother's arms. To her it +seemed not long, and yet it was fifty years since he was +lent to her, and now, when God would have his own again, +she said submissively, "Thy will be done." Once before +had a great sorrow fallen upon her, leaving her henceforth +to walk alone, and then her soul had well-nigh fainted +beneath the blow, for she was younger far by many years. +But now she was old, and already she heard the roar of the +deep, dark river on whose very banks she stood, and down +whose swift current her first-born was floating; so she +stifled her own grief, for, as he had said, she knew it +would not be long ere they met again. +</p> + +<p> +"Where is Fanny?" he asked, and his arms closed +fondly around his wife. +</p> + +<p> +It mattered not that time and care had dimmed the +luster of her eye, and robbed her cheek of its girlish +bloom; to him she was beautiful still, for through weal +and woe she had been faithful to her marriage vow, and +now the bitterest pang of all was the leaving <i>her</i> alone. +</p> + +<p> +"The God of the widow and the fatherless watch over +and keep you all so that at the last, when I ask for my +children, there shall not one be missing," he said, as his +arms unclosed, and then, with a low, wailing moan, the +<i>mother</i> bent over the white face of her son, so that the +<i>wife</i> might not see the fearful change which had come +upon it, for <i>my father was dead</i>! +</p> + +<p> +You who have kept with me while I described the death +scene of the unfortunate Herbert, and of my sainted +father, can you not—do you not say, "Let me die the +death of the righteous, and let my last end be like +his?" +</p> + +<p> +Lonely and desolate was the home at which I arrived +one day too late, for they had buried him, and there was +naught left to me of my father save the lock of hair which +they severed from his head as he lay in the coffin. Yes, +he was gone; but so long as life and being endure, so long +shall fond remembrances of him linger in my memory, +and if at the last I meet him in the better world, will it +not be in a measure the blessed influence of his dying +message, which has led the wanderer there? +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap20"></a></p> + +<h2> +CHAPTER XX. +<br><br> +GOING SOUTH. +</h2> + +<p> +After the first shock of our sorrow was over, the +question arose as to what we were to do in future for our +support. Grandma was already old, while mother was +not so young as she had been once, and neither could do +much towards their own maintenance, which necessarily +would devolve upon us their children. It had ever been +a pet project of mine to go South as a teacher, and when +one day in looking over a Boston paper I accidentally came +across the advertisement of a Georgia lady, Mrs. A. D. Lansing, +who wished for a private governess, I resolved at +once to apply for the situation, greatly fearing lest I might +be too late. +</p> + +<p> +I was not, however; for after waiting impatiently for a +few weeks, I received a letter from the lady herself, who, +after enumerating the duties I was expected to perform +and the branches I was to teach, added, in a P.S.: +"Before making any definite arrangements with Miss +Lee, Mrs. Lansing wishes to be informed if, either by her +<i>friends</i> or <i>herself</i>, she is considered pretty, as a person of +decidedly ordinary looks will be preferred." +</p> + +<p> +"Spiteful, jealous old thing!" exclaimed Lizzie, who +was looking over my shoulder, "I wouldn't stir a step." +</p> + +<p> +But I thought differently. My curiosity was roused to +know the cause of her strange freak; and then, too, six +hundred dollars per year would amply atone for any little +peculiarities in my employer. So I answered her letter +forthwith, assuring her that neither my friends nor myself +had ever been guilty of calling me pretty—in short, I +was decidedly homely, and trusted that on that point at +least I should please her. +</p> + +<p> +"What a fib, Rosa," said Charlie, when I told him what +I had written. "You know you are not homely. You +used to be, I'll admit; but you are far from being so now. +To be sure, you are not what many would call handsome, +but you are decidedly good-looking. You've got handsome +eyes, splendid hair (and he pulled one of my short, +thick curls by way of adding emphasis to his words) and +your complexion is not one-half so sallow and muddy as it +used to be. Depend upon it, this 'Mrs. Angeline Delafield +Lansing, of Cedar Grove' will think you have deceived +her." +</p> + +<p> +"Nonsense!" I replied, seating myself at the piano, +which was now my constant companion, Mrs. Lansing +having written that she was very particular about music. +</p> + +<p> +Now, to tell the truth, I was not very much of a +performer, but looking upon the South very much as I did +upon the far West, I fancied that a small amount of showy +accomplishments would pass for the real coin. Still I +determined to play as well as possible, and so week after week +I practised, until, when I had nearly given up all hopes +of ever hearing from the lady again, I one day received a +letter bearing the W—— postmark, and containing a check +on a Boston bank for money sufficient to defray my +expenses. There were also a few hastily written lines, +saying that "Mrs. Lansing considered our engagement as +settled, but she should not expect me until the latter part +of April, as she could not immediately get rid of her +present governess, a <i>painted, insipid</i> creature from <i>New +York</i>, and the veriest humbug in the world." +</p> + +<p> +"A sweet time you'll have of it with madam," said +Charlie, "and once for all I advise you to give up going. +Why, only think, April there is hotter than pepper, and +of course you'll take the fever and die." +</p> + +<p> +But I was not to be persuaded. The "sunny South" +had for me a peculiar fascination; and then, too, there +was another reason which, more than all others, prompted +me to go. Georgia was the home of the <i>dark man</i>, as I +called him, and though there was hardly a probability of +my ever meeting him there, such a thing was still possible, +and like Longfellow's Evangeline, who, on the broad +Mississippi felt that each dip of the oar carried her nearer to +her lost Gabriel, so each day I felt a stronger and stronger +conviction that somewhere in the southern land I should +find him. +</p> + +<p> +In the meantime, Anna had been with us for a few +weeks, but greatly changed from the Anna of former times. +Listlessly she moved from room to room—never smiling, +never weeping, and seldom speaking unless she were first +addressed. To her, everything was dark, deep night, and +such a gloom did her presence cast over us all, that though +we would gladly have kept her with us, we still felt +relieved when she left us for a home in Boston, where little +Jamie soon became the idol of his grandmother, whose +subdued cheerfulness had ere long a visible effect upon +Anna. Cousin Will, too, had visited us, and after spending +a short time had sailed with brother John for California, +promising himself a joyous future, when he should +return with money sufficient to purchase the old +homestead, which he said should be mother's as long as she +lived. +</p> + +<p> +It was a cold, dark, snowy morning in the latter part of +April, when I at last started on my journey. The surface +of the ground was frozen hard, the trees were leafless +and bare, while but few green things gave token that +spring was with us. It is not strange, then, that I almost +fancied myself in another world, when after a prosperous +sea voyage I one morning went on shore at Charleston, +and first breathed the soft, balmy air of the South. +Dense and green was the foliage of the trees, while +thousands of roses and flowering shrubs filled the air with a +perfume almost sickening to the senses. From Charleston +to Augusta was a wearisome ride, for the cars were +crowded and dirty, and there was to me nothing remarkably +pleasing in the long stretches of cypress swamps and +pine barrens though which we passed. +</p> + +<p> +It was late in the evening when we reached the town of +C——, from whence I was to proceed to W——, by stage. +It was a most beautiful night; and for hours I watched +the soft moonlight as it glimmered among the trees which +lined either side of the narrow road, and whose branches +often swept against the windows of our lumbering vehicle. +It was long after sunrise when we arrived at W——, but +so thickly wooded is the country around, that I obtained +not a single glimpse of the town until I suddenly found +myself "thar," as the driver said, dismounting and +opening the door of our prison-house. The hotel into which +I was ushered, would, perhaps, compare favorably with +our country taverns at the North; but at each step I +took, I felt a more and more painful consciousness that +home, my home, was far away. +</p> + +<p> +After shaking the dust from my traveling-dress, and +slaking my thirst from the big gourd shell (my special +delight), which hung by the side of a bucket of cool +water which stood on a little stand in the parlor, I +inquired for some one who would take to Mrs. Lansing my +card, and thus apprise her of my arrival. The landlord +immediately summoned a bright, handsome mulatto boy, +who, after receiving my orders, and favoring me with a +sight of his ivories, started off bareheaded, and for that +matter bare-bodied too, for Cedar Grove, which the +landlord pointed out to me in the distance, and which, with +its dense surrounding of trees, looked to me delightfully +cool and pleasant. After waiting rather impatiently for +an hour or more, a large, old-fashioned carriage, drawn by +two rather poor-looking horses, stopped before the door. +It belonged to Mrs. Lansing; and the footman, jumping +down from the rack behind, handed me a note; in +which the lady begged me to come directly to her house, +saying she was herself indisposed, or she would have +come down to meet me, and also adding, that if I would +excuse her she would rather not see me until supper-time, +when she hoped to feel better. +</p> + +<p> +At the extremity of Main Street, we turned in at a +ponderous gate, and after passing through two or three fields +or lawns, stopped at last in front of Cedar Grove, which +stood upon a slight eminence overlooking the town. In +perfect delight I gazed around me, for it seemed the +embodiment of my childish dreams, and involuntarily I +exclaimed, "This is indeed the sunny, sunny South." It was +very beautiful, that spacious yard and garden, with their +winding walks on which no ray of sunlight fell, so securely +were they shaded, by the cedar and the fir, the catalpa, +the magnolia, and the fig tree, most of them seen now by +me for the first time in all their natural beauty, reminded +one so forcibly of Eden. The house itself was a large, +square building, surrounded on three sides by a piazza, +which I afterwards found was the family sitting-room; +it being there that they congregated both morning and +evening. The building had once been white, but the +paint was nearly all worn off, and it now presented a +rather dilapidated appearance, with its broken shutters +and decayed pillars, round which vines and ivy were +twining. The floors within were bare, but scrupulously +clean; while the rooms lacked the costly furniture I had +confidently expected to see. +</p> + +<p> +Scarcely was I seated in the parlor, when I heard a +sweet, childish voice exclaim, "She's in <i>thar</i>—she is," +while at the same time a pair of soft, blue eyes looked +through the crevice of the door, and then were quickly +withdrawn, their owner laughing aloud as if she had +accomplished some daring feat, and calling out, "I seen her, +Hal—I did. And she don't look cross neither. You +dassn't peek in thar, dast you?" +</p> + +<p> +They were my future pupils, I was sure; and already +my heart warmed towards them, particularly her with the +silvery voice, and I was just thinking of going out to find +them, when I heard a light footstep on the stairs, and the +next moment a tall, dark-eyed girl, apparently fourteen or +fifteen years of age, entered the room, introducing herself +as Miss Lina Lansing, and welcoming me so cordially that +I felt myself at once at home. +</p> + +<p> +"Mother," said she, "is indisposed, as I believe she +wrote you, and has sent me to receive you, and ask what +you would like." +</p> + +<p> +I had scarcely slept a moment the night previous, so I +replied, that if convenient, I would go immediately to my +room. Ringing the bell, she summoned to the room a +short, dumpy mulatto, whom she called Cressy, and who, +she said, was to be my attendant. Following her up the +stairs, I was ushered into a large, airy chamber, which, +though not furnished with elegance, still contained everything +for my comfort, even to a huge <i>feather-bed</i>, the sight +of which made me wipe the perspiration from my face. +</p> + +<p> +"Shall I wash missus' feet first, or comb her har?" +asked the negress, pouring a pitcher of water into a small +bathing tub. +</p> + +<p> +This was entirely new to me, who had always been +accustomed to wait upon myself, so I declined her offers of +assistance, telling her, "I preferred being alone, and +could do everything for myself which was necessary." +</p> + +<p> +"Laws, missus!" she answered, rolling the whites of +her eyes, "'taint no ways likely you can bresh and 'range +all dat ar har," pointing to my thick and now somewhat +tangled curls. "Why, Miss Lina's straighter dan a +string, an' I'll be boun' she never yet tache a comb to +it herself." +</p> + +<p> +With some difficulty I convinced the African that her +services were not needed, and staring at me as if I had +been a kind of monstrosity, she left the room, the door of +which I bolted against any new intruder. The windows +of my chamber looked out upon the garden, where now +were blossoming roses and flowers of every possible hue +and form. A little to the right, and about a quarter of a +mile away was another building, larger and more imposing +that than of Mrs. Lansing, while a great deal of taste +seemed to be displayed in the arrangement of the grounds. +As nearly as I could judge, it stood upon a little hill, for +the trees appeared to rise regularly one above the other, +the fir and the cedar forming the outer boundary; while, +as I afterwards learned, the inner rows consisted of the +graceful magnolia, the wide-spreading catalpa, the +beautiful china tree, and the persimmon, whose leaves in the +autumn wear a most brilliant hue, and present so fine a +contrast to the dark green of the pine and the fir. Very, +very pleasant it looked to me, with its white walls just +discernible amid the dense foliage which surrounded it, +and for a long time I stood gazing towards it wondering +whose home it was, and if the inmates were as happy as it +seemed they might be. +</p> + +<p> +At last, faint with the fatigue of my journey and the +odor of the flowers, which, from the garden below, came +in at the open window, I threw myself upon the lounge +(feather bed looking altogether too formidable) and was +soon fast asleep, dreaming of Meadow Brook, of the white +house on the hill, and of the <i>dark man</i>, who, I thought, +told me that it should one day be my home. When at +last I awoke, the sun was no longer shining in at +my window for it was late in the afternoon, and the +fiercest heat of the day was past. Springing up, I +commenced dressing with some trepidation, for I expected to +meet the mistress of the house at supper-time. My +toilet was nearly completed when I heard in the hall the +patter of childish feet, while a round, bright eye was +applied to the keyhole. It was the same which had +looked at me in the parlor, and anxious to see its owner, +I stepped out of the door just as a fairy creature with +golden curls started to run away. I was too quick for +her, however, and catching her in my arms, I pushed +back the clustering ringlets from her brow, and gazing +into her sunny face, asked her name. +</p> + +<p> +Raising her white, waxen hand, she did for me the +office I had done for her, viz. pushed back my curls, and +looking in my face, answered, "Ma says it's <i>Jessica</i>, but +Lina, Hal, and Uncle Dick call me <i>Jessie</i>, and I like +that a heap the best. You are our new governess, ain't +you?" +</p> + +<p> +She was singularly beautiful, and yet it was not so +much the regularity of her features, nor the clearness of +her complexion which made her so. It was the light +which shone in her lustrous blue eyes, which gave her the +expression of an angel, for such she was—an angel in her +southern home, which, without her would have been +dark and cheerless. Her brother whom she called <i>Hal</i>, +was three years older, and not nearly so handsome. He +was very dark, and it seemed to me that I had seen a +face like his before; but ere I could remember where, a +faint voice from the piazza, which faced the east and was +now quite cool, called out, "Halbert, Halbert, come +here." +</p> + +<p> +"That's ma," said Jessie, getting down from my arms. +"That's ma—come and see her," and following her, I +soon stood in the presence of Mrs. Lansing, who was +reclining rather indolently in a large willow chair, while at +her back was a negress half asleep, but appearing wide +awake whenever her mistress moved. +</p> + +<p> +She was a chubby, rosy-cheeked woman, apparently +thirty-five years of age. Her eyes were very black, and +she had a habit of frequently shutting them, so as to +show off the long, fringed eyelashes. On the whole, I +thought, she was quite prepossessing in her appearance, +an opinion, however, which I changed ere long; for by +the time I reached her, there was a dark cloud on her +brow, evidently of displeasure or of disappointment. +Still she was very polite, offering me her jeweled hand, +and saying, "Miss Lee, I suppose. You are welcome to +Georgia;" then, after an instant, she added, "You +don't look at all like I thought you would." +</p> + +<p> +I was <i>uglier</i> than she expected, I presumed, and the +tears started to my eyes as I replied, "I wrote to you +that I was very plain, but after a little I shall look +better; I am tired now with traveling." +</p> + +<p> +A strange, peculiar smile flitted over her face, while +she intently regarded me as if to assure herself of my +sanity. I was puzzled, and in my perplexity I said +something about returning home, if my looks were so +disagreeable. "They were used to me there, and didn't +mind it," I said; at the same time leaning my head +against the vine-wreathed pillars, I sobbed aloud. Lithe +as a kitten, little Jessie sprang up behind me, and +winding her arms around my neck, asked why I cried. +</p> + +<p> +"Did ma make you cry?" she said. "Uncle Dick +says she makes all the governesses cry." +</p> + +<p> +"Jessica, Jessica, get down this moment," said the lady. +"I did not intend to hurt Miss Lee's feelings, and do not +understand how I could have done so. She is either +acting a part, or else she strangely misunderstands me." +</p> + +<p> +I never acted a part in my life, and, somewhat indignant, +I wiped away my tears and asked "what she meant." +</p> + +<p> +There was the same smile on her face which I had +noticed before, as she said, "Do you really think +yourself ugly?" +</p> + +<p> +Of course I did. I had never thought otherwise, for +hadn't I been told so ever since I was a child no larger +than Jessie, and the impression thus early received had +never been eradicated. Thus I answered her, and she +believed me, for she replied, "You are mistaken, Miss +Lee, for however plain you might have been in childhood, +you are not so now. Neither do I understand how +with those eyes, that hair and brow, you can think +yourself ugly. I do not believe you meant to deceive me, +but, to tell the truth, I am disappointed; but that +cannot now be helped, and we'll make the best of it." +</p> + +<p> +Perfectly astonished, I listened to her remarks, giving +her the credit of meaning what she said, and for the first +time in my life, I felt as I suppose folks must feel who +think they are handsome! After this little storm was +over, she evidently exerted herself to be agreeable for a +few moments, and then rather abruptly asked me how +old I was. +</p> + +<p> +"Not quite eighteen!" she repeated in some surprise. +"Why I supposed you were <i>twenty-five</i> at least! Don't +you think she looks older than <i>Ada</i>?" turning to Lina, +who answered quickly, "Oh, no, mother, nothing like as +old. Why, I shouldn't think her over seventeen at the +most." +</p> + +<p> +Now among my other misfortunes I numbered that of +"looking old as the hills," so I didn't care particularly +for what they said, though it struck me as rather singular +that Mrs. Lansing should thus discuss me in my presence; +but this thought was lost in the more absorbing +one as to <i>who</i> the <i>Ada</i> could be of whom she had spoken. +Possibly it was Ada Montrose, though I ardently hoped +to the contrary, for well I knew there was no happiness +for me where she was. Thinking it would be on a par +with the questions put to me, I was on the point of asking +who <i>Ada</i> was, when we were summoned to supper, which +consisted mostly of broiled chickens, strong coffee, iced +milk, egg bread, and hoecakes, if I except the row of +sables who grouped themselves around the table, and the +<i>feather girl</i>, whose efforts to keep awake amused me so +much that I almost forgot to eat. We were nearly +through when a handsome mulatto boy entered and +handed a letter to his mistress, which she immediately +opened, holding it so that the address could be read by +Halbert, who, after spelling it out, exclaimed, "That's +from Uncle Dick, I know!" +</p> + +<p> +"Is he coming home?" asked Jessie, dropping her +knife and fork, while even Lina, who seldom evinced +much interest in anything, roused up and repeated the +question which Jessie had asked. +</p> + +<p> +"Yes. He is in New York now," said Mrs. Lansing; +"and will be here in a week." +</p> + +<p> +"Good!" exclaimed Halbert. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, I'm right glad," said Jessie, while Lina asked if +<i>Ada</i> was with him. +</p> + +<p> +"No," returned Mrs. Lansing. "She is still in Paris +with her cousin, and will not return until autumn." +</p> + +<p> +"I'm glad of that," said Lina, to which Hal rejoined, +"And so am I. She's so proud and stuck up, I can't +bear her." +</p> + +<p> +"Children, children," spoke Mrs. Lansing, rather +sternly, at the same time rising from the table. +</p> + +<p> +It was not yet sunset; and as soon as we were again +assembled upon the piazza, Halbert and Jessie, who were +never still, asked permission to "run up to Uncle Dick's, +and tell the servants he was coming home." +</p> + +<p> +Mrs. Lansing made no objection; and then they proposed +that I should accompany them. Feeling that a +walk would do me good, I turned towards Mrs. Lansing, +for her consent. It was given, of course; but had I +known her better I should have detected a shade of +displeasure on her face. +</p> + +<p> +"You had better go too," said she to Lina; but Lina +was too listless and indolent, and so we went without her, +little Jessie holding my hand, and jumping instead of +walking. +</p> + +<p> +"Eva's mighty lazy," said she, at last; "don't you +think so!" +</p> + +<p> +"Who's lazy?" I asked; and she replied— +</p> + +<p> +"Thar, I done forgot again, and called her Eva. Her +name is Evangeline, and we used to call her Eva, until +mother read a bad book that had little Eva in it, and +then she called her Lina." +</p> + +<p> +"'Twan't a bad book, neither," exclaimed Halbert, +stopping suddenly; "Uncle Dick said 'twan't; but it +made mother mad, I tell you, and now when she gets +rarin' he calls her <i>Mrs. St. Clare</i>." +</p> + +<p> +I needed no one to tell me that it was "Uncle Tom," +to which he referred, but I said nothing except to chide +the children for their negro language. +</p> + +<p> +"I know we talk awful," said Jessie, brushing her +curls from her eyes. "Uncle Dick says we do, but I +mean to learn better. I don't talk half like I used to." +</p> + +<p> +I could not help smiling in spite of myself upon the +little creature bounding and frisking at my side. <i>Uncle +Dick</i> seemed to be her oracle, and after looking around to +make sure that no one heard me, I asked "who he +was?" +</p> + +<p> +"Why, he's Uncle Dick," said she; "the bestest uncle +in the world;" while Halbert added, "He's got a heap +of money, too; and once, when ma thought I was asleep, +I heard her tell Lina, that if he didn't get married it +would be divided between us, and I should have the most, +'cause I'm named after him, Richard Halbert Delafield +Lansing, and they call me <i>Hal</i>, for short. I told Uncle +Dick what mother said, and I tell you, he looked blacker'n +a nigger; and somehow, after that he took to ridin' and +foolin' with Ada, wonderfully." +</p> + +<p> +As yet everything with me was comparatively conjecture. +I did not know positively that the <i>Uncle Dick</i> of +the children was the "<i>dark man</i>" of Rosa Lee; but the +answer to my next question would decide it, and half +tremblingly was it put. "Who is this Ada? What is her +other name?" +</p> + +<p> +"<i>Ada Montrose</i>, and she lives with us. Uncle Dick is +her guardian," said Halbert, throwing a bit of dirt at +the negro boy who accompanied us, and who returned the +young gentleman's salute with interest. +</p> + +<p> +I was satisfied, and did not wish to hear any more. I +should meet him again, and tinged as my temperament is +with a love of the marvellous, I could not help believing +that Providence had led me there. By this time we had +reached "Sunny Bank," as it was very appropriately +called, and never before had I seen so lovely a spot. The +grounds, which were very spacious, were surrounded on +all sides by a hedge of the beautiful Cherokee rose, and, +unlike those of Cedar Grove, were laid out with perfect +taste and order. Mr. Delafield, as I afterwards learned, +had spent much time at the North, and in the arrangement +of his house and grounds, he had not only imitated, +but far surpassed the style of the country seats which are +so often found within a few miles of our eastern cities, +For this he was in a measure indebted to Dame Nature, +who at the South scatters her favors with a lavish hand, +sometimes beautifying and adorning objects far better +than the utmost skill of man could do. The gate at the +entrance of Sunny Bank was a huge wooden structure, +having for its <i>posts</i> two immense oak trees, around whose +trunks the graceful ivy twined, and then hung in fanciful +festoons from several of the lower branches. +</p> + +<p> +As I had supposed, the house itself stood upon a slight +elevation, and the walk which led up to it was bordered +on either side by the mock orange, whose boughs, meeting +overhead, formed an effectual screen from the rays of +the sun. The building, though fashioned in the same +style as that of Mrs. Lansing, was much larger, and had +about it a far more stylish air. Much of the furniture +had been brought from New York, Halbert said; adding +that "all the floors were covered with matting in the +summer, and elegant Turkey carpets in the winter." +</p> + +<p> +In the rear of the house were the cabins of the negroes, +who were lounging idly about, some on the ground, some +in the doors, and some stretched at full length upon the +back of the piazza, evidently enjoying the cool evening +breeze. At sight of us, they roused up a little, and when +Halbert, after announcing that I was Miss Lee, the new +governess, further informed them that their master was +coming home in a few days, they instantly gathered round +us, evincing so much joy as to astonish me, who had +heretofore looked upon a southern slaveholder as a tyrant +greatly dreaded by his vassals. +</p> + +<p> +"You must like Mr. Delafield very much," I ventured +to remark to one old lady, whose hair was white as wool. +</p> + +<p> +"<i>Like</i> Mass'r Richard!" said she, rolling up her eyes. +"Lor' bless you, miss, <i>like</i> don't begin to 'spress it. +Why, I farly worships him; for didn't I tend him when +he was a nussin' baby? and hain't these old arms toted +him more'n a million of miles?" +</p> + +<p> +Here her voice was drowned by the others, all of whom +united in declaring him the "berry best mass'r in +Georgy." This did not, of course, tend in any way to +diminish the interest which I felt in the stranger; and, +ere I was aware of it, I found myself anticipating his +return almost as anxiously as the negroes themselves. +</p> + +<p> +It was dark when we reached Cedar Grove; and as +there was company in the parlor, I went immediately to +my room. I had not been there long, however, when a +servant was sent up, saying, that "Mrs. Lansing wished +me to come down and play." +</p> + +<p> +This was an ordeal which I greatly dreaded; for, from +what I had seen of Mrs. Lansing, I knew she would +criticise my performance closely; and fearing inability to +acquit myself at all creditably, I trembled violently as I +descended to the parlor, which was nearly full of visitors. +</p> + +<p> +"Miss Lee, ladies," said Mrs. Lansing, at the same +time motioning towards the music-stool as the seat I was +expected to occupy. +</p> + +<p> +There was a film before my eyes as I took my post and +nervously turned over the leaves of a music-book; which, +by the way, was wrong side up, though I didn't know it +then! I have heard much of <i>stage fright</i>, and sure am I, +that never did poor mortal suffer more from an attack of +that nature than did I during the few moments that I sat +there, trying to recall something familiar, something +which I knew I could play. At last, when the patience +of the company seemed nearly exhausted, I dashed off at +random, playing <i>parts</i> of two or three different tunes, +changing the key as many times, using the loud pedal +when I should have used the soft, and at last ending with +the most horrid discord to which my ears ever listened. +The audience were, undoubtedly, thunderstruck, for +they spoke not for the space of a minute; and, with a +feeling of desperation, I was about to make a second +effort, hoping thereby to retrieve my character, when +Mrs. Lansing said, in a cold, sarcastic voice, "That will do, +Miss Lee; we are perfectly satisfied." Then, turning to +a haughty-looking young lady who sat by the window, she +continued: "Come, Miss Porter; you certainly can't +refuse to favor us, <i>now</i>." +</p> + +<p> +With a very consequential air, for which I could not +blame her, Miss Porter took my place, and, without any +apparent effort, killed my poor performance outright; +for she executed admirably some of the most difficult +music. When she had finished, the ladies rose to go, +Mrs. Lansing following them to the door, and whispering +(I know she did) something about "her being +humbugged again." +</p> + +<p> +When she returned to the room, I stole a glance at her +face, which was very red, and indicative of anything but +good-will towards me. I felt the hot tears rising, but +when, with a bang, she closed the piano, and turning +towards me, demanded "how long I had taken music +lessons," I forced them back, and answered promptly, "five +quarters." +</p> + +<p> +"Only five quarters!" she repeated, in evident +amazement. "Why, Lina has taken <i>three years</i>, and she +wouldn't consider herself competent to <i>teach</i>, even were +she <i>poor</i>, and obliged to do so." +</p> + +<p> +The latter part of this speech I did not fancy; for +even if a person is poor, and obliged to work, they do +not often like to be taunted with it; at least, <i>I</i> didn't, but +I couldn't help myself. I was at the mercy of +Mrs. Lansing, who proceeded to say, that "she had often +been deceived by Northern teachers, who thought to +palm themselves off for better scholars than they really +were; and now she had almost come to the conclusion +that they were not so well educated as the majority of +Southern girls." +</p> + +<p> +"<i>I</i>, at least, never intended to deceive you," said I; +"I told you in my letter that I was <i>not</i> an accomplished +musician, and still you consented to employ me." +</p> + +<p> +Here I broke down entirely, and wept passionately, +telling her, in broken sentences, that "however mortifying +it would be, I was willing to go back, if she wished +it." +</p> + +<p> +At this point, little Jessie, who all the time had been +present, came to my side, and winding her arms around +my neck, said, "You sha'n't go home. We like you, +Hal and me, and you sha'n't go—shall she, Hal?" +</p> + +<p> +Thus appealed to, Hal took up my cause, which he +warmly defended; telling his mother "she made every +governess cry, and told them they didn't know +anything, when they <i>did</i>, for Uncle Dick said so, and <i>he</i> +knew; and that, as for music, Miss Lee played a <i>heap</i> +better than Lina, because she played something +<i>new</i>—something he never heard before." +</p> + +<p> +"Nor any one else," muttered Mrs. Lansing, while +Hal continued, "Uncle Dick says, the best teachers +sometimes don't play at all, and Miss Lee sha'n't go +home." +</p> + +<p> +Very faintly, I repeated my willingness to do so, if +Mrs. Lansing thought best; to which she replied, "I +will deal fairly with you, Miss Lee. I am disappointed +in your musical abilities, and if I find that you are +deficient in other things, I shall be obliged to dismiss you; +but for a few days I will keep you on trial." +</p> + +<p> +"Uncle Dick won't let you send her away, I know," +said Hal; and this, I am inclined to think, determined +her upon getting rid of me before his return. +</p> + +<p> +Still, I was ostensibly <i>upon trial</i>, and whoever has been +in a similar situation, will readily understand that I could +not, of course, do myself justice. With Mrs. Lansing's +prying eyes continually upon me, I really acted as though +I were half-witted; and by the close of the second day, I +myself began to doubt the soundness of my mind, +wondering why the folks at home had never discovered my +stupidity. Continual excitement kept my cheeks in a +constant glow, while the remainder of my face was quite +pale, and several times, in their mother's presence, the +children told me "how handsome I was!" This annoyed +her—and on the morning of the third day, she informed +me that she would defray my expenses back to Massachusetts, +where I could tell them I was <i>too young</i> to suit +her; adding, that I might as well go the next morning. +This was a death-blow to my hopes; and so violent was +the shock, that I could not even weep. Hal and Jessie +were furious, declaring I should not go; and when I +convinced them that I must, they insisted upon my teaching +that day, at all events. +</p> + +<p> +To this I consented; and as Mrs. Lansing had now +no object in watching me, she absented herself from the +schoolroom entirely, leaving me to do as I pleased. The +consequence was, that my benumbed faculties awoke +again to life, everything which, for the last ten days, I +seemed to have forgotten, came back to me; while even +the children noticed how differently I appeared. +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap21"></a></p> + +<h2> +CHAPTER XXI. +<br><br> +UNCLE DICK. +</h2> + +<p> +The day was drawing to a close. The children's lessons +were over, the last I was to hear. Their books were +piled away awaiting the arrival of my successor, and at +my request I was left in the schoolroom alone—alone +with my grief, which was indeed bitter and hard to bear, +for I knew that injustice had been done me, and most +keenly I felt the mortification of returning home in +disgrace. Very beautiful to me seemed that fair south land +of which I had dreamed so oft, and I felt that I could not +leave it. +</p> + +<p> +Through the open window I heard the shouts of the +children, but I did not heed them, nor observe that +throughout the entire house there seemed to be an unusual +commotion. An hour went by, and then in the hall I +heard the voice of Jessie, and the words she uttered sent +an electric thrill through my nerves, and brought me to +my feet, for they were, "Come this way, Uncle Dick. I +reckon she's in the schoolroom." +</p> + +<p> +The next moment he stood before me, the <i>dark man</i>, +scanning me curiously, but still without anything like +rudeness in his gaze. +</p> + +<p> +"Uncle Dick's come. This is him," said Jessie, leading +him towards the spot where I stood. +</p> + +<p> +A bright beautiful smile broke over his strongly marked +features, and I felt as if a gleam of sunlight had shone +for an instant over my pathway. Taking my hand in his, +he bade Jessie leave us, as he wished to see me alone. +She started to obey, but ere she reached the door, she +turned back and asking him to stoop down, whispered in +his ear, loudly enough for me to hear, "I want you to like +her." +</p> + +<p> +"Of course I shall," he replied, and again that smile +broke over his face. +</p> + +<p> +I did not expect him to recognize me, for with the +exception of the night at the theater he had never fairly +seen my features, and still I was conscious of a feeling +of disappointment when I saw that he evidently had no +suspicion of ever having met me before. When I spoke, +however, and he heard the sound of my voice, he started +and looked me more fully in the face; but whatever his +thoughts might have been, he seemed to be satisfied that +he was mistaken, and seating himself at my side, he +commenced conversing with me as familiarly as if he had +known me all my life. Gradually our conversation turned +upon looks, and ere I was aware of it I passed through +what I now know to have been a pretty thorough examination +of all the branches which Mrs. Lansing had wished +me to teach, but so adroitly was the whole thing managed +that it seemed like a quiet, pleasant talk, though I did +wonder at his asking so many questions. French was the +last subject discussed, and here