"What can I do for you, Miss?" asked the obsequious landlord, a moment after. It was evident that guests beneath his hospitable roof were "like angel"s visits, few and far between."
"Supper and a room."
"Yes, certainly, certainly, in no time. Here, Cary Elizy, Elizabeth Angeline, Victory Valery, where on earth air they? Neither of them three girls is never on hand when they"re wanted."
There was a shuffle, a scampering, and much suppressed giggling, then a frowsy head peered in at the doorway.
"This lady wants something to eat, and a good cup of tea, directly."
"Yes," drawled a voice, "she shall have it if it takes a limb. Here, girls, spin around, I tell you, and git the young woman suthin to eat."
Meanwhile, Clemence surveyed the little room to which she had been conducted, guiltless of carpeting, and with only one chair and a washstand, beside a huge, old fashioned bedstead, and plump feather bed covered with patchwork. But everything was clean and inviting, and only too thankful for the opportunity, Clemence smoothed her hair, and bathed her aching temples, preparatory to partaking of that "good cup of tea,"
which her host had ordered, and which she hoped would drive away her headache.
But, alas! for human antic.i.p.ations. The good, wholesome country fare which she had expected, proved to be only the refuse of what was considered unsaleable in market. In place of the steaming biscuit, golden b.u.t.ter, and delicious cream she had promised herself, there were huge slices of clammy bread, a plate of old-fashioned short-cake, yellow with saleratus; b.u.t.ter, that to say the least of it, was not inodorous, and a compound of skim milk and lukewarm water, dignified by the name of tea. Leaving it almost untasted, Clemence sought her couch, and was soon buried in profound slumber.
She awoke late the next morning, and after a hasty toilet, went down to breakfast, to find herself the center of observation. The table was tolerably well-filled, with one or two blooming damsels, and for the rest, sun-browned country boys.
"Good morning," said the gentleman of the house, heartily. "Kalkilate you was pretty well played out, yesterday. Don"t look as if you"d stand much hard work. You"re a school teacher, I take it? Yes, I thought so. I can generally guess at a body"s business the first time trying. I ain"t one of the educated sort myself, but I"ve picked up a few ideas knocking around the world. I"ve got some girls now, I"d like to have learn something, but then they don"t seem to take to it. I spose that kind o"
hankerin" after books comes natural to some folks, and to others it don"t. Me nor none of my family never seemed to set much store by that sort of thing. It"s a good thing to be gifted, though. There"s neighbor Green"s boy, Bill, he can "late anything after he"s heerd it once, and when there"s any doins" of any kind comin" off, they send him so he can tell the rest, after he gets home, all what happened. But, as I said before, it"s more"n any of the rest of us can do.
"And, to tell the truth, we don"t need to be as wise as Solomon, here in these parts, to be as good as the best. When a man gets what you may call a little forehanded, he"s bound to have his say about matters and things, whether he understands them or not. I rather guess, too, Miss,"
he added, good-naturedly, "if you stay long enough round here, you"ll git to teachin" one scholar. There ain"t many old maids around here, but there"s any quant.i.ty of nice, industrious young men what want wives, and ain"t a goin" far for to find them, eh, girls?"
There was a good deal of t.i.ttering at this last remark, and the aforementioned youths blushed to the tips of their ears.
"What singular people I have got among," thought Clemence, who could not refrain from laughing at their oddity. "What a strange fate has thrown me among them?"
She was destined to learn a good deal more of their singularities, during her prolonged sojourn at the little village. A country school teacher, having to "board round," has a good chance to study human nature.
Before she had been long at her new occupation, she found that she was expected to be, literally, "as wise as a serpent, and as harmless as a dove." There was no subject--religion or politics not excepted--which she was not expected thoroughly to understand and expound; she was evidently considered, from her position, as a sort of animated encyclopedia, to be consulted at will. And all this, to be able to instruct a half-civilized brood of children, of both s.e.xes, in the rudiments of reading, writing, spelling, arithmetic and geography, with enough of grammar to enable them to stammer and stumble through a simple sentence, and arrive safely at the end without any material injury to the teacher"s nerves.
