with wine--I mean the SACRAMENT--the sublime and solemn festival given
by One who doth not forget the poor and destitute, however in their
misery they may sometimes think to the contrary!--The remainder of his
little present Dr. Tatham distributes in small quantities among such of
his parishioners as may require it, and may not happen to have come
under the immediate notice of Mrs. Aubrey. Dr. Tatham has known Mr.
Aubrey ever since he was about five years old. 'Twas the doctor that
first taught him Greek and Latin; and, up to his going to college, gave
him the frequent advantage of his learned experience.--But surely I have
gone into a very long digression, and must return.
While Miss Aubrey, accompanied by her sister-in-law, and followed by a
servant carrying a great bag, filled with articles brought from London
the day before, went to the school which I have before mentioned, in
order to distribute her prizes and presents, Mr. Aubrey and Dr. Tatham
set off on a walk through the village.
"I must really do something for that old steeple of yours, Doctor," said
Mr. Aubrey, looking up, and shading his eyes with his hands, as, arm in
arm, they approached the church; "it looks crumbling away in many
parts!"
"If you'd only send a couple of masons to repair the _porch_, and make
it weather-tight, it would satisfy me for some years to come," said the
doctor, with exceeding earnestness.
"Well--we'll look at it," replied Aubrey; and, turning aside, they
entered the little churchyard.
"How I love this old yew-tree!" he exclaimed, as they passed under it;
"it casts a kind of tender gloom around that always makes me pensive,
not to say melancholy!" A sigh escaped him, as his eye glanced at the
family vault, which was almost in the centre of the shade, where lay his
father, three brothers, and a sister, and where, in the course of
nature, a few short years would see the precious remains of his mother
deposited. But the doctor who had hastened forward alone for a moment,
finding the church door open, called out to Mr. Aubrey, who soon stood
within the porch. It certainly required a little repairing, which Mr.
Aubrey said should be looked to immediately. "See--we're all preparing
for to-morrow," said Dr. Tatham, leading the way into the little church,
where the grizzle-headed clerk was busy decorating the old-fashioned
pulpit, reading-desk, and altar-piece, with the cheerful emblems of the
season.
"I never see these," said the doctor, taking up one of the sprigs of
mistletoe lying on a form beside them, "but I think of your own
Christmas verses, Mr. Aubrey, when you were younger and fresher than you
now are--don't you recollect them?"
"Oh--pooh!" quoth Aubrey, somewhat hastily.
"But I remember them," rejoined the doctor; and he began with great
emphasis and solemnity--
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