I was at fault, for my +pronunciation I well knew was bad, although Mr. Delafield, +who was himself a fine French scholar, told me +it was quite as good as the majority of the Americans +who had neither lived in Paris, nor had the advantage of +a native teacher. +</p> + +<p> +"You play, I believe. I would like to hear you," he +said at last, laying his hand on my shoulder, as if he +would lead me to the parlor. +</p> + +<p> +Instantly the blood rushed to my face, for since the +night of my disgrace I had not touched the piano, neither +did I wish to again. So I tried to excuse myself, and +when he insisted, I finally said, with my eyes full of tears, +"Please excuse me, sir, for I can't play. I failed before +your sister, and I shall do the same before you." +</p> + +<p> +"No you won't," he replied, at the same time drawing +my arm within his and leading me towards the door. +"You have nothing to fear, Miss Lee, and if you acquit +yourself half as creditably here as you have elsewhere, I +shall be satisfied." +</p> + +<p> +A faint perception of the truth began to dawn upon +me, and I looked up at him so earnestly that he stopped +and smiling down upon me, said, "You have taught a +district school in New England, I believe?" +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, sir," I answered. +</p> + +<p> +"And you were examined, of course?" +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, sir, and got a certificate, too," I said eagerly. +</p> + +<p> +"I presume you did," he continued, "and if necessary +I can give you another, for I have been doing nothing more +or less than trying to find out how much you know. As I +have before hinted, I am perfectly satisfied, and unless +you leave from choice, you will remain at Cedar Grove." +</p> + +<p> +He spoke as one having full authority to do as he +pleased, and I instinctively felt that though nominally +Mrs. Lansing was mistress there, he, in reality, was the +leader, the head, whose bidding every one obeyed. The +change from utter despondency to almost perfect happiness +was too great, and withdrawing my hand from his +arm, I sat down upon the stairs and cried like a child, +while he stood, looking down upon me and thinking, I +dare say, that I was a very foolish girl. At last, when I +thought his patience was nearly exhausted, I wiped my +eyes, and starting up, said, "You have made me very +happy, Mr. Delafield, for I could not have borne the +disgrace of being sent home as incompetent. I can play +for you now, or for Mrs. Lansing either." +</p> + +<p> +And the result proved that I was right, for I exceeded +my own expectations, and was astonished at myself. +</p> + +<p> +"Angeline," said he, in a slightly commanding voice, +as that lady looked curiously in at the door, "Angeline, +come here;" and she crossed over to his side, where he +detained her by placing his arm around her waist. +</p> + +<p> +For a moment then I wavered, for though I could not +fee, I could feel the haughty gaze of the large black eyes, +which I knew were bent upon me. +</p> + +<p> +"You have done well, Miss Lee," he said, when at last +I arose from the instrument, at the same time playfully +touching my cheeks, which were burning with feverish +excitement. +</p> + +<p> +That night, after I had retired to my room, Halbert +and Jessie came to the door, requesting permission to +come in. I admitted them, when Jessie, jumping into +my lap, said, "Oh, I'm so glad you are going to stay. +Hal says so." +</p> + +<p> +"Yes," put in Hal, "Uncle Dick told me that you +mustn't be sent away, for you were a heap better scholar +than she had represented you to be." +</p> + +<p> +"Perhaps it will not be as Mr. Delafield says," I +remarked; and Hal quickly rejoined, "Yes, it will; ma +does just what he tells her to do; and then, too, he +pays the governess, for I heard him say so, and he told +her if you were dismissed 'twas the last one he'd hire. +And he said she must treat you better than she did Miss +Rawson, for you were very young, and little things hurt +your feelings, and when Ada came home, she mustn't +domineer over you, for he wouldn't allow it. Oh, I like +Uncle Dick. Don't you?" +</p> + +<p> +The moonlight was streaming across the floor, but it +did not reveal the blush which deepened on my cheek as +I faintly answered "Yes," bidding him at the same time +not to tell of it, for I began to feel afraid of the boy's +loquacity. That night I dreamed of "Uncle Dick," +whose name was the last which sounded in my ears when +I fell asleep, and the first of which I thought when I +awoke in the morning. As I was dressing, I heard little +Jessie on the piazza, singing in her childish way, "<i>I</i> love +<i>Un</i>cle Dick, I do, and <i>so</i> does <i>Hal</i>, and <i>so</i> does <i>Mis</i>-ses +Lee!" +</p> + +<p> +"Who told you <i>that</i>, Pussy?" asked a voice which +I recognized as Mr. Delafield's, and very nervously I +listened for Jessie's answer, which was, "Oh, I know she +does. Hal asked her didn't she like you, and she said +she did." +</p> + +<p> +"Rather early to avow a preference, I think. I +shouldn't wonder if a Miss Rawson performance were ot +be enacted a second time," said another voice, which I +knew to be that of Mrs. Lansing, who had joined her +brother upon the piazza. +</p> + +<p> +"Angeline," said Mr. Delafield, somewhat sternly, +"don't be foolish. If Halbert asked Miss Lee if she +liked me, wasn't it the most natural thing in the world +for her to say 'Yes.' I do wish you'd rid yourself of the +impression that every girl who looks at me is in love with +me, or that I am in love with every lady to whom I +choose to be polite." +</p> + +<p> +"Do you think Miss Lee pretty?" asked Mrs. Lansing, +without paying any attention to his last remark. +</p> + +<p> +Up to this point I could not well help overhearing their +conversation, for I was arranging my hair before the +mirror which stood near the window; but now there was +no longer any necessity for my remaining there, and I +resolutely walked away, though I would have given much +to have heard his answer. He had gone home when I +went down to the breakfast-room, where I found +Mrs. Lansing, who greeted me rather coldly, and appeared +slightly embarrassed. I had purposely donned my +traveling dress, for though Mr. Delafield had said I was +to stay, I felt that she too must do the same ere I had a +right to remain. The sight of my dress seemed to annoy +her, for it brought to her cheeks two bright red spots +which grew deeper all the while we were at breakfast. +When it was over, and the children had gone out, I very +composedly asked her "how long before the stage would +call for me." +</p> + +<p> +Turning her flashing black eyes upon me, she said, +"Do you mean to insult me, Miss Lee? The stage has +been gone an hour. I supposed you knew you were to +remain." +</p> + +<p> +"Mr. Delafield intimated as much," I answered; "but +my engagement was with <i>you</i>, not <i>him</i>, and until I hear +from you that I am expected to stay, I do not of course +feel at liberty to do so." +</p> + +<p> +She brightened up perceptibly, and after saying something +about Richard's meddling in <i>her</i> affairs, replied, "I +presume you were embarrassed when you first came, and +so could not appear to advantage; and as my brother +thinks you are a tolerably fair scholar, I have decided to +keep you." +</p> + +<p> +I bowed in acquiescence, and she continued: "There +is something, however, which I must first say to you; but +as this is not the proper place, you will go with me to my +room." +</p> + +<p> +I complied with her request, and closing the door, she +began with a long preamble as to the proper way for a +young lady to conduct herself in the presence of gentlemen, +especially those who were every way her superiors. +"For instance," said she, "there's my brother Richard, +who is rather noted for his familiar, affectionate manner +towards the ladies. As long as he confines himself to his +equals I do not so much mind it, but when he lavishes +his attentions upon my governesses, I think it wrong, +for he might, you know, raise hopes which of course +could never be realized. Now, Miss Rawson was a very +silly girl who thought herself beautiful, and ere I was +aware of it she was deeply in love with Richard. Of +course, he cared nothing for her, even if he did play with +and caress her. It is his way, and he means nothing by +it. Then, too, Miss Rawson <i>was</i> rather handsome, and +Richard has always been a passionate admirer of beauty. +He used to say, when he was younger, that he never +could love a woman who was not beautiful, and I've +sometimes thought that the sight of a pretty face completely +upset him. For this reason I prefer having a plain-looking +governess. Miss Rawson was far too pretty, and after +my trouble with her I determined to employ none but +ugly ones. This is why I wrote to you concerning your +personal appearance, which is, I am sorry to say, so much +more prepossessing than I had reason to suppose. Still +I do not apprehend any difficulty, provided you are always +reserved and distant in Richard's presence, and decline +any attentions he may occasionally offer you. Miss +Montrose, of whom you have heard us speak, will probably be +home this summer, and then his time will be occupied +with her. I do not think he will ever marry any one, +but if he does, it will undoubtedly be Ada. I won't +detain you longer," she added, as she saw me try to +suppress a yawn; "I won't detain you any longer than to +warn you once more against being as silly as Miss Rawson +was—the foolish thing—only think of it, my governess in +love with my brother, and <i>he</i> a <i>Delafield</i>?" +</p> + +<p> +It <i>was</i> very absurd, I thought; and mentally resolving +not to fall into a like error, I repaired to the +schoolroom, where in due time I was joined by the children, +little Jessie bringing me a beautiful bouquet, which she +said "Uncle Dick had arranged for me." +</p> + +<p> +Feeling anxious to please Mrs. Lansing, my first +impulse was to send the flowers back, but upon second +thoughts, I concluded that this would not come under +the head of "attentions," and so all the morning they +stood in the tiny vase, which Halbert brought to hold +them, all except one rosebud which Jessie selected from +the group, and twined among my curls. This at the +dinner-table attracted the watchful eye of my employer, +who, without any apparent motive, casually remarked +upon its beauty, saying, "It looked like a species of rose +which grew in her brother's garden," and adding that +"she did not know as there were any of that kind on her +grounds." +</p> + +<p> +I blushed crimson, while Jessie answered, "It didn't +grow here. <i>Uncle Dick</i> brought it to her with a heap +more." +</p> + +<p> +Casting upon me a frowning glance, Mrs. Lansing said, +"Seems to me you have forgotten the conditions on which +I kept you." +</p> + +<p> +This was the first I had heard of <i>conditions</i>; but so +anxious was I to retain my situation, that I resolved to +please her at all hazards, and stammering out that "Jessie +put it in my hair," I tore it from among my curls and +threw it upon the floor. Then, as soon as dinner was +over, I went up to the schoolroom, and removing the +bouquet from the vase, threw that too, from the window. +Very wonderingly, little Jessie looked up in my face, +asking "why I did it," and if "I didn't love flowers." +</p> + +<p> +"Very, very much," I answered; "but your mother +don't want me to keep them." +</p> + +<p> +That afternoon he came to visit us "officially," he said, +and when I saw his winning manner, and how much of +sunshine he brought with him, I did not wonder that one +as susceptible as Miss Rawson was represented to be, +should have fallen in love with him. But with me it was +different. <i>I</i> had been warned against his pleasant, +affectionate ways; and so, when in conversing with me and +Lina, he threw his arm around her waist and laid his hand +carelessly upon my shoulder, I moved quickly away, while +I was sensible of a deepening flush upon my face. He +seemed puzzled, and for an instant looked inquiringly at +me, as if to ask a reason for my conduct. He was showing +Lina a book of engravings, and after a while called me to +look at a picture which he thought was particularly fine. +I complied with his request, and wishing to see more, took +a seat at his side, when either purposely, or from force of +habit, he threw his arm across the back of my chair. The +action reminded me of Dr. Clayton, and I was feeling +somewhat annoyed, when looking up I met the haughty +eyes of Mrs. Lansing, who was passing the door, and had +stopped to look in. This of course embarrassed me, and +hardly knowing what I did, I said rather angrily, "You +will oblige me, Mr. Delafield, by taking your arm from +my chair. It does not look well." +</p> + +<p> +"Certainly," said he, instantly removing it; "I was +not before aware that it was there," and a very peculiar +smile was perceptible about his mouth, as he, too, caught +sight of his sister, who, with an approving nod for me, +passed on. +</p> + +<p> +I could have cried with vexation, for I feared he would +think me very prudish, and I knew well enough that his +familiarity was only the promptings of an unusually kind +and affectionate nature. After staying a few moments +longer, he arose to go, saying as he turned towards me, +"Jessie gave you my flowers, I suppose." +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, sir," I replied, while my face again grew scarlet. +"They were beautiful, and I thank you very much." +</p> + +<p> +"I am glad to hear it," he continued, looking me +steadily in my eyes. "I thought perhaps, you did not +like them when I found them on the walk, withered and +dried by the sun." +</p> + +<p> +I was trying to think what to say by way of apology for +thus treating his gift, when little Jessie came to my relief, +by saying, "She didn't like to throw 'em away, but ma +didn't want her to keep 'em." +</p> + +<p> +"Ah, yes. I understand it now," said he, adding in +an undertone, as he shook my hand, in accordance with +the southern custom of bidding good-by: "I hope, Miss +Lee, you will exercise your own judgment in such trivial +matters as that." +</p> + +<p> +That night I cried myself to sleep, half wishing I had +never come to Cedar Grove, for I knew Mrs. Lansing +would prove an exacting, unreasonable mistress; and when, +Ada came home, my situation, I thought, would be anything +but agreeable; while, worse than all the rest, was +the fear that I had displeased Mr. Delafield, and appeared +very ridiculous in his eyes. Supposing he had put his arm +on my chair, was that any reason why I should get angry +and speak to him as I did? It was his way, and as he had +said, he was not himself aware of what he was doing. Of +course, then, he would think me very foolish, and would +ever after treat me with coolness and indifference. How +then was I surprised, when the next morning, in the +presence of his sister, he handed me a much larger and +handsomer bouquet than the one of the preceding day, saying, +as he did so, "I want you to keep this and not throw it +away, as you did my other one." +</p> + +<p> +Mrs. Lansing's face, which had been unusually placid +and serene, now looked cloudy and disturbed; but she said +nothing; neither did she ever again make any allusion to +the flowers which so frequently came to me from Sunny +Bank. One reason for this might have been that she was +otherwise perfectly satisfied with the conduct of her +brother, which, by the way, was <i>not</i> wholly satisfactory +to me! It is true, he was very polite, very kind; but there +was about him a reserve which I could not understand, +for after that little affair in the schoolroom, he never +treated me with the same familiarity which marked his +deportment towards the other young ladies, who came to +the house. He did not like me, I said, and the thought that +I was disagreeable to <i>him</i> made me very unhappy. To be +sure, he was almost constantly at Cedar Grove, where he +spent most of the time in the schoolroom, "superintending +us," he told his sister, who, believing me rather +inefficient, made no objection to his supposed supervision of +Lina's studies. He did not often talk much to me, but I +frequently met the earnest gaze of his piercing dark eyes, +particularly when little Jessie sat in my lap, listening to +my instructions; and once when Herbert asked him for +"a copy,"—something beginning with "R," he wrote +"Rosa Lee, Meadow Brook, Massachusetts." Still he +disliked me—I was sure of that; and though I did not +then know why it was, the impression that I was to him +an object of aversion made me unhappy, and almost every +day I cried, while Mrs. Lansing more than once told me +that "she did not believe the South agreed with me, for +I was not half so <i>plump</i> and rosy as when I first came." +</p> + +<p> +About this time, too, a Miss Dean, from the village, who +had evinced quite a liking for me, told me, confidentially, +that Mr. Delafield and Ada were certainly engaged; +adding, that "it was sometimes sickening to see them +together"—a fact I could not doubt, knowing him as I did, +and remembering Ada's demeanor towards Herbert when +they were engaged. From the same source, too, I learned +that Mr. Montrose and the elder Mr. Delafield had been +warm friends; and that the latter, who died when both +Mrs. Lansing and Richard were quite young, had committed +them to the care of Mr. Montrose, who was to them +the kindest of fathers until the time of his death, which +occurred a few years after Mrs. Lansing's marriage, when +Richard was just of age. To <i>his</i> guardianship, therefore, +as to that of a brother, had Mr. Montrose left his +daughter, then a beautiful girl of seventeen; and since that +time she had lived with Mrs. Lansing, who, though she +appeared to love the young orphan, still opposed her +marriage with her brother; not from any aversion to Ada, +but because she did not wish Richard to marry at all, as +in case he did not, his property would, in all probability, +fall to her children, she being the only heir. When I +asked her why Mr. Delafield was worth so much more than +Mrs. Lansing, she replied, that the elder Mr. Delafield, +in his will, had left two-thirds of his property to his son, +bequeathing the other third to his daughter, whose +husband had wasted nearly the whole in his extravagant +manner of living. Cedar Grove, too, she said, was mortgaged +to Richard for more than it was worth, and it was wholly +owing to his forbearance and extreme generosity that +Mrs. Lansing was enabled to support her present style of living. +This, she said, aside from Mrs. Lansing's hope that her +children would one day inherit her brother's wealth, was a +sufficient reason why she wished him to remain a bachelor, +as the presence of a wife at Sunny Bank would, in all +probability, lessen his liberality towards herself. Miss Dean, +who seemed to be well posted, also told me that, in case +Mrs. Lansing saw her brother was determined to marry, +she would, of course, prefer that he should marry Ada, +who was quite a favorite, inasmuch as she had money of +her own, and was connected with one of the first families +in South Carolina. +</p> + +<p> +All this I believed, and when I saw how anxious +Mrs. Lansing appeared for Ada's return, and how much interest +Mr. Delafield, too, seemed to take in her, I felt sure +that matters were at last amicably arranged, and that, for +once, rumor was right in saying that Sunny Bank would, +in the autumn, be graced by the presence of a mistress. +Latterly, Mr. Delafield had been making some repairs, +and only a few days before, when I chanced to be there +with Jessie, he had taken me through his library into a +little, pleasant, airy room, which he was fitting up with +great elegance. +</p> + +<p> +"This," said he, laughingly, "I design as the boudoir +of <i>Mrs. Delafield</i>, when I shall be fortunate enough to +boast such an appendage to my household; and as a +woman's taste is supposed to be superior to that of men, +I want your opinion. How do you like it? Do you think +it would suit <i>my wife</i>, if I had one?" +</p> + +<p> +Of course he meant <i>Ada</i>, and in fancy I saw her +reclining upon the luxurious lounges, or gazing out upon the +vine-wreathed piazza, and wealth of flowers, which greeted +my view when I looked from the large bay window. For +an instant I dared not trust my voice to speak, and when +at last I did so, I am sure it must have trembled, for he +came to my side and looked me earnestly in the face, +while he smiled at my answer. +</p> + +<p> +"It ought to suit her, unless her home heretofore has +been Paradise." +</p> + +<p> +After that I had not the least doubt of his engagement +with Ada, and I began seriously to think of going back +to Meadow Brook to take charge of a select school, which +was about to be opened there. I had now been in Georgia +about four months, and one night I went down to the +pleasant summer-house at the foot of the garden. It was +a beautiful moonlight night and the air was almost +oppressive with the sweet fragrance of the flowers. Why I +went there I hardly know, only I fancied I could better +make up my mind as to my future course, if I were alone +and in the open air. "Nobody likes me here," I said to +myself, as I took a seat within the arbor, "nobody but +Halbert and Jessie. Mrs. Lansing is freaky and cross, +Lina, selfish and indifferent, while Mr. Delafield thinks +only of Ada's return, which I so much dread, and to be +rid of meeting her I will go home before she comes." So +I decided that on the morrow, I would make known +my determination to Mrs. Lansing, who I fancied would +be glad, while Mr. Delafield would not be affected either +way. <i>I</i> was nothing to <i>him</i>—<i>he</i> was nothing to <i>me</i>—so I +reasoned, and then I made plans for the future, just as +other maidens of eighteen have done, when their heart +was aching with a heavy pain, whose cause they did not +understand. I should never marry—<i>that</i> was a settled +point—I should teach school all my days, and by the time +I was twenty-five (it seemed a great way off then) I should +have a school of my own, "LEE SEMINARY" I would call +it, and I had just completed the arrangement of the +grounds, which somehow bore a strong resemblance to +those of Sunny Bank, when I was roused from my reverie +by the sound of a footstep, and in a moment Mr. Delafield +stood at the entrance of the summer-house. He +evidently did not expect to find me there, for he started +back at first, and then, hoping he did not intrude, came +to my side, saying, "A penny for your thoughts, Miss +Lee, provided they are not as gloomy as your face would +indicate." +</p> + +<p> +"You can have them for nothing," I returned, elevating +my eyebrows, and drawing down the corners of my +mouth as if I felt that in some way he had injured me. +</p> + +<p> +"You are <i>blue</i> to-night, and have been so for several +days. What is the matter?" he asked, at the same time +throwing his arm around my waist with his olden familiarity." +</p> + +<p> +Quickly remembering himself, however, he withdrew it, +saying as he did so, "I beg your pardon, Miss Lee. I +am so in the habit of taking such liberties, that I forgot +myself!" and he moved off a little distance. I could +have cried with vexation, for though it might have been, +improper, I was perfectly willing to sit there with his arm +around me! It might have dispelled all idea of the +"LEE SEMINARY" of which I was to be Principal! But +he gave me no such opportunity, and folding his arms as +if to keep them in their place, he continued, "But tell +me, Miss Lee, what <i>is</i> the matter. You do not seem +yourself?" +</p> + +<p> +It was perfectly proper for me to tell him, I thought, +and very deliberately I unfolded to him my plan of +returning home within a week, if Mrs. Lansing were willing, +which I was sure she would be, as she had never been +quite satisfied with my acquirements. When I had +finished speaking, I turned towards him, not to see what +effect my words had produced, for I had not the most +remote idea that he would care. Great then was my +surprise, when I saw the blank expression of his face, +which looked darker than ever. Starting up, he walked +two or three times rapidly across the little arbor, and then +resuming his seat, said gently, "Have you been unhappy +here, Miss Lee?" +</p> + +<p> +I could hardly repress my tears as I told him how much +I liked the south land, and how I should hate to leave it. +</p> + +<p> +"Why then do you do so?" he asked; and I answered +"I can do more good at home; nobody likes me here." +</p> + +<p> +He came nearer to my side, as he said, "Nobody likes +you! oh, Rose, there is <i>one</i> at least who more than +likes"—— +</p> + +<p> +It was the first time he had ever called me Rose, and it +thrilled me with an indefinable emotion; but so +impressed was I with the idea of his engagement with Ada, +that I never dreamed of interpreting his words, as I now +think he meant I should; and ere he could say more, I +interrupted him with, "Yes—little Jessie loves me, I +know, and when I think of her, I would fain stay." +</p> + +<p> +Still nearer to me he came, as he said, "And think +you Jessie is the only one who loves you?" +</p> + +<p> +If ever Mrs. Lansing's belief that I was <i>non compos mentis</i> +was verified, it was then; for with the utmost stupidity +I answered, "Why, no; <i>Halbert</i> likes me, but both +he and Jessie will forget me when I am gone, and learn +to love another." +</p> + +<p> +I think he was quite disgusted; for with a slight +gesture of impatience he changed his manner, and in a very +businesslike way began to reason the case with me, urging +a great many reasons why I should not leave; the most +potent one with me, being the fact that <i>he</i> wanted me to +stay—"he would miss me very much," he said, "for he +liked my society—it was a pleasure to talk with me, for +he was sure I meant what I said; I was natural—truthful—so +different from most of the young ladies (of course he +excepted Ada), and then, too, it seemed as if he had +known me always, or at least, had met me before, for my +voice was familiar." +</p> + +<p> +I could not tell him of our meeting in Boston, but I +saw no harm in reminding him of the night, when for a +few hours I was his traveling-companion, and so to his +last remark, I answered, "We have met before, in the +cars between Attica and Albany." +</p> + +<p> +In some surprise he looked earnestly at me a moment, +and then said, "Is it possible? Why have you never +mentioned it before?" +</p> + +<p> +"Because, sir," I replied, "I did not suppose you would +remember me." +</p> + +<p> +He appeared thoughtful for a time, and then again, +looking closely at me, said, "I did not, I believe, get a +glimpse of your features then, and still it seems as if I +had seen them before—or something like them. At all +events, I sometimes dream of a childish face, which must +resemble you as you were a few years ago." +</p> + +<p> +Once I half determined to remind him of the little girl +who fainted at the theater; but ere I did so, he continued. +"When I met you in the cars, if I mistake not, you +spoke of Miss Montrose. Did you ever see her? but of +course not," he added, ere I had time to reply. I cannot +tell why I shrank from acknowledging my slight acquaintance +with Ada, but I did, and for a moment I said nothing; +then thinking it would be wrong to give him a false +impression, I said, "I can hardly say that I am acquainted +with Miss Montrose; but I have met her several times at +my uncle's in Boston, where I spent the winter, four years +ago." +</p> + +<p> +Again he bent forward as if to scan my face, while he +replied, "Indeed! Were you in Boston then? It is +strange Ada never spoke of you, or you of her before. +Was there a misunderstanding between you?" +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, no," I answered quickly; "she was a fashionable +young lady, and I a mere schoolgirl; so, of course, we +knew but little of each other." +</p> + +<p> +"What was your uncle's name?" he inquired; and I +answered "Lee," noticing the while, how the shadow +which had settled upon his face at the mention of Boston, +passed gradually away. +</p> + +<p> +For a moment he was silent, and then rather abruptly, +he asked, "Did you like her?" +</p> + +<p> +I remembered the time when Dr. Clayton had asked me +a similar question concerning Dell Thompson, and now, +as then, I answered evasively, that "I hardly knew +her—she was very beautiful and accomplished." +</p> + +<p> +Here he interrupted me by saying, "I did not ask if +you thought her <i>beautiful</i>. I asked if you liked her." +</p> + +<p> +I felt a little annoyed, for I thought he had no right +thus to question me, and forgetting that she was to be +his wife, I replied, "<i>No, sir, I did not like her</i>. Neither +do I think she liked me, or my sister who was with me; +and this is one reason why I wish to leave before her +return." +</p> + +<p> +I supposed he would be offended at hearing me speak +thus of her, but he was not; he merely smiled as he +answered, "Ada has many faults, I know, but I do not +believe your situation will be less pleasant on account of +her presence. If it is, just state the case to me. I am +competent to manage it, I believe; besides that, it is +uncertain how long she will remain at Cedar Grove." +</p> + +<p> +He commenced plucking at the green vine-leaves which +grew above my head, while I turned my face away to hide +my emotions; for of course, when Ada left Cedar Grove, +it would be as his bride, I thought, and was surprised when +he continued, "The cousin with whom she is traveling in +Europe, has won from her a half promise that she will +spend next winter with her in New Orleans, and if so she +will leave in October; so you see, she can't annoy you +long; and now you must promise me not to leave us unless +she prove perfectly disagreeable." +</p> + +<p> +There is not, I believe, the least coquetry in my nature, +and I replied frankly that I would stay. +</p> + +<p> +"You have made me very happy, Miss Lee," said he, +rising up and laying his hand upon my head, just as a +<i>father</i> might caress his child, for he was thirty-one and +I was eighteen! +</p> + +<p> +That night I pondered long upon what he had said, +recalling every word and look, and at last, when a ray +of light faintly glimmered upon my <i>befogged intellect</i>, I +hid my face in the pillow, lest the moonlight, which shone +around me, should read thereon the secret thought which +I scarcely dared to harbor for a moment. Could it be +possible that <i>he</i> loved me, and but that for my unaccountably +stupid blunder in thrusting first Jessie and then +Halbert in his face, he would have told me so! But +no—it was impossible. He was probably engaged to Ada. +<i>She</i> was beautiful and rich—<i>I</i> was homely and poor. It +could not be. And then, my reader, did I first awake to +the consciousness of how much I loved him; and how, +when he was wedded to another, the world would be to +me naught but a dreary blank. Anon, I remembered my +former affection for Dr. Clayton, and then I grew calm. +I had outgrown that, I said, and in all probability I should +outlive this, my second heart-trouble. So, falling back +upon the "Lee Seminary" as something which was to +comfort me in my lone pilgrimage, I fell asleep and +dreamed that Mr. Delafield's children, amounting in all +to a <i>dozen</i>, were every one placed under my special charge! +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap22"></a></p> + +<h2> +CHAPTER XXII. +<br><br> +ADA. +</h2> + +<p> +She was now daily expected, the vessel in which she +had sailed having landed at New York, and numerous +preparations in honor of her arrival were in progress at +Cedar Grove, where she was evidently regarded as a +person of consequence. The best chamber in the house was +appropriated for her use; Mr. Delafield himself taking +much interest in the arrangement of its furniture, and +bringing over each morning fresh bouquets of flowers, +which, in costly vases, adorned the apartment. Every one +seemed anxious and expectant, save Jessie and Halbert, +the former of whom did not wish her to come, as she took +up so much of "Uncle Dick's" time, while the latter +openly avowed his dislike, saying, he wished she'd stay in +Europe always. +</p> + +<p> +As for myself, though there was no particular reason +why I should do so, I dreaded her arrival, and when at +last, word come to the schoolroom that she was in the +parlor, and the children must come down to see her, I stole +out into the garden, in order that I might put off the +interview with her as long as possible. I knew I must meet +her at the supper-table, and so after a time I went up to +my room to dress, donning a plain white muslin, which I +had often been told became me better than aught else I +could wear. Before my toilet was finished, little Jessie +came in and insisted upon twining among my curls a few +simple buds, which, she said, looked "mighty nice," +adding, as she stepped back a pace or two to witness the +effect, "I think you are a heap prettier than Ada; but +Uncle Dick don't, 'cause I asked him, and he said 'Of +course Ad was the handsomest.' Hal says how he's her +beau, and I reckon he is, for he kissed her like fury!" +</p> + +<p> +"He kisses everybody, don't he?" I asked; and she +replied,— +</p> + +<p> +"Mighty nigh everybody but <i>you</i>. I never seen him +kiss <i>you</i>, and when I asked him why, he said you wouldn't +let him—won't you?" +</p> + +<p> +"It wouldn't be <i>proper</i>," I said, smiling down upon the +little fairy, who, poised on one foot, was whirling in circles, +and then looking up into my face, with her soft dreamy eyes. +</p> + +<p> +At that moment the supper bell rang, and bounding +away, she left me alone. For full five minutes I waited, +trying to summon sufficient courage to go down, and at +last chiding myself for my weakness, I started for the +dining-room. My footsteps were light, as they evidently +were not aware of my approach, for they were talking of +me, and as I reached the door, I heard Jessie, who was +giving Ada a description of her teacher, say, "Why she's +the properest person in the world, for she won't even let +Uncle Dick kiss her." +</p> + +<p> +"Somewhat different from Miss Rawson," said Ada, +joining in the general laugh; at the same time lifting her +large, languid eyes, she saw me, and started slightly, I +fancied, as she recognized me. +</p> + +<p> +She had changed since I saw her last, and her face now +wore a weary, jaded look, while the dark circle beneath +her eyelids told of late hours and heated rooms. +</p> + +<p> +"Miss Lee—Miss Montrose," said Mrs. Lansing, and the +proud Ada bowed haughtily to the humble governess, who +with heightened color took her accustomed seat at the table. +</p> + +<p> +"You have seen each other before, I believe," said +Mr. Delafield, looking curiously at both of us, while +Mrs. Lansing, in much surprise, exclaimed, "Seen each other! +Where, pray?" +</p> + +<p> +I waited for Ada to answer, and after staring at me a +moment, she replied, quite indifferently, "Miss Lee's face +does seem familiar, and if I mistake not, I met her <i>once +or twice</i> in Boston"—and this was all she said, if I except +a glance, half entreating, half threatening, which she +threw at me from beneath her long, drooping eyelashes. +This glance I did not then understand, but I now know it +to have been prompted by a dread lest I should tell of her +engagement with Herbert Langley, and thus betray her to +Mr. Delafield, to whom, it seems, she had positively +denied the whole, solemnly assuring him that there had +never been between them anything more serious than a +mere friendly acquaintance. When, therefore, she saw +me, her fears were awakened, and knowing that I had her +secret in my possession, she looked upon me with suspicion +and dislike, while I, wholly unconscious of her feelings, +had not the least intention of ever speaking of the past, +unless circumstances should render it necessary. But of +this she was not aware, and that night, in the privacy of +her room, she communed with herself as to the best means +of counteracting anything which I might say concerning +her conduct in Boston, deciding at last that the surest +way of accomplishing her object was to brand me as a +person whose word could not be trusted! And this she +deemed an easy task, inasmuch as no one there had ever +seen or heard of me before. Strange, too, as it may seem, +there was mingled with her distrust of me a slight shade +of jealousy lest Mr. Delafield should in any way notice +me. True, I was a poor obscure girl, earning my daily +bread, and on no point could I compete with her save one, +and that was age, I being, as she well knew, eight or nine +years her junior. To be old and unmarried was with her +almost a crime, and as year after year passed on, leaving +her still Ada Montrose, her horror of single blessedness +increased, while at the same time she seemed to look upon +those much younger than herself as almost her enemies, +especially if they came between her and Mr. Delafield, who, +as the world goes, was at the age of thirty-one more likely to +choose a girl of eighteen than one of twenty-seven. This, +then, was my fault. I was young and had also in my +possession a secret which she did not wish to have +divulged, for well she knew that one as upright and +honorable as Mr. Delafield would despise a woman who could +stoop to a falsehood as she had done. +</p> + +<p> +"No, it shall not be!" said she, as she sat alone in her +room with her face resting upon her hands; "it shall not +be! I will thwart her and she shall never triumph over +me, as did her pale-faced sister, but for whom I might +now have borne the title of Mrs. instead of trembling lest +some one should ask how old I am!" And the proud +belle felt a pang of envy towards my poor widowed sister +whose heart was