England -- Social life and customs -- Fiction; Orphans -- Fiction; Uncles -- Fiction; Young women -- Fiction
Spot had died when the famous cold was at its worst, and the grief
Cousin Edith had tried to express was not more effective than a puddle
in a deluge. The body was sent to the Dogs' Cemetery, and through having
to represent Cousin Edith at the funeral Jasmine nearly caught a cold
herself. She did sneeze once or twice when she got home; but Aunt May
talked at such length about colds that Jasmine made up her mind that she
simply would not have a cold, and she actually succeeded in driving it
away, for which her aunt took all the credit.
The night before Cousin Edith left to recuperate at Bognor she invited
Jasmine up to her room, when Jasmine realized that the poor relation was
perfectly aware what a long convalescence hers was going to be, and
perfectly aware that her visit to the seaside would only be terminated
by her death.
"In many ways, of course," she said, "I shall enjoy Bognor, and in many
ways I shall probably be happier at Bognor than I have ever been here.
I quite understand that Cousin May requires somebody more active than
myself. She is a woman of immense energy, and when I look at her nose I
sometimes think that there may after all be something in character
reading by the face. I often meant to take it up seriously. I once
bought a book on physiognomy when I was a girl and gave readings at a
bazaar. I made quite a lot of money, I remember--sixteen shillings. It
was for a new set of bells for my uncle's church at Market Addleby. As
his curate said to me, very beautifully and poetically, I thought, when
I handed him the sixteen shillings: 'You will always be able to think,
Miss Crossfield'--my uncle never encouraged him to call us by our
Christian names on account of the parish--'always able to think every
time the new bells ring out for one of our great Church festivals, that
your little labour of love this afternoon and this evening has
contributed a melodious note to one of the most joyful chimes.' I
remember my uncle, who was a very jocular man for a clergyman, observed
when this was repeated to him that if I had only made a little more
money it might have been called Edith's five-pound note. I remember we
all laughed very much at this at the time. But as I was saying to you,
my dear ... let me see, what was I saying to you?... oh yes, I remember
now, I wanted to give you this little brooch which contains some of my
grandmother's hair when she was a baby. I've often noticed that you've
very few little mementoes; I noticed it because I haven't very many
myself. Now with regard to this room, which you will probably occupy
when I've gone, it really is a delightful room, in fact the only little
fault it has is that the bell doesn't ring. In some respects that is not
a bad fault, because no doubt the servants do not like answering bells
all the time, and I think I have been rather tactful in never once
suggesting that it should be mended. I'm only telling you this so that
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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