Ashcliffe Hall: A tale of the last centuryHolt, Emily Sarah
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Ashcliffe Hall: A tale of the last century
Holt, Emily Sarah
England -- Social life and customs -- 18th century -- Fiction; Historical fiction; Religious fiction
"'Twould make it a very long tale, Madam to tell you of all that we
did and suffered ere we found friends. It was a hard matter to see
what we should do; for had I sought a place as woman to some lady, I
could not have left Roswith alone; and no lady would be like to take
the child with me. So I could but entreat the Lord to show me how to
earn bread enough for my wee sister and myself. The woman of the
house who took us in after the shipwreck was very good unto us, the
Lord inclining her heart to especial pity of us; and she greatly
pressed us to go on to Paris, where she thought we should be more
like to meet with succor. Therefore we set out on our way to Paris.
The Lord went with us, and gave us favor in the eyes of all them whom
we had need of on our road. Most of the women whom we met showed
much compassion for Roswith, she being but a wee bit wean, and a very
douce and cannie bairn to boot. It was in the month of October that
we arrived in Paris. Here the Lord had prepared a strange thing for
us. There was an uncle of Miss Magdalene, by name Mr. Francis Grey,
who was a rich gentleman and a kindly. He had been on his travels
into foreign parts, and was returning through this city unto his
place; and by what men call chance, Miss Magdalene and I lighted on
this gentleman in the Paris street, we returning from the buying of
bread and other needful matters. He was as if he saw her not, for he
afterward told us that he had heard nought of the harrying of
Lauchie, nor of our shipwreck. But she ran to him, and cast her arms
about him, calling 'Uncle Francis!' and after a season he knew her
again, but at first he was a man amazed. When he heard all that had
come upon us, and how Miss Magdalene was left all alone in the world,
father and mother being drowned, he wept and clipped[4] her many
times, and said that she should come with him to his inn, and dwell
with him, and be unto him as a daughter, for he had no child. Then
she prayed him to have compassion upon us also, Patient and Roswith
Leslie; who, as John saith, had continued with her in her
tribulation, and, it pleased her to say, had aided and comforted her.
Mr. Francis smiled, and he said that I, Patient, should be in his
service as a woman for her; and for Roswith, 'She,' quoth he, 'will
not eat up all my substance, poor wee thing! So she shall come too,
and in time Patient must learn her meetly unto the same place to some
other lady.' Thus it was, Madam, that at the time when we seemed at
the worst, the Lord delivered us out of our distresses."
"Then you went back to Scotland?"
"No, Madam, we never went back. For when Mr. Francis heard all, of
the harrying of Lauchie, and the evil deeds of the King's troopers,
and the cruelty of Claverhouse, he said there could be no peace in
Scotland more, and sent word unto his steward to sell all, and remit
the money to him. He bought a house at Paris, and there we dwelt
all."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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