Crusoe in New York, and other talesHale, Edward Everett
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Crusoe in New York, and other tales
Hale, Edward Everett
New York (N.Y.) -- Fiction; Short stories, American; United States -- Social life and customs -- 19th century -- Fiction
No one called, you see. But I do not think Psyche cared for that. She
always hated to make calls, nor did she want much to receive them. Both
she and Edward were alone fully half their lives, though sometimes he
would call her into the study to work with him, and often he would come
to her to work with her. He would ask her if she was lonely, and he
planned visits from his sisters, who were very nice girls, and his
mother, who was perfectly lovely, and after a while, from some of the
Western girls whom Psyche had known at the Ingham University. But
never, by any accident, did any visitor come who made any allusion to
his daily business. He never spoke of it to Psyche, and she, dear
child, thought of it much less than you would think. She had promised
not to ask, and she had sense to learn that the best way not to ask was
not to care. Yes, Versatilla, dear,--and a girl of principle who
determines not to care will not care. She knows how to will and to do.
I do not know whether Psyche the more enjoyed the opera or the pictures
which she and Edward saw together. There seemed to her to be no nice
private house in Boston where dear Edward did not seem welcome when he
sent in his card, and asked if he and Mrs. Ross might see the pictures.
Psyche often said that she owned more Corots and Calames, more
Daubignys and Merles and Millets and Bonnats than any lady in the land,
and that she kept them in more galleries. At the opera they often found
pleasant people whom Edward knew sitting next to them, and they always
chided him that he was such a stranger; and he always introduced Psyche
to them as his wife as proudly as a king; and with many of these people
she talked pleasantly, and some of them she met and bowed to at church
or as they were driving. But none of them ever called upon her, nor did
she call upon them. One day she said to Edward that she believed he
knew more people than anybody else in the world. And he said, with a
sad sigh, "I am afraid I do"; and she saw that it worried him, and so
the dear child said no more.
In all this happy time Psyche had had no visit from her own sisters.
Perhaps that was one reason why it was so happy. But it happened, after
a happy life of a year and more, that a darling baby boy came to Psyche
to make her wonder how she could have thought her life before was life
at all. And the birth of the boy and his wonderful gifts were duly
reported in the letters to Painted Post, and then there came quite a
hard letter from Priscilla, putting in form the complaint that neither
of the sisters had ever been asked to make Psyche a visit since they
were married.
Psyche showed the letter to Edward on the moment, and he laughed.
"I have only wondered it did not come before."
Psyche tried to laugh too, but she came very near crying. "I have not
wanted them to come before, and I don't want them to come now."
"Then they shall not come," said Edward, laughing again, and taking her
on his knee.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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