However, it was, at least, an honorable independence, poorly remunerated though it was, and she went to work with a will.
Her first boarding place was at the house of an aged couple, by the name of Wynn, who lived a short distance from the school house. Their appearance struck her as extremely peculiar. Mrs. Wynn"s tall, stooping figure, spoke plainly of a hard, laborious life. Her sharp features and keen, piercing eyes, made more prominent by the unusual lowness of the forehead, told more surely than language, of their owner"s propensity to investigate the affairs of her neighbor, and proved her claim to the complimentary t.i.tle, they had bestowed upon her, viz:--"That prying old mother, Wynn." But what was still more strange, was the silver hair of both these old people, and which their age did not seem to warrant. The lady, however, with a little lingering of feminine vanity in her heart, had made an awkward attempt at hair dye of home manufacture, and from a too plentiful use of sulphur and copperas, had succeeded in producing a band of vivid yellow upon each side of her temple, while the hair at the back and upon the crown of her head, was white as snow. Clemence learned afterwards that these worthy people had seen a great deal of trouble, and that their prematurely aged appearance was from that source alone.
She was not aware that they had more than one daughter, who was her pupil, but as she went into the "spare room" a.s.signed her, and carelessly took up a "carte de visite" that lay upon the table, she saw underneath the picture of a buxom damsel, in a feeble, trembling hand, "My own sweet Rose."
She had before this noticed another queer trait of the people among whom her lot was so strangely cast, and that was their singular penchant for fancy and high-sounding names. Among her scholars there were, for the girls, respectively--Alcestine Alameda, Boadicea Beatrice, Claudia Clarinda, Eugenia Eurydice, Venetia Ignatia, and so on, indefinitely; and among a group of ragged, bare-footed boys, a number of time-honored Bible names, and such distinguished modern ones as George Washington, Daniel Webster, Henry Clay, Edward Everett, and even down to one little shock-headed, lisping, Abraham Lincoln.
"My own sweet Rose," proved, unhappily for Clemence, to possess more of the characteristics of a stinging nettle, than of the flower whose name she bore, and she was glad when her week was out, and she could leave her charming society, for that which she fondly hoped might be more congenial.
Clemence had begun to try her strength, and she prayed fervently that she might not "faint by the way." What other alternative had she than this? It was too sadly true, as she had told her friend, she was all alone in the world. What mattered it where the rest of her life was spent? She tried bravely to do her duty "in that station in life to which it had pleased G.o.d to call her." That was enough for the present.
The future stretched out, dreary and hopeless, before her.
Strangely enough, she never thought that she was young and pretty and well born, and might form new ties, if she would. She never reasoned upon the subject, for the bare possibility did not once enter her mind.
This was the more strange, that she had never been in love, and there were no memories to rise up and haunt her like ghosts of forgotten joys, no dear face that had beamed upon her with the one profound affection that comes to every one at some period of their lives. There were only two graves under the willows that contained all that had ever been dear to her in life. She never dreamed of any other love than theirs, who had watched over her childhood, and left her, with prayers to heaven for her safety upon their pallid lips. Her one hope was to live so that she might meet them again, and that it might be said of her, "She hath done what she could."
Clemence Graystone was possessed of little worldly ambition, and she had no incentive to exertion, beyond what was necessary to maintain an honorable independence. She was content, with fine talents that might have won her a name, to be left behind upon the road to fame by those who were better adapted to the contest. What was it to her? A short-lived popularity, the adulation of the vulgar, the cool, critical glances of those who might sympathize and appreciate, but ever seemed more ready to condemn. She had no wish to be petted by the crowd, or court the gaze of idle curiosity. Better solitude and her own thoughts.
