Christian fiction; Scotland -- Fiction; Young women -- Fiction
The next day, the old manner of life began again; but, alas! it was
only the old manner, it was not the old life; that was gone for ever,
like an old sunset, or an old song, and could not be recalled from the
dead. We may have better, but we can not have the same. God only can
have the same. God grant our new may inwrap our old! Letty labored more
than ever to lay hold of the lessons, to his mind so genial, in hers
bringing forth more labor than fruit, which Godfrey set before her, but
success seemed further from her than ever. She was now all the time
aware of a weight, an oppression, which seemed to belong to the task,
but was in reality her self-dissatisfaction. She was like a poor Hebrew
set to make brick without straw, but the Egyptian that had brought her
into bondage was the feebleness of her own will. Now and then would
come a break--a glow of beauty, a gleam of truth; for a moment she
would forget herself; for a moment a shining pool would flash on the
clouded sea of her life; presently her heart would send up a fresh
mist, the light would fade and vanish, and the sea lie dusky and sad.
Not seldom reproaching herself with having given Tom cause to think
unjustly of her guardians, she would try harder than ever to please her
aunt; and the small personal services she had been in the way of
rendering to Godfrey were now ministered with the care of a devotee.
Not once should he miss a button from a shirt or find a sock
insufficiently darned! But even this conscience of service did not make
her happy. Duty itself could not, where faith was wanting, where the
heart was not at one with those to whom the hands were servants. She
would cry herself to sleep, and rise early to be sad. She resolved at
last, and seemed to gain strength and some peace from the resolve, to
do all in her power to avoid Tom; and certainly not once did she try to
meet him. Not with him, she could resist him.
Thus it went on. Her aunt saw that something was amiss, and watched
her, without attempt at concealment, which added greatly to Letty's
discomfort. But the only thing her keenness discovered was, that the
girl was forwardly eager to please Godfrey, and the conviction began to
grow that she was indulging the impudent presumption of being in love
with her peerless cousin. Then maternal indignation misled her into the
folly of dropping hints that should put Godfrey on his guard: men were
so easily taken in by designing girls! She did not say much; but she
said a good deal too much for her own ends, when she caused her fancy
to present itself to the mind of Godfrey.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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