England -- Social life and customs -- 19th century -- Fiction; Families -- Fiction
This accounts for five people, and I have said there were six. The last
was only Mary. The other members of the family would have thought it
quite unnecessary to give any further description of her. She was the
one who did all manner of little errands in the house, and little
offices. She arranged the flowers; if Anna wanted something upstairs it
was Mary who ran to fetch it; if Sophie left anything in the garden, or
on one of the tables in the hall, Mary always knew where to find it.
She fetched Mr. Prescott the newspaper he had left about, and found her
aunt’s spectacles, and got John his hat, which he always forgot when he
was going out. When Percy was at home she did all sorts of commissions
for him; even the old housekeeper gave her messages and things to carry.
“Just put this in the drawing-room, Miss Mary, my dear,” or, “Will you
take these books to Miss Anna?” was what Mrs. Beesly said half-a-dozen
times a day. They meant no harm whatever, and did not oppress her, or
ill-use her, or neglect her, or do any of the things which are supposed
to be done to a little dependent orphan in her uncle’s house. Perhaps
they may have been said to have neglected her, but not of any evil
intent.
They meant no harm; she was only Mary: there was no particular reason
that anybody knew of for thinking of her, or putting anybody out of
their way on her account. She was a child in the opinion of all the
others, even of “the girls.” She was not included in that term. She was
not even advanced to the rank of one of the girls. She was only Mary.
She had never been whipped, or scolded, or put in dark closets, or set
to hard tasks all her life. It is true that Anna’s and Sophie’s old
dresses were very often “made down” for her: but that would have
happened all the same had she been Anna’s and Sophie’s sister. Her life
was happy enough; she had a share of everything that was going; and it
never had occurred to her that she should be made of any particular
account.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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