Drusilla with a Million — John Stuart Mill — John Shaqi
Drusilla with a Million
John Stuart Mill · en
The bathroom, with its silver fittings, was a revelation to Drusilla;
and as she stepped into the warm, slightly perfumed water, it seemed to
speak to her more eloquently than all the rest of the seeming miracles
that were now coming into her life.
When Drusilla returned to the bedroom she found a shaded light on a
table at the head of the bed, and beside the light were her Bible and
the life of John Calvin.
She stood a moment looking around the room, and then she knelt beside
the bed.
"O God," she whispered, "I hain't never had much to thank you for
except for strength to work, but now--dear God, I thank you!"
CHAPTER III
The next morning Drusilla found herself unconsciously waiting for the
rising bell that called the inmates of the Doane home from their
slumbers, and when she opened her eyes she could not realize for a
moment where she was. Instead of the plain white walls of her room, she
saw the soft gray tints of silk and the sheen of silver, and her hands
touched a silken-covered eiderdown quilt. She closed her eyes in sheer
happiness, and then opened them again to be sure that it was not all a
mirage. At last, not being used to lying in bed, she arose and, putting
on the dressing-gown, went to one of the windows and raised the shade
to look out. She stopped with her hand still on the shade, looking in
wonder at the beauty just outside her window. A great copper beach was
flaunting its gorgeous colors in the clear morning air; beyond it a
clump of blue spruce seemed a background for the riotous autumn tints.
At one side of the house was an Italian garden, with terrace after
terrace falling toward the river. Across the river, the Palisades rose
sheer and steep, their reddish-brown rocks covered with the glow of the
morning sun.
Drusilla did not know it, but she was looking at one of the most
beautiful of the many beautiful places along the Hudson, a place on
which hundreds of thousands of dollars had been spent with a lavish
hand. Drusilla drew up a chair and sat by the window, watching the
changing shades as the sun became brighter. Then she became interested
in the life of the place as it gradually awoke to its morning's work.
First a gardener crossed the lawn and began working around the plants;
then another came with a rake and commenced raking up the dying leaves;
another man wandered down toward the river. A man, evidently a house
servant, came across the lawn and, seeing her at the window, went
hastily into the house. Soon there was a light knock at the door, and
in answer to her "come in," Jeanne, the maid, entered.
"Oh, Madame," she said, "why did, you not ring? I did not know you were
up."
She bustled about the room, raising shades, and then rang for a man to
come and make the fire in the grate. The house seemed warm to Drusilla.
"Do I need a fire?" she asked. "It's warm in here."
"Just a little fire, Madame," said Jeanne; "it makes the room more
cheerful."