buried in the grave of her unfortunate +husband. +</p> + +<p> +Not that she (Ada) had ever cared particularly for +Herbert Langley, but women of the world sometimes bestow +their hand where the heart cannot be given, and thus +might she have done had not circumstances prevented, for +she had then no hope of ever winning her guardian. +</p> + +<p> +Here, ere we proceed farther, it may be well to relate +briefly her past history, going back to the time when on +his death-bed her father had not only given her to the +charge of Mr. Delafield, but had also made a request that, +if it were consistent with his feelings, Richard would one +day make her his wife. As we have said elsewhere, +Mr. Delafield was a great admirer of beauty, and when he +looked upon the exceedingly lovely face of the youthful, +Ada, and thought of her as a lonely orphan, his heart was +touched, and he found no difficulty in promising to +protect her, and also to make her his wife, if, upon a more +intimate acquaintance, he found her all he could wish her +to be. That he did not find her thus was proved by the +fact that nearly ten years had elapsed since her father's +death, and she was Ada Montrose still, while he, as he +grew older, seemed less likely to find any one who fully +came up to his standard of excellence; beauty, in reality, +now being of minor importance, notwithstanding his +sister's assertion that he would never marry one who had +not a pretty face. +</p> + +<p> +Upon this point, however, Ada had some doubts; for +if beauty were what he desired, she still possessed it to an +uncommon degree, and it did not seem to move him in +the least. Rumor, indeed, said they were on the eve of +marriage, but she knew better, for never yet had he really +told her in earnest that he loved her. It is true that +years before, when she first came a weeping orphan to +Cedar Grove, he had devoted himself to her entirely, +feeling, perhaps, a little proud of his ward, to whom he +sometimes talked of love, or hinted vaguely of the time when +she would be his bride, as they wandered together beneath +the whispering pines, which grew around his home, and +once, when she was in Boston, he had actually made up +his mind to offer himself immediately and take her to +Sunny Bank as its mistress. To this resolution he was +urged by her cousin, a strong-minded woman, who, in +visiting at Cedar Grove, had labored to impress upon him +the sense of the duty he owed not only to her father but +to Ada herself, who was represented as loving him +devotedly, and who was said to have made a vow never to +marry unless it were her guardian. Very artfully, too, did +Mrs. Johnson insinuate that her illness, of which they had +heard, had its origin in "hope deferred which maketh +the heart sick." +</p> + +<p> +The knowledge that a beautiful girl loves you—nay, is +dying for you, is sufficient, I suppose, to touch the +feelings of men less susceptible to female charms than +Richard Delafield, and acting upon the impulse of the moment, +he started off without, however, leaving any word as to his +destination. Arrived in Boston, he went to the Revere +House, where, as we know, he casually heard of Ada's +engagement with Herbert Langley. To say he was not +disappointed would hardly be just, for his self-pride was +touched in knowing that Ada had given her affections +to another, and that other not a very worthy object, if the +word of his gossiping informer was to be trusted. Too +much displeased even to see her, he had left the city +immediately, declaring that he would never again think of +marriage with any one. +</p> + +<p> +As the reader will remember, Ada heard of him through +one of her acquaintance, and from something her cousin +had written, she half guessed the nature of his visit. +Accordingly on her return to Georgia she several times in +his presence laughingly referred to the gossiping story, +which, she said, some of the Bostonians got up concerning +her and a <i>millionaire</i>, positively denying it, and wishing +people would let her alone! But all this was to no +purpose. Mr. Delafield's impulse had subsided, and though +his manner towards her was always kind, affectionate, and +brotherly, he never spoke to her of love or marriage, +except sometimes to ask her teasingly "if they were not +both of them almost old enough to get married." +</p> + +<p> +Still she did not despair, for of his own accord he had +accompanied her and her cousin to Europe, whither he +had always intended to go, and though he had left them +some months before, Mrs. Johnson was willing to leave +Paris, where Ada's beauty attracted much attention from +the polite Frenchmen, she would not believe he was at all +weary of <i>her</i>, but rather, as he had said, that his <i>business</i> +required his immediate return to America. +</p> + +<p> +Latterly Mrs. Lansing had in a measure espoused her +cause, and knowing, as she did, of the recent repairs at +Sunny Bank, said by Richard to be for the benefit of his +bride, she began again to entertain sanguine hopes of +eventually becoming Mrs. Delafield, provided the governess did +not, by her foolish tattling, mar her prospects. +</p> + +<p> +Such, then, was the state of affairs when I was the burden +of Ada's thoughts, as she sat alone in her room on the +first night after her return home. For a time she mused +with her face in her hands, then lifting up her head and +throwing back the silken tresses, which fell over her brow, +she gazed long and earnestly at herself in the opposite mirror. +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, I am fading," she said at last, "and each year +my chance for winning him grows less, and if this <i>Lee girl</i> +should tell, it would take from me every shadow of hope—but +it shall not be. I can prevent her foolish tattling from +doing me harm, and I will." +</p> + +<p> +Then the better nature of Ada Montrose whispered to +her of the great wrong she was meditating against a poor, +defenseless girl, who as yet had never injured her, and for +a moment she wavered. +</p> + +<p> +"If I only knew she would never tell," said she; "but +she <i>will</i>, accidentally if not intentionally. Low-bred +people like her are always bold, and as she becomes better +acquainted with me, she may possibly say something to me +about Herbert in the presence of Mr. Delafield, who will +question her, perhaps, and thus learn the whole. So I'll +be prepared. She's nothing but a poor governess, and <i>my</i> +word will be preferred to hers, provided I first give her +the character of a deceiver." +</p> + +<p> +On awaking next morning her resolution was partially +shaken, and might, perhaps, have been given up entirely, +if, in looking from her window, she had not seen a sight +which awoke within her the demon <i>jealousy</i>, by whose aid +she could do almost anything. The <i>governess</i> had arisen +early, as was her usual custom, and gone forth into the +garden, where she came unexpectedly upon Mr. Delafield, +who, after expressing his pleasure at meeting her, very +quietly drew her arm within his own, and then walked +with her several times through the garden, casting often +admiring glances towards the drooping figure at his side, +who, trembling lest the Argus eyes of Mrs. Lansing were +upon her would fain have been left alone. All this Ada +saw, and as she thought how different was his manner +towards Rose from what it had ever been towards her, a +sudden light flashed upon her. She had not lived +twenty-seven years for nothing, and like Dickens' woman with +the "mortified bonnet," she knew the signs, and with a +sinking heart, she exclaimed, "Is it possible that he loves +her?" +</p> + +<p> +The thought was maddening, and now strengthened +tenfold in her purpose of working the young girl evil, she +went forth into the garden to meet them, nodding coldly +to Rosa, and bestowing her sweetest smile upon her +guardian, who wound his arm around her waist and playfully +kissed her forehead—a liberty he would not dare to have +taken with Rose, who, thinking that of course she was not +wanted, made an effort to withdraw her hand. But +Mr. Delafield's arm was strong, and he pressed it closely to +his side, at the same time giving her a look which bade her +stay, notwithstanding that Ada two or three times hinted +to her the propriety of going. +</p> + +<p> +"Why don't you ask Miss Lee about your Boston +friends?" said Mr. Delafield, when they had taken a few +turns in silence. +</p> + +<p> +Ada tossed her head scornfully, and replied, "I don't +think I had any acquaintances in common with <i>Miss +Lee</i>, unless, indeed, it were her <i>old aunty</i>;" and with +a little hateful laugh she leaned across Mr. Delafield, +and asked, "How is she? Richard, you would like to +know." +</p> + +<p> +I was provoked at her manner, but I answered civilly +that my aunt was well, adding, as one would naturally do, +"Herbert Langley, I suppose you know, is dead." +</p> + +<p> +The news was unexpected, and coming as it did, it produced +upon her a singular effect, blanching her cheek to a +marble whiteness, while her lips quivered spasmodically. +Mr. Delafield was startled, and stopping short, demanded +of her what was the matter. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, nothing much," she answered, recovering her +composure, and pressing her hand upon her side, "nothing +but an ugly pain, which is gone now. I have felt it often +lately," and her face looked as unruffled and innocent as +if she really thought it was the truth she had uttered. +</p> + +<p> +<i>I</i> knew she told a falsehood, but Mr. Delafield did not, +and leading her to the summer-house, which was near, +bade her sit down, while he made minute inquiries +concerning the pain, asking how long since she first felt it, +and saying he would speak to Dr. Matson the first time he +came to Cedar Grove, adding that a <i>blister</i>, he presumed, +would help it! +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, mercy!" she exclaimed, again growing pale. +"You make too serious a matter of it." +</p> + +<p> +But he did not think so—he was very tender of her, as +a brother would be of his orphaned sister; and knowing +that her mother had died of consumption, he watched +narrowly for the first indications of that disease in her. +Just then little Jessie came bounding down the walk, +saying that "breakfast was ready," and leading her by the +hand, I returned to the house, followed by Mr. Delafield +and Ada, the latter of whom made some remark concerning +my <i>gait</i>, which she pronounced "wholly <i>Yankee</i> and +<i>countrified</i>." +</p> + +<p> +"And graceful," rejoined Mr. Delafield, at the same time +telling her he did not like to hear one female speak +disparagingly of another. +</p> + +<p> +Ada bit her lip with vexation, and when she took her +seat at the table, she was evidently not in the best of +humors. At Mrs. Lansing's invitation her brother remained +to breakfast, and I could not perceive that he was any +more polite to the beautiful lady in elegant French muslin +on his right, than he was to the plain-looking girl in a +shilling calico on his left. Indeed, if there was a difference, +it was in favor of the latter, with whom he conversed +the most, addressing her as if she had at least <i>common +sense</i>, while towards Ada he always assumed the trifling, +bantering manner which he seemed to think was suited to +her capacity. +</p> + +<p> +Breakfast being over, I started for my room, accidentally +dropping upon the stairs a handkerchief, which had been +given me by Anna, and which had her name "Anna Lee" +marked in the corner. In honor of Ada's return, there +was no school that day, and as the morning advanced and +the heat in my chamber grew oppressive, I went with my +book to the sitting-room, and took a seat by an open +window, where I soon became so absorbed in reading as not +to observe Mrs. Lansing and Ada, who came out upon the +piazza and sat down quite near me, but still in such a +position that neither of us could see the other. After a time +they were joined by Mr. Delafield, and then for a moment +I thought of stealing quietly away, but thinking my +remaining there could do no harm, I resumed my book and +forgot my neighbors entirely, until my attention was roused +by the sound of my own name. +</p> + +<p> +It was Mrs. Lansing who spoke, and she asked, "What +kind of folks are those relatives of Miss Lee?" +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, about <i>so so</i>," answered Ada, and Mrs. Lansing +continued, "And she was then at school? I believe." +</p> + +<p> +"<i>At school!</i>" repeated Ada, apparently in much surprise, +"Mercy, no! Why, she was a grown-up woman, as much +as twenty-two or twenty-three years old." +</p> + +<p> +"There, I thought so," answered Mrs. Lansing, who +the reader will remember had, at my first introduction, +taken me to be twenty-five. "I thought she must be more +than eighteen, didn't you, Richard?" +</p> + +<p> +"<i>Eighteen!</i>" repeated Ada. "It isn't possible she +calls herself eighteen. She dare not do it in my presence. +Why, she had been a teacher, I don't know how long, +and, besides that, 'twas said that she had once been +engaged to a Dr. Clayton, who, for some reason, jilted her, +and was then a married man as much as thirty years old. +<i>Eighteen</i>, indeed. I'd like to hear her say so." +</p> + +<p> +I was confounded, but supposing she had mistaken me +for Anna, my first impulse was to go out and tell her so, +but fearing lest she should think I had intentionally +listened, my second thought was to go away where I could +hear nothing further, and then, when Mrs. Lansing +questioned me, as I felt sure she would, I fancied it would be +an easy matter to exonerate myself from the falsehood Ada +had put upon me. I had reached the hall, and was half-way +up the stairs, when Mr. Delafield, who had arisen and +was walking back and forth on the piazza, espied me, and +called me back. +</p> + +<p> +There was a troubled look on hie face, and fixing his +piercing black eyes upon me as if he would read my +inmost thoughts, he said with something of bitterness in the +tones of his voice, "I <i>did</i> think I had found <i>one</i> female +who, on all occasions, spoke the truth; but if what Ada +has said is true, I am mistaken; though why <i>you</i> (and his +hand involuntarily clutched my arm) or any other woman +should stoop to a falsehood, or seek to deny her age, be +she a hundred or less, is a secret which Heaven knows, +perhaps, but I do not." +</p> + +<p> +I felt my face flush with indignation, and turning +towards Ada, who, not having expected a scene like this, +was very pale, I said, "It is not necessary, Miss Montrose, +for you to repeat what you have asserted concerning me, +for I accidentally overheard it, and I thank Mr. Delafield +for giving me an opportunity to exonerate myself from the +charge you are pleased to bring against me." +</p> + +<p> +"Been listening," muttered Mrs. Lansing. +</p> + +<p> +"Silence, Angeline. Go on, Rose," interrupted +Mr. Delafield, in a voice which we both obeyed, she resuming +her needlework, while I continued, "I had taken my seat +by the open window ere you and Miss Montrose came out +here, and not thinking it necessary to leave, I remained, +without, however, hearing a word of your conversation +until I caught the sound of my name. Then, indeed, my +senses were sharpened, and I heard Miss Montrose's +statement, which I am sure she would never have made were +she not laboring under a mistake." +</p> + +<p> +Here Ada, who was not in the least prepared for the +occasion, began to stammer out something about "letting +the matter drop—she did not wish to harm me, and had +said what she did inadvertently, without ever dreaming of +making trouble. She didn't see why Richard wished to +make it such a serious matter, for she was sure <i>she</i> didn't +care whether I were <i>forty</i> or <i>eighteen</i>." +</p> + +<p> +"But <i>I</i> care," he said, grasping my arm still tighter, "<i>I</i> +care to have justice done. I have supposed Miss Lee to be +frank, ingenuous and truthful, and if what you assert is +true, she is the reverse, and should suffer accordingly, +while on the contrary if she be innocent, she shall have an +opportunity of proving herself so." +</p> + +<p> +By this time Ada had collected her scattered senses, and +resolving to brave the storm she had raised, replied, +"Certainly, Miss Lee has a right to clear herself if she can, and +prove that she <i>is</i> really <i>Rose</i> instead of <i>Anna</i> Lee." +</p> + +<p> +"<i>Rose</i> instead of <i>Anna</i>! What do you mean?" thundered +Mr. Delafield, while <i>I</i> was too much astonished to +speak. +</p> + +<p> +Ada was not very <i>deep</i>, and in all her plotting she had +never thought how easy it would be for me to prove the +falsity of her assertion by writing home; so with the +utmost coolness she replied, "I mean this:—there were two +<i>Lee</i> girls living at the house of their uncle where I +occasionally visited: one was <i>Anna</i>, a young lady of +twenty-two or twenty-three, the other was <i>Rose</i>, a schoolgirl of +fourteen or fifteen. The oldest of these two I have every +reason to believe stands before us—at least <i>this</i>, which I +found upon the stairs, would indicate as much," and she +held to view the handkerchief which I had dropped and +had not missed. +</p> + +<p> +Glancing at the name, Mrs. Lansing said, "I have +observed a similar mark upon several of her garments, and +rather wondered at it." +</p> + +<p> +This was true, for Anna had dealt generously with me, +giving me many of her clothes, some of which bore her +full name, while others had merely the initials. I was +about to tell of this, when Mr. Delafield prevented me by +asking if I could prove that I was what I represented +myself to be, and that I was a mere schoolgirl when I saw +Miss Montrose in Boston. +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, sir, I can," I answered firmly; "by writing +home, I can prove it, if in no other way. But Miss +Montrose knows better than to confound me with <i>Anna</i>, whom +she surely has reason for remembering." +</p> + +<p> +Fearful lest her darling secret was about to be divulged, +Ada roused up and in a tone of angry defiance, answered, +"Yes, I have reason for remembering you, for you did +me good service by taking off my hands a worthless, +drunken fellow, about whom the Bostonians were annoying +me. I thank you for it, Miss Lee, and only wonder +how you could suppose I would forget you. I recognized +you the moment we met at the table, but I did not then +dream of your calling yourself <i>eighteen</i> when you are +certainly <i>twenty-six</i>!" +</p> + +<p> +I was confounded and remained speechless, while with +renewed strength my accuser continued, "Perhaps you +will deny having been a teacher at that time, when +according to your statement you were only fourteen." +</p> + +<p> +"No," I answered, "I do not deny that; I <i>had</i> taught, +but I was only <i>thirteen</i> when I did so, as any one at home +will testify." +</p> + +<p> +"Thirteen! how improbable!" exclaimed Mrs. Lansing, +while Ada continued, "And what of your engagement +with Dr. Clayton. I heard it from the lips of your aunt; +but perhaps she told me a falsehood?" and she looked +maliciously at me, while with a stamp of his foot +Mr. Delafield said sternly, "Ada, you have no right to +question her of that." +</p> + +<p> +"But I am glad she did," I said, "for as I live, I have +never been engaged to any man." +</p> + +<p> +"Nor in love with one either? Will you say you were +never in love with Dr. Clayton?" persisted Ada. +</p> + +<p> +It was a cruel question, but I could not deny it, and I +remained silent, while I cowered beneath the burning gaze +of Mr. Delafield, who still held me fast, but who now +loosened his hold, and slightly pushing me from him, +leaned against the pillar, with folded arms, and dark, +lowering brow, while Mrs. Lansing and Ada exchanged +glances of triumph. They had by my silence gained a +partial advantage over me, but as long as I felt the clasp +of Mr. Delafield's hand, I was strong to defy them. Now, +however, that had failed me, and girllike I began to cry, +telling them "they could easily test the whole matter by +writing either to Boston or Meadow Brook." +</p> + +<p> +This alternative had not occurred to Ada before, but +now she readily saw how easily I could prove my innocence, +and as she met Mr. Delafield's inquiring glance, she turned +very pale and laid her hand upon her side as if the pain +had returned. +</p> + +<p> +"Rose," said Mr. Delafield, "you would hardly wish +for me to write to Meadow Brook were you guilty, and as +you seem willing that we should do so, I am inclined to +hope that Ada may be mistaken. Come, stand by me (and +reaching out his hand he drew me to his side) and tell me all +the particulars of your acquaintance with Miss Montrose, +and also about that sister with whom you are confounded, +and you (turning to the other ladies) are not to speak, +until she is through, when Ada can make any correction +or explanation necessary." +</p> + +<p> +It was an act of justice which I owed to myself, I knew, +and wiping my eyes, I was about to commence, when Ada, +rising up, said mockingly, "With the Honorable Judge's +permission I will leave, as I do not wish to hear the +falsehoods which I am sure will be uttered." +</p> + +<p> +Again Mr. Delafield's long arm was extended, and catching +Ada, as she was passing, he drew her to his side, where +he held her firmly, saying, "It looks suspicious, Ada, +that you are not willing to hear Miss Lee's defense. You +have, either by mistake or design (the former, I hope), +preferred against her serious charges, and you must listen +to her explanation. Commence," he added, looking down +upon me, and in a firm, unfaltering manner I told both +my story and that of Anna, who, I said, had eloped with +Herbert Langley and was now a broken-hearted widow, +living with his mother in Boston. +</p> + +<p> +At this part of my narrative Ada's hand was pressed +convulsively on her side, while with parted lips and pale cheeks +she leaned forward, looking at me anxiously; but when +she saw that I did not speak of her ever having been +engaged to Herbert, the color came back to her face, and +with a sigh of relief she listened more composedly, +nodding assent when I referred her to our meeting at the dépôt +at Canandaigua, and faintly admitting that "she might +have been mistaken. I looked so much like Anna that +'twas not impossible." +</p> + +<p> +This I knew was false, but I did not contradict her, and +proceeded with my story, until suddenly recollecting the +incident at the theater, I turned to Mr. Delafield and +asked "if he remembered it?" +</p> + +<p> +He thought a moment, and then the arm, which had +gradually been winding itself about my waist, clasped me +to his side, while he exclaimed, "Remember it? Perfectly, +and <i>you</i> are that little girl. They called you Rose;—and +this is why your face has puzzled me so much. I see it +all now. You <i>are</i> innocent, thank Heaven," and the hand, +which, heretofore, had held Ada fast, now rested caressingly +upon my head and parted back my curls, as he said, +more to himself than to me, "and you have remembered +me all this time." Then, turning towards Ada, he said +sternly, "We will hear you now." +</p> + +<p> +Ada was caught in her own snare. She had thought to +prevent me from doing her injury by branding me as a <i>liar</i>, +and now that I was proved innocent, it filled her with +confusion, and she remained silent until Mrs. Lansing came +to her aid by saying, "I do not think Ada meant to do +wrong; she probably mistook Rose for her sister, hence +the blunder." +</p> + +<p> +This gave Ada courage, and crossing over to me, she +took my hand, begging my forgiveness and saying "she <i>had</i> +been mistaken—she certainly did not mean to do me so +great a wrong, and she hoped I would forget it and try to +look upon her as my friend, for such she would henceforth +be." +</p> + +<p> +I was not quite verdant enough to credit <i>all</i> that Ada +said; but I replied I was willing to forgive her, and when +she asked permission to <i>kiss</i> me, so that the reconciliation +might be perfect, I offered no resistance, though I did not +return the compliment, for which I think Mr. Delafield +felt gratified—at least I read as much in his face. During +the progress of my story Ada had alternately turned red +and white, particularly at the points where I touched upon +Herbert. This did not escape the observation of Mr. Delafield, +and suspecting more than Ada thought he did, he +half seriously, half playfully asked her "why she had +evinced so much feeling whenever Mr. Langley's name was +mentioned." +</p> + +<p> +Instantly the color left her face, which wore a livid hue, +and her hand went up to her side as if the cause of her +agitation were there, while with a half stifled moan, she +said, "Oh, oh!—the pain!" +</p> + +<p> +Of course Mrs. Lansing asked what she meant, and Ada, +in answering her, managed to dwell so long upon "the +horrid pain, which she feared would become chronic," that +Mr. Delafield could not reasonably expect an answer to +his question. Still, I think, he was not satisfied, and when +I saw the mischievous look in his eye, as he told her "she +must <i>certainly</i> be <i>blistered</i>," I fancied that he, too, +understood her as I did. +</p> + +<p> +That afternoon we were again assembled upon the piazza, +Mrs. Lansing, Ada, and myself, the former nodding in her +large willow chair, while the latter sat upon a little stool +at my feet, and with her elbow upon my lap was looking +up into my face with the childish simplicity she knew so +well how to assume. She was just asking me to assure her +again of my forgiveness when Mr. Delafield joined us, and +coming up behind me leaned over my chair, while he +handed to Ada a little oblong package, saying, "I was in +the village just after dinner, and seeing the Dr. I asked +him about <i>your pain</i>. As I expected, he prescribed a <i>blister</i>, +and at my request he prepared one, which you are to apply +at night when you go to bed!" +</p> + +<p> +I could not see him, but I absolutely pitied poor Ada, +who began to realize that the way of the transgressor is +hard. The tears started to her eyes, while with a look of +dismay, she exclaimed, "Oh, Richard, how could you? I +never was blistered in my life. It will kill me. I can't do +it,"—and she cried aloud. +</p> + +<p> +Very gently, Mr. Delafield soothed her, telling her that +so far from "killing her," it would certainly "cure her," +he knew it would, and he insisted upon her trying it. At +last, as an idea, perfectly natural, under the circumstances, +dawned upon her mind, she looked up very submissively +at him and said, "To please you, I'll try it; though the +remedy, I think, is worse than the disease." +</p> + +<p> +I hardly know whether he had any faith in her words—<i>I</i> +certainly had not, and when next morning she came down +to breakfast in a loose wrapper, with a very languid look, +I could not bring myself to ask her concerning the <i>blister</i>, +which the livelong night had drawn nicely—on the back +of the <i>fireboard</i>, in her room! As I expected, Mr. Delafield +soon made his appearance, and after inquiring how his +prescription worked, and if it had pained her much, he +said, looking towards neither of us, "How would you like +to ride on horseback with me out to Mr. Parker's plantation? +I have business there, and do not wish to go alone." +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, charming!" exclaimed Ada, jumping up and +clapping her hands in a manner but little suited to a +blistered side; "that will be grand, and I can wear my new +riding-dress, which fits so nicely." +</p> + +<p> +"Why, Ada, what do you mean?" said Mr. Delafield, +with great gravity. "My invitation was intended for <i>Miss +Lee</i>. <i>You</i> can't, of course, think of riding on horseback +with a <i>blister</i>. You must have forgotten it!" and his +keen eyes rested upon her face with a deeper meaning +than she could fathom. +</p> + +<p> +She turned very red, and for an instant, I think, half +resolved to acknowledge the deception she was practising. +But Richard Delafield was one who despised a falsehood, +and she dared not confess to him her error, so she turned +away, saying with a feigned indifference which illy +accorded with the expression of her face, "Surely I forgot +all about it." +</p> + +<p> +Alone in her room, however, she shed tears of anger +and mortification as she saw us ride off together, and +thought of the happiness from which she was debarred by +a fancied blister, which had never come in contact with +her flesh. But whether it drew upon her side or the +fireboard, it in a measure wrought the desired cure, for +seldom again did Ada attempt to deceive her guardian. +Would it not be well if more of our modern young ladies +should be blistered for the same disease that afflicted Ada +Montrose? +</p> + +<p class="t3"> + ——————<br> +</p> + +<p> +It was nearly dark when we returned, and Mrs. Lansing +and Ada were in their accustomed places upon the +piazza, the latter holding an open letter which she had +that afternoon received from her cousin Mrs. Johnson, +who was spending some time in Mobile, and who wished +Ada to join her there, before going on to New Orleans. +They were evidently discussing the matter, and when we +came up, Ada handed the letter to Mr. Delafield, bidding +him read it and tell her what to do. Hastily running it +over, he said, "Go, by all means: you have never seen +Mobile, and it will be a good opportunity. +</p> + +<p> +"But I have been thinking of giving up my visit to +New Orleans," she continued in a kind of beseeching +tone; "Mrs. Lansing had rather I'd remain with her this +winter." +</p> + +<p> +It was not so dark as to prevent me from seeing the +expression of Mr. Delafield's face, and I fancied the +proposition did not altogether please him. She evidently +thought so too, for rather pettishly she added, "but if +you wish to be rid of me, of course I'll go." +</p> + +<p> +"Ada! How foolish!" he said, sternly. "I've often +heard you express a desire to spend a winter in New +Orleans, and now that an opportunity is presented, I think +you had better accept it. I shall be there a part of the +time, perhaps all," he added; and then <i>I</i> turned away +lest <i>my</i> face should betray what was passing within. +</p> + +<p> +"And will you go with me to Mobile?" Ada asked of +him, as a child would ask her father. +</p> + +<p> +"Certainly," he answered; "I do not propose letting +you go alone. But how is that side? I'd almost forgotten +to ask." +</p> + +<p> +"It has pained me a good deal," said she, "but Martha +dressed it nicely this afternoon, and it feels much better. +I'm so glad you made me apply it, now the worst is over, +for I believe it will do me good!" +</p> + +<p> +She spoke with every appearance of candor, and much +as it surprised him, Mr. Delafield was, I thought, partially, +if not wholly, convinced that what she said was true, and +that he had suspected her of more than she deserved; for +his manner towards her changed, and as if trying to make +amends, he devoted himself to her entirely for the +remainder of the evening, telling her where they would go +when they were in New Orleans, and laying many plans +for her pleasure. Once in his zeal he thoughtlessly threw +his arm around her waist, but she instantly shrank back, +saying, "don't—don't—you hurt!" +</p> + +<p> +This convinced him thoroughly, and I slept and woke +twice that night ere the sound of their voices ceased upon +the piazza, where their long interview was kept in countenance +by Mrs. Lansing, who sat up until he left, and then +patting Ada's cheek, told her she thought "her prospects +were brightening." +</p> + +<p> +I thought so, too, and there was a shadow on my heart, +when I saw how much they were together during the few +weeks which elapsed before her departure for Mobile. It +is true he was still kind to me as of old; and whenever he +found that Ada, by word or look, had slighted me, he +always managed to let her know how much he disapproved +her conduct, so that in his presence she was usually polite, +though she could not quite conceal the fact that I was to +her an object of dislike. +</p> + +<p> +It was nearly the middle of October, when Ada finally +left us for Mobile, accompanied by Mr. Delafield, who, in +bidding us good-by, said we need not be surprised if he +did not return in several weeks. I consider it to be my +misfortune that my face generally betrays all I feel, and +with his physiognomic powers he could not fail to see the +effect which his words produced upon me, for well I knew +how lonely Cedar Grove would be without him; and when +after he was gone, little Jessie climbed into my lap, and +laying her head upon my shoulder wished "Uncle Dick +never would go away," I mentally responded to the wish. +The whole household seemed more or less affected; +Mrs. Lansing was cross; Lina careless; Halbert fretful; and +Jessie unhappy—while I began to be haunted with my old +project of returning home; and I should, perhaps, have +proposed it to Mrs. Lansing, had it not been that, at the +close of the fifth day, we were greatly surprised at +Mr. Delafield's unexpected return. He didn't like Mobile, he +said, and would much rather be at home. +</p> + +<p> +Numerous were the questions asked by Mrs. Lansing +concerning Ada and the pain in her side, which last, +Mr. Delafield said, had left her entirely, owing, he believed, to +the timely application of the blister. He was deceived, I +thought, and I must confess to a slight feeling of +gratification at an occurrence which thoroughly convinced him +of his mistake. One night a few days after his return, +old Hagar, his head cook, came over to Cedar Grove, +groaning with rheumatism, which she termed "a misery +in her back." Lina, to whom her complaints were made, +listened a while, and then opening an old paper-box which +stood under the table, drew forth a <i>plaster</i>, which she said +she "had done found in Miss Ada's room, on t'other side +the fireboard, oncet when she was clarin' the fireplace." +</p> + +<p> +As Ada was gone she thought there was no harm in. +appropriating it to herself, which she accordingly did, +laying it carefully away until it should be needed. The +recital of Hagar's aches and pains reminded her of it, so +she urged it upon the old negress, assuring her it must be +good, or white folks would never use it! With many +thanks Hagar hobbled home, applied her plaster, and +went to bed! But, alas! for the expected relief, which +came only in burning sensations and stinging pains, eliciting +many a groan from the poor old lady, who heroically +bore it until morning, when she found herself unable to +perform her accustomed duties. +</p> + +<p> +For a long time Mr. Delafield waited for his breakfast, +which was at last served up by Hagar's daughter, who +gave such a deplorable account of her mother's condition +that the moment breakfast was over he went himself to the +cabin, where he found the old lady moaning over her +blistered back, which she said, "was a heap harder to bar +than the rheumatics." +</p> + +<p> +A few words explained the whole, for Hagar never concealed +aught from her master, and so she gave the history +of her <i>plaster</i>, which now lay upon the hearth in the ashes, +where she had thrown it. Quick as thought the truth +burst upon Mr. Delafield, who laughed so long and loud, +that Aunt Hagar, thinking that he was making light of +her misfortunes, began to cry, saying she "never thought +Mars'r Richard would poke fun at her misery." +</p> + +<p> +"Neither am I making fun of you," said he, adding +further, by way of atoning for his error, that for the +remainder of the week she should be freed from all household +service, and devote her whole time, if she liked, to her +aching back. +</p> + +<p> +This had the effect of restoring Aunt Hagar to good +humor, and in the midst of her thanks, Mr. Delafield +returned slowly to the house, thinking that when a habit of +deception is once firmly fixed, it requires more to cure it +than a blister applied to the fireboard! +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap23"></a></p> + +<h2> +CHAPTER XXIII. +<br><br> +DR. CLAYTON. +</h2> + +<p> +Rapidly, and to me very happily, did the winter pass +away, for it was enlivened by the presence of Mr. Delafield, +who was with us so often, that it became at last a serious +debate among the blacks as to whether Cedar Grove or +Sunny Bank were really his home. More than once, too, +was it whispered in the village, that little <i>Rosa Lee</i>, plain +and unassuming as she was, had stirred in the heart of the +"stern old bachelor" a far deeper feeling than Ada +Montrose had ever been capable of awakening. And sometimes +she, foolish child that she was, thought so too, not from +anything he said, neither from anything which he did; +indeed, it would have been hard for her to tell why her +heart sometimes beat so fast when he was near, for +though his manner was always kind and considerate, he +never spoke to her of love—never appeared as he had once +done in the summer-house, when she gave him such silly +answers! +</p> + +<p> +And still, occasionally, Rosa dared to hope that her love +was returned, else why did each day find him at her side +where he lingered so long, saying to her but little, but +watching her movements, and listening to her words, as he +would not have done had she been to him an object of +indifference. Not naturally quick to read human nature, +Mrs. Lansing was wholly deceived by her brother's cold +exterior, and never dreaming how in secret he worshiped +the humble girl she called her governess, she left them +much together. Why then, did he never speak to her of +the passion which had become a part of his being? Simply +because he, too, was deceived. Once, indeed, he had essayed +to tell her of his love, and dreading lest his affection +should not be returned, he was the more ready to construe +her evasive replies into a belief that it was indeed as he +feared. Then, too, her shy, reserved manner, while it +made him prize her all the more, disheartened him; for +not thus was he accustomed to being treated, and with +that jealousy which seems to be the twin sister of love, he +ofttimes thought he read aversion and distrust, when there +was, on Rosa's part, naught save a fear lest he should +discover her secret, and despise her for it. Added to this +was the remembrance of what Ada had said concerning her +former engagement with Dr. Clayton. True, Rosa had +denied the engagement, but when charged with having +loved him she had remained silent; thus proving the story +correct. And if she loved him when a child, was it not +probable that she loved him still, married man though he was. +He had heard of such things, or, at least, he had read of +them in books, and for many days Mr. Delafield's brow +was literally tied up in knots, while he tried to solve the +question as to "whether, having loved once and been +deceived, Rosa Lee could love again." +</p> + +<p> +At last he decided that possibly she could, and his mind +was fully made up to talk with her upon the subject, when +an unexpected arrival blasted his hopes at once, and +darkened the glimmering sunlight which was dawning upon his +horizon. It was a dark, rainy night, toward the last of +April, that I sat with the family in the pleasant little +sitting-room. As usual, Mr. Delafield was with us, and this +evening he was reading aloud from Longfellow's wonderful +poem. He was just in the midst of Hiawatha's wooing, +and I fancied there was in the tones of his voice a softer +cadence as he read, +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + "Hand in hand they went together,<br> + Through the woodland and the meadow,<br> + Left the old man standing lonely<br> + At the doorway of his wigwam,<br> + Heard the falls of Minnehaha<br> + Calling to them from the distance,<br> + Crying to them from afar off,<br> + Fare thee well, oh, Laughing Water."