Married people -- Fiction; Mothers-in-law -- Fiction
But with the return of the family to Glasgow, the child lost the charm
of the Inverkip environment. In Traquair House he received even from his
father only the Campbell affection, which had no enthusiasms, no baby
talk, no petting, no foolish admirations. It was almost impossible for
the mother to accept this change of attitude with nonchalance, or even
cheerfulness. She could not withstand the influence of the dull, gray
house, and the toiling, moiling, money-grabbing city, though she felt
intuitively that the influence of both was inimical to her domestic
happiness. For the house was impregnated with the Campbell personality,
so much so that the very apparatus of their daily life had become
eloquent of the moods of those they ministered to; and Theodora often
felt as if the sofas and chairs in their rooms resented her use of them.
A prepossession of this kind was an unhappy one, and easily affiliated
itself with the spirit of the house, which was markedly a quarrelsome
spirit. Nurtured and indulged for more than two generations, it had
become an inflexible, almost an invincible one. All Theodora's smiling
efforts, all her charms and entreaties had failed to conciliate, or even
appease its grudging resentment. It was a piteous thing that the first
trouble after her return to Glasgow, should be concerning the child.
Robert had been pleased by the assurance of his friends in Inverkip that
his son resembled him in an extraordinary manner. He was himself sure of
this resemblance, though Theodora could only see "that difference in
sameness" often enough pronounced between fathers and sons.
Mrs. Campbell scouted the idea. She said: "The child had not a single
Campbell feature or trait. He did not even suck his tongue, a trick all
the Campbell babies had, as McNab knew right well. And she understood
there had not been a single Campbell in the room when he was born--an
important and significant mistake that never could be rectified. She
could only say, and she always would say, that the boy was Theodora's
child."
"I hope he is," answered Robert, who was nettled by the criticism. "He
cannot do better than take after his mother in every way."
"And I am fairly shocked, Robert," she continued, "that the
child--who's ever it is--hasna yet been baptized. Seven weeks old and
not baptized! I never heard the like. My children were covenanted
Christians before they were two weeks old. It was my first thought for
them."
"Well, mother, we wanted to be quite sure of the name. A boy's name
means much to him when he becomes a man."
"There is but one name proper for the child, that is his grandfather's."
"Do you mean Traquair?" asked Robert.
"Yes, Traquair--a fine family name."
Theodora looked entreatingly at Robert, and he understood her dissent
and shared it.
"Mother," he answered, "I have a great objection to Traquair."
"Objection! Pray, why?"
"It was not a fortunate name for my father. It is not a good business
name."
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