Blue-Stocking Hall, (Vol. 2 of 3)Scargill, William Pitt
General
Blue-Stocking Hall, (Vol. 2 of 3)
Scargill, William Pitt
Epistolary fiction; Women -- Conduct of life -- Fiction; Women -- Education -- Fiction
themselves two and two, perform this feat, the company are always
landed, and pursue a winding path on the verge of the water, till the
boat is drawn into the lake above, and they are ushered into that
aquatic paradise.
On the night preceding this day, a poor fellow had reached this
narrow pass from the upper country in a tiny skiff. A sudden gust,
which frequently occurs in this amphitheatre of mountains, hurried
him so irresistibly down the watery descent that his little bark was
overset, and no human being living near the spot, his voice was not
heard;--unable to swim, he was drowned, and his lifeless corse was
extricated in the morning from a bed of arbutus, which lay so softly
on the surface of the lake that it appeared more like a Naiad's couch
than the bier of poor Florence O'Neil. Our men were none of them
related to him. They only knew who he was, and that he was unfortunate.
When we reached this little gorge, we were told to prepare for landing,
and M'Carty More standing up in the boat, poising his oar with graceful
ease, and making no more of its weight than if it had been a straw,
addressed himself to us all, and said, "Ladies and Gentlemen, I hope
that your honours will not take it amiss if we draw up the boat silent
and quiet, like the poor fellow himself that lay here this morning." So
saying, he and his comrades, without uttering a sound, pulled our bark
forward in the profoundest stillness; thus paying a tribute of delicate
feeling to the manes of a departed brother, which would have adorned
a far higher class in life. We were all affected by this incident,
which was quickly changed from a merely sentimental occurrence into one
of practical compassion and usefulness, by a proposal from my aunt,
that the same spot which had in the former moment been dedicated to
remembrance of the dead, should now be marked by tender care for the
living. "Here is my subscription," said she, "and when we have made
up a little sum for the widow and orphans of poor Florence, M'Carty
More, if you please, shall have the pleasure of bestowing it." Joy lit
up the countenances which had been just before honestly expressive of
sadness, and showers of choicest blessings were lavished on the mover
of this benevolent project. M'Carty's thanks were as warm, as if he
had been made rich himself; and when Russell good humouredly said to
him, "I suppose that you are flattered, by being chosen to convey glad
tidings to the poor woman and her children, and pleased that Mrs.
Douglas should put such confidence in you;" his noble reply was, "No
your honour. The lady would not have mistrusted _any_ of us; we may
all be bad enough, but there is not a man in the boat, I'll be bound
to say, would rob the widow. Every one of these lads, sir, gave half a
crown this morning to bury poor O'Neil, and while they had a potato
themselves they would not _begrudge_ the half of it to her that's left
desolate."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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