The Poet at the Breakfast-TableHolmes, Oliver Wendell
General
The Poet at the Breakfast-Table
Holmes, Oliver Wendell
American fiction -- 19th century; Conversation -- Fiction; Poetry
Some has always been good to me,--some has made it a little of a strain
to me to get along. When a woman's back aches with overworking herself
to keep her house in shape, and a dozen mouths are opening at her three
times a day, like them little young birds that split their heads open
so you can a'most see into their empty stomachs, and one wants this and
another wants that, and provisions is dear and rent is high, and nobody
to look to,--then a sharp word cuts, I tell you, and a hard look goes
right to your heart. I've seen a boarder make a face at what I set
before him, when I had tried to suit him jest as well as I knew how, and
I haven't cared to eat a thing myself all the rest of that day, and I've
laid awake without a wink of sleep all night. And then when you come
down the next morning all the boarders stare at you and wonder what
makes you so low-spirited, and why you don't look as happy and talk
as cheerful as one of them rich ladies that has dinner-parties, where
they've nothing to do but give a few orders, and somebody comes and
cooks their dinner, and somebody else comes and puts flowers on the
table, and a lot of men dressed up like ministers come and wait on
everybody, as attentive as undertakers at a funeral.
And that reminds me to tell you that I'm agoing to live with my
daughter. Her husband's a very nice man, and when he isn't following a
corpse, he's as good company as if he was a member of the city council.
My son, he's agoing into business with the old Doctor he studied with,
and he's agoing to board with me at my daughter's for a while,--I
suppose he'll be getting a wife before long. [This with a pointed look
at our young friend, the Astronomer.]
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