American fiction -- 19th century; Christmas stories, American
reminded her so much of the house she had heard her mother describe so
often.
“And,” she continued, taking up her story where George had left it, “I
never thought of it when I first came here. I guess I did not think of
anything, but mother’s name was Harris—Agatha Harris—and she——”
Daisy never finished the sentence, for ere another word could be uttered
Grandpa Harris fell heavily against his wife, with the look of death on
his face. The shock was too great for him to bear, and they laid him
fainting upon the couch, while Aunt Hannah, Daisy and Rena bent over
him, trying to restore him to consciousness. When he was himself again
and able to listen, it needed but few words more to convince him that
the Rena whom he loved already as his own, and the beautiful Daisy, whom
he looked up to as a superior being, were both the children of his
daughter, whose marriage with Homer Hastings twenty-one years ago that
very night had so offended him.
Daisy could remember very little of her own father. He had been kind,
she knew, and they had been comfortable while he lived, but after his
death they were very poor till her mother married a Mr. Cutler, who
though a worthy and respectable man, was always sickly, and died soon
after Rena’s birth.
“So long as mother lived, we did pretty well,” Daisy said. “She took in
sewing and I went for and carried home the work; but when she died and
we sold the things to pay the doctor’s bill, and keep us from starving,
it was so hard; then I peddled in the street and tried to earn a living,
and tried to be good and remember all mother had taught me, but
sometimes, when I was so cold, and nobody bought, and the ladies held
their purses tight if I came near them, and the newsboys halloed after
me, and Rena was home so hungry waiting for me, I thought God had
forgotten us; but Rena never did. Her faith was always strong, and her
sweet, baby words of comfort kept my heart from breaking.”
They were all sobbing but Daisy, who alone was calm, as she went over
the dreadful past which was now done with forever. Cold, nor hunger, nor
insult, would ever touch Daisy again, and, as some great shock
frequently unsettles the mind, so, contrarywise, it sometimes restores
it, and the excitement and surprise of finding her sister and friends
seemed to restore Daisy’s reason wholly, and after a moment she said, as
she put her hand to her head and turned to her husband with one of her
brightest smiles, “It is all gone,—the confusion and uncertainty. Every
thing is clear as it was before baby died. I am myself once more. Thank
God for giving me back my mind with all the other blessings.”
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