A Modern Cinderella; Or, The Little Old Shoe, and Other Stories — John Shaqi
A Modern Cinderella; Or, The Little Old Shoe, and Other StoriesAlcott, Louisa May
General
A Modern Cinderella; Or, The Little Old Shoe, and Other Stories
Alcott, Louisa May
Fiction; Short stories
"Don't faint, Aunt Pen: I only did as I'd be done by; for I had two
books, and the poor man looked so hungry for something to read that I
couldn't resist sharing my 'goodies.' He will see that I'm a
countrified little thing in spite of my fine feathers, and won't be
shocked at my want of rigidity and frigidity; so don't look dismal, and
I'll be prim and proper all the rest of the way,--if I don't forget it."
"I wonder who he is; may belong to some of our first families, and in
that case it might be worth while to exert ourselves, you know. Did you
learn his name, Dora?" whispered the elder lady.
Debby shook her head, and murmured, "Hush!"--but Aunt Pen had heard of
matches being made in cars as well as in heaven; and as an experienced
general, it became her to reconnoitre, when one of the enemy approached
her camp. Slightly altering her position, she darted an
all-comprehensive glance at the invader, who seemed entirely absorbed,
for not an eyelash stirred during the scrutiny. It lasted but an
instant, yet in that instant he was weighed and found wanting; for that
experienced eye detected that his cravat was two inches wider than
fashion ordained, that his coat was not of the latest style, that his
gloves were mended, and his handkerchief neither cambric nor silk.
That was enough, and sentence was passed forthwith,--"Some respectable
clerk, good-looking, but poor, and not at all the thing for Dora"; and
Aunt Pen turned to adjust a voluminous green veil over her niece's
bonnet, "To shield it from the dust, dear," which process also shielded
the face within from the eye of man.
A curious smile, half mirthful, half melancholy, passed over their
neighbor's lips; but his peace of mind seemed undisturbed, and he
remained buried in his book Till they reached -----, at dusk. As he
returned it, he offered his services in procuring a carriage or
attending to luggage; but Mrs. Carroll, with much dignity of aspect,
informed him that her servants would attend to those matters, and,
bowing gravely, he vanished into the night.
As they rolled away to the hotel, Debby was wild to run down to the
beach whence came the solemn music of the sea, making the twilight
beautiful. But Aunt Pen was too tired to do anything but sup in her
own apartment and go early to bed; and Debby might as soon have
proposed to walk up the great Pyramid as to make her first appearance
without that sage matron to mount guard over her; so she resigned
herself to pie and patience, and fell asleep, wishing it were to-morrow.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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