Christian fiction; Neighborhoods -- Scotland -- Fiction
the sight of Charlie and Harry scampering along the top of a stone wall
to meet us. This made their mother nervous, but she kept quiet, knowing
that unrestrained anxiety is always in danger of bringing about the evil
it fears. A moment after, we drew up at a long porch, leading through
the segment of a circle to the door of the house. The journey was
over. We got down in the little village of Kilkhaven, in the county of
Cornwall.
CHAPTER XIII.
WHAT WE DID WHEN WE ARRIVED.
We carried Connie in first of all, of course, and into the room which
nurse had fixed upon for her--the best in the house, of course, again.
She did seem tired now, and no wonder. She had a cup of tea at once, and
in half an hour dinner was ready, of which we were all very glad. After
dinner I went up to Connie’s room. There I found her fast asleep on the
sofa, and Wynnie as fast asleep on the floor beside her. The drive and
the sea air had had the same effect on both of them. But pleased as I
was to see Connie sleeping so sweetly, I was even more pleased to see
Wynnie asleep on the floor. What a wonderful satisfaction it may give
to a father and mother to see this or that child asleep! It is when
her kittens are asleep that the cat creeps away to look after her own
comforts. Our cat chose to have her kittens in my study once, and as I
would not have her further disturbed than to give them another cushion
to lie on in place of that which belonged to my sofa, I had many
opportunities of watching them as I wrote, or prepared my sermons. But I
must not talk about the cat and her kittens now. When parents see their
children asleep, especially if they have been suffering in any way,
they breathe more freely; a load is lifted off their minds; their
responsibility seems over; the children have gone back to their Father,
and he alone is looking after them for a while. Now, I had not been
comfortable about Wynnie for some time, and especially during our
journey, and still more especially during the last part of our journey.
There was something amiss with her. She seemed constantly more or less
dejected, as if she had something to think about that was too much for
her, although, to tell the truth, I really believe now that she had not
quite enough to think about. Some people can thrive tolerably without
much thought: at least, they both live comfortably without it, and do
not seem to be capable of effecting it if it were required of them;
while for others a large amount of mental and spiritual operation is
necessary for the health of both body and mind, and when the matter or
occasion for so much is not afforded them, the consequence is analogous
to what follows when a healthy physical system is not supplied with
sufficient food: the oxygen, the source of life, begins to consume the
life itself; it tears up the timbers of the house to burn against the
cold. Or, to use a different simile, when the Moses-rod of circumstance
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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