Won over : $b The story of a boy's lifeHellis, Nellie
General
Won over : $b The story of a boy's life
Hellis, Nellie
Christian life -- Juvenile fiction; London (England) -- Juvenile fiction; Siblings -- Juvenile fiction
If the garden had appeared lovely to the child, the house seemed still
more beautiful. Once at Chormouth she recollected that she had been
taken over "The Hall" by her mother, and on two or three occasions
she had been in the library at Chormouth Vicarage. But here it was
not grand and stately like "The Hall," nor small and cheerless like
the Vicarage. The rooms in Miss Crawford's house were neither too
large nor too small; the carpets were soft to the eye and soft to
the touch—Millie could hardly hear her own footsteps as she walked.
The furniture was substantial and comfortable; the pictures bright
and cheerful—ah! Wouldn't Phil have liked to see those pictures! And
flowers and ferns in rich profusion were standing in every available
spot, shedding their gracefulness and sweet perfume upon all.
"O! Miss Crawford," said Millie, drawing a long breath of admiration,
"what a lovely house you have!"
"I am glad you think so," Miss Crawford said smiling. "Now," she
said, leading the way into the prettiest room of all, "this is my
drawing-room. Sit down in that low chair in the corner there, Millie,
and I will play and sing to you. My father and mother are away with my
brother in the country, so that we shall not be disturbing anybody."
So saying, she opened the piano, and sang in such a rich sweet voice
that Millie started with surprise and pleasure. So distinctly too
were the words pronounced that every syllable was heard. The first
songs were light and cheerful. These were succeeded by those grand but
touching lines:—
"Break, break, break,
On thy cold grey stones, O Sea!
And I would that my tongue could utter
The thoughts that arise in me.
"O well for the fisherman's boy,
That he shouts with his sister at play!
O well for the sailor lad,
That he sings in his boat on the bay!
"And the stately ships go on
To their haven under the hill;
But O for the touch of a vanish'd hand,
And the sound of a voice that is still!
"Break, break, break,
At the foot of thy crags, O Sea!
But the tender grace of a day that is dead
Will never come back to me."
The music and the words went straight to the little listener's heart.
They took her in spirit to Chormouth—to the little cottage there, and
to its beloved inmates. In spite of her efforts to prevent them the
tears would come. She could just manage to keep from sobbing aloud, and
that was all.
At the end of the song Miss Crawford paused. In a few minutes, however,
she began again with that beautiful air from Mendelssohn's oratorio of
"Elijah," "O rest in the Lord."
"'O rest in the Lord,'" repeated Millie softly to herself, "'wait
patiently for Him.' Yes, yes, I will."
Then came the blessed promise, "'And He shall give thee thy heart's
desire.'"
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.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account