<br> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p> +Scarcely had the last words left his lips when a heavy +tread upon the piazza and a loud ringing of the bell startled +us, for it was not often that we were favored with visitors +on such a night as this. Zillah, the colored girl, hastened +to the door where she found a stranger, who, stepping into +the hall, asked, "if Miss Rosa Lee lived there." +</p> + +<p> +Starting from my chair, I turned very white, for I recognized +the voice of <i>Dr. Clayton</i>, who the next moment stood +before me! I forgot the past—forgot that he had been my +lover—forgot that Richard Delafield's eyes were upon +me—forgot everything except that he had come from dear New +England—had breathed the air of my native hills—had +heard the sound of my mother's voice—and had brought +me undoubtedly tidings of that mother's welfare. Springing +forward with a cry of joy I took his extended hand, +nor shrank away when, with unwonted tenderness he +stooped to kiss my lips, low whispering as he did so, +"<i>Dear Rosa</i>." +</p> + +<p> +Then, indeed, I blushed, for I knew he had no right to +call me thus, but the next moment it was forgotten, and +with something of pride in my manner, I presented him to +Mrs. Lansing and Mr. Delafield, the latter of whom greeted +him rather coldly, and after a few words of common +courtesy, bade us good night, but not until he had learned +what, until that moment, was news to me, viz. that Dell +Clayton had been dead nearly six months! As he passed +me on his way out, he said, so low that no one else could +hear him, "Fare thee well, oh, Laughing Water," referring +to the line he had last read. There was a deep scowl upon +his dark face, and as I gazed upon him, I could not help +wondering if it were thus the old man looked, when from +his lonely wigwam door he watched the departing +footsteps of his daughter. +</p> + +<p> +"Come again to-morrow, Uncle Dick," said little Jessie, +following him into the hall; but he made her no answer, +save his accustomed good-by kiss, and I soon heard his +heavy tread as he strode down the winding walk and out +into the open field, muttering to himself, as I afterwards +learned: +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + "And she will follow where he leads her,<br> + Leaving all things for the stranger."<br> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p> +Yes, Mr. Delafield was jealous—terribly jealous of +Dr. Clayton, the nature of whose business he readily divined, +though I did not, and nothing was further from my mind +than the thought that he intended honoring me with a +chance of becoming Mrs. Clayton 2d. And yet it was +this alone which had brought him to Georgia, he taking +the precaution to send on in advance a letter, in which he +had made known his wishes, and asked for a return of the +affection which, for five long years, he said, had never +known one moment of abatement, even though another +had slept upon his bosom as his wife. But she was gone, +and in her place, he would see blooming, he said, the <i>Rose</i> +he had loved so long. Owing to some detention, this +letter had failed to reach me, hence I was wholly unprepared +for the scene which followed when, at last, we were +left alone. Well skilled in the <i>signs</i>, Mrs. Lansing had +purposely retired, not long after her brother's departure, +while I, suspecting nothing, made no objection when +Dr. Clayton took his seat upon the sofa at my side. I was +talking to him of Anna, and from speaking of her, and +poor Herbert's death, it was an easy transition to Dell, of +whom he spoke kindly, nay, even affectionately, as he +told me of her last days; how much she suffered, and how +gentle she became, never chiding him, in the least, for a +thing unskilfully done, but seeming satisfied with +everything, and loving him at last with a love which, had it +been earlier born, would have shed happiness over his +comparatively cheerless life. Then he told me of the little +child, not yet three years old, whom he had called "Rosa +Lee," and gently pushing back my curls, and gazing down +into my face, he said, "It is a fancy of mine, perhaps, but +I love to think she looks like you, who should have been +her mother." +</p> + +<p> +With all my stupidity, I understood him then, and +blushing crimson, I moved away to the end of the sofa, +while he continued, "What did you think of my letter? +You received it, I suppose?" +</p> + +<p> +I had received no letter, and so I said; whereupon he +proceeded to tell me its contents, a part of which the reader +already knows. Utterly confounded and powerless to +move, I sat motionless, while, with his arm around me, +he went over with the past, recalling to my mind, with a +vividness which made it seem real again, the time when +first he had found me weeping in the somber old schoolroom, +away to the northward; the night when, with the +soft moonbeams falling around us, we sat together beneath +the tall oak tree, while I laid before him my childish griefs; +and, lastly, the many pleasant hours we had whiled away +together, listening to the sound of the running brook, +which ran past the twining grape-vine, whose broad leaves +had rustled above our heads. +</p> + +<p> +"On these occasions, Rose," said he, "did nothing +ever tell you how much you were beloved?" +</p> + +<p> +"Yes," I answered bitterly, my woman's nature rousing +up as I remembered the times to which he referred. +"Yes, and what did it avail me, even though I was +beloved? Ambition proved the stronger attraction of +the two, and you wedded another. You, who, now that +other has gone would talk again to me of love; but Rosa +Lee is no longer a child to be deceived, and you mistake +her strangely, if you fancy you can cast her off and take +her up again at will." +</p> + +<p> +Here, overcome with emotion, I burst into tears. My +words and manner misled him, for in them he saw only +resentment for his former treatment; and this inspired +him with hope that the feeling I once cherished for him +could again be nourished into life. Very tenderly, then, +he talked to me, and, as I listened, a numbness crept over +my heart, for I knew he was in earnest now, and I felt +that it was not the Dr. Clayton of old—the fickle, selfish +man of the world—with whom I had to deal, but +Dr. Clayton purified, and made better by the trials through +which he had passed—a noble, true-hearted, and upright +man—who now laid at my feet the love which I knew had +always been mine. Very earnestly he implored forgiveness +for the wrong he once had done me, saying that for +it he had been terribly punished, inasmuch as he had +suffered far more than I. And still he breathed no word +of censure against his erring wife, who, he said, was +perhaps more sinned against than sinning, and who, when +the last great agony was upon her, had whispered in his +ear, as her white, clammy hand rested on the flowing +curls of little Rose, "Her mother, I know, will be she +whose name she bears, and I am willing it should be so." +</p> + +<p> +"And was she not right?" he continued, drawing me +closer to his side. "Will you not be the angel of my home, +the mother of my child?" +</p> + +<p> +And then again he told me how much I had been loved; +how he had striven in vain to cast me from his heart, +when it was madness and sin to keep me there; and how, +when his horizon had been darkest with want and care, +there was still in the distance a ray of sunlight, the +remembrance of me, which had kept his soul from fainting. +And now that it was right for him to speak to me of love, +would I not listen and give him an opportunity to atone +for the wrong he had once done me? He paused for my +reply. There was silence in the room, and I counted +each pulse of my beating heart as it throbbed with the +intensity of my excitement. +</p> + +<p> +"Will not my darling answer me?" he said, and I felt +his breath upon my cheek, his lips upon my brow. +</p> + +<p> +Not thus could I sit and tell him what duty bade me +say. So I moved away, and standing up before him, I +said, slowly, and distinctly, "Dr. Clayton, I loved you +once, but the time has gone by, the love has died out, and +I would not awaken it if I could." +</p> + +<p> +There was a firmness in my manner, a decision in the +tones of my voice, which startled him more than what I +said, and with a faint cry he too arose, and coming to +my side, said, "God forgive you, Rose, for the cruel +words you have uttered, but you cannot be in earnest." +</p> + +<p> +And then, with the firelight flickering over his pale +face, he plead with me "to think again, to revoke what +I had said, and not to send him away utterly hopeless and +wretched. The love I had felt for him once, though +chilled and dormant now, <i>would bloom</i> again, for <i>he</i> could +bring it back to life, and I must be his; he could not +live without me. I need not decide then, that night," +he said, "he would give me time," and again he pressed +for my answer, which was the same as before; for, much +as I pitied him, there was between as a <i>dark shadow</i>, and +the substance of that shadow bore the form and features +of <i>Richard Delafield</i>! +</p> + +<p> +Sinking into a chair, he laid his head upon the table, +while, burying my face in the cushions of the sofa, I wept +bitterly, stealing occasional glances towards the bowed form +which, in its despair, gave no sign of life. There was no +acting there, for it was the grief of a strong man which I +saw. Without, the storm had ceased; the wind had died +away, and the rain no longer beat against the casement; +but within, there raged a wilder storm of human passions, +and as it swept over me in its full force, I cried, +mentally, "Ought I thus to deal with him? I loved him +once, perhaps I could do so again. I would at least try." And, +rising up, I glided noiselessly to his side. He did +not hear me, and, for a time, I stood gazing down upon +him, while I thought of all he had suffered, and of his +love for me, which I could not doubt. The shadow no +longer stood between us; it was gone, and, strengthened +by its absence, I laid my hand upon his shoulder. He +shuddered as if it had been a serpent's touch, but when I +whispered in his ear, "Look up, I have something to tell +you," he raised his head, disclosing to my view a face over +which years seemed to have passed since last I had looked +upon it. +</p> + +<p> +"I will try," I said, "but give me one day for reflection, +and to-morrow night you shall have your answer." +</p> + +<p> +As the clouds are dispersed by the soft rays of the sun, +so the shadows passed from his brow at my words, and +clasping me in his arms he wept over me, as Heaven grant +I may never see man weep again. +</p> + +<p> +The fire on the hearth had long since gone out. The +lamp was burning dimly, and the moonbeams came faintly +in through an eastern window ere I bade him good night, +and sought the solitude of my room, where my resolution +almost instantly gave way, for the <i>shadow</i> was there, and +in its presence I felt I would rather die than wed a man +I did not love. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, for a female friend with whom to counsel in my +need," I said, as I nervously paced the room. +</p> + +<p> +I thought of Mrs. Lansing. She was a woman—she +had been kind to me of late, and after a few moments' +reflection I determined to ask her advice. This being +settled, I fell into a disturbed sleep, from which I did not +wake until the bell was ringing for breakfast. I met him +at the table, and my heart beat fast when I saw how +anxiously he scanned my haggard face. +</p> + +<p> +"You are sick this morning," he said, when at last we +were alone. +</p> + +<p> +Taking my hand he felt my quickened pulse, and +continued, "This must not be. Calm yourself down, for I +would not wish you to answer me under all this excitement." +</p> + +<p> +Soon after this he left me, going down to the hotel +where he had first stopped on his arrival at W——. As +soon as he was gone I sought an interview with Mrs. Lansing, +to whom I confided the whole story of my former +love for Dr. Clayton, and of my feelings now, asking her +to tell me as a friend what I should do. I did not dare +look her in the face while I was talking, and when I had +finished I waited with downcast eyes for her answer, which +was characteristic of a woman who had never known what +love was, save as she felt it for her children. +</p> + +<p> +"Do! Why, marry him of course. I should not hesitate +a moment, for 'tis not every girl in your circumstances +who has an offer like that. He seems to be a perfect +gentleman,—is certainly very fine looking—is refined, +polished, highly educated, and has a good profession. What +more can you desire?" +</p> + +<p> +"<i>Love</i> for him," I replied; and she continued, +"Pshaw! That will come soon enough, depend upon it. +There are many happy marriages where one of the parties +had at first no particular affection for the other, as I +myself can testify. I <i>respected</i> Mr. Lansing, when I married +him, but I did not <i>love</i> him, and our union was, I am +confident, far happier than three-fourths of those where love +is the ruling motive, for in nine cases out of ten they +grow sick of each other as faults and peculiarities are +brought to light, of whose existence they had never +dreamed. Take your own case for an example. Suppose +you had married Dr. Clayton when you fancied him so +much, you would undoubtedly have been disgusted with +him by this time, whereas, now that you know he is fallible, +you can safely link your destiny with his, feeling sure +that in good time the love you once had for him will +return." +</p> + +<p> +I knew there was some truth in this argument, but it +failed to convince me, and I remained silent until +Mrs. Lansing startled me with, "You do not of course love +another?" +</p> + +<p> +I was taken by surprise, and without a thought of the +result, I answered "I do." +</p> + +<p> +"And that other?" she continued, fixing her eyes upon +me. +</p> + +<p> +I know not what possessed me, but a power I could not +resist impelled me to answer, "Is your brother." +</p> + +<p> +She did not send me from her presence with scorn and +loathing as I thought she would. Nay, she did not even +speak, but for a time stood mute with astonishment. As +I now recall that scene, I understand her better, and I +know that the truth, just as it was, dawned upon her mind, +and suggested the falsehood which she uttered. +</p> + +<p> +Coming closely to me, she said, "I cannot see why it is +that all my governesses have fallen in love with my +brother, yet such is the case. I <i>did</i> think, Miss Lee, that +you were an exception, but I find I am mistaken, which +surprises me greatly, inasmuch as he has never paid you +the slightest attention, and even if he had, I do not +understand how you could think him in earnest. For years the +world has looked upon his union with Ada as sure, and +though for certain reasons I have sometimes opposed it, I +am anxious for it now, and it is well that I am, for I +suppose it is a settled thing." +</p> + +<p> +I held my breath for fear I should lose a single word of +what she should say next. Perhaps she was unused to +falsehoods. Be that as it may, her voice trembled slightly +and she spoke hurriedly as she said, "They are engaged, +and have been ever since she went to Mobile, and they will +probably be married next autumn; hence, you see that +the love you have presumed to feel for him would be +useless, even were you his equal." +</p> + +<p> +She started to leave me, but turned back while she said, +"I trust that what I have told you will be kept a secret, +for Richard does not wish to have the matter discussed." +</p> + +<p> +I nodded assent, and the next moment I was alone with +my sorrow, which was far easier to bear now that uncertainty +was made sure. So long as there remained a lingering +hope that my love for Mr. Delafield might possibly be +reciprocated, I shrunk in horror from marrying another. +But now that hope was swept away, for I never thought +of doubting Mrs. Lansing's word, and a kind of torpor +crept over me, suspending for a time both my judgment +and my will. +</p> + +<p> +"I will marry Dr. Clayton," I said, and with that +decision came a feeling of gratified pride as I thought I +should thus prove to Richard how little I cared for him! +</p> + +<p> +Ah, I knew not then that the heart I coveted enshrined +no image save that of "Rosa Lee," for whom Richard +Delafield would almost have lain down his life, so great +was the love he bore her. He had readily divined the +object of the stranger's visit, and the thought that it +might be successful was terrible. All the night long he, +too, had been sleepless, pacing the length and breadth of +his spacious halls and murmuring occasionally as, peering +out into the darkness, he saw the glimmering light from +the windows of Cedar Grove, "Oh, Rose, Rose, how can I +give you up!" +</p> + +<p> +Perhaps I am superstitious, but I cannot help fancying +that as often as these words rang out on the midnight air, +the <i>shadow</i> was over and around me. But alas! it faded and +I was left to do the rash act I meditated. With the +coming of morn, Mr. Delafield grew calm, for he had resolved +upon an interview with Rosa Lee, who, if it were not too +late, should know how much he loved her, and perhaps, +(his heart thrilled with joy as he thought it), perhaps she +might yet be won from that fancy of her childhood. But +first he would if possible, learn from his sister how far +matters had progressed. He had seldom imparted to her +his secrets, but he would speak to her now, for he could +not keep silent. +</p> + +<p> +She was seated at her work in her own room, when he +entered, and with a feeling of alarm at his pale, haggard +face, she started up, asking if he were ill. Motioning her +aside, he said, abruptly, "It's of no use, Angeline, to +deceive you longer. I love Rosa Lee, and if it were not for +this accursed doctor, I should tell her so at once. Do you +know aught of his intentions? Has he come to seek her +for his wife?" +</p> + +<p> +Mrs. Lansing had now a double-part to perform. The +falsehood she had told to Rosa made it necessary that she +should tell another to her brother, which she did more +readily, for her proud nature revolted at the thoughts of +receiving her governess as her sister-in-law. So, thinking +any means excusable which would prevent so disgraceful a +catastrophe, she answered with well feigned surprise, "I am +astonished at you, brother—astonished that a Delafield +should stoop so low as to think of wedding a girl like Rosa +Lee. You cannot, I think, be in earnest; but if you are, +I am rejoiced that I have it in my power to tell you there +is no hope. I have just left Miss Lee, who has made me +her confident, asking if I thought it would be contrary to +all rules of propriety for her to marry Dr. Clayton so soon +after the death of his wife. It seems he has always +preferred her, and could you have heard her tell how much +she loved him, I am sure you would have no hope of +winning her, even were she your equal." +</p> + +<p> +The wicked woman paused, trembling at her own wickedness; +while her brother, burying his face in his hands, +groaned aloud. It was an hour of bitter trial, for Rosa +Lee alone had touched his heart, and could he give her up +just as he had found out how dear she was to him? For +a time the selfish nature of the man prevailed, and then +there came a moment of calmer reflection: if Rose loved +another, would it be right for him to mar her happiness +by intruding upon her his affection? Should he not rather +rejoice in knowing that she was happy with the man she +had chosen, and if, henceforth, the world to him was dark +and cheerless, might he not occasionally gather a gleam +of comfort from knowing that no shadow was across her +pathway! Thus he reasoned, and when his sister ventured +at last to say, "You will not be foolish enough to talk with +her," he answered, "No—no—of course not;" then, with +no visible sign of the fierce storm which had swept over +him, save the extreme pallor of his face, he arose, and with +a firm tread went back to his home, unconscious of the +tear-wet eyes which followed his retreating footsteps, as +from her window Rosa Lee watched him with a despairing +heart and benumbed faculties. +</p> + +<p> +Not again that day was Cedar Grove gladdened by his +presence, and when next morning he came as was his wont, +I was the betrothed of Dr. Clayton, who, with joy beaming +in every look, sat by my side, talking to me of the +pleasure we should experience in our projected European +tour, for we were to visit the Old World, and he wished +our marriage to be consummated at once, so we could sail +the last of June. In a measure I had dealt candidly with +him, frankly acknowledging that the love I had felt for +him in childhood was gone, but saying, as was true, that +I respected him—yes, <i>liked</i> him, and if he was satisfied +with that, I would be unto him a faithful wife, hoping +that the affection of former years might ere long awake +again in my heart. And he was content to take me thus, +blessing me for the utterance of words which had made +him so happy. +</p> + +<p> +Involuntarily I shrank from him, for I knew I was +undeserving of such devotion, and my conscience smote me for +withholding from him the knowledge of my love for Richard +Delafield. But that was a secret I could not reveal, +so I kept it to myself, and with a kind of apathetic indifference +listened while he depicted in glowing colors the joyous +future which he saw before him when I should be indeed +his <i>wife</i>. He was going to New Orleans on business, which +would detain him for three or four weeks, and on his +return he asked that the ceremony might be performed, and +I go with him to Meadow Brook as his bride. +</p> + +<p> +"No, not so soon," I exclaimed. "Leave me my freedom +a little longer;" but he only smiled as he waved aside +every objection and won from me a promise that if +Mrs. Lansing were willing, we would be married there as soon +as he should return from New Orleans, whither he would +start the next night. +</p> + +<p> +Either by design or accident, Mrs. Lansing herself at +that moment entered the room, apologizing for the intrusion +by saying she wanted a book which lay upon the piano. +Having secured the volume, she was about leaving, when, +glancing at the doctor she playfully remarked upon the +happy expression of his face, saying, she should judge +his suit was progressing, and adding that he had her good +wishes for his success. Emboldened by her familiarity, +Dr. Clayton at once preferred to her his wish that we +might be made one under the shadow of her roof; we +would make no trouble, he said, as we wished for no +display, simply a quiet ceremony at which no one should be +present save herself, her children, and her <i>brother</i>! +</p> + +<p> +At the mention of <i>him</i> I started as if smitten by a heavy +blow, for I thought, "I cannot in <i>his</i> presence give +myself to another;" and I used all the arguments of which +I was mistress to induce Dr. Clayton to defer our marriage +until we reached Meadow Brook. But to this neither he +nor Mrs. Lansing would listen. Glad that I was thus out +of her way, the latter seemed unusually kind, offering to +give me a bridal party as a "testimony of her respect." Thus +was I silenced, while they arranged the matter as +they pleased, it being finally decided that the wedding +was to take place immediately after the doctor's return, +as he had first proposed. So overcome and bewildered +was I with the exciting scenes through which I had passed, +that, strange as it may seem, I slept soundly that night, +dreaming towards daybreak that I stood on the deck of a +noble vessel, gazing upon a most glorious sunset, which, +however, had less charms for me than did the man at my +side, whom I called my husband, and whom I loved again +as I had done long ago, when with my face buried in the +grass beneath the old grapevine I had wept over his +inconstancy. +</p> + +<p> +With the remembrance of that dream still haunting me, +it was quite natural that I should in the morning meet +Dr. Clayton with more cordiality of manner than I had yet +evinced towards him. Quickly perceiving the change, he +said, as he kissed my brow, "My Rose is learning to love +me, I see." +</p> + +<p> +And for a brief moment <i>I</i>, too, fancied that he was right—that +I <i>should</i> love him—nay, that I was beginning to love +him, when suddenly in the doorway appeared the form of +one, the very sight of whom curdled my blood for an instant +and then sent it bounding through my veins! It was +Mr. Delafield. He had nerved himself to see me, to stand face +to face with his rival, and bravely did he meet the trial, +bowing courteously to Dr. Clayton and smiling kindly down +upon me as he bade me good morning. I glanced at him +once and saw that his eyes were riveted upon the plain band +of gold, which encircled my fourth finger, confirming the +truth of what he had just heard from his sister. At last, as +if he would test his strength to the utmost, he took my +hand and said, as he slowly twirled the ring, which was +rather large, "And so you are going from us?" +</p> + +<p> +I could not answer, nor was it needful that I should, for +without waiting a reply he placed my hand in that of +Dr. Clayton, and continued, "As a brother commits a dear +sister to the care of another, so commit I to your care my +Northern Rose, charging you to watch tenderly over her, +for 'tis not every one who winneth such a treasure." +</p> + +<p> +This was all he said; the next moment he was gone, and +when Dr. Clayton, drawing me to his side, told me how he +would treasure up the words of <i>my friend</i>, I involuntarily +shrank away, for the <i>shadow</i> was again around me, and turn +which way I would, it whispered to me of another +love—another <i>heart</i>, which I fain would have called my own. +</p> + +<p> +That night Dr. Clayton left us, and the very morning +after his departure we were surprised by the appearance of +Ada, who came unexpectedly to us all. "She was tired of +living with that old fidgety Mrs. Johnson," she said, "and +would rather come home." Much as Mrs. Lansing liked +Ada, she would rather she had stayed away until I was +gone, for she was in constant dread lest the falsehood she +had told me concerning her brother's engagement should in +some way be betrayed. But there was no help for it, and +as one sin always calls for another, so she must now conjure +up something with which to meet the emergency. Accordingly, +Ada was told that "somehow or other I had received +the impression that she was engaged to Mr. Delafield, and +that it was as well to let me think so; for though I +probably liked Dr. Clayton well enough, she (Mrs. Lansing) +fancied that I liked her brother better, and that if I +supposed there was the slightest chance of winning him, I +would not hesitate to discard the doctor." +</p> + +<p> +Very readily Ada fell in with the views of Mrs. Lansing, +who proposed further that they should continually ring in +my ears the praises of my affianced husband, of whose +virtues Ada was supposed to have heard from Mrs. Lansing; +while at the same time, I was to be interested as much as +possible in the preparations for my wedding, which was to +be quite a grand affair, and to which many of the village +people were to be invited. And so the days wore on, +during which I could hardly be said to exist, so little did I +realize what was passing around me. I dared not think, +for if I did, the tumult of thought which crowded upon +me seemed turning my brain to fire, and when each morning +I awoke from an unrefreshing slumber, it was always with +the thought, "What is it? This load which oppresses +me so?"—then, as the stern reality came up before me, I +would bury my face in the pillow and ask that I might die, +and thus escape the living death which awaited me, and +which was now but a week or two in the distance. +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap24"></a></p> + +<h2> +CHAPTER XXIV. +<br><br> +THE CRISIS. +</h2> + +<p> +It was the night before the one appointed for the +bridal, and in the solitude of her chamber a young girl +wept in the utter hopelessness of despair. At the +morrow's early dawn he would be there to claim her as his +bride, and though he was noble and good, there was in her +heart no answering chord of love, and she knew that +without such love their union would be unholy. Earnestly, +and with many tears, had she striven to awaken again the +deep affection she had felt for him in the time gone by, +but it could not be, and shudderingly she thought of the +long, weary years when she should be an unloving wife, +bearing a crushed and aching heart, wherein was +enshrined the memory of one of whom it would soon be a +sin to think. +</p> + +<p> +On the table at her side lay her bridal dress, the gift of +Richard Delafield, who, without a shadow on his brow, or a +wavering in the tones of his voice, had asked her to accept +it as a token of the <i>esteem</i> he should ever feel for her! +Alas, poor Rose, as your tears fell like rain upon the +orange wreath which seemed to mock your woe, how little +did you dream of the anguish it cost the donor to say to you +the words he did, or that your sorrow was naught compared +to his, for you could weep, while to him this privilege was +denied, and his was the hard task of enduring in silence +the burning pain which no tear-drop came to moisten. +</p> + +<p> +Slowly the hours of night wore away, and as the moon +rose higher and higher in the heavens, her rays fell upon +the bowed form of Rosa, who, with clasped hands and +bloodless cheeks, sat just where first we saw +her—praying—weeping—thinking, and praying again, until at last +there came over her troubled spirit a calm which, ere +long, resolved itself into a fixed determination. "She +would tell him all—how she loved Richard Delafield, and +how, though that love were hopeless, she could not call +another her husband." And he would release her—she +knew he would. "But if he should not?" seemed whispered +in her ear. For an instant her heart stood still, and +then she answered aloud, "I will not do this great +wickedness, and sin against both God and man." +</p> + +<p> +It was strange how calm this resolution made her. +Rising up from the crouching posture she had assumed in +the first abandonment of her grief, she walked to the open +window, where she stood gazing out upon the starry sky, +until at last, sick and faint with the sweet perfume of the +night air, she turned away, and shuddering, she knew not +why, sought her pillow. It was now the first of June, and +in that southern clime the air was already hot, sultry, and +laden with disease. For two weeks a fearful epidemic, +whose nature the oldest physician did not understand, +had been raging in the towns adjoining, and many who in +the morning rose up full of life and vigor, were in the +evening no longer numbered among the living, so rapid +was the work of death. In great alarm the terrified +inhabitants had fled from place to place, but the destroyer +was on their track, and the "brain fever," as it was +termed, claimed them for its victims. +</p> + +<p> +As yet there had been no cases in W——, but the people +were in daily dread of its arrival, and a feeling of +gloom pervaded the village. Mrs. Lansing, on the +contrary, though usually alarmed, even at the mention of a +contagious disease, expressed no fear and went on with +the preparations for the party, unconscious of the dark +cloud hovering near. But when on the morning succeeding +the night of which we have spoken she heard, in passing +Rosa's door, the sound of some one talking incoherently, +while at the same time a negro girl came rushing +out, exclaiming, "The Lord help us—young Miss has +now got the brain fever, and gone ravin' mad," she fled in +wild alarm to the farthest extremity of the building, and, +gathering her frightened children together, with Ada, +around her, she called to the terrified servants from the +window, bidding them go for her brother and tell him +as he valued his life not to venture near the infected room, +but to hasten with all speed to her. And there, trembling, +weeping, and wringing her hands in fear, the selfish, +cold-hearted woman stayed, while parched with fever and +thirst, the suffering girl lay moaning in her pain; now +asking for water to cool her burning brain, and again +clasping her thin, white hands convulsively upon her +brow, as if to still its agonized throbbings. +</p> + +<p> +But one there was who did not forget. In her excitement +Mrs. Lansing failed to notice the absence of little +Jessie, who, going fearlessly to the bedside of her beloved +teacher, gently bathed the aching head and administered +the cooling draught, while with childish love she kissed +the ashen lips and smoothed back the long tresses which +floated over the pillow. In the hall below there was the +sound of footsteps, and the bridegroom's voice was heard, +asking for his bride, but his cheek blanched to a marble +whiteness when told that she was dying in the chamber +above. In a moment he had her in his arms—his precious +Rose—dying—dying—he believed, for he, too, had heard +of the strange disease, and he thought there was no hope. +With a bitter cry he bent over the unconscious girl, who +knew him not, for the light of reason was obscured and +darkness was upon her vision. +</p> + +<p> +"<i>Can</i> nothing be done? Is there no help?" he +exclaimed wildly, and little Jessie, awed by his grief, +answered, as she laid her soft, white hand on Rosa's +forehead, "<i>God can help her</i>, and maybe Uncle Dick can. I +mean to go for him," and gliding noiselessly from the +room, she was soon on her way to Sunny Bank, looking, +with her golden curls floating over her bare white +shoulders, as if she were indeed an angel of mercy. +</p> + +<p class="t3"> + ——————<br> +</p> + +<p> +Alone in his library sat Richard Delafield, his arms +resting upon the table, and his face buried in his hands. All +the night long he had sat there thus, musing sadly of the +future when <i>she</i> would be gone, and he should be alone. +Why had she crossed his path—that little, humble girl, +and why had he been permitted to love her so madly, or +to dream of a time when he could call her "<i>his own, his +Rose, his wife</i>." Again and again he repeated those +words to himself, and then as he thought whose she would +be when another sun should have set, he groaned aloud, and +in despairing tones cried out, "How can I give her up!" +</p> + +<p> +The sun had risen, and, struggling through the richly +curtained window, fell upon his bowed head, but he did +not heed it. He was sleeping at last, and in his dreams +another than Dr. Clayton had claimed Rose for his bride, +even Death, and without a tear he laid her in her coffin, +and buried her where the soft sighing cedar and the +whispering pine would overshadow her grave. From that +dream he was roused by Jessie, who shrieked in his ear, +"Wake, Uncle Dick, and come. Miss Lee is dying with +the fever, and there is nobody to help her." +</p> + +<p> +For a time the selfish part of Richard Delafield's nature +gained the ascendant, and he said aloud, "Thank God! +Rather thus than the bride of another." +</p> + +<p> +Still this feeling did not prevent him from action, and +with a firm step and composed manner he went with Jessie +to Cedar Grove, going immediately to Rosa's chamber, +where, for a moment, he stood appalled at the scene +before him. She had fearfully changed since last he saw +her, for the disease had advanced with rapid strides, and +now utterly insensible, and white as the wintry snow, she +lay with her head thrown back, and her lips apart, while +her hands nervously picked at the bed-clothes around her! +Many a time