Ch. Führer

“ It must be hard for a mother to give up the care of her son to a stranger; to think that he whom she has nursed so tenderly, and whose every want was so long supplied by her gentle hand should be left to the care of another must be fraught with pain and bitter recollections. Mrs. Wilkie sighed deeply as she showed her son the many improvements which had been made in the old house, and thought that her reign was at an end and that a new Caesar had taken the reins of government. ”

“ Miss Williams fairly gnashed her teeth with envy, and left the hall shortly after ten o’clock, disgusted with that thing from the telegraph office, while the gentlemen eagerly sought for an introduction to the acknowledged belle of the ball-room. Miss Smith was as proud of Cissie’s success as if it had been her own. With all her faults the girl possessed a good heart, and in doing as she did fancied she was doing the innocent country girl a kindness in opening to her the highway to fame and fortune, even though it were reached by the gate of dishonor. ”

“ Clarkson had now all that any woman could reasonably be expected to desire. She had triumphed over her sister-in-law and those of her husband’s relatives who had circulated rumors detrimental to her character, and had become the possessor of a comfortable home, without the incubus of an impotent husband. But she was not content; Randolph Thomson, turning his back on her and his boy, had married a young lady of fortune; so vowing vengeance against men in general for their falseness and inconstancy. ”

“ Lawrence Hall, which hotel had just been erected, and was the fashionable resort of those people from Montreal and Quebec who could manage to exchange the heated atmosphere of these cities for the more bracing air of Canada’s popular watering place. Mr. Hazelton was unable to leave Montreal, and Mrs. Grandison was not disposed to accompany her husband, even if he could have afforded to take her, in fact, the poor woman, feeling that she was a burden and drag on her husband, had taken to drinking, and had gradually removed herself still further from the pale of fashionable society. ”

“ D’Alton was mortified; she had imagined that those people whom she met at the seaside would have judged her on her merits, and would not have taken the trouble to inquire concerning her antecedents. She did not calculate that, what may be allowable at a summer resort, would not be tolerated in Montreal society; moreover, that the tongue of slander had been busily engaged in painting her even blacker than she really was, so that these people, even if personally disposed to associate with her, dared not do so lest they might lose their own insecure foothold on the ladder of social position. ”

“ The groom, being accustomed to obey, brought the horses round with alacrity when ordered to do so, but he shook his head ominously as he handed the reins to Captain O’Grady, and jumped into the dickey.
Off they flew through the blinding snowdrifts, the fine horses going at a tremendous speed, and threatening to overthrow the sleigh every instant. The hot breath of the horses froze to the head-gear and harness, rendering it perfectly white, and the three men were obliged to pull their fur caps over their ears to avoid their being frozen. ”

“ Her sister Alice was the acknowledged belle of the circle in which the Malcolm family revolved, and was already of a much more decided type, but Agnes had a frank, lovable expression of countenance that brightened everywhere she went like a sunbeam, and although she was not particularly witty (being indeed rather reserved and shy in her manner) , yet she had such a sweet voice, and talked so naturally and with such a lack of affectation, that it was a pleasure to hold converse with her. ”

“ Thus poor Martha had no mother who would listen to her girlish stories. She found plenty companions in school and very bad advisers. When the truth of her misfortune dawned upon her, she thought of nothing but to fly from the place to where she did not know, till the destroyer of her virtue advised her to go to Montreal, where he would in short join and marry her. ”

“ Wilkie was in excellent spirits, as was also the dowager, her mother-in-law, and after the déjeuner they wept together and kissed each other at parting as if they were blood relations. Mrs. Collins was not so much affected; she was so much entranced at the rich prize she had secured for her daughter that grief was altogether out of the question.
What a sweet time is that when two loving hearts, throwing commercial and domestic cares to the winds, devote themselves to the agreeable pursuit of entertaining each other. ”

“ If her dear infant is spared all well and boy or girl I shall be quite as pleased if my idol be well. Let all give way if need be for my precious wife’s sake, and on no account let her life be endangered, even for the sake of the child, if such crisis should occur, which Heaven forbid. I can say no more, but I wish I could enclose my hand and heart if I could comfort your patient. Of course I shall be terribly anxious to know that all is well ”

“ Shortly after Grandison’s departure for Chicago I was summoned to attend Mrs. Hazelton, who gave birth to a fine boy. Mr. Hazelton was in ecstasy at the thought of becoming a father; he gave a grand entertainment on the occasion of the child’s christening, and when the guests all agreed that the child had “its father’s nose” (which was doubtless the truth) the poor man’s delight knew no bounds. Mrs. Hazelton gradually began to be more cheerful, and to try in some measure to make amends to her husband for the wrong which could never be repaired. ”

“ Things went on smoothly enough for a time, Miss Wilson spending most of her leisure time with her friend, Miss Wood, or sitting quietly at home arranging such dresses and finery as her scanty income permitted her to indulge in. After some months, however, she began to make more friends, and being invited frequently out, and made much of because of her beauty and accomplishments, she soon became madly eager for the means of dressing herself like the rest, and making the conquests she knew she could make, were she only to have equal terms with her rivals. ”

