Sentimental Tommy: The Story of His BoyhoodBarrie, J. M. (James Matthew)
History
Sentimental Tommy: The Story of His Boyhood
Barrie, J. M. (James Matthew)
London (England) -- History -- 19th century -- Fiction
"That is why I want it," Grizel blurted out, and now we are all ashamed
of her. But fortunately Tommy did not see how much she had admitted in
that hasty cry, and as neither would give way to the other they parted
stiffly, his last words being "Mind, it wouldna be respectable to go by
yoursel'," and hers "I don't care, I'm going." Nevertheless it was she
who slept easily that night, and he who tossed about almost until
cockcrow. She had only one ugly dream, of herself wandering from door to
door in a strange town, asking for lodgings, but the woman who answered
her weary knocks--there were many doors but it was invariably the same
woman--always asked, suspiciously, "Is Tommy with you?" and Grizel shook
her head, and then the woman drove her away, perceiving that she was
not respectable. This woke her, and she feared the dream would come
true, but she clenched her fists in the darkness, saying, "I can't help
it, I am going, and I won't have Elspeth," and after that she slept in
peace. In the meantime Tommy the imaginative--but that night he was not
Tommy, rather was he Grizel, for he saw her as we can only see
ourselves. Now she--or he, if you will--had been caught by her father
and brought back, and she turned into a painted thing like her mother.
She brandished a brandy bottle and a stream of foul words ran lightly
from her mouth and suddenly stopped, because she was wailing "I wanted
so to be good, it is sweet to be good!" Now a man with a beard was
whipping her, and Tommy felt each lash on his own body, so that he had
to strike out, and he started up in bed, and the horrible thing was that
he had never been asleep. Thus it went on until early morning, when his
eyes were red and his body was damp with sweat.
But now again he was Tommy, and at first even to think of leaving
Elspeth was absurd. Yet it would be pleasant to leave Aaron, who
disliked him so much. To disappear without a word would be a fine
revenge, for the people would say that Aaron must have ill-treated him,
and while they searched the pools of the burn for his body, Aaron would
be looking on trembling, perhaps with a policeman's hand on his
shoulder. Tommy saw the commotion as vividly as if the searchers were
already out and he in a tree looking down at them; but in a second he
also heard Elspeth skirling, and down he flung himself from the tree,
crying, "I'm here, Elspeth, dinna greet; oh, what a brute I've been!"
No, he could not leave Elspeth, how wicked of Grizel to expect it of
him; she was a bad one, Grizel.
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