had Dr. Clayton heard that this was a sure +omen of death, and though he had ever laughed at it as an +old woman's whim, he shuddered now as he saw it in her, +and bowing his head upon the pillow, he wept like a child. +For a moment Richard Delafield stood gazing upon the +apparently dying girl and the weeping man, who seemed +wholly incapable of action: then rousing himself, he went +in quest of the black women, commanding them in a voice +they dared not disobey to come at once to the sick-room. +He had heard that nothing but violent and continual +perspiration had as yet been of any avail in such extreme +cases, and calmly giving orders to that effect, he himself +assisted while the hemlock and the bottles of hot water +were applied, then, administering a powerful tonic, he +bade Jessie go for her mother, while he took his station at +the bedside to watch the result. +</p> + +<p> +Quieted in a measure by the cool demeanor of his companion, +Dr. Clayton, too, arose, and after hurriedly pacing +the room, resumed his post, and there on each side of Rose +they stood, those two men, the one with his fair handsome +face stained with tears, praying earnestly that she might +live; while the other, with dark, lowering countenance +and wrinkled brow stood with folded arms, and firmly +compressed lips, struggling to subdue the evil passion +which whispered, "Let her die! There will be a comfort +in weeping over her grave, and knowing that she sleeps +there in all her maiden purity." +</p> + +<p> +In the mean time Jessie had been missed, and a servant +despatched to find her. But this the woman failed to do +as she was then at Sunny Bank, and Mrs. Lansing was +about venturing to go in quest of her, when she appeared +with her uncle's message saying, "she knew Miss Lee +was dying, she looked so dreadfully." +</p> + +<p> +"Jessie—child," screamed the affrighted Mrs. Lansing, +shrinking from the little girl as if she had been a +loathsome thing, "have you been there—in the room?" +</p> + +<p> +Without any attempt at concealment, Jessie told what +she had done, and when her mother exclaimed, "You are +a dead child," she answered fearlessly, "I am not afraid +to die." +</p> + +<p> +Just then the negro, who had been sent to the village +for the family physician, returned, bringing the news that +the fever had broken out there the night before, and that +in one family two were already dead, while a third was +thought to be dying. In the utmost dismay, Mrs. Lansing +now announced her intention of leaving the place at +once and fleeing for safety to her brother's plantation, +which was distant about twelve miles. +</p> + +<p> +"And leave Miss Lee alone? oh, mother!" said Jessie, +beginning to cry, while Halbert, frightened as he was, +remonstrated against the unfeeling desertion. +</p> + +<p> +But Mrs. Lansing was determined—"she couldn't +help her at all if she stayed," she said. "And the colored +women would do all that was necessary; it wasn't like +leaving her alone with Dr. Clayton, for there were a dozen, +able-bodied females in the house to wait upon her." +</p> + +<p> +"And if she dies?" suggested Jessie; but her mother +would not hear to reason, and urged on by Ada, who was +no less frightened than herself, she ordered out the +traveling carriage, which soon stood before the door. +</p> + +<p> +She would fain have had her brother accompany her, +but she knew it was useless to propose it. Still she would +see him before she went, and her waiting-maid was sent +to bring him. +</p> + +<p> +"I'll go. Let me go," said Jessie, and ere her mother +could detain her, she was half-way there. +</p> + +<p> +Entering the room on tiptoe, she gave her uncle her +mother's message, and then stealing up to Rose, wound her +arms round her neck, and laying her soft, warm cheek +caressingly against the white, thin face of her teacher, +wept her last adieu. They would never, never meet again, +for ere the summer flowers were faded, one would be safely +in the bosom of the Good Shepherd, who would lead her +in green pastures, and beside the still waters of the better +land. +</p> + +<p> +"Bury her under the tall magnolia, a little ways from +father," was Jessie's last injunction to Dr. Clayton, whose +tears burst forth afresh, for not till then had he thought +how he must leave her alone in that far south land—many +miles away from her native hills, and that to him would +be denied the solace of weeping over her early grave. +</p> + +<p class="t3"> + ——————<br> +</p> + +<p> +It was in vain that Mr. Delafield attempted to dissuade +his sister from going. She would not listen, for their +lives, she said, were all endangered by remaining in town, +and as several other families were going to leave, she should +follow their example—then bidding him hasten to them +the moment Rose was dead, she entered her carriage and +was driven rapidly away, followed by Halbert and two or +three negroes on horseback. Unfeeling as this proceeding +seemed to Richard, he still experienced a sensation of +relief at the absence of the family, and thinking they +would probably be safer at "The Pines" than at Cedar +Grove, he returned to the chamber above, where Rose still +lay, in the same deathlike unconsciousness, perfectly still +save when a movement of the head or a faint moan told +how she suffered. Everything had been done for her +which could be done, and now there was naught for them +to do but to wait and watch, which they did in perfect +silence—Dr. Clayton, with his head bowed upon the +pillow, while Mr. Delafield leaned against the wall, with +compressed lips, and eyes dark as midnight, fastened upon +the white, still face before him. +</p> + +<p> +The clock in the hall struck the hour of eleven, and then, +with a feeble moan, the sick girl withdrew her hand from +beneath the covering, and when the stern man took it +within his own he forced back an exclamation of joy, for +it was moist with perspiration! There was hope, and his +first impulse was to tell the good news to his companion, +but the demon, which all the morning he had hugged to +his bosom, whispered, "Not now—let him suffer yet a little +longer!" Soon, however, casting this thought aside as +unworthy of him, he said, "Look up, Dr. Clayton, she +is better. She may live. <i>See!</i>" and lifting the damp +hair from her brow, he pointed to the dewy drops which +stood thickly upon it. +</p> + +<p> +"Thank Heaven!" was Dr. Clayton's exclamation, and +bending down, he said, "Rose, my precious Rose—she +will live, and <i>you</i> have saved her," he continued advancing +towards the dark statue, whose hand he pressed to his +lips. "To you the credit is due, for you worked when +despair had rendered me powerless to do, but now I am +strong. I am myself again, and if I have any skill it shall +be exerted in her behalf." +</p> + +<p> +There was a curl on Richard Delafield's lip—a blur before +his eyes, and an icy chill at his heart, which prevented him +from answering. Bitter were the thoughts which crowded +upon him, and which he strove to put away. If she lived, +would it not be in a measure owing to the efficient means +he had employed—and why should <i>he</i> wish to save her? +Would he not rather see her dead? It was an evil spirit +which counseled with him thus, but ere long the noble +nature of Richard Delafield conquered, and when at last +her eyes unclosed, and turned towards Dr. Clayton, whose +name she breathed, asking for her bridal dress, he looked +on calmly while his rival kissed her again and again, telling +her she should yet wear it and be his bride, but when he +saw how she shuddered at these words, feebly answering, +"No, no. Have they not told you that I cannot be your +bride, for another has come between us?" a thrill of joy +ran through his frame, but soon passed away as he thought +it was merely the vagary of a disordered mind. +</p> + +<p> +All that day and night they stood over her, applying the +remedies said to be most efficient in cases of the kind, and +when the next morning came she was unquestionably better, +though still in great danger from a tendency of the +disease to the lungs which, however, was less to be feared +than its return to the brain. Very carefully and tenderly +they watched her, and had not Mr. Delafield been blinded +by her supposed love for another, he must have seen how +much more readily she took things from him than from +Dr. Clayton, following him with her eyes whenever he moved +away, and seeming much more quiet when he was at her side. +By the close of the third day she was nearly free from the +brain fever, but much fear was felt by Dr. Clayton lest it +should assume the typhoid form, which it did ere long, and +then for three weeks she raved in wild delirium, driving +Richard Delafield from her presence, shuddering when he +came near, and begging of Dr. Clayton, whom she called +her brother Charlie, "to send the black man with his ugly +face away." +</p> + +<p> +This state of affairs was almost intolerable to Richard, +who, if he had loved Rose before, felt that she was tenfold +dearer to him now, and so, though he dared not come in +her sight when awake, he watched by her when she slept, +standing over her hour after hour, and enduring with +almost superhuman strength the care which Dr. Clayton +could hardly be said to share, so absorbed was he in grief +at the thoughts of losing her at last. Thus the days wore +on until her frenzy abated, and she sank into a state of +apathy from which nothing could rouse her, not even the +sight of Richard Delafield, from whom she no longer +shrank, but for whom she seemed to have conceived a kind +of pity, asking him sometimes "if he hated her because +she did not love him, and telling him how hard she had +tried to do so, but could not, and that he must go away +and leave her alone!" And all this while it never occurred +to him that she fancied <i>he</i> was Dr. Clayton, though he +<i>did</i> marvel at her never mentioning her affianced husband, +in whose arms she would fall asleep, and whose hand she +would kiss, calling him Charlie, and asking if he had come +to carry her home. +</p> + +<p> +Matters were in this state when one day, towards the +dusk of evening, he was surprised by the appearance of +Halbert, who said that the <i>cholera</i> had broken out at the +Pines, and he must come immediately, adding further, that +his mother and Ada had both had it, that several of the +blacks were dead, and that the man, who two days before +had been sent to Cedar Grove, had died upon the road. +Greatly alarmed for the safety of his people, Mr. Delafield +started at once for the Pines, whither, in another chapter, +we will follow him. +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap25"></a></p> + +<h2> +CHAPTER XXV. +<br><br> +THE ANGEL OF THE PINES. +</h2> + +<p> +The unexpected arrival of their master's sister and her +cortége at "The Pines," as Mr. Delafield's plantation was +called, produced quite a sensation among the blacks, who +hastened to receive their guests with many demonstrations +of joy, rather more affected than real, for Mrs. Lansing +was not very popular with them. Halbert and Jessie, on +the contrary, were general favorites among the servants, +who thought them little less than angels, particularly +Jessie, who, with her sweet young face, laughing eyes, +and wavy hair, flitted like a sunbeam from cabin to +cabin, asking after this old Aunty, or that old Uncle, +and screaming with delight when in one hut she found +<i>three babies</i>, all of an age, and belonging to the same +mother, who boasted of having given to her master +"fifteen as likely girls and boys as there were in Georgy." +</p> + +<p> +As yet the triplets had no names, but the arrival of +the families suggested a new idea to Hannah, who, +seating herself by Jessie, proposed that they be called, +"Richard Delafield, Ada Montrose, and Jessie Lansing." +</p> + +<p> +With the first and last the little girl was well pleased, +but she objected to the middle name, and taking one of +the infants upon her lap, she told the story of her +beloved teacher, who was dying at Cedar Grove, and asked +that the child she held might be called for her. So, +baptized by Jessie's tears, which fell like rain upon its +dark and wrinkled face, the babe was christened "Rosa <i>Lee</i>." +</p> + +<p> +The house which Mrs. Lansing termed her country residence +(for she always spoke of her brother's possessions +as her own), was a large, double log building, containing +nothing very elegant in the way of furniture, but still +presenting an air of neatness and comfort; for <i>Aunt +Dinah</i>, who had charge of it, prided herself upon keeping +it neat and clean, as her master was likely to come +upon her at any time without warning, and she liked +to impress him with her rare qualifications as +housekeeper. With Mrs. Lansing, however, she was less +pleased, but still as the sister of "Mars'r Richard," she +was entitled to consideration, and now in high turban, +and all the dignity of her position, the old lady bustled +about from room to room, jingling her keys, kicking the +dogs, cuffing the woolly pate of any luckless wight who +chanced to be in her way, and occasionally stooping +down to kiss little Jessie, who, being of rather a domestic +turn, followed her from place to place, herself assisting +in spreading the supper-table, which, with its snowy +cloth, corn cake, iced milk, hot coffee, and smoking +steaks, soon presented a most inviting aspect. +</p> + +<p> +Relieved of their fears and thinking themselves beyond +the reach of danger, Mrs. Lansing and Ada gave themselves +up to the enjoyment of the hour, talking and laughing +gaily, without a thought of the sick girl they had +left behindhand who that night was to have been a bride. +Once, indeed, when after sunset they were assembled +upon the rude piazza, Ada spoke of her, wondering if +she were <i>dead</i>, and how long it would be ere Dr. Clayton +would marry another! Such is the world, to which Ada +formed no exception, for how often do we hear the +future companion of a broken-hearted man selected, even +before the wife of his bosom is removed forever from his +sight! +</p> + +<p> +For a long time Mrs. Lansing sat there with Ada and +her children, talking on indifferent subjects and occasionally +congratulating herself that they were beyond reach of +the fever, unless, indeed, Jessie had contracted it by her +foolish carelessness! On her lap rested the little golden +head of the child, who was humming snatches of "The +Happy Land," a favorite song which her uncle had +taught her, and which she had often sung with her +teacher, asking numerous questions concerning the better +world, where +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + "Saints in glory stand,<br> + Bright, bright as day,"<br> +</p> + +<p class="noindent"> +and wondering if, when she died, Jesus would take her +there to sing, +</p> + +<p class="t3"> + "Worthy is our Saviour King."<br> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p> +Very naturally, now, her thoughts reverted to her +governess, and as she listened to the whispering wind +sighing through the trees, she fancied it was the voice of +Rose bidding her, "come to the Happy Land." Sweet +little Jessie, it was the voices of angel children, which +you heard thus calling through the pines; for from their +shining ranks one beauteous form was missing, and they +would fain allure it back to its native sky. +</p> + +<p> +Come I now to the saddest part of my story. Beneath +the evergreens of the sunny South is a little mound, over +which the shining stars keep watch, and the cypress +spreads its long green boughs, while the children of the +plantation, dark-browed though they are, tread softly +near that grave, which they daily strew with flowers, +speaking in low tones of "the Angel of the Pines," as +they term the fair young girl, who passed so suddenly +from their midst. It was now nearly five weeks since +Mrs. Lansing had fled from the pestilence which walked +at noonday, and though it had in a measure abated in +the village, there were still frequent cases, and she would +not have deemed it safe to return, even if typhoid fever, +which she feared nearly as much, had not been in her +own house. So there was no alternative but to stay, +uncomfortable though she was, for the weather was +intensely hot, and she missed many of the luxuries of her +home. Still it was healthy there, and this in a measure +reconciled her to remain. Occasionally, it is true, she +heard rumors of the cholera, on some distant plantation, +but it seldom visited the pine regions—it would not come +there; she was sure of that; and secure in this belief, she +rested in comparative quiet, while each day the heat +became more and more intense. The sun came up red, +fiery, and heated like a furnace; the clouds gave forth no +rain; the brooks were dried up; the leaves withered upon +the trees, while the air was full of humming insects, which, +at night fed upon their helpless, sleeping victims. +</p> + +<p> +At the close of one of these scorching, sultry days, +Mrs. Lansing and Ada sat upon the piazza, panting for a +breath of pure, cool air. At the side of each stood a +negro girl, industriously fanning their mistresses, who +scolded them as if they were to blame, because the air +thus set in motion was hot and burning as the winds +which blow over the great desert of Sahara. As they +sat there thus, an old man came up from the negro +quarters, saying "his woman done got sick wid the +cramps," and he wished "his mistis jest come down see +her." +</p> + +<p> +But Mrs. Lansing felt herself too languid for exertion +of any kind, and telling Uncle Abel that she herself was +fully as sick as his wife, who was undoubtedly feigning, +she sent him back with a sinking heart to the rude cabin, +where his old wife lay, groaning aloud whenever the +cramps, as she termed them, seized her. Scarcely, +however, had he entered the low doorway, when a fairy form +came flitting down the narrow pathway, her white dress +gleaming through the dusky twilight, and her golden +hair streaming out behind. It was little Jessie, who, +from her crib, had heard her mother's refusal to accompany +Uncle Abel, and, stealing away unobserved, she had +come herself to see Aunt Chloe, with whom she was +quite a favorite. +</p> + +<p> +Unaccustomed as Jessie was to sickness, she saw at a +glance that this was no ordinary case, and kneeling down +beside the negress, who lay upon the floor, she took her +head upon her lap, and gently pushing back, beneath the +gay turban, the matted, grizzly hair, she asked where the +pain was. +</p> + +<p> +"Bress de sweet chile," answered Chloe, "you can't +tache me with the pint of a cambric needle whar 'tain't, +and seems ef ebery jint in me was onsoderin' when de +cramp is on." +</p> + +<p> +As if to verify the truth of this remark, she suddenly +bent up nearly double, and rolling upon her face, groaned +aloud. At this moment a negro, who had gained some +notoriety among his companions as a physician, came in, +and after looking a moment at the prostrate form of +Chloe, who was now vomiting freely, he whispered a word +which cleared the cabin in a moment, for the mention of +<i>cholera</i> had a power to curdle the blood of the terrified +blacks, who fled to their own dwellings, where they cried +aloud, and praying, some of them, "that de Lord would +have mercy on 'em, and take somebody else to kingdom +come, ef He must have a nigger anyway." +</p> + +<p> +Utterly fearless, Jessie stayed by, and when John, or as +he was more familiarly known, "Doctor," proposed going +for her mother, she answered, "No, no; Uncle Abel has +been for her once, but she won't come; and if she knows +it is cholera, she'll take me away." +</p> + +<p> +This convinced the "Doctor," who proceeded to put in +practise the medical skill which he had picked up at +intervals, and which was considerable for one of his capacity. +By this time, a few of the women, more daring than the +rest and curious to know the fate of their companion, +ventured near the door, where they stood gazing wonderingly +upon the poor old creature, who was fast floating +out upon the broad river of death. It was a most violent +attack, and its malignity was increased by a quantity of +unripe fruit which she had eaten that morning. +</p> + +<p> +"Will somebody make a pra'r?" she said, feebly, as +she felt her life fast ebbing away. "Abel, you pray for +poor Chloe," and her glassy eyes turned beseechingly +towards her husband, who was noted at camp-meetings +for praying the loudest and longest of any one. +</p> + +<p> +But his strength had left him now, and kissing the +shriveled face of his dying wife, he said, "'Scuse me, +Chloe; de sperrit is willin', but de flesh part is mighty +weak and shaky like. Miss Jessie, you pray!" he +continued, as the child came to his side. +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, honey, pray," gasped Chloe; and kneeling down, +the little girl began the Lord's Prayer, occasionally +interspersing it with a petition that "God would take the +departing soul to heaven." +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, dat's it," whispered Chloe; "dat's better dan all +dem fine words 'bout kingdom come and daily bread; +dey'll do for white folks, but God bress old Chloe, de thing +for niggers to die on." +</p> + +<p> +"Sing, honey, sing," she said, at last; and, mingled +with the lamentations of the blacks, there arose on the +evening air the soft notes of the <i>Happy Land</i>, which +Jessie sang, bending low towards Chloe, who, when the +song was ended, clasped her in her arms, and calling her +a "shining angel," went, we trust, to the better land, +where bondage is unknown, and the slave is equal to his +master. +</p> + +<p> +Loud and shrill rose the wail of the negroes, increasing +in violence when it was known that into another cabin +the pestilence had entered, prostrating a boy, who, in his +agony, called for Jessie and Mas'r Richard, thinking they +could save him. Late as it was, Mrs. Lansing, Ada, and +Lina, were still upon the piazza, which was far more +comfortable than their sleeping-room, where they +supposed both Halbert and Jessie were safely in bed. They +were just thinking of retiring, when suddenly the +midnight stillness was broken by a cry so shrill that +Mrs. Lansing started to her feet, asking what it was. +</p> + +<p> +From her couch by the open door, Aunt Dinah arose, +and going out a few rods, listened to the sound, which +seemed to come from the negro quarters, whither, at her +mistress's command, she bent her steps. But a short +time elapsed ere she returned with the startling news that, +"the cholera was thar—that Chloe was dead, and +another one had got it and was <i>vomucking</i> all over the +night-dress of <i>Miss Jessie</i>, who was holdin' his head." +</p> + +<p> +Wholly overcome with fright, Mrs. Lansing fainted, +and was borne to her room, where, for a time, she +remained unconscious, forgetful of Jessie, who stayed at +the quarters long after midnight, ministering to the +wants of the sick, of which, before morning, there were +five, while others showed symptoms of the rapidly +spreading disease. As soon as Mrs. Lansing returned to +consciousness, she sent for Jessie, who came reluctantly, +receiving her mother's reproof in silence, and falling away +to sleep as calmly as if she had not just been looking +upon death, whose shadow was over and around her. +</p> + +<p> +Early the next morning, a man was sent in haste to +Cedar Grove, which he never reached, for the destroyer +met him on the road, and in one of the cabins of a +neighboring plantation, he died, forgetting, in the intensity +of his sufferings, the errand on which he had been sent; +and as those who attended him knew nothing of Mrs. Lansing's +being at the Pines, it was not until the second +day after the appearance of the cholera that she learned +the fate of her servant. In a state bordering almost +upon distraction, she waited for her brother, shuddering +with fear whenever a new case was reported to her, and +refusing to visit the sufferers, although among them +were some who had played with her in childhood; and +one, an old gray-haired man, who had saved her from a +watery grave, when on the Savannah River she had fallen +overboard. But there was no place for gratitude in her +selfish heart, and the miserable creatures were left to die +alone, uncheered by the presence of a pale face, save +little Jessie, who won her mother's reluctant consent to +be with them, and who, all the day long, went from +cabin to cabin, soothing the sick and dying by her +presence, and emboldening others by her own intrepidity. +</p> + +<p> +Towards sunset, Mrs. Lansing herself was seized with +the malady, and with a wild shriek, she called on Ada +to help her; but that young lady was herself too much +intimidated to heed the call, and in an adjoining room +she sat with camphor at her nose and brandy at her side, +until a fierce, darting pain warned her that she, too, was +a victim. No longer afraid of Mrs. Lansing, she made +no resistance when borne to the same apartment, where +for hours they lay, bemoaning the fate which had +brought them there, and trembling as they thought of +the probable result. +</p> + +<p> +On Mrs. Lansing's mind there was a heavy load, and +once when the cold perspiration stood thickly upon her +face, she ordered Jessie and Dinah from the room, while +she confessed to Ada the sin of which she had been guilty +in deceiving both her brother and Rose. +</p> + +<p> +"It was a wicked falsehood," said she, "and if you +survive me, you must tell them so, will you?" +</p> + +<p> +Ada nodded in token that she would, and then, +thinking her own conscience might be made easier by a similar +confession, she told how she had thought to injure Rose +in Mr. Delafield's estimation, and also of the blister, which +had drawn on Hagar's back instead of her own! This +done, the two ladies felt greatly relieved, and as the +cholera in their case had been induced mostly by fear, it +began ere long to yield to the efficient treatment of Dinah, +who to her housekeeping qualities added that of being a +skilful nurse. Towards morning they were pronounced +decidedly better, and as Jessie was asleep and Dinah +nodding in her chair, Mrs. Lansing lifted her head from her +pillow, saying to Ada, "If you please, you needn't tell +what I told you last night, when I thought I was going +to die!" +</p> + +<p> +Ada promised to be silent, and after winning a similar +promise from Mrs. Lansing, they both fell asleep, nor +woke again until the sun was high up in the heavens. So +much for a sick-bed repentance! +</p> + +<p> +That day was hotter and more sultry than any which +had preceded it; and about the middle of the afternoon +little Jessie came to Dinah's side and laying her head +upon her lap complained of being both <i>cold</i> and <i>tired</i>. +Blankets were wrapped around her, but they brought to +her no warmth, for her blood was chilled by approaching +death, and when at dusk the negroes asked why she came +not among them, they were told that she was dying! +With streaming eyes they fell upon their knees, and from +those humble cabins there went up many a fervent prayer +for God to spare the child. But it could not be; she +was wanted in heaven; and when old Uncle Abel, who +had also been ill, crept on his hands and knees to her +bedside, calling upon her name, she did not know him, for +unconsciousness was upon her, and in infinite mercy she +was spared the pain usually attendant upon the disease. +</p> + +<p> +Almost bereft of reason and powerless to act, Mrs. Lansing +sat by her child, whose life was fast ebbing away. +In a short time all the negroes, who were able, had come +to the house, their dark faces stained with tears and +expressive of the utmost concern, as they looked upon the +little girl who lay so white and still, with her fair hair +floating over the pillow and her waxen hands folded upon +her bosom. +</p> + +<p> +"Sing to me, Uncle Dick," she said at last, "sing of +the Happy Land not far away;" but Uncle Dick was not +there, and they who watched her were too much overcome +with grief to heed her request. +</p> + +<p> +Slowly the hours wore on, and the spirit was almost +home, when again she murmured, "Sing of the Happy +Land;" and as if in answer to her prayer, the breeze, +which all the day long had been hushed and still, now +sighed mournfully through the trees, while a mockingbird +in the distance struck up his evening lay; and amid +the gushing melody of that wondrous bird of song and +the soft breathing notes of the whispering pines, little +Jessie passed to the "Happy Land," which to those who +watched the going out of her short life, seemed, indeed, +"not far away." +</p> + +<p> +With a bitter cry the bereaved mother fell upon her +face and wept aloud, saying, in her heart, "My God, my +God, why have I thus been dealt with!" +</p> + +<p> +In the distance was heard the sound of horses' feet, and +ere long her brother was with her, weeping as only strong +men weep, over the lifeless form which returned him no +answering caress. She had been his idol, and for a +moment he, too, questioned the justice of God in thus +afflicting him. +</p> + +<p> +"Jessie is gone, Rosa is going, and I shall be left +alone," he thought. "What have I done to deserve a +chastisement like this?" +</p> + +<p> +Soon, however, he grew calmer, and saying, "It is +well;" he tenderly kissed the lips and brow of the +beautiful child, who seemed to smile on him even in +death; then going out among his people, he comforted +them as best he could, dropping more than one tear to +the memory of those who they told him were dead, and +who numbered eight in all. At a short distance from +the house was a tall cypress where Jessie had often +sported, and where now was a play-house, built by her +hands but a few days before. There, by the light of the +silvery moon, they made her a grave, and when the sun +was up, its rays fell upon the pile of earth which hid +from view the sunny face and soft blue eyes of Jessie, +"the Angel of the Pines." +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap26"></a></p> + +<h2> +CHAPTER XXVI. +<br><br> +RETURN. +</h2> + +<p> +For nearly a week after Jessie's death, Mr. Delafield +remained at the Pines, doing whatever he could for the +comfort of his servants, and as at the end of that time +the disease had wholly disappeared, he returned to +Cedar Grove, accompanied by his sister and Ada, who +had learned by sad experience that the dangers from +which we flee, are oftentimes less than those to which +we go. They found Rose better, but still quite low, +and as the fever had not entirely left her, neither +Mrs. Lansing nor Ada ventured near her room, but shut +themselves in their own apartment, where the former +received the sympathy of her friends, which in this case +was truly sincere, for Jessie was universally beloved and +the tidings of her death carried sorrow to many hearts. +</p> + +<p> +Over Dr. Clayton a change had come. The hopeful, +happy expression of his face was gone, and in its place +was a look of utter hopelessness which at first roused +Richard's fears lest Rose should be worse, and in much +alarm he asked if it were so. +</p> + +<p> +"No, no," answered the doctor, while a shadow of +pain passed over his handsome features; "she will live." +</p> + +<p> +Then hurrying to the window he looked out to hide +his tears from him whom he knew to be his rival, and +who, now that he was unobserved, bent over the sleeping +Rose, kissing her wasted cheek and mourning for her as +he thought how she would weep when she learned the +fate of her favorite. Oh, could he have known the whole, +how passionately would he have clasped her to his bosom +and held her there as his own, his darling Rose! But +it was not yet to be, and he must bide his time. +</p> + +<p> +She had seemed greatly relieved at his absence, and on +the second day after his departure, she called Dr. Clayton +to her side, fancying him to be her brother Charlie. Taking +his hands in hers, she told him the whole story of her +trials; how she had tried to bring back the old affection of +her childhood, but could not because of the love she had +for Richard Delafield. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh Charlie," she exclaimed, "he would forgive me, I +know, if he knew how much I suffered during those +terrible days, when I thought of giving my hand without my +heart. The very idea set my brain on fire and my head +has ached, oh, so hard since then, but it's over now, for I +conquered at last, and on the night before the wedding, I +resolved to tell him all, how I could not and would not +marry him. But a dark cloud, which seemed like the +rushing of mighty waters, came over me, and I don't know +where I am, nor what has happened, only he has been here, +hanging like a shadow over my pillow, where sat another +shadow tenfold blacker, which he said was death; but +grim and hideous as it was, I preferred it to a life with +him, when my whole soul was given to another. He, too, +was here occasionally, and in his presence the shadow +grew less and less, while his voice called me back from +the deep darkness in which I was groping. Once, when I +was almost home, so near that I heard the song which +little Jamie sings—Jamie, who died so long ago—he laid +his cool hand upon my forehead, which was wet with the +waters of the rolling river, and I heard him say to some +one, 'Look up; she is better, she will live.' The next +moment he was gone, but I struggled with the waves and +floated back to the shore, where, though I could not see +him, his hand was stretched out to save me, and for a +time he stood between me and Dr. Clayton, who, when he +thought nobody heard him, whispered in my ear, 'my +bride—my own.' But from my inmost soul I answered, +'Never, never,' while I looked again towards the river +which is still in sight, though slowly receding from +view." +</p> + +<p> +She paused a moment and then continued: "When I +am dead, Charlie, you must tell him how it was, and ask +him to forgive and think with pity of poor little Rose, +who would have loved him if she could. If he will not +listen—if he still persists in marrying me, tell him I would +rather die ten thousand deaths than wed a man I do not +love, and then his pride will come to his aid. But not a +word of this to Mr. Delafield, Charlie, never let him know +how I loved him. My affection is not returned, and he +would despise me—would never visit my grave or think +with pity of one who died so far away from home." +</p> + +<p> +Then followed a message for the loved ones of Meadow +Brook, but this Dr. Clayton did not hear. Perfectly +paralyzed, he had listened to her story until his reason seemed +in danger of leaving him, and long ere she had finished he +knew he must give her up—but not to <i>death</i>; and as Richard +Delafield had done, so he, in this his hour of bitter +trial, felt how much rather he would see her in her coffin +than the wife of another. Then in his ear the tempter +whispered, "Why need these things be? she is not yet +out of danger. A little relaxation of care on your part +and Richard Delafield will never call her his." +</p> + +<p> +Only for a moment, however, did Dr. Clayton listen, and +then laying his head upon the pillow beside that of Rose, +who, wearied with her story, had fallen asleep, he wept as +he had never wept before, not even when he saw creeping +over her the shadow of death. Turn which way he would, +there was naught before him save the darkness of despair; +and as wave after wave broke over him, his mind went +backward to the time when she might have been his—when +he could have gathered her to his bosom—and in +piteous accents he cried aloud, "My punishment is greater +than I can bear." +</p> + +<p> +But as the fiercest storm soonest expends its fury, so he +ere long grew calm and capable of sober, serious thought. +Rosa Lee was very dear to him, and to have possessed her +love, he would have given almost everything; but as that +could not be, ought he to stand in the way of her +happiness? He knew she was deceived, for he remembered +many things he had seen in Mr. Delafield, which, though, +he had not thought of it then, convinced him now that +her affection was reciprocated; and should he not tell her +so, and at the same time disclose to Richard the true state +of affairs? Rosa's quiet, unobtrusive, and rather reserved +manner had misled Richard, no doubt, or he would long +ere this have declared his love. +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, God helping me, I <i>will</i> do right," he said aloud, +clasping his hands over his feverish brow. "I will watch +by her until <i>his</i> return, and then committing her to his +care I will leave her forever." +</p> + +<p> +There was a movement at his side—Rose was dreaming, +and she uttered the name of <i>Richard</i>, while, with a +shiver, the doctor stopped his ears and shut out the hated +sound. In a moment she awoke and asked for water. It +was brought, but he no longer supported her in his +arms—no longer smoothed back the tangled curls from her +brow, or kissed her white lips. "She is not mine, and it +were wrong to caress her now," he thought, and his +tears fell upon her face as he laid her gently back +upon the pillow. Wonderingly she gazed upon him, +and lifting her hand, wiped his tears away, asking why +he wept. +</p> + +<p> +"Heaven help me from going mad," he exclaimed +aloud, as he walked to the window, where for a long time +he stood, trying to school himself for the part he was to +act. +</p> + +<p> +He succeeded at last, and never did a tender brother +watch more carefully over a darling sister than did he +over her during the few days which elapsed ere Mr. Delafield's +return. He was alone with her when he came, and +with comparative calmness he greeted his rival, who, as +we have before stated, was surprised at the change in his +looks. +</p> + +<p> +That night, in the solitude of his chamber, the doctor +penned two letters; one