Stories for the Young; Or, Cheap Repository Tracts: Entertaining, Moral, and Religious. Vol. VI. — John Shaqi
Stories for the Young; Or, Cheap Repository Tracts: Entertaining, Moral, and Religious. Vol. VI.More, Hannah
Religion
Stories for the Young; Or, Cheap Repository Tracts: Entertaining, Moral, and Religious. Vol. VI.
More, Hannah
Christian life -- Juvenile fiction; Conduct of life -- Juvenile fiction
On Sunday she was too uneasy to go to church; for poor Sally had never
been taught, that her being uneasy was only a fresh reason why she
ought to go thither. She spent the whole afternoon in her little
garret, dressing in all her best. First she put on her red ribbon,
which she had bought at last Lammas fair; then she recollected that
red was an unlucky color, and changed it for a blue ribbon, tied in a
true lover's knot; but suddenly calling to mind that poor Jacob had
bought this knot for her of a pedlar at the door, and that she had
promised to wear it for his sake, her heart smote her, and she laid it
by, sighing to think she was not fated to marry the man who had given
it to her.
When she had looked at herself twenty times in the glass--for one vain
action always brings on another--she set off, trembling and quaking
every step she went. She walked eagerly towards the churchyard, not
daring to look to the right or left, for fear she should spy Jacob,
who would have offered to walk with her, and so have spoiled all. As
soon as she came within sight of the wall, she spied a man sitting
upon it. Her heart beat violently. She looked again; but alas, the
stranger not only had on a black coat, but neither hair nor eyes
answered the description. She now happened to cast her eyes on the
church-clock, and found she was two hours before her time. This was
some comfort. She walked away and got rid of the two hours as well as
she could, paying great attention as she went not to walk over any
straws which lay across, and carefully looking to see if there were
never an old horseshoe in the way, that infallible symptom of good
fortune.
While the clock was striking seven, she returned to the churchyard,
and, O the wonderful power of fortune-tellers, there she saw him!
there sat the very man: his hair as light as flax, his eyes as blue as
buttermilk, and his shoulders as round as a tub. Every tittle agreed,
to the very nosegay in his waistcoat buttonhole. At first, indeed, she
thought it had been sweet-briar, and glad to catch at a straw,
whispered to herself, It is not he, and I shall marry Jacob still; but
on looking again, she saw it was southernwood plain enough, and that
of course all was over. The man accosted her with some very
nonsensical, but too acceptable compliments. Sally was naturally a
modest girl, and but for Rachel's wicked arts, would not have had
courage to talk with a strange man; but how could she resist her fate,
you know? After a little discourse, she asked him with a trembling
heart, what might be his name.
"Robert Price, at your service," was the answer.
"Robert Price! that is R.P. as sure as I am alive, and the
fortune-teller was a witch. It is all out; it is all out! O the
wonderful art of fortune-tellers!"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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