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
As for asking herself why nobody called to see her, she had asked that
too, and she had no better answer. The minister did call once a year;
but they had been out both times, and he had left his card. The doctor
had called before Geoffrey was born, and after; but she had not asked
him why nobody else called. She supposed it was the Boston way.
Certainly she had called on nobody but on Mrs. Royall and Mrs. Flynn
and a few more of her protegées. She was sure she did not want people
to call on her, and she did not want to call on them.
Still the iron had entered her soul. And, as Satan ordered, for this
week of all weeks, Edward was called away to New York; and although
there were two letters a day from dear Edward, and very funny scraps
from bills of fare and play-bills, and one or two new novels by post,
and an English edition of the new "Morris," still her "earthly
paradise" was a very gloomy paradise without him.
And every day the poor child read over Priscilla's venomous letter; and
at last she went so far that she determined that she would ask him why
nobody except the minister and the doctor ever came to see her.
Of course she did no such thing; for Friday night came, and--joy of
joys!--Edward came. And Geoff was dragged out of his crib to see papa,
and came down in his dear little flannel night-gown, and really knew
papa, or was said to; and Geoff really grabbed at the new coral papa
had brought to him, and held it in his hand and swayed it to and fro
wildly, as a man very drunk would do; and they laughed happily over
Geoff and put him to bed again; and then they sat and talked, and
talked and sat, till long after any bedtime Psyche had ever dreamed of;
and then they went to bed together, and as Psyche undressed, Edward
read the story of the "Four Sons of Aymon" aloud to her. It was all as
beautiful as it could be; and was she to bother him with talking about
callers? Not she! She had him till Monday night, and she was not going
to destroy her own paradise before then.
So there was one long, lovely Saturday, when he worked with her and she
worked with him, and they went to the beach together, and went to drive
together, and painted together, and in the evening they tried some new
music that he had brought home; and he had a whole pile of lovely
English and French letters which had come since he went away, and they
had those to read together; and there was one German letter from his
old Heidelberg friend, Welsted, and Psyche helped him puzzle out the
words of the writing: he said she always guessed these riddles better
than he did. And Welsted was married too, and he had a little girl
baby, and made great fun about marrying her to Geoffrey. And they wrote
an answer to Welsted, and it was midnight before they came round to the
"Four Sons of Aymon" and to their bed.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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