for Rose and the other for +Richard. In substance, the contents of each were much the +same, for he told them all he had heard from Rose, and +how, though it broke his heart to do so, he had given her +up. "Deal very, very gently with her," he wrote to +Mr. Delafield, "for never was there a purer, gentler being, or +one more worthy of your love than she. Then take her, +and when your cup is overflowing with happiness, think +sometimes of one who, henceforth, will be a lonely, +wretched man." +</p> + +<p> +The letters being written, he put them away until such +time as he should need them. Once he thought to talk +with Richard face to face, but this he felt he could not do; +so one morning about a week after the return of the +family to Cedar Grove, and when Rose was out of danger, he +pressed a burning kiss upon her forehead, and placing the +letters on the little dressing-bureau where they would +attract the immediate attention of Mr. Delafield, who, he +knew would soon be there, he went in quest of Mrs. Lansing, +whom he bade good-by as composedly as if no inward +fire were consuming him. In much surprise, she asked +why he left them so abruptly, and he replied, "something +which has recently come to my knowledge makes it +necessary for me to go." +</p> + +<p> +"You will of course return ere long for Miss Lee," +continued the lady, who had no suspicion of the +truth. +</p> + +<p> +"If <i>I</i> do not come I shall send her brother as soon as +she is able to be moved," said he. "She does not know +that I am going, for she would not understand me if I +told her, so I leave it with you to tell her when you think +she will comprehend it." +</p> + +<p> +Then leaving a few directions as to how she must be +treated, he hurried away, never looking back, and turning +into a side street when in the distance he saw Mr. Delafield +coming towards him. Half an hour afterward and +the puffing engine, which now each day thundered into +town, was bearing him away from a place whither he had +come for a bride, and from which he bore only a crushed +and aching heart. Scarcely had he left Rose's chamber +when a colored woman entered it to "set it to rights" +as was her daily custom. She was near-sighted, and +going up to the dressing-bureau, carelessly brushed off +the letter directed to Richard! Falling behind the +bureau, it lay concealed from view, while the negress +proceeded with her duties, unconscious of the mischief +she had done! +</p> + +<p> +In great surprise Richard heard of Dr. Clayton's sudden +departure. "There must be something wrong," he +thought, though what he did not know. Going up to +Rosa's chamber, he found her still asleep. The room was +in order—the servant gone, and on the bureau lay the +letter which soon caught his attention. Glancing at the +superscription he saw it was for Rose, and thinking to +keep it safely until she could understand its contents, he +placed it in his pocket; then taking a book, he sat by +her bedside until she awoke. She was apparently better, +but an unnatural brightness of her eyes told that her +mind was still unsettled. So he said nothing to her +concerning the doctor's desertion, but himself ministered +to her wants. +</p> + +<p> +In the course of a few days Mrs. Lansing was induced +to visit her. This she did more willingly, for Rose had +loved her little Jessie; she would weep bitterly when she +knew she was dead; and the proud nature of the haughty +woman gave way to the softer feelings, which often +prompts a mother to take a deeper interest in whatever +was once dear to a lost, a precious child. So casting +aside her nervous fear, she at last went frequently to the +sick-room, her own white, delicate hands sometimes +arranging the tumbled pillow or holding the cooling +draught to the lips of her formerly despised +governess—despised, not for anything which she had done, but +because it was hers to labor for the bread she ate. +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap27"></a></p> + +<h2> +CHAPTER XXVII. +<br><br> +LIGHT. +</h2> + +<p> +It was early morning. The windows of my room were +open, admitting the fresh, cool air, which had been +purified by one of those terrific thunder storms, so +common in a southern clime. For many weeks I had lain +there in a state of unconsciousness, save at intervals +when I had a dreamy realization of what was transpiring +around me. The physician who was called in Dr. Clayton's +stead had more than once hinted of continued +insanity, citing similar cases which had come under his +observation; but in spite of his opinion, I, that bright +August morning, awoke from a refreshing sleep, with +perfectly restored faculties. At first I thought I was +alone, for there was a deep stillness in the room, and from +the hall below I distinctly heard the ticking of the clock, +reminding me of the time, years ago, when once before I +had hovered between life and death. Now, as then, I +experienced the delicious feeling of returning health, but +I missed the familiar faces of my friends, and as I thought +how far I was from home, and all who loved me, I said +aloud, "I am alone, alone." +</p> + +<p> +"Not alone, Rosa, for I am with you," answered a +deep voice near, and the next moment the dark form of +Richard Delafield bent over me. +</p> + +<p> +Eagerly scanning my face, he said, "Do you know me?" +</p> + +<p> +"Yes," I answered. "Mr. Delafield." Then as a dim +remembrance of the past came over me, I lifted my head +and looked around the room for one who I knew had not +long since been there. +</p> + +<p> +Divining my thought, he said very gently, as if the +announcement would of course give me pain, "He is not +here, Rosa. He was obliged to go home, but I dare say +he will soon return—meantime I will take care of you. +Don't feel so badly," he continued, as tears of <i>genuine joy</i> +at Dr. Clayton's absence gathered in my eyes. +</p> + +<p> +I could not tell him the truth, and when I next spoke +it was to ask him concerning my illness, how long it had +been, etc. +</p> + +<p> +After telling me all that he thought proper, he took +the letter from his pocket, and said, "Dr. Clayton left +this for you. Have you strength to read it now?" +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, yes," I replied eagerly, at the same time +stretching out my hand to take it. +</p> + +<p> +There was a blur upon my eyes as I read, and I pitied +Dr. Clayton, who had thus laid bare to me his wretchedness, +but mingled with this was a feeling of relief to know +that I was free. He told me what he had written to +Mr. Delafield, and when I came to that portion of the letter, +I involuntarily uttered an exclamation of delight, while +I glanced timidly towards him. <i>But he made no sign</i>. +The letter which would have explained all was safely +lodged behind the bureau, and with a gloomy brow he +watched me while I read, interpreting my emotions into +the satisfaction he naturally supposed I would feel in +hearing from my lover. With me the revulsion was too +great, for I fancied I saw in the expression of his face +contempt for one who had presumed to love him, and +bursting into tears, I cried and laughed alternately, while +he tried to soothe me; but I would not be comforted by +him.—he hated me, I knew, and very pettishly I told him +at last "to let me alone and go away—I was better +without him than with him," I said, "and he would oblige +me by leaving the room." +</p> + +<p> +The next moment I repented my harshness, which I +knew had caused him pain, for there was a look of sorrow +upon his face as he complied with my request. But I was +too proud to call him back, and for the next half-hour I +cried and fretted alone, first at him for making Dr. Clayton +think he loved me when he didn't, secondly, at Dr. Clayton +for meddling with what didn't concern him, and +lastly, at myself, for being so foolish as to care whether +anybody loved me or not! At the end of that time +Richard came back. The cloud had disappeared, and very +good-humoredly he asked "if I had got over my pet, and +if I wanted anything." +</p> + +<p> +I did not, but wishing to make amends for my former +ill-humor, I asked him <i>to shut the windows</i>, which he did, +opening them again in less than five minutes, and fanning +me furiously, I was "so hot and fidgety." For several +hours he humored all my whims and caprices, and then, +as he saw I was tiring myself out, he began to exercise his +authority over me, telling me once, I remember, "to lie +still and behave, or I would make myself worse!" +</p> + +<p> +Intimidated by his voice and manner, I sank down +among my pillows, nor stirred again until I awoke from +a sweet sleep into which I had fallen. This time he was +gone, but Mrs. Lansing was with me, and the tones of +her voice seemed unusually kind as she addressed me. +Richard again came in, bearing a beautiful bouquet, which +he presented to me "as a peace offering," he said, "for +having scolded me so in the morning." +</p> + +<p> +Before night I was so much better that Ada, Lina, and +Halbert came in to see me, each expressing their pleasure +at my convalescence. But one there was who came not +to greet me, and at whose absence I greatly marvelled. +She had ever been the first to meet me in the morning, +and the last to leave me at night. Why, then, did she +tarry now, when I wished so much to see her? Alas, I +did not know that never again would her home be gladdened +by the sunshine of her presence, for it was Jessie +whom I missed—Jessie for whom I longed—straining my +ear to catch the sound of her ringing laugh or bounding +footsteps. +</p> + +<p> +At last, as the day wore on and she did not come, I +asked for her and why she stayed so long away. +</p> + +<p> +Wringing her hands, Mrs. Lansing exclaimed, "Tell her, +Richard, I cannot. It will kill me. Oh, Jessie, Jessie!" +</p> + +<p> +But I had no need for further knowledge. I saw what +I had not before observed, viz., the mourning garments +of those around me, and in tears of anguish, I cried, "My +darling is dead!" +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, Jessie is dead," answered Richard. "We shall +never see her again, for she is safe in the Happy Land, +of which you so often told her." +</p> + +<p> +I could not weep. My sorrow was too great for tears, +and covering my face I thought for a long, long time. +"Why was it," I asked myself, "that always when death +had hovered near me, <i>I</i> had been spared, and another +taken," for, as in the case of Jessie, so it had been with +brother Jamie—they had died, while I had lived, and with +a fervent thanksgiving to Heaven, which had dealt thus +mercifully with me, I prayed that it might not be in vain. +</p> + +<p> +Gradually, as I could bear it, Mr. Delafield told me the +sad story—how she had hung fearlessly over my pillow +when all else had deserted me—how she had come for +him—and how naught but her mother's peremptory +commands had taken her from my side. As he talked, there +came back to me a vague recollection of a fairy form, a +seraph I thought it to have been, which, when the dark +river was running fast at my feet, had hovered near, +whispering to me words of love, and bidding some one bury +me beneath the tall magnolia. Then he told me how she +had stood like a ministering spirit by the rude conch of +the poor Africans, who, with their dying breath, had +blessed her, calling her "The Angel of the Pines." From +her head he himself had shorn her beautiful shining curls, +one of which he gave to me, and which I prize as my most +precious treasure; for often as I look upon it, I see again +the little gleeful girl, my "Georgia rose," who, for a brief +space, dwelt within her fair southern home, and was then +transplanted to her native soil, where now she blooms, +the fairest, sweetest flower of all which deck the fields of +heaven. +</p> + +<p> +The shock of her death very naturally retarded my +recovery, and for many weeks more was I confined to my +room. About the middle of October, Charlie, whose +coming I had long expected, arrived, bringing to me the sad +news that death had again entered our household, that by +my father's and Jamie's grave was another mound, and at +home another vacant chair, that of my aged grandmother, +whose illness, he said, had prevented him from coming to +me sooner, adding further that they had purposely kept +her sickness from me, fearing the effect it might have. +Of Dr. Clayton he could tell me but little. He had not +visited Meadow Brook at all, but immediately after his +return to Boston, he had written to them, saying I was +out of danger, and Charlie must go for me, as soon as the +intense heat of summer was over. This was all they knew, +though with a woman's ready tact, both my mother and +my sisters conjectured that something was wrong, and +Charlie's first question after telling me what he did, was +to inquire into the existing state of affairs between me and +the doctor, and if it were my illness alone which had +deferred the marriage. +</p> + +<p> +"Don't ask me now," I replied, "not until we are far +from here, and then I will tell you all." +</p> + +<p> +This silenced Charlie, and once when Mr. Delafield +questioned him concerning Dr. Clayton, and why he, too, did +not come for me, he replied evasively, but in a manner +calculated still further to mislead Mr. Delafield, who had +no suspicion of the truth, though he fancied there was +something wrong. In the meantime he was to me the +same kind friend, ministering to all my wants, and with +a lavish generosity procuring for me every delicacy, +however costly it might be. +</p> + +<p> +One day Charlie, with his usual abruptness, said to me, +"Rose, why didn't you fall in love with Mr. Delafield? I +should much rather have him than a widower." +</p> + +<p> +The hot blood rushed to my cheeks as I replied quickly, +"He is engaged to Miss Montrose. They were to have +been married this fall, Mrs. Lansing said, but the +marriage is, I presume, deferred on account of their recent +affliction. At least I hear nothing said of it." +</p> + +<p> +"If I am any judge of human nature," returned Charlie, +"Mr. Delafield cares far more for <i>you</i> than for Miss +Montrose, even if they <i>are</i> engaged. But then you are poor, +while she is rich, and that I suppose makes the difference." +</p> + +<p> +I knew Mr. Delafield too well to suspect him of mercenary +motives in marrying Ada, and so I said, "He loved +her, of course, and it was natural that he should, for +though she had some faults, he probably saw in her enough +of good to overbalance the bad." +</p> + +<p> +And still I could not help thinking that, as Charlie had +said, his attentions to me were far more loverlike than +they were towards her. But then I fancied that his +kindness was prompted by the pity which he felt for me, a +young girl so far from home. Thus the days wore on, +leaving me deceived—and him deceived, while the letter +still lay behind the bureau! +</p> + +<p> +At last the morning dawned on which I was to say good-by +to the scenes I loved so well. I was to leave the "sunny +South," with its dark evergreens, its flowering vines, its +balmy air. I was to leave <i>him</i>, who, ere the next autumn +leaves were falling, would take to his beautiful home a +bride. Then I thought of little Jessie's grave, which I +had not seen, and on which my tears would never fall, and +taking from its hiding-place the tress of shining hair, I +wept over that my last adieu. It was later than usual +when Mr. Delafield appeared, and as he came in I saw +that he was very pale. +</p> + +<p> +"Are you sick?" I asked, as he wiped the perspiration +from his face. +</p> + +<p> +"No, no," he hurriedly answered; at the same time +crossing over to a side table, he poured out and drank two +large goblets of ice water. +</p> + +<p> +Then resuming his former seat near me, he took my +hand, and looking me earnestly in my face, said, "<i>Rose</i>, +shall I ever see you here again?" +</p> + +<p> +Before I could answer, Ada, chimed in, "Of course +we shall. Do coax the doctor to bring you here +sometime, and let us see how you bear the honors of being +madam!" +</p> + +<p> +Instantly the earnest look passed away from Mr. Delafield's +face, and was succeeded by a scowl, which remained +until the carriage which was to take me to the dépôt +was announced. Then the whole expression of his +countenance changed, and for a brief instant my heart thrilled +with joy, for I could not mistake the deep meaning of his +looks as he bent over me and whispered his farewell. +</p> + +<p> +"God bless you, Rose," he said. "<i>My Rose</i> I once +hoped to call you. But it cannot be. Farewell!" +</p> + +<p> +There was one burning kiss upon my lips, and the next +moment he was gone. +</p> + +<p> +"Are you going to the dépôt?" asked his sister, as he +was leaving the room. +</p> + +<p> +"No, no, no," he replied, and then as Charlie again +bade me come, I rose bewildered to my feet, hardly +realizing when Mrs. Lansing, Ada and Lina bade me adieu. +Halbert went with me in the carriage, and together with +Charlie looked wonderingly at me, as I unconsciously +repeated in a whisper, "<i>My Rose</i> I once hoped to call +you. It is <i>Ada</i> who stands in the way," I said to myself, +and covering my face with my veil, I wept as I thought of +all I had lost when Richard Delafield offered his heart to +another. He <i>did</i> love me. I was sure of that, but what +did it avail me. He was too honorable to break his +engagement with Ada, so henceforth I must walk alone, bearing +the burden of an aching heart. +</p> + +<p class="t3"> + ——————<br> +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, I have loved you so much," said Halbert, winding +his arms about my neck—"loved you as I shall never love +another teacher," and the boy's tears flowed fast as he bade +me good-by. +</p> + +<p> +One parting glance at Cedar Grove, one last lingering +look at Sunny Bank, one thought of Jessie's grave, and +then the hissing engine shot out into the woods, leaving +them all behind. Leaning back on Charlie's arm and +drawing my veil over my face, I thought how impossible +it was that I should ever visit that spot again. +</p> + +<p class="t3"> + ——————<br> +</p> + +<p> +In the meantime a far different scene was being enacted +in the apartment I had just vacated. Scarcely had the +whistle of the engine died away in the distance, when a +troup of blacks, armed with boiling suds and scrubbing-brushes, +entered my chamber for the purpose of cleaning +it. They had carried from it nearly every article of +furniture, and nothing remained save the matting and the +bureau, the latter of which they were about to remove +when they were surprised at the unexpected appearance +of Mr. Delafield, who could not resist the strong desire +which he felt to stand once more in the room where <i>Rose</i> +had spent so many weary weeks. For a moment the +blacks suspended their employment, and then Linda, who +seemed to be leading, took hold of the bureau, giving one +end of it a shove towards the center of the room. The +movement dislodged the long-lost letter, which, covered +with dirt and cobwebs, fell upon the floor, at her feet. +She was the same woman who, weeks before, had carelessly +knocked off the letter, which she now picked up +and handed to Mr. Delafield, saying, as she wiped off the +dirt, "It must have laid thar a heap of a while, and now +I think on't, 'pears like ever so long ago, when I was +breshin' the bureau, I hearn somethin' done drap, but I +couldn't find nothin', and it must have been this." +</p> + +<p> +Glancing at the superscription, and recognizing the +handwriting of Dr. Clayton, Mr. Delafield broke the +seal, and read! From black to white—from white to +red—from red to speckled—and from speckled back again to +its natural color, grew his face as he proceeded, while his +eyes grew so dazzlingly bright with the intensity of his +feelings that the negroes, who watched him, whispered +among themselves that he "must be gwine stark mad." +</p> + +<p> +His active, quick-seeing mind took in the meaning of +each sentence, and even before he had finished the letter +he understood everything just as it was—why Rose had +appeared so strangely when she read Dr. Clayton's letter +to herself, and realized perfectly what her feelings must +have been as day after day went by and he still "<i>made no +sign</i>." +</p> + +<p> +"But she is mine now, <i>thank Heaven!</i> and nothing +shall take her from me," he exclaimed aloud, unmindful +of the presence of the negroes, who, confirmed in their +impression of his insanity, looked curiously after him as +he went down the stairs, down the walk, and out into the +street, proceeding with rapid strides towards the dépôt. +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap28"></a></p> + +<h2> +CHAPTER XXVIII. +<br><br> +THE CHASE. +</h2> + +<p> +The railroad which passed through W—— was only a +branch of the main route leading to Charleston, and +consequently there were but two passenger trains each way +per day; and as Mr. Delafield's great object now was to +reach Charleston before the boat in which Rose was to +sail should leave the landing, it seemed impossible for +him to wait until night, for not until then was the next +train due. Suddenly he remembered that the express +train left Augusta about four o'clock P.M. It was now +ten, and he could easily reach it in time for the cars, +provided there had been no change in the time table. +To ascertain this, therefore, he hastened to the dépôt, +where to his dismay he learned that the train left Augusta +at two. +</p> + +<p> +But with him to will was to do. Flying rather than +walking back to his house, he called out Bill, his +coachman, startling him with the inquiry as to whether it +would be possible, with his best horses, a span of beautiful +dappled grays, which were valued at a thousand dollars, +to drive to Augusta in less than four hours. +</p> + +<p> +Besides being naturally lazy and unwilling for exertion +of any kind, <i>Bill</i> was also remarkably tender of said grays, +who were his pride, and whom he had named <i>Fred</i> and +<i>Ferd</i>. On hearing his master's inquiry, therefore, he +looked perfectly aghast, and diving both hands into his +matted wool, by way of illustration undoubtedly, replied, +"Mighty tough scratching I can tell you, mars'r. Them +ponies hain't been driv, only what I've ex'cized 'em for +health, for better'n a month, and to run 'em as I'd hev +to run 'em, would kill 'em stone dead. No, mars'r, can't +think on't for a minit," and as if this were conclusive, +and his word the law, Bill stuffed his hands into his +bagging trousers, and was walking quietly away, when +Mr. Delafield stopped him, saying, "I shall try it at all +events. So get out the carriage immediately, and mind +you are not over five minutes doing it. Ask some one to +help you, if necessary—ho, Jack," and he called to a +ragged mulatto boy who was doing nothing, and bade +him assist Bill in harnessing the horses. +</p> + +<p> +Rolling his white eyes in utter astonishment at what +seemed to him the folly of his master, Bill began to +expostulate, "Lor, mars'r, you kill"—— +</p> + +<p> +"Silence, and do as I bid you," said Mr. Delafield, in +a tone which Bill thought best to obey, and sauntering +off to the stables, he brought out the ponies, who pranced +and pawed the ground, while he admired their flowing +manes and smooth shining coats. +</p> + +<p> +Then seeing Jack standing near, ready to help, he +haughtily ordered him away, saying, "Nobody but myself +is fit to tache these critters. They'd know in a minit +if a low-lived nigger like you came a near." +</p> + +<p> +Nothing loath, Jack walked off, while Bill proceeded +leisurely to harness the beautiful animals, talking to them +as if they were intelligent beings, and telling them, +"never to fear—they wan't a gwine to be druv to Gusty +in two hours, and no sich thing. Bill sot on the box, and +'twas nothin' to mars'r, who was lollin' on the cushions +inside." +</p> + +<p> +At this point he was startled by the voice of Mr. Delafield, +who, having hastily packed a few articles in his +portmanteau, and written a line to his sister, had come out +to superintend in person the movements of his servant, +whose peculiarities he perfectly understood. +</p> + +<p> +"So ho," said he, "you mean to cheat me do you?" +at the same time signifying his intention of having the +horses go as fast as he liked. +</p> + +<p> +"The Lord help Fred and Ferd then, for Bill can't," +was the mental ejaculation of the negro as he saw the fire +in his master's eye and knew he must be obeyed. +</p> + +<p> +Still he managed to be as slow as possible, insisting +that "Ferd allus had to drink two buckets and a half, or +he wan't wutha dime," adding in a conciliatory tone, that +"with two buckets and a half in him he'd run like +lightnin'." +</p> + +<p> +Very impatiently Mr. Delafield waited for the disappearance +of the requisite amount of water, consulting his +watch, counting the minutes, and at last remarking that +it took Ferd a wonderful while to drink. +</p> + +<p> +"That's 'case he's sich a 'strordinary beast every way," +answered Bill, who for some little time had been holding +an <i>empty</i> bucket to the horse's mouth. +</p> + +<p> +He was going to replenish a third time when his master +ordered him back, telling him he could wait no longer; +with another glance at his watch, he entered the carriage, +while Bill, loudly lamenting the half bucket, without +which Ferd would surely die, mounted the box, where he +spent quite a while in comfortably disposing of his long, +lank limbs and in adjusting his palmleaf hat. +</p> + +<p> +"Go on, you rascal," shouted Mr. Delafield, beginning +to lose his temper; and gathering up the reins, Bill +whistled to the spirited animals, who dashed off at a far +greater speed than their driver thought was at all +conducive to their well being. +</p> + +<p> +"Hold on dar, Ferd! Stop dat foolin', will you, Fred! +Easy dar, both on you, for you come mighty nigh histin' +me off de box!" +</p> + +<p> +This last was said quite loud for the benefit of Mr. Delafield, +who, perceiving that their speed had slackened, for +they were well trained and readily obeyed Bill's voice, +called out, "Drive faster, I tell you. Give them the +ribbons, and let them run." +</p> + +<p> +"Lor' a'mighty," answered Bill, now coming to a dead +halt in order that his master might be better impressed +with what he said. "You don't understand hoss flesh. +At this rate you kills 'em in less than no time. Ferd +never 'ill stan' it with them two buckets of water, 'case +you see how shakin' him up dis way dey'll get bilin' hot +and nobody can live with boilin' water in 'em." +</p> + +<p> +Provoked as he was, Mr. Delafield could not repress a +smile at the subterfuges of Bill to spare his horses, but +he bade him drive on, saying, however, that he need not +drive them at the top of their speed immediately, as they +would be more likely to give out, "but after a mile or +two," he continued, "put them through with the whip if +necessary." +</p> + +<p> +"Lor, mars'r," answered Bill from the box, without +moving an inch, "I never tache them with a whip in de +world. Fred would jump clar out of his skin. All dey +want to make 'em kill deyselves is a loose rein and a +whistle—so." +</p> + +<p> +Suiting the action to the word, he whistled long and +loud, whereupon the horses started forward as if a volley +of artillery had been fired at their heels, while mingled +with the roll of the wheels, Mr. Delafield heard the +distressed Bill, saying, "Whoa, dar, Ferdinand, can't you +whoa when I tell you. Think of the bilin' water, and +keep easy. Come Frederic, you set him a 'xample. +That's a good boy, no 'casion for all dis hurry, if we misses +one train we catches another. All de same thing. We +ain't chasin' a runaway gal, as I knows of." +</p> + +<p> +After a little he succeeded in stopping them, and for +the next ten or fifteen minutes they proceeded on rather +leisurely, and Bill was beginning to think his master had +come to his senses, when he was startled with the stern +command, "Let them run now as fast as they will. Don't +check them at all until we reach the dépôt." +</p> + +<p> +Accordingly, for a mile or so the horses rushed on at +headlong speed, Bill sympathizing with them deeply and +mentally promising himself "to tend 'em mighty keerful +to pay for this." +</p> + +<p> +At last, when he thought it safe to do so, he held them +in, taking the precaution, however to say aloud, "Get +along dar, Ferd—none your lazy tricks here when mars'r's +in sich a hurry. Can't you get along dar, I say. An' you, +Fred, wake up yer bones to de merits of de case." +</p> + +<p> +But if in this way he thought to deceive the resolute +man inside he was mistaken. Perceiving that their speed +was considerably slackened, and hearing Bill loudly +reproach the horses for their laziness, Mr. Delafield softly +opened the carriage door, and leaning out, learned the +cause of the delay. Bolt upright upon the box, with his +brawny feet firmly braced against the dash-board so as to +give him more power, sat Bill, clutching the reins with +might and main, for the horses' mettle was up and it +required his entire strength to keep them from running +furiously! All this time, too, the cunning negro kept +chiding them for their indolence in moving so slowly! +</p> + +<p> +"Bill," said Mr. Delafield, sternly, "stop the carriage +instantly." +</p> + +<p> +"Lord a massy, mars'r," exclaimed the frightened Bill. +"You almost skeered me off de box. Ferd won't get +along nohow. I tells him and I tells him how you're in +de hurry—don't you mind how I keeps telling him to get +along, I reckons he wants dat t'other half bucket of +water." +</p> + +<p> +"I understand you perfectly," said Mr. Delafield, alighting +from the carriage, and to the utter astonishment of +Bill, mounting the box and taking the reins in his own +hands. "I understand your tricks, and for the rest of the +way I shall drive myself!" +</p> + +<p> +Rolling his eyes wildly in their sockets, the crestfallen +Bill folded his arms and resigned the horses to their fate, +saying mentally, "I shall war mournin' for 'em, I shall, +and he may help hisself." +</p> + +<p> +Over rough and stony places—over smooth and sandy +roads—over hills, over plains—through the woods, through +the swamps, and through the winding valleys, on they +sped like lightning, the excited horses covered with foam, +their driver stern, silent and determined, while poor Bill, +with the perspiration streaming down his shining face, +kept up a continued expostulation, "Now, mars'r, for de +dear Lord's sake, stop 'em 'fore dey draps down dead. +Look at de white specks all over Ferd's back—he'll never +stan' it without dat t'other half bucket. You kills 'em +sartin, and dar goes a thousand dollars, smack and +clean." +</p> + +<p> +But Bill's entreaties were all in vain, and his distress +was at its height, when fortunately his thoughts were +diverted in another channel. At a sudden turn of the +road a gust of wind lifted the old palmleaf from his woolly +head, and carried it far away. "Now, dear Mars'r," said +Bill, laying his hand on that of Mr. Delafield, "you'll +sartin let 'em breathe while I picks up my hat, 'case you +see how'll you look gwine into town wid a bareheaded +nigger. In de Lord's name, stop," he continued, as he saw +in his master no signs of relenting. +</p> + +<p> +Glancing over his shoulder Mr. Delafield saw the hat +away over the fields, and quietly taking a bill from his +pocket and placing it in the negro's hand, he replied: +"That will buy you five such hats." +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, but de hosses, lor' a mighty, de hosses!" +exclaimed Bill almost frantically. "Don't you see Ferd is +gwine to gin out?" +</p> + +<p> +Mr. Delafield feared so, too, and more to himself than +to his servant, he said, "perhaps the cars will be behind +time, they usually are." +</p> + +<p> +Without considering the consequences, Bill answered, +"No, they won't; case I hear how they hired a tarin' +Yankee for an <i>engine</i>, and he drives all afore him—gits +ahead of de time and all dat." +</p> + +<p> +The next minute he repented a speech whose disastrous +effects he foresaw, and he was about to deny it as a +fabrication of his own brain, when his master, who really saw +signs of lagging in the nervous, fiery Ferd, said, "Bill, +you have a peculiar whistle with which you spur up the +horses—make it now; Ferd has run himself almost +down." +</p> + +<p> +"De Lord have massy on us," groaned Bill, wiping +away a tear; then, as Mr. Delafield repeated his order, +he said, in a whining tone, "Can't, mars'r, nohow; case +you see my throat is dreffle sore, ridin' barheaded so in +the breeze which you kicks up—can't, nohow." +</p> + +<p> +"But you must," persisted Mr. Delafield. +</p> + +<p> +Bill still refused, until at last, as they approached the +town, they heard a heavy, rumbling sound. It was the roll +of cars in the distance, and starting up, Mr. Delafield +seized the negro by the shoulder and in thunder tones +called out, "Whistle!" +</p> + +<p> +"Lord, mars'r, I will, I will," gasped Bill, terrified at +the fiery gleam of his master's eye, and from his mouth +there issued a most unearthly sound, which, mingled with +the shriek of the fast coming engine, urged on the jaded +horses to one more desperate effort. +</p> + +<p> +A few more mad plunges and they reached the dépôt, +covered with foam and frothing at the mouth, just as the +train was moving slowly away. With one pitying farewell +glance at his dying grays, Mr. Delafield exclaimed, "Cut +the harness instantly," and then with a bound sprung up. +on the platform, which he reached just as Bill called after +him in mournful accents, "Ferd's dead, mars'r, Ferd is," +while, mingled with the roar of the machinery he caught +the faint echo of something about "t'other half bucket +of water!" +</p> + +<p> +But little cared he for that. Rosa Lee was to be +overtaken, and to accomplish this, he would willingly have +sacrificed every horse of which he was owner, even were +they twice as valuable as the dappled grays. +</p> + +<p> +So, wishing him a successful journey, and leaving him +on the same seat with a Yankee pedler, who saw him +when he came up and "<i>guessed</i> he was after a runaway +nigger," we return for a moment to Bill, who with tears +streaming from his eyes, watched the struggles of Fred +until the noble animal was dead, bringing him water which +he vainly coaxed him to drink, while the bystanders, who +crowded around, asked him innumerable questions as to +why they drove so fast and where his master was going. +</p> + +<p> +To the first Bill could not reply, but to the last he +promptly answered, as he patted the remains of the +departed Ferdinand, "Gwine to the <i>devil</i>, in course! Whar +you spect a white man to go, what treats hosses in dis +kind of style, won't let 'em hev all the water dey wants +and drives 'em till dey draps dead in der tracks." +</p> + +<p> +The story of the half bucket was duly rehearsed, Bill +firmly believing that if Ferd had drank it, he would +undoubtedly have lived "dis minit and been as spry as a +cricket." "But now he's dead and Fred, too," continued +the negro, as the latter ceased to move. "Sich another +span of hosses, thar ain't in all Georgy," and laying his +black face upon the neck of the insensible Ferd, the negro +cried like a child. +</p> + +<p> +"There is one comfort, at least, my boy," said a +gentlemanly looking man, who stood near and who knew +Mr. Delafield, "your horses didn't suffer, for they were too +much excited." +</p> + +<p> +This in a measure consoled Bill, who, wiping his eyes, +asked what he was to do with them, saying he "never +could dig thar grave." +</p> + +<p> +"My negroes shall do it for you," answered the stranger, +and in a short time several stalwart men were busy in an +adjacent field making a grave for the dappled grays, +which they carefully buried, while on a stump, with his +head resting on his knees, sat Bill as chief mourner. +</p> + +<p> +"I wish I knew a pra'r," he whispered to himself, "for +if ever hosses 'sarved it they do;" but the rude African +had never prayed since he was a little child, and thinking +himself too old to begin now, he rose up from the stump, +just as his companions, having finished their task, were +beginning to ridicule his bare head, telling him he must +have an unkind master, judging from his own appearance +and the sad fates of the horses, while one of them advised +him to run away. +</p> + +<p> +This was touching Bill in a tender point, for though +he had loved the horses much, he loved his master more, +and he would not hear him censured; accordingly he +retorted petulantly that thar warn't a better master in +all Georgy than mars'r Dick, nor a richer one neither,—and +'twan't nobody's business if he killed five hundred +horses—he could afford it—'twan't as though he was poor +and owned nothin' but a few <i>low trash</i> like the "'Gusty +niggers!" +</p> + +<p> +This insinuation the "'Gusty niggers," chose to resent +as an insult, and a regular negro fight ensued, in which +Bill, being the weaker party, came off rather badly beaten, +his face being scratched in several places, while his pants +received a huge rent, which in no wise tended to improve +his personal appearance. Matters being at last amicably +adjusted, the victorious party returned home, while Bill, +who had frequently been in Augusta with his master, +wended his way to a hatter's shop, where he soon made +himself the owner of a second-hand beaver, which at his +request was ornamented by a weed of crape as a badge of +mourning for his favorite steeds. Then seeing that the +carriage was safely stowed away, he started on foot for +home, stopping at the negro quarters of almost every +plantation to relate his wonderful adventures. As he +was perfectly trusty and faithful, he was always allowed +to carry a pass by his good-natured master and thus he +found no difficulty in his journey, which he took quite +leisurely, never reaching Sunny Bank until the close of +the second day after the one on which he had left it. +</p> + +<p> +In the meantime Mr. Delafield, with closely knit brows +and compressed lip, his usual look when he was in deep +thought, sat musing of the time when Rosa Lee would +be his wife, while at his side the Yankee pedler, with +his basket of essence carefully stowed under the seat, was +casting curious glances at his companion, whose history +he was desirous of knowing. But there was something +in Mr. Delafield's appearance which forbade familiarity, +so for once the loquacious Yankee was silent. +</p> + +<p> +They were now about half way between Augusta and +Charleston and going at great speed, when suddenly at a +short curve there was a violent commotion—the passengers +were pitched forward and backward, while the engine +plunged down a steep embankment, throwing the train +from the track and dragging after it the baggage car, +which in some way became detached from the rest. The +new "Yankee engineer" was a darling, reckless fellow, +who at the North had been discharged for carelessness, +and had come to try his fortune at the South. Fortunately +no one was seriously hurt except Mr. Delafield, +whose injuries were simply <i>mental</i>, as he knew this +accident would probably detain them for many hours. In +a perfect storm of excitement he stalked up and down +the track, asking the conductor every few minutes how +long it would probably be before they could go on, and +at last growing so dark in his face that the Yankee, after +looking over his essence basket and finding but few of +his bottles broken, ventured to say, "Now, <i>Squire</i>, don't +git mad at a feller for askin' a sassy question, but I raley +du want to know if there ain't a little atom of black +blood in you?" +</p> + +<p> +"Very likely," answered Mr. Delafield; while the +Yankee, now that the ice was broken, continued to ply +him with questions, which, though very annoying to the +haughty Southerner, tended to relieve in a measure the +tediousness of waiting. +</p> + +<p> +The sun had long been set and the stars were shining +brightly ere they were able to proceed, and it was after +midnight when they at last reached Charleston. Driving +immediately to the landing, Mr. Delafield to his great +joy found that the steamer bound for New York still lay +at the wharf and would not start until morning. But +was Rosa Lee on board? That was a question which +puzzled him, and as there was no way of satisfying himself +until morning, he sat down in one of the state-rooms +and rather impatiently awaited the dawn of day. +</p> + +<p class="thought"> +* * * * * * +</p> + +<p> +The hurry—the confusion—and the excitement of +starting was over. We were out upon the deep blue sea, +and from the window of my state-room I watched the +distant shore as it slowly receded from view, and felt that +I was leaving the land of sunlight and of flowers. +Notwithstanding the fatiguing journey of the previous day, +I was better this morning than I had been for many +months before, for I had slept quietly through the night. +</p> + +<p> +An hour or two after breakfast Charlie came to me +with a very peculiar expression on his face and asked me +to go upon deck, saying the fresh breeze would do me +good. I consented willingly, and throwing on my shawl +and a simple Leghorn flat which had been of much service +to me at Cedar Grove, and which Mr. Delafield had often +said was very becoming, I went out with Charlie, who +led me to the rear of the boat, where he said we were not +so liable to be disturbed. Seating me upon a small settee +he asked to be excused for a few moments, saying I should +not be long alone. The motion of the boat produced a +slight dizziness in my head, and leaning my elbow upon +the arm of the settee I shaded my eyes with my hand and +sat lost in thought until I heard the sound of a footstep. +</p> + +<p> +"It was Charlie," I said, so I did not look up, even +when he sat down by my side and wound his arm around +me, wrapping my shawl closer together, oh, so gently! +"Charlie is very tender of me since my sickness," I +thought, and much I loved that he should thus caress +me. It thrilled me strangely, bringing back to my mind +the night when I sat in the vine-wreathed arbor, where I +should never sit again. +</p> + +<p> +For a moment there was perfect silence and I could +hear the beating of Charlie's heart. Then leaning +forward and removing my hand from my eyes, he pressed a +kiss upon my lips and whispered as he did so, "<i>My own +Rose!