Eglanton Thorne

“ But both the children shed tears as they stood by Mr. Hollys' side in the churchyard, and saw the coffin lowered into the cold, dark grave. It was a new, mysterious experience for Beryl.
She had heard and known of Death, but it had never come thus near to her before. It was as if a grim shadow had fallen across the sunshine of her life, and it seemed to her that now the coming days could not be so joyous as the past had been. Strange thoughts were working in the child's mind as she stood beside that open grave. ”

“ Should you not try to forgive Edith and all who vex you, as God, for Christ's sake, forgives you?"
"I don't feel as if I could forgive Edith," said Florrie, with a sigh.
"Ask God to help you to do so," said her governess; "for if you do not forgive Edith, how can you say to-night in your prayer: Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us? You would be asking God not to forgive you."
"I never thought of that," said Kate, thoughtfully. "Dear me! how hard it is to be good."
"It is hard," said Miss Jameson; "but so is everything in life that is worth striving after. ”

“ But life was strong in her young frame, and she shrunk with horror from the thought of death.
She lay there feeling utterly comfortless, and filled with a vague wonder at the misery which had overwhelmed her. Could it be herself, Juliet Tracy, in whose good fortune she had always so firmly believed, to whom such sorrow and loneliness had come? Did she, who had dreamed of such a brilliant future, lie here in the dreary, close, foreign room beneath the baked roof? How she loathed the crimson velvet chairs, the gilding, the glare of everything about her! ”

“ The cool evening breeze which greeted them was so much sweeter and purer than any air to be breathed in London. And then to catch the distant murmur of the waves, and see them tumbling in merry haste upon the shore—what pleasure in town could compare with that?
Miss Burton smiled to see the rapture with which the children welcomed each familiar sight and sound as they drove home in the waning light.
"How true it is that there is no place like home!" remarked Beryl, as Egloshayle House came in sight.
"It is worthwhile to go away to have the pleasure of coming back," said Coral sagely. ”

“ Stanton, embracing her. "I want you now, my eldest daughter! I have no one to lean on but you. My husband, my home, everything is taken from me."
And she sank back on her pillow sobbing.
"Mother, darling," cried Aldyth, bending over her with a tenderness almost maternal in her manner—it was as if the mother and child had changed places. "Mother, darling, do not cry so; I will take care of you. I have a home, you know; and that and everything I have is yours. Try to bear up for the sake of your children, who love you and will do all in their power to make you happy." ”

“ He had known that ancient piece of furniture as long as he had known anything. His mother, as her health grew feeble, had sat in it constantly, and now, as Michael glanced at it in the uncertain light, it suddenly appeared to him that he saw her form seated again in the old armchair. Most vividly, he seemed to see her sitting there with her white muslin cap resting on the dark hair which had been untouched by silver when she died, her little grey shawl upon her shoulders, and her hands busied with the socks she was perpetually knitting for her sons. ”

“ But though with the sight of Miss Mainprice's face and the sound of her voice there was a vivid renewal for Juliet of the sense of loneliness, despair, and shame which had been hers as she wandered desolate through the crowded streets of Paris, or lay sick in mind and body in her close room beneath the hot roof of the Hotel Rome, Miss Mainprice's greeting was so unfeignedly friendly, her manner so full of sympathy, that the painful feeling could be but momentary. ”

“ There is no one like a mother to a sick child. Ellen had often behaved undutifully to her mother, and had manifested little gratitude for her devotion; yet she had loved her all the while, and in pain and sorrow, her heart had yearned for her. All past grievances were forgotten, as she gazed on her parent's face, for was she not her own mother, who loved her and cared for her as none other could?
"However did you manage to get away, mother?" she asked, when she had recovered a little from her pleasant surprise. "What will poor baby do without you?" ”

“ Beryl scarcely knew whether she wished it or not. It seemed to her at that moment as if there were two Percys—the Percy who had been her tormentor and plague, and the Percy who had borne his pain with such courage, and thanked her so gratefully for the help she had given him. She felt rather shy of going into the presence of the Percy whose pale, suffering face had haunted her, ever since she watched him lying still and exhausted on the sofa in the dining-room. ”

“ It is never safe to judge a person from a photograph.
This was Aldyth's beautiful mother, of whom she had dreamed all her life. Often did her eyes rest on the portrait with a sense of hungry, yearning love, and she longed for the time when she could look into her mother's face, and meet the kiss of her sweet lips. With passing years the longing came to have somewhat of the bitterness of a deferred hope. There were hours when it was positive pain to Aldyth to think of the love she had missed through the long separation from her mother. ”

“ Mrs. Hobbes had set my breakfast on a little table in the garden beneath the old pear-tree which grew beside the cottage. There was a beautifully baked loaf of her home-made bread and some of the golden honey from her hives, with one of the brown eggs that I always think taste so much better than white ones. No one would have judged my health precarious who saw how I enjoyed that meal. I felt so cheerful that I was ashamed of myself and tried to subdue my spirits by thinking pitifully of poor Paulina and of her father's suspense and anxiety. ”

“ Her eyes had met Juliet's for a moment ere she turned. An uneasy sensation smote like a chill to Juliet's heart. Could it be that Miss Tucker had turned so quickly in order to avoid her? Though she had been such an unsatisfactory scholar, she had always regarded the head mistress with warm esteem, and she had believed that Miss Tucker liked her. Had she heard all, and did she condemn her late scholar so severely that she could not even vouchsafe her a greeting? Juliet's face burned with shame at the thought. ”

“ Aunt Patty had hurried us upstairs under the impression that every one was very tired. I stepped into my favourite nook on the top of the porch, and, sitting down, gave myself up to the delight of recalling all that had passed between me and Alan. It was pleasant to sit there, for the air was deliciously cool, and sweet with the perfume of flowers. Below, the garden lay fair in the moonlight. At some distance, moving to and fro on the path that ran beneath the boundary wall, were two figures which I knew to be those of Alan and Colonel Hyde, enjoying a smoke before they retired to rest. ”

“ Wheatley had foreseen, the girls "took to her" at once, for women of the lower classes are quick to recognize a "real lady" when they see one, and to feel the charm of her gentleness and simplicity. Aldyth's pleasant look, her smile, the sweet tones of her voice, her fresh, pretty gowns, and the dainty, flower-like neatness of her person, could not have charmed any male admirer more than they charmed these girls. They clustered about her, they applauded the bright, well-chosen music she gave them, and they watched eagerly for the chance of a talk with her. ”