“ It was a beautiful spring morning, and, as they had appointed to meet in Montreal at eleven o’clock, Mr. Clarkson called to drive his sister-in-law to the depot to meet the train. To his surprise, that lady declined to accompany him, reminding him that she was now alone in the world, and that if during her husband’s life-time the tongue of scandal was directed against her reputation, how much the more would it be so now that her natural protector was no more. ”

“ During a long practice of over thirty years I have seen many things enacted here in this city of Montreal which, if told with the skill of a Dumas or a Collins, might not only astonish but startle the sedate residents of this Church-going community. I have often, while waiting for the advent of a little midnight visitor, beguiled the weary hours with a narrative of some of my experiences, and have been amused at the expression on the faces of my fair patients when told that my memory, and not my imagination, had been drawn upon for materials. ”

“ Shutting their eyes and ears to the outer world they fancy that the sun, moon and stars shine for them, alone; that nature’s smiles are specially prepared for them; that the birds carol bridal chansonettes only for their benefit; and that the whole world is contained in the small area which immediately surrounds them.
Mr. and Mrs. Wilkie had a long, pleasant honeymoon. They spent a couple of weeks at Niagara Falls; then, having visited Boston and New York, they spent a few weeks at Saratoga, returning to Toronto about six weeks from their wedding-day. ”

“ Trotter, who had now hoped to become the legal mistress of the Dombey mansion. But all her tears were of no avail, the bitter pangs of remorse were tearing Dombey’s bosom, and he would hear of nothing but, her immediate departure for the United States. He determined that however he might have blighted the life of the wife whose excellent qualities he had only now begun to appreciate, nothing should stand in the way of her children’s advancement; and the voice of a scandal having already been heard concerning Mrs. Trotter, he felt that her immediate departure was a necessity. ”

“ O’Grady entertained the gentlemen with music, and, having chatted on various topics very pleasantly they were aroused to the fact that the evening social intercourse must draw to an end by the clanging of the door-bell announcing the arrival of the groom from the neighboring livery-stable with the horses. Taking an affectionate leave of his wife, and promising to come into Montreal to dinner on the following Sunday, O’Grady mounted the box, followed by the light-hearted Churchill, and cracking his whip was soon speeding rapidly along into the howling storm. ”

“ M——‘s dry goods store has long been known in Montreal as a well-started and well-appointed establishment. Carriages daily blocked the thoroughfare while waiting for their fashionable owners outside its door; and inside busy walkers and clerks could be seen running hither and thither, serving customers. Young women, also, some of them still bright and cheerful, many, alas, pale and heavy with sadness, might be seen grouped behind the counter, engaged in handing goods down from the shelves, and displaying them to the fashionable loungers behind the counter. ”

“ The three years from the 14th to the 17th is such a critical time for most girls, and should be passed under the care of the mother and under her care alone, and every mother ought to try to become the best friend of her daughter, not the stern mother who has forgotten that she herself was young once, and who finds it too much trouble to listen to her daughter’s little tales, by which she alone is able to guide her child, and save her in many instances from eternal destruction. ”

“ I am like the surging cataract, which, suppressed in one place bursts out again with more fury in another. I have suffered too much to be tamed down by soft and gilded promises. No, Robert D’Alton, you have started the mighty avalanche and it is too late now to stop its progress.”
The doctor began to feel he had a desperate case in hand and tried to quiet her, but the more he did so the worse she got till at last all persons began to talk to her, receiving from the poor girl replies altogether removed from the point at issue coupled with threats and oaths and furious gesticulations. ”

“ His wife could hardly mix in society, even could she obtain an entrée to that realm of prudery and hypocrisy, but he cared for no society better than that of herself and his children, and his bachelor friends, of whom he had not a few, would, even if they did know or surmise the truth, exercise a more liberal spirit, particularly while the wine in his cellar maintained its reputation. ”

“ O’Grady, however, was a skillful driver, and kept the horses well in hand, calling to them from time to time in a reassuring manner; as for Churchill, he rather enjoyed the little spice of danger, and, as conversation was out of the question, he lit a cigar, and, drawing the buffalo-robes tightly round him, made himself as comfortable as possible. In a short time they arrived at their destination, and throwing the reins to the groom, O’Grady dashed up stairs and in an instant had his wife in his arms. ”

“ She had, in her anxious endeavors to make a good impression in society, deprived herself even of necessaries sin order to procure a fashionable ball-dress and outfit, and these were now no longer fit for active service. While musing over this circumstance one evening, as she walked home to supper, she chanced to meet Anna Smith, who had been the belle at the last ball, her fine dress and showy jewellery having completely eclipsed the more solid and modest beauty of the poor telegraph girl. ”

“ Bennett’s father was an American, who, in early life, being settled in Montreal, became enamoured of a Canadian girl named Beauchamp. Miss Beauchamp was young, pretty, and a Catholic. The first two of these qualifications rather suited Mr. Bennett, and the third did not in any way annoy him, he being (although a Protestant) a liberal-minded man, and having the idea that thoughts and opinions could not be forced, like sheep, to go in a particular track, but that every one should be free to hold what convictions his reason dictated, untrammelled by conventionality or creed of any kind. ”

“ MY DEAR MADAM—I cannot refrain, as the husband of the most lovable wife on earth from expressing my ardent wish and prayer that all may be well and that you will remind her that I am most tenderly loving and thinking of her and shall pray hourly for her, but whatever be the issue, let all be done for her happiness and comfort. ”