</i>" +</p> + +<p> +Once, when I was apparently dying, the sound of that +voice had called me back to life, and now with a cry of +joy I sprang to my feet and turning round, stood face to +face with <i>Richard Delafield</i>, who, stretching his arms +towards me, said, "Come to my bosom, Rose. Henceforth +it is your resting-place." +</p> + +<p> +The shock was too much for me in my weak state. A +faintness stole over me, and if I obeyed his command, it +was because I could not help it! +</p> + +<p> +When I returned to consciousness, Richard's arms were +around me, and my head was resting upon his bosom, +while he whispered to me words which I leave to the +imagination, as I dare not give them to the world, lest he +(<i>Uncle Dick</i> I call him) should be angry in his way, and +I have learned to be a very little afraid of him since that +morning when on board the steamer Delphine we sat and +talked together of the past. +</p> + +<p> +Wonderingly I listened while he told me how long he +had loved me—how once he had thought to tell me of his +love, but the manner in which I answered his leading +question disheartened him, for he feared his affection was +not returned—how it had filled his heart with bitter grief +when he saw me about to marry another—how his sister +had deceived him or he should have spoken to me then—and +how in a moment of temptation when he stood over +my pillow he had asked that I might die, for he would +far rather that death should be his rival than a fellow +man. Then as he thought how near I had been to the +dark valley he shudderingly drew me closer to his side +and told me how he had wondered at Dr. Clayton's leaving +me so abruptly, and how sometimes when a ray of hope +was beginning to dawn upon him, it had been chilled by +my manner, which he now understood. +</p> + +<p> +"You cannot conceive," said he in conclusion, "what +my feelings were yester morn when I bade you adieu, nor +yet can you comprehend the overwhelming delight I +experienced when I read that letter and felt that you would +at last be mine." +</p> + +<p> +When he had ceased to speak I took up the story and +told him of all my own feelings, and that nothing would +ever have induced me to think for a moment of becoming +Dr. Clayton's wife, but the belief that he was engaged to +Ada, a story which I told him his sister affirmed when I +went to her for counsel. +</p> + +<p> +"And so Angeline played a double part," said he, +sighing deeply; "I never thought she could be guilty of so +much deception, though I have always known she was +averse to my marrying any one." +</p> + +<p> +Of Ada he said that never for a moment had he been +engaged to her. "She is to me like a sister," said he, +"and though I know she has many faults, I am greatly +attached to her, for we have lived together many years. +She was committed to my care by her father and I shall +always be faithful to my trust. And if, dear Rose, in the +future, circumstances should render it necessary for her +to live with us, shall you object? She cannot harm you +now." +</p> + +<p> +He had talked to me much of his love, but, not a word +before had he said of my sharing his home at Sunny Bank, +so I rather coquettishly answered, "You talk of my living +with you as a settled matter, and still you have not asked +me if I would." +</p> + +<p> +A shadow for a moment darkened his face, and then +with a very quizzical expression he made me a formal offer +of himself and fortune, asking me pointedly if I would +accept it—and—and, well, of course, I did what my readers +knew I would do when I first told them of the <i>dark man</i> +at the theater—I said <i>yes</i>, and promised to return with +him to Sunny Bank as soon as my health would permit, +which he was positive would be in a very few weeks, for +he should be my daily physician, and "love, he said, +would work miracles." +</p> + +<p> +Thus you see we were engaged—<i>Richard and I</i>! +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap29"></a></p> + +<h2> +CHAPTER XXIX. +<br><br> +HUMAN NATURE. +</h2> + +<p> +The sun had set on Ceder Grove, and together on the +broad, airy piazza sat Mrs. Lansing and Ada, rather +impatiently waiting for Richard, whom they had not seen +since he left them so abruptly in the morning. Greatly +relieved at the absence of one whom she had in a measure +dreaded as a rival, Ada began to hope that the conquest +of her guardian would now be a comparatively easy matter, +and as she knew the effect which a pretty face and a becoming +dress had upon him, she had spent a great deal of time +upon this evening's toilet, and looked unusually young +and handsome in her pale blue tissue, with her soft curls +falling over her white uncovered neck. +</p> + +<p> +That day she had talked a long time with Mrs. Lansing, +who had not only expressed her willingness to receive her +as a sister, but had also promised to do whatever she could +to forward the matter. Believing Mrs. Lansing to have +far more influence over her brother than she really had, +Ada began to entertain hopes of soon becoming a bride, +and when she thought no one could see her, actually wrote +upon a card, "Mr. and Mrs. E. Delafield," just to see +how it would look! It looked well, she thought, and +smoothing from her brow a frown which had been caused +by her finding among her waving tresses a long white +hair, she went down to the piazza to await Richard's +coming. +</p> + +<p> +"He has not been here since morning, and I am sure +he'll come to-night. You know he has latterly been a +most constant visitor," remarked Mrs. Lansing. +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, but possibly the attraction which kept him so +much here is gone," faintly suggested Ada. +</p> + +<p> +"Fie!" returned Mrs. Lansing, with a toss of her head. +"I know Richard better than that, and though he may at +one time have felt a slight interest in Miss Lee, I am +positive 'tis nothing serious, or lasting. Only think of it, +Richard Delafield marry my <i>governess</i>, a poor +<i>schoolmistress</i>! What would his fashionable acquaintance in +Augusta and Charleston say, setting aside our friends in +New Orleans!" +</p> + +<p> +And on the proud woman's face there was a sneer at +the very idea of her brother's thus disgracing himself. +</p> + +<p> +"Hark! I do believe he's coming," said Ada, as she +heard approaching footsteps, and she had just time to adjust +her skirts gracefully when there stood before her, not +Mr. Delafield, but the servant to whom had been intrusted +the note for Mrs. Lansing. +</p> + +<p> +This the negro had entirely forgotten until it was +recalled to his mind by the continued absence of his master, +whose return they had confidently expected before night. +Taking the note from his hand, Mrs. Lansing hastily +glanced at its contents, and then, with an exclamation of +surprise, handed it to Ada, who turned deathly pale as +she saw her new-born hopes crushed at once and forever; +and if now she clasped her hand upon her side, the action, +was not feigned, for a pain, which blistering could not +heal, was indeed there—the pain of wounded pride at +seeing a humble, obscure girl preferred to herself. For +several minutes not a word was spoken, and then Mrs. Lansing, +who knew it would not be politic to quarrel with +her brother, said, "I am astonished at Richard's proceedings, +but I suppose there is no help for it, and we may as +well make the best of it. Miss Lee ain't the worst girl in +the world. She had many friends in the village—was +well educated, and with a few lessons from us on some +points of etiquette she may do very well." +</p> + +<p> +"<i>Us</i>," angrily retorted Ada. "When <i>I</i> teach Dick +Delafield's wife etiquette I shall be older than I am now." +</p> + +<p> +"And <i>that</i> you would not care to be;" said Mrs. Lansing, +a little sarcastically. +</p> + +<p> +She was a woman, who, if essential to her own interest, +could turn with every breeze, and though she was not +pleased with her brother's choice, she did not deem it +advisable to provoke his anger by quarreling about it, for +when once roused, but few could cope with his resolute, +determined spirit. Then too, Rosa Lee was yielding and +generous, and would not object even if her husband should +bestow half his fortune upon his sister; so after all it +might be better to have her the mistress of Sunny Bank +than one like Ada, who was more selfish and wanted +everything for herself. Thus Mrs. Lansing reasoned, +coming at last to feel quite amiably disposed towards Rosa +Lee, whom she fully intended to manage in her own way, +and she was about making up her mind to write a kind, +sisterly letter to said Rosa, when her attention was +attracted by a loud sobbing, and looking round she saw Ada +weeping violently. +</p> + +<p> +As well as she could love any one, Ada had loved her +guardian, and the knowledge that he was now lost to her, +overcame her for a time, and covering her face with her +hands, she cried aloud. Mrs. Lansing had never really +loved in her life, so she could not appreciate the feeling, +and she made no effort to soothe the weeping girl who +that night wet her pillow with bitter tears, and who next +morning looked weary, pale and old, as she languidly +took her seat at the breakfast table. Still Ada was not +one to love very deeply, and as on this occasion her pride +was touched rather than her heart, she ere long grew +calm, and with Mrs. Lansing wisely resolved to make the +best of it. Then, too, there arose the very natural desire +to conceal from Richard that she had ever cared for him, +and to do this she thought she must <i>pretend</i> to be pleased +with his choice. Accordingly when Mrs. Lansing wrote +to her brother, Ada inclosed a gilt-edged note, in which +she congratulated him upon his intended marriage, telling +him she had foreseen it from the first and ended by +sending her love to "<i>Rose</i>." Thus, because she thought +it would be for her interest, did Mrs. Lansing deem it +best to change her tactics, while Ada was too proud to +evince any open hostility, though in her heart she hated +the future bride and lamented the fatality which had +decreed that she should be rivaled by "both of those Lee +girls." +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap30"></a></p> + +<h2> +CHAPTER XXX. +<br><br> +"THE SOUTHERN PLANTER'S NORTHERN BRIDE." +</h2> + +<p> +Over the New England hills the hazy light of a most +glorious Indian Summer was shining, while the forest +trees, in their gorgeous array of crimson and gold, lifted +their tall heads as proudly as if they heard not in the +distance the voice of coming sorrows, and the sighing of +winter winds. The birds had flown to their southern +home where I fondly hoped to meet them, for I was to +be a bride—Richard's bride—and the day for my bridal +had come. We had been everywhere—Richard and I—all +over the old Meadow Brook farm, sacred to me for +the many hallowed associations which clustered around it, +and very, very dear to him because it was my childhood's +home. So he told me when we stood for the last time +beneath the spreading grapevine, and I pointed out to +him the place where years before I had lain in the long +green grass and wept over the fickleness of one who was +naught to me now, save a near friend. +</p> + +<p> +Together we had sat in the old brown schoolhouse,—he +in the big armchair, and I—but no matter where <i>I</i> sat +when I told him of the little romping girl with yellow +hair, who had there first learned to con the alphabet and +to trace on the gaily colored maps the boundary lines of +Georgia, little dreaming that her home would one day +be there. Then when I showed him the bench where I +had lain when the faintness came over me, he wound his +arm closer around me,—though wherefore I do not know. +Together too, we had gone over the old farmhouse, he +lingering longest in the room where I was born, and when +he thought I didn't see him, gathering a withered leaf +from the rose bush which grew beneath the window, +and which I told him I had planted when a little girl. +</p> + +<p> +Every woman, young and old, in the neighborhood and +in the village had seen him, either face to face or from +behind the folds of a muslin curtain, some calling him +"black and ugly," while others pronounced him "splendid," +and all I believe united in saying that, "Rosa Lee +had done wonders, considering she had no great amount +of beauty to do it with!" +</p> + +<p> +Once, when a remark like this came to Richard's ear +he smiled quietly and said, "Rosa Lee is beautiful to +me, for though her face may lack perfect regularity of +features and brilliancy of complexion, she has beauty of +a higher order, a beauty of the mind, which is seen in +her laughing blue eyes and sunny smile." +</p> + +<p> +Thus you see, my reader, that Richard thought I was +handsome, while strange as it may seem there were others +who said so too, and even I was sensible of a thrill of pride, +such as I suppose conscious <i>beauties</i> feel, when I stood +up before the mirror and saw how well I looked in my +bridal dress of satin and lace—his gift, but not the same +which he had purchased for me some months before. At +first I had proposed wearing the one intended for Dr. Clayton's +bride, but Richard would not suffer it, so I gave +it to Lizzy, who, as soon as <i>John Thompson</i> was of age, +which would be in January, would probably have need of +it! This same John was to be our groomsman and much +he amused Richard by telling him of the tall, hateful +boy who had once been a terror to a little schoolma'am +thirteen years of age, who now, with a heightened bloom +upon her cheek and a strange light in her eye, stood +waiting the summons to the parlor below. It came at +last, and as I laid my hand on Richard's arm he imprinted +a kiss upon my lips, "the last," he said, "he should ever +give to Rosa <i>Lee</i>." +</p> + +<p> +Of what came next I have only a faint remembrance. +There was a rustling of satin upon the narrow staircase, +down which Lizzie and I went a little in advance of +Richard and John Thompson, the latter of whom said +something in a low tone about <i>hoops</i> and the space they +occupied! this remark shocked <i>me</i> inexpressibly, but +Richard didn't seem to mind it at all. As we passed the +front door, the cool night wind (for it was evening) blew +over my face, reminding me of the South, it was so soft +and balmy. When we entered the parlor, I was conscious +of a goodly number of eyes fixed upon me, and as I +crossed over to a vacant spot under the looking-glass I +heard more than one say in a whisper, "Isn't she pretty?" +meaning Lizzie, I suppose! Then a man, whom I +recognized as the new Episcopal clergyman (I believe I've +never said that Richard was an Episcopalian) stood up +before us and said something about "<i>You Richard</i>—and +<i>You Rose</i>," after which Richard placed a ring upon my +finger, squeezing my hand a very little as he did so. Then, +followed a short prayer, in which I fancied the minister +made a mistake in our names, inasmuch as he spoke of +<i>Isaac</i> and <i>Rebecca</i> instead of <i>Richard</i> and <i>Rose</i>! This +being done I glanced at the bridegroom. There was no +scowl upon his forehead now, and I could see the light +shining out all over his face as he bent down and gently +whispered "<i>my wife</i>!" +</p> + +<p> +This dispelled the clouds at once, and as guest after +guest crowded around, offering their congratulations, +while Charlie and John Thompson vied with each other +in repeating my new name, I began to realize that I was +no longer Rosa Lee, but <i>Mrs. Richard Delafield</i>. +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap31"></a></p> + +<h2> +CHAPTER XXXI. +<br><br> +SUNNY BANK. +</h2> + +<p> +For a few days we lingered at my mother's fireside, and +then, with the fall of the first snowflake, we left for our +southern home; Richard promising my mother, who was +loth to give me up, that when the summer birds came hack +and roses were blooming again by the door, he would bring +his <i>Rose</i> to breathe once more the air of her native hills. +We stopped at New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and +Washington, and it was not until the holidays were passed +that we landed at last at Charleston and took the cars for +W—— which we reached about dark. +</p> + +<p> +With a loud cry of joy, <i>Bill</i>, who was waiting for us, +welcomed back his master, and then almost crushing my +fingers in his big black hand, said, with a sly wink, which +he meant should be very expressive, "I know, now what +mars'r kill dem hosses for!" at the same time making +some apology for the really sorry looking animals he was +compelled to drive in the place of the deceased Ferdinand +and Frederic. As we drove through the town I could not +help contrasting my present feelings with those of the year +before, when I thought I was leaving it forever. Then, +weary, sick and wretched, I had looked through blinding +tears towards Sunny Bank, which was now my home, while +at my side, with his arm around me, was its owner—my +husband. +</p> + +<p> +"You tremble, Rose," said he, as we drew near the +house, and he bade me be calmer, saying the meeting +between myself and his sister would soon be over. +</p> + +<p> +But it was not that which I dreaded. It was the +presentation to his servants, to whom I bore the formidable +relation of mistress, and for whose good opinion I cared +far more than I did for that of the haughty Mrs. Lansing. +Something like this I said to Richard, who assured me +that his household would love me because I was <i>his</i> +wife, if for no other reason, and thus I found it to be. +As we drove into the yard, we were surprised at seeing +the house brilliantly lighted, while through the open +windows forms of many persons were seen moving to +and fro. +</p> + +<p> +In a displeased tone of voice Richard said, "It is +Angeline's work, and I do not like it, for you need rest, and +are too much fatigued to see any one to-night, but I suppose +it cannot be avoided. Ho, Bill," he called to the +driver, "who is here?" +</p> + +<p> +"Some de quality," answered Bill, adding that "Miss +Angeline done 'vite 'em to see de bride." +</p> + +<p> +"She might at least have consulted my wishes," said +Richard, while my heart sank within me at being obliged +to meet strangers in my jaded condition. +</p> + +<p> +Mrs. Lansing, it seems, had in her mind a new piano +for Lina, their present one being rather old-fashioned, +and as the surest means of procuring one she thought to +please her brother by noticing his bride. So, in her zeal, +she rather overdid the matter, inviting to Sunny Bank +many of the villagers, some of whom were friendly to me +and some were not; though all, I believe, felt curious to +see how the "Plebeian Yankee" (thus Ada termed me) +would demean herself as the wife of a southern planter. +</p> + +<p> +Dusky faces, with white shining eyes, peered round the +corner of the building as the carriage stopped before the +door, and more than one whisper reached me. "Dat's +she—de new Miss, dat mars'r's liftin' so keerfully." +</p> + +<p> +Upon the piazza stood Mrs. Lansing, her face wreathed +in smiles, while at her side, in flowing white muslin, were +Ada and Lina, the former of whom sprang gaily down the +steps, and with well feigned joy threw herself into the +arms of her guardian, who, after kissing her affectionately, +presented her to me, saying, "Will Ada be a sister to my +wife?" +</p> + +<p> +"Anything, for your sake," answered Ada, with rather +more emphasis on <i>your</i> than was quite pleasing me. +</p> + +<p> +Mrs. Lansing came next, and there was something of +hauteur in her manner as she advanced, for much as she +desired to please her brother, she was not yet fully +prepared to meet me as an equal. But Richard knew the +avenue to her heart, and as he placed my hand in hers, he +said, "For the sake of Jessie you will love my bride, I am +sure." +</p> + +<p> +It was enough; Jessie was forgotten by many who had +wept bitterly when first they heard the sad news of her +death, but in the mother's heart there was an aching void, +and as if the gentle, blue-eyed child were pleading for me +from her little grave, the proud woman's eyes were moist +with tears as she said, "Yes, for Jessie's sake do I l——" +she paused, for with that sacred name upon her lips even +the could not utter a falsehood and say, "I love you," so +she qualified it, and after a moment continued, "I will +learn to love you, Rose, for such I know would be our +angel Jessie's wish." +</p> + +<p> +From Lina I expected no demonstration. She was too +selfish, too listless to care for any one, so when she coolly +shook my hand and called me <i>Mrs. Delafield</i>, I was quite +satisfied, particularly as the next moment Halbert caught +me round the neck, shouting out a noisy, but genuine +welcome to his "Aunt Rose," and telling me "he was mighty +glad I'd come back to stay for good." +</p> + +<p> +"You have quite a party," said Richard to his sister as +we entered the spacious hall, I shrinking behind him so as +to hide myself from the curious eyes which I knew were +scanning my dusty traveling dress. +</p> + +<p> +"Only a few friends, who I thought would be glad to +meet Miss Lee—I beg pardon—your wife," she hastily +added, as she saw the gathering frown upon his brow. +</p> + +<p> +With a look in his eye which made her quail, he said, +"Never make that mistake again, Angeline." (And she +never did!) "Rose is too much exhausted to appear in +the parlor to-night," he continued, as we entered my +room—our room—the pleasant, tasteful apartment, which I +once thought had been fitted up for Ada. "You ought +to have had more tact than to invite company on the first +night of my arrival—when you must have known how +weary Rose would be. She don't look like herself, so pale +and wayworn," he continued, himself removing my bonnet +and tenderly stroking my aching head. +</p> + +<p> +Nothing would please Ada better than to present me just +as I was, pale and jaded, with dark rims beneath my eyes, +induced by the severe headache from which I was really +suffering. It would show her own charms to greater +advantage, she thought, as she glanced at an opposite mirror +and saw the contrast between us. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, Richard," she said pleadingly, "pray don't object +to her going down; it wouldn't be polite, and then they are +all dying to see her." +</p> + +<p> +"Why then didn't they, some of them, improve the +opportunity when she was here before, and on show every +day," said Richard, moodily. +</p> + +<p> +And Ada, forgetting herself, answered in a low tone, +"Why, that's plain enough, Mrs. Richard Delafield is a +very different personage from Miss Lee, <i>gov</i>"—— +</p> + +<p> +"<i>Ada!</i>" sternly interposed my husband, "never a remark +like that in my presence." +</p> + +<p> +"Why, Uncle Dick," said Ada, smothering her anger +and winding her white arms around his neck, "how you +frighten me. I didn't mean anything, only I do want Rose +to go down, so much, can't you, dear?" and she turned +toward me. +</p> + +<p> +With her, I felt that it would hardly be polite to refuse, +so I replied that "after a cup of tea and half an hour's +rest, I would try to do so." +</p> + +<p> +Supper was brought to our room, the servant almost +touching her knees to the floor, so low was her obeisance +to the "New Miss." As I have once before remarked, my +head was aching dreadfully, and as I looked at the soft, +downy pillows which lay piled upon the snowy bed in the +adjoining room, I thought how much rather I would throw +myself among them than join the gay company below. +But it could not be, and with something like tears in the +sound of my voice, I asked Richard to send up my trunks. +</p> + +<p> +Closely inspecting me for a moment, he answered, +"There is no necessity for you to dress. You look well +enough just as you are, and you must not fatigue yourself +any more. I shall get you excused in a little while, and +sometime after you are thoroughly rested, Angeline shall +give a large party at her own house, where you'll have an +opportunity to display all the '<i>fixin's</i>,'" and he laughed, +thinking, I suppose, he had said something smart. +</p> + +<p> +My dress was a dark blue merino, trimmed on the basque +and sleeves with black velvet. It fitted neatly, and was, I +knew, unusually becoming; so after arranging my curls and +donning a clean linen collar, I took my husband's arm and +went down to the drawing-room, where I found about forty +people assembled. With a few of them I was already +acquainted, while the majority were only known to me by +sight; for though I had often seen them at Cedar Grove, +they had not thought it worth their while to notice a mere +governess. Now, however, as Ada had said, matters were +changed, and Richard Delafield's wife could not be slighted +with impunity. Consequently I was for a time overwhelmed +with compliments and attention; some with whom I had +never before spoken, expressing their delight at seeing me +back again, while others said that a <i>bride</i> was just what +was wanting to give éclat to the winter gaieties. +</p> + +<p> +Close to my side kept Ada, assuming a kind of patronizing +manner and answering for me whenever she thought +the conversation beyond my depth. Of course she threw +me quite in the shade, and in a measure she had her +reward, for she, as well as I, heard a lady, a stranger in +W——, say, "How much more beautiful Miss Montrose +is than the bride. I wonder Mr. Delafield did not prefer +her." +</p> + +<p> +There was a look of exultation on Ada's face as her eyes +met mine, but it passed away as we heard the answer made +by Miss Porter, a lady whom Ada thought exceedingly +aristocratic. "Yes," said she, "Miss Montrose is rather +pretty, but she is fading fast, and I suppose Mr. Delafield +preferred the freshness of youth to the decay of beauty, +and for my part, I approve his choice, and think her a +very pretty little creature." +</p> + +<p> +I glanced at my husband—he, too, heard the remark +and it pleased him, I knew, while Ada crossed over to the +opposite side of the room and I saw her no more, for +Richard soon asked for me to be excused; a request which the +company readily granted, saying, "I must of course be +tired." +</p> + +<p> +It was late when Richard came up to our room, and I +saw in a moment that something was the matter, for his +face wore the dark, hard look it sometimes did when he +was disturbed. I did not then ask the cause of his +annoyance, but afterwards I learned that the moment the guests +were gone, Ada, whose feelings were a good deal ruffled, +not only at the attention I had received, but also at the +remark of Miss Porter, commenced censuring my husband +for having suffered me to appear in the drawing-room in +my traveling dress. "'Twas an insult to the company," +she said, "and they could excuse it on no other grounds +save the supposition that I was entirely ignorant of +etiquette in any form. I didn't blame her so much," said +she, "for I suppose she didn't know any better, but I was +astonished at <i>you</i>." +</p> + +<p> +Ada had quite forgotten herself, or else she misunderstood +the man with whom she had to deal. Very quietly +he listened, but the storm was gathering within, and +when she had finished, it burst upon her with a vengeance; +he bidding her never again, either in his presence or the +presence of any one, say aught disparagingly of his wife. +"Her actions shall not be questioned by you," said he, +"and you <i>shall</i> treat her with deference, for in every +respect she is your superior, save that of <i>age</i>, and there, I +admit, you have the advantage." +</p> + +<p> +This decided the matter at once, for Ada was afraid of +him, and though she could not conceal her dislike from +me, she was in his presence always kind, considerate and +sometimes even affectionate in her demeanor towards me, +coming at last to call him "Uncle Dick," in imitation of +Albert, and me "Aunt Rose," particularly if there were +any strangers present. +</p> + +<p> +The morning following my arrival I was formally presented +to the servants, who received me with many demonstrations +of joy, the older portion "bressin' de Lord +they had lived to see Mars'r Richard look so happy and +peart like as he did with the new Miss." Only one eyed +me at all askance, and that was Aunt Hagar, the +housekeeper, who saw in me a rival—one who would +henceforth wear jingling at her belt the huge bunch of keys, +which for so long a time had been to her a badge of honor. +Then, too, the old lady, like my other new relatives, had +some fears "that Miss Rose didn't 'long to the quality, +and that Mars'r Richard had done histed hisself down a +peg or so by marryin' one who was brought up in de free +states, whar dar warn't nary nigger to fotch 'em a drink +of water or fan when de sun was roastin' hot." +</p> + +<p> +With a look of injured dignity, which made the steeple +of a turban on her head tremble, she undid from her +waist the bunch of keys, and offering them to me, said, +"I 'spects these are yourn now." +</p> + +<p> +I drew back, for to me there was nothing pleasing in +the idea of being disturbed every time a lump of sugar, a +piece of coal, or a pan of flour was wanted, so I said, "If +my husband is willing I'd rather you'd keep them yourself, +as I know you are trusty." +</p> + +<p> +Hagar's face brightened perceptibly and I am induced +to think she forgot in a measure my misfortune in having +been born in a <i>free state</i>! At all events I have not now a +more devoted servant than Hagar, who declares me to be +a "perfect lady," and who has more than once ventured +the <i>treasonable remark</i>, that "if all de Free State folks is +like Miss Rose, she'll be boun' she'd like to live +thar!" Regularly each morning she comes to me and asks "what +Miss would like for dinner," and regularly each morning +"Miss" answers, "Dear me, Hagar, I don't know; get +what you like;" feeling confident the while that the +program is already made out and that any material +suggestion from me would be superfluous. So much for +mistress and slave. +</p> + +<p> +With his usual generosity, my husband made all of the +negroes presents in honor of his marriage; offering for +Bill's acceptance a silver watch, which he had purchased +for him in Charleston. Taking the timepiece in his hand, +Bill examined it attentively, held it to his ear, put it in +his pocket, looked at the key, and then handing it back +to his master, said, "no 'fense, mars'r, but if you please +thar's somethin' I'd like better." +</p> + +<p> +"Very, well, what is it?" asked Richard; and Bill +answered, "Why, you see, Mars'r, how dem hosses, Fred +and Ferd, has never had proper 'spect showed to thar +memory. To be sure, I wars a weed on my hat and I +'fused to jine in de dance t'odder night, but that's +nothin'. Ferd had too high blood in him to keer for an ole +nigger's mournin', and what I wants is for you <i>to paint de +stable black</i>, and that I reckons will show 'em proper +'tentions. What do you say, Miss Rose?" +</p> + +<p> +As the horses had fallen in my cause, I readily espoused +Bill's project for the novelty of the thing, if nothing else; +and should any one of my readers visit Sunny Bank, which +I wish they may, they will see the stables wearing a hue +as dark as Bill himself, who has now a pair of iron-grays, +which he calls "Richard" and "Rose," notwithstanding +that both are of the masculine gender. These, particularly +the latter, are the pride of Bill's heart, and when the +year of mourning has expired, he intends, he says, to have +the stable painted "yaller," that being the color of a +young girl who has lately made sad havoc with his affections! +</p> + +<p> +Here I may as well say that Mrs. Lansing managed until +she procured the desired piano, which came in company +with another, a much nicer one, on the front of which +was inscribed "Rose, from her husband." In return for +her brother's gift, Mrs. Lansing made a large party, where +I had an opportunity of wearing my bridal dress, together +with a costly set of diamonds, which I found upon my +table, when I went up to make my toilet. It did not +need the simple word "Richard" on a bit of paper to tell +me whence they came, and the tears started to my eyes +when I thought how kind he was, while I was conscious +of a glow of pride, when I saw <i>little Rosa Lee</i> flashing +with diamonds, which encircled her arms and neck, and +shone among the curls of her hair. Bertha, my tasteful +waiting maid—for I am getting quite southernized—pronounced +me beautiful, as she gave the finishing stroke to +my toilet, while one, for whose judgment I cared still +more, and who all the time had been conning his evening +paper, apparently oblivious to the presence of white satin, +point lace, orange flowers and diamonds, responded, "Yes, +Bertha, your young mistress is beautiful." +</p> + +<p> +<i>Dress</i> does make a vast deal of difference in one's looks, +and if that night two-thirds of the three hundred +particular friends whose hands I shook pronounced me +"beautiful, handsome, charming, lovely," and all that, it was +owing chiefly, I think, to the fitness of my robes and the +brilliancy of my diamonds. These last were the subject of +much remark, they being the finest which had ever been +worn in W——, Ada <i>very good-naturedly</i> saying, "she +hoped my good fortune wouldn't quite turn my