Cora and The Doctor; or, Revelations of A Physician's WifeLeslie, Madeline
General
Cora and The Doctor; or, Revelations of A Physician's Wife
Leslie, Madeline
Physicians -- Fiction
DEAR MOTHER,--I must not forget to tell you that I received a call in
the parlor yesterday from Mrs. Thomas Jones. She was dressed so
differently that at first I hardly knew her. Thomas and his wife after a
suitable time for examination and trial, made a public profession of
religion in our church; and have since conducted themselves and their
household in such a manner as to give the strongest evidence of the
sincerity of their profession.
Mrs. Jones called to see me with reference to William Reynolds, for whom
both she and her husband feel a lively interest; and from her I received
these incidents. Mrs. Reynolds with her interesting children, was long
ago removed to a decent tenement in the village, where she has supported
herself comfortably by her skill as a tailoress. During the past year
she has seen nothing of her husband, who wandered away when released
from his confinement.
Now he has returned, pale and haggard, worn out in body and mind. He
loitered around the streets all one day, not daring to ask for his
family. At length, Thomas met him and took him to his own home.
"I could not but think," said the kind-hearted woman with tears starting
to her eyes, "of the time when my husband used to return from a drunken
frolic, looking pretty near as forlorn as he. But Thomas brushed him
up, and we made him look as smart as we could, though we couldn't
restore the ruddy cheeks, or the bright eyes he used to have; and then I
jest stepped over to Anna Reynolds's. She was a sitting so kind o'
comfortable hearing her little girl read a nice book, she got from
Sabbath-school, while Willie was whittling into a basket, that I
couldn't help feeling kind o' guilty, to think how soon the errand, I'd
come on might destroy all her peace. For you know, her husband had been
gone so long she'd got settled like to have him away. But I knew who was
waiting at home, and so I made bold to walk in.
"'Good evening, Miss Reynolds,' I says.
"She looked up as pleasant as could be, and says she,'good evening, Miss
Jones,' and then she got up and set me a chair by the fire. I allus said
she was a born lady, and so is her little Anna. After all I didn't know
how to bring in my message, and I begun to wish I hadn't come, for fear
she'd faint away or something. She looked up from her work while I was
trying to think how I could begin, and says she, 'can't you stop and
spend the evening?'
"'Oh! no,' says I, 'I'm expected home. Miss Reynolds,' says I, my heart
beating so I was feared she'd hear it, 'who do you think's over to our
house?'
"'I can't say indeed,' says she. Then she smiled and asked, 'has Samuel
returned?'
"'No' says I, 'but your husband has' and with that I burst right out a
crying, I couldn't help it, I'd tried to keep in so long. Miss Reynolds
turned jest as white as a sheet; and her work fell out of her lap to the
floor. 'Oh, dear!' says I, 'I didn't mean to tell you of it so sudden.'
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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