Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Volume 2, No. 12, May, 1851.Various
History
Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Volume 2, No. 12, May, 1851.
Various
American literature -- Periodicals; Civilization -- Periodicals; Culture -- Periodicals
Another small incident showed the same gentlemanly spirit. At the time
when his whole soul was engrossed with the desire to make "the
experiment" answer, he had a request to present, as often during a whole
winter as he could edge it in. There was a certain long, ugly hedge,
pernicious in every way, which divided the field from a neighbor's. The
hedge belonged to the neighbor; and it appeared that he would be
heartily glad to give it away to any body who would take it down and put
up some fence which would cover less ground and harbor less vermin.
Harry was so eager to be allowed to remove the hedge, that Miss Foote at
last told him that she should never have dreamed of his undertaking such
a job in addition to his regular work; but that he might please himself.
She would put up a new fence if he chose to make way for it. He did it
with no help but in felling some pollards. One afternoon, when wheeling
up hill an enormous load of wood from the hedge, he heard himself
laughed at from the next field. Now, no man winces more under a laugh
than Harry; yet he bore it well this time. Some men called out mockingly
that he was doing horse's work and man's work at once, and they would
not do that to please any body. "No," said Harry, turning full round
toward them, "nor, I neither. Miss Foote never asked me to do this. I do
it to please myself."
No man, I have said, winces under a laugh more than Harry; and his only
suffering worth mentioning, since he came to his new place, has been
from this dislike of ridicule. When the cottage was ready, Miss Foote
proposed a house-warming, and invited herself and her two maids there to
tea. It was a particularly pleasant evening, with a fine fire, and
plenty of light, and good tea and cake, and all the five in capital
spirits. Harry was made to take the arm-chair by his own fireside; and
when he began to crack his jokes it appeared that he had his own notions
of the ridiculous. He quizzed his nearest neighbor, an old man, who had
married a comparatively young woman, and whose children were forever
playing about Miss Foote's gate. When Harry joked about that unequal
match, Miss Foote could not laugh. She thought his own infinitely worse.
And the poor fellow soon saw that others were quizzing him, much more
severely than he had quizzed the old man. He looks grave about Dinah
now, and has left off talking of his own prudence in making such a
marriage. He has also told his sister that when Dinah dies he shall not
marry again. It is very painful; and yet Dinah is improved beyond all
that could have been anticipated. She has put off her false front, and
lets her grizzled hair appear. She no longer scans Miss Foote's face to
make out what it would be most acceptable that she should say, but
rattles away about her affairs with a sort of youthful glee. She no
longer speaks in a whining tone, but lets her voice take its own way.
One day she leaned on her rake (when she was trimming her own
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account