head!" +</p> + +<p> +Mrs. Lansing's party was followed by many more, and +ere I was aware of it Mrs. Richard Delafield was quite a +belle—what she said, what she did, and what she wore +being pronounced <i>au fait</i> by the fashionables of W——. +Upon all this Ada looked jealously; never allowing an +opportunity to pass without speaking slightingly of me, +though always careful that Richard should not know of +it. In his presence she was vastly kind, sitting at my +feet, calling me "Aunty," and treating me as if I had +been twenty years her senior. At first she spent much +more of her time at Sunny Bank than was at all agreeable +to me, and I was not sorry when a little incident +occurred which in a measure tended to keep her away. She +had always been in the habit of treating my husband with +a great show of affection, and now that he was, as she +said, "an old married man," she seemed to think it no +matter how much she caressed him. Even <i>I</i> dared not +seat myself upon his knee as coolly as she would, and +her temerity troubled me, particularly as I knew it was +annoying to him. This I must have manifested in some +way, for one morning when, as usual, she entered our +room without knocking and perched herself on Richard's +knee, he pushed her off, saying, half in earnest, half in +jest, "Don't act so foolish, Ada, you make me sick, for +now that I have Rose to pet me, I can easily dispense +with your caresses, which are rather too much of a good +thing." +</p> + +<p> +Ada was angry, and, with a little hateful laugh, she +said, turning to me, "<i>jealous</i>, I suppose, and have read +your better-half a lecture on propriety. When <i>I</i> marry, +I trust I shall have faith enough in my husband's love for +me not to care even if he does chance to look at some one +else." +</p> + +<p> +I knew Richard would vindicate my cause, so I remained +silent while he answered, "You do Rose injustice, +for never have we exchanged a word concerning the +manner you have assumed towards me, and which I should +suppose your own sense of propriety would condemn. +Were you my wife, 'twould be different." +</p> + +<p> +"Your wife," interrupted Ada, with bitter scorn, "I +am not your wife, thank fortune, neither did I ever aspire +to be, and I have yet to see the man whom I would for a +moment think of marrying." +</p> + +<p> +There was not the slightest cause for this speech, but +Ada was angry; and, as if to exasperate her still more, +Richard coolly asked, "Didn't you think of marrying +<i>Herbert Langley</i> when you engaged yourself to him?" +</p> + +<p> +He had heard the whole story at Meadow Brook, but +this was the first time he had hinted it to Ada, Who turned +very pale and without another word left the room, going +back to Cedar Grove, where for three weeks she pouted +and cried alternately. At the end of that time, however, +she concluded it better to "make up:" so she wrote a +note to us both, asking my pardon for her rudeness and +begging my husband to forgive her for the many falsehoods +she had told concerning her engagement with Herbert, +which she now frankly confessed. Of course we forgave +her, and as she was not one who remembered anything +long, she soon began to visit us as of old, though she no +longer sat on my husband's knee, or wound her arms +around his neck. His rebuke did her good, and she profited +by it, while the fact that he was fully aware of the +deception she had practised tended to humble her, and on +rainy days, when Richard was necessarily away from home, +I found her quite an agreeable companion. +</p> + +<p> +Thus the winter and spring passed away, and my +mother's letters began to grow urgent for my return, but +for various reasons Richard did not think it advisable for +me to undertake so long a journey, and as Sunny Bank was +all the world to me, I very cheerfully consented to wait +until another season ere I visited my New England home. +About this time I was again seized with my olden desire +for authorship, induced in a measure by my knowing how +much Mrs. Lansing reverenced anything which savored of +a book-writer. To be an <i>authoress</i>, then, and make her +proud to own me as her sister, was a subject over which I +grew pale and "nervous," Richard said, while the negroes +called me "fidgety" and wondered "what done ailded +Miss Rose." At last, after many wakeful nights and +restless days, after sick headaches, nervous headaches, and +all kind of headaches, the plan was marked out for a +story. <i>I</i> would be the heroine myself and give to the +world as much of my history as I thought proper, and +if I failed—if no railroad, steamboat, or stagecoach +passenger ever pointed me out as "the woman who wrote +that book," or if my publishers "respectfully declined" +another bearing my signature, I thought I should still +have the satisfaction of knowing I had tried to benefit the +world, and I felt almost sure that in Meadow Brook at +least there were people stupid enough to buy my book and +possibly to like it, just because little Rosa Lee, who used +to climb fences and hunt hen's eggs with them in her +childish days, had written it. So, one sunny morning in +June, when my husband had left me to be gone for two +weeks, I shut myself up in my room, donned a loose +wrapper, tucked back my curls, opened my writing desk, +took out a quire of foolscap, and had just written "MEADOW +BROOK," when the bell rang and Bertha announced "a +lady in the parlor." With a deep sigh, as I thought how +"WE writers disliked to be disturbed," I arranged my +curls, resumed my cambric morning gown, and went down +to receive my visitor, telling her that I was <i>very</i> well, that +the weather was <i>very</i> warm, that I expected to be <i>very</i> +lonely without my husband, that her bonnet was <i>very</i> +pretty, that I didn't think negroes as annoying and hateful +as she did, after which she took her leave; and I went +back to my room, this time locking the door and writing +the first chapter of my book before the bell rang for dinner. +</p> + +<p> +To Bertha I imparted my secret, reading to her each +page as I wrote it, and though she was not, perhaps, the +most appreciating auditor one could have, she was +certainly the most attentive and approving. It is true she +objected to my describing myself as such a homely child. +"Jest tell de trufe and done wid it," she said; whereupon +I assured her that I <i>had</i> told the truth, and then +she suggested that in order to make amends for my ugliness +I should represent myself as having been "peart like +and smart." So, if the reader thinks I have made myself +too precocious, the fault is chargeable to Bertha, for I did +it to please her! +</p> + +<p> +For two weeks I wrote, scarcely allowing myself a +moment's rest, and Bertha, when she saw how it wore +upon me, began at last to expostulate. "Thar wasn't no +'casion," she said, "to kill myself, when thar was heaps 'o +niggers kickin' round under foot, and if miss 'sisted on +writin' a book, why didn't she make some dem lazy critters +do it for her!" +</p> + +<p> +At the end of two weeks Richard returned, asking me as +he looked in my face "what was the matter, and how I +had spent my time?" +</p> + +<p> +Before I could answer, Bertha, who was quite incensed +against my book, said, "She's done writin' a spellin' book, +or something and sits up 'most all night. I tell her how +'twill kill her, but she pay no 'tention!" +</p> + +<p> +The secret was out, and with many blushes I plead guilty, +and producing my manuscript, watched Richard while he +read it. Over the first chapter, where he thought I was +going to die, he cried—or that is, tears came to his eyes; +the third he skipped partially, the next entirely, and the +next and the next (I hope the reader has not done likewise); +but when he found Dr. Clayton he read every word, +his forehead tying itself up in knots, which, however, +cleared away the moment he came upon himself at the +theater, though I believe he didn't feel much complimented +by my description of his personal appearance! +</p> + +<p> +There, just as <i>he</i> was introduced, the story ended, and +fortunate was it for me that it did so, for he declared I +should not write another word after I got through with +him; and I promised that I wouldn't, mentally resolving +that it should be some time before I reached that point. +This then, my reader, is the reason why I said no more of +him, when first I presented him to your notice, but left +him for a while in mystery. I knew Richard was anxious +to hear what <i>did</i> become of himself, and I fancied that if +I wrote considerable before I said anything very definite of +him, he would be more likely to let me finish the book, as +he would not wish me to waste so much paper for nothing! +And the sequel proved that I was right. Regularly each +day I wrote, Richard always stopping me the moment he +thought I was tired, and invariably breaking me off in the +wrong place, so if there should be any parts of my story +which do not join together smoothly, you may know it was +there that Richard took my pen from my hand, or hid the +inkstand. +</p> + +<p> +Towards the middle of August, invitations came for us +to attend a large wedding in Charleston. I was exceedingly +anxious to go, having heard much of the bride, who was a +distant relative of my husband, and though both he and +Mrs. Lansing raised every conceivable objection to my +leaving home, I adroitly put aside all their arguments, and +ere Richard fully realized that he had been coaxed into +doing something he had fully determined not to do, we +were rattling along in a dusty Charleston omnibus towards +one of the largest hotels, where rooms had been engaged +for us. The morning after our arrival, I went into the +public parlor, and as I seated myself at the piano I saw +just across the room, near an open window, a quiet, +intelligent-looking lady, apparently twenty-six or twenty-seven +years of age, and near her sporting upon the carpet, was a +beautiful little girl, with flowing curls and soft dark eyes, +which instantly riveted my attention, they were so like +something I had seen before. +</p> + +<p> +At the sound of the music she came to my side, listening +attentively, and when I had finished, she laid one white +chubby hand on my lap and the other on the keys, saying, +"Please play again, <i>Rose</i> like to hear you." +</p> + +<p> +"And so your name is Rose?" I answered, "Rose what?" +</p> + +<p> +"<i>Rose Lee Clayton</i>, and that's my new ma," she replied, +pointing towards the lady, whose usually pale cheek +was for an instant suffused with a blush such as brides +only wear. +</p> + +<p> +I knew now why I had felt interested in the child. It +was the <i>father</i> which I saw looking at me through the eyes +of brown, and taking the little creature in my arms, I was +about to question her of her sire, when an increasing glow +on the lady's cheek and a footstep in the hall told me he +was coming! +</p> + +<p> +The next moment he stood before me, Dr. Clayton! his +face perfectly unruffled and wearing an expression of +content, at least, if not perfect happiness. I was conscious +of a faintness stealing over me, but by a strong effort, I +shook it off, and rising to my feet, I offered him my hand, +which he pressed, saying, "This is indeed a surprise, +Rose—I beg your pardon, Mrs. Delafield, I suppose?" +</p> + +<p> +I nodded in the affirmative, and was about to say +something more, when another footstep approached, and my +husband's tall figure darkened the doorway. For an +instant they both turned pale, and Dr. Clayton grasped the +piano nervously; but the shock soon passed away, and +then as friend meets friend after a brief separation, so met +these two men, who but the year before had watched together +over my pillow, praying, the one that I might live, +and the other that I might die. +</p> + +<p> +Wonderingly the little girl looked up into her father's +face, and pulling the skirt of my dress, said, "Who is the +lady, pa? with the pretty curls so much like mine?" +</p> + +<p> +Never before, I believe, did I like Dr. Clayton as I did +at that moment when I saw the deep tenderness which +broke over his features as he took his daughter in his arms, +and pressing his lips to her forehead, answered, "It is +<i>Rosa Lee</i>, my child, the lady for whom you were named." +</p> + +<p> +"Don't you love her, pa? <i>I</i> do," she asked, stretching +her little fat arms towards me. +</p> + +<p> +I glanced at my husband—his brow was dark as midnight. +I looked at Dr. Clayton, there was a slight quivering +of his lips, while his wife was pale as a water lily, and +then I burst into a merry laugh, in which the gentlemen +soon joined, though it would have puzzled us all to have +told at what we were laughing. +</p> + +<p> +After a few words of explanation as to why we were +there, Dr. Clayton suddenly remembered himself, and +leading me towards the lady, introduced her as "My wife, +Mrs. Clayton." She had been living in Florida with a +cousin, at whose house they were married, about two +weeks before, and they were now on their way to Boston, +stopping for a few days in Charleston to see the city. I +found her a very quiet, sensible woman, but as different +from Dell Thompson, or Rosa Lee, as a person well could +be, and I was wondering to myself how it was possible for +a man to love so many people of opposite temperaments, +when she said something about New England, and I asked +if she were ever there. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, yes," she answered, "I was born there, in +Wilbraham, Mass. I was living with the grandmother of the +first Mrs. Clayton at the time of her death." +</p> + +<p> +In a moment it all came to me; Dell had told me of +<i>Mabel Warrener</i>, who had inherited her grandmother's +fortune, and now she sat there before me, Mrs. Clayton +2d. Surely the freaks of fortune are wonderful! Naturally +refined and intelligent, Mabel had employed a part of +her money in giving herself a good education, graduating +at Mount Holyoke Female Seminary, and going thence +back to her home in Wilbraham, which she had fitted up +with much taste, and where she was living when Dr. Clayton +met her on his return from Georgia. Of her then +he only thought as of a pleasant, agreeable woman; but +when time, absence, and my marriage had softened the +keenness of his disappointment, he often found his +thoughts wandering towards the fair Mabel, who, upon +inquiry, he learned had gone to Florida. Rose needed a +mother, and he needed a wife; so, after an interchange +of letters, he one morning started with his little girl for the +"land of flowers," where neither sickness, nor death, nor +yet a Richard Delafield; came between him and his bride. +They seemed very happy, for after a little Dr. Clayton +recovered his equanimity, and appeared perfectly natural. +</p> + +<p> +Not a word, however, did he say of the past, or in any +way allude to Georgia, except once when he asked me if I +did not think <i>Rose</i> resembled Jessie in a measure. I had +thought of the same thing, though Rosa's eyes were +darker and her hair more of a chestnut brown. She was +a sweet little creature, and if anything could have +reconciled me to being the wife of Dr. Clayton, it would have +been the fact that she was my daughter. But as I +contrasted the two men, as my eye fell on Dr. Clayton's +handsome face and curly locks, and then rested on the dark +features and raven hair of Richard, I felt that in him there +was more of the true, the noble man, and my heart +warmly approved me for the choice I had made. +</p> + +<p> +Nearly all the morning we sat there talking on indifferent +subjects, and when dinner was over, Mrs. Clayton +came to my room, staying a long time, and gaining fast +in my good opinion, when I saw how kind and friendly +she was. She had heard the whole story, for she told me +so, holding little Rose upon her lap and smoothing her +silken curls. +</p> + +<p> +"We cannot all love the same person," she said in +conclusion; "and I am so glad you refused him, for +otherwise he would not have been my husband;" and her quiet +eyes lighted up with a look of happiness which plainer +than words could express told me that she had brought to +Dr. Clayton no divided affections. +</p> + +<p> +At the making of my toilet for the wedding she was +present, aiding Bertha greatly by her own tasteful suggestions, +and when at last I was dressed with perfect childish +simplicity, she ran for her husband "to come and see if I +didn't look pretty." +</p> + +<p> +"Mrs. Delafield was always pretty to me," was the +doctor's answer, and that was all he said. +</p> + +<p> +They were to leave early next morning before I would +be up, and so when the carriage was announced, we went +to bid them good-by. +</p> + +<p> +"May I kiss your wife?" asked the doctor of my husband, +as he held my hand. +</p> + +<p> +"Certainly, sir," answered Richard, "an even exchange +is always fair," and instead of once, <i>he</i> kissed the blushing +Mabel twice, which of course gave Dr. Clayton liberty to +do the same by me. +</p> + +<p> +Suddenly remembering something which I had left in +my room, I went up for it, and on my way back glanced +into the parlor, occupied by Dr. Clayton. He was seated +upon the sofa by the side of his wife, around whose waist +his arm was affectionately thrown, while partly on his lap +and partly upon that of her stepmother was little Rose, +her long eyelashes drooping sleepily over her eyes of +brown. It was a beautiful tableau, and whenever I think +of Dr. Clayton now, it is as I last saw him, happy and +contented, for he has not only won a most excellent wife, +but also secured that $10,000 after all! +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap32"></a></p> + +<h2> +CHAPTER XXXII. +<br><br> +NOVEMBER 25TH. +</h2> + +<p class="noindent"> +DEAR READER, +</p> + +<p> +Just one year ago to-night the orange wreath and bridal +veil were twined among my curls, and with a loving heart +I stood up before the man of God and took upon myself +the vows, which made me Richard's forever. The orange +flowers are faded now, and the bridal veil looks soiled and +worn; but the sunlight of happiness which shone upon, +me when first he called me his wife has grown brighter and +brighter as each day has unfolded to me some new virtue +which I knew not that he possessed when he became my +husband. +</p> + +<p> +No shadow, however slight, has ever fallen between us, +for though he has a fiery temper and an indomitable will, +they are both under perfect control, and so much confidence +have I in his love for me, that should I ever in any +way come in collision with his temper or his will, I have +faith to believe I could bend the one and subdue the other. +Every comfort and luxury which affection can dictate or +money procure has been gathered around me, until my +home seems to me a second paradise. +</p> + +<p> +The fervid heat of summer has passed, and the hazy +light which betokens the fall of the leaf has come. On +the northern hills, they say, the November snows have +already fallen, but we are still basking in the soft sunlight +of a most glorious autumn; and as I write, the south +wind comes in through the open window, whispering to +me of the fading flowers, whose perfume it gathered as it +floated along. Just opposite me, in a willow chair, with +her head hurled in a towering turban of royal purple, sits +Juno, a middle-aged woman, nodding to the breeze, which +occasionally brushes past her so fast that she lazily opens +her eyes, and with her long-heeled foot gives a jog to the +<i>rosewood crib</i>, wherein lies sleeping a little tiny thing +which was <i>left</i> here five weeks ago to-day. Oh, how odd +and funny it seemed when Richard first laid on my arm a +little bundle of cambric and lace, and whispered in my +ear, "Would you like to see our baby?" She is a great +pet, and should this book never reach so far as Georgia, +Mrs. Lansing, I am sure, will like me all the same, for +her words and manner have been very kind since the +morning when I said to Richard, "We will call our baby +<i>Jessie</i>." +</p> + +<p> +So Jessie was she baptized, Mrs. Lansing's tears falling +like rain on the face of the unconscious child, which she +folded to her bosom as tenderly as if it had indeed been +her own lost Jessie come back to her again. Upon Ada +the arrival of the stranger produced a novel effect, +overwhelming her with such a load of modesty that she kept +out of Richard's way nearly two weeks, and never once +came to see me until I was sitting up in my merino +morning gown, which she had embroidered for me herself. +Ada has a very nice sense of propriety! +</p> + +<p> +But little more remains for me to say, and that I must +say briefly. I am determined to finish my story, and as +my husband for the first time since my illness has left me +alone for an hour or two, I am improving the opportunity, +having first bribed Bertha to bring me my writing materials, +by promising her a dress which she has long coveted. +</p> + +<p> +The royal purple turban by the window has become +somewhat displaced by the strong west wind, and now +wide-awake, begins to grumble at "Miss Rosy's <i>impudence</i> +in 'xertin' herself to write trash which is of no kind o' +count, and which no <i>human</i> will ever read." +</p> + +<p> +I hope her prediction is a false one, for I have lately +conceived the idea of devoting the entire proceeds of this +book to the benefit of "<i>Rosa Lee</i>," who, of course, has no +part in the $10,000 which her father has married! +</p> + +<p> +There is a rustling in the crib—the baby is waking, and +at my request Juno brings her to me, saying as she lays +her on my lap, "She's the berry pictur' of t'other Jessie," +and as her soft blue eyes unclose and my hand rests on her +curly hair which begins to look golden in the sunlight, I +too, think the same, and with a throbbing heart I pray +the Father to save her from the early death which came +to our lost darling—"Jessie, the angel of the Pines." +</p> + +<p class="noindent"> +ROSE DELAFIELD. +</p> + +<p><br><br></p> + +<p class="t3"> +FINIS. +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap33"></a></p> + +<h2> +THE CRIMINAL WITNESS. +</h2> + +<p> +In the spring of '48, I was called to Jackson to attend +court, having been engaged to defend a young man who +had been accused of robbing the mail. I had a long +conference with my client, and he acknowledged to me that +on the night when the mail was robbed he had been with +a party of dissipated companions over to Topham, and +that on returning, they met the mail-carrier on horseback +coming from Jackson. Some of his companions were very +drunk, and they proposed to stop the carrier and +overhaul his bag. The roads were very muddy at the time, +and the coach could not run. My client assured me that +he not only had no hand in robbing the mail, but that he +tried to dissuade his companions from doing so. But +they would not listen to him. One of them slipped up +behind the carrier, and knocked him from his horse. +Then they bound and blindfolded him, and having tied +him to a tree, they took his mail-bag, and made off into a +neighboring field, where they overhauled it, finding some +five hundred dollars in money in the various letters. He +went with them, but in no way did he have any hand in +the crime. Those who did do it had fled, and, as the +carrier had recognized him as in the party, he had been +arrested. +</p> + +<p> +The mail-bag had been found, as well as the letters. +Those letters from which money had been taken, were +kept, by order of the officers, and duplicates sent to the +various persons, to whom they were directed, announcing +the particulars. These letters had been given me for +examination, and I had then returned them to the +prosecuting attorney. +</p> + +<p> +I got through with my private preliminaries about +noon, and as the case would not come up before the next +day, I went into the court in the afternoon, to see what +was going on. The first case which came up was one of +theft, and the prisoner was a young girl, not more than +seventeen years of age, named Elizabeth Madworth. She +was very pretty, and bore that mild, innocent look, which +we seldom find in a culprit. +</p> + +<p> +The complaint against her set forth that she had stolen +one hundred dollars from a Mrs. Naseby; and as the case +went on, I found that this Mrs. Naseby was her mistress, +she (Mrs. N.) being a wealthy widow, living in the town. +The poor girl declared her innocence in the wildest terms, +and called on God to witness that she would rather die +than steal. But circumstances were hard against her. +A hundred dollars, in bank notes had been stolen from +her mistress's room, and she was the only one who had +access there. +</p> + +<p> +At this juncture, while the mistress was upon the +witness stand, a young man came and caught me by the arm. +</p> + +<p> +"They tell me you are a good lawyer?" he whispered. +</p> + +<p> +"I am a lawyer," I answered. +</p> + +<p> +"Then—oh!—save her! You can certainly do it, for +she is innocent." +</p> + +<p> +"Has she no counsel?" I asked. +</p> + +<p> +"None that's good for anything—nobody that'll do anything +for her. Oh, save her, and I'll pay you all I've got. +I can't pay you much, but I can raise something." +</p> + +<p> +I reflected for a moment. I cast my eyes toward the +prisoner, and she was at that moment looking at me. +She caught my eye, and the volume of humble, prayerful +entreaty I read in those large, tearful orbs, resolved +me in a moment. I arose and went to the girl, and asked +her if she wished me to defend her. She said yes. Then +I informed the court that I was ready to enter into the +case, and I was admitted at once. +</p> + +<p> +I asked for a moment's cessation, that I might speak +with my client. I went and sat down by her side, and +asked her to state candidly the whole case. She told me +she had lived with Mrs. Naseby nearly two years, and +that during all that time she had never had any trouble +before. About two weeks ago, she said, her mistress lost +a hundred dollars. +</p> + +<p> +"She missed it from her drawer," the girl told me, "and +she asked me about it, but I knew nothing of it. The +next thing I knew, Nancy Luther told Mrs. Naseby that +she saw me take the money from her drawer—that she +watched me through the keyhole. Then they went to +my trunk, and they found twenty-five dollars of the +missing money there. But, oh, sir, I never took it—and +somebody else put that money there!" +</p> + +<p> +I then asked her if she suspected any one. +</p> + +<p> +"I don't know," she said, "who could have done it but +Nancy. She has never liked me, because she thought I +was treated better than she was. She is the cook, and I +was the chamber-maid." +</p> + +<p> +She pointed Nancy Luther out to me. She was a stout, +bold-faced girl, somewhere about five-and-twenty years +old, with a low forehead, small gray eyes, a pug nose and +thick lips. +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, sir, can you help me?" my client asked, in a fearful +whisper. +</p> + +<p> +"Nancy Luther, did you say that girl's name was?" I +asked, for a new light had broken in upon me. +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, sir." +</p> + +<p> +"Is there any other girl of that name about here?" +</p> + +<p> +"No, sir." +</p> + +<p> +"Then rest easy. I'll try hard to save you." +</p> + +<p> +I left the courtroom, and went to the prosecuting attorney +and asked him for the letters I had handed him—the +ones that had been stolen from the mail-bag. He gave +them to me, and, having selected one, I returned the rest, +and told him I would see that he had the one I kept +before night. I then returned to the courtroom, and the +case went on. +</p> + +<p> +Mrs. Naseby resumed her testimony. She said she +entrusted her room to the prisoner's care, and that no one +else had access there save herself. Then she described +about missing the money, and closed by telling how she +found twenty-five dollars of it in the prisoner's trunk. +She could swear it was the identical money she had lost, +it being in two tens and one five-dollar bill. +</p> + +<p> +"Mrs. Naseby," said I, "when you first missed your +money, had you any reason to believe that the prisoner +had it?" +</p> + +<p> +"No, sir," she answered. +</p> + +<p> +"Had you ever before detected her in any dishonesty?" +</p> + +<p> +"No, sir." +</p> + +<p> +"Should you have thought of searching her trunk, had +not Nancy Luther advised you and informed you?" +</p> + +<p> +"No, sir." +</p> + +<p> +Mrs. Naseby then left the stand, and Nancy Luther took. +her place. She came up with a bold look, and upon me +she cast a defiant glance, as much as to say "Trap me, if +you can." She gave her evidence as follows: +</p> + +<p> +She said that on the night when the money was stolen +she saw the prisoner going up-stairs, and from the sly +manner in which she went up, she suspected all was not +right. So she followed her up. "Elizabeth went into +Mrs. Naseby's room, and shut the door after her. I +stooped down and looked through the keyhole, and saw +her at the mistress's drawer. I saw her take out the +money and put it in her pocket. Then she stooped down +and picked up the lamp, and as I saw that she was coming +out, I hurried away." Then she went on and told how +she had informed her mistress of this, and how she +proposed to search the girl's trunk. +</p> + +<p> +I called Mrs. Naseby back to the stand. +</p> + +<p> +"You say that no one save yourself and the prisoner +had access to your room," I said. "Now, could Nancy +Luther have entered that room, if she wished?" +</p> + +<p> +"Certainly, sir. I meant no one else had any right +there." +</p> + +<p> +I saw that Mrs. N., though naturally a hard woman, +was somewhat moved by poor Elizabeth's misery. +</p> + +<p> +"Could your cook have known, by any means in your +knowledge, where your money was?" +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, sir; for she has often come up to my room when +I was there, and I have given her money with which to buy +provisions of marketmen who happened along with their +wagons." +</p> + +<p> +"One more question: Have you known of the prisoner's +having used any money since this was stolen?" +</p> + +<p> +"No, sir." +</p> + +<p> +I now called Nancy Luther back, and she began to +tremble a little, though her look was as bold and defiant. +</p> + +<p> +"Miss Luther," I said, "why did you not inform your +mistress at once of what you had seen without waiting for +her to ask you about the lost money?" +</p> + +<p> +"Because I could not make up my mind at once to +expose the poor young girl," she answered, promptly. +</p> + +<p> +"You say you looked through the keyhole and saw her +take the money?" +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, sir." +</p> + +<p> +"Where did she place the lamp, while she did so?" +</p> + +<p> +"On the bureau." +</p> + +<p> +"In your testimony, you said she stooped down when +she picked it up. What did you mean by that?" +</p> + +<p> +The girl hesitated, and finally said she didn't mean +anything, only that she picked up the lamp. +</p> + +<p> +"Very well," said I. "How long have you been with +Mrs. Naseby?" +</p> + +<p> +"Not quite a year, sir." +</p> + +<p> +"How much does she pay you a week?" +</p> + +<p> +"A dollar and three-quarters." +</p> + +<p> +"Have you taken up any of your pay since you have +been there?" +</p> + +<p> +"Yes, sir." +</p> + +<p> +"How much?" +</p> + +<p> +"I don't know, sir." +</p> + +<p> +"Why don't you know?" +</p> + +<p> +"How should I? I've taken it at different times, just +as I wanted it, and have kept no account." +</p> + +<p> +"Now, if you had had any wish to harm the prisoner, +couldn't you have raised twenty-five dollars to put in her +trunk?" +</p> + +<p> +"No, sir," she replied, with virtuous indignation. +</p> + +<p> +"Then you have not laid up any money since you have +been there?" +</p> + +<p> +"No, sir—only what Mrs. Naseby may owe me." +</p> + +<p> +"Then you didn't have twenty-five dollars when you +came there?" +</p> + +<p> +"No, sir; and what's more, the money found in the +girl's trunk was the very money that Mrs. Naseby lost. +You might have known that, if you'd only remember what +you hear." +</p> + +<p> +"Will you tell me if you belong to this State?" I asked +next. +</p> + +<p> +"I do, sir." +</p> + +<p> +"In what town?" +</p> + +<p> +She hesitated, and for an instant the bold look forsook +her. But she finally answered: +</p> + +<p> +"I belong in Somers, Montgomery County." +</p> + +<p> +I next turned to Mrs. Naseby. +</p> + +<p> +"Do you ever take a receipt from your girls when you +pay them?" I asked. +</p> + +<p> +"Always," she answered. +</p> + +<p> +"Can you send and get one of them for me?" +</p> + +<p> +She said she would willingly go, if the court said so. +The court did say so, and she went. Her dwelling was not +far off, and she soon returned, and handed me four receipts, +which I took and examined. They were all signed in a +strange, straggling hand, by the witness. +</p> + +<p> +"Now, Nancy Luther," said I, turning to the witness, +"please tell the court, and the jury, and tell me, too, where +you got the seventy-five dollars you sent in a letter to +your sister in Somers?" +</p> + +<p> +The witness started as though a volcano had burst at +her feet. She turned pale as death, and every limb shook +violently. I waited until the people could have an +opportunity to see her emotion, and then I repeated the +question. +</p> + +<p> +"I—never—sent—any," she fairly gasped. +</p> + +<p> +"You did!" I thundered, for I was excited now. +</p> + +<p> +"I—I—didn't," she faintly uttered, grasping the rail by +her side for support. +</p> + +<p> +"May it please your honor, and gentlemen of the jury," +I said, as soon as I had looked the witness out of +countenance, "I came here to defend a youth who had been +arrested for helping to rob the mail, and in the course of my +preliminary examinations, I had access to the letters which +had been torn open and rifled of money. When I entered +upon this case, and I heard the name of this witness +pronounced, I went out and got the letter which I now hold, +for I remembered to have seen one bearing the signature of +Nancy Luther. This letter was taken from the mail-bag, +and it contained seventy-five dollars, and by looking at the +post-mark, you will observe that it was mailed on the very +next day after the hundred dollars were taken from +Mrs. Naseby's drawer. I will read it to you, if you please." +</p> + +<p> +The court nodded assent, and I read the following, +which was without date, save that made by the +postmaster upon the outside. I give it here verbatim: +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p> +"SISTER DORCAS: I cend yu heer sevente fiv dolers, +which i want yu to kepe for me till i cum hum. I can't +kepe it heer coz ime afrade it will git stole, don't speke +wun word tu a livin sole bout this coz I don't want nobodi +tu kno i hav got enny mony. yu wont now wil yu. i am +first rate heer, only that gude fur nuthin snipe of liz +madwurth is heer yit—but i hop tu git red ov her now. yu no +i rote yu bout her. give my luv to awl inquiren friends, +this is from your sister til deth NANCY LUTHER." +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p> +"Now, your honor," I said, as I handed him the letter, +and also the receipts, "you will see that the letter is +directed to 'Dorcas Luther, Somers, Montgomery County.' And +you will also observe that one hand wrote that letter +and signed those receipts. The jury will also observe. +And now I will only add: It is plain to see how the +hundred dollars were disposed of. Seventy-five were put +into that letter and sent off for safe-keeping, while the +remaining twenty-five were placed in the prisoner's trunk +for the purpose of covering the real criminal." +</p> + +<p> +The case was given to the jury immediately following +their examination of the letter. Without leaving their +seats, they returned a verdict of—"Not Guilty." +</p> + +<p> +The youth, who had first asked me to defend the prisoner, +caught me by the hand, but he could not speak plainly. +He simply looked at me through his tears for a moment, +and then rushed to the fair prisoner. He seemed +to forget where he was, for he flung his arms about her, +and as she laid her head upon his bosom, she wept aloud. +</p> + +<p> +I will not attempt to describe the scene that followed; +but if Nancy Luther had not been immediately arrested +for theft, she would have been obliged to seek the +protection of the officers, or the excited people would surely +have maimed her, if they had done no more. On the next +morning, I received a note, very handsomely written, in +which I was told that "the within" was but a slight +token of the gratitude due me for my effort in behalf of +a poor, defenseless, but much loved, maiden. It was +signed "Several Citizens," and contained one hundred +dollars. Shortly afterward, the youth came to pay me all +the money he could raise. I simply showed him the note +I had received, and asked him if he would keep his hard +earnings for his wife, when he got one. He owned that +he intended to make Lizzie Madworth his wife very soon. +I will only add that on the following day I succeeded +in clearing my next client from conviction of robbing the +mail; and I will not deny that I made a considerable +handle of the fortunate discovery of the letter which had +saved an innocent girl, on the day before, in my appeal to +the jury; and if I made them feel that the finger of +Omnipotence was in the work, I did it because I sincerely +believe my client was innocent of all crime; and I am +sure they thought so too. +</p> + +<p><br><br><br><br></p> +<div style='text-align:center'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 79070 ***</div> +</body> +</html> + diff --git a/79070-h/images/img-cover.jpg b/79070-h/images/img-cover.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..107770a --- /dev/null +++ b/79070-h/images/img-cover.jpg |
