Francis Hopkinson Smith

Name: The Little Gray Lady
Author: Francis Hopkinson Smith

The Little Gray Lady

Summary

“The Little Gray Lady”, is a work by Francis Hopkinson Smith. It explores elements such as Mark, Kate and Uncle Harry.

Quotes from The Little Gray Lady (Francis Hopkinson Smith)

Francis Hopkinson Smith, The Little Gray Lady

“ Christmas seems her loneliest time. She won’t have but one candle lighted, and she sits and mopes in the dark. Oh, it’s dreadful! I tried to cheer her up, but she says she likes to sit in the dark, because then all the dead people she loves can come to her. Can’t we do something to make her happy? She is so lovely, and she is so little, and she is so dear!”
They had entered the house, now a blaze of light. Kate’s father was standing on the hearth rug, his back to a great fireplace filled with roaring logs. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

Francis Hopkinson Smith, The Little Gray Lady

“ The charred logs broke into a heap of coals; the blaze flickered and died. But for the lone candle in the corner the room would have been in total darkness.
“Shall I light another candle, Cousin Annie?” shivered the girl, “or bring that one nearer?”
“No, it’s Christmas Eve, and I only light one candle on Christmas Eve.”
“But what’s one candle! Why, father has the whole house as bright as day and every fire blazing.” The girl sprang to her feet and stepped nearer the hearth. She would be less nervous, she thought, if she moved about, and then the warmth of the fire was somehow reassuring. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

Francis Hopkinson Smith, The Little Gray Lady

“ The wives are making ready the supper; the children are romping; lovers are together in the corner where they can whisper and not be overheard. But none of this disturbs me—no big man bursts in, letting in the cold. I have my chair, my candle, my thoughts, and my fire. When you get to be my age, Kate, and live alone—and you might, dearie, if Mark should leave you—you will love these twilight hours, too.”
The girl reached up her hands and touched the Little Gray Lady’s cheek, whispering:
“But aren’t you very, very lonely. Cousin Annie?” ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

Francis Hopkinson Smith, The Little Gray Lady

“ Don’t let your pride come in; don’t beat around the bush or make believe you are hurt or misunderstood, or that you don’t care. You do care. Better be a little humble now than humble all your life. It only takes a word. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

Francis Hopkinson Smith, The Little Gray Lady

“ She lived in the quaintest of old houses fronted by a brick path bordered with fragrant box, which led up to an old-fashioned porch, its door brightened by a brass knocker. This, together with the knobs, steps, and slits of windows on each side of the door, was kept scrupulously clean by old Margaret, who had lived with her for years.
But it is her personality and not her surroundings that lingers in my memory. No one ever heard anything sweeter than her voice ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

Francis Hopkinson Smith, The Little Gray Lady

“ I can see those I have loved better in the dark. Sometimes the room is full of people; I have often to strain my eyes to assure myself that the door is really shut. All sorts of people come—the girls and boys I knew when I was young. Some are dead ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

Francis Hopkinson Smith, The Little Gray Lady

“ Your Uncle Harry, Mark, is the man who never came back and won’t. He was just your age at the time. He and Annie were to be married in a few months, then everything went to smash. And it was your mother, Kate, who was the innocent cause of his exile. Harry, who was the best friend I had in the world, tried to put in a good word for me—this was before I and your mother were engaged—and Annie, coming in and finding them, got it all crooked. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

Francis Hopkinson Smith, The Little Gray Lady

“ It was Christmas Eve, and Kate Dayton, one of Pomford’s pretty girls, had found the Little Gray Lady sitting alone before the fire gazing into the ashes, her small frame almost hidden in the roomy chair. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

Francis Hopkinson Smith, The Little Gray Lady

“ He, too, had had an hour of his own with the Little Gray Lady, and the obligation still remained unsettled.
“Well, if she won’t come up here and have Christmas with us,” he cried, “why can’t we go down there and have Christmas with her? Let’s surprise her, Kate; let’s clean out all those dead people. I know she sits in the dark and imagines they all come back, for I’ve seen her that way many a time when I drop in on her in the late afternoon. Let’s show her they’re alive.”
Kate started up and caught Mark’s arm. “Oh, Mark! ”

Francis Hopkinson Smith

Summary

Quotes from The Little Gray Lady (Francis Hopkinson Smith)

Common terms

Similar works

Get perspective with Kwize: daily news enlightened by great literature