A Country Gentleman and His FamilyOliphant, Mrs. (Margaret)
General
A Country Gentleman and His Family
Oliphant, Mrs. (Margaret)
Marriage -- Fiction
These were the words which the young man used in his infatuation. He
knew no others--miserable, so that he should no longer care what
happened to him, or believe in any good, which was the most probable
state of affairs; or divine, a life celestial, inconceivable, which was
indeed not to be dwelt upon for a moment as if under any suggestion of
possibility it could be.
Next day, Mrs. Warrender began at once her preparations for that removal
which she had so long contemplated, which had been so often postponed,
throwing Chatty into an excitement so full of conflicting elements,
that it was for some time difficult for the girl to know what her own
real sentiments were. She had been figuring to herself with a little
wistfulness, and an occasional escapade into dreams, the part which it
was now her duty to take up, that of her mother's chief companion, the
daughter of the house, the dutiful dweller at home, who should have no
heart and no thought beyond the Warren and its affairs. Chatty was
pleased enough with the former role. It had been delightful both to her
mother and herself to feel how much they had in common, when the great
authority on all family matters, the regulator of proprieties, the
mistress of the ceremonies, so to speak, was out of the way, and they
were left unmolested to follow their natural bent; but Chatty felt a
little sinking of the heart when she thought of being bound to the
Warren for ever; of the necessity there would be for her constant
services, and the unlikelihood of any further opening of life. While
there had been two, there was always a possibility of an invitation, of
a visit and little break of novelty: but it was one of Minnie's most
cherished maxims that a young lady in the house was indispensable, and
Chatty in the recollection of this felt a certain cheerful despair, if
the expression is permissible, seize her. She would be cheerful, she
said to herself, whatever happened. It was her duty: she loved her home,
and wanted nothing else, oh, nothing else! Home and one's mother, what
could one want more?
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account