She had enough of the latter, you may well believe. Obscure and poverty-stricken, the world pa.s.sed on, and forgot even her existence, after a way it has. She did not "keep up with the times," and she was left by the receding tide, a lonely waif upon unknown sh.o.r.es. What lay before her, G.o.d alone knew. Clemence felt grieved, too, to find that she was not liked by the village people. Old Mrs. Wynn took care to inform her of that, with a due amount of exaggeration. Her crime consisted in minding her own business, and letting others do the same--and they called her gentle reticence, "airs," said she felt above common folks, and prophesied that any amount of evil would befall her. She did not know that it is a trait of human nature to condemn that, which, through ignorance, people cannot appreciate the value. Therefore she mourned in secret, and blamed herself for being unsocial, and tried hard to be patient and forgiving.
At this juncture, when she most needed a counsellor, she made an acquaintance, and formed a lasting friendship. She had often admired, upon the outskirts of the village, a pretty cottage, embowered in trees, and curiosity had led her to question others about its occupant. She could only learn that a lady by the name of Hardyng lived there, quite alone. That was all she could find out in regard to it.
One morning, however, very much to her surprise, as she had never met the lady, she found on her desk an informal invitation to visit her at the cottage. Tired of her own thoughts, and wishing for something to take up her attention, she at once resolved to accept it--and, in pursuance of this determination, after school was dismissed, responded to the message in person. The door was opened immediately on her low rap.
"How kind of you to come," said one of the sweetest voices she had ever heard. "I have hoped and feared alternately, as to the result of my unceremonious request. Pray make yourself perfectly at home. I have wanted to get acquainted with you ever since I first saw you, but I go out so little, I was almost in despair, until I hit upon this method. I believe I have not yet introduced myself. I am Ulrica Hardyng, a lonely and sorrowing woman, with no one in the whole wide world to love or care for me, and I want to be your friend."
She knelt down before the young girl, whom she had already seated, and gazed with dark, unfathomable eyes into the sweet face before her.
"Loyal and true," she said, stroking the white hand softly. "I want you to love me, Miss Graystone. I knew at the first glimpse of your face, that you had suffered, poor child, and I felt for you from that moment; for who can sympathize with the afflicted so well as one who has drained to the dregs the bitter cup?"
"Oh, Madame!" said Clemence, impetuously, fascinated, as every one else had always been by the woman before her, "I shall be forever grateful for the smallest portion of your regard. You cannot imagine how completely isolated I have been, during my brief sojourn here."
"I believe that," was the reply; "a girl of your intellect and refinement can have little in common with, these obtuse village people.
They cannot understand your feelings, and you cannot possibly sympathize with theirs. Your former life must have been very different from this.
Tell me about it?"
It was a strange interview, but then, Ulrica Hardyng was a strange woman, and never did anything like anybody else.
"You will come again?" she said, that evening as they parted. "Fate has been kinder to me than I deserve, and sent me a sweet consoler. You and I have nothing to do with the idle forms of society. We meet each other, and that is quite enough."
"I will come again, kind friend," Clemence answered gratefully, "at an early day; for now that I have once enjoyed the pleasure of your society, it would be hard to deny myself the privilege in future."
After that they met nearly every day.
Mrs. Wynn had her say about it, too.
"So you"ve made the acquaintance of that stuck-up widow, have you? I"ve a piece of advice for you. You"re an unprotected girl, and might easily get talked about. There"s something queer about this Mis" Hardyng. She don"t mingle with the rest of us, and I wouldn"t be too thick with her, if I was in your place. Leastways, I won"t let my Rose make any advances towards an acquaintance. Mind, I don"t say anything _against_ her, but I do as I"d be done by, and give you a friendly warning, such as I"d have anybody do by a child of mine, if they was around the world. For my part, I always consider it a safe plan to wait and see what other people think about them, before I make up to anybody myself. "Taint expected that a woman that"s got a character to lose should commit herself in the eyes of the world. Remember, too, that on account of your being in a public capacity, so to speak, you"d ought to be more particular about your morals. It"s expected that you will do your best to set a good example to the rest of the young folks round here; not, of course, that _I_ would say anything, whatever you might do, but then, everybody ain"t so careful of the "unruly member," as the minister calls it. You know people will talk. For instance, Miss Pryor dropped in here a few minutes yesterday, and while we was taking a sociable cup of tea together, she told me that Mis" Parsons told Caleb Sharp, and he told her, that you looked a little too sanctimonious to have it natural, and she meant to keep her eyes on you, for all you seemed so wrapped up in your own affairs. They think you feel pretty big, I guess, for Miss Pryor said she wasn"t agoing to wait to be put down by you, but took particular pains to flounce past you, with her head turned the other way, and never pretending to know you was there. Mind, though, you don"t say anything to anybody about it. I am one of that kind that don"t believe in making mischief, and if there"s anything I do _dispise_, its tattling about my neighbors. It"s a thing I never do, to talk against folks behind their back. There"s plenty that do, though, in this very town. Now, there"s that Mis" Swan, where you"re going to board next week, she"s been pretty well talked about, first and last, and they _do_ say not without cause, for you know the sayin" about there always bein" some fire where there"s any smoke. She makes believe all innocence, but I could tell some things that I"ve seen with these two eyes, if I choose.
