'Well, Betty, the question often occurs to me. When the boundlessness of
God's love comes home to me I think it is possible. There is a verse,
the thirteenth of the twenty-first chapter of the Revelation, which'----
At that moment a knock came to the door, and Betty slipped out. In her
absence the doctor smoked in silence, and I watched the fire glowing in
the grate.
'Doctor,' she said, as she re-entered, 'that's the grocer's boy.
Somebody telt him ye were here, and he wants to ken if the bottle o'
port wine ye ordered is for Mrs Lawson o' Gillhead or auld Widow
Lawson?'
'Oh, it is for Widow Lawson,' he replied, and the semblance of a blush
spread over his face. He rose hurriedly, adjusted his plaid, and picked
up his hat.
I put my hand on his arm as he passed me. 'Doctor,' I said, 'your good
deeds are finding you out;' and he shook his head, and smiled as if he
didn't understand me, but he made no reply.
Betty came into my room later with her Bible in her hand. 'I've been
lookin' up that verse in the Revelation,' she said, 'an' it reads: "On
the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three
gates, and on the west three gates." Ay--imphm! I never saw the maitter
in that licht before.--Weel, I trust there may be a gate for me, Maister
Weelum; an'--an' somewey I'm sure noo there's yin for the doctor.'
CHAPTER XIV.
In accordance with the doctor's orders, Nathan has not been to work
these past few days; and though, beyond admitting a 'wakeness aboot the
knees' and a proneness to 'shiverin',' he makes no specific complaint, I
have noticed that daily he becomes more beholden to Betty, and that he
very willingly goes off to bed a good two hours earlier than his usual
retiring-time.
There are some who, by their very backwardness and reticence, attract
attention and excite curiosity. I have met many such, both
professionally and socially, and the breaking down of their reserve has
always been interesting; but, than the case of Nathan Hebron, none has
more substantially repaid the time and trouble which the process of
thawing involved. To outsiders I presume Nathan is an enigma. Not so to
us who live with him. I needn't attempt to explain the feeling of
confidence which he inspires, or the peculiar power which he
unconsciously exerts in our little household circle. Words cannot convey
it--it must be experienced to be understood; and though Betty is always
to the fore, always taking the initiative, I know she feels that
somewhere in the background, almost without her immediate knowledge, but
ever in her reckoning, is the force, the power, the quiet, unobtrusive,
dependable Nathan. And yet, strange to say, could I probe to the quick
of his feelings, I know I should find that, in his 'stablished
estimation, Betty, and Betty alone, stands for everything that the term
'bulwark and tower of strength' conveys.
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