Dorothy South: A Love Story of Virginia Just Before the WarEggleston, George Cary
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Dorothy South: A Love Story of Virginia Just Before the War
Eggleston, George Cary
Love stories; Virginia -- Fiction
Yet he knew that he could not easily undo what he had done. There was a
child side to Dorothy, and it was that which usually presented itself to
his mind when he thought of her. But there was a strong woman side to
her also, as he very well knew, and over that he had established no
influence or control. He had won the love of the child. He had not yet
won the love of the woman. He realized that it was the masterful, woman
side of her nature that he had called into activity in this matter. Now
that the heroism of the brave woman’s soul was enlisted, he knew that he
could not easily bid it turn back.
Yet something might be done by adroit management, and he resolved upon
that. After breakfast he sent for Dorothy and said, lightly:
“I’m glad I have taught you to handle drugs skilfully, Dorothy. I shall
need certain medicines frequently in this conflict. They are our
ammunition for the battle, and we must have them always ready. I’m going
to write some prescriptions for you to fill. I want you to spend today
and tomorrow in the laboratory preparing them. One of them will tax your
skill a good deal. It may take you several days to get it ready. It
involves some very careful chemical processes--for you must first
manufacture a part of your chemicals out of their raw materials. I’ll
write detailed instructions for that, but you may fail half a dozen
times before you succeed. You must be patient and you’ll get it right.
You always do in the end. Then there’s another thing I want you to do
for me. I’m going to burn all the clothing, bedding and so forth at the
quarters. I’ll make each of the well negroes put on the freshest
clothing he has before removing to the sanitary camp, and I’ll burn all
the rest. I sent Dick early this morning to the Court House, telling
Moses to send me all the blankets and all the cloth he has of every
kind, from calico and osnaburgs to heavy woollen goods, and I’ve written
to Richmond for more. We must clothe the negroes anew--men, women and
children. So I want you to get together all your seamstresses--every
woman on the plantation indeed who can sew even a little bit--and set
them all at work making clothes. I’ve cleared out the prize barn for the
purpose, and the men are now laying a rough floor in it and putting up
some tables on which you and Aunt Polly can ‘cut out’--that’s what you
call it, isn’t it?”
“Cousin Arthur,” said the girl, looking at him with something of
reproach in her great, dark blue eyes, “I’ll do all this of course, and
everything else that you want done. But please, Cousin Arthur, don’t
tell lies to me, even indirectly. I couldn’t stand that from you.”
“What do you mean, child?”
“Oh, you have made up your mind to keep me busy with all these things so
that I shall not go into your hospital to serve as a nurse. I’ll do
these things for you, but I’ll do the nursing too. So please let us be
good friends and please don’t try to play tricks.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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