Fern Leaves from Fanny's Port-folio. Second SeriesFern, Fanny
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Fern Leaves from Fanny's Port-folio. Second Series
Fern, Fanny
American essays -- 19th century; Short stories, American
The next morning, Mr. Renoux tip-toed in, smirking and bowing, as
if the bill of fare had been the most sumptuous in the world, and
expressed the greatest astonishment and indignation, that “the stupid
servant had neglected bringing up the other courses which he had
provided;” then he inquired “how the lady had rested;” and when she
preferred a request for another pillow, (there being only six feathers
in the one she had,) he assured her that it should be in her apartment
in less than one hour. A fortnight after, he expressed the most intense
disgust, that “the rascally upholsterer” had not yet sent _what he
had never ordered_. Each morning, Mr. Renoux presented himself, at a
certain hour, behind a very stiff dickey, and offered the lady the
morning papers. Seating himself on the sofa, he would remark that--it
was a very fine day, and that affairs in France appeared to be _in
statu quo_; or, that the Czar had ordered his generals to occupy the
principalities; that Gorchakoff was preparing to cross the Danube;
that the Sultan had dispatched Omar Pasha to the frontiers; that the
latter gentleman had presented his card to Gorchakoff, on the point of
a yataghan, which courtesy would probably lead to----something else!
During one of these agreeable calls, the lady took occasion slightly
to object to Betty’s nibbling the tarts, as she brought them up for
dinner; whereupon, Mr. Renoux declared, upon the honor of a Frenchman,
that “she should be pitched out of the door immediately, if not sooner;
and an efficient servant engaged to take her place.”
The next day, the “efficient servant” came in, broom in hand,
whistling “Oh, Susanna,” and passing into the little dressing-room,
to “put it to rights,” amused herself by trying on the widow’s best
bonnet, and polishing her teeth and combing her hair with that lady’s
immaculate and individual head-brush and tooth-brush. You will not be
surprised to learn, that their injured and long-suffering owner, took a
frantic and “French leave” the following morning, in company with her
big and little band-boxes; taking refuge under the sheltering roof of
Madame Finfillan.
* * * * *
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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