The English Orphans; Or, A Home in the New WorldHolmes, Mary Jane
General
The English Orphans; Or, A Home in the New World
Holmes, Mary Jane
Orphans -- Fiction
Uncle Peter, who had a high opinion of Sally's abilities, always did
his best to converse as she directed, but in her "inspired days" even
he became utterly confounded, and once when in one of her lofty
strains, she had labored hard to impress upon him the all-important
fact that _adjectives_ are frequently changed into _adverbs_ by the
suffix "ly," the old man, quite out of his wits with his efforts to
understand and profit by her teachings, was guilty of a laughable
blunder.
"Uncle Peter," said she, "did you notice how unusually funnily Miss
Grundy's wig was arranged at dinner to-day?"
Thinking that he fully understood the reply which he was expected to
make, and anxious to make amends for his former stupidity, Uncle Peter
promptly replied, "No, madam I did not-_ly_.'"
The look of horror which Sally's face assumed, convinced Uncle Peter
that he had failed in his attempts at speaking grammatically, and with
a sudden determination never again to try, he precipitately left the
house, and for the next two hours amused himself by playing "Bruce's
Address" upon his old cracked fiddle. From that time Sal gave up all
hopes of educating Uncle Peter, and confined herself mostly to
literary efforts, of which we shall speak hereafter.
The night following Sal's first acquaintance with Mary, Alice cried
until nearly day dawn. The milk which Miss Grundy's stinginess allowed
her, was not particularly conducive to her health, and besides that,
she missed the invigorating bath to which she had been accustomed
during her mother's lifetime. Mary had spoken of it two or three
times, but Miss Grundy only jerked her shoulders, saying, "she guessed
she wasn't going to have such a slush around the house. You can bring
her down," said she, "to the sink, and pump as much water on her as
you like;" so Mary said no more about it until the night of which we
have spoken, and then she determined on making one more effort. But
her heart almost failed her, when, on entering the kitchen, she saw
how the chairs and Miss Grundy's shoulders danced round. She well knew
that something was wrong, and attributing it to Alice's crying, she
awaited in silence for the storm to burst.
"Rind," said Miss Grundy to the girl with crooked feet, who was
washing the milk-pail, "ain't there nary spare room in the dark
passage?"
"None but the wool room, as I know on," was Rind's sullen response.
"Well, wool room 'tis then,--for, as for my being kep' awake night
after night, by a good for nothin' young one, that hain't no business
here, any way, I shan't do it. So (speaking to Mary) you may just pick
up your duds and move this very morning."
"Going to put 'em in with the wool?" asked Rind, suspending
operations, and holding up the pail so that the water ran out of the
spout.
"You shet up," said Miss Grundy, "and wait until you're invited to
speak. Goodness alive, look at that slop! Tip up the pail, quick."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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