"The last teacher we had before you came, was a single young gentleman by the name of Sweet. He was a nice, fine-looking man, with a real innocent face, and pleasant ways, and I took quite a motherly interest in him. He used to be at the Swans" very often, and I had a few suspicions of my own. I used to send Rose in, kind of sudden like, whenever I see him go by to their house. Mis" Swan felt guilty, for she knew what I meant; but, will you believe, the malicious creature actually insinuated that I had designs on him, and positively had the impudence to send me a saucy message, one day, by Rose, right before her husband and that young Sweet. I was so mad that I published the whole affair over the place within twenty-four hours. I put on my bonnet, and went in one direction, and sent Rose in another, and Mis" Swan found herself in a pretty mess, with her name on everybody"s lips. But, will you believe in the ingrat.i.tude of human nature, the woman"s own husband called me a meddlesome old busy-body, after I had solemnly warned him of his wife"s unfaithfulness, and I was made the laughing stock of the town where I was born, and have lived a long and useful life. n.o.body can tell me anything to convince me that my suspicions wasn"t correct, and it went to my heart to have them say that I did it all out of spite, because I wanted to secure the school-master for my daughter. But I"ve lived it down, though, and have shown some people about here, that I consider them as far beneath me, as the heavens are _above_ the earth."
Clemence found the Swan"s a little homespun couple, but, on the whole, much more endurable than Mrs. Wynn and Rose.
"I suppose you have heard all about Kate"s outrageous proceedings from our elderly friend?" laughed Mr. Swan, at the tea-table. "Poor Mrs.
Wynn. She laid me under infinite obligations, by her efforts on my behalf, so much so, that sometimes the load of grat.i.tude fairly oppresses me. In case matters had turned out as she feared, though, I might eventually have consoled myself with the fair Miss Rose"s agreeable society."
"There, there, Harry!" said his wife, "don"t say anything to prejudice Miss Graystone against them. I have forgiven her long ago, and I only hope that Rose may succeed in obtaining half as good a husband as somebody I know of."
"Well," he said, bestowing a fond glance upon the bright face beside him, "we won"t say anything against them. By the way, Kitty, I received a letter to-day from Sweet, and he announces the advent of another juvenile Sweet-ness, to be named in honor of your ladyship. You see, Miss Graystone, he is a relative, having married a cousin of my wife"s.
There was some trouble about the match, for Uncle Eben objected to the young man, on account of his being a schoolteacher, He used to come to Kate for advice, and being rather a favorite with uncle, she finally succeeded in reconciling him to the marriage. The young couple naturally think her "but little lower than the angels," since her efforts in their behalf, and I never saw Sweet so indignant at anybody in my life as he was at the Wynns, for starting that infamous story. But I told him not to mind, it would blow over, and it did. Mrs. Wynn is pretty well known here, and like the rest of us, I suppose, has her good traits and her bad ones."
"How do you like our little village?" asked Mrs. Swan, to turn the conversation, a few moments after.
"I have been here so short a time that I can hardly judge, as yet,"
replied Clemence. "I think I shall like it better than I at first expected."
"Indeed, I hope you will," said her hostess. "We would like very much to have you settle among us. You must have observed, by this time, that there are few people of liberal education in the place."