Both girls rose early that last day, and went with their father to
Communion. As Gratian had said to George: “It's nothing to me now,
but it will mean a lot to him out there, as a memory of us. So I must
go.” And he had answered: “Quite right, my dear. Let him have all he
can get of you both to-day. I'll keep out of the way, and be back the
last thing at night.” Their father's smile when he saw them waiting
for him went straight to both their hearts. It was a delicious day, and
the early freshness had not yet dried out of the air, when they were
walking home to breakfast. Each girl had slipped a hand under his arm.
'It's like Moses or was it Aaron?' Noel thought absurdly Memory
had complete hold of her. All the old days! Nursery hours on Sundays
after tea, stories out of the huge Bible bound in mother-o'pearl, with
photogravures of the Holy Land—palms, and hills, and goats, and
little Eastern figures, and funny boats on the Sea of Galilee, and
camels—always camels. The book would be on his knee, and they one on
each arm of his chair, waiting eagerly for the pages to be turned so
that a new picture came. And there would be the feel of his cheek,
prickly against theirs; and the old names with the old glamour—to
Gratian, Joshua, Daniel, Mordecai, Peter; to Noel Absalom because of his
hair, and Haman because she liked the sound, and Ruth because she was
pretty and John because he leaned on Jesus' breast. Neither of them
cared for Job or David, and Elijah and Elisha they detested because they
hated the name Eliza. And later days by firelight in the drawing-room,
roasting chestnuts just before evening church, and telling ghost
stories, and trying to make Daddy eat his share. And hours beside him
at the piano, each eager for her special hymns—for Gratian, “Onward,
Christian Soldiers,” “Lead, Kindly Light,” and “O God Our
Help”; for Noel, “Nearer, My God, to Thee,” the one with “The
Hosts of Midian” in it, and “For Those in Peril on the Sea.”
And carols! Ah! And Choristers! Noel had loved one deeply—the word
“chorister” was so enchanting; and because of his whiteness, and
hair which had no grease on it, but stood up all bright; she had never
spoken to him—a far worship, like that for a star. And always, always
Daddy had been gentle; sometimes angry, but always gentle; and they
sometimes not at all! And mixed up with it all, the dogs they had had,
and the cats they had had, and the cockatoo, and the governesses, and
their red cloaks, and the curates, and the pantomimes, and “Peter
Pan,” and “Alice in Wonderland”—Daddy sitting between them, so
that one could snuggle up. And later, the school-days, the hockey,
the prizes, the holidays, the rush into his arms; and the great and
wonderful yearly exodus to far places, fishing and bathing; walks and
drives; rides and climbs, always with him. And concerts and Shakespeare
plays in the Christmas and Easter holidays; and the walk home through
the streets—all lighted in those days—